Psalm 68:5-6

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

I am Stepanie Nance. My family adopted two little boys with Down Syndrome from Ukraine in 2010. I hope to educate and to inspire you. I hope to make you laugh and to make you cry.

Come along for the ride. It's a wild one!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The first legs

Sunday 1:00 pm
Wow, you don’t see that everyday. A guy in a sport coat, shorts and crocs! If I had a camera phone I would be so dangerous. I’m sitting in the Chicago airport watching people. I just got done changing my pants! I’m too cheap to pay for internet so I’ll just post this when I can. Not sure how long it will take me to get used to seeing guys in Capri pants.

It’s always interesting, flying out of a mid-sized city like Wichita. Most often I find myself in a so-called regional jet, otherwise known as a sardine can. It’s a good thing I was already intimately acquainted with the guy sitting next to me! We were really crammed in. Leave it to me to spill cran-apple juice on my tray. The tray flooded and the juice ran down into my crotch. Great. Just wonderful. I’m not sure when I’ll get to do any washing, but I’m down one pair of pants. After that the flight got bumpy. Then it got bumpier and weirdly quiet. I could hear the seats squeaking as we were jostled around. Glad that flight is over.

We both realized, as we were taking off, that this is the first time that we have ever flown on the same plane together! It’s not like we have never traveled, but just not on the same plane at the same time. This is also the first time in 19 years that we have been alone together for more than a few days. We never even had a honeymoon! I’m going to consider this a honeymoon of sorts as we are going to an exotic, albeit not tropical, location together for a couple of weeks. We are getting along well at the moment!

One thing for you adopting parents, the ticket agents in Wichita had no idea about declaring money. Really, they were clueless. We would have been wise to fill out this form before heading to the airport. Shockingly, I was not selected for additional security screening. Good thing. I didn’t need any more drama today.

Leaving the house was way more traumatic than I had anticipated. There was an odd mixture of tears and indifference. Rose was melting down because her church shoes were hurting her feet and she couldn’t find any tights to wear. Jordan was just weeping and clinging to me. Ruby was happy because grandma was there! Thomas was bent out of shape because I told Rose she could wear his flip-flops.
 
 
12:56 AM - (7:56 AM local time)
We just landed in Dusseldorf after a tortuous 8 hours in a packed airbus. Of course, I was stuck in the middle of the middle row for my first flight over the Atlantic. Oh, how I longed to gaze out the window!!! As hot and crowded and uncomfortable as the plane was, I will say that they kept the wine flowing for the first four hours! I had a couple of glasses with dinner hoping that it would help me relax and go to sleep. Nope. As hard as I tried, I could only pretend to sleep.
Man is it hot in this airport. There is not a whiff of cool air to be found. I nearly passed out in the bathroom.

We have two and a half hours before we board our final flight for today into Kyiv. We have the option of leaving the secure area to window shop, but I hate to have to go through security again. We did have to go through security again here after we got off the plane and headed for our next gate. I was expecting to be carefully scrutinized and even groped but no. We sailed right through!

8 comments:

  1. OH how excited I was to see an update. I'm so glad you're sharing all the crazy fun frustrating parts of your trip. Enjoy your time w/ hubby!!! So glad you can do this togehter and FINALLY get your honeymoon. =)

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  2. Almost there! I'm looking forward to following your journey!

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  3. So glad things are going relatively smoothly! Enjoy your honeymoon. Can't wait to hear you have met your boys!

    Love
    Leslie

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  4. Excellent post - so funny! Hope you have a very enjoyable trip to meet your boys!

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  5. so happy to hear you guys made it into kiev, so sorry for the mishap in your pickup. I hope you had a chance to settle in and get some sleep!! Hope you had some time to sight see too and eat some good food!! email if you need anything!!

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  6. Glad to hear an update on your travels! Soon you will get your referral and be on your way to see those precious ones!
    So excited for you....these are the labor pains of adoption I guess :)
    praying for you!
    love, the Adamsons
    (we'll be leaving this Saturday so its neat to get this preview to what is coming...)

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  7. I'm a follower from South Africa. a "friend" Cathy from Australia, really fell in love with Zenya...and so I become a follower(lurker?). Enjoy the "honeymoon"Not many of us get the chance to go to Germany and the Ukraine for a honeymoon...albeit after 19 years of marriage. Just know that I'll be thinking of you and praying for you. I think our time is very similar to the time in Ukraine. Blessings and may you enjoy the trip!

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  8. Stephanie,

    I am so happy for you! I want to know how my sweet Leroy handled your departure. He is a doll! I can't imagine all the prep work to leave. I'm just leaving 2 kids behind. I leave for China on Saturday. PTL! We both made it! May the Lord give you strength for this journey. I know HE will! You and James enjoy this special time together. I can't wait to meet YOUR boys. :}

    Love,
    Miss Tammy

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