YEE-HAW !!!

Our court went well and we now officially the proud parents of 6, yes 6, kids !!!!  The girls were nervous when we picked them up.  Vika grabbed my hand in the car and did not let go until we got to the court house.  The girls did not say a word in the car ride there.  We were taken to a small room, where we were sat on benches, with the girls sitting behind us.  The secretary and the city inspector were to the left and right, the kids teacher was beside us, and the judge and 2 jury members on the bench in front of us.  Minutes before we were ready to start, Syvetta tells us that there is a new woman who the judge would like to translate for us, who has just learned English.  Normally, Syvetta will help you and translate for you if you forget or say anything wrong, not the case today.  The woman who translated was very nice, but very hard to understand.  Her lips hardly moved at all when she talked, so reading her lips was not even an option.  Russie would like me to add in here that the woman appeared to have had an injection of Novocain in her upper and lower lip, as if she had just came from the dentist.  The judge started by asking Russie the questions.  The questions were very straightforward.  Russie ended up answering the majority of the questions.  He remembered all the key components everyone is asked to remember.  She had a few questions for me as well, all were easy to answer.  She was making a lot of jokes and her spirit was very lighthearted when she talked to me.  At one point, she asked if we would be back to adopt the rest of the children's house? After the questions, they take time to deliberate, which was about 15 minutes.  They came back with big smiles, gifts and a fruit tray and a Ukrainian cake for us.  They gave the a traditional piece of cloth with stitching on it and dolls, they gave Russie and I hand painted plates.  Syvetta told us that the is the only judge that gives presents.  you could tell she has a good heart and cares about the children.  We all ate the snacks and then we were on our way.  We got to take the girls back to the apartment for awhile before we met up with the McCracken's and Syvetta at a Castle restaurant to celebrate.  The restaurant was a medieval themed restaurant and it was really neat, and the food was good.  But the best thing about the evening was how happy the girls were.  They were giggling and telling jokes and the mood was excited.  With Syvetta there, the girls were anxious to ask us questions about school in America.  We learned that Anslee loves geography, dancing and volleyball.  We asked them if they wanted to join a dance class in America and they said yes.  Russie and I both looked at each other a few times during our dinner and commented on how happy they seemed.  We knew it was going to be bittersweet saying goodbye to them.  We are excited to see our kids at home, but sad to leave our other kids here.  We exchanged many hugs and said goodbye many times.  My friend, Terri, had given me 3 turtle doves to bring with me.  We explained to the girls that they each would have one and we would take one with us, and that turtle doves always find there way back to each other.  We are truly blessed by our friends and family that have made this trip special for us.  My friend, Shay, collected about 20 cards for us from other friends of ours, so we had one to open each day.  It is amazing how, God knew which card we needed to read each day.  It was a little piece of home that we looked forward to everyday, we even have some for when we return.  We booked our flights to day to return.  Russie and I both are coming back on Feb.13th, and we will return with the girls on Feb.25th.  We were hoping we would make it home in time for Gracie's performance in our local play, which is Feb. 26th and 27th, so we are excited to tell her, the whole family will be there !!!  God has went before us every step on this trip and has paved the way for everything.  We are now on the overnight train to Kiev.  We will arrive there at 5:40 tomorrow morning.  We are going to go to Joe and Ginger's apartment for a few hours before we fly out tomorrow afternoon.  We have heard about the bad weather coming and are praying we make it home when we are supposed to.  Bubba's birthday is on Thursday, so we are hoping  we will not run into too much bad weather.  If all goes as planned, we will be getting to State College tomorrow evening about 11:30 pm.  

A very special thanks to our new life long friends the McCracken's, for making this trip fun and special for us.  We know God planed for us to be here with them and we are thankful for their support and friendship, they have some of the biggest hearts we have ever seen.  We are excited that the next time we will see them, Vika Grace will be an American Citizen!!