Update #2 (creative title, right?)

So... I am having breakfast with a friend this morning, and I see a crazy number on my phone. Yep, heart to feet...Ahhh, to hear her voice. I was counting on a couple of weeks! I was only able to talk to her for about a minute. All she kept telling me is pay my bills. Hmmmm....That is not what I want to talk about?? LOL. I kept asking questions, and she continues to tell me how to log-in her account to pay the bills.

First, I know she wants her bills paid, but I want to know about my nephew.

Second, did she really think I was listening about the bills? I still want to know about my nephew.

Third, yep you guessed it, because I did not listen I now can not get into her account to PAY HER BILLS.

Hopefully, Braxton can resolve that issue. No one tell Felecia, ok? Ha. If you know Felecia well at all...you know she is 10 days early for everything. Not to worry...I will take care of this.

The good news is....
They have a pre-paid phone.
The bad news is....
They only have 20min. You are probably thinking "Why did they only get 20 min?" Well, I am thinking the same thing. Their translator has left & he is the only one who can add min.
The best news is....
We know how to reach them. We know they are safe.

You did not think this is all I have to say, right?
You want to know more, right?

I passed the number along (which is 12 digits by the way) to Sherry, Tyler's mom, so she could call them. Well, it would not go through. Drama...Me kicking myself thinking I should have let her give me number and not counted on my phone to show correct number. After a little researching, we realized you must dial 011 first (just FYI if you ever need to call Ukraine). That makes it a 15 digit number. This worked...YAY!

She was able to talk to them about 7 min.

This is what we know about my new nephew...
1. He is precious!
2. He has blond hair & blue eyes.

3. He has a rat tail . . . Tyler says a hair cut is in order :-)
4. He is smart.
5. He is very small. I have his measurements in inches. Now, I must decipher to sizes. Help?? Anyone??
6. He loves to sing and dance.
7. He loves Tyler. When they visited the orphanage for a 2nd (maybe 3rd time), he came running to Tyler with his hands in the air to be picked up! Bless his precious heart.
8. He wants Tyler and Felecia to be his mommy and daddy. When the translator asked him could Tyler and Felecia be his mommy and daddy, he responded, "Yes".

This is what we know about the process...
1. Their court date is tentatively September 26th. They have to stay in Ukraine 10 days after the final court date.
2. They get to see him everyday from 10-12.

Tyler and Felecia are very emotional right now. I can only imagine the roller coaster they have been on the past week. They are very excited and ready to be home as a family of three (six if you count the pups).

Please continue to pray for strength during their wait, pray for this precious little boy, pray for a speedy process of paperwork, pray for a compassionate judge, pray for the family here at home worried about a granddaughter, grandson, great-grandchild, daughter, son, grandchild, sister, brother, nephew, and so on...

If you have any questions feel free to email me at themccalebs@yahoo.com. I am not sure how to respond to the comments on here for her. Sorry! Hopefully, i just answered lots of questions.

XOXO, Aunt Cassie

Update...

I just got a phone message from Felecia & Tyler. It was very brief, but we were thrilled to hear all is well...They do not have internet access. She said it would be a couple of weeks (I am guess this is how long it will be before we hear anything). Continue the thoughts and prayers for a smooth process.

Soon-to-offically-be... Aunt Cassie

Appointment

Our appointment went well today. It's amazing to read your encouraging words each time we get to check our email. We got several messages for you all saying people woke up during the middle of the night to pray for us during our appointment since it was 3 am there. That meant the world to us. I can say those prayers where answered without a doubt. The meeting was tough but as soon as we saw HIM we knew HE was ours. We honestly reached for the picture at the same time as they were shutting the binder! We need your prayers for the rest of the journey. We know that we have many more steps to go before HE is ours. We are only beginning the process by selecting HIM. We pick up the paperwork to meet HIM tomorrow at 5 pm. Then we leave on a train that leaves around 7pm to go to Donetsk region. It is along the Russian border. It's a 12 hour train ride. We will ride all night. When we get there on Thursday morning they will take us to the orphange to meet HIM.

Many more details to come as we are allowed to share. They ask that things stay private until things are legal and he is ours. Please pray that day comes soon...

Simmons in Ukraine!

This is Cassie (Felecia's Sister).

I am not a blogger, so hang in there with me...

Today is Felecia and Tyler's Anniversary...what a celebration!! They were celebrating at a Pub by their apartment. The translator suggested it would be a good place, so this was going to be their first outing alone.

I was able to Skype Message with her this morning. We could not get Skype to work, it kept freezing-up on us.

Here are a few tid-bits she shared...
-It took 35 hours to finally make it to Ukraine...she said they were falling asleep standing up!
-The bottled water is horrible.
-Weather is awesome.
-Kiev is beautiful!
-She likes the bacon chips (I believe she said Frito Lay)
-Money Exchange $300USD = $2,394 Hryvnia
-Two meals at McDonalds totaled $50 Hryvnia (about $6 USD...WOW Cheap!)
-She said the food at McDonalds tasted the same to her. She is not a picky eater either though!!

Their appointment is tomorrow at 11am Ukraine Time (3am Central Time). Hopefully, I will be able to chat with her after the appointment tomorrow...

Here are the pictures she sent...

Kiev

Apartment Front

Elevator to Apartment

Hallway to Apartment

Den

Kitchen

Bathroom

Bedroom

Random...

Safe arrival

After about 35 hours we're settled in and finally got a little sleep! It was a great trip over. We are loving everything so far. Our translator is great! Our apartment has hot water, power, and a washer! Too bad we only stay in Kiev for a couple of days! Maybe our region will be just as nice. We are right in the middle of independence circle. We have a beautiful view of the city. I can't wait to post pictures of the beautiful buildings all around us. Thanks to all for prayers and thoughts durin our travels.

Airports

We have been in airports going on 24 hours straight! We only have 1 more stop to go before reaching Ukraine. We have about 8 more hours. Once we reach Ukraine our translator will meet us at the airport. He is going to help us exchange money, get food, and finally take us to our apartment for the next couple of days. Thankfully Ukraine $ isn't worth as much as US. We just bought 2 coffees at the McDonalds in London and it was 8 US bucks! I sure hope teachers make more money here! :)

On the flight over to London we were able to see a piece of God's creation plan.... Looking out the window we could see how night and day really work. We watched the sun set on the US as it rose on Europe... It was the most beautiful picture of how amazing God really is! I love the way He planned every small detail.

Many more posts to come.

Ukraine Here We Come!

We are 4 days from flying out! Honestly, the past couple of weeks have gone so quickly! I thought they would drag because we are so excited but we have had so much stuff to do that it didn't! It has been amazing to see how much so many of you care... We have been beyond blessed by so many. God has worked in our lives in so many different ways along this journey.

Our church group threw us a "Baby Shower" this past Sunday! I am so used to going to other peoples showers and taking gifts but when I walked into this one it was a little odd! I guess I never imagined it being me having the "Baby" or "Kid" in our case! We are so ready for what God has in store for us.

We fly out this Saturday! YAY! Mom is going to take us to the airport to fly out at 1. We won't arrive in Ukraine until 6 on Sunday. Yes, we get to be in the air on September 11th.. On the better end we get to celebrate our anniversary on the 12th in Ukraine!

Our bags are packed and ready to roll out. Thanks to all of you who donated supplies for the orphanages. We have one entire bag of supplies to pass along while in Ukraine. I'll try to remember to post a picture of our luggage. It's pretty impressive to pack for this long of a trip and only take 3 pair of pants and 5 shirts! I know they will be so thankful for all of it.

We will be staying in touch via Blog & Email. Please continue to pray for our travels and our child (or children if you are talking to my sister :).