We made it home!! 

We had a fun overnight in London...Robyn shopped while I took the kids to a Christmas Fair in Hyde Park.  We enjoyed real hotdogs, hot chocolate, and cotton candy. We took the city double decker bus and toured some of London Yesterday morning, we took a quick trip downtown to see Big Ben, the London, Eye, Westminster Abby, and area before heading to the airport. 

We took the bus from the Leonard to Paddington Station and then the Heathrow Express train to the airport.  We almost missed the plane as we had a ticket agent that appeared to not really know what she was doing.  It took her 50 minutes to print our tickets.  After finally receiving the tickets, we spirited to security and then found out she had done something wrong.  We spirited back to another counter and had to have them fixed.  By the time, we got back to security, the guard said that if we had been ONE (1) minute later, he would not have been able to allow us to proceed on.  WOW!  So we then quickly made it through security where most of us had to get the full body pat down and then we were off to the races to catch our plane.  O.J. Simpson has nothing on Robyn when she is trying to catch a plane after being gone for a month.  That girl had some moves!!  I brought up the rear as I continued to count heads and push Sarah Jane.  We made it to the gate with no time to spare but we did make it on the plane....whew!! 

Loved the moment we first saw Canada and I was able to show Karolina and Sarah Jane "America!!"  They kept looking down and saying "America!!" over and over again.  So cool to experience that with them. 

Arrived about an hour later than planned but made it through Customs and then Immigration very easily.  They stamped the kids passports and then they were official U.S. citizens!!

We then picked up our 10 big suitcases of luggage and as we were leaving we were randomly picked to go through an Agriculture inspection.  Oh boy.  So we headed down to that room and unloaded all the bags for scanning and then packed them all back up.  We were met my Grannie, Grandmother, Poppy, and Edsel at the exit.  The new kids ran up to them and gave them big hugs.  Life is good.

(Big thanks to them all for bring us our vehicles.  Grandmother and Poppy even drove home so we could get some rest. Thank you!!)

Headed home in our two Expeditions.  Yes, it took both to haul all of our family plus bags back home.  Kids were super excited to tour their new home and kept running from room to room saying "WOW!!" Some sweet friends and family had decorated our home for Christmas and made everything so neat and clean (take a picture).  We finally settled in about 2:30 in the morning (or 9:30 am back in Poland).  So good to sleep in my own bed again...oh, how I missed you.

We have visas!!

Sasha delivered us the visas he picked up at the U.S. Embassy today.  So we can now all go home. We have an overnight layover in London - got to hate that ;) - and then we are home Wednesday evening.

Prayer bracelet

My personal journey into adoption started during a medical mission trip that Tucker and I took to Ecuador back in 2009.  Tucker and I went by the local orphanage to drop off some clothing and other supplies we had brought from the States.  This orphanage had 55 children in a 1,200 SF home.  The children actually had cubby holes for beds and were limited in the amount of time they could come out because of the lack of space and workers.  The Lord spoke to my heart right then that we could provide for orphans that need forever families. 

At the orphanage in Shell, Ecuador

The following year, we were in Peru where I met a little girl named Brittany.   She and I bonded immediately.  She did have a mother but no father.  On the last day of our trip, she made me this prayer bracelet that I have worn continually ever since. 

I have prayed for Brittany every day since then.  The bracelet was also a reminder for me to pray each day for orphans and the children that God would allow us to adopt.  So now that we officially have Karolina, Peter, and Sarah Jane, we celebrated by taking the bracelet off...three and a half years after another fatherless child put it on my wrist. 

Genesis 22 talks about how God had to take Abraham on a long journey to prepare his heart for what He had planned for Abraham and his child.

Thank you Lord for taking me on our journey to adoption.  It was not an easy journey, at times, but one that the Lord took us on to prepare us for what He had planned. One that started in Ecuador then Peru, and now on to Poland.

Back to Krakow

We had to leave Krakow to come back to Warsaw for the children's medical exams before the Christmas Market opened. Today, Robyn and Tucker went back. They took the train from Piaseczno to Warsaw and then another train from Warsaw down to Krakow.  So glad and proud she went back.  I took them to the train station a little before 7 AM and they were in Krakow before noon.  They shopped the markets and other stores in the area.  They went to Coffee Heaven and had a nice lunch.  They headed back about 4:30 and I picked them up at the station in Piaseczno (5 minute drive from our house) about 8:30 PM.

Us kids just had a good, relaxing day at the house (with a little cleaning and catching up on the laundry).

Laundry

Our place has a very small washing machine and no dryer.  In fact, dryers are very unusual in Poland. Here is part of our laundry for a typical day. Polyesters, wools, and blends dry much faster than thick cottons.  We have clothes strung up everywhere downstairs...here in the laundry area, the hallway, and the other small room.  Lots and lots of clothes to hang and wait to dry.

Good to see so many girls' clothes. :)

Glad I brought a flashlight

It was too icy and windy (25 mph gusts) this morning to run before heading into Warsaw.  So after we returned to the house, I headed out for a test run.  Test run - not sure if it would be 5 feet or 5 miles due to the patches of ice on the sidewalks and streets.  The first mile was a little iffy but not bad.  About mile 2, it started to get really dark.  I was thinking to myself, I know it gets dark here early but it is only 1:45.  Then I saw it, I huge wall of falling snow heading towards me.  I thought, well this will be fun to run with the snow falling.  Went another half mile with the snow continuing to fall faster and faster.  Now, nothing was sticking so all was going well.  Then, the snow started to stick.  Not just a little, a lot... within a block, went from no snow to leaving tracks.  Another block and solid covering of snow. Another block and I started hearing snow crunch under my shoes.  Oh boy!  Another block and decided to turn back towards the house. Had to turn into the wind which actually took my breathe away to the point I had to stop and walk (I DON'T WALK) for a few seconds.  Started to do my swimmer's breathing...turning my head to the side to catch a breath.  OK, another block down but now I am having a hard time figuring out where the sidewalks ends and the street begins.  So in about five minutes, we went from no snow to white-out.  Turned on my safety flashlight that is attached to my running jacket to help see and for cars to see me.  So it was a little after 2 PM and almost dark from the heavy snow clouds.  Wow - this is way cool for a boy from Alabama. 

Had a fun run back on a thick blanket of fresh snow.  Then had a great snow ball fight with the kids. Snow storm only lasted 45 minutes but lots of fun.

Note:  power has gone off and on since yesterday afternoon.  So remember to have a few flashlights handy. It was dark again for the second time today at 3:50.    

After the fun run

Sarah Jane - loved the snow

 Karolina's snow ball

Loved running on this stuff

Prepare to get naked

Went to the U.S. Embassy today for the first time.  Prepare to get naked...of any metals...to get in to the embassy. You have to give up your smartphone, cell phone, or any other electronic devices (I really feel naked without my phone).  Wearing a watch...off...wearing a belt...off...large jewelry...off...so be prepared to feel like you are in an airport. Also, note that NO large bags are allowed but passports are required.

So after our security search, we made it to the waiting area.  After a few minutes our "Specialist" arrived behind a large bullet-proof window.  She said we could not have our embassy interview until we had our kids' passports and DS260 forms completed and submitted. Sooooooo, Sasha and I raced down the street to the Passport office to see if we could get the Polish passports.  After a little wait, we were able to meet with one of the Administrators that issued the passports. We had to check all the spellings, DOB, etc... and then sign off on everything.  She then gave me the passports.  Once we got through there, we raced back out side and then Sasha asked if I had brought my laptop to complete the DS260.  I looked at him with this blank stare and said, "You did not tell me to bring MY laptop."  Oh boy, thankfully I had picked my smartphone back up on the way back out of the Embassy so I completed the forms on it - adding in the kids passport numbers, date issued (today), date expired (one year from today).  I had to review and confirm each page again of the form so it did take some time to finish.  Then I started on the next child.  Finally, after the third child's form was completed and I had pushed submit, we raced back into the Embassy. Back through a second "security screening" and then back to the waiting room.  Robyn and the kids had been hanging out there the entire time - her job probably was harder than ours just keeping the natives from going crazy.  We were then able to submit the passports to the Specialist and confirmed to her that the DS260 forms had been completed including the passport information and submitted online. She said to wait and she would see if we could get the interview scheduled. About 10 minutes later, we were called to another security window for our interview.  The nice lady, we are now surprised when we hear plain English, asked us basic questions:

• How long have you been in Poland?  "A month."
• Are the children adjusting well? "Yes!"
• Was Lifeline your adoption agency? "Yes"
• How did they do?  "Fantastic!"
• I see you changed from another country?  "Yes, Peru."
• Why the change?  "More multi-children adoption opportunities."
• I see you are from Alabama.  Did you watch the game Saturday?  Yes with big grins. 
• Are you both Auburn grads?  Thinking to myself...did the grins give it away?  "Yes and I am a third generation Auburn grad."  Yes, I needed her to know that...for national security reasons. 
• I see you have four other children? "Yes and they are with us here in Poland."
• Well, that should be a fun plane ride back home. "OH, yes!"
• I see you are flying out Tuesday?  "Yes."
• Well, the visas will be ready Monday morning for you or your representative to pick up.  "Thank you so much!"

SWEET!!  We have completed our to-do list.  Visas on Monday and then we are out-a-here on Tuesday!! 

One note:  It took us about 1:15 to get to the Embassy even though the GPS said 45 minutes with heavy traffic.  The traffic is just so congested. It took 40 minutes just to go the first four miles.  Not complaining, just pointing out that you need to allow plenty of extra time to drive anywhere.

Whew!!  Crazy but fun morning.

Food I miss the most

Polish food is very bland.  Robyn and I have both lost weight while here.  Other than KFC, McDonalds, and pizza, this is not much here.  So here is what I miss the most:

1. Breakfast - biscuits and gravy, French toast, pancakes, honey, syrup
2. BBQ
3.  Meat and three veggies
4.  Sweet tea
5.  Ice cream - the ice cream is just not the same
6.  Egg nog - it is that time of year.
7.  Chips and salsa - again, they just are not the same here. 
8.  Orange chicken
9.  Apple pie
10.  Anything not pizza, chicken, hamburgers, or polish

Love my American food for this American boy. Looking forward to introducing our three new kiddos to this list. 

Submission for passports

Loaded up all seven kids this morning and headed into downtown Warsaw...picture the scene from Home Alone with everyone running around kind of crazy...that was us.  The GPS said 35 minutes to get there but with all the traffic (picture Hwy 280 in Birmingham at 5 PM at Christmas time) it took us an hour to arrive.  Thankfully we had planned it would take us 10 minutes just to load up in the van and an hour to get there so we arrived right on time...whew!!  We found the building and found a sign that looked like "Passports" and headed in.  We were waiting on Sasha so I walked outside to see if I could find a bathroom.  Thankfully, I then realized that one to those hidden parking meters was on the street where we parked.  With some help from a homeless person that actually could read the parking meter instructions, I was able to get a receipt and place it in our van window...whew, again.   Homeless person received a nice tip and gave me a big smile.  We then headed to the meeting and we were able to sit as Sasha and Alex worked everything out with the administrator.  Our kids had the whole office laughing by the time we left.  Thankfully, she said she would do her best to get the passports released to us tomorrow...not for sure but maybe. 

Tomorrow, we have our interview at the U.S. Embassy for our visas.  So if everything works out right, we may have our passports and visas on Monday.  Then we could fly out Tuesday or Wednesday.

I see a light at this end of this long adventure. 

Another hiccup in the process was the court somehow did not include Karolina's first name in the court decree.  During our court appearance two weeks ago, we had even written out the names and given them a piece of paper with the names to avoid misspellings. So we had two options, we could get a new court decree and wait ANOTHER seven days or proceed without her first name being on the documents and we correct it when we get back to the states. We decided to push forward and we will get her named changed once we get back to the states. Whew!

So they are now officially ours!!  The appeal period ended Monday so Alex was there (back in southwest Poland in Jawor) bright and early on Tuesday to pick up the official court decree in person and then went to get the new birth certificates. It is interesting that they issue NEW birth certificates naming Robyn and I as parents. So a little over four years since our journey began, we now have three new Clement children.  God is so good!!

We did just learn that Poland was already in the process of separating the kids when we asked for permission to adopt them.  It hurts my heart to think of sisters and a brother of being separated. So happy that we can all be one big family together.

I spent most of the evening working on our DS260 Visa forms.  Had to complete one for each of the kids.  Very confusing on some parts. Important that you have your Case Number and Invoice ID number for each of the children.  For some reason our Invoice ID number had not been included in our Petition Letter but thankfully it only took a couple of days to get. Other vital bits of information that you may not have handy that you will need:

• City of birth
• Providence of birth
• Address and contact information (phone and email)where the children lived before coming into your care.  Thankfully, Robyn had a business card from the orphanage that had all this information.

Next up, we start working on passports. 

Trip to Berlin

We still have a few days left in our appeal period of two weeks, which finishes Monday night.  So I took our original Clement boys on a trip to Berlin, Germany.  It is a 6 hour drive but thankfully all interstate.  Notes from our trip:

• If you see a KFC, McDonalds, or Burger King on the way, you better stop because there are very few fast food restaurants between Warsaw and Poland.
• Most of these places do have one worker that does speak some English.  Just be patient and ask if you can pull up to the window to confirm your order.  It seems to work better that way.
• There is no border patrol between Germany and Poland.  Once you get into Germany, you may be randomly stopped like we were for an ID check.  German police were very nice and loved our send off. "You Americans have a good drive and enjoy your stay!" 
• The autobahn does have speed limits.  Seems like all the vehicles adhere to these postings so be sure to keep on eye out.
• Berlin is great.  It was very surprising to me how nice East Berlin is. It actually seems to be nicer than West Berlin because everything is so new. 
• We stayed at a really nice hotel, Aldon, which is located right next to the Brandenburg Gate.  It is located right in the middle of the Government District so it is an easy walk to just about anything you want to see. 
• Aldon is a five-star hotel but since we came in on a Sunday and left on a Tuesday, it was relatively cheap (plus it is the off season).
• Germany uses the Euro so be sure to go to an ATM to get some cash.  Currently, one Euro equals 1.4 US dollars.
•  Things to see:
• Brandenburg Gate
• Parliament House (Reichstag House) - be sure to get a ticket across the street with a reserved time to take a tour from the observation deck which has good views of the city.
• Berlin Wall - several locations.
• Holocaust Memorial
• Window to booking burning
• Museum Island (five different museums)
• Olympic Stadium
• Hitler Bunker - nothing to see but located next to Holocaust Memorial which is ironic.
• Several churches destroyed during WWII.
• At Christmas time, there are 50 Christmas Markets located throughout the city.  Most are very similar so you just need to check out a few.
• Tiergarten - Berlin's Central Park
• We hired a tour guide since we only had one day to see everything we could.  It was a big help in getting everything in.  If you have several days, you can see most everything you want on your own. 
• Berlin Wall - throughout the city the location of the wall is identified by stone pavers. 
• Great education - the boys learned so much about the final days of WWII and the Cold War. 
• Subway - if we had been here a few more days, we would have checked out the subway because it seems to be a good way to get around the town.

It is a minimum three day trip from Warsaw.  One day to get there plus another getting home in addition to however many days you can spend touring.  I would recommend two days in Berlin if possible.

Note, we could not bring the new kids since they do not have passports yet.  Robyn took one for the team by staying at the house with them.  I do hope we can come back someday with everyone that could not come.  Nevertheless, it was just a days drive and we are just in a holding pattern until the appeal period ends.  Berlin is a great place with so much history so very happy that we went.

 

Brandenberg Gate - former Communist side

Throughout the city, these pavers show where the Berlin Wall was located.

Where Communism stopped.

One of every favor chewing gum for Tucker's selection...

Checkpoint Charlie (where WWIII almost happened)

 

Largest section of wall remains

 

I spy a cool name on this church.  Anyone, anyone?

 

Observation Deck above Reichstag House (Parliament)

Reichstag House (Parliament for Germany)

Olympic Stadium (1936)

Sports fans beware

There is a 6 hour time difference between Poland and the East Coast so many sporting events do not even start until late in the evening or even early the next morning. Today was the big game - THE IRON BOWL - Auburn vs. Alabama...No. 4 vs. No.1...Good vs. Evil...the game was televised on CBS at 3:30 ET so 9:30 Poland Time.  So we knew it would be a late night.  Nevertheless, it was 2 AM before the Auburn fans stormed the field on of the wildest finishes to a college football game (Auburn returned an attempted field goal by Alabama, with one second to go in the game, 109 yards to win on the game).  Us die-hard Auburn fans that were still up (all the original Clements minus Ellie) could not help but start yelling and jumping up and down.  It was a great celebration that I am sure was shared by many around the world...huddled around a computer screen.

Note:  our internet was out for most of the first quarter and then blinked on and off through most of the game so patience is a requirement to watch a sporting event here.  Thankfully, we had friends back home that sent us updates throughout the game so we could keep up with the happenings. 

It seems like the internet is out the worst between mid-afternoon and late evening.  It just makes us thankful that much more for what we have back home. 

Did I say WAR EAGLE?  WAR EAGLE!!

Going to the movies

The family packed up and headed into Warsaw today.  It is the day after Thanksgiving so going to the mall is what we Americans do, right? Since Warsaw does not have an interstate that runs into downtown Warsaw, it took about an hour to get from the house to the mall.  The mall was huge!! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkadia_(shopping_mall)

Of course, the kids we hungry so we went directly to the food court.  So good to see Subway and Burger King in addition to the KFC and McDonalds. Half of our crew went to BK and the other half Subway. After lunch, we went to check out the movie times at the theater located right there at the mall.  A couple of things different about movies in Poland:

• Assigned seating in the theater.  You get to pick out your seats (row and seat). 
• Some movies are actually in English with Polish captions. Catching Fire was in English which Drew Preston and Tucker loved. Frozen was in Polish which Karolina and Peter loved.
• Yes, we still had 30 minutes worth of commercials before the movie started.
• Watching our new kids were the best part of the movie.  We saw Frozen in 3D so our kids were amazed at the picture jumping out at them. They kept jumping up trying to touch the picture. Peter never sat back in his seat.  He sat on the edge totally in wow mode the entire movie. Karolina had a full grip on my arm.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Priceless Entertainment

For some reason, the light switch is located outside the bathrooms. So I have gotten really good at taking a shower in the dark.  It usually starts with our three-year old laughing outside the bathroom and about the time I hear in a cute Polish accent, "I love you daddy!" then click, off go the lights and she runs off. As I continue to shower, I start singing to her "Who turned the lights out - who, who, who?" to the same tune as "Who let the dogs out?"  More laughing outside, then the lights come back on for a few seconds and I hear, "I love you daddy!"....click and we start again. 

Things to do in Piaseczno & Warsaw

In Piaseczno:  we have found two small children’s play parks

http://goo.gl/maps/HwAWx

https://maps.google.com/maps/myplaces?ll=52.057471,21.007744&spn=0.000515,0.001206&ctz=-60&t=h&z=20  (there is a park here now – small but close to the house)

 

In Warsaw:

www.hulakula.com.pl  for bowling and rock climbing

www.tecza-skorosze.p  is an indoor play center

http://www.kolorado.com.pl/  is another indoor play center with free wi-fi

http://www.kopernik.org.pl/en/ Science Center Museum

http://www.zoo.waw.pl/ Warsaw Zoo was very good

http://www.warsawtour.pl/en/warsaw-for-everyone/old-town-and-surroundings-2946.html 
Old Town & New Town in downtown Warsaw.  There was not a lot that our kids found interesting but there are some good restaurants, plenty of neat shops, and even a Subway. 
 

Other places to go:

 

Awesome park (40 min drive)  http://www.kompaniazabaw.pl/realizacje/park-skarbkow-grodzisk-mazowiecki-c36.html  It has lots of cool kids playground equipment that you would never find in the U.S. 

 

 

Wal-Mart type store is Auchan  http://en.auchanpiaseczno.pl/mall/mall-map

KFC between Piaseczno and Warsaw https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=kfc+piaseczno&fb=1&hq=kfc&hnear=0x47192e390fc40201:0x88c75a9c7e7a1bf5,Piaseczno,+Poland&ei=94GXUsiABLTP4QSj1oCAAw&ved=0CLYBELYD

KFC has free Wi-Fi:)

 

 

 

 

 

Swimming in Poland

Warning!  Many pools require men to wear speedos and since my kids love to swim, I decided to take the plunge...just kidding, no way, no how, no amount of money, etc...now that would be a scary sight.  So be sure to ask before you go to a pool.  While we were in Krakow, we stayed in a hotel that many Americans use in Europe, Novotel.  It did allow us to go take a dip with our "regular" swim wear.

Of course, our new kids did not know how to swim but they sure loved the water (can't wait to see them at the lake and beach).  So we had our first swim lesson, if you can call it that. We kept them in the shallow end of the pool and every time that Karolina or Peter started to drown, we told them to stand up. Sarah Jane loved to noodle and swimming tube.

Swimming was lots of fun, cheap, and it did wear them all out, somewhat.

 

Schindler's Factory Museum

After touring the salt mines, we headed to Schindler's Factory (http://www.krakow-info.com/schindler.htm).  This is the man the movie Schindler's List was based upon.


It took a while to find it.  The GPS kept wanting to take us up the wrong way on a one-way street and we could not find any street signs pointing us in the right direction.  We did finally find it but never did find an official parking lot so we just parked on the street.  It was a very good museum that taught us all about the German occupation of Poland and how Oskar Schindler saved many Jews from being shipped off to a concentration camp.  The museum did a good job of showing how ruthless and terrible these times were while at the same time not being too graphic so our kids could go through the entire museum. 

Sample of what was made at the factory

Auschwitz

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp

On the way home, we stopped at Auschwitz to tour the concentration camp.  I dropped off Robyn and the younger kids (Ellie and new kids) at a mall in the town because the camp is not age appropriate for young kids.

At the Visitor Center, not many directional signs to help you figure out where to go.  We first went to the small bookstore that sent us to the ticket office that sent us to the tour office that sent us back to the bookstore.  We had arrived after the last English speaking tour had left but we had already planned to just do a self-tour.  It just took us a while to figure out to first stop at the bookstore to buy the self-touring guide (in English) and then simply head out to the camp.  You do not have to purchase a ticket.  It was about 2 PM when we started and the camp closes at dark so we only had about 2 hours to tour which was good since we had half our crew at the mall just hanging out. The pocket guide provided us with directions on where to go.  I am sure a guide would have been great but there is so much to read in each building that it paints a good picture of everything.

Thankfully the tour was not too graphic but still very emotional.  To see piles of children's shoes, eye glasses, suitcases, etc...and to think that over 1 million people died at this camp alone is hard to put into words. Random thoughts:  many pictures of men, women, and even children...Wall of Death where some prisoners shot...so many people piled into bunks and stacked on top of each other...sign at camp entrance "Work Makes You Free" was such a lie...gas chamber and the crematorium.

We then drove about a mile over to the annex of the concentration camp.  The building here were mainly built of wood and destroyed at the Germans pulled out of the area at the end of the war.  Yet, it was amazing to see how big the complex had been.  The train tracks ran right into the middle of the camp. Most people here were off-loaded off the train and sent immediately to the gas chamber.  Again, very emotional and hard to understand how the Nazis could be this evil. 

So glad that I took our older kids to see first hand such a moving and historical place.  I was also glad that we did not take the younger kids. 

Entrance Sign "Work Makes You Free"

Klement suitcase among the huge pile on display

Hardest display for me to view (baby shoes)

Tucker looking at the Wall of Death -Firing Squad Area

Krakow miscellaneous

All our kids loved the breakfast buffet each morning.  The new kids, at first, were amazed that there was all this wonderful food they could eat and even go back for more.  We had scrambled eggs, real bacon, fruit, bread, cereal, cheese, yogurt, fruit juices, hot chocolate, and coffee. New kids love boiled eggs. We all ate and ate and ate.  Each morning (Sunday - Tuesday) we did the same thing and loved it.

Running in Krakow.  Two mornings in a row it was snowing while I ran.  Ran down by the river the first morning - nice asphalt path for walkers, runners, and bikers. Lots of swans and ducks. I actually even saw two other runners...must also be tourist :)   Another morning, I ran the park that circles the market square. It was a very nice park that reminded me a little bit of Central Park - lots of park benches, asphalt walks, big trees, surrounded by the city.

Kids walking to school.  One thing that has surprised me here in Poland is seeing kids walk to school by themselves.  It is sad that we now live in a United States were few parents or children feel safe enough for kids to walk by themselves to school each morning.  Both here in Krakow and back in Piasecnzo, I have seen kids walking to school. 

Glass bottles.  Parents beware - most drinks are served in glass bottles here (not plastic). Thankfully, we have only had one event so far where one of the kids accidently dropped a bottle and glass went everywhere in a restaurant.

Two big pizzas!!  One evening at the hotel, we decided not to go back out for dinner so I found a pizza place near the hotel.  I walked down there and through lots of pointing and hand motions I ordered two large pizzas.  They were able to deliver them to the hotel so I did not have to wait.  Wow, a 60 cm pizza is huge!!  I have never seen pizzas that big! I think we have had pizza or chicken about every third meal here but the kids sure do love it.

Love all the churches here. So many beautiful churches and so many different styles. On one street corner, I could see four different styled, enormous churches.  Many dating back hundreds of years and surviving all the different wars.

Watch out for the street trains.  The subway trains run right down the middle of the streets right where you drive so keep an eye out in front to the sides and even behind you. 

Sit down dinners may take a while.  We ate at the restaurant in the hotel one afternoon.  We had wanted to just go find a local hamburger place but the hotel staff told us that they had really good burgers in their restaurant. Well, the kid's menu offered them a soup, a side, main meat, and dessert.  It took about two hours to finish our meal because they brought out each course (even the kids meat and side) separately. Great food but it did take a while.

Mineral water.  Be careful when you order water.  It comes in "gas" (fizzy material water) or "no-gas" (still normal water).  Our new kids like the mineral while our old kids don't.

 

 

60 cm pizza is huge!!

Salt mines

About a twenty minute drive from the hotel is a huge salt mine that we decided to tour.  Here is a link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine.

It was awesome.  Each hour (on the hour) they have an English speaking guide.  The tour takes about two hours plus another hour if you tour the museum.  We had about 40 people in our group (yes, we are a fourth of the group) but it was easy to get separated from each other.  Our new kids were always ready to see the next thing on the tour so we had a hard time keeping Karolina and Peter next to us. So many amazing things they carved completely out of salt - statues, chapels, and a huge cathedral.  It even had several underground lakes. We skipped the museum but everyone enjoyed our thrilling mine shaft elevator ride back to the top - very small, open air elevator that quickly shot to the top. 

 

 

Weekend in Krakow

During our two week appeal period, you pretty much could sit and watch the clock slowly tick by each second, minute, hour, and day.  To help Father Time along, we decided to go to the city of Krakow in southern Poland. It is about a four hour drive but thankfully it was all divided highway.

We stayed in a Novotel Hotel next to the river which had great views of the old castle.  It was so nice.  We had to get three rooms since there are now NINE of us Clements. Two of our older boys stayed in a room next to our other two rooms which had a connect door.  Even with three rooms they still had to bring in roll-away beds for each room since most rooms in Poland are geared for two people. 

After checking in at the front desk, the new kids had their very first experience on an elevator.  Their eyes were so big as the doors closed and they could feel the elevator going up.  It is fun to see them have such amazement over little things that we take granted.

After getting to the rooms and when we first looked out the window, we saw the big, old castle.  Peter screamed in an excited voice, "DRAGON!!!"  We of course thought that he must think that every castle must come with its own.  He tried to explain to us in Polish and lots of hand motions that there is a dragon over there.  OK, we will have to check this one out.

The hotel was $85 per night per room so a bit pricey since we needed three rooms but it was so nice.  The beds were soft...I miss my bed at home. The internet actually worked.  There was actually people on TV that spoke English.  The bathrooms had instant hot water.  We could adjust the thermostat.  It was great. 

After getting settled in, we walked over to the Market Square.  Wow!  It is this huge square in the middle of town that has restaurants, shops, and a big, beautiful church.  We found a place that served sandwiches and sat outside under the big umbrellas and heat lamps.  Our new kids sat in amazement at all the horse drawn carriages lined up.

So after our late lunch or early dinner, we took a carriage ride (everyone less Robyn and Sullivan).  The new kids had these big smiles on their faces the entire 30 minute ride ($30 US). After returning, the driver was kind enough to allow us to pet the horses.  More smiles and excitement from our new kids.  Our original kids of course had a great time just watching the new ones getting excited. 

On our way back to the hotel (and soft, comfortable beds), we headed by the castle.  It is actually open to the public so we decided to walk around a bit.  It has great views of the river and parts of the city.  Then while looking down over the top of the castle walls, we saw it, a true fire breathing dragon!  It was really breathing fire every few minutes.  So we headed back out the gates and on to investigate. There at the bottom of the castle walls and near the river was a huge metal statue of a dragon and every few minutes or so it would breath out this big ball of fire -more screaming and jumping about by the new kids. 

Hard to tell but yes this is a DRAGON!!

 

Karolina wanted to figure out how she was floating

Sir Peter and his gang

 

Our walk along the river each day

 

Inside the Castle grounds

So it was a good day - fire breathing dragon, elevator ride and all. 
 

Internet in Poland.  We are spoiled with paying a monthly lump sum fee for all the internet we can use back in the States - including video streaming.  Here you have to pay for the amount of internet you download.  Video streaming can be very expensive here.  Moreover, many internet sites like Netflix.com, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, etc...are not accessible here in Poland. 

You have to change your VPN on your computer to access some of these sites.  Basically, it makes the internet think you are somewhere other than here.  You can Google different ways to do this. 

Court Day is here! We stayed in Jawor overnight and our court appearance is this afternoon.  Looking back, I would not have stayed here last night or spent the day in the town.  Since it is a small town, it was not wise to walk around the town with our new kids since residents may not understand why we are with them.  I also would not have gone back to the Orphanage.  It was nice for the kids to see their friends one last time but we had already said goodbye and it dug up the emotions of this life change again.

The court experience was pleasant.  Neither of us were worried or nervous just excited for this day to finally be here.  Our Adoption Representative, Sasha, and the Assistant Director from the orphanage went with us.  When we arrived, we met our translator.  Right at the appoint time, we were all called into the courtroom. It was a medium size room with about 5 rows of benches for the audience.  We were instructed to sit over on the side with our translator.  The attorney (prosecutor) for the state sat opposite us.  Three judges sat in the front of the room with the court reporter.

The lead judge started by asking us both several questions:

• Do you still want to adopt these children? Yes
• Do you understand Polish law concerning adoption? Yes
• Will you be required any additional procedures once you return to the U.S. before the adoption becomes legal? No

The lead judge then called Robyn up to the stand, which faced the three judges and asked her lots of questions:

• How old are you?
• How long have you been married?
• What is your occupation?
• Do you work outside the home?
• Do you plan to homeschool these children as well?
• How long have you homeschooled the children?
• Why do you want to adopt from Poland?
• Do you have any relatives from Poland?
• How has your two weeks bonding period gone?
• How have your children related with the new children?
• What are their thoughts about bring in more children into your home?
• Does your husbands job require him to be away from home a lot?
• Does your husbands job require him to work lots of hours?
• Do you have any health issues?
• Have you ever been convicted of a crime?

Then it was my turn:

• How old are you?
• What do you do for an occupation?
• What level of education have you completed?
• What is your financial condition?  Salary?
• How big is your house?
• Why do you want to adopt from Poland?
• How have your existing children related to the new children?  What activities have you done together?
• Do you have any health issues?
• Have you ever been convicted of a crime?

The judge then asked the prosecutor if she had any issues with the adoptions.  She had no objections.

The lead judge then asked the representative from the orphanage to address the court.

• How long have the children lived at the orphanage?
• Tell us about the children?
• What are your thoughts about the children being adopted?
• What are your thoughts about these parents adopting the children?
• Any concerns?
• What about the birth mother and her relationship with the children?

After she spoke, the lead judge asked us if we have anything further to add or request:

• I confirmed again that we wanted to adopt these children.
• I wanted to thank the orphanage for taking wonderful care of our children.
• I requested that the court minimize our appeal period and we did not need a written decree.  Note:  if you do not ask for this, the appeal period is three weeks. If you waive the written decree, the court may reduce the appeal period to two weeks.
• I also requested that if the court ruled in our favor, that once the appeal period ended that our appoint trustee be able to pick up the final approved documents here at the courthouse.  Note:  this saves you from having to wait for it to be mailed which could add another week.
• We gave the court a piece of paper with the new names of the children.  If you don't, you run the chance of the court reporter misspelling their new names so be sure to give them the new names already written down.

Then the lead judge dismissed us for them to discuss their decision.  So we went back into the hallway for about 15 minutes.  After about 10 minutes, the court reporter came out to confirm the spelling of their new names. Well, that was a good sign!!

We then returned to the courtroom. The lead judge told us that it was a hard decision to remove the birth mother from her parental rights. She then went into some painful details.  In the end, it was the decision of the court that the children needed to be in stable family environment and it was not fair for the children to wait any longer for their mother to change her ways. So then the judge, who had spoken in Polish the entire time, looked at us and said in very good English "you are now the parent of these children."  Then all three judges broke out in big smiles.  The translator was in shock because she had rarely seen Polish judges show any emotion. 

We then came forward and signed a document confirming their decision.  They even allowed us to get a picture made with them.  The lead judge, again in English, spoke some kinds words about us and asked if we would send her an update from time to time.  She also requested that we remind the children of their Polish heritage. 

Traveling back to the children's home city (Jawor) for our court date tomorrow.  This morning we packed up all nine of us in our 80's VW box style van and left Piaseczo (south of Warsaw) and headed back to the children's home city of Jawor (southwest Poland).

First, we truly appreciate our interstate system in the states that much more after traveling across Poland.  On the limited interstate system they do have you have to really keep your eyes in front and behind you.  You can come up on a slow vehicle in the right hand lane really quick.  Lots of vehicles in the left hand lane think they are still in Germany on the autobaun and traveling at incredible fast speeds.  So remember to look twice before moving into the left lane because a vehicle that was not there two seconds ago can suddenly appear.  I felt like a NASCAR driver at Talladega  spending as much time looking at the mirrors and what is behind me as I did what was coming up ahead of me.

Second, you need a GPS with current updates on road closures and traffic conditions.  You can get stuck in traffic for hours.  Our GPS had voice instructions which really helped so I could keep my eyes on the road.

Although the GPS said it would take us 5 hours to get to Jawor, it took us from 9:30 AM to 8 PM to get there.  We did have many stops along the way...7 kids with different bladders plus stopping for meals.

On our second trip to Jawor, we went a different route that did not go through so many small towns.  That was a big help. 

Road trip food...I hope you like McDonalds and gas station food.  Unless you pack snacks and food before you leave or stop at a grocery store on the way, these are your two food options. 

Roundabouts are common.  In Poland, the vehicle in the roundabout has the right of way. 

Be prepared to be exhausted when you reach your destination.  You have to be mentally sharp the entire time you are driving so be sure to be fresh when you start.

If possible, driving at night is easier because you do not fight so much local traffic. 

In the end, it is nice having the freedom of driving in Poland so you can work your schedule to work best for your family.

Shopping in Poland.  Parking is limited so if you find a parking space, you may want to get it before it disappears.  Some of the stores charge 1 Polish dollar to rent a shopping cart or even use the restroom so I now carry change with me anywhere we go.  The Polish $1 and $5 are coins.

The shopping carts have four wheels that swivel so it take a while to get used to "drifting" your cart.  The four swivel wheels come in handy when you are stuck in traffic on a shopping aisle and need to move your cart sideways. 

Polish people have very little personal space when shopping.  Several times I have been cutoff, bumped, or stepped in front of.  That is just the way they are so please just be prepared that it is different. 

When buying fruit or vegetables, you have to weigh and price the food on that aisle.  They do not weigh and price it at the check-out.

Plan to spend lots of time walking up and down aisle looking for different food items.  I have learned to just slowly walk down each aisle even when I just need a few items.  In the end, it was faster. 

Be careful what you buy.  I was on the pasta aisle and picked up the pasta and then sauce.  When I got home, I realized that it was salsa for chips.  Well, it is a bit spicy but it was actually pretty good on pasta :) 

Peanut butter is expensive here.  If there was one thing I wished I had brought was a big jar of crunchy peanut butter. 

Not all grocery stores take visa or mastercard so be sure to have cash your first time in a new store.  There are plenty of ATMs available but be sure to check their exchange rate (they post it on the screen and you have to accept or void transaction).  Some ATMs charge crazy rates. 

Have a translator app on your phone to figure out what some stuff is. 

Be prepared for lots of people and give yourself plenty of time to enjoy a different shopping experience.

Driving is Poland.  If you have driven in another European country and can drive a stick shift, you will be find here.  I have driven in France, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and even England. If you can drive on the wrong side of the road (in England), this is a piece of cake.  They drive on the right side here. Two differences in the traffic laws: no right on red (unless you have a green arrow) and you must have your headlights on at all times (day and night).  You may be able to find an automatic at the Warsaw Airport but they are rare. We have a pretty well "loved" 9 passenger van that will never when a beauty contest but it gets us there...most of the time.  Twice it has refused to shift into first gear and it has taken me shutting off the engine, cranking again, and then running through the gears to finally find one.  Yet, I have not heard one vehicle honk.  Folks just wait for you to get it in gear or wake up or finish putting on your makeup.  Love that they do not honk. 

Parking in Poland.  There are plenty of places with the "P" for Public Parking.  Just beware, most of these have a parking meter (not at your individual parking spot) but at the end of a group of parking spaces.  So be sure to look for these and bring plenty of change.  Take your receipt and place it on your dashboard for the nice Policja to see. A $1 polish dollar will get you about 30 minutes (remember that is only 30 cents in the U.S., so not bad).  If you see a blue round sign with a red X, this is there no parking sign...it also means no stopping to drop anyone off, either. If you have a round blue sign, with a "/" or half an X, this means that you cannot park but you can stop to drop someone off.

Fueling in Poland. Many vehicles are diesel so be sure you know what kind your vehicle needs. If your vehicle needs diesel, look for the "ON" at the pump. Green does not necessarily means diesel in Poland. If in doubt, ask inside - yes, few places allow you to pay at the pump. You must go inside to pay.

GPS is a must.  The street names are already a mile long so be sure your smartphone or GPS device has a fairly current version of Poland.  They are adding lots of new divided highways which they really need. 

Happy trails.

Having someone who can translate what your kids are saying is a must.  We are so blessed to have a landlord that speaks some English. He comes by about once a day to check on anything that needs repaired...yes, he can change a light bulb all by himself :)  Yesterday, we were planning to meet up with the other American family here in Warsaw but our oldest girl for some reason was upset and did not want to be around their oldest child.  We, of course, are in full protection mode right now so we needed to find out why or what happened before we met up with them. Thankfully, Adam, the landlord, was able to translate for us that their oldest had told Carolina that she ate her buggers.  Whew, I think we can work past that one.

Later, Adam came back by the house.  Carolina ran over to him to tell him something.  Adam then had a big smile and said, "She wanted me to know that she loves her new family and she cannot wait until we are able to go home (U.S.) together."

KFC - we ate at a KFC just south of Warsaw. We ate TWO of the family XL buckets!  That is 98 pieces of chicken - some were just chicken wings but still!  It was so good. These kids really can eat.  We have been to the grocery store just about every day because they eat everything in the cabinets and in the refrigerator so fast. Pizza, hot dogs, and chicken are their favorite. 

The town we live in (Piaseczno) has a curb market on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  We stopped and bought lots of apples and pears from one very rough looking farmer that's skin that looked very weathered from the years and years of working hard on a farm.  He told us the amount and I handed over 50 polish dollars (about $15 U.S.).  He started handing back lots of change.  I took some and then told him to keep the rest (all of this conversation was in hand gestures). He looked at me with his hard, rough face and then a big smile spread across it. That alone was worth the $15.  As we were walking away, he slipped Drew Preston a few more apples with that big smile still shining.  My newest Polish friend.

It is the little surprises in adoption that make it even sweeter.  I did not shave yesterday so this morning when each of the kids came into the kitchen for their good morning hug and kisses they were surprised by my whiskers that scratched their face.  They looked at my face and it took them a minute to figure it out.  Big smiles :)

Warsaw Zoo is a great way to spend half a day with the kids.  It costs about 15 Polish ($5 US) dollars.  I suspect that our new kids have never been to a zoo before now.  It was an easy drive there but a challenge to find a parking space as there is no parking lot just street parking.  They were amazed with all the various animals (zions, tigers, polar bears, oh my...elephants, giraffes, seals...). One of the elephants put on a really good show.  He was mad at something and let us all know about it (reminded me of Nick Saban).  It is a good idea to eat before you come or at the food places across the street from the entrance - not much of a selection inside the zoo.  It takes about four hours to do the whole zoo.  If you don't read or speak Polish, it is a good an idea to find where the bathrooms are before you go.  When our little girl had to go, it was funny running from building to building looking for a bathroom (well, funny now).  Since it gets dark at 4 PM here this time of year, be sure to get there by noon if here in the winter. 

When doing research to prepare our family for the trip to Poland, I found very few blogs available that focused on the Polish adoption process (paperwork trail, how long each step takes, and helpful hints for the trip).  So the intent of this blog has been geared towards families also adopting from Poland.  My wife, Robyn, is writing a family blog (www.sixnewfeet.blogspot.com) that is more geared towards the daily goings on our family.

It has been one week since we first arrived in Poland.  The seven hour time zone difference has been easier on some of us than others.  It seems that biting the bullet seems to have worked best.  We departed the U.S. on a Friday evening (most flights depart in the evening) and we arrived mid-day on Saturday (still early in the morning back home). We did our best to stay up Saturday and just go to bed early that evening (would have been so nice just to go to bed once we got to the hotel).  It still took several days to adjust our internal clocks.  All this to say that it will be may be a bit frustrating the first few days and nights but it will get better :)

Google Play Movie:  last night I planned to surprise Ellie with a movie I had downloaded on my tablet. Well, found out the hard way that Google Play Movie does not work yet in Poland.  I few movies that I purchased do work.

Google Play Books:  Downloaded several books for the trip.  These have been a blessing.  First, they are much lighter than packing a bunch of books for the trip.  Also, much easier on the eyes of your roommate still trying to sleep than turning on the lights in the middle of the night (jetlag has you waking up at weird times of the night).  A Study Bible is great!

Running in Poland.  I have only found ONE other runner and its my third day of running (total of 19 miles).  I was beginning to think it was against the law or something because I did not see anyone else exercising.  I guess since lots of folks here walk to work, that is their exercise.  The key is to find sidewalks because the streets are all narrow and very busy.  Bring colored shirts that can be easily seen during the day.  With the uneven sidewalks and numerous potholes, I would not even consider running in the dark.  Have I mentioned that it is pretty much completely dark here at 4 PM.  Most days so far have been damp and overcast...I think we have seen the sun once in the first week.  As the weather does get very cold, layering is good.  This week it has been mild (high 50/low 40s)so shorts and long sleeve t-shirt have been fine.  I have not seen another person in shorts - even the other runner was in long pants, jacket, and hat. 

Washing and drying in Poland.  We have a sink to wash dishes - no dishwasher.  It is amazing how quickly 9 people can use up the clean dishes.  Ellie and I worked hard today staying ahead of the demand for clean dishes, cups, bowls, etc...these kids love to eat!!

Washing and drying in Poland (II).  We have a washing machine and NO dryer.  Thankfully we have a separate laundry room with four clothes lines strung from one side to the other.  With the time it takes for clothes to clothes line dry, as soon as they are dry, we have more clothes to string up.  Don't get behind or you WILL get buried. 

A day spent at the house.  Having a van is a really good idea.  We had to wait most of the day for Sasha to arrive to set up the internet and take Robyn to the big grocery store.  Nevertheless, we had a great day.  Lazy breakfast and I was able go for a quick run (only run on roads with sidewalks - crazy drivers here with narrow streets).  Able to do some homeschool.  I took our newest outside for a while to play ball and dig in the sand.  They have lots and lots of energy.  Robyn and Ellie went with Sasha to the store (took over 2 hours).  Drew Preston has a sore throat so praying it is just the changing weather. 

Sasha has found us a 9 passenger van for about 100 Polish dollars a day ($30 US).  We hope to get it this weekend.  Internet is charged by the MB used so we may not be watching much Netflix after all. 

Language with the kids is working out great.  Amazing how quickly we can adapt to hand signals and pointing to communicate.  When nothing else works, I big hug usually takes care of it. 

 

Silly fun with the girls.