FAST FORWARD...Sara Is A Jewell and We're Coming Home!

What a difference a day makes!!! As I write, I am hurried to get all of our family and friends this unexpected update and then hit the ground running with to-do's and errands. Yesterday, Friday, October 29, Summer and I joined Sergei on a day-long whirlwind trip that started at 8:30 am and ended at 7:45 pm. From the start, Sergei told me it would be a long-shot with trips through three different cities in this part of Ukraine to get all the needed documents to finalize our adoption of Sara including her new birth certificate (big smile) along with her passport. I will briefly take you through our trek that was the pivotal and final step in completing the official adoption portion of our "Journey to Tatyana." (I titled the blog before we were completely sure she wanted to be called Sara in America.) And I do have a few photos to document THE day we have been living for since January of this year because the spoiler is that we did actually accomplish this and will be leaving Severodonetsk earlier than planned. Read on for our new return schedule!!!

Our first stop was right here in Severodonetsk at the local Courthouse. Truly, this first stop was THE most exciting one because we would be picking up the final court decree declaring Sara as the daughter of Steve and Sunny Jewell. Sergei said congratulations as he handed me the decree and I had two overwhelming feelings - one of joy and one of relief that finally this drawn-out process was coming to an end. (See photo of Summer and I outside the courthouse holding the official court decree saying that Sara is a Jewell! Sorry, about the dark photo but it was the only one I had.) Once in the car, I was mesmerized by this document covered with Ukrainian words that said I was a new Mom - of a teenager!!!! (See photo of the top page of the court decree. The words at the top say "Decree - In the Name of Ukraine." It was a surreal moment just remembering when I first saw her picture on the hosting website last October and feeling this instant connection with her - from a photograph! And now, here I am one year later in Ukraine holding the document that says she is my daughter! I felt humbled, overwhelmed with emotion and oh so thankful to my God for revealing his plan for our lives and, more importantly, for Sara's life through a photograph of a then 14-year-old redhead who was to be ours a mere one year later. WOW!

We then drove about 30 minutes to Sara's birthplace of Lisichansk to the Vital Records office. As a follow-up to the court decree, they would be issuing a new birth certificate listing Steve and I as the parents and doing so under Sara's new name, Tatyana Sara Jewell. "Sergei the Great" (my fond term for him) did ALL the work as Summer and I sat in an incredibly cold lobby (everyone - all Ukrainian besides us - still had on their coats, hats and even gloves following a VERY cold night). Ms. Palen and Mr. Acquisto, you will be glad to know that we brought schoolwork along so Summer could work on it while we waited which ended up being well over an hour. I then went in to sign my name on the new birth certificate and, when the woman handed the certificate to Sergei, she looked at me and said, "Congratulations," in Russian and even smiled, a rarity in Ukraine. We then drove back to Severodonetsk and went to a tax inspector's office to get a new Tax ID number for Sara as is required. Next, it was on to a local office to begin the first step of acquiring Sara's passport to go home to America (I like the sound of that). After a good bit of waiting, we had a document we needed to now take to the orphanage for the director's signature which releases her from the orphanage. We drove to the orphanage and waited again since the director was at lunch. (See photo of Sergei filling out documents while we waited followed by a photo of me holding up the passport paperwork with Sara's photo on it.) The director returned from lunch and we got the signature along with some sage advice, well wishes, positive comments about Sara's good heart and talents in dancing and then we even got a hug from her.

Then we returned to the local passport office to pick up a woman from there who would accompany us to Lugansk where Sara's actual passport would have to be approved and created. It was a long 1 hour 15 minute drive because we were already tired (especially me because I did not sleep well the night before). Summer was a trooper reading a book and not complaining even once. I was VERY proud of how she handled this day filled with travel and errands. This woman, Olga, would be helping us try to expedite the creation of the passport since it was Friday and she had appointments on Monday that would make travel to Lugansk more challenging thereby possibly delaying our trip to Kiev. She joined us on the nail-biting trip to Lugansk over bumpy roads in need of repair on which cars, including ours, can go VERY fast because these are fairly straight roads through countryside and police are a rarity. I don't know how kilometers convert to miles but Sergei's speedometer said we were going just over 120 kilometers an hour! All I know is that it felt VERY fast but he assured me that it was normal for this strip of road. I was just happy to arrive in Lugansk! We arrived there at 3:45 pm so time was getting tight but Olga became my hero! She got it done and then we were on our way back to Severodonetsk at 5:15 pm. More nail-biting ensued as we sped our way back to Severodonetsk because 30 minutes into the trip, we were speeding back through the same roads but in the dark. I just said a few prayers and remembered that Sergei has been my personal angel throughout this process and that he would get us back safely. And he did!

We now needed to head to the orphanage to share the good news with Sara that our adoption and passport processes are now complete and we can arrange a flight out this weekend. At the orphanage, we found out that all of her class had gone with Larisa and another teacher to a big show in the town square with a huge stage, mammoth & LOUD speakers, dancers, singers and even a hot air balloon (found out it was a "political celebration" all funded by one candidate for some office - interesting!). We headed there and found Larisa and the kids minus Sara and two of her friends. I then found out that Sara was actually dancing in the show and would soon be on stage. It had to have been below 30 degrees and we were freezing as we waited patiently through a number of other dances and two singers to finally see Sara. (See photo of two of the dances which were traditional types of local dances in beautiful Ukrainian costumes.) And just when I thought we couldn't take the cold anymore, out came my Sara with her almost waist-long standard pony tail and, as usual, it was hard to watch anyone but her. I tried to take photos but, sadly, my camera battery decided it would run low and not allow me take lots of photos!!! I was able to get one barely-decent photo. (See photo of Sara's dance. She is the far-right dancer in the blurriness - sorry!) She astounded me with her usual gift of dance but then my astonishment went a few steps further when she did a gymnastics move tumbling across the stage - what?!? I didn't know she could do that! She continues to surprise and delight!

We took her and her two friends back to the orphanage but, on the walk to the car and throughout the car ride, there was almost non-stop crying and sniffles because Sara had said goodbye to some of her dance class friends after the show. Her other two friends tried to comfort her but, in the process, started crying themselves. They were in the back seat while I was in the front and all I wanted to do was get to the school so I could hug her - which is exactly what I did. Then, when we entered the orphanage, I had to break the news to her that we would likely be taking a plane to Kiev on Sunday rather than Tuesday as we had originally thought. I had given her a heads up the day before that, according to Sergei, this would be a slight possibility but, with our unexpectedly successful day, the "slight" had turned into "definite." As her friends stood nearby, she cried some more (as did they) at the realization that the final goodbye was only 24 hours away since we would be returning tomorrow (Saturday) to pick her up for some errands and then she would be going to the hotel with us to spend the night. Goodbye would now be tomorrow, not Tuesday. Whew!

As I write, it is 12:30 pm on Saturday and we will be picking Sara up at 1:30 pm at the orphanage. I have been dreading this since we arrived in Ukraine and it will be even harder than I anticipated because Sara will be leaving the only family she has known she was seven years old. These girls have all shared their unfortunate pasts, their childhoods and now their early teen years. They are truly like sisters and Larisa has been like Sara's Mom and now she must leave them and set out on a new family journey in another country. The strength this takes for a 15 year old to do this is incredible but, today, this strength will turn to utter sadness and streams and streams of tears from her and these incredible girls whom I have grown to love.

Our flight out of Donetsk (airport about 2 hours away from Severodonetsk) is at 7:30 pm on Sunday arriving in Kiev at 8:45 pm. We have appointments in Kiev at the Ukrainian Consulate and at the U.S. Embassy on Monday and Tuesday at an almost non-stop pace. I have rescheduled our flights to leave from Kiev and head back to The States beginning at 6:45 am (yikes!!) on Wednesday, November 3 because this was the ONLY flight that got us out on Wednesday - and I am SOOOO ready to be home. We will arrive at the Columbia Airport on Wednesday at 6:42 pm - exhausted and emotional with a mixture of sad (goodbye friends in Ukraine) and happy (hello, America and the future Sara has dreamed of). I hope to do another post or two from Kiev with more photos that I didn't get a chance to post. This has been an amazing experience for which I truly thank God and it is hard to believe it is almost over. When I think of getting on that plane in Columbia on September 30, it seems SO long ago! When I think of coming home, it can't get here soon enough!

No time for a teaser because I have to get to the orphanage for the tears and hugs - and our new beginning as a family as Steve, Sunny, Summer - and Sara!!! The Four S's! Keep checking the blog for any update from Kiev and even a follow-up or two once we have returned home.

Sunny (Officially "Sara's Mom!")