Back in Kyiv

After three harrowing days in Lugansk visiting various public offices trying to obtain birthcertificate and passport we are back in Kyiv for the final steps of the adoption process. Dasha has been a real trouper, spending a whole day in the car with little to eat and drink and few potty breaks. Of course Dasha wanted to direct all of the meetings we went to, opening doors for my facilitator and i, and making random comments to various officials when she felt the need.
We had to get up at 4am this morning to catch a 7 am flight from Lugansk to Kyiv. Then directly from the airport to the American Embassy, filling my paperwork out on the way, and discovering that there was a missing signature from brett and the same form also had not been notarized. Our facilitator told me to tell the embassy worker that I had forgotten the form and would bring it back the next day giving us time to solve the problem. Long story short the very nice embassy lady said "no need for that form" wow, answer to prayer.

Going Back To Ukraine

Our 10-day waiting period is over so it's time to go back to Lugansk to pick up our daughter, Dasha Isabel Rudolph. Brett is going to stay home this time and my dad, affectionately known as "Datchee" by our family, will accompany me. We plan to return on Saturday, September 17. Your continued prayers will be greatly appreciated. Jamie

Back in the USA!

Sorry for the delay in posting.  Our day in court on Monday (8/29) went well.  Dasha did not have to appear with us.  We were joined by Alex our interpreter, the judge, two clerks from the court, the attorney for the orphanage and two jurors from Lugansk.  We were asked about 4 questions and the judge read our dossier as fast as she could.  Court ended and our 10-day waiting period officially began. The purpose of the waiting period is to allow family members of the orphans to appeal the court's decision.  We don't anticipate any problems but anything is possible.  Some couples choose to sightsee in Europe during the waiting period but that was never a serious consideration for us.  We wanted to get home!  

We stopped by the orphanage to see Dasha one more time and then left by taxi for the airport in Donestk.  What was supposed to be a 90 minute drive took almost twice as long.  The worst roads in
America are better than the roads we traveled, sometimes as fast as 80 mph.  Thankfully, we lived to tell about it and made our flight to Kyiv.  We were able to move our Wednesday flight up a day and departed Kyiv on Tuesday at 6:45 am, which got us back to Charlotte at 3:25 pm the same day.  It was great to see Peter and Brenda Perrill waiting for us in the Charlotte Airport, and they wasted no time getting us home to Rock Hill.

As of this moment, Jamie is planning to go back to Ukraine with her dad around Sept. 10.  The second trip is supposed to last about a week and will include getting Dasha's birth certificate, new passport, a medical exam and most importantly, bringing her home. 

Jamie is planning to continue the blog when she returns to Ukraine.  We can't say enough about how encouraging it was to hear from so many friends and family while we were away.  And the number of you who helped with the boys while we were away - too many to mention here but we are humbled by your support.  Thank you all for your prayers. We love you.

Brett & Jamie

Days 11-13, Another Weekend in Lugansk

Papa and Dasha playing a new form of basketball

There's no hoop so they're improvising

14 year old Alex and Dasha's favorite kitten "Boynia"

The girls had to try on their uniforms because school is starting soon

They all seemed happy except...

Dasha wasn't given new shoes like the other girls for some reason and as you can see, it didn't go over very well

We visited with Dasha twice on Friday and were able to Skype with her grandparents back in Rock Hill.  She enjoyed seeing and hearing Datchee, E and Granny Nan.  It was the first time she met Nancy's husband, Danny. 

The kids all got haircuts between our am and pm visits.  Dasha wasn't too crazy about her hair cut either but she seemed to get over it.  We're visiting her once today (Saturday) and not sure if we can see her on Sunday. 

Our interpreter/adoption facilitator, Alex, is joining us Sunday evening or Monday morning.  Our court date is Monday at 2 pm and Alex will be with us throughout the process.  We fly back to Kyiv (aka Kiev) Monday evening and will return home Wednesday morning as originally planned if we cannot change our flights to Tuesday morning.  We don't anticipate having much to report until we go to court.  We'll try to post about our day in court and return travel plans.  Thanks for your support...we can see light at the end of the tunnel.  Blessings.

Day 10 - Another Day in Lugansk

Dasha enjoyed showing her friends pictures from America

She obviously likes the peace shirt we got her - hasn't changed it in two days

The bread truck arrives at the orphanage

playing with the cats - part of our daily routine

Brett's not crazy about cats but he's not telling Dasha

Dasha on the other hand  loves "Boynia"

Do you remember the movie Groundhog Day?  We feel like we're in it.  Two trips a day to the orphanage is our daily routine.  The caregivers are very nice and kids are cute but each visit is pretty much the same.  Three more days and then we go to court (Monday, Aug. 29).