Monday

Praise the Lord we had an awesome day with Sasha.  Ksenia thinks that they have stopped harrassing him and maybe that is why he is beginning to act more like himself. We had to stay inside because it was cold, dreary and wet outside.  He was hilarious today and kept saying,"Papa, down up."  He was trying to say upside down.  haha.  He loves when Papa plays with him and picks him up over his head. 

He can be such a little stinker but then can turn around and give a hug that will melt our hearts.  When we were leaving he said, "mama,"  I looked back and he did the symbol that Jeff and i always use to show him we love him....so we don't have to say it outloud in front of the other boys.  Point to your eyes, make a heart and they point to him.....yes, he did it today on the way out.  OMG, I feel like we have made such strides.

We are beginning to get excited about coming home, but we have court still in the morning.  We will have court at 11:30 a.m. our time, 4:30 in the morning in South Carolina. 

We have been told that some of the questions that the judge will ask out of curiosity are, "Why do you want to adopt such an old child?"  "Have you been affected by the bad economy in the u.s.? "How can you afford to adopt a child?"  "How are you going to teach him English and educate him?"  We were also told to bring a  photo album with pictures of Sasha's room and a couple other rooms in our house.  They are just baffled that anyone would want another child.  Most people can only afford one child here....so this is so foreign for them.

We will have a 10 day waiting period until we can return back to Ukraine.  We hope to fly out next Sunday and begin our paperwork on Tuesday, as the birth certificate place is closed on Monday.  We will be able to get Sasha after a small party at his orphanage on Tuesday.  I am sure this will be hard for Sasha to say good bye.  It's truly hard to believe that he will probably never see these people again.....except for some of the children that are going to be adopted throughout the U.S.  We will then run around and go to Kiev and have a physical for him and other things done at the U.S. Embassy.

We were told that he will be very frustrated for a short time with the language barrier, but that by 3-4 months he will be speaking english fluently.  I am planning on homeschooling him through December but we may check about sending him to WCCS with the other kids next semester.  Sasha loves being with other kids but I know that he fears being made fun. God will show us the path to take as we begin to
"let life happen" at home.

We hope to be done with court and in our taxi at noon.  We have to go through customs and be on a flight that leaves at 3:55.  The drive from Lutugano to Donetsk is about 2 hours.  We are staying at a hotel with a decent bed in Munich tomorrow night.  We will arrive back into Rock Hill the following day at about 4:00 p.m.

Jeffy broke down and bought me a pair of fake ughs today...so my feet are toasty.  Little does he know that I may sleep in them.  haha.  It's truly hard to fall asleep at night when your feet are so cold!

We are so excited and anxious about tomorrow morning's appearance in court.  After the hearing, we will quickly say good bye to Sasha and dash out the door to catch our flight.  We have felt God's presence all along and we know that God will give Sasha the courage he needs tomorrow to tell the judge that he wants to come to America to live with the crazy Nymans.

I love this:
Today, I choose love.....I will love god and all the things that God loves... I CHOOSE LOVE!

today, I choose kindness.....I will be kind to all for God has been so kind to me.  I will speak softly when harshly spoken to.  I will help the weak and the helpless.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  To these I commit my day.  If I succeed I will give thanks....if I fail, I will seek His grace once again.  And when this day is done, i will place my head on the pillow and rest.

We can't wait to be back home!  Thank you sweet family and friends who have lifted us up in prayer.  Our first chapter of our journey is almost over.  We are so thankful and can't stop talking about how we have such amazing friends and family.

Love to you all,
m and j