Adoption Makes 6

Home Bound

2009-01-15T05:46:00.000-08:00

Well today Thursday we have made it to Kiev. We have Visas and are flying out on Friday AM. We are very tired as we traveled 12 hours by train and slept very little but we are very very excited to be coming home. Pray for our travels. God has been really showing us how much his hand is in everything. We have experienced ups and downs from the first day we arrived and he has not let us down this far!!!!

We were at the American Embassy in the final process and the lady helping us said, "Oh we need two copies of birth certificates, decrees, etc. and they need to be translated in english". I thought we did not have them in all our paperwork and was about ready to cry but we found them in some paperwork that was given to us for our own personal use. Praise the Lord. They would have needed to admit me to a sanitarium!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are now finishing up some final shopping for gifts and then plan to have a picnic type of snack night with the kids and then to bed for a few hours along with laundry and some repacking, then up at 2 for departure from the apartment at 4 A.M. We will be a tired bunch but happy to be home.

Wendi the girls would love some clothes/toys from Anya. We will be in touch when we get a chance to sit and relax for a few. Hope and pray to see you soon.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. It has meant so much to us knowing that people care.

See you on the other side in AMERICA.

The Kochaneks.

The Taxi Driver

2009-01-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

This is the taxi driver Uri who took us around Kotovsk and drove us to Odessa. The girls, Bruce and I spend about 6 hours in this taxi on the way to Villamikili to get the new birth certificate and then to odessa for the tax id number. He was great and he enjoyed helping all the families who were adopting. Thank You Uri.
The Kochaneks

The Facilitator

2009-01-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

This is our facilitator Victor. IN the beginning he was a normal Ukrainian man but after dealing with all our families he was a little frustrated and wanted to jump in the Black Sea. VICTOR Come back DONT JUMP!!!!! See all of us adopted girls which totaled 4. All the estrogen on the trip made him a little crazy. He was great and we appreciated all his help. He has one son of his own and I am thinking he will not ever want girls. :) LOL LOL

Peesit (PEEPEE)

2009-01-12T09:44:00.000-08:00

Ok guys I am going to tell you about an experience you need to sit down for. The picture is of a normal toilet in Ukraine. My experience started when I had to really go one day and was just learing the pants down balancing act to hit the hole and not my boots. So as I was squatting and attempting to bend over and observe the stream something wet splash up on my forhead. Now I am not sure if it was mine or the pile located to the side but I assume the exposure wont kill me but make my immune system stronger. FYI dont shake my hand when I get off the plane. If anyone needs tutoring on the squat pee balancing stance I can give you my notes. :) :) LOL
Chris

Day with the Dolphins

2009-01-12T09:29:00.000-08:00

The girls went to see the dolphins yesterday and had a wonderful time. I do not think they had ever seen one. We were able to get our pix taken with two of them. At first I think that they were unsure of what they were watching but the dolphins started jumping and their eyes lit up. Bruce and I had a bet to see if the trainers would come out in bikinis or wet suits. Wet Suits it was. I guess they were American Ukrainian. :)

Day of Fun

2009-01-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

We are having a lot of fun. Right now we are sitting at a bar eating dinner. I know we are not to be exposing the children to this atmosphere but it seems like one of the nicest ones. LOL. The food is good. I am going to attempt to download some pictures. Hopefully we are able to know on Tuesday when we might have our passports. I plan to come back to this bar for further meals tomorrow.The name is Kanhmah.

Some interesting things have occured today. As walking down the street I look into an alley and see an older woman releasing urine. Oh the experiences you will see in Ukraine. I will try to bring back some interesting pictures.:)

Until Zaftra (tomorrow)
Love Chris

Odessa

2009-01-10T09:56:00.000-08:00

WE ARE IN ODESSA!!! We applied for the passport on Friday the 9th and they say anywhere from 3-7 days to get it. We are praying for the 3 day wait but who knows what will happen. Only God knows. This town is very clean and nice. Our facilitator, Chris and Laurie Passon walked about five miles today and tomorrow we will go see a dolphin show by the Black Sea. Bruce stayed in the apartment with our girls and Laurie's girl Yana since they did not want to go out. When we got home they had him tied up while throwing grapes at him but he would not budge. I told him next time he will not be so gullible to say yes at staying home. They needed to get out and walk to burn off energy.

Odessa has been fun and we have taken a lot of pictures. When I am able to use my own laptop I will attempt to download some pix for everyone. The streets are cobblestone, no snow, and a tad bit warmer than Kotovsk. I, Chris will be heading home on the 19th regardless since I have to be at work on the 21st.

Well we need to get back to the loft before the girls tie up Laurie. Hugs and Kisses to all.

Love Ya Chris

Barbie's are Awesome

2009-01-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

I am at the internet cafe with Noel and she says DaDaDa (yes yes yes) Barbies!!! We are getting excited to travel to Odessa to get their passports. They miss everyone and can't wait to see the family and friends they did not meet while spending time with us. We appreciate everyone's prayers. It means so much to have good friends and family going to God on our behalf. When I get discouraged I just think that God has not let us down so far and that if we just give him total control he will work out all the details. Maybe that is what God has been trying to teach me (Chris) at least.
I keep everyone at home in my prayers. It feels like we have been gone for soo long. We would like to have a party eventually to celebrate our new family of 6 when we get home. The girls can't wait to get to school and want to spend some time with Mackenzie Skeens. They have picked her out of pix and seem to be drawn to her. (You go Girl!!!). So if anyone sees Sammie or Kim let them know we will be sending the kids over soon!! :0.

Three more days to go until we travel. People ask if we will come back to Kotovsk but we do not think so. There are some others issues I will discuss when I arrive home but not here and not right now. I have little eyes watching.

Well take care everyone we are off to the market, paper store, clothing store and where ever else we can spend time. Blessing from two Kochanek Girls Chris and Noel

Oh Ted wanted to let you know I took out the teeth candy you sent because of all the rumors going around the orphanage that Americans were adopting and cutting up the kids. I figured that would not go over well. The girls ate the candy at the flat just not all the kids.

A Message From Noel:
HOME HOME HOME. I want to eat Pizza when I come home to America. Thank You Sue Sue, Theatte,Jim, and Grandparents for painting my room. Hi to Zoe and Lucky. Hi to Aunt Marti. (They kiss your picture by the way). We will be home SSSOOOOONNN!

Day What????

2009-01-03T04:59:00.000-08:00

Ok so now every day seems to be running together. I am not sure of the date but I know it is Saturday. Most of you are just getting out of bed but we have been up for a while. Bruce and I have decided to come in town to the internet cafe to just get away by ourselves. Mark and Yegor (the Burrits) went to another region to visit some missionaries and Tammy with Nadyia stayed with us at the flat. Noel (Svitlana) and Christine (Iryna) are having fun. They love the jackets from the Clevengers. They fit great!!! We did have to take Noel shopping for pants because she grew tall over the last couple of months. They are still skinny little girls though. We have discovered that the kids at our orphanage seem to be on the thin side when compaired to others in the region. It makes me wonder why and what might be going on behind closed doors??? Maybe it is best we do not know.
Oh and tell Pastor Mick we changed the girls names to ones he can pronounce.:):) LOL!!

I think we are becoming more Ukrainian as each day goes by. Bruce is still wearing the same jeans since last week. The Febreeze is becoming ineffective!!! I will need to write a brief letter to the company when we return.LOL!! We had the opportunity to visit the open market again yesterday. People in America need to experience all of this to appreciate their freedom and opportunities they have. I bet a lot would change their way of life quickly.

We are hoping to take the girls to see sisters Tonya and ULia sometime after getting the official birth certificate. We pray all goes well with this reunion. If anyone is interesting in adoption they are on the international list and are very sweet girls. Anyone just let us know. Maybe our experiences have helped to pave the way, it might be easier on others we know. If anyone is interested let us know as we have made some contacts here in Ukraine that would help with facilitating.

We cant wait to share our pictures and multiple stories. The girls ask over and over again when are we going home. Which makes us feel good and reconfirms our decision about splitting up the family.

Please pray for the other families that are here with us as each of us have our own special stories and situations to overcome. Laurie and Keith Passon adopting Yana as well and Mark and Tammy Burritt adopting Nadyia.
We will be home sooon!!! Love on the boys for us.

Love Ya
Chris and Bruce Kochanek

New Years Day

2009-01-01T03:02:00.000-08:00

Hi to all we were able to access some internet. We survived New Years Eve the traditional Ukrainian way. We had lots of food, ice cream, cake, and gave gifts to the girls. I can't wait to show all the interesting pix we have. Well from what we can guess we will attempt to be on a plane to America on the 19th. Not soon enough for me!! The girls are also getting inpatient about getting back home. :) There are most days that I even forget the actual date and day of the week. I miss my schedule and we are getting tired of living out of a suitcase but we do have the girls and that is what matters. We have made good friends with some of the taxi drivers and they seem happy we are adopting. Uri has even showed us pix of his family. I will be getting photos of him and his awesome taxi. It reminds me of something my aunt Zenith drove when I was in High School. Well until later. Please keep praying that we are on a plane coming to America on the 19th of Jan or before. We miss everyone and the girls Noel (Svieta) and Christine (Iryna) Kochanek miss their family and send their love.
The Kochaneks

The weekend after christmas

2008-12-29T04:03:00.000-08:00

We petitioned to have the girls out for the weekend and also petitioned for two of the girls that there new parants were not going to be in town. So me and chris had four girls in a very small apartment. I would sujjest to all the men out there not to do this!

The court went very smooth it was on chris's birthday. The apointment was at 2pm. The judge was late he had a meeting at the other court. The room was about as big as are living room three benches on each side. There was a steel cage on the left and three big chairs were the judge sat in the middle chair. The recorder was the judges secretary taking notes on a pad? They did have microphones but didn't know if they were on. You could still see the hammer and sickle on two of the judges chairs were it was removed. court only lasted about 40 min.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T05:22:00.000-08:00

Today the sun finally came out. This is the first time we have seen it in two weeks. What a blessing. Guess What! The electricity and water did not go off today either. WWWOOOOHHHOO!! I (Chris) have the wonderful opportunity of experiencing travelers diarrhea so as I a typing I pray that I don't explode.:)

Only two more days and we will be proud parents of two beautiful girls. I frequently ask Bruce if he realized what he was getting into when he married me. A total of 4 kids in 2 1/2 years!! What a man!

We visited the orphanage today and was verbally assulted by the bad boys. I am having a hard time controlling myself. I just want to put them over my leg and spank them. They attempt to pick your pockets and ask for money money money. I told them to go back to class so they could get a job and make their own money. The Burrits said this was the worst they have seen them. I do not tolerate this treatment very well. Please pray these boys leave us and our children alone.

For those of you who have ever thought about adoption we have also met some wonderful children that would love to come to America. If I could they would be coming home with us. I will of course be bringing pictures to tug at your heart strings. Basically all we have been tolerating and experiencing is worth it all to get our girls and bring them home!

Now off to the toy/clothing store to get Ukrainian Barbie's. They have short skirts and black thigh high boots with 4 inch heals. :) Lydia you know what I am speaking of.:):)

Marti just wanted to tell you that Svetia has a pic of you on her bed. You are going to have to help me with them when we get back.
Sue Sue just wanted to let you know that Ira wanted her name to be Susie after you but we had already choosen their names so we can call her Susie for short nickname.

I hope we can bring back some interesting things from our experiences(except the travellers diarrhea). Until later.

Love everyone!!!!!
Give the boys a big hug and kiss from mom and dad and thanks to Doug, Amy and Aubrey for taking the boys to church for us. You are awesome and we love you very much.
Chris and Bruce Kochanek

UPDATES

2008-12-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

WEll we finally have some limited access to the computer. We have been so busy! We were able to meet Iryna and Svieta's 3 sisters. That was an experience I will never forget. They were very nice but cried that we were not able to adopt them. I cried as well. We have court on Dec 26th (which is my birthday). What a great present!! The girls are so happy to come home to America.

Oh we also told the two middle girls Tanya and Ulia that we would bring the girls by their orphanage to say good bye. If we could afford the other children we would adopt them but we just cant do it. This makes me sad but yet we have to think of Iryna and Svieta now. People here can't understand why we want to adopt children when we can have them and already have two at home. I guess we will be asked this question in court.

Yesterday we were able to see where they sleep. The room was dark and cold and the bed was had basically a thin blanket as a matress. When we sat down on the bed we could feel the support boards. I am so ready to get them out!!

The girls love Bruce and always try to tickle him or play with his beard. Svieta showed me her sketch book and I was amazed!! She can look at a picture and then draw it very very well. I hope to get her in some art classes in America.

We did not see the girls today because we went at a bad time and we had to get out of there. We were called the B word multiple times and asked for money and candy. The boys at the orphanage are rough and mean!

We pray that we can have them at the flat this weekend and for their Christmas break. We technically have to wait 10 days after the court date until we have them in our custody but we might have them sooner with the petition. I believe their break starts on Friday and they go back around the 13th of Jan.

The weather is comparable to Indiana. We walk everywhere which provides good exercise but I miss my van and having the convenience of getting in and going where I want. Chris got a Ukrainian hair cut because the water has caused damage. It only costed me about $2.50. I said SSSWWEEEETTTT!!!! The people are nice at times but they cheat you on change. I find the corruption and cheating interesting. I guess they think we do not notice. They must think we are stupid Americans!!

Please keep praying for us that we just get through this process quickly with few complications. Pray that God opens the needed doors and Chris does not have a nervous breakdown!!!!! We appreciate everyones comments and support. Just getting online to see responses puts a smile on her face. Until the next internet cafe.

Chris and Bruce Kochanek

Sunday

2008-12-14T04:08:00.000-08:00

Well it is Sunday about 2:11 pm here so that makes it 7 am in the US. We miss everyone so much. We just got done discussing how everyone is probably waking up and getting ready for church. Well I (chris) almost got us kicked out of our apartment (according to Bruce). After our SDA appoinment an old lady came to the door asking to see the apt. We did not want to let her in but Olef called and said it was ok to let her in. I guess she wanted to rent it next week and wanted to see what it looked like. Well me being the honest and to the point person I am told her we had no hot water and the bed was hard (the matress is box springs). Then later on that night we have a call from our translator Jenya saying we need to move to a different apt. (We both were secretly excited about the move as to give us something to do on Saturday :)!) In the end we ended up staying in our current apt. And praise the Lord we have hot water now. They have a heater in the bathroom that warms the water if the hot gets shut off. What we discovered was that the Mayor turned off the hot water because of the company not paying the gas bill. Everyone in the city was without water. This morning he must have turned it back on!! I guess a hot shower once a weeks is good. So keep praying guys. It is working.

We will travel on Monday evening to the orphanage but we are missing everyone so much that we found an internet cafe and payed for an hour to just check email and communicate with everyone. When we get to Kotovsk on Monday it will be late so we will touch base with everyone on Tuesday probably.

I just have to remember that God is working. It may not be in my time but we have seen miricles thus far. It is sad how much I have taken for granted in my life. I will surely have more patience and enjoy our hot water oh and they have MCDonalds. WWOOOOHHOO!!!

Blessing
Chris and Bruce Kochanek

SDA appointment

2008-12-12T06:58:00.000-08:00

We had our SDA appointment today and we will get our referral on Monday. After the referral we will be traveling about 6 hours to Kotovsk to see the girls. Our next date to tackle is the court date. We are praying that we get a quick date since we do have to wait 10 days after the date to actually get the girls then we will rush rush rush to get appoinments with the embassy to get visas etc... I am beginning to feel better about things. Thanks to everyone who is praying for us it helps.

This morning praise the Lord we had water but not to our surprise it was ice cold! So we improvised again on the showers. We take so much for granted!! It is even interesting when it comes to service in restaraunts. They do not check on you throughout the meal and you have to flag someone down to put your order in and even get your check. Then again maybe they are ignoring us since we are Americans. I stick out like a sore thumb. Oh well we have come for a reason (to get our girls).

For any of you who see our boys tell them mommy and daddy love them and can't wait to get home with the rest of our family.

I will probably not post anything until Monday or Tuesday. Blessings to all.

Chris

We Have Made It

2008-12-11T03:49:00.000-08:00

Well we finally arrived in Ukraine Yesterday. It has been an adventure. First I would like to say on our way from Indy to Chicago we met a gentleman named Noah who is also a nurse working in Indy who might be able to connect us with a plastic surgeon at Riley for Iryna's eye. God is working and that is what I have to keep reminding myself. Even when in Germany people at the airport started going through my things and make me take my concelled money pouch off to go through xray.

Lastnight in Ukraine was a real eyeopener for me! Girlscouts did not prepare me for this! We are staying in a 3 room apartment. At least we have our own private bathroom. This afternoon I woke up desiring a nice warm shower to begin our day fresh. Well that did not happen. As I attempted to turn on the water I realized it is not running. So thankfully we bought a big bottle of water lastnight and Bruce used some of that to sponge bathe and I washed up with some baby wipes. I will be brining pix back of the inside. You will be amazed at the living conditions.

There is an issue we need everyone to get on their knees and pray for. Lastnight we found out that we may be here longer than five weeks. I guess the judge in Kotovsk is behind on cases and we may not have our court date until after the first of the year. This is a problem because I will have to return in 6 weeks to maintain my new position at MGH which will leave Bruce by himself. Please join our family in prayer about this situation.

The girls know we are in country and are excited from what we hear. Pray that we travel to Kotovsk on Friday after our SDA appoinment and that God goes before us and prepares our way, opens doors, and calms my nerves. Until the next WiFi I find.

God Bless and Thanks to everyone keeping us on their prayer list.
Chris and Bruce.

The Indy Airport

2008-12-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

We are sitting at the Indy airport waiting on our flight to Chicago. The new airport is awesome. The boys came to see us off. I think they were excited about spending time with grandma for Christmas.

We are so blessed to have so many people helping us fulfill this chapter in our lives as well as Iryna and Svitlana's lives. All of our friends and family are priceless. This will be an experience that will last a lifetime.
Thank you to those that have helped get us this far and those that are lifting us up in prayer.

The Lord works in an awesome way. This week has been overwhelming yet exciting to see how much he is working. Not only are we on the way to get the girls about 4 months earlier than expected but we also could have our second house sold soon, which is a huge blessing and financial relief. The Lord never stops amazing me!!!

We will attempt to access internet in Germany and post again. It will be midnight our time when we arrive. Can anyone say jet lag??? :)

Chis

Ukraine Here We Come

2008-12-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

We will be heading to Ukraine soon adding two more children to our family. I have always known that I would adopt and have biological children but did not realize God would work so quickly. The Lord is truly teaching me how much he is in control of our lives. As I reflect on the events of the last 4 months I see His hand throughout the whole process from orchestrating my change to a different master's program to the short wait for our appointment with adoption officials in Ukraine. People ask how were we able to get through the process quickly because some wait months to years to adopt internationally. All I can say is that OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!

This week we will be gathering and packing clothes and supplies for our trip. If our Internet connection works in Ukraine I will be updating this blog on a regular basis so please follow us on our adoption journey. Please pray for our family staying here as well as our girls we will bringing home. Pray that the Lord opens doors for us in Ukraine and that we embrace our trip the good and bad.

May God Bless and Keep You
Chris K