Family of SIX!!!

It's a BOY and a GIRL! As of today, April 28 at 3:40 pm half way around the world John and I have been named the proud parents of Alexei Joseph Hinz and Sonya Noel Hinz. Yes, tears of joy were shed as they also were at the births of Johnny and Carolyn.

A little about their names...Before we were even married, John and I decided that we would name our first child AJ (for A-my & J-ohn).  Then when the time came, we decided our first born would be a junior. In God's timing, now our oldest child is our AJ.  Alexei Joseph is named after my brother, Andrew Joseph. We also like that Alexei shares his middle name with Jesus' ADOPTIVE Father. When we were naming Carolyn we were going back and forth between "Joy" and "Noel" for her middle name.  Sonya will have the other middle name that we loved.  Sonya Noel is our new daughter, "Noel" being a reminder of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  A little more about the childrens' names. We have chosen to keep their first names to maintain an idenity with their Ukrainian heritage.

Johnny is very excited to be the BIG brother - not the oldest - but the BIGGEST! Carolyn is excited in her own way too!  Johnny and Carolyn will probably continue to affectionately call AJ - Dusty!  

Now we have a ten day waiting period. We will stay here and continue to visit the children during this time. Then on day 11 we will be permitted to begin all paperwork in order to make it legal. We will probably be able to take the children out of the orphanage on May 16th. This day will be called our "Gotcha Day." If everything goes well we can then fly home on May 19.

Thank you for your prayers!  We are praising God for a successful court decision and for the honor of being new parents to Alexei Joseph Hinz and Sonya Noel Hinz.