Jordan & Chase officially have a little sister!!!

The judge signed the adoption papers this morning and waived the 30 day waiting period. All that's left is to get Sophie's birth certificate and visa and then they are free to come home. They will be leaving Kiev on Saturday morning and arriving in Huntsville on Sunday evening. I'm not sure if there will be much to post between now and then but I'm sure Shannan will update her blog after she gets home.

Keep them all in your prayers as they travel back home to their boys.

I almost forgot...

Thank you Gary and Tina for flipping the trampoline over for the boys and for getting Alex to the "beauty parlor" for me! Also, thanks to everyone who is helping with our dog, yard, flowers, and boys! We couldn't have done this without you! Jayna... I don't know what we would have done without you!

Also, Hey Summer, Ethan, Eli, Jonathan, Nicholas, Daniel, Caroline, Maggie, Olivia, Madeline, and Bennett! You are going to have a new cousin soon! We can't wait to see you all play together.

Also, hello to all you AJHS Rebel kids! It's great to hear from you. I love you all! Mrs. B

Hello everyone! We're having another great day here in Odessa, Ukraine. Sometimes I still can't believe that we are here. If you had told me two years ago that I would be doing this, I would have laughed.

I hear the weather back home is extremely hot! It is probably in the mid to high 70's here today. When it is hot, we are miserable. We are riding around in an old Volkeswagon van with NO AIR CONDITIONING! Actually, there aren't many places here with air conditioning. Our hotel does have it and we are thankful for that. (Actually, we froze it up one day because we had it so cool. They had to get maintenance and everything. I know they think, "You spoiled Americans!"

The people here are extremely nice! There are many people who can understand a little English because it is required in their schools. Most resturants have English menues, so we are able to order without help. The food has been unbelievably good. The only thing that I'm not crazy about is that they use Dill alot. There is a McDonald's right across from our hotel, but we've only been there once.

We visited the orphanage again this morning. We didn't have as long with her because their was a major storm last night with lots of rain. Our facilitators were actually flooded in their hotel. So they were late picking us up. While we were waiting we met an American couple who were retired professors from Rudkers (spelling?) College. They were just traveling around the world. They were very interesting to talk to.
Anyway, we finally made it to the orphanage about 45 minutes late. When Sophie saw us, she starting smiling. Then she pointed at us and told her caretaker, "blah blah blah Mama, Papa!" Then she ran right past me to Lee, again! Lee really loves to give me a hard time about that. I told him that that is just the way little girls are about their daddys.
We've been trying to teach her to call Lee Daddy because we all know that she is going to have alot of Papas when she gets home. She said it once or twice today, but she was just imitating us. She didn't make the connection that we were talking about Lee. Then again, she may have. I can say, "Give Daddy a kiss!" and she will. Sometimes I'll say, "Give Mama a kiss," and she will, but sometimes she will frown with her eyebrows and stick her bottom lip out. It is so funny! We try not to laugh, but we usually do. Then, if we laugh, she will flash a smile at us like she is saying, "I know, I'm so cute!" I guess you can tell that we've really flipped for this little girl.
We hope to find out in a couple of hours if we will go to court tomorrow or the next day. Our facilitators are in Kiev waiting to get the paperwork. I don't think they will release it until after 4:00 p.m. So we've got a couple of hours at least until we hear something. If we do go to court, I will be very busy, so I will not get to post anything. Take it as a good sign if you don't hear from me. We have already had a meeting to let us know what to expect at court. So everything is moving along.
Please keep us in your prayers! We hope to be home very soon!

Hey Jordan and Chase!! We love you very much!!! I can't wait to kiss you all over your faces!!

See you all soon!
Shannan and Lee

Good morning everyone! Wow! We are amazed at the number of people following our adoption journey! We are so glad to hear from you all! We wish we had time to respond to everyone, but our time at the computer is very short. If you are reading this before church this morning, please tell everyone how thankful we are for their prayers! God has blessed us even more than we ever imagined. I know many people are praying for us. We would not have had the courage to do this without our God and without our family, church family, and friends for support and prayers. This has been the hardest thing we've ever done... completing the paper chase, traveling so far away, putting our hands in another country's legal system, hoping and praying for a healthy child, and leaving Jordan and Chase for so long. There were so many unknowns when we left 15 days ago. We really had no idea how this would turn out. We really feel we have been blessed with a little 2 1/2 year old miracle!

Today we went back to the orphanage. Little Sophie came running again when she saw us. I think she knows that we belong to her, but I'm not sure she knows what that means. She is very glad to see us when we arrive, but she's ok with us leaving too. She is definitely a Daddy's girl! She loves to be tickled. She doesn't really talk much at all, even in Ukrainian. So Jordan, Chase (and Summer) will have a big job teaching her English.

She calls dolls "La La". At first she just threw down the doll that I brought, but now she plays with it. She got mad because the doll bottle didn't have real milk in it. She still hasn't figured that out.

I think she is a favorite of the caretakers. They all love on her whenever she goes to them. She really knows how to flash a smile at them!

There are sooo many sweet children there. There is one little girl about 4 years old who is like a little mother to all of the others. She is beautiful with blond hair and big blue eyes. All of the children come up just for a hug. It breaks my heart. They all smile and giggle at us, just begging for attention. It is really hard to walk away from them to just play with Sophie, but I think that is what the caretakers want us to do. It is very sad. If anyone wants to adopt, there are beautiful children here!

Hopefully, we will hear tomorrow evening if we can get a court date. Please pray for this to happen in the next couple of days. We must finish up here by Wednesday in order to get back home this weekend. We have to get the the American Embassy by Thursday morning, then get flight arrangements. There is so much to do this week! We may not have time to post, but I will get Jayna to post from home with any new information.

Again, thanks for sending us messages. You don't know how much that means to us. We hope to see you soon!

Love you all,

Lee and Shannan

I hope you all are able to see the new pictures of Sophie. If you can see it, the blue dot is medicine that they put on sores. She had a sore under her lip. We've seen people all over Ukraine with this blue medicine on them.

Sophie is an active little girl. She likes to run and climb on everything. She's really going to keep us busy!

We hope that we will get a court date the first part of this week. Hopefully Tuesday or Wednesday! Please pray that we get a court date then and that the judge waives a 30 day waiting period.

We will try to post again soon. Love ya! Shannan

More Pictures of Sophie

Well, it is another day in Odessa, Ukraine. Again we were happy to hear from everyone back home. We have had encouraging messages from friends, family, and complete strangers who have or will adopt from Ukraine. It is GREAT to hear from you all.

Today when we went to the orphanage, the children were all calling to her telling her that her "mama and papa" were there. Oh, she came running straight into Lee's arms. He loves that! He likes to tease me that she always runs to him. Every day gets better and better. She is learning to mind us when we say "nyet" (no). She starting out trying to bite us the first day if something didn't go right. She doesn't do that anymore. She knows what "Give Papa a kiss, Give Mama a kiss" means. She always kisses us bye. We've learned that she loves Cheerios, Gerber Fruit Bites, and apple juice. She doesn't like animal crackers. She bangs the heads on baby dolls. Lee thinks this is so funny because I had this doll picked out for her for about a year.

While we were there today, a lady came out with a garbage bag full of old toys (like Happy Meal toys). All of the kids gathered around looking up at her. Then she dumped the toys on the ground. Lee and I thought it looked like a bunch of wild animals going after raw meat! It was a little sad and funny at the same time. I guess kids would act the same in the USA.

I don't know if I have told yet, but she weighs about 24 pounds and is about 33 inches tall. We tried one 18 month old outfit on her and it was just a little snug. I think she will wear 24 months. Her shoes are exactly 5inches long.
Hopefully, we will be able to post more pictures tomorrow.


Thank you to everyone at Rogersville United Methodist Church! We're so happy to hear from you all. Your prayers have really helped us through this whole experience. We will never forget the support and love you've shown us.


I also wanted to thank everyone who gave donations to the orphanage. Our translators went today and bought medicines for the children. That is what the director said that they needed.

Hello to all of the Anderson Junior High Kids who are getting to read this. I've heard from a couple of you guys. If you can, please send me a message. I'd love to hear from you.

Also, to Jordan and Chase, We love you with all of our hearts! We are about to bust to see you! We are so proud of how well you've been behaving for everyone. You've handled us being away so well. I had no idea how grown-up you've become.

Check our site tomorrow. Hopefully you'll see sweet little Sophie!

We love you!

Lee and Shannan

Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for the messages that you are sending. We've been so happy to hear from you all. It really has suprised us that so many people are reading our blog. Thank you all for the prayers, and sweet comments that you make about Sophie. Leslie said that someone thought she looked like Jennifer Thacker. I think so. She is so adorable. She has the biggest expressions. When she is excited, she shakes all over. She can stick out her bottom lip so big when she doesn't like something. It's funny how we can communicate. I know she doesn't understand us but if we ask her something, she will sa "Da" (yes) or "Niet" (no). She knows what a bite is. I know she is older, but there are so many "firsts". I don't think she had ever had apple juice before. She loves it. I guess the bests firsts for us would be her kisses. Sometimes she gives them freely, sometimes not.
We are really enjoying seeing her every day. We get to go everyday from about 10:00 - 12:00. I don't think I could leave her behind, but she is happy there and she loves her caretakers. I think she is the favorite of the bunch.

It is so sad to see the other children. There is one little boy who is not developing correctly. He has bruises all over him. He will walk up to my back and rub my hair. It is all I can do to keep from crying. We try to take bananas or Starburst candy (a favorite) to them all every couple of days. There are also some very beautiful children. The sad thing is that they are not all available for adoption. Some parents leave their children there because they can't afford to take care of them. If they visit them about once a year, they cannot be adopted. I'd love to bring them all home. I know alot of people who would take these kids in a heart beat!

Well, I guess I will go. There is no air conditioning in these internet cafe's. Lee is standing around about to suffocate. Again, you don't know how much it means to hear from you all. Your messages really bring a smile to our faces. Please keep us in your prayers.
We love you all!
Lee and Shannan

Hello everyone. Lee and I had a free afternoon so I thought I would come to the internet cafe to try to catch up on this blog. I want to tell about what we've been through since we left the U.S.A. Some of the things I tell will be for people who are going to come to Ukraine to adopt.
Well, we left Huntsville on July 9th. We flew NWA to Detroit, then to Amsterdam, then to Kiev, Ukraine. It took 20 hours! We both slept at different times so it didn't seem as long. Our flights were all on time and nothing out of the ordinary happened. When we arrived in Kiev, we had a contact (thank you Bill Hamilton) who helped us through customs. We were never asked to show any money and they never checked our bags. We made it through as fast as some Ukraine citizens. Our driver (Serga) and translator (Sasha) were waiting right outside customs for us. They took us to Sasha's mother-in-law's apartment in Kiev. It looked like the old soviet apartments. All of the buildings were identical on the outside. It was very depressing. We stayed in this small apartment with one room, kitchen and bathroom. The sofa folded out to make a bed. There was not any air conditioning, but we were on the 8th floor so there was a constant breeze. We were pretty comfortable.
On Monday morning we got up early and left the apartment about 7:30 a.m. to go to the National Adoption Center. We did not have a time for an appointment so we got there early enough to sign in and wait. Fortunately, our translator (Tanya) went up and had an appointment for us at 9:30. We went up to the third floor. We saw the big sunflower with the baby in the middle that is posted on the NAC website. That is when I really got nervous! We waited about 10 minutes outside the main NAC office, then headed down the long hall with all of the doors. We went in the last door on the left. We were the first there, I think.
We sat at a desk with the most pleasant lady. She was shifting through files and talking to our translator. She said, "tell me about yourselves." I told that I was a teacher and Lee built apartment complexes, we have two sweet boys who are 10 and 8. She then said, "I guess you are here for a daughter?" We said yes, of course.
She pulled out two red binders and a few loose files for us to look at. She was very nice. She asked us to look through the binders of 0 - 4year olds for a few minutes. We did. Our translator told us what was on their files. If their were sticky notes, it usually meant that their was a recent diagnosis that they hadn't added to the file yet. There were many sick children. After only five minutes she showed us the loose files. (We expected to have to look at the sick ones for a long time.) There were about 10 loose files. Most of these were young boys. I think there were two or three girls. Our translator said, "This is a very nice girl." She picked up her phone and called the director of the orphanage. She told Tanya that she is very healthy, happy and a very good child. She is HIGHLY recommended. So we agreed to see this child. Her name was Anastasia. She was 2 years old in March.
So then we had to wait for the NAC to give us permission to visit her. This took about three days because the director had some questions about family members. On Thursday evening, we went back to the NAC to get our permission to visit the orphanage. Then we left immediately for Odessa. Odessa is about 5 1/2 hours from Kiev. It is on the Black Sea and is a huge port city.
Friday morning we got up early and waited for Sasha to take us to the city courthouse to get local permission to visit the orphanage. We went straight to the Odessa Orphanage #1. We met with the director first. She told us some legalinformation, then we met with the doctor. She told us most of her health information. We were completely happy with everything we heard. She is very healthy. While talking to the doctor, a door opened and this little girl was brought in. She took one look at us and started crying. I was shocked. I didn't expect to see her. Looking back, I think one of the reasons she cried is because she thought she might have to get a shot or something. We took her outside and played with her. She cried most of the time. When we left, I was a little upset because I wanted her to be happy with us. It was a little frustrating. But...she was adorable! (Please see the pictures!) She had on a dress that was too little. She sticks out her bottom lip when she cries, or when something doesn't please her. This first day, she stuck her head in a corner, or she would put her ear on her shoulder as if to tell us to go away. Every day gets a little better and better. Yesterday when we arrived at the orphanage the other children started calling her to tell her her mama and papa were here. She walked over to Lee to pick her up. She kissed him yesterday.

Today when we arrived at the orphanage, she looked like she was looking for us. When she saw us, she started running to us! She is acting better everyday. She kissed me today! (But Lee still is her favorite!)

The first thing she wants every time we see her is her photo album. She looks at pictures of Jordan and Chase and makes faces like Wow! She looks at Alex (Sabaka)(dog) and makes little barking sounds. I don't think she will be afraid of Alex because there are wild dogs all over the orphanage grounds. Big dogs. The director told us they kind of guard the orphanage. Whenever she starts to have a fit or cry a little, Lee will pick her up and whisper, "Sabaka" and she starts looking for them. It is alot of hard work trying to play with her, keep her happy and entertained constantly. She has made a game out of running from us, and giggles when we catch her. Needless to say, we have fallen for her big time.

Jordan and Chase, you are going to love your little sister, and she is going to love you! She isn't a girly girl. She doesn't like dolls. She will be rough and tough! Dad and I can't wait to get home to see you with her.

All of our paperwork is in Kiev as of this morning. We now wait on the Director of the NAC to give us permission to adopt her. Then we can set up a court date. I think it will take at least this week to get permission. THen we have to go to court, get birth certificate and passports in her hometown. Then we go back to Kiev to visit the American embassy. She will see a doctor there before they issue a visa. The embassy only does this on Mondays and Thursdays, so it is all a matter of timing before we find out when we can bring Sophie home.

Please keep checking our site and we love getting messages. Keep us in your prayers. We love you all! Especially you, boys!
Shannan

Hello From Odessa

Thanks everyone for the comments left on our blog yesterday. You all brought a big smile to our faces. We are excited to hear from anyone back home so please send us messages!
We just left Sophie at the orphanage. Today was great! When we walked up, her little "groupa" (like her little class) was playing outside. The other children starting calling her telling her that her mama and papa were here. She saw us and started walking towards us. When Lee bent down she took off running with her arms wide open! That melted Lee's heart! Today was the first time that she seemed really happy to see us. Then, after a few minutes Lee smacked his lips at her and she reached up and kissed him right on the lips! So she already has Daddy wrapped around her little finger!
We both just love her to pieces. She is more attached to Lee than me right now but she still lets me love on her and play with her. She loves cheerios and white grapes. Every day we bring food and drink and toys and she loves it all.

We talked to a doctor who works with internationally adopted children. He said she looks great! We know she is healthy. Looking around at the other children, we can really see our prayers answered. There are many children with health problems. So we know that we are blessed. We definitely have the prettiest little girl there. (We aren't a bit biased!)

We met another American there adopting a little girl. She was a little younger but she had some health problems. It would really break your heart to see these little orphans. One little boy just raises his arms to us every time we see him. He just begs for attention. We've been told not to have much to do with the other children so we don't make them think we've come for them. That would be too cruel. But you really want to love on them all. One little boy hugged my leg and told me "One day my mama comes for me too."

Well, Lee says hello. We have groceries with us that we need to get refridgerated, so we must go. We can't wait to get Sophie and get home. Hopefully it will be soon.

We love you all! Thank you for all of your prayers and support.

Lee and Shannan

Here Is Sophie!

Hello! Here is Sophi. Her full name is Anna Sophia.

Visit to the Orphanage

Shannan has been unable to update her blog so she has asked me (her sister) to post here and let everyone know what has been going on. She and Lee travelled to Odessa today and are hoping that tomorrow they will be able to meet the little girl they have travelled so far to see. She is 2 years and 4 months old and her name is Anastasia. If they decide they are interested in this baby, they will stay in Odessa for a week and spend more time geting to know her. From my understanding, at the end of that week they will decide whether she is the one they want to adopt and they will then be allowed to bring her back to Kiev with them and request a court date to finalize the adoption.

Either Shannan or I will post more details about the baby whenever possible. Please feel free to post any messages here for Lee and Shannan as I know they would love to hear from everyone here at home.

Please remember them in your prayers!

Hello From Kiev

Well, alot has happened this week. We arrived in Ukraine Sunday afternoon, met with our translators.... This morning we went to the NAC. I was very nervous. Lee was very calm. We simply walked in with our translator Tanya. We looked through red binders after talking to a very nice NAC psychologist. She asked us a few questions. Very simple. She said she knew we wanted a girl because we have 2 boys. She pointed out one "very good" little girl in Odessa. That is on the Black Sea. So we said we would like to meet her. Right now we will have to wait for paperwork in Kiev. Probably won't get it until tomorrow. Then we will make travel arrangements to Odessa. We don't know yet if this will be our daughter, but we are excited at the possibility. She is just over two years old. She was very recommended by the NAC staff as very healthy. The orphanage director said she was a good child. I had hoped for a younger child, but the younger ones either had something severe wrong.
We do not have much time on the internet. We just wanted to say hello, give everyone an update as much as possible and to say we love you all. Thank you for your prayers. We are very hopeful right now that things are going good.

By the way, anyone getting ready to travel, this is for you. Wear what you want! We were told dark clothes. That may be true in winter, but not summer. People wear bright clothes. Women wear mostly skirts or jeans, but some men wear shorts. Our translator (first one) picked us up in the airport with a Hawaiian style shirt, light shorts, black socks and light tennis shoes. I thought this was funny because everyone says no bright Hawaiian style clothes.

Weather is beautiful! We have a nice "flat". Very sweet people helping us. I know I'm rambling. I'm just putting thoughts as they come. We made it through customs with no problems. We hope to go to Odessa tomorrow, or next day. We may not post until after we meet our referral.

Hope to see you soon.
Shannan and Lee

Five Days To Go!

Well, we've just five days until we leave. I'm so anxious. This is really starting to feel like the life changing moment that it is. This is not a lot different from when Jordan and Chase were born. I have so much to do. I don't know if I will get everything we need packed into these suitcases (that are seeming smaller and smaller).

I guess the hardest thing right now I am dreading leaving my boys. I can't imagine being away from them for this long. I think it is starting to bother them also. They are so emotional. They both are hanging all over me. They want to sleep with me, they want me to give them baths like when they were little....

This morning, our Sunday School class all gathered around us and prayed over us again and again. I had no idea that all of these emotions were building up inside me. I just sobbed. They knew exactly what my fears are, and they prayed over each fear. I know we would not have the courage to take this leap of faith without such an awesome God. We could not do this without the support of our family, friends and church. Thank you for your prayers. I know this all is in God's hands. Your prayers give us peace that everything will be fine.

Thank you in advance to everyone who will be taking care of Jordan, Chase and Alex. (For those who don't know, Alex is our Maltese pup. He's probably more trouble than the boys!) Thanks, Jayna, for staying at our house to take care of them all. Thanks Mom and Dad for EVERYTHING. Especially for your encouragement. If I've ever had any doubts about this, you've help me remember what is important. Just talking about your granddaughter means alot. I can't wait to get her out of that orphanage. Thanks to Nana Becky and Papa Lynn. We couldn't have done this without everything you have done for us. Thanks to Bubby and Granny and Pa for making sure the boys get back and forth to school and for taking care of them. I'm not going to be "worried" about the boys. I know they are in good hands. I've had so many people offer to babysit. I really appreciate that. It will help the boys to be intertained while we're gone. Also, thanks to all of my teacher friends. I am so glad that my boys are going to school with people I trust. Please look out for them while I'm not there.

We love you all and hope to see you VERY SOON, with our new little girl.

Shannan and Lee

P.S. Here's our schedule.
Saturday July 9 at 10:50 am - Leave Huntsville
1:52pm - Arrive in Detroit
5:25 pm - Leave Detroit
Sunday July 10 7:15 am - Arrive in Amsterdam
11:15 an - Depart Amsterdam
3:00 pm - Arrive at Kiev, Ukraine!
They are 8 hours ahead of us. So I guess we will arrive about 7:00 a.m. our time.
About 20 hours after we left Huntsville!

Baby's Room Nana Becky made the bedding and curtains. Thanks Nana! 

Baby's Room 

Getting ready to go

Hello everyone! We are in crunch mode now because we have 8 days until we leave. We are trying to get phone service to have in Ukraine. I think we are going to buy a global phone here and then buy a sim card in Ukraine to go in it. That way the boys will be able to call us pretty inexpensivley.

We are packing now. I don't know how we are going to get everything in these suitcases. I'm still not totally sure what type of clothes to take. I know we'll be washing in a sink and line drying clothes. I don't think it is going to matter really. I'm pretty sure we are going to feel like we are camping without basic necessities.

When we are in Ukraine, I hope you all will post messages to us. It may be the only communication we have at some time. I know we'd like to hear from our friends and family.

Please pray that we have a safe, quick, and smooth trip. Pray that we bring home a healthy, young little girl. We love you! Shannan