Gotcha Day!!

I woke up this morning just before the train reached the station in Donetsk. I slept for about 7 hours. I needed it because I didn’t get much sleep the night before on the bus.

Our first stop after getting off the train was at the social security office to update her records to reflect the changes to her birth certificate. This needed to be done to allow Emily to obtain the standard passport. The clerk in the office told Victor the changes wouldn’t take affect for seven days. Victor told him we needed this sooner so Emily could travel home to the United States. The clerk told him they can expedite it but it would still take several days.

This would have added another week to my stay here in Ukraine. In order to avoid having this happen, I told Victor that I wanted to get one of the old passports that are being phased out. Recently, Ukraine changed its passports. The old passports don’t have the same requirements as the new ones. Another benefit of the old passports is being able to get the passport on the same day you apply for it. The new passport takes about 3-4 days to get back after applying for it. The old passports have an additional fee but I was more than willing to pay it so I could have the passport today.

So we went to the passport office and applied for one of the old passports. One hour later, I had the passport in my hand. It felt so good to have all the documents I needed to get my daughter home. After leaving the passport office, Victor and I returned to the apartment. I stayed at the apartment and packed my belongings while Victor went to the courthouse. Ray and Cari had court today for their adoption of Inna and Rada. I found out later that their court date went well and they were approved to adopt their girls. Now, they have to wait ten days for their court decree. This ten day wait seems to be harder on the children than the parents from what I experienced.

After court, Victor returned to the apartment to pick me up. We went to the orphanage to pick up Emily. When we arrived, Victor and I went to the assistant director’s office and I signed the last few documents to take Emily out of the orphanage. A few minutes later, Emily appeared. She was already packed and ready to go. She looked so beautiful today. She gave me a big hug and said, “I love you.” I told her I loved her too and that I missed her the last two days. Emily told me that she missed me too.

I brought some gifts for Emily to give to the director and assistant director. This excited Emily and she rushed off to give the gifts to them. Then,Emily said goodbye to the staff members who were present. Also, Emily said goodbye to her good friend, Rada. Rada’s dad, Ray, had to say goodbye to his daughter also. He returned to Kiev with us on the train so he could get back to work. His court date was complete, so he could return home.

Laura and I both thought there would be a lot of tears from Emily today. That didn’t happen. I didn’t see any tears. She was all smiles. Emily sat right next to me in the taxi and held my hand as the taxi drove away from the orphanage. She held my hand almost the entire drive to Donetsk.

The joy I felt today was overwhelming. Since the day we met Emily, we dreamed of her being our daughter. Today, it is a reality, one that we embrace with all of our hearts. We will always be there for her and be the loving parents that she so deserves. Some people say Emily is lucky to get adopted and have parents. We think we are lucky to add another wonderful daughter to our family. She will enrich our lives and the lives of our extended family.

Emily’s excitement has been obvious from the moment I arrived at the orphanage. She has smiled non stop. She was so excited that she couldn’t fall asleep on the train tonight. During the few times I was able to get a wireless internet connection, Emily took advantage of the opportunity to text her mom and sisters. She told them that she loved them and that she is on her way home.

So excited, she couldn't sleep on the train