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!

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.

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!

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!!!

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!

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.

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.