The Rosenthal Family

2009-12-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Update (the past 6 months.) Check out previous postings for the full year...

What better occasion to update our blog than Christmas!? This past year has been the most stressful, life-changing and joyous that we can remember. Not only with the two new additions to our family, but because like so many, we have had significant financial losses and have experienced the humbling fallout that comes with it. BUT God is faithful and He continues to teach us that regardless of the circumstances, challenges and changes around and within, the Spirit of Jesus Christ abides in us and sees us through. Praise Him because that is why he was sent, and that is what we are celebrating now at Christmas.

Here we are on the Washington Ferry bound for our Orcas Island. It was awesome to share this special place with Anastasia and Jonathan. Abbie and Hannah were delightful as they eagerly shared all their favorite hangouts with their siblings. Jonathan and Anastasia bring us so much joy in their enthusiasm and energy! We praise God as He keeps deepening the bonds of our family.

Mount Constitution is definitely a must. This is the compulsory photo atop the mountain, which of course doesn't come close to doing justice to this amazing 360 degree marine view of forest covered islands and deep blue waterways. As spectacular as it is, we find ourselves simply enjoying sleepy mornings at our rental cabin or combing the beach.

One favorite and very sentimental tradition is making pottery. The twins had their very first

handprints made. Now we have four handprints to add to those we've collected since Abbie was 4 months old and look forward to future years as the children grow. We also hiked (not enough for mom) found our favorite driftwood for our plaque, made smores on our deck overlooking the most gorgeous nightly sunsets, and basked in weather that was warm enough for swimming in the lake. The kids (including Mike and Uncle Lee) even jumped off the bridge over Cascade Lake! Here are Lee, Brenden, Hannah, Mike, Abbie, Taylor, and Brad. It was a fantastic trip and even more special because it was our first official family vacation with the twins!

We were so happy to be able to spend a meal with Lois and Jon and Kat in Seattle. Here are Jonathan and Abbie sharing a smile and a hug with Lois. We appreciated so much that she was able to meet the twins!

Hannah celebrated her 11th birthday with a splash! Here are her friends jumping off the high rock into our pool! Our awesome house has been on the market since last May, and we have definitely not wasted a single minute enjoying and sharing. As we consider moving yet again(!) it has never been more clear to us that it truly is the family that makes the house!

The twins also celebrated their 8th birthdays in grand style! First, our friend Pancho got us all passes as a Disney employee! The twins got in free because of the birthdays and we all had a wonderful time! Here is Pancho presenting Jonathan and Anastasia with lanyards and special pins to begin their collections! Again, Abbie and Hannah are just the right age and are both so generous in spirit that they delighted in showing Jonathan and Anastasia around the park.

Anastasia's dream came true! We knew she loved princesses when we first met her. It is quite possible she chose us just because of the princess dolls she saw in the photo we brought of her room! Her visit with Belle, Ariel, Mulan and Cinderella was nothing short of amazing. I even wrote a letter about the visit because all four ladies made it so very special for her.

Here are Anastasia and Jonathan with their birthday cakes: Princess and Spiderman. We also had a "First Birthday" Party for them. It was their first time receiving presents. They loved it and they did awesome!!!

You may remember from our first blog entries that Anastasia has strabismus or crossed eyes. Well, praise God with us that this past October she had surgery to correct it and it went better than we or the ophthamologist ever anticipated! The doctor told us that Anastasia has a couple of different issues going on with her eyes and that it would take 3-4 surgeries to correct. Well, it only took one! This was a direct answer to our prayers and a huge milestone for Anastasia. You may also remember that the day Anastasia "shut down" on us back in Ukraine was because we had been talking about her eyes and she was so afraid of the surgery. Well, God strengthened her and gave her courage every step of the way and then blessed her by doing it all in one procedure. Our God is awesome!!!

Here are our trick-or-treaters! Anastasia is (of course) Belle, our friend Emily is the lady bug, Yes that is Mike as the oversized ballerina! Hannah as the bee, Abbie as the eskimo and Jonathan as Captain Jack Sparrow. We still have Halloween candy left, by the way...

Here we all are with the Gold Family on our trip down to Coronado for Thanksgiving at the Golds new home on the island. In the photo are Sunny and Tyson, Jahni, Kellen, Jonanthan(Mikes brother) Jack, Kat, Rose, Abbie, Hannah, Myra, Anastasia, Jonathan (who we call JonJon when we are with them to avoid confusion) and Bailey. They are all such a blessing to us and we are so enjoying having them so much closer. We all had a fantastic time of relishing our blessings of family and of abundance all given to us by God, our loving Father.

Here comes Santa Claus...This is the Real Santa, too. All others are merely Santa's helpers, you know. We meet him every year at Lake Arrowhead Village on our annual Thousand Pines Family Camp with Los Altos. It was great to share the joy of whole weekend with our church family, again deepening bonds as only God can. Each season with the twins brings such richness to our traditions. Abbie and Hannah are especially excited for them! We just love our big sisters :)

Note: I don't mean to make it sound like we don't have our struggles, because our work is definitely cut out for us, but the rewards are so great and God so graciously blesses our meager efforts. Any time I review photos and even as I write this blog I am reminded of how far God has brought us, when often times all I can focus on is how far we have to go.

Oh, Tannenbaum! Cut down from Gunthers Tree Farm on the way back from Thousand Pines.

Hanging the ornaments on was also a joy as each of us is reminded of our blessings over the years.

One of Abbie and Hannah's favorite traditions is our treasure boxes in which we get a treat and a treasure from God's word each day in December. All the scriptures point to the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It never fails to instill awe and wonder over our great God who planned from the beginning to redeem us because of His great love for us. Merry Christmas and God Bless Us Every One!

2009-06-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a long time since I've blogged!!!! So much has happened...We've reached a few milestones: Anastasia and Jonathan started school, Abbie became a teenager and Hannah promoted to Middle School! Also...our first family portrait!

It has been so amazing to see the twins learn to speak English so well and to see Abbie and Hannah become such awesome big sisters. God amazes us with his grace every day, giving us strength, love, wisdom and energy for the moment without fail...He reminds us that He has made each of his own, without him we are lost and with him we are alive through his Son, Jesus Christ!

Abbie and Hannah performed as Mad Hatter and Dormouse, respectively, in Alice in Wonderland. They were in the "tea party" scene together and really brought down the house! Abbie is laughing it up backstage after the performance.

Hannah's teacher, Mrs. Kwalk, came to the performance.

Performance night was also Abbie's 13th birthday, so we had a celebration with Robert, Terrie, the Bracco girls, Katie and Joan. Then it was off to the theater!

We are so excited that Mike's brother Jonathan (you may remember that's who Jonathan was named after) and his family are moving to San Diego from Washington. Here are Jon and Kat in front of their beautiful new home with the children.

The twins are so enchanted with all the fun stuff that goes on at a community school. This is "special persons day" with Grandma Myra. They were amazed that Grandma got to come to school, too!

The talent show was another of those fun events. Hannah did a dance number with several of her friends that was a huge hit with all the students, especially with little bro and sis!

The twins had such a fantastic school experience at Weaver! Here they are receiving Citizenship awards from the prinicipal.

So proud and surprised! Jonathan and Anastasia had no idea they were getting awards, let alone that Mom, Dad and Abbie would be there to see it!

Abbie's school year ended two weeks before Weaver, so she got to participate in all the year end activities. She is such a supportive and encouraging big sis!

Hannah's promotion ceremony was beautiful. She has had a fantastic experience at Weaver and has learned so much. We are so proud of her accomplishment!

2009-04-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

What amazing strides have been made since our last post! God is faithful to provide our needs and to show himself worthy of all our praise! This photo was taken while we decorated for easter. Not knowing what, if any, Bible teaching Anastasia and Jonathan had in Ukraine, we were not sure how to proceed in attempting to communicate with them about Jesus and his resurrection which we were now celebrating. They both were very enthralled with the spring pastel colored decorations and lights we pulled out of the boxes. They loved the personalized baskets we had made for them. They also were very interested in the crafts Abbie and Hannah had made over the years. One of the crafts was a watercolor painting with three black cross silhouettes that Abbie had made. I pointed out to them the cross in the center and said "Jesus" as I acted out dying by putting my hands around my neck with a choking sound and eyes closed. They recognized Jesus from "Jesus, amen" during prayer. Then they did something amazing: Jonathan put his arms out wide and his head down. He knew Jesus had died on that cross! Anastasia then kept saying "three" which I thought meant the three crosses, but she was not satisfied until I kept guessing. She kept saying "three" then she put her arms up above her head in exuberance until I knew she was referring to Jesus being raised from the dead! They knew this story already! They know Jesus! Look closely at the first photo and you'll see them acting it out!

What a blessed Resurrection Day for us to worship together as a family knowing that Anastasia and Jonathan were worshiping the Savior along with us! Here we are after church easter morning.

Jonathan and Anastasia loved hunting for eggs after worship at Los Altos.

God is our provider! We were put in contact with a very special translater who is a Spirit-filled Ukrainian woman. She and her family came over to decorate eggs and to speak to the twins about Jesus in Russian. She brought Bible picture books in Russian. Nastia and Jonathan were hungry for God's word and had heard many Bible stories in Ukraine. Praise God.

Abbie and Hannah have been so supportive and helpful with their new siblings. I cannot say enough about their big hearts. They have also been very honest about the challenges they face. Once in a while they need some space. We have learned that keeping the boundaries intact is crucial. More than ever we have delineated whose toys are whose and we've emphasized respect for each others rooms. Here Abbie is up early for the big egg hunt at home.

Hannah and Nastia were particularly proud of their egg creations! For the sake of the twins, Hannah has been wearing her glasses all of the time even though she only needs them for distance. She has been such a good example in so many ways. She has also come to an understanding about the 'down side' of having a little sister, and it has made her more empathetic with her big sis! I love her honesty and am so proud of how much she is maturing.

Anastasia has come such a long way since the last post! She is positively blossoming. We have more and more days of just delighting in her fun and energetic personality. Clearly fairness is important to her and the more she is convinced we are fair the easier it is for her to go along with the program. It also helps when we can explain and have her understand what is going on. Sometimes we have had to ask her to comply even when she cannot understand, (like at the dentist) Those are the most difficult. In those moments Mike and I have been very convicted about our own lack of trusting God when we don't understand his ways.

Jonathan is always ready with a smile! He is also blossoming as he settles into his new family life. He often empathizes with his sister and encourages her to comply. He is also blessed by her as she often communicates for the both of them.

These special cookies were sent by Aunt Sylvia and each one has their name on it!

Grandma and Grandpa Henderson came for a visit last week. Anastasia made an important connection as a result. Every time we talk through a translator, we are in the habit of communicating that we are their parents forever. After Grandma and Grandpa's visit in which we explained that they were "Momma's Momma and Poppa," With wide eyes, Nastia asked in Russian, "Momma and Poppa will be my Momma and Poppa when I am grown?" To which we answered, "Da! Da!" "Yes! Yes!" You should have seen the sweet smile that came across her face as that realization set in! It reminded me of the feeling I get when I hear Jesus say, "Come you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest!"

Jonathan, who likes to be called "JonJon" now thanks to our friend Todd Johnson, is often content to let Nastia do the talking, but we know he is taking everything in and is very happy with the reassurance and love he feels from us. Every time the translator tells him we are his parents forever, he just gets the biggest smile on his face and wraps his arms around our necks!

So much of the past month has been spent simply "nesting." We are getting into rhythm as a family. One of the twins favorite things is obviously swimming. We swim almost every day. Maggie and Bailey love to play along, too.

Every day brings new understandings on all of our parts. The language is coming along as well. The twins start school Monday. They both will require dental work. They each have 9 cavities. We are on a waiting list for them to be under general anesthesia for the the work so it can all be done at once. They also go for a follow up visit with the ophthamologist who will determine at that time when Nastia will have her surgery. It is truly amazing all these precious little ones have been through and all they still face to adjust here. We know God has brought us together and will continue to sustain us with his mighty hand! Praise Him!

2009-03-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

What a week! We got a great deal accomplished thanks be to God who is our strength and our guide! We had lots of fun and lots of challenges. The twins had two rather extensive trips to the doctor. One was a check up and the other was the ophthamalogist. We also played, watched dvds (their favorites are Shrek and Spirit, which happen to both be on the soon-to-be-revised official Rosenthal Family Favorites list) swam, played some more, kept up our regular routines of getting Abbie and Hannah off to school and back and to and from rehearsal and basketball games.

Most of the time Anastasia and Jonathan were both cooperative, but other times we met serious resistance. It was quite apparent after a couple of days that Nastia does not like the car and she actually fought hard against getting in the car, putting on the seat belt and getting out of the car. She has made great progress though. It really helped to talk to our friend Zorina who has been an interpreter almost on a daily basis. At least Nastia now knows we understand she gets car sick and we only take the prius and the van instead of the fj cruiser which has little visiblity for smaller children.

One melt down was particularly intense, but we all learned that Momma and Poppa's resolve is solid. Since then, the battles have come to a much quicker end. We can see her figuring out her new environment and testing its limits, and see the incredicble importance of keeping her world secure and predictable.

"Hydrotherapy" has also proven to be helpful for Nastia in particular. The first day we swam she was very tense and had a such a hard time that we thought she couldn't swim and even had a hard time floating on her back. By the end of the week, though she was swimming like a fish and very relaxed as she practice her back float. Praise God.

A lot of attention has been given to Nastia just because her personality it just so "out there" but Jonathan has benefitted so much as well from observing us with his sister and also responded beautifully. He is used to whining which Zorina talked to him about one night and that seemed to really help him understand. He is a very easy-going kid and loves to help with everything!! He also has the greatest smile and loves to give all of us big hugs!

Both of these children are so precious!!!!! God is giving us exactly what we need when we need it and we thank those of you who are praying for us. Your prayers are clearly being answered. God is also mightily at work through Abbie and Hannah. Their example speaks volumes! As does their love and delight in their new siblings.

Their doctor visits were somewhat surprising. They both tested positive for TB, which alarmed us at first, but after the chest xrays, we learned it is not active. They will however be on anitibiotics for a long time. They are clear for school.

The ophthamalogist discovered that Jonathan's eyesight is actually worse than Nastia's. Nastia's strabismus (crossed-eyes) will be corrected by surgery. The good news is she is using both of her eyes. That is very good since it will help her recovery. Both of them will wear glasses all the time. He also told us that they are still within the window of develpment and should have full recovery of the brain development they lost from the brain not receieving clear images for so long. That window closes at about age 9 or 10. Rejoice with us that their vision will be corrected in time to prevent permanent neurological retardation!

Please pray for their physical and emotional development and for their first day of school which will be April 20. Mike and I also need your prayers for wisdom and discernment as well as for physical strength and endurance. Praise God who supplies all our needs!

2009-03-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Homecoming was such a joy and a much needed blessing after a punishing travel experience. Our flights went swiftly from Kiev to LA. We were even able to get on standby from NY to LA first thing Saturday morning. The twins are excellent travellers we can tell. The acted out quite a bit, however. There were blocks of time (mostly on the airplanes and during transitional times) in which it felt like we were constantly doing battle. The schedule was rigorous enough without having two needy and overwhelmed children in tow, but with our average night's sleep being about 3-4 hours, we definitely were at our wits' end by the time we arrived at home. What a blessing Abbie and Hannah were to us at that time! We knew that coming home to two other children would be a tremendous help for Anastasia and Jonathan, but we had no idea the level of joy it would bring us all. Abbie and Hannah's faces were absolutely beaming with anticipation and love for their new siblings. There was plenty of excitement and love seeing Mommy and Daddy too.

We spent our first afternoon together just playing. Hannah helped Anastasia go through her clothes, all of which Anastasia loved! Abbie taught Jonathan how to play wii which he took to like a fish to water. Then there were pillow fights and tickling matches. Anastasia and Hannah painted their nails. They all watched Tom and Jerry on DVD. I think "DVD" is the twins first English word (if it is a word.) We also walked to the park and played tag. It sounds like a lot of activity but it was so soothing just to do normal family things.

The photo was taken on our walk to the park.

We had the playground all to ourselves.

Bailey appreciated Jonathan's gentle and easy-going disposition.

Anastasia is "all girl" and loved the ponytails Hannah did for her. Hannah and Anastasia took to each other immediately.

Jonathan and Anastasia discovered the scooters in the garage and took what we think was their first ride on them. Apparently there are no helmet laws in Ukraine, because the only way we could get them to wear them was to take away the scooters. It didn't take long for them to make the connection.

Both Anastasia and Jonathan had been eager to swim from the minute they arrived, so finally Sunday afternoon we heated the jacuzzi and swam.

Jonathan loved the bubble bath. He was even swimming in the tub.

Anastasia was so happy to finally swim.

Abbie and Hannah were at rehearsal, so momma and poppa got some bonding time with Anastasia and Jonathan. No one for sure who started it, but bunny ears just popped out all over!

Mike was (is) really sick, but was compelled to infalte his new boat and take the kids and Bailey for rides.

It was a truly blessed first 24 hours! One of the highlights which is not pictured was our first meal together as a family. We had mac & cheese, of course. The highlight, though, was holding hands to pray and looking forward to sharing with Anastasia and Jonathan the fact that they have been adopted not just by a loving human family, but by our Gracious Heavenly Father who has orchestrated the whole adventure from the beginning and who is being glorified in this small picture of his love toward each of us.

2009-03-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

First of all, we are all safe and in Kiev! Praise God!! Our exit from the orphanage was scoop and run...we will fill you in on the reasons when we are safely out of the country. It was a gruelling 12-hour drive from Donets'k to Kiev. We left at about 3pm and arrived in Kiev about 5am. The guide and driver were in the front seat and the four of us were in the back seat which was intended for 3. By the time the kids sprawled out to sleep, there was little room for Mike and me. We took what seemed like back roads all the way. It was a single lane highway with plenty of potholes to slow us down even further. In Kiev, we got about an hour sleep before we had to get up to make it to the doctor for the medical exam, and then it was right to the US Embassy. After lunch at Mc Donalds, we were able to come back to the apartment for a much needed nap! Mike wanted to take a picture of Anastasia sleeping without her purse in her mouth (photo) but when he tried to move it, he realized that, though sound asleep, the handle was gripped tightly in her teeth and wouldn't budge. This is no doubt how she managed to keep her sole possession from the orphanage without it being stolen while she slept!

These photos show some highlights of our first afternoon as new parents of these two souls. Throughout both the tranquil and silly moments was a realization of the strenghts that these two survivors come to us equipped with as well as the challenges we face in redirecting the patterns they learned in the institutionalized environment.

After a lot of tension, it was nice to break down and play 'king of the bed.'

Mike won the first match quite easily.

Round two two took teamwork on Jonathan and Anastasia's part.

But eventually their persistence paid off.

As you can see, the apples don't fall far from the tree!

Anastasia didn't want 'momma' to feel left out of the action.

'Momma' wanted Anastasia to know that when it comes to wrestling, momma can hold her own!

It's no wonder they're good wrestlers, they love Tom and Jerry videos!

2009-03-11T04:20:00.000-07:00

I have about 5 minutes to update you while Mike packs. We are leaving the region with the twins! We will be travelling by car to Kiev in order to remain under the radar. We've been told we have to leave right away and it is of utmost importance to leave the region with the children immediately! We have also been told we should not take a plane or train because of the manifest records. Wow! We may not be in communication for a couple of days depending on where we are and what happens. Please pray for all of us and especially for the children as we will take them quickly out of the orphanage. There will be no party or time for goodbyes. Thank you for all your prayers in advance.

2009-03-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

We made it back to Kiev and went directly on to Donets'k region. This is an old photo, though, because we had no time for photos today. When we landed in Donets'k we hit the ground running and did half a day's paperwork in the last couple hours of the business day. Also, our guide met us at the airport and dropped a bomb on us: Anastasia and Jonathan's aunt has been trying to "destroy the adoption process." Why she decided to do something now, we do not know. Mike thinks she just wants to be paid off. Because of this, we have been told that our paperwork has to be "perfect." The inspector we heard about is not just a general visit, but specifically because of this situation with the aunt. This is the real reason Rosie had to come back for this part of the process. Even though this seems like very bad news, and can in fact cause problems, we have been told that the process is far enough along that it would be next to impossible for her to derail the adoption. But please be in prayer, as we don't take anything for granted. The next couple of days are going to be huge, and our goal is to get the kids out of the country as soon as possible. We will not even be seeing the children until it is time to leave the country so we can keep a very low profile and out of sight.

We have a lot to be thankful for as our travelling could not have been better. We actually slept on our flight to London AND we slept through the night (5 hours!) in our hotel. We are not nearly as culture shocked or jetlagged as we were last time, thank you, LORD! Because of the aunt situation, our guide is determined to get us all out of this country as quickly as possible-even more than before. We have been praying for swift process...this isn't exactly what we had in mind, but whatever works!

We do know that everything God has done and is going to do as He crafts the six of us into a family, is all a testimony to His greatness. To Him be glory forever!

2009-03-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we are on the road again. The surprise of the trip was that at the last minute, we got a call from our guide saying both parents would be required to travel instead of just one as is the usual process. Rosie had a frustrated moment over not being able to prepare as well as she had envisioned for the homecoming, but after that just started packing! Praise God!

We are also thanking God for giving us a great flight to London in which we actually got about 5 hours of sleep! That left us with the energy and desire to do some sight seeing that we were not up to the last trip. Here is Big Ben, which is actually part of the large, beautiful Houses of Parliament (who knew?)

This is one of the views from Trafalgar Square. When Mike saw the first of many statues like this one he said, "Hey there's Paul Revere!" Thankfully England is a free country, so no one took offense to his mistaking an English nobleman for a colonial rebel!

Another view from Trafalgar Square is of Whitehall Street. We read on the back of a restaurant menu (our sophiscated source) that this street dates back to Medieval times. The architecture is so impressive everywhere you look!

Here is Mike with his buddy, Paul Revere, again.

Here we are in front of Westminster Abbey. Apparently we just missed the Queen!

Our mission for this trip is clear: bringing home Anastasia and Jonathan!!! Our prayer is for swift completion of paperwork as well as insight into our new children as they adjust to us being their parents full time. We are trusting that God will give us what we need. We know He will.

Our gameplan: We arrive in Kiev Tuesday and fly directly to the region. We should get custody of Anastasia and Jonathan immediately! The remainder of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we will be filing all the required documents: passport and visa applications for the children, US Embassy docs, physicals for the children and birth certificate finalization. Our plan is to leave Saturday and arrive in LA Sunday. Our airline tickets are booked. We pray things will go this swiftly because there are two girls at home who are anxiously awaiting the four of us and we can't wait to get to them and have our family all together! As the Lord wills.

Finally Home!!!

2009-02-28T19:41:00.000-08:00

My parents are finally home and I am so happy to see them. I really am happy that they are home. Mommy and Daddy are so tired! I am waching a movie with them right now but they fell asleep. I should go to sleep now. It's almost time for bed!

2009-02-26T10:20:00.000-08:00

We would like to officially introduce our new children, Anastasia Grace Rosenthal and Jonathan Ivan Rosenthal!!!! Our adoption was approved in court today without a hitch! Thank you, Lord! We now have a 10 day waiting period and we will come back to bring home our new children.

In court, the judge reviewed the childrens' case out loud. It was a great reminder of why we are here, and one aspect of the children's story was completely new to us: They have been institutionalized since birth! It was also stated that they were abandoned by their mother and never had a visitor, received a letter, package or phone call. The most moving statement was that "no one wanted them." The most disturbing thing is that there are over 150 children in this orphanage alone who may very well be in this same situation!

These facts make us even more amazed at the courageous and optimistic spirit of these two children and actually of all the orphans we have met on this journey. God bless them every one!

We have really learned so much in the past 3 weeks about how these kids live and their conditions. What we are about to tell you is what we have seen firsthand. This particular orphanage, we believe, though very poor has many loving staff members. With this said, the conditions in our eyes are unbearable. Today as we drove up the driveway onto the playground, we saw workers throwing raw sewage by the bucket onto the playground. Later that day when we dropped the children off after court, the workers had gone home, but the raw sewage was still there-literal human feces strewn across the ground with children playing not far away. We refrained from taking photos, but stared in disbelief as we saw it with our own eyes! We have been asked why we have chosen to adopt abroad. We didn't know ourselves the conditions here until we came and saw.

Tomorrow we head to Kiev. Saturday to London. Sunday back to our wonderful, courageous, generous girls, Abbie and Hannah. We have so many people to thank especially the Lashowers, who have blessed us in so many ways that we can't even start to say thank you!!!! Thank you to everyone who has made this trip possible and that God has worked through to provide for our girls.

2009-02-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

Praise God!!!!! We got an official court date today!!!! We are to appear tomorrow (Thursday) at 2 pm. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and that we answer well. The judge will be asking us quite a few questions. It is expected to be very routine, unless we tell them about the Cherry Pizza "incident," that is.

Tomorrow is also the day we will say "goodbye" to Anastasia and Jonathan until we return to bring them home. The interpreter will come with us to the orphanage to help explain what is going to happen. Pray for clear communication and trust that we will be back to get them.

Again we want to thank everyone for your prayers. God has helped us get through this time as he has also deepened our trust and dependence on him. Praise Him!!!

Please begin praying as well for the return trip and for a loving foundation to be established in our growing family.

2009-02-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

MURDER
AT THE
CHERRY
PIZZA
CLUB

Mikey was approached by Tardov while on his way to the restroom. You can see the note she slipped him in her right hand in this photo. The note read, "You will die tonight unless you take these anti poison agents. Someone is going to try to poison you and your wife tonight."

As you can see in this photo, Mikey slips the anti-poison agent in Rosie's tea while she is dreaming about the Russian Ballet.

Here Mikey is in conspicuously slipping himself an anti-poisoning agent. He doesn't know why but he trusted the Russian mole.

The next evening, Mikey disguises himself as Russian agent, Mikolav Mushka. He is determined to find out who and why someone would want him and his lovely wife Rosie (aka Rushka Bushkov) out of the picture.

Suspect #1: Olga the waitress

She had the opportunity. She could easily have slipped poison into any portion of the food. Most likely would be the soup she is pictured delivering to the table.

Suspect #2: Iryna the pizza chef

Who else would have a better opportunity than the one who prepares the signature Cherry Pizza, the would-be victims favorite dish?

Suspect #3: Butnik the Bouncer

Seen here just before he threw Mikolav out on his "butnik." Certainly had the strength and the stealth to do away with whomever he pleased.

Mystery Solved!!!!!!!!!!!

The Culprit: Natasha the Gelatto Girl

For the last 5 nights Roshka and Mikolav went for Gelatto after dinner. Natasha had ample opportunity, but what about motive?

Sick and tired of working in this upscale convenience store, and having these pesky tourists come in to order two measly cones each night, she decided to put a stop to this madness! Mwahahahahahahah!

Little did she know the owner, Tardov(the mole) was on to her. Tardov, wanting to avoid an international incident and to keep seeing the money come into the store, decided to tip off Moshka.

Tardov gave Mikolav and Roshka this secret password to give to Abigov and Hannov for their own protection. Watch out!

DROULTANGY

Good news is we likely will be coming home on time on Sunday. Our guide called us and told us that this most likely will be the case.

The bad news? We have obviously turned a bit looney.

2009-02-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

Our visits with Jonathan and Anastasia are each special in some way. Our time with them is progressively easy and comfortable. Jonathan loves things he can shoot. This is an airplane gun. He is getting the hang of not pointing it at anyone.

Here are Abbie and Hannah online at Jeff and Karen's. We have been able to talk to them everyday-sometimes twice a day-on Yahoo! Messenger or on the cell when that doesn't work. Our girls have been amazing through all of this!!!! We are so proud of them and we miss them so much. We know that soon this time away will seem like a distant memory. We look sooooooooo forward to that day!!!!!

It was a big deal for Anastasia to let poppa hold the baby doll we got for her.

We had some noisy fun with an accordian we found in the room they had us in today! The children have definitely had exposure to accordian music.

Anastasia loves dolls and she really loved this baby doll we brought her. She's feeding him peanuts! It is a very good sign that she knows how to nurture and display affection in this way.

2009-02-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

Here we are bundled up for the 12 degree (yes, F!) weather. Mikey brings the term "foxy" to a whole new level. And does he turn heads with that hat on! Mostly men, laughing and pointing (no joke!) As if they didn't have enough to ridicule Americans for already. He's nicknamed the fox "Chucky Jr." You'll have to ask his friend, Chuck Albanese about that story...

This is the latest in baboushka wear! We care little about the fashion when it's this cold outside, though.

Today we went to the mall. There were moments when it felt like we were back in the states. There's nothing like a hot chocolate on a snowy day. Only when they say hot chocolate, they mean it literally. It is barely melted chocolate you eat with a spoon. Yum!

The waitress was kind enough to offer to take our photo. For all the cultural differences, the people have been very nice to us.

Possible good news with regard to our documents: Our guide informed us today that we should be getting a court date on Tuesday. What this means is that we can possibly appear in court on Thursday, travel to Kiev on Friday, London on Saturday and home midday Sunday. There has been confusion about when we bring the twins home. After we appear in court it takes approximately 10 days to have the twins released into our custody. We will not be staying in Ukraine during those 10 days. Approximately 8 days after we land in the states, there will be a return trip in which the twins will be brought home.

2009-02-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

We have so many stories we want to tell but it will not be appropriate until after all four of us are safely home for good! To give you an idea, today at the grocery store, Rosie was clearly followed around by a man in some kind of official capacity who was reporting on her activity via his wired earpiece. When we went to check out, there were two additional men with wired earpieces waiting to follow her to the door. Mikey says he can't take Rosie anywhere now.

Anastasia is clearly a chocolate lover! We've brought other types of candy and she really wasn't that interested. Today we brough m&ms and did she ever guard that bag! She gave them out one at a time-if you were lucky!

Jonathan liked this propeller gun. He got a little wild and started pointing it at everybody, so we had to instruct him in the ways of peace...

This game is called "Attack and Tickle Poppa!"

This game is called, "Attack and Tickle Momma!" This was a very educational game. Anastasia and Jonathan learned that "momma" and "poppa" tickle back...and that we never lose tickling matches!

It was quite a snowy day. Here is the orphanage in the snow and the road leading to the orphanage. This town, Makeevka, is actually pretty in the snow. That is because the garbage is covered up and the pot holes are filled in...

We believe that the two older children are Anastasia and Jonathan's cousins who are also at this orphanage. Anastasia is clearly attached to her older cousin, whose name is also Anastasia.

2009-02-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

There was not too much action today. Mike is sick. Nothing serious, but not well enough to visit the children. We spoke to our guide and he said that the person who handles this stage of the adoption process at the federal level is sick and the person who is filling in is going to be slowing things down. Please pray that we will get a court date soon and be able to go home by the 28th. The time right now is spent just waiting for that court date.

2009-02-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

We are dedicating this blog to everyone who has logged on and given us encouragement while we've been here. Thank you for your prayers. These are the "groundhog days" as we are simply waiting for the SDA to give consent for us to adopt. Then we will be given a court date. After our court date we can go home!!!! Please pray that we will be given a court date very soon. Playing with Anastasia and Jonathan is fun as ever. There is more of an ease and less of a put on. We got a kick out of Jonathan throwing a tantrum today. Not too long after Anastasia gave us the silent treatment and left the room. Both of them rebound quickly, so it wasn't long before they were back to their playful selves.

Knowing how much Jonathan likes to play ball, we brought smashball today. Of course that is all he wanted to do the whole time...

We made up a new game. It's called "Boom!" We piggyback the kids and run into each other. Ouch! It is fun though.

When all else fails, there's always gymnastics!

2009-02-19T00:28:00.000-08:00

We've had many people let us know in various ways (e-mail, facebook) that they have tried to post comments and for some reason are unable to. Can someone please post a comment explaining how you did it? Mikey and I really want to thank you for your comments. They encourage us and remind us what great family and friends we have. Most of all we thank you for your prayers. We feel so blessed to have so many people praying for us as we can feel God's presence. We are praying that we will be able to return home very soon! We can hardly wait as Lisa Johnson put it "to bring the kids home to the incredible love not only of our immediate family, but to the incredible love of our church family at Los Altos." So Lisa, does this mean you'll babysit 2 weeks from Friday?! More photos later tonight...

2009-02-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

Another great day in Ukraine! The sun shone and the air was a crisp (which is a euphemism for "freezing cold!") 24F degrees. We took advantage of the fact that the car windows weren't fogged up and took some photos en route to the orphanage from the car. The photo of Jonathan with Mike in the "sleeper hold" really shows that Mike has met his match! Mike is icing his neck as I write this :)

The gold topped churches are stunning in the sunshine!
These are some of the nicer houses we've seen. The complex seems to be an abandoned housing project.

Aside from his usual ball playing, Jonathan took a zillion photos including the one of Mike and me and the group photo of Anastasia and her friends presenting us with some very sweet drawings of our new family. The close ups of their artwork are also included. It was simply another great visit. When we left today, Anastasia actually showed some emotion and ran outside after us to give us the two heart drawings! Jonathan actually waited around long enough to say goodbye!

2009-02-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

Today was the greatest day we've had yet! Thank you, Lord! Our visit with Anastasia and Jonathan was so much fun! We brought them some snacks and candy along with some small toys. We posted lots of photos to make up for the fact we did not get any yesterday. As usual, we start off playing just the four of us and after a while little friends come to join us. Playing with the friends has turned out to be a good thing. It makes Anastasia and Jonathan know they are special and they are so comfortable with their friends. It also gives Mike and me the opportunity to observe them with other children.

Once the girlfriends came to play the classroom turned into a gymnasium! Get a load of Anastasia's big smile!

Take a look at these cutie pies who came to play! Mike and I both were able to just play with the other children without dwelling on their sad situations. Of course we pray and wonder about it all, but realized that they just need to play and laugh and be held at the moment. Their lives belong to God, and we ask that you pray for them.

No matter what goodies we bring, nothing replaces good ole roughhousing, that's what Mikey does best! And Jonathan's favorite toy is any kind of ball. He can play for hours. Boy is Bailey going to love him :)

Anastasia found the nail polish I brought her almost right away. Anastasia's nail salon open for business. Check out Jonathan's face that just "happened" to appear in the corner (that seems to "happen" a lot :)

Rosie made a "cootie-catcher" for Anastasia and it turns out Jonathan loved it too! They loved reading the messages inside which said things like "Seestra Abbie loves you" and "Seestra Hannah loves you" which were their two favorites. When their friends came Anastasia and Jonathan showed it to them and they all wanted me to make them one. I made a few and told them tomorra "zaftra" I will bring more paper!

Anastasia loved the cashews we brought even though neither she nor the caregiver who opened the room for us seemed to know what they were. Anastasia gave each of her friends one each and then put the bag away. We had to convince her we'd bring more tomorrow before she would give them any more.

While we were in the classroom playing Mike and I noticed it was snowing, so we ran to the window. The children came to see what we what we were so excited about. They looked out and walked away. I'm sure the kids looked at Anastasia and Jonathan and said, "Your new parents are weird!"

We caught this rare glimpse of the sun as we waited in the car while our driver dropped off some documents at the Inspectors office. Our hearts are just so filled with gratitude to our God who cares and provides and transforms so ably, so patiently and so lovingly. Praise Him! Praise Him!

2009-02-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

The good news or the bad news? I always like the bad news first, so here it is: we did not get to visit Anastasia and Jonathan today. Our guide called us this morning saying the director of the orphanage asked that we not come today because an inspector was coming and that it would be better if we were not there during that time. We understood but were still disappointed. The good news: we had a really fun day just taking our time walking around the town (in spite of the 32F degree weather) and just hanging out together. This was especially good since last night we started to get a little stir crazy with the waiting and not knowing the next step.

The waiting and not knowing are very difficult for us Americans, (so we've been told) but today we felt like we were really just letting go of control and enjoying the moment! Praise God. Another great thing about today was the food! We had the best meals we've had since we've been here. We found great "hashbrowns" in the hotel cafeteria for brunch and a fantastic pizza place about a block away for dinner. Of course we had that yummy gelatto/ice cream as well. The photos are from the pizza place. The photo above is of dessert. Even though they gave us an English menu it was still a hoot. The description of the dessert was "pastry tubes impregnated with creamy and condensed milk." Yum! That beats another menu which had a dish of "potatoes fried in deep fat." We skipped that one. The next photo is Rosie tasting a juice which Mikey absolutely loved. It was fresh squeezed orange and lemon juice. Sounds ok except it tasted like pure lemon juice with NO Sugar! ;-}

This photo is Mikey with the pizza. It was sooooooo good! Very unusual too. It had pork marinated in cherry, tomatoes, peppers, onions and seasoning on a thin crust. Yes that is a maraschino cherry in the center. That's why the name of the place is "Cherry Pizza." The name is actually in English! Another reason we really liked this place was that it did not feature tv screens everywhere showing semi-pornographic music videos.

To give more of a picture of our experience here while we wait, here are a couple pics of our hotel. It's called the Liverpool and has a Beatles theme. As you walk outside the hotel and through the parking out to the main street you hear "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "Michelle, Ma Belle." We have yet to hear "Back in the USSR" though :0
These are life-sized statues of the Beatles found as you drive into the hotel.

This is the elevator made to look like an English phone booth. There are also Beatles records that line the walls and statues of the Beatles throughout.

We look forward to seeing the kids tomorrow and hopefully we will have more information about the adoption process. All we know is that we cannot leave until we have appeared in court and we do not have a court date yet. That is what we are now waiting for. Pray that God will use the time to grow us and bring us and our children into the next phase.

2009-02-15T05:06:00.000-08:00

Praise God for a day of rest! We went to the orphanage this morning at 9:30. We brought gifts and just played with Jonathan and Anastasia. Anastasia responded beautifully, sitting in "momma's" lap once again while Jonathan and "Poppa" played ball. We all four played ball for most of the time after that. We saw a whiny side of Jonathan when he insisted the ball belonged to him. We managed to explain the ball was for both of them and the trucks were his and the doll Anastasias. He didn't like that too much and got pouty, but we were able to bring him out of it quite easily with laughing and tickling. So adorable.

The children had to go to lunch, so we left for the day and spent the rest of the afternoon having lunch at the cafeteria in our hotel and shopping in the open air market about a block away from our hotel in Donetsk. This is our first full day without our guide who went back to Kiev to process documents. It is very interesting to order food from a menu in Russian. You don't really know what you are getting. That is why we like the cafeteria where all the food is sitting out so you can at least see what it looks like. It is still hard to tell what is in it. Mike ordered what looked like a potato salad with olives in it, but it turned out to be really fishy. EW! Our best food experience was the gelatto or ice cream we had today. Not like gelatto we tried once at home, but way better even than our ice cream, which is "fluffly" by comparison. Ukrainian "ice cream" is very dense, rich and creamy. We decided to make it a daily tradition, so maybe we won't lose weight while we're here.

The open air market is very interesting. They sell everything here! Cheese, meat, fresh (?) fish, pastries, toys, underwear, furs, produce...The fish stands are incredible. The fish just sits out in crates or hanging like in the photo above. We have even seen people selling fish from their cars on the side of the road. Sushi anyone? The flowers are also incredible-incredibly beautiful! There is an entire row of flower shop after flower shop, each filled with beautifully arranged, fresh flowers of all kinds. We will ask our guide when we meet up with him again where these flower are grown. We bought a few things and found the shop owners to be very friendly and patient with us. Notice the girl in the photo wearing the fur coat on the left. We would love to take photos of all the elaborate fur coats the women here wear, but it would be quite suspicious to be sure, so we don't do it. The women here typically deck themselves out in gorgeous coats and spike-heeled, long leather boots even to go to the market and in spite of the muddy, uneven walkways.

2009-02-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

The first photo is of the children inside the orphange. There are several colorful murals in the hallways like the one behind them in this photo. The photo below is of the outside of the orphanage.

What a day!!!! High highs and low lows! As Aunt Kat would say, "Connect the dots..." We are reminded of the biblical character Jonathan. Jonathan represented what true friendship and love are all about. The bible describes Jonathan and David by saying "their souls were knit together." Jonathan even though he had rights to the throne submitted to God's annointing of his best friend David without any hint of jealousy or rivalry. Jonathan in my life (my brother) represents the name well. He is my brother and my best friend. Because of this kindred spirit I share with my brother, we have named our new son Jonathan Ivan Rosenthal.

Several months ago, before we knew of Jonathan and Anastasia, we were building our new house and inscribed in cement our initials. We knew another Nastia who at that time we thought we were going to adopt, so we put her initials in as well. Knowing that we also wanted another child who we did not yet know, we put the initials "J.R." which stood for "Junior Rosenthal." After we decided today that we were going to name our son Jonathan, we then remembered the initials which now stand for Jonathan Rosenthal. Connect the dots. Anastasiya (pronounced Anastaseeya in Russian) made it clear that she no longer wanted to be called Nastia (the Russian nickname for Anastasiya) but wanted to be called by the American pronunciation of her name which is Anastasia. (pronounce with the ending like Asia.) We decided her full name will be Anastasia Grace Rosenthal.

God answered our prayer quickly and we will not be adopting Halle. She is a great kid, but is not available for adoption. Please continue to pray for her and her future. At this time we will not be looking for any other kids as our goal will be to get and Anastasia and Jonathan settled.

This by far was the toughest day and perhaps the most challenging day since we've been here. The kids are both very overwhelmed as you can imagine. We for that matter are very overwhelmed and know we are being sustained by God in conjunction with your prayers. Anastasia completely shut down on us today. She was just overwhelmed with the whole idea of this change. We mentioned (because we thought she asked us) fixing her eyes. This seemed to put her over the top and was too much for her to handle. Sometimes we have found it is hard to read the kids as we just don't communicate well at this time. This was clearly the case today. After our visit, it was clear that she could not handle any more and needed her space. Please pray for the transition of just getting home at this point. Pray that Rosie and I will have the wisdom to know what to discuss and not discuss with her. We plan on lightening things up over the next couple of days with puzzles, dolls, and cars and just enjoy each others company. Jonathan on the other hand is very easy going and does not seem at this time to display any discomfort with the transition. Anastasia on the other hand is a very deep thinker and truly is trying to process everything. Difficult day indeed.

2009-02-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

We know that many people are praying for us and we want to you to be encouraged because there is an abundance of evidence that God is hearing your prayers! Today's big news is that the head inspector submitted our completed report to the mayor for a signature. This step, we are told, commonly takes a week to 10 days. Praise God that ours was done in 1 day! Please continue praying that the paperwork goes smoothly as there still can be 2-3 weeks or more before we can leave. The other big news is that we would like you to pray about a girl named Halle who has an unbelievably bright, sunny, radiant personality. She is 10 years old and other than that we just don't know a whole lot about her. We have officially put in an inquiry about her. We don't even know if she is available for adoption, but if she is, we plan on pursuing her. If she is not our hearts are burdened with a desire to help her.

We were told that Anastasia and Ivan would leave the orphanage with absolutely nothing! So today was a big day for them. We got to take them out shopping for everything from socks to pjs to coats, shoes, and so on. The experience was very telling about their personalities. Anastasia has a very clear idea of what she likes and doesn't like, though she was a bit shy about it. Ivan was all boy, as long as it was comfortable he didn't care. The day however was very overwhelming for both children as well as for us. Anastasia is showing clear signs of attempting to take in all that is ahead of her. She is even asking questions about the plane ride home.

Even though the conditions are very poor at the orphanage and especially in the surrounding areas, this change is catastrophic in their lives. It will take some time to adjust to the idea of a new home. Ivan doesn't seem to be processing things nearly to the depth that Anastasia is, but is very eager to be loved.

After shopping for clothes we enjoyed some ice cream in the mall. (Note the movie poster in the background with Brad Pitt.)

This picture of Mikey carrying the bags is something he is definitely not happy about. You see, it seems to be a tradition in Ukraine that in the presence of a man, it is not polite or accepted for a woman to carry her own bags. Mikey said, "This is just great. Rosie gets to shop 'til she drops and Mikey has to carry all the bags!"

Most importantly, Mikey and I feel that God is growing us in wonderful ways. We realize that not only is He meeting the needs of children by the service He has given to us, but it has also been His intention to change us along the way.

2009-02-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

This is a long posting because it was a very full day...
This morning we woke up to an e-mail from Hannah. She put together this collage of our family using the blog photos from yesterday. She said she wanted to have a family photo to put up as wallpaper on her computer! Praise God for the way he transforms us and prompts us to great love like he is growing in Hannah for her new siblings!

This is a long posting because it was a very full day...

After waiting all morning for documents to be completed (more on that on the next post), we were so glad to finally spend time with our Nastia and Ivan! The director allowed us to visit with them in a classroom where we played Uno and LCR, looked at photos some more and just enjoyed each others company. The big challenge however was that our guide had to complete the document process and could not stay with us to translate. Never fear though, we had our trusty Russian language dictionary!

It wasn't long before Nastia's BFF Natasha came by to see what was going on and she joined us, too.

Not long after we got there, Abbie and Hannah called us before they went to school and they both got to talk on the phone to their new brother and sister. Nastia decided to take a picture of piglet and send it to Hannah! So Hannah this is for you from Nastia :)

Look at these big smiles as they begin to get to know their new big "seestras!"

Not long after that things got really crazy! It was so crazy in fact that we forgot all about taking pictures. While Mike was getting really silly and crawling around on the floor wrestling with Nastia and Ivan, a couple of kids poked their heads in. Then a couple of more until the doorway was filled with kids. Mikey started acting like a monster which of course elicited squeals of delight from these attention starved kids. We knew they just wanted to play so we went into the wide hallway and played duck duck goose. They all knew how to play, too! After all 20 (!) or so of them had a turn we went back into the classroom and played heads up 7up. This was a new game for them, but they caught on quickly. And don't kid yourself- every one of those little boogers peeked! What happened next is something that will stay with Mike and me for the rest of our lives...We knew it was time for these kids to have dinner or go to bed or something, so we asked them where the dining room was. Ivan and Nastia took us by the hand and the whole entourage of children walked us through the halls and down the stairs. As we walked, other children joined in until we were in a sea of children who were skipping and laughing and grabbing our hands, telling us their names and asking us ours and trying so very hard to communicate with us in some way.

A staff member told us it was bedtime, so they then showed us their bedrooms. We still are not sure where the beds were. We think they were in cabinets that pulled down from along the walls. We knew this was a very special orphanage filled with healthy children who were allowed to be kids and yet there was orderliness and tidiness in spite of the limited resources available to them. Mike and I would like to explore ways we can help these terrific and very needy kids.

Seeing all of the need is sometimes overwhelming and even discouraging. But when I start to get overwhelmed I remember a story I once heard about a boy who was standing on a beach filled with sea stars which had been stranded by a lengthy low tide. He was busy picking up the sea stars and throwing them back into the sea, one by one. A man was watching him from a distance wondering, "How can this boy think he can possibly make a difference when there are thousands of sea stars stranded on this beach?" After watching the boy for some time longer, he ventured over to him and asked, "Do you really think you can make a difference here, young man?" The boy simply picked up another sea star, threw it out into the sea and said, "It made a difference to that one!"

2009-02-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

In spite of a lot of waiting, we had a very productive morning! We spent the entire morning in the back seat of the car in the orphanage parking lot waiting for our guide to get the completed documents from the various staff members whose reports we needed. The orphanage is the large brick building with the large white and green porch. It is very large and the nicest building in the town. It is very old but neat and tidy. At the end of the day we got all of the documents needed from the orphanage and turned them in to the inspector. Our guide said he got done in one day what can take up to a week! Praise God!

After waiting in the car for hours (literally) we decided to brave the freezing weather and see what was around the neighborhood. Right next to the orphanage was a flea market. These stray dogs, which are everywhere, were hanging out there.

This is the entrance to the flea market as best we could figure.

We could have taken so many more photos of the poor conditions in this town, like the piles of garbage that are everywhere, but clearly the people are not accustomed to having people take pictures of such things and we got more than a few looks, so we decided these would have to do for now. Not all towns in Ukraine are this dirty, but for some reason Makeeva is. These conditions only make us more appreciative of the US and so happy to get Ivan and Nastia out of here!

You cannot tell in the photos, but the roads are terrible! Drivers literally veer into oncoming traffic to avoid the potholes which cover the streets. There are no lines in all but the downtown areas of the towns and even then there are very busy areas even in Kiev where its every driver for himself!

Our guide explained to us that people are just so used to ineffective community management that they rely on their own wits and don't complain- they just deal with it. We have not seen one person yell or honk at another either.

2009-02-11T09:56:00.000-08:00

Praise God who has brought us this far and "things could not have gone better," said our guide today about the process so far! We asked God to make it very clear whether these children were the children he wanted us to bring home, and it could not have been more clear! We asked God to make us all feel at ease during our first meeting together and all it took was for Mike to stick out his tongue at Ivan and the barrier was broken and the bonding began! God has heard and answered our prayers. Thank him with us.

Nastia and Ivan are incredible kids. Nastia has a wonderful disposition and took to Rosie immediately. She likes princesses and swimming. She has a beautiful smile and a sweet spirit. She is definitely the leader of the two.

Ivan's energy increased it seemed with every minute we were there. He has a great sense of humor and a great smile. He likes cars and riding horses. He is on the shy side but Mikey easily won him over.

We were told that neither Ivan nor Nastia was much interested in school work. It was obvious to us right away that the reason for this was their visual impairment. Both have astigmatisms and Nastia has a weak eye which makes her look cross-eyed. The orphanage is in one of the poorest (and dirtiest) regions in Ukraine and simply does not have the funding for their much needed glasses. There is absolutely no question in our minds that if they were able to see well, they would flourish with their school work because they are clearly curious and motivated.

It was while we were showing the kids our photos that we noticed how they struggled to see the photos (even more than Mike without his reading glasses!)

Looking at family photos was so much fun with them. Nastia and Ivan were fascinated with Abbie and Hannah. They lit up when they saw their smiles and funny poses-especially the one where Hannah has icing all over her face! They also loved seeing Bailey and Maggie. Nastia was relieved to know we no longer have rats for pets! The children did not know what a roller coaster or a buffalo were, but they had been to a beach.

Abbie and Hannah are going to be such great big sisters!

Talk about a sweet face!

After about 30 minutes we were asked if we needed time to think, but Mike already knew. They asked the children if they wanted to belong to our family. They both immediately answered "da." We knew it was a match made in heaven!

Nastia and Ivan loved taking pictures with our camera. Nastia took this one of herself...She also took pictures of the orphage director, social worker and psychologist who were observing. We could tell that though this is a poor orphanage, the staff were genuinely caring and that the children felt comfortable with them.

It was great being with them, however overwhelming the task ahead. We know God will give us a generous supply of his love for these precious ones so they will know him and love him.

Looking at these photos again tonight only increases our love for them and we can't wait to see them tomorrow. We will get to spend time with them everyday after school while we are here. From the orphanage we went straight to the notary to officially apply for their adoption.

As we drove around the town on our way to the offices and to the orphanage, we asked a couple of times to stop and take pictures. We were told, "later." So when our guide went in to the notary office Mike took the opportunity to snap a photo of what we saw all over this town. Piles of litter and trash like this one right outside the notary office in the quad were common. We could not even imagine how poor, dirty and depressing this area is. It is such a blessing to be able to take these kids out of this environment.

Please continue to thank and praise God for all he has done and to pray for the process as the legal work is just beginning. We ask for expedition of each legal step and for eyes to see what we need to in order to meet their needs during our visits with Nastia and Ivan over the next several days as well as for ever increasing love for them.

2009-02-10T08:46:00.000-08:00

We had a relaxing day. Our main business was simply driving to downtown Kiev to pick up our referral papers for the orphanage. As our eyes adjust to these new surroundings we're starting to see signs of life around us. The quad outside our kitchen was filled with children and moms in spite of the cold weather...check out the thermometer in the photo...

The photo of the beautiful building was taken in downtown Kiev. At first we thought it was the SDA because we parked and walked in that direction, but the SDA office entrance turned out to be like the back door of a very ordinary building.

Tomorrow morning we take a 1 hour 15 minute flight to the Donetsk region and will meet the twins. Pray that our eyes will be opened to whether these are the kids God has in mind for our family and that we will all be at ease in meeting each other for the first time.

We are thankful for your prayers. People from all over are telling us they are praying: from California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Florida, and South Carolina. We feel literally lifted up and carried along by God's spirit through these prayers. We have inexplicable peace about Abbie and Hannah while we are apart from them, which is to God's glory: praise Him! We thank the Cox family, the Lashowers, the Whitcomb family, the Laniers, the Braccos, the Millers, Kelsea, and the Johnson family, all of whom are working together to care for our girls and get them where they need to be as well as to comfort them while we are apart.

Tomorrow's blog should be informative and may included photos of the twins...stay tuned!

2009-02-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

Today was a very big day! We found a set of 7 year old twins, a boy and a girl, who were abandoned by their mother 2 years ago. Their father is unknown. They came available last week. They just seem to fit, and Mike and I both felt led to them.

Wednesday we fly to the region where their orphanage is and meet them. Their names are Anastasia and Ivan. They both have brown hair and brown eyes and were described as "not very big" physically but are at grade level academically. We were also told that they are active and healthy. Ivan has an astigmatism which is correctable with glasses. Anastasia has a weak right eye which is evident in her photo. We are told that this is often a correctable condition, but we also have come to terms with the fact that it might not be correctable.

God is growing us in that He accepted us in our imperfect state. We both were convicted that the outward appearance meant more to us than it should have. We have been told that the region they are in is one of the easier regions to work in as far as documents and court dates goes. Also, our guide spoke with the director of their orphanage on the phone and she seemed cooperative. This is all very promising. Right now we wait until Tuesday late afternoon for the referral documents to be completed. In the meanwhile we pray for our meeting with these two children.

These photos are taken from the kitchen window in our apartment here in Kiev. As we drove from the airport the main road was lined with apartment complexes that look just like this.

2009-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

We made it to Kiev, Ukraine without incident. We were met by our guide and went straight to our apartment with one stop on the way for groceries. Winter in Kiev is pretty much as we expected-gray and cold. The best word to describe it is "bleak." To put it another way, Mikey won't be stopping in any real estate offices on this trip. Our apartment is small and comfortable. We cooked pelmeni in the tiny kitchen. The refrigerator is across from the toilet (see photo) because it won't fit in the kitchen! We wanted to take photos of the outside of the building but will have to wait 'til tomorrow when it is light out. It is completely dark here by 5pm.

Tomorrow is the most pivotal day of our trip. Our SDA appointment is at 9am Ukraine time/7pm Pacific. Praise God that we have complete confidence in our guide. Pray for clarity for Mike and me as we review the information they give us on available children.

2009-02-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

Layover in London...We couldn't have asked for a more comfortable and convenient hotel. We really made the most of the ammenities and caught up on some much needed rest!

We can feel God's presence and peace. We are amazed at the way things have worked out with our girls and feel so at ease with having left them. Part of this is because of the way so many friends have been so willing to care for them with deep love. But even with that incredible support system, anyone who knows Mikey knows that leaving his girls and travelling for any length of time-let alone out of the country-is in itself a testimony to the transforming power of God's Spirit in him! I can attest as a witness to this power in the life of my husband. God is doing a marvelous thing!

2009-02-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

Hannah's Thoughts

It is the night before our parents leave for the Ukraine. In one sense, I'm excited to get a new sibling how cool is that...but then again, I'll miss my parents a lot. I hope God shows them the right child to adopt. I will kind of miss the times alone with my family, but I know the times ahead will be even better. I can't wait until they get back and they haven't even left yet! I just want to get situated and finally relax after long last! Check in everyday!

Abbie's Thoughts

I'm sad that my parents are leaving, but I know that they'll choose the right kids and that they are going there for God. I know that I will be taken care of and that I am loved by my parents. I'll even get to talk to them everyday! I pray that their trip will be safe and that they will come home safe. I am very excited about getting new siblings too (as long as it is not a boy.) I can't wait to go to Ukraine myself. My friends are supporting me in this, too.

2009-02-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

Well, we're off to Ukraine tomorrow! Here is a little background for those of you who just got bits and pieces of our adoption story so far...

About 3 years ago, Mike was overwhelmed with compassion for the plight of young teenage girls in eastern block countries who were trafficked into prostitution. The majority of the girls were orphans who had either exited institutions at age 16 or ran away at an even younger age. They were promised waitressing jobs at resorts in other countries only to find out it was prostitution. There are even organizations in that region which rescue and rehabilitate these girls from this heinous crime.

We soon realized that Mike's compassion compelled our whole family to minister to orphans and to find ways of getting children into homes before they fell prey to that devastation. After a year of searching and planning and connecting with various people who were very eager to help, all the doors we thought were opening closed. The whole time we felt we were being led by God, so when we received silence, it was a crisis of faith for us. Was it our own imaginings? Our own ambitions? Needs? We did a lot of searching and waiting in prayer and received a lot of silence. We chose to wait on the LORD.

About six months later (last August) we were contacted by one of our contacts saying there were 10 orphans in the US on a host program who were in need of homes and asking if we or anyone we knew could travel to meet them and consider adopting. Unfortunately, we already had plans for a family gathering in Los Altos, CA and began to decline the offer, when we were then told to our amazement that the orphans would be staying in Los Altos, CA! We knew that this door was now wide open. Since that time we have selected and lost several children, but the ups and downs have only served to cause us to trust God's leading alone as we now prepare to find the children we know God has already chosen to be part of our family.

2009-02-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

Mikey is getting ready for the big travel day tomorrow!
Mikey gets a long kiss goodbye from Bailey!

Our First Blog!!!

2009-01-30T13:51:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of our new house...