Yesterday was such a busy day for us! We woke up early at 4:45, to finish packing and getting ready for the day. We checked out of our hotel (hotel Ludmila, which we hope if you are traveling to Sevastopol you get the pleasure to stay there as well!) Afterwards we drove to the orphanage and the caregivers woke up Jonathan so we could take him for our Gotcha Day! Of course the outfit I brought was too big and was falling off of him, I wasn't given any size information and though he's 4 years old I believe he probably is the same size as my son, with 24 months fitting for the moment, and a 3T being a little roomier and being a better size overall. For the pants I better stay small because he is very thin (hopefully not for long!) and I don't want anything falling off! Thankfully the shoes we brought are PERFECT. We brought them earlier during one of the visits for a trial run. So we get to take some clothes with us and off to the airport we go.
The 4-point harness I bought for Jonathan was a life-saver at the airport because our hands were all full, and I couldn't hold him! So he was at least close by me at all times. I brought a full water bottle for him through security with no problem. It was handy having a baggie of skinned and cut up apples for him to snack on. I also fed him cheese and turkey from the meal given at the flight.
When we landed I met our ride and the person hosting us for the last week of our trip to bless us financially, Sveno. I am appreciative that Karen helped set us up with him. We have enjoyed his home and his company termendously! Him and his fiancee and her beautiful daughter also blessed us with a delicious meal at a restaurant, then later with a big spaghetti dinner!
While Jonathan took his nap Sveno also took James shopping, I instructed them to pick up sesamae oil- which they did! So now tonight I will make a big pot of fried rice for everyone, which reminds me that I should start the rice now being 4:30pm over here.
Jonathan didn't do too well with spaghetti. He was fussy and started stemming and making angry noises. However he did stay at the table for the entire duration of dinner just fine. After dinner we drove to this huge park area and let him play on the swing and run around. It broke my heart that he couldn't play with the other kids. They were older than him to begin with. But I'm excited to get home because Jonathan will ALWAYS have his brother David for a friend, and he will never need to be the lonely one at the playground again.
We came back and let Jonathan play in the house, and we got to talk with Sveno and see his Kermit photos. You can check out his website here: http://kermitaroundtheworld.com
We also got to hear Sveno's testamony and look at other pictures he has taken! One of my favorite websites ever is http://www.improveverywhere.com which is based in New York City. Sveno is doing some of the exact same improv missions here in the Ukraine. The photos and stories are incredible! Think subways system plus mousetraps loaded in a car. Think finger rockets in the airport for a 5-hour war! Think formalwear photo session in the water at the beach! It is amazing to hear about these stories of spreading some good ol' American fun over here to the Ukraine!
Before I sign off I want to say how proud I am of my son Jonathan for doing as well as he did for his first day with us. He can already sign more, mommy, and all done!!! Though he has repeated what I have shown him for a request, he has shown me that he can do these signs out of memory! So cool and this is only just the beginning of our learning escapades! Thank you everyone for your prayers- I literally FEEL the blessing of God over us. I just am experiencing His grace in so many situations over here I am just overwhelmed on what God has done to get us here to this point, it is simply amazing!
Also note: The photos are from our airplane ride, which Jonathan was an ANGEL on!
The Brown family blog- about life, faith, and the blessing of children with Down syndrome!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Back here in Kiev with Jonathan
Friday, July 6, 2012
Last day in Sevastopol tomorrow...
Hello! Today we got Jonathan's passport! It only took 3 days from when the application was submitted, which is actually quick! We have one last full day in Sevastopol tomorrow then early morning on Sunday - 5am - we will pick up Jonathan from the orphanage for our Gotcha Day! We will drive to Simferopol and board for our 08:45 flight out to Kiev. We will be done with all paperwork by Tuesday... I was given time estimates once we got our court date and I already booked our plane tickets using the worst case senarios, and now we will have 4 extra days in Kiev. So we will consider this 4 extra days of 2-on-1 mommy/daddy/jonathan special time.
So tomorrow is our last day in Sevastopol. We are considering going to Balaklava where there is a naval meuseum, or take the bus again to Chersonese so we can get video footage there. We need to get some Jonathan traveling snacks too, AND make a log for the hotel owners and taxi driver to sign off on so we have some sort of a receipt for our major expenses here.
Please pray for Jonathan to transition well! I am praying for extra measures of God's grace as a new mommy to Jonathan. Thank you everyone! I have included a picture of daddy and Jonathan waiting to get the passport photo taken. This was done last Tuesday. :-)