Chicago

We got to come home 1 day early. This will be short. WE've been up almost 24 hours and have about 5 to go. Lena is really feeling bad and running fever. I'm going to take her in tomorrow morning to the doctor. She is really tired too and felt airsick as well as being physically sick. However, she is still just wanting to get HOME! We'll write more soon. We get in at 10:56 p.m. tonight (Friday)!

Woohoo, we're coming home!

We finished at the US Embassy today and received Lena's Visa. We are waiting to find out if we will get on the flight tomorrow that arrives at 10:56 p.m. or on Sat. at 8:40 p.m. I can't wait! We waited for an hour today for our appt. at the embassy. We were both tired and hungry, but I felt blessed. There was a lady there who had 3 young children from ages 3 - 6. They were all over the place and she had to wait as long as we did! She first came here in November! I think the Lord arranged our appt. to be at the same time so I'd feel better:)

Lena has a cough, sore throat and a lot of congestion that's become worse in the last few days. Please pray that she will feel better soon, especially for the LONG flight home! I appreciate everyone's prayers and company on this journey. It's really not coming to an end, it's just beginning. We have a new daughter ( and a teenager at that)! I think it is just now setting in. It is amazing to see where God leads you as you follow Him. I am thankful He has chosen to use us in this way. Most people say that Lena is lucky, but I see how God is using it to bless us in ways that we never would have experienced without this journey. I say we are blessed!

E-mail not a go

So is life here:) My e-mail was working here in Kiev for about 15 min. today, not enough to send all the pictures for a presentation that Brianne is giving at my mom's church tonight about the orphanage and our trip. I'm praying, by some miracle it will start working again when we get back to the apartment. Lena and I are in another internet cafe. We asked about a half dozen people who said there was not one here, but finally asked the right person and found it! The office for my internet card is not close by so maybe we can go there tomorrow.

We got everything done today here and have an appt. for an interview and to get Lena's visa at the Embassy tomorrow. The medical appt. was quite interesting and challenging and we found out that I had incorrect data previously on immunizations when she was in the states, but that's not the most interesting part. I can not post it now, but will do it on the way home either Friday or Sat.

I am really exhausted and need to rest well tonight. After getting up at 4 a.m. for the flight here and losing a night's sleep on the way, we got up at 6 and 5 the last two mornings and have been going all day. Tomorrow we don't have to get up early. Yeah! We are sharing a pull out bed in our new apartment which is fairly close to our last one, so at least I know my way around somewhat. Haven't got us lost yet! Thank you for all your prayers. This is almost done and Lena is very happy! I have seen her smile more in the last 24hours since picking her up than in the last 3 weeks that we were here! Hope to talk to you all very soon!

E-mail is go

I was able to change my password and get into my e-mail so I wanted to post that so Trent doesn't get 100 e-mails. Thanks.

Leaving Donetsk

Anyone who reads this post, please e-mail Trent as I cannot access my e-mail right now. We have finalized all the paperwork and will be leaving Donetsk early in the morning! Today, we started early and went to Gorlivka where Lena was born to get a new birthcertificate with her new name. The person who usually issues the certificates for international adoption had recently been fired and the lady who was there was uncomfortable doing it. However, after a couple of hours and a few phone calls, Oksana was able to get it done.

The building was cold and dark in the waiting area so O. had me wait in the car. It was about 10 below (C). I was very cold even in the parked car. Nicolay offered me some coffee and although I don't drink coffee, I accepted hoping it would warm me up! It seemed to heat up the whole car and definitely felt great in my hands. I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. It was really good and even sweet. I've always thought coffee tasted bitter, but loved it this time. He also offered me a piece of his cheese and bread sandwich. I said, "no, thank you," but a couple of hours later when O. came back to the car, he offered again and we both accepted a piece. I got the feeling it was rude to refuse twice and he was so kind to offer. When I first arrived in Donetsk, Nicolay was quick to tell me that I needed to change into my warm boots and even got them out of the trunk and brought them to me. We have been well taken care of while here, even spoiled!

Around noon, we went to get a passport back in Donetsk, made some copies and a little more paperwork. We finished up at the market ( the electricity was out in the first market we went too and yesterday it was out in one of the government offices....it's a reoccuring theme here), bought gifts for the Orphanage director and juice & sweets for Lena's classmates. We also ate some lunch at the supermarket, which was good. Of course, stopping to eat for the first time at 4:00 most anything would have tasted good.

At 4:30 we were able to go to the orphanage and have a party with the kids from her class. It was so much fun. I had brought hotwheels cars for the boys which were a big hit. They kept comparing them and holding them up for me to see as I videotaped them. For the girls, I brought lipgloss and for all I had different chocolates from America, glow in the dark necklaces and balloon balls that you can blow up. Everyone loved the necklaces and the balloons were a hit too. Of course, the boys had to blow them up and let them squeal as the air was let out and bang them against each other. Typical boys! I showed them how to rub them against their hair and create static electricity which caused many giggles.

Then we said our goodbyes and took several pictures. Many of them asked me to take more pictures. My, how they have warmed up to me. The goodbyes were tearful with the girls and Lena and several of them teared up as they told me goodbye. I told them I would remember them. I hope we can find families for some of them. They are such good kids and so appreciative. They told me thank you and called me by name and said goodbye many times. I will truly miss them and am glad I had my camera to be able to share their precious faces with others when I get home.

We will leave our apartment at 5:45 tomorrow morning to leave for Kiev by plane. There we will do a medical check-up and go to the US Embassy. Thursday we go back to the Embassy to get the Visa and we might even be able to head home early this time by Friday. Much to my surprise, I found myself looking forward to the trip this time as I departed Austin . Of course, I knew I would be excited to see Lena and the other kids, but I was actually looking forward to just being here as well. It has been a great experience and I have learned much.

Hopefully, I will get the apartment in Kiev tomorrow which has internet access and I can use my own computer. Tonight, we are at an internet cafe because N. said she couldn't find the phone or internet card that we left with her. If I can access with my computer tomorrow, I will load pictures onto the blog. Until then...

Start here: a reflection

A verse that the Lord has put before me numerous times is Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." and like it Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." The final few days of our first trip to the Ukraine became a reflection time for me and simultaneously I was reading Too Small to Ignore by Dr. Wess Stafford, a book given to Trent a while back. The book talks about being an advocate for the "least of these" or children. It seems that is a part of our calling and should be for everyone in their own way. It is a very good book about very difficult times for Wess when he was growing up in a boarding school in Africa and how he has used those horrible experiences to head Compassion International for kids today.

For me, the parts of the Psalms that state that we are to "know that He is God" and "wait patiently for him" are not as hard as the initial "Be still". Partly because different trials in my life have helped me to see Him better as he is at work and to learn to wait for His leading. However, being still is extrememly contrary to my nature and perhaps that is why He continues to bring it up. You would have thought when I nearly lost my life last April due to an overdose following surgery, I would have learned to be still. I did learn perspective and gratittude and a healthy respect for life and life after death, but still dug my hills in at being still.

While in the Ukraine, I was able to see the benefits of "being still" and listening or spending down time with the orphans and our own daughter who went with us. It occured to me, that my success in learning to be still and listen to God not only benefits me, but also those around me. How can children learn the art of being still from uptight, goal driven, or intensly scheduled adults? My disclaimer is that I am not stating that any of us is too far gone in this area, but that surely most of us Americans can do better in one way or another. Our time needs to be focused on God and the areas that he directs us rather than on our own agenda or even that of our kids.

Lessons can be learned in any life experience and wisdom gained. Often, those with the least have the most to offer. It was certainly true of our friend, Natasha in the orphanage. Every single craft item that I brought for the kids to use ended up being used to make a craft or gift for one of us. In his book, Dr. Stafford brings up the old saying that you can't outgive God, but then adds to it that you can't outgive the poor. I agree. And yet most of us have been given so much. "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measure to you." Luke 6:38. How much do we give each day, both of our resources and of ourselves?


The people in the Ukraine, and of course the orphans, live for the present time because that's all that is certain for them. I'm a planner by nature and tend to take care of things as far in advance as possible which is beneficial in some respects but also prevents me enjoying the time at hand sometimes. I feel obliged to bring this up because I think it is inherent in our American culture today. Too many of us busy ourselves and miss valuable moments or get stressed or hurried. Corrie Ten Boom once said that if the devil couldn't make us bad, he would make us busy. Ouch, but true.

In Dr. Stafford's book, he states emphatically, that "Time must be our servant, not our master. It cannot be allowed to dictate to us. we must use it wisely and keep it under our control." Looking back at Jesus' life on earth as our example, we see that he didn't scurry around, not even when Lazarus, his friend, had died. He took time for what was eternally important. My question is this...how much time do we spend each day on what is eternally important, on those things that will outlive us? Let's live for today and seek every opportunity, even hourly to make an eternal difference:)

Almost home

We are in the airport in Chicago and so glad to be back on American soil! We began our day at 5 a.m. Kiev time and will get home at about 12:30 a.m. Austin time (8:30a.m. the next day Kiev time). WE are worn-out. The last flight was 10 hours and it is just so hard to sleep in the a.m. Our flight from here to Austin is delayed an hour and a 1/2 so far but we're just one more plane ride away. We're letting my cousin Mark bring Blake to the airport to see us. He's never been up this late, but he's so anxious to see us. It's going to be awesome. Remember to check back on the blog starting on the 22nd. I plan to post once or twice before then with updates if I can any.

Coming home!

Praise God! It has all come together. The electricity was on and court preceeded as planned. We were approved after an hour and a half. They had told us it would take 10 min., but still we made the plane. We have tickets to come home tomorrow leaving here at 8:20 and arriving in Austin at 11:00 p.m. Of course, that means we will be getting up to get ready to go to the airport at 9 p.m. Austin time tonight (5a.m. here tomorrow). It will be a long trip, but one we are going to enjoy as we look SO forward to coming home. We can't wait to see Blake. It will have been 3 weeks without him!

Trent and Brianne can't wait to get Bar-B-Q and Mexican Food. Tonight we are going to TGI Fridays here in Kiev. It is still not the same as TGI Fridays at home, but it is the only thing close to American food we have found (other than McDonalds - which even has different sauces and different flavors).

Lena cried after court today because she didn't want us to leave, but she will do better once she is back with her friends. I pray that this time will go quickly for her. I will be anxious to get back and bring her home. I am scheduled to leave home again on the morning of Feb. 22nd, arriving in Donetsk the evening of the 23rd. Then we have tickets to come home together on Sat., 28th. Thanks for taking this journey with us.

Miracles do happen

Our travel agent got back to us and said that the flight which was sold out last night actually came available this morning. She had us on a waiting list, but didn't even have to call them back, it just opened up. She wrote to us, telling us that she had been praying for this and that she believed we received a miracle.

Now, we just need a couple more:) Electricity, favorable court, make the Kiev flight, get paperwork done in 1/2 a day (we were told to go to the embassy to have papers signed, now if we're lucky, it will be after 12 before we even get there), get on the 6:55 a.m. flights that our travel agent diligently worked to get for us. It seems like alot especially in light of how things get done and when around here, but God is still in the miracle business. I think he sometimes still likes to wait until it appears impossible to get done and that's certainly our situation now. They even told us today again that waiving the 10 days is impossible. I bit my tongue before I said that our God specializes in what we consider to be impossible. I do not know His plan for this particular situation, but I do know that he can do whatever He chooses. Thanks for the prayers.
Phil. 4:8

Another hurdle

Today was more than disappointing. Yesterday, we found out that our travel agent was not holding our new tickets home on the 12th. There had been problems about the additional charges and them telling us that we would have to purchase a brand new ticket for Lena w/out being able to change and we were working that out according to what was originally stated. Anyway, we sent numerous e-mails back and forth trying to find some way to get us back home early so I would have as many days as possible at home before coming back. Today we went to court at 1, made 2 trips to pick up the orphanage director and Lena and O. checked in w/court. When everyone was there, we all went in and they told us that court would be postponed.

Let me back up and say that their court building is like all the other old buildings here. Even the orphanage looks much nicer. We climbed stairs up to the 3rd or 4th floor and everything was completely dark except the light from 1 window at the end of a very long hall. Brianne even ran into the bench that we were to sit at and wait. Apparently, the electricity is out in much of the district. I had heard someone talk about electricity going out on a blog before we came and it took a few days to fix. We have tentatively rescheduled court for 8 a.m. tomorrow and had to try to exchange our tickets for going back to Kiev at 7 in the a.m. He mentioned that we would still have court, but have to move it to another building along w/the computer and other things they need and about 12 people involved which means hiring multiple cars and I can't imagine how long to get started again. Trent was livid! He wants to get home so badly. I was very disheartened. It seems to be a never ending process. The judge could have moved it somewhere else today, but O. said the higher up officials generally don't see the need to care for the people the are officiating over and after all he got to go home early.

When we got in the car, Nicolae could easily read Trent and patted him on the shoulder saying that it would be o.k. and not to be mad. He said that it was just their country and O. said he added a few words that didn't need to be translated. He was so kind and sincere. Then we had to go back to the orphanage to sign yet another paper. It's like the longer you are here, the more they think of that you need to sign. But I guess I will be thankful as long as we get all the needed paperwork done. Olga, the orphanage director, also told Trent to not be upset and that surely it would happen tomorrow. She said that sometimes we are given tests from above and that this could be one of those tests. It is hard for me to be too angry when you are receiving words of wisdom and compassion from the people who are working with us. I am grateful for them, but still we long to be home and with Blake.

PLEASE PRAY THAT ELECTRICITY WILL BE TURNED ON AND COURT WILL RESUME IN THE A.M. AND WE WILL GET TO KIEV AND HAVE FLIGHTS HOME. PRAY THAT WE WILL REFLECT CHRIST DURING THIS TRYING TIME AND USE THE TIME TO GLORIFY HIM.

On another note, when we went into the orphanage 3 days ago, there was a sign on the door which said quarantine ( because of infectious diseases). Trent asked O. if we should go in if it said quarantine to which she just laughed. So, we've been going every day still and taking an added dose of vitamin C w/lots of handwashing and prayer.

A tooth for a tooth

I forgot to tell about Lena loosing a tooth yesterday on the blog. When we went in on Friday, she was wiggling her tooth and holding onto it b/c it was loose and was bothering her. Our translator asked her about going to the dentist who comes to the orphanage to see if she could pull it on out. She told her the lady would have a tool that she could use to help extract it. Well, Lena, who has had nightmarish experiences with dentists over here, said, "No, thanks". The teacher heard and gave her a lecture and told her to go see if the dentist was there. Lena went out into the hall and did not want to go, but instead pulled and pulled at her tooth. And thankfully, it finally came out! She was determined NOT to go to the dentist. I was glad too b/c I didn't want them digging in her mouth. We had to deal w/infection after she had a hospital stay before she came to the US last summer and it took forever to get rid of it. I would rather keep her out of any medical settings until we get home. We told her to keep her tooth and she asked, "why?". We told her the tooth fairy would come and she was not impressed. Of course, she doesn't KNOW about the tooth fairy yet!

Then last night Brianne lost a tooth. It had been loose since we left home and she wiggled it even more I think since Lena pulled hers. So she got a visit from the Ukrainian tooth fairy last night who, of course, brought "gryvna" instead of dollars! Well, it looked like a really good gift until she realized you have to divide it by 8 to find out what it is worth in American money! Trent and I got a good chuckle planning it out last night.

A Circus, literally!

The four of us at my favorite restaurant, the Goose-Swan. The name comes from a fairy tale. The Verineke is awesome. Lena had the rabbit today, Brianne went back to eating omelets!

The hat trick, lucky Trent!

Brianne and her clown nose. It made Lena's day!

You go girl! Do the hula in front of over a thousand people.

Today was a different day. We got to take Lena to the circus. It was just the 4 of us. They had some great acrobats and gymnasts and some very interesting animals. They started with dogs that jumped through hoops and danced and then added in monkys that swung on the trapeze and an ape that rode a motorcycle, pretended to play many instruments (including a guitar while "smoke on the water" played over the speakers) and danced. Then they released a porcupine that walked along and into a cage and released pelicans from above our heads that did NOT want to follow the script and provided even more entertainment while they tried to catch them. They had a pony and my favorite, a brown bear! The bear walked on his back legs arm and arm w/a trainer, then rode on a cart, walked on a barrel, rode a scooter and danced. He was awesome.

Then, there were the clowns which about halfway through the program decided to grab an audience member, who just happened to be Brianne. See we bought our tickets 3 days ago while driving by there and so we ended up on the front row! There were probably 1,200 people there in this Ukrainian circus and they drag out 1 of probably the only 3 Americans there. It was hilarious and happened so fast I don't think Brianne realized what was happening. She still had on her coat and they asked her to hula. She did it very well and then they put a clown nose on her and had her do it again. It was so funny. Lena got a big laugh out of it. The funniest part is that when they took Brianne to the center of the ring, they told her what to do in Russian! Thankfully, we have become fairly good at charades and they gave her enough motions as to what they wanted her to do. Otherwise, they might have thought she was el stupido.

Then later in the program, the clowns came back over w/a hat trick. They would pour water in a top hat and when 1 clown put the hat on, no water came out , but when the other clown put it on, she got soaking wet so she brought it over to Trent and turned it upside down over his head and to his gratitude, no water came out.

After the circus, we got to take Lena to a restaurant. I thought she would be so delighted b/c it was her culture and food, but she could not make a decision. She has lived for 4 years being given every meal without any choices and a large menu seemed overwhelming I'm sure. However, she did get delight in seeing us handed menus written in Russian b/c the shoe was on the other foot.....until they brought menus in English.

Tomorrow is Sunday and we will take bracelets w/colored beads for the kids to make and talk about God and the meaning attributed to the different colors. I am looking forward to that. The kids are comfortable enough w/us now that they will gladly take what we bring.

We talked to Lena about the possibility of all of us leaving and just me coming back after I saw my family for a few days. She was ok with that and so was our facilitator. We will do the rest of the paperwork on Monday that we need Trent's signature on. I'm just waiting now on the travel agent to see the possibilities. It was a good day. Thanks for your prayers.

Another day

Today was more of the same routine. Get up, do school work with Brianne, be picked up by Nicolae and Oksana go to the orphanage for a few hours, hit a restaurant for lunch, walk home, finish school work, read, do Bible time, movie, snack, get ready for bed. It is becoming a little monotonous for all of us. We are all typically very active and things are much slower here. Our highlight is definitely seeing the kids, but we wish we had brought more games. We still had a full table of 8 or so playing cards today. Natasha had drawn Brianne's name on a paper and decorated it and asked her to play "Old Maid" right away. The wonderful thing about this group is that they are still Young at Heart and their innocence shines through.

At first I was concerned b/c they told us that Lena was in 5th grade here. With her age, she should be in 7th, but we remember her telling us that when she was with her mother she only went to school about 2 or 3 months out of the year. Now, I am glad about this b/c she is the oldest in her class. One more year of age or higher academic skills and she would be w/the older group. You can definitely see a difference in the maturity of the kids and the girls are interested in boys, etc. It seems that we are getting her at an opportune and impressionable time. We are thankful for that. Actually, academically I was impressed with her reading. I was planning on starting at the beginning and she is reading quite well in English to my surprise! I will have to go back w/some phonics still b/c many of the words she knows are sight words that she has memorized but still it will help her alot.

The restaurant we ate at today was not good and too expensive. Trent got stewed meat, not really sure what kind of meat! I got a baked potato and when I got halfway through it I took a bite that was definitely NOT potato. Trent thought it might be slabs of lard that were cooked. Whatever it was, I couldn't help spitting it out. So much for etiquette.

Speaking of such, it is rude and bad luck here to whistle inside. Besides whistling being rude, they have a superstition that if you do it inside you will lose all your money. Hey, with the US economy now, maybe we've all just been whistling too much, ha! Of course, it's also very rude to yawn in front of others. I managed to do both in succession yesterday at the orphanage, but managed to quickly recover and stop myself. Trent whistled once too and we called him on it. O. said that if he did it in Nicolae's car that N. would lose his money. Trent said that he would probably throw on the brakes and kick him out to walk the rest of the way. O. retold this statement to Nicolae and he got the biggest laugh out of it. I've never seen him laugh so hard. By the way, they told us today that Nicolae grew up in an orphanage too from 6 til 16 but that the conditions were much better for orphans then and that the government gave them an apartment and money and helped them get jobs or go to higher education then. Not so lucky today. Maybe this is what made him so sensitive and caring. I gave him a New Testament yesterday when we got in the car and he sat there reading for about 5 min. while we all waited to leave, but of course no one said anything! Pray that he will read it more and more and ask us questions through Oksana. They could both learn of Jesus' love together:)

Today, my heart sank as we talked to O. about the timeline of things. Trent and Brianne are planning on going home on the 12th and I was planning on staying until the 10 days of waiting was over. However, I sat down w/O. on the calendar b/c they tend to only tell us things as they think we need to know them. I wanted definites which seems to be impossible here. They stated that the 10 days is 10 full days, not the court day or the 10th day. Then the 11th day is on Sat. and vital records aren't open on Monday, hmmmm. So Tues, the 24th we would have to go to Lena's hometown to get a new birth certificate and back to Donetsk on 24th or 25th for notary and passport, then HOPEFULLY on to Kiev on 26th to Embassy and medical eval. and probably not home until the 28th. Somehow, I'd hoped the 20 days our facilitator told us would come to pass even though I haven't read about any other couples who were so lucky. So now I am dealing w/the dilemma of going home and returning or staying and waiting. Of course, I miss Blake and would love to go home to see him for over a week. That would be wonderful. However, the plane trip (23hours) is awful and you miss 1 full night of sleep. That would be the same going and coming and going back home again. Plus, I wouldn't get to see the kids at the orphanage. Trent and I realized last night that it would be the first Valentines Day in 22 years that we would be apart. Ahhh, isn't that sweet. I was thinking today about how much I would have to miss Brianne and Trent too now, but in truth the time has passed quickly so far and I'm not sure how. I have e-mailed our facilitator, travel agent and we will talk to Lena about it tomorrow. Please pray for clear discernment on this and that I will have peace about my decision. I am definitely torn.

Sweet girls!

These are the sweetest girls, Vyala, Natasha and Lena. Vyala is 11, and Natasha is 11. Vyala walks us out every day waiting for a hug, which is only given rarely it seems with others. Natasha does everything everyone tells her to do and never has anything to say unless it is kind. Many of the others jump on each other w/words as would be expected when so many kids are together all the time. Natasha though is different and she smiles at us all the time. We took peanuts and almond cookies which were a big hit today, especially the peanuts! Even the kids who refused my offer eventually came over and got some. We pulled in 1 more shy girl to our card game today and the last 2 came over to watch. We've made progress. Dennis, blonde headed boy who is sitting on the floor on the right side as your looking at the previous group picture continues to make us laugh. He plays most of the games with us and has a good sense of humor and laughs and smiles alot. He has 2 younger siblings and 1 older, but they are not in the orphange with him. I am trying to get the rest of his story. He is very calm and sweet. They are all growing on us and we hope they will find homes.

Wed., Feb. 4th

Today Trent added coins into the pot for our BlackJack game...nice! Brianne and our translator ended up winning it all back anyway. We have more kids joining in our games now and quite a few buddies. I will miss them. Natasha is so sweet and loves to play w/us. Her hair is cut shorter than a boys and will make it unlikely unfortunately to be hosted or adopted from pictures. She was quick to show me a picture from when she had shoulder length hair and it made a big difference, but as you get to know them you look past the haircuts and see the personality. I wish they could post pictures of when she had longer hair. Vyala (previously listed as Viola) walks us out everytime now. Brianne wants us to get a close-up of the 2 of them to post. She really wants them to be adopted. Dennis is a sweet, blonde headed boy that loves to play games with us too.

Last night we walked to Mcdonalds b/c Trent was really craving a hamburger and no one sells them here. He doesn't even like Mcdonalds at all, but it was the only choice. We had a hard time telling the girl what we wanted and she didn't understand quarter-pounder so we all got the big n tasty which had a traditional sauce from over here instead of mayonaise. Oh, well, we've got the rest of our lives to eat burgers! Trent is dying for some BBQ too and says that is the first stop he is going to make when he gets back.

Lena's classmates

Today, we had alot more fun at our visit. For potential adoptive parents, my #1 recommendation is to take games that are easy to travel with. The first few days were awkward and quiet with me trying to come up with 50 questions (we had more than enough time to exceed 20) to ask Lena or things to tell her. Even though we already know her it was still getting boring for all of us to just sit and talk for that long. She is after all a teenager and Brianne almost is! It was hard for Brianne to just sit too. Today, we took Old Maid and a regular deck of cards. Trent quickly taught them how to play BlackJack and 5 card draw. Then we played Old Maid and concentration. NONE of them have poker faces. It was quite funny. We played cards for over an hour and when the teacher came to get them for lunch at 2, the girls asked us to stay while they ate and play some more after lunch which we did even though our stomachs were hungry. We end up eating between 1 and 3 over here, unless there's paperwork to do, then you may not eat til nighttime. But it was a great feeling to have them ask us to stay. We say that they have their own Ukrainian rules b/c they like to play in whatever way gives them an advantage. Trent called them cheaters several times, but O. said, I used to play like that too. In checkers, they move forwards or backwards at any time. It's been tough for Trent to not lay down the law!

There are 2 girls who Brianne really likes named Natasha and Viola who are friendly and inquisitive and want to do whatever we are doing. There was 1 boy that came in today who is from a different class. His name is Roman and I really fell for him today. He is 11 and has been there since he was 5! I thought of my own son who is 6 and can't imagine him living without parents. It really touched my heart. He actually reminded me alot of Blake b/c he is cute w/brown hair and eyes with a very expressive face. He doesn't have an overabundance of energy like Blake, but he was very energetic and bopped around the room. He went and looked at himself in the mirror and made a face knowing that we were watching. He had a sense of humor and tried to get our attention a few times. He told us his aunt married an American and lives in Texas, then he went over to a lego helicopter, spun the blades and said, "I am going to fly to Texas". I told him to come see us if he did. I pray that he will make it to Texas someday. He wanted to know if we had a horse, so I am going to take pictures to show him tomorrow. I would like to take him home too, but we certainly don't want to start over at this point and I guess 1 more child is enough for now. Even though he wasn't in Lena's classroom when we left, he must have found out we were leaving b/c he ran to the front door, poked his head out and waved goodbye.
Today, as I was thinking about having to stay here over 2 more weeks and was thinking about missing Blake, I realized how ironic my feelings were when voiced to O. a couple of times the last week. She has a 13 year old daughter whom she has to leave on a regular basis for long periods of time to work w/families in different regions. She is lucky enough to live w/her sister and father who can take care of her, but still she has to leave her daughter. I guess the Lord answered my prayer today to help me get a better attitude. I am grateful indeed for getting to spend every day w/my kids on a regular basis.

court date

New apartment in Donetsk

We just found out our court date was set for next Tuesday, Feb. 10th. We had mixed emotions. If it had been set for 2 -3 weeks, we had decided to go home to work and see Blake. Now, we have court closer to the time we were hoping, but not enough time to go home. I still see it as a good sign that the judge was willing to set it a week out. However, we have been told by both N. and O. that the 10 days will not be waived b/c of the European convention that the US did not sign. So, it will be another 19 or so days for me. The good news is that Trent and Brianne may actually get to leave a couple of days earlier than planned, maybe on Feb. 12th and will not have to come back.

Next prayer mission: pray that the judge will find a reason to waive the 10 days. I just want to get home to see Blake and the rest of our family and friends. If he does not waive it, I am still thankful for how things have gone so far. We have seen how so many issues can change so quickly over here. Thanks for your continued prayers!!!

Awaiting the judge

Not much new today. I think we are getting tired because now nothing is happening. O. waited for the judge Friday and today and never caught him. He was too busy or gone so we don't have a courtdate yet. She is going at 8 in the a.m. to try to catch him. A friend said that the dates they are giving out here now are 2-3 weeks out b/c of the prosecution. We were hoping for the earliest time which is 5 days. We are still hopeful. If it is that long we will probably come home and then come back. Trent is VERY ready to come home. He and Brianne like the familiar. We moved apartments today and this one is bigger. The shower doesn't seem to leak, toilet flushes better (for a plumber this is important!) and our bed is softer. It is decorated very well. I was so impressed after walking in this dark, concrete stairwell and then, wow! We even have a stove now. All this for only $43 a night. The other place was $30 (not too bad considering the price). Keep praying. I'm calling on everyone for this one. I really dread having to do the travel all over again, especially the train.

Lessons learned in restaurant

Well, we learned a lesson the hard way last night. We were out on our nightly walk to a restaurant and wanted to try a new one that said "Pizzeria" and "restaurant" outside. We figured they might have menus in English, which they did. It was what seemed to be a true Italian restaurant, not Tex/Italian. Even the lasagna tasted different from what we are used to, but it was o.k. Brianne liked her pizza w/mushrooms, ham, tomoatoes and herbs even though it was very thin and very different from pizza in the US. She has branched out some too. Brianne and Trent ordered freshly squeezed pineapple juice and I ordered Mango which was all good. When looking over the menu, we had figured out the price of the entrees in US$ and made appropriate choices, b/c there was a huge price range. However, we neglected to check the price of the juice, which was a huge mistake. When we got the bill, the total for the juice was the equivalent of $44 US$!!! It was well more than 1/2 of our total bill. The pineapple juice was $12 each and Brianne sucked down 2 of them quickly and my mango was $10. Lesson learned... check all prices!

My favorite restaurant has also denied our credit card both times and we used different cards. Our translator said they probably would just rather get cash. However, 2nights ago we were almost in hot water. We planned on using another card that we used without a problem earlier that day. We've been using a CC when we can so we have less of a chance of having to get more wired over here. Nice restaurants and grocery stores are the only places we have found them. When he refused the bill, we counted up every last bit of Gryvna that we had changed and it ended up being about $2 short including the tip. Guess he should have taken the CC! I'm just glad we didn't get hauled off for not being able to pay. Lesson learned...you can try CC, but have cash to back it up!

On another note, all restaurants here have TV's in the dining areas. I thought that was an American hangup. Most continually run what I would consider MTV at home. We don't watch it and I'm sure it can be very sensual and obscene at home, but I have been astounded by what they show on it here and in public places. Yesterday, I told Brianne that she needed to face away from the TV and when she sat down, I reminded her of it and asked her to move to the other side of the table to which she readily complied only to tell me, "Mom, look behind you, there's one over there too!" We try to eat looking down or at each other, but it is a constant bombardment! At least, I am thankful that I have a child who wants to shield her own eyes.

Prayer request: Tomorrow is an important day. O. goes to see the judge and request our courtdate. We are praying for Friday. That's the earliest it could possibly be and if we get that date we have to pray that all paperwork in Kiev will be finished by then as well. N. turns in the paperwork in Kiev tomorrow for them to work with. Pray for the judge. He will definitely help determine how long we have to stay. We have heard he is good and independent. This is said to be one of the best regions to adopt a child from in the Ukraine.

Today's meeting went well. We got to meet Lena's classmates and take pictures. We took a picture of one boy today who was 13. He was small and not nearly as tall as Lena. The teacher said she hoped he would find a family and that he was very sweet and good in woodworking and figuring things out.

We took a picture of 3 of Lena's closest friends, Emma, Nastia and Kyrstina. Emma has been to the states. Nastia is the youngest at 11 and is so precious and pretty.

We also got to see Lena's room (w/3 roommates). The room had 4 single beds and ea. w/a small nightstand. The have lockers for their clothes in another room. She and a couple other girls had dressed up today. Their class has their own eating area for special times and a playroom w/books, a couple of dolls and stuffed animals. It also had children's Bibles and New Testaments. The orphanage is very big and kept tidy and clean. Her teachers all want her to have a family and have been glad we came to get her.

We had our first new snow yesterday evening and it has just now slowed down and it's 3p.m. here. Brianne was excited and wanted to get out in the new snow. I wanted some exercise b/c we sit alot and so Trent reluctantly agree to walk together to my favorite restaurant about a mile a way while it was snowing. It was beautiful and really helped to make the town look nicer. Trent thought we were crazy going out in the weather, but we had a good time.

The snow was so powdery that Brianne had a hard time making a snowman and so she made a snow "tree" and packed it on the tree and decorated a face.

Most of the restaurants we have eaten in here are very nice even fancy with a couple of them being Luby's style. Many of them have English menus and we have learned to recognize most food on the buffets although sometimes we are surprised by what is inside since they stuff many pierogies, etc. with different things. I had an awesome Greek Salad last night and Trent had Rabbit. My next funny story came when Brianne (who has not been as impressed with the food and is not as adventuresome in trying new things) ordered the Tiger shrimp. We had been told they were huge and peeled. When they brought them the were not peeled w/legs& eyeballs still intact. She got passed that once we peeled them and ate them, but they were just medium sized to us and she was still hungry. Trent shared several bites of his dinner which she liked. Then he happened to ask her, "would you like some more rabbit?" and needless to say she did not! It tasted good until she knew what it was. It didn't help that she has had 5 or 6 rabbits for pets!