Good news--at last!!

Friday the 13th--supposed to be bad luck, but will be remembered in our home as a day of great blessing, because today, God willing, we met our son.

We arose at 4:15  this morning and were on our way in the van with our translator and her husband 1/2 hour later. We drove about 5 hours towards the border of Poland. The countryside was very pretty with lots of pasture land, blooming tress such as lilacs, and truly picturesque villages. Ukraine must be growing on me,  or maybe it's just the lovely spring, but it seems to be a more beautiful country each time we take a trip.

When we arrived in the region of the orphanage we had to pick up the permission forms before going to the orphanage. Usually the caseworker goes with us to the orphanage, but this time the regional director came along. He is a very kind man and spent the greater part of the day with us.

We drove down a country road,  by a field being plowed by a horse, and passed a new church that is under construction. It's across the street from the orphanage. The orphanage is comprised of yellow brick buildings with a courtyard in the center and surrounded by neat gardens. When we went inside, I was impressed first by the cleanliness and then by the attractiveness of everything. The children we saw looked healthy and happy- Mark described them to his parents as rosy-checked and they were. We even got to eat a normal child's lunch in their cafeteria later and it was delicious: soup, vegetables, mashed potatoes, bread and a thick fruit drink.

The Director will be out of town until Monday, so we spoke to other people who were helpful. After hearing a little more background information, we met Sayid.

He's a really nice boy. His eyes are a grey-blue and his hair is light brown. He looks perfectly healthy, not even thin, and seems well adjusted emotionally. I'm a professional educator, I'm admittedly biased, but still I'm confident he has a perfectly normal IQ. He put together a Lego car that we gave him easily, Then we played a memory game with him he gave me hints- even though he was losing point by helping me. He doesn't add numbers well in his head, but both Thomas and Mary Evelyn had trouble with memorizing basic math facts.Sayid told us his favorite things are music and reading books. He has a good sense of humor, he cleans up after himself and he is thoughtful of others. Are ya jealous?

We gave a him a small bear shaped cake as a treat. Without us asking, he chose to share it with us. He carefully broke off gave me one arm, Mark at the other arm, our translator a leg and the Regional Director got the bear's head before that good boy even took one bite. The cake was small, so he was being very generous.  His manners were always easy and thoughtful--the kind that only come  from a sweet spirit within. It is  remarkable considering the life of tragedy, abandonment and neglect that he lived until he came to the orphanage a couple years ago, the details of which we can't share here, but we already have heard enough to be amazed at the kind, open and happy boy we met today. 

As he was playing with a pegboard he made a car. Then he said he would write a word. He wrote mama. He gave me a sweet, shy quick smile when he read it. Then he became thoughtful and said that he wants to visit his mother's grave someday. I thought if I get to adopt him, I'm going to try to make that happen. He said he had one more word to write.  Our translator smiled and said "I bet I know what word", and he smiled and nodded as he spelled out "tato" which is Ukrainian for daddy. Mark got the sweet smile then. He told us in another conversation that he knew when we arrived that we were there to adopt him. He was very nervous when we first met him, but he relaxed as we spent time with him and he seemed happy. 

At the end of the visit, the Regional Director asked if we had made a decision. Mark and I didn't need to speak privately, we both said yes. Sayid wants to be adopted but the Regional Director said Sayid can give his answer on Monday.

We'll visit tomorrow and show him photos of our family, home and pets. We'll need to tell him about Thomas and Mary Evelyn. 

I feel at ease and peaceful about this. It's amazing considering how upset I was the other times. I had been thinking since the last group that I was expecting something unrealistic and that it really shouldn't matter which child we adopt- they all need homes- but Sayid seems to be just the right fit for us and if he truly was wanting an Orthodox home, then we may be an answer to his prayers.

On Monday we'll meet the Orphanage Director. The school is so nice and well run that I already respect him. He must do a wonderful job and he has the reputation of being very loving and devout. I hope everything goes smoothly for us and for little Sayid. 

We'll see our boy again tomorrow and I'll post photos afterwards.