The Quest for Our Princess

I apologize if this post is all over the place but I didn’t get much sleep last night on the train. I tried to get Shawn to write today but he is sleeping as he has been doing most of this trip J

We have a daughter!! Iryna Udovycheako is the one God has chosen for us!! She is so precious and just perfect in my eyes! We went to her new orphanage today (she was just moved from her original orphanage on Tuesday). We met with the orphanage director first and he was very nice. He asked us a couple questions and then went and got Iryna. When she first came in, my heart started racing. She came over to us right away and gave us a picture she drew. I will treasure this picture forever. It was a nice ice-breaker because we talked about what she drew. We asked her a bunch of questions and then brought out some goodies we brought her. Her eyes lit up right away and she asked if she could have one. Then she asked if she could bring the rest to share with her class. That’s my girl…already wanting to share! The visit was a little awkward but it was nice. After she left, we talked with her teacher and the medical nurse on staff. They had nothing but good things to say about her except that she had the one seizure in February, has a speech delay and was “mentally retarded”(if you know me well, you know I hate this word). None of that changed my mind about adopting her because we can work on all of that. They were still giving me doubt because we wanted to decide right away. The director showed us around the school part and it was amazing. They have the kids working on wood projects and the girls working on sewing and stitching. We have some pictures below of what the older kids are working on. We went back towards her classroom to see her again and she came and gave Shawn and I a hug right away. The girls adored Shawn and wouldn’t leave his side. They loved his watch and kept holding on to his arm. One girl pointed to herself and said “Mommy” and right away, Iryna pointed to herself and told the other girl “No, my mommy”! We left there knowing that she was the one but we still wanted to go to her old orphanage because they know her the best and we wanted to know more about her.

After some lunch and checking in the hotel (which is not much of a hotel), we headed to her old orphanage. We met with her caregivers and started asking a bunch of questions. They confirmed that she had a seizure but it was nothing big, they only took her to the hospital to be cautious. They did say she has a speech delay but they don’t feel that she is “mentally retarded” as the paper work says. They said that she has learned anything they have given her and she loves being a leader. She is very ambitious and loves to help. The reason why she doesn’t know any of her letters or numbers is because they don’t teach that there. As you can see in the pictures below, the room was designed for children in pre-school or lower. They had it this way because most of the other children are mentally challenged and because she had low oxygen when born, they automatically think the child is going to be delayed so they label them with mental retardation. The orphanages never want to change it because they want to keep the children so they get funding. (Sounds like our school system!) The caregivers loved seeing our pictures of the boys and said that she will love having little brothers. The days before she was moved, she cried a lot saying that she didn’t want to leave because no one would adopt her at the older school and all she wanted was a family. Shawn and I both started crying! They were getting emotional as well knowing that her wishes were granted and she finally got a family! We are so exhausted from today but it was a day I will never forget. Just like when having a baby…you never forget the first time you see your child. I will never forget seeing her as she walked in the room. So beautiful and so much my daughter!