Thirteen more days until we board the airplane! Yippee!!! Please pray that there will be no "glitches" that would prevent us from making this flight. I am pretty confident that Victor (facilitator) has already worked out all of the kinks that normally would have caused a delay...but with this country, you never know!
No major news to report. The kids hang out with me all day and go back to the orphanage each evening. We have no plans for today...maybe we'll go back to the beach. I'm glad I have sunscreen!
I probably won't post again until Monday...unless something major happens. I don't always have an opportunity to get on a computer here in the lobby. Anyway, Monday will be a busy day for us and I will have a better update for you then.
Thanks for your encouraging Bible verses, prayers, and encouragement! These things strengthen me daily!
Love,
Joy
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I think my pity party is over!
I know that I may have sounded a bit negative in my previous postings! I'm sorry about that. All in all...I am glad that I am able to spend time with these children every day and I look forward to getting them home in an environment that I am more comfortable with. The transition will be difficult for them and we are prepared (as much as possible) for that.
Victor (our facilitator) will be back on Sunday night. He said that next week will be very busy and I will welcome that change with open arms!
The boys have already arrived this morning and Julia and Jenna will be here around 11:00. Don't have any plans right now. We'll see what the day holds!
Love,
Joy
Victor (our facilitator) will be back on Sunday night. He said that next week will be very busy and I will welcome that change with open arms!
The boys have already arrived this morning and Julia and Jenna will be here around 11:00. Don't have any plans right now. We'll see what the day holds!
Love,
Joy
Sunday, June 24, 2007
God is good!
Thanks Sharon S. and Bev for your encouraging comment to yesterday's posting. I am so thankful that I can go to God daily for "re-fueling". He is the ONLY way that any of this has been possible and I know that He will continue to be faithful. In everything we will show them the love of Christ as we will try to impress upon them His character. I also can't wait to take these children to church! There they will find a fellowship of believers that will embrace them. We are so blessed to live in America. Please never take this for granted.
Love,
Joy
Love,
Joy
18 days and counting!
Hello everyone! Not too much to update you on today. I am beginning to experience what it is like to parent teenagers. Daily I pray for wisdom and discernment. I also have to realize that it is more difficult to parent them in this environment. They are in their culture, their language, etc. When we get home, they will depend more on me and Bryan for guidance. Anyway, we've gotten through a couple of situations just fine. The children, especially the boys, have not been taught how to reason/work through problems, rather they become frustrated, angry or sad. This is going to take some time to learn, but will improve as we learn to communicate with each other.
Jenna graduated from the orphanage on Friday evening (9th grade). They all dressed up, received their certificates, sang and gave speeces to their teachers/tutors. It was very interesting to see that some of the girls were wearing 2nd hand wedding dresses for their attire! Depending on their status, these children now have the option to go to a 10-12th grade technical school (provided by the government), or they will live on the streets...very sad. I must say that I'm impressed with the education and care that the children at the Berdyansk orphanage have received. At other orphanages (like Tokmak) the children are not so fortunate. Although Alex is now 10 years old, he has only completed 3rd grade with un-impressive marks. VJ has completed 6th grade with similar results. I think both boys will repeat these grades in America, but the language barrier will make it tough for them for the first year. I am certain that Julia will be fine to move on to the 11th grade and Jenna to the 10th. We'll have to see how that works.
I'm working on switching hotel rooms today. All day long there is noisy construction above & below our room...and it's getting OLD! Maybe the next room's A/C will work a little better!
I love you all!
Joy
Jenna graduated from the orphanage on Friday evening (9th grade). They all dressed up, received their certificates, sang and gave speeces to their teachers/tutors. It was very interesting to see that some of the girls were wearing 2nd hand wedding dresses for their attire! Depending on their status, these children now have the option to go to a 10-12th grade technical school (provided by the government), or they will live on the streets...very sad. I must say that I'm impressed with the education and care that the children at the Berdyansk orphanage have received. At other orphanages (like Tokmak) the children are not so fortunate. Although Alex is now 10 years old, he has only completed 3rd grade with un-impressive marks. VJ has completed 6th grade with similar results. I think both boys will repeat these grades in America, but the language barrier will make it tough for them for the first year. I am certain that Julia will be fine to move on to the 11th grade and Jenna to the 10th. We'll have to see how that works.
I'm working on switching hotel rooms today. All day long there is noisy construction above & below our room...and it's getting OLD! Maybe the next room's A/C will work a little better!
I love you all!
Joy
Friday, June 22, 2007
Bored in Berdyansk
I'm glad that we brought our portable DVD player, but I can only watch the same movie so many times. With all 4 children visiting us each day, the hotel room is feeling very small. We try to get out & do something, but there are only so many "free" things to do.
Victor (facilitator) will be going home to Kiev on Sunday, so I'll be without him for a full week. He will come back around 7/1 or 7/2. He found out that our court decree will be ready on 7/3...that's when the adoption will be official. We'll then stay in Berdyansk for a few more days before going to Kyiv for 3-4 days. I have already booked our flight home for 7/12.
Anway...sorry there's not a more exciting update to give you. We're simply spending this time getting to know each other the best that we can. All of the children will begin English classes on 7/16. They are excited and eager to learn how to communicate with us.
I plan to keep this blog going when we get home. This way, you can track our progress for awhile.
Thanks again for your prayers and your comments to this blog. It is so exciting for me to get new comments each day!
Love,
Joy
Victor (facilitator) will be going home to Kiev on Sunday, so I'll be without him for a full week. He will come back around 7/1 or 7/2. He found out that our court decree will be ready on 7/3...that's when the adoption will be official. We'll then stay in Berdyansk for a few more days before going to Kyiv for 3-4 days. I have already booked our flight home for 7/12.
Anway...sorry there's not a more exciting update to give you. We're simply spending this time getting to know each other the best that we can. All of the children will begin English classes on 7/16. They are excited and eager to learn how to communicate with us.
I plan to keep this blog going when we get home. This way, you can track our progress for awhile.
Thanks again for your prayers and your comments to this blog. It is so exciting for me to get new comments each day!
Love,
Joy
Monday, June 18, 2007
The verdict is in...
The judge approved our adoption today! It was a very simple process. We were asked several of the questions that many of you have asked already such as "why 4?" and "why teenagers?" The children were called in individually and were asked how they felt about us and if they want to be adopted by us. All said "Yes"...of course! So now...tomorrow is day 1 of our 10-day waiting period. Of course, there is a Ukrainian holiday on our "day 10", so we'll have to wait another few days (weekend) for the court decree on the following Monday.
Katelyn is really enjoying her time with her new brothers and sisters. If they don't understand her, she simply continues to repeat herself until they understand! She's getting really good at some form of sign language that seems to make sense to everyone.
Alex is starting to interact with us more and more each day. He loves playing card games. He is still shy about trying English words, but when he gets to America he will realize that it is a necessity! We look forward to beginning lessons with an English tutor when we get home!
Bryan left after court today...a taxi to Zaporrizhya, another overnight train ride to Kiev, and finally his 3 flights home...Amsterdam, Detroit & Raleigh. We already miss him very much.
Thanks again to all of you for your prayers! Please keep me and the children in your prayers as we finish out our very long time here. We are marking the days on a calendar!
Love,
Joy
Katelyn is really enjoying her time with her new brothers and sisters. If they don't understand her, she simply continues to repeat herself until they understand! She's getting really good at some form of sign language that seems to make sense to everyone.
Alex is starting to interact with us more and more each day. He loves playing card games. He is still shy about trying English words, but when he gets to America he will realize that it is a necessity! We look forward to beginning lessons with an English tutor when we get home!
Bryan left after court today...a taxi to Zaporrizhya, another overnight train ride to Kiev, and finally his 3 flights home...Amsterdam, Detroit & Raleigh. We already miss him very much.
Thanks again to all of you for your prayers! Please keep me and the children in your prayers as we finish out our very long time here. We are marking the days on a calendar!
Love,
Joy
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day to all dads!
Today is our last full day with Bryan here. We will miss him greatly!!!
We'll see all of the children this afternoon and Victor will meet with us to prepare for a big day tomorrow. We have much to do before court at 2:00!
Not much of an update today. Look for an exciting entry tomorrow.
Love,
B, J, J, J, VJ, A, & K
Today is our last full day with Bryan here. We will miss him greatly!!!
We'll see all of the children this afternoon and Victor will meet with us to prepare for a big day tomorrow. We have much to do before court at 2:00!
Not much of an update today. Look for an exciting entry tomorrow.
Love,
B, J, J, J, VJ, A, & K
Friday, June 15, 2007
To the beach...again
Yesterday we decided NOT to go to the water park. It turns out that it is a little more expensive than we thought, so we decided to save money and go to the beach for a couple of hours. All of the kids really seem to love the water.
VJ is a very sweet boy. He wants so badly to learn English so that he can communicate with us. He holds the camera to take a picture and says, "To say cheese!" He has also mastered our polite words, such as "please", "thank you" and "you're welcome." Last night he learned, "See you tomorrow." He always wants to hold our hand, holds every door for Joy, and insists on carrying bags for Joy. He quickly began calling us "Mom" and "Pop".
Alex is also a very sweet boy, but he is very shy. We are certain that his behavior is a product of his previous environment. It will take some time for him to develop trust and love. He will not talk to us, but laughs and smiles occasionally. Although he is 10 years old, I cannot imagine him beginning school this fall with other 10 year olds. He is probably on a 5- or 6-year old level. He definitely looks to Julia as his parent right now...and that is OK. She is helping him to adjust to a family. We are praying that he will quickly adjust and that he will trust us as his parents soon.
We forgot to tell you about the CBN Training Center for orphans. A few days ago we met Ludmila and Mikhail, a married couple who runs this center. We had tea with them and they prayed for us. Although we didn't understand the prayer (Russian), it brought Joy to tears...as does everything lately. The center is absoulutely wonderful. Ludmila said that about 50 children utilize the facility right now. They are working very hard to spread the word and get more children involved. During our 10-day waiting period, Joy plans to go back and volunteer as needed.
So today we will spend time again with all of the children. Victor has gone back to Kiev for the weekend and will be back on Sunday night. We will meet with him then to make a plan for Monday. That will be a very busy day with court and Bryan's departure. Again, let us tell you how wonderful Victor is as our facilitator. While we were in Tokmak picking up the boys, Victor stopped by the Department of Vital Statistics to check the birth records of all of the children. This is usually done after the 10-day wait, when the court decree is issued. It turns out that Jenna's name is misspelled, as well as the parents' names. Normally, a situation like this would set us back for another month...late August trip back home. Victor did some serious begging for us and the judge will allow us to have court as scheduled and the birth record can be changed without another court hearing. Praise the Lord. Victor said that we are very blessed. Amen!
Thank you again for your comments. We can't wait to read them every day. Keep praying!
Love,
Bryan, Joy, Julia, Jenna, VJ, Alex & Katelyn
VJ is a very sweet boy. He wants so badly to learn English so that he can communicate with us. He holds the camera to take a picture and says, "To say cheese!" He has also mastered our polite words, such as "please", "thank you" and "you're welcome." Last night he learned, "See you tomorrow." He always wants to hold our hand, holds every door for Joy, and insists on carrying bags for Joy. He quickly began calling us "Mom" and "Pop".
Alex is also a very sweet boy, but he is very shy. We are certain that his behavior is a product of his previous environment. It will take some time for him to develop trust and love. He will not talk to us, but laughs and smiles occasionally. Although he is 10 years old, I cannot imagine him beginning school this fall with other 10 year olds. He is probably on a 5- or 6-year old level. He definitely looks to Julia as his parent right now...and that is OK. She is helping him to adjust to a family. We are praying that he will quickly adjust and that he will trust us as his parents soon.
We forgot to tell you about the CBN Training Center for orphans. A few days ago we met Ludmila and Mikhail, a married couple who runs this center. We had tea with them and they prayed for us. Although we didn't understand the prayer (Russian), it brought Joy to tears...as does everything lately. The center is absoulutely wonderful. Ludmila said that about 50 children utilize the facility right now. They are working very hard to spread the word and get more children involved. During our 10-day waiting period, Joy plans to go back and volunteer as needed.
So today we will spend time again with all of the children. Victor has gone back to Kiev for the weekend and will be back on Sunday night. We will meet with him then to make a plan for Monday. That will be a very busy day with court and Bryan's departure. Again, let us tell you how wonderful Victor is as our facilitator. While we were in Tokmak picking up the boys, Victor stopped by the Department of Vital Statistics to check the birth records of all of the children. This is usually done after the 10-day wait, when the court decree is issued. It turns out that Jenna's name is misspelled, as well as the parents' names. Normally, a situation like this would set us back for another month...late August trip back home. Victor did some serious begging for us and the judge will allow us to have court as scheduled and the birth record can be changed without another court hearing. Praise the Lord. Victor said that we are very blessed. Amen!
Thank you again for your comments. We can't wait to read them every day. Keep praying!
Love,
Bryan, Joy, Julia, Jenna, VJ, Alex & Katelyn
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Today we brought Alexander and Victor (VJ) from Tokmak. It was great to see all of them together for the first time. We had our first dinner together and had to pull 4 tables together!
Alex, VJ and Jenna went back to the orphanage already because they are tired. We are spending some time again this evening with Julia. She is a delight! Her English is getting better every day and she really understands most of what we are saying. This is very helpful with the other kids.
Tomorrow we will go shopping for a few outfits for Victor and Alex. Then, we will go to the beach!
I'm sorry that we cannot send photos right now. We will have to send them when we get home in July.
Much love to all of you!
Bryan, Joy, Julia, Jenna, VJ, Alex, and Katelyn
Alex, VJ and Jenna went back to the orphanage already because they are tired. We are spending some time again this evening with Julia. She is a delight! Her English is getting better every day and she really understands most of what we are saying. This is very helpful with the other kids.
Tomorrow we will go shopping for a few outfits for Victor and Alex. Then, we will go to the beach!
I'm sorry that we cannot send photos right now. We will have to send them when we get home in July.
Much love to all of you!
Bryan, Joy, Julia, Jenna, VJ, Alex, and Katelyn
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Some ice would be nice
We will have our court date on Monday, June 18th at 2:00 p.m. and Bryan will take an overnight train to Kiev, go to the US Embassy at 8:00 a.m. and catch his flight back to the USA. As for Joy, Katelyn, Julia, Jenna, VJ and Alex...it looks like they will not be going home until mid-July...4 more weeks! Joy is missing home and is marking the days off on a calendar.
On Monday we took a taxi to a beach on the peninsula. The water was clean there so it was nice to cool off in the sea. The air conditioner in our room doesn't work very well. It usually feels better outside than in our room...and that's not saying much.
Carnival rides have been set up on the boardwalk and they are open at 6:00 p.m. every night. Bryan and Joy tried one out last night. Let's just say that it is not thing to do on a full stomach...or at any time for that matter. Katelyn tried some cotton candy that tasted like propane. From now on we'll just stick with ice cream.
We are happy to report that we will be able to pick up the boys in Tokmak tomorrow and bring them to the Berdyansk orphanage. The orphanage has room for them to stay, but we will have to pay for their meals. Their sisters are very excited to see them. Also, Bryan is happy that he will be able to spend several days with them before he goes home. We are planning to take all of the children to the water park on Friday. We understand that this is very affordable...120 gryvna ($24) for the family for an entire day! The price for food and clothing here is VERY inexpensive. A rather large meal for 5 people costs about 75 gryvna ($15)! As for clothing, although it is priced well, for the most part we would not wear these styles in America.
This morning we will take our laundry to be cleaned and then go to the supermarket for more water and snacks. These will get us through the busy days when there is no time for a meal. We will spend this afternoon with Julia and Jenna and we are planning to go to the Student Training Center, opened by CBN as a safe-haven for orphans. Julia goes there very often and is excited to introduce us to the people who work there. We will all have dinner together tonight.
We look forward to sending an update about the boys in the next couple of days.
Love,
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
On Monday we took a taxi to a beach on the peninsula. The water was clean there so it was nice to cool off in the sea. The air conditioner in our room doesn't work very well. It usually feels better outside than in our room...and that's not saying much.
Carnival rides have been set up on the boardwalk and they are open at 6:00 p.m. every night. Bryan and Joy tried one out last night. Let's just say that it is not thing to do on a full stomach...or at any time for that matter. Katelyn tried some cotton candy that tasted like propane. From now on we'll just stick with ice cream.
We are happy to report that we will be able to pick up the boys in Tokmak tomorrow and bring them to the Berdyansk orphanage. The orphanage has room for them to stay, but we will have to pay for their meals. Their sisters are very excited to see them. Also, Bryan is happy that he will be able to spend several days with them before he goes home. We are planning to take all of the children to the water park on Friday. We understand that this is very affordable...120 gryvna ($24) for the family for an entire day! The price for food and clothing here is VERY inexpensive. A rather large meal for 5 people costs about 75 gryvna ($15)! As for clothing, although it is priced well, for the most part we would not wear these styles in America.
This morning we will take our laundry to be cleaned and then go to the supermarket for more water and snacks. These will get us through the busy days when there is no time for a meal. We will spend this afternoon with Julia and Jenna and we are planning to go to the Student Training Center, opened by CBN as a safe-haven for orphans. Julia goes there very often and is excited to introduce us to the people who work there. We will all have dinner together tonight.
We look forward to sending an update about the boys in the next couple of days.
Love,
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
Friday, June 8, 2007
Happy Birthday, Joy
Today is Joy's birthday! We will spend the day with Julia and Jenna and, of course, we will have cake!
We recently moved to an air conditioned room. Did I mention that it's been pretty hot here? We have been blessed with a few milder days, but otherwise it's been hot. Joy would like to put a plug in here for Clinical Strength Secret (thanks for the tip TG)! It's good stuff!
Yesterday we went to the beach with the girls. It was nice. There is a water park not too far away, but we are waiting for the boys to get here before trying it out.
The Benson's, an adoptive family from Wisconsin, just left Berdyansk last night. Their 10 day wait is over and they can finally go to Kiev to complete medical exams, etc. We will miss having them around. They are adopting 3 sisters whose father is in prison for killing their mother. They were sent to the orphanage when they were very little, and their father refused to give up parental rights from prison even though he will be there for life. Four years ago the Benson's began their process and hired a lawyer to take parental rights from the father. Finally, they will soon be on their way home with 3 beautiful daughters (Sveta, Olya and Leyna).
Our facilitator, Victor, is in Kiev this weekend because some missionaries have just arrived that he works with each summer. He will be back at 7:00 a.m. on Monday morning and he has given us fair warning that next week will be busy. So...not too much to update you on today, but we will hopefully have a paperwork/court progress report on Monday.
Love you all!
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
We recently moved to an air conditioned room. Did I mention that it's been pretty hot here? We have been blessed with a few milder days, but otherwise it's been hot. Joy would like to put a plug in here for Clinical Strength Secret (thanks for the tip TG)! It's good stuff!
Yesterday we went to the beach with the girls. It was nice. There is a water park not too far away, but we are waiting for the boys to get here before trying it out.
The Benson's, an adoptive family from Wisconsin, just left Berdyansk last night. Their 10 day wait is over and they can finally go to Kiev to complete medical exams, etc. We will miss having them around. They are adopting 3 sisters whose father is in prison for killing their mother. They were sent to the orphanage when they were very little, and their father refused to give up parental rights from prison even though he will be there for life. Four years ago the Benson's began their process and hired a lawyer to take parental rights from the father. Finally, they will soon be on their way home with 3 beautiful daughters (Sveta, Olya and Leyna).
Our facilitator, Victor, is in Kiev this weekend because some missionaries have just arrived that he works with each summer. He will be back at 7:00 a.m. on Monday morning and he has given us fair warning that next week will be busy. So...not too much to update you on today, but we will hopefully have a paperwork/court progress report on Monday.
Love you all!
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Seafood anyone?
Thank you all so much for your comments. It is WONDERFUL to know that we have friends and family reading our blog and praying for us! Berdyansk is a nice city, but we can't wait to get back home!!! Victor has been a SUPER facilitator and has been working very hard for us, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. He told us this morning that we will either have court on June 14th or June 18th. We should know for certain tomorrow. Regardless, Bryan should still be able to make the original flight that he scheduled for June 19th. Joy, on the other hand, will be here for 3-4 more weeks...the 10-day mandatory waiting period after court will be spent in Berdyansk, then on to Kiev for medical exams, visas, passports and birth certificates for the children. Victor spoke with the Berdayansk orphanage director and she is allowing the boys to be transferred from Tokmak to her orphanage for the remainder of our stay here. We hope this can be done by the middle of next week.
Sabatini Family - We experienced the "dried fish" yesterday!!! YUCK!!!
For those of you unfamiliar with this "delicacy", Ukrainians love to buy dried fish, rip the heads and skin off and eat everything else. It smells awful. It looks awful. Bryan tried some to make the girls happy and he couldn't get it down. Joy simply refused to try it. Katelyn would hold it and kiss the lips! That went on for awhile because she was making the girls laugh. For those of you who know Katelyn, you should be VERY surprised that she even touched it.
Another thing that Joy is tired of...dill. It's on EVERYTHING. Oh yeah, and the salads here have no lettuce!
We love you all! Keep posting your comments!
Love,
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
P.S. After the court date I guess I can officially add 4 more names to our signature line!
Sabatini Family - We experienced the "dried fish" yesterday!!! YUCK!!!
For those of you unfamiliar with this "delicacy", Ukrainians love to buy dried fish, rip the heads and skin off and eat everything else. It smells awful. It looks awful. Bryan tried some to make the girls happy and he couldn't get it down. Joy simply refused to try it. Katelyn would hold it and kiss the lips! That went on for awhile because she was making the girls laugh. For those of you who know Katelyn, you should be VERY surprised that she even touched it.
Another thing that Joy is tired of...dill. It's on EVERYTHING. Oh yeah, and the salads here have no lettuce!
We love you all! Keep posting your comments!
Love,
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
P.S. After the court date I guess I can officially add 4 more names to our signature line!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Very long, but GREAT day...
Today started with our "0fficial" meeting with the orphanage director, the inspector, assistant to the inspector and the girls. It was a very easy meeting. The girls wrote their petition to the court which states that they wish to be adopted by us. They were also asked if they wanted to change their names. Yuliya immediately said, "Julia Diane Tanner". Zhenya wanted to take my first name as her middle name and she chose the first name of Jenna because it is similar to her given name. So..."Jenna Joy Tanner" it is!
We spent a little time looking at the library and crafts at their orphanage and then left for a very fast & bumpy taxi ride to Tokmak. It normally takes 1 1/2 hours to travel to Tokmak from Berdyansk, but our taxi driver got us there in 50 minutes!
The inspector that Victor worked with in Tokmak had never processed paperwork for an adoption before, so it took about 1 1/2 hours for him to explain everything to her. It is actually to our advantage that this is their first time. Victor told them that he needs their paperwork within 1 or 2 days, when actually (by law) they have 10 days to complete everything. Victor is GOOD! After he met with the inspector, we ALL piled into the VERY small taxi (6 adults and Katelyn) and traveled to the orphanage. I saw Oleksander (our youngest prospective adoptee) standing by a nearby tree with his head down, but a large grin on his face...it seems that he is VERY shy. We exchanged and hugs and then Vitaliy (the 12 year old) took me by the hand and led us into the director's office. These boys are precious and they were so delighted to see us. Yuliya (guess I need to get used to "Julia") had visited them and shared pictures of us. They indicated that they want to be adopted into our family. They were then asked to write their petitions to the court, at which point Oleksander started crying. The director took him outside and when she brought him back in, she explained that he was crying because he is a slow writer and he was afraid that we would not want him because of that. As you can imagine, I started crying and then assured him that his writing ability would not change our desire for him to become our son. We were asked to help them with their names. Oleksander chose "Alexander (Alex) Bryan Tanner" and Vitaliy will now be "Victor James (V.J.) Tanner". As you can see, all of the children chose names that are very similar to their birth name.
My heart was broken as all of the other children stood at the door of the director's office and watched as two of their friends were being visited by people who want to adopt them. I would absolutely take all of them if I could. Please, please, please encourage your friends considering adoption to remember the older children. They truly have no hope unless someone takes them out of their environment and gives them a loving home. All of the children followed us outside to the taxi, we said our goodbye's and then traveled back to Berdyansk.
Next steps...our facilitator, Victor, will go with us to the notary tomorrow to finish up the paperwork for the girls, and then we will have a little more work to do to complete the paperwork for the boys. Once that is done, all of the paperwork will be sent to Kiev and we will wait for a court date.
Love,
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
We spent a little time looking at the library and crafts at their orphanage and then left for a very fast & bumpy taxi ride to Tokmak. It normally takes 1 1/2 hours to travel to Tokmak from Berdyansk, but our taxi driver got us there in 50 minutes!
The inspector that Victor worked with in Tokmak had never processed paperwork for an adoption before, so it took about 1 1/2 hours for him to explain everything to her. It is actually to our advantage that this is their first time. Victor told them that he needs their paperwork within 1 or 2 days, when actually (by law) they have 10 days to complete everything. Victor is GOOD! After he met with the inspector, we ALL piled into the VERY small taxi (6 adults and Katelyn) and traveled to the orphanage. I saw Oleksander (our youngest prospective adoptee) standing by a nearby tree with his head down, but a large grin on his face...it seems that he is VERY shy. We exchanged and hugs and then Vitaliy (the 12 year old) took me by the hand and led us into the director's office. These boys are precious and they were so delighted to see us. Yuliya (guess I need to get used to "Julia") had visited them and shared pictures of us. They indicated that they want to be adopted into our family. They were then asked to write their petitions to the court, at which point Oleksander started crying. The director took him outside and when she brought him back in, she explained that he was crying because he is a slow writer and he was afraid that we would not want him because of that. As you can imagine, I started crying and then assured him that his writing ability would not change our desire for him to become our son. We were asked to help them with their names. Oleksander chose "Alexander (Alex) Bryan Tanner" and Vitaliy will now be "Victor James (V.J.) Tanner". As you can see, all of the children chose names that are very similar to their birth name.
My heart was broken as all of the other children stood at the door of the director's office and watched as two of their friends were being visited by people who want to adopt them. I would absolutely take all of them if I could. Please, please, please encourage your friends considering adoption to remember the older children. They truly have no hope unless someone takes them out of their environment and gives them a loving home. All of the children followed us outside to the taxi, we said our goodbye's and then traveled back to Berdyansk.
Next steps...our facilitator, Victor, will go with us to the notary tomorrow to finish up the paperwork for the girls, and then we will have a little more work to do to complete the paperwork for the boys. Once that is done, all of the paperwork will be sent to Kiev and we will wait for a court date.
Love,
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
Don't Hold Your Breath
We have not had much to update you on for the past couple of days. We spent all day Sunday with Yuliya and Zhenya. We went down to the boardwalk on the sea and played a few arcade games, played cards & watched a movie in our room...SO glad that we brought the portable DVD player. Zhenya's English is not as great as I had hoped it would be, but Yuliya seems to understand most of what we say to her. She sometimes has trouble finding the words to communicate to us, but she often helps Zhenya with translation. Zhenya had to remain at the orphanage yesterday. Yuliya lives in a hostel so she has the ability to come see us. She came to our room yesterday afternoon and went back around 11:00 last night. Both of the girls really love Katelyn and are having a good time with her.
Victor spent all day yesterday trying to obtain the chief official's signature so that we could go back to the orphanage for our "official meeting" with the inspector, the orphanage director, and the girls. The chief was in a staff meeting and did not sign the referral, so Victor is working on that this morning and we hope to go to the orphanage around 11:00. We will be there for 1-2 hours and then we will travel to Tokmak to hopefully obtain the inspector's and chief's signature on the referrals for the boys. At that point we will be able to go meet them. We are SO ready!
Can't wait to give you the next update!
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
Victor spent all day yesterday trying to obtain the chief official's signature so that we could go back to the orphanage for our "official meeting" with the inspector, the orphanage director, and the girls. The chief was in a staff meeting and did not sign the referral, so Victor is working on that this morning and we hope to go to the orphanage around 11:00. We will be there for 1-2 hours and then we will travel to Tokmak to hopefully obtain the inspector's and chief's signature on the referrals for the boys. At that point we will be able to go meet them. We are SO ready!
Can't wait to give you the next update!
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
Saturday, June 2, 2007
The Happy Reunion
Our "secret" meeting with the girls was wonderful! We went to the orphanage and obtained history about each of them...no surprises. They are healthy children. They were born in Tokmak and all four children were originally sent to the Berdyansk orphanage upon the death of their mother in 1999. In 2003 their grandmother and father died. Their grandmother's sister had the boys moved to the Tokmak orphanage so that she could visit them more frequently. Although the Tokmak orphanage is for "special needs" children, we understand that they have no neurological/medical conditions, but are very ACTIVE!!! We were told that the boys always behaved well when they visited their grandmother, and the Berdyansk orphanage director feels that their behavior in the orphanage was due to the fact that they had lost both parents and did not want to be institutionalized. She also placed a call to the Tokmak orphanage director, who indicated that the boys are doing much better.
After this information-dump, Zhenya and Yuliya were brought into Galina's office. The tears that I tried to fight back could not be contained. Zhenya said, "Mama, please don't cry" in her broken English. I hugged them for so long that Bryan had to ask for his turn! Katelyn is also very thrilled to see them again. We stayed for awhile, talked & played soccer & basketball.
Because Yuliya is no longer living at the orphanage, Zhenya will walk to visit her tomorrow and we will arrange another meeting in the city. We will go to the market and get to know them better.
On Monday our "official" meeting will take place, so we must act as if we are seeing each other again for the first time. Victor told Yuliya and Zhenya to think about keeping their names or changing it to an American name. We like their names, but will leave this decision up to them. They had a mother that they loved very much and who gave them their names, so this will probably be a difficult decision for them. They will tell us their decision on Monday.
As previously stated we will go to see the boys on Tuesday. Yuliya visited Alexander 4 days ago for his 10th birthday. She said that he is very excited and cannot wait to meet us...the same for Vitalik.
We will post additional newsworthy activity ASAP!
Love,
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
After this information-dump, Zhenya and Yuliya were brought into Galina's office. The tears that I tried to fight back could not be contained. Zhenya said, "Mama, please don't cry" in her broken English. I hugged them for so long that Bryan had to ask for his turn! Katelyn is also very thrilled to see them again. We stayed for awhile, talked & played soccer & basketball.
Because Yuliya is no longer living at the orphanage, Zhenya will walk to visit her tomorrow and we will arrange another meeting in the city. We will go to the market and get to know them better.
On Monday our "official" meeting will take place, so we must act as if we are seeing each other again for the first time. Victor told Yuliya and Zhenya to think about keeping their names or changing it to an American name. We like their names, but will leave this decision up to them. They had a mother that they loved very much and who gave them their names, so this will probably be a difficult decision for them. They will tell us their decision on Monday.
As previously stated we will go to see the boys on Tuesday. Yuliya visited Alexander 4 days ago for his 10th birthday. She said that he is very excited and cannot wait to meet us...the same for Vitalik.
We will post additional newsworthy activity ASAP!
Love,
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
Friday, June 1, 2007
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
The first thing I would like to discuss: You know that list that people sometimes make of things they must do before they die? The train from Kiev to Zaporitze should NOT be one of them. However, we did survive and we have de-contaminated ourselves...at least temporarily.
We traveled by van to Tokmak with hopes to see the boys today. Unfortunately today is some sort of celebration (Protection of the Children Day), which honors people who take care of children...so the orphanage inspector was nowhere to be found. The inspector must first approve our referral before we see the children, so we'll have to try again on Monday or Tuesday.
From Tokmak we traveled to Berdyansk...again the same situation. Nobody knows where the inspector is so we did not receive approval to see the girls today. However, our facilitator (Victor) has a good relationship with the orphanage director, Galina, and we will see the girls at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.
We were entering the Berdyansk hotel and ran into the Benson family from Wisconsin. They are adopting 3 girls. We hope to catch up with them again for a few meals. It's so nice to hear the English language! The Benson's were getting into taxis with several of their girls' friends and I heard one of them say, "That is Yuliya & Zhenya's sistra!" They must have recognized Katelyn from the pictures that we sent previously. I'm sure the news will travel fast and Yuliya and Zhenya will be waiting for us when we arrive tomorrow.
The next post should be an exciting one!
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
We traveled by van to Tokmak with hopes to see the boys today. Unfortunately today is some sort of celebration (Protection of the Children Day), which honors people who take care of children...so the orphanage inspector was nowhere to be found. The inspector must first approve our referral before we see the children, so we'll have to try again on Monday or Tuesday.
From Tokmak we traveled to Berdyansk...again the same situation. Nobody knows where the inspector is so we did not receive approval to see the girls today. However, our facilitator (Victor) has a good relationship with the orphanage director, Galina, and we will see the girls at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.
We were entering the Berdyansk hotel and ran into the Benson family from Wisconsin. They are adopting 3 girls. We hope to catch up with them again for a few meals. It's so nice to hear the English language! The Benson's were getting into taxis with several of their girls' friends and I heard one of them say, "That is Yuliya & Zhenya's sistra!" They must have recognized Katelyn from the pictures that we sent previously. I'm sure the news will travel fast and Yuliya and Zhenya will be waiting for us when we arrive tomorrow.
The next post should be an exciting one!
Bryan, Joy & Katelyn
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