Here's our obligatory adoption picture in front of the SDA...there I was all worried that Sergei wouldn't smile and he went one step further and closed his eyes as well. Ugh.
The appointment was quick and painless. I opted for a translator since she was there and I was nervous and Serg is never sure he will know all the correct lingo but we ended up not really needing her.
The psychologist greeted us and asked about our other children. I showed her a family picture and told her about each girl, their names, how old, etc... She was very interested and extremely pleasant which made me tear up. I don't remember many, if anyone being kind to me when Polly was born here in Ukraine three years ago but this woman seemed genuinely happy that we wanted to adopt Evangeline.
Then she pulled out Evie's file and showed us a picture of her as a newborn and a more recent photo of her. Sergei and I had to laugh. They couldn't have taken a more un-flattering picture of her lol! I asked if I could take a picture of the pictures she showed us but she said she would give them to us later on.
We talked about Evangeline's diagnosis of Down syndrome and that she was abandoned at a baby house at birth. She has no brothers or sisters. It turns out Evie also has a small whole in her heart but it looks like it's closing up fine on it's own. That's something we'll check out when we get her home.
The psychologist stated that Evie was diagnosed as severly delayed on paper but from the tests she did with her she would put her at a mild or moderate range of delay. I remember when Polly was born. For such a long time I was caught up in thoughts of her future functionality. With time those thoughts vanished...Polly is now just Polly, and she surprises me daily nonetheless. I have every confidence that Evie will do the same, with a little help.
I think the psychologist's face will forever be etched in my mind as the Ukrainian woman who made it possible for me to meet my fourth daughter. After she ran through Evie's file she asked if we wanted the referral and all I could do, with tears, was nod my head.
If things go as planned (God willing) we will meet Evie tomorrow. Every time I think of it I lose my breath.
We also got to meet up with my good friend Brigitte who is finishing up her adoption process. And we met sweet Jacob, her new son. They came over to Serg's mom's apartment for pizza last night and today we went to the park with them and with Brigitte's roomate who has just completed her adoption of Moriah.
Jacob is pure bliss and we all fell head over heels for him at first sight. Brigitte and I have walked this adoption path through Reece's Rainbow together and to see her hold her little one in her arms here in Kiev is such an answer to prayer.
Here's picture of Jake with Sergei...two Ukrainian dudes hanging out talking about good places in Kiev to get a tattoo.
Kid upddate: Polly's happy at grandma's I hear. Went to a ball game, getting lots of ice cream I'm sure. We all miss her but I am glad that I can run around Kiev (for now) without a three year old. Elaina and Zoya are having a great time and hit three parks today alone.
I enjoyed walking around Kiev today after our SDA appointment. Sergei and I walked for about twenty minutes to another part of town to get his passport picture taken, then we grabbed a bite to eat at a cafe (super cheap!) and took the Metro home. I didn't know how much I had missed the sights and smells of Kiev until I was crammed back into an over-stuffed Metro car lol.
I gotta tell you...it's been a couple good days.
But I think it's gonna get better!
