Holy, Holy, Holy!

Hello to everyone. This is James again. Penny let me on here again. Hee! Hee!
We sure do miss all of you. I guess you all heard about our court date. All Glory to God for it. It was wonderful and we now are the parents of two great boys. I guess you can call them the Holcombe boys. : ) I love them sooooooo much. They love to wrestle with me and now Penny even gets in on it. Today was a great day. We went to the orphanage this afternoon. But before we went there we went to a pharmacy for some antibiotics, nasal spray, and their brand of TheraFlu. Believe it or not antibiotics are only about a dollar here and they are sold over the counter. We had a guy in their with us that was visiting his parents in Ukraine and is from Ukraine himself and now lives in Russia. He helped us interpret what we needed to the lady at the pharmacy. Rick and Melissa were with us and told him that his English was great and that was all it took. He then tried to talk our ears off. It was ok until he followed us out to the taxi and started to tell us a dirty joke. We all jumped in the taxi and took off. Wew. Then we went from there to a toy store and returned a toy that didn't work to them and they were so nice, I think, cause they were speaking Ukraine and they could have been calling us whatever, but at least they were smiling and did let us exchange the toy. We exchanged it for a whole bag of army men (USA army men, Go red, white, and blue!!) I keep telling Penny when they mess with us here and look at us funny that I may have to call in a air strike. LOL. Just kidding of course. The only jet I want to see is a 747 headed back to Birmingham. Well, after the toy store we went on to the orphanage. As you can see by the pics the boys were just sitting down to eat in each of their rooms. Luke wanted to get up and come with us but they made him eat first and as you can see, he was none too happy. But they did finish and came together with us in a small room we have to play in due to the weather. Yes, it is still cold and rainy here. Its been a while since we have been able to go outside and the boys are going stir crazy along with us. But we have had great time to bond with them and also with the other boys and girls at the orphanage. They are such a blessing. Penny and I both continuously pray over them that they get a good home soon also. I wish we could bring them all home. Its going to be real hard to leave them in a little over a week knowing I will never seen them again. I love them all. We share cookies and goodies of all kinds with them on a regular basis. You would think that you gave them the world when you give them one piece of candy. They are sooooo appreciative and so eager to have someone love them, if only for a minute. They lots of times have called us mama and papa. It tears us up and makes us cry. They are so precious. We had a good time with the boys today. They loved the army men and the ball we brought them. But I still think most of all they like to use mama and papa for wrestling partners. After leaving the orphanage we where on the way back to the hotel (where we have called home for the last 5 weeks) when Tola our favorite cab driver took a different road and took us to a Catholic monastery with the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Tola took us inside and he got some candles and before we could get far a nun came up to Penny and Melissa and made them put on a head covering and a skirt. They were so cute. We couldn't take pics inside. They made us put up our cameras, but trust me, it was beautiful. So many painting on the walls and on the ceilings of Jesus, Mary, and St. Nicholas. It was breath taking. I'm not Catholic but I really did feel the presence of the Lord in that place. The nuns were singing and it was great. At 6 pm Tola called us over and had us light a candle and place it among many others. I don't know what it meant, but on an individual basis I can say that to Penny and I we were lighting a candle to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Well I have to go now, but remember "To be Christian is to be Christ-like." We are to imitate our Lord and not the world that is of the devil. Our home is truly were our heart is. So please if you don't have Jesus in your heart, ask him in. Then your home will be Heaven when you leave this earth (which could be in the next minute) instead of and eternity of torment in Hell. We love you all. Keep us in your prayers. Thanks to all that have emailed us. You really have keep our spirits up high and it gives us something to look forward to everyday. Martha Wallace, we love you so much. You have emailed us almost everyday with encouragment and prayer. Thank you. Sister Cathy keep Pastor straight and I know you went through a lot to get him to finally understand how to blog. LOL. We love both of the new grandmas so very much. Thanks for all you have done. We love you all and miss you very much.

James, Penny, Luke, and Micah (The Holcombe Family in Ukraine)

A Great Day, Praise God!

This afternoon we celebrated by eating Pizza at our favorite Pizza place. We went to the orphanage and when we pulled up there was a big tour bus there. We went upstairs to the music room and it was full of people. We heard a familiar sound. The sound of of people speaking English but not just any English it was Southern English. There was a group of about 30 people from a church in North Georgia. They are a choir touring. There were also several people with them from local Christian churches. They came to sing to the kids, give out toys and bananas. Once they found out we were there to adopt they all started asking us a million questions about our journey. We felt like celebrities with the paparazzi all around us.

We got to sing Jesus Loves the Little Children and How Great is Our God with them. They taught the kids a song in Russian. We also spoke with a Pastor from here in Ukraine and told him we were here adopting. The most moving thing happened next. A girl came up to me and had tears in her eyes. She said she was from here in Ukraine and she wanted to thank us from the bottom of her heart for adopting their children here in Ukraine. We embraced and I told her how much that meant to me. Most of the Ukrainians do not approve of Americans adopting here because they hear or see horror stories on the TV about kids being abused and are afraid we are taking them back to abuse them. There was one such story not too long ago about a couple from Chicago adopting and abusing the kids. She said most of these people who think that, are not Christians and do not understand the love that God has placed in our heart for these children.

Micah clung to James once he saw us due to all the strangers being around. He would not let James put him down. There were so many toys the kids did not know what to think. Micah's favorite was a balloon.

God has truly blessed us. We cannot begin to tell you all the prayers He has answered since we have been here.

Martha- we were sitting outside of court about the time you were praying. We felt such peace when we walked in that room I cannot describe it. The judge was a very nice man.

Please continue to pray for Rick and Melissa. They will go to court on Friday. Also, Melissa is not feeling well so pray for her health. It has turned so cold and rains everyday and we no longer have heat.

The past 2 mornings James has woke up at 7:11. Normally we don't wake up until the alarm goes off at 7:15. He felt led to go to the gospels and do some research. He came across the scripture in Matthew 7:11. "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him". This confirmed what a great gift God has given us thru these children.

Well the countdown is on. We will continue to visit with the boys until we can pick them up. We love you all and look forward to coming home soon. I'm so ready to eat some Las Brisas I can taste it.

With all God's Love and Ours,

Penny, James, Luke and Micah

The Boys Are Officially Ours!

Good Morning to all of you. We couldn't wait to blog and let everyone know that our court went very well and the boys are officially ours. When we finally got to go in it only lasted about 15 minutes. The judge asked us to stand up and state our names, birthdate, birthplace and our address. He asked us several more questions and we took turns standing and anwering. We told him we petitioned to change the boys names officially to James Luke Holcombe and Micah Paul Holcombe. He said congratulations to the new young parents. My eyes welled up with tears as I realized they are offically ours! He shook our hands and we said thank you. I said thank you in Russian and he was surprised I knew how to say that.

We now wait 10 days starting tomorrow (yes weekend days count) and we will pick up our boys a week from this coming Friday. Thank you for all your prayers, thoughts and comments! We will blog again later and post pictures.

Love,

Penny, James, Luke and Micah Holcombe

Spidy Spun His Web Today

Hello everyone,

We hope you are having a wonderful Sunday. It is still raining and cold here. Today we took the boys 2 Spiderman figures that light up. They were so excited. Within 15 seconds Micah broke 1 arm off of his. Within 30 minutes he broke the other arm. They loved going in the toy closet and pushing the lights on them. They would shine the light in our eyes and we would pretend they zapped us and fall down. They would giggle and Micah would pull me back up to do it again.

The boys like chewing gum so I bought some more. Luke likes to chew his and get the taste out then get another piece. That's the picture you see with his mouth open and full of gum.

Today's cab rides were very funny. We had a new driver in a bright green car. He spoke no English but he carried on a conversation with James the entire ride. Also, He kept playing some of the old Russian type music and the more James would dance or act like he liked it the louder he would turn it up. Melissa, Rick and me could not hear by the time we got out.

Tomorrow is our court day and please pray. We have no doubt everything will go fine. All the formalities may take an hour. We are looking forward to getting this part over with so we can start our count down to pick up the boys.

There is another picture of a wedding that took place right outside our hotel at the little Catholic Chapel.

Well, we need to go to bed and get some rest for tomorrow. We love you and will blog tomorrow to let everyone know how court went.

Love and Blessings,

Penny, James, Luke and Micah

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

Hello Everyone,

We have had a very good day. We started out with our usual routine; breakfast at 8:30; taxi at 9:00am and then off to the orphanage to visit with the boys. The boys are about to go stir crazy. None of the kids have been able to go outside and play because of the rain and being too cold.

We wrestled; played and the boys ate pears. Today I gave them sugar free gum to chew to see what they would do. They both chewed it but it was a little hot for Micah (spearmint). Luke spit his out and wanted more but when we wouldn't give him more he whined to his caregiver (see picture above) and she went and got him more. Oh well, that's the language barrier. Micah got in trouble several times but in the end he always ends up laughing and gives us both big kisses.

We left the orphanage and started hearing car horns blowing. There were cars behind us going to a wedding. On top of the car are wedding rings and rest is decorated with flowers and streamers. They were bringing the groom to the wedding. Tola pulled over and told us to take pictures. There were actually 3 weddings going on. We got there just in time to see the groom carry out the bride and kiss. Everyone was holding up flowers instead of blowing bubbles or throwing rice. I have another picture of the traditional wedding bread called korovay. I will have to add that picture later because the button for adding pics stopped working.

We went to a toy store that Melissa and Rick found. It was really neat and the toys are pretty cheap. We got a few more things for the boys so they will have plenty to play with when we get back to Kiev.

We left the toy store and went to the supermarket (see pictures above). There are 3 stories. On the 1st floor there is a cell phone place, ATM's and a supermarket. You cannot carry anything into the supermarket that you bought somewhere else or carry in a backpack. Ladies are allowed to take in their purses. You have to lock up your things in a locker. There are security guards standing up from to make sure you don't bring anything in. You have to purchase bags or brings them with you like our Aldi stores. After you check out you can bag everything and go to your locker to get anything you may have locked up. On the 2nd floor there is an electronics store. This is where I bought me a hairdryer for about 12.00 American dollars. They have clothing stores, jewelry and a health and beauty aids store. On the 3rd floor there is a casino and restaurant.

Mom and Betty- we have added a picture of Tola our favorite driver. Don't fight over him ladies!

Tonight after dinner we went out from to see a little puppy that was in a box in the vestibule. She looks like a lab. Melissa fed her some mystery meat and she gobbled it all up. She has 6 toes on her back feet. I don't recall that being normal. We will try to get a picture of her tomorrow if she is still there. Also, a cat came up and James stratched her head. She wouldn't go away. She was so pitiful because she could not even meow. While we were sitting there several people kept coming outside and everyone was trying to feed the puppy. A man came out and said something to me in Russian and grabbed my hand to help me stand up. I don't know if he was saying I was getting dirty or if he was saying my backside would get cold but as I was wiping off my pants he brushed his hand across my backside to help me. I was gropped by a Russian senior citizen. We all laughed about it.

Well it's time for bed and James is sitting here trying to get one of the boys toys to work. We think we realize now why they were acting like they did not want us to buy it at the toy store. Also, why it was marked down 20 grivna.

Aultman's- I can picture Las Brisas and I can't wait to go there when we get back home. I miss Mexican food!

Jon and Pam- Let me know about the Auburn game. I hear you also have some news.

FWC- We miss you and wish we could be there worshipping with you tomorrow.

Chris G- James keeps trying to pick you out a girlfriend.

Love and miss everyone,

Penny, James, Luke and Micah

Feeling Much Better

Hello everyone,

Let me start out by saying a BIG thank you to everyone that prayed, commented and called. Pastor your calls always mean soooo much to us. I began feeling much better not too long after you prayed for us. My cold is better and I give God all the glory. We are also feeling much better about our court date. Sometimes life throws you some curves but God is right around the corner to straighten your path. We will go to court on Monday at 9:30am which will be 1:30am Alabama time. Natalya will come here Sunday and we will go thru some questions they may ask. Don't worry I have given James strict instructions to only answer questions and not to elaborate. (ha ha, that's a little joke for everyone that know him very well). We will start our 10 day waiting period on Tuesday. On the 11th day we can pick up the boys and then we get their passports and medical exams. This usually takes 3-4 days (as long as there are no missing signatures). We thought about getting the taxi driver's signature, the girl at the supermarket and someone from the pizza parlor to sign something. Just kidding!

We are hoping to be out of here and on our way home by October 8th and maybe sooner.
Also, a word of advise for anyone planning a trip to adopt and you are flying Northwest they have an adoption discount. We did not know this and they are saying that since we did not take advantage of this when we arranged our flight we cannot get it now. So be sure and ask about it when you plan your flight.

There are several pictures today of people we interact with on a daily basis. The lady in the white coat with me(and my red nose) is over the dinning hall. She is so sweet. She came by one day and James had not eaten his carrots and she pointed to her eyes and told him to Kushai(eat). While I was not feeling well I did not go eat and she told James (by motioning) to take me something to eat. The lady in the pink sweater is the Assistant Director at the orphanage. She is the first one we met on our first visit. She is so sweet and attempts to speak English to us. She is actually getting pretty good. The lady in the red sweater with red hair is the accountant here at the hotel. She will hunt you down when it is time to pay. She was not very friendly when we first started staying here but now that she has learned we are adopting she smiles and is very friendly. You will notice all the grivna on her desk. That is our rent money for the next week. We go in and point to a calendar how long we will stay and she writes us a receipt. Also notice the board they use for counting.

Today we went to visit the boys and it started out with Luke watching Buzby and eating peechyana (cookie). I went downstairs and got Micah as he came back from dance class. When he arrived on the scene it became very noisy and of course he starts wrestling and screaming with James. The director came in and said something to Micah. Next thing the Assistant Director came in and told the boys to come with her. She also wanted us to come with her. I said "See James you got us in trouble".
She took us to a big playroom with lots of nice toys and said "Play". The boys had a blast. This is where they hide all the good toys. They ran from toy to toy playing. Luke loved a computer that was shaped like a turtle. Micah kept playing with a metal top. They both took turns on the rocking horse. Luke got out a Dr's kit and took everything out then placed all the pieces right back where they belong. He is so smart! He also took all the magnetic numbers and letters and put them on a board. He was so proud. Meanwhile; Micah was busy taking the batteries out of a toy to see how it worked. Again, Mr Inquisitive.

Today was the 1st time the boys saw James without his goatee. They didn't even notice. Maybe because it is already starting to grow back. Yeah!

The pictures of all the woodwork are handcarved and are in the 1st room of the orphanage. They have so much detail and are beautiful.

I must tell you we have learned to have fun on our cab rides. One of our regular driver's Tola carries on a conversation and we have no idea what he is saying. We finally figured out today that he was saying he is a grandfather. One was just born yesterday. James sits up front and makes up things. This morning Tola said something and James replies yes I've shopped at Dillard's but I've never worked there. We all just laugh and have a good time and Tola laughs with us.

It is still rainy and cold but Praise God we finally have heat. I actually hang our clothes over the heaters in our room to dry. Don't worry they heat with hot water only so nothing will catch on fire.

Good news for Melissa and Rick. They will have their court date on Friday the 26th. I so glad we have had each other to lean on.

Moms- thanks for your phone calls and supporting us yesterday. You don't know how much it means to us.

Kenny- James is looking forward to a bar-b-que when we get back. Just promise us no mystery meat! They even put it in our soup today. Yuck!

Again, thanks to everyone who has commented. I wish we could email you back but we pay for the internet by the minute.

All our love,

Penny, James, Luke and Micah