last day in Sumy

Today we awoke early to lots of fog. Before 6:00 a.m. you couldn't see across the street the fog was so thick. We had to be at the Notary by 9:00 a.m. to sign documents to get the passports. After that we went to the Reenok and did some shopping, bought a few souvenirs and Cort got his cool Ukrainian shoes. I came to the Internet with Laina while Cort is getting some pictures developed and dropping Steve off at the Art Museum (finally) and then come back and get us to go to Museum, it is just across the street. Then we will go back to the apartment, gather up some items to take back to the Internat, Laina got some treats for her class and made a poster for her class and teachers last night. It was fun to see her thoughtfully pick out the right candy, think of the right words to say and put the time into decorating the poster with colorful hand drawn flowers, bows and hearts. She sure has a tender heart and wrote them some really nice comments. I'm not looking forward to this afternoon when we have to do the goodbyes. It's going to be a tear jerker.
She slept at the apartment last night, because we have the official court decree that she is ours. It was wonderful to be able to tuck her in, scratch her back and say the famous line "Good-night, I love you, see you in the morning." It was wonderful to realize as I laid in bed that we now have 4 daughters and 2 sons. Adding one more to the wonderful 5 (and 2 in-laws) that we already have. She will fit in well with all of us. What an amazing, learning, blessed experience this has been.
Soon we will head out to the orphanage for the final time. We won't miss the buses or the bumpy roads or walking through a path of garbage, but we will definitely miss the children who need and want families so bad and the wonderful caregivers and teachers that watch over, teach and love these children. When you come you will know what we mean! The school is run very well and they get a great education, even with the lack of technology that we take for granted. The teachers are allowed to love and show affection to these kids daily. We will miss the smiles on the childrens faces. Cort has also been so touched by these children and have fallen in love with them too. I'm not sure if he will miss being the 12 boys who are constantly hanging on him, literally. He gets attacked as soon as we get there. I wonder if we will ever recognize the impact of all of this. I know I will never be the same.
Later this afternoon, we will finish packing, load up in Vasili's van and drive the 5-6 hours to Sumy. Tomorrow we have medical appointments and go to the Embassy and hope all continues to go smooth to have everything completed by Friday.

this is a quote Nanette told us the other day (thought I would share): "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get, what you've always got."

I hope to do some pictures in Kyiv. I can't believe this is almost over, but we are definitely ready to come home, not sure about Cort. His reality that he has known for over 2 years will be quite different.