I keep meaning to tell our story about coming home ... partly because my dad keeps reminding me I meant to, and partly just for my own memory keeping. I feel like it might get long & rambly though, so I added a bunch of pictures, in case you'd like to skim & just see Lil's cute face!
That Friday was a very long, stressful day of waiting. We were told 'Uncle' Niko (our driver & sometime translator) would pick up Lil's passport, take us to her medical visit, and our embassy appointment would be at 2:00. I packed a bag to be out all day - and we sat & waited. I called Niko at 11:00 - he said he'd call when he was on his way. After 1:30, he finally called to tell us he was on his way. My heart sunk - I figured we'd get to the medical, and have to do the embassy on Monday.
When we got in the car around 2:00, we raced to the medical exam. Niko told me that our embassy appointment was changed to 3:00, so we could still make it, if we hurried. I was skeptical, but hopeful...
The medical appointment was super speedy and brief, and we left there very close to 3:00 ... luckily, for once, the 2 places were on the same side of the river, and we made it there relatively quickly.
The Embassy is a little strange - it's an office building, nothing fancy, but it can feel like an oasis. In all the foreignness, it's like walking in from the heat into an air conditioned building - it's very refreshing to walk in & know there are Americans there to help you (and the Ukrainian people who work there are super, too). The embassy stop was brief - they had all our paperwork ahead of time & just needed the medical papers from the doctor & Lil's passport. They printed her visa for emigration right into her passport, and we were on our way.
I was pretty stunned, but it was all done! I emailed Brian to let him know, and he emailed me back right away, asking if he should call the travel agent. Originally, we were unable to get tickets out on the weekend (without either being stranded in Chicago late Saturday, or taking 4 or more flights to get home, through unfamiliar airports ... say what you will about Chicago, but I know that airport well).
And so in a matter of an hour or so, I went from leaving on Monday, to leaving the next morning! Now, on Monday, we would have been sharing our first leg of the journey from Kiev to Germany with some friends from back home who were on a mission trip - how cool that would've been! And even though I wanted to take Lil to do some sightseeing that weekend ... we ditched our plans & headed home. Thank goodness, too, because she ended up so sick that weekend.
I called to talk to Uncle Niko about our ride to the airport, and then our facilitator called to clarify that we were leaving earlier, and to say good-bye. That's when we found out Niko would also be driving another family to the airport at the same time! Remember when I was blogging about fundraising for Freddie? Well, his new family was going home (without Freddie, as they still had to wait for paperwork), so Lyndi, her husband & her son would be on our flight to Germany!
We got up at 3:00am & were picked up at 4:00 - our flight left around 6:30. It was a loooong day!
When we got in the car around 2:00, we raced to the medical exam. Niko told me that our embassy appointment was changed to 3:00, so we could still make it, if we hurried. I was skeptical, but hopeful...
The medical appointment was super speedy and brief, and we left there very close to 3:00 ... luckily, for once, the 2 places were on the same side of the river, and we made it there relatively quickly.
The Embassy is a little strange - it's an office building, nothing fancy, but it can feel like an oasis. In all the foreignness, it's like walking in from the heat into an air conditioned building - it's very refreshing to walk in & know there are Americans there to help you (and the Ukrainian people who work there are super, too). The embassy stop was brief - they had all our paperwork ahead of time & just needed the medical papers from the doctor & Lil's passport. They printed her visa for emigration right into her passport, and we were on our way.
I was pretty stunned, but it was all done! I emailed Brian to let him know, and he emailed me back right away, asking if he should call the travel agent. Originally, we were unable to get tickets out on the weekend (without either being stranded in Chicago late Saturday, or taking 4 or more flights to get home, through unfamiliar airports ... say what you will about Chicago, but I know that airport well).
And so in a matter of an hour or so, I went from leaving on Monday, to leaving the next morning! Now, on Monday, we would have been sharing our first leg of the journey from Kiev to Germany with some friends from back home who were on a mission trip - how cool that would've been! And even though I wanted to take Lil to do some sightseeing that weekend ... we ditched our plans & headed home. Thank goodness, too, because she ended up so sick that weekend.
I called to talk to Uncle Niko about our ride to the airport, and then our facilitator called to clarify that we were leaving earlier, and to say good-bye. That's when we found out Niko would also be driving another family to the airport at the same time! Remember when I was blogging about fundraising for Freddie? Well, his new family was going home (without Freddie, as they still had to wait for paperwork), so Lyndi, her husband & her son would be on our flight to Germany!
We got up at 3:00am & were picked up at 4:00 - our flight left around 6:30. It was a loooong day!
In the Kiev airport
I picked up this little stroller in the Darnytsia shopping district for 300 hrivnas (about $40)
on the plane, playing with Lyndi's Carmex
A man switched seats with Lyndi, so she sat next to us & across the aisle from her family ... I told Lyndi I was very impressed with how helpful the Reece's Rainbow team is, because she was my stateside helper for my paperwork, and now she's helping me fly Lil home - That's full service!
Look! We're in Germany!
We had like a 7 hour layover in Germany - and so did Lyndi's family. It was nice to have company, and entertainment for Lil...
playing ball w/Jordan
I'm pretty sure the kids scared the Germans - look at all the glass, and they're throwing a ball around!? But it was a very soft little ball.
Checking out our plane
Oddly, this plane had all its bathrooms downstairs. There was a section in the middle where there were stairs, and several bathrooms down there. Lil was not thrilled about the stairs, but she braved them a couple times.
Good-bye Europe ...
Hello, America!
The overseas flight to Chicago was LONG & stressful - Lil was sick (note she's not wearing the shirt in Chicago that she started the day in). It was a very long day, she wasn't feeling well (we found out a couple days later she had a throat & ear infection) and I think she was a little motion sick - after all, she'd barely been in a car before, and here we were flying for hours on end.
We had seats that had permanent arm rests between them, so I couldn't easily snuggle her up to me, but I made her a little nest on her seat & tried to keep her as comfortable as I could. The flight attendants were very kind, but there wasn't really much they could do for her, either.
It was such a relief when we finally landed in Chicago! We rushed through customs & immigration, bought some yogurt, banana & water & headed to the terminal for our local flight. Lil was perked up so much once we got on the ground!
It was tricky having the stroller, and our flight was leaving from a very small terminal downstairs (because we had to walk outside to the plane, too). When we got off the elevator at our departure terminal, there were 4 flights leaving from this one little room, packed with people. Lining the hallway from the elevator to the desk was a whole group of adults with Down syndrome! It was a Special Olympics group, and I thought it was a wonderful welcome home.
We weren't seated together on our flight home, but luckily a man agreed to change seats with me, rather than babysit Lil ;) And that flight was wonderful (it's only about 40 minutes long) - and then we were HOME!
I know Brian blogged about meeting us at the airport already, and this is long enough ... but boy, was it great to be home!!
Thanks so much for sharing your story. I had been wondering too. Sarah was VERY bummed she missed meeting Lil over there, but hopes to meet her soon. I'm curious though, how did you manage a suitcase and a stroller at the same time through customs???
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