Coming to America!

December 13th is the day we left Ukraine ... with our two precious daughters ... and headed for home!!!
The flights were really not that bad. Ok, maybe there were a few moments! :o) Like the last 1/2 hour of our flight into Amsterdam ... ... plug your ears people ... she isn't going to quit screaming ... until she gets out of this seatbelt!!! Or the meltdown we (ok, she) had on the Amsterdam to Chicago flight ... but that too came to an end.
What I remember more ... is that I was the proud Mommy of two adorable girls. I was prepared for them to cry all the way ... so the few eruptions we had ... were really brief in comparison to the amount of time we spent in the air (or sitting at the gate!).
The girls had faced SO MUCH change in the previous 5 days ... I couldn't even imagine how they were processing it.
God gave us an amazing gift on our flight from Amsterdam to Chicago ... his name is Chuck. He sat next to Juliya and was sooooooooooooooooooo sweet to her ... it still brings tears to my eyes thinking of it! Chuck is a very successful business man from Chicago. He could have buried his head in a paper or his work ... but he chose to befriend a little girl and her family ... and we will always be forever grateful for his friendliness during that flight!!
Nataliya took to cleaning the airplane with baby wipes ... who knew that could be such fun!!
After arriving in Chicago we were met at the airport by Chris' parents and two of my brothers (Don & Jon). It was wonderful to see loved ones again. Juliya ran right up to her new Bushka ... which of course we all found amazing ... and precious!!
We stayed that night at a hotel in Chicago. The girls had the chance to meet some of their "extended" family. Paul & Chris and Elsa Bickett, Jeff & Janna and Zach & Seth Mudlin, and Auntie Janelle. It was a sweet time to all be together. Even though we were totally exhausted and hadn't slept in about 28 hours!
Here are some pictures of the journey!
1) Daddy, Juliya and Mr. Chuck!!!


2) Nataliya cleaning the seats on the KLM 747 ... we could have kept her busy doing this for a very long time!!!
3) Uncle Jon (from San Diego, CA), Uncle Don (from Madison, WI), Mommy (their sister) and the girls.

4. Nataliya and Zach Mudlin ... have a blast together!!!
Our first day ended in America with the girls falling asleep right in the middle of all the commotion ... while everyone was still there! They were tired! Unfortunately, Juliya was awake at 2:00 am ... and NOT too happy about where she was or what was going on. It was loud and ugly for about 2 hours. :o) But that too passed ... and I would have been screaming and crying if I were her too ... just ask my mom ... :o)

Baking, Ballet and Balance Beams!

Our morning started out very early ... with little ones waking us up at 5:30 am. We tried getting them to go back to sleep ... it was a no go. But they were acting so cute and funny ... we really didn't mind. (of course, later ... when the whining kicked it ... it wasn't so cute!) So ... because our day started so early ... we had lots of time to do things before heading out for dance and gymnastics.

The girls love to help me cook and/or bake ... so they took their spots up on the island in the kitchen and we baked up some bars to give away tomorrow. Of course they licked every bowl, spoon, spatula, etc. ... which is the fun part!!

We headed off for dance (Juliya) and gymnastics (Nataliya). They are at the same facility and overlap a little so it works really well. Here are some pictures ... but I'm not sure how to rotate them ... so you'll have to tip your head back and forth!






It is so fun to watch them in their classes. They are both doing really well in their areas and they enjoy going.

After the gym ... we picked up Daddy and went to lunch. That's always a fun treat for all of us!!

Afternoon naps were not as long as I had hoped ... but the girls did play well this afternoon (as was evidenced by the house being a complete disaster area when Chris came home from work!). I was just trying to survive! :o) We had a fun evening at home with Daddy (he was gone over the weekend) ... so the day ended well.

It really is amazing how far we've come in the past year! We are so blessed!!

Hillsongs Kyiv

A year ago today ... Chris and I took the girls to Hillsong Kyiv ... an AWESOME church in Ukraine. We were so warmly welcomed by the people there. A beautiful lady named Natasha (pictured in the middle) spoke both English and Russian ... and she became a wonderful part of our experience. She took such an interest in the girls and our story and she literally escorted us all over the place showing us the ropes.

Juliya LOVED the worship time in the children's ministry. We stayed with the girls through the worship time ... then they went into a little Sunday school class and we went to service.

Below is a video of Juliya clapping and dancing as they sing. It was a thrilling moment for us to watch her. As you may recall ... we hadn't seen much joy from her in the weeks previous ... but her little heart of worship was shining through.

This is the story of these pictures ... I will write more on a different entry.

Our First Day as a Family!!

Our hands were quite full on our first full day as a family. We arrived in Kyiv around 9:00 am and were met by an awesome driver (Sasha) who took wonderful care of us and our stuff. We went back to the same apartment where we had stayed at the beginning of this journey and tried to get settled in with the girls.
Kostya was also on the train with us ... but in a different car. At the train station we met his beautiful wife and son ... then connected with them later in the day.
We bought one stroller in Kherson ... and both girls fit in it. Usually we were pushing one and carrying the other ... but it did come in handy getting us around Kyiv and then from Ukraine home to the USA.
As Chris and I were walking down the street in Kyiv on that Saturday afternoon ... I said to him "I spy a family! And it's us!!" I had been waiting many long years to enjoy that feeling of being a family!!
We walked to meet Kostya and his family at a favorite Ukrainian restaurant of theirs and it was wonderful to have his wife help me know what things the girls would enjoy eating. Kostya and Olga are still very dear to us and the girls. We have two dolls in our house named Olga! :o)
Later in the evening we attempted a bath with the girls. Juliya did not think this was such a great idea ... it wasn't pretty. But after she got out and had the remote control back in her hot little hands ... she was just fine!!
Getting the girls to sleep was another major undertaking! :o) Chris recalls singing "Jesus Loves Me" to Juliya until he almost didn't have a voice.
Fast forward a year. Tonight I have the girls a bath and while they were in the tub I was putting away laundry. During that time they managed to empty the contents of the shampoo and two bottles of conditioner into the bath water! Oh yes, they have gotten over their fear of taking a bath!!! Little stinkers!!!
These were some beautiful and equally really tough days a year ago ... but we made it through!!
Celebrating our life together ...

Life as a Family!

These pictures are from this week. The frist two were taken Thursday evening while we were decorating for Christmas. The other two are just the girls at home. They LOVE each other and LOVE playing with each other ... their relationship really is so sweet to watch and experience.

Train Ride to Kyiv, Ukraine

1. Train in Ukraine
2. girls eating "dinner" on the train (we bought yogurt, bananas and bread at the convenience store at the train station).

3. we only had one change of clothes for nataliya ... so she ate dinner with her shirt off! it was hot on the train!

4. juliya looking adorable at the little table in our train compartment.

One Year Ago!!

Wow ... who knew that 365 days could fly by so quickly.

One year ago tonight we finally had our daughters in our arms ... a forever family ... at last!!!

Tonight we are all sleeping in the comfort of our cozy beds in our home. A year ago tonight we "slept" in a train car ... traveling between Kherson and Kyiv, Ukraine.
Because of a speaking engagement Chris has tomorrow ... we are actually celebrating our big day with the girls next Saturday. That will make one year since we have been home together.

The next post will have some pictures from the train ride last year and some pictures of the girls this week.

Have I mentioned how much we absolutely love and adore our girls?!?!?!?! They are both beyond wonderful ... we are so grateful.