Tim blogging at the internet cafe. The deserted coal mine. Me with pizza for the kids. Tim at the market (check out the hats). Tim coming out of our apt. in Kiev the day before we left to come home.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
A Few More.........
Tim blogging at the internet cafe. The deserted coal mine. Me with pizza for the kids. Tim at the market (check out the hats). Tim coming out of our apt. in Kiev the day before we left to come home.
More Photos
We found it interesting how all of the natural gas pipes are above ground. The photo of the apartment building is the building next door to the City Pizza where we spent alot of time:-). The City Pizza is the brown building and Tim is standing out front in the grey jacket. On one of our first visits to the orphanage the kids were standing in line to ride one of the three bikes around the courtyard. Tim took video of M riding it and showed the kids the video. I took a photo of all of the boys gathered around Tim looking at the video. I had to include a photo of one of our meals in the restaurant.
Photos
These are some misc. photos we took along the way during our adventure in Ukraine. We saw a religious group singing in the subway tunnel in Kiev. There are coal mines all over the town where the orphanage is located. We visited an old coal mine that had been deserted for decades. Tim when we arrived in region to visit the kids.
Home SWEET Home!
We are home! Dorothy said it best....."there's no place like home." We arrived home on Sunday evening. We got up at 3:00am Ukraine time on Sunday to be ready for our 4:00am ride to the airport. We flew from Kiev to Munich then Munich to Chicago and finally from Chicago to Houston. By the time we landed in Houston we had traveled almost 24 hours. All we wanted when we got home was hot showers with water pressure and Mexican food.
When we left Ukraine we still didn't know when our adoption would be final. Our facilitator called us earlier this week to let us know that he received a verbal approval that all of our paperwork is being processed and that the 10 day wait is in effect now. But, until he receives the actual court papers nothing is official. So we are waiting to hear from him when he has the paper in his hand. At that point everything will be official and we can post photos of the children. Also, once he lets us know that we are officially a family then we will know what date we go back to get the children.
We are back in the rate race in record time. Since we got home Tim has been working around the clock to catch up at work. He had to get on another plane today for a two day business trip. I'm trying to get our lives back in order. Bills, taxes, unpacking, laundry, and doctor's appointments. We've already had my car in the shop (motor problems) and our home heater went out last night. We froze last night just like we did in Ukraine! It was great!
Thank you to Julie and Stephanie for taking such great care of Max, Miss Kitty and our house! We could not have made the trip without your help.
Thank you to everyone for your comments and encouragement. We'll need you again for round #2.
When we left Ukraine we still didn't know when our adoption would be final. Our facilitator called us earlier this week to let us know that he received a verbal approval that all of our paperwork is being processed and that the 10 day wait is in effect now. But, until he receives the actual court papers nothing is official. So we are waiting to hear from him when he has the paper in his hand. At that point everything will be official and we can post photos of the children. Also, once he lets us know that we are officially a family then we will know what date we go back to get the children.
We are back in the rate race in record time. Since we got home Tim has been working around the clock to catch up at work. He had to get on another plane today for a two day business trip. I'm trying to get our lives back in order. Bills, taxes, unpacking, laundry, and doctor's appointments. We've already had my car in the shop (motor problems) and our home heater went out last night. We froze last night just like we did in Ukraine! It was great!
Thank you to Julie and Stephanie for taking such great care of Max, Miss Kitty and our house! We could not have made the trip without your help.
Thank you to everyone for your comments and encouragement. We'll need you again for round #2.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Ukraine Driving
Check it out! I forgot to tell everyone about our first trip in the taxi when we arrived here. Ok, you get off the train right in front of a huge coal mine with all your luggage. It is an open dock and you stand in the cold waiting for a taxi that will be to "foot" small to haul you and the six bags of luggage you brought because there are no cars here bigger than a Ford Pinto. While standing on the dock I noticed Sharon had all of these the black dots on her face and then I realized we are getting rained on by the coal plant. The taxi guy shows up. A young kid who smelled like the butt of a donkey that has been working the Grand Canyon trail. He crams two bags in the trunk and lays on the lid to get it closed. Now five other bags Sharon the facilitator and I pile in the car. The taxi driver turns on some tunes for us to enjoy. Dig this..... his radio is his cell phone that is velcroed to a vent. You know how drive-thru speakers at a very old Jack in the Box are.....oh Jack in the Box I want super tacos, a Jumbo Jack,and a root beer.....sorry, back to the story. The music from his phone was just like the drive-thru speaker. The car is a standard and the taxi driver....newbee... starts the car while the engine is already running. He tries to take off and kills the engine. Mind you we have just gotten off a 14 hour train ride landed in a new city and must go to the orphanage to visit the children before we can do anything else. By the way there is lots of ice on the roads. The drive to the orphanage is about twenty minutes and the terraine is hilly. There are no street lights, traffic signs, or any clear evidence of a real road. The driver slides thru a few intersections and kills the engine again. He tries to pass another car that is going, uh, 12 MPH and he is in the wrong gear .....like 4th trying to pass. Needless to say we over took the other car about 3 miles and two hills later. Now all you can hear me sreaming from the back seat(buried under luggage) is downshift you moron! We are going to die.
Had another good visit with the kids today. V beat Tim at checkers and so did Y. They have different rules for checkers than we do or we are just too old to remember how to play. They all beat me the other day too. It was extremely cold today. Snow covered the ground and the wind was blowing. We usually meet the kids in the school house and either go to a private room or one of the classrooms if the private room is occupied. Lately, the private room has been occupied so we have been going to different classrooms. It's nice to see where the kids go to school. The classrooms look like classrooms at home except from the 50's. They are very clean and organized and they are decorated with history or the theme for the semester. There are drawings done by the kids in the school house. Tim likes to use the chalk board. He and the boys play tic-tac-toe or draw goofy faces on the board. Of course, they clean it up before we leave. O, me, and M played more cards today. Slap Jack is a favorite. They both cheat. Of course he thinks she's cheating and she thinks he's cheating. Typical brother and sister. V was full of energy today. He was the most outgoing since we've been here. I think we are all feeling pretty comfortable with each other.
We hope everyone is doing well.
Had another good visit with the kids today. V beat Tim at checkers and so did Y. They have different rules for checkers than we do or we are just too old to remember how to play. They all beat me the other day too. It was extremely cold today. Snow covered the ground and the wind was blowing. We usually meet the kids in the school house and either go to a private room or one of the classrooms if the private room is occupied. Lately, the private room has been occupied so we have been going to different classrooms. It's nice to see where the kids go to school. The classrooms look like classrooms at home except from the 50's. They are very clean and organized and they are decorated with history or the theme for the semester. There are drawings done by the kids in the school house. Tim likes to use the chalk board. He and the boys play tic-tac-toe or draw goofy faces on the board. Of course, they clean it up before we leave. O, me, and M played more cards today. Slap Jack is a favorite. They both cheat. Of course he thinks she's cheating and she thinks he's cheating. Typical brother and sister. V was full of energy today. He was the most outgoing since we've been here. I think we are all feeling pretty comfortable with each other.
We hope everyone is doing well.
Monday, February 18, 2008
He Said
Ok, I got the flu and had a pretty high temperature Saturday and Sunday. Man, I could barley blow my nose. Anyway, needless to say we had to cancel our dinner with the director and could not go see the kids on Sunday. I am sure we will be invited again or when we come back to pick the children up. Sharon was great. She waited on me hand and foot. The little woman came to the Ukraine totally prepared. I had theraflu, some antibotic she got from the doctor, and day and night time cold medcine. So glad I brought her along.
The folks that own the resturant knew I was sick and sent food back with Sharon for me. For breakfast they made like 5 egg omlett and dinner was a little different with boiled beef and rice. They also brought up coffe and tea. They always give us way to much food. These people are very giving and genuine, they just won't smile.
Today we went to visit the kids. We met in the math room today and M brought in an old game boy. He did look up twice and gave me a hug. Thats pretty much all I saw of him today until my hug when we left. Kids are the same all over the world. O played photographer and took video of me looking sick with a smile. We had all three take their shoes off for a foot trace for shoe sizes. So glad I had a cold!!!! Here was a first, I saw V hug Sharon back today. So, I decided I should give it a try....snubbed. He looked at me like I was some kind of crazy man and there was absolutly no reason for what I had done. My Bad!
Our facilatator got us two tickets on the train for Thursday night into Kiev. They are in the first class car but he said in the old train car. Ok, what the "Foot" was the train we took here.....the new one? Should be as interesting as the train ride here. I am sure it will be nice and comfortable.
Awesome news. The owner of the restaurant today let me use their LAN connection and I was able to down load my emails from work. Ok, I won't go into how many emails and how much work I have because it was so awesome to see my computer download an email.
-Mom is the new computer a laptop? .....that means it's small and folds up.
-Dad way to go! You can share more when I get back.
-Sis where is the blog you promised? No pressure!
Tim
The folks that own the resturant knew I was sick and sent food back with Sharon for me. For breakfast they made like 5 egg omlett and dinner was a little different with boiled beef and rice. They also brought up coffe and tea. They always give us way to much food. These people are very giving and genuine, they just won't smile.
Today we went to visit the kids. We met in the math room today and M brought in an old game boy. He did look up twice and gave me a hug. Thats pretty much all I saw of him today until my hug when we left. Kids are the same all over the world. O played photographer and took video of me looking sick with a smile. We had all three take their shoes off for a foot trace for shoe sizes. So glad I had a cold!!!! Here was a first, I saw V hug Sharon back today. So, I decided I should give it a try....snubbed. He looked at me like I was some kind of crazy man and there was absolutly no reason for what I had done. My Bad!
Our facilatator got us two tickets on the train for Thursday night into Kiev. They are in the first class car but he said in the old train car. Ok, what the "Foot" was the train we took here.....the new one? Should be as interesting as the train ride here. I am sure it will be nice and comfortable.
Awesome news. The owner of the restaurant today let me use their LAN connection and I was able to down load my emails from work. Ok, I won't go into how many emails and how much work I have because it was so awesome to see my computer download an email.
-Mom is the new computer a laptop? .....that means it's small and folds up.
-Dad way to go! You can share more when I get back.
-Sis where is the blog you promised? No pressure!
Tim
She Said
We didn't update the blog yesterday because Tim was sick. I got a stomach bug and he got a flu bug. Thank goodness we weren't sick on the same day. I'm so glad I brought prescription medicine from home. My stomach hasn't been the same since I got sick and Tim is still on the mend. Needless to say, I'm cautious about what I'm eating. The people at the restaurant are so nice to us. They made Tim special plates of food that I could bring up to him yesterday because he was too sick to go down and eat. Last night they delivered hot tea and coffee to our apt.
We were so disappointed that we had to cancel dinner with the director last night. We hope to get another invitation before we leave or on our second trip when we come back to get the kids. Instead of a fabulous dinner with the director and her husband we laid on the couches and watched Bird on A Wire dubbed in Russian. It was very exciting especially when Tim tries to imitate the the guys dubbing it in Russian with his fake Russian. We didn't get to see the kids yesterday either.
We went to see the kids for only an hour today because Tim still isn't feeling well. We had a great time and it actually made him feel better. M came in with a small nintendo game. He said it was a friends. So pretty much we didn't speak to him today:-). O and I tried to have a conversation, but it goes something like this. Me: I'm so happy to see you today! We couldn't come yesterday because Pop was sick. O: yeeeesss mama. O: something in Russian I don't understand. Me: Da, Da (yes in Russian). Then I get out the translator and my books and we start over. V watched M play the video game. Y and K came by and Y was able to talk to Natalie for a few minutes. Natalie, he was wearing the Texas A & M Jacket you gave him when he was here. Those Aggies recruit world wide:-). There are several kids in the orphanage with Aggie clothing. June and Dennis, K is looking forward to talking to you tomorrow.
We didn't have a translator today until right before we were leaving. Our facilitator/translator met us at the orphanage to tell us he got our train tickets for Thursday night to Kiev. We will arrive in Kiev around 8:30am on Friday. That means we have to rush a bit on Thursday because we have court at Noon and other things to wrap up before catching the train around 5:00pm. After court we will find out what date we need to be back to pick up the kids. It will probably be around March 7-10.
So, if everything goes well and we have no surprises we should be home Sunday night Feb. 24th. I'm waiting for our travel agent to send me a confirmed itinerary.
FOOT! Only 2 days 'til court!
Da Zaf-trah (until tomorrow),
Sharon
We were so disappointed that we had to cancel dinner with the director last night. We hope to get another invitation before we leave or on our second trip when we come back to get the kids. Instead of a fabulous dinner with the director and her husband we laid on the couches and watched Bird on A Wire dubbed in Russian. It was very exciting especially when Tim tries to imitate the the guys dubbing it in Russian with his fake Russian. We didn't get to see the kids yesterday either.
We went to see the kids for only an hour today because Tim still isn't feeling well. We had a great time and it actually made him feel better. M came in with a small nintendo game. He said it was a friends. So pretty much we didn't speak to him today:-). O and I tried to have a conversation, but it goes something like this. Me: I'm so happy to see you today! We couldn't come yesterday because Pop was sick. O: yeeeesss mama. O: something in Russian I don't understand. Me: Da, Da (yes in Russian). Then I get out the translator and my books and we start over. V watched M play the video game. Y and K came by and Y was able to talk to Natalie for a few minutes. Natalie, he was wearing the Texas A & M Jacket you gave him when he was here. Those Aggies recruit world wide:-). There are several kids in the orphanage with Aggie clothing. June and Dennis, K is looking forward to talking to you tomorrow.
We didn't have a translator today until right before we were leaving. Our facilitator/translator met us at the orphanage to tell us he got our train tickets for Thursday night to Kiev. We will arrive in Kiev around 8:30am on Friday. That means we have to rush a bit on Thursday because we have court at Noon and other things to wrap up before catching the train around 5:00pm. After court we will find out what date we need to be back to pick up the kids. It will probably be around March 7-10.
So, if everything goes well and we have no surprises we should be home Sunday night Feb. 24th. I'm waiting for our travel agent to send me a confirmed itinerary.
FOOT! Only 2 days 'til court!
Da Zaf-trah (until tomorrow),
Sharon
Saturday, February 16, 2008
We have a court date!
We received our court date of February 21. We are meeting at the court house at Noon. All documentation and all parties (kids included) will attend. We should be able to complete everything on this one court date. Yeah! I guess we will believe it once it's done, but this is very good news. We are working on changing our return flights, but don't know about the availability on the train yet. We have to make the 14 hour train ride back to Kiev then we can catch our flight home. Tim says we turn in to bobble heads on the train. I think it's more like a huge rocking chair except when it stops.
We have been invited to dinner at the Orphanage Director's house tomorrow night. We are looking forward to it. We've heard it's quite the party.
Yesterday I was sick, but I'm feeling much better today. I got a stomach bug from FOOT! We could not visit with the children as I could not get off the couch. Tim took excellent care of me. He went down to the kitchen and in broken Russian explained that I was sick and needed soup. They delivered a tray with all kinds of hot food for me. Unfortunately, I could not stomach any food. Today when we went to breakfast they all asked how I was and were very sweet. I feel like I'm getting the royal treatment here. Now Tim isn't feeling well. He has more of a cold with a sore throat. I hope it doesn't turn in to the stomach virus I had. All Tim wants it a hot bath, but it's not going to happen. No tub and usually no hot water.
We had an interesting conversation with a lady at the flower shop in the market today. She spoke alittle English and noticed we did so she was asking us why we were here. We told her that we are adopting a brother and sister from an orphanage. Her comment was, "there is something wrong with children in orphanage". She also said, "they are dangerous". This seems to be a common perception here no matter how wrong it is. She also told us that they work all day and make $15 per day.
We told the kids that the court date is next week. They seemed happy about it. We bought each child a nice gift and gave it to them on different days. Today was M's. We gave him walkie talkies. All the kids had a blast playing with them. They talked more today on those walkie talkies than they have since we've been here. We gave V a watch. He wears it proudly. We gave O an eye shadow kit. She came down today looking like a model with her new eye shadow.
It has been snowing heavily the past two days. There has to be at least 6 inches on the ground and it's still snowing. When it was time to leave today and we were waiting for the taxi the kids started a snowball fight. They got Tim good. I got hit a couple of times too, but I got them back. After we got too cold and too tired we went back in the school house and warmed our hands on the radiator. M looked like a snowman. His brother pushed him in to a small snow bank and pelted him with snow. M loved every minute of it.
Thanks for all of your prayers! They are working!
Freddie - So good to hear from you!! Say CIAO to your Mom.
Choco - Tell Freddie that he can pass that test. Make sure he signs up and has a definite date to take it again. Glad to hear he's joining the Navy!
June - The guards reminds us to wear our hats too! They really do look out for us Texans who have no idea about all of this cold weather. They also came in today and changed out all of the lightbulbs in the apt. WE CAN SEE! Seriously, we had one light bulb in the den and one in the bathroom.
Brenda - I will be in touch once we get the return flights confirmed.
We have been invited to dinner at the Orphanage Director's house tomorrow night. We are looking forward to it. We've heard it's quite the party.
Yesterday I was sick, but I'm feeling much better today. I got a stomach bug from FOOT! We could not visit with the children as I could not get off the couch. Tim took excellent care of me. He went down to the kitchen and in broken Russian explained that I was sick and needed soup. They delivered a tray with all kinds of hot food for me. Unfortunately, I could not stomach any food. Today when we went to breakfast they all asked how I was and were very sweet. I feel like I'm getting the royal treatment here. Now Tim isn't feeling well. He has more of a cold with a sore throat. I hope it doesn't turn in to the stomach virus I had. All Tim wants it a hot bath, but it's not going to happen. No tub and usually no hot water.
We had an interesting conversation with a lady at the flower shop in the market today. She spoke alittle English and noticed we did so she was asking us why we were here. We told her that we are adopting a brother and sister from an orphanage. Her comment was, "there is something wrong with children in orphanage". She also said, "they are dangerous". This seems to be a common perception here no matter how wrong it is. She also told us that they work all day and make $15 per day.
We told the kids that the court date is next week. They seemed happy about it. We bought each child a nice gift and gave it to them on different days. Today was M's. We gave him walkie talkies. All the kids had a blast playing with them. They talked more today on those walkie talkies than they have since we've been here. We gave V a watch. He wears it proudly. We gave O an eye shadow kit. She came down today looking like a model with her new eye shadow.
It has been snowing heavily the past two days. There has to be at least 6 inches on the ground and it's still snowing. When it was time to leave today and we were waiting for the taxi the kids started a snowball fight. They got Tim good. I got hit a couple of times too, but I got them back. After we got too cold and too tired we went back in the school house and warmed our hands on the radiator. M looked like a snowman. His brother pushed him in to a small snow bank and pelted him with snow. M loved every minute of it.
Thanks for all of your prayers! They are working!
Freddie - So good to hear from you!! Say CIAO to your Mom.
Choco - Tell Freddie that he can pass that test. Make sure he signs up and has a definite date to take it again. Glad to hear he's joining the Navy!
June - The guards reminds us to wear our hats too! They really do look out for us Texans who have no idea about all of this cold weather. They also came in today and changed out all of the lightbulbs in the apt. WE CAN SEE! Seriously, we had one light bulb in the den and one in the bathroom.
Brenda - I will be in touch once we get the return flights confirmed.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Judge or be judged?
The judge we were to meet with today has been ill and could not meet with us again. Our facilitator met with a new judge. This judge is not as nice as the other judge and would not set a court date. Our facilitator called for reinforcements and there will be two of them meeting with the judge tomorrow to see if we can get a court date. We are depressed and bummed, but we are sticking it out until we find out how long it will be before we get a court date.
We had a great visit again (as always) with the kids. Our faciliator was with us today so he could translate. I hope they don't feel like they are being interrogated.
Hats - are a required piece of clothing here. As soon as you leave the house without one you recognize right away that you left it. Now, me being with limited amount of hair, may recognize it alittle bit quicker than Sharon does. The real bummer here is that I lost my beret somewhere in south Ukraine and I had to buy a standard black beanie. The other thing about hats is that they cause a bunch of static electricity. So when I go to kiss my wife I get that same shock I did when we first kissed. Ok, I'm missing a few other things. Besides having a hat on your head you need gloves and a scarf. I'm not kidding. The scarf actually works once you figure out how to tie the "foot" thing. Sharon and I wear gloves, but no one else needs to; they just walk around smoking, carrying packages, and drinking cold beer. But I'm telling you that being from the south if you don't wear your gloves you will regret it. Not to mention the fact that both Sharon and I wear long johns (top and bottom) every "foot" day. Now I don't know who long john was, but he was a smart man.
This morning's breakfast was absolutely terrific. We had porridge, pancakes, fig jam, bread, cheese and ham. Ok, I don't know if ya'll know this, but June and Dennis told us they would take the extra cheese and bread to the kids. So every day Sharon and I limit our intake and pack her purse full of anything that we possibly can stuff in there to take to the kids. The kids love it! Restaurant food served from a purse. FOOOOOT!
We had a great visit again (as always) with the kids. Our faciliator was with us today so he could translate. I hope they don't feel like they are being interrogated.
Hats - are a required piece of clothing here. As soon as you leave the house without one you recognize right away that you left it. Now, me being with limited amount of hair, may recognize it alittle bit quicker than Sharon does. The real bummer here is that I lost my beret somewhere in south Ukraine and I had to buy a standard black beanie. The other thing about hats is that they cause a bunch of static electricity. So when I go to kiss my wife I get that same shock I did when we first kissed. Ok, I'm missing a few other things. Besides having a hat on your head you need gloves and a scarf. I'm not kidding. The scarf actually works once you figure out how to tie the "foot" thing. Sharon and I wear gloves, but no one else needs to; they just walk around smoking, carrying packages, and drinking cold beer. But I'm telling you that being from the south if you don't wear your gloves you will regret it. Not to mention the fact that both Sharon and I wear long johns (top and bottom) every "foot" day. Now I don't know who long john was, but he was a smart man.
This morning's breakfast was absolutely terrific. We had porridge, pancakes, fig jam, bread, cheese and ham. Ok, I don't know if ya'll know this, but June and Dennis told us they would take the extra cheese and bread to the kids. So every day Sharon and I limit our intake and pack her purse full of anything that we possibly can stuff in there to take to the kids. The kids love it! Restaurant food served from a purse. FOOOOOT!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Waiting ......waiting.....wating....
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. Did you all know that I asked Sharon to marry me 26 years ago on this date? I know that hit a soft spot with all the ladies. I'm the man! Wouldn't it be great if we get our court date taken care of on Valentine's Day? The best thing about it is that I won't forget it.
Marilyn, I'm going to eat everything on that list starting with whatever comes near me first.
Tim
Today it's my turn to have a bit of a cold. As long as it doesn't get worse, I'll be ok. We got up this morning and the sun was out. I always feel better when the sun is shining. Even with my cold, I wanted to get out and enjoy the sun. There were alot of people out and about today. The traffic was the heaviest I've seen it since we've been here. Which only means there were 10 cars on the road instead of 2 or 3. We walked to the market and got some things to take to the kids today. Chips, juice, bananas, cookies, and candy. We had a great time with the kids again today. V met us as we got out of the taxi and M and O followed. We brought puzzles and a tablet with markers. Tim had sketched a picture of Misha from a photo that we have. Thank you June for that photo. We have no photos with us of M and O because we didn't think we would be adopting them. But, back in November, June had given me a baggie with some supplies that I would need for the trip and she had printed out a photo of M that she recieved from another family that was adopting from M's orphanage. I was digging through our things looking for something and found this photo of M. Tim used that photo to sketch a portrait of M. Tim showed it to M and he loved the sketch and showed it to everyone. We also brought a small game board with chess, bagammon, and checkers. Tim and V played chess. Tim won. Y showed up and he and Tim played checkers, but neither one of us could remember exactly how to play checkers. Y won that one without a fight. O ate candy of course and then put together two small puzzles. M loves listening to the MP3 player and working puzzles. He asked me if he could take the tablet today because he wanted to draw something for us. K stopped by and she took some photos of me, Tim, O, V, and M. It was another great day with the kids.
As we were leaving today there was a group of about 10-15 kids waiting in line to ride one of the 3 bikes around the courtyard. It was very cold and there was snow on the ground, but those kids were having a great time. We asked our taxi driver if they had a place in town where we could buy bicycles and he said, "NYET". We would have to go to a bigger town about and hour away to buy bikes. We'll have to look in to it. We also noticed some kids who put a big log between the Y in a tree and made a see-saw. It was nice to see the courtyard filled with kids. Winters are tough here and it has to be hard on kids to stay inside so much.
Ann and Keith, we saw S out in the courtyard when we arrived. He was playing with his friends. He was bundled up good and all we could see was his eyes and nose.
We are anxiously waiting to hear from our facilitator tomorrow regarding our court date. The children are anxious as well. We are praying for a quick and single court date.
Thank you for all of your prayers and comments!
Becca, I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. M has the blanket you made for him. He loves it.
Ron, so glad to hear from you! Say hello to Rosemary.
Kathi, thank your for the email. Tim loved your comment - don't encourage him:-).
June, we are ordering the Mexican pizza. We tried to order a different one the other day and the only thing I can't have is pineapple. Guess what we ordered? Chicken and pineapple. We can't read the stinkin' menu. It takes 30 minutes using Lingo to put one word in a time and try to see what the ingredients are. They laugh at us because we "study" the menu when we are there using the Lingo. We will order a pizza and they come back to get the menu and we tell the we still want to read it.
GO NAVY! We are glad to hear that Stephen made it to boot camp. We are thinking about him. He told me that he will get issued those sexy black frame glasses while in boot camp. I can't wait for that photo.
Sharon
Marilyn, I'm going to eat everything on that list starting with whatever comes near me first.
Tim
Today it's my turn to have a bit of a cold. As long as it doesn't get worse, I'll be ok. We got up this morning and the sun was out. I always feel better when the sun is shining. Even with my cold, I wanted to get out and enjoy the sun. There were alot of people out and about today. The traffic was the heaviest I've seen it since we've been here. Which only means there were 10 cars on the road instead of 2 or 3. We walked to the market and got some things to take to the kids today. Chips, juice, bananas, cookies, and candy. We had a great time with the kids again today. V met us as we got out of the taxi and M and O followed. We brought puzzles and a tablet with markers. Tim had sketched a picture of Misha from a photo that we have. Thank you June for that photo. We have no photos with us of M and O because we didn't think we would be adopting them. But, back in November, June had given me a baggie with some supplies that I would need for the trip and she had printed out a photo of M that she recieved from another family that was adopting from M's orphanage. I was digging through our things looking for something and found this photo of M. Tim used that photo to sketch a portrait of M. Tim showed it to M and he loved the sketch and showed it to everyone. We also brought a small game board with chess, bagammon, and checkers. Tim and V played chess. Tim won. Y showed up and he and Tim played checkers, but neither one of us could remember exactly how to play checkers. Y won that one without a fight. O ate candy of course and then put together two small puzzles. M loves listening to the MP3 player and working puzzles. He asked me if he could take the tablet today because he wanted to draw something for us. K stopped by and she took some photos of me, Tim, O, V, and M. It was another great day with the kids.
As we were leaving today there was a group of about 10-15 kids waiting in line to ride one of the 3 bikes around the courtyard. It was very cold and there was snow on the ground, but those kids were having a great time. We asked our taxi driver if they had a place in town where we could buy bicycles and he said, "NYET". We would have to go to a bigger town about and hour away to buy bikes. We'll have to look in to it. We also noticed some kids who put a big log between the Y in a tree and made a see-saw. It was nice to see the courtyard filled with kids. Winters are tough here and it has to be hard on kids to stay inside so much.
Ann and Keith, we saw S out in the courtyard when we arrived. He was playing with his friends. He was bundled up good and all we could see was his eyes and nose.
We are anxiously waiting to hear from our facilitator tomorrow regarding our court date. The children are anxious as well. We are praying for a quick and single court date.
Thank you for all of your prayers and comments!
Becca, I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. M has the blanket you made for him. He loves it.
Ron, so glad to hear from you! Say hello to Rosemary.
Kathi, thank your for the email. Tim loved your comment - don't encourage him:-).
June, we are ordering the Mexican pizza. We tried to order a different one the other day and the only thing I can't have is pineapple. Guess what we ordered? Chicken and pineapple. We can't read the stinkin' menu. It takes 30 minutes using Lingo to put one word in a time and try to see what the ingredients are. They laugh at us because we "study" the menu when we are there using the Lingo. We will order a pizza and they come back to get the menu and we tell the we still want to read it.
GO NAVY! We are glad to hear that Stephen made it to boot camp. We are thinking about him. He told me that he will get issued those sexy black frame glasses while in boot camp. I can't wait for that photo.
Sharon
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Once Upon A Day
Ok, let's see, today we skipped breakfast and slept late. I have a little cold and decided to forego breakfast for a pizza lunch. There has been no water since last night and it's now 5:00 pm here. Hope it comes on soooooooon! Its been two days since my last shower, but the kids and Sharon don't mind. We have the wash hanging all over the apartment. It's like clothing art in a way because we only have one workig light bulb out of 5 in the bathroom. It kind of reminds me of, yeah, that's it...........the 40's. It was snowing here today and about 25 degrees.
At pizza city we ordered the usual. Meaning the only pizza we have ordered that we liked so far. I had a cup of the instant coffe and Sharon had hot black tea. The pizza is awesome. It is has sausage, tomatoes, black olive, cheese and salami. We also had a coke. Really good breakfast food for an American. Here everyone eats pizza with a fork and knife. Uhh except you know, me, which always brings on a few odd looks. I just smile and kind of hint that this is face food and there is no way I am using a fork. I did video the place and people today so we can share the whole pizza city with everyone when we return.
We bought an additional pizza and extra coke to bring foe the kids today. Along with... you guessed, candy for O. We could not meet in the usual room today and had to meet with the kids in their english class room. We visited with O,M,V,K and Y. We had a great time letting them listen to the MP3 players and taking pictures. We played tic-tac-toe on the chalk board and ate lots of candy. Yes, they ate the pizza with their hands and no one was offended.
Ok, got to give a big SHOUT out to my youngest nephew Stephen who right now is probably getting the worst headache of his life from an ugly ill-mannered drill instructer with bad breath. He is headed for Chicago for basic training for the Navy. Ok, Shane he needs a buddy don't you think!!! Hi ya Freddy!!! Hey Shane, thanks for the skull cap. I will wear it with pride. Just substitute all of the profanity you want with a the word "foot". The heater is dead - oh FOOT!
Alright all in all everything has been pretty good and you know it's always good to slow down and enjoy life.....ok, enough is enough.
Well there it is and I just want to say thanks for the comments on the blog while we are here.
GO NAVY!!!!!!
Tim
At pizza city we ordered the usual. Meaning the only pizza we have ordered that we liked so far. I had a cup of the instant coffe and Sharon had hot black tea. The pizza is awesome. It is has sausage, tomatoes, black olive, cheese and salami. We also had a coke. Really good breakfast food for an American. Here everyone eats pizza with a fork and knife. Uhh except you know, me, which always brings on a few odd looks. I just smile and kind of hint that this is face food and there is no way I am using a fork. I did video the place and people today so we can share the whole pizza city with everyone when we return.
We bought an additional pizza and extra coke to bring foe the kids today. Along with... you guessed, candy for O. We could not meet in the usual room today and had to meet with the kids in their english class room. We visited with O,M,V,K and Y. We had a great time letting them listen to the MP3 players and taking pictures. We played tic-tac-toe on the chalk board and ate lots of candy. Yes, they ate the pizza with their hands and no one was offended.
Ok, got to give a big SHOUT out to my youngest nephew Stephen who right now is probably getting the worst headache of his life from an ugly ill-mannered drill instructer with bad breath. He is headed for Chicago for basic training for the Navy. Ok, Shane he needs a buddy don't you think!!! Hi ya Freddy!!! Hey Shane, thanks for the skull cap. I will wear it with pride. Just substitute all of the profanity you want with a the word "foot". The heater is dead - oh FOOT!
Alright all in all everything has been pretty good and you know it's always good to slow down and enjoy life.....ok, enough is enough.
Well there it is and I just want to say thanks for the comments on the blog while we are here.
GO NAVY!!!!!!
Tim
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, Monday.......
We just got back from visiting the kids. We had a great time. M surprised me with a sparkly bracelet. He came running in the room and showed it to me and then put it on my wrist. Then he grabbed Tim and gave him a drawing of a Honda dirt bike motorcycle. He is a charmer. O LOVES candy! We brought all kinds today because we know she likes it. She never had a piece she didn't like. V met us today when we pulled up in the taxi. He was away playing soccer on our last visit. He is a very nice young man and we enjoy his company. We were fortunate to have Claire available to translate for us today. We were finally able to find out if the kids had questions for us. The main question they have is when do we go to court and when will we leave for America. That's a good question because we want to know too! Actually, our facilitator called this morning to tell us that all of the papers have been filed and he should receive them on Wednesday. He is in Kiev and so are the papers so he will travel to our region on the overnight train on Wednesday. He plans to go straight to the court once he gets off the train on Thursday morning to find out about our court date. So, we changed our flight to Monday, Feb. 18th last week, but we may not be able to make that one either. It all depends on the court date/s. We've been told that in this region the court likes to give you two dates. The first date is a preliminary date to meet with the court to agree that you want to adopt the children. Then the second court date is when we all go to court (the children, the faciliator, the director) and make the adoption official. We can't leave until we have the second court date. Then we have to take an overnight train for 14 hours back to Kiev to catch our flight. Please pray for quick court dates and that we can make our flight on Feb. 18th. We hope we will be home sometime the week of Feb. 18th.
O went to get Y so he could talk to Natalie and Bill. It's always good to see Y. That kid is always smiling. He brought a friend with him and it's a boy we've seen before. He's probably 15 years old. He is very polite and very nice to M, O, and V. So there were 7 of us working a puzzle waiting for Claire to get Natalie on the phone to talk to Y.
By the way.......it's freezing today. We would not survive without long johns, hats, gloves, scarfs, thick socks, and good boots.
From Tim
Hey Mom, M has had ice cream before. Marilyn, we can buy a microwave here for about $50. June, too late. We bought a small heater today. The little floor heater in the apartment stopped working. I beat it in to submission and it worked for a little bit, but finally it died. No way to live without one. We will check with Rita about getting another one.
Lyndsey and Lance, I was so happy to see your comment on our blog. You are right about our weather being very similiar. We have a layover in Chi-town on the way home. If we get stuck there.....we'll be calling cuz we got family there. Lance, how is the J-O-B going? We are very proud and happy for both of you. Cannot wait to share it at your wedding. I will try my best not to be crazy uncle Tim at your wedding. It will be great to have the whole family together. Write again and write often.
Brenda, (sharon here) thanks for the update. We were very happy to talk to Stephen before he left for boot camp. It sounds like you had a great time at Gringo's! How was he last night when you dropped him off? I'll keep you posted on our return date.
June, the candy shop is called Dolce Vita and it's across the street fro the big grocery store. They have baked goods, candy, coffee, and tea.
O went to get Y so he could talk to Natalie and Bill. It's always good to see Y. That kid is always smiling. He brought a friend with him and it's a boy we've seen before. He's probably 15 years old. He is very polite and very nice to M, O, and V. So there were 7 of us working a puzzle waiting for Claire to get Natalie on the phone to talk to Y.
By the way.......it's freezing today. We would not survive without long johns, hats, gloves, scarfs, thick socks, and good boots.
From Tim
Hey Mom, M has had ice cream before. Marilyn, we can buy a microwave here for about $50. June, too late. We bought a small heater today. The little floor heater in the apartment stopped working. I beat it in to submission and it worked for a little bit, but finally it died. No way to live without one. We will check with Rita about getting another one.
Lyndsey and Lance, I was so happy to see your comment on our blog. You are right about our weather being very similiar. We have a layover in Chi-town on the way home. If we get stuck there.....we'll be calling cuz we got family there. Lance, how is the J-O-B going? We are very proud and happy for both of you. Cannot wait to share it at your wedding. I will try my best not to be crazy uncle Tim at your wedding. It will be great to have the whole family together. Write again and write often.
Brenda, (sharon here) thanks for the update. We were very happy to talk to Stephen before he left for boot camp. It sounds like you had a great time at Gringo's! How was he last night when you dropped him off? I'll keep you posted on our return date.
June, the candy shop is called Dolce Vita and it's across the street fro the big grocery store. They have baked goods, candy, coffee, and tea.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Breakfast of Champions
All,
Ok, I know I talk alot about food here. But I'm telling you that you never realize how important the small things are that we have readily available in America then you might start to be able to understand how it would be to live in a place where you just don't have choices.
Now the good stuff. Yesterday for breakfast we asked in Russian for eggs and we were rewarded with the most delicious omlette. We had fresh bread, big slices of ham, the omlette, and cheese. I had instant coffee and Sharon had tea. It was delicious. Today we had grits and a fried chicken pattie for breakfast. Good stuff.
We walked several miles today and checked out all of the stores. None of the people taking money have calculators. They all use an abbacus (sp?). No kidding. We lost another light bulb in the bathroom. We are down to one. But, that is a good thing in the bathroom.
The apt is pretty cold. We use a small electrical floor heater. It went out last night and we freaked out. I beat on it and revived. Let me tell you it is the one thing we will not be without. We may have to buy another one for the apt. Today's temp was in the teens. But, the sun was shining part of the day.
Choco's husband - what's is going to cost me for that used helmut? As soon as I get back I plan on a big ride. Thanks for thinking of me.
Tim
Ok, I know I talk alot about food here. But I'm telling you that you never realize how important the small things are that we have readily available in America then you might start to be able to understand how it would be to live in a place where you just don't have choices.
Now the good stuff. Yesterday for breakfast we asked in Russian for eggs and we were rewarded with the most delicious omlette. We had fresh bread, big slices of ham, the omlette, and cheese. I had instant coffee and Sharon had tea. It was delicious. Today we had grits and a fried chicken pattie for breakfast. Good stuff.
We walked several miles today and checked out all of the stores. None of the people taking money have calculators. They all use an abbacus (sp?). No kidding. We lost another light bulb in the bathroom. We are down to one. But, that is a good thing in the bathroom.
The apt is pretty cold. We use a small electrical floor heater. It went out last night and we freaked out. I beat on it and revived. Let me tell you it is the one thing we will not be without. We may have to buy another one for the apt. Today's temp was in the teens. But, the sun was shining part of the day.
Choco's husband - what's is going to cost me for that used helmut? As soon as I get back I plan on a big ride. Thanks for thinking of me.
Tim
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Peyton Place
I didn't think that our blog site would turn in to a computer small town community. It's nice that everybody is sharing events with each other. Hey Chococake's husband -- way to throw mom under the bus! Hope everyone feels better. Hey Becky can Campbell drive yet? I bet she could if she wanted to. We miss all of you.
Marilyn, here is the real Ukraine story. Yes, you need a converter for every bleeping electrical thing you have or need. No hot plate, no microwave, no stove and the only part of the refrigerator that works is the freezer. We keep ice cream in there. All we have is a pot that will boil water in seconds. That's how I make my coffee and we wash the clothes. There is no little chocolate mints or peppermint or girlie thing to put in my coffee. Believe me, I wish there was. What I make is Cowboy coffee. That's where the grinds are still left in the cup and you have to sip it real slow.
Dad, OK you got the teeth for a New York Strip? I'll buy and cook on the pit. And in the morning we'll go to Shipley's for donuts and coffee.
Hey Steph and Julie we were so glad to hear your voices. I didn't know I would miss my sisters that much. Thanks for everything you are doing for us. Stephanie stay out of my candy and the pantry. Julie enjoy the bed while you can. What side are you sleeping on? Is Max sleeping on the pillow? Must be nice moving up in the world.
Dean & Jeanine - Jeanine, miss you and love you and I would grab your earlobe if I was there. Sweet Thang, how did your game go? Do you need a hug? Hope the shoulder held up. Get healed up so we can play when I get home. The game I set up at Redstone for our CEO last week went really well. My boss said that our CEO shot his first eagle on a par 4 and will never forget the day or the course. I hope I get a comp round so we can play.
The West Family - So glad to hear you and Stephen got some time to spend together. I sorely miss not being able to be with you guys. I wish I would have known. You could have taken the boat and the truck. Stephen, we really wish we could be there to see you off to Boot Camp. We love you very much and know you'll do well.
We hope Michelle and Hayden are doing well. Can't wait to meet Hayden. Joseph, thanks for helping out with house duties. Bob, when I get back we need to hook up for a bike ride or fishing trip. You pick. Or, maybe just a hot tub and a beer. Brenda, thanks for keeping it all together.
We had a great day with the kids. We brought ice cream. No problem. It's so cold we didn't have to worry about it melting. M and me used lingo (electronic translator) to have a conversation. He's very smart and has figured out how to do it and change from Russian to English. Then we wrestled and I taught him how to say, "back off man!". I brought my MP3 player and let them listen to some good old rock and roll. Frampton, Skynyrd, ZZ, and Michael Buble (What a wonderful world). That song always makes me think of my parents. I had to fight O to get it away from her. She really likes music and singing.
The static electricity is so bad that Sharon's hair sticks straight up. She is scaring the Ukrainian people when we walk down the road. Seriously! She couldn't even hide it with my baseball hat. The kids never batted and eye. They just hugged her, hugged her and hugged her. But I laughed and laughed.
Tim and Sharon
Marilyn, here is the real Ukraine story. Yes, you need a converter for every bleeping electrical thing you have or need. No hot plate, no microwave, no stove and the only part of the refrigerator that works is the freezer. We keep ice cream in there. All we have is a pot that will boil water in seconds. That's how I make my coffee and we wash the clothes. There is no little chocolate mints or peppermint or girlie thing to put in my coffee. Believe me, I wish there was. What I make is Cowboy coffee. That's where the grinds are still left in the cup and you have to sip it real slow.
Dad, OK you got the teeth for a New York Strip? I'll buy and cook on the pit. And in the morning we'll go to Shipley's for donuts and coffee.
Hey Steph and Julie we were so glad to hear your voices. I didn't know I would miss my sisters that much. Thanks for everything you are doing for us. Stephanie stay out of my candy and the pantry. Julie enjoy the bed while you can. What side are you sleeping on? Is Max sleeping on the pillow? Must be nice moving up in the world.
Dean & Jeanine - Jeanine, miss you and love you and I would grab your earlobe if I was there. Sweet Thang, how did your game go? Do you need a hug? Hope the shoulder held up. Get healed up so we can play when I get home. The game I set up at Redstone for our CEO last week went really well. My boss said that our CEO shot his first eagle on a par 4 and will never forget the day or the course. I hope I get a comp round so we can play.
The West Family - So glad to hear you and Stephen got some time to spend together. I sorely miss not being able to be with you guys. I wish I would have known. You could have taken the boat and the truck. Stephen, we really wish we could be there to see you off to Boot Camp. We love you very much and know you'll do well.
We hope Michelle and Hayden are doing well. Can't wait to meet Hayden. Joseph, thanks for helping out with house duties. Bob, when I get back we need to hook up for a bike ride or fishing trip. You pick. Or, maybe just a hot tub and a beer. Brenda, thanks for keeping it all together.
We had a great day with the kids. We brought ice cream. No problem. It's so cold we didn't have to worry about it melting. M and me used lingo (electronic translator) to have a conversation. He's very smart and has figured out how to do it and change from Russian to English. Then we wrestled and I taught him how to say, "back off man!". I brought my MP3 player and let them listen to some good old rock and roll. Frampton, Skynyrd, ZZ, and Michael Buble (What a wonderful world). That song always makes me think of my parents. I had to fight O to get it away from her. She really likes music and singing.
The static electricity is so bad that Sharon's hair sticks straight up. She is scaring the Ukrainian people when we walk down the road. Seriously! She couldn't even hide it with my baseball hat. The kids never batted and eye. They just hugged her, hugged her and hugged her. But I laughed and laughed.
Tim and Sharon
Friday, February 8, 2008
Civilization
Ok,I am going to eat at McDonalds as soon as we get to Kiev. I miss Beef. This morning we had boiled beef and patatoes for breakfast. I prommise not complain anymore about the pork. I could only eat the cheese and potatoes. The weather here is cold today with a blowing snow and temperature around 30 degrees. We went to the grocery store to buy goodies for the kids like banana's,juicebox, candy and potatoe chips. We found a new candy store on the way. They have lots of specialty cookies, coffee's, tea, and more candy. The older woman there was very nice and helped me buy some coffee creamer I needed badly.
We had a nice visit with M,O and V today. We wrote down questions last night to ask them......Ok, Sharon wrote down the questions and I helped. We took V and M clothes and shoe sizes. O is a doll and likes attention and any candy we bring. I make sure we always have some for her and banana's for M.
Tony HAPPY 80th Birthday!!! I wish I could be in Georgetown to help you celebrate. For sure next year and I am buying. Uhh, let me check with Sharon first on that. Our family situation has changed a little, but I can hook you up at Shipley's for coffee and some braekfast for sure.
Tim
We had a nice visit with M,O and V today. We wrote down questions last night to ask them......Ok, Sharon wrote down the questions and I helped. We took V and M clothes and shoe sizes. O is a doll and likes attention and any candy we bring. I make sure we always have some for her and banana's for M.
Tony HAPPY 80th Birthday!!! I wish I could be in Georgetown to help you celebrate. For sure next year and I am buying. Uhh, let me check with Sharon first on that. Our family situation has changed a little, but I can hook you up at Shipley's for coffee and some braekfast for sure.
Tim
HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY DAD!
Happy Birthday Dad! We wish we were there to celebrate with you. We hope you have a wonderful day. You officially have the right to drive 35 miles an hour no matter what the speed limit. To give advice freely to people who don't want it or need it. To talk loud because you can't hear or your hearing aid is whistleing, and to ignore anyone you don't want to talk to. We love you DAD!!
We just got back from another visit with the kids. There was a light snow last night and the temperature dropped a few degrees so it was very cold today. When we arrived at the orphanage the courtyard was empty. Usually O is looking out the window for us to arrive because she always comes running out from her dorm building across the courtyard. Today, nothing........ we waited and went in the school building and it was empty. Came back out and who comes running across the courtyard today? It was V. He really seems to be enjoying our visits. He took us in the school building and to family type room where there are couches and chairs so you can visit. A few minutes later O and M came in. Today I had written out some questions phonetically in Russian to see if we could communicate better. It worked alittle bit better than charades (like we usually do). M just laughs at us. Sometimes I think he understands alot more than he lets on. O and I read part of the Russian dictionary book I brought. M showed us that he already put together two of the lego kits we got him. V was very interested in the camera today and had all of us posing for photos. It was another good day. We did not see any other children as it was freezing cold outside. We did see one boy riding the old bike around the courtyard when we arrived. He was a brave soul.
Tim will probably tell you about breakfast this morning. We are both hungry waiting for dinner. It was not the best breakfast today. But all of the other meals have been very good.
We are hoping to know more on Feb. 12th.
Thanks for all the prayers and comments!
The keyboards in this internet cafe are ancient. Sometimes you press keys and no letters pop up. Sometimes the space bar works, sometimes it doesn't. Excuse us if there are typos, but they cut the computer off after an hour and we don't always have time to proof.
Kathi - We texted Andrew yesterday and he texted us back. Good to hear from him.
Betty - Thanks for the updates. I'll email you with specific questions regarding Stephen's new career path.
Chococake - the chocolate here is very dark. In my opinion it's not as good as Hershey's.
We just got back from another visit with the kids. There was a light snow last night and the temperature dropped a few degrees so it was very cold today. When we arrived at the orphanage the courtyard was empty. Usually O is looking out the window for us to arrive because she always comes running out from her dorm building across the courtyard. Today, nothing........ we waited and went in the school building and it was empty. Came back out and who comes running across the courtyard today? It was V. He really seems to be enjoying our visits. He took us in the school building and to family type room where there are couches and chairs so you can visit. A few minutes later O and M came in. Today I had written out some questions phonetically in Russian to see if we could communicate better. It worked alittle bit better than charades (like we usually do). M just laughs at us. Sometimes I think he understands alot more than he lets on. O and I read part of the Russian dictionary book I brought. M showed us that he already put together two of the lego kits we got him. V was very interested in the camera today and had all of us posing for photos. It was another good day. We did not see any other children as it was freezing cold outside. We did see one boy riding the old bike around the courtyard when we arrived. He was a brave soul.
Tim will probably tell you about breakfast this morning. We are both hungry waiting for dinner. It was not the best breakfast today. But all of the other meals have been very good.
We are hoping to know more on Feb. 12th.
Thanks for all the prayers and comments!
The keyboards in this internet cafe are ancient. Sometimes you press keys and no letters pop up. Sometimes the space bar works, sometimes it doesn't. Excuse us if there are typos, but they cut the computer off after an hour and we don't always have time to proof.
Kathi - We texted Andrew yesterday and he texted us back. Good to hear from him.
Betty - Thanks for the updates. I'll email you with specific questions regarding Stephen's new career path.
Chococake - the chocolate here is very dark. In my opinion it's not as good as Hershey's.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Interesting Day
We slept late today, again. It's so weird to go from such a hectic pace everyday to a very slow pace where you have a lot of time on your hands. It's actually been a good thing because we've been forced to slow down. We realize that once the adoption is done and we get back home we will be at warp speed again so we will take this time that we have and enjoy it.
Our taxi driver is a great guy. He is from this region and knows alot about the city. He took us to two museums this week. He doesn't speak English and we don't speak Russian, but he and Tim have figured out how to communicate using the computer translator that Jyl let us borrow. We have enjoyed his company. We also met a man on the train last week on our way here. He was born in this region and left here when he was 19 years old and moved to Boston. He had a mixed Russian/Boston accent! I had asked the train steward when we needed to get off the train and she didn't speak English. She must have known he did, because she went to get him to ask me what I wanted. His name is David and he was on his way to visit his Dad in the next town over. He told me his story and asked us about ours. Turns out he is married to a woman from Sugar Land. Her parents still live there and he's visited. The world isn't such a big place after all.
We still don't know about our court date. We hope to know something on Feb. 12. We just have to take it a day at a time and hope for a speedy court date. Then we can come home for 10 days before coming back to get the children. The kids asked us today when they will be coming with us to America. They seem very excited. We have really enjoyed our visits with the kids. We usually play cards, color, draw, do puzzles and that type of thing. The hardest thing is communicating. Our translator had to go to Kiev to get things done so we have been on our own most of this week. We spent our time yesterday working a puzzle and the 5 of us plus Y finished it in 1 hour. We usually bring snacks and drinks. M LOVES Coke. I'm discovering that O might be a candy fiend:-). They also love fruit, especially bananas. V likes fish.
Today we tried to communicate using the electronic translator and had some success. M loves electronics. O showed us her art tablet. She has some beautiful drawings. We had a visit from KMB today. She visited with us most of the day and showed us that she can write out Mama in English. The time goes by fast when we are visiting with the kids. We are usually in a room in the school building. When it's time to go we go out to the courtyard to wait for our taxi. Today there were a lot of children in the courtyard. It looks like they have another bike. Tim took video of M riding the bike around the courtyard. O wanted me to take pictures of her with all of her friends. We finally saw S (Ann and Keith)and took his picture. He is just as shy as he was when he was here, but he had a BIG smile when he saw us.
We miss you all!!
Our taxi driver is a great guy. He is from this region and knows alot about the city. He took us to two museums this week. He doesn't speak English and we don't speak Russian, but he and Tim have figured out how to communicate using the computer translator that Jyl let us borrow. We have enjoyed his company. We also met a man on the train last week on our way here. He was born in this region and left here when he was 19 years old and moved to Boston. He had a mixed Russian/Boston accent! I had asked the train steward when we needed to get off the train and she didn't speak English. She must have known he did, because she went to get him to ask me what I wanted. His name is David and he was on his way to visit his Dad in the next town over. He told me his story and asked us about ours. Turns out he is married to a woman from Sugar Land. Her parents still live there and he's visited. The world isn't such a big place after all.
We still don't know about our court date. We hope to know something on Feb. 12. We just have to take it a day at a time and hope for a speedy court date. Then we can come home for 10 days before coming back to get the children. The kids asked us today when they will be coming with us to America. They seem very excited. We have really enjoyed our visits with the kids. We usually play cards, color, draw, do puzzles and that type of thing. The hardest thing is communicating. Our translator had to go to Kiev to get things done so we have been on our own most of this week. We spent our time yesterday working a puzzle and the 5 of us plus Y finished it in 1 hour. We usually bring snacks and drinks. M LOVES Coke. I'm discovering that O might be a candy fiend:-). They also love fruit, especially bananas. V likes fish.
Today we tried to communicate using the electronic translator and had some success. M loves electronics. O showed us her art tablet. She has some beautiful drawings. We had a visit from KMB today. She visited with us most of the day and showed us that she can write out Mama in English. The time goes by fast when we are visiting with the kids. We are usually in a room in the school building. When it's time to go we go out to the courtyard to wait for our taxi. Today there were a lot of children in the courtyard. It looks like they have another bike. Tim took video of M riding the bike around the courtyard. O wanted me to take pictures of her with all of her friends. We finally saw S (Ann and Keith)and took his picture. He is just as shy as he was when he was here, but he had a BIG smile when he saw us.
We miss you all!!
Food for thought?
Last night's dinner was egg salad (rubbery) for starters, tortellini stuffed with some kind of pork (yummy), and a fried pattie made with the same stuffing in the tortellini (more pork). No dessert. Every night we get hot tea (Sharon) and coffee (me). The coffee is what I like to call Cowboy coffee because you can stand a spoon straight up in it. Trying to sleep after this is an event. I've had some pretty severe nightmares.
We have to shower at night because it's the only time the water is drizzeling and hot. Our laundry is hung up in the bathroom with bungee cords (thanks Dennis for the tip). We've moved from from the bed to sleeping on the couches. The bed springs are so bad when I lay down on my side I completely disappear from site. My back took two nights of it and that's all she wrote. The living room has become home. We watch tv in Russian. I play the PSP and read books. Sharon and I play rummy. She always wins, cheats. I make coffee in the morning with a paper towel and bottled water. It's a good trick when there is no coffee pot. This morning I put on my stiff, clean underwear and we skipped breakfast in the restaurant and decided to go to City Pizza and order pizza for lunch and bring some for the kids.
More later....
Tim
We have to shower at night because it's the only time the water is drizzeling and hot. Our laundry is hung up in the bathroom with bungee cords (thanks Dennis for the tip). We've moved from from the bed to sleeping on the couches. The bed springs are so bad when I lay down on my side I completely disappear from site. My back took two nights of it and that's all she wrote. The living room has become home. We watch tv in Russian. I play the PSP and read books. Sharon and I play rummy. She always wins, cheats. I make coffee in the morning with a paper towel and bottled water. It's a good trick when there is no coffee pot. This morning I put on my stiff, clean underwear and we skipped breakfast in the restaurant and decided to go to City Pizza and order pizza for lunch and bring some for the kids.
More later....
Tim
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Hump Day in Ukraine
Tim and I decided to splurge today and each get a computer at the internet cafe. It costs about $1 per hour:-). So there will be two separate posts today.
Marilyn, I have been meaning to tell you that I did have the Chicken Kiev at O'Brian's in Kiev before we left. It's exactly what June described. It was good, but I didn't expect it to be fried. Last night they served us boneless fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Tim was in heaven.
You can leave as many comments on the blog as you want. The more the better for us. We look forward to anything from home. We are in a small town in Eastern Ukraine. They have one main street. They do have a small super market that is half the size of a walgreens. They also have a smaller market where you can buy clothes, hats, bakery items, cokes, meats, jewelry, exchange money, books, strollers, cosmetics, etc. We are staying in a very central place that is close to everything. Everyone here walks everywhere. Even if it's freezing cold outside, people are walking up and down the main street. The orphanage is about 15 minutes away by taxi. They have a new pizza place that we like. We walk there and have tea and coffee or pizza.
We had a good visit with the kids yesterday. M was feeling better. Tim bought a plastic gun that shoots suction cup darts. It also came with hand cuffs and a army man figure. They would stand the army man up and shoot him down. V joined us today and we all had a good time. Everyone took turns shooting the army man, even O. We were able to walk around the court yard because the snow had melted and children were outside. There seemed to be one old bicycle that all of the kids shared. They made a line. The next in line would take the bike and ride as fast as he/she could around the courtyard then back to the next person in line and they would take off.
The children took us to their gymnasium and we ran in to the table tennis champ (Y). Yes, Natalie and Bill, your boy is the champ. Tim played table tennis with Y and V. M was not interested in the least. O wanted to take pictures of her friends and favorite teachers and caregivers. She LOVES the camera. M ran in to his best friend and wanted a couple of photos with him. V also wanted us to meet his best friend and take a photo of them. M and O made us each a gift in art class. I got a red sports car and Tim got a yellow tank. They are made of paper. I wish I could post photos so you could see them. They are very detailed and M was so proud to show me that the wheels actually turn on my car.
We will visit the kids today. Will post again tomorrow. Hopefully by tomorrow we will know more about our timeline here.
Becky, I hope you are feeling better.
Ladybug, say hello to everyone for me.
Sharon
Marilyn, I have been meaning to tell you that I did have the Chicken Kiev at O'Brian's in Kiev before we left. It's exactly what June described. It was good, but I didn't expect it to be fried. Last night they served us boneless fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Tim was in heaven.
You can leave as many comments on the blog as you want. The more the better for us. We look forward to anything from home. We are in a small town in Eastern Ukraine. They have one main street. They do have a small super market that is half the size of a walgreens. They also have a smaller market where you can buy clothes, hats, bakery items, cokes, meats, jewelry, exchange money, books, strollers, cosmetics, etc. We are staying in a very central place that is close to everything. Everyone here walks everywhere. Even if it's freezing cold outside, people are walking up and down the main street. The orphanage is about 15 minutes away by taxi. They have a new pizza place that we like. We walk there and have tea and coffee or pizza.
We had a good visit with the kids yesterday. M was feeling better. Tim bought a plastic gun that shoots suction cup darts. It also came with hand cuffs and a army man figure. They would stand the army man up and shoot him down. V joined us today and we all had a good time. Everyone took turns shooting the army man, even O. We were able to walk around the court yard because the snow had melted and children were outside. There seemed to be one old bicycle that all of the kids shared. They made a line. The next in line would take the bike and ride as fast as he/she could around the courtyard then back to the next person in line and they would take off.
The children took us to their gymnasium and we ran in to the table tennis champ (Y). Yes, Natalie and Bill, your boy is the champ. Tim played table tennis with Y and V. M was not interested in the least. O wanted to take pictures of her friends and favorite teachers and caregivers. She LOVES the camera. M ran in to his best friend and wanted a couple of photos with him. V also wanted us to meet his best friend and take a photo of them. M and O made us each a gift in art class. I got a red sports car and Tim got a yellow tank. They are made of paper. I wish I could post photos so you could see them. They are very detailed and M was so proud to show me that the wheels actually turn on my car.
We will visit the kids today. Will post again tomorrow. Hopefully by tomorrow we will know more about our timeline here.
Becky, I hope you are feeling better.
Ladybug, say hello to everyone for me.
Sharon
Another Day
The weather here today has warmed up to a balmy 40 degrees with a 10-15 mile an hour wind. Today's breakfast consisted of soup with you guessed it pork meat balls, ham slices with cheese, two fried eggs, coffee and black tea. We are sleeping pretty well; however, there seems to be a dispute between the (4) alley cats and the (2) guard dogs......uh, small dogs built just for barking. Every night ohhh say around 4:00am to about 5:30am. The cats sound like screaming women and the dogs sound like vicious wolfs. At that hour of the night I sit up sometimes and wonder who is winning that night's battle. I may try to video them for fun.
The restaurant has (2) full time guards on the property and they are both nice guys. We feel pretty safe here and the folks at the returant are super nice. The other night the ladies in the kitchen made us borscht. A standard soup in the Ukraine made of beef broth, beats, cabbage, potatoes and (for Jeanine) a big fat dollop of sour cream. It sounds a little different but I can assure you it was excellent.
Shane... the kids at the orphanage have only one bicycle that they have to share. Maybe, we could talk the shop into helping put together a charity ride so we could collect donations for extra bikes for the kids. Hey, we could stand riders in a long line (in their cycling clothes)and use one little kids bike and have each cyclist ride the bike in a little circle for time. Ok......maybe we just have a regular charity ride to collect donations to buy kids bikes to ship over.
M and O are great kids. M likes math and is a quick study and good with his hands. O loves to draw, talk and be photographed. They have the most beautiful smiles.
Tim
The restaurant has (2) full time guards on the property and they are both nice guys. We feel pretty safe here and the folks at the returant are super nice. The other night the ladies in the kitchen made us borscht. A standard soup in the Ukraine made of beef broth, beats, cabbage, potatoes and (for Jeanine) a big fat dollop of sour cream. It sounds a little different but I can assure you it was excellent.
Shane... the kids at the orphanage have only one bicycle that they have to share. Maybe, we could talk the shop into helping put together a charity ride so we could collect donations for extra bikes for the kids. Hey, we could stand riders in a long line (in their cycling clothes)and use one little kids bike and have each cyclist ride the bike in a little circle for time. Ok......maybe we just have a regular charity ride to collect donations to buy kids bikes to ship over.
M and O are great kids. M likes math and is a quick study and good with his hands. O loves to draw, talk and be photographed. They have the most beautiful smiles.
Tim
Monday, February 4, 2008
Was it a "Super" Bowl?
I just found out that the Giants beat the Patriots. I'm not as big of a football fan as I used to be, but I thought the Patriots were going to win this one. With no news and being so far away I can't tell by the article that I read if everyone was happy with the outcome or depressed.
We met with our facilitator this morning and went to the notary office to get more paperwork done. It seems like things are moving along and we are making progress. We were able to visit with O today. M is sick. He was sleeping when we were there so we didn't get to see him today. The Director wasn't feeling well today either so we couldn't meet with her. We enjoyed our time with O. She is so happy about being adopted. We were able to have a nice conversation as our facilitator took us to a private room where we could relax and talk. We are really enjoying getting to know her. We were right by a classroom that appeared to be Kindegarten aged children. They were all at their desks writing and coloring. Those children were adorable.
When it was time to go we stood outside waiting for our cab to arrive and a group of kids came up to say hello(Natalie,Y was one of them). The sun was out today so there were kids in the courtyard. The children are nice and posed for a photo. They love seeing themselves on the digital camera.
From Tim
Every meal is an experience. Breakfast today was a chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms - breaded and fried. Barley with potatoes. Of course bread and cheese at every meal. It was good, but alittle tough to choke down first thing in the morning. Most all of our meals have consisted of some kind of pork. Like ground pork in a flat pancake. Fried pork battered in bread. Pork sausage (not like you are used to). Pork patties. Pork Crepes. OK enough of the pig. The potatoes are outstanding! We had mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, potatoes in soup, potatoes in porridge. Potatoes are like you think they are........not scary. My system is working fine. Gotta go to dinner now. I'm sure it's some kind of pork and potatoes.
Becky - I love reading your comments. I'm looking forward to seeing you. I know that you will be back in town soon to see CJB.
Jeanine,Dean,Caden,Lyndsey,& Lance - Was so happy to hear you are having a good time in Chicago. We will call you soon.
Bob and Brenda - HAPPY 12TH ANNIVERSARY Betty and Jim! (Feb3). Jim, take Betty to dinner. To a nice dinner.
Bobby - We hope to see you soon. 17 days and counting....ROGER THAT!
Stephen & Michelle - Take care of each other and Hayden. Michelle, we can't believe you are finally gaining weight. He must be a big boy! Stephen, hang in there. Chin up. We are very proud of you Medical Corpsman West.
We met with our facilitator this morning and went to the notary office to get more paperwork done. It seems like things are moving along and we are making progress. We were able to visit with O today. M is sick. He was sleeping when we were there so we didn't get to see him today. The Director wasn't feeling well today either so we couldn't meet with her. We enjoyed our time with O. She is so happy about being adopted. We were able to have a nice conversation as our facilitator took us to a private room where we could relax and talk. We are really enjoying getting to know her. We were right by a classroom that appeared to be Kindegarten aged children. They were all at their desks writing and coloring. Those children were adorable.
When it was time to go we stood outside waiting for our cab to arrive and a group of kids came up to say hello(Natalie,Y was one of them). The sun was out today so there were kids in the courtyard. The children are nice and posed for a photo. They love seeing themselves on the digital camera.
From Tim
Every meal is an experience. Breakfast today was a chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms - breaded and fried. Barley with potatoes. Of course bread and cheese at every meal. It was good, but alittle tough to choke down first thing in the morning. Most all of our meals have consisted of some kind of pork. Like ground pork in a flat pancake. Fried pork battered in bread. Pork sausage (not like you are used to). Pork patties. Pork Crepes. OK enough of the pig. The potatoes are outstanding! We had mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, potatoes in soup, potatoes in porridge. Potatoes are like you think they are........not scary. My system is working fine. Gotta go to dinner now. I'm sure it's some kind of pork and potatoes.
Becky - I love reading your comments. I'm looking forward to seeing you. I know that you will be back in town soon to see CJB.
Jeanine,Dean,Caden,Lyndsey,& Lance - Was so happy to hear you are having a good time in Chicago. We will call you soon.
Bob and Brenda - HAPPY 12TH ANNIVERSARY Betty and Jim! (Feb3). Jim, take Betty to dinner. To a nice dinner.
Bobby - We hope to see you soon. 17 days and counting....ROGER THAT!
Stephen & Michelle - Take care of each other and Hayden. Michelle, we can't believe you are finally gaining weight. He must be a big boy! Stephen, hang in there. Chin up. We are very proud of you Medical Corpsman West.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Internet Cafe
We are in the internet cafe fighting for a spot amongst a bunch of young kids playing war games. We had two days of wonderful visits with the children. We are blessed and pleased. They seem very healthy and happy. Language has been a struggle, but they seem to understand just enough as we do them. The children have accepted us as their adoptive parents. We are now waiting on a court date. This could take 5-10 working days. We may not leave here on our scheduled flight, but won't know until Friday.
We don't have a way to post photos, but we've taken alot and will post them when we can.
We are staying above a nice Ukrainian restaurant/disco. They give us two meals per day. The meals are different, but very good. They consist of salad...cucumbers & tomatoes. Second course is potatoes or rice with some kind of chicken or pork and hard boiled eggs. Final course is dessert. It is like a Mexican Soppapilla. It's really great and different. We have breakfast at 10:00am and dinner at 6:00pm. No English TV. We spend lots of time reading books and playing card games.
We take a taxi to see M & O at the orphanage. It takes about 15 minutes. Our first meeting with M was on Friday. He was dressed smartly in blazer and slacks and a HUGE smile! He hasn't changed much and he and Tim sat together right away. O came running in the room and hugged us both and would not leave my side. She is beautiful and has a smile that will light up a room.
We met their older brother and spent time with all three kids together. We all have a good understanding and everything is going to work out.
We are leaving now to go shopping. Our first adventure to the market.
Will post again later.
Love you all!
Sharon & Tim
We don't have a way to post photos, but we've taken alot and will post them when we can.
We are staying above a nice Ukrainian restaurant/disco. They give us two meals per day. The meals are different, but very good. They consist of salad...cucumbers & tomatoes. Second course is potatoes or rice with some kind of chicken or pork and hard boiled eggs. Final course is dessert. It is like a Mexican Soppapilla. It's really great and different. We have breakfast at 10:00am and dinner at 6:00pm. No English TV. We spend lots of time reading books and playing card games.
We take a taxi to see M & O at the orphanage. It takes about 15 minutes. Our first meeting with M was on Friday. He was dressed smartly in blazer and slacks and a HUGE smile! He hasn't changed much and he and Tim sat together right away. O came running in the room and hugged us both and would not leave my side. She is beautiful and has a smile that will light up a room.
We met their older brother and spent time with all three kids together. We all have a good understanding and everything is going to work out.
We are leaving now to go shopping. Our first adventure to the market.
Will post again later.
Love you all!
Sharon & Tim
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