Ukraine Adoption - Day 1 (Kiev)

On Day 1 we arrived in Kiev at approximately 6pm local time and dealt with a LONG customs line. After passing through, finding a restroom, and collecting our bags (all present!), we finally arrived to the place at the airport where "someone would be holding a sign that says STOCKWELL." It was our facilitator, Natasha, and we were so happy to be welcomed by someone expecting us. Natasha became our fast friend, and we were immediately in good hands. She showed us to the van and once we got inside she had a bag of groceries for us - which was perfect because we were starving. We got into our apartment in Kiev and then Natasha took us to a restaurant called Reprise where we had an excellent meal. It was right across the street from our apartment and we loved it. Back at our apartment we were able to call Natasha and Yuri with (facilitator) Natasha's help. We only got Natasha on the phone, but that was still so exciting! She knew we were coming and it was so cute. We had to ask her to start considering name choices, and we told her the ones we had in mind. Of course she liked NONE of them, but that's ok... we knew she'd mentioned the name Ashley when she was in our home, and she brought it up again on the phone. It's not that we don't like the name Ashley - we do - it's just that we know many of them (I have a cousin and a niece named Ashley - just spelled differently). Truth of the matter is, we want her happy, and it's a perfectly great name. She asked to think of some others for another day. For Yuri, she said that SHE will think of a name for him (which we thought was funny... she's so used to being his boss). We were open to hearing what she/they come up with, but weren't afraid to let HIM have a voice in this, too. We were very tired, so Natasha reviewed for us the plans of the next day and we went to bed.