Wednesday, March 2, 2011 (updated)

The focus of our blog will be to journal the events and experiences of our family over the next few months. Ahh, nice to have a focus!

We will depart for Kiev on Sunday, March 13th. After our meeting today with the agency we will set our airline tickets. The big decision will be how to configure those 7 weeks - do we all stay the whole time or does one stay and one go back and forth? I know someday we will look back and think it all happened so fast! But right now, at this very moment, uncertainty makes us feel like the days drag on.

Last night Lucas said - "Mom, I have so much pressure in my life right now. School (he is in second grade), getting my new brother, leaving my friends and teacher." Hard for us not to laugh and cry at the same time. When we first told him that we got the invitation he jumped up - all excited and said "Yes!" Then he ran to a big overstuffed chair in the living room where he buried his face. When Dave asked him what was going on he explained that Sasha had told him that in the orphanage kids get beat up for tattle-taling. Lucas continues to tell us that he can't wait to see Sasha but he is nervous about the kids in the orphanage part. We reassure him that our job is to protect him and that we will be right there, every step of the way!
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God Bless the directors (Zina and Judy)  at our agency in the U.S.! We had a big meeting today to look at the details our trip including offices, embassys and departments that we will deal with in Kiev. Thank goodness we have a coordinator and an attorney in Ukraine to navigate the regulations, language and culture when we get there. Oh - and a driver too!

On the way home from the meeting at the agency we gave ourselves the deadline of Thursday at noon to decide how to configure the travel part. Phase one of the process requires us to stay in Ukraine for 3 1/2 weeks. Then, 10 days later, the second phase requires at least one of us to be in Ukraine for 2 weeks and Sasha comes home at the end of that phase. The 4 options we are considering : A) Dave goes to US, Jeanne and Lucas stay in Ukraine. B) Jeanne and Lucas go to US, Dave stays in Ukraine. C) Dave, Jeanne and Lucas go to US, Dave or Jeanne return to Ukraine. D) We all stay in Ukraine the entire 7 weeks.
Tick, tock, tick, tock...