tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54529545047810973392012-01-01T13:16:53.847-06:00We are a family of three that is growing in size to a family of four by adopting our son from Ukraine. We are thrilled you have visited and we hope you enjoy this journey as much as we are.The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.comBlogger811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-56040796886102447192008-10-08T20:51:00.011-05:002009-04-04T00:35:02.071-05:00

It has been a year long adventure full of ups and downs. But we are ending it on a perfect high by closing the chapter of searching for our son. And therefore will be ending this blog. Thank you so very much for all of your prayers and support; we could not have succeeding in bringing our son home without you. For other PAPs here are a few stats:Mode: independentStart to Finish: exactly one year

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-44030402447946780072008-09-30T22:14:00.002-05:002008-09-30T22:20:11.782-05:00

Mother & Child completed their long journey and arrived home worn & weary but safe tonight. They were in their beds fast asleep soon after. Thank you everyone who has followed and supported this process. I'm sure more details will be coming soon.

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-85532102455841388282008-09-28T02:04:00.002-05:002008-09-28T02:12:45.697-05:00

Nicely done David :-) I am thrilled to have found this new internet cafe, it appears to not be on dial-up as the first ones I tried! Garrett is doing great - going with the flow and without complaints. He went for a pony ride yesterday and thought that was a blast! He has a clear affection for animals (even the pigeons - yuck!) just like his sister. I have no fear that he will take to the

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-6945360957787883792008-09-26T18:23:00.003-05:002008-09-26T18:33:57.045-05:00

Well it's David with a rare post. Monica does not have internet in her apartment and the battery on the laptop is having issues, so she has not been able to get it to a Wifi spot.I know alot of people are checking back to see what is going on so I thought I should give an update. My post will lack the flair and eloquence of Monica's, but here are the facts:Monica picked up Garrett on Thursday.

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-56172078492027635092008-09-24T14:56:00.003-05:002008-09-24T15:05:28.456-05:00

Vanya and I are safely in Kremenchuk. We are staying in the same apartment that David and I stayed in on our first visit. It has been nice how repeatative this trip has been so far (I was a bit hesitant going solo) all 3 of my flights took off from the exact same gate as on our first trip! Of course the same taxi driver picked me up at the airport (Sasha is the nicest driver in all of Kiev!)

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-63371346631921931632008-09-22T20:41:00.002-05:002008-09-22T20:51:20.937-05:00

I am off to Kiev tomorrow :-) We can not wait to have this journey over and have our son here safe at home!

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-42790240646835065292008-09-18T09:55:00.003-05:002008-09-18T10:10:57.907-05:00

I will not be leaving tomorrow as we had hoped. Long story short..... we did not get the whole story. And we are not being told a new story, so I have nothing more that I can share about my return trip to bring our son home. Please pray for those that can make a difference in this situation that they will be compassionate to our son. Please pray for patience for us and a peaceful resolution

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-79621242755481111342008-09-17T10:58:00.003-05:002008-09-17T11:04:40.844-05:00

Everyone keeps asking "Why can't you bring your son home if you have already had court?".After court there is a 10-day appeal period before the final court decree can be issued. Good news yesterday was the end of our wait period and our facilitator has picked up our final court decree. It is official we are Garrett's parents!!!!!Then we still have to get the following: - A new birth

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-5805476734141757522008-09-09T22:38:00.003-05:002008-09-09T22:59:50.021-05:00

For those about to travel, I thought I would give you my "What Will I Do Different" on my return trip to possibly ease your travels. For those who have already travelled, please add your "Lessons Learned" in the comments and I will add them to the list.1. Train in the right shoes. I am a jogger and I made sure I was running/walking atleast 6 miles a day before leaving. I believe this is right

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-12027078557769362572008-09-07T02:08:00.001-05:002008-09-07T02:08:45.789-05:00

:-)

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-77591883040860244882008-09-04T04:14:00.002-05:002008-09-04T04:20:11.977-05:00

Ok really it is Thursday. But we are currently in TGI Fridays at Kiev using their WIFI and eating the yummiest American lunch!!!! After a very miserable bus ride (I am still ill and with a high fever that kicked into full gear in the hot stuffy bus) we made it to Kiev last night. For others who have come before us, we are about 2 blocks from TGIF.David has completed all his USEmbassy tasks (

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-44034442654254416302008-09-02T10:38:00.007-05:002008-09-03T05:09:15.637-05:00

Garrett Neal MassieBorn April 13, 2004Ours September 3, 2008

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-46393502746833177212008-09-02T10:37:00.002-05:002008-09-03T05:05:58.505-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-55716746130935285682008-09-02T10:35:00.003-05:002008-09-03T05:05:23.167-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-74457237847656594042008-09-02T04:30:00.003-05:002008-09-02T04:43:47.617-05:00

We can not wait to officially introduce you to our son :-)So many of you have asked why if you have court tomorrow can you not bring your son home with you on Saturday? Yes tomorrow is court and this preceeding will make the adoption nearly official. There is still a 10-day appeal period. This will start the day after court (in our case Thurs 9-4) and end 13 days later in our case -- because

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-3467548964060878572008-08-31T06:07:00.004-05:002008-08-31T12:25:03.821-05:00

Can you tell by the grin that he is up to no good! Our little man has taken so well to us that he has be divulging all the playground secrets to us! We now know where all the best toys have been hidden and where all the items are that only the caregivers are supposed to bring out.Check out the duds. Underneath those girls britches are knee high Christmas stocking. It is funny that all the

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-13737587050725727342008-08-30T13:00:00.003-05:002008-08-30T13:17:13.571-05:00

"D" said I am addicted to blogging :-) So earlier I made the mistake of complaining about being bored. Well now I been presented with a constant pain in my tummy to entertain me. Probably just a touch of icky food but I went ahead and started the travelers antibotic the doc gave me - just in case."D" has also been blessed with a sinus infection. He of course in all his bravery refuses to take any

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-30204279243403984482008-08-30T06:58:00.006-05:002008-08-30T07:20:09.410-05:00

Today it was raining during our first visit so we were allowed in the playroom. "G"s group of 10 little ones has 4 main rooms that they "occupy". There is foyer type room where all their lockers are lined up. And there is a console table and a place to hang art work and a toddle sized mirror for the kids to check themselves out before heading outside. Then there is a multipurpose room where they

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-51222157081566878742008-08-30T06:39:00.002-05:002008-08-30T06:54:42.865-05:00

It is mid-day on Saturday and our second weekend here. And I am rather bored. I am not sure how families that stay in excess of 2 months do it. Of the 10 days we have been in Ukraine, we have been without our facilitator for 7 of those days - that means no translator and no sense of adventure on our part.Yes there are our twice a day trips to the orphanage which are wonderful. And there is

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-10025682085862785582008-08-29T05:05:00.002-05:002008-08-29T05:09:41.281-05:00

The bag the puzzle came in was a much bigger hit this morning than the puzzle itself! And what do you think we gathered in the bag --- twigs and leaves! "G" is going to love his new backyard :-) And Daddy is going to love the help!

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-60780832869156353602008-08-28T13:07:00.003-05:002008-08-28T13:17:57.620-05:00

Todays focus for our little guy was sticks....walking sticks, pointing sticks, bat sticks, writing sticks, you name it and the game involved a stick. Hum..... what are we doing going to the market everyday to buy toys????

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-46710957118124468612008-08-28T12:54:00.004-05:002008-08-28T13:07:31.028-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-32606552064225617052008-08-28T12:46:00.003-05:002008-08-28T12:53:56.781-05:00

Every visit we bring the magic backpack. In the morning there is a juice box and a piece of fruit. In the afternoon there is a water bottle and some trail mix or crackers. But there is always a blue pencil box with different little toys. It is such a fun tradition and it so cute to watch him anticipate what new and fun toy did Mom & Dad bring. Thanks "A" for the great idea of the pencil box :

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-61481449232189205002008-08-27T13:29:00.003-05:002008-08-28T12:46:38.686-05:00

Our visits are so fun! He is so relaxed around us and really letting his personality show -- he is definitely a ham! For a little guy he focuses very intently on his goal which today was circling the orphanage on the sidewalk curb.Todays treat was peach juice and a banana - I think we found a winner in this pair.Hope everyone is doing well!

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-56216891593987068232008-08-27T06:39:00.002-05:002008-08-27T06:42:00.675-05:00

We have a little under a mile walk to the orphanage. We walk this route twice daily to see our sweet little boy. I call the elevator evil because we got stuck in it the other day!!!! It is a tiny disgusting smelly elevator and we should have never used it because we are only on the fourth floor! Enjoy the walk.

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-71662576439780414322008-08-27T06:36:00.001-05:002008-08-27T06:36:56.097-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-26512626189554429742008-08-27T01:00:00.005-05:002008-08-27T06:45:20.640-05:00

I ended up with a double cheeseburger with ketchup and pickle. And an orange juice. I think this is as close as the Amercian McDonalds usually get my order :-) But "D" was craving ground beef and we can not find it (more like we can not identify it) in the grocery store. So McDees to the rescue for a bit of a taste of home.The excitement of being half way across the world and the anticipation of

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-40779049155995632832008-08-26T13:03:00.002-05:002008-08-26T13:20:59.315-05:00

Our little guy is currently known to his caregivers as "Igor". He is starting to hear his mom & dad call him "IgorGarrett". His full name will be Garrett Neal Massie when all the legal docs and proceedings are finalized. For the purpose of this blog we will be calling him "G".Our visits are going very well. He is such a happy little guy. Loves apple juice, fruit and crackers. Today we

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-72611327310767893012008-08-26T12:56:00.006-05:002008-08-26T13:03:01.151-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-5506578213192743142008-08-26T05:39:00.000-05:002008-08-26T05:40:42.538-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-74447068034958778212008-08-25T06:48:00.003-05:002008-08-25T07:04:05.254-05:00

Clearly we have internet.... And obviously the camera works! So why no pictures? At first we hesitated because other families had posted on their blogs that it is illegal to post pics of the children before court as it is a violation of a Ukrainian privacy law. hum... not sure where this came from as our facilitator has not heard of such a thing.But since we had waited we decided we wanted

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-24707446816221016452008-08-25T06:45:00.002-05:002008-08-25T06:48:00.699-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-29990939429392217402008-08-25T06:38:00.000-05:002008-08-25T06:45:28.785-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-4566510367628202392008-08-25T06:35:00.000-05:002008-08-25T06:38:42.515-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-32482576880614179382008-08-25T05:07:00.003-05:002008-08-25T05:18:54.221-05:00

On Saturday and Sundays our facilitators have the day off so we are on our own. This weekend Monday is a holiday so we actually have three days to test our abilities. Luckily the baby house (orphanage for children 6 and under) allows us to visit on our normal schedule even on the weekends. So from 10-12 and 2-4 we are able to visit with our son. We quickly found that about an hour of one on

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-59287763686431969432008-08-24T16:08:00.001-05:002008-08-24T16:08:51.751-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-40736084471194006742008-08-24T07:45:00.006-05:002008-08-24T07:58:12.718-05:00

It is a nice apartment. Very clean - 2 bedrooms. Maybe 900 sq ft. Signing off for a bit :-) Will catch up the rest later tonight.

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-69233128820261123302008-08-24T07:14:00.003-05:002008-08-24T07:42:59.486-05:00

Planes Trains and Automobiles........ or did you say bus? There were no overnight trains seats available. There was a taxi but at $300 US we were a bit too hestitant. So we settled on an early morning (7am-11am) bus ride for about $2o a person. It was not too bad actually. Although, I knew better than to eat or drink before or during the trip. There was one stop to a semi private hole in

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-3599248342717244542008-08-24T07:07:00.001-05:002008-08-24T07:14:10.725-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-42088529677340323542008-08-24T07:04:00.000-05:002008-08-24T07:07:13.287-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-26327141110186110152008-08-24T06:57:00.002-05:002008-08-24T07:04:18.839-05:00

There was a few bits of paperwork to do. And we had some lunch. The food here is really good. Then we headed back to our apartment to wait. We were hoping that the SDA could get our paperwork ready to go an visit Igor by the end of the day. This is not normal, usually we would have had to wait till the end of the next day. But the next day was Friday and it was the start of the

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-91047649139640712622008-08-24T05:24:00.003-05:002008-08-24T06:03:13.590-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-34432511225197122192008-08-24T01:50:00.004-05:002008-08-24T02:27:36.676-05:00

Still in Kiev. At 10am we had our appt with the SDA (something like the Minister of Youth). We had 1 hour to meet with a psychologist to review files for adoptable children. Our psychologist was a very young and soft spoken woman. She started off my asking/telling us the following: = Verify our passports = Confirm we had been approved in our home study for 2 boys ages 5 and under. =

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-89493484340890074292008-08-24T01:32:00.002-05:002008-08-24T01:49:04.557-05:00

The first was our view out the kitchen window. The second is the family room. The man is Vanya. He is our facilitators assistant and he has been wonderful! He is in his last year at the University getting a degree in English. He definitely puts our vocabulary skills to shame. He has exceptional work ethic and is a ton of fun to hang out with.

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-38482137440187994862008-08-24T01:18:00.002-05:002008-08-24T01:31:41.143-05:00

Dial up is being a little cranky so this is all I have gotten so far. As you can tell, we are not suffering in the least bit :-)

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-23055874736603648762008-08-24T00:48:00.002-05:002008-08-24T01:05:00.389-05:00

I have a little more time this morning and a new dial up internet card so I thought I would backtrack and let you know a bit of what we have been up to.Aug 19th we flew in the late morning from STL to CHI and it was very uneventful. Then 9 hrs on a Luthansa flight to Frankfurt. I hope I am not speaking too soon (as we still have to get home!) but Luthansa was awesome! Yes we flew coach -- I

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-2468164938831656692008-08-23T13:42:00.003-05:002008-08-23T13:49:53.302-05:00

We have found our son! We kept wondering "how will we know?" And the dear Lord knows exactly what we need. I needed to see confirmation in "D"s face and worried that with "D"s cautious and deliberate nature that he may take a very long time to decided. Our son walked in that door and jumped into "D"s arms giggling the whole time! Within a minute our facilator asked "ok?" and "D" to answered

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-7195603622888297922008-08-21T10:57:00.003-05:002008-08-21T11:08:43.860-05:00

We have decided to go to the Poltava region tomorrow to visit a little boy. He is 4 1/2 years old. We are hopeful to be able to visit with him tomorrow but it may have to wait until Tuesday. Monday is Ukraine Independence day and the partying will begin early tomorrow afternoon. There were no trains available tonight and a private cab is way too expensive -- so we are taking a bus at the

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-70504879406773507772008-08-21T00:27:00.002-05:002008-08-21T00:31:43.055-05:00

We arrived safely in Kiev yesterday without any travel glitches :-) Our SDA appt is at 10am (in 90 mins) which is great! Typically they will not issue the "referral" paperwork till the next day at 4pm. But our facilitator is going to try a bit of begging to get ours delivered today instead, we may have a good chance with such an early appt. This is pretty important since Monday is

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-56810522143904265702008-08-18T23:02:00.003-05:002008-08-18T23:18:43.790-05:00

Just 12 short hours till we board our plane :-) Every spectrum of emotion has filled our last few days! And more last minute tasks than I could have imaged possible.Please keep us in your prayers for a safe travel, wisdom and patience and for our new children a peaceful and confident heart. Also for the country of Ukraine and its people for peaceful times.If you are curious about why we will be

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-69873809369327556292008-08-17T08:42:00.002-05:002008-08-17T08:49:24.544-05:00

How To Leave A Comment.1. You do not have to sign up for anything - whew!!!2. At the bottom of each "post", you will see something that looks like this: Posted by The Flying Eagle at 8:49 PM 4 comments3. Click on link for "comments" and you will see a text box under the title "Leave Your Comment". Hopefully this is self explainatory! (Please sign your comment)4. Scroll below and you will

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-11447040037718142442008-08-17T08:36:00.003-05:002008-08-17T08:49:48.359-05:00

Ready or not here we come!Our goal was to be ready before Grandma "M" arrived. And we have succeeded :-) Just 2 more days....!

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-42151729597494234032008-08-09T20:49:00.009-05:002008-08-17T08:50:10.420-05:00

Everyday at least one person asked me if I have a picture of our boys or how old are your boys. So I thought I would jot down the process of how we are going to adopt our children."What is going to happen while you are in Ukraine?"1. We will fly to Kiev, Ukraine with no knowledge of how many, what sex, what age or the health status of our new children. (Aug 19-Aug 20)2. Meet for an hour with a

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-35013869511655372222008-08-06T01:40:00.003-05:002008-08-06T01:47:58.250-05:00

I am officially a Ukraine adoption blog junkie. I check atleast once a day. I cry for others happiness and for the heartache. But you know it is bad, when even the new kittie knows that she has to join in the bloggin' to get along with me!!!!This cracks me up -- little Squirt would not move and if we picked her up and physically moved her -- she'd be back in a second!

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-32003486596295641692008-08-04T19:52:00.003-05:002008-08-04T20:14:13.905-05:00

Wow! It really has not sunk in. I have to keep telling myself that this is really happening - we are actually leaving our home to go across the world and coming home with little ones. It has been a little over 9 months since we started this journey of paperwork and research -- yet it seems like just yesterday! As far as the preparation phase, we have been very blessed with a thorough and

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-85232726217100448962008-07-28T21:16:00.005-05:002008-07-28T21:35:03.712-05:00

Without a hitch. Not a single glitch. PURRRRfect! We could not have asked for an easier adoption. Bonding is going very well. She is a little small for her age but that may explain her name.What a cutie!!!! Currently "D" is the only male in the house. A year ago, we lost our sweet Morris, he was 12 years old. "A" turns 16 tomorrow. For a year, she has been volunteering at a wonderful cat

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-41225955084156542772008-07-14T17:03:00.012-05:002008-07-30T13:43:19.457-05:00

This is going to be a long post since I have not posted in a while. I tried to highlight them so you can just go to the section you may be interested in.1. Blog changeA few folks have noticed the change to our blog and the removal of some posts. The reason is that another adoptive family posted their vacation on their blog and they were broken into. There is no known correlation to the post but

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-25082930256368996962008-07-01T20:13:00.004-05:002008-07-01T20:28:39.744-05:00

Bless us, Lord,as we begin this adventure.Open our eyes to see youin the people we meet.Open our ears to hear your wordin new and surprising ways.Open our hands to be your blessingin whatever situation we find ourselves.And open our hears to receive youwherever we may go.Protect us and our companions from harm as we travel and give your wisdomto those we rely on for our safety.When our travel is

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-68093000181275804992008-06-22T23:10:00.008-05:002008-07-11T00:13:13.943-05:00

What a crazy few weeks we have had. In addition to preparing for our first internation trip together and trying to get everything ready for the boys arrival. We have been working like crazy trying to get the family room remodel project done, taking Aley to JBA, hosting out of town family, working too many long hours, and partaking in all the summer social activities we usually have scheduled! We

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-6307211762810203282008-06-06T08:49:00.000-05:002008-06-06T11:16:27.744-05:00

It is official!!!!! We have an appointment at the SDA in Kiev, Ukraine on Thursday August 21, 2008 to (hopefully) adopt two young boys. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support so far.The SDA is where we will be meeting with a Ukrainian Social Worker to review files of children who are eligible for adoption. We will then have an opportunity to go and visit the children at the orphanage and

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-54041010771039971942008-05-20T21:19:00.001-05:002008-07-11T00:11:44.911-05:00

Sorry I did not post yesterday. But yes the faciliator emailed me about lunch time on Monday to say that indeed our Dossier was accepted without issue by the SDA. We are very excited and anxious to recieve our travel date. Although they have 20 business days (they do not work on Fridays which means about a month duration), we do not really expect to hear much until the end of June.Congrats to our

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-77707161492182702008-05-16T08:13:00.000-05:002008-05-16T08:22:25.738-05:00

Just a few more days and our Dossier will be submitted! Since this equates to being about 5 or 6 months pregnant, we thought it about time to think about names. Here is the list so far: Garrett * Logan * Nicholas Brendan Landon Ryan Tyler Aaron * Garrett for the older boy and Logan for the younger --- these are our favorites so far :-)Thank you

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-57751017485380536632008-05-13T20:38:00.000-05:002008-05-15T18:39:57.172-05:00

Our documents arrived today (a 3 day hold-up in Kiev for a customs issue!!!) and just in time. Our facilitator has a few stamps to add and we should be ready for our appointment on Monday. Thanks to everyone for their speedy prayers.Speaking of good timing. What a perfect mothers day gift for my sister-in-law Jennifer!!! A perfect little girl, Kathrine Neal (7 lb 2 oz) born Sunday 5/11.

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-24900984750334193912008-05-07T20:44:00.001-05:002008-07-11T00:10:12.462-05:00

That would be fingernails! We recieved an email from our faciliator on Monday (only 14 days before our submission date!!!!) stating that somehow in all our reviewing of our paperwork, we all had overlooked a missing digit in my passport number on 4 of our documents! (the real danger of copy/paste). A notary in Doneska found the error after all our documents had been translated - such a blessing

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-76539858938105197102008-05-01T19:03:00.001-05:002008-07-11T00:09:42.249-05:00

"A" and her best friend at the Cardinals game against the Astros..and of course WE WON!!!!!!!(fyi this post was posted by "A" =])

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-31042035280772432542008-04-25T23:40:00.001-05:002008-07-11T00:08:57.727-05:00

Typically the academic and leadership awards ceremony at "A"'s Highschool is "reserved" attendance for Juniors and Seniors. This year there was a slight attendance by a few special freshman. One of which was our very own "A" :-) She recieved an award in the mathematics for coming in 4th in a statewide math competition. We are very proud of our nutty mathematician! A few pics below.

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-55192462566227986902008-04-25T23:39:00.001-05:002008-04-25T23:39:21.447-05:00

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-33962343226554184922008-04-14T23:13:00.001-05:002008-07-11T00:07:52.749-05:00

May 19th, 2008. What will you be doing that Monday? I suspect I will be at work and "D" too. And "A" will be in school and probably have a soccer game later in the day. But in Kiev, Ukraine our Dossier will be presented to a worker in the SDA. We will be one of 10 Dossiers presented that day. This will mark the end of our logical and predictable journey (paperwork with defined and well documented

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-91726224394928368202008-04-07T20:25:00.001-05:002008-07-11T00:07:03.997-05:00

Many hours of paperwork, notaries, apostilles and other official looking certificates........all gone today. Wrapped up in a nice FEDEX envelope and simple labelled as tracking item. Yet to me, I feel as though I have just sent one of my children away to summer camp..... Will it arrive safely? Will there be any unforseen accidents on the way?? Will it be accepted amongst all the other Dossiers??

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-84775773347645535382008-03-01T21:05:00.001-06:002008-07-11T00:03:55.177-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS to "A" :-) Yesterday was really a big day for our sweet girl=== She made her high school soccer team.=== She was accepted to the Truman State University summer program for excellent students. You must be in the top 5% of your class to be eligible to apply. She was accepted to the June 3 week summer course called the "Human Lab". It is hard to believe that she will be staying in

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-11032000204832910482008-02-25T18:56:00.000-06:002008-02-25T21:15:40.160-06:00

Come one, come all for a visit. Your personal pad is ready :-) This should have been a simple wallpaper removal one-weekend project. Instead it turned into a total scrap and re-mud job since the previous owners forgot to prime the wall before putting on the wallpaper! It is hard to tell in the after pics but the carpet in the bathroom is GONE!BEFOREAFTER

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-9109468826760926642008-02-08T14:03:00.000-06:002008-02-25T21:16:06.630-06:00

Our I-171H arrived today and we are approved. The I-171H is the approval letter issued by the US Dept. of Home Land security that says we have cleared FBI checks and other "checks". Now we will submit our Dossier to the SDA in Ukraine and wait for their approval. There is a bit of a waiting line before we can submit our Dossier. So we don't expect to have more news until the April or May time

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-3072855647871825262008-02-04T08:01:00.001-06:002008-07-11T00:01:32.023-05:00

Saturday night was "A"'s Father Daughter Dance. Dad was showing off his moonwalk, robot steps and John Travolta Stayin' Alive skills before they left.....PS -- If you look at the first picture you can catch a glimpse of the dining room floor that we just refinished. Work on the house is slow but progressing (and always over budget!).

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-47276951990176364982008-01-30T08:59:00.000-06:002008-02-25T21:17:16.467-06:00

We are SOOOOO Close to finishing #1 & submitting our Dossier. Our facilitator believes we will be traveling this June :-)1. Pre-approval processThis is a lot of notarized papers, police checks, including a social workers approval of our home and parenting skills, FBI approval and finally the Dept. of Immigration approval. At this point we are "approved" to adopt by American standards. We are HERE

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-38286451133206993752007-12-25T01:00:00.001-06:002008-07-10T23:59:44.656-05:00

Our hearts are filled with love and joy in celebration of our saviors birth. Mom & Dad came over for Christmas eve dinner, presents and midnight mass. Tomorrow we will be blessed with more celebrating with family. We are saddened to miss the Massie family, the Moore family and sister Theresa this year. But we are appreciative of the many gifts that were sent and we wanted to share our fun :-)

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-33794630135839549302007-12-07T22:24:00.001-06:002008-07-10T23:58:21.271-05:00

We are finally here! It is perfect for our growing family. With five bedrooms and three baths and a huge backyard, we have a little for everyone. And we are moving quickly to get it ready for the boys since we have an approved home study and have filed the last of our paperwork for the INS approval. We hope to get their (Immigration Naturalization) approval in early Febuary. :-) And we are

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-14652338424340133452007-10-21T20:13:00.001-05:002008-07-10T23:57:01.281-05:00

Just kidding. This is a picture from the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, taken on a camping trip this weekend. We have however put down a contract on a new home with a half acre wooded lot backing to a creek. Stay tuned for more details.

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-41982106823260733562007-10-10T19:39:00.001-05:002008-07-10T23:56:30.595-05:00

The international adoption process is a long paper-intense and volatile process. But it can be more manageable when it is broken into smaller chunks. There are essential three (3) stages:1. Pre-approval processThis is a lot of notarized papers, police checks, references (any volunteers?), and includes a social workers approval of our home and parenting skills. At this point we are "approved" to

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-35541798960320159942007-10-10T19:30:00.001-05:002008-07-10T23:55:56.430-05:00

Oct 7, 2007 - "A" Homecoming

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-23819244710677337942007-10-10T18:47:00.001-05:002008-07-10T23:54:43.759-05:00

Sadie (black/brown) otherwise known as Sadie Girl & SuziQ (blonde) otherwise known as CrazyQ. Both are excited to have more loving hands to throw their ball and to pet them!

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452954504781097339.post-85912538922643656852007-10-08T19:55:00.001-05:002008-07-10T23:54:00.781-05:00

This summer the family took a road trip to Pheonix AZ to visit Mom & Dad. It was a wonderful family vacation!It is our immense love for "A" and all the members of our families that made adoption such as easy choice for us. We have decided to adopt two brothers from the Ukraine. We were drawn to the children of Ukraine for several reasons:* Their features more closely resemble ours (fair skin and

The Flying Eaglehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02627847945496868656noreply@blogger.com3