On Monday, June 7, 

2021, we had our first appointment set to meet with the Minis

try Office of Social Service of Ukraine.  This appointment is where you are presented options of children available for adoption. 30 minutes prior to this appointment we met with Inna, our translator and facilitator, outside on a street side cafe.

Inna had prepared for us printouts of the children appear

ing on the Ministry’s website that were showing available for adoption.  She had the children grouped in categories, boy & girl, 2 girls, 2 boys, then single non sibling children girls and boys.  We were about to start looking through the black and white printouts when it started to rain.  Quickly we covered up the paperwork and moved to another location with a shelter over a bench.

It was here in this location that we saw our children’s beautiful faces for the first time, although Ryan and I never spoke it out loud to each other, we new in our souls Anna (9) and Artem (11) were ours.

Going into the appointment with the Ministry office it is recommended that you have a list of children that you are interested in, so we followed Inna’s recommendations and selected a few others, but our full intentions were on only Anna and Artem.  We walked into the meeting and the clerk Oksana presented us first with pictures of children with severe disabilities.  Our facilitator explained that we have not been approved to adopt children with severe disabilities.  Oksana asked if there were children we had selected from the site that we were potentially interested in.  Inna passed the photos over, then Oksana left to go up to the 11th floor to bring back their files.  We waited about 20 minutes before she returned with files in hand.  She started opening files, but Anna and Artem were not there.  Though the children presented were beautiful, it was a complete blur as we had our minds set and we were not seeing Anna and Artem here.  Ryan finally asked what about Anna and Artem?  Oksana replied that yes she thinks they are still available and went to an office next door to grab their file.

She presented us the photo’s you see here and started to share about their background and medicals.  We discovered in this appointment that the children were from a region that was neighbouring to where Ryan’s Great Grandfather was born and raised.  Right at the start of our adoption application back in October 2019, we had spoken with our Agency about the possibility of adopting from this part of the Western region, but the way the process works, it is almost impossible to select children from specific areas of the country.  For this reason, we never expected that this would likely happen as most of the adoptions our agency had performed were from the southern region of Ukraine.

Once Oksana had finished presenting, we asked if Ryan and I could go to an office to discuss privately.  She gave us an office next door where the conversation was very short.  We knew 100% that these were our children, we only wanted to make it look to the ministry office that we were not making a fast decision, but rather taking time to discuss privately.  From there we signed a request to meet with Anna and Artem.

The next day we went back to the Ministry office to pick up our approval letter which is required to present to the social services office in the city where the orphanage resides.   This all went smoothly.  Waiting outside in the hot sun with another couple from Italy who was waiting to pick up their approval letter to visit their 3rd orphanage.  Again, feeling very fortunate that we were able to find our children on the first appointment.

On Wednesday, June 9th, 2021 we woke up early that morning to board our train around 7am.  The train was newer and had lots of space and comfortable seating.  With our bags and luggage on hand we were now on our way from Kiev to Khmelnytskyi which was a 4 hour train ride.

The feeling on the train was a feeling of excitement and nerves.  Wondering what would their personalities be like, what would the connection feel like, even some of the logistical aspects of what the orphanage would be like were just a few of the thoughts we had.

The country side of Western Ukraine was beautiful, but as the train passed through many small villages, the poverty in some of these areas was very evident.  Small homes that would be considered a tear down shed here in Canada, were how just some of the people are living there.  You could see they live a simpler life, yet lots of children running and playing outside.

Finally we arrived at our destination.  Khmelnytskyi has a population of around 200,000 so it is considered smaller.  Our taxi took us to our hotel where we dropped off our luggage and freshened up for the busy day ahead.  After a quick bite to eat at the hotel restaurant, we took a taxi to the social services office about a 15 min taxi drive away.

We sat outside in the blistering heat until the social worker opened the door to let us in.  With Covid protocols, they only let you in the entrance way, no meetings are held in any offices.  We met briefly to present the approval letter given to us from the ministry office, which is the authorization to visit the children at the orphanage.  This meeting was very brief, with a social worker being assigned now to our file and joined us in our taxi as we headed to the orphanage.

Pulling up to the orphanage grounds, we could see lots of play structures and brightly painted buildings.  Feeling very excited and nervous, we walked into the orphanage.  No children were around as they were all in class when we arrived.  We walked up to the 2nd floor to meet in the director’s office.  The director and an orphanage worker were sitting at a desk.  They asked us to take seats on the couches near the entrance of the office.  Our social worker took a seat at the desk with the director, while Inna sat with us on the couches. 

The doctor entered the room and shared with us the same medical information that was shared with us at the ministry office in Kiev.  No additional surprises were found here, she just went into greater detail.

After the doctor left, a couple of minutes later, Anna and Artem entered the room.  They sat on a couple of chairs near our couch.  They walked in looking shy and a bit nervous as expected.  They were wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts with slippers on their feet.  They took their seats, swinging their legs on the chairs and giving us shy little smiles on their faces.

We asked a few questions with the help of Inna translating: What do you like to do?  What is your favourite colour?  What type of animals do you like?

The ice was really broken when they sat down on the couch next to us and Ryan started performing some magic tricks.  They LOVED it!  Giggling, laughing, and very curious.  Artem loved it when Ryan started showing him how to do the tricks.  It was so adorable to watch. 

Next we brought out the Family book we created for them.  The book contained pictures of our home, yard, things we like to do, pets, family, and friends they will meet.  We talked through all of the pictures, with Inna interpreting the entire time.  Their favourite part was seeing our dogs Maya & Jack.

After a short visit, the children whisked us off to show us the area they live in.  They ran off to their rooms and when they came back they were wearing different clothes.  From there they took us to their favourite part of the playground where we played soccer, danced, and played together.

The family photo at the top was taken just a couple hours after meeting them.  The connection was immediate with Anna and Artem just as we had dreamed it would be.  The meeting couldn’t have gone any better and the most incredible part to this journey is that we met our children on our 20 year wedding anniversary!  God’s timing is always the right timing and should never be questioned.

Inna asked Anna and Artem privately, do you think you would like to go to Canada with Ryan and Mandy.   Artem responded, “I think we will go, but we would like to talk to Grandma first”.  Anna and Artem’s Grandmother is still a very big part of their lives.  She cares for them a great deal and visits as often as she can.

The next day when we arrived back at the orphanage, Anna and Artem came running up to Inna with great excitement.  They were speaking Ukrainian, but we could make out a few words, enough to know that this was good news.

Anna presented us with 2 drawings, writing at the top of each drawing, Mama & Papa.  They both gave us hugs and then ran ahead.  Inna turned to say, Artem spoke to Grandma and she has given her blessing, so they will go with you!  The best news we could have heard.

In Ukraine, the children also have to consent to the adoption.  We later found that Anna and Artem had turned down 3 other families prior to us.  They were truly waiting for us during the 6 years spent at the orphanage.

3 days after meeting Anna and Artem, Ryan and I sat down with the children to have a chat.  We had prepared the following in Ukrainian for them to read:

“We love you both.  We would love for you and Anna to come to Canada with us.  Do you want us to be your new family?  We will love you and support you.  We will teach you many good things.  You will have new friends and new family who will love you deeply and help you in every way.  Our family is your family, our friends are your friends, our home is your home.  We will keep in contact with your grandma and support her, she will be in our family too.  If you want we will keep in contact with your friends and the orphanage.   We will learn Ukrainian and you will learn English, we will help each other.”

After each section, they both said yes.  Artem especially lit up when he read that we would keep in contact with Grandma and help support her.  After they finished reading they both looked at us like as if, of course.  Like it’s no big deal and we already know this.  Artem later asked if he will still be called Artem in Canada or if his name would change.  He was happy to hear he will still be called Artem.

Over the next few days, we would visit the orphanage from 4-6pm every day.  The hotel was only a 15 min walk and there were several convenience stores available to buy water and food. In addition to the hotel restaurant there was also a restaurant only 2 min from our hotel which served amazing homemade style food.   The owners Tatyana and Oleg quickly became friends to us even though there was a language barrier.

When we arrived on Monday, June 14th at our regular 4pm time, Anna and Artem came running up to us excited to tell us that they had met with the social worker and signed the documents to agree to be adopted by us.  It was official we are now a family.

 

And we’re off!

On Thursday, June 2, 2021 Ryan and I left our home into the unknown and what would be the biggest decision and adventure of our life.

We arrived at the Winnipeg airport with everything in order, Negative Covid-19 tests in hand only to find out that 15 min prior to boarding our documents for our Covid-19 tests were  not meeting the minimum requirements.  We were missing the date the sample was collected, our documents only stated the date the results were received.  Thankfully our sister-in-law Leona works for the company who did the tests for us.  We called her in a panic and she was able to have a person in her office resolve it quickly.  The plane was starting to board, when finally the email came through with the amended document.  We owe all the thanks to Leona for helping make this happen or else we wouldn’t have been allowed to board the plane!

From there the trip was pretty smooth sailing.  The biggest challenge was wearing our masks for about 24 hours straight.  Whether you were in the plane or at the airport, masks had to be worn at all times.  The only breaks from wearing your mask was if you were eating or drinking.  So we took advantage of meal time by eating extra slow.  The flight from Toronto to Frankfurt was empty, literally only a handful of people, so it was really nice being able to stretch out and get up to walk around with ease.

Once we landed in Kiev our facilitator and translator Inna was waiting for us just outside the airport doors.  From there we were headed to a Notary’s office to sign some additional paperwork for the application to adopt.  Then finally we arrived at our apartment in downtown Kiev overlooking the Maidan Square.  It was beautiful and we were excited to finally get some rest.  By this point we were running about 30hrs with little to no sleep.

Over the next couple of days Inna walked us through our next steps of the adoption process and what to expect.  These days of waiting for our appointment at the ministry office were a flood of emotions, nervousness and excitement all at the same time.

 

 I can’t believe how quickly time is flying by and already we are at the end of March which is the expected time we will receive notification of when and where we are flying to for our first trip over to the Ukraine.

The first trip is so exciting for us as it will be the first opportunity we will meet our children.  At this point in the process, all we know is that the children will be 2 to 12 years of age, and that they will be siblings.  We should be receiving notification from UAS, our adoption agency, any day now which will disclose to us when we will be travelling and to which part of the Ukraine we will be going to.

With not knowing anything really about our children at this point, it has made preparing our home a bit challenging.  Much of what we will need to purchase will need to wait until we get back from this first trip.  A 2 year old would need a different sized bed than a 12 year old, so we can’t even buy a bed yet for example.  I am really excited for when we get back to put everything into high gear and purchase all the necessities once we finally know more about our children.

After this first trip, it will likely be about 2 months before we can bring them home to Canada, but we may be required to make an additional trip in between.  That part is unknown at this time.

Ryan and I have been busy these last few months working on a few more renovations before our travelling will begin.  Excited and anxious for this next step in the adoption as we have been anticipating it for so long now.

One of the recommendations we received from the agency was to prepare a small photo album of family and friends to share and leave with our children after the first trip over.   We collected pictures from everyone and compiled them in a photo book.  We also included pictures of our house, yard, and local playground so they can see all the things to look forward to here.  I cannot wait to show the kids these books and introduce them to all of the important people that will be a part of their life!

The outpouring of so many people have shared with us since we started sharing our journey publicly has been so amazing to see.  Many sharing their adoption journeys with us and similar circumstances of infertility has been so heartwarming and encouraging to us as we push through this last leg of the adoption process.  Thank you to all of you who have reached out to us with your kindness and support – we appreciate all of you so much!

We are soooooo close!!

Today we had our official adoption signing appointment at the UAS adoption agency office.  This was one of the most exciting days for us as it means the next step is for our documents to be sent to the Ukraine.  After many revisions of our documents, and sleepless nights, we are now officially onto the next stage in our adoption process!

The feeling of signing the 24 pages today felt similar to the feeling you experience when you sign at the lawyers office for your first home.  You feel excited for this next stage in your life, your hand is sore from signing, and the feeling of the best is yet to come!  With every signature I felt a commitment to our children being made.  Overwhelming love with every stroke of the pen to each page.

Oleg once again walked us through the next phase that we are in and answered our many questions we had about the details of what to expect.  I am amazed at the amount of paperwork and time Oleg and his team at the UAS office have put into our file.  The patience of dealing with international adoption requirements should not be overlooked.  I cannot speak enough about how amazing it has been to work with UAS and the support Oleg has been to us throughout.  We are blessed to have found this adoption agency.

Driving home from the appointment, Ryan and I were both feeling overwhelming joy and excitement as we enter this next phase.  Today was officially the day that can be written in our history book.  January 19th, 2021, the day Ryan and Mandy made the official commitment to become parents.  I believe wholeheartedly that our children are already chosen for us, waiting for us to arrive, meet them, and eventually bring them home. 

While we have a few months still to wait for the day we get to meet our children, we are overjoyed that time is moving very quickly now.  The best is yet to come!

It’s now been a year since we completed our home study, and just as Marla had predicted, now you wait for about a year.  She was bang on.  Throughout the last year all we have been working on is providing the appropriate paperwork to get our adoption in order.  Every ask of documentation requested, so specific, and so detailed.  One slight variation, or error would result in having to redo documents.  The other challenge experienced was documents expiring as the Ukraine would have a 6 month expiry on all paperwork.  This also resulted in us having to redo paperwork 2-3 times or in some cases even more.  The medicals for example, had a specific form for the Ukraine, written in blue ink only and very detailed in nature.  I think in the end we redid this paperwork 5 times and had to go through bloodwork and physicals twice.  In the end we had a binder full of paperwork we had provided the agency including things like, RCMP background checks and finger printing, land title documents, property tax statements, financial documents, employment letters, real estate information, marriage certificate, birth certificates, are only some of the documents we had to provide.  It’s basically a forensic assessment of your full life.  I can only imagine how many families would be denied the right to have children if all had to provide the information we had to.  But, there is good reason for this.  I appreciate the fact they require all of this background information on us as they are completing due diligence to ensure these children are provided a good home.

Earlier this week we had a meeting with Oleg, the director of our adoption agency, UAS to review our next steps and to answer any questions we may have.  This was so informative and helped answer a lot of burning questions we had as we wait for our next steps.  We are expected to visit his office next week to sign the official paperwork and provide all of our original documents.  This means our file will likely be sent to the Ukraine in February with our first trip likely in May of this year.  The first trip will be the trip where we get to meet our children for the first time.  From there, we fly back home and about a month later will have our second trip .  For now, the second trip can be completed either in person in the Ukraine or via online.  About a month after this trip, we would be back over to the Ukraine for the 3rd and final trip to bring our children home.

This last year has had so many unknowns for so many as we all found ourselves adapting to life in a pandemic.  We found ourselves many times feeling emotionally and mentally drained, not knowing what the future may hold.  Many times I would find myself in the kitchen cleaning after dinner, feeling discouraged.  I would look out the kitchen window only to find yet another rainbow forming in the field in the back yard.  Night after night, month after month, rainbows would appear.  I think in the end we captured 6 different instances of rainbows in our field.  One even made it into the 6pm evening news which someone else captured.  Every time we found ourselves running in the back yard giddy like children, feelings of joy and hope would engulf us.  We are not alone, God is always with us, and truly does have his hand over this situation.  We have full faith as we go through this journey together.