We are home!

We are home! We were able to come home 2 days early because our paperwork was processed very quickly thanks to our wonderful facilitation team in Kiev and Odessa! We had a 26 hour trip from the door of our apartment in Kiev to our home in San Antonio. Max only slept 5 hours of the trip so you can imagine that he was very tired when we got home but also very excited so it was difficult to get him to bed. He has so much energy! I would not be able to keep up with him if it were not for our 3 kids who are very much enjoying playing with their little brother! Overall, I'd say we are doing very well -- he was pretty good on the plane trip which would have stressed out any 4 year old but especially one that we could not communicate with because he speaks Russian! We were blessed on our last plane ride (we had 3 total) because we sat next to a woman who spoke Russian! Since we have been home, he has been the center of attention by our 3 kids who all have decided that he was the perfect little brother for our family! So all is well and we are grateful to God for our son and all of our kids.

Max's Day Out

We got Max from the orphanage today! He is full of energy! We took him to McDonald's because we thought he would eat the food and he ate every bit of it! He was scared at first but it only took him a few seconds to get excited especially when the lady there gave him a balloon! We are going to need a lot of energy to get him home!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hannah in Odessa

Some highlights from our trip so far!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Brother and Sister!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We are back in Odessa!

Hannah and I arrived yesterday after an uneventful journey overseas! It tooks us exactly 21 hours to get here from San Antonio -- Hannah slept 3 hours on the plane and I slept 1 hours so we were very tired! We went to get Max's birth certificate yesterday and did not get to see him. We got to see him this morning and took him to get his passport. He was very shy and quiet today since he was not in familiar surroundings but he was very happy and glad to see me! He asked for his Meeshka (his teddy bear) as soon as he saw me! We will visit him at the orphanage this afternoon and we will visit him daily before we finally take him out of the orphanage for the last time on Tuesday! Yay!

Max's Story

Our son, Joshua Maksim Lisciandro, was born on July 2nd, 2005. He was born in a hospital in Odessa, Ukraine to a young married couple. She was 21 years old and he was 22. When he was born, he had multiple difficulties including two club feet, a malformation of his neck, and a club ulna with only 4 fingers on one hand. His other hand is completely normal. His parents decided not to take him home from the hospital and he has been in the same orphanage since he was 1 month old. What must have gone through their hearts and minds as they left him behind? Their first child, a son -- their hearts must have been broken, dreams shattered... That's how I would have felt. The doctors probably told him that he would never walk, that he would not be able to have a normal life. They likely did not have the money for his medical care. They probably felt like they had NO CHOICE...sometimes it is hard to see beyond the immediate circumstances to find hope...BUT IF THEY HAD LOOKED AHEAD...they would have seen a BEAUTIFUL child who is very smart (the orphanage workers like to say he is "very clever"), a child who can run circles around the other kids in his group, who can dance, skip, slide and jump! They would have seen a child with dark brown eyes that will melt your heart, eyelashes any woman would kill for and a smile that is contagious! They would have seen a happy boy who laughs more than any kid I know... a child who's tutor describes as "a courageous soul" and "a tough character." A child full of potential who can have a normal fruitful and blessed life ...Max does not know he has any limitations! And as Greg and I both observed, he has NO limitations...he is simply a normal happy kid with a "little" hand. THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE. There is always something better beyond what seems to be a limited or tragic circumstance. God is always there and I am so glad that He doesn't see our limitations (because we ALL have them) but He sees our unlimited potential as we abide and trust in Him!

Moving Mountains Again!

We are leaving again in 36 hours to travel to Odessa, Ukraine to get our son. Our waiting period ends on Tuesday and he is officially officially our son! I say God can move mountains because that is a prayer I have said to myself OVER and OVER during this journey (Mark 11). And He has! As I write this, it has been 5 months and 5 days since we commited to adopting Max -- in international adoption terms, this is a very short time! Most international adoptions take at least a year or YEARS for some families I have met -- God has moved mountains and things have fallen into place making our journey to Max move pretty fast. The lastest "mountain" came this week when we were able to get our daughter's passport in only 5 days. We had planned to take Noah but he was sick while we were gone and has already missed a few days of school. We did not want him to miss any more school so we took Hannah last Monday for her passport. The lady at the office said "no way it will be back by the time you travel". She said "2 to 3 weeks" and she said the ONLY way to get it sooner was to go to the regional office in Houston to expedite it. We couldn't do that so we submitted the application any way and sent it off with a prayer -- "Lord, if it is Your will, you can move mountains and get it back on time." Five days later, it was sitting in our mailbox -- what else can I say! Hannah and I will go get Max and bring him home! In 2 short weeks, we will finally all be together as a family! And I can only say, "Thank you Lord for moving mountains!"