Hi Everyone,
Sorry the posts stopped for a while but as most of you know by now we are finally home with our two little boys in tow. The last days in Ukraine were as hectic as we expected but in the end all of the running around, lack of sleep and food paid off as we boarded our plane on June 27th and were homeward bound.
I think our last post stated that Monday June 25th would be the determining factor whether we would make it home on schedule or be forced to spend an extra week in Kiev. It all hinged on getting to the US Embassy on Tuesday so we could get the boy’s visas before it closed for a Ukrainian public holiday on Thursday and Friday.
The day started promptly at 8AM as our driver, Vlad, picked us up along with Olga of course. We were off to the Dniprodzerzhinsk courthouse to pick up the court decree which under Ukrainian law made the adoption complete and thus made us the parents of Master’s Lucas and Brady. The court decree was also supposed to be the quickest part of our day as we all thought it would take no more than 15 minutes to pick it up and be on our way. We should have known better I guess particularly since nothing to this point of our trip had been quick or easy. 2.5 hours later Olga walked out to find Andrea and I deflated. At this point we assumed there would be no way that we would get everything else finished so we could get to Kiev on Tuesday. Olga, in her infinite wisdom and with her unflappable confidence said “I will not give up hope until there is no hope left”. And with this statement we were off and running to the registrar’s office to get the boy’s birth certificates changed.
Changing the birth certificates is needed to show us as the parents as well as to formally change their names to Lucas and Brady. We ran into the Italian and Spanish families (and their translators) there just as we did at the courthouse and several other venues throughout the remainder of the day. The other translators would play a crucial role for us later on Monday – a role that would aid us in getting everything completed.
It is now 11:30AM and we leave the registrar’s office to head for a private notary (ruh-roh). The registrar told Olga that she needed to come back after 1PM to pick up the completed birth certificates. The notary had to notarize a passport application which everyone knows is just one more convoluted and unnecessary step to the process. Luckily the notary was fairly quick this time around. We were there for about an hour which in comparison to our earlier experience was a cake-walk. From the notary’s office we headed to the orphanage to finish some business with the director. We needed to sign some handwritten paperwork stating that we were picking up the boys on such and such date at such and such time. To no one’s surprise the orphanage was not ready with their paperwork so we would have to go back there later in the day.
It is 1PM now as we head back to the registrar’s office. Once again the paperwork was not quite ready but we were off to Dnipropetrovsk shortly after 1:30 with the new birth certificates in hand. Dnipropetrovsk is one of the four largest cities in Ukraine and we had to go to a “hall of records” type location to get the new birth certificates certified as legal and original. Can you say red tape?? Anyway this is where the trip gets interesting and the pucker factor increases for us. Vlad was off on a high-speed trek for Dnipropetrovsk. Earlier Olga spoke with a woman in the office down there who said “if we cannot make it there by 2PM then come on Tuesday”. This was not an option for us if we wanted to get home on Wednesday therefore we were faced with going 40 miles in 20 minutes – YIKES! The funny thing is we almost made it on time even though we were randomly stopped by the police along the way. We pulled into the office around 2:10 and I don’t think Olga, Andrea or I would have been surprised if they turned us away but thankfully that did not happen. While we sat and waited for a stamp on the birth certificates (yes JUST a STAMP) we found out that Olga had worked out an arrangement with the Italian’s translator to get the boy’s passports processing. Without this help we wouldn’t have made it especially since the woman in Dnipropetrovsk was in no hurry to provide us with the service we needed. 1.5 hours later we departed with our stamp and headed back to Dniprodzerzhinsk doing about oh a buck-ten (MPH not KPH)!!
We are now back at the orphanage to sign the paperwork that allows us to take the boys home with us. This took only a few minutes as they had all day to get everything together. Once we signed their medical “file” we were told by the doctor that they would be kept on file for 75 years… The doctor wished us well and she had a tear in her eye as she sent us on our way. Andrea also had some tears at this point as it was obvious this was all becoming very real now.
With a few minutes to catch our breath we decided to stop and see the boys. Needless to say they were happy to see us and very upset when we had to leave 5 minutes later. We had a couple more stops to go with the first being to pick up their passports. When we got to the passport office everything was ready for us, they just needed our signatures – finally a step in the process that was not laborious or unnecessarily delayed.
Next stop was the train station to see if there was availability on the Kiev Express night train for the 5 of us. We were in luck- they had first class sleeping compartments available and we purchased tickets for 2 compartments on the 11:20PM train.
We then headed back to the orphanage thinking we would drop off the clothes for the boys (remember they leave with nothing), grab some dinner, and then go back to pick up the boys. This was not to be. Olga brought in the clothes because we didn’t want to upset the boys again by leaving. 10 minutes later as we’re sitting in the car we see Olga and the boys with 1 of their caregivers walking towards the car. They are ready to go with us NOW!! The moment we had been waiting for was upon us - we take the boys, say our good-bye’s to the caregiver and head back to the apartment. Once back we finish packing and play with Brady & Lucas – they are absolutely wired. Olga still had about 4 hours worth of translating to do as the US Embassy required most of our documents in English rather than Russian – at least that is what we thought was the case.
Around 11PM we take an old, old taxi to the train station. The driver cannot close the trunk so we were worried that some of our luggage would end up on the street during the 8 minute drive but it didn’t. Olga told us once the train stops we’ll only have 2-minutes to get onboard. Imagine trying to find your car among about 30 and then hustling 2 children in strollers and 6 stout bags onto it before it takes off- FUN!! Anyway the boys were quite content to sit in their strollers and absorb everything around them. The train arrived on time and, everything and everyone made it on and we’re off to Kiev. The boys slept all the way while Mom and Dad and Olga did not!!
We were met at the Kiev train station by Sasha who’d drive us around on Tuesday. First stop was Valentina’s office to make copies of paperwork for the Embassy. Next stop was an English speaking doctor to perform physicals on the boy’s (required by the US Embassy). All is well, the doctor is quite chatty and smitten with the boys, Olga tries to hurry her along so we have time to make it to the Embassy but it still takes 2 hours.
With handwritten physicals in hand we head to the Embassy but first we need to have their pictures taken for their visas. Olga is not allowed in with us, but supplies us with all the necessary paperwork we will need. We can only take in the boys, our passports and cash- nothing else is allowed through the doors. Even with reams of documents in hand we still need to fill out about 4 different immigration forms in duplicate (1 set per child). All in all we were at the Embassy for about an hour. Everyone there was very helpful and quite taken with the boys. We were told that their visas would be ready that day after 4pm but we decided to pick them up on Wednesday morning just before we FLY HOME!!!!
Wednesday- June 27th - The day finally arrives for us to leave and not a moment to soon. We pack up, take the boys for a walk around Kiev, have breakfast at McD’s (only to discover the boys love vanilla milkshakes and French fries - duh), pick up their visas and wait for our ride to the airport.
At 1pm we were off to the airport and we arrived about an hour later – traffic was snarled in Kiev as usual so we had one last wild ride in the backseat of a Ukrainian vehicle. Mind you they do not use seat belts or car seats in this country so the boys were in our arms the whole way. BA just started checking in and the line was a mile long. After a quick hug and good-bye to our new lifelong friend Olga we head for the BA ticket line to get our boarding passes. We called on the 26th to get seat assignments so we should have been all set, but per the traveling norm something got screwed up and our assigned seats were given away to someone else. Luckily we still had seats but we ended up in the back of the plane instead of the front.
We have to say the boys are excellent travelers!! We don’t care to do this type of trip with them again any time soon, but considering we were going for about 17 hours straight on either a plane or stuck in an airport I have to admit they were phenomenally well-behaved.
We arrived in London and got through security much quicker than on our way to Kiev. This was a relief as the boys would not have been happy with a 1 ½ hour wait in a security line. Problems and delays were coming our way however as a mere 10 minutes before we were due to land at JFK, the airport was shut down due to severe weather. The pilot came on and said we are diverted to Boston where we would subsequently sit on the tarmac for 2 ½ hours. At about 1AM (Thursday) we were refueled and cleared to fly back to JFK. We arrived there around 2:30AM, cleared customs and immigration with no problem, picked up all of our luggage and strollers and headed out to see if we had a ride to CT. Thank GOD Gramma and Grampa Nolan waited it out and were there to greet us all!! We finally arrived at their house around 5:30AM Thursday morning. Everyone but the boys was exhausted but equally excited to finally be back in the good old US of A!!
The last leg of the trip brings us home to 1215 Falls Bridge Road!! We arrived around 1:30PM on Friday. Mom (Grammy) Donahue, my sister Jennifer and her family were all waiting for us. It was an emotional time for all as we were finally home. They had the house decorated with ‘WELCOME HOME’ banners and our house was stocked with food and goodies left by family and friends.
So here we are now – it is July 5th 2007 and the boys are doing so amazingly well that in many aspects it seems like they were born to us. The common and well-documented problems associated with adopted children simply have not shown up with Brady and Lucas – I am referring to attachment issues in particular. They are very happy boys – they crave our attention and we love giving it to them. Don’t get me wrong they have some bad ‘orphanage’ habits but what 3 year old doesn’t?!?!
So how can one sum up an experience like this – well it cannot be easily done. We have so many lingering thoughts, memories and emotions regarding the trip. In some ways it was the longest 40 days of our life and in other ways the time simply flew by. This was a life changing event for us and I mean that in many ways. On the surface bringing twin 3 year old boys into your life changes everything (to say the least!) but it goes much deeper than that.
First and foremost we have realized just how fortunate we are. We were born into families who raised us in a loving home. As soon as you step foot into these orphanages you quickly recognize just how many children have nothing – children who above all else need a family to nurture and love them. It is so sad to see these kids many of whom will never have a chance at a decent life. They will live out there childhood going from one orphanage to another until they are thrust out on their own at the age of 18.
As I said above this entire event has made us realize how Blessed we are to have the support of our wonderful family and friends. We thank each of you for your love, support and encouraging words. You got us through this - none of it would have been achievable without you.
Take care and God Bless.
Love Chris, Andrea, Lucas and Brady.
