Update on Financial Situation

Thank you so much again to everyone that has helped us to be able to bring Dasha home!!!!! I have figured up what cash we still have now along with the donations to our paypal account, and to Reece's Rainbow. The $2,000 that we were short for our facilitator's fees has been COMPLETELY covered!! Praise God, and thank you all so much!!!!!!! If you remember due to court being so far out after their holidays, we also have to pay for another set of roundtrip tickets. All of you have pulled together for us and reached out to our family so much so that we are only about $500 short on our airfare!! We should be able to cover that ourselves. I cannot believe the generosity that we have been shown!!!! It is just so amazing and I am so touched!!!! This is by far the best Christmas that I have ever had in my life. It's just a miracle the love we have been shown!! Dasha means the world to us and without your help we would not have been able to bring her home. You've all given us a HUGE Christmas miracle!! And once again my words are so inadequate to express our gratitude. Here I go again, crying like a loon in the internet cafe. We're just so very, very grateful!!

Thank you everyone that put the word out for us and that put buttons on your blogs. We appreciate you all so much!!!! I wish their were words that could express how grateful and touched we are. It's just not possible.

We are heading out of Simferopol on the train tonight at 8:00 p.m. Then we will stay overnight in Kiev, and leave for home on the 26th. We are supposed to be home on the 27th and then I will go to NC to pick up John Paul, who I am missing something terrible right now!

We found out today that our court date is Jan. 14th!!!

We saw Dasha again this morning! She is so precious!!! They have a walker for her and she is pretty fast in it. It's really cute to see because she looks so tiny, especially to go so fast in it! She has grown some! I took some clothes to the orphanage to try on her. She wears a size 6 month. Her coat is a 6-9 month and the sleeves are about an inch too long. She's so tiny. When we left this afternoon I put her in her walker like the caretakers ask me to and we walked for the door. She came rolling across the room after us, but her walker wouldn't fit through the double doors because they had one closed. She started crying. No one was watching her at the time because they were getting lunch ready for the kids. I didn't want to leave her, but our facilitator was rushing us to leave because we had paperwork to take care of. I was afraid that she would some how get out of the door so I closed the open door. She started ramming the door with her walker and hitting the door with her arm screaming and crying. Want to talk about something breaking your heart? I hated to close the door, but I wanted her to be safe inside and not some how get out to the stairs. This is a very strong-willed determined little one we are talking about! It did so break my heart to leave her, but we had to go get something notarized for when we come back to get her passport. We are going back this afternoon and I hope that they take her before we leave. I don't want to leave her crying and upset like that knowing I won't see her again for about 18 days. She really seemed to recognize me this time. I was pretty amazed that she did. But I know she did. The first couple of days she acted like she was trying to figure it out and then it was like a light bulb went off. She started doing some of the things that we did last time and things that I taught her. Then she would smile and laugh. I can't wait to get her home with John Paul! It will be so wonderful to have our fmaily together at last! This would not be possible without all of the love and support that we have been shown! Thank you all so very much from the bottom of our hearts!! Merry Christmas and God bless you all!!!!!!