Counting down the days...9 days until we "Getcha"

In 9 days we will go pick up our boys and walk out of the orphanage for the very last time.  In the world of international adoption this is called "Gotcha Day"!  It's the day we get the boys, Gotcha!  Our Gotcha Day will happen Dec. 21.  I hope to be able to ask the orphanage workers about the boys' care, schedules and watch them being fed.  Ideally, it would be great to feed them ourselves before we leave the orphanage so they know it is okay to accept food from us.I would like to see their beds and how they were put down for naps and bedtime.  I would like to see how they were bathed and changed.  Not that I am going to do any of the things the way the orphanage workers did, but it would just be nice to know because it might explain some things that may come up once home. 




I wish we could somehow help our boys ahead of time understand just what leaving the orphanage with us means.  They have seen kids being taken away through the very doors we will walk through.  They have heard their cries and sensed the fear.  A few have been adopted by families but most have been transferred, taken away against their will, going to a place full of strangers with no hope.  I wish we could help our boys understand that this is not their fate, that they are safe in our arms and there is nothing to be afraid of when we go get them on Gotcha Day.  Your prayers for this day, that our boys will  feel comfort, have peace and no fear, are greatly appreciated.


We will fly back to Kiev around Dec. 19 and arrive the afternoon of the 20th and take the overnight train that night to The City arriving at 7:00am Dec. 21.  From what our facilitator is telling us, we will only be in The City for one day.  We will have a lot of running around to do this day with getting the court decree, birth certificates, tax ID's, closing bank accounts, getting passports for the boys and then the most important, Gotcha Day!


We'll then run catch the overnight train back up to Kiev for the US Embassy appointments Dec. 22 and 23 which entails medical exams for the boys and Visa processing.  We should fly out of Kiev and head back home early Dec. 24 and arrive in the US later in the afternoon of the 24th due to the time change.  What a wonderful Christmas present to have our boys home for Christmas!!!!!!