Zhenya's orphanage is in Kryvyi Rih,a two and a half hour car ride over treacherous, ice covered roads. A foot of ice, no joke.
We spent a day with Zhenya while we worked on his process in Kryvyi Rih. We probably won't make it back to see him much before court, unless the weather gets suddenly warmer.
This is the Director. He holds on to her for dear life when we come. He asked her why we were here again, she told him we were going to adopt him and that we are going to be his mom and dad. I don't think he has a clue what that means.
This is a special play room for kids when they have visitors.
We took bags for him and his class. They loved them, especially the rats. The director wouldn't let us take pictures. Too bad, the kids were cute. They are all sick and have some problem. He looks pretty darn good compared to most.
He kind of warmed up again by the end of the day. Jeff did make him cry when he hid his snake. Jeff, Jeff! The kid is going to be terrified to come with us. The poor thing is going to leave everything he knows. I bet he will cry and not from joy. 
A picture they had of him at Christmas. Jeff took a picture of it.
With the new ministry over adoptions, it takes longer to get a court date. We have a tentative court date for the 14th of Feb. We are officially going to be here forever.
Sara decided she wants to go home with Jeff. She has had enough of Ukraine. She wants to drink water out of the tap and see Elise and Ashlynn. So Jeff and Sara will hopefully be headed home on Feb. 18th and Lena and I will be here until March 14th, if all goes well from here on out. It feels like forever. I still have 5 more weeks to go. I can't even think about it, or I will be crazy. I just have to take it one day at a time.
What cute pictures!! I am sure that both of those lucky children will be in heaven in your family and never look back. You are a real trooper to spend your whole winter in Ukraine. I can't blame Sara for wanting to get back home to clean drinking water and her new and improved life. Glad there is a court date on the horizon. Has Alina seen Zhenya yet? I wonder if they will have a little bond. Is she still trying to talk you into adopting her friend? Today Alisa said "Maybe Devin got called to Ukraine because we are supposed to go back and adopt someone else. I thought, "no only really brave and amazing people do that."
ReplyDeleteOur prayers are still with you.
Love the Hinksons
We have shown Alina pictures of Zhenya and she thinks he is cute, but she hasn't met him yet. When she found out we had decided to adopt him, she cried. Not out of joy, but because then we wouldn't adopt her friend. She said, "I don't even know my brother, but I love Schnezana." She makes a point I guess, she has lived with Schnezana a long time and hasn't seen her brother since he was 6 months old. It is a little heartbreaking to separate the two girls, but thankfully I am not feeling anything there. I am glad to see Heavenly Father knows I have limits.
DeleteI think the amazing person is the one who was willing to adopt four kids from Ukraine, when she all ready had 8 of her own. Hmmm!
Glad you are my friend Christy dear. Clearly heaven had a hand in it and I am grateful.
I agree with the Heaven having a hand in things. I will be forever grateful that you are my friend. I hope Alina learns to love her little brother. It is kind of sad that they were separated. Spencer is happy to see pictures of Zhenya but we can tell there is more of a bond with Alina and him. I don't remember Schenssna being there when we were there. We got to know all the kids pretty well and I think she must be new. If you have a picture of her of her, post it and maybe someone else will adopt her. Alina's emails have been saying that they are emptying out the orphanage and closing it soon. It was supposed to close in January. When we call it still sounds like there are a lot of kids there. What have you seen? Are they going to close down and have Alina sitting outside on a box when you get back from the 10 day wait? :) too bad they can't move her to Zhenya's nicer orphanage so you would only have to do one process and not risk your lives on that long icy drive. It might be nicer to stay there too. We remember being so happy that they had a Mcdonald's there. Pretty funny what you get excited about when you are in Ukraine for any period of time.
DeleteHave you decided if you want to give the kids American names? Someone mentioned William. Do you have both girls answering when you say Lena? How did it turn out that you pronounce Zhenya? So many questions. Sorry. Enjoy Ukraine for us. :)
That stinks about the court date. I know ours was a lot farther out than we'd planned on and it was horrible waiting. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteYes waiting is the worst. Thanks for all your help with everything. We have had an easy time with buses, and getting everywhere, thanks to you and your connections. Thanks for being a steady follower of my blog and for all your encouraging comments. Your daughter want us to bring anything back from Ukraine? Jeff has a big empty bag he is bringing home.
DeleteDo they have more than a 10 day wait now? Do you have to wait a separate 10 days for each child? What can we send with Mary to cheer you up?
ReplyDeleteHa Ha! Seriously! Two kids, Two towns, Two processes, Two passport offices = Two months in Ukraine. I keep reminding myself that in 3 years from now I will think it was totally worth it. Thanks for cracking me up and cheering me up. The wash cloths have been great btw. Jeff was blessing you just this morning as he was using a nice clean washcloth to wash his face.
DeleteNow if we could only get you some nice clean water to wash your faces with. Do you need chocolate chips? More washcloths for your extended vacation? :)
DeleteYour little guy is so cute! I'm sure it will be hard for him at first but I know he will come to love you in no time. Ashlynn is counting the days until she can see Sara again. We miss you and are so sorry it is taking longer than you expected.
ReplyDeleteWe miss you guys too. I tried to tell Sara she should stay, that she would miss me. She couldn't be persuaded. She has been looking everywhere for the perfect thing to bring home to Ashlynn.
DeleteSee your email!!!
ReplyDeleteSomeday this son of yours will be so glad you adopted him but for now, it's probably just a big scary experience.
Loved the pictures.
I can't say I blame Sara for wanting to go home. Smart girl.
Let me know what you think about my email.
~W
We are really enjoying reading your blog as a family. My kids have laughed and cried. It is so amazing to see pictures of Lena and Sara and the growth. William is such a cute boy we are so excited that you decided to adopt him! Allina looks like she fits right in. My kids keep asking when your coming home so they can meet them. Its to bad its taking longer than expected, Sara is welcome to come stay with us anytime! We love you hang in there and let me know if I can help or send anything too!
ReplyDeleteDear Jeff and Amy. I hope you have been getting our posts! I can't find them in the old posts. I sent one for Sara's Birthday.
ReplyDeleteSo here is a belated birthday wish just in case you didn't get it. We love you so much, Sara!! We hope you have a great birthday. I especially liked your cake. I have been worried about
you because of the weather! Your blog today answered my questions.
I'm sorry that the court date is so far away. When is Mary coming over? I would love to take Sara when she gets home! Let me know if you need anything. We love all of you and our prayers are with you. I even put your names on the prayer roll Friday night. Love Mom and Grant.
Hey Amy! Disappointing that you have to stay in Ukraine longer than intended. I'm sure Zhenya must be very scared of the unknown. He probably doesn't really even know what a family is. He is so darling though. I know he'll love being a part of your amazing family very quickly. Be so careful on those icy roads. Please tell Jeff to send Sara my way. I love having her around and would love to have her hang out at my house while you're gone. Please let me know. Love you guys!
ReplyDeleteSorry, that anonymous post just now was me. Shelby
ReplyDeleteHopefully I can help rescue you in some way when I get there. I have many people contacting me offering to send care packages tobget you through this process. I'm sorry I'm not coming sooner! Hopefullybthings get better this next week. I know how you love car rides and paperwork anyway! By the way, what is that thing next to the director?! It looks like a big giant cat!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, you guys are amazing! I guess it's like the mission a bit. If you had known how hard it was you may have never gone, but the joy you experience is all worth it and it ends up being something you hold dear to your heart forever!
Hang in there!
I was wondering the same thing about the giant cat. I think it's a fur coat. Shelby
DeleteBtw, that Christmas picture is adorable. A definate keeper. I was also wondering if I could send Mary anything for you or even for the orphanages. I can get a couple more games if you're going to visit any other orphanages.
ReplyDeleteI just have to say that I think your husband is a wonderful man! You found a good one! To be able to follow your hearts together in this, and for both of you to be so willing...what a gift! I couldn't help but think that seeing the cute father/son picture of them in the doorway. Every little boy needs a daddy (and mommy of course). As hard as it is to be there now, what a precious experience! Mary's right, it will be dear to your heart forever. Shelby
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog. Life is an adventure, and you are really making it a great adventure!
Ukraine is not where I would want to be in January. We went over in March of last year to adopt our three children. As much as we had hoped to go in February, our family was really glad it ended up being March. That was plenty cold enough. The cold just adds to the adventure.
If you are serious about your husband having room in an extra bag coming home, I was really sorry that we did not buy two of those rabbit hats for our adopted sons. We bought a couple for our two youngest original sons we took over on our first trip, but I did not buy any for our two adopted sons. Let me know if that is a possibility. If it would not work, please do not worry about it at all. Thanks!! Hang in there!
Anne
We are happy to get the hats. Jeff is coming home on the 18th, he works in Salt Lake, so he can drop them off sometime. I will give him your number.
DeleteWe all remember the waiting time. This time around you won't have Wendy and Mary to keep things exciting. :) Hopefully you can find some places to visit if some of the ice thaws out.
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is so true - these kids really don't have any clue what lies ahead for them as an adopted child. Looking back, we realize how much we expected these kids to know, but as you said, the life they now live is all they have know for so many years. So many basics that they'll have to learn. At least that learning will be in your home, back in America. Hang in there for the next few weeks! We all admire you in so many ways!