We have been home a year...I still can not believe it. At times I can remember our journey like it was yesterday...but then many times, it feels like these three angelic beauties have been mine all along. We adopted Varvara, Timofey, and Nina from Ukraine in June of 2010. Really...all I can say is our journey was a total God-thing. It was filled with so many miracles that many find it so hard to believe. Just a few months before we sent our dossier to Ukraine, we received some heartbreaking news. Timofey was in a Ukrainian hospital fighting to live...he was diagnosed with Leukemia. We were devastated to say the least...but we knew the Lord had called us to be Timofey's parents and that's exactly what we were going to do no matter how long we were blessed with being his earthly family. In May of 2010...we arrived in Ukraine still not fully understanding Timofey's condition. We were picked up by two of our facilitators and they briefed us on the children. When they started talking about Timofey, one of the facilitators informed us that he was in bad shape. He advised us to meet Timofey and if we felt we couldn't meet his needs it was okay not to adopt him. As I sat in the car lost in my own thoughts...the other facilitator turned and looked at me. With tears streaming down her face she said, "This might be his only chance." We both knew at that moment what our mission was...it was simply to rescue Timofey. We arrived Nikolaev, Ukraine a few days later. We met our girls and were instantly in love. We were taken to the hospital to meet our son-to-be. The doctor briefed us on his condition and his treatment so far. Then, it was time to meet the sweet boy that I had wanted to hold and kiss for so long. The moment we saw him smile at us...we knew he was our son and we were ecstatic to get the chance to call him that even if he was only with us for a short time.
Later that day, our facilitator met with the judge for our region to explain the extreme urgency for us to get Timofey home and seek medical treatment for him. The judge review his medical records and agreed to expedite our case. A week later, we had our court hearing and were now the parents of three chromosomally enhanced blessings...Nina, Varavara, and Timofey...but the judge quickly stopped us during our celebrating to announce that for the first time in his career...he was waiving our 10 day wait. Talk about a miracle. From our arrival in Ukraine until the time we arrived back home was an amazing 18 days. It truly was a beautiful journey.
Now...a year later, all three of the newest Enskats have taken their place in our family as if they were always here. They are blossoming and developing beautifully. They all attend our local special needs preschool where they receive physical, occupational, and speech therapies. Since arriving home...Varvara has made exceptional improvements. She was unable to walk or chew solid food. Now...we can't keep up with her...she's a little girl on a mission and has learned to run. With the help of a local feeding clinic, Varvara now chews anything she can get her hands on. She is still very delayed in her speech...but she'll get there.
When Nina first came home...she was very cautious of new people and scared of her new surroundings. She was comfortable with us...but when someone unfamiliar came near her, she would cry. Now...this child doesn't know a stranger. She is so outgoing and very social. She loves school and is excelling in all areas. She is like a little parrot repeating everything we say. She is so loving and compassionate to her siblings and classmates. She has really done beautifully being a part of a family. She is curious and loves getting into trouble. When clothes are all out of the drawers...the toilet if full of entire rolls of toilet paper...or someone has used a wall as their coloring book...it's almost always safe to say is was Nina. There is no stopping this little princess. 
Timofey is going great. When we arrived home, Timofey was sent to St. Jude. Doctors there discovered that he had an E. coli infection in his hip which caused his hip to become dislocated. He was treated for the infection and we are just waiting for the doctors to be ready to repair his hip. His Leukemia is in remission too...Praise God. He is a fighter and we are so proud of him. He's been poked and prodded and operated on and he always comes out smiling. He is such a blessing. He has learned to walk using a walker and he also has a wheelchair that he can operate. Since being home...we have had our share of struggles...there were many bad days those first few months. Those bad days have been replaced with difficult moments which happens in all families. Did we every see ourselves going to Ukraine to adopt?...No. But we are so thankful that God chose us to parent three of the sweetest, most loving, and so darn cute orphans no more. This past year has taught us that God doesn't call the qualified to take this journey...He qualifies the called and we are so grateful that he has equipped us to care for these children. The adoption roller coaster has been a wild journey...but we have enjoyed the ride!
To read all about our family...visit our blog http://www.allabouttheenskats.blogspot.com/
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