Zero Hour

Well, the day has almost arrived!  We leave tomorrow at 12:30. Our flight is on American Airlines to Chicago, but as Trent so graciously reminded me as I was worrying about delays, "You know you can just pray about that, right?"  So many things are unsure right now, but God has been so good to grant Aaron I so much peace concerning all aspects of these final days of adoption.  We are so excited to be able to assist in telling an amazing God story!
My awesome cousin, Rachel Pruitt, had the great idea of coming up with "30 days of prayer for the Alfreds".   I attached it, so that anyone that is willing to journey with us through pray is able.  We appreciate all of the prayers that we have received through this whole process, and know that they have carried us through until now and will continue until everything is complete! (Well, I was going to attach it, but apparently I don't know how...I do, however, know copy and paste!)

30 Days of Prayer for the Alfreds

As the Alfreds spend the next 30 days on the final leg of their adoption journey, let’s commit to covering them in prayer Sept. 30-Oct. 30.  Below are some requests that you might choose to pray for the Alfred family.

1.  Pray for their connecting flight times to go smoothly.

2.  Pray for travel safety on the roads in Ukraine…there are lots of wrecks all the time & they will be making lots of road trips.

3.  Pray that Tara and Aaron will adjust to the time change quickly.

4.  Pray for quick bonding with Artyom & Vlad when they get to see them and that A & V will realize that they are loved and wanted….pray that God will calm A & V’s fears (this is a scary change for them, too!)

5.  Pray for clear guidance on their travel schedule…confirmation at the time where they need to stay and when or if they should return to the states and then go back to Ukraine at the end of the month (there are lots of “unknowns” and schedules/plans that are “up in the air”.)

6.  Pray for Trent & Cal …for their peace and safety while their parents are away, and that God will be preparing their hearts for the upcoming changes in their lives.

7.  Pray for God’s perfect peace for Tara & Aaron as they are away from Trent & Cal for so long.

8.  Pray for the heart of the judge, that he will be favorable toward adoption.

9.  Pray that the court translator will be sympathetic to adoption (their lawyer will not be allowed in the courtroom, so the translator is their only mediator between them and the judge.)

10.  Pray for Tara and Aaron to have wisdom & clarity in knowing how to answer the questions in court.

11.  Pray that their case would be a testimony to all those involved (judge, officials, translators, etc…)

12.  Pray for protection of their health while in Ukraine – (stress level, sleep & eat well, stay healthy.)

13.  Pray for Angel (Tara’s sister in law) as she adjusts to a new schedule and takes care of Cal & Trent while they are gone.

14.  Pray for protected health for Trent & Cal while Tara & Aaron are in the Ukraine.

15.  Pray for the Ukranian lawyer who has been helping Tara & Aaron and has now decided to adopt…pray they will be an encouragement to each other.

16.  Pray that Tara & Aaron can be an encouragement to the missionaries who are there in the Ukraine (Tara & Aaron may be staying with them part of the time.)

17.  Pray for direction, peace, and very clear leading over any decisions that they may have to make quickly.

18.   Pray for their ability to communicate with their Ukranian children, while they are there and on the return trip home.

19.  Pray for quick adjustment for the children when they arrive in the States.

20.  Pray for quick bonding between Cal & Trent and their new siblings.

21.   Pray for Cal & Trent as they adjust to their family completely changing.

22.  Pray that Tara & Aaron will be very sensitive to God’s leading throughout this process and that God will fill them with wisdom.

Thanks Rach!

It's Official!

We received our Letter of Invitation from Ukraine today!!  We leave on the 30th of September and get to see our boys on October 30th!  I knew it was coming, but seeing it in black and white changes everything!  I am so excited and nervous that I can't seem to write a sentence without an exclamation mark!  Thanks for all of the prayers, the gifts and constant encouragement! 
Now that things are rolling, it is my goal to keep this current and let everyone know what is going on (It is my goal; meaning I'm going to try...).

Saying Goodbye

This is our family.  The family that we have known for almost 15 years (Happy 15th to Trent on Friday!). 

    I love so many things about our family.  We work really well together.  We get each other's sarcasm  awesome sense of humor, we are very open with each other, and in general, we just enjoy spending time together.  Since getting word last Thursday that we have received our approval from the child department in Ukraine, a reality has hit Aaron and I pretty hard.  We won't get the exact date until the end of the week, but they told us to expect to be in Ukraine around the end of September.  The end of September!  That leaves us about 3 weeks.  When Aaron and I get on that plane and say goodbye to the boys, we are saying goodbye to the family that we have been up until this point. 
    We know that we are doing what God has called us to do, and the sadness that we are feeling in no way takes away from the excitement that we have knowing that we are about to get our boys!  We can't wait to start making a new family with new dynamics with our new family!  But as we wait for these final steps, we are relishing every minute we can as we say goodbye to what we have cherished for so many years.

Peace that Passes

This trip was about peace.  Aaron and I really wanted to know what we were supposed to do about Vlad, and we expected answers.  We figured one of two things would happen; either Vlad would completely change his mind, or he would continue to say "no".  We were prepared to accept either outcome.  We did not expect to see Vlad walk out of the doors of the orphanage and receive our answer before he said a word.  As soon as we saw his blue eyes, Aaron and I both fell in love.  We knew without a doubt that we were looking at our son. 
I hesitate to write about everything that happened in the 5 1/2 hours we spent with the boys at the orphanage.  From outside appearance, we didn't make much headway with Vlad.  However, in our hearts we know big changes happened.  The day started out without him really even wanting to be around us at all and stayed completely on the outside of all of the action.  He wouldn't take the gifts we bought him, turned his head every time I tried to take a picture, and basically did everything to shut us out.  By the end of the day, he was playing soccer with Aaron (silently, but we take small victories), he was sitting beside me and looking at pictures, and even posed for a picture (with his arms uncrossed!).  We came to receive peace, and that is exactly what we got.  Vlad may not be ready to accept it yet, but he will be an Alfred soon!
His brother is another story all together.  That boy is a ball of fun and energy!  Artyom is constantly ready for action and steals the show.  He has such an open and happy personality, but I can already see that he is going to keep my hands full! 
We left Ukraine with excitement and eagerness to bring these two precious brothers home.
Sorry about the delay, but internet in our hotel was unreliable at best!

 Vlad (in black) at the beginning of the day.  He turned his head as soon as the camera came out.

 Vlad at the end of the day!  You may not be able to see it, but that is, in fact, the beginning of a smile.

 Monkey in a tree!

He was eating ALL day!

From Ukraine with Love

We arrived in Ukraine on time and without much incident!  Our first night's sleep was amazing!  Considering we had been up for 30 straight hours, I am not sure either one of us even turned over in our sleep.  It is about 9:00 on Friday morning, and Aaron and I are eating breakfast before we meet our lawyer and leave for the orphanage. 
Here are a few things I have learned in the 20 or so hours that I have spent in Ukraine:
1. People cut in line.  It seems to be an accepted practice, and no one but Aaron and I even appear to notice.
2. You know the B.O. in the bathroom is bad when it, up until that point, it WAS the worst smell I have encountered in bathroom.
3. Lanes on the highway are merely a suggestion.  (We were thankful that God has provided us with a driver that knows this and doesn't seem to be phased by it)
4. You can get lost really quick on your own in a country where you can't read the street signs.
5.  Aaron stays pretty calm when getting lost in a foreign country.
6. 26 hours of no sleep and a fifth floor apartment can make you get on an elevator that is smaller and more precarious looking than normal circumstances would allow.
7. Sidewalks double as parking lots...watch out!
8.  The Ukrainian military men look like extras from a Juan Claude Van Dam movie.
9.  Just because someone charges you to use a public restroom does not mean they are selling something anyone would want to buy.
10.  Don't judge too fast what the worst smell in a bathroom could be because apparently in Ukraine, they charge to let you smell the worst!

Well, we are off!

Can't Wait!

The countdown has begun!  Aaron and I leave in five days for Ukraine to meet  the boys!  I can't explain how I am feeling because honestly, I can't tell you if I am super excited or scared beyond sanity.  I think it is a mixture of both, and that makes for some very interesting mood swings!  Our flight leaves Wednesday at 3:45 pm Texas time and we arrive in Kiev on Thursday at 1:10 Ukraine time.  Hopefully my nerves about the trip to the orphanage will eclipse my fear of flying. 
Trent and I made a trip to Austin yesterday to get "most" of our papers apostilled.  There were a couple of minor snags, but everything seems to have worked out fine in the end.  We will hand deliver all of our paperwork to our lawyers in Kiev.  The official translation has been ordered already because we scanned all of our dossier papers last week.  We should have some sort of date estimate sometime in the next couple of weeks (that was as vague as I could make it).
I can't wait to post pics of the trip!

About half of the papers we took to Austin

Trent in front of the Capitol

Dreaded "NO"

But the Lord's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.  Ps 33:11

We are trying to remember this as a family right now.  We received news last week that Vlad has said "no" to being adopted.  The only real reason that they could get out of him was that he didn't want to leave Ukraine.  That is hard to hear when we know the reality of what Ukraine has to offer an orphaned child that is too old for the system (which he will be in about 1-2 years).  Aaron and I were already planning on making a trip to Ukraine to meet with the boys to help with any fears and questions that they may have.  We are still planning on going, and praying that it makes a difference.  We are walking a very fine line here.  We want him to choose on his own to be apart of our family.  His age is a tricky thing.  He is old enough to legally make the decision, and we don't want to push so much that he feels like he was pressured.  That could lead to problems later on.  On the other hand, it is very hard leaving this decision in the hands of a child (because that is what he is)!  We know that God's plan for these boys will prevail.  We leave on May 9, and we desperately need prayers!

On a happier note, we received some awesome pictures of Artyom last week