Max loves to dance!

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Noah, Hannah and Sarah do you think you can teach Max some new moves?? Perhaps the Robot! He loves to dance!

Slideshow of our trip

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Max and Pappa

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Max and MeeshkA

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Max and Meeshka

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We met Max!

We met Max yesterday! He is amazing -- very happy and very smart -- talking up a storm even though we can't understand most of what he is saying -- he thinks it is very funny when we speak Russian back to him! He loves stuffed animals and has a friend bear (meeshka). He carries it everywhere and takes care of it -- feeds it, gives it rides, swings it and rocks it. He is very sweet and has an amazing giggle. We showed him pictures of the kids - his brat and sistras! We miss you kids and will skype as soon as we can -- we don't have internet in our room yet but hope to get that fixed!

We got Max's referral!

Now we are officially setup to meet Max and adopt him! We met with the SDA today and got his referral -- the woman was very nice and Serge is great! We will leave tonight by train to go to Odesa where Max lives so WE SHOULD MEET HIM tomorrow! We are very excited!

Kiev is lovely -- lots of really beautiful buildings and the people have been friendly -- it's a very colorful city! The language barrier is daunting but luckily we are being taken care of by a team of great people who have helped us...

We are in Ukraine!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are in Ukraine! Kiev to be exact and we have a very nice little apartment near the centre (will post pictures tomorrow)! We are very tired (3 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours) but managed to eat a little Russian food from the local supermarket! We will post more tomorrow after our appointment to get Max's referral to let you know how that went! We are about to Skype our kids then off to bed!

Taking off!

We are at the airport waiting to take off! What a mix of emotions as we leave our kids to go meet our new son! We hate leaving the kids and we already miss them! Oh but we cannot wait to meet Max! And he doesn't know we are coming but how his life is going to change very shortly! We will be posting as we go so please follow our journey to Ukraine!

Traveling tomorrow!

Greg and I are getting packed up to travel tomorrow! I am scurrying around trying to get the kids organized before we leave! Please pray for a safe trip for us, safety for the kids (and peace) while we are gone, and a smooth and quick process to get Max home! Blessings! We are very excited!

It's getting exciting around here!

I heard a song today on the radio called "Only One Life to Love" by 33 Miles and the chorus really spoke to my heart:
"You only get just one time around, you only get one shot at this,
One chance to find out the one thing that you don't want to miss
One day when it's all said and done, I hope you see that it was enough
One ride, one try, only one life to love...."
This journey to Max is one thing that I don't want to miss... I have been praying about this for years... I have wanted to adopt a child for as long as I can remember... to have biological children (and God has blessed me with 3 beautiful and wonderful children) but to also have one by adoption! I can't explain it except to say that He put the desire in my heart long ago and I have been waiting! I can look back in my journal 13 years ago...10 years ago... and since then and see prayers for this child! I can't explain how excited I am that this is finally going to happen! And I am so thankful that I have the most wonderful husband in the world that has the same heart to take the journey together! And my wonderful kids are excited to share their world with a brother who they haven't met yet but they love with all their hearts! All I can say is "Thank you Lord -- You are so faithful!"

Getting ready for Max!

We travel next week and have been very busy trying to get ready! We put up a wall in our playroom, painted and decorated Max's room! Thanks so much to Glenn and Ann Powell for helping us get ready for him -- Glenn and Greg spent all weekend building the wall and Ann helped me paint his room so now we are almost ready! Yay! The kids start school on Monday so I am glad that they will be back on a schedule before we leave ... but I hate leaving them for so long ... Nana and Grandma Judy will be taking care of them while we are away... They are so excited that hopefully the time will pass quickly! Please pray for safe travel and a smooth process while we are in country... I will be updating the blog while we are there!

Traveling soon!!!

We received the word today that our dossier was accepted and we have an appointment in Ukraine on August 27th to meet with the adoption officials! We are so excited! We actually got a little more notice than we expected because the week of August 18th to 25th government offices are closed due to an Independence day holiday -- this gives us time to get our tickets, make our travel plans and get the kids in school -- they start back the 24th and we will travel the 25th! Perfect timing in my mind! Wow, it is amazing to me that we will be meeting our son in exactly 3 weeks! I am jumping for joy! I am so thankful for all the wonderful family and friends that we have that have supported us wholeheartedly in this calling! Here we come, Max!!

Our dossier has been submitted!

Things seem to be taking on speed now! We mailed our dossier one week ago and it has already been received by our facilatator, translated into Russian and submitted to the governing body in charge of adoptions! We should hear sometime this week if there are any problems with our paperwork and if not, when we will be able to travel! It seems we will be traveling by the end of the month (or much sooner) if all goes well! Please continue to keep us and Max in your prayers!