Life with our crew

And then there were 7!!!!

Who'd ever thought we would be the parents to seven children? Yes, I still include our daughters who are living on their own. After all, I did endure 16 weeks of morning sickness with each of my pregnancies and that in itself gives me authority to also refer to my adult children as "my babies".

Having just delivered triplets, by the grace of adoption, I find myself not more physically tired, but mentally challenged. Therefore, this entry I am dedicating to my new friend and also a new adoptive parent, Leslie.

Dear Leslie, on this morning after Christmas Day, I am up before the newly acquired chaos of the Wollschlager home. I decided to catch up on what is happening with the world around me, first of all our other friends who have recently adopted. When I began reading your Blog, I did not check the date of your last entry (because I already felt like I was neglecting my Blog and did not want to see how far behind I was) I confess, I have been amazed at not only your gift for writing, but talent for keeping up with your Blogs with so much detail. I so enjoyed reading about Kristina and feel like I know her, even though I have not met this lovely girl yet.

Then, it hit me between the eyes (or somewhere that counts) when I read about Robert being a Blog Bully and reading how you were being driven "nuts" by my lack of my ability to find a minimum of 30 minutes to update the world on our life (I picked 30 minutes, because I am a slow writer). I am confessing to you and the cyber world now that before we left for Ukraine to deliver our "triplet sons", I had the very same comments spewing from my thoughts about other families who had "dropped off the face of the earth". They were leaving me hanging in the balance!! "What are they thinking?" I thought a mom of multiples would truly understand. Oh, my friend, if you can tell me how you do it, I would like to know.

Until I learn the ways of Blog mastering , I will be lucky to update once every few months, or at least with my annual obligation to update Ukraine. God has really taught me a valuable lesson about time and how I need to spend it. For those of you reading this post, who have not known me quite long enough, I admonish Leslie in good humor and with love and thankfulness for being the instrument God used to let me learn how to relax a bit more. I have also learned that God's sense of humor is much greater than mine and I have a long way to go to acquire such a grace. Five boys and a husband (from a family of nine kids)in the house and me a prissy mom (raised in a family of 3 kids), who gets easily grossed out and has an innate, prophetic vision for potential danger, is a fine way to gain an expanded funny bone!

Just when I thought there were no more unimaginable and interesting places the 100 Nerf darts in our home could turn up......... Just when I thought instructions on how to lift the toilet seat , by one male authority and two concerned females had alleviated the number of times in a day I have to wipe down the toilet seat.........Just when I thought, the words, "Do not try to see how much pain your brother can tolerate, he IS a superhero too" were truly understood.............

See what I mean? When do I possibly have time to Blog anymore? And for those of you waiting for my usually prompt responses to e-mail... Hang in there and give me a few days or if you really need an answer, call me and I will answer the phone with a shrill (I mean thrill) in my voice. Just, pleeeaszzze (yes, I know how to spell please) ignore the strange jungle sounds in the background , we are watching National Geographic.

Home Sweet Home!!!!

It is sooo good to be home!! We are anxiously awaiting Mark, Artyom and Andy's arrival in a few hours. I have tried to sit and upload some photos, but it is slow going. Where does the time go? Here are a few from our last week together with daddy in Kyiv and our first week home.

Still here in Kyiv

We have just now found an Internet cafe to make a quick post. We are all well and safe in Kyiv and Christopher is making many new discoveries. Unfortunatly, our connection tool on the laptop is not cooperating, so I will have to post my mama musings when I get back home. I will post more photos too for all of you who are requesting them.

Christopher and I will be arriving in Atlanta at 9:55 pm tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day!!! Thanks be to God!!! Mark will be home with the boys the following weekend.

Just hangin out in cyberspace!!!

Lately, I have spent entirely too much time in the Internet cafe'. Hours, in fact, since Artyom and 'Andy" are in school during the day and Zhenya is an hour and a half away waiting for two more days until his Papa and Mama will take him home forever.

I am beginning to get those swirly halos dancing in front of my eyes. It wouldn't be so bad if so a mouth would appear on the monitor and begin to console in my native tongue. Ahhh, the sound of English is so soothing. Yes, Mark and I are still speaking and still best friends, but he is presently consumed with catching up on NFL (for those who still care, the Patriots are 9-0). Please, I am just the messenger!! Then there is the Star Trek, the old William Shatner series. Is there anything else? Mark reminds me of how he wants to purchase the entire 79 episodes on DVD. "I can dream, can't I?", he pleads for sympathy. Then, when I told him I'd like to watch a movie last night he suggests the Special Features on The Incredibles, which he has seen for the last three days! See what I mean? O.K., I admit, I may be sounding a little stir crazy. After all, isn't this the very results (brain malfunction and visual impairment) that we lecture our computer savvy children about.

I miss the sound of my children fussing and fighting over a toy or who is irritating who. (My family and friends have my permission to remind me of this admission in a month when we are all experiencing the "togetherness" again.) I miss sitting on my own potty, in my own bathroom and I understand why I was born after western toilets were invented. I do not miss though, living in the 80's anymore. What do I mean? The fashion (very sparkly and furry for women) and the music ringing in my ears, in the taxis, restaurants and Internet cafe' is very reminiscent of the 80s and early 90's. Not all bad, but I guess this is where I am feeling my age. I miss my daughters who have been my greatest supporters and e-mail buddies. I miss our homeschool playgroup on Friday afternoons and one hundred other things I haven't mentioned but that are equally as important. I miss just picking up the phone to check in on my family or friends without hearing a Russian speaking operator on the other end speaking to me incoherently about how I am not getting through.

I do know now why God said, "No, you will not be living for years in a foreign country as a missionary," in answer to my childhood prayers. It is not the romanticised life I imagined as an idealistic child, dreaming of how I could make the world a better place.

I will return home to America with a greater appreciation for so many things we take for granted. I will make it foremost in my thoughts and prayers to consider the great sacrifices that individuals and families who are called to be in the mission fields of the uncomfortable for a lifetime and who do it with joy. These are real sacrifices.

Dear Lord, Now we need that van, please!!!

Today was a great day in Gorlovka! Mark and I are the proud parents of two more bouncing boys!!

Thomas Artyom and Andrew Vladimir had big smiles when the judge announced her favorable decision granting our petition to adopt them. The judge told the boys to enjoy their new family and life in America, to work hard in school and learn English. She told the boys to be good to their parents and to respect us and listen to what we instruct.

It's that last admonition that I wonder about--ha! They are, afterall, our children now.



"Blessed are you among men" is a quote of Mark's in reference to me and my position these days as the matriarch of the household. Chloe, my sweet girl beagle is the only one who comes close to really understanding me now. Still though, I love my boys even among the stinky socks, random burping contests and other humorus boyish habits we won't mention right now. God has blessed me more than I could ever have imagined and I just pray for the graces that I know I will need to raise these little guys into compassionate, God fearing men that will have the level of integrity that their Daddy does.




I must admit though I am counting on my lovely daughters to rescue me from time to time for a girls only day out.

Alot Happenin'

Our court date has been moved up one day to Tuesday at 11:00am. No problems, just a delay in the receipt of a neccessary document for the court.

Monday we will take Volodymyr and Artyom for their visa photos and pick up some clothes for V since I did not bring anything his size.

Yeah !!! Theresa and Zhengya will be home to Atlanta on Thanksgiving Day. Mark, Artyom and V. will be joining them on November 30th or Dec. 1st.

We have a court date in Gorlovka

We have a court date in Gorlovka next Monday for Artyom and Volodymyr. We are hoping that it is much shorter than Torez. A. tells us to compare, as it will maybe be 15 minutes.

Mark and I just wanted to say Thank you so much for all of your prayers and heartfelt comments. As those of you who have been here before us know, it is what keeps us encouraged and makes everyone at home seem so much closer than the thousands of miles between us. Be assured that the families that are waiting are in our prayers as well.

A great day in Torez!!

Well we made it through the court hearing and received a favorable decision to adopt Zhengna. He is now legally our son. There is now a mandatory 10-day waiting period before we can take physical custody of him. The judge told us to come on the 9th day and we could take him then. She already has written the formal decree. One might ask us why if he is legally our child, why we have to leave him in this sad orphanage. The explanation we are given is that this waiting period is for any appeals to be made by either us or other parties interested in the child's welfare. I better not express my strong opinions at this time, or this Blog will no longer be family friendly.
Zhengna, Pondering the events of the day.

We introduce the newest member the Wollschlager family, Christopher Eugen Wollschlager.



For those of you that like the details, just click on the link to The Mama Chronicles.

Court Date in Torez, Ukraine

We have a court date on Monday, November 5th at 10:30am. This is the court date for Eugen "Zhengna". We will hope for the 10-day waiting period to be waived which we know will require a Miracle . A. went to meet the judge today so that we knew what she required in documents and such. "We do not want any surprises", states the General. A. comments that the judge, a woman , is very nice and professional. This is her first adoption though in the city of Torez. Torez, unlike other larger cities, has just one orphanage and it happens to house only children ages 4-18 with special needs. It is making me concerned that they are going to bring in the media to broadcast their first adoption in this city. We are getting a clearer understanding of how really big of a deal this is. If you think our media representation is "over the top" (I am being G -rated with my adjectives) the programing here is totally inappropriate! So let's hope this courtdate is low key.

Because of our limited time and access to the Internet, I have begun to keep more detailed journal of our activities and life here in Gorlovka. This way I can just create in MS Word at any time of day and copy and paste when we are at the Internet Cafe. Just click on the link in the upper right column, www.themamachronicles.blogspot.com to read more of what is happening.

I am still a few days behind, but hope to get current soon. Here are some photos to go with our ongoing adventure.

No longer MIA

Hi everyone, sorry to keep you in suspense for the past several days, but I promise it was not intentional. We have been without advanced technology since we left Kyiv on Wednesday after our SDA appointment. Our original plans to stay at Donetsk Christian University were changed as it was the opposite direction of the two orphanages.

A. made arrangements for us to stay in an apartment in Gorlovka. It is a 10-15 minute drive to Artyom's orphanage and 1 + hours to Torez. It is very nice and comfortable and we feel very safe to walk to the Internet cafe and Market (during the day, as there are no street lights here and it is very dark at night) There is no Internet however, in the apartment, so we are now just able to post.

Enough of the boring stuff. I will get to the real news. Our SDA appointmnet went well.
Short and pretty sweet as others before us have reported. All of 10 minutes, if that.
We had learned the Friday before leaving Atlanta that Igor's file was not at the SDA, which indicates he is not registered nor available for adoption. It was very disappointing, but we knew God had the bigger plan, we just were waiting to see it. 

Since we have been approved to adopt 3 children (boys) we decided that maybe God had a third child intended for us all along that only he knew of or maybe we were suppose to just bring home Artyom and


Zhengna. Either way, we were at peace about the changes and continue to pray for clear direction and wisdom. 
A. informed us that we should make a petition at our appointment 
for the third child so that we could meet with him when we saw Artyom as he was also at
 Gorlovka Hope. 
This way we are not losing any time and extending our stay in Ukraine. 
Otherwise, had we just gone to the orphanage and chosen a child while visiting, we would 
have to return to Kyiv (an 11 - hour train ride) and petition again. 
This could add another 
week to our stay. So A. brought us 5 profiles of little guys. 
A few of them had been to the 
U.S. in the past 1-2 years on the hosting programs like Artyom was with us last Christmas. 
I was still too fatigued to make a decision about what child to meet so 
I asked Mark if he would. He chose to meet a boy who is 8 years old and has similar
 physical features as our Nick.  We will meet him next Monday as we have to wait for the 
SDA to fax permission to the Gorlovka Authorities.

We traveled by train on Wednesday evening to Gorlovka. A. had us hit the ground running on Thursday after a quick stop to the apartment to drop off our baggage and shower we headed for Torez to meet Zhengna. Artyom had been at camp at the Crimea, an island off the Black Sea. This is a special state funded camp for orphans and he was there for the past one month. So he just arrived back on Thursday night. We will see him on Friday.


Our visit with Zhengna went well and although we knew he was small for his age, it was very emotional, not only for Mark and I but for the many observers in the room present. We are the first family that has come to adopt a child from this orphanage. Z. responded positively to both Mark and I and smiled and laughed as we played catch and blew bubbles for him.  I am keeping a detailed journal of each days events on our laptop. I will post them when we return to Kyiv, as the cafe will not allow us to hook up our lap top to their connection. I will also post our many photos and videos at that time as well.

Friday was actually the first day I did not have to check with Mark on the day and time we were existing in. I felt well rested and out of the haze I'd been in. We headed to the deputy's office in Gorlovka to get the permission of the local authorities to visit Artyom, just as we had in Torez. This time though the assistant deputy" wished to meet and question us. We were in her office for what seemed to be an hour. Her phone rang every 1 minute for the first 30 minutes, I think. Anyway, she was a woman who meant business, but she was also was warm and smiled often, which is not common in Ukraine (the smiling, that is) . She was obviously concerned for the well being of the children and asked us many questions about our parenting styles, examples of how we discipline our children, what do we "expect" of the children with regards to their behavior. We shared photos of our home and family. She was amazed and smiled big when we showed her photos of a few of our wonderful godchildren and told her we have 6 all together. She is also an animal lover and ooohed and aahed when we showed her the photos of Chloe and her6 puppies. Another step closer, we headed to the Orphanage with another social worker from the office to observe again our interaction with Artyom.

Artyom looked great, although mama thinks he has lost weight. Funny, I say that because apparently at the Crimea the children are fed very well and can have all they want to eat. Helen, the director of Gorlovka hope is an amazing and loving woman. She is Ukrainian and also fluent in English. FYI for the families with coming soon t Gorlovka Hope. Helen tells me that the frying of potatoes in the orphanage is FORBIDDEN by the doctors. So get ready for a trip to McDonalds. No wonder there is not a bunch of chubby kids with bad cholesterol! No wonder Artyom was thrilled when I let him make his favorite dish for us at Christmas last year .... "fried katoshku (potato) chips" and I kid you not, there was a 1/2 pound of butter and 1/2 shaker of salt on those chips!! But , boy were they good!

We  are getting ready to leave the Internet cafe and head to Gorlovka Hope at 1:00.  We will be delivering special gifts today for families coming soon to bring home their children. We wish we could download the photos right away as I know you are longing to see those sweet faces. I will do what I can to find another way, otherwise I will do it for sure when we return to Kyiv. Please continue to cover us in prayer as it is so comforting and definitely helping.

We have arrived safely in Kyiv!!!!

Many thanks to everyone covering us in prayer as we set out yesterday. Your prayers were answered in awesome ways. Our flight from Atlanta to JFK (brief 20 minute connection in Charlotte) went very smooth. Pete and Christopher met us at the baggage claim to pick up Charlie and Nicholas. Although we will miss each other very much, the boys were very excited about spending this time with Nick’s godparents and our dear extended family. It was daddy and mom that got all teary eyed as our smiling little boys trotted off out the door.

We made our way up to the A-train and to the International Terminal. This was a new experience for both Mark and I as the only ‘International" traveling we have done is driving across the borders of Minnesota and North Dakota to Canada during childhood family trips.

Well, first I have to say that although one of my concerns was that I had over packed, I thought I had done an efficient job. Wrong! I had made several attempts while in my packing process to reach Aerosvit (Ukrainian Airlines) to get specifications on baggage restrictions as their website is a bit vague. First off, our checked bags were all under weight, which I was proud of. But I soon had a reality check when I was told that ALL of our carry ons were over. We were required take the luggage aside and reorganize to meet the requirements. I tried everything and redistributed our items including taking our 1 set of clothing for our SDA appointment out and praying we would see them in Kyiv in the checked bags they were now in. Each passenger is allowed 1 carry on item weighing no more than 5.0 kilos. (12.5 pounds) and 1 personal item such as a purse or diaper bag . I had a large back pack that I thought was considered a personal item as I did not have a purse, wrong again, It weighed more then 5.0kg. As well. Laptops/notebooks are not counted as carry on so it is O.K. to have them in addition to the 1 carry on and personal item.
I had to empty out 1 complete carry on bag and leave it behind in the airport. I hope somebody that really needs it will get it. We were still over weight, Oi vey!!! That’s when I broke out the puppy eyes and said to the nice young man behind the counter that I did not know what to do anymore and that we were taking donations and medicines to the orphanage with us and we could not leave them behind (true, not joking) He said, "that is O.K., you can take them." We were still one carry on piece over , but he overlooked it. God was certainly with us.

The luggage saga is not over. We also are carrying two pediatric wheelchairs with us . Because they do not have passengers in them yet, we are charged for extra cargo, $90 dollars per chair!! (another little surprise to spice things up) The nice young man, trying to be most helpful then said that if Mark could "wrap" them together and make one piece, then he would just charge for one. So as I was making attempts to redistribute weight in the luggage, Mark headed over to the wrapping machine. He disassembled as much as he could and Voila! A lovely one piece. Suggestion for anyone needing to "wrap" items: B.Y.O.W. or wrap before leaving home. Total cost for our wrap job- $80.00. Total for our wheelchair cocoon $170.00 We saved $10 bucks whoa!!

The Wheelchair "Cocoon"

The rest of the process including security was painless. The flight to Kyiv went seemingly fast to me as I was able to sleep for a couple of hours. The food was good (yes, girls, mom likes airplane food too). I went to get a water and discovered the bar was open with a little party going on too.
Mark’s thoughts on his first Int’l flight, "The flight to Kyiv was flawless and the food was very interesting. I really liked the status reports and logistical map (must be a guy thing) He also observed that Ukrainians like their shots of alcohol with breakfast. "I thought it was very charming when everyone clapped when the plane landed"





Taxi, taxi????? Thank you Dan for instructing us on the taxi protocol and what not to do. As soon as we came out of passport control, we were bombarded with drivers in black leather insisting we take their taxi "with many bosses". Yeah, right . All that went through my mind was your word "illegal". I had to say "no" or "nyeet" at least three times, then they asked Mark and he had to do the same before they finally walked on. Finally we went outside and found the Taxi hut and got a wonderful driver with a big van so we did not have to split up to get to the hotel. We took his business card for anyone that needs a big taxi out of the airport or in the city. He did not speak English, but had a real kind disposition.



Good Tuesday morning1 We checked into our hotel yesterday afternoon around 2pm Kyiv time. We spent a few hours just trying to get technically hooked up so we can communicate with everyone back home in the States and locally with our coordinator.
We do not have internet connection in our hotel room, but can post to blog and check e-mail at the business center here. We hope to see a bit of the city today and will post tonight to share our day.




Our appointment at SDA is tomorrow, but we are not sure what time yet and will post details when we do. We will make train reservations and head out to the region of Donetsk.

Hey everybody, we're still here.

Yes, I did say I was going to post again 2 weeks ago, but I was not thinking of all I had to get accomplished in 2 short weeks. Whew!! We just packed the last bag and can breath a bit easier after getting through most of the To do lists. I'm sure there will be some last minute details we forgot about, but it wouldn't be a true adventure if everything got done just so.


We are departing from Atlanta on Sunday morning . We will connect at JFK Sunday evening and arrive in Kyiv, Ukraine at 11:00am Monday. I hope to blog daily or atleast often as long as we get internet connections. We are staying at the Hotel Lybid in Kyiv and our SDA appointment is on Wednesday. We will then head to the region where our future children are. It is an 11-12 hour train ride to Donetsk. We will then stay in an apartment on the campus of Donetsk Christian University.


Please e-mail us anytime at our yahoo address or post a comment to our Blog. It will keep us feeling in touch with home sweet home. Charlie and Nick are staying with our dear friends and Nick's godparents in upstate New York.

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIE!!!

WE GOT OUR APPOINTMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND WE ARE STILL SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ITS OCTOBER 24TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We will write more tomorrow when our brains stop whirling. Thank you for the many prayers and much love sent our way during these past months. God truly has a sense of humor giving us 16 days (14 days, as we need to be there on the 22nd) to be in Ukraine. Leslie, are you responsible for this? I'm not complaining, I promise.

The Wollschlager Weekly

Breaking News................................................................

Friday, September 28, 2007

Pictured Above:

Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko;(He's even thinking...What's up with this? Let the Wollschlager's have their appointment already!)

This poor guy, just like George W., has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He needs our prayers too. We all have our political opinions and it is easy to criticize, but personally, I wouldn't want the job for anything!! O.K., maybe I'd stand in for an afternoon if the compensation was an appointment with the SDA!!!!

I am contemplating changing the name of our Blog to The Wollschlager Weekly, because every week since our dossier submission, there has been a new story out of Ukraine regarding our status. Get the latest news reel here. Today, I made my ritual phone call to our Agency (Not that I thought there was anything new that they perhaps had forgotten to tell me. But...... as a matter of fact the new news, is the same old news, but just with a little twist just in case we are getting bored waiting or maybe to give me some fresh material for my faithful Blog groupies.

This week, in Ukraine, the Parliamentary Elections are taking place and therefore all of the government offices, which of course include the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Children’s Rights - "SDA", were closed. Which means our Coordinator did not go to Kyiv as she had thought she would and reports that she will go next week to obtain our appointment. (HUGE SIGH! Can you feel my breath throughout cyberspace?)

Anyway, it is a darn good thing I know that God's timing is so perfect or I wouldn't be chill'in right now. Please keep the prayers coming, I know we must be in the home stretch of this marathon because my shins are killing me!!! I'm going to go eat a bowl of Cheerios now. True comfort food for children of all ages.

Very Good News and Still Waiting

To all of our friends and family that responded to our urgent prayer request, I am sorry for the temporary silence on this Blog. I was waiting to get clarification on what actually happened with our dossiers. It is not as simple as asking the question Why? or What happened? So we are very grateful for your patience and prayers. Following is an explanation of what happened and why things have been delayed. According to our Coordinator in Ukraine, we should be given our appointment date by the end of Septemeber.

"Apparently, the SDA made a mistake - they had your old dossiers and new ones and had a little mix-up with the marriage certificates. So, they used the older marriage certificates and then stopped the process of review because they were expired. So, then A. is called in and she points out to them that they have the more recent marriage certificates. So then they complain that now the home study and medicals are out dated. In which A. replies - "Well, they are only out dated because you guys waited too long over the marriage certificates and mixing up documents!" So, luckily A. convinced them to re-submit the documents for official review. The "January" confusion comes into play because that's when the oldest documents (home study and medicals) will be a year old. Documents need to be under a year old at the court date (for judge approval). A. convinced the SDA that if they could get you guys to Ukraine in October or November, the adoption can be completed before the end of December and the court should accept all documents because they should all be under one year old at that point. In which the SDA agreed. "

So now we just wait a bit longer and will have a definitive date very soon. We are so grateful for the out pouring of love and prayers. Prayer does make a difference! Fr. Michael, it is difficult to describe in simple words how much it meant to us when you offered Holy Mass for our intentions. We love You!

One more thing, I am not a bonified techie, not even close! I am keeping this chronicle for a number of reasons, so I can remember all we have gone through, so I never forget God's compassion and tremendous love for His children, so we can continue to glorify our Savior by sharing what He does in our lives, to communicate and stay current with those who are interested in not only our journey, but perhaps may be called to do the same and the list goes on... I received a comment from an "anonymous" reader today, who obviously cares enough to take the time and read our Blog. The comment addressed the fact that it would be nice if I dated my posts so that they could know what information is current. I chose not to post the comment. Please do not be offended, but again, I am not a techie! However, I do know that if you look in the right sidebar there is a list of the the Months and number of posts in that month. If you click on the month for example, August, there you will see the day in August the entry was made. Also, when you visit the blog, the entry you first see should be the most current. I am truly sorry for the inconvenience. Anonymous, please feel free to e-mail me personally (my address is on the site) or call me (old-fashioned communication, I know) and I will be happy to tell you what is current or you could also give me a free tutoring session in Blog archiving. Love Ya, Theresa - Saturday, September 22, 2007

God is always Good. God is always Great!

To my Dear friends and family who sent up such a beautiful offering of prayers for my physical healing this week, Thank you so much and hugs to you all! I received so many wonderful calls, e-mails and kind words. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the abundant blessing of family and friends that God has given to me. I arrived home in the early evening yesterday feeling wonderful and so very happy to be home with my sweeties and sleeping in my own cozy bed (without the IV tubes and heart monitors to navigate around) . My cardiologist was "pleased" with the results of the ablation and needless to say, so I am.

I will post again soon or if we get any news from Ukraine. Our internet service has been up and down at home today, but I just wanted to express my appreciation.

Love and Joy in Christ,
Theresa

Matters of the Heart

In my last post I boldly made a proclamation that I was not counting the days until we receive our SDA appointment and invitation to travel to Ukraine. After learning that our dossiers were not submitted in June but rather July I have kept my promise and it has kept me sane. That 9 week wait only to find out we were on a much different schedule and have a different due date resembled a long and grueling "false labor". Waiting for anything in life is tough for most of us, especially for those things we long for most. One thing is for certain though, it is ALWAYS worth it. So it is with greater peace that we hope for God's plan to unfold in the weeks to come.



Today I am also filled with a new sense of gratitude as another prayer is about to be answered. As many of you reading this chronicle of our adoption journey know, I have been a long time heart patient. For our new friends, I will give a super sonic, brief history to give light to this post. In 1991, at age 29, I underwent open-heart surgery to replace a defective mitral valve and at the same time had a cardiac defibrillator implanted to help correct arrhythmias. Do not let Lindsey Wagner and Hollywood fool you, I am the real Bionic Woman!! Since that time I have been blessed with the birth of 2 more sons (A testimony for a whole other Blog) and a life that I pray will glorify my Savior. I have also obtained, not by any personal desire, a plethora of arrhythmias due to a faulty electrical system. In the past few months one of those arrhythmias called Atrial Flutter (a reference for those of you who are intellectually stimulated by too much information) has increased. I let God know that I do not have time for this and if he really plans on blessing us with more children through the gift of adoption, I need him to remove this thorn in my side before we leave for Ukraine. The week after I had this conversation with Him, my cardiologist told me about a procedure called an ablation that has a very high success rate of "curing" Atrial Flutter. So here I am reporting from my hospital bed (I love WiFi) waiting for tomorrow's promise. I am scheduled to have the ablation about 12:00pm. It will take about 3 hours. I will be sedated. No general anesthesia -no cutting. Just lovely dreamland. God willing I will be home, healed and in tip top shape again on Sunday or Monday.

God Heals
Jeremiah 30:17"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the LORD.

Jesus Healed
Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people

God Calls His Disciples to Heal
Luke 9:1-2Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

God sends us out to heal others
Mark 16:15-20And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.


Healing in the Atonement of Jesus
1 Peter 2:24Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.

Everyday is a miracle!!!

Joy In Jesus,
Theresa

No news, is NOT ALWAYS good news!!

Here are some of my favorite little peeps. My nephews and niece. These are the smiles that make a cloudy day sunny. Thanks Julie and Jerry for making me an Auntie.

Joshua -The face of true joy!

Teresa Mary and Jacob (the princess and the family comedian)

Hello my dear friends and faithful Blog readers,

Today was one of those days I had to praise God a little bit longer and a little bit harder. What is so special about today? I was reminded once again of how much God loves each of us so much and how He personalizes His relationship with each of His children based on our special needs. First, let me share my daily scripture reading and reflection with you from last Wednesday. All of God's word is very important but God knew before hand that I would be needing this particular reminder to be fresh in my thoughts.

Perfectly Complete
Today's Scripture
“Be confident of this. He who began a good work in you will continue to perform it until it’s perfectly complete” (Philippians 1

Reflection:

Do you have dreams that have not yet come to pass? Are there promises that you are standing on in your health, finances, or relationships? Know this: God is a god of completion. He wants to finish what He’s started in your life. No matter how long you’ve been praying, don’t let the enemy tempt you into thinking that it’s never going to happen. Be encouraged today because God is called the Author and the Finisher of your faith. That means He’s working behind the scenes on your behalf. Anything He begins, any dream He puts in your heart, He is well-able to finish. Stand strong on this promise. Be confident even when it looks like it’s not going to happen. No matter how long it takes, stay in faith and keep your hopes up because God has promised to finish the good work He’s started in your life!

For those of you following our progress thus far, we began our ninth week yesterday waiting to receive word of our SDA appointment. I've been getting concerned that we are well over the 30-day review period. Granted, some families have reported exceeding "30 working days" due to some back log and summer holidays, but still something else did not seem quite right. We also had not ever recieved confirmation that all 3 of our dossiers were submitted. So I contacted our agency and they called our coordinator in Ukraine (who is a very hard working and honest woman) We have learned though that our cultures do communicate in different ways. Sometimes these ways make us a little crazy.

Our coordinator sent this response:"Wollschlagers were registered only 2 weeks ago, the people through whom we registered their docs couldn't control the situation with them and we thought that they were already submitted! So many up and down things in this registration, but now it'll be much easier to get their travel date, I'll let you know! I think they'll be able to travel in October-November."

K. at our agency had also asked her if all three were registered at the same time and she responded:"They all will have the same number, they don't have to be submitted separately!"So I guess it's good news and bad news ...we thought they had already been registered, but they weren't (that's the bad news), but it looks like all were registered at the same time (that's the good news).

I was at a complete loss for words , which does not happen very often. But although I was disappointed for not knowing this information all of these weeks, I resolved that there is a higher, unknown purpose that makes it easier to accept. I immediately recalled His promise to complete the good work He has begun in our family and this gave me great peace of mind.

So what does this all mean? We are still waiting. There is a new count of working days, but you won't get the answer to how many more here. I have stopped counting the days and have begun to just count on HIM.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Theresa

The joy of waiting.........

O.k. I thought maybe if I post today we will get "the call" we have been waiting for. Not that we are counting, ya right, but it has been 36 business days since our dossiers were submitted to the SDA (although I'm sure there were some special holidays in there that I have not accounted for). That having been said and released from fermenting in my mind any longer, I am moved to praise God for the wait because I am confident it is because He is working to complete the work He has begun and weaving a perfect tapestry. We will get the appointment on the day of His choosing and not a moment earlier or later and for this I am so grateful.

Theresa

RUSSIAN 101

Although I realize I am not going to develop a level of "fluency" in the Russian language, I am determined to achieve at the very least, a basic knowledge of the native tongue our new children speak. I want to be able to tell them I love them and use my favorite terms of endearments (darling, sweetie...) in the language they understand . I am keenly aware that as much as we try to create a comfortable physical environment for these little ones they will experience culture shock at a level that we can only imagine. So I am hitting it hard now for the next few months as we await our SDA appointment. CD's in the car, books, internet tutorials, phoenetic guides of familiar phrases that other adoptive parents have sent us, and most recently, my lovely Russian tutor Naira. Naira and I meet on Sunday afternoons at the Russian Orthodox church and I get to practice all of those wonderful sounds that you need a Russian to show you over and over and over again. This past week when I called Naira the day before my lesson to confirm our usual time. I had decided I was going to try and impress her with a new greeting I had not yet used with her and I was confident of my ability. God decided to have a hearty laugh and I have to admit, He got me good. "Hello" , the woman on the other end greeted me. I was certain it was Naira (although her elderly mother who does not speak English fluently but is a retired professor of Russian lives with her) so I proceeded, ['dohbry 'dzen]/ "good afternoon", the trilled r sounded so lovely rolling off my tongue that the woman on the other line returned an equal greeting and proceeded with a few more phrases of Russian. Ooops, it was not Naira, I realized after I tried to explain why I was calling and gave Naira's MOTHER my name, she handed the phone to Naira's husband, a southern born gentleman. The next day Naira and I had a good laugh and she reassured me that I was doing a great job. O.K. I confess my enthusiasm may be a little large for my lack of experience, but please give me an A for effort. Needless to say, the next phrase I need to master is ['Ya ne pani 'mayu] "I don't understand"! (Smile)



Theresa

WALKING ON WATER

Jesus Walks on the Water Matthew :22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance[a] from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
34When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

I must confess , that like Peter, there are those days when the thought of walking on water even to reach my beloved Savior seems to be an absurd and overwhelming thought. If Jesus would have been standing on the scorching sand in the desert, while I was weary from dehydration , I could just crawl to his feet and touch the hem of his garment and receive the living water that I need to survive. Well now, we know as his children God does not ask us to have faith and trust on our terms when concerns swirl about in our minds,. If we are to receive his full favor and graces that he longs to give us , we must surrender completely and without conditions, our fears into his hands.

Please pray with our family as we await God's financial provisions to bring home Artyom, Eugene and Igor. If you feel called to assist in bringing these orphans home, please e-mail us at t_wollschlager@yahoo.com to discuss the specific needs.

IT'S A GOOD NEWS DAY!!!!!!

Alleluia!!! We have just been notified by our coordinator in Ukraine that our dossiers were registered at the SDA (Ukraine Adoption Authority) a few days ago. Well, atleast 1 has been confirmed. Since the boys are in 2 different orphanages the other 2 dossiers , which are assigned to Eugene and Igor have probably been submitted separately. Our coordinator was out of town assisting another family with their adoption when the registration took place so she is investigating the details further. We will hopefully get confirmation on the other 2 very soon. Since there has not been a child adopted from the second orphanage before (because the special needs children are considered undesirable) we have expected God's hand will have to move mighty mountains during this process. Since we believe that He is the one who has anointed this process, we know it will be a glorious victory. Please continue to lift this up in prayer.

Now the SDA has up to 30 days to approve and issue our appointment. Our coordinator anticipates we will be travelling in September

or early October.

Above is a photo of Artyom holding a letter and outfit we sent him in April. Love that Georgia Bulldogs t-shirt! Charlie made sure Artyom took a very personal momento from his "little brother" back to Ukraine that would remind him of our family's collegiate team loyalties. Of course the Notre Dame baseball cap would have been a perfect addition, but Charlie could not part with it.

I promise to post photos of Eugene and Igor on the blog when we get to Ukraine. Posting photos of the children is highly discouraged before our appointment. Since we hosted Artyom and I had several (except this one that was sent to us from our coordinator) it is a bit different. I do have a few photos of the little boys for anyone that just cannot wait, send me an e-mail request and I will send them to you that way.

Be sure to check back often as I will post updates as soon as we hear something new regarding our travel dates.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. ~Author Unknown

Thank you Daddy for all of the things that you do for us. There are too many to count! Most of all thanks for showing that you love us so much by loving our Mommy sooooo good. Your the best Papa even when you are goofy and we act like we're annoyed.


Hugs, squeezes, wrestles but pleeeeze no wet , stubbly kisses on the cheek, Yuck!

Love, Charlie and Nick

The puppies have found their forever families.

Yeah!! The puppies have found their families. It was a bittersweet event as 5 of Chloe's pups left our home and their Momma. After doing puppy poopie duty for 6 puppies for the past few months, I have to admit that with the departure of each furry darling, my emotions bounced back and forth between a frenzy of joy that I had less mess to clean up and a real sense of loss for the sweet creatures of God that had become such important members of our family. We will miss you Mr. "Tater" Tot, General "Snoopy", Princess Blue "Belle", Princess Bindi "Mindi" and Princess Mango. General "Georgie" Patton is staying with his momma (Chloe) . He is pictured with his other human momma below.

Oh, how they grow! Do you see the family resemblance?

Chloe and her sextuplets at 1 day post c-section.

A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

Artyom was a real trooper. I would have been toast and not much for socializing after a 13-hour train ride, 15- hour plane ride from Ukraine , 5- hour layover in JFK and 2 1/2 hour flight home to Atlanta. Although he was quiet and tired in the car ride to the house, his smile told us that he felt comfortable with where he was. I could not stop thinking of how the previous weeks had brought us to this point, and silently thanked God for his hand in the plan.

Charlie gave Artyom a brief, informal tour of the necessary rooms for the night, the bathroom and his bedroom. We would cover the rest after a good nights sleep. The next morning we began to nurture a new friendship with our special guest. Although we never discussed amongst us what we anticipated, each one of us was truly grateful for the gift of Artyom. His presence in our home was as if the Christ child himself had come to visit our family this Christmas. We began trying to learn any Russian we could and teaching English in return. Artyom would get so tickled by the awkward attempts we made at pronouncing his native tongue , but he was kind and respectful and pleased that we cared enough to try. Artyom , Charlie and Nick amazed me with how much they could actually communicate with the grunt and point method. The three of them were developing a true brotherhood.

By the end of our first week together all of us were asking how we could possibly bring Artyom here to join us, as a permanent member of our family. By the end of the second week, we could not imagine our family any other way. The day before I had to return to JFK for his return flight to Ukraine and the orphanage where he lived, our social worker who had completed our homestudy months earlier approving us to adopt 2 children, came to our home and approved us to proceed and adopt 3 children.

Well, does everyone remember about that rule of the SDA regarding adopting "unrelated children?" This means we need to prepare a third dossier . Most of this process won't be too difficult, and certainly worth it. We will have to have our homestudy officially updated showing the approval of the third child, petition USCIS to also approve us to adopt another child have a ton of documents notarized and appostilled again.

We were approved by immigration to adopt a third child February 19th and had to have our medicals updated. By the end of March the third dossier was in Ukraine. Now, we would just wait, or so I thought. In early April we were notified by our coordinator in Ukraine that we had to update most of the documents in the first two dossiers. You see, the SDA had implemented another requirement recently that all dates on documents must not be older than 6 months at the time of registration. This is very challenging and frustrating at times since we have no knowledge as to when the dossiers will actually be submitted. Well, after a few days of tears, mumbling to myself and the very capable assistance of our adoption agency's administrative assistant, Kate I was prepared to tackle the task at hand. Since I was practically an expert in Ukraine dossier compilation, I insisted to Kate that we prepare 3 original dossiers even though our third had just been submitted in March. I wanted them all to have the same dates so that by the time the first two updates reached our coordinator, we weren't going to be told the 3rd was now too old. Mark and I have now each had 10 sets of various fingerprints taken and I think we are good now! Our updated dossiers reached our coordinator May 13th and it is anticipated that they will be registered sometime at the end of July or first of August. The SDA has up to 30 days to review and approve us and then will issue an appointment date. This date is usually within 30-60 days of approval and would bring us to travel in early fall.

AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING

Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.



Well, we are beginning preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ashleigh and Neena will be coming home for both occasions. I can hardly wait! For those of you who have not heard, Ashleigh has been in Los Angeles since June 2006. Upon graduation from the University of Georgia with degrees in Communications and Psychology, cousin Kelly, producer extraordinaire, hooked her up with a dream interview at Touchstone Pictures. Ashleigh then closed the deal and landed a position in the Business Law department.



Momentary jump to the future....... (February 2007) Ashleigh was accepted to several Law Schools and has chosen to attend Emory University. Mom is thrilled, needless to say, that my social butterfly will be back in Georgia, for a few years anyway. Ashleigh will begin law school in August. Hollywood will not be the same!



Neena will be graduating from the University of Georgia with Honors in May 2007. Neena has also been accepted to the School of Dentistry at Louisville, KY , but because she loves her Dad, Adriana , Mom , Mark , brothers, sisters and family pets soooo much, she has made the more attractive choice of attending the Medical College of Georgia, School of Dentistry in Augusta where she will also be able to improve on her golf game for those long weekends she will be taking after becoming a Dentist. Smart Woman!



Jump back to November 2006............ I promise to be current soon.



Our adoption agency's sister non-profit provides a Hosting program for orphans in Ukraine. Hosting enables these children the opportunity to visit the United States and experience a different culture. This is a once in a lifetime chance for these children. Although the initial intention of hosting is not to have the child find an adoptive family, many of the children will find their Forever Families this way. So Mark and I received an invitation to host or help sponsor another family to host a child during the Christmas season. We read the brief biographies and viewed the photos of the children who were eligible to come to the U.S. . Again, most of us cannot help but be moved by their stories. So for the next few weeks we prayed and listened for a word or inspiration from God as to what He wanted us to do. Our primary concern in opposition to hosting was that WE did not wish to use funds that WE thought would interfere with our current process of adoption. Practical and prudent thinking? Yep, definitely! Wisdom and God's will, not so sure yet. OUR thoughts and OUR ways appeared too prevalent in the picture. So we continued praying, wrestling and resisting the obvious, there was a still loving whisper present that we both had been hearing all along, but were careful not to speak of it aloud just yet. Then, Theresa broke the silence with the suggestion she was certain would confirm that WE were right. "What would you think if we took an early distribution from our IRA to host a child?" I was certain that we may need to do this anyway at some point during our adoption, so was reluctant to do it now. Mark had the same thoughts. So we thought we must be doing the "right thing." That was that!



Over the next few days the two of us did not sleep well and when we compared notes at the end of the third day we decided to ask God again to help us know what HIS will was regarding the hosting and our financial pinch. After a wonderful, restful night both of us awoke with a renewed vision and great sense of peace. We must go forward with hosting a child. Abba Father, you are our provider!



We answered the invitation to be a Host family but found it difficult to choose which child we thought God wanted us to be part of our family for 3 weeks. They are all so precious. Although I would have had a great time entertaining a little girl and doing all of the girly kind of things I haven't gotten to indulge in since my 2 girls went off to university, we decided, a boy and Charlie and Nick would be a better match. Since the youngest boy was 8 years old and our Nick is 4 , I decided to choose a boy close to Charlie's age. Still, I agonized who to choose, as there were more children then host families. Some would be left behind, how could I know ? Would I make the right choice?



In the end we chose to host a 12 -year-old boy. He was physically very handsome and the single paragraph bio. described him as a "true orphan" whose birth parents had both died along with a list of many attributes anyone would be proud of. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, while I was out getting those last minute items I forgot to put on my grocery list, I got a call from the Director of the hosting program. " Theresa, there is a little problem." My heart skipped a beat and a rapid slide show of various scenarios whirled through my mind. "Yes", I hesitated, "What is it?" "Well, there is another family who wants to spend some time with Artyom (this was the young boy's name) so we would like to split his time between the two families." "He will spend the first half with you and the second half with them". He also told me we would now only be paying for 1/2 of the hosting fees and the other family would arrange to pick him up from Georgia as they lived in New Jersey. I asked if this other family was interested in adopting or if they were hosting to serve as an advocate family like we were. The director, Dan told me that the family was interested in possibly adopting Artyom but that they could not host him the entire time because of a prior commitment and conflict in their schedule. I was so happy that he may already have found his family, but I admit , a bit disappointed that we would not have him the whole time.



"My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9



We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and so much to be grateful for everyday! We learned this week that the dates we will be hosting Artyom have changed because the authorities in Ukraine would not allow the children's passports to be issued yet. So instead of the first of December they will be arriving at JFK on December 22nd. I will travel to New York to pick-up Artyom.



There has been something about me in the grocery store without a list this week. It is the day after learning of the date changes and I receive a call from the program director again. "Hi Theresa, I need to talk to you about another change." "Yes", I responded softly. "Since the dates that the children are coming have changed, the family that is sharing your hosting with Artyom wishes to host him the entire time" I did not realize how sensitive I had become with regards to these changes as I felt the warmth of my flushed face and tears begin to well. "o.k. ", a meek whimper squeaked out of my lips. Taking a deep breath I tried to respond in a grown-up 40-something way, whatever that is. In the moments that followed though my musings wandered on and I felt those special privileges and blessings a new parent receives had been stripped from me or worse yet, in the ugliness and weakness of my flesh, my birthright taken from me.



As I snapped back into my form and prayed for a Godly sensibility, I finally responded positively and inquired if there was another child that we could host that would not have been able to otherwise come. "Yes, of course," Dan replied. "Go onto the site and look at the kids again and let me know ASAP. " I cut my shopping trip short and rushed home to study their faces and hearts as if this mode of technology had a direct link to all of my questions. After commencing with my little online ritual, Mark and I chose to host the only other 12-year-old boy. We had been contemplating hosting him before we had chosen Artyom, so it made sense to us that this is what we would do. Believe me, this is not an easy decision, we wished we could have secured them all a home. When I phoned Dan and identified the boy we wanted to host and asked him what his name was, he informed me that it was also Artyom. God does have a sense of humor, doesn't he?



December 22nd, I can hardly believe I am here awaiting their smiling faces. All of the host families (some brought the whole crew) were in a huddle trying to inch our way to a better view, politely asking forgiveness from others also awaiting loved ones arriving from customs. We had to get into a proper position for this once in a lifetime photo opp.! Being of small stature can be either an advantage, you can squeeze into small spaces, or a curse, you cannot jump high enough. 2 hours passed as we waited, and waited, and waited..... (God is always making me wait these days, I do not recommend praying for patience unless you do not mind WAITING) "Here they come", the words skipped through the band of us. We were all waved over to a special holding area to eliminate confusion or the disappearance of a child. Now each family began the search through the group of excited and travel weary children for their special little one, and the cheerful and completely dedicated escorts made their rounds to each parent who were also anxious to get more details about their host child. The smiles and hugs were abundant at every glance around the room. Cameras flashing, paparazzi style. Then right there in front of me stood 2 young boys, smiling ear to ear and scanning the room for their family. One of them was a boy my friend was hosting and the other, well, he was mine. At that moment I can only use words that remain so minute to describe the feeling of overwhelming joy that filled my soul. A few weeks later when I tried to express to Mark what I'd felt when I laid my eyes on this child for the first time, I could only describe the same emotions that I had experienced at the birth of each of my children, as they were laid into my arms . Pure and from heaven alone, a rush of bliss like no other. This is what it means, I now know, to be "Born in our hearts."

Artyom and I fixed our eyes on one another and I called out his name. He gave me a darling boyish smile and approached me with a hug and a bag of handmade gifts for our family. In Ukraine artistic gifts are encouraged and nurtured. Artyom had created an elaborate image of a sparrow with an array of fine wooden pieces and mounted them on an old 45 record. I would have never known that until he turned it over and showed me. Wow! I was impressed. One of the escorts happens to also be our coordinator in Ukraine who is assisting us with our adoptions. We had not met in person, so I was anxious to introduce myself to her. After meeting with our coordinator we visited some with the other families and prepared to return to our homes either by car or flight. Before we left, I also met with the couple from New Jersey and their Artyom. We exchanged the story of how we both had chosen the same child to host. I've never had a doubt since that day, God's plan was what we were all experiencing.

Artyom and I returned home to Atlanta , on the last flight of the day on December 23rd (almost didn't get out of JFK for Christmas, a whole other Blog) a welcome committee of husband and children were there to receive us. As I have been composing this post for 4 hours now, or so I have just been informed by Charlie, I will continue tomorrow.

WHERE HAVE WE BEEN?

1 Corinthians 3
3:10
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.



Since I just created this Blog, I will be updating everyone with our family news of the past year and bring you to date as we anticipate our travel to Ukraine. We hope to receive an appointment date by the end of the summer. Thank you all for your patience as I recollect these events.

To begin, we began with our Home study and it was completed at the end of July 2006, approving us to adopt 2 children. Simultaneously, during this process we gathered all of the other documents required by the Ukraine authorities. These were items such as our marriage certificate, comprehensive medical examinations, financial statements, photos of family and home, petition to adopt, commitment to complete post -placement reports, FBI fingerprints (our home study also included State fingerprints and clearance), Immigration approval to adopt (USCIS clearance also requires biometrics fingerprints which are hi-tech, just in case they missed something , I guess) , copy of deed to our home, passports, copy of first page of passport and a the list goes on a bit more. Next, of these documents must be certified, notarized, some require a True and Accurate form attached that we have to get notarized , stating that this is a real copy. Then after everything is notarized it must be apostilled (which Mark correctly identifies as "notarizing a notary"). This plethora of paperwork took us a few months. Then after we had it all done, we were informed that the new adoption authority in Kyiv, Ukraine the State Department for Adoptions and Protection of Rights of the Child , which I will refer to as SDA in future posts, is going to require that couples wanting to adopt unrelated children, must submit a complete dossier for each . In a nutshell we would need to send away for more copies etc... I felt like I was getting really good at this so I said, "Oh, well , just get it done."

Now it was October by the time our 2 dossiers arrived in Ukraine and were being translated to Russian. Since there had been significant changes with the adoption authority, they would not be accepting new dossiers from foreign , prospective adoptive parents (yep, we are foreigners!) until January 2007. So we began a new phase of waiting.

We used this time to begin to rearrange bedrooms since our home has stairs at every entrance, we researched our options of making the house wheelchair accessible. Since our home is too small to accommodate an elevator shaft the solution was a new deck and ramp to the main level. Mark and I moved our bedroom to the second level and decorated the master bedroom for our new boys.

THE SEEDS ARE PLANTED

Isaiah 61:11 (NIV)
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.


THE ANNOUNCEMENT
God is growing the Wollschlager family in a new and special way and we are delighted to share this news with all of you.
AT THE HEART OF IT
In early January 2006 Theresa received an e-mail from Rainbow Kids, a non-profit networking program that helps prospective adoptive families find a "Waiting Child" by making available a tri-monthly newsletter that features the faces and short biographies of special needs children. These children are from a variety of countries, most of which have no foster care system in place therefore leaving most of these children in a permanent state of disparity. As Mark and I have committed to a sacramental marriage covenant, we are open to our Father’s gift of life whether it is a child born of the womb or in the heart.
LORD, ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?
As I studied the faces of these precious little ones , my heart strings were plucked time and again. "Oh if only I could bring all of them home and love them", I moaned and sighed with an ache in my gut knowing this may have been a noble , however unrealistic expectation. So I will pray for each one , I resolved, that God, in His mercy would choose a family for each one and now I had done what little I could, so I thought.
I CHOOSE YOU!!!
It is March 15th, 2006. I received my first of three newsletters for the month and anticipating my usual mix of emotions, I anxiously opened it up. As I gazed into their still eyes, some dancing with hope, despite their peril, I wept inside and out once again. Then only with the grace of a mother’s love I saw for the first time a child that I just could not take my eyes off . "This seven year old boy has spina bifida and desperately needs surgery for his condition. He also has a hernia that needs repaired and club feet. This boy is in a very poor orphanage and needs out as soon as possible. He is not getting any medical care and he is not being educated. We need to find him a family quickly."
The little boy’s story read. "How Lord ?, I whispered so only He could hear. I didn’t wait to hear His answer but continued down the page to view more children. When I came to an angelic face and this bio:
"As of June of 2005, this little boy was 105 cm tall and weighed 13 kilograms. He has Cerebral Palsy and uses a wheelchair for mobility. Right now he is not able to walk and we aren’t sure what his potential will be with treatments that are available in the United States. He is a sweet and kind boy who is very gentle. We met him in September when we visited his orphanage. He is in desperate need of a loving family who can help him to reach his fullest potential."
I thought of my own nephew, Joshua, who is such a blessing to our family and struggles with the many of the challenges of CP. I thought about all of the medical resources that we have in our community, my personal experience of caring for children with these specific needs and therapies that could give this little one a fighting chance. A chance to express himself and show his true value as a child of a King. But most of all, I thought of all of this space in my heart, a space that I have affectionately named the" God room". No matter what I do I cannot make it feel complete , but whenever I allow God to come in and be the interior designer, the room has always felt more beautiful instead of smaller though, it grows larger as it is filled with a greater capacity for His love."
And so I whispered again, even softer so certainly only He could hear, "how Lord?"Then with some hesitancy I signed off and went about my daily business
WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER?
Over the next several nights I tossed and turned, my thoughts would awaken me in the early hours and I could not rest. images of these 2 little boys kept going through my mind. "Make your will my own and I will do it", I pleaded. I waited with great expectation hoping for my own large burning bush experience. Sorry to burst your bubble and I hope I do not lose your interest, but I confess, that didn’t happen. Instead, within my God room I heard Him whisper ever so softly but in His usual loving way, so just I could hear, " Trust Me". Now I do believe that God will ask us to do difficult things out of love for Him but not impossible things (that is His specialty). So I challenged Him, "Excuse me, Father, but there is a matter here, quite a large one in fact, no there are several items I can think of.... "Trust Me" . "Yes", I will , I replied.
NOT JUST A MOTHER’S HEART
By now some of you may be wondering, (especially you men) "Hey, what about Mark?", after all he is the other better half of this team. Well after several days of processing, so I could make a reasonable presentation, I went to Mark expecting one of those "Are you nuts" kind of looks. Of course if you know Mark , he is too kind to do that ,or worse say it, so I just got one of those blank, non-expressive, trying to hold back looks. After he absorbed what I was saying he gently responded with his concerns, the same that I had, the initial adoption expenses, our home has stairs everywhere (the boys will be in wheelchairs), What about our family vehicle?......You get the picture a few challenges. "Maybe God is just working on me, Mark lovingly responded, taking some ownership and trying to soften the blow. So being the optimist that I am, and already having researched most of these questions, I asked if he would give me a bit of time to find solutions to the rest of our questions. The next day I had every question answered and Mark expressed confidently that we must proceed . So it begins, the paper chase attached to International Adoption and the anticipation of the arrival of our two new sons, born in our hearts.