We are home!!!

We are home…and life is GREAT!!!
We arrived home a little after midnight last night. It is quite a story to tell…so pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and settle in for the details of the last few days. Little Elizabeth just laid down for her afternoon nap.

On Tuesday morning we left at 10:00 and met Marina and Vadim at the Registry Office. Marina informed us (through Vadim) she went to court and now it is OFFICIAL!!! We are the official parents of the cutest, sweetest girl…Victoria Elizabeth Marie Hagan! We left from there to go to a building that had a really old life that took us to the 4th floor, but the lift to the 9th floor was broke and we had to walk up 5 flights of stairs. You would think with all the walking I had been doing it would be easy…but let me tell you…I was tired when we finally got to the 9th floor. Since we weren’t sure how many more stops we would have to make and what the plan for the rest of the day was, when Vadim said there was a toulet (toilet) nearby…I took advantage of it. Guess what…it was ‘the hole.’ Boy! It was old, dirty, and pretty nasty, but when in the Ukraine…do as the Ukrainians. This is one of the many things I will not miss about the Ukraine. We ended up walking into this office on the 9th floor, showing her our passports and then turning around to head back down the 9 flights. Much easier to go down!

After a quick bite at McDonald’s, Bryan, Tamera, Tom and I played pitch in the hotel room after we got back. Vadim called around 4:45 to say they were on their way to get us. We left at 5:10 to go to the orphanage. Finally….GOTCHA DAY!!! Elizabeth came into the play room in a great mood with a smile on her face and a piece of cake in her hand. They let us change her into her clothes. Wow! How awesome to dress her into her own little outfit. I feel a little silly now, didn’t realize that the outfit was short sleeves until I put it on her. Thank goodness the babushka didn’t see, lol! We put her coat on and she seemed excited to leave. The babushka was beside herself with joy for all of us. After hugs and kisses and presentation of chocolates for the caregivers we went outside and as soon as we got outside…she knew something was happening and she started to cry (of course it was dark, too). We got into the taxi and she cried for a little bit, but then soon she snuggled in against me and looked around. She was mesmerized with all the lights and was very curious to see what was going on.

At 6:30 we got to the hotel room and as soon as she got her coat off, she smiled and ran into my arms. She and her daddy played and soon CJ was there to play with too. We ordered room service for supper and she and CJ really liked the mashed potatoes. We got to play until we were picked up at 9:45pm to head for the train station. I had changed Elizabeth into her pajamas and she liked the feet in them. In the taxi, again she fussed for a little bit, but we were at the train station in about 15 minutes. The train hadn’t arrived yet, so we hung around in the train station which was very beautiful. CJ and her were happy to walk around and we were happy to let them run while they had the chance. Finally the train arrived and we got to our compartment. It was about 6’ x 6’ with 4 bunks (2 lower and 2 upper). It was pretty dark in there and she was scared at first, but soon she was playing. I liked the overnight train, personally. It was nice to be able to lie down or sit up, whichever you wanted. The train pulled out at 10:50pm and finally about midnight I realized that she was going to keep playing if I let her, so we lay down on the bunk and she fought sleep. Finally I just had to hold her tightly until finally about 45 minutes later she gave up and gave in to sleep. I just lay there for about an hour staring at her, watching her sleep, listening to her breathe and praising God for this wonderful, precious gift. She slept until 6:30am and only wiggled a little though the night. Tom and I were able to get a little sleep too. It was very exciting to be leaving Kharkov and heading to Kiev. One step closer to home!!

We got to the train station at 7:10am and Igor was there to meet us. Boy…was he a site for sore eyes!! We walked (what seemed like miles when you are carrying a 22 pounder, lol! Tamera made a good observation that most mothers get used to carrying a little weight with pregnancy and then as their child grows…we just jumped right to the toddler stage without the gradual increase) to the van and we were off to the NAC for Igor to do some paper work. Next stop was the doctor visit. We had to wait for quite a while, but Elizabeth was happy to sit and eat her banana while watching the other children play in the playroom. Igor asked us to fill out the paperwork for the American Embassy. There were some confusing forms and we were all dead dog tired, so this was no easy feat. (My suggestion to those traveling after us (Sue and Mark :-)….fill out your paperwork before you pick the children up from the orphanage, just because your mind will be clearer then). Soon we got in to see the doctor and after he examined her, he declared her healthy.

Next stop the American Embassy….more paperwork. First we had to go through security. Not thinking, we brought our backpack which was full of lots of junk…baby food, bananas, cookies, gum, the camera, etc. and you cannot take food, camera, cell phones, etc. in with you…so we left it all there (feeling very silly). (So again….I would suggest to future travelers to take ONLY the paperwork into the Embassy with you). After going though the bullet proof glass doors we met with a lady who great and easy to work with. After her, we went to complete the paperwork with a man….again, very nice and easy to deal with. They will work on completing everything and Bryan and Tom will go back at 4pm to pick it up. Elizabeth and CJ were both needing diaper changes by this time, but the diapers were in the diaper bag.

From here we got back into the van and headed to our apartment, Elizabeth fell asleep in my arms (remember they don’t have car seats here). Tom and I took the first apartment and Bryan and Tamera were dropped off at an apartment down the street. Our building looked nice on the outside, but the hallway and elevator looked dingy. Oh No! Hoping no repeat of our apartment experience in Kharkov! Our apartment was on the 5th floor and it was GREAT!!! Very clean, a nice kitchen, a separate living room, a separate bedroom. Very, very nice! Now, by this time it is noon and we are starving since we got off the train running and never got breakfast and had only split a sprite, so Tom headed back out to find some lunch. Elizabeth woke up soon after I laid her down and now she was a happy girl, running though the apartment. She probably never had free reign to run around and she absolutely loves it. She was all smiles and giggles. Tom found some chicken nuggets and fries from a street vendor and they tasted like heaven since we were so hungry! Elizabeth had baby food and she was content. We had lost her sippy cup so Tom went to see if he could find a new one and get some more baby juice (we found out later we left it in Serge’s van, thank goodness because Tom couldn’t find any to buy). After that Tom had to leave to go back to the Embassy to pick up the final paperwork. I tried to call Tom’s parents to let them know that we were in Kiev, but was only able to leave a message. I wanted to call my mom, but about that time, Elizabeth was getting grouchy. I tried to get her to sleep for a nap, but it was a no go. This little girl has some fight in her and I thought I could wear her down, but by 5pm she was still awake, and by then I was afraid if she went to sleep she wouldn’t sleep later. She was pretty cranky, but we made it through supper (you know she always like to eat, ha!). After that, I washed her up real good and then we washed her hair over the sink. That was an experience. You may wonder why we messed with that, but in reality she has never smelt very clean since we’ve met her and I’d been waiting for almost 3 weeks to give her a good scrubbing.

Next…bedtime at 7pm…hum, is she going to fight this again? I laid her in bed and I lay down beside her and she insisted on lying on top of me. Well, I was in heaven holding this precious girl while she fell asleep and honored that she is clinging to me. She didn’t fight it and seemed to know that she needed to sleep. Soon I was able to lay her on the bed and Tom and I finished packing things for our early get-away (Serge is picking us up at 4:30am). I finally got to call mom around 7:30pm. The closer I get to home, the more homesick and anxious I am to get there.

Thursday……..TODAY WE GO HOME!!!! Up at 3:30 am and in the shower when the phone rings and it is Chris. He was eating supper at my mom and dad’s house and he wanted to call and tell me he couldn’t wait for us to get home and that he would be waiting up for us. Oh! So great to hear his voice and know we would be seeing him soon!
At 4:15am I start dressing Elizabeth and she wakes up in a good mood, smiling and babbling. By 4:30am we are loaded in the van, heading to Bryan and Tamera’s apartment to pick them up, they are ready and waiting. We get to the airport at 5:10am to catch our 6:50 flight and Serge points us in the right direction and we are on our own. We get through baggage check-in (which took a very long time) and get to our gate with time to spare. CJ and Elizabeth are both awake and doing great, both in good moods. We take a bus out to the airfield to board the plane. It’s a nice plane and we had three seats together (because a man was nice enough to switch with us) and amazingly enough, even though we had separate travel agents, Bryan, Tamera, and CJ and in the seats right behind us! It was a short flight and Elizabeth and I slept most of the way.

We arrived in Munich, Germany and we had about a 2½ hour layover. This airport is very nice, very clean, very American friendly! I let Elizabeth walk as much as I could cuz soon we will be cramped on an airplane for 10 hours. We board the flight at 10:20 am and guess what??? It was not a full flight and we had three seats for us in the center, but no one was in the 4th seat there, so it was very nice to have all the center seats in our row to spread out. That made the flight so much nicer! Elizabeth did so good on this flight considering everything. She has done so well considering that she was yanked out of the only home she had ever known, rode in a taxi, a train, a strange apartment, a van, a plane, etc. I wondered if she would scream from the second we picked her up from the orphanage, but she didn’t she did awesome and I couldn’t be prouder of her! At one point she was so tired, but fighting it so hard and she was fussy and crying. The stewardess wanted to know if she could help and Tom asked her if she could speak some Russian to her. She didn’t know Russian, but she talked very soothingly to her in German and within seconds she was asleep. Isn’t that crazy? She slept for several hours. She woke up and ate and played and did well, until about the last hour. She wanted off that plane and believe me…Tom and I could wait to get off that plane either. 10 hours is a long time!

FINALLY we landed in Chicago. Elizabeth is officially an American Citizen now!! Yeah! Yipee! Yahoo! We are so happy to be in America!!!!!! What an awesome feeling! We landed at 2pm and our next flight leaves at 3:50. We went first though Immigration, which other than standing in a long line, went very well. Next we picked up all our bags. Then we went through customs, which was also easy. Then we rechecked our bags. Next…to find our flight…we had a ticket for Elizabeth, but for some reason they said we would need to get the tickets for Tom and I when we landed. We were directed to terminal #1 so we rode the tram there, bypassing terminal 2 & 3. At terminal one, we found out that our gate was F12, in terminal 3. Yikes….it’s a long way to walk, and we have to get though security first. We hit a snag when we got to security and were redirected back to pick up the tickets for Tom and I. Tom went while I waited with Elizabeth. The lady told Tom that we had electronic tickets and we didn’t need any paper tickets. Back to the security line. Once we reached the front…the lady refused to let us through and redirected us again, back to the ticket counter. We looked everywhere for information stations in O’Hare, but couldn’t find any. It is a really hard airport to get through. We handled the airport in the Ukraine, we handed the airport in Germany, but this airport in America was not very user friendly. Everyone we asked, seemed to give us the wrong information. A lady told us to go to some computers to get our e-tickets printed. We couldn’t figure it out. The only ticket we could find was Elizabeth. Finally I asked again for some help. By this time Elizabeth is very fussy and the lady couldn’t figure out the machine either so she took us to the front of the line and we finally got our paper tickets. Back to the security line, which by this time is very, very long, but third time’s the charm and we got through security. Then we walked and walked and walked. We started in terminal 1 (for some reason that I can’t figure out) and had to walk through terminal 2, then terminal 3 and F12….the very last gate in the terminal. We are practically running because it is getting close to 3:50. It was hard. I was toting Elizabeth and holding our coats, but we reached the gate of United Flights at 3:42 for the 3:50 flight. Yeah! We made it and the plane was still there!

But…..no….since we weren’t there at 3:40….THEY GAVE OUR TICKETS AWAY to standby! I completely do not understand this rule….we were there, the plane was there and they gave our seats away. I explained to the man that we had been traveling for 18 hours, we were tired, etc. but he did not seem the least bit sorry and just said, ‘Take the next one, there are always flights leaving for St. Louis.’ I completely lost it and I cried and cried. I was so upset. I was tired, hungry, sore, homesick, and many other adjectives. Elizabeth just looked at me and patted my shoulder. I know people around my thought I was nuts, but I was emotionally, mentally and physically spent and I just wanted to go home! Tom went to get tickets for the next flight…but guess what…only one seat available…the next flight with 3 seats available was 9:15 the next morning! I couldn’t believe that we had survived for 33 days in a foreign country just to be treated so horribly in the USA! I plan to have a few words with United in the near future because I truly believe that seats should be given away until it is time for the flight to leave. The people waiting standby would have been standing there waiting at 3:50 anyways if we hadn’t shown up. Anyway, I’ll get off my soap box, and fully admit I am not a world traveler and maybe there is a reason for these rules. Mark and Sue….if your flights are booked this close together, I would insist that the Lufthansa flight attendant call the United Flight to make sure they wait for you!)

I had asked our travel agent if that would be enough time to get through customs, she said it would be. I asked the stewardess on the long flight if she could do anything to help us to get through to our next flight, she said there was nothing she could do.

Anyway, as always, Tom was my rock and he was very calm and said “We’ll just get a rental care and we will get home tonight!” I love that man! So we try to find our way out. Again, we have trouble finding our way out and we never, ever saw an information desk. Finally we asked someone and we found the exit door, but were unsure how to find the rental care place with a Hertz bus pulled up. I LOVE HERTZ!! The bus took us right to the rental place (which would have been way too far to walk) and the man who helped us was AWESOME! Within minutes we were in a nice SUV with a car seat on our way out of Chicago and on our way home. By this time I had calmed down greatly and Elizabeth was soon asleep in the car seat. Even though we were exhausted, we were psyched to know we would be home in 6 hours.

Tom drove most of the way; I drove for about an hour. We stopped before we got to Springfield, Il and fed Elizabeth and let her walk around in the store and soon we were on the road again. We got into Monroe City at midnight straight up. We stopped for gas and then stopped by Joe and Judy’s house so they could see their newest granddaughter. Elizabeth is still very clingy to me, but she looked them over and studied them. Boy, it was so great to see them! It was great to see Monroe City! We didn’t stay too long, because we knew brother Chris was waiting at home for his new little sister! As we turned onto our road, there was a pink ribbon in the road sign welcoming Elizabeth home, and one on our mailbox too. We walked in the door and there was Chris! Oh man! He was a sight for sore eyes and he looked so great! We sat up and talked until after 2am. Chris’ principal was nice enough to excuse Chris from morning classes on Friday, so Chris could spend time with us and his new sister. Elizabeth was wound up, especially when she saw all the nice toys that Aunt Shell had waiting for her. We had beautiful balloons and a neat balloon arrangement from Tom’s Uncle Gary and Aunt Chris (THANKS!) There was a roast, potatoes, and carrots in the crock pot (THANKS MOM!) There was food in the fridge (THANKS MOM, JUDY, CAROL, HOLLY, MACHELLE, GARY, KAREN!!) and we have enough baby food, fruits (especially bananas, lol!) and supplies and diapers to last a good while (THANKS MACHELLE AND HOLLY!) The house was warm and toasty (THANKS JOE AND CHRIS!) The house was clean and inviting (THANKS EVERYONE WHO HELPED WITH THAT!) There were 2 new pajamas in the crib for Elizabeth (THANKS JUDY!) We had welcome signs on the front door, the bedroom door, the bathroom door, the fridge (THANKS MACHELLE AND JUDY!) Elizabeth got a new, soft blanket and books and we had a nice surprise when we found that all of the pictures we put on the blog had been printed out and some even framed (THANKS HOLLY AND RANDY…how awesome!) We had a gift of photo albums, a baby book and a Christmas ornament with ‘Elizabeth’ on it (THANKS JOE AND JUDY!) We found boxes of clothes and little girl things to sort through (THANKS MACHELLE AND LINDA BICHSEL!) Wow! I could go on and on about the wonderful homecoming we were given! YOU ALL ARE SO SPECIAL AND WE LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING!!!!! I hope I didn’t omit anything or anyone (if I did, please understand I’m still suffering from jet lag :-)

It is awesome to be home! We sat up visiting with Chris and it was almost 3am when we finally got to bed. We laid Elizabeth in her crib and she cried for about 5 minutes before she was conked out. She was up at 6:30 this morning and we know it’ll take awhile for her (and us) to get used to the time change. She has played this morning, inside and outside. She took a bath and was afraid of the water at first, but soon was playing with the bubbles and having fun. I can't post any pictures yet...my USB cable for the camera...it's in St. Louis with the rest of our bags. Tom just called to say that he has picked up the luggage and is at the Hertz place to drop off the rental. David Cheek is meeting him there. By the way...David, Lindsay, Bradley, and Halle...we are so sorry that you were at the airport by the time we were able to let you know that we missed the plane!! We hate that we missed you and you didn't get to meet Elizabeth! We heard that you even had supper fixed for us. Words cannot express our graditude to all of you for keeping our van for us and again...sorry we missed you!

Gotta run now! Chris and Kayla are here!!!

Love you all