June 23rd

Here are a couple of pictures of kids at home with us. There are also one of when Jon picked the kids up fromthe orphanage. The kids are all doing well. It seems as if we have had Aya and Sergey forever. They fit in so perfect. Trevor and Sergey are together non-stop either playing outside or on the Playstation. Aya is very good at entertaining herself with all of the goodies we have around. At the moment she is singing on Hailey's karaoke machine! I don't think she is going to be the next American Idol ...LOL
We will try to update pictures regularly of stuff going on with the kids.

There Home...June 22nd

Hello Everyone!
Well Jon and the kids made it safely home last night. We had a busy night since Trevor had a baseball game. After picking up everyone from the airport we then all headed to the baseball field to watch Trevor's game. The night went incredibly smooth as the kids came home and looked around. Their eyes were big as saucers and they giggled as they went through the house. Trevor and Sergey have had a blast together. When I asked Trevor how he liked his new brother he smiled bigger than I have ever seen and said "Yes". They have become instant friends and it is truly very sweet. Aya has been fascinated with Barbies and American girl dolls and has been playing with them all nonstop. Today we started the kids on their English lessons. Sergey was more eager than Aya, however.
Overall, we are doing wonderfully and everyone is adjusting well. Keep us in your prayers as I am sure there is bound to be some bumps in the road. I can't find the cord to load the photos so I will have to add pics of them at home later.

Day ????

June 20th
I (Krystal) made it home safe and sound. Jon and the kids will be coming home Thursday!!! Jon does not have internet so that is why there has not been any posts lately. He says things are going well, but the kids are getting pretty restless. Already he has experienced some pouting and mild temper tantrums. I ams ure the kids are overstimulated, excited, scared, all rolled in to one. Overall, he says the kids have been great, but he is anxious to get home.
We will update photos on Friday of their return home. Thanks for your prayers!

Krystal

Day 12

Well today started out as a sad but joyous morning. I dropped Krystal off at the airport at 6:15 and said our goodbyes. The hardest part is in knowing that I have the only phone that works in this country, so there is no way of getting in touch with her if by chance something went wrong with her flight in Kiev. I am confident that the Lord is protecting her so I have peace. My day is being spent without the kids today, which give me sometime to catch up on some reading for school. I might kill some of the day watching Lord of the Rings. I miss everyone so much and I can’t wait to get home, most likely Wednesday night or possibly Thursday if there are any delays at the embassy. I spent most of lunch today taking pictures of the sights and I ran across an old lady begging. I watched as people were giving her some loose change and saw the joy it was giving her. I then passed by her and was going to give her a little bit but all I had was a fifty. When I gave her this she fell to the ground sobbing. Fifty grevin (sic) is worth only ten dollars in U.S. currency, but out here the minimum wage for most people is 60-100 grevin per month.
To my kids at home, make sure you give your mom a great welcome, she really missed you. Love Jon

Day 11

God IS AWESOME!

WE GOT OUR MIRACLE!!! THE JUDGE WAIVED THE TEN DAYS WAIT!!!

Needless to say we are thrilled with the outcome of court. Court was short, sweet and to the point. The judge was very nice and and made things extremely easy for all of us. The judge had been telling our facilitator that there was NO WAY he could waive the 10 days. So when we got to court she told us we can ask for it, but he is not going to grant it. So during the proceedings a teacher from the orphanage had to speak and grant us her permission to adopt the kids and while doing this she mentioned to the judge that next week all the kids at the orphanage will be leaving for camp. Then she tells the judge that there will not be anyone at the orphanage to feed or take care of the kids. So with that information he waived the wait! I was so excited I could have burst out of my chair screaming. I knew this was a direct answer to prayer. I am amazed at how God has orchestrated every piece of this journey!! So our entire trip will be almost exactly 2 weeks….like a world record!! (Sorry to brag to all of you who have gone so much longer) The kids are officially ours now.
I am still leaving tomorrow since I had already changed my ticket. Jon will be flying home Wed or Thursday because he still has things he needs to do here before leaving.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us! We serve a mighty God!

Day 10

Day 10
Okay, so this pic of Christopher has nothing to do with our trip, but Debbie M sent us this in an email... and isn't he cute? Thanks, Debbie

Today was a busy day. After taking a walk and having some coffee we took the kids to an open air market to buy a few clothing items for Sergey. Many of the items I brought for him will probably be too big because he is very thin. So at the market he picked out a couple of items so he would have something clean and nice to wear to court tomorrow. It was interesting because there are no dressing rooms, so he just tried his clothes on right there outside in front of everyone. I commented to the translator how odd that was to Americans because we change in dressing rooms. She said it is common here to do as Sergey did. I was embarrassed for him and in fact, moved to the side so I would not see him. I kept thinking how mortified Trevor would have been had that been him! No way would Trevor take his clothes off in the middle of a bunch of people!
It was very hot today and on account of that Aya got carsick on the way to the market! So we are now officially her parent because she has thrown up on us! Poor thing. I think because they are not used to driving in cars (and people drive nuts here) it is common for the orphans to get carsick. Most of the time people walk or take buses places.
Once back at the hotel Jon and I rested before heading to a Mexican restaurant for dinner….Yes, I said “Mexican”. The restaurant was called “Tequila Boom” and it was very good and we enjoyed it a lot. I had chicken soft tacos and Jon had a chicken burrito.
Tomorrow we will leave the hotel at 9 a.m. to pick the kids up and head to court. Pray that the hearing is short, easy and the 10 day wait is waived.

Miranda, Hailey, and Trevor….How was shopping? Give Christopher a hug and tell him we love him, okay??? Show him my picture so he doesn’t forget me.

Lucia…we did not host in Dec..we hosted in the Summer. I hope all is well and you get an appointment very soon. Thanks for your prayers!

Theresa… Thanks for your messages. It is nice to connect with others in the midst of the process. When we get back I have lots of info I can share about Donetsk, if your interested. When do you think you will be getting here?

Gail…Can you let me know what you guys did about gifts? If you can email me I would love to know who and what you gave, if you don’t mind. Thanks…

Pittsboro Baptist's Youth

So how is youth going? Please be in prayer today for our court date. We are hoping that the judge will wave the mandatory 10 day wait, if this happens then I will be home for the Harvest Crusade. Speaking of this, are you guys inviting people? Please get fired up for this event, I will be praying for you guys this week. Go easy on Karl and Christina and Steve and Chip and Todd. Please!! I’ll see ya’ll soon. Love Jon

Dinner, and it was delicious!

Here We Are

I miss my Buddy

Steve I love you and I can’t stand being without you for this length of time. If only you were here, the days would not be so long. I miss our friendship; being locked in this room with my wife is driving me nuts. I’ll talk to you later Jon

Day 9

Day 9- Wednesday
Today has been relatively uneventful. We slept in a little and then walked downtown where we feasted on McDonalds. And the answer is yes, the food is just as gross here as in the US. Although I have to say the ice cream was pretty good. However, it was nice to have something familiar, gross or not. Really, I would have to say the food has been very good and at every meal I have found something that I have liked. After eating we walked through something like a flea market and looked at the items for sale. I guess we must be a magnet for strange occurrences because at the flea market a woman of about 50 or older took her top off right in front of everyone so she could try on one of the shirts that was for sale at one of the booths. I mean good grief! If it is strange we seem to be witnessing it. Thankfully she had a bra on!! On our way back to the hotel it started to rain. We plan to walk back over to the downtown area and have dinner at a restaurant that our facilitator recommended. Sorry we haven’t put pics up, but with dial up it takes forever to load them.



Miranda- What kind of cookies did you make? Try to keep yourself busy, okay?

Hailey- How was Michelle’s?
Trevor- How was practice?

Tim and Colleen- It is good to hear from you guys. We would be happy to have you whenever you can make it. We look forward to it! Love you guys!

Kristin- Glad all is going well for you. Thanks for the notes…we miss you! Say “Hi” to everyone at youth tonight.


Erin- I got your email...you are so sweet. I will email you later. I will miss you and congrats on your new job!

Steven- Sorry you feel ignored :) Welcome to my world...(just kidding, Jon)
Barb- Will email you!

Still Day 8

Teresa C.....I wanted to tell you to keep me posted. I love ya and am praying for you and your new addition. Remember and I know you know this....God is bigger than the dr.!!! Love ya, K

Day 8

Day 8- Tuesday
Today we went to the orphanage at about 11:00 a.m. our time. Every time we get to the orphanage the kids try to speak a new English phrase. It is so cute because they are trying very hard to learn some English. Today’s phrase was “My name is Aya”. We then took them to a park that had rides that we could buy tickets to ride. It was so interesting to watch them because they were happy to ride just one ride despite us encouraging them to do more. They are happy with whatever you give them and will not ask for anything. We then had ice cream and Aya pointed to a candy bracelet so we bought one for her and one for her best friend, Mary. All the rides and food at the park were very inexpensive so it was a good, cheap day. Afterwards we took them back to the orphanage and when we pulled up we saw some missionaries delivering some food. The kids got out of the car and yelled to the missionaries telling them that we were their mama and papa. On the way home our facilitator showed us where we could walk around near our hotel. We found out where the McDonald’s, pizza place, some shops, and really good buffet is located. So tomorrow we are going to have some fun checking it out since we won’t be going to the orphanage tomorrow. Our facilitator has to do some paperwork for our court case on Friday.
Overall, it was a very nice day. Right now we are just relaxing and planning to have some dinner in the hotel restaurant. They have very good food for a fairly cheap price. The picture is what Jon had last night…YUCK….. Octopus, squid, clams, and salmon.

Prayer request: Please pray with us that the judge will waive the 10 day wait!!!!Our facilitator says it would take a miracle….well, I happen to serve a miracle working God, so please pray with us for this!

Miranda- So tell me what you bought while shopping with Grandma? How were the French dips? I am jealous.

Hailey- Did you buy anything? Remember, only 4 more days and it will go by very quickly. Have fun at Michelle’s tomorrow.

Trevor- Did you have a good time at Matt’s? What did you do? Did you get batteries for the controller?

Tim- Hey, will you mow the lawn before Sat??? I love a nice mowed lawn  Thanks, Tim….
Matt- You are so sweet for having Trevor over. Remind me not to be mean to you for at least one whole day when I get back, okay? No, really….your the best! Now maybe I won’t embarrass you too much at VBS.

Dan and Sandy- Everything is going so fantastic! Angelina is absolutely wonderful. I can’t say enough about all she is doing. I will email you with some information she wants me to relay to you. I told her to check her email. She said she has been very busy.

Rhonda- Thanks for all your support and prayers. I really, really appreciate it. It is keeping me sane.

Christina- How are you ?…..tell the girls I miss them on Wed and I will be back next Wed.
Gail- I am so amazed at how God is working everything out. Angelina is amazing…Your blog has really helped us know what to expect…. I hope all is well with you all! God Bless!

Beckie- Thanks for your support, friend. Without my family and friends I don’t know what I would do.

Dad….are you out there? Call or email me when you get a chance. Love you!

Forrest and Blaine- I told Jon he has to stay in hotel when I leave :) Ha ha
Love to all, Krystal and Jon

Day 7

Day 7- Monday

If you heard a loud sound that awoke you early this morning….it was me screaming all the way from Ukraine because WE GOT A COURT DATE FOR THIS FRIDAY!!!!
God is so good! So, Miranda, Hailey, Trevor, and Christopher, I am coming home on Saturday and I will be there for Miranda’s birthday on Sunday! We are so excited, especially me….I feel bad for Jon as he will have to hang out for the 10 day wait, but he is being a trooper about it, as usual. I am married to an amazing man.I am trying to work out the details with Delta about changing my flight…it looks like they don’t have any seats in coach and I will have to pay extra to go first class (oh bummer ). I am not sure how much extra, they are going to call me back.
Their brother has signed papers agreeing to let Aya and Sergei be adopted, so at this point it looks like smooth sailing. As for now it looks like Jon will be coming home on June 27th, which the actual day I originally made for his flight! The amazing thing is that there is a holiday here on the 28th and 29th, so the Embassy was closed on those days which would have held Jon up till into July! It is so amazing to see how God worked out every small detail of this trip. Why was I nervous? All I needed to do is get out of the boat and He did the rest.
Today our facilitator is very busy doing paperwork and running errands to make sure everything runs smoothly, therefore we will not be going to the orphanage today. So here we are another long day in the hotel room. We think we may take a short walk outside, even if to the corner and back. They have discouraged us from going anywhere. I think we have a big sign on our heads that says “I am American, steal all my money because I am an idiot and don’t know what I am doing”.
We had a very delicious dinner last night at the hotel. The food here is surprisingly very good. Jon had fried calamari and I had fried mushrooms and some shrimp that still had their heads and eyeballs on. For dessert I had a cherry cake that was pretty tasty. Before we left the restaurant we sure got the shock of our life when a stripper, yes , a stripper, came out and did a strip tease for the guy at the table behind us! This was in a public restaurant. I was completely mortified as we could not even leave because the stripper was blocking the exit! Jon had his back to it and I was threatening him with his life if he turned around  The strangest thing was that no one even thought anything of this as employees casually watched this very graphic event. I am quite sure that everyone was laughing at me when we left because I was covering my face, and it was probably red as a tomato.

Tim- Jon wanted me to tell you that Sergey reminds him a lot of you 

Miranda- What are your plans for today? I will be home for your birthday!
Hailey- I miss you too. So I hear you are going to Michelle’s this week…have fun and before you know it I will be there, okay?
Trevor- Who is on your all-star team?

Marsha- Sergey is probably a size 8 or 10, like Trevor. I am guessing that once in the US and getting good nutrition he will shoot up. He is very and I would guess that is because he spends so much time outside playing. Aya is probably a size 8/10. Fortunately, Hailey has lots of hand me downs that will fit her.

Lucia- Wow, that is amazing about your church? How big is your church? I would love to see our church, as a whole, be more proactive for children. Maybe our journeys will inspire others.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers…we definitely feel them!

Day 6- Sunday

Hello Everyone!
Today we got up, had breakfast and went to the orphanage. Since it was the director’s day off we had to go around and search for Aya and Sergey. Since there is no school right now for them they pretty much just have free time to do whatever they want. You see kids sitting in groups talking. Sergey was behind the building playing soccer with his friends. As we waited for the kids to come up front we enjoyed observing the kids. Some kids were very interested in us and eyed us longingly, while others completely dismissed us. It struck me how aimless their days are there with no real purpose.Another thing we noticed is the kids have worn the same outfit everyday. Our translator, Olga, told us they have their own personal clothes, but there is very few items. We recognized a couple of kids from the hosting program from last summer. Once we had both the kids, we left to go to a very nice park and shopping area. The kids played on the toys and then we took them to get ice cream which they devoured! While we ate, Jon brought out his laptop and started working with the kids on English. They already know the alphabet, numbers, and many vocabulary words. Sergey is especially interested in learning English. We brought Hailey’s ipod and the both love listening to the music. In fact, there is a lot of American music played here in Ukraine. It surprised us to hear so much music in English. The kids even try to read the names of the songs. After eating it was time to take them back to the orphanage so they would not miss lunch. So here we are …it is 1pm and we don’t have much to do today except hang out at the hotel! Boring!

Hailey- Thank you for letting me take your ipod…they both love it! Please write me an email and tell me how you are doing, okay? I miss you and want to hug you. Hang in there…time will go quickly and I will be there!

Trevor- Miranda told me you won! Tell me all the details…score, who did you play, how did you hit?

Miranda- Thanks for writing me and telling me the score. Dad and I waited up late, hoping you guys would call and tell us about the game. Tell everyone at church to pray we get a court date this week ASAP….. Tell Christopher I love him please!

Barbara- Thanks for all you doing…what would I do without you?
Sue- Thanks for updating everyone and praying. Also, thanks for having Linda call me …I enjoyed sharing all that was going on with her!

If any of you see my kids today…Give them a hug from us!
Love to you all, Krystal

Still Day 5

We went to the orphanage at about 4:30. They let us take them to a mall that had a pizza place and games. The pizza was actually very good.The kids ordered some salad that I would have had to pay my kids to eat and actually then I dont even think they would eat it. In fact, I would not even eat the salad. He He The kids really enjoyed the games, even though to me it was not all that great, but they have done so little. But being at the arcade made me miss my kids all the more. I MISS YOU HAILEY, MIRANDA, TREVOR, and CHRISTOPHER. Hailey, I want to talk to you so call me.We brought a miniature electronic Simon game that we were able to play with them and Sergey liked. Also, we brought gum...boy do they love gum!
Tomorrow we will be going back to the orphanage at 10:00....I am not sure what we will do, but I know the kids were happy we were coming back.

Prayer request: The older brother must sign a paper releasing the kids to be adopted. He is visiting his ailing grandmother and is not at the orphanage. We need him to come home and do this ASAP.Please pray that he comes back as he says he will to do this so we can get a court date.

Beckie- I will email you :) Love ya
Teresa.....We love you all too. How are you feeling? Oh by the way everyone....Teresa is pregnant! I hope you didn't want that to be a secret.

Lucia- Are your kids at the same orphanage as mine? I can take some pics if you want.

Gail- Thanks for your prayers. The kids are great! God is so good.

Because I miss my kids so much, here is a pic of them.
Love you all...
Krystal

Day 4 and 5 Meeting Aya and Sergey

Yesterday we got up very early to catch a flight to Donetsk. Once in Donetsk we had to go and get official papers to be able to visit the kids and then we were off to the orphanage.I was surprised at what a big place this region is and there doesn't seem to be a place where there isn't a ton of traffic. Once at the orphanage we were led to a room where the director is and we waited what seemed like an eternity for the kids to come it. I was so nervous, but the second they walked in all of that melted away. I immediately knew these were the kids for us. There was something very special about them. They had such sweet and innocent faces. It was a little awkward at first because we can't communicate but we did our best. Their teacher came in and told us about the things they liked and their abilities at school. She said they were both very smart and would learn English fast. The teacher was such a nice lady that you could tell really loved the kids. She said she was so happy for them. She even knew a little English because in English she said "I know God brought you for them". We agreed and knew the journey we had been on was definitely one that only God could have maneuvered. We showed them pictures of our house and all our kids. They were very interested in learning all the names and looked over and over at them. We stayed for about an hour and we brought out Hailey's ipod and they listened and tried to read the names of the songs. There is a lot of American words and products here so they were already familiar with the sounds of the letters.
We began saying what little words in Russian that we knew and then in English. Jon said the word "car" and Segey had a hat on that said "Toyota" and he pointed to the hat.....but we quickly said "No...we have Fords"....see we are already getting him ready for the family, Dad! (my dad works for Ford) After our visit we went and did more paperwork to send to the SDA so we can get our court date.
Prayer request: The judge is going on vacation June 18th so we really need to get to court this week, otherwise our court date could be 2,3 or 4 weeks away! Our facilitator is going to meet with the judge Monday morning at 8am our time to persuade him to get us in this week. Please pray that he shows us favor and gets us in! So at 1am NC time and 10 pm CA please pray that his heart will be softened to get us in.
Today we are going to go back to the orphanage, and hopefully we will be able to take the kids out to eat or shop. It is kinda boring at the orphanage because we can't communicate to much. Plus,the clothes we bought for Sergey are going to be too big. I am sure he will grow, but what I brought will probably fall off of him. So hopefully we will be able to get some of that taken care of today.

Becky- Did you expect me to change? Thanks for your prayers...email me and tell me how you all are.

Marsha- Tell Erin I said "Hi" and give her a big hug for me. You will love the kids, they are awesome.

Miranda,Hailey, and Trevor- I am soo proud of you. Grandma says you are all so helpful. I couldn't have asked for better children than you! I miss you all very much. You are going to love Aya and Sergey very much. Trevor, Sergey loves baseball!
Hailey, Aya is friendly and sweet just like you. You guys are going to get along wonderfully.
Miranda, Congrats on your new job....you are growing up too fast.
I love you all!
I will becoming home later by the end of this week...so hang in there.

Kate- I gave dossiers to Angelina yesterday.
Talk to you later

Day 3 Evening

I bet you didn'tknow that Kiev is home to the world's largest bong! Guess what Rev. Jon has been doing while here? Okay just kidding....I don't want any angry post from anyone, nor my husband to lose his job..... We were at a nice restaurant the other night and someone was smoking something out of this thing so we had to have a picture. No wonder so many people adopt from Ukraine...ha ha



Hey Trevor....Guess What?

Chicken Butt
(family joke)


Hi all,
We have had a great day! The only missing piece is talking to my kids, but I am hoping they will get a hold of me tonight. We will be getting up very early to fly to Donetsk. We are very excited about meeting Aya and Sergey. I am not sure what my internet access will be like so if I don't post tomorrow it is because of this. We will take lots of pictures so you can all see what the kids and the orphanage looks like.Good night everyone...

Day 3 The SDA Appointment

We have had a busy day and it is only 3:30 our time:) We had our SDA appointment today at 12:00. That went very smoothly. They were very nice, told us some history on Aya and Sergey and then we were on our way. The appointment took all of 5 minutes! After that we went to the Embassy to fill out my papers since I am leaving early. They too, were very nice and that took a little longer since we had to fill out some forms. We never did find TGI Fridays despite walking around for over an hour last night, but this morning we drove right past it. So needless to say, tonight we will be eating there.
Tomorrow morning we will be taking an 8:00 am flight to Donetsk, and hopefully we can see the kids tomorrow.Our facilitator is wonderful and most helpful! We are lucky to have her.
I am so appreciative of everyone's comments. I look forward to checking the blog and seeing all the comments. It really is helping me stay connected and not get too bored.
Steve, Thanks for the encouragement. I am hanging in there! Jon is awesome!
Miranda, You guys need to call me later using the phone card! It is too expensive for me to call you. So I want to hear from you guys today. If you have a problem call Sue or Grandma L.
Hailey, How was your award ceremony yesterday?
Trevor, Are you excited about the game on Saturday? Give Christopher a hug for me, okay.

Still Day 2

Hi everyone...
Thank you so much for all the responses. It is helping me soooooooo much. We just got back from a walk and we found the McDonalds. For some bizarre reason I felt some need to see and take a picture ..he he.We walked around and also found the internet coffee shop everyone on FRUA had mentioned to me. There is tons of shopping and things to look at. And boy do the people dress a little risky. All of the women walk around with these huge high heels. Miranda, tell Lauren she would fit in very well here with her big heels. We went in to a coffee shop and I had a milkshake. They spoke English and it was nice. We looked and looked for the TGI Fridays but didn't see it so I went on my adoption chat room, FRUA and posted for directions and within 5 minutes I had 2 responses!!! So for dinner we will be going there. I know we are boring, but I am just trying to get through the day okay people!

I asked God for 3 things today:
To have internet access
To be able to call Angelina (our facilitator)
To talk to my kids

He delivered on all three...Thanks Lord!

Miranda- I called this morning and missed you as you were in bed. Thanks for helping so much. I emailed grandma the right directions to call,but you guys don't need to put the pin number in..okay? Call me so I can know it works.

Kara- Thanks for your prayers...keep them coming girl, I need all the help I can get.

Gail- I know I am such a chicken, I just can't help it :) Your encouragement is huge and I think I have got the phone thing a little better handled. I am going to have Angelina showme how to call the states cheaply because we have the same phone plan.

Barbara- Love ya....thanks for your emails and prayers. Keep it coming.
Sue- Love you too....I feel yours and others prayers soo much so please don't stop sending them.
Well I am going to go read or something...right now I am listening to Air 1 christian radio on the web! What did we do before the internet.

Love to all,Krystal
Keep the prayers going for our appointment tomorrow at noon our time 5am NC time, and 2am CA time.

Again

Day 2 We made it!

Hey everyone...We made it!
We have been in our apartment in the center of town for about a couple of hours. Once here I immediately wanted to hook up the internet and we couldn't get a connection.Then I wanted to make a phone call and I couldn't figure it out either. I started having a small freak out...okay small, very small. It is soooo scary being in another country and not able to communicate. This is probably one of the scariest things I could do. I just realized our battery is almost dead and we need an adapter...so I am going to cut this short

We will try to call but we need to buy a calling card. Love you all and talk more later when we have a battery!

Day 1 JFK

We have made it to the airport in New York for our 8 hour layover. We deceided not to leave the airport because we have so much luggage it would be a pain to carry around. So here we are sitting and waiting. I miss the kids already .....If anyone is out there and wants to call me on my cell...PLEASE CALL ME :)
Anyways we will post again tomorrow when we get set up in our apartment.
Love to everyone!
Love, Krystal

9 hours and counting.....

Hi everyone!
Jon's ordination was nothing less than AWESOME! He did a fantastic job giving his testimony and Miranda sang beautifully.It was a very special night for all of us and I am sooo proud of Jon. After the testimony and singing each deacon came up and prayed with Jon. It was truly an awesome sight to see. I took a million pictures because it is not everyday that you see men on their knees praying together.
After the service,Trevor was baptized and that was really neat too. The only problem was that we forgot towels! The picture of Trevor is after I told him we forgot towels and he is mad at me....After the service they had a reception for us and that was great as we got to say goodbye to people before leaving on our trip.
Tonight we had a special birthday celebration for Miranda since she will be turning 16 while we are gone! The Weiss' and Travis came over for dinner and cake to celebrate.
Well we leave here very early tomorrow morning to catch our flight to JFK at 6:40 am. Our flight to Kiev does not leave until 4:30 so we are planning on seeing Time Square or maybe the statue of liberty.
Good luck at your game tomorrow night Trevor...we will be praying for you to win!
Hailey...I love you like a fat kid loves chocolate :)
Miranda...Love you...How did your interview at Kerr Drug go?
Give Christopher a hug from us ...
Talk to you all tomorrow!
Krystal

5 days and counting....

We are almost there! It is hard to believe. Our kids, I think are in shock that we are actually, finally going to Ukraine. We are starting to get packed and trying to think of all the things we are going to need. Jon's parents will be flying in on Sat morning. Sunday our church is having a special service to ordain Jon as a pastor, and afterwards he is going to baptize Trevor. We are all looking forward to this special day. Who would have thought?

David....yes we are the Brady bunch, but I could sure use Alice for a housekeeper :) How are you guys?

Kristin...thanks for the prayers; we need them.

May 21st- 15 Days and counting

It is hard to believe that in 15 days we will be on a plane to Ukraine. We are excited yet frazzled at all the details we need to get in order! The children on the right will soon be the new Pisters..... The mother of our previous children has been given her parental rights back and they should be leaving the orphanage very soon to live with her. We know it is all in God's hands and that He knows what is best for all of us. We are confident that we are bringing the "right" children home with us. We are working hard to get the rooms together, clothes for them, and all the stuff we need for our trip.Miranda is feeling very sad about having to give up her king sized room, but she will adjust okay. We have finally worked out the details of an apartment in Donetsk that should be very nice. We have also purchased a phone to have in Ukraine and it will have a Ukrainian number and decent rates to call the US. Incoming calls are free so if you want our number, email us and we will give it to you so you can call us.
As we get closer we will post more info. Please pray for us to get all the details worked out!

Sad News

We found out from our adoption facilitators that the biological mother of Ira and Kola has petitioned the court to get her parental rights reinstated. The kids have been moved from their orphanage to one that is closer to where the mother lives. This news means more than likely that we will not be able to adopt them. We are terribly saddened and are praying about our new child(ren). Our plans are still to go to Ukraine in June. However, at this time we are unsure of what region we will be going to, if we will chose one child or two and what gender. We know God is in control and we will come home with the "right" children.

Getting Ready

Hi Everyone-
We thought we would create this web page so that when we are in Ukraine we can keep everybody informed on our trip. We are planning on heading to the Ukraine on June 5th. Jon's mom will be coming for the first shift to stay with the kids. About 9 days later my mom will be coming to hold down the fort until I can come home. Once we go to court I can come home, but Jon will remain there for the 10 day wait and bring the kids home. We are very excited and covet all your prayers!