SDA appointment done (check)

Taylor and Molly's bed.  They have become used to sleeping in the same room since we moved them in together for the past 6 months or so.  They have done pretty well staying in bed at night. Or shall I say the 2nd night. We won't discuss the 1st night again ;) Taylor has woken up once or twice, but Molly has slept hard!

Friendship Arch (the rainbow in the distance)  We started to walk there, but the sun hid behind some clouds and it became too dark as you can see. It gets dark here around 4:30 or 5pm, and we have no idea what time it gets light because we've woken up at 9:30 both days... and it's light then!  We just decided to take a picture and have an early dinner. We ordered pepperoni pizza and lasagna, and received a pizza with huge whole red and green peppers on it.  Thankfully they were not spicy and quite delicious!

Our hotel room

Sprite is a taste of home... in the underground food court.  we tend to go back to familiar places with these kids because it gives comfort and its less stressful for all!  And great food.

Food is important, especially to 22 month and 3 1/2 year olds!  Molly's hair is getting wilder by the day :)

Independence Square, Kiev, Ukraine.  We are standing on top of the underground mall.

counting his money (Hryvnia)

pizza place in the mall where they made delicious fresh pizzas in minutes.  Taylor liked watching them roll out the dough

Taylor took our picture!

St. Michael's Cathedral, Kiev.  This is Dima, our kind, smiling facilitator who tells us what is going on.

walking back from the SDA past the beautiful St. Michael's Cathedral.

This is the SDA building.

Waiting for our appointment at the SDA.  We met another American family adopting. As far as we know, the appointment went very well; we learned very limited information about Artur, but will hopefully meet him Friday

bumming around in Kiev

Sorry these pictures are not all in order... still relearning how to blog!

the grocery story... milks, yogurts... cold things

fresh produce.. we bought some oranges

cheese and meet section

 our Hotel

 Taylor and Molly laughing, dancing, and hugging in the underground mall

 of course everyone is happier with McDonalds ice cream! the cups were made of cones too.

This is Scott's best Jason Borne (Matt Damon) face. When we arrived we felt like we were in a Bourne Identity scene. 

The grocery story around the corner from our hotel

Molly fell asleep in the stroller

the fountain in the mall

"Get up, Get up, please!"

Those were the words spoken by Taylor and Molly at 2 a.m. Kiev, Ukraine time. After insisting that we were not getting up....we got up. To say that our internal clocks are off is quite the understatement. So, we're calling family and having a good time eating chocolate chip cookies. Thanks Tim and Amy! :)

We will post more details in the next couple of days. We don't trust ourselves to write coherently right now. Our travel was for the most part uneventful which was a tremendous blessing (with the exception of Molly not sleeping on the overnight flight to Munich...some funny stories to go along with that).

We are thrilled to be here and hope to get some rest over the next few days. Our SDA appointment is Wednesday; we'll pick up the last paperwork Thursday afternoon; then we'll ride a train to Odessa Thursday night and arrive early Friday morning. We should meet Artour Friday sometime. Hard to believe!

Thanks to all for the many, many prayers.We are here! Good night...good morning...good afternoon...

Love,
The Marshalls

traveling to Kiev

This Molly girl slept the 1st hour of the long flight to Munich, then was up all night.  She has her mother's night time party instincts!

Yay!  We made it to Charlotte!

SDA appointment!

We have an appointment in Kiev on October 31st!!!!!!  We are so excited!!  We will be leaving in less than 2 weeks so let the packing continue and be done quickly!!!  We have our appointment with the SDA (State Department on Adoptions) 2 weeks from today to be granted permission to go to the orphanage, and then will travel south to Odessa to meet Artur.  The anticipation is breathtaking and our joy is overflowing with tears.  Praise be to our great God for making this real.  Thanks for your prayers.

October update

We mailed our dossier (big pack of paperwork) on September 5th, and it was recieved, translated, and submitted to the SDA on September 12th!  Now we are waiting for an appointment date in Kiev, Ukraine, which we hope will be any day now.  When we have that notice, we will book our plane tickets.  We hope to be traveling by the end of October or early November.  We are so excited to meet Artur.  If you know of anyone who has been to Ukraine or the region, feel free to pass along tips for travel.  

We have had answers to prayers in terms of our family's health over the past couple of months, and we would love your prayers for the health both now and when we travel. Specifically: Taylor's asthma and ears to be healthy, Molly's ears and severe allergy to ants (just diagnosed but we don't have to worry about her in Ukraine because there are no ants over there!), and Scott's asthma - he had it as a child and it has flared back up this year.  

And also for Artur's heart to be ready and open to us adopting him.  It is a huge decision for him and he will be giving up everything he's ever known if he says yes to coming with us.  God is so big and amazing that He has made this journey so clear so far, to pursue adoption of Artur.  And we know that He will never leave us nor forsake us in the ups or downs.  We are not alone, we have been adopted by a great God, and that gives us great hope and joy for whatever lies ahead. For the past 4 days, I keep singing, "My God is awesome, He can move a mountain, keep me in the valley, hide me from the rain.  My God is awesome, heals me when I'm broken, strength when I am weakened, forever I will praise."

We sincerely thank you for your prayers and interest in reading our blog.