Final answer!

We took two days away from the orphanage to give the kids some space and time to think. We returned to the orphanage last night. Immediately as we walked through the gate we seen Artiom and he and I started whistling back and forth. It is just something we started out of the blue. He is such a funny and great kid!

We had the blessing of an interpreter there that evening so we asked the kids to come in for a chat. We told them that we wanted to talk about their final decision about being adopted. We also told them that no matter what their decision is, nothing changes between us. They are still in our hearts and we will still care about them as we did before. For those that don't know, we go back almost two years with these kids. We hung out with them, played with them and advocated and raised funds to keep them in this orphanage.

Masha made it clear to us that she wanted to go. But in order for us to adopt her, because she will turn 18 in July, her siblings have to agree to be adopted as well. When we posed the question to the other children, the remaining four said they were very happy here and would like to stay in Ukraine. They said they were hesitant to tell us before because they didn't want to hurt our feelings. We told them that from the beginning we only wanted what is best for them. The original problem hasn't been solved though. The orphanage is in dire need of financial support. So, as soon as we return to the US we will get back to trying to raise funds to keep these children in the home that they love.

Because Masha wants to come with us, we told her that if she wanted we would try to bring her to the US to attend School. We told her that this would mean that some day, when she has finished her education, she would have to return to Ukraine. But that she would still be ours forever and we would be her family that she would depend on forever. That put a big smile on her face! Also, this morning i am heading to the School to practice a dance. Masha asked me if i would dance with her at her graduation celebration Saturday during the Father/Daughter dance.

We also wanted to say that after our meeting with the kids we had a great time just hanging with them and playing around. It was really like it was before they became stressed out about being adopted. They are absolutely amazing kids! It was so nice to have them at ease and to just be able to enjoy the time with them.

So, Saturday evening we will attend Masha's ceremony, afterwards we will take her for a celebration dinner. After that, we will spend the night with our friends apartment in Kharkiv and board a train after Church on Sunday heading for Donetsk.

Stay Tuned! :)