Good morning Kiev!!! Once again we're up at 3am on our own - just can't get used to the time zone yet, plus we get to see the boys today!!! I guess these early starts aren't that big a deal when you're already up before the crack of dawn...plus I get to watch the SF Giants knock out the Braves on this wonderful satellite dish that I won't have during our two weeks in the country. Bye-bye Bobby - you've been a great coach...
We pack everything up and clean the flat to prepare for our four hour drive to Kirovograd. At least this time we didn't over-pack...we did bring an empty suitcase inside one of them to bring the boys stuff home with us - good thinking eh? At 7am sharp, Natasha knocks on the door and we greet each other with hugs and words of friendship - she really was a great help to us last summer and its great to see her again as she once again joins us for the week to help us with the lawyer and the orphanages. Victor is our driver and he immediately helps us with our bags, loading us into his luxury van with captains chairs and a table - perfect for when we have the three boys traveling with us. Lesya thinks of everything!
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The harvest has taken all of the sunflowers and corn from the rolling fields and all that remains is the flat rich soil waiting for next springs growth - quite a different scene from when we were here in August. We stop along the way to grab some food and stretch our legs. The air is clean and chilly - feels just like a Michigan fall day.
At 11am sharp, we arrive in Kirovograd to meet up with Natasha the lawyer - and we didn't even get lost this time!!! Emma, Natasha and I greet Natasha the lawyer in her office and talk about what the process will be for the next few weeks. At 1:30 today we will go to the Notary and sign the official request to the court (this is where we officially give them their new names), as well as sign a bunch of other documents - this process requires a lot of paperwork! Then we have to wait all week for our appointment with the Kirovograd City officials on Friday , including the mayor, who will ask us a bunch of questions and give us permission to go to court next week. Assuming everything goes to plan, and Lesya gets the documents from the SDA in Kiev early next week, our court date will be on Wednesday or Thursday (10/20 or 10/21 - my birthday!). At that point they will process new birth certificates and passports for all three boys (we have agreed to pay an extra fee to expedite this from 10 days to 2 days - not expected but necessary...where are we going to get another $3k???), and we could possibly leave for Kiev with the new Dannemillers on Monday the 25th!!! Then it's just a matter of a few days in Kiev dealing with medicals and US/UK Embassy visits, and we'll be on our way to London by the 29th. We are so excited about seeing the boys, I must admit that all of these details have just become a bit boring and tedious. We just want to see the boys and get them home!!! We know its all necessary, and we certainly appreciate the wonderful team of people working on this, but lets just get on it with and let us know how much we owe...;^)
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Okay - first things first. We need to get settled into our home for the next two weeks and we need to eat lunch. Natasha tells us that the flat we had before has people in it, but she has a nice house for us to stay in this time. Instead of $45/day, this place will cost $60/day. It is a nice three bedroom two story house, but it is a long way from the center of town. At first we are concerned about being stranded so far from the city center, but after we see the place, we are very happy to call this home. Its very well decorated with plenty of room for Natasha and the boys when we get them. Victor helps us unload and we settle in to this lovely house decorated in classic Ukrainian style. Turns out it is actually Natasha's home from her first marriage and she has given it to her son who is out of town. Perfect!
Okay - time for lunch before we head to the Notary...you guessed it - back to Camellia's. Our favorite restaurant in Kirovograd. Victor drops us off and I pay him the $250 for bringing us here and he heads back to Kiev. I assume he will be back in two weeks when we need the van to bring the Dannemiller clan home. Lunch is great as usual and I think they remember us. After lunch we walk over to the Notary to meet up with Katya, the translator to sign the application to the court. The Notary asks us what the boys names will be and we tell her we are only changing their middle names, except for Dennis who will take my name. So Emma signs the forms requesting that we be given approval to adopt Ivan ('Vanya') William Dannemiller, David ('DJ') Stratford Dannemiller, and Maxim ('Max') George Dannemiller. Sons of Emma Rachel Maxwell and David Stratford Dannemiller. Katya translates the documents, the Notary signs it and it's all official.
We head back to Natasha's office to give her the forms and now we get to visit Max and DJ at 3:30. But first we need to return to the mean old social worker to get her approval for us to see the boys again. This time she is very nice to us, as we are now adopting their older brother. We buy some cookies and head out to the boys orphanage. We meet up with the Director again and she tells us how happy she is that we have agreed to keep the three boys together, and then all of a sudden, the boys walk in to her office! Fresh from their afternoon nap, they enter the office and don't really recognize us at first. Max looks a bit puzzled and asks "where is my car?" while DJ appears to remember us from somewhere. I immediately pull out the photo album I made from our previous visit - this triggers their memory and soon their trademark smiles return as they scan thru the pictures and munch on the cookies we brought them. We are dismissed from the Director's office and we head to the playroom to resume the process of getting to know each other all over again. This doesn't take long, and within minutes they are running around laughing and playing. Max loves the photo album and refuses to let go of it, carrying it around with him everywhere he goes. Very cute - probably some form of confirmation that Mama and Papa have come back for good and he doesn't ever want us to leave again. We build a train of building block cushions (designed and constructed by DJ - that's my boy!) and we pretend to leave for Kiev...all is good with the world and we are relieved that they remember us and still call us Mama and Papa.
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After a couple hours, the nurses come and take them back to their rooms. We tell them we will back on Thursday as we are going to see their brother Vanya tomorrow. Max wants to keep the photo book, but we distract him and give him a magazine from the airlines and they head back to their 'normal' life. Bye-bye guys!!!
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Before we head back to the house, we stop at the grocery store and stock up on provisions for the next two weeks. Emma makes Natasha and I her famous grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and I open a bottle of our favorite local Cabernet. Natasha tells us that we need to leave at 6:30 tomorrow morning as we have an appointment with the city officials in Vanya's town at 8:30 and we will be meeting the mayor to get his blessing as well! And guess who will be driving us for this ninety minute adventure - the one and only Gregori!! It's nice to back and the house is very comfortable - back home in Kirovograd...good night.
Perhaps a bottle of local wine as a souvenir would be a magical thing?
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