Saturday, August 18, 2007

Our Girls!!

It is Saturday the 18th of August 10:45 PM in the village of Krasnokutsk.

We arrived here after a 6 1/2 hour train ride to Kharkiv and a very fast 1 hour ride in a car. We had two lawyers, Greg, Leah, Garrett, driver, and luggage all crammed into a compact sized car! We are renting a room at a woman's house. We have a driver who picks us up and takes us to the orphanage each day, twice a day from 10-12 and 4-6 and then brings us home.

The first time we went to the orphanage we went into one of the dorms and there stood an adorable little angel with big blue eyes, a shy smile, and beautiful blond hair. This is our youngest girl age 5 (6 on September 25), Karalina!
We are changing her name to Cassidee Karalina. About 5 minutes later in came a smiling, excited, absolutely beautiful sweetheart age 7 named Karina. Her name will be Karina Rae.
These are our two new daughters!

During our visits we play outside on the playground, paint nails, color, play Frisbee, go for walks to the nearby pond to catch frogs, and have lots of snacks. They love juice, yogurt, and bananas. They probably don't get them at the orphanage.

Our lawyer left today and we are left here in a village where nobody understands us and we certainly don't understand them! We will go to court on August 27 or possibly a couple of days earlier. Then we stay here and continue visits for another ten days during a mandatory waiting period. So, 19 more days! Of course, nothing is final until court... we have to request separation from other three siblings. I know it is sad, but they have already been separated for two years. It will be OK. There is always the chance it will be denied because of the siblings, so please keep us in your prayers.
I know this is long-we have no Internet and had to call Daniel and tell him what to type. So, bye for now! Love you all, Greg, Leah, Garrett, Karina, and Cassidy

6 comments:

susie said...

I just found out about your blog! It's very nice to be able to read and find out updates. The girls are beautiful! I hope all continues to go well. I'll be checking back often.

albrecht5 said...

The girls are beautiful!!! They look very happy with you. We are keeping you in our prayers. We went to the ward temple session Saturday and put your names in. Talked with Daniel today at church and he says that you might be able to leave by Sept. 13. We sure hope so!!! We actually got some rain last night!! It was fun to watch the lighting. Take care and be safe.

Iva & Barry

Unknown said...

Wow! They are gorgeous! It makes me want to go there and do this again! It brings back all of the wonderful memories. I remembered two more russian words that I did not put on the list (phonetic spelling of course) Sumalute means Airplane and Oolobneece means Smile, looks like they know that one without being told! I am just thrilled for you. I can't wait to get our girls together when you get home!

Diana said...

May the Lord keep you and bless you...and the girls! The separation process isn't as easy as it sounds. Several factors can influence it and can be traumatic for everyone. Our boys had been separated in different orphanages for two years, but the memories our older one had of the youger were were as if they had been separated yesterday. We pray things will go smoothl for you. One thing we know for sure is that if it is truely meant to happen, the Lord will open the way before you.

Cheryl said...

The pics are so cute! It was fun to talk to Karina and Karalina this morning on the phone! They sound full of energy!!heeheehee
Hope your week will go smoothly and that you can find some real food to eat! We look forwarded to hearing more. We're praying for you all!

Cozie Schaffer said...

HI KIDS,
GREG I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PHONE CALLS. IT IS A REAL UPPER TO GET TO TALK TO THE GIRLS.I LOVE IT WHEN THEY CALL ME BABUSHKA
I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THEY CAN SAY GRAMMA IN ENGLISH. HAVE THEY EVER HAD COOKIES OR CHOCOLATE? I THOUGHT I MIGHT MAKE THEM ALL( 5 OF THEM ) SOME CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WHEN YOU COME HOME AS A WELCOME HOME SORT OF THING ! WE KEEP YOU IN OUR PRAYERS ALL DAY LONG AND EVENING TOO.... LOVE YOU
BOTH, AND GARRETT TOO.. TELL HIM HI FROM GRAMMA COZIE AND GRANDPA CHUCK...