Paris

We are getting closer!!! Kissed our beautiful and loving daughters bye and cried when we drove away. We made it to Paris - on to Kiev tomorrow! Thank you for your prayers we love you all!

5,000 mile journey starts April 26th!

(Kevin made a traditional Ukraine Easter Egg for his boys)

WE ARE GOING TO UKRAINE!!!!!! We got our call today that we have an appointment in Ukraine on the 26th of APRIL! I know Kevin hates when people use all caps and exclamation points but this announcement calls for an over usage of both...YAHOOOOOO!!!!! This is crazy right?! It almost doesn't feel real. Can it really be this close? Am I only weeks away from holding my sons?! I want to go right now in my jammies to get them out of that orphanage. It is so close, so real, nothing else matters but our children being together. Screw the laundry piles, the unpainted nursery (Kevin thinks my construction room for Max is too baby) the unpacked bags, I just want my children now.

To all of you who love us, pray for us, cry for us, donate to us, thank you. Thank you from the depths of my soul. The Lord has shown us so many miracles through the people around us. Your hearts have been touch by God and you listened and now look, you made a miracle happen. You helped us raise forty-six-thousand dollars . You are bringing two boys, over an ocean, across 5,000 miles to their house...to their home, to their family, to me. Thank you, oh thank you all. My heart is touched and I will never be able to express the love I have for each of you. To bring a mother and her children together in what seemed like impossible odds is a gift, a miracle I can never repay. I love you all so much. May God bless you and your families, we love you!

Put the tissues away because it is time to start packing!

Freaking Out!

Okay people we are freaking out over here!  We are waiting for "THEEE CALL" to tell us when to travel. We think it will come around the 9th which is exciting but the stressful part is how soon we are going to have to leave once that call comes in. Ukraine is actually plowing through paperwork and so the families that are trailblazing this process have been given a 1 1/2 to 2 week notice....I AM NOT READY!!!!! Yes, I am! No, I am not! So I am acting like a crazy lady over here and Kevin can't divorce me because we are about to have 5 kids!!!! I really am acting a little wack-a-doo and instead of getting ready for our trip by doing laundry or something more practical, I want to organize the pencil drawer. I am totally nesting. Ready or not these babies (I know they are 14 and 6 but they are still my babies) are going to be here laundry piles or not!!!  God is great and he must really love me because he has carried me every step of this journey, maybe he wouldn't mind starting a load of wash for me while he is at it!

Happy 6th Birthday Max!

To our son Max, Happy 6th Birthday baby. I have never held you in my arms but when I finally get that chance, I promise to never let go. We love you and are coming as fast as we can.

Our papers are in and we are just waiting for the call to come from Ukraine. We are thinking our first trip over will be around April 28th...see you soon sweet boy!

Really this time... .Our paperwork is done!!

(Suzy, Charlotte and Pearl at UPS)

We love Big Brown and Big Brown loves us! We received a request from Ukraine to send more documents...Uggggg! After taking a deep breath, we realized things could be worse. There are so many other obstacles we could be facing and we are so grateful how things have moved along, even if it has been slower than we anticipated. We re-gathered documents, went back to the State Capitol to have the final (I  really mean it this time) appostille stamps done and our last envelope was sent to Ukraine via UPS! YAHOOOO!

Now we wait for the Ukraine government to look through it, approve it and invite us over already!!! End of April first of May is our goal. We truly want to thank UPS for all of their love for our family. They have been outstanding supporters of our family in all of its various growing stages over the years. An outstanding company who has bent over backwards to show their employees they value families and support adoptions 110%, not just in words but actions. Show your support and call that boy in brown!

1-800-PICK-UPS

(Let me clarify.... to ship something, not just to chat)

My CPA Rules!

(Marvin Neumann, CPA being bamboozled at Applebee's)



The last form we needed completed, notarized and appostilled was our 2011 taxes and then our paperwork would be done and ready to send to Ukraine. Que: Music (Something grand and with a superhero, save the day, theme) Que: Marvelous Marvin Neumann, our awesome CPA and dear family friend.

Me: “Marv, I need you to do my taxes...today.”

Marv: “It is 11 o'clock (PM) and I am at Applebee's, I can't do your taxes today!”

Me: “Ok, I just pulled into the parking lot...I will follow you to your office”

A few hours later...2 AM-ish

Marv: “Your taxes are done and you are getting a refund.”

Marv you are the best, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!!! With that done, the papers were stamped, cried on and then mailed to Ukraine. We are done! It took five months,thousands of dollars, much love and tons of ink for notary and appostille stamps, but we are done!

We now wait for the Ukraine Government to go through the papers and invite us over. We are guessing our invitation to travel will be around the last part of April. The work of gathering and regathering all the necessary documents has been hard emotionally, physically and financially. We could not have done it without Stork (our adoption agency) and the other adoptive families who I have cried with, laughed with and drank with (Diet Coke.....for now). Thank you to the Murfords, the Gardiners, the Millers, the Bahrs, the Kochies and the Jolleys. To all of our dear friends, family and strangers, thank you for praying for us, thinking of us, spreading our story and donating to the adoption of our beautiful, sweet sons.

In loving memory of Grandpa Dick Maxfield who passed away Feb.13 , we miss you and are grateful to have you as a guardian angel. So happy that you and Sergei met this summer. Now grab that glass of whiskey and watch over our papers!

COLD IN UKRAINE (-20) BUT WARM HEARTS IN UTAH

Bunco winnings donated from Aunt Micki and all of her friends!

My sweet, sweet Aunt Mick has been saving her winnings from Bunco to donate towards the adoption of Sergei and Max. She has been saving since September and has had her sweet friends near and far donate to her envelope as well ! Once she reached $299, one more donation was added to make it a cool $300!

THANK YOU for all of your generous donations and thank you Aunt Micki for cheering us on!

I received this envelope of love (and cash) during a pretty tough week. It has been extremely cold in Ukraine -20 degrees and I can't stop worrying about Max and Sergei being hungry and cold. We were facing a  pretty long delay on our paperwork here on the US side and we were still short of our adoption cost of about $5,000. We had all been under the weather and working like crazy when Aunt Micki gave me this envelope. It touched me so much to have such love and support and to have strangers give me their winnings. It really did warm my heart and give me a second wind. We are pushing through the paperwork, sending warm clothes to the orphanage and working 24/7 to meet our goals! Our five children will be playing on the beach complaining that they are too HOT at Bear Lake this summer before we know it and I just can't wait!