Home and Happy!!!

Hello Everyone!
We arrived home on Tuesday, September 15 just in time for Savannah and Andrew to go back to school, an answer to prayer! The boys are in heaven as they explore their new home. They have been sleeping in their new beds(bunk)very well and for the most part the transition has been very good. I am ever so thankful to be home again with my husband and Luke and to have Derek parent with me these two extra Carlsons. As we start from scratch with basic training up in the Lord I have felt the prayers of the saints. It has been amazing to see how the Lord has carried us all the way back to America! Thank you all so much for your prayers on our behalf and I know we will need them all the more as we transition here at home! I'll post more later, don't have the time now.

Praise God and God Bless America!!

Lana

Got Passports, Train to Kiev Tomorrow

We have the boys passports and we are leaving tomorrow on the train to Kiev! In Kiev on Monday the boys will have medical exams and go to American Embassy for Visas. It is possible we could fly home as soon as Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. I can hardly believe we are this close, I felt it would never happen!!! I miss my family and friends so much and this is the toughtest transition time for us all. We spent the day at our missionary friends house and Denyce appreciated the company as her husband Rob is out of town. So we will say goodbye to this place we called home for almost 5 weeks and amazed at how the Lord has been merciful to us and answered the many, many prayers even being able to leave right when school starts!! I can't wait to see my husband and son and the rest of my family and friends!!!!!! My sweet daughter and son have been such an incredible blessing and I can't imagine doing this alone. I might not have internet service in Kiev so this could be my last post. So if you don't hear from me that is why!!

Again, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers, encouragement and comments! I look forward to them at the end of my day.

Pray for me to be able to get tickets to fly home for all of us.

Blessings in Christ,

Lana

Waiting For Passports

Trying to find things to do to pass the time as we wait for passports. Once we get them, off to Kiev by train, then medical exams and American Embassy for visas and Lord willing, fly home on Wednesday September 16!!! After a long, hot day at the zoo, our missionary friends Rob and Denyce called and invited us over for dinner. This is how the Lord is sustaining me. I was sooooo thankful as our flat is two rooms and it is hard to keep them preoccupied with only a few things to do and the language barrier doesn't help, but the boys are using more english words. George hasn't gotten back to me on tutoring, so that has been a bummer. Anyway, the much needed encouragement of being with english speaking Christians, who speak Russian and can talk with my boys was the boost I needed. We visited and the boys played with all the toys and seemed to be content. We took the metro home, all by myself, with help from Rob's directions! Today we will spend the day at Rob and Denyce's!! I am so happy about the plan!! Tatiana will call me today if the passports are ready, we have been praying it will be so. If not, they will be ready on Monday and we will leave for Kiev on Tuesday and hopefully arrive home on Friday September, 18!

Thank you sooooo much for your comments and prayers, I look forward to them as they bring me to tears, longing for home and all my family and friends.

Please pray for perseverance and expedition of paperwork!!!!!!

I love you all and can't wait to see you!

Lana

Officially Ours!!

WOW! What a busy day started at 7 am and went to Zolochev to get papers from court, then to Dgergichev to get birth certificate for Peter and then to Kharkiv for Viktor's birth certificate then to about 5 different departments for other various things then on to Zolochev to pick up boys! As we arrived the boys were at the door
in their new outfits, they were so cute-no longer orphans, but American boys!!!!! I signed lots of papers and gave the Director chocolates and cookies and juice for the children and said farewell! It was emotional saying goodbye to the caregivers and some of them cried as they said goodbye to the boys, but everyone was also joyful!!

After we left orphanage we had to apply for passports and get passport photos and photos for Visa. Kharkiv is a big city of 1 1/2 million and the traffic was horrendous, but we were able, with God's help, to get it all achieved and all our paperwork went to Kiev on the 11pm train last night!! This will enable us to be able to go to Kiev possibly this weekend and have medical exams on Monday and American Embassy on Tuesday and fly out Wednesday. If not, hopefully flying home on Friday next week! Please pray that our passports will be done this Friday.

Back to yesterday, sorry for the jumbled entries but all the kids are up and trying to get this done. We capped off the night at McDonalds at about 8pm. They were so excited to have Happy Meals, they have only been there once. Before we headed to our flat they played on the toys at McDonald's. I was so tired and had a splitting headache. Ukrainians don't stop for food so we went all day in about 90 degree temps with no water or food and no air conditioning. The boys were so hyper and into everything when we got here to our flat. They would not settle down. Finally after about 200 no's and very firm demeanor they got into bed but would not go to sleep until I got into bed with them. I hardly slept a wink, but they did!!

Anyway, happy to have that day over!! George will come tomorrow and tutor and today I am getting these kids out of here to go to the zoo!

Please pray for Peter's eye (infection) I got antibitics last night for him. Also we need prayer for expedition for passports and for me to parent these little ones in a way that pleases the Lord and will be affective for them and Us!!

Love in Christ,

Lana

I will fix pictures tomorrow!!!

Last Night At The Orphanage!

Today the boys asked a lot of questions about what we will do tomorrow. This is their last night at the orphanage! They seem excited to go with us tomorrow. Tatiana, our facilitor, said I couldn't take Sav and Drew tomorrow so they will spend the day at Rob and Denyce's(missionaries).George has never had banana bread so Savannah will make him her killer banana bread over at Denyce's. Our day will start early, 7:00am- that's early for us here in Ukraine. First, we will head to Zolochev(orphanage town) for some papers and then to Dgergachev where one of the boys was born and then to Kharikiv where the other was born for birth certificates. The new birth certificates will have Derek and I as their parents! Isn't that crazy? Then back to Zolochev to pick up boys and take them to apply for passports and get their photos!!! This will be an all day adventure traveling at least 150 mies. Today we took them their own outfits to wear tomorrow,as I have said before,the clothes they wear are owned by the orphanage. Also, we brought 2 backpacks with us, one of them we bring with us everyday. I told Viktor he could have the pack we have brought everyday, it is Drew's pack and it looks brand new,( 2 yrs old LL BEAN lizards all over it)he has taken ownership of the pack& that is goodasthey haven't seemed to respect gifts very much. I told them we would be doing some fun things as we wait for the passports to be processed(one week), like going to McDonald's. They have only been once when they were in the orphanage in Kharkiv last year. So today they said, "Can we go to McDonald's tomorrow?" Of course!! I can't think of a time when I will be this happy to take my children to McDonald's!! There are many things to do here and George said he will be glad to help us. So the plan is for him to tutor in our flat in the mornings for one hour and then off to the park etc. Here in Kharkiv they have a Dolphinariam that's what they call it. It is a show with Dolphins and also they have a large zoo.

Peter has pink eye or an infection that has made his eye all red and puffy. They are treating it somehow, but it has gotten worse. I told George that he needs antibiotics and he said they wouldn't give this to him until a last resort. I can't wait for Dr. Crawford to take a look at him. When we arrived today Viktor had caught a mouse and Savannah about lost it!!! She hates mice! I told Viktor what the mice do to the cherry trees during the winter, how they eat the roots and kill the trees. I explained that we have to spread poison to help control the mice population and protect the trees. Viktor said I will help Derek spread the poison. These are all signs of him bonding to our family. Both the boys sit close to me and they seem more and more like they fit right in with us. Viktor loves Savannah, he is always enticing her to chase him.

All I can say is the Lord is so good to His people and we are so blessed to be able to bring these boys home with us as new members of our family!!

Thank you for your concern and prayers for us!!

Blessings,

Lana

Under The Weather A Bit

Hello Everyone! I caught what Peter had and haven't felt very good today, so we didn't see the boys. I asked George to let the orphanage know. They don't use the word "orphanage" in Ukraine. It is called a children's house. They always look at you strange when you say orphanage. Russian cannot be completely translated word for word into english. I asked George(our driver) to tutor the boys next week while we are here in the flat waiting for the passports. He was delighted to do so! I am so happy. George is really good with the boys and I will write down some phrases that the boys will need once we leave that they can be working on. The American dollar is going up, it is almost 9 to 1. When we arrived it was 8 ghrivnas to 1 dollar. The economy is not very good here in Ukraine. Hence, we continue to enjoy low cost meals for dinner!!!
Another thing we are loving is chocolate-especially Drew! European chocolate is the best! So tomorrow the boys will spend their last night as orphans!!! Praise the Lord! We cannot wait to bring them home. Some of our conversations lately with George have been about Washington state. I am so thankful for the beautiful place in which we live, actually the amazing country we call our own. Our friendship has grown with George and I am convincing him to visit us. He says he misses Derek and Luke too! So my point is, I have been intentionally trying not to think about home ,so as to avoid homesickness, but as we started to tell George about all things we would show him when he visits, I longed for USA!
Many of you have not been able to post a comment-sorry about that! When I followed other people's blogs I had the same problem. I kept on trying and sometimes it would finally work. Blogger must have a problem with this. Thanks Carole,Tracy and Julia for your comments and also Sandi!!! Love you all and I am so thankful for the people the Lord has blessed our family with!! Tuesday, September 8 is the transition date and the first night they will spend with us-Please pray for them as they leave what they have known for 2 years and become Carlson's!

Blessings,

Lana

Only 3 More Days!

Yesterday we didn't see boys because our driver had a wedding. We did laundry, played games and took a walk to the square and also a sroll through the park. Andrew found a playground and also met some new friends. One of the boys could speak english and invited Drew to play with them. It started to rain so we headed back, but not before we stopped to pick up items for dinner. At a little store on the main street we bought fresh veggies and fruits. Four zucchini, 8 cucumbers, 5 bananas, 1 liter of 100% nectarine juice, 6 tomatoes and 1 packet of seasoning all for under three dollars! We cooked up some penne pasta, fresh basil, fresh tomato, salami, olive oil and some seasoning and voila! this along with a cucumber salad and it was a delicious northwest dinner!! It tasted so delicious as you cannot buy anything in restaurants like this. Europeans go to the market everyday to buy fresh bread and a few items they need for dinner. I can understand as they don't bake like we do and so many here in Kharkiv live in apartment buildings up several floors without elevators. Couldn't really go to Costco and back up your car to the building and take 10 trips up and down. The boys seem more like mine everyday. Drew played hide and seek for hours with them outside. On Tuesday, September 8 after we get their new birth certificates and passport applications done, we will take them with us forever!!!!!! Viktor has been so happy as he plays and spends time with us. Peter seems to be bonding a bit more. I know that it is the prayers of so many people for us here in Ukraine that is making the difference in this amazing journey of adoption. I never would of thought 5 years ago that we would be doing this....amazing! Thank you, thank you everyone for your support and love. Can't wait to bring these precious boys home.

Blessings,

Lsna

Countdown to September 8!

We are just counting down the days until Tuesday Sept 8 when we'll get birth certificates, apply for passports and pick up the boys at the orphanage!!! They will stay with us for the first time on Tuesday evening and we'll stay for another week waiting for the passports to be processed. Please pray for an easy transition for all of us! Tonight we spent the evening at Lucy and Mike's(one of the missionary families) house for a small group time. How wonderful to sing God's word and be around all their cute kids! They also sang songs in Russian while we just observed. The windows were open so hopefully neighbors could hear the singing in their language! Peter is better. Some of the othere kids in the orphanage are sick now. I'm praying we all stay well. More trips to the snack shack for Drew as Viktor cheered him on! Tonight we borrowed Dominoes from Lucy and we will take that for us to play with the boys. Thanks for your comments! Especially hearing from Darla was exciting!! Can't wait to talk to you!!

Blessings love you all!!

Lana

Cold and Rainy....Again!

It sure doesn't feel like Wenatchee with the weather- it is cold and rainy still here in Ukraine. Just another day in the orphanage visiting with Viktor. Peter is still sick with fever and sore throat. No more texting for us. AT&T didn't put us on the international plan like I set up before we left, so our bill is way too much and Derek is working with them to get it all figured out!!

Tatiana told us today she is working like crazy to get us to Kiev by Sept 15 and we'll have to be there for 3 days before flying home. Tuesday Sept 8 we'll obtain the birth certificates and apply for passports and pick up the boys at the orphanage!!!!!! They will spend the night with us for the first time! Derek and I thought about sending Savannah and Drew home on Sept 10, our original return date, but Derek really didn't feel comfortable doing it. So, they will remain here with me and continue to be my support.(Plus I love being with my kids) I have 2 full sets of clothes for the boys and one pair of shoes for each of them. The clothes in small shops and markets are of low quality so I didn't want to spend too much money on them but I will have to buy more as we will be here in Kharkiv for one week and a few days in Kiev. They won't be taking anything with them from orphanage, they don't own anything. We will have to bring clothes with us on Tuesday to pick them up. Some orphanages have going away parties for children, but I'm not sure if that will happen here. When we come to visit we stay out of the way and under the radar. Drew went on his cookie buying adventure across the street and Viktor now expects it! That is okay as we like to bring the boys a little something everyday. Peter asked for a tablet and pen so we brought those for the boys today. Viktor immediately started drawing. The boys are very close, which I'm very thankful. Viktor was in and out of the sick room where Peter was today. Viktor talked to Derek and he was so happy-he wasn't shy at all he took the phone and said, "Derrrek, Derrrek!(with his Russian accent-rolling of the R's)I told Viktor what to say in english and he copied me! He is getting to know more english words but it is still very hard to communicate without a translator. Yea for George our driver/translator! For any families waiting to adopt from Ukraine I would love to communicate via email or telephone! Leave your email on our blog and I will get back to you.
This is such an amazing journey that we have been on and I am humbled by God's grace to us while here in Ukraine. We have been overwhelmed by the wonderful people who have made this experience unforgettable. I pray that many would submit to the calling of adoption as there are so many precious children that need mommies and daddies here is Ukraine. Please pray for Peter to get well and the processing of our passports goes very fast!!!

Blessings,

Lana

Cold and Rainy!!

Our visit with the boys was very good today. They are getting more comfortable around us all the time. UNO and I Spy books continue to be the games of choice! Viktor talked like crazy today using some english but mostly in Russian. When George isn't around we can still communicate a little. Across the street from the orphanage is a little shack, and I mean a shack. Two days ago we found out it was a little shop that sells cookies, ice cream, chips etc. Drew got ice cream for everyone yesterday and today Viktor said, "Andrew cookies please", so of course Drew went down to the snack shack and bought .25 cents worth of cookies which was enough for 5 people to have several cookies each. Food is very inexepensive here. When we came back after lunch Peter had spiked a fever of 102! We stayed outside (that is what we do everyday)unless it starts to rain, which today it did-it poured! Viktor said he wanted to talk to Derek, I had promised to call Derek today, so we tried and only got voicemail. Viktor left a message. It was so cute to hear him talk in english. Actually, we tried Derek at home first and Viktor talked to Luke for a minute. My mom helped Luke move from his room into the guest room! Luke's old room has bunkbeds so it will work perfect for the boys! Apparently Luke loves his new room! Thanks Mom!! Peter's fever came down with some medicine and he seemed to be doing fine, but I decided to get us out of there-I want to stay well!!

We picked up some beautiful lilies for the Director today as it was my, "Please forgive my boys." They boys took apart the squishy, stretchy spiders we brought them and proceeded to throw them on the ceiling. It is really fun because the stuff sticks to walls. They made a mess so we are banned from giving them anything. She was very happy about the floweres and gave me a hug and kiss. She personally decorated and designed this orphanage and it is very nice. I wasn't too happy with this behavior but I already have 2 other boys and just like Drew said one time, "It just looked like so much fun", after the question, "What were you thinking?" Viktor and Peter have only one more week there.

This is the timeframe for our departure:
September 5th- 10 day waiting period is over, but can't get boys until we get new birth certificates which won't happen until office is open Tuesday, Sept. 8 and apply for passports hopefully on that day. It will take at least one week for passports. Leave for Kiev after get passports and have medical exams and visit to American Embassy- all fly home!!! So please pray for passports to be ready soon as possible.

I really look forward to comments from everyone!!! They keep me uplifted and going!!

Thanks Annette,Lori, Mom and Natalie! Also, Lori thanks for having Derek and Luke over and Mom for taking care of Derek and Luke too. Love you all so much!

Lana

Only Savannah,Andrew and I

Derek and Luke flew out of Kiev this morning and should be arriving into Seattle in about an hour!! We miss them already and so do the boys. Peter said "Why did Derek have to leave?" This morning we went to the open air market, it is the largest in Europe. You can find everything from meats,nuts,veggies, fruits, honey, milk, cheeses,clothes,shoes, books etc. So we loaded up on fresh veggies and fruits and got the boys some shoes and more clothes. Yesterday we were able to get the boys some clothes at an exclusive toy store. I have never even seen a store like this in the states. It is located right across from our flat. We are conveniently located close to the square where you can find most things. Just down the street is a great bakery and a few restaurants. Anyway, this toy store is 5 stories and it has animatronics on every level, babies moving around in cribs when you enter, life size bears playing instruments on a stage on the second level! The top level is a huge playground and kid-themed restaurant. There are guards on every level and endless employees just standing there!! That seems to be the norm here in Ukraine, employees just standing around and not working!! What about payroll taxes-that is what I'm thinking!! The clothing is expensive, but I did buy the boys some shorts and pants there because the level of quality anywhere else is not good. Drew had a fun time jumping around on the toys and said, "Mom we have to bring the boys here."

Today we worked on flashcards with the boys after they had apples we brought for them and some fun,squishy,toy spiders!! The boys have a clan of friends who like to come out and play when we arrive, although lately we have arrived during the "silent time", so our boys have hours with just us. Their friends are very sweet kids and I pray that people would come and adopt these precious little ones. If I could, I would take more of these boys home with us. They tell us there are 43 children here but I have not seen 43. Maybe we have seen 20. Today I asked them what is the first thing they would like to get when we leave the orphanage. Viktor said clothes and Peter said toys and also Peter said he wanted to give toys to his friends. He is quite the social bug! We might have a going away party at the orphanage, but it all depends if the Director will allow it.

So the 10 day appeal process will be over on September 5! That is a Saturday and it's not clear if we can pick them up on that day or we have to wait until Monday. Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Please pray for Savannah, Andrew and I as we finish out this process and bring home our newest family members. Homesickness is starting to set in but I'm ignoring it. We have been here for 3 weeks, tomorrow. We miss everyone terrible and can't wait to see everyone's wonderful faces!!! May the Lord bless you and carry you,

Lana

Hello Everyone!

Scroll down to see bigger pictures of the boys!!

The Judge ruled today that it would be in the best interest of the children to be added to our famuly!! Now there is a mandatory 10 day waiting period and the orphanage still has legal custody of the boys, until September 5th. So after court we had to say goodbye to them as the lawyer from the orphanage took them back for lunch. No visiting today. Our facilitor Tatiana told us we had to hurry to the Notary in Kharkiv(court was in Zolachev)so we could apply for passports for the boys. Then we headed to the train station to buy tickets for Derek and Luke to leave for Kiev on the overnight train. They will fly home on Saturday August 29! We have gotten into a routine here in Ukraine. The only bummer is our DVD drive wont work so we cannot watch movies we brought. We can rent from itunes but it takes hours to download and our internet service goes in and out. Our flat is small, 2 rooms and it gets a little squishy with 5 people!! The Lord has seriously blessed us with great people to work with like, George our driver, who speaks good english. We really enjoy his company and he is so helpful as an interpreter. We are taking him to dinner before Derek and Luke leave tomorrow. Also, having the connection with the missionary families will be very consoling as Derek and Luke leave, the unity in Christ we share is truly, truly comforting half-way around the world. They are such a wonderful people!! Well please continue to pray for the growing Carlson family as we wait it out and also to get to know these little boys more and more. Bonding is really what we need prayer for and for safety in Derek and Lukes travel back home. Miss everyone and love you all!!

Greetings from Ukraine! Twice a day we have been visiting the boys. Mostly our activities are based around games, but also now we have been working on English words too. The boys would rather play all the time but delve right into the books and flash cards when we pull them out. They are using our names now! Yesterday Viktor was initiating play with Derek, which Peter had been doing the whole time so it was nice to see Viktor chiming in! Derek has been picking them up and hugging them and goofing around and they love this, they laugh and smile!! A lot
of the boys at the orphanage come out to play when we arrive, it is common for the older boys to play soccer and the little boys just run around playing their own games, but Viktor has been joining in on the soccer. Of course, soccer(futbol) is hugely popular here in Ukraine like most of Europe. There are some darling little ones here that need a home. (breaks our hearts) We noticed when we came back in the afternoon yesterday some of the kids had haircuts. All the sudden Drew and Viktor were nowhere to be found. Viktor had been whisked away for the inevitable haircut!!!! Drew was right by his brother's side, but that was no comfort, Viktor was not a happy camper. They keep the boys hair cut really short!!! I was hoping that we could take him for a haircut before they got a hold of him. Derek and Luke got plane tickets to come home on Saturday August 29! The rest of us have return tickets for Sept 10, which will probably have to be changed, or maybe not, just depending on how it goes in Kiev for passports, etc. The ten day waiting period will be over on Sept 5. Viktor pulled out a paper yesterday that had all the information written down that he will have tell the judge. It was cute to see him practicing. Again, our court date is tomorrow August 26, at 11am. All of us, including Viktor and Peter, will go before the judge and lawyers.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and comments!! Keep 'em coming! We look forward to seeing your comments!! May the Lord bless you and keep you!

I will get some close-up pictures and post them soon!!!

Hello Family and Friends!

Yesterday we had to meet with the local Chief of Administration because he has to sign off on the adoption before our court date. We felt it went really well. He wanted to look up our house on Google Earth so we zoomed down on it and it was fun to see our home. I thought about all of you at home.(miss you all) He asked (through an interpreter) the kids what they thought about the boys and having new brothers. My eyes welled up with tears as Luke explained how he was excited about welcoming them into our family. It is truly amazing how the Lord gives you this ability to love others like your own!! I know Marian has told me about this but I couldn't really imagine it until I experienced it. All I can say is this is from the Lord and it is so wonderful. I am feeling more everyday like they are really part of our family and should have always been. Peter had a lot more energy today and loved playing games on Savannah's phone. He took pictures and videos. We worked on english words and wrote their names and also I brought a puzzle of the USA, they loved it!! I was so glad to see they like puzzles. My mom texted me when we were there and I was able to tell them their Grandma and Grandpa were really looking forward to meeting them. When Peter found out is was Derek's birthday he made him a card and cut out pictures for him. They really don't look like brothers, but they are. They are very happy to be back together and are always happy to see us. The orphanage is run very well. We had to spit our gum out when we were there, no gum allowed. They said we might put it under a table!! hee hee. George, our driver, acts as our interpreter. I am very thankful for him because it would be very, very difficult without his help.

Last night we went to a yummy sushi restaurant for dinner about a 30 minute walk away, like I said before, everyone walks and we are within walking distance from the main square. There is a gigantic statue of Lenin in the square. Included in the square are many restaurants, shops markets. They are readying for a festival this weekend. They celebrate, "Kharkiv Day", when they finally kicked out the Nazi's after WWII.

I can't wait to get the boys some clothes! Our friends, Lucy and Olivia said they would take me to the market and we would be able to get many things there. It is the largest market in Europe!! I love how they sell flowers and fresh fruits and veggies everywhere!

Oh, our court date was moved to Wednesday, August 26! Then we will have the 10 day waiting period. Our whole family will have to appear before the judge on that day.

Thank you all soooo much for your prayers!!!! Our Lord continues to carry us daily!!!

With much love,

Lana

Good Morning! As I write this it will be the middle of the night at home, but we have adjusted to the time change finally! For all of you who have emailed, thank you but I cannot respond, something is wrong with my outgoing mail!! Yesterday we made all the paperwork nesessary to petition the court for the adoption and have a court date on August 27. There is a ten day waiting period and then more time for paperwork to come home!!! It is likely that Derek will come home with Luke and Savannah and Drew will stay with me. Our flat is very small, only 2 rooms. Also it is possible the boys might be allowed to come with us to the flat during the 10 period-it will depend on the Director of the Childrens House(orphanage). Last night we walked over to Olivia and David's for dinner (30 min. walk) Everyone walks here. You heardly see anyone riding bikes for exercise. Also they all carry plastic bags, you have to purchase grocery sacks, so people take their own to the grocery/market. Even the elderly are carrying bags.

We now have a new driver, George. George is a young college grad from the local Kharkov University. He graduated in computer science but really doesn't want to work in that field. He is Jewish and we really have enjoyed spending time with him. I received a call after he dropped us off and he wanted to meet up with us because he had gotten a gift for Derek for his birthday.
He is very kind. He speaks pretty good English. Not very people speak our language.

Well got to go more paperwork today and we'll go to Bible Study with the missionaries after celebrating Derek's birthday. We didn't get a chance to do that yesterday!!

Oh, we officially named the boys yesterday- Viktor Mark and Peter Seth Carlson!!

Blessings,
Lana

Yesterday we went to see the boys after a trip to the notary ( 2 hours) The days are long as it takes awhile to get out to the town where they are and now they are in two different places. Viktor is at a summer camp and Peter is at a clinic. We found out yesterday that there were some problems with the adoption going forward and also the boys have to agree upon being adopted. Well that makes sense, but unnerving, as we didn't know this was part of the process. The good news is both the boys have agreed to be a part of our family!!! I almost started to cry when I found out that the problems were resolved and that the boys will be back together in 2 more days, a provision they made just for us, so we can see them together every day!!! Meanwhile our new friends, the three missionary families, watched over Sav, Luke and Drew because we couldn't take them with us yesterday. We are humbled by the goodness of our Lord, He is mighty!!!!!!!!! When we arrived to see Peter he ran out to us and hugged me! He is such a cute little guy. Viktor is a little more reserved, although today he started to show us his silly side. The boys both have expressed interest in soccer (futbol) so today we bought them soccer balls and also for Peter, a soccer uniform, he said he really wanted a uniform. We are relying on our facilitator/translator to help us and they have been great! We now have a driver, George is his name and today was our first day with him. We all have to cram into his sedan, but it works. Darla if you are reading this you know what I mean about all the stuff that goes on here in Ukraine!! Everyone here speaks Russian and fashion is of the utmost importance!! Women dress to kill and the skirts are short and the heels are high(I mean 5-6 inches) A lot of the women look like Russian models. Our flat is too small but we will survive and Ukrainians don't have dryers. All clothes are hung dry! We are soooo spoiled in America. Tomorrow is Derek's birthday. Not sure what we will do. We have to be at the notary again tomorrow and then off to see the boys. Viktor likes cards so we have a deck of cards to take to him. He had a keychain in his pocket today but he didn't know what it was and a few cards (playing). They have so little so what they have is important. All the teenagers at Peter's place loved using their minmal English skills on Savannah. They called to her"What is your name" and finally enticed her to come over and they all bombarded her and talked and brought her a few gifts. It was very endearing. She wil bring them a gift tomorrow. Ukrainians are very relational even though they do not hug! So the boys hugging us is wonderful and they are getting better at it and used to it! We will spend another night at the missionary( Olivia and David's) tomorrow for dinner. Oh, I'll let them know it is Derek's birthday. Oh, also one thing a few of the administrators can't understand why we want to adopt because we already have children. Derek explained to them the calling that God put on our hearts and how the Bible talks about caring for orphans!! You never see families with kids our kids' age together it is strange. They are paying people to have babies because their birth rate is negative.

Blessings and Lord Willing talk to you soon!!

WOW! Much has happened since we have arrived in Ukraine and this is the first time we have had internet access! We are now at some missionary friend's house we met the first day in Kharkiv. Our flight went well. After a two hour wait to get through customs, we gathered our luggage and went out into the Kiev terminal. A thirty something guy with a shaved head introduced himself as Yuri, our escort. He wisked us and our luggage into his little car (Skota). Yuri took us to our flat. It was spacious and modern. We were exhausted from the long flight.

After a good nights sleep, Yuri picked us up for our appointment with the State Dept. Of Adoption, SDA. Yuris introduced us to Sergei . Sergei works with Orphan's Hope and he would be our translator. He explained how things would work during the appointment and told us a little about who they were going to be showing us. He really encouraged us to be open to the possiblity of adopting 3 children. He speaks very good english. When we got into the appointment room, 2 ladies talked with Sergei in Ukrainian and we just smiled. They showed us 5 sets of siblings. The first profile was of 2 boys 8 & 9 and were just adorable. We learned a bit about them and all agreed that we liked them. We proceeded to see the rest of the profiles, 2 of which had 3 children. It was time to narrow it down and Sergei and the ladies left the room for us to have a discussion. Everyone agreed that the boys were our favorite and we had a connection with them. Also, we prayed quickly before they came in for our final decision. So they called the orpahanage to find out more about the kids, but no one answered. So we left the appointment and felt so excited about our newest kids/brothers!

Now we had to wait for the referral to go to the orphanage city to see the kids. Late the next day we were at the flat and Yuri came pounding on the door and said "pack up its time to go!!!"
Yuri planned for us to go in a Lincoln Navigator with a driver, Nicolai. The city closest to the orphanage city is Kharkiv, a city in eastern Ukraine of 2 million and 20 miles from the Russian border. We left Kiev at 8pm and didn't get here in Kharkiv till 4am. Our flat is small but close to the city square.

Nicolai picked us up at 9am and we were seriously lacking sleep, but he took us to this great cafe with yummy espresso. Sitting there in a daze we noticed 3 ladies were speaking english and they noticed us and proceeded to tell us they were missionaries and they would love to help us while we are here! They gave us their numbers and we were off to see the boys!!

This whole trip the Lord has been so evident to us, just taking care of us, answering every prayer we have uttered. Just like now I am blogging from the missionaries house (flat) we worshiped with them at had the Lord's supper. There are 3 families that have arrived together in Ukraine for mission work, the last year they have been learning Russian (they only speak Russian here) and then they will start to plant churches. It was such a blessing to hear God's word preached and fellowship with the saints!!

For one year we have been praying that the kids we adopted would be in a small orphanage where they would be getting good care, and prayed for their caretakers. God is soooo good the boys come from a small little town where everyone rides bikes and the orpahange is very nice and clean, you could eat off the floor!! There are only 63 kids at this place with beautiful grounds. The staff was so friendly and showed us all around. The doctor filled us in on their health. All of the ladies said they love these boys and they just need a stable home. When we finally got to meet the boys it was emotional, for me especially. They showed us how they are learning english by counting to ten and saying a few other words. It was a precious time and we had to go to finish more paperwork.

While we are here in Kharkiv we have a local lady, Tatiana who is our translator helping us. Tomorrow (Monday August 17) we will start the official paperwork for the adoption and will be able to see them twice a day. Sergei will be here tomorrow to help us with all the documents.

So our prayer request is for the boys to feel a connection to us and have a desire to be in our family!!

Thank you everyone for all your prayers!!!!!!!! The Carlson's have felt the Lord caring for us during this amazing adventure! We love Ukraine!!

I'll be able to post now and will update tomorrow.

Blessings,

Lana

The day we have been waiting for is finally here......Tuesday, August 11th at noon we have our appointment with the SDA in Kiev!! Please pray for us on August 10th as they are 10 hours ahead of us here in the west. Specifically we are asking for guidance and wisdom as we view the children they will show us and have to choose somewhat from that point!

We will be blogging when we have internet service in Ukraine!!

Blessings to all our family and friends!!

We heard from Dave of Orphan's Hope and our dossier (packet) was submitted on Wednesday July 22, successfully!!!

He gave us a "heads up" as we could be traveling as soon as 3 weeks!!

YEA!! Still in harvest but anxiously waiting!