"I Want A Family."

Monday, October 18, 2010 - Today is a BIG day! Steve, Summer and I will be appearing before a Ukrainian judge, two jurors and a prosecutor asking them to approve our adoption of Tatyana Khonina. This morning, we had a quick "Breakfast with Moises," returned to our room to don our court-appropriate clothing (you know, the ones that make you look like you are a responsible tax-paying, law-abiding citizen) and then met Sergei in the lobby. (See photo of the handsome and appropriately dressed Steve waiting in the hotel lobby.) We quickly stopped at "The Market" (remember the bizarre bazaar that had everything from pastries to cow heads) to get some flowers from the florist shop to present to Sara once the court declares we can adopt her. We then drove to the orphanage and picked up Sara and Yanna, the orphanage attorney. I felt like the "Keystone Cops" as all 6 of us squeezed into Sergei's 5-seater sedan to make the short drive to the courthouse. It was a cold and windy day so Fall leaves were pouring out of the trees. Being one of my very favorite seasonal sights, I took this as a reminder from God that He was with us as is promised in my favorite Bible verse which I hope Sara will also hold close to her heart (Summer has had it memorized since she was 5 years old), "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Could have been personally written for Sara as well, huh?

After arriving at the odd courthouse (old building in need of various repairs), I snapped a quick picture of Summer and Sara before we entered. (See photo of the sisters-to-be.) Now, based on my previous entries, you fill in the blank. In addition to being old, the courthouse was also ____ and _____ on the inside. The adjectives should quickly come to mind as you reminisce about my previous entries about Ukrainian buildings, particularly the government buildings - cold and dark! Neither Yanna, Sara, Steve, Summer or I ever removed our winter coats throughout our entire time inside the courthouse - even during the actual court! We got through an uncomfortable time of sitting in a waiting area for our turn in the court. Sara was very quiet so I asked if she was nervous and she said she wasn't. I assume she was just out of her element of the familiar walls of the orphanage.

We were called into a small courtroom and then we stood when the judge entered. He was a stereotype of husky older-but-wiser judges all over the world who look and even sound like authority would sound if it had a voice. The court process was a distracting mixture of Ukrainian (NOT Russian) and English words as the judge spoke and our translator translated his words softly for us. Among the judge's Ukrainian words, we could clearly hear Steven Jewell, Susan Saunders Jewell, Tatyana Khonina, America, Ukraine but the rest was jibberish to us until translated by Sergei the Great (our nickname for this multi-tasking facilitator, translator, taxi driver, errand runner and breakfast and dinner buddy). We had been told that the judge also fancied himself a comedian and it didn't take long for us to hear his jokes and teasing worked into the proceeding. We had quite a few laughs - at our own expense :-).

Steve was the focal point of The Inquisition. The judge asked Steve lots of questions about his career, his income, our home, college for Tatyana, how she will learn English, etc. He asked me about my education, my stay-at-home-Mom position and why we wanted to adopt Tatyana - and that was easy to answer as I looked at him, at Tatyana, back at him and so forth with a big "mother's love" smile on my face. He asked Tatyana a few questions with the most important being why she wanted to be adopted. Her reply began with, "I want a family..." and, to me, that was not only the most important thing she said but also the most telling. You can have friends galore and even a nurturing orphanage staff but that cannot compare to a forever family. He did also ask about her name change to Tatyana Sara Jewell and she confirmed that this was her choice :-).

Court lasted about 40 minutes or so and the judge, jurors and prosecutor left to deliberate for 20 minutes. Sergei said he would take Yanna and Sara back to the orphanage during this time and then return. We ran to the car with them and pulled out our congratulatory flowers for Sara and, again, Sara smiles! (See photo of Sara with flowers in hand.) Steve, Summer and I went back to the courtroom and Summer began acting up SO badly that they placed her in a holding cell in the courtroom. (See photo of the incarcerated Summer.) Just kidding! She is such a ham and begged to get into that cell. After Summer's jail break, the judge, jurors and prosecutor returned and, for the next 10 minutes, we all stood as the fast-talking judge went through a litany of Ukrainian legal schmegal and as poor Sergei translated and tried to keep up as best he could. Steve and I intently listened to Sergei as we again heard our names spoken by the judge and even heard him say "Tatyana Sara Jewell" which gave us great hope. And then the judge declared us as authorized to adopt this sweet child of God!!! Steve and I gazed at each other with big goofy proud-parent smiles as Sergei translated the long-awaited words to us.

At our appointed visiting time (3:00 to 5:00 pm), we went to the orphanage to have our daily visit with Tatyana and friends. We must break the news to them that, since we got the court clearance, Steve is now free to leave to return to America. We will be working on his return flight when we get back to the hotel and Steve is hoping for a flight tomorrow since he is already behind schedule for a return. Some of the regulars weren't around but I did get a good photo of Steve saying goodbye to Olga and Ola. (See Steve and 2 of of the 4 "regulars.") Sara and I talked about sign language because, when we hosted her, I told her about my father being deaf and the sign language we use to communicate. Surprisingly, she showed me how to sign her name in Ukrainian sign language and said she had learned it at school. It was different from American Sign Language. I then asked Sara to pose with me for a picture specifically for my Dad. (See photo of us saying "Hi" to my Dad.)

Monday night we had a Celebrate Sara and a Maybe Goodbye Steve dinner at a VERY nice restaurant, probably the nicest in Severodonetsk. Golden Palace was recommended by Sergei for our special night but, apparently, if you arrive at 6:00 pm on a Monday night you may be the only customers! And we were - at least until about 7:00 pm when ONE other couple arrived. This was a big elegantly appointed restaurant that probably seats 150 people or more with beautiful table settings and various statues around the room gazing upon our one-table celebration. (See photo of Steve, Moises, Sergei & Summer. Note the empty but beautiful room behind them. Also see photo of Sergei and our "personal" waiter who had nothing else to do but please us.) The food was delicious and the company was awesome! Sadly, the five of us will likely not be together again.

After dinner, Summer entertained us with a special performance. As my last teaser asked, you know all about Sergei but have you seen "The Sergei?" Our Sergei the Great has had us laughing many times. I wish you could hear his Ukrainian voice say something with a Southern accent - it is spot on and hysterical! He has also surprised us with tidbits of various dance moves. Each is short and sweet and Summer, on her own, managed to put them all together to come up with a dance called "The Sergei." Sergei surprised us with a new dance move on Sunday so Summer had to add it to the dance so I captured a video of the latest and greatest "The Sergei" and will attempt to include it at the bottom of this blog entry. I hope it works because it is too cute!! Our evening concluded with a few photos my favorite of which is a walk (i.e., staged pose) down the winding staircase at Golden Palace. (See photo of Moises, Steve, me and Summer on the stairs.)

When we got back to our hotel room, Steve was able to book flights back to America. Boo-hoo! To distract me from my sadness, I will share my teaser for the next blog entry. Are you ready? What do the words "spasibo" (Russian for "thank you") and "procedure" have in common? Don't know? Guess you'll have to check the next blog for the rest of the story...(don't forget to check out "The Sergei" video below - assuming it loaded correctly).

Sunny