O HAPPY DAY!

April 29th

What a whirlwind few days we’ve had! Our first good news came on Monday night. We were told that no one came forward to contest our adoption! Yeah! We are really allowed to move forward quickly now. Even though we technically adopted sucessfully mid-month, this process is never really complete until the plane is taking off from the runway and your new kids are with you belted in the seat. We are trying to be happy, but not unrealistic either.



Yesterday was a full day of finding & completing documents, getting passport photos taken and travelling around to many offices trying to get answers to questions regarding the children’s histories, and how to deal with property issues. We also were asked by our new daughter to consider taking her to visit her biological mother to say goodbye before she left for the U.S. We are giving this request deep thought and prayer.


This morning started at 9:00am - and without any breaks – ended at 6:00pm. We criss-crossed three cities doing paperwork and getting final, Final, FINAL signatures from all the officials and school personnel that were necessary. I can happily say that the children are mostly, almost, completely our children. How’s that for a definitive decree. We thought that we would finish up everything in the region today, but we have one unexpected snag to clear up tomorrow and then we can finally submit their passport applications. As it turns out, our new daughter (and us too) has to “jump through extra hoops” because of her age.


We were also able to finally take our son out of his orphanage today for good! He was so excited. He was in constant motion until he finally crashed asleep in our hotel room @9:30pm. His sister was getting so annoyed with him. Just like all siblings! We were able to be more natural with each other today too. This was the first time our daughter could see us interact with her brother outside the orphanage, and she was happy to see how much we cared for him. She started to really understand why we wanted to adopt him and I hope she yearned for more of that love & affection for herself. We want so much to have that kind of a relationship with her soon. We are willing to take the time to build this with her.


Tomorrow we are also hoping to leave this region and travel with our new kids. This is a 4-Day Holiday weekend in Ukraine and we would like to enjoy our time together. Otherwise, we will just have to wait here for a week for their passports. We are hoping to take a train to the capitol and enjoy the sights there. We’ll write more and let you know where we end up.
We also wanted to ask you to say a prayer for the other adopting RDFC family that’s here. They had an unfavorable court date with their judge today. We know that this adoption is not over for them, but this major setback is hard to take. They have been living here for several months with little to show for it.

Pray for energy and good health for Weeks in Ukraine and Weeks in Brea. This is a challenging time and attacks are under way to keep these kids from the love and freedom that is coming to them. May His will be done and may the name Jesus be glorified in all that is thought and said and done. Amen.

4th Times A Charm?

April 26, 2009

Hello from Munchen (Munich) Germany. We left Saturday night and flew here, but we had to stay overnight to wait for our next flight. We were introduced to a lovely hotel called, the Achat, in the town of Friesing, just outside of the city. We enjoyed a rural setting with a quaint town surrounded by family farms. Just beautiful! (See photos). Also we learned that the Munich airport, just six years old, is considered one of the most technologically advanced and service-oriented in Europe. It is a sight to behold, squeaky clean, efficient and the most friendly people you could imagine. It feels as though you are very quickly moved everywhere around this airport, yes even security! It was designed by a famous architect, a German American from Chicago (name escapes us) and includes an all weather Beer garden. Too bad we don’t drink beer!

We are now waiting to board our flight to Lviv, Ukraine. This is the same flight we booked on our last trip here. (see April entry) We will have a short flight in a small plane and land in a small airport. Then our friends will pick us up and drive us to the region, about a five hour drive at speeds of about 45 miles per hour. Hopefully while we are travelling, our facilitator will be picking up our FINAL approved court decree from the judge. Please say a prayer that there have not been any “developments” since our last court date. (We are a little nervous about any relatives or friends that may have surfaced to contest the adoption.)

We are anticipating running around a lot tomorrow getting documents and submitting applications for visas & passports. We are so excited to finally tell the kids that, “Yes, today is the day!” and “Pack your things!” and “Let’s Go to the U.S.!”

We talked to our little guy (our new SON) on the phone before we left and he was so excited. He wanted to start packing immediately (It was last Saturday morning) He wants to bring everything we’ve ever given to him. I hope not! We only have 1 suitcase for him, and that is filled already with a few clothes & toys & books to keep him happy on the long flights home. Our new Daughter will have lots of mementos from friends & family I’m sure. She has two unfilled suitcases. I hope we don’t have to ship too much.

The Swine Flu news story is all over the wires in Germany. I hope our sniffles don’t get us quarantined! According to the European TV news stories they do not seem to be making much distinction between travelers from the United States and those from Mexico. Please Pray for our continued good health and that we do not get the kids sick either.

Can it be that we are finally coming up to the finish line of this first journey? Well of course not; the end of the “process” is just the beginning of the family journey for the seven of us together. We spent last week trying to get beds ready and clothes washed. Our journey is really a marathon and we are only in the first few miles. As Paul said in Hebrews 12, "...let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..."

Photos of London & D.C.

almost home

April 17th I think



We are waiting in the Dulles airport in Washington D.C for the final leg of this journey. We enjoyed our stay in London yesterday. What a nice treat. We boarded the "Tube," went to Picadilly Circus, ate fish & chips and saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre. All British - all day. Bill is now waxing poetic with a British accent.


Today we had a leisurly morning at the hotel and then flew to DC. Since we had a long layover, we decided to keep the adventure going. We got in a taxi and headed off to the National Air Space Museum Annex (Udvar-Hazy) It is a branch of the Smithsonian. We saw lots of planes & the space shuttle. Worth the trip!


We expect to arrive late tonight. Hope to see you all soon. We are planning on spending the next days preparing our home and our hearts to welcome the kids. We would welcome your prayers and advice to make the acclimation process go smoothly. We realize that it is a process and it will take a long time. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a difference a day makes....24 little hours (or so the song goes)

Well we hoped and prayed that leaving at sunrise on Easter morning would be symbolic of New Life for two special children. Some 26 hours later we blew into the region on Monday night and went to court the next day, on Tuesday. We only had a 30 minute session in the judge's chambers; The judge and two jurors asked some general questions about our approach to parenting, any history of substance abuse, our biological childrens' feelings about the adoption, how we came to be interested in adopting these two particular children, and if this was indeed our "final answer." Before we knew it he was reading his positive decision into the record. Hooray! We even had T there and she said she wanted to be adopted! Wow. PRAISE GOD!!

Afterwards we went to the notary to do more paperwork and then we all went to see our little guy to tell him the good news. His response, "OK let's go." Unfortunately the Ukraine and U.S. governments are not ready for us to take them home yet. We still have to wait out this 10 day mandatory waiting period. This is the time when anyone can object. If all goes well, we will return to finalize the final paperwork later this month. This is a long process in case you haven't noticed.

We celebrated our positive verdict with our new friends at dinner, and then we took an overnight train back to Lviv. This morning, we flew out of Ukraine and boarded a new, hip, airline named, Wizz, and landed in London. (Note the photo of a somewhat fatigued and familiar passenger deplaning.) The only thing we are not getting accomplished on this trip is getting any sleep. We decided we needed a little R & R so we are staying the night in a hotel near Heathrow airport. Hopefully we will have a nice dinner & see a famous London show! We don't really know what time it is anymore. We have crisscrossed so many time zones in the past 4 days. We just sleep whenever & wherever we are when we are tired. (I hope we can stay awake tonight.) London feels like a wonderful dream. We can read all the signs & we can understand the people.

Tomorrow we will board a few more planes and if all goes as planned, return home in the afternoon.

James 5: 10-12 'Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

We know that God's hand has been in everything we do. We hope you continue to pray for us and these new Weeks children. We will need help in overcoming their apprehensions and fears in the coming days, months and years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lets go to court

Just a quick update to let you know we arrived safely at our hotel in Chernivitsi. This place is growing in value, now we know they have a great reasonable breakfast buffet and free wireless wifi! Make a note future travelers of the Magnum Lux Hotel. A short walk from City Hall. We are bushed but grateful that all the connections, baggage, weather, passport checks could not have gone better. This time we flew in Lviv (see small but very comfortable Lufthansa jet in photo) and had our dear friend Vitalik and his pal Igor make the 5 hour trip to pick us up. Five hours in a car beats 15 on the train from Kiev any day. We made contact with our facilitator who is on that train right now. She tells us that T has been prepared for court, that all arrangements have been made and we are ready to go Tuesday at 10 (pray at midnight Monday please!). T will have to appear in court and S will not, presumably because of age. Tonight we saw the other family for literally about 5 minutes as we barely arrived at their apt in time to give them a care package we brought, pick up our suitcases we had left (with our court clothes), hug and say goodbye. They are on the train to Kiev tonight to put some of the kids on a plane back home. They will not be back til Wednesday, by which time we may be gone from the region if all goes well. But to all who sent things for children and the family, all will be delivered before we leave. Thats it for now. We have to get a bite to eat and get to bed so we have some rest before court. Big update coming tomorrow. Please pray for God's will and for us to embrace Luke 12:22 (Do Not Worry). Blessings to each reader

Parties, Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Rebecca at T's birthday party with friends and familySunset from train On the street where we lived

April 3

Hello from home once again. We have spent the last 2 days travelling on a train, car, and two planes to get here. We are trying to get back on this time zone, but it is not easy. It took us a week to get used to Ukraine time.

We did get a court date before we left, and we will be returning mid month. Our kids at home are glad to see us. And we are happy to see them and to be sleeping in our own bed. Nothing makes you appreciate what you have more than being without it.

We will be spending the next week making more preparations at home. We need to reconfigure the house to accommodate the new kids. Please pray for us as we are making decisions and predictions on how all our lives will be structured so we can live in harmony with each other. The Serenity Prayer comes to mind...

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

We have been reflecting on our last visit, and we know that there are a lot of forces still at work in the region. There are heavenly ones as well as evil ones. Please continue to pray for us as we get ready to return next week. Our situation is moving forward, but it is always a fragile and delicate process that can unravel easily. We know our road ahead is rough, but we think often of Daniel, or Shadrach, Mechach & Abednigo.... our plan is in place, and we are relying on God to see us through. If all goes as planned, we will be finished with our goals by the end of the month.

Just as on our last trip, your thoughts & prayers have sustained us, and kept us healthy and focused. Thank you, thank you for all your love and support.