We're Home Again

We arrived home late Friday with well wishes from many friends and we greatly appreciate them all. The children are doing great and getting adjusted to being in America. We have been very surprised as to how comfortable they are at our home.

Santa Clause visited us on Saturday morning and brought Matthew, Jon and Natalie some toys. However, the Nerf guns have been the biggest hit. We also got two new bikes so that everyone has one (we had one passed down bike from Rylan). On Sunday, we went to Church and everyone went to a Bible study class. Please give us a call or come by our house to visit with our new children.

We're getting closer!!

We said our sad goodbyes yesterday. Mark, Rylan and I shed some tears, but Jon, Natalie and Matthew were ready to get on the train. We rode the train to Romania. It was quite an experience. We had two rooms since there are six of us now. When we finally got the kids almost to sleep, the border control agents came by and turned on the lights to check our passports and the documents we have on the children belonging to us. Due to this being a part of the former USSR, they change out the wheels on the train wheels because there have a different track gauge So, we finally got to sleep and we arrived in Bucharest at 6:30 in the morning. We checked our luggage and Mark headed to the embassy. At 4:oo we will be officially finished. We are supposed to leave at 1:00 Romania time(5:oo central) and we arrive into New York late in the afternoon. We then fly from JFK to Atlanta and drive home from there, but we probably want make the connection in New York, because we only have an hour and we have to go the customs. This is when the kids become American citizens. We are so ready to be home and cannot thank you all for your prayers. We know God has done and is still doing some awesome things in these children's lives and ours. It is so neat to see that Something that God laid on our hearts 4 years ago is now coming into place. God is so good and he knows the perfect timing. Sorry, I guess I need to go we are just so happy. You guys can try calling us on our cell tomorrow we should be in U.S. in late afternoon.
Can't wait to see you guys. We love ya'll,
Chapmans

Leaving Moldova Tonight

Well, this should be our last update from Moldova. We leave at 5:10pm tonight for Romania. We will be at the US Embassy tomorrow as well as visiting the doctor (embassy requirement). We should be able to update the blog from the hotel in Bucharest. Thanks again for everyone' prayers.
Mark

Great News Home Friday Night, Jan. 25th

After lunch, we received the children's passports. Hurrah! I went directly to the Romanian Embassy for their transit visa. I didn't have the updated tickets so they would not process the visas. However, I will be there at 8 am tomorrow and they promised to have the visas by the afternoon. We have an exit interview with the U.S. consulate here in Moldova at 2 pm Tuesday. I purchased the train tickets to Romania and we will leave Moldova on Wednesday night and arrive into Bucharest Romania the next morning. Visit the doctor and U.S. Embassy on Thursday and fly home on Friday. We have a direct flight from Bucharest to JFK and onto Atlanta (around 9 pm EST). We do have a tight connection in JFK airport so this could change Fri. night. There were not any seats available into Birmingham. Thanks for everyone's postings to the blog. We have certainly felt everyone's prayers during the past few days.

This weekend, we spent two nights with our friends in the village of Cortjeuz (4 hours north of us). They had a great time meeting our new family and we needed a change of scenery. Rylan got to experience an outhouse and counted all of their chickens (there were 24). He said that if one was missing it might be on the table for dinner. We can't wait to be sleeping in our bed.
See you soon,
Mark

The Children are Officially Ours

Sorry for the lag in updates. On Monday (1/14), the judge's decision to award the children to us was made official. Our facilitator received the court's decision and translated it for use at the US Embassies. On Tuesday, we received the new birth certificates. We had hoped for several hours but chasing an elusive signature, seal, computers crashing led to us getting the certificates around 2 pm. I felt like I was in the labor and delivery waiting room at a hospital waiting to see if was a boy or girl since it took so long.
Today was the passport day. We were told it could take up to 30 days to get passports for permanent immigration of Moldovan citizens but then it could be several days. The first passport location we visited this morning was not successful in getting the process started. So we went to another location and after several delays (extra documents to be notarized), we had the children's photos taken by 2 pm. Our hope is that we have the passports by Friday. Then we can visit the US Embassy in Moldova for an interview and then onto the Romanian Embassy here in Moldova for a two day transit visa for the children (this could also be several days but we are praying for an expedited process). All Moldovan adoptions are completed with a medical exam in Bucharest Romania. It would be possible for us to travel to Romania over the weekend and visit the US Embassy in Romania on Monday. However, this is Martin Luther King and the embassy is closed. For now, we will remain focused on getting the passports and see how this affects our remaining Moldovan/Romanian tour stops.
The kids are getting very excited about leaving for the US. At dinner, Jon was getting upset when we explained that our trip to the US was delayed. Adrain has decided that he wants to be called Matthew. He keeps pointing to himself and says "America - Matthew". Adriana likes the name Natalie. Ironically, we read in the court proceedings that her grandmother's name was Natalie as well. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers. We will add a post by Friday regarding the remaining documents for travel.
Mark

We survived!

Hey thanks for your prayers. We did great. We felt the prayers. Mark arrived at 7:00 last night. The kids kept saying "Dada, Germany?" It is amazing and ALL GOD that all the children are so lovable and seem basically happy. We have our upset moments don't get me wrong but basically happy children. We will try to go to chuch with our friend tommorrow and then maybe back to the church that is supported by Andy Stanley's church in Georgia. We really like it and there are like three of our translators from past mission trips that go there. We are looking forward to Monday and pray that we do not have to wait very long for their passports and visa's. They could make us wait up to a month. Please pray that that is not the case I will be CRAZY, Mark would have to leave to come back to work. So PRAY!! We know God is in control and I kinda think He knows what He is doing.!!
Love ya,
Chapmans

January 9th

hey,
we need extra prayers starting tommorrw. Mark needs to go to Germany for work for a day but it will be my first time with just the kids. please pray for patience on my part and lots of obedience on the childrens. Please pray for Mark's safe travel. When mark gets back we hit the road finishing up last minute details in Moldova. Then it's on to Romanina. Our official 20 days of waiting is over on Monday, then we have to get their passport, and visa's. I know now one of the reasons why we have waited so long to get the kids was to learn patience's. We miss you guys more than you will ever know and thank you for your encouraging blog remarks.
Love,
Chapmans

it's snowing!

Hey everyone,
we really miss all of ya'll. We are counting down the days until we can be in warm weather. The children are very excited about coming to America. We have some flash cards and one is a airplane and they lok at it and say Jon America,Adrian America, Adrianna America, Moma America, Ry America and Dada america.Please continue to pray for us we are in one room and a bath we go and eat in another house but we are all getting cabin fever. It started snowing last night and it is only warming up to right below freezing. We really miss Alabama weather. Please keep writing or calling us. We need some touch from America to get through the last weeks.love ya'll.
the Chapmans

Sunday, January 6th

We've been at our new residence for a week and enjoying it here. Please keep Jon in your prayers. We are trying to give him food that he can keep on his stomach. Regarding Adrian, he is constantly hungry. His brother and sister call him "piggy". When we give him an apple, he eats the entire thin, core seeds and all! Adriana likes to clean so Paula will have a little helper. Victor connected us with our own phone line. So, our direct number is 011-373-22-46-59-41. We'll be going to a church that is affiliated with Northpoint Church in Atlanta this afternoon. It is called "God's Design."

Counting down the days

I went to the US Embassy this morning to get a personal update on what we needed to complete to get back home. Next Monday (1/7/07) and Tuesday, most things in Moldova will be shut down for the Orthodox Christmas. The Judge's decision will be final on the 14th and then we can start working on their Moldovan passports. This could take a day with the right amout of funding. Then we wait until Wednesday (the US embassy only accepts American visits on Mon, Wed. & Fri.). Where can I get a job like this! If it all goes well, we could be traveling via overnight train to Bucharest Romania on Wednesday night. On Thursday, we would get the children's medical visits completed and finalize everthing at the US Embassy (Romania). We could travel back as soon as Friday (there were Skymiles seats on the direct Romania to JFK flight and arrive into BHM on Saturday at 11PM) last week or take our scheduled flight on Saturday that gives us a forced overnight layover in Paris and home on MLK day. We've enjoyed meeting some Americans that are staying at the same house with us from Nashville. They are doing missionary work at Jon's orphanage here in Chisinau and in the city of Beltz. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. Mark

House Hunters Moldovan Style

We were staying with a friend that had an apartment that could not accomodate all of the kids. So, through our friend, Maya in Atlanta, she made contact with someone that she knew that hosts American missionary teams. This family (Victor Belaug) had a loft style apartment that we could rent until we leave for the US. We moved in last Sunday (Dec 30th) after picking up the 3 children at their orphanages. The family that has this apartment, has worked with Matt & Tricia (missionaries from the USA) and visited the US two years ago and visited with Randy & Valerie Hall (Birmingham-Reaching Orphans with Hope) as well. Isn't God amazing. We haven't had too much free time since all of the children are with us throught the day. So, we will try to update the blog in a few days. If you would like to contact us at our new apartment, the number is 011-373-22-46-20-62. They are currently hosting a team from Nashville, so if you call, let them know you're trying to reach the Chapman's. As a side note, they all speak English and Rylan has become best buddies with their son Mark that has a lot of Legos. Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers. The Chapman's

Family Picture after Snowball Fight

A Christmas to Remember

Today was an emotional day for us. We would like to introduce you to our new triplets. The judge presided over the case of the three children and when he read his decision about Paula and me being their parents and that their last names were all changed to Chapman, we all cried. He could have imposed a 6 month waiting period but praise the Lord he did not. He did give us a 20 day waiting period. We were hoping for a 15 day period. It was upsetting to hear about how the children were taken from their family over a year ago by the police and that their entire family is extremely poor and uable to take care of their children. Their mother's sister has two children and her rights to see her children have been terminated as well. After court, we went out with all of the children for lunch and had our picture taken in front of a Christmas tree. They were very excited about getting out of the orphanage. Tomorrow, we have been asked to attend a play with the children by the orphanage director. Please pray for the next 20 days to quickly pass. We can see the children each day but it is uncertain if we can keep them with us all of the time until the 20 days passes. Love, all of us.

Merry Christmas from the Chapman's

Christmas Eve

We cannot believe that tomorrow is the big day. We will be at court at 10 am. Please be praying for us. We will try to put up a photo after court. Our plan is to take all of the children out for lunch after court since they will not be present before the judge because of their age. It has been below freezing for days and started snowing again today. The trees are frozen like Narnia. This will be our first White Christmas and definately one to remember. Chapman's

Friday, Dec. 21, 2007

We took Jon for his first visit to a McDonald's for lunch. His favorite food seems to be French Fries. We spent the morning with all 3 children and played duck, duck goose with them. We are currently 8 hours ahead of Central time (best time to call is noon until 3 pm Central time) and if you would like to give us a call at our apartment the number is 011-373-22-75-48-27. An international calling card would be the best way to reach us and are available at Sam's Club. We asked Jon about his birthday through a translator and he said that he did not have one. We told him that it was December 8th. Most internet connections are very slow (dial up) so posting pictures may not happen. We hope the next few weeks flies by. We love and miss you guys. We are enjoying spending time with our children. It is amazing that we are here with them and How awesome God is and How blessed that we are to be involved in His plan. Love, Mark,Paula,Rylan,Jon,Adriana,And adrian

Moldovan Culture

We've had two more days with the kids and they are teaching us Romanian and we are teaching them some English with flash cards that Paula brought with us. We continue to learn about the children and it brings to mind the tragedy that effects most of the children that are in orphanages around the world. Jon, the oldest boy, was picked up by the police in his village two years ago (at 6-7 yrs old) because he was found begging for food. We asked him about the scars on his scalp and he said that he got these at his home but now he did not have a home. We assured him that now he had one. Today, we took him to a restaurant (his first ever visit to a restaurant ) for soup and pizza (he is a very good eater). The two younger children seem to have been more sheltered at their current orphange. It is more loving, cleaner and they receive more one on one attention. We gave them some clothes that we brought for them and they were very excited. Adraina starting crying since this was her second set of clothes that she now has in her wardrobe. They refer to us as their mama and dada and love being held and being carried on our backs. Rylan is loving being a big brother and Adriana enjoys giving him kisses on the cheek. Adrian will be our wild child, like Rylan, he loves to run around and plays hard. Thanks for all of the blog comments since this is our rare touch with the you guys that know so much about our story. One last comment, the orphange director at Jon's orphange, was not excited about children being adopted to the US but has seen our afffection for him and gave her approval to the court that was needed to proceed for the Christmas adoption court date. She liked us so much that she invited us to a Christmas concert in downtown Chisinau. Next year is the year of the "Rat" and we got to see him and Santa dancing on stage together. Santa is much slimmer here, it looks like he has a size 32 waist. We will try to update the blog site every two days since getting to a computer has its challenges. Thanks and we love you all, MC, PC, RC, JC, AC, & AC.

First and Second Day with Jon, Adrian & Adriana

On Monday, we met the children for the first time. They are located in two different orphanages so we have to pick up Jon (9 yrs) and drive to meet the younger children. We were introduced to Jon by the director saying do you like this boy as your brother and this man and woman as your papa and mama? And Jon said yes. Of course we were crying during the translation and he came over and hugged us. We then went over to the other orphange and met Adriana and Adrian. They told them that we were mama and papa and Adriana (6 yrs) said we go home tomorrow. The sad thing is that Jon knew he had a brother and sister but could not remember them due to not seeing them for over a year. Jon is very shy but loves to play with a ball that we brought for him. He enjoys looking at the english flash cards we brought with us. Adriana is like Paula. She is the life of the party and wants to get everyone in the camera for picures. She also enjoys talking to anyone that is on the phone. She is very lovable and wants to give her brother (Rylan) and mama and papa kisses. Today, she enjoyed riding on Rylan's back. Adrian (4 yrs) wants to sit in our lap and will not let go of the Matchbox car we brought for him. From a Fisher Price toy that teaches english, he has learned the word bye bye and says it all the time. When we were leaving the first day, he would not hug us by and cried big tears because we were leaving. Fortunately, we brought a lot of warm clothes because there is about a foot of snow on the ground. Here they view snow plows as being for sissy Americans and drive on the hard packed ice. It makes for an enjoyable cab ride since seatbelts are optional or not available. As of tonight, our court date is set for Dec. 25th at 10 am (Moldova). As we all know, this could change without notice. Please keep us and the process in your prayers. We have seen God work many details out for us and it is too many to mention. More to follow. Mark, Paula, Adrian, Jon, Adriana & Rylan

Traveling to Moldova

Hello friends,
We are almost there. We have been traveling for two days and We are leaving in about an hour to go to Moldova. We all three woke up at 4:30 in the morning.(8:00 p.m. central) We are all excited and keep wandering what the kids reaction will be tommorrow when we see them for the first time ever. It is very cold over here, not what us Alabamains are used to. We hope to update tommorrow after our visit. Keep on praying!
Mark, Paula, and Rylan

Dear friends,
It almost does not seem real. Praise the LORD!! We are so excited to be traveling to bring the children that God has for us.
Thanks for visiting our blog to read about the adoption of Jon (9), Adriana (6) and Adrian (4). We have completed all of the paperwork on this side of the pond and we're traveling over to Moldova on December 14th to bring these children into our family. Please keep us in your prayers and we will attempt to keep this updated when possible. We are going to be in the capital city but that is no guarentee we will have internet connection all the time.