Our Journey from Decree Day to New Year's Eve

We have had a crazy and amazing journey in Ukraine and while I want to be able to share every detail, I won't bore you.  I will share some of the highlights over the past week since the adoption was decreed.

• Christmas Day - our facilitator went to the court and picked up our adoption decree.  Then he went to the tax office and applied to have their "tax ID" (kinda like their government ID) changed to their new names.  Then he went to the registration office and applied for their new birth certificates. Around 5:30pm, we went to the registration office and picked up their new birth certificates.  The lady was so sweet!  She talked to the kids and gave them a big hug!  Their new birth certificates list their new names and list us as their parents!!  How cool is that!

• Christmas Evening - we went to Pastor John and his wife Ev's home for dinner.  There were several other families there and it was nice to be able to enjoy a traditional Christmas Dinner and speak English with other folks!  

 

• December 26 - Our facilitator spent part of the day turning in documents and then picked us up in the afternoon so that we could go to the Passport Office and apply for passports.  We were told it can take up to 7 business days (a total of 13 days due to Ukrainian Holidays) - so we may not get them until January 8th.  However, he did talk to them and they said "they would try their best to get them as soon as possible".  Well - they sure did!  The passports were issued the next day!!!  People pay $700 PER PASSPORT to have them done the next day.  We did not have to pay anything extra!  Praise the Good Lord!!  That night, Tetyana, the children's neighbor, came to say goodbye.  It was a little emotional because everyone knew that this might be the last time she ever sees these kids in person again.  I definitely cried (and for those who know me well, know this is normal) because just knowing how much she loves these kids melts my heart.

Lilya and Alex giving Tetyana a kiss goodbye

 

Tetyana walking back to the bus stop.  She kept turning around and waving goodbye.  She knows she will probably never see these kids again, yet she encouraged them to come to America so they can have a family.  That's unconditional love. 

• December 27 - We went and picked up the inspector from the local SDA office (State Department of Adoptions) and went to the orphanage to sign the kids out.  However, on our way to the orphanage, our facilitator decided to stop by the bank first to drop off the paperwork so that we could close out their bank account and take whatever money they had out of the account.  When we got to the bank, there was a line.  So, he got out of the car to find out why - the bank wasn't open yet.  Hmmmm...it's 9:40 in the morning and they aren't open yet?  I think the bank makes their own hours!  So, we headed to the orphanage.  The kids said goodbye to their friends and we signed them out of the orphanage.  Alex had one friend that he said goodbye to, his name is Jenya and Lilya had one friend that she said goodbye to, her name is Nastya.  I will share the videos on another blog. The kids had some photo albums and personal items they wanted to get but the door to the bedroom was locked and the teachers would not be in until 2pm.  It was 10am.  We had to wait 4 hours.  Our facilitator said "no problem, we will leave and another family can bring it home with them".  Ummmm.....nope!  First of all, that is not cool to ask another family to bring our kid's items home.  I have no idea how much stuff they have and I am not going to make it someone else's responsibility.  Second of all, what if that family doesn't get it or doesn't get all of it?  So, I told him we would wait.  And we did.  We went to the bank, went and got tea and then got something to eat.  When we got back to the orphanage, he went and talked to the director and she had one of the girls from the orphanage come with us as we drove all through town from house to house trying to get the keys from the teachers!  Haha!  I asked him why the director didn't just call the teachers and have the teachers come unlock the rooms but he said "it just doesn't work that way".  And the director does not have the keys to the rooms because these are the teachers personal rooms.  Huh?!?  Don't the kids sleep in these rooms?  Very strange!  But when it was all said and done, the kids got their belongings and we drove 7 hours from Zaporozhye to Kiev.  

Alex and his sweet friend Jenya

Lilya and her friend Nastya

• December 28 - We spent last night and tonight in one flat and then had to move to another flat.  The one we were in was only available for two days.  They were unable to find us a flat that we could stay in the entire time we were here....but that is OK!  Our facilitator originally told us that a flat for the night of 12/31, 1/1 and 1/2 would be $150/night!  Switching flats allowed us to only pay $65/night.  So, switch we did.  We spent the afternoon walking around Kiev.  It is absolutely gorgeous here once it is dark (and it gets dark by 4pm) because the main street is all lit up!  Buildings are lit up and they have a huge "New Year's Tree" in the main square.  We ate and walked around, looking at all the beautiful lights.  We tried to find an ice cream stand but to my dismay I think maybe they believe it is too cold for ice cream.  Phooey!  So, we opted for McD's Ice Cream!  Well, the kids had ice cream and I had coffee.  On our way to McD's, we saw a carrousel.  I never in a million years would have thought that my 11 and 13 year old children would think it is "cool" to ride a carrousel but they did!!!  Yay!!!!  I almost sat there and cried as my children rode the carrousel and grinned from ear to ear, waving at me each time they passed me.  At that moment, I saw two little children - something they really haven't had a chance to be!  I was able to allow them to do something that they probably never did in their entire lives!  Ride a carrousel.  A carrousel.  Did you catch that?  If not, you may want to re-read this paragraph again.  

This is Lilya on the horse in the carrousel.  This was the best photo I could get due to it being dark and there was a plastic cover around the carrousel since it was cold.

A picture of the Huge Post Office in Kiev - all lit up

The "New Year's Tree" in the main square of downtown Kiev

My McD's Iced Coffee

 

• December 29 -  We moved flats again.  This time, we were only staying one night.  It was either that or be without a flat for 6 hours.  We opted to move and stay one night.  We did not even open the suitcases!  We slept in our clothes and just had our toothbrushes out so we could at least brush our teeth.  Had we not brushed our teeth, I think the neighbors would have knocked on our door and offered us a mint!!  Then, I met an American Father and his two adoptive Ukrainian Treasures and we had lunch together.  It was nice to be able to speak English but mostly just to share adoptive stories.  Actually - just to hear his story was what encouraged me!  He is a father of 12, 7 of which are Ukrainian girls!  He shared his joys and his struggles and gave me some pointers.  His girls are absolutely gorgeous - he will be in trouble in a few years!  :)  During lunch, I received a call from my facilitator and he said, "I have some good news for you.  Your kid's passports are ready and they will be in Kiev tomorrow."  Whaaat?!?!  They are ready already?!?!  Wow!!!!!  I did a happy dance, right there in that Ukrainian restaurant and I didn't care who was watching!!!!  

 

• December 30 - Today we walked around Kiev a bit.  We ate lunch at a Ukrainian buffet, went to the Roshen Chocolate Factory and then went to the supermarket.  I was really surprised at what I bought and how much it was......$47!  Yikes!!

 

• December 31 - Today I called the US Embassy to make our first appointment.  I knew that if I could get an appointment today, I would be able to get the kid's medicals done on Wednesday and go back to the Embassy Wednesday Afternoon for their Visas so that we could fly out on Thursday.  My facilitator had already emailed asking for an appointment but she hadn't heard back yet.  When I called, the lady told me that I had to email in order to make an appointment because they don't make appointments over the phone.  I said, "No problem.  I will be happy to send an email.  How long does it take to get an appointment once I send the email?"  She said that it shouldn't take too long and proceeded to ask when I wanted to come in.  I told her that I was hoping to come today.  This was her response, "Oh OK.  We can get you in today.  Here is the email address.....but you know what, since today is a short day and we are closed tomorrow, I will go ahead and make an exception and just schedule your appointment over the phone".  Yay!!!!  Praise the Good Lord!!!  I was at the Embassy by 10:30 am and everyone was nice.  However, I was surprised that at the US EMBASSY, they are not Americans!  It was very easy and now I have an appointment on Wednesday in order to pick up their Visas.  I will just have to make sure I do their medicals on Wednesday before my appointment.  Danny booked our flight for Thursday and we were VERY Lucky to get a flight out!!!  First of all, the cost was almost $3,000 for the three of us compared to only $1800 for Danny, Coby and I to fly here.  Second of all, there were not three seats available on any Lufthansa flight over the ocean.  Yikes!  And the kids are not allowed to stay over night in any European Country, so any of those options are out!  We could fly "upgraded coach" and only pay $3,800 per ticket.  Not First Class.  Not Business Class.  Upgraded Coach.  Is that like an Oxymoron or what?   Hmmmm....let me think about that for a minute.  Ok, I thought about it - nope!!!  Oh yeah and just for giggles - how much IS Business Class?  $5,800 per ticket!!  Who in the world would pay that kind of money for a cushy seat, a drink of water in a fancy glass 30 minutes before the rest of the passengers and an upgraded meal?  But, our agent rocked it and got us a flight on United Airlines!  We will leave Kiev at 5:55 am Thursday Morning, January 3, 2013 (which will be 10:55pm EST Wednesday Night) and we will land at RDU at 6:16 pm EST (which will be 1:15 am Kiev time) - total travel time = 20 hours!  Today I also took the kids to a movie theatre here in Kiev and we watched "Three Heros and a Talking Horse".  It is a Russian Animated Film.  Before that, we ate at............well, for some of you reading, you may just want to stop reading here and move on...............Oooooookay, I warned you!!  We ate at.....shhhhhhh..... McD's!!  I despise McD's but for some strange reason, it doesn't seem that bad when you are in a foreign country!  I assure you, that will probably be my last McD's trip.....maybe ever.  

This was a three story movie theatre and this was the view overlooking the second story where you purchase popcorn and snacks and then head to the movie theatres to the left

This was the ceiling inside the theatre - it was a beautiful theatre!!

Inside the theatre - this is looking at the wall to the left

Beautiful detailing in this theatre!

 Thanks for following our story, for praying for us and meeting us at the airport.  I know the kids will be absolutely blessed and excited when they see all of the people waiting at the airport for them!! 

They are God's children...not mine

I received a nasty comment on one of my blogs posts a while back because I used the words "my children" when referring to Lilya and Alex and our journey to adopt them.  This lady went on to tell me that they are not my children until I adopt them and if I even begin to think they are, then I shouldn't be adopting.  Well.....I can now say:  THEY ARE MY CHILDREN!!!  Neener, neener, neener!  There.....that felt good!!!!

But in all reality, they aren't my children.  They are God's children and he is just entrusting me to take care of them.  Isn't that really the truth surrounding all of our children....bio, step, adopted, etc?   

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.  Psalm 24:1

I sit and ponder that.  He, the Lord of the Universe, is entrusting ME to take care of these precious children!  Wow!  I blow it every day.  I don't have the patience.  I don't give enough grace.  I probably say "no" more than I say "yes".  However, He gives me the grace I need and the tools I need in order to do the job that is set forth for me.  I know He does not expect me to be perfect but He does expect me to obey His Word and even then, I blow that, too.

However, He gave me the greatest "tool" ever when he gave me Danny 14 years ago.  My husband is my rock.  He knows what to say to me, when to say it to me and most importantly how to say it to me.  For those wives and moms reading this - isn't that important?  Most times, it is not what you say but how you say it that matters.  Danny claims that the Lord gives Him what he needs to support me and I just know that is oh so true!!!  I am not easy to love.at.all.  Yet, he loves me unconditionally, without reservation, when I am being ugly and stubborn.  He loves me.

Thank you Lord Jesus for allowing me to take care of these children.  Thank you for the blessing of my biological son that you have given to me.  Thank you for the incredible blessing that you gave me in Danny.  I am blessed.  Beyond what words can even begin to describe.  I am sitting in a flat almost 8,000 kilometers away from the rest of my family, I missed Christmas with them and I will miss New Years; however, I can still say that I am blessed.  My biological son has been such a trooper through all of this!  We did not allow him to bring video games on the trip and he was here for three weeks (I know...cruel, right?).  Guess what?  He complained not one time.  He tried many new and interesting foods.  Even if something did not look good, he at least tried it.  He was bored many times just sitting and waiting.  He read a book. He was without his mom for the first time in his life at Christmastime and he stayed strong.  Oh and let me tell you, he is a mama's boy!  He did not get to open any gifts on Christmas Morning.  He. Complained. Not. Once.

So, Lord Jesus, thank you for allowing ME to have a wonderful, kind, loving son who has a big heart.  Thank you for allowing ME to take care of two more precious children and give them something they would otherwise not have.  And thank you especially for the true priceless treasure that you have given to me in Danny!!!

My Treasures

Is the waiting over yet?

I know it seems like I lack blogging much but it seems that there is so much downtime and waiting, that there isn't much to blog about.  I'm sure everyone doesn't care too much what I have for dinner every night, what I get when I go to the supermarket or what time I wake up in the morning!  I do short posts on Facebook, so if you are not following us on FB, you may want to check it out. 

We had our court date on 12/12/12.  Can you believe that?  Surely we will never forget the date we had court!  And in God's perfect timing, the date our adoption is decreed will be Christmas Day!  Again, a date we will not soon forget!

Court was a little intimidating.  There were three seats up on the "throne" that appeared to be for a King and his two advisors!  The judge sat in the middle and a "juror" sat on each side of him.  Then, off to the left, sat a representative from the local SDA, a "prosecutor" and a representative from the courts.  Also present was the director from the orphanage.

Vil'nans'k Courtroom - the "cage" on the right is where criminals sit during trial

When it was time for the director of the orphanage to speak, she said that she was pleased for us to adopt Lilya and Alex.  The kids have behaved better after coming back from hosting in America and she was surprised at how fast we came back for the kids!  

We were asked questions about why we wanted to adopt the kids, do we have enough space in our home for them, do we make enough money to support two more children, do we have any other children at home, etc.  We really weren't taken off guard by any of the questions.

Court lasted about one hour and we did have one laugh during the court session.  The judge called Danny up first and asked him a bunch of questions.  Then, he told Danny to sit down and called me up.  The first question he asked me was, "Do you know that man?" as he pointed to Danny.  Being a little on the sarcastic side, I immediately responded with, "Nope, I sure don't."  Then realized maybe that wasn't a good idea and said that I was just joking.  But thankfully everyone laughed - including the judge!  Whew!!!

The judge and the two jurors left the courtroom to "decide our case" and came back about 15 minutes later to declare that they were approving our adoption.  Glad my sarcasm didn't deter them from approving!

The next step is critically important.  It is so important, it is almost hard for me to put into words what it is.  So, I'll do my best and hopefully everyone reading will clearly understand.  Are you ready?  The next step is to wait!  Just wait.  Wait for 10 long days!  Actually, our total wait is 13 days because Sunday's don't count, the day of court doesn't count and the decree doesn't happen until day 11.  So, we just wait.  Waiting is the hardest part.  Especially when I don't have my best friend by my side.  Danny and Coby left on 12/13/12 at 3:00pm and being here by myself is so hard!!  I am hoping to go home by January 4th and if that happens, then I will be apart from Danny and Coby for 21 days.  I truly don't know how military wives do it.  And wives whose husbands work out of town and only come home on weekends.  Danny is my very best friend.  He is a part of me.  We are one.  Being without him is like missing half of myself!!!

Me and my best friend just a few hours before he left to go home

Since I am now here alone, I have kept busy Skyping with Danny.  A lot.  And I have also had the privilege to spend time with Pastor John and his lovely wife, Ev.  They are long term missionaries from Canada who have started a church in Zaporozhye and have also started a Trade School for aging out Orphans.   We have shared a few meals together and we will be spending Christmas Day with them.  It is so nice to be around them.  They are just lovely people and really doing great work for the Lord here.  They have been here 5 years and plan to be here another 5 years.
 

This is Pastor John and myself

This is Pastor John's lovely wife, Ev and myself

 Please check out what they are doing and if you feel led to help orphans but can't adopt, consider donating to their ministry.  Their ministry is New Hope Center.  Alex White is also a missionary here with New Hope Center and I will be having dinner with him and his fiance this coming week.  I might even meet with up another adoptive family adopting out of Kherson.  Before Danny left, we were able to have a meal with another family adopting out of Vil'nans'k and hopefully they will be back before I leave, so that I can see them again!

I have also enjoyed the food here in Ukraine.  I absolutely love the food here!  Here are some pictures from a restaurant that was recommended to us called Sir Lancelot.  The food was phenomenal!!!  The only downfall - no English Menu!!  So, Pastor John translated it for me.  However, I won't be able to go by myself unless I order the exact same thing.  Which wouldn't be so bad because it was delicious but I'd love to try something else since this was so good!

Ukrainian salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and red peppers with dill and olive oil.  Probably the best I've had since I've been here.  It even had just a smidgen of romaine lettuce - very rare for Ukrainian salads to have any lettuce

The rolled up things on the left was chicken breast rolled up, filled with cheese and lightly breaded.  The two dollops on each side of the dill was a baked potato smothered in cheese.  This was superb!!!!!  Beautiful presentation, perfect portions and tasted delicious!!!! 

An apartment like no other

Our apartment is interesting and there are many unique things about it:

The tub is huge!!! But it has no shower curtain.  Water gets everywhere.  One day, the water started to go out the tub and water was leaking out of the bathroom door!

There are only two outlets in the entire apartment. But at least we have two power strips. One of the outlets is in the kitchen and the other is in the livingroom. Not in the bathroom and not in the wash closet.

To dry my hair, I have to plug my dryer in the livingroom. Nice thing is we have a huge mirror on the wall.

We have a washing machine. In order to plug it in, we have to pull a power strip from the living room, down the hall, to the wash closet where the washing machine is.

We do not have a clothes dryer. But it's warm in our flat, so the clothes dry quickly.

Our toilet screams this high pitched scream every time you flush it. But at least we have a toilet. And.toilet.paper. :)

We do not have a freezer. We bought ice cream our first day here, not knowing this. Our ice cream melted...such a crime! But the back of the fridge ices up, so we put the ice cream against the back and half of it is frozen now. I turned it and the other half froze.  Perfect!

We have no oven, only two small burners, 1 pot and 1 pan with no handle. Thankfully our landlord is awesome and she bought me a brand new pan!!!

There is a door that we must open with a code to enter the stairwell. When we first enter the stairwell, it is dark. Pitch black. Once we get 8 steps up, the motion sensor detects us and the stairwell light comes on. BUT by the time we get up to our door, that light goes off and we are left in pitch darkness to unlock our door. But, our landlord is awesome and yesterday she replaced the light outside our door!!


Speaking of the door to our apartment, the doors here have three deadbolts! One key, turned three times - one for each lock. Sometimes four. And some apartments have two doors you enter.

I know why it costs so much to adopt

I have really pondered why it costs so blasted much for adoption. There are countless children out in this world that need families but the amount for the average family is unfathomable. Just as an example, the cost for our adoption is $34,000. If it was more affordable, more families would adopt.

However, today I felt The Lord speaking to my heart. I felt that he was telling me that there is a reason for the expense.

I was watching a video and reading a blog about the story of a family adopting a boy from Ukraine. They participated in the Both Hands Project in order to help fund their adoption. This project is called Both Hands because the bible is clear that we are to take care of widows AND orphans (James 1:27). So, families trying to raise funds for their adoption help a widow in need and in the meantime, money is raised to help bring the orphan home. If the need for money wasn't so unfathomable, there wouldn't be a need for the Both Hands Project. The widow wouldn't have been blessed. The volunteers wouldn't have been blessed. The family bringing home an orphan boy wouldn't have been blessed.

So, it hit me. Like.a.ton.of.bricks. The cost is exorbitant because the blessings are many. If the cost was small, the blessings would be few.

In our particular situation, I can see how blessings have poured out through this entire process. Countless people have given money, time, prayers, gifts, donations, etc. just to help bring Alex and Lilya home. All of those people have been blessed for their efforts and even more so, we have been exponentially blessed. If you care to see how many people have helped in this process, check out this post. And to be honest, I am sure I forgot quite a few people.

We have worked so hard to bring these children home, that it makes us realize the cost. It wasn't easy. We spent many, many, many hours preparing documents, getting signatures notarized (I feel like I should take my notary out to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for all her countless notarizing - way beyond what is considered normal), going to the doctor's office (three times), fundraising, waiting (a ridiculous amount of waiting), writing checks, getting documents appostiled, FedExing documents, etc. And that is all before we even started packing!

Plus, the financial aspect of this has been challenging, as well. We needed $34,000 all together for the adoption and I still don't even know how we did it. Well, we didn't. God did. Seriously! We sacrificed and saved a lot of money. We don't have cable. We cut expenses. We put our "vacation" fund towards the adoption. We didn't go to the movies. We sold a lot of things. To read the emotional goodbye to Danny's Drums, click here. But God provided the rest. It was unbelievable how it all came together.

My faith was tested. My faith grew. I was stretched in ways I didn't know I could be stretched. And I don't say that to be cliche. I truly mean that. There were days I cried. Days I prayed that The Lord would tell me what next. Days that I wanted to give up. Days that I was so excited, I thought I'd pee my pants. And then days that I said, "Okay Lord, I can't do this anymore!!!" But in all of it, I was blessed. Beyond measure!!! And if all the people that helped along the way were even half as blessed as I have been, then that's a lot of blessings!

I now know why it costs so much to adopt. Just like Jesus paid a price for our freedom, we paid a price for the orphan's freedom.

Intresting facts about Ukraine

Here are some interesting facts that we have realized while being in Ukraine.  I will add more as I think of them.

• Sometimes you have to pay to use the toilet.  Cost is 1.5 grivnas; which equates to about 19 cents.  And don't expect there to be toilet paper.

• There are security guards in the grocery stores and they watch you like a hawk and follow you around the store!  And you have to pay for grocery carts and plastic bags (kinda like Aldi's).

• On the train, when you flush the toilet, it just dumps out on the tracks.  So, you can't go to the bathroom when the train stops!   

• The kitchens in the apartments don't generally have ovens and sometimes only two small burners on the stove top.  Some apartments don't even have a freezer. 

• Ukrainians like to drink and smoke.  A lot.  And beer is cheap, so no wonder.  You can get a bottle of beer for 6 grivna; which equates to about 75 cents.

• Eating out at restaurants is really cheap.  Danny, Coby and I eat out at restaurants for an average of 225 grivna; which equates to about $28.  That includes tip!  When we eat at the cafeteria style Ukrainian Buffet, it averages $5-6 US per person!

• Tipping at restaurants is 5-10%.  Whaaat?!?!  No way!  We have been tipping 15-20% because we want our servers to be blessed.

• Doctors and teachers are some of the lowest paid professions!  Yep - doctors!  

• You can cram a lot of people onto a bus.  Most of their buses are actually 18 passenger Sprinters but we counted a total of 31 or 32 people one time.  Imagine being in the back seat and having to get off at the next stop!

• The bathtubs don't always have a shower curtain.

• There are stray dogs all over the place.  

• In Kiev (and maybe other places, too), there are characters that walk around asking you to take a photo with them.  After you do, they will suggest that they take your camera and take a photo of you.  Then, they will ask for money.  If you do not pay them, they will threaten to keep your camera.

More interesting facts:

• It isn't odd to see people advertising their business by spray painting it on sidewalks and buildings.  What's the fine for that in America?

• Why are there lines on the road?  For lanes?  Not in Ukraine.  Not sure what the purpose for the lines is.

• Gas is $5.50/gallon.  I was complaining about ours being $3.50+ per gallon before we left!

• There are lockers in the grocery stores.  If you have a bag, you must lock it up before entering the store.

• All restaurants that we've been to take your coat and hang it either in a closet or on a coat rack. Well, every restaurant except McDonald's!

• Speaking of McD's....don't get the McChicken here....not sure why it is so different than in America.  Well, I haven't eaten at McD's in years, so maybe I just don't know but it was nasty!

Days 4-11 with Lilya and Alex

We have spent a lot of time traveling to the orphanage to see the kids.  We are not able to go until 2:00 because they are in school during the day.  So, we leave our apartment around 12:30 and walk to the bus stop right across the street from our apartment.  We wait for bus #79 which takes us to another stop about 30 minutes away where we get off and wait for bus #7 that takes us to Vil'nans'k.  We then take about a 8 minute walk across the railroad tracks, to the orphanage.  Usually we get there between 1:45 and 2:00.  We spend a few hours with the kids, doing a whole lot of nothing.  We usually just sit on this couch in the lobby and play with the kids.  We play UNO and let them play the iPad.  Sometimes other kids will come hang out with us, until the teachers shoo them away!  We know they mean well as they want us to have time with Lilya and Alex but it is nice to have other kids around, too.  Most times, Lilya tells us that she hasn't eaten anything for the day because the food is nasty, so we take them to the little market just a few minutes from the orphanage and let them pick something out.  It breaks my heart to hear that they are not eating!!!

I know the food is bad because last week, when we arrived, Lilya was in the cafeteria eating.  Well, she was in the cafeteria with food in front of her and she was just sitting.  She had a bowl of watered down potato soup, some porridge  and brown bread.  She put some porridge on a spoon and said, "Mama, try".  I said, "Sure, I'll try it!"  Oh my word - nasty isn't even the word to describe what that was.  Of course, I didn't want to tell Lilya that, so when she asked if I liked it, I said, "It's OK."  There was no way I was going to let her know what I really thought of it!

I also found out that the orphanage does not have showers.  Lilya said that they just stand at the sink and wash and rinse off with a small cup or a lid to something.  I can imagine that they do not enjoy doing that very often and now I can see why the kids smell so bad.  Lilya took off her shoes and her socks were all crusty.  Geez - I can't wait to get them home so that they can change their socks daily.  I mean really - we take for granted that we get to change our socks daily. 

We really don't do much else - so that is why I haven't blogged.  Well, that and the fact that when I blog from the app on my phone, I lose much of what I write and that is frustrating!  But my photos are on my phone, so that is why I like to blog from there.  Today I am blogging from our MacBook, so no photos.  But there are plenty of photos on our FaceBook page. 

Day 2 and 3 at the orphanage

Friday our paperwork headed back to Kiev on a train with our facilitator. So now we are just waiting until Tuesday. Then on Tuesday, we have some more documents to sign at the courts.

Saturday, the kids had class until 2:00, so we didn't go to the orphanage until then. Yep - school on Saturday. So, next time your kids complain about school - ask them if they want to go to school in Ukraine? :) We spent about 2.5 hours at the orphanage hanging out with Lilya and Alex and some of the other kids....Nastya (Lilya's friend - seems like this is her only friend.), Sergiy (the boy one of my best friends tried to adopt but he said no after they traveled there to get him), Sasha (another one of my friend's parents tried to adopt him and same thing - he said no when they traveled to get him), Dima, Vasia and a bunch of other kids that came and went. The iPad was a popular device! The kids LOVED Angry Birds....sigh! Angry Birds - I do not like Angry Birds! I'm afraid we created 6 little Angry Bird Monsters! Haha Then we handed out some candy, chap stick and some of our McLaughlin's 3+2 wrist bands. They loved the bands too!!!

Last night we ate at a restaurant called Cafe Fiesta.....oh my!!! That place was amazing!!! We have had borsch at every restaurant that we've eaten at and that borsch was by far the best we've had!! Here was what we had:

Danny: borsch, 1 sushi roll and coffe
April: chicken, potato and onion dish and bottled water
Coby: crepes with dessert sauce, "chipped potatoes" (aka French fries), bottled water and cake
Total cost, including tip: 225 grivna, approx $28

The "standard" tip here is 5-10% but I want our servers to be blessed and so we have consistently tipped 15-20%! I can't even imagine tipping 5-10%!

Sunday morning, Pastor John picked us up for church at New Hope Center. He is a Canadian missionary who has been here for five years. He started a church here and also started a Trade School for orphans that age out at 16. He is doing unbelievable work here. We had worship that was amazing! They were singing in Russian but to all the popular worship songs like "How Great is Our God" (Chris Tomlin), "How He Loves Us" (David Crowder) and Open The Eyes of My Heart. Since Coby I have been studying the Russian alphabet, we were even able to sing some of the verses in Russian! Unbelievable! Then a local translated the entire service for us. It was great!!! Afterwards, Pastor John and his wife had us over for lunch for some "leftover Thanksgiving" dinner! YUM!!! So, we ended up with some turkey after all!

After lunch, our driver took us to the orphanage and we spent some time with just Lilya, Alex and her friend Nastya. We didn't hang around any of the other kids today and while I really enjoy that (a lot) it was nice to just be with our kids!!! We played UNO, played with some cars, hit a balloon around and let them play on the iPad. We also saw some pictures that Lilya and Alex drew! Every time we come, they ask us, "Mama, Papa, internat (orphanage in Russian) tomorrow?" When we say, "Yes!!", their eyes light up and they get so excited!!! Oh my gosh, honey, of course we will come see you tomorrow! We wouldn't miss it for the world!!!!!

Pictures are out of order but it is too difficult to try and fix....  :(

This is a view outside of our apartment from the balcony - our building is identical to this one

Coby and Alex being silly on Saturday.

Coby, Nastya and Lilya in Alex's room on Sunday

A picture that Lilya drew

Coby, Alex, Lilya and Nastya on Saturday

Coby's crepes with dessert sauce at Cafe Fiesta for Dinner Saturday night

Alex's room - there were 10 beds in the room.  Alex's bed was the next to the last one underneath the Tom and Jerry curtains!

Vasia, Dima, Alex and Nastya playing the iPad on Saturday

Danny and Alex playing cars on Sunday in Alex's room

Coby and Nastya playing the iPad on Sunday

Everywhere we walk, Nastya and Lilya hold hands

Nastya and Lilya on Saturday

This is Alex, he is an American missionary over here working with aged our orphans

This is a picture that Alex drew

Coby's cake at Cafe Fiesta for dinner Saturday night

Two boys with Alex on Saturday

Something Alex made

Lilya hugging Papa on Saturday

Lilya and Mama on Friday

Alex's room

Coby's "chipped potatoes" (aka French Fries) for dinner at Cafe Fiesta on Saturday night

The stairwell leading up to Alex's room

April's "frying pan chicken with potatoes" for dinner Saturday night at Cafe Fiesta - YUM!

Danny's borsch at Cafe Fiesta for dinner at Cafe Fiesta on Saturday Night - Double Yum!!

The bathroom that is outside of Alex's room - yuck!  I can't wait to get him home so he can use a clean bathroom!

Nastya and Lilya making a heart with their arms