A month has now passed since our return from Ukraine with our daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is doing great and we all love her very much.

In the past, I have heard people say that, upon completion, all the trials and tribulations will be forgotten. In fact, all the negative aspects of our very long adoption journey remain as fresh as ever. You simply cannot forget the ugly parts, except to say that it is over and to move on. One that sticks out at the end was our travel agent, who provided the worst experience of all.

The Dept of Homeland Security, was another bad experience, as we were still waiting for the I 171 H form to come in the mail. Since you cannot speak to anyone at DHS, we sought assistance from the staff of US Senator Chuck Schumer (NY). The ability of the Senator’s staff to get the form we needed the week before we traveled, was remarkable as was their sincere desire to help us. Senator Schumer’s staff could not have been more responsive to our needs at such a critical moment. Elizabeth may not be with us today without their help.

I have to say, that our treatment in Ukraine could not have been better. From our facilitators and drivers, the staff at the orphanage, and especially the everyday people we met along the way in shops and restaurants, we will remember the people of Ukraine of their kindness to us. Ukraine will remain a special place to us, and the fond memories we will always cherish. We are proud to have our daughter from Ukraine.

We are also proud of our son, Thomas, who has been a great “big brother” and enduring the five weeks away from us and being so good about it. And finally, to our family and friends for all their warm wishes upon our return, we will never forget you!

Home For Christmas

We returned home with Elizabeth and greeted Thomas at JFK on Saturday afternoon. Thomas has been enjoying his new sister and we all had a great Christmas together. Our long journey has finally ended and we wish to thank all of our family and friends for your love and support!

Bonding

We are continuing to bond our relationship with Sash (Elizabeth). We have only four days now until she will be released to us. This Wednesday, after paperwork and passport is completed, we will travel back to Kiev by car. It is a 500km journey (or 5 hours). The road is very fast, not much different from an interstate. There are many rest places along the way, which will help.
On Thursday morning, at 9AM we have her medical done and at 10AM appointment with the US Embassy for her travel visa. The Visa will be ready in the afternoon if all goes well. Originally, we tried for an appointment for Friday, but the Emassy is closed for Christmas. We will have a little more time in Kiev on Friday before our evening flight to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, we will spend a night and leave the following morning to New York.

We cannot wait see Thomas and our dear family and friends! Please pray for us on this last leg of this journey! We will try to post again before we leave Ukraine.

And the sun has been shining this week!

Elizabeth Alexandra Kulo (Sasha)

Sorry for the long time without a post. It is not always easy to get this opportunity. Yesterday we had our court hearing with no objections. We will be adopting Sasha with the name above. She was born on August 25, 2004. She has blond hair, blue eyes and great smile. She has a lot of personality and we are enjoying getting to know her. We Thank God for this blessing to our family and your prayers and support. We know Thomas cannot wait to meet his new sister. We are hoping to be home on Saturday, Dec 23rd.

In Odessa

We are in Odessa. Things are looking promising here. We will post new details soon. Keep us in your prayers!

Sad Day

We had 2 days with Catherine and began the journey to bring her home with us. On Thursday, 11/23, we took her for her physical. It was determined she was a sick child and we would not be able to adopt her. While grieving this loss, we met with the director and social workers, who were also surprised by this latest finding. Somehow, her medical condition was not relayed to them. On Friday morning we jouneyed back to Kiev to the SDA office to get another appointment. We are expecting word on Monday. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

SDA

We had our meeting at the SDA at noon yesterday and accepted a referal. It was an emotional meeting, but the staff were courteous and gracious. We will be traveling to region by train tonight and arrive tomorrow morning to visit a girl named Catherine.

So far, we have enjoyed Kiev. It is a beautiful city and nice place to walk. The lights and the buildings are brilliant at night. We went to St Michael's Church and took some pics (sorry not available on blog yet).