3 New Posts for you!

Below you will see 3 new posts. . . Enjoy!!!!

Fun in the Fort!

I can tell by how many people have been checking our blog, that you are anxiously awaiting news of what we've been up to since Evan's permanent return to the US. I honestly think it may be easier to tell you what we haven't done in the last 3 weeks. Can you believe next Friday that Evan will have been in the United States for one month already! Time is just a flying by!

First of all, Teagan is not far from this boy's side. As you can see by some pictures, wherever Evan is, Teagan needs to be. I really need to sneak in some night and take a picture of Teagan helping Evan get to sleep. She has no qualms of spreading out across the bottom of Evan's single-size bed and allowing him to sleep in a little ball! Good thing she doesn't sleep there the whole night!

Second, give Evan something to build and he's all over it. He is an expert puzzle putter-together, loves Lego building sets, and seems to enjoy learning how things work. He doesn't have a problem brushing your hand aside and saying, "Evan!" He's also great at coloring and using his imagination. He spends a lot of time upstairs playing with the Indiana Jones scene that Tim made him. His Aunt Sandy and his dad bought him lots of IJ action figures, and he's been holding a lot of battles up there. Nothing broken yet, so I guess the battles aren't too violent!

We've spent a lot of time working on his English throughout each day. He can sing the "ABC song" and can point out the letters when he sees them. With a little help, he can count to 100. And, what's really fun is that he is anxious to read all by himself. We've been reading to him quite a bit, and he's been working on the words himself. I found a children's Russian story book at the library, and he's read that to us. He's a really good reader. Tim attempted to record him reading, but I didn't realize the sound was turned off. We'll try again really soon and let you listen to him read in his native language.

Car trips: In the last 3 weeks, we've taken quite a few trips around town. I don't know if we'll attempt any trip longer than 30 minutes for several months, but so far he's only gotten sick in the car ONE time! I found the children's version of Bonine again, and I also found some ginger chewing gum for motion sickness. And, wouldn't you know that the one time he didn't have the gum, he got sick!

Enjoy these pictures. I'll post more soon!

TB or not TB? That is the question!

A week ago I took Evan to the Dentist and the Pediatrician for check-ups. The Dentist visit was a huge success for a few reasons. The dental hygienist was wonderful! She took the time to show Evan everything she was going to do, and let him feel the power toothbrush and the suction wand. She demonstrated first, and then he very willingly let her do her thing. He didn't care for the bright light but thought it was cool he could wear sunglasses inside! The bonus (for him) was the new toothbrush, toothpaste and Spiderman sticker! The bonus (for us) was learning he doesn't have any cavities! Impressive feat for a kid who most likely had not been to a dentist for twice-yearly check-ups in his 10 short years.

The next day was a visit to the Pediatrician. Not such a great time for Evan! While he was happy enough being weighed and examined by the doctor, he wasn't happy at ALL to be given a chicken pox vaccine and a TB test, and then have blood taken from him. The blood test (in another part of the building) was the last straw for him, and he collapsed in tears for that process. Luckily they didn't last long when he discovered after the initial needle prick, it didn't hurt at all. After two band-aids and an Incredible Hulk sticker, we were on our way with a reminder to come back Monday to check on the results of the TB test.

This past Monday my mother in law followed me to the pediatrician's office so that she could take Evan back home with her after the appointment, and I could go back to school for my first day back after two weeks at home. Little did we know that was a silly idea! Upon an initial look from the nurse (process was supposed to take "seconds") the doctor was called in. After a more thorough check, the doctor proclaimed it was a positive test! He indicated a chest x-ray would be necessary to be totally accurate, and that if THAT came back positive, a whole bunch of people would need to be tested! Hello, my whole school!!!! So, after a quick call to school to ask for a substitute teacher, down a level we went to the imaging center. Evan was less than thrilled to discover he had to wear a mask over his mouth and nose for protection. Try explaining that without a translator!!

The x-ray technician was also quite patient and showed Evan what she'd be doing. I don't think he totally trusted she wasn't going to give him a shot or other painful process, but he followed the directions as she asked. He was very interested in looking at the pictures when she was done. She showed him his heart, the top of his stomach, and his bones. He grinned when he realized it was a picture of him!

When we got home, my mother in law and I both had to don the masks. That was a ball of fun. She commented that she couldn't wear her glasses without steaming them up! After playing with Evan for about 2 hours, we got the call we were waiting for: chest x-ray came back negative!!! Woo HOO!!! Off came the mask, and the smile returned to our little boy's face. The result is this: he has a latent form of Tuberculosis, but doesn't have an active form of it and cannot spread it to anyone else. He has an appointment this week for some medication to keep it supressed. Can I tell you what a relief it was NOT to have to call friends, family, my school, Tim's school, our church, etc. with the news that they would need to be tested for TB?!?!??! It might have been good to know when we first got Evan home from Ukraine to have him tested right away.

Reflections on Mother's Day

A week ago, mothers all over celebrated Mother's Day. Everyone with whom I came in contact the week prior asked, "Aren't you so excited about your first Mother's Day?" And, I really was. I was excited to finally give up the weak grin when someone who didn't know me wished me a "Happy Mother's Day;" for after all, I WAS (and still am) a "dog Mom!" But when I awoke that day, the very first thought that came into my mind was that my mother wasn't alive to share in my joy. She's been gone for just over 6 years, and on this day I felt her absence more strongly than ever before. I thought how interested she would have been in our adoption adventure, and how she would have loved hearing about our European travels. She would have been the first to tell me not to lose Evan's Ukrainian heritage, and she probably would have researched online all the important cultural holidays and foods he'd like. She would have been pleased (along with my dad) that he loves kielbasa (Polish sausage) and perogies (Polish dumplings with mashed potatoes and cheese). Ukraine is very close to Poland, the land of my father's ancestors.

At church, the trip down memory lane continued. We watched a video interviewing three women from our congregation reminiscing about their own mothers. And although I was not one of the women interviewed, it could have been me up there: One of them reflected on her mother and her love for sewing; how she made all of her children's clothes, and how the daughter didn't appreciate that wonderful skill when she was a child and later, a teenager. With tears streaming down my face and Tim sympathizing by rubbing my back, I realized I did not have my purse with me that day. Of all the days NOT to have tissues! I just couldn't believe that on this, my very first Mother's Day, that someone would be talking about their mom who was so like my own. As I looked at Evan, who appear baffled by my tears, it really hit home that my mom wouldn't be around to help me raise him. And, while I have lots of friends and family who are more than happy to tell me what to do, it just isn't the same.

Yes, they are HOME!

Suddenly, life just got a little busier, for some reason! :-) I picked up the guys Friday night in Detroit. Turns out Evan did great on the train, and both flights, UNTIL 5 minutes before they touched down in Detroit, and he got sick. He also got a little sick at the airport, but then he was fine. We met my sister and nephew in Ann Arbor for a late dinner and then made our way home. Evan asked when we got back in the car if the trip to home would be short? I motioned that it was so-so, and he promptly went to sleep. I didn't have the heart (or the ability) to tell him it was a 3-hour drive! He made it home without becoming sick (although we were prepared, just in case.) We decided we'd need to have a bag in each car with gallon zip-lock bags, wipes, and extra clothes. Hopefully he'll get over the car sickness thing soon!

Evan woke up about 30 minutes left in the drive. He noticed when we arrived in Fort Wayne, and eagerly looked around when he noticed familiar territory. I made him a large welcome home sign for the garage, and he had a big grin on his face when he saw it. Our "Teagan-sitter" left a welcome home letter that was also translated into Russian for him. He enjoyed reading that! She also put up some yellow streamers on our door. Teagan was beside herself with joy! She was zooming around the house, jumping up on his bed, and licking his face. He had quite the welcome home!

For about an hour, Evan ran around the house exploring all the things he remembered. It was so fun to watch! He opened drawers, sat on his bed, checked out the TV, went outside to the backyard, looked at the pictures of himself and family all around the house, and just kept grinning the whole time. You could tell he was very happy to be back. His whole body seemed relaxed and overjoyed at the same time. It was one of the best evenings.

On Saturday we had a little boy awake at 4:30 AM. Darn the jet lag. Since poor Tim had been up for more than 24 hours straight, I got up with Evan. We sat on the couch and watched the movie, "Monsters, Inc." Tim awoke around 7:30 and he took Evan upstairs to see the Indiana Jones playset he had built for his boy. It felt like Christmas morning when he saw all the figures and the cool scene his Papa had created for him. Both boys happily played with it for quite some time.

It wasn't a total fun and games day. Poor kiddo got sick a few times (without going anywhere in the car!) I think he was dehydrated, so we started flushing him out with liquids. He also took 2 naps during the day, all on his own. Tim's parents and brother/family came to see him, and Evan kept saying he was tired while they were there (even though he really liked all the gifts they brought for him!) He didn't last too long after they left before he took his 2nd nap of the day. After dinner of perogies (found them at the grocery store!) and fruit, we went outside and grabbed the scooter that we borrowed from friends last summer. It didn't take long for him to remember how it worked, and he zoomed up and down the sidewalk for quite awhile. The evening ended with his favorite activity of the day-- a shower! (In case you didn't read about this last summer, a shower is something he did not get in Ukraine very often. He LOVES showers!) After the shower was a story, kisses, and hugs.

On Sunday, he woke up again at 4:30 AM, but I went into his room and told him to go back to sleep. He awoke the next time around 7:30. We gave him some dramimine and then took him to church. We were happy to see our new friends, the Humphries, who have a Ukrainian daughter the same age as Evan. She's been here almost 2 years, and she doesn't remember much Russian anymore. We had the chance to talk to her family and our pastor and his family after the service. Evan didn't say too much, but he was content to hang out with us while we talked about him!

By the way, here's a "Reader's Digest" submission for you: during the sermon, our pastor was talking about love. Evan recognized the word and was writing, "Mama loves Papa, Papa loves Mama, Mama loves Evan, Evan loves Mama, etc." He would put hearts around these as he wrote them. He frequently stopped and would ask me how to write a certain word so he could copy it. I was so pleased that he seemed to be really getting the jist of the sermon until he had me write the word, "shoes." He then wrote, "Mama loves shoes!!!!" I really had to make an effort not to burst out laughing in church!

The exciting event in the afternoon was a trip to Meijer (similar to a super Wal-Mart/Target for all of you non-Midwesterners) He's never been to such a big store, and he was pretty wide-eyed the whole time. While he wasn't excited about traveling in the car, I bribed him by telling him we were going there to buy him some sunglasses. This motivated him enough to brave the car trip, and he found a great pair of Superman sunglasses. We also bought some groceries and also found out some things he likes/dislikes. We bought apples, bananas, pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, blackberries, and grapes. The only thing he didn't care for was the strawberries. He picked out some bread and a box of cereal-- Cocoa Puffs. Ah, such good memories of my childhood. . .one of my favorite cereals! (Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch was the other!!) I told Tim how when my brother, sister, and I were kids, it was such a big deal to pick out our own cereal-- we would walk up and down the aisle looking to see which box had the best "free inside" toy!!! He hasn't tried the cereal yet; too many other things to try. We ran into several colleagues and friends there, and it was such a great feeling to introduce our new son.

Today Tim went back to work; I am staying home for the week. Evan actually slept until 7:30 AM-- much better! Once he got up, I used the translation website to explain that Papa was at school (work) and that I'd be home with him all week. I also had to write that Papa would be leaving tonight on a plane for a conference. He wasn't very happy about that. We spent the day doing several activities: we worked on a 500-piece puzzle for almost 3 hours, went outside to play with Teagan, tried out the scooter again, played with the Indiana Jones set, and colored. Very productive day. Once Tim returned home, he finished packing, and we went to Pizza Hut for dinner on our way to the airport. Even though we knew Evan doesn't like pizza, I knew there were other choices for him. I helped him make a huge salad that also had a side of beets, goldfish crackers, and cold pasta. This was a big hit. He also ate an enormous "child's size" portion of spaghetti. I don't know if I could have finished it myself. He also tried lemonade for the first time-- it was another winner.

We gave Evan some dramimine before we left for dinner, and on the way to the airport he claimed he was so tired. I guess we'd better try the non-drowsy formula! He also asked how long to the airport and seemed relieved when I told him it wasn't very far at all. Evan and I went in with Tim so we could say good bye. But, about 20 minutes after Tim checked in, we heard his flight would be delayed for 2 hours. This meant he'd miss his connecting flight. So, after sitting around for about 90 minutes, Tim learned that he wouldn't be going anywhere tonight. He now has a very early flight tomorrow morning. Well, I guess one more night in your own bed is not such a bad thing!

Back home again, we all went outside so Evan could use his scooter. The boys from across the street came over with their bike and scooter, and the 3 of them seemed to have a good time together. Around 9:00 it was time for a shower and then the story of the evening. This was a good story-- it had Russian words in it! I could tell he really liked this one! More kisses and hugs and off to sleep he went. We'll see if he can make it until 7:30 again tomorrow morning. With that in mind, I need to go to sleep myself. I will work tomorrow on posting some pictures for you.

Celebrating Evan's birthday- 1st grade style

So, since I couldn't celebrate my son's birthday with him today, I decided to celebrate it with my class. I shared fruit-flavored candy I brought back from Ukraine for them, and I read a story that had some Russian phrases in it. They were so delighted to learn how to say "hello," "good bye," "see you later" (my personal favorite!), "ouch" (their personal favorite), and the title of the book in Russian. They LOVED the candy, and I heard more than once, "Ukrainian candy rocks!" I wish you could have seen their little faces when I told them the day Evan would be home! It was amazing to hear the shouts of, "Congratulations, Mrs. Decker!" when I shared my news. It was the best way to spend Evan's birthday since he couldn't be here.

At the airport!

It's about 9:30 PM Eastern Standard Time in Fort Fun, and in Kyiv, Ukraine, it's 4:30 AM. Guess who are at the airport as we speak?????????? Oooooh, you are SO smart!!!!!!!!! My boys will be leaving Ukraine around 5:30 AM and are HEADING HOME!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow night a certain newly-turned 10 year old will be asleep in his own bed here in the United States!!! How very cool is that?????????? Now the adventure will really begin!

We have a winner!

Tim has Evan's passport, and the guys are on their way to Kyiv!!! Hooray! I had a message at 5:30 AM on my work voice mail saying that the passport finally came, (from Kyiv, mind you. . . where they are NOW heading! How's that for gov't efficiency?!?!?) and that Viktor's cousin, Sergei, had helped Tim buy train tickets for the overnight trip to Kyiv. They boarded the "scary train" at 6:30 PM, and should arrive in the capitol city by dawn. Next up is the medical exam which has been taking anywhere from one day to two days. Tim and Evan will either be heading home Friday night, Saturday night, or Tuesday night. Who's praying for Friday night with me?????

And another delay

Yes, it is Tuesday. Yes, I received a call from Tim today. No, the passport hasn't arrived!!!!! Major bummer!!!! (as my mom used to say) They "think" (no one really knows) that it will arrive tomorrow. This translates to for sure only one parent being able to celebrate Vanya's birthday with him on Thursday since my guys will arrive home now on Friday, at the earliest. Actually, there is also the chance that they won't come home until Tuesday next week if they get held up again. Being a "single dog mom" for the last two weeks isn't as much fun as being a "real" mom. I know Tim & Evan are terribly bored with the day to day "sameness" of everything. We were told the 2nd trip would be so much shorter than the first one. As of this weekend, it will be 2 weeks since they left.

Sounds like we'll be postponing Evan's birthday plans! :-( Poor guy!!!

Please pray for Ukraine's mail system to work a little faster and enable Tim & Evan to leave by Friday morning!

The first real delay in this process! :-(

Tim left me a message at home this morning: they did NOT get the visa today! Huge bummer!!!! This now means they will not be able to obtain it any earlier than Tuesday because of the Orthodox Easter holiday on Monday. Next week's schedule now looks like this: Tuesday afternoon- receive visa; Tuesday evening- board train for overnight trip to Kyiv; Wednesday morning- arrive in Kyiv and get a medical exam for Evan. This could take one day or two depending on who knows what or why; Wednesday or Thursday get passport and go to the US Embassy for the last paperwork; most likely fly home on Friday. Thursday is Evan's 10th birthday, and we were REALLY praying hard that they would arrive home that day. It sounds like it will be Friday instead. Ugh, ugh, UGH!!!!! I know we've been so blessed with an easy time compared to SO many other families, but I think for me it's hardest because I am not there with my guys! (Or is it because I would want to be beating down doors wondering why the various officials aren't hurrying things along?!?!?!?)

And, to top it all off, Tim said that Odessa is a fantastic place. More people who speak English, more food choices, great apartment, neat shopping, and lots to sightsee. Where they are right now is right on the Black Sea. I wish I could be there to see it!! He promises that he's been taking pictures often and is writing in the journal.

Seems Tim and Evan are getting along fine without me (hmph!) Evan likes the Leapster games I sent as well as the travel Simon game. He's been coloring in his dinosaur book and even named some of them after an extended family member or two! Tim discovered he really doesn't like pizza! How can this be?!?!? We took him to Pizza Hut last summer, and he didn't like it; we assumed it was an American food thing. However, Viktor and Tim took him to one in Odessa, and he didn't like it then either. Guess the economy is going to be a little hurt without our weekly contribution to the area pizzerias! (Ruth, I'll be over for Papa Johns soon!)

I'll be in Grand Rapids this weekend, so I won't be able to post anything again until maybe Sunday night. Thanks, as always, for your wonderful emails, calls, and blog comments. They've all been so helpful throughout this journey.

Pictures!

Ok, there are now some pictures posted!!! I placed the pictures with the post from that particular day. So, you will need to scroll down quite a bit to see the various photos. You might want to re-read the post so you understand what the pictures depict. It's really hard to put captions with the photos; if you have a question about a picture, either post a comment or email me.

I will post another update tomorrow night about how things are going with Tim and Evan right now. Enjoy looking at our "spring break vacation!" :-)

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I received a phone call at 6:52 AM local time Sunday morning (yesterday) from Tim telling me he had arrived in Ukraine (1:52 PM his time). Even though I told him to call me as soon as he could (and insisted upon it!), I still wasn't ready for that early of a phone call on a weekend!!! :-) Jenya picked him up at the airport and then promptly delivered him to the train station. This was despite the fact that his train didn't take off until 9:00 PM that night. Apparently you can rent a room at the train station! Who knew?!?!?!?

Now Mondays are rarely my favorite day of the week, but when you get a phone call at 8:00 AM, and you hear a little voice say, "Good morning, Mama!" all of a sudden now Mondays are the best day of the week!!! (Ok, maybe just for this week!) It was such a delight to hear Evan's voice!!! We didn't talk much more than that since we're still working on the language barrier issue, but he gave the phone to Tim so that he could report on the day so far:

Arriving in Kotovsk (where Evan's school is) by train around 6:00 AM, Tim and Viktor checked into our favorite hotel and caught a few zzz's until they left at 8:00 to get our boy. Knowing we had to provide all new clothes, I was a little anxious because we forgot to measure his pant length when we were there last week. So of course I learned this morning that last summer's pants which were too big are now too short! whoops!!! But, everything else fit fine (including the new shoes) and he looked pretty dapper. Tim was ready for my next question: "Yes, dear, I took pictures of him!"

Guess what they had for lunch and where????? Yup, potato perogies and cabbage salad at "The Cafe!" The fun never ends, does it? I didn't get to talk to them for very long, but I did learn that Tim was hoping to take a nap (didn't sleep well on the plane or the train), and then they were going to be picked up by Yuri (our taxi driver from the last trip) at 3:00 AM so they could drive to Evan's village by 8:00 tomorrow morning (Tuesday). That's where the birth certificate altering will be done. Tim said they are pushing hard to get everything done by Friday so they can fly home this weekend. If they don't finish by Friday, then they won't be home until the middle of next week due to business offices being closed on Monday for their Eastern Orthodox Easter.

I'm being pressured for pictures, and if you aren't lucky enough to work with me where everyone already saw them, then I guess I will try to find time to post them. I forgot my flash drive at work, so as soon I remember to bring it home, I'll post the pictures. Okay????

Leaving on a Jet Plane . . . broken record???

How scary/funny that there are some people out there who don't know what a record is!!!! (8-track player, Bob???)

It's almost midnight on Friday, and we're packing AGAIN!! Well, I am packing, and Tim is organizing important papers and his carry on bag. I am the queen of organized packing, so I am in my glory packing up Tim and Evan's things. We had to do a mad dash to the stores today-- we almost forgot we had to buy shoes for Evan! He had a pair of gym shoes and sandals when he came here last year, but they belong to the school (and, he said his gym shoes got holes in them anyway!) Hopefully we bought the correct size shoes. We measured his feet when we were in Ukraine last week, and the sales women at the store recommended buying one size up since his toes were right at size 2-1/2. The really great thing is that she told us to hold on to the receipt, and if the shoes don't fit, to bring them back. We had already explained about the international adoption when we came in, and she still said that even if he wears the shoes and if they don't fit perfectly, then bring them back! Seemed like a good deal to us!

It was hard to figure out what to pack for Evan since it was pretty chilly 2 weeks ago when we were there, but it sounds like maybe it's warming up some now. However, it was quite fun finding lots of winter shirts/sweatshirts on clearance!!!!!! I also had to pack some extra clothes in the event he really ISN'T over the whole car/plane/train sickness stuff! He should have lots of layers from which to choose. To make it easier, I just put all of his clothes in a small suitcase. I think he will enjoy having his own bag! (And, he may have more clothes than his Papa on this trip!)

We will be driving to Detroit tomorrow (Saturday). Please feel free to pray for Tim's safe trip back to Ukraine; quick trips to the various towns for picking up Evan, blood test results, a new birth certificate, souvenirs we missed the first time, and U.S. Embassy paperwork; uneventful train trips, and another safe trip back to the United States. If all of this could be done in less than one week, that would be even better!!!! I'm sending Tim off with the journal and camera, so we'll see if he can keep up with the tradition we started when we left 3 weeks ago. I hope Evan will enjoy reading some day about how far his Mama and Papa traveled (physically AND emotionally) to bring home their "chosen child!"

Update on our Process and other Miscellaneous Things

I just can't think of a witty title tonight!!

Anyway, in case you haven't figured it out, we're home! Well, 2/3 of our family is home; a little boy is still in his native country. We knew going into this process that this would be a part of our journey. After the judge decided we are worthy to be parents, there is that 10-day waiting period we told you about in an earlier post. We could have stayed for the 10 days (some families do, some do not), but we needed to return to work. Tim leaves this Saturday for the return trip. When you know first-hand how long the trip is both ways, it doesn't make you too excited to do it again! Good thing there is such a wonderful reason for it!!!!!

Vanya knows that we had to go home, and he knows "Papa" will be returning to get him within the week. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but one of the days we were all 3 at the Internet cafe, I asked him some questions using a translation website. I asked him if he knew he'd be coming back to live with us forever? He said DA! (yes!) I asked if he knew he would not be living at his school anymore? DA! and I asked if he would miss his friends/teachers? DA! I wrote and said we'd write to his friends/teachers and send pictures. He seemed pleased by this.

I didn't get a chance to explain on the last post, but the judge was just the nicest guy! Once again, the image I had in my mind was not what we experienced. In reality, he was a very stately, grandfatherly type all wrapped up together. He seemed a little stern when he was asking us questions, but when it was Vanya's turn to answer questions, the judge had Vanya join him up behind the bench. He explained who he was and the purpose behind this meeting. I had to struggle not to laugh when he told Vanya that he (the judge) is a really nice guy! I think he was just trying to reassure Vanya because he seemed a little anxious. Viktor was translating the whole time for us, very quietly, but I think the judge was saying something like, "These 2 appear to be awesome individuals, and you'd be totally crazy not to be adopted by them!!!" Ok, really he said things like, "Do you realize that you will be living in another country and having to learn a new language, and is this something you want with all of your heart?" Thankfully, Vanya said, "YES!" Actually, it was a quiet yes accompanied by a head nod!

We went to a DIFFERENT cafe for dinner!!!!!!!!!!!!! Halleluah!!!!! The school lawyer made a pretty funny joke about it: We discovered the cafe was on the top floor of the grocery store, and she said it was Kotovsk's own "Eiffel Tower!" The top floor was 3 stories up!!!!! Joining our little family was the lawyer, Viktor, and the Children's Inspector. This cafe was very much like a Ponderosa: You selected different items as you moved your tray down the line. I tried the stroganoff, Tim chose a chicken shish ka-bob, and Vanya chose a turkey breast and potatoes along with some soup and a layered fruit jello dessert. All of our dinners were placed in a microwave, one-by-one, to be heated up. Mine must have been on a low setting because it was pretty chilly and congealed. It tasted ok, but would have been much better warmed up. It definitely did not compete with my new favorite meal: TGIFriday's Prime Rib Stroganoff.

Here's another cultural difference for you: this restaurant served beer, so Viktor ordered it up for the men. While we were paying the bill, he disappeared. He came back upstairs from the GROCERY STORE with 4 bottles of the equivalent of what I thought might be like Mike's Lemonades. One bottle was filled with an orange liquid, one was bright green, one was a cloudy white, and one was red. I chose the white thinking it would be lemon-- wrong! it was coconut!! One of my least favorite flavors for anything. I tried the orange next and it ended up being like a Mai-Tai. Again, not a fan fave. So, my one and only time trying alcohol in Ukraine was a failure!

After dinner and the short trip to the Internet Cafe to post the update below, we said good bye to Vanya. He was all set to just take off when I said, "Wait!" I asked Viktor to explain to Vanya what would be happening over the next 10 days. He was cool with it and allowed me to give him big hugs and kisses. It was so hard to say goodbye AGAIN to him! At least this was the last time!!!! The next time I will see him, it will be on American soil.

We went back to the room and had about 2 hours to pack before Yuri and Viktor would arrive to take us back to Kyiv that evening. Our flight was at 5:30 AM so we needed to be there a few hours earlier than that to go through customs. I tried sleeping on the way to Kyiv (5 hours) but again those fine roads pretty much prevented much of that! We stopped a few times along the way. Worth mentioning (and I wish I would have taken a picture) was one stop: Yuri started slowing down when we were about halfway to Kyiv. I started noticing these small shacks set up along the highway. They look like roadside stands you might see in the summer when people sell vegetables. We saw one with its lights on, so we stopped. This little trailer/stand served more varieties of food than our hotel cafe!!!! There was a little picnic table with an awning over it, and you could go inside to warm up in the trailer or use the bathroom. Both Yuri and Viktor got some coffee, and I just stared!!! Such a bizarre thing!

We made it to Kyiv without further incidents and made it to the airport with about 2-1/2 hours to spare. Since we didn't have anything to declare, the process there was pretty smooth. The trip to Frankfurt was uneventful and then we spent 6 hours at that airport. In our terminal there wasn't anything to eat, so we finally located something we recognized-- McDonalds once again!!! We had to go through security again to get there, which we thought would be no big deal. Three times we went through security at that airport, and all three times I had to be "patted down!!!" Sheesh! I set off the security thing each time! When I said something to the security woman the 2nd time, she said it just goes off randomly. Right!!!! The 3rd time Tim had to be patted down, our DVD player had to be checked, and he had to show his belt to the security guard. We got through that just fine, but it was rather annoying, and I was hungry. If you remember, in Kyiv it cost about $8.00 US Dollars for our McD's meals. In Frankfurt, for less food, it cost double!!! I bought a regular hamburger, small fry, small Coke. Tim got a Big Mac, large fry, and large Coke. Another sheesh!! But, trying to find the McDonald's, riding the Sky Train twice, and going through security all those times sure passed the time, and the 6 hour layover didn't seem so long.

Let's talk what was really long-- the 9-1/2 hour flight from Frankfurt to Detroit! As opposed to the flight the other way, on this plane everyone had their own TV screen. You could pick out your own movies or music. I watched the movies "High School Musical 3" and "The Duchess"-- both great movies. Tim watched "Bolt," "Marley and Me," and "Australia." He wasn't too thrilled with any of them. I didn't get up the whole time (we had some interesting people around us too!), so I was more than ready to get off the plane when we arrived in Detroit. The passport control people in Detroit were SO nice-- spoke English, and congratulated us on our adoption when we said why we had been traveling. Our wonderful friends, Erin and Jim, met us at the airport with our car (completely filled up with gas!!) and some bottled water. With the headache I had, it was an excellent sight to behold! The trip home on smooth roads(!) was a blissfully short 3 hours. We called some family members and friends to let them know we had arrived, and then called our friends the Harks to get an important phone number: OLEY's Pizza!!! Ah-- pizza and ice-cold Cokes!!! What fun!

We had 3 short days to enjoy the rest of our spring break-- doing laundry! Both of us went to our schools on Sunday and were relieved to know our substitute teachers did a wonderful job. Today (Monday) seemed very strange to be back at work. My first graders were so glad to see me and had a lot of fun seeing some of the pictures from our trip. Speaking of pictures, I'll start posting some of them soon.

Another Step Closer to Completing Our Family!

Today at 4:30 PM (well, really 4:40) was our court date. Last night at dinner, Viktor told us what to expect from the proceedings. Attending the hearing (besides us) would be the orphanage/school lawyer (whom we had yet to meet), the Children's Inspector, the judge, the secretary, and a jury. A jury??? Really??? He said there would just be 2 or 3 people as part of the jury. Huh! Interesting! He also said that anytime the judge asked a question, we were to stand before answering in English and Viktor would say the reply in Russian. What made us laugh is that he stated if we didn't answer quite right, he'd say it right in Russian-- the judge would never know! :-) He thought that since it would be the end of the day, the appointment would go quickly.

We weren't sure where the courthouse was, and in fact, thought it would be one of the grand, stately buildings we've already seen. Nope! It was a small building connected to other small buildings, right next to a neighborhood of houses! You'd never know from the street it was a courthouse. The security guard wrote our names down in his registry, and then we waited about 15-20 minutes. We were ushered in a small room (smaller than my classroom!) that had very old, thick, dark wooden furniture. There were 3 rows of pews with a very narrow aisle, and the pews were right up to the walls on either side. About one step from the front pew was a wooden stand in the center of the room, up on a small platform (maybe just a half step higher than the floor). I assume it is for the lawyers or the defendant, but we didn't use it. In front of the stand were two wooden tables facing each other, and then there was the big bench behind which the judge would be seated. His chair and those on either side of him were something out of like King Arthur's time! Very imposing, very cool! Viktor pointed out that the old USSR logos had been removed at the top of each chair, but you could still see where the wood stain was different. To the left of the room, near the judge's bench was a prisoner holding cell!! Viktor tried to pull an April Fool's joke by saying that's where we were to sit!!!

Speaking of April Fool's, today had a lot of symbolism for us. First of all, eight years ago today, Tim and I went out to lunch for the first time. We went with another friend, so it wasn't really a date, but we decided that's when we would start counting our time together. How fitting that we are really starting our family together today!!! The other neat thing is what Tim wore for the hearing. As some of you know, we got married at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. My dad walked me down the aisle wearing grey dress pants, a white dress shirt, a navy blazer, and a navy blue/red striped tie. Well, to honor Vanya's middle name of Thomas (my dad's first name), Tim wore a replica of my dad's outfit today! He even had on the exact same tie-- it was something we wanted to keep after my dad died last summer.

About 4:45 PM, we were told to rise as the judge came in. I will explain a lot more later, (Viktor just came back in and is waiting for us to take Vanya back to school) but the judge gave a prelimary approval for the adoption to go through!!! We have the 10 day waiting period, so as long as no one comes forward to appeal it, we will be official so very soon!!! How cool is that???? I promise I will provide more details when we get home. Thank you for your prayers!!! God has been SO good to us!!

Pete and Repeat, sitting in a boat. Pete fell over, and who was left?????

Sorry for not updating the blog for the last 2 days. Nothing too exciting has been going on, (well, except loving on our boy every chance we get, and that is VERY exciting!) so I thought I'd wait until today.

Yesterday the kids went back to school, (Yes, it's an orphanage, but they go to school there and it's called a boarding school, so that's why we call it school) so when we arrived to pick up Vanya, he wasn't in his playroom like he's been the last few days. Yuri, our taxi driver, went in with us, and motioned that we were to wait in the teacher's lounge. He conversed with another teacher, and seemed to understand what was going on, but we were in the dark. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we called Viktor and had him talk to Yuri. We found out that the kids were all in school, the teachers were all in a meeting, and there wasn't anyone to fetch Vanya for us yet. Waited a little longer, and then in walked our boy. He looked so handsome!!! He's already a cute kid, but today he was in his school clothes-- the same pinstriped pants he's been wearing, a long sleeve french blue cotton dress shirt, buttoned all the way up, and a pinstripe suit jacket. Wow!!! I took a few pictures of him, as he proudly stood tall. He was sent to his playroom to get his coat. I thought maybe he'd change his clothes, but he did not. Oh well!

It was another dreary day; not good for playing "football" (soccer) so we played some games, worked on English words (we're learning the Russian names so it's more fun for Vanya to teach us as we teach him), and watched "Transformers." Some of my first graders are BIG fans of Optimus Prime, and now I know who he is! It was actually a really good movie, and I think it ranked as one of Vanya's favorites. It was rated PG-13, and normally I would say he couldn't watch it, but since he can't understand English well yet, the few curse words in the movie went right over his head. I know that won't last for long, so at home when there are many more choices for movies, we'll be more careful. I actually hadn't planned to watch the movie; I sat with my boys on the bed and started to write in my journal. Only a few sentences were written before I was completely sucked into the plot! Two cute things about the movie-watching experience: one is that Vanya really likes to cuddle! He cuddled with me during almost the entire movie (once I put down my pen to watch, that is!). The other cute thing is that whenever he sees a couple on TV or in a movie, he will point and say, "Mama" and "Papa." We grin and agree each time! I have to say my favorite part was when we watched "The Incredibles" the other day-- he said that we were the 2 superheroes! Rock on! LOL!

We had a little problem communicating our dinner desires on Sunday night, and ended up only eating cabbage salad, so when we went to the Internet cafe on Monday morning, I looked up a translation website and wrote down how to say potato dumplings in Russian. When I gave it to the waitress Monday for lunch, she gave a huge sigh of relief and took the paper back to the kitchen. Guess what? We got what we wanted!!! Dumplings, 3 slices of bread with butter, and cabbage salad seemed to fill up our son for awhile. He snacked later on dried apricots (which he loves!), cereal, and some cashews.

With Viktor gone, we take Vanya back to school each day around 4:00 PM. Yesterday, Viktor arranged to have Yuri get Vanya by himself today and bring him to us at 8:00 so we didn't interrupt school again. Wow! 8 hours to entertain him! When we heard this news, I thought: hope it's nice outside!!! :-) Of course, when we woke up today, it was raining!!! Of course!!! When Vanya arrived, we watched some TV, played some games, and practiced our Russian/English words. I am better understanding how tough it is to learn a new language. For instance, the English word, kite, is just so easy to say. In Russian??? It's like 400 letters with 18 syllables!!!! LOL! It definitely has made us much more patient with his learning!! He just laughs as we totally destroy the pronunciations in Russian! The sun is trying to peek out now, so hopefully we'll get to play outside after lunch today.

Tomorrow is the big day!!! Our court time is 4:00 PM. The judge is the guy who makes the final decision about the adoption. Your prayers are very much appreciated! I have such a picture in my mind of what he will look like. It's pretty much the same picture I had for the State Department of Adoption meeting, and that person turned out to be a young female! Providing that he approves everything, there is a mandatory 10-day waiting period. Many of you have asked is that necessary and can it be waived? The answer is yes, it is necessary, and no, it cannot be waived. It's a time when anyone can come forward to protest the adoption. It's similar to the waiting period you have for a divorce, a marriage, and most legal situations. (Side note here: Viktor showed us a building - not a church- where people get married, and in the same building is the funeral home! Coincidence????)

Tim will fly back at the end of the 10 days, and he and Viktor will again drive down to Kotovsk to pick up Vanya and his blood test results. (for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphillis) Then, they drive to the village in which Vanya was born to get his birth certificate (either picked up and/or changed, I can't remember) then it's back up to Kyiv for his visa and passport. This all should take about 7-10 days, and if all goes well, Vanya should be home in Fort Wayne very close to his 10th birthday!! Oh, then the celebrating will begin!!!!!!

For this trip, we fly home this Thursday, leaving Kyiv at 5:30 AM. Can't wait to drive the 4-5 hours back to Kyiv in the middle of the night with the fantastic roads they have here!! Our layover in Frankfurt, Germany is 6 hours!!! ugh!!! The flight to Detroit has us arriving at 4:10 PM. We should be home, in Fort Wayne, no later than 9:00 PM, barring any unforseen circumstances. WE CAN'T WAIT!!!!!! We've already been discussing what we want for breakfast, lunch, and dinner of Friday!!! ;-)

I am not sure I will have a chance to come back here after the court date, so in case I cannot, we will say good bye for now. Thank you so much for reading along during our adventure. We've appreciated your emails, phone calls, and most of all prayers. We are thrilled this part of our journey is ending, and we cannot wait for the rest of our lives together to begin. It's definitely been an adventure!!!

Groundhog's Day (again and again!)

It's actually sunny here today!!!!!! No clouds in sight- HOORAY!!!! Isn't it amazing how a sunny day and improve your mood??

Yesterday, Viktor wrote the petition for Vanya to spend the night with us until our court date. He told us that the director, Nikolai, said it was fine, but that the deputy director wasn't so sure. She worries that something may happen to him. (Does she mean like kidnapping, getting sick, or hurt?) Hmph! We are good parents! Ok, so today he has a sniffle and a cough-- did we do this????? :-)

After we picked him up, we went back to eat lunch. Today was something new. . . dumplings with potatoes inside, like perogies. Scrumptious! We've definitely noticed the abundance of starch products in the meals. Vegetables are rarely served except for the cabbage salad. We have yet to see fruit being served. Vanya, the human food compactor, ate borsht, the dumplings, salad, and 2 pieces of bread with butter. During meals we've been practicing with him how to say things like, "fork, spoon, knife, plate, glass, etc." He's getting it!

Even though it was after 2:00, we went for a short walk into the outdoor market. I wanted to see if we could find at least some underwear and socks for Vanya. One thing Viktor mentioned is how cheap DVD's are here. He said you could buy one DVD with several movies on it. We finally figured out he meant they were bootleg copies. We brought some children's movies with us, but we thought it might be nice for Vanya to watch a kid's movie in Ukrainian. One DVD that had Ratatouille (sp?), and some other movies on it cost 30 grevnas (less than $4.00 US dollars). I was a little apprehensive about buying it, not because it was a bootleg copy, but because another couple who was here a couple of years ago mentioned that you can't place their movies on American bought DVD players. But, for less than $4.00, what was the harm? Viktor then bought us a little treat-- a bag of what he called corn fingers! How's that for a visual picture?!?!? The are like cheese puffs, without the cheese! They were ok; Vanya liked them. After walking around for a bit, we found some underwear for boys. We bought 2 pairs for 20 grevna (about $2.50 total). The lady tried to sell us some socks too, but all she had out were girly socks-- with kittens, flowers, balloons, etc. Um, I don't think so!!! We said we'd come back on Saturday.

In the room again, we worked on some handwriting practice. We've been writing out words for him to practice printing. I'll tackle cursive writing later! I also took out his crayons, scribbled colors and then wrote the English names for them. He knows black, yellow, and red pretty well now. This time Tim worked on the flashcards with him, while I wrote in our journal. Tried out the DVD we bought-- you guessed it; it didn't work! So, we colored a few pictures, and then we went down the hall to Viktor's room. He tried the DVD on his laptop, but couldn't get it to work for him either. Oh well! Viktor then showed us some pictures from other families he's worked with in the past. All of a sudden, Tim noticed that on the table was a small navy blue bag with the US Coast Guard insignia stitched on it!!! When Tim mentioned it, Viktor said yes, he has a friend who's in the Coast Guard in Virginia. He thought he maybe had a picture with him on his computer to show us. Tim wanted to see if he knows him. Alas, no picture! But, what a small world, huh? Since Viktor's room is a bit larger-- he has two twin beds, instead of a double bed like us-- we sat on the rug and taught Vanya how to play Uno. We played 7 rounds with Tim winning 2, me winning 2, Viktor winning 3, and how's your math??? . . . Vanya not winning any! But, he said he really liked the game, and it was good to have Viktor explain the rules to him.

After the game, Vanya said he was hungry, so we went down to our "favorite" cafe. (ok, the ONLY place we've eaten in Kotovsk!!!) Tim, Viktor, and Vanya had pork steak with a breading and mashed potatoes. I had the dumplings again. Vanya did not like the pork steak. Good thing he also ate a cabbage salad and some bread/butter. Did I mention before that the cabbage salad is somewhat similar to a cole slaw, but not with the cream/mayonnaise? It's really good; it has onions, parsley, sometimes chunks of tomatoes, and of course, shredded cabbage. Tim actually had it for breakfast yesterday morning! The owner's wife came out to talk to us, and said she would drive us to her other cafe for free if we wanted to try some different fare. It sounds like this other cafe has at least part of the menu in English, and she said we could get french fries there!!!! woo hoo! We'll see if maybe today (Saturday) for lunch or dinner if that sounds good.

At dinner Viktor told us that he'd be leaving early Sunday morning and not returning until Tuesday morning. He has to go assist another family whose court date is on Monday in a town east of here. Alright-- two days without anyone who knows English. FUN! (not) He said he'd arrange for our meals, but that we'd probably have to have an identical breakfast for the 3 days, and an identical lunch and dinner for the 2 days. So, for instance, eggs and sausage each day for breakfast, belini's for lunch, and dumplings for dinner. Are we spoiled or what in the US for the opportunity to have such a variety of meals every day??

That night as we were getting a movie ready for Vanya, Tim and I discussed about having Vanya with us for 2 days without a translator. It wasn't that we are worried we can't communicate with him, because we manage fairly well. It's just that what if something happens to him (like the deputy director warned) and we can't get someone to understand what we need to take care of him. As much as we want to spend every minute with him that we can, we do not want to jeopardize in any way our position in adopting him. People think so differently here and that worries us a little bit. We decided that we would talk to Viktor about our concerns in the morning. In the meantime, the three of us watched "The Incredibles." Vanya really liked that movie, and around 10:00, we put him to bed in Viktor's extra bed. Luckily, I brought a brand new toothbrush with me in the event I wouldn't be able to charge my electric toothbrush, so at least Vanya could brush his teeth. Tim escorted him to Viktor's room, and Vanya stripped down to his t-shirt and underwear to sleep in. I was happy to hear his t-shirt is one we gave him in Fort Wayne!

This morning we got a knock on our door around 8:30, and there was a little boy standing there in his t-shirt and underwear. He came right in and headed for the bathroom. I asked if he needed to use the toilet, and he said nyet; he wanted a shower! We laughed and Tim showed him how it all worked. Just like in Fort Wayne, he took about a 15 minute shower. Good thing the hot water lasts fairly long here!! Viktor arrived 30 minutes later and down the stairs we all went. Breakfast was an omelette and about 5 sausages. They tasted a little better than hotdogs, but looked the same. We expressed our concern to Viktor about keeping Vanya overnight while Viktor is gone, and he said it was our decision. I think we'll be taking Vanya back tonight; Viktor explained that to Vanya, and he said he understood.

Right now we are in the Internet cafe again, and then we will be finally walking around the market before it closes!! After lunch I think we are going again to the park. Groundhog's Day here we come!!!!! :-)

Bad news, Good news, Bad News, Good news, etc.!

Good morning! It's 11:30 AM on Friday, and tomorrow we'll have been in Ukraine for one week. Some days (or the time of the day) it feels like longer, and some days it feels shorter.

To go along with today's posting title, here is some news, but maybe not in the order listed above. First piece of bad news: we are only bringing home Vanya and not another child too. We were told there were not any other single children available right now. You really just want to shake your head and say "what?!?!?!?!?!?" There are 200 children here at Vanya's school, and the next town over has 2 orphanages! What a disappointment! However, Tim says perhaps I can have another son a different way-- a dog son!! LOL! We'll see how well Teagan gets along with a human brother before we give her a canine one! (Hey, Shank, you adoption stalker, you-- perhaps you'll get your wish after all!!! LOL)

As I mentioned in the last post, Viktor was hopeful that we'd get a court date for early next week which was totally fine with us! He came back on Wed. evening with not such good news: our court date is next week Friday, April 3 at 3:00 PM. Bummer! 9 more days in Kotovsk. . . big sigh! Although it wasn't the earlier date we wanted, at least we wouldn't have to change our plane tickets-- Tim had to pick a return date when he booked the flights, and the date he chose was Saturday morning at 5:30 AM which would put us back to Detroit around 5:00 PM that evening. We definitely like the time zone differences on the return! :-) This means we'd have one day of spring break before back to work. :-(

Wednesday night Viktor took the scary train back to Kiev for the day. (It's my goal to avoid the scary train this whole trip!!!!) He said he'd return on Friday morning. That was a daunting thought: we would be here for a whole day with no one who spoke English!!!!! :-0 Tatiana would still be here, but her English is pretty limited. Before Viktor left, he ordered us our breakfast for the next day. Very thoughtful.

Thursday morning we met Tatiana downstairs at the cafe for breakfast around 9:30. Today's breakfast was blini's (sp???) which were filled with hamburger meat and spices and served with a dallop of sour cream. We were also served bread that had butter and like a swiss cheese on top. I am really loving the black tea (called chai, but not the chai you get a Starbucks!-- no chai spices, just plain black tea) and they always give us 5 sugar cubes and lemon slices. Do you think one sugar cube equals one teaspoon??? If so, I may have to start drinking it without the sugar! The blini's were delicious, and when Viktor called at breakfast and asked us what we wanted for lunch, we ordered them again! Major improvement over the potatoes and pork! During breakfast, Tatian was able to explain that she would go by herself to get Vanya and bring him back to us. That was good; we're getting a little tired of the taxi thing.

About 45 minutes later, she brought him to our apartment. He opened the door and said, "Good morning!" in English with a big grin. So cute! We let him watch Rugrats on Nickelodean (sp?) which was in Ukrainian, so that cracked us up! Then he wanted to color in the Star Wars coloring book we brought him; he colored two pictures and used the camera to take pictures of them. We played Tangoes-- well, I tried to play with him (even though he chose to play it!) and he just wanted to turn over the cards to see the solution. Such a cheater! Time for one more game of the dice game, SWAP, and this time he won. He was delighted that he beat his Papa!

For lunch this boy ate his borscht again, blini's like us, the cabbage salad (which we also ate), a slice of bread, and a huge container of what looked like peach juice. Smelled like peaches, but looked disgusting! He can pack it away, that's for sure. We noticed we have some work to do on the table manners, although not evident last summer, so we think they have to eat quickly at school so as not to miss out on any food.

After lunch we took a walk to a nearby park that I said reminded me of like an Edgar Allen Poe story: it was another dismal, cold day, and there were all these black birds in the trees. Tim and I were sure we'd get hit by some bird droppings, but somehow we managed to escaped that. Vanya played on a swing and climbed a jungle gym, of sorts. Very old and not in good condition. Next to the park was a soccer stadium (stadium is a loose definition--Tatiana's words, not ours-- it reminded us of maybe an elementary or local park soccer field; not many bleachers). There was a soccer club practicing on a little field next to it, so we walked by them to go on what looked like newer playground equipment. It turned out to be outdoor exercise equipment that was really pretty cool. We tried them all, and Vanya really enjoyed this. He didn't want to leave until Tatiana told him we'd go for dessert.

We walked back to the downtown part (only about 2 blocks away) and stopped in a shady looking cafe. Tatiana immediately escorted us all out and managed to convey to us that there were too many men and too much vodka!!!!! How fun is that??? Vodka in a pastry shop!!! We found a newer shop that I had noticed earlier in the week, and Vanya consumed 2 pastries while the rest of us only had one and some tea. It had become rainy/snowy again so the hot tea felt good. By the way, you could also buy boxed chocolates, yogurt, cheese, cigarettes, alcohol, sausage, fruit, and frozen novelties while you were here! A small one-stop shop!!!

After our snack, we returned to our apartment by traversing through the open-air market. The market is only open from 8:00-2:00 and it was about 3:30 now. We are very interested in it, and we hope to pick up Vanya soon and walk around there today. At 4:30, Tatiana took Vanya back to school, and we amused ourselves reading and watching "The Princess Bride" in the evening. Can you believe Tim's never seen it? It's a classic, right Stephanie?? Oh, I keep forgetting to tell you all that I've been writing in a journal (a gift from good friends for this trip) ever since we left Detroit. As of this morning, I've written 25 pages, or 50 pages on both sides. Tim says I may need to sign it out for those of you interested in hearing all the details I don't have time to write on the blog.

When Tatiana came back from dropping off Vanya, we got the best news yet! Our court date has been moved up to this Wednesday, April 1st!!!!!!!! Apparently the deputy director knows the judge and interceded on our behalf. The 4:00 PM court time means we will be back in our own beds hopefully by a week from yesterday (April 2nd). Such good news, huh? Living in Kotovsk is a little bit like having our own personal "Groundhog's Day" movie. Kind of the same thing each day! Only having to live here 6 more days seems so much better than 9!!!!

Today we are going to pick up Vanya and petition the director to have him stay overnight with us until our court date next Wednesday. We don't have any clothes for him which presents a problem in our eyes, but EVERYONE wears the same thing for several days in a row, so I guess I can live with that as long as we get him some new underwear and socks!! If you remember from last summer, he LOVES showers, so I am planning to stick him in there hopefully every day he's with us. :-) He only gets a full shower once a week at school.

You may be wondering where are all the pictures you know I've taken?! As you may know, I am a picture taking fanatic, and I've taken over 150 pictures since we left Detroit. However, because we don't have our own computer, I am a little leary of downloading the pictures onto a public computer and then transferring them to my flash drive. So, I will do that when I return and maybe while Tim is back here. It will give me something to keep me occupied when my "boys" are gone! Hopefully my descriptions help get you through not having the pictures to view.

Good bye for now! We'll try to come back on Sat. or Sun. As always, thank you for the prayers and well wishes. God has definitely sent down his blessings upon us. Though it may not be the best weather here, He has been shining down and we feel his love.