Snow in Georgia!!

We tried to make sure William understood that when he got to America he shouldn't expect to see snow. But we got some last night!

For our northern friends and those in Ukraine this wouldn't even be worth writing about, but we were very happy to get it! William was very excited to get to play in the snow for a few minutes after dinner. It was a great motivator to get him to eat a big meal!

I'm sure there was a huge rush on milk and bread at all the grocery stores around metro Atlanta last night. Several school systems even closed today. But the streets were fine this morning in our area and everything was business as usual for us... which is good, because our boy would have been disappointed to miss a day of school.


Also, here is a new video of William, saying his full name, age, and the COMPLETE version of his memory verse including the scripture reference.

I Love You Five... and Roll Call for Blog Lurkers

Some of the things we’ve been hearing the past few weeks…

I love you three... I love you four... I love you five... (It’s a game now, ever since I first told him “I love you too”)

William he like church. Really, really, really big.

Mama look.

Daddy look.

I’m REALLY strong.

Adie sweet baby.

William big boy.

Everything God made was very good. Genesis 1:31

(After eating a big dinner) William tummy big. Daddy tummy big. Mama tummy little. Teeny tiny. (He’s quickly learning the art of flattery!)

William I like spaghetti – more please.

Dear God, thank you for Jesus. Amen.

He is an amazing kid and we're convinced he’s a genius!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, I’m taking my friend Deanna’s lead and calling this “De-Lurking Week”. I know there are A LOT of people who come on here and read but never say 'hi'. Everyday I have someone different tell me that they've been following the blog... typically someone who has never commented. Well here’s your chance... click on Comments and leave a short message so we’ll know you stopped by! At some point we'll turn this blog into a book and it will be nice for William to see all the people throughout the country (and the world!) that wanted to be a part of his journey to America.

Trip Photos

Be sure to look at the very bottom of our blog for some photos from our trip...

And thanks to our very special new friends for sending us pics of William from 2 years ago - what a precious little 3 year old!

What a Difference a Month Makes!

We've offically been a family for just over a month now

(Gotcha Day December 3rd)

This is our first family picture (Nov. 9, 2007) - the day we met our boy, 2 months ago today...

And here is our first official family portrait, taken this past weekend by my friend Billy...
I first met Billy when I was going through chemotherapy at Egleston. He and one of the art therapists there put together an art show based on some of the kids and teens that were dealing with cancer, and I was invited to participate. Several years ago, the art show was turned into a book (click HERE to check out the book). Thanks for your kindness and friendship, Billy - this is one portrait that will be treasured for many years to come!!

William has made incredible progress in the past month. His vocabulary increases everyday. He is extremely helpful around the house and enjoys playing with the neighborhood kids. He likes to say his own prayer before bed each night. He loves church and school and always wants to know what's coming up the next day. He is learning to write his name and knows at least 10 colors in English.

Each day is another chance for William to grow and for us to love him. Each day is further realization of how much God loves us. He has given us an amazing gift in this wonderful, precious little man. And yet, as great as our son is to us, God gave us the greatest gift of all when He sent His Son to earth to die for our sins. Having a son really drives home the huge sacrifice that this had to be for God. So each day we pray that William will begin to understand the amazing love that God has for us, and that he will one day accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

And in this new year, we also pray this for all our friends and family. May God bless you richly in 2008 and beyond!

First day of preschool

I know some of you were probably wanting to know how William's first day of preschool went. Well... he loved it!

Zack took him and he was all smiles until he realized Zack wasn't staying. He looked a little sad, but no tears. When Zack picked him up, his teachers said he did great. He talked the rest of the day about it, and is anxious to go back on Monday (he goes Monday - Thursday for 4 hours each day). We're relieved that it went so well.

I asked him if he has friends at school and he said yes. I named a few of the kids that I remembered, and he came back with 3 or 4 more names... ALL GIRLS. Plus, 2 of the girls had made things for him to take home. I know Zack is beaming with pride!

So his first day was a success. Mom's first day back to work was okay too - I was a little teary-eyed on the drive in yesterday morning, but I managed to make it and even came back for another day today! It's actually kind of nice for all of us to get into a routine.

William has a memory verse for the month of January. We worked on it for about 5 minutes today and he is doing GREAT with it already...

Everything God made was very good.
Genesis 1:31

The Best Christmas Ever!

Sorry it's been a while, but life has been busy! William is doing remarkably well, and he had a great Christmas (as did we all!).

Santa was very good to William - well, everyone has been very good to him actually! He's gotten hooked up with clothes, toys, books, puzzles, games, etc. His big Santa item was a Power Wheel jeep, which he loves.

His language skills are improving rapidly, and his English comprehension is beyond what we could even imagine at this point. He and Adie continue to be the best of friends. He enjoys coloring, painting, puzzles, and Bible Man. He also loves dressing up as Batman (thanks Joey, Kristy, Anna & Alli!!). He has been to church several times now - the first time in Sunday School brought tears, but he now really likes it.

Things are going well for our family. We have quickly gotten used to this new and wonderful life. Zack started back to work on the Friday before Christmas, and I will go back this Thursday. William will also start preschool on Thursday. He's visited with his class twice already, including attending their Christmas party. He seems to be excited about going to school, and asks how many days until he gets to go.

Oh, by the way, William is becoming more of an American by the day. He really enjoys his chicken nugget Happy Meals now, and asks for pizza all the time!

We don't have any big New Years Eve plans, but we made sure William got a long nap so he can stay up late if he wants. What a wonderful way to ring in the new year - with our son!!

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!

We Love Our Son!!!!

I know some of you have been checking in to see how things are going. But to be perfectly honest, we’ve been having too much fun bonding as a family to think about the blog!

William has had the chance to meet all 6 grandparents and 3 great-grandparents, 3 uncles, 1 aunt, and 2 cousins, plus a few friends. He’s been to church, Target, Chick-fil-A, the mall, Wal-Mart, Old Navy, Frontera, and Shane’s Rib Shack. He visited a preschool class to check it out (we'll enroll after the first of the year). He helped us decorate the Christmas tree yesterday and loved that. And today we had a fun trip to see Santa! He is doing incredibly well.

He and Adie (our Jack Russell Terrier) are virtually inseparable. She has been our only child for 8 ½ years, but looks like we’ve lost her now :) She always sleeps right next to him, and they play very well together.

Our house has been over-run by Spiderman and all his superhero friends. I don’t know if William will understand the concept of Christmas gifts, because so far every day since he’s arrived home has been like Christmas. We landed in Atlanta with not much more than the clothes on his back. His drawers and closet are now busting at the seams, and all the toy baskets are quickly filling.

His personality has really come out. He apparently has my [obsessive] desire for order, and Zack’s love of sports. He even tends to be a bit sarcastic like the two of us! He always wants to help, no matter what we're doing. It's so nice to have someone who likes to clear the dishes from the table - I wish that would last!! He is a perfect fit for our family and we can’t imagine life without him. Thanks to all of our friends and family for the support you’ve given. We can’t wait for everyone to get the chance to meet him!

Home!

We made it! On Friday December 7 at approximately 5:15 PM ET, Master William Hoyt Dove officially became a citizen of the USA.

William is named for 2 grandfathers and one great-grandfather. My dad is William Charles, and Zack's dad is Benjamin Hoyt. Zack's grandfather was William Hoyt.

We appreciate the 3 sets of grandparents, Josh, and Paula for coming to the airport to welcome us home. It was so nice to see familiar faces as we came up the escalator!

William was so precious last night. Each night since we've had him, we kneel next to the bed and fold our hands to say prayers. Last night as we went in our room he went over to the bed and folded his hands, then looked at Zack and nodded his head. So we knelt and prayed together for the first time at our home as a family of 3. We are so incredibly thankful for the wonderful gift that God has given us!

We went to bed early and got a decent night's sleep but were all up by 4:30 this morning, so William is down for a nap now. Adie is in there protecting him - they are getting along so well!

We think it is starting to sink in

Some Random Photos

Balshoi Deal... Nyet!

We had an interesting day here in Kyiv. We found out that Zack has the Russian Vocabulary of a parrott. He can only repeat words he has heard said over 100 times and even then, they are not exactly right. It's like Southern Russian, redneck Russian. Our son just looks at him sometimes like he has no idea.

We were able to get his Visa finished. It was nice to be on American soil even if only for an hour or so. We are all ready to go home now. As soon as the plane lands, our Little Guy will be an American Citizen and we will let him tell his new name to the few who choose to brave the Atlanta rush hour traffic to meet us.


We ate at McDonald's last night- he didn't like Chicken McNuggets and wasn't too crazy about french fries.

Tonight we ate pizza and he ate about half a piece and was not at all impressed. Maybe when he gets home and tastes Rudy's or Johnny's or Cardamuro's Pizza he will be converted.



The goal for tomorrow is to explore as much of Kyiv as possible and wear out the boy as much as possible and let him stay up as late as he wants so that he will sleep on the flights going home. Tomorrow night we'll try to post some pictures from our adventures.

Countdown to Going Home!

We are Little Guy's forever parents now!! We picked him up on Monday morning along with his new birth certificate and his passport. Then we headed for Kyiv. It was a VERY long drive. We were in the southern-most part of the Donetsk region, in a town called Mariupol. We left the orphanage around 11:00, stopped in Donetsk (city) for a couple of hours, then hit the road. We arrived at our apartment at almost 1:00 AM!!

This morning we went to the medical center for LG's medical evaluation, then went to the embassy to apply for his visa. We'll go back tomorrow afternoon to pick up the visa and that's it! We'll have one last day in Kyiv on Thursday to walk around and explore (hopefully the rain will be gone!) and then we fly home on Friday morning, via Vienna.

We are so happy to finally have our boy with us. He is doing exceptionally well with everything. He slept well last night and woke up very happy. He handled the 14 hours in the car very well (only slept for about 2 hours). We can't get over how fun and easy-going he is with whatever comes his way.

Please pray that all continues to go well and that we make it home safely on Friday!! We are scheduled to arrive in Atlanta at 5:15, and Zack said that he might have to literally kiss the ground.

Oh - one other big event today: we cut his hair and gave him his first bath!! Doesn't he look handsome?!

Come Monday

We have made it to DAY 10 of our 10-day wait. We are so excited that the day is almost here… at last!

We met the grandmother on Tuesday afternoon. She was very kind and it is obvious that she loves her grandson very much. We know this must be a heart-wrenching and emotionally draining time for her, but it is also apparent that she wants what is best for the boy.

We also visited with him on Wednesday morning, and again on Friday morning. Now we’re just hanging out around town, passing the time on our last weekend as a family of two. We walked down to the open market this morning and took a few pictures. We’re doing all the usual things we’ve been doing for the past few weeks… groceries, internet, DVD’s, eating, etc. Tomorrow afternoon our facilitator and her husband will return.

And on Monday, our lives will change forever… we’ll never be the same again… we just don’t have any way of fully preparing for what’s about to happen… and all the other clichés that everyone has been telling us for the past 10 months. I know it’s going to be different. I know it’s going to change the way we do everything. But we are ready!

For 5½ years we’ve been praying that God would bless us with a child. Little did we know that when we first began praying for our child, he was just barely a month old. I couldn’t imagine finding a child who fit as perfectly with us as our Little Guy does. I can’t wait to watch as he discovers just exactly what we’ve been trying to explain to him these past few weeks.

We are unsure if we’ll be able to blog any once we leave region and head back to Kyiv. But if we don’t, please be praying that all the paperwork goes smoothly and that we’re able to head home this coming Friday (December 7). Thanks for following our journey!

Meeting the Babushka

Monday, we were kind of bummed about having to go another whole week without seeing the boy. We had walked several miles in the morning just trying to kill some time and find some cool stuff to get see and take pictures of. We were able to get a couple of pictures of the trolley buses that run in the city where we are staying. It is actually a pretty cool system, they have regular buses that are electric and run off of the overhead power lines and then there are trolley buses that run in the downtown area. The trolleys run strictly on tracks. Public transportation is huge here since cars are VERY expensive. For example, a Honda Accord that might be 20K in the US is probably over 30K here.

While we were walking back, we found a cool looking little pizza place. We were kind of nervous about going in because we haven’t eaten out on our own yet (except McDonald’s in Kyiv). Jennifer successfully ordered us a pizza with cheese and tomatoes and two drinks and the total came to less than $5!!!









We ran by the supermarket to pick up a couple of things and came back and settled in to read and then watch some DVD’s. We were right in the middle of Polar Express when out facilitator called and said that the boy’s grandmother wanted to meet us! We were very excited about that because she wants to share some baby photos etc of him that we will be very happy to get. She also said that the director of the orphanage had said it was ok to visit the boy while with the grandmother and then again on Wednesday and Friday!!! We are very excited to get to see him some more before we pick him up for good.


This is just a random photo we took on Sunday of what we think is a World War II Memorial just down from our apartment. I think we may get an 8x10 done in black and white and put it in the boys room.

We are Family

On Wednesday November 21st at 12:30 (Ukraine time), we went to court and were proclaimed to be Little Guy’s parents. Of course, it isn’t totally official until we get through the 10 day wait period. But it was great to mark off another big milestone in our journey.

We are pleased and proud to officially introduce you to Little Guy Dove (we’re saving his new name as the final part of the surprise!). He is a healthy and handsome 5 ½ year old. It is truly amazing – he looks so much like pictures of Zack at that same age. We are overjoyed at the wonderful gift that God has given us, and can’t wait until we can get him home & introduce him to everyone.

Please continue to pray as we wait for the final court decree. If all goes as planned, we should be able to pick up Little Guy on Monday December 3 as well as complete the regional paper chase, before heading to Kyiv for a few more days of paperwork and finalization.

We had a nice surprise on Wednesday evening, when our friends in Berdansk called and invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them. We watched a DVD copy of last year’s parade, ate Turkey raised by a church member from the next village over, and started getting into the Christmas spirit by listening to Christmas music and reading some Christmas stories with Maya and Sasha.

We’re back in our region now. We’re looking forward to watching Christmas Vacation tonight. This is how we kick off the Christmas season every year, and why should it be any different just because we’re in Ukraine? It just wouldn’t be right to go through the day after Thanksgiving without Clark Grisswold!

Thanks for your emails, and for the comments on the blog. Please know that they mean so much to us and keep us going from day to day.