There is a saying from St. Francis of Assisi that fits our situation very well:
"Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
From start to "finish", this adoption was riddled with obstacles. It truly happened against all odds. We had so many miracles and so much divine help - from every direction we turned - that now when we look back at our experiences we cannot help but feel that we have an indisputable confirmation that these children truly are supposed to be here.
We decided to inform people of our plans to adopt on a need to know basis; we had started to receive opposition from places we never would have imagined. Among the comments and questions we heard:

" Why are we adopting when we could still someday have more of our own?
" Adoption is for people who have tried and failed to have children, or who do not plan to have any more of their own. Isn't three enough?
" Aren't you spreading yourselves too thin?
" And especially: How many do you have already? You're adopting how many? Are you nuts?

No one adopts 5! We were asked everywhere we turned why we wanted to adopt so many. In Russia, where according to my sister Shirley anyone who has more than one or two children is seen as a drug addict or a drunkard, we had to convince a judge that not only could we financially care for so many children, but that there was enough room in our hearts and home for so great a number. Two, maybe -- but 5?

We applied for loans and grants to help us with our adoption. We were already refinancing our home, drawing money from our credit cards, and receiving help from family. However we were still several thousand dollars short of what we needed. We decided to apply to A Child Waits Foundation to make up the difference.

We met wonderful people at both A Child Waits Foundation and Gift to Adopt. We were grateful when A Child Waits agreed to help. Raymona Griffin at A Child Waits took a chance on us. I remember when the call came from Raymona; I was sitting on the edge of my bed, staring out of the bay window at a large pile of dirt left over from the recent construction of our home. Four-year-old Daniel was standing on top, digging dirt with a small plastic shovel into his dump truck. He was intent on his work, but looked lonely. I knew soon he would come inside and try to entice Suzanne to join him. I was trying to picture Alex and Lyndee out there with him. Then the phone rang and Raymona's news brought the picture of three little children playing happily together on top of that mountain into sharper focus.

Ludmila Popova, our Facilitator in Vladivostok informed us that the main judge over adoptions in her area was on a visit to the United States. He was here to ascertain the situation of adopted children from his area. He had heard rumors of problems with multiple adoptions, and was beginning to believe that they were not in the best interest of the children. She also mentioned that there was a growing concern in that area over the numbers of children that were being adopted by foreigners. With its negative birth rate, Russia was starting to want to cling tenaciously to its own. Ludmila was trying to get us to Russia and home with the children before the judge returned.

There was another problem: There was only one judge in the area that Ludmila felt was partial to multiple adoptions and that would have any desire to give a favorable ruling on the adoption of so many children. That particular judge was also the one who had ruled on the adoptions of all ten of my parents' Russian children and several of those adopted by my Uncle Justin and Aunt LaRee. Ludmila was usually able to request her for the court hearing - but when the main judge returned from the US, according to Ludmila he was going to require that all judges be appointed by the court - and it would be the luck of the draw.

In September Ludmila e-mailed us that we needed to have a first visit almost immediately, or we could lose our chance to adopt these children. She asked if I could make it there by that weekend, which meant I would need to get to Phoenix to take a flight the following morning. Hence followed a mad afternoon of dashing about, throwing things together and trying not to forget anything important!

After news of my needing to leave the next day, I was driving home after rushed last-minute errands and shopping for supplies. It was 10 minutes to 5. I was passing the McNary Clinic in Show Low and had the impression that I should stop and ask them if they would do my required physical on the spur of the moment. At first I resisted the impulse, because I had called them a few weeks before regarding a physical and had been told they could not schedule me until at least January. For the last two hours I had been begging doctors in Taylor, Snowflake, Pinetop/Lakeside and now Show Low to do the exam so my paperwork could be completed and submitted by Kirk while I was in Russia. I finally turned and drove into the parking lot. Entering the waiting room, I explained the situation to the nurse. She went and talked to my nurse practitioner, who agreed to do the last minute exam and paperwork. I was grateful to her for her willingness to work later than usual in order to help me.

After the exam my nurse practitioner said she had a soft spot in her heart for adoptions, a relative in the east had been unable to have children and had ultimately adopted two children from Russia. She completed my exam and filled out the paperwork. Kirk was also able to get his physical at the same clinic while I was in Russia. It was timely: The medicals were called for before I returned from the first trip.

I had applied for my passport seven days before. When I turned in the paperwork they asked if I wanted to expedite it, cutting the return time down to ten business days. Thinking I had plenty of time, I almost opted not to, in order to save money. Diana suggested strongly that I expedite it, even though our trip was not supposed to be for another month. Six days later the passport came. Whew, the next day was my emergency flight to San Francisco and on to Vladivostok.
My parents tried to contact my sister Shirley, who had previously said she was willing to go with me, but obviously was not expecting to be leaving so soon. She and her husband Alan live in the Four Corners area of Utah, but Shirley was at a three-day business conference somewhere in Washington State. In order for her to go with me she would have to: 1) Be located. Soon! 2) Leave the conference in the middle, board a plane almost immediately, and meet me in San Francisco at the Russian Consulate with enough time for both of us to get same-day tourist visas before the visa desk closed for the weekend at 12pm, and 3) Find a way to get her passport, which was safely at home in remote Southern Utah.

Shirley's husband Alan was contacted at home after work. He grabbed her passport and made a five-hour drive in the dark to our home in Taylor, AZ. I would take the passport with me to San Francisco. Without setting foot in our home, he turned around and returned to Utah in order to be back in time to teach his high school math class the next morning.

When my parents were finally able to locate her, Shirley agreed to go. She ran to the neighborhood Wal-Mart and purchased a few items for the trip. Then after very little rest she boarded a flight for San Francisco where she and I would rendezvous downtown at the Russian Consulate.

I said goodbye to my family and headed for Mesa, three hours away. Up until that moment I had been running on pure adrenaline. But I had slept only forty-five minutes that night and fatigue hit me like a sledgehammer. Desperately fighting the urge to close my eyes, I prayed hard to stay awake. The flight was scheduled to leave in four hours so there was no time to stop and rest. I begged Heavenly Father to help me. Suddenly I felt as if the wheel was grabbed from my hands. A feeling of stone cold calm replaced the fogginess that had been creeping over me. The rest of the three-hour trip was made with me observing the driving. I have never felt that way before; my body felt asleep and numb, but my mind was sharp and clear. The night was deadly still and dark. Mine was the only car on the road.

Shirley and I arrived in San Francisco on two different flights from two different directions and made our way in different taxis to the Russian Consulate. Luckily we arrived at the consulate about an hour and a half before they closed the visa office. When it was finally our turn we were told we could not pay in cash. We had to pay with money order or personal check. We had no personal checks and no time to catch a taxi and go to get a money order before the visa office closed. Desperate and willing to take a chance, we turned and asked the people in line if any of them would be willing to accept cash in exchange for a personal check. We found one man, who was also going to Russia to adopt, who sent Shirley out to his wife in the car to exchange the money for a personal check. Then when we turned it in, and the consulate employee was working on our visas, the man and his wife finished their business and left. Just then, the employee said he was sorry but that the amount we had given him was only half of what we needed to pay for same-day visas. Shirley ran outside to try and intercept the man, but he and his wife were gone. Desperate, we turned to the employee to ask what we should do. He admitted the mistake was his fault and he would accept cash for the remainder. We purchased tickets at the airport for our flight to Moscow and left that afternoon.

21 September 2002
We are in Moscow, in the Novotel. We got tickets for Vladivostok at the airport when we arrived. We will fly from here tomorrow (Sunday). We fly back here to Moscow on the 27th and will fly to Los Angeles on the 28th.

We arrived minus one suitcase, the one filled with socks and the computer for the orphanages. The lost-and-found office here is looking for it. If they can find it they will send it to Vladivostok to wait at the airport for us.

People have been very kind and helpful at every turn. We are being blessed. The man at the visa office let us pay cash (unheard of). The manager of Aeroflot at the airport took care of our tickets and personally came to make sure we received them and everything was all right. The baggage man at United in San Francisco kept the two big suitcases for us until we returned from the Embassy (yes, we did get them both back!) The man in Moscow at the lost-and-found booth was extremely kind and helpful and took a lot of time for our case. The man at the airline ticket agency spent a long time finding us flights that would give us as much time as possible in Vladivostok and still get us to Moscow in time for our connecting flight to Los Angeles.

Shirley and I found a flight out of Moscow leaving the next day. We found out after we arrived in Vladivostok from Ludmila that every other flight from Moscow to Vladivostok that day had been cancelled, due to a rumor of bad weather. If we had been on any other flight we would not have been there in time to complete all we had to before returning home. Surely God knew that our flight needed to get through.

22 September 2002
We arrived this morning in Vladivostok. Oleg was there to meet us, and we picked up Ludmila on the way to Vladivostok Hotel. Ludmila had not received the e-mail we sent from Moscow, but found out this morning we were coming when Diana called her.

We flew on Vladivostok Airlines and were very surprised to learn from Oleg as we were driving that ours was the only flight today to actually land in Vladivostok. All the others were diverted to Khabarovsk because of the supposedly bad weather we are having here. It is sunny and warm, by the way!!

Many things in this adoption are under wraps on this end, it seems. The wind is not as warm - figuratively speaking - from some comers as it seemed in recent past. Ludmila is frank concerning the problems, but cheerfully moving mountains as usual, and it is looking like we are along for the ride of our lives. But the scenery is good, and we will like the destination.

We bought a watermelon when Oleg stopped for gas. We're going to figure a way to get it open and eat it. That may have to wait for later tonight, but we're looking forward to it.

Our first trip was officially to be a "humanitarian" visit, with proper donations made. Since Kirk and I did not yet have our paperwork completed or clearance from INS, we were basically going on faith that we would be allowed to see the children. Ludmila had insisted upon the first visit taking place immediately - even without the paperwork. The ever-changing Ministry of Education had adopted a new rule: According to the rule, three visits would be required now instead of two. Previously, one visit was for the purpose of meeting the children and making donations and then a court date was set for the second visit. Now, before the children were allowed to be "chosen ", there had to be proof of a humanitarian visit having been made previously by the couple - solely for humanitarian reasons, not for adoption. I don't know if that was a new rule in our area or nationwide. The three-visit rule would make it more difficult for us to adopt all the children before new rules made multiple adoptions almost impossible.

The Ministry of Education softened concerning the three visit rule due to the vital negotiating skills of our Ludmila - Diana team, which explained to the Ministry of Education that Kirk's and my families (parents and Aunt and Uncle and Kirk's sister and brother-in-law) had already collectively visited Vladivostok and other areas of Russia at least fourteen times and had donated a significant dollar amount to the orphanages in those regions. In addition, my sister Shirley and my brother Roy had lived there for humanitarian reasons as missionaries for almost four years collectively, and another brother, Michael, was at that very moment living in Russia as a missionary.

23 September 2002
We have more moved mountains to report. Ludmila is in fine form, I must say. At DetDom2 we had a little bit of time to visit with Sasha and Zhenya. They are very pretty, soft-spoken and graceful. They want to be adopted, by the way. They are hopeful, in spite of the knowledge that these things sometimes don't work out because of the recent legal developments. Ludmila said on our way back that our chances of success at getting the adoptions approved are a little low: Perhaps only 80%.

Last night Ludmila went to the Ministry of Education to deliver the officially stamped letter recording our donations. The people there in the department asked whether Mrs. Uchytil was truly interested in giving humanitarian aid. Ludmila assured them that that was our intention. Then, as a token of that, offered on our behalf, to use some of the donation money to pay for an operation for a boy about whom the department has been concerned. They liked that idea and in return they granted that this could be an Official Visit. The operation will come to about a thousand dollars, which, thanks to kind hearts and hands at home, we just happen to have in our possession. The result: A Humanitarian Visit, an Official Visit and an Adoption Visit to Russia have now been consolidated somewhat; we will not have to make a third visit to Russia in order to adopt these children. Ludmila feels that these developments are an essential break in the case,

Last night we bought cheese, bread, lots of bottled water, milk and juice, and a knife. Now to demolish that watermelon! All things considered, we're living like royalty.

Today we will go to the baby home in Artyom to "officially" visit Lena. Tomorrow will be an all-day visit to Spassk about 500km away to hopefully see Tanya and Alex. . More news to follow, I'm sure.

24 September 2002
There is a little bit of a hurry. We're hanging on by the skin of our teeth here without all of our documents completed. Wish things didn't have to be in such a rush because of the judge. Things are all high stress here, and change by the hour.

I met Lena, our littlest girl. She sat on my lap and called me Mama.

We have an interesting situation developing with three-year-old Lena. When we arrived at the baby home in Artyom we had a wonderful visit. Then as we were preparing to leave, the acting head doctor accosted us and said she would never consent to Lena's adoption without the adoption of her two siblings in Spassk. Ludmila tried to soften her armor by explaining that Mr. And Mrs. Uchytil were planning to do just that. The woman continued to breathe out heated opposition to everything said, and then angrily announced that Lena would be moved the following Thursday. She was to be moved to the children's home several hours away in Spassk where her brother and sister have been living. Ludmila insisted that the scheduled move would introduce significant complications. Almost triumphantly, the acting doctor in charge confirmed the move. She refused to let Lena stay even one more day past Thursday, claiming that Lena was too old to be in the children's home anymore.

Ludmila, suspicious of the timing, and to why this doctor took it upon herself in the absence of her supervisor to schedule the transfer, insisted that the woman reconsider. The woman refused. Ludmila told her in Ludmila-no-nonsense-fashion that the woman was making a terrible mistake, and that her decision was going to cost the Artyom baby home a significant donation. Certainly, Ludmila insisted, the head doctor would not be pleased. The woman again refused. Ludmila had Shirley and I wait with Oleg outside while she tried to reason with the woman for a long time. She had no success.

The social worker who needs to recommend the adoption must see at least one meeting between the child and her prospective parents. The social worker was not able to come for today's visit, so we did this one visit without him/her. The agreement was that the social worker would observe a visit on Friday before we left for Moscow. Obviously if Lena is not in Artyom on Friday, such a visit will not be possible.

The visit to Tanya and Alex in Spassk is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday). If she is moved as planned, Lena will not be there until the following day. So the social worker there will not observe any visit with Lena either. By the time Lena gets there we will no longer have time to visit her.

Ludmila is going to try and convince the people in Spassk to refuse to take her, or to try to find some other way to resolve the situation. There may be other options, too, but there are complications on every hand.

25 September 2002
Ludmila and the Lord have again moved mountains. Ludmila and I started for Spassk at 6:00am after the alarm didn't go off and there was no water in the building to take a shower (water should be flowing again some time Friday, so they say). Shirley kindly threw my things together while I used the ten minutes I had to get looking decent. Then Oleg showed up and our several-hundred-kilometer trip to Spassk began.

Halfway there Oleg heard on the radio that that there was a general strike in Spassk today and that the military would be closing the roads to the city in one hour. Ludmila shrugged her shoulders. "We'll get there in time."

When we reached Spassk we went to the Ministry of Education where Ludmila was told that they were too busy that day and too short-handed to send out a social worker with us as previously promised. They told us to come back some other day. They were very polite about the whole thing, but very firm. Ludmila continued to insist that I must be allowed to see the two children that day because of the length of the trip from Vladivostok and our pending return to the USA. It would be impossible for us to repeat this trip in the next two days before we left for home. The conversation was intense, undecipherable, and polite.

Another social worker joined the conversation. She was leaving for lunch. Lena listened to the situation and agreed to go with us if we would take her and the children to lunch. Gratefully Ludmila and I accepted.

Tanya and Alex were in different buildings about five minute's drive from each other. I spent time in both places with each child before we headed for the restaurant.

Tanya and Alex

Alex was very interested in pictures I had brought of Papa and his future brothers and sister. He excitedly showed a picture of Papa to Tanya when we picked her up for lunch.
Ludmila explained to me what the social worker, Lena, was saying about the children: They have a mother still alive. Tanya still talks about her. The mother has been heavily into drugs and alcohol and has not shown any interest in the children since February of this year. She lost her parental rights some time ago. The children also have two grandmothers who reside close by; one is in the hospital and doing poorly, and the other is an alcoholic like her daughter. The social worker said they really should give written consent to the adoption, however in their present state she thought the Ministry of Education might just decide to leave them out of the picture entirely.

During lunch Tanya chatted with me as if language was not a barrier. One time she picked up my camera and in animated Russian was explaining something about the buttons on the top. I responded in English, telling her the purpose of each button, and Tanya was happy as a lark. She snapped pictures of everyone in the group - repeatedly.

Alex seems to be a deep thinker. His hot-rod cars (gift from Kirk and I) were kept painstakingly organized in their original plastic case. He reminded me of four-year-old Daniel, with his methodical efforts to keep things around him in his little world in order. He seems very intelligent, but keeps it all quietly inside. Many times I would look over and catch him looking shyly in my direction. I wondered what he was sorting out inside his quiet mind. I mentioned to the social worker that spoke a smattering of English that I thought he was very smart - only very thoughtful. She misunderstood and agreed that he was slow. I told Ludmila what I meant and she translated.

Back at the Ministry of Education, Ludmila and Lena the Social Worker talked about many things, including a donation for the Spassk orphanage. I sat there quietly and tried to look rich. Their talk turned serious and then Ludmila picked up the phone. Her conversation with the faceless being on the other end became heated and energetic. When she finally hung up the phone Ludmila explained to me that little Lena would stay in the baby home in Artyom and not be moved to Spassk. The social worker promised her full cooperation in Kirk's and my adoption of Tanya and Alex in Spassk. She said with a wink that she knew how to please the judge.

I told Ludmila as best I could as we traveled home out of the deserted streets of Spassk how grateful Kirk and I are for all she is doing. This whole adoption would not be possible without the miracles she has accomplished. Ludmila responded by promptly falling asleep on the back bench and sleeping the whole trip back to Vladivostok.

26 September 2002
We just got back from a very animated evening at DetDom2. We got there about 5pm and immediately got the key to the kitchen and went to work. Sasha and Zhenya helped us carry in bags and bags of food, only to discover that it should have been bags and bags and bags of food. We kept not finding things we knew we had brought with us; such things as cheese, rice, flour and "chili" sauce (Russian style - basically ketchup, despite its labeling). Norene and the girls went to work with a will to create Mexican cuisine based on the Russian products we ended up with instead of what we planned. I tell you, it was quite a feat, and the results were astonishingly delicious.

Sasha and Zhenya rolled up their sleeves and went to work with a will. I tried to translate about three conversations all at once and de-bone a chicken at the same time without burning myself. The girls were very interested and kept asking whether this or that part of the dish was authentic. Norene crossed her fingers and assured them it was pretty close.

We ended up with four of us and six plates of food. We figured the director Tamara Nikolaevna should have one of them. For the other plate, Sasha invited one of her teachers to join us. Everyone liked the food very much. Norene told the teacher what good cooks the girls were and asked the girls jokingly whether they would be fixing it for everyone tomorrow. The teacher answered solemnly that that would take too long and be too expensive. She went on to explain how difficult it was to cook for so many people.

I got some time to talk with Sasha this evening. She said she was ready today to go to America. Norene talked for a while with Zhenya, who, it turns out, knows a fair number of English words.

Ludmila talked today with the social worker over DD2 where the older girls are. The social worker was a little dubious as to whether or not the two girls should be adopted, considering their ages. Ludmila gave her quite a time on that one; she reminded her that Diana and Mama/Daddy had adopted older children and things had worked out just fine with them. Ludmila doesn't anticipate any insurmountable problems on that score, but said she may still have to give the social worker enough of a hard time that she decides it's all right. "Just talk with the girls" said Ludmila to the social worker, "and ask them if they want to be adopted." Ludmila told me the social worker should be well aware that about 90% of the children who grow up in children's homes end up either drunkards or prostitutes; I would think maybe even both. Anyway, it's good to know of her reservations. It helps us know about what we need to pray.

We will be leaving at 10am tomorrow to visit Lenuchka one more time in Artyom. Then it's HOMEWARD BOUND!

27 September 2002
We visited Lena on the way to the airport. The acting head doctor, still sore and smarting from her run-in with Ludmila, conveniently disappeared from the premises so she wouldn't have to sign the paperwork the social worker brought for her to sign. She is a sore loser, but Ludmila was not fazed. She will surprise her unannounced with the documents in a few days.

We finally got the missing suitcase as we arrived at the airport to leave Vladivostok. We promptly unloaded the socks and computer and handed them, over to Ludmila, along with the gifts for her and her husband.

In order to finance the adoptions we applied for refinancing on the home we had just finished building. We were able to be approved for enough to pay for a majority of the adoption expenses.

When I went to Russia the first time we still had not closed on the loan. There were questions about whether or not our home was located in a flood zone. FEMA maps stated that it was. More recent surveys claimed we weren't. We provided a letter signed by an engineer stating we were not in a flood zone. Then, just a few weeks before we were scheduled to return to Russia, and the day that we were supposed to close on loan, we received a call from the mortgage company stating that there was no way we could close on our loan that day, because FEMA maps said we were in a flood zone and we would need either flood insurance or a letter from FEMA stating that they accepted the most recent surveys stating that we are not in a flood zone. Since a LOMA letter from FEMA takes at least ninety days to obtain, we got to work immediately to get flood insurance.

At 5:00pm on that same day, we received a call from the title company stating that we had closed and that we could come pick up our check any time. Lack of communication or misunderstanding between the mortgage and title companies brought about one of the big blessings of this whole adventure: Recent weeks and months of struggle to get this whole "flood insurance" nightmare worked out indicate that if there had not been miscommunication between the mortgage and title companies on that day, we would not have been able to adopt: If we had not closed on that day we would have had only three weeks to close before we had to totally re-apply for our loan. That may not seem so bad except that we were under a major time constraint and had to get these children out before the judge made a new ruling concerning multiple adoptions.

Ludmila was tired. We could read it in her e-mails and hear it in her voice when we talked on the phone. She was constantly in pain and in need of medication. Her head always hurt. Aunt Ree worried out loud that she might have cancer. Ludmila e-mailed Diana and suggested we call the whole thing off and she would give us back our money. Kirk and I, Diana, and a host of family members who know and love her responded that we were praying for her recovery, and that we still were hoping to be able to come and get our children. She did not make the suggestion again.

In the interim between visits, opposition hit hard. Ludmila was constantly in pain. Her usually kind demeanor turned sometimes sharp and snappish. At one point, she refused to set a court date for Kirk and I until another couple that was disputing a significant sum of money with her satisfied the debt. The couple did not feel they owed it to her. She insisted they did. They were unable to pay. Finally Ludmila gave the ultimatum; no money, no Uchytil adoptions. It was so unlike her to act this way! She was certainly under a lot of stress. The money in question probably would have been a great help to her at that time.

Things became difficult for me, as well. Sometimes as I would rock my one-year-old to sleep at night, I would look out of his window at the stars and try to remember the faces of our Russian children. They were fading in my memory. The lights of a faraway plane would flicker rhythmically across the night sky, and I would feel dread at the thought of again boarding a plane for Russia.

In a desperate effort to rekindle the enthusiasm I had felt before, I would recount as many faith-building experiences as I could. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. In my case the Adversary tried tenaciously to make me forget - or at least lose heart. I tried desperately to stay excited. I felt that I was wearing out -- both physically and spiritually. But remembering the little miracles helped.

Luckily, things were about to become hectic, busy and interesting again….

Our fingerprints came back, We got INS approval, our paperwork was finally completed and Ludmila set our court date. She requested and received the judge she wanted. Nothing else was said of the money owed her. Court was scheduled for the morning of November 26th. Shirley and I prepared to go. Kirk's work would allow him only a few days in Russia and he planned to return to the United States soon after the 26th. Shirley's help, always indispensable to me, would now be imperative to bring a bouncing gaggle of kids home alive and in one piece (well, actually several pieces).

22 November 2002
We arrived in Vladivostok this morning. Ludmila had heard no confirmation that we were coming, so she came just in case, not really expecting to find us.

I visited briefly with Lena today while Shirley slept in the van. We both had a fine time. The friendly doctor was back in charge. Apparently Lena can be quite a live wire. She should fit right in.

The notary pulled a fast one today and the petition to the court didn't get notarized. Ludmila has to get it done Monday so it can get to the judge before Tuesday morning. It has Ludmila pretty stressed.

Kirk was under the gun with several jobs having to be completed before he left his business to travel to Russia. With great enthusiasm and very little sleep he went to work and completed them -- just hours before his flight was to leave. Then he experienced a three-hour night drive down to Mesa/Phoenix and was caught in a freeway jam-up in the Tempe area, but made his flight on time.

We are in the Vladivostok Hotel. More later.

23 November 2002
We are having a quiet day so far. We sent Missionary Michael's package airmail so it won't take a whole month to get it to Krasnadar. Maybe he'll even get it by Christmas! We'll go see Sasha and Zhenya this afternoon.

Zhenya lost her passport. She was riding in a car with her friends from DetDom2 where supposedly it happened. The Children's Home Director, Zhenya, her friends, the social worker and others looked desperately for it before we made our second trip to Vladivostok, but to no avail.

24 November 2002
Norene is talking to Kirk on the phone upstairs. There was apparently a major miscommunication in Moscow; an airport employee, trying to be helpful, I'm sure, told Kirk the wrong time for his delayed flight to Vladivostok. Kirk will hopefully arrive here tomorrow. Ludmila didn't sound surprised in the least that something like that would happen in Moscow. It sounds like such things happen there all the time.

We spent some time yesterday with Sasha and Zhenya, where Ludmila worked through the schedule for the next few days with the director, Tamara. The three oldest girls (Sasha, Zhenya and Tanya) will be at court to answer questions. The two small children will stay at DetDom2 until after everything has been settled and it is time to pick them up to take them with us.

There is a potentially enormous problem with Zhenya. Her domestic passport has turned up missing, and without it she will not be going anywhere. Ludmila and Tamara Nikolaevna (director of DetDom2) are trying to figure where it can be found. The thought was briefly mentioned that if it can't be found then everyone else might go with the Uchytils and I (Shirley) might stay here (as Ludmila termed it - as a hostage) until the passport is found and Zhenya can go too. I gave no encouragement to that idea, but if it comes down to that, I don't know what I'll do. I don't want to stay, but Kirk and Norene coming back for her looks financially impossible. Please pray hard that the passport will be found, and in time.

25 November 2002
We just heard from Ludmila that Zhenya's passport is found. Thank goodness. Now with Kirk finally able to get correct information so he can actually make it to his plane, it looks like everything is in order for the moment.
We're working on documents and all seems to be progressing well. It looked at first like we would be getting Lena from the baby home on Thursday. Now we get to bring her earlier - starting Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning she will be with us at the hotel.

We went this morning to pick up Kirk at the airport. He was there - HOORAY! - and we went on immediately to see Lena at Artyom. She was happy to see her papa, and was definitely happy to see Norene. After a fun but short visit we started to go back, as we thought, to the hotel. We ended up getting re-routed to DetDom2 in Vladivostok, where the other children had gathered. There followed an interview with the social worker, in which she asked many questions. She seemed very positive and pleased with the answers she received. After photographs and talking, we whooshed off to go back to the hotel.

We had a pre-court briefing with Ludmila, and now Norene and Kirk are upstairs rehearsing possible questions. We are praying that the consulate here will re-open for business on the day after Thanksgiving. That question still seems a bit up in the air. It will make things easier, and allow Kirk to return to work sooner.

Norene and Kirk had been unaware until tonight that both parents and all children have to present themselves at the consulate in person. They had been informed that if Norene had a signed power of attorney from Kirk, he could be absent. Kirk has several pressing responsibilities at home and had planned to return to the States right after the court hearing; we discovered just tonight that is not possible. His return trip date now depends on Consulate schedule. If Consulate is closed Friday, Kirk will have to present himself with his family at the embassy in Moscow. If they are open Friday, the Embassy business can be done by courier.

Ludmila told us tonight that as of today Moscow will not admit to having received Cable 37. She will call again tomorrow at 9am Vlad time to see if it is there yet. I don't quite know what to do since I'm sure it was sent at least twice.

HELP. WE WANT TO GO HOME. (Especially Kirk)

26 November 2002
Ludmila, as usual, carried the day! The judge's decision was positive and immediate. Passports are in production, the Consulate will be OPEN on Friday, and the pizza was really tasty. Even if in the interest of decorum we had to eat it with knives and forks. For those of you who have been there you know what we mean. We'll hopefully give more details later, when we calm down.

Kirk will have to change his ticket, so instead of leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) he will leave either Friday after visiting the Consulate with us, or on Saturday morning. He will probably go with us as far as Moscow and then continue on home. We will need to verify the exact departure date that is available.

27 November 2002
It is the first truly clear day since we arrived. Fitting. And the view of the sea is breathtaking. Ice is still forming along the shore and gradually making its way out to sea. For the first time we can actually see the island out across the water.
We are moving to an apartment this afternoon. The same one, remember Mama and Daddy, where we stayed with my four newest brothers and sister last time.

Today the children will have medical exams and we will visit the US consulate, as the march through the documents continues. We got Kirk's flight changed. Everything looks good. Lena is already here. Kirk and Norene picked her up this morning, and she is upstairs happily playing dolls with her new daddy. Others will join us this afternoon. We will be leaving here very soon.

Thank you all for your support, help, faith and prayers on behalf of Kirk and Norene and all of us here. Add in all the unseen support we get, and truly "they that be with us are more than they that be with them." It feels good.

28 November 2002
We all have much reason for thankfulness today. Yesterday we finished the medical exams and the visit to the consulate, and more than triple checked everything to make sure it is in order. Barring any loose ends and/or crisis, we are finished with the Official Processes in Vladivostok and are ready to go home.

Yesterday at the Consulate we met a couple (he's American, she's Russian) who are trying to get married but are having trouble because he neglected to get an apostille in the US. Neither he nor anyone he consulted had any idea what an apostille is, and they were both dismayed to discover that without it the wheels of' bureaucracy grind to a screeching halt and nothing can be done.

It is amazing what can be done by following people who know what they are doing. We are thankful for all your help and for the resulting success of this mission - and completed piles of documents.

Today is planned as a quiet day in the apartment, during which the children will be well washed and warmly dressed, then given some new things and some good experiences with their new parents.

28 November 2002
We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home. I went out a couple of times for food and stuff, but the children stayed home out of the bitter cold with Norene. Daddy, Fuji apples are now in every produce store and kiosk. We bought a box yesterday and Kirk carted it up the hill to the apartment - well, you know how they taste.

Today we will go ALL TOGETHER to the aquarium and the Zoo. Tomorrow we fly! Kirk will be on our same flight. We're trying to consider the relative advantages/disadvantages of coming home a day or two earlier. I sent an e-mail to Vicki Weston so she can check some of the variables - cost being a main one.

We have been doing so many other things just to make it so Kirk and Norene can have the children that we have had to put the question of where to stay in Moscow to the side. Now the question is staring us in the face.

29 November 2002
Our flight today was delayed until 5pm. Ludmila is keeping us posted so we don't repeat recent history. We have a homestay in Moscow. Two families (neighbors) are taking us in. Shirley might be playing courier to the embassy. Shirley commented that this could prove to be interesting.

1 December 2002
Kirk arrived back home and all is well. He says he plans to stay at his parents' home this evening, and will be there for part of tomorrow to see local clients before heading back to the mountains. Suzanne was very glad to see her Papa. He gave all back home a partial report of our adventures. They all look forward to hearing the rest of the news, and seeing our new children

2 December 2002
Kirk sends his regards from home. Says it is good to be home and encourages us to make flight changes if possible so we can return home as soon as possible. Even though it may cost a substantial amount to make the changes, he thinks it will be best for all involved.

Sometimes the lack of language can be quite exhausting, not only for the children who can't understand their new mother's wishes, but for the mother, as well, who can't figure out what's happening from moment to moment - unless Shirley is there!

Shirley abandoned us out of necessity on our first business day in Moscow. She became our Courier to the American Embassy while I spent the whole day smiling at our hosts and my children and wishing they could talk in a way that made sense to me.

The worst came halfway through the day when the grandmother from next door hurried across the hall and grabbed Lena. With much excited chattering in my direction, she and our host began to bundle Kirk's and my little daughter in everything warm she owned.

Soon all that could be seen of the little girl were Lena's soft blue eyes peeking out from under layers and layers of wraps. The eyes did not seem concerned. In fact after her experiences in the orphanage she was probably used to taking everything in stride. I on the other hand, was not.

I insisted the women leave her alone. They continued to babble nonsense in my direction while tying Lena's shoelaces. I hated the thought of them taking my daughter away without me knowing where - or why. I insisted they let her be, and that I receive an explanation -- IN ENGLISH - as to what was going on, before I would let Lena set foot out that door. They continued bundling the calm little hostage as if my refusals had fallen on deaf ears. I felt like the mother crow must have felt in the children's book The Crows of Pear Blossom, when the snake continued to eat her eggs despite her fluttering.

I backed down, close to tears. I felt helpless and unable to do anything without making a big scene. Then, as they were about ready to leave, they paused at the front door and bowed their heads. Calmly the Grandmother offered a sincere prayer in gibberish, and I felt my fears dissipating. At that moment I knew that everything would be all right. I felt that these women would take good care of Lena. I still had no idea what was happening but I had a calm feeling in my heart as I watched them pray that everything would be a right.

Shirley called twenty minutes later and explained that little Lena's visa photographs had been unacceptable and our host was taking her to get more pictures and then take them to Shirley at the Embassy.

2 December 2002
We made it safely to Moscow. The home stay turned out to be in two different apartments in two different parts of Moscow, but after one hectic night we fixed it. Great family - big apartment, too. They agreed to $150 per night!
We got all five visas today. Playing courier has me exhausted, and the kids and Norene had to go anyway. Oh well.

3 December 2002
After our successful day at the Embassy yesterday we tried this morning to move our flight to an earlier day. No success. We will be coming home, as originally scheduled, on December 5th.

Last night after the Embassy our driver offered to take us to Red Square. While Norene and the kids were there having their tourist adventures, I was able to make it to the Internet Center and back (Daddy, you remember the one). I still got to see Red Square, even though it was at about 80mph as I ran through. That's all right. I've seen it a few times by now.

4 December 2002
Tonight we hope to see the Moscow Circus and tomorrow at 3am we will drag everyone out the door to the airport. Here is our itinerary. Austrian Airlines OS 606 leaves Moscow for Vienna at 5:55 am, arrives 6:40 am. Flight OS 93 departs Vienna for Washington at 11:10am, arrives 3:10pm. In Washington we will got through Immigration so we may miss our next flight. If that happens, we'll just get the next available flight Dulles- PHX after we clear Immigration.

5 December 2002
Based on recent advice from personal experience, we decided that only those who need to be at the airport should go. Tthe crowds of well-meaning well wishers can be overwhelming to the newcomers.

We spent a night in a hotel in Washington - at the airline's expense - when we missed our last leg of the journey. Austrian Airline's flight from Vienna to Dulles was a full hour behind schedule, and so even without Immigration's long delay we would have most likely missed our flight. We were so exhausted we couldn't even enjoy to the fullest the marvelous AMERICAN food the airline also furnished. We wrapped it up and saved it for the next morning in the airport. It was a long day of travel, we left our Moscow apartment at 3:00 am and fell into bed at the Washington D. C. hotel almost thirty hours later on the same day.

Even with all of our incredible experiences in Russia, it's good to be back in the United States!

Updates on the children:

Zhenya: She is so beautiful! She is doing well in school. She is amazingly patient with her new gaggle of brothers and sisters and gets along well with them. Tanya and Sasha look up to her. She plays the piano like a prodigy and likes to sing. She enjoys biking, outdoor sports, and going to dances with her sister.

Sasha: She is just as stunning as her older sister. She has found several new friends. She plays the piano and does well in school. She likes the younger children and seems to have blossomed. She roves to read and cook, and enjoys music and dancing.

Tanya: She has been learning how to play the piano, and spends much of her spare time there. She loves to sing, and was recently asked to perform a solo in church. She loves using the computer, and enjoys helping as much as she can in the family business. She is kind and gentle with animals, and received a baby duck as a pet for her first American birthday. She is much loved by her brothers and sisters. She has a rapid-fire intelligence that yearns to be fed knowledge. She is doing extremely well with her English.

Suzanne: She is Liena-Lyndee's best friend. She teaches Lyndee how to draw and write and she reads her stories. They play dolls constantly. Usually David becomes Lyndee's doll. She treats him as if he's made of porcelain - most of the time. Sometimes she needs to be reminded that he is a living-breathing brother. Suzanne rooms with her and helps her go to the bathroom.

Alex: If 2-yr-old David flails out at Alex, he doesn't retaliate. He seems mild-mannered and temperate. Once in a while he erupts in frustration or breathes out dirty Russian words under his breath, but these incidents are becoming less and less common. Kirk and I love him and are watching him closely; He tries to be very obedient and he shows tentative affection towards the many other members of his family, but we can tell that there is a lot of sadness and scarring in his 6-yr-old heart. We will do whatever it takes.

Daniel: He has become buddies with Alex. It was just as Kirk and I had hoped. They are outside together rain or shine -- and in our area of Arizona, at least -- sleet or snow. They throw themselves off the dirt mountain in our new and still un-landscaped backyard. They dig with shovels and make "elk and rabbit traps". They ride bikes and play soccer. They get as dirty and muddy as little boys are supposed to get and then come inside to share it with me. They're having too much fun at nights to settle down and go to sleep.

Lyndee: She loves snuggles, loves and hugs. She has confiscated every doll in the house and is making up for lost time by showering them with love. She is acting healthy and according to the Doctor on December 10th she should stay that way if we follow certain dietary guidelines. Liena-Lyndee thrives on attention and draws admirers to her like flies to sugar. We can't imagine a life without her! Lyndee reaches her arms out wide, begging with her eyes for a hug and a kiss. "I love you too." she says. She used to say "I love you." But I always answered "I love you, too." She is quite observant, and wants to say it right. She thought I was correcting her. So she started saying "I love you, too."

David: Liena! Liena! Ee DEE see-oo dah! Pa-wa COO shat!! (Come here! Time to eat!!) At the beginning he was a little resentful and confused by the fact that there was another "baby" on my lap a lot of the time. Over the last few weeks, though, he has become close to Liena- Lyndee and no longer tries to push her off my lap. I guess he has discovered that his mother's lap is adequately ample for two.

Our days are hectic and usually start very early. We anticipated this and are growing into our new schedule and our added responsibilities - with gratitude and joy.

You came from a land where all is light
To a world half day and a world half night
To guard you by day you have my love
And to guard you by night your friends above
So sleep, sleep 'till the darkness ends
Guarded by your angel friends
There's one that stands softly by your bed
And another sits close with a hand on your head
There's one at the window watching for the dawn,
And one waits to wake you when the night is gone
So sleep, sleep 'till the darkness ends,
Guarded by your angel friends.

My husband sings this song on a regular basis to our children. It soothes them and lulls them to sleep. The first time I heard him singing this song to our littlest adopted children, my heart caught in my throat. Certainly the words of this song pertain to them! Certainly they have had angels around them to protect them throughout the recent months. Certainly we have had angels to protect and help us and the children. Thank you, to all these angels.

We would like to thank A Child Waits Foundation for their trust in us and in our goals. For their kindness in providing us with some of the finances help make this adventure happen and for the good people who work there.

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