SUNNY IN SUMY!!

I'll let you know right up front - Sorry no pictures. Hope you'll follow along anyway. The landlady didn't pay her internet bill in Kiev, so we lost our connection. Not to worry. We are now in Sumy. It has been a long and exhausting day. That's what happens when you start at 2:30 am. Margie and Ari, I wish you could have been here when we met Zhenya. I can't even begin to express how great that moment was. He had been waiting, and even though he believed we were coming, I think a little concern had crept in. He was soooo happy - a totally different demeanor. We got a lot of the paper work done. It couldn't have gone any better. Our one big hurdle will be trying to get his birth certificate from Russia, so please keep praying for us. Our next step is the court date. We will let you know. We haven't even unpacked yet,so I don't know where my flash drive is, or even if I packed it. I will look and then we can send pictures. We had a great time at the orphanage. The director was great. He showed us a room that had lots of memorabilia from an American/Russian colaboration on an american aircraft during the 2nd World War. It was neat and he was very proud of it. He took us to another room filled with lots of old tools, costumes, weavings, etc. mostly from the Sumy region. He apologized for not having enough time to spend with us and invited us back for a more detailed tour. Having my grandmother being from Ukraine was a big plus. He really likes us - a huge bonus for us. Can't wait to share the pictures. We will deliver all the packages, letters, etc. tomorrow. We are sharing an apt. in Sumy with Bill and Leslie Strader who hosted this last year. It was so great to visit with Zhenya. We were able to talk with him for a long time, and he still wants to come home with us!
The best part of the day - When Natasha asked Zhenya if he had anymore questions for us and he said "When do we go home." Love you all. More later.