Kraseewee Daine!! (Beautiful Day)

Today was incredible. We went to a yummy lunch with N and her husband. The place was very nice with wood beams and granite rock throughout. I can't say enough about how impressed we are with her. She is so caring about the children and about our even insignificant needs. If anyone reading would like a referral for a great facilitator, email me and I would be happy to share her contact info. I seriously think we have one of the top facilitators in Ukraine. Thank God for leading us to her. Not only is she very enjoyable to spend time with, she is also extremely honest and well-respected at the SDA. She cares about getting us through the process fast and despite the fact that she was feeling sick today, she didn't complain a bit and went the extra mile to get us things that we needed. She speaks impeccable English as well as several other languages.

Okay, so on to what you all are waiting for...The Appointment.

So we arrived a little early and stood inside the iron gate in the courtyard and met another american adoptive couple outside. (Zach said in his best East Texan accent, how ya'll doing and the answered, so we knew they must be American) They had just had their appointment and we enjoyed talking about the adoption process. Finally after an hour or so it was our turn. N motioned us in and we walked up the narrow staircase to the small office. I suddennly felt a bit nervous that we were about to be ushered into our big court appointment. It turned out to be a small room with the SDA psychologist/social worker. She is a younger woman in her 30s with a warm personality who made us very comfortable. She asked us how about our hosting trips went and how the girls adjusted. We told her about Nastya missing Katya at Christmas and about how well things went this summer. We told her how much we love the girls. She asked for pictures and we showed her pictures on the laptop. We talked empathetically about each picture - with my parents, swimming, riding horses, family pics, etc. She said we were young to have three kids already. We agreed :) She commented on how small Nastya is and how fast she will grow once she goes home with us. She signed the referral letter right then and told us to adopt them fast and get them home :) And that was that! So easy!!! The SDA file had very little information about their background but N said we would find out more in Zhytomyr. We did see some younger pictures of the girls but not any younger than the first picture that we have of them. I was hoping that somehow they had a younger picture...

Okay so here are some of the pictures of the gorgeous city of Ukraine. We are loving our time here and our time together. And tomorrow we go to see the girls. We can't wait!!