We arrived in Kiev on Wednesday morning after a 16 1/2 hour train ride. We had a second class cabin with four bunks and June, Dennis, and K had the cabin next to us. The kids were very good. They slept most of the trip. We are still waiting for the children's passports. We have been told that it takes 10 business days to get them, but June and Dennis have waited 15 days and just got word last night that K's passport is arriving this morning. Today is day number 6 for our passport wait so we are praying that we don't have any delays, but everything here depends on something else and something else always happens:-).
Since we gave V a cell phone we have been able to call him every night. He was so happy last night when we talked to him. He is an amazing young man. He wants what is best for his brother and sister. He sent a text message to Elizabeth and Michael on the cell that said "I love you". Even though he is staying in Ukraine we feel like he is part of our family too and he will always have a home with us if he chooses to come to America.
Yesterday we had a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. It's much warmer on this trip. Cool in the evenings, but it gets warm during the day. All you need is a nice long sleeve shirt or sweater to stay warm. We met June, Dennis, and K and did some sightseeing and shopping. We bought the children some clothes. Mom, Elizabeth (O) is a girls size 14. Michael (M) is a size 9/10 boys. We had lunch at a traditional Ukrainian restaurant. I'll let Tim fill you in on that later. Somewhere along the 15 minute walk back to the apt someone unzipped my purse and stole my Blackberry! I was shocked! I never felt a thing. Fortunately that is the only thing they got. It could have been much worse. I had to call my cell phone company and have my cell number suspended until I return from our trip. I also had all of my phone numbers and email addresses in my Blackberry. The worst part is that I had all of the photos I have taken on this trip on my Blackberry. If I have sent you any photos on this trip, please save them for me or send them to my personal email at coonss@comcast.net.
June and Dennis may be leaving soon. They are supposed to go to the US Embassy today to start their departure paperwork. We have really enjoyed spending time with them and will miss them when they go.
Elizabeth and Michael are doing great! The hardest part is the communication, but we have discovered that Michael is a pretty good translator. Elizabeth is trying very hard and we are trying hard as well with our Russian. It will be much easier once we are home.
Kathi - Bon Voyage! Have a great time on your cruise!
Mom - I forgot to bring our Ukraine cell number with me, but I will call you with it so you can call me. Get the calling card number I left with Julie.
Julie - See above. Call if you have time. You know how much we like to hear from you.
Steph - See above. Ditto.
Brenda - I'll keep you posted on our return. How are Michelle and Hayden?
Jeanine & Dean - Give Caden a hug. We are glad he liked the birthday gift.
Teresa - thanks for your messages. I sent you one on Tim's email last night. We can email on that address. Hello to all my Square D Family!
Thanks for all of your prayers!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Last Night as Family of Two
We have visited the children every day since we arrived. Many of their friends stop by to say hello and it's always nice to see them. It's very easy to get attached to these kids. We met a couple from Italy who is adopting a little boy. We have enjoyed visiting with them as well. We talked about the distances we traveled to get here. They have a two and half hour plane flight plus the train ride. We have a 13 hour plane flight plus the train ride. They have already been here 4-5 weeks and they look like we did when we were ready to leave on our first trip. It's nice to see other people willing to take the abuse to change a child's life. The little boy they are adopting is 7 years old, but looks much younger. He is a very happy little boy. He is always smiling. He seems to know M, O, and V. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers so we can keep in touch.
Since we are staying with friends here the stay has been so much better than our first trip. We enjoy our evening conversations and dinner and it's so nice to have other people who speak English. June is very good with Russian and has been a big help to us with translating. I was finally able to order the chicken pizza with June's help! All of us walked to the city park today just in time to see some sunshine. We ate dinner at a local bar -- Tim's description: open faced ham sandwich with mayonaise and tomatoes on white bread. It cost a whopping 80 cents. But the best part was they had "potatoes free" which translates to FRENCH FRIES! We each had a plate of french fries then stopped for ice cream and cookies on the walk back to the apartment. It's about a mile walk each way.
Tonight is the last night our children will spend in the orphanage. We will sign papers with the Director tomorrow then we will all stay at the apartment on Monday night and leave on the train to Kiev on Tuesday. We booked a full cabin which sleeps four. J & D booked the cabin next to us. It will be nice to travel back to Kiev with them. We should arrive in Kiev before Noon on Wednesday.
O is counting the days until she comes with us. M is excited too, but like a typical boy doesn't ask every 5 minutes when we are leaving for Kiev. Tim and the boys played soccer today. V has mastered his MP3 Player. He figured out how to use it as a recorder and recorded himself singing Rap music in Russian....very interesting. He has also figured out his cell phone. He understands it better than I do and changed the display and switched it from English to Russian. They are all very bright kids. M has been helping us with our translating. He understands more English than we thought. That will be our biggest hurdle. Communicating is hard and it takes patience to look up words and give information to the kids.
We are very excited about tomorrow and hope there are no delays along the way.
Thanks for your messages!
Sharon and Tim
Since we are staying with friends here the stay has been so much better than our first trip. We enjoy our evening conversations and dinner and it's so nice to have other people who speak English. June is very good with Russian and has been a big help to us with translating. I was finally able to order the chicken pizza with June's help! All of us walked to the city park today just in time to see some sunshine. We ate dinner at a local bar -- Tim's description: open faced ham sandwich with mayonaise and tomatoes on white bread. It cost a whopping 80 cents. But the best part was they had "potatoes free" which translates to FRENCH FRIES! We each had a plate of french fries then stopped for ice cream and cookies on the walk back to the apartment. It's about a mile walk each way.
Tonight is the last night our children will spend in the orphanage. We will sign papers with the Director tomorrow then we will all stay at the apartment on Monday night and leave on the train to Kiev on Tuesday. We booked a full cabin which sleeps four. J & D booked the cabin next to us. It will be nice to travel back to Kiev with them. We should arrive in Kiev before Noon on Wednesday.
O is counting the days until she comes with us. M is excited too, but like a typical boy doesn't ask every 5 minutes when we are leaving for Kiev. Tim and the boys played soccer today. V has mastered his MP3 Player. He figured out how to use it as a recorder and recorded himself singing Rap music in Russian....very interesting. He has also figured out his cell phone. He understands it better than I do and changed the display and switched it from English to Russian. They are all very bright kids. M has been helping us with our translating. He understands more English than we thought. That will be our biggest hurdle. Communicating is hard and it takes patience to look up words and give information to the kids.
We are very excited about tomorrow and hope there are no delays along the way.
Thanks for your messages!
Sharon and Tim
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Friday - Dinner With Director
We purchased a cell phone for V today. We loaded the phone with important phone numbers and asked V not to use it unless he is calling us. The kids here have a way of trading phones and sim cards and things get lost quickly. V is older and responsible and it shouldn't be a problem for him. This way he we can keep in touch. He was very happy to receive it.
We went to the Orphanage Director's house for dinner. She has a nice country home. She laid out a huge spread that could have fed 20 people. All traditional Ukrainian food. Including the Vooooddka. We brought gifts for them including a bottle of Cognac. We drank the Cognac and we tried their Vodka. We toasted the children, we toasted each other's country, we toasted the food, we toasted family, we toasted to toast. It was awesome.
Tim wants to talk about the food. Check it out.... ok, ok, ok. We hit the jackpot! Everybody ready? Here we go. First thing on the table I spotted was fried chicken and mashed potatoes. No kidding. Homemade and finger licking good. Next up, some really strange salads. One was typical cabbage, carrots, bell pepper with a mayonaise sauce. Not bad. The other one was R-O-N-G! Purple cabbage on the top some kind of weird fish on the bottom with a tangy sauce. Ok, now to talk about the mushrooms. Everything has mushrooms in it here. This time they served them raw. They were small, tan mushrooms in a syrup. They were pretty good, but a little slimey. The other kind were your standard, grey mushrooms. Pretty tasty. Then she had black olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes, homemade bread, salami with mayonaise. And last but not least she served very good tea and cake. The kid ate in a separate room. It was weird because we just got the kids then they were gone. All the kids joined us for dessert. The director's husband has a Chow (dog) that was seriously intimidating.
We went to the Orphanage Director's house for dinner. She has a nice country home. She laid out a huge spread that could have fed 20 people. All traditional Ukrainian food. Including the Vooooddka. We brought gifts for them including a bottle of Cognac. We drank the Cognac and we tried their Vodka. We toasted the children, we toasted each other's country, we toasted the food, we toasted family, we toasted to toast. It was awesome.
Tim wants to talk about the food. Check it out.... ok, ok, ok. We hit the jackpot! Everybody ready? Here we go. First thing on the table I spotted was fried chicken and mashed potatoes. No kidding. Homemade and finger licking good. Next up, some really strange salads. One was typical cabbage, carrots, bell pepper with a mayonaise sauce. Not bad. The other one was R-O-N-G! Purple cabbage on the top some kind of weird fish on the bottom with a tangy sauce. Ok, now to talk about the mushrooms. Everything has mushrooms in it here. This time they served them raw. They were small, tan mushrooms in a syrup. They were pretty good, but a little slimey. The other kind were your standard, grey mushrooms. Pretty tasty. Then she had black olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes, homemade bread, salami with mayonaise. And last but not least she served very good tea and cake. The kid ate in a separate room. It was weird because we just got the kids then they were gone. All the kids joined us for dessert. The director's husband has a Chow (dog) that was seriously intimidating.
One Step Closer......
We forgot to tell you about Air Force One. When we landed at the airport in Kiev we saw Air Force One parked on the tarmac. It was very cool to see the plane up close. It was very impressive. We would never have the chance to see it like that in the US. On our way out of the airport to the train station they had police stationed about every 1/2 mile. One policeman standing in the rain with a rain slicker and baton. One after the other, after the other, after the other, for miles and miles.
On Thursday we visited the kids at the orphanage. We brought the suitcase to V. The one that we lugged half-way across the world full of clothes and gifts. We were very happy to give it to him. He was thrilled to receive so many nice things (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!). I made Tim and V pose with their matching shirts like Grandma wanted:-). The biggest smile came when he opened the MP3 player. He was really happy when he realized that music was already loaded on it for him. We told M that Tim's friend Shane (who he met) had loaded the MP3 Player for V. M made the motion of a bike rider to indicate that he remembered Shane. We brought kites for them to fly so we went up on the hill (a dump that have been covered over) to fly the kites. They really enjoyed the kites even though it was very cold and overcast. Several boys had beat up old bikes and they would go to the top of the hill and ride down like Evel Knevel. It's a miracle that no one broke any bones. When we were almost ready to go our facilitator called and told us to meet him at the passport office at 5:00pm to get the official Ukraine passports done for the kids. It was already after 4:00pm so we decided to take the taxi back to the apt. to let June and Dennis know our plans. Their daughter hasn't seen M & O in a while. When O and K saw each other they were typical girls screaming and laughing and having a good time. It was nice to see them so happy. M decided to go with Tim to exchange money:-).
We met our facilitator at the passport office at 5:00pm as requested. The kids had to have their photos taken for the official passport. They also had to sign their new last name (our last name) in Russian (Kync). M had to sit on a box to take his photo and couldn't keep a straight face. O made sure to brush her hair and put on a big smile for her photo. It was a great moment to see them sign their new names with big, beautiful smiles on their faces. Then we met J, D, and K at Pizza City and had dinner. It was a great ending to a great day.
On Thursday we visited the kids at the orphanage. We brought the suitcase to V. The one that we lugged half-way across the world full of clothes and gifts. We were very happy to give it to him. He was thrilled to receive so many nice things (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!). I made Tim and V pose with their matching shirts like Grandma wanted:-). The biggest smile came when he opened the MP3 player. He was really happy when he realized that music was already loaded on it for him. We told M that Tim's friend Shane (who he met) had loaded the MP3 Player for V. M made the motion of a bike rider to indicate that he remembered Shane. We brought kites for them to fly so we went up on the hill (a dump that have been covered over) to fly the kites. They really enjoyed the kites even though it was very cold and overcast. Several boys had beat up old bikes and they would go to the top of the hill and ride down like Evel Knevel. It's a miracle that no one broke any bones. When we were almost ready to go our facilitator called and told us to meet him at the passport office at 5:00pm to get the official Ukraine passports done for the kids. It was already after 4:00pm so we decided to take the taxi back to the apt. to let June and Dennis know our plans. Their daughter hasn't seen M & O in a while. When O and K saw each other they were typical girls screaming and laughing and having a good time. It was nice to see them so happy. M decided to go with Tim to exchange money:-).
We met our facilitator at the passport office at 5:00pm as requested. The kids had to have their photos taken for the official passport. They also had to sign their new last name (our last name) in Russian (Kync). M had to sit on a box to take his photo and couldn't keep a straight face. O made sure to brush her hair and put on a big smile for her photo. It was a great moment to see them sign their new names with big, beautiful smiles on their faces. Then we met J, D, and K at Pizza City and had dinner. It was a great ending to a great day.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
We're Back......
We took two planes, a train, and a taxi and we are back in the small north eastern town in Ukraine staying at the same apartment and eating the same pizza we did during our last trip. Actually, we are sharing the apartment with friends who arrived two weeks ago to complete the adoption of their daughter. They were kind enough to allow us to stay with them for a couple of nights because the other accomodations in this town are worse than the apartment. They will probably be leaving in the next two days to go back to Kiev then fly home with their daughter.
We saw the kids this afternoon. We took them to get passport photos made. When we pulled up in the taxi we saw V first. He seemed very happy to see us. Then O happened to walk out of the school house and she smiled and came to give us a hug, then M came out and said hello. Tim and our facilitator were discussing how adoptions aren't like they are portrayed on tv. The kids did not come running to us with their arms wide open and ask us when we are leaving for America. Yes, they were happy to see us and they said they missed us, but they have each other in the orphanage and alot of friends and that's all they know. I think at this point we are all alittle bit anxious to get home and start being a family.
Mom, M, O, and V said they got the package you sent. O had the bracelet I sent her for her birthday.
From Tim
Ok, lets start this trip off with a story about the plane loading in Frankfurt Germany. The planes are all on the tarmac there and, you as a passenger, are bussed to the plane. Now, they have both the back and front doors to the plane open for people to board. The bad part comes when people who enterd the plane from the back and need seats in the front meet the people who enterd the plane from the front and need seats in the back. I could not beleave the total confusion and mayhem. There were small children getting knocked over and bags getting tossed over people's heads and others desperately trying to squeez by others and all for nothing. Southwest would have had a fit!!! Crazy!!!
After we rattled around on the train for fourteen hours we arrived at the train platform at 8:30am in the middle of the coal plant just like last time. The train makes a 2 minute stop and waits for no one. So, I start hauling off the (4) large suitcases and throw them from the train (about a 5' drop) down the stairs at Sharon. Now, I never actualy hit her but she was doing a funny dance. This part of the trip is always fun.
We saw the kids today and when we arrived they all ran up to the taxi with big smiles on their faces and were so happy to see us. RIGHT! They casually walked up to the taxi and said hello. Like you have been gone... I did not notice until just now. Ok, it was not exactly like that but close. Anyway they are beautiful. They have their whole lives ahead of them and they will come to appreciate me....I mean us!
We saw the kids this afternoon. We took them to get passport photos made. When we pulled up in the taxi we saw V first. He seemed very happy to see us. Then O happened to walk out of the school house and she smiled and came to give us a hug, then M came out and said hello. Tim and our facilitator were discussing how adoptions aren't like they are portrayed on tv. The kids did not come running to us with their arms wide open and ask us when we are leaving for America. Yes, they were happy to see us and they said they missed us, but they have each other in the orphanage and alot of friends and that's all they know. I think at this point we are all alittle bit anxious to get home and start being a family.
Mom, M, O, and V said they got the package you sent. O had the bracelet I sent her for her birthday.
From Tim
Ok, lets start this trip off with a story about the plane loading in Frankfurt Germany. The planes are all on the tarmac there and, you as a passenger, are bussed to the plane. Now, they have both the back and front doors to the plane open for people to board. The bad part comes when people who enterd the plane from the back and need seats in the front meet the people who enterd the plane from the front and need seats in the back. I could not beleave the total confusion and mayhem. There were small children getting knocked over and bags getting tossed over people's heads and others desperately trying to squeez by others and all for nothing. Southwest would have had a fit!!! Crazy!!!
After we rattled around on the train for fourteen hours we arrived at the train platform at 8:30am in the middle of the coal plant just like last time. The train makes a 2 minute stop and waits for no one. So, I start hauling off the (4) large suitcases and throw them from the train (about a 5' drop) down the stairs at Sharon. Now, I never actualy hit her but she was doing a funny dance. This part of the trip is always fun.
We saw the kids today and when we arrived they all ran up to the taxi with big smiles on their faces and were so happy to see us. RIGHT! They casually walked up to the taxi and said hello. Like you have been gone... I did not notice until just now. Ok, it was not exactly like that but close. Anyway they are beautiful. They have their whole lives ahead of them and they will come to appreciate me....I mean us!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Ukraine - The Sequel
The bags are packed and we're ready to go. We will arrive in Kiev tomorrow afternoon then take the overnight train to the city where the orphanage is located. We are very anxious to see the kids and start the final leg of this international adoption adventure.
M & O have a new cousin. Little Hayden was born on Thursday, March 27. He is a tiny little adorable peanut! He weighed in at 4 lbs 11 oz and is 18 inches long. Congratulations Stephen and Michelle! Mother and baby are doing fine. Dad will be graduating from boot camp on April 4.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Ukraine or Bust!
We booked our airline tickets for our return trip to Ukraine! We are leaving on March 31 to get the children. So, we land in Kiev on April Fool's Day. I couldn't think of a better day for Tim and I to start the second part of this adventure! This trip should take approximately 3 weeks. The key word is "should". We will take it a day-at-a-time and hope that we have no delays.
We are very anxious to see the children. We have been able to talk to them and they are counting the days until we get there. M asked us exactly what date we would be there to get them:-). June and Dennis left today to get K. We spent a lot of time with K while we were at the orphanage and she is counting the minutes until they get there! I gave June a small (wink, wink) package to deliver to the kids. Thanks June!!
Tim is in India on a business trip this week. He is doing very well. He said that the people are very nice and very helpful. Many people speak English so that hasn't been a issue for him. He is 10 hours ahead of Central Time. He will be visiting 3 cities while he is there. He will be home next weekend and will have one week to rest before we leave for Ukraine.
We hope you come along for the ride again as we complete our adoption adventure!
Sharon & Tim
We are very anxious to see the children. We have been able to talk to them and they are counting the days until we get there. M asked us exactly what date we would be there to get them:-). June and Dennis left today to get K. We spent a lot of time with K while we were at the orphanage and she is counting the minutes until they get there! I gave June a small (wink, wink) package to deliver to the kids. Thanks June!!
Tim is in India on a business trip this week. He is doing very well. He said that the people are very nice and very helpful. Many people speak English so that hasn't been a issue for him. He is 10 hours ahead of Central Time. He will be visiting 3 cities while he is there. He will be home next weekend and will have one week to rest before we leave for Ukraine.
We hope you come along for the ride again as we complete our adoption adventure!
Sharon & Tim
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