A long awaited update!

It is usually a couple of days between when we can make it to an internet cafe to update our blog, and the last time we tried, the power went out! Things are going well getting to know the girls. Svieta has finally come around and decided we'll do as parents. She is so cute. All the girls watch for the van to pull up every break they get and come running to us. They are all really funny. We have to travel to two of their home towns to finish some paperwork and hopefully our court will be on Friday. Loren is scheduled to fly home next Wednesday, and I will stay here to finish it out. We asked the girls if they wanted to keep their names or change to American names. Svetlana wants to keep her name with her nickname being Svieta, Zhenia wants to change her name to Jessica, and Alvina wants to be called Arianna, so hereafter, that's what I'll refer to them as.

We have taken them to dinner a number of times, to a park with rides, and to a movie. They are excited about everything. Jessica loves taking pictures, she just doesn't like being in them, so we have to make sure she doesn't delete them before we can transfer them to the computer! It's a good thing we have a digital camera or we would have used about 13 rolls of film by now!

We are having such a good time and meeting so many nice people. We love our facilitator Natasha and driver Vassily. They are great people, and they really love the kids. All the kids run to play hide and go seek with Vassily when we park at the orphanage.

We went to the Poltava branch on Sunday. It was touching to listen to "I Am a Child of God" in Ukrainian/Russian (I can't tell the difference yet). I love being halfway across the world and knowing that we are all God's children. So far, the Ukrainians have been so friendly. Yesterday, the woman at the front desk of our hotel was so excited that she learned to say, "Good morning! How are you?" in English for us. We're picking up isolated words that we have no idea how to put into an actual sentance unless we plan on telling someone, "Good day six morning bye thanks hair". Not really effective.

We miss our boys so much. Listening to Chandler and Jason's cute voices on the phone makes me feel so guilty for not being with them, but I know we're doing a good thing and that these girls are supposed to be in our family. Our timing was lucky. We found out today that Jessica's paperwork was being completed for her to go to a foster family, so we are relieved that we get to have her instead.