Paper work, paper work, Paper work!

So sorry its been a while with out a post. We spent every spare moment we could with Vlad. He is absolutely adorable and we are totally in love with him and he with us. We got to spend a lot of quality time with him and that was awesome. It is so cool to see the photos of us the 1st day or so when he would hardly touch us (just smiled @ us a lot) to the photos make toward the end where he's hanging all over us.

Funny story: The night before they were to go back, they had a big Ukrainian dinner and all the house parents, volunteers, and prospective adoptive parents came. There was a big bonfire after dinner and all the kids were running around, having a great time. Vlad went and got Valery, our adoption coordinator from Ukraine, and told him he had something to tell me. Vlad told Valery that he had been thinking about something for a long while and he wanted to know when he comes to live here...can his name be Henry? I about fell out! Henry, really? With all the American names out there, what made him pick Henry? What made it even more a "God" moment was that earlier that same day I had talked to Bill about names. We had been planning to name him Jackson Vlad and call him Jack after my dad. I had talked to Bill though b/c after meeting Vlad, he just didn't seem like a Jack to me. Well, its b/c he's not supposed to Jack, he will be Henry Holliday! We love referring to him as Henry now!

Henry Holliday

At bedtime the night before Vlad/Henry had broke down, wrapped his arms around Hope and just cried & said "My sister." Then he did the same to Hayden. I made him a pallet on the floor next to his bed. I had promised that on the night before he had to leave the girls could sleep in his room. The girls laid in his bed, he got onto his pallet on the floor, and I tucked him in for the last time for a long while. Part of me was so happy that we got to have this time with him, but the other part of me hated it b/c I had to let him go back. The only solace I have is that I know Victoria, the orphanage director, and I know she loves the kids in her orphanage and he will be well taken care of until we get there to get him permanently.

Victoria

It was a very long ride to Atlanta, but the kids seemed in good spirits. That was until they could tell that we were getting close to the airport. Things turned somber then. I think the only thing that helped was the rush to get the baggage unloaded and get to the check in on time. Everyone was checked in and we made the walk over to security to say our good byes. It killed me to see him cry and we all got as many hugs as we could squeeze in before they were rushed through the line. On the other side of the 1st check, the kids could come over to the rope and we got in a few more hugs. Vlad/Henry asked Valery to translate something for him. He said to tell us "Thank you for everything you did for me while I was here." Then he broke down crying, gave us all one last hug, and walked on through security. He wouldn't look back at us anymore after that. I think it was just too hard. One of the hardest things I have ever done in my life.

Hopefully the time will fly by and we will be going to Ukraine before we know it. We took our friends David and Julie Sanchez to the airport Sunday. They will be bringing back "Smiley" Oleg (the 1st boy I loved from Ukraine) and Nastya. They hope to be returning sometime mid to end of May. When we were at the airport, I had butterflies in my stomach! Can't imagine what it will be like when its our turn!

Oleg

Nastya

Well, we just thought we had filled out our share of paper work! We still have forms to fill out for home study and now a stack from Valery for Ukraine. Its all worth it though! I will fill out whatever is necessary to get these boys home!