Happy New Year!
Every year right before we pack and leave for Tennessee in December, I end up scrambling to do Christmas cards in time for Christmas! This year, I decided to wait and do it the week after Christmas when I “had more time.” Clearly, that didn’t work. I guess I don’t do so well without a definite deadline! We had some changes in our family this year. Viktor came home in March, and each of our sisters became Moms. In July, we said goodbye to Granny. We miss her so much. It’s strange to gather with family without her there, but we know that we will see her again.
Brian continues work on his Masters (planning to graduate in May 2014). Viktor is enjoying all sorts of new things. He played baseball this spring, joined the band (percussion) at school, is in Boy Scouts, and has joined the high school basketball team - Go Rockets! He is in 9th grade and doing extremely well. Anden plays basketball, baseball, and fall soccer. He also still does Awanas. He has now moved up to the middle school in 4th grade, so that has been a big change for him. Brylar is in her second year of preschool at church. She likes school, is a little bit (sometimes a lot) of a drama queen, has TONS of energy, loves playing with Chella, and is getting pretty good at writing her letters. She played spring and fall soccer, did gymnastics this summer, and goes to Awana Cubbies. Chella is very smart. If she sees her clothes laid out (or sometimes finds them in her drawers) she will dress herself - sometimes the arms are through the neckhole or shirts are upside down, but she‘s actually pretty good! She likes to color or do anything that big sister is doing. Chella doesn’t like to talk a lot, yet (strange in this family, I know). Mom says she’s a little spoiled, and she’s probably right J
I stay busy with the kids, helping with VBS and Christmas program, and I am now writing freelance for the local weekly newspaper. I love it!
We had another very full year. We found out the last week of 2012 that we would leave for Ukraine on January 26th. Our January was filled with Anden’s basketball games (Brian and Daryl coached) and some Rockets games, too. One weekend, we took a family trip to CocoKeys (indoor water park hotel). Anden and Brylar had agreed to forego birthday parties for a whole weekend there, and it was a great time! The whole month was also spent preparing for our trip to Ukraine. Mom came up a few days before we left so she could stay with Anden and Brylar for 2 weeks. Brian’s parents and Mom took us up to the airport so they could see us off. At that point, we had no idea how long we would be gone. I can’t even tell you how hard it was to leave them. Knowing it was the only way to bring home our other son was the thing that got us through it.
We are very blessed that Brian has a job that can be done remotely. He was able to work most of the time he was there, so it minimized the amount of vacation he had to use. Since he needed to keep the same hours, though, he worked until 1 or 2 in the morning. That was fine; we had lots of down time just waiting for the next court date or paperwork. The kids were with Mom for 2 weeks, then she went home. They stayed with Dennis and Janelle for the next 2 weeks. Brian finally got to go home 1 day shy of 4 weeks. From the time Mom left until I got back, my wonderful friend Ashley watched Brylar during the day while Brian worked. There were so many people who helped us along the way and took care of things at home as they were needed. God really provided everything we needed. After Brian left, Chella and I stayed in Ukraine another 4 weeks before we were finally able to bring Viktor HOME for good! There were so many experiences and stories to tell that it took about 40 blog entries. From 15 hour train rides to food-ordering mishaps to wild charades trying to communicate to Ukrainian wedding crashing-They are ALL on my blog. If you have a chance, check it out! www.OfCourseIHaveDuctTape.blogspot.com
While we were gone, the kids had the Awana Grand Prix, Anden had some Cub Scout events, and his basketball games continued.
Finally, on March 21st, Viktor, Chella, and I arrived in Lincoln to be greeted by Brian, the kids, Dennis, Janelle, and several friends. I could have hugged them all for hours! It was so good to be home. I unintentionally reset my jetlag within just 2 days. I just slept a little Thursday night, a little Friday night, and by Saturday night I could go to sleep at a decent time again! Viktor took a little longer, but that’s okay.
Brian’s company gives some adoption-related time off, but you can only use it after it’s final. So, we decided to use that time for a trip to Tennessee the next week for Easter! While there, we met my cousin’s newest additions, Sasha and Sonja, from Latvia! What fun for Viktor to be able to chat with cousins in Russian his first week in America. It was a busy trip including lots of eating with family and friends, a day at Playside (huge indoor playground) with the cousins, some spoiling by Meme, getting new ball gloves for both boys from Uncle David, playing lots of catch, and train dominoes, of course. On our road trip home, we stopped for lunch and to meet my friend Becca in Nashville. Becca and her husband are adopting one of Viktor‘s roommates from the orphanage, but it is taking longer due to the Ukrainian paperwork for him. They were down visiting her parents, so it was a perfect time for us to meet! We had a great time getting to visit on our way to the hotel for the night. The next day, we stopped at the St. Louis Arch and rode up in it - something we hadn’t done since Anden was 3.
About a week after our return, Viktor started working through Rosetta Stone at home. We had decided that the best solution was to home-school the remainder of the year and have him start school in the fall. We also worked on some math, but we knew the English was the most important! Viktor and Anden started baseball practices. Brylar played soccer. I use that term loosely because she’s not quite yet “into” sports. So, she mainly looked cute and ran around the field. Viktor, Chella, and I joined in on her preschool trip to the zoo, and that was a lot of fun! Also, Katie and Luke became parents when our niece, Audriella was born!
In May, baseball games started, and we were running all directions watching the boys play. They both loved it, though, so it was worth it! We went to Brylar’s preschool program, soccer picnic, and Awana awards. We also enjoyed a graduation party for Brian’s cousin, Aubree (who was a flower girl in our wedding if that tells you how old we’re getting). It was so great to see all Janelle’s family - had a blast! Memorial Day weekend, Brian and the boys helped out with demolition and remodeling Daryl and Rachel’s kitchen. Then, the next week was Vacation Bible School. Viktor jumped right in with the other youth and helped out with games. It was lots of fun!
Our first camping trip didn’t happen until the first weekend in June! We went out with Grotrians to a place down in Kansas. It’s called Sycamore Springs, and it was beautiful! I have FOUND my favorite place to camp. Everyone had a great time. Grotrians left after breakfast Sunday, and we hung around for the onsite church service. As luck (aka God) would have it, the pastor had spent time in Russia and was able to converse pretty easily with Viktor! The rest of June was fast and busy. After staying relatively cool during May, it got REALLY hot! We continued going to baseball games all month long. Anden had Bright Lights Camp (where he did chess) and also Cub Scout Camp. This year, after checking out all the garage sales during Unadilla Days (our town’s fun weekend in June) and running to a baseball game, we went down to do the festivities at the park. There was a GIANT waterslide on the hill. We went down thinking we’d be there for about an hour. It was so much fun that we were there the rest of the afternoon and stuck around for the dinner and tractor pull. Brian even did the tractor pull and was joined by his uncle Randy - lol! After kids all were settled in jammies, I got to go hang out with girlfriends for awhile.
We headed to Tennessee again for July 4th. We had family picnics, played lots of dominoes, went to Playside, and just enjoyed time with family. Granny was in the nursing home, and we went over to visit her several times that week. Back home, Brylar had a lot of fun taking swim lessons with her friends for a week. The weekend of Germanfest, we hosted a chaperone from Ukraine. She was visiting with the New Horizons summer hosting program. I think we wore her out! Germanfest is always a great time - wiener dog races, pancake feed, kids’ fun downtown, parade, German dancing, etc. That’s just the stuff in the afternoon! I made borscht for supper, and the chaperone went to bed after that. Brian and I took the kids over to Dennis and Janelle’s to watch fireworks. Then, my awesome husband took the kids home and I went to the street dance with friends. Sunday, we went to the Omaha zoo! It’s exhausting walking around all over the place, but there is so much to see! We really enjoyed ourselves.
On Friday the 19th, Mom called to say that Granny had passed away. Brian was at the store with Viktor at the time. I took Chella upstairs to wait for him to get home and figure out our plan. Chella picked up a snow globe and handed it to me. Dad had given me years ago. It made me laugh and cry thinking about the scene in heaven that day - Dad playing his guitar singing some crazy song to make Granny laugh. It actually gave me a lot of peace. I spent the next few hours getting everyone packed so we could leave the next day for Tennessee. On the way down, we made a special pitstop in Kentucky about 4 hours from Mom’s house. Viktor’s best friend from Ukraine was in America being hosted. His host family was on vacation there. Viktor got to sit and have ice-cream with Misha for about 20-30 minutes. It was short, but we’re thankful they got the chance to see each other. We spent the next week with family. Monday, I was standing at my Mom's kitchen sink watching my kids running around the yard playing. I thought how my Mom stood at that same sink watching us play as kids and smiled. Then, I thought of how, just 2 houses down, my Granny had done the same thing when my Mom and her siblings were kids. It really is a circle, and we all live on in the ones who come after us. Granny will live on for a very long time in all of us who came from her and continue to pass on her humor and love of family. Her funeral was on Viktor’s birthday (which is shared with my cousin‘s twin boys, and his girls‘ birthday is 2 days later). We had a big party for all 5 kids that Wednesday at their house. Thursday, Mom and Meg kept Chella and sent Brian and I with the other kids to Lake Winnie (amusement park). It was tiring, but definitely a good time. We headed home Saturday.
August was a blur. Anden got a part in “The Princess and the Pea.” He had a lot of fun going to rehearsals every day with his friend, Hannah. They did a fantastic job! We had our usual fun at the fair, and then, before I knew it, school started! We went camping our final 2 weekends - once with church friends (that included 13 kids in all) at Sycamore Springs, and once with other friends at Indian Caves. Brian is ready to chuck the camper over a cliff, though, because the cables are not working right. It’s a good thing we’re in Nebraska with no cliffs because he was so frustrated I think he actually might have done it! It was an “RV” moment when people from neighboring campers came over to offer their help in getting the thing popped up using screw drivers, hammers, WD40, or whatever else they needed.
The girls and I went to Tennessee the first weekend in September for Meghan’s baby shower. It was a great girlie weekend! The girls were awesome travelers, and (most of) the other passengers were helpful. We returned just in time for Brylar and Anden to start fall soccer. Brylar started preschool, went to preschool library time, kids started back to Awanas, we had a progressive dinner at church, Brian went on Anden’s field trip with him, and we saw lots of Rockets volleyball and football. Viktor was nominated as freshman representative to the Homecoming Court and won! He went to the dance the next night-talk about weird for me to be dropping off a kid at a high school dance!
In October, I started writing freelance for the local weekly newspaper. I really love writing, and I am at tons of community events anyway. It’s actually quite perfect for me! I feel very blessed to have the opportunity. More football, volleyball, and soccer games filled up lots of time. On the 10th, Viktor was sworn in officially as a citizen! Because he was over 13 at the time of adoption, he had to go swear in. Younger kids are not required to do this. We all went up to Omaha for the day and had lunch at our friend Mary’s house afterwards. Of COURSE we had our annual Halloween Party. This year, we were Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. It was a super-fun night! Unfortunately, on Halloween the football team had a playoff game, so Viktor didn’t get to do much trick-or-treating since he‘s in band.
Meghan and Joe welcomed our niece, Greenleigh, into the world a week early on November 3rd. I had to wait almost 2 months until I got to see her! Chella turned 2 the next week, and, just like Anden and Brylar, she is in LOVE with Elmo! Of course I made another Elmo cake J
I directed the church children’s Christmas program again this year, so we had weekly practices all month. Brylar also did a 6 week gymnastics class in Lincoln with cousin Haleigh. We celebrated Thanksgiving Day at Grandpa Werner’s house with all the family. I went all night shopping with friends. Well, not all night, but close enough. Friday, we went to the tree farm where Viktor picked out our tree that we put up that evening. Saturday, we had Thanksgiving with Janelle’s family. The kids started a game of spoons - a very loud, semi-violent, filled-with-laughter game of spoons. It was great!
With December came basketball! Viktor is on the basketball team, and he really likes it. He didn’t play, yet, but for now he’s mainly learning basics. Tannenbaum was the first weekend, and we went downtown for all the festivities - crafts, Santa, tree-lighting. Viktor and Anden both got to go hunting with Uncle D. They didn’t get anything, but I think froze and saw a few other animals besides deer! We had the church Christmas program, Brylar’s preschool program, and Viktor’s band concert all the week before we packed up to leave. Our Christmas week in Tennessee was great! Meghan and Joe were up, so we had a full house at Mom’s. We spent lots of time with family, did some shopping, and just enjoyed our time together. We ended the year at Gameapalooza! It was another full, amazing, blessed year. We hope that it was wonderful for you as well.
Brian, Laramie, Anden, Brylar, Chella, and Viktor
Friday, January 24, 2014
Saturday, August 3, 2013
The Home Stretch - Final Chapter March 31, 2013
We have been back for almost 2 weeks and I’m just getting around to updating our “Home Stretch!” I started it in the Chicago airport and never finished, so I’m starting over J As you know by now, we are HOME! My last update was our final Sunday, so I’ll pick up with Monday. We were picked up that morning by our facilitator and taken to the Emba$sy to file paperwork. Another lady, L, her sister C, and new son V all came with us. There were around 30 people standing outside, but we were taken up to the front where a guy was holding a clipboard. After a few minutes, they checked us out that we were on “the list” and we were clear. It felt oddly like what you see in the movies of waiting outside a club trying to get in. After security ran my bag through about 8 times to find the last bits of metal I had left in there – oops – we were in. We took a number, were called quickly, and filed the paperwork. V and I were finished, so we waited with C for the other family to finish. It’s a good thing we did, because the lady realized she had forgotten to fingerprint him and called us back up! Once we were finished, we went back to the apartment for the day. We went to the grocery store at one point and just ate back at the apartment. We were tired!
Tuesday, we made plans with the family we had met for supper on Sunday. They were comfortable riding the metro, so we decided to give it a try! After a 10-15 minute walk, we had located the metro station and figured out how to get across the busy street (underneath it). The escalators seemed to go down forever, but we finally got to the platform. B (Dad) and D (new son) met us at our subway stop. It was a little confusing because I didn’t know which train they would be getting off, so I kept looking from side to side once a train arrived. V was less than thrilled with having to hang out there and didn’t understand why we had to wait. Once they arrived, they helped us get on the right train to head towards our destination where we were meeting K (mom) and the girls. We had decided to go ice-skating at a mall. The snow started coming down pretty hard just as we arrived. It was beautiful! First stop in the mall was the food court since none of us had eaten. We had already been talking about what foods we missed the most. Mexican food was high on the list. Lo and behold – there was a MEXICAN fast food restaurant in there! We were a little excited. We were very excited and exclaiming “Mexican food! Yaa!!” so much that the teenage girls working there had to go in the backroom they were laughing so hard. I can only imagine what they thought about these crazy Americans practically jumping up and down over mediocre fast food. After filling our bellies, we headed to the ice-skating rink. B and K did not want to skate, so they watched C and I decided to give it a try with the teenagers. Gotta say – it is NOT like riding a bicycle. You do not just jump right back into it! I haven’t been ice-skating since 2006 on our girls trip to Gatlinburg. I clung to the bar for the first 20 minutes this time. C was happy-screaming, waving, and laughing the whole time as she leaned over the rail to watch us. Eventually, I got my balance and actually started skating out in the middle with the kids. It was a lot of fun, but I must admit that I was kind of glad when it was over and nobody had been injured. While skating, we saw a “fish pedicure” place across the mall from the ice-skating rink. H (one of the girls) really wanted to try it. Since they had to go meet their facilitator for some paperwork, I decided to keep H and go do the fish pedicure with her. V went with the rest of her family. It was one of the weirdest things ever. Seriously odd! You put your feet in these fish tanks full of 1” fish. They eat the dead skin off your feet. I am kind of an odd duck anyway since I like my feet tickled, but this was NOT pleasant! It tingled and felt like my feet were falling asleep. A few minutes into it, H said, “This is the longest 10 minutes ever!” I said, “That’s because it’s 20!” Haha! It seemed effective, and I can cross it off my list as something I’ve done. I won’t be doing it again, though! After going 4 metro stops the wrong way, and 8 more back to the right place, we met up with her family and V at a “McFoxy” which is a knockoff McDonald’s. V snacked on some food, C slept, and we headed back to the apartment. Wednesday was super-busy. We were picked up around 10 (had been ready since 9 because we were unsure when we had to go), and we went to a doctor’s office/clinic. L and her son V were with us again. The boys needed to have physicals before they had their Visa clearance. When we finally completed that, I needed a quick trip to the outdoor market for some matryoshka dolls. Mission complete, then we headed to the Embassy. There was not another person in line except for us. It was FREEZING! It was probably the coldest I’ve been. Even though we had US Passports clearly showing us as American citizens, the guy with the clipboard left us outside instead of letting us wait just inside the door where it was warm. Seriously??? I have a BABY! I’m an American citizen, and you can’t even let me stand inside a door where it’s warm??? Grr – not happy with them. We finally got inside and completed all our paperwork. We were on our way with everything needed to go home! V, C, and I got dropped off at an Italian restaurant for lunch/supper and then walked back to our apartment to pack.
I really liked flying Lufthansa on the way over, and I have never had any good experiences with United. So, I was happy we had gotten flights for less than the $2400 apiece (like we originally thought), but I was really apprehensive about it being United and knowing it was highly unlikely they would give us the bulkhead seats. I was fairly certain we wouldn’t be getting a bassinet for C, either. As I talked to different friends about it on FB and was praying for bulkhead seats for our long flight, a friend suggested trying to check-in online. When I went to check-in, it said something like “Due to a ground-workers’ strike, your flight has been delayed. Call ***-****” Uh-oh. I knew that couldn’t be good… So, I backed out of that screen and checked flight status. It said the flight was delayed 4 ½ hours. That meant we definitely wouldn’t make the connection in Germany. After a call with our facilitator on the US side, she got in touch with the travel agent to make other arrangements. He got us on an even earlier flight for Thursday morning that had a Lufthansa connection for the long flight! Yaa! Of course, that meant leaving the apartment at 3AM, but at least we would be going!
Upon arriving at the airport and checking in, we realized that L, her sister C, and son V were on our flight to Germany! We finally got through security, waited with them for the plane, and once in Germany we waited together again for our connecting flights. By the time we arrived in Germany, they had cancelled all inter-Europe flights (due to the strike) and were only going internationally. Whew! In the nick of time! The flight from Germany to Chicago was definitely not full. Many people hadn’t made it to Germany from other parts of Europe due to the cancelled flights. We had 3 seats and the bassinet, so that was really nice for spreading out and letting C play. V and C slept a good bit on the flights, but I never got more than a 10-15 minute catnap here and there. In Chicago, we got off the plane and through immigration/customs as quickly as possible. It still took quite awhile. Our layover was scheduled for 7 hours, so I went to the closest counter and begged to be put on standby for the next flight. She put us on standby, but the flight was pretty full and we weren’t expected to get on. After waiting at the gate and listening to them offering vouchers for people to give up their seats, I knew it was highly unlikely we would get on the flight. However, the lady was offering tickets on a flight to Lincoln that would be leaving within the hour. We went to the counter and asked if it was possible to put us on that flight. They did! I take back what I said about United! They have some nice people working there, afterall! She said we’d have to get our luggage in Omaha. Due to some mixups we didn’t get it until Friday afternoon, but WE GOT HOME at 8:30 on Thursday night! We were met at the airport by Brian, A, B, Brian’s parents, and several friends. What a wonderful sight to see! We were so thankful to get home, finally. Later, we found out that there was a massive snowstorm in Ki*v Friday morning that closed the airport for days. If we had missed that 5:55AM flight, we would have been stuck at least through the weekend. Thank you Lord for your mercies in getting us home! The trip is over, but the journey continues.
Tuesday, we made plans with the family we had met for supper on Sunday. They were comfortable riding the metro, so we decided to give it a try! After a 10-15 minute walk, we had located the metro station and figured out how to get across the busy street (underneath it). The escalators seemed to go down forever, but we finally got to the platform. B (Dad) and D (new son) met us at our subway stop. It was a little confusing because I didn’t know which train they would be getting off, so I kept looking from side to side once a train arrived. V was less than thrilled with having to hang out there and didn’t understand why we had to wait. Once they arrived, they helped us get on the right train to head towards our destination where we were meeting K (mom) and the girls. We had decided to go ice-skating at a mall. The snow started coming down pretty hard just as we arrived. It was beautiful! First stop in the mall was the food court since none of us had eaten. We had already been talking about what foods we missed the most. Mexican food was high on the list. Lo and behold – there was a MEXICAN fast food restaurant in there! We were a little excited. We were very excited and exclaiming “Mexican food! Yaa!!” so much that the teenage girls working there had to go in the backroom they were laughing so hard. I can only imagine what they thought about these crazy Americans practically jumping up and down over mediocre fast food. After filling our bellies, we headed to the ice-skating rink. B and K did not want to skate, so they watched C and I decided to give it a try with the teenagers. Gotta say – it is NOT like riding a bicycle. You do not just jump right back into it! I haven’t been ice-skating since 2006 on our girls trip to Gatlinburg. I clung to the bar for the first 20 minutes this time. C was happy-screaming, waving, and laughing the whole time as she leaned over the rail to watch us. Eventually, I got my balance and actually started skating out in the middle with the kids. It was a lot of fun, but I must admit that I was kind of glad when it was over and nobody had been injured. While skating, we saw a “fish pedicure” place across the mall from the ice-skating rink. H (one of the girls) really wanted to try it. Since they had to go meet their facilitator for some paperwork, I decided to keep H and go do the fish pedicure with her. V went with the rest of her family. It was one of the weirdest things ever. Seriously odd! You put your feet in these fish tanks full of 1” fish. They eat the dead skin off your feet. I am kind of an odd duck anyway since I like my feet tickled, but this was NOT pleasant! It tingled and felt like my feet were falling asleep. A few minutes into it, H said, “This is the longest 10 minutes ever!” I said, “That’s because it’s 20!” Haha! It seemed effective, and I can cross it off my list as something I’ve done. I won’t be doing it again, though! After going 4 metro stops the wrong way, and 8 more back to the right place, we met up with her family and V at a “McFoxy” which is a knockoff McDonald’s. V snacked on some food, C slept, and we headed back to the apartment. Wednesday was super-busy. We were picked up around 10 (had been ready since 9 because we were unsure when we had to go), and we went to a doctor’s office/clinic. L and her son V were with us again. The boys needed to have physicals before they had their Visa clearance. When we finally completed that, I needed a quick trip to the outdoor market for some matryoshka dolls. Mission complete, then we headed to the Embassy. There was not another person in line except for us. It was FREEZING! It was probably the coldest I’ve been. Even though we had US Passports clearly showing us as American citizens, the guy with the clipboard left us outside instead of letting us wait just inside the door where it was warm. Seriously??? I have a BABY! I’m an American citizen, and you can’t even let me stand inside a door where it’s warm??? Grr – not happy with them. We finally got inside and completed all our paperwork. We were on our way with everything needed to go home! V, C, and I got dropped off at an Italian restaurant for lunch/supper and then walked back to our apartment to pack.
I really liked flying Lufthansa on the way over, and I have never had any good experiences with United. So, I was happy we had gotten flights for less than the $2400 apiece (like we originally thought), but I was really apprehensive about it being United and knowing it was highly unlikely they would give us the bulkhead seats. I was fairly certain we wouldn’t be getting a bassinet for C, either. As I talked to different friends about it on FB and was praying for bulkhead seats for our long flight, a friend suggested trying to check-in online. When I went to check-in, it said something like “Due to a ground-workers’ strike, your flight has been delayed. Call ***-****” Uh-oh. I knew that couldn’t be good… So, I backed out of that screen and checked flight status. It said the flight was delayed 4 ½ hours. That meant we definitely wouldn’t make the connection in Germany. After a call with our facilitator on the US side, she got in touch with the travel agent to make other arrangements. He got us on an even earlier flight for Thursday morning that had a Lufthansa connection for the long flight! Yaa! Of course, that meant leaving the apartment at 3AM, but at least we would be going!
Upon arriving at the airport and checking in, we realized that L, her sister C, and son V were on our flight to Germany! We finally got through security, waited with them for the plane, and once in Germany we waited together again for our connecting flights. By the time we arrived in Germany, they had cancelled all inter-Europe flights (due to the strike) and were only going internationally. Whew! In the nick of time! The flight from Germany to Chicago was definitely not full. Many people hadn’t made it to Germany from other parts of Europe due to the cancelled flights. We had 3 seats and the bassinet, so that was really nice for spreading out and letting C play. V and C slept a good bit on the flights, but I never got more than a 10-15 minute catnap here and there. In Chicago, we got off the plane and through immigration/customs as quickly as possible. It still took quite awhile. Our layover was scheduled for 7 hours, so I went to the closest counter and begged to be put on standby for the next flight. She put us on standby, but the flight was pretty full and we weren’t expected to get on. After waiting at the gate and listening to them offering vouchers for people to give up their seats, I knew it was highly unlikely we would get on the flight. However, the lady was offering tickets on a flight to Lincoln that would be leaving within the hour. We went to the counter and asked if it was possible to put us on that flight. They did! I take back what I said about United! They have some nice people working there, afterall! She said we’d have to get our luggage in Omaha. Due to some mixups we didn’t get it until Friday afternoon, but WE GOT HOME at 8:30 on Thursday night! We were met at the airport by Brian, A, B, Brian’s parents, and several friends. What a wonderful sight to see! We were so thankful to get home, finally. Later, we found out that there was a massive snowstorm in Ki*v Friday morning that closed the airport for days. If we had missed that 5:55AM flight, we would have been stuck at least through the weekend. Thank you Lord for your mercies in getting us home! The trip is over, but the journey continues.
Stupendous Sunday March 18, 2013
Sunday was stupendous! I had a WONDERFUL morning praising our Lord at ICA (English speaking, Christian church)! For the first time in 7 weeks, I actually had a feeling of "home." With my eyes closed singing "How Great is Our God," I could have been on the left side, third row of SBC. Oh how I pray I will be there next week! I had asked a missionary where we could go to a Christian church, and he told me about his church. It was about a 15 minute taxi ride away, so we went! As we got there, a man looked over at us with recognition or confusion on his face and came over for introductions. As soon as I said V*ktor’s orphanage region, it dawned on him where he had seen V*ktor. He and others from this church do the orphan camp in that region during the summer, so he had met V*ktor last summer. He was also the youth leader of the church, so he snagged someone to translate during youth worship! After all singing together a great praise time, C went to nursery and V went with the other youth.
I cannot even express how good it felt to be in church praising God with other believers. I have MISSED it - even more than I knew until I had it again. I think the last 7 weeks would have been so much better if there had been a church like this available in region. Nothing can really compare to true Christian fellowship. It is a crucial part necessary to strengthen one’s relationship with the Lord. It sure is for me, anyway!
1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
After church, we visited for a few minutes and then caught a taxi to the market area where we ate at a café. It was actually the same place where we had lunch after our SDA appointment on our first day in K*ev. I got my first "MOTHER, you are so embarrassing" look. I had been told there are a lot of pickpockets in this market so don't wear your backpack on your back. So, I put it on the front using one strap kind of under my coat. Apparently, he thought I looked ridiculous. Guess I'm officially Mom of a teenager! We went through the market and got a few more souvenirs. My friend M better feel super-loved because I bought a Florida Gators matryoshka (the stackable wooden dolls) for her. Yuck! Can’t believe I’m putting that in my suitcase - haha. I know she would get a Vols one for me if I needed it, so I’m willing to make the sacrifice of putting something so ugly in my luggage J After our outdoor shopping, we were frozen, so we took a taxi back to our apartment to thaw out. I connected with another adoptive family, and we decided to meet up for late supper. More awesome fellowship, laughter, and sharing experiences took place. They are from Alabama and brought their 2 teenage daughters to adopt teenage son. A friend of theirs (native-speaker) was with them visiting, so it was nice to have a translator for the boys. We sat and visited for hours until we realized it was after 10! So, we headed back to the apartment and went straight to sleep since we had to get up early Monday!
I cannot even express how good it felt to be in church praising God with other believers. I have MISSED it - even more than I knew until I had it again. I think the last 7 weeks would have been so much better if there had been a church like this available in region. Nothing can really compare to true Christian fellowship. It is a crucial part necessary to strengthen one’s relationship with the Lord. It sure is for me, anyway!
1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
After church, we visited for a few minutes and then caught a taxi to the market area where we ate at a café. It was actually the same place where we had lunch after our SDA appointment on our first day in K*ev. I got my first "MOTHER, you are so embarrassing" look. I had been told there are a lot of pickpockets in this market so don't wear your backpack on your back. So, I put it on the front using one strap kind of under my coat. Apparently, he thought I looked ridiculous. Guess I'm officially Mom of a teenager! We went through the market and got a few more souvenirs. My friend M better feel super-loved because I bought a Florida Gators matryoshka (the stackable wooden dolls) for her. Yuck! Can’t believe I’m putting that in my suitcase - haha. I know she would get a Vols one for me if I needed it, so I’m willing to make the sacrifice of putting something so ugly in my luggage J After our outdoor shopping, we were frozen, so we took a taxi back to our apartment to thaw out. I connected with another adoptive family, and we decided to meet up for late supper. More awesome fellowship, laughter, and sharing experiences took place. They are from Alabama and brought their 2 teenage daughters to adopt teenage son. A friend of theirs (native-speaker) was with them visiting, so it was nice to have a translator for the boys. We sat and visited for hours until we realized it was after 10! So, we headed back to the apartment and went straight to sleep since we had to get up early Monday!
Goodbye Friends, Hello K*ev March 18, 2013
Goodbyes are hard. Writing goodbyes is hard, too. That’s probably why I have procrastinated on this blog. Thursday, we said goodbye to the town of P. I woke up at 7:20 and to my pleasant surprise found hot water. So, I got a quick bath since J was coming to say goodbye to V. He goes to a town school, so he wouldn’t be at the orphanage later in the day. I started packing up and J came to the room on his way to school. He and V chatted for a few minutes (do boys “chat?”), let me take a picture, and then said a very casual goodbye. I don’t know if they just really think they’ll see each other this summer and it’s not a big deal - or if that’s just boys for ya.
After packing everything, we headed over to the orphanage to say a quick goodbye to the rest of the kids. They were on a “snack” break where classes briefly stopped for them to eat. We went up to the classroom to wait. The kids slowly trickled up, they hung out for a few minutes in the classroom while I took some pictures, Sa walked the halls with C, and then we decided to head out. There were hugs (multiple ones for each kid from me) and I got a picture of all the kids on the steps of the orphanage one last time. It was kind of weird to think that they had lived together for years and now would never be together again with each other. Sure, he will see hosted kids this summer and in the future if they’re adopted, but ALL of those kids will never be together again at one time. The boys (Sa, J2, Va, M, and A) walked us out to the gate and waved as we left. I just love all those kids. It was really hard to say goodbye to them and leave knowing I will not see most of them again. V*ktor is just so excited to get home that he doesn’t seem sad about leaving his friends. I’m glad that it’s not hard for him. I’m also wondering if/when it’s going to hit him later.
We were going to see the last castle on the way out of town, but it was raining/sleeting, so we didn’t stop. After our last lunch at Kant*na, we grabbed our luggage and rode to the train station. Due to the inordinate amount of luggage that we have, there were 2 taxis. Apparently, our dear, young taxi driver from Wednesday learned nothing from getting pulled over by the police… Thursday was the scariest cab-ride yet! It was snowing/raining/sleeting. He was still going up to 120 km/hr (75). I think he was racing with the other driver. Dummy. Anyway, we arrived in one piece and finally got everything unloaded and into the train station. Aleksey took the 2 biggest bags to the train then came back for us and the rest of our stuff. I crammed coats and blankets on top of the heating vents right away, so it never got absolutely roasting in there this time. We had a cabin with 4 beds. Aleksey and V*ktor got the upper bunks. C slept on her own bed (and slipped down once, but I grabbed her pretty quickly). I took the other lower bed. We read books, played games on the tablet, ate sandwiches, passed the time, watched a movie on the computer, etc. C stayed up pretty late, but I was thankful that once she fell asleep she stayed that way!
Friday morning, we got moving about 30 minutes before the train stopped in K*ev. A taxi picked us up at the train station and we got settled into our apartment. After hanging out there awhile, we got lunch at a nearby mall, went to a grocery store, and went back to the apartment. It was only 2pm, but I was exhausted! We ended up just staying in the rest of the day and snacking for supper.
Saturday, we ate around brunch-time since we were heading out at 11. I had really wanted to see the ballet and realized there was a show at noon! We walked/ran/slid up the hill to the beautiful opera house where I went in search of tickets. I knew from looking online that tickets ranged from $1.25 (10 grivna) to $18.75 (150 grivna). From what I saw of the seat map, you could get some decent looking seats for 30 grivna ($3.75), so I kept asking for those. They kept trying to sell me the more expensive ones, but finally we bought the right ones. We had “box seats.” The box had 6 seats in stairstep fashion by 2s. Then, there was the little parted curtain behind the last 2 seats and a small room with 3 seats scattered around (I assumed for the ushers). Uh, no. Our 30 grivna seats were right behind the parted curtain!!! LOL - wonder what the 10 grivna seats looked like?! It worked out fine because 2 of the seats were unoccupied so we just moved forward. It totally cracked me up, though. We couldn’t have seen a thing without standing if those seats were taken! The ballet was really fun to watch. It was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 3 acts. C actually sat and watched for the first 2 acts. By the third she was having enough of it, but we kept stuffing her mouth with cereal and let her play around in the back. After that, we ventured down to the museum where we saw stuffed animals, dinosaurs, rocks, and various other exhibits. We went pretty fast. It would have taken me a lot more time if I could read any of the signs, and I don’t think V*ktor is used to just wandering through something like that. On our way back to the apartment, we stopped at a pizza place to eat. It was kind of pricey, but the food was good. Day 50 away from home complete.
After packing everything, we headed over to the orphanage to say a quick goodbye to the rest of the kids. They were on a “snack” break where classes briefly stopped for them to eat. We went up to the classroom to wait. The kids slowly trickled up, they hung out for a few minutes in the classroom while I took some pictures, Sa walked the halls with C, and then we decided to head out. There were hugs (multiple ones for each kid from me) and I got a picture of all the kids on the steps of the orphanage one last time. It was kind of weird to think that they had lived together for years and now would never be together again with each other. Sure, he will see hosted kids this summer and in the future if they’re adopted, but ALL of those kids will never be together again at one time. The boys (Sa, J2, Va, M, and A) walked us out to the gate and waved as we left. I just love all those kids. It was really hard to say goodbye to them and leave knowing I will not see most of them again. V*ktor is just so excited to get home that he doesn’t seem sad about leaving his friends. I’m glad that it’s not hard for him. I’m also wondering if/when it’s going to hit him later.
We were going to see the last castle on the way out of town, but it was raining/sleeting, so we didn’t stop. After our last lunch at Kant*na, we grabbed our luggage and rode to the train station. Due to the inordinate amount of luggage that we have, there were 2 taxis. Apparently, our dear, young taxi driver from Wednesday learned nothing from getting pulled over by the police… Thursday was the scariest cab-ride yet! It was snowing/raining/sleeting. He was still going up to 120 km/hr (75). I think he was racing with the other driver. Dummy. Anyway, we arrived in one piece and finally got everything unloaded and into the train station. Aleksey took the 2 biggest bags to the train then came back for us and the rest of our stuff. I crammed coats and blankets on top of the heating vents right away, so it never got absolutely roasting in there this time. We had a cabin with 4 beds. Aleksey and V*ktor got the upper bunks. C slept on her own bed (and slipped down once, but I grabbed her pretty quickly). I took the other lower bed. We read books, played games on the tablet, ate sandwiches, passed the time, watched a movie on the computer, etc. C stayed up pretty late, but I was thankful that once she fell asleep she stayed that way!
Friday morning, we got moving about 30 minutes before the train stopped in K*ev. A taxi picked us up at the train station and we got settled into our apartment. After hanging out there awhile, we got lunch at a nearby mall, went to a grocery store, and went back to the apartment. It was only 2pm, but I was exhausted! We ended up just staying in the rest of the day and snacking for supper.
Saturday, we ate around brunch-time since we were heading out at 11. I had really wanted to see the ballet and realized there was a show at noon! We walked/ran/slid up the hill to the beautiful opera house where I went in search of tickets. I knew from looking online that tickets ranged from $1.25 (10 grivna) to $18.75 (150 grivna). From what I saw of the seat map, you could get some decent looking seats for 30 grivna ($3.75), so I kept asking for those. They kept trying to sell me the more expensive ones, but finally we bought the right ones. We had “box seats.” The box had 6 seats in stairstep fashion by 2s. Then, there was the little parted curtain behind the last 2 seats and a small room with 3 seats scattered around (I assumed for the ushers). Uh, no. Our 30 grivna seats were right behind the parted curtain!!! LOL - wonder what the 10 grivna seats looked like?! It worked out fine because 2 of the seats were unoccupied so we just moved forward. It totally cracked me up, though. We couldn’t have seen a thing without standing if those seats were taken! The ballet was really fun to watch. It was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 3 acts. C actually sat and watched for the first 2 acts. By the third she was having enough of it, but we kept stuffing her mouth with cereal and let her play around in the back. After that, we ventured down to the museum where we saw stuffed animals, dinosaurs, rocks, and various other exhibits. We went pretty fast. It would have taken me a lot more time if I could read any of the signs, and I don’t think V*ktor is used to just wandering through something like that. On our way back to the apartment, we stopped at a pizza place to eat. It was kind of pricey, but the food was good. Day 50 away from home complete.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Roller Coaster 3.13.13
Whew! What a roller-coaster of emotions! Looking back on prior blog posts over the past 10 months I find it kind of interesting that I end up with the same titles in different stages of the process. There are waiting stages, BIG emotional stages, faith stages, and all sorts of unexpected things along the way. The last 3 days have almost driven me bananas wondering when in the world I would ever get home!
Monday morning, we headed down to the market for socks and a few other odds and ends. We grabbed lunch down there at the really cheap restaurant by the bus station. There‘s a reason it‘s cheap, haha. Later, Aleksey came in on the train to M so he could pick up the social number. It was finished, thankfully, so he got that and came here to P. We didn’t really do much on Monday since we had planned on running around most of the day Tuesday.
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s to-do list barely got started. We had hoped to have the local passport information done by 2pm (since he was there when they opened to submit it). If we could make it to the regional office on Tuesday to apply, there was a good chance we’d have the passport by Friday. The hours ticked away and I got more and more down about the fact that we wouldn’t get the passport this week. The time finally passed and I had to get over it. I lucked out with some hot water, took a bath, and we went to eat.
Today was MUCH more eventful! I have gotten to recognize all the taxi drivers here in P. There’s the guy whose trunk will only open with a flathead screw-driver. Another guy has a car where only certain doors open (thankfully he doesn’t make you jump in Dukes of Hazard style). There are several other very friendly, crazy drivers with old, old cars. The guy who took us on our exhausting world tour last Tuesday has a nice, clean, roomy, older Mercedes. Today’s driver looked like he could not have even been 20 years old. The car was very tiny and uncomfortable. He needed directions to EVERYwhere! At one point, he was pulled over by a policeman and put in the police car for about 5 minutes. Yeah, that happened… Another guy took us on our castle tour and has been our driver several times. He has a super-clean car with a decent amount of room. He is by far the craziest driver and must have received his taxi education with “Ern” at the “Knight Bus Driver Training Institute” (Harry Potter 3 reference).
We started off today with Aleksey saying we “might” be going to Ki*v this afternoon. WHAT? Totally threw me for a loop. I was pretty stressed wondering how much/if I should pack up. I started with a suitcase of things I knew I wouldn’t touch until Ki*v even if it wasn’t until another 3-4 days. Once I was done with that, he came and said we needed to go do documents. Okay, so off we went! After we got the local documents, we headed to the regional passport office in U. After waiting in a hall for a little while, the power suddenly went off. We went in an office with a lady who fed us apples and practiced her English. I realized I’m waaaaaaay remedial on small talk. Please forgive me when I return if I can’t hold a conversation… It was thought that the power would return within an hour. Aleksey talked to the director, I went to the bathroom by flashlight (glad I’m still carrying that one around in the backpack), then we decided to go on to the doctor in M since we couldn’t do anything else there with no power. After some turnarounds (including a three point turn that slammed into the curb - lol), we got to the hospital where they re-bandaged miss C. She cried this time. A LOT. I don’t understand WHY they won’t let me stay with her! I know it would help! After that, we raced back to U in order to get the passport photo. The power was back on, so we got the photo and signed some documents. Aleksey went to talk to a few people and while he was doing that, the power went off again. REALLY thankful we got there when we did! Hmmm - wonder if the photo saved? Okay, crossing that off my worry-list. I’m not going to think about it. Somebody else pray about that, please??? We stopped at the train station where he bought tickets for TOMORROW!!!! Back in P, we finally ate our first meal of the day at 4:30pm. Everybody was pretty hungry!
C has a low fever now. Isn’t that how it always happens? RIGHT after you go to the doctor and say “everything is fine,” they get a fever. Boo. I’m going to keep monitoring it and we will go to the doctor in Ki*v if needed. Tomorrow, we will say goodbye to V*ktor’s friends, pack up, and head out of here. It’s kind of weird. As much as I want to get home, I wish I could just go straight home from here. This is not a four star resort (probably not even 1 ½), but I at least know it and I’m comfortable here. Ki*v will be change, big city, getting used to a new place. At any rate, off we go tomorrow!
Even with the “expedite,” the passport won’t be done until Monday, but it can be sent to us. We do not have to pick it up like we originally thought. Theoretically, we could go home Wednesday. I’m not holding my breath. Nothing else has been ready the day it should, so I’m just planning indefinite and taking it a day at a time. Thanks to all you prayer warriors! Miss you all!
Monday morning, we headed down to the market for socks and a few other odds and ends. We grabbed lunch down there at the really cheap restaurant by the bus station. There‘s a reason it‘s cheap, haha. Later, Aleksey came in on the train to M so he could pick up the social number. It was finished, thankfully, so he got that and came here to P. We didn’t really do much on Monday since we had planned on running around most of the day Tuesday.
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s to-do list barely got started. We had hoped to have the local passport information done by 2pm (since he was there when they opened to submit it). If we could make it to the regional office on Tuesday to apply, there was a good chance we’d have the passport by Friday. The hours ticked away and I got more and more down about the fact that we wouldn’t get the passport this week. The time finally passed and I had to get over it. I lucked out with some hot water, took a bath, and we went to eat.
Today was MUCH more eventful! I have gotten to recognize all the taxi drivers here in P. There’s the guy whose trunk will only open with a flathead screw-driver. Another guy has a car where only certain doors open (thankfully he doesn’t make you jump in Dukes of Hazard style). There are several other very friendly, crazy drivers with old, old cars. The guy who took us on our exhausting world tour last Tuesday has a nice, clean, roomy, older Mercedes. Today’s driver looked like he could not have even been 20 years old. The car was very tiny and uncomfortable. He needed directions to EVERYwhere! At one point, he was pulled over by a policeman and put in the police car for about 5 minutes. Yeah, that happened… Another guy took us on our castle tour and has been our driver several times. He has a super-clean car with a decent amount of room. He is by far the craziest driver and must have received his taxi education with “Ern” at the “Knight Bus Driver Training Institute” (Harry Potter 3 reference).
We started off today with Aleksey saying we “might” be going to Ki*v this afternoon. WHAT? Totally threw me for a loop. I was pretty stressed wondering how much/if I should pack up. I started with a suitcase of things I knew I wouldn’t touch until Ki*v even if it wasn’t until another 3-4 days. Once I was done with that, he came and said we needed to go do documents. Okay, so off we went! After we got the local documents, we headed to the regional passport office in U. After waiting in a hall for a little while, the power suddenly went off. We went in an office with a lady who fed us apples and practiced her English. I realized I’m waaaaaaay remedial on small talk. Please forgive me when I return if I can’t hold a conversation… It was thought that the power would return within an hour. Aleksey talked to the director, I went to the bathroom by flashlight (glad I’m still carrying that one around in the backpack), then we decided to go on to the doctor in M since we couldn’t do anything else there with no power. After some turnarounds (including a three point turn that slammed into the curb - lol), we got to the hospital where they re-bandaged miss C. She cried this time. A LOT. I don’t understand WHY they won’t let me stay with her! I know it would help! After that, we raced back to U in order to get the passport photo. The power was back on, so we got the photo and signed some documents. Aleksey went to talk to a few people and while he was doing that, the power went off again. REALLY thankful we got there when we did! Hmmm - wonder if the photo saved? Okay, crossing that off my worry-list. I’m not going to think about it. Somebody else pray about that, please??? We stopped at the train station where he bought tickets for TOMORROW!!!! Back in P, we finally ate our first meal of the day at 4:30pm. Everybody was pretty hungry!
C has a low fever now. Isn’t that how it always happens? RIGHT after you go to the doctor and say “everything is fine,” they get a fever. Boo. I’m going to keep monitoring it and we will go to the doctor in Ki*v if needed. Tomorrow, we will say goodbye to V*ktor’s friends, pack up, and head out of here. It’s kind of weird. As much as I want to get home, I wish I could just go straight home from here. This is not a four star resort (probably not even 1 ½), but I at least know it and I’m comfortable here. Ki*v will be change, big city, getting used to a new place. At any rate, off we go tomorrow!
Even with the “expedite,” the passport won’t be done until Monday, but it can be sent to us. We do not have to pick it up like we originally thought. Theoretically, we could go home Wednesday. I’m not holding my breath. Nothing else has been ready the day it should, so I’m just planning indefinite and taking it a day at a time. Thanks to all you prayer warriors! Miss you all!
Monday, March 11, 2013
3-11-13 Waiting Waiting Waiting
The last few days have been uneventful. Right now, we’re waiting to hear if the social number will be ready today… or if they’ll drag it out longer. The soonest I can be home is the 22nd, but it could also be much later. At this rate, we may run out of money. We know God has it covered, so we’re just taking it a step at a time.
Friday, we headed down to the market and got V*ktor some shoes. I had brought snowboots thinking that could get him by until we got home, but there is no snow and his other shoes are quite literally falling apart. We went to the school and took gifts to his friends. They had fun in their classroom for a short visit. Later, we had supper and hung out in the room.
Saturday, we woke up slowly (due to a late night party downstairs Friday - shocking I know). After hanging out in the room for awhile and eating ramen, we ventured out to the school to pick up M*sha. At first, they were saying he had to be back in 55 minutes - which is barely time to walk anywhere. As I was talking about this to J and he was relaying to V that maybe we should just stay, the teacher standing there changed his mind and said to just be back for supper. The kids MUST be there in the dining hall for all meals whether they’re hungry or not. Honestly, I think it makes sense, so it didn’t bother me. We took a quick walk to the store with J and Sa. I told M*sha to get something, too, so he did. As we walked outside, he was trying to hand it to Sa saying “sestre.” Awww- pretty sure that meant give this to my sister. We walked to the white hotel to eat. Of course, as luck would have it, they were having some kind of party that took up the whole restaurant. It was spitting rain, so we called a cab to take us to a different restaurant. After a good meal, we walked M*sha back to the school where we said hello to R and Ma at the gates. It was getting dark, so we took a taxi back to the hotel. There was an all night wedding which made for some greaaaaaat sleep - not.
Sunday, it was time to take C back to the doctor for a checkup. This time, Aleksey wasn’t here, and I figured since we had to have a phone call translator anyway, why not have a nurse? So, my awesome cousin N woke up in the middle of the night to talk to the doctor! He’s very happy with how C is healing, and he thinks within another week all the bandages will probably be off. She had been running a very low fever, but it was better Sunday. He said if it gets to 38 (100.4 for those of you without a handy conversion tool at your disposal), then we need to take her to a pediatrician. It has been 100.3 a few times, but we’re doing okay! We ate lunch at that café again. Mmmmmmmm - belini! It’s like really thin pancakes (more like crepes) with jam on them. Yum yum! I had forgotten about those! Should have been ordering them more often! We looked for a bookstore, but it was closed. Our plan had been to check out another castle on the way back, but the long hike carrying C along with the rain made us change that plan! Back at the room, we just hung out for awhile. J and Sa came over later in the day to skype with their Moms and Dads in America. I planned to take them downstairs to eat, but it took so long just for them to finish taking our order (after coming back over and over to say they didn’t have something or ask a question), that the boys had to leave. V and I ate. C fell asleep literally while eating a piece of bread. Later in the evening (for the THIRD night in a row) there was a loud party very late. C’s “nap” of course was over and she was up crying without going back to sleep. I finally carried her down there at 1AM and pleaded with them to give it a rest. They were very nice and turned it down. Sheesh! It still took almost another hour for her to sleep, though.
Right now, we’re awaiting word on whether today’s document is done. Pray please!
Friday, we headed down to the market and got V*ktor some shoes. I had brought snowboots thinking that could get him by until we got home, but there is no snow and his other shoes are quite literally falling apart. We went to the school and took gifts to his friends. They had fun in their classroom for a short visit. Later, we had supper and hung out in the room.
Saturday, we woke up slowly (due to a late night party downstairs Friday - shocking I know). After hanging out in the room for awhile and eating ramen, we ventured out to the school to pick up M*sha. At first, they were saying he had to be back in 55 minutes - which is barely time to walk anywhere. As I was talking about this to J and he was relaying to V that maybe we should just stay, the teacher standing there changed his mind and said to just be back for supper. The kids MUST be there in the dining hall for all meals whether they’re hungry or not. Honestly, I think it makes sense, so it didn’t bother me. We took a quick walk to the store with J and Sa. I told M*sha to get something, too, so he did. As we walked outside, he was trying to hand it to Sa saying “sestre.” Awww- pretty sure that meant give this to my sister. We walked to the white hotel to eat. Of course, as luck would have it, they were having some kind of party that took up the whole restaurant. It was spitting rain, so we called a cab to take us to a different restaurant. After a good meal, we walked M*sha back to the school where we said hello to R and Ma at the gates. It was getting dark, so we took a taxi back to the hotel. There was an all night wedding which made for some greaaaaaat sleep - not.
Sunday, it was time to take C back to the doctor for a checkup. This time, Aleksey wasn’t here, and I figured since we had to have a phone call translator anyway, why not have a nurse? So, my awesome cousin N woke up in the middle of the night to talk to the doctor! He’s very happy with how C is healing, and he thinks within another week all the bandages will probably be off. She had been running a very low fever, but it was better Sunday. He said if it gets to 38 (100.4 for those of you without a handy conversion tool at your disposal), then we need to take her to a pediatrician. It has been 100.3 a few times, but we’re doing okay! We ate lunch at that café again. Mmmmmmmm - belini! It’s like really thin pancakes (more like crepes) with jam on them. Yum yum! I had forgotten about those! Should have been ordering them more often! We looked for a bookstore, but it was closed. Our plan had been to check out another castle on the way back, but the long hike carrying C along with the rain made us change that plan! Back at the room, we just hung out for awhile. J and Sa came over later in the day to skype with their Moms and Dads in America. I planned to take them downstairs to eat, but it took so long just for them to finish taking our order (after coming back over and over to say they didn’t have something or ask a question), that the boys had to leave. V and I ate. C fell asleep literally while eating a piece of bread. Later in the evening (for the THIRD night in a row) there was a loud party very late. C’s “nap” of course was over and she was up crying without going back to sleep. I finally carried her down there at 1AM and pleaded with them to give it a rest. They were very nice and turned it down. Sheesh! It still took almost another hour for her to sleep, though.
Right now, we’re awaiting word on whether today’s document is done. Pray please!
3-8-13 Gotcha Day and Beyond
Wednesday was “Gotcha Day!” That’s the day that V*ktor got to leave the orphanage - happy dance!!! Because the last 2 days had been so exhausting, we all slept a little late and then started at 10:45. When we got to the orphanage. V*ktor and Mi$ha were waiting for us in the front hallway. Aleksey realized the social worker was waiting for us back at the courthouse area, so we went back there to do some quick paperwork. THEN, we went to get him. By that time, Mi$ha had gone back to class, and we all went in with the director. He told V*ktor good luck, thank you to me, etc. Then, we took a few pictures and headed out! V*ktor ran upstairs to get his suitcase and Mi$ha walked him back down and out. We are going to be in town for awhile, so it wasn’t really goodbye for good, yet (and hopefully he will be close enough to visit this summer). We waved and headed back to town while Aleksey did some paperwork. He caught up with us for lunch and then we just hung out in the room while C slept. Later, we went to supper at our hotel. V*ktor was really excited to sleep in the hotel, watch TV, and play video games on the tablet! I have been in this hotel room for 5 weeks. V*ktor showed me that the couch actually folds out into a big bed! LOL- I can’t believe we had no clue of that (not that we needed it, but still). He would have been fine on just the couch part, as you can see from the picture, but he made the bed and that was fun. Everyone settled down to sleep! Well, first there were a few calls from the roommates asking how he was doing and saying hello. I can’t imagine what it’s like for them to see his empty bed there, now. I know they’re happy for him, but it must be painful to see that he left and they are still there.
Thursday was a great day! We started at the Children’s hospital where C did not even cry one bit! That kid is tough. I can’t believe how much she just moves on and keeps going even though she has a bad burn on her. After the Children’s hospital, we went to a castle in M. They had statues and lots of beautiful views from up at the top. We took a lot of pictures and just toured the castle. Our plan was to go back to the orphanage for the kids’ concert that afternoon but we were having such a good time and there were several more castles right in the area to see. V*ktor said he would much rather keep doing the castles, so we continued. First, we stopped in the M City square and walked around - Aleksey telling us about different statues and buildings. We ate lunch at a cafeteria place before continuing our castle tour. The next castle was my favorite. It is kind of “as-is.” They put a new roof above it to keep further damage to it, and they’re working to restore it inside. You can see from my pictures the stones and the open ceiling in at least one area. They have a lot of period pieces. It was definitely cool! Our last castle-stop had the absolute best surrounding land. You can’t go in the castle since it’s part of a health spa, and there are several other buildings on the grounds. We walked up the hill on the stone street winding up to the castle. It was just gorgeous! Once we got to the top, we could see the castle - which was massive! They built it at the end of the 1700s. Past the castle, we walked by a beautiful pond. Aleksey said they sometimes have swans, but it’s too cold right now. You could see the little swan house (see picture) out there. Also onsite is a natural springs with fresh, cold water coming out. We, of course, had to go drink from the springs for luck! I really liked the second castle, but this one had such beautiful grounds that I might have to call it a tie. As we walked down the hill, we started talking about the fact that V*ktor’s first orphanage was only about 5 minutes away. He wanted to go, so we drove to the orphanage where he lived for about 5 years earlier in his life. They had a gate, so I kind of wondered if we’d even get in. Aleksey had been here for an adoption before, though, so he was pretty sure they’d let us in.
Well, I may not have seen the P orphanage concert with V*ktor’s friends, but we caught the tail-end of the one at this orphanage! It was really cute! On the way up the stairs, 2 teachers grabbed V*ktor for hugs. Then, we walked into the packed room full of kids watching the other kids perform. People jumped up and insisted that we sit down to watch. I knew Aleksey had a train to catch, and I was hoping we didn’t make him miss it. They were all just soooo welcoming and happy to have us there. After about 10 minutes, the show was over and people started leaving the room. I thought V*ktor wanted to see the director, but he hurried us out of the room and headed down the stairs. Aleksey and I were accosted by adorable children wanting attention, so it took us a little while to catch up. I later realized they remembered Aleksey from the adoption last year. Once we went downstairs, V*ktor led us through hallways and then back up another staircase- we were just catching the director at the other door. I soooooo wish I had done a video of when the director saw him. It was like a moment on Extreme Makeover. She squealed and laughed so hard she almost cried. She hugged and kissed him. It was just very touching to see that she still had such joy and love for him! So incredibly sweet! After that she ushered us into her office and had us take off our coats to leave there. (I was having moments thinking of my friend R in another director’s office for 2 hours. I was hoping we could gracefully get out before then or Aleksey would surely miss his train!) We were led up to his old room where lots of kids greeted us, asked how he was doing, and also a few asked about Mi$ha. There was a lot of happy, welcoming conversation. The director said she would go get some pictures for me. This orphanage had a completely different setup. The room looked like the living space for about 25 kids. They had desks, bookshelves, a small kitchen area (closed off by a door and used by staff), and couches. The bedrooms were pretty cramped with 12 kids in one room and I assume 12 or more in the other. However, the living area was phenomenal and if they’re only sleeping in there, then the sleeping area doesn’t really need a lot of rooms. The bathroom had towels and toothbrushes all lined up neatly for each kid in individual cubbies. Kids were all so polite. If you were standing for any length of time, a kid was running up with a chair to sit in - so sweet! After a few minutes in there, they had pushed the desks together to make tables and served cake and hot tea. (The reason for concerts was that there’s a Women’s Day holiday in Ukra*ne.) We ate quickly (train, remember?), got the pictures and email address from the director, and said our goodbyes. It was an amazing experience. So blessed that we were put in the perfect place at the perfect time to do that!
After dropping Aleksey at the train station, we went back to the hotel where we had Ramen noodles for supper and watched some of “Titanic” on TV.
This morning, the kids had oatmeal for breakfast. C’s bandage came off and we had to go to the local doctor for rebandaging. Then, we all just had PBJ for lunch. We’re heading to the market now to get a few last gifts for V*ktor’s friends. Then, I guess I’m heading back for orphanage “visitation” with his friends!
Thursday was a great day! We started at the Children’s hospital where C did not even cry one bit! That kid is tough. I can’t believe how much she just moves on and keeps going even though she has a bad burn on her. After the Children’s hospital, we went to a castle in M. They had statues and lots of beautiful views from up at the top. We took a lot of pictures and just toured the castle. Our plan was to go back to the orphanage for the kids’ concert that afternoon but we were having such a good time and there were several more castles right in the area to see. V*ktor said he would much rather keep doing the castles, so we continued. First, we stopped in the M City square and walked around - Aleksey telling us about different statues and buildings. We ate lunch at a cafeteria place before continuing our castle tour. The next castle was my favorite. It is kind of “as-is.” They put a new roof above it to keep further damage to it, and they’re working to restore it inside. You can see from my pictures the stones and the open ceiling in at least one area. They have a lot of period pieces. It was definitely cool! Our last castle-stop had the absolute best surrounding land. You can’t go in the castle since it’s part of a health spa, and there are several other buildings on the grounds. We walked up the hill on the stone street winding up to the castle. It was just gorgeous! Once we got to the top, we could see the castle - which was massive! They built it at the end of the 1700s. Past the castle, we walked by a beautiful pond. Aleksey said they sometimes have swans, but it’s too cold right now. You could see the little swan house (see picture) out there. Also onsite is a natural springs with fresh, cold water coming out. We, of course, had to go drink from the springs for luck! I really liked the second castle, but this one had such beautiful grounds that I might have to call it a tie. As we walked down the hill, we started talking about the fact that V*ktor’s first orphanage was only about 5 minutes away. He wanted to go, so we drove to the orphanage where he lived for about 5 years earlier in his life. They had a gate, so I kind of wondered if we’d even get in. Aleksey had been here for an adoption before, though, so he was pretty sure they’d let us in.
Well, I may not have seen the P orphanage concert with V*ktor’s friends, but we caught the tail-end of the one at this orphanage! It was really cute! On the way up the stairs, 2 teachers grabbed V*ktor for hugs. Then, we walked into the packed room full of kids watching the other kids perform. People jumped up and insisted that we sit down to watch. I knew Aleksey had a train to catch, and I was hoping we didn’t make him miss it. They were all just soooo welcoming and happy to have us there. After about 10 minutes, the show was over and people started leaving the room. I thought V*ktor wanted to see the director, but he hurried us out of the room and headed down the stairs. Aleksey and I were accosted by adorable children wanting attention, so it took us a little while to catch up. I later realized they remembered Aleksey from the adoption last year. Once we went downstairs, V*ktor led us through hallways and then back up another staircase- we were just catching the director at the other door. I soooooo wish I had done a video of when the director saw him. It was like a moment on Extreme Makeover. She squealed and laughed so hard she almost cried. She hugged and kissed him. It was just very touching to see that she still had such joy and love for him! So incredibly sweet! After that she ushered us into her office and had us take off our coats to leave there. (I was having moments thinking of my friend R in another director’s office for 2 hours. I was hoping we could gracefully get out before then or Aleksey would surely miss his train!) We were led up to his old room where lots of kids greeted us, asked how he was doing, and also a few asked about Mi$ha. There was a lot of happy, welcoming conversation. The director said she would go get some pictures for me. This orphanage had a completely different setup. The room looked like the living space for about 25 kids. They had desks, bookshelves, a small kitchen area (closed off by a door and used by staff), and couches. The bedrooms were pretty cramped with 12 kids in one room and I assume 12 or more in the other. However, the living area was phenomenal and if they’re only sleeping in there, then the sleeping area doesn’t really need a lot of rooms. The bathroom had towels and toothbrushes all lined up neatly for each kid in individual cubbies. Kids were all so polite. If you were standing for any length of time, a kid was running up with a chair to sit in - so sweet! After a few minutes in there, they had pushed the desks together to make tables and served cake and hot tea. (The reason for concerts was that there’s a Women’s Day holiday in Ukra*ne.) We ate quickly (train, remember?), got the pictures and email address from the director, and said our goodbyes. It was an amazing experience. So blessed that we were put in the perfect place at the perfect time to do that!
After dropping Aleksey at the train station, we went back to the hotel where we had Ramen noodles for supper and watched some of “Titanic” on TV.
This morning, the kids had oatmeal for breakfast. C’s bandage came off and we had to go to the local doctor for rebandaging. Then, we all just had PBJ for lunch. We’re heading to the market now to get a few last gifts for V*ktor’s friends. Then, I guess I’m heading back for orphanage “visitation” with his friends!
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