We are headed home again

Please pray as we hope to be able to come home today. We are getting picked up in 2 hours and our flight leaves in 5 hours.

AS you think about us tonight and tomorrow morning, will you keep us in your prayers?

There is a Difference

Today Nina and I got to go to church with our missionary friends. I had arranged for the cleaning lady to come at 11:00 so that we could be out of here by the time she showed up. Well, today she came early right as we were getting our coats on. She felt comfortable enough to not only tell me what Nina should be wearing or not wearing, but to even grab clothes for me. Finally I was able to explain that we were riding a car, not walking, this also after she told me I should have a stroller and not carry her in the sling. She is nice though, I should have thought about the fact that we won't see her again and given her a hug. We were, however, 15 minutes late.

At church Nina was very out of sorts, and once the music started she got very scared. She only wanted Kim, not even me. I am okay with that. Kim can talk to her and Kim understands her. I think Nina found great comfort in knowing that Kim could tell her what was going on and could use words she understood to comfort her. I also know that it is part of the adoption process. No, she does not have a close bond with me yet, that will come with time. On the meantime, I am happy that Kim was there for Nina.

We then ate at McDonald's and Nina got some balloons. I have been working on colors and surprised everyone by saying "yellow" while asking for the yellow balloon.

We got home and took a nap. For dinner we had our McDonald's leftovers as well as some soup.

Tomorrow we have a long and busy day. We will be picked up at 7:30 a to go apply for the Visa. We then go and have a medical done for Nina and take the results back to the Embassy. Then we go eat lunch and return to the Embassy and wait until they give us our Visa. We come home, eat some more, hopefully see our friends one more time, pack and sleep a little. Then at 2:30 am we are picked up and we start our journey back home. I hope Nina is tired and sleeps lots!

So all those are our prayer request for now. I hate flying and now with the new incident I am even more weary, so I will appreciate all your prayers for a safe travel.

Our friend Frank who was here adopting, got to meet Nina when we were going to the orphanage to visit our girls. he had just watched the last video I had here and he said that she looked like a completely different little girl than the one he saw. I have had Nina for 13 days, it is amazing what 13 days can do.

So here is a video comparison. The first one is the very first video of when we first met Nina, and the second one I quickly took while she was eating her leftovers and watching Baby Signing Time.

Language Barrier

Russian or Ukranian; it is all the same to me, but not for Nina.

Today the housekeeper came. She offered for her to stay with Nina so I could go shopping because I don't have warm clothes for her...they are just different from what they wear here, I have realized that it doesn't matter what she wears, they just don't think they are good enough because they wear different clothes. If only they knew it gets a lot colder in our neck of the woods than here! Besides, I don't know her, I cannot really communicate with her, I would not leave Nina and go somehwere.

However, as soon as the housekeeper walked into the room, Nina was excited. Not just a little excited, but very excited. It didn't matter what we were playing with, she wanted to show her, to talk to her. She spends all day with a mama that can't understand her, and that she cannot understand, but here comes lady who she can actually talk to!

It did make me a little jealous, she definitely does not talk to me like she does to the housekeeper, or Kim and Jerry. I understand why, but it is a little hard to see. At least with Kim and Jerry they can tell me what they are talking about. With the housekeeper I am clueless! I realized that I could have very well left and Nina would have been fine. Not that I needed to, or that I would be comfortable with that, but Nina would have been fine.

I know Nina was singing songs and saying rhymes with the housekeeper. That worker at the orphanage really did care about the kids, she did her best to teach them things. Nina is Ukranian after all, this is her culture, and she knows it. She is not just an orphan girl with no idea about the customs and traditions.

It was a reminder that Nina's world is changing, and that it is hard for her. Do I think she likes having a mama, and that she is happy with me? Yes I do. Do I think she is having a hard time transitioning? Yes I do.

It is part of the process, and we take it one day at a time. The more she hears English the more she will pick up words her and there, and eventually, her Ukranian will be gone. It is kind of sad.

On the meantime, I am glad that she can have those connections and that she can talk to other people.

Also, she seems to be getting a cold. Please pray that she gets better and stays healthy!

Tomorrow is the day

Tomorrow I will be anxiously waiting to hear about the tax code. I won't lie, I feel physically ill because this has had us on the edge for almost a week.

Hopefully by the time most of you wake up I will have good news to share here, so on the meantime, please pray for our family.

No Tax Code

They said maybe tomorrow, maybe.

They said if we get it tomorrow then we can apply for the passport. They said 3-4 days to get that done. Then the embassy closes for Holidays and I cannot get the visa.

They said I will not be home for Christmas.

I cannot tell you how sad I am and how much I just want to curl in a corner and cry cry cry.

Please pray for a miracle. I want to go home.

More on Nina

Our friends from Kyiv have been missionaries here for a year, but they were missionaries in Russia before and their Russian is great (even if they say it is not) so the last couple of days they have come to see Nina and I and I think Nina loves having someone she can talk to and understand each other :)

She is picking up some words, and she tries to repeat many of the things that I say, which is great, now she just needs to know what they mean.

There are a few things that she says she cannot do, like getting down from the couch, or picking up a mess she has made. I don't know if she used this at the orphanage for attention, or if she was told that. But she will soon learn that she can do it! And she better do it or she will have to go to the naughty corner. Now things that are really physically impossible of course we will not make her do.

Eating and sleeping are still our struggles. No nap today, but, she did have some rest time/quiet time. That is good for me, now I only have to fight a bed time.

So far, tea and bananas are the food of her choice, and some instant soups that Kim brought for us. Today I got her to have a little of my peanut butter and jelly. This time she did take a couple bites. Who can resist a PBJ sandwich?

She loves music and she sings quite a bit, it is sweet. I have tried to get it on video and she stops as soon as she sees the camera.

On a different note. Having her with me makes me miss my girls and my family so much more. I am homesick and discouraged as I have heard nothing about the tax code. Please pray, I guess it could still be here, but if we don't get it before Christmas, who knows when I will be home because the US Embassy closes for Holidays. So pray pray pray.

We just want to be home.

Tax Code

Well, the tax code is not here yet. I just got an e-mail from our facilitator saying maybe tomorrow or Friday. This is not looking so good time wise, but, there is nothing we can do.

Please pray for the tax code to come as soon as possible!

Tax Code: Keep the Prayers Coming!

I just got word that our facilitator was able to apply for the tax code! He said tomorrow we will stop by and show them the new birth certificate. At that point they can give us the tax code or make us wait!
Pray that we do get the tax code! Pray with us, then we can really get things moving! With God all things are possible, and He can make this happen!

Tomorrow is a big day for us. Tomorrow is "gotcha day!"

In the morning I will go and get Nina's new birth certificate. Andy and I will be listed as her parents, her birth certificate will actually read "Nina Stumbo!"

After that, we are stopping by the tax office to check on the tax code. If we get it back, we can even apply for the passport later in the day.

From there we go to the orphanage and we get Nina!

Our translator told me she went to the orphanage today to get some pictures. She told me she got to see Nina.

"She looks differnt." She said

"What do you mean different?" I asked

"She looks different than last time I saw her, different form all the other kids"

"And why is that?"

"I can tell the difference, because she looked loved"

Yes, Nina is loved, she is loved! And that has made all the difference!

Prayer Request!!!

Tomorrow morning, which will be tonight for most of you, our facilitator will try to apply for our tax code.
This tax code is what keeps families here the longest. It can take a day, or weeks!
I thought we would apply for this on Tuesday, but they will try this tomorrow!
Pray, please pray!

-Pray that they are able to apply tomorrow
-Pray that the tax code is ready by Tuesday! Yes I am asking for something that is not likely, but it is not impossible! How great to pick up Nina and be able to go get her passport right away! Then we would for sure be home by Christmas!

So tonight will you pray for us? And tomorrow morning will you continue in your prayers?

Court Date

We have a court date, it is on Thursday December 3rd at 12:30 (most of you will be sleeping!). This is where the judge will pronounce Nina to be our daughter, and she will become Nina Stumbo, what a crazy thought!

After Thursday we begin our 10 day waiting period. This is a period of time where someone could come and contest the judges decision. Nina has no family, so we are confident nobody will contest this. Of course we wish the 10 day could be waived. We have heard in this region that sometimes creates problems because then someone will contest the judge's decision. And they say it has never been granted (so how do they know it creates more problems?).

Andy flies home on Saturday, day 2 of our wait.

After the 10 days I get to go get a new birth certificate for Nina. In this certificate, Andy and I will be listed as her parents. After that, we can apply for a tax code (not sure what it is for). They say this tax code can take 5-14 days to get. It is necessary to have this to apply for her passport. Once the tax code is here, we can apply for her passport. They say it takes around 10 days.

Nina then has to have a medical examination where to determine she can fly home. Once she is in the clear, we take the results with her passport to apply for a visa. Once we have the visa, we come home!

So this is what we have left in order

-Court

-10 day waiting period

-Birth certificate

-Tax code

-Passport

-Physical

-Visa

Somewhere in there we go to the bank and give Nina's money (all orphans have some money put aside by the government) to her orphanage as a gift. I think we have to have the tax code in order to do this.

So, at this point, me being home before Christmas is looking hard. BUT, we are asking you all to pray that the Lord comes before us and that all things fall into place so we can be home before Christmas! This would be cutting it short, but it can happen. So please, pray with us!

Prayer request

-That we continue to bond with Nina

-Wisdom regarding the 10 day waiting period, to wave or not to wave

-For things to move fast!

-That we are home for Christmas

-That we are witnesses to our translator and facilitator, how sweet if they got to know Jesus!