One Week in Ukraine

Today we have been here exactly one week and although we have accomplished SO much in that one week there is still so much more to do.

We have not heard back from Marina about our court date. We did hear from Serge in Kiev that our Interpol clearance has not arrived at the SDA yet and we will need this form before we can have court. We sent in our Interpol with our dossier back in March but apparently these are done without any sort of schedule so they just appear when they appear. Trying to remain calm as I write this.

So we wait...as patiently as we can. I've read one book and I'm working on two more. I've napped more than I have in 8 years...think I'm almost caught up on my lack of sleep since having my first child in 2003!!!

Today was more of the same...it's almost beginning to feel like Groundhog's Day but we're trying to mix it up as much as we can. Sofia, our little butterball, is still as sweet as they come. We have never heard her cry although she must have the other day. When we saw her yesterday she had a bruise and a blood spot on the top of her head. We were almost afraid to ask what had happened but I had to know. Apparently, they drew blood from a vein on her head (we gathered this from the creative sign language we use with the staff)...they couldn't find any on her chubby arms or legs. It looks like they tried on the top of one of her hands because there is a puncture mark there too but the one on her head is definitely bruised and the blood spot is about the size of a pea. Poor sweet baby.

We are continuing to bond with Sofia and I do think she knows us now as evidenced by her quick smile. She is REALLY fond of Hector. She doesn't feel like "our baby" yet. It's especially strange to have to hand her back in to the staff after each of our visits. So surreal. It felt good to provide for her the past few days by buying diapers and some medicine, to be able to give to her in that way was important. We're also quite proud carrying her around the orphanage. She's such a cherub and the staff and visitors just love to give her some attention.

It's also getting more and more difficult to be away from home. I almost try not to think about the boys because it's too painful. Mateo is sick today with a stomach bug and Diego has a pink eye that's being closely monitored. Joaquin is doing great it seems so that is a comfort but we also received news about his eye sight (he had a check up with an eye specialist late last week) and it seems his left eye is almost blind so he is doing some patch therapy to try and regain the sight he lost. Again, thank goodness for my parents taking good care of them and holding down the fort. It's just even more difficult to be away from your kids when they aren't feeling well.

Hector's corner:
Today was a hard day, the routine is starting to get to me and I felt a little bit trapped. We enjoy our time with Sofia and look forward to seeing her more and more every day but it is getting harder to find a way to keep ourselves entertained when we aren't at the orphanage. We read books and work on the computer and take turns cooking. Our only break of the routine is getting news from Marina and today was the first day that things went into a stand still. We assume she was not able to speak with the head judge and hearing from Serge about our Interpol clearance was a blow to our spirits as well. Yesterday we were hoping for a Friday court date, it would've been a miracle. And today we are certain that won't happen and we are looking at another week here at least. This is going to be a test to our patience and sanity for sure. Time is starting to slow down, just praying it doesn't go backwards!