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!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

We have a date!

So, we got our court date a few days ago and forgot to tell everyone! It is this Tuesday!!

We had originally hoped that it would be yesterday, but these things are completely out of our control. James is leaving immediately after court. He will fly to Kyiv Tuesday night and head for the U.S.A. early the next morning. He is so ready to get home. He misses the children like crazy!


The four of us! I've given up on wearing makeup here, sorry. Almost given up on my hair as well. This feels a lot like camping, right down to brushing your teeth with bottled water.


Do you like this Ukrainian orphanage ball pit? I told this place was a dump.

Here we are at the market. Here you will find many sights that are appalling to the American senses.

Fresh meat anyone?


I don't hear about scores and scores of Ukrainians falling ill because of food borne illness. But, this still just feels wrong. I asked James to take photos to document this "cultural" experience.


*Gulp* Along with all kinds of meat and slabs of fat you could buy milk, cream, and fresh cheese. Nope, none of it was refrigerated.

Ahhh...back to the children! Zhenya is trying to figure out how to open a book. So cute! We tried to do quiet activities with him this day.

He loved bouncing this balloon back and forth!



Look who's reading now!! This little punkin' just loves to learn. I can tell!!

This blue elephant toy is a hit with Alec. I let him keep it one day when we handed him back to the caregivers after our visit. Big mistake. We did not see it the next day.
So, the next night I got on the internet and looked up the Ukrainian words for blue, elephant, and toy, and I wrote them down in our handy-dandy notebook. The morning after that I showed the caregivers the notebook. Thank goodness it was one of the nice ones! She looked everywhere, even in the cabinet where they keep the toys that the kids never get to play with. No sign of it.
Well, I just stood there. I was not leaving without the elephant toy! Pretty soon the lady got on her cell phone and chatted for a moment. Ah-ha! She must have called the right person, because she went into the room where all the cribs are kept and came back with the elephant! Yay!
Lesson: don't give anything or leave anything with your child that you want to get back. You may never see it again!

5 comments:

  1. good for you getting his little toy back ! He is just so sweet. I cant wait until he is home with you :)

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  2. Paul just asked me about you guys, wondering when you'll be home. I told him I thought one of your older kids was going to go be with you after James went home, and then I read your update. Glad things are moving along! Keeping you and your kids in our prayers.

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  3. Love all the new pics. Congrats on your court date!! Can't wait to hear when they are officially yours. Glad you got the toy back.... thats a good lesson to know :) The food market is definitely quite a different experience than here for sure. I hope I'll be able to eat something while I'm there :) LOL.

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  4. we'll be praying for your big date! Smooth sailing :)
    LOL..I remember my reaction quit well to all the "fresh meat" along with the fresh flies :) We stuck to what was wraped in the cooler at the store (which wasn't much) We Americans sure are a spoiled bunch! :D
    The boys are looking right at home in your arms..beautiful!

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  5. can totally comprehend! I cannot wait to get home either! We were told not to bring much in the way of clothes. "you will get all of her things and what you have sent." yeah, two weeks later they find her clothes after "LOOKING EVERYWHERE." Even the ones I had just 3 mos previous were "outgrown and given to other children" or the clothes from Christmas were completely ruined and worthless. I was so frustrated at all I had left at home worring about making the weight and getting back home with her and all of the suitcases without my husband. (clothes are WAY too expensive to purchase here because of import taxes.) live and learn. Hoping and praying we all get home soon- yours and ours......

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