Well, Daddy was off to work on Monday and boy have we missed him! A set of extra hands has been so helpful with the cooking, cleaning, and playing...but it is giving Mama and Inna much needed time to bond.
Mama is used to running errands, meeting friends, starting household projects, and talking on the phone during the summer months, but life has certainly changed! Now Mama makes meals, sings nursery rhymes, goes on walks, and gives a play-by-play of everything she is doing. We are soaking in all the new surroundings that Inna sees, hears, and smells outside the orphanage walls.
Things have gone amazingly smooth! Thank you for all the prayers lifting up our family!! Inna hasn't had any major break downs yet (unless you count bath time and car seats). Bedtime is getting MUCH better and tonight we just had a break-through!! Mama decided to sleep with Inna tonight to give Daddy a break and Inna just asked me to leave! HA I admit, I wiggle A LOT before I get settled and she must not have liked that because she said, "Mama...ah" and pointed to the door. She did this about 4 times before I figured it out, "Mama...leave?" Her response was...YES! What?! How awesome is this?!?! Poor thing couldn't take all my wiggling and kicked me out:) I hope this trend continues so I can see Todd at night!
Thank you for all the visitors, meals, phone calls, texts, emails, and Facebook messages. You guys know me so well...I love being around people (and talking:) and I must admit, there have been some "lonely" moments and I can't wait to hold a conversation in English with my little girl! Each day we make progress and I know I MUST begin a daily journal of all the new things she does each day. She is verbalizing more and I see her pretend play and mimicking so many things we do each day. Mama is also learning what Inna likes, her attention span, and signs of when she is tired.
Today we had some really fun moments. Mama was getting ready and Inna explored our closet. She put on some high heels, necklaces, and bracelets and walked over to the mirror to admire herself. She loved it! Then she wanted some chap stick and more jewelry! So funny...a little miss girly girl! Then, she weighed herself on the scale...she just loves it! I thought, "Oh honey, just wait, a scale isn't always a girl's best friend!" ha Anyway, I captured the moment on my phone and I can't wait to get her a box of dress-up clothes!:)
Inna gets so excited to see her Daddy come home from work! It's every Daddy's dream I'm sure. She waves to the car once she knows it's him, then the wave becomes more frantic and purposeful (aka, crazy fast!). Once the car turns off I let her run into his arms and she gives him hugs and kisses and her biggest smile! Then, she immediately tells him it's time to eat:)
Well, I could go on and on but this post is getting very long! I hope to post pictures of her room and of her soon!!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
First Day Run Down!
They're home!!!! Everyone got to sleep after midnight and we slept well! Todd and Inna slept until 10am and Mama read some books with Inna to start off the day. I made some pancakes and bacon and Inna enjoyed her first meal at home!:)
Then we played in her room for most of the morning and Inna went potty on the "big girl potty" every time today! Then, Mama gave Inna a MUCH NEEDED bath and she cried all the way through the process. We'll work on that some more!
Lunch was Nana's homemade chicken noodle soup and Inna loved that as well! Nap time did not go well...we think it was too bright so we have a solution in place for tomorrow. We later took a walk to the pool and put our feet in the water...Inna liked it OK. She then helped me make dinner of baked potatoes, salad, and Poppy's special meatloaf. She ate a giant piece of mealoaf twith lots of ketchup! We played some more then started the bedtime process an hour early. She is SO tired but is fighting sleep. Todd is very tired so he is laying down with her now.
So far the dogs have been pretty good and Inna even petted Obi's giant paw!:) We are all home as a family and so happy to have a weekend together before Todd goes back to work.
No pictures because our camera is in Landon's bag who is now in JC back home with my sister:(:( BUMMER!
Then we played in her room for most of the morning and Inna went potty on the "big girl potty" every time today! Then, Mama gave Inna a MUCH NEEDED bath and she cried all the way through the process. We'll work on that some more!
Lunch was Nana's homemade chicken noodle soup and Inna loved that as well! Nap time did not go well...we think it was too bright so we have a solution in place for tomorrow. We later took a walk to the pool and put our feet in the water...Inna liked it OK. She then helped me make dinner of baked potatoes, salad, and Poppy's special meatloaf. She ate a giant piece of mealoaf twith lots of ketchup! We played some more then started the bedtime process an hour early. She is SO tired but is fighting sleep. Todd is very tired so he is laying down with her now.
So far the dogs have been pretty good and Inna even petted Obi's giant paw!:) We are all home as a family and so happy to have a weekend together before Todd goes back to work.
No pictures because our camera is in Landon's bag who is now in JC back home with my sister:(:( BUMMER!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
More of the story...
So...I finally feel like it's "safe" to share more reasons why Inna is a true miracle to our family. The entire process has been quite an experience as we feel we are having such a close and intimate encounter with God. This story is just one more way God has revealed Himself to us.
This verse is so true...we don't know what will happen tomorrow. In Ukraine, it was as if we couldn't predict the next hour, and that can make for a very insecure feeling.
For those of you who have been following the blog, you remember our meeting with Sasha. After our meeting and decision to move forward with another SDA appointment, both of us felt like our translator, coordinator, and agency were upset or questioning our decision. Our instincts were correct because that evening we received a phone call around 10:30pm from our agency in California. They called us to discuss our decision to not adopt Sasha. It was explained to us that we should not expect to adopt a child with less-severe special needs, especially a child who has a cleft lip and/or palate. Essentially, we were told that a child with a cleft lip and/or palate was considered "healthy" and our paperwork would not allow us to adopt a child with such needs.
WHOA! Hold on! Our paperwork specifically stated we were seeking a child with a cleft lip/palate and for the past 9 months this had never been revealed to us. Now that we're in Ukraine, we are given this information?!?!
Well...to say the least we were very discouraged. I had never been more scared in my life. I truly thought we would be in Ukraine another few weeks and return home heart-broken and without a child. It was a helpless feeling and I had no idea why God had led us down this road. I mean, this whole process sounds ridiculous...I know...I've repeated our crazy story a dozen times with the same "you are a nut" stares!!! I felt like a fool and I didn't know how we had "missed" God's direction in our lives. I read through my journal over and over again and read over countless scriptures that had spoken directly to me over the past several months. Seriously, this is where were were supposed to be...but why? For what purpose? God, what child have you chosen for us? Please reveal him/her to us!
Soooo, I don't think either of us slept after the conversation with our agency. We stayed up all night praying and contemplating our decisions up to this point. Satan attacked and I wasn't sure what the next step was. We met our coordinator the following day and she reiterated the same information about a child with cleft lip/cleft palate, but she was working hard to find us a child. At the time of our appointment, she had found a young boy who needed hip surgery. We arrived at the SDA office and waited...and waited...and waited. We were then informed that the boy she had worked so hard for us to visit was actually not eligible for adoption for another 6 months. Now what? There weren't any more leads... We waited over 2 hours in the hallway at the office as our coordinator made phone calls, talked to the social workers, and replied to text messages.
Finally, our coordinator came to us with the possibility of meeting a little girl with a cleft lip/palate. Wait...come again? I thought our paperwork didn't allow that? If we meet her and get to court, will they take her from us because of our paperwork? How is this possible? Well...she said she was really going to work hard to persuade the social workers. Hmmm...not very convincing, but I did trust her to work in the best interest of us and the children. If we did not get to see her, we could waste our 2nd of three SDA appointments. At this time it was after 5pm and we had to make a decision. I point blank asked our coordinator if we should move forward and she said yes.
Well, the rest is history...we saw a baby picture of little Inna, decided to meet her...then fell in love. Even though the decision to not adopt Sasha was difficult, it paved the way for Inna's files to be opened, and it was the perfect timing for the Bottorffs! God knew exactly what He was doing (duh) and He allowed us to see His mighty hand from beginning to end...well, who knows when the end is:) What a blessing for us to meet Sam to heal our hearts, find out that Sasha was adopted, and to have the perfect daughter for our family! It's overwhelming and I know many of you have been praying for us and have also seen God at work in your lives. May you be blessed by this story as we are!!
“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” James 4:13-14a (NIV)
This verse is so true...we don't know what will happen tomorrow. In Ukraine, it was as if we couldn't predict the next hour, and that can make for a very insecure feeling.
For those of you who have been following the blog, you remember our meeting with Sasha. After our meeting and decision to move forward with another SDA appointment, both of us felt like our translator, coordinator, and agency were upset or questioning our decision. Our instincts were correct because that evening we received a phone call around 10:30pm from our agency in California. They called us to discuss our decision to not adopt Sasha. It was explained to us that we should not expect to adopt a child with less-severe special needs, especially a child who has a cleft lip and/or palate. Essentially, we were told that a child with a cleft lip and/or palate was considered "healthy" and our paperwork would not allow us to adopt a child with such needs.
WHOA! Hold on! Our paperwork specifically stated we were seeking a child with a cleft lip/palate and for the past 9 months this had never been revealed to us. Now that we're in Ukraine, we are given this information?!?!
Well...to say the least we were very discouraged. I had never been more scared in my life. I truly thought we would be in Ukraine another few weeks and return home heart-broken and without a child. It was a helpless feeling and I had no idea why God had led us down this road. I mean, this whole process sounds ridiculous...I know...I've repeated our crazy story a dozen times with the same "you are a nut" stares!!! I felt like a fool and I didn't know how we had "missed" God's direction in our lives. I read through my journal over and over again and read over countless scriptures that had spoken directly to me over the past several months. Seriously, this is where were were supposed to be...but why? For what purpose? God, what child have you chosen for us? Please reveal him/her to us!
Soooo, I don't think either of us slept after the conversation with our agency. We stayed up all night praying and contemplating our decisions up to this point. Satan attacked and I wasn't sure what the next step was. We met our coordinator the following day and she reiterated the same information about a child with cleft lip/cleft palate, but she was working hard to find us a child. At the time of our appointment, she had found a young boy who needed hip surgery. We arrived at the SDA office and waited...and waited...and waited. We were then informed that the boy she had worked so hard for us to visit was actually not eligible for adoption for another 6 months. Now what? There weren't any more leads... We waited over 2 hours in the hallway at the office as our coordinator made phone calls, talked to the social workers, and replied to text messages.
Finally, our coordinator came to us with the possibility of meeting a little girl with a cleft lip/palate. Wait...come again? I thought our paperwork didn't allow that? If we meet her and get to court, will they take her from us because of our paperwork? How is this possible? Well...she said she was really going to work hard to persuade the social workers. Hmmm...not very convincing, but I did trust her to work in the best interest of us and the children. If we did not get to see her, we could waste our 2nd of three SDA appointments. At this time it was after 5pm and we had to make a decision. I point blank asked our coordinator if we should move forward and she said yes.
Well, the rest is history...we saw a baby picture of little Inna, decided to meet her...then fell in love. Even though the decision to not adopt Sasha was difficult, it paved the way for Inna's files to be opened, and it was the perfect timing for the Bottorffs! God knew exactly what He was doing (duh) and He allowed us to see His mighty hand from beginning to end...well, who knows when the end is:) What a blessing for us to meet Sam to heal our hearts, find out that Sasha was adopted, and to have the perfect daughter for our family! It's overwhelming and I know many of you have been praying for us and have also seen God at work in your lives. May you be blessed by this story as we are!!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
They're coming to America...TODAY!
I just woke Todd up at 2am Ukraine time for their early flight! They will arrive tomorrow night around 6:30pm and we'll reunite as a family!!! This is it...our little Inna is coming home! We are very excited, yet there are many unknowns. We have never done this before but we have a plan and what we feel is best for our daughter and our family. We've been waiting so long to hold our baby girl in our arms at our home to begin the attachment process.
While we are preparing a place for Inna in our home and hearts, Inna has not even thought of leaving her orphanage. She is happy and content in the loving arms of her caregivers but in just a few short hours, Inna will be experiencing the loss of everything she has ever known. We anticipate that this will be a very difficult time for our little girl. We ask that you keep Inna in your prayers.
We have been so blessed by this gift. We want to make sure we are doing everything we can for Inna to feel secure. It is important to remember, she's lost her birth-mother, the nurses and staff at the hospital before and after her surgery, and now will be losing her caregivers and friends at the orphanage where she has been for 3 years. She will be grieving the loss of her environment, caregivers, friends, language, sounds, smells, and familiar foods, etc. This usually lasts for at least a few weeks, but grieving episodes could occur for months after her arrival. Grieving episodes are intensified by over stimulation, so we need to keep her world quiet and small for her first weeks with us as she begins to bond with her forever mommy and daddy. We know many of you have bonded with her just as we have through her pictures and videos! So many of you have prayed daily for her and we do not underestimate the bond or love you feel for her as well! We hope you understand our need for this special time with our baby girl.
I hope to post more pictures and videos later this week so you can see little Inna with her whole family!!:):) YIPPEE!!
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Passport paperwork is in!!!!!!!!!
I got a call at 7am today that the paperwork is complete!! Todd can make his Tuesday appointment at the US Embassy for the VISA and final phase of this journey! Praise the Lord! They are on an overnight train now to Kyiv and will arrive around 6am (10pm our time). He called me while on the train and gave me the scoop:
***Inna has been perfect all day...smiling, laughing, and being cooperative
***They ate dinner at McDonalds--Inna ate 2 French fries, a hamburger bun, a few bites of burger, and didn't want her potato
***Inna will not let Daddy out of her sight...he says he can't even go to the bathroom without a little follower:)
***As he talked with me, she was twirling her hair and falling asleep. She was laying half on his lap and half off the seat---he said she was so cute!
I'll post more later but now we have an idea of when they'll be home! It is VERY possible that they will be able to make the Thursday morning flight and be in KC on Thursday afternoon...that is our prayer!!
***Inna has been perfect all day...smiling, laughing, and being cooperative
***They ate dinner at McDonalds--Inna ate 2 French fries, a hamburger bun, a few bites of burger, and didn't want her potato
***Inna will not let Daddy out of her sight...he says he can't even go to the bathroom without a little follower:)
***As he talked with me, she was twirling her hair and falling asleep. She was laying half on his lap and half off the seat---he said she was so cute!
I'll post more later but now we have an idea of when they'll be home! It is VERY possible that they will be able to make the Thursday morning flight and be in KC on Thursday afternoon...that is our prayer!!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Ukraine blues
There is nothing exciting to report today. We visited Inna twice and she is warming up to Landon. She is able to associate his picture with him now and tries to say his name. We've been working on getting a picture of the two together, but every time the opportunity presents itself my camera is nowhere to be found! She does get a bit sad when we play hide and seek. I think she expects Mommy to jump out from behind a tree. The great thing about 3 year olds is that if you distract them it is pretty easy to get them thinking about something else. We are now just waiting for the passport. Once we get it, we will take Inna with us to Kiev and set up an appointment at the embassy. If you are praying for us, please pray that the passport is ready no later than Monday. Otherwise, we will have to push back our return date one day for every day longer the passport takes.
Since being here our apartment has been without gas for a day (no stove or hot water), then we lost power the other night for a while (no air conditioning in the bedroom), then today they shut the water off for the day (no... lets just say we take extra walks to McDonalds). The only real grocery store within walking distance of us (at least the only one that sold diet coke) has been closed for remodeling. Every other building within 2 kilometers is decaying, but the very nice grocery store needed some sprucing up I guess. At least I have good company with me. If I had come on a trip like this during my summer vacation when I was 11 I would not have been as good natured as Landon!
Since being here our apartment has been without gas for a day (no stove or hot water), then we lost power the other night for a while (no air conditioning in the bedroom), then today they shut the water off for the day (no... lets just say we take extra walks to McDonalds). The only real grocery store within walking distance of us (at least the only one that sold diet coke) has been closed for remodeling. Every other building within 2 kilometers is decaying, but the very nice grocery store needed some sprucing up I guess. At least I have good company with me. If I had come on a trip like this during my summer vacation when I was 11 I would not have been as good natured as Landon!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Firsts
First Dance
I'm sure every parent has experienced hundreds of "firsts" with their children. Today I experienced a few firsts and now I can't wait for a lifetime of them. Landon and I arrived this morning at the orphanage and there was a big celebration going on. It is International Day for the Protection of Children. They had music and several performers in costume dancing around. Landon and I made our way close to get some pics and video and spotted Inna standing next to her favorite caregiver Olga, a.k.a. "Number One". "Number Two" was also there so Inna was in good hands this morning. I was taking pics and video of here dancing to the music and then she saw me. She lit up and started waving. She tugged at Olga's dress and informed her Daddy was here. (She could have also been telling her that she saw a bird, but I choose the former) They handed out stuffed animals, giant butterfly cookies and juice boxes to all the kids. Everyone was so excited!
To this point Landon and I were just standing around at the edge of the crowd taking pics. Inna's caregivers caught our attention and called us over. Inna instantly wanted to be picked up. I didn't hesitate. Once the crowd died down we played for about an hour and a half. There were 3-4 new pieces of playground equipment, and everything has a fresh coat of paint on it.
First Car Ride
Then came a real treat. We got to take Inna away from the orphanage for a trip to the passport office. I wasn't sure how she would do. Would it be scary for Daddy to carry her outside of that iron gate that we have been careful to avoid with her for fear someone would think we were trying to make a run for it? Well, I guess Inna hasn't seen as many prison movies as Daddy because she wasn't creeped out at all as we walked through the gates. I however kept waiting for the spotlights to find me and sirens to begin blaring. We got in the car and started off. Now, there are NO observable traffic laws in Ukraine. As far as I can tell the rules are summed up with try not to make contact with other vehicles or pedestrians. Also, the pedal goes all the way to the floor so you might as well exercise it. No seatbelts in the back seat either. Despite the obvious safety deficiencies here, I felt like Inna was as safe as she could possibly be. A meteor could strike our car and she would be unharmed because she was in Daddy's arms and I felt like I was bulletproof. Funny how these man of steel feelings disappear the moment a tear forms. Even Superman had his kryptonite.
First Nap
It was very hot yesterday and the ride was fast and bumpy. I don't have full Daddy instincts yet so I wasn't sure if she was going to be sick or fall asleep. You can imagine my relief when her head nodded and her eyes got heavy! My little girl was drifting off to sleep in my arms. We got her back to the orphanage, and carried her up to her room. A bowl of food was waiting for her and I assume she then went and joined her group for a nice nap. She had to be wiped out from such a busy day. I am hopeful that she is as calm during the long journey home.
I'm sure every parent has experienced hundreds of "firsts" with their children. Today I experienced a few firsts and now I can't wait for a lifetime of them. Landon and I arrived this morning at the orphanage and there was a big celebration going on. It is International Day for the Protection of Children. They had music and several performers in costume dancing around. Landon and I made our way close to get some pics and video and spotted Inna standing next to her favorite caregiver Olga, a.k.a. "Number One". "Number Two" was also there so Inna was in good hands this morning. I was taking pics and video of here dancing to the music and then she saw me. She lit up and started waving. She tugged at Olga's dress and informed her Daddy was here. (She could have also been telling her that she saw a bird, but I choose the former) They handed out stuffed animals, giant butterfly cookies and juice boxes to all the kids. Everyone was so excited!
To this point Landon and I were just standing around at the edge of the crowd taking pics. Inna's caregivers caught our attention and called us over. Inna instantly wanted to be picked up. I didn't hesitate. Once the crowd died down we played for about an hour and a half. There were 3-4 new pieces of playground equipment, and everything has a fresh coat of paint on it.
First Car Ride
Then came a real treat. We got to take Inna away from the orphanage for a trip to the passport office. I wasn't sure how she would do. Would it be scary for Daddy to carry her outside of that iron gate that we have been careful to avoid with her for fear someone would think we were trying to make a run for it? Well, I guess Inna hasn't seen as many prison movies as Daddy because she wasn't creeped out at all as we walked through the gates. I however kept waiting for the spotlights to find me and sirens to begin blaring. We got in the car and started off. Now, there are NO observable traffic laws in Ukraine. As far as I can tell the rules are summed up with try not to make contact with other vehicles or pedestrians. Also, the pedal goes all the way to the floor so you might as well exercise it. No seatbelts in the back seat either. Despite the obvious safety deficiencies here, I felt like Inna was as safe as she could possibly be. A meteor could strike our car and she would be unharmed because she was in Daddy's arms and I felt like I was bulletproof. Funny how these man of steel feelings disappear the moment a tear forms. Even Superman had his kryptonite.
First Nap
It was very hot yesterday and the ride was fast and bumpy. I don't have full Daddy instincts yet so I wasn't sure if she was going to be sick or fall asleep. You can imagine my relief when her head nodded and her eyes got heavy! My little girl was drifting off to sleep in my arms. We got her back to the orphanage, and carried her up to her room. A bowl of food was waiting for her and I assume she then went and joined her group for a nice nap. She had to be wiped out from such a busy day. I am hopeful that she is as calm during the long journey home.
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