KARIS YULIYA is ours!!!

We are home, slightly jet-lagged, thrilled to be back with our kids, and waiting... waiting out the mandatory 10-day period before we can go back and pick up Karis.

Court was LONG -and thorough- but not bad.

Quick highlights of the trip...

1. Attending church with Karis on Easter... a 3-hour Russian Orthodox service in which all are required to stand. It was a beautiful experience. We'll never forget it.

2. Seeing the orphans' faces light up when we passed out Mrs. Shook's classes' (and my video classes') Easter goody bags. Thanks to Mrs. Shook and her students for coordinating this missions effort. We were thrilled to be the deliverers! And, who would have ever guessed... the children, in Russia, had never seen plastic Easter eggs!

3. Finally meeting Catherine who adopted her daughter (same orphanage) the same day we did! Looking forward to traveling with you again, friend!

4. Having Karis show up at our door, at 7 am, in her PJs to greet us! She waited up all night for us to arrive!

5. Coloring Easter Eggs with Karis and her friend, Masha.

6. Learning how to play "Lapta" (Russian baseball) in Karis' "physical training" class which happens to be her favorite class!

7. Finding a cafe in Bryansk that served PIZZA!

8. Meeting FOUR men named Sergey in one day! Three of the Sergeys were our drivers, and one of them shared our train cabin.

9. Receiving wonderfully long, informative emails from my mom about how our kids were doing. She made sure to include their activities and funny things they said... it helped us cope with missing them. (Thanks, Mom!) Also, receiving Bible verses from the Bergeron family that helped lift us up when we would become worried.

10. THE JUDGE GRANTING THE ADOPTION!!! And seeing Karis' BIG smile, as a result!

There's no doubt, God is good... and faithful. Thanks to ALL for your prayers during this trip!

~Kevin and Emily