Yesterday we went to the Sanitorium and Dolphinarium.  I love the way they translate those words in English.  Lena wasn't feeling too well, hence the happy face.  She has a cold so I'm sure it is just a matter of time before we all have it.  We share everything, at least only Julee and Mary got lice from the orphanage.  Sorry, Mary I couldn't resist.  That is one thing the rest of us have not shared.  

The town we are staying is so small and the roads are narrow.  Everyone walks everywhere and there aren't many cars.  Melba does all the shopping for food, water and toilet paper so she has made friends with all the lady's in the booths.   They get excited when they see her coming.  

This is Lena outside our apartment helping the neighbor boys fix their bike.  The kids have made friends  and they are always outside playing soccer, riding bikes and running wild.  Everyday they new cuts, scraps and dirt everywhere.   They are so tough and hardly ever cry about a wound.   Lena has 5 really good ones on her body and when I say, Ouch? She adamantly says, "NO!"  She tries to be so tough.   It is really cute.  

The girls love my cell phone and always want to play games on it.  Because they are always using it I have had a hard time keeping track of it and we left one on the train headed to Moscow.  Oops.  For the second cell phone I bought a bright orange cord so we wouldn't lose it.  The girls thought that was awesome and with their 10 grivnas they get everyday they take turns buying fuzzy little creatures for the phone.  Oh dear, I'm so glad this kind of thing does not exist at home.  To date we have a cat, and three fuzzy dogs.  Talk about drive me crazy.  Nothing like talking on the phone with a fuzzy dog snuggled up next to your ear.     If Lena acts out all I have to do is threaten to take the phone.  

 This is a palace in Yalta, where Stalin, Churchhill and Roosevelt met to decide if America would join WWII.

 

We found out yesterday that our passports are finished.  Yeah!  We have two days at the Embassay in Kiev on Monday and Tuesday and then we are headed home Wednesday morning.  It seems unreal.

 I actually have enough clean underwear to make it till I come home. I won't have to do anymore laundry in the Ukraine.  I can't wait for a dryer.  I am so tired of line dried crispy clothes and hanging my underwear out for all the neighbors to see.  

We are taking the train back to Kiev tomorrow so I don't know when I'll be posting again.   I can't believe I can count the days on one hand till I come home.  I have a long list of foods I am dying to eat.  Chips and Salsa are at the top.  Chili's anyone?  Oh I can't even talk about it. I have had enough bland potatoes to last a life time.   For a spice lover like me this country has put me in famine mode.   Anyone who brings chocolate chip cookies to the airport will be my best friend forever.  Mmmmm!!

Melba got her water from the Black Sea.   We get such a hoot out of how the men at the beach dress.  They have no shame as you can see.  

Yesterday we went to Yalta for the Day with Lena.  You can see from the pictures that the kids adore her.  

In many places you go here in the Ukraine they have clothes you can dress up in and take pictures.  We always pass them and laugh but have never dreamed of actually wearing them.  Yesterday, as we passed these places near the sea in Yalta, Lena our friend insisted that Julee and I do it.  We complained, said no, resisted in every way possible but Lena payed and prevailed and this is the result.  After we did it the girls wanted to and then we all managed to get Melba to do a Harley Pose.   

I hated every minute and kept covering my very immodest self with my fan.   The girls laughed and laughed.    

We found out what the girl's would look like with hair.  

Last night when we got home from Yalta Lena told me she had scheduled dance lessons for me.  I told Melba and Julee I absolutely was not going.  I told them I am was tired of doing things I didn't want to.  I feel like I am always eating things I don't like, going places I don't want and have lost total control of my life just to avoid offending anyone.  I was determined not to go and told Lena absolutely no.  Of Course I ended up going to dance lessons.  Oh my word! Latin dance lessons.  Needless to say my hip muscles are so sore today I can barely walk.  I have never moved my hips like that in my life.  Lena, Natasha and my girls laughed so hard at me.  After my coffee scrub and Latin lessons I have lost all dignity.   

I can only choose a few pictures because uploading is slow.  I couldn't resist this one.  We played a game at the party yesterday where we had to race to wrap someone in toilet paper.   This is Julee's daughter Karina.    Since we were on the topic of toilet paper I thought this was funny.  

Today we went on a boat ride off the coast.  We saw dolphins and the kids had a great time.  

This is our translator Natasha.  Her nephew is with us as well.  He is the little boy in the pictures.  Tomorrow our other friend Lena is going to come and join us.   She was one of the translators in Dnipro and now is just going to come to hang out for a few days.  We have been lucky to have such good friends here.  

I look like a dork in this picture but I thought Melba looked cute.  We have had so much fun together.  She is the spider killer in our house and the rest of us are appreciative as we are all whimps.  We yell spider and she comes running. 

Melba is determined to take some water from the Black Sea home.  She was going to put it in a water bottle, but determined later that a small Vodka bottle would be better. This is her buying her Vodka.    You will all have to come see our Black Sea speciman when we get home.

Mary - Julee, Melba and I decided it was good you went home.  If you stayed too long you might have decided this do was for you.    

Somewhere Near Yalta

Well we are in a small town by the Black Sea near Yalta. We haven't been able to figure out how to say or spell it yet. We have to use the internet cafe for internet so I will have to hurry and post. I am not sure if I will be able to add pictures but I will try tomorrow.

The town is beautiful and an amazing view of the Black Sea is out our back door. It is a little chilly and has been raining but it is so nice to have a change of scenery. We are in a small quaint town and the kids love running around and being on Holiday as they call it.

Our translator arranged for us to have a cook for a fraction of the cost of going out to eat, we have loved that and I keep thinking the kids better enjoy their last Ukranian meals, because some of this stuff I will never figure out how to cook. They will miss their food as much as I am missing mine.

Home seems so far away. I have been living out of a suitcase for so long now and the world I used to know seems some fuzzy memory. I am sure this whole trip will feel that way someday.

Today was Julee's daughter's Luiba's birthday. We had a birthday party at a little community center near our house. It was lots of fun. They cooked our lunch, had cake and ice cream for the kids and we had our own music man and party entertainer. It was all Ukranian style and I have great photos and video, but the internet is too slow to upload them. Too bad.

The girl's all bought presents for Luiba, but we didn't have anything to wrap them in so Grandma came up with the great idea of tin foil. What a wonderful shiny pile we had. Luiba was so excited.

We have killed two scorpions in our little house and at least 7 spiders, but they assure us they are harmless. Yikes! At least we have a great view and an outdoor pinpong table.

We never have enough toilet paper anywhere and today Grandma had had enough of no toilet paper so she went to the little booth selling products and bought a whole bunch. She said they really gave her some funny looks. They don't use a lot of toilet paper and we can never figure that out. Hmmmm. I'm just grateful she got unscented, they have some crazy scented toilet paper. The lemon is the worst and the strawberry is the best.

We have tried all sorts of foods and have developed looks that we give each other to indicate good, o.k., and terrible. Our worst so far is what we call hotdog paste they spread on bread. Super super Yuck! My mother in law makes the best faces when she eats something gross and I can't help laughing every time.

Well another day is over, seven more days in the Ukraine.

Mother's Day

Today is the first Mother’s Day that I am actually a mother. Melba was so sweet and brought me some presents from home for the girl’s to give me. I have felt so much joy as a mother thus far, but I have also seen first hand the suffering of a mother the last few days. It has been an emotional Mother’s Day, as I have watched Julee mourn the loss of her unborn child and take her two girls out of the orphanage forever. I have gotten a small glimpse of the pain, the hardship and the joy of motherhood.
We also left Dnipro for the last time today. As I walked the streets my heart felt heavy. After all I have experienced, felt and become in this place I was sad to leave. Dnipro will always be sacred to me. The town my girls grew up in and the place I became a mother.
We are now on the night train to Yalta or a small town near Yalta. I’m not sure exactly the name I will have to let you know when I get there. Hopefully it will be relaxing and we will be able to have a break from paperwork and crazy long days of insane car rides.
My mother in law was saying today that she has always wanted an adventure. I think she is getting her fill. I’m not sure she will ever want to travel again. She has been such a great sport in all of this and we are having so much fun with the girls.
The girls love Coke and I keep telling them that they shouldn’t drink it. Today at the restaurant the waitress brought their drinks and I saw that it was Pepsi. I made a sad face and said, “Lena, no Coke.” Since they order for themselves in Russian I am always surprised with the outcome. Lena said, “Mama no Coke, Pepsi” and she pointed at the bottle in surprise. It was Pepsi indeed. We laughed so hard. She also made it clear that she could drink Coke because Babushka did. What a girl. She makes us laugh everyday.
Sara is the best at saying prayers. She always puts her hands together and wants us all to follow suit. She then says the longest cutest prayers and prays for everyone by name. I would give anything to know what she is saying.

Still Here!

I looked at my blog today and what a surprise to find all these things posts from my sweet husband. Jeff you make me laugh. I needed a good laugh because the last few days have been very emotional and stressful.

Julee Bunch who is also here adopting had a miscarriage. Not only have I never witnessed such a horrible thing first hand but to have it happen in the Urkaine- well, there aren’t words for it.

Because it was in the second trimester the whole thing included a ride in an ambulance, or what they call an ambulance, a D and C, and a night’s stay in the hospital. Poor Julee, it was so horrible just to watch I can only imagine how she must have felt.

The Ukranian hospital was something out of some weird movie, from the operating room and table to the completely unsanitary conditions. I didn’t want to leave Julee alone in the hands of only Ukranians , so thank heavens my mother in law was here to watch the girls. Her room in the hospital was freezing cold and I had the longest night and day of my life. While the whole thing was free because of socialized medicine, Julee and I have conclusively decided there are some things we would rather pay for. I think any advocate of socialized medicine should spend some time in a Ukranian hospital.

The doctors and nurses were kind and because of the networking of our awesome Ukranian friends, they were told Julee was a VIP American. If her experience was VIP, I hate to think of what the average Ukranian must endure at the hospital. I could write a whole book about every strange, crazy and shocking thing she had to endure. If anyone has an hour and wants to laugh and cry come over when I get home and I’ll tell you all about it.

I was so relieved to get Julee out of that hospital room and back to our dirty, small, run down apartment. I laughed to myself that the apartment was actually an improvement.

In the midst of all of this I managed to keep mine and Julee’s passport process in progress. I took her girls to the neighboring town for their passport pictures and our attorney and I managed to sign Julee’s paperwork. The first plan was I was going to act like I was Julee but in the end I think we managed a Power of Attorney.

It is a blessing that my process ended up within a day of Julee’s. I would have hated for her to go through that on her own. We are all getting out of Dodge(Dnipro) we have had enough of this town. The Sodeburg’s , Julee her girls and me, my girls and mother in law are all going down to the Black Sea near Yalta to wait for our passports. The passports should take a week and then two days in Kiev at the Embassy. Monday is yet another holiday that puts us coming home on Wednesday the 20^th. That is 99%. There is always that 1% as Wendy knows, but Oxana assures me we should get the passports by next Friday.

I’m glad to have so many unknowns out of the way and to be on the home stretch. Julee is going to rest today and tomorrow and then we will take the night train tomorrow night to Yalta and stay till next Sunday.

Jeff’s mom has been wonderful beyond words. The girls love her so much. She is taking such good care of all of us. I’m so grateful that she is here.

My girls are so sweet and I love them more and more everyday. They have been taking care of Julee. They bring her things and wait on her and give her lots of hugs and kisses. Sara especially wants to do everything for her and every time she sees her crying she says, “NO” and gives her a kiss on each cheek. If I am getting anything for Julee Sara gets upset and says “No me!”

They also take care of Babushka and always bring her back treats from the store. I feel so blessed to have these little girls in my life.

This was the day we left the orphanage. The girls were cheering. They are so much cleaner now. They even smell good. No stinky feet! Yeah!

This is the girls on the train they love being out of the orphanage and going places. They have been such a big help and they always take care of me and speak to all the people in Ukranian for me wherever we go. They wait on me hand and foot and carry everything. They are so cute!

Sara trying her hand at ice skating the second time. She did a lot better.

New Information from Amy....

This is Jeff again (sorry to disappoint) Today Amy told me that she won't be coming home on Saturday the 16th as we planned, due to another holiday (the 3rd since she has been there) she will probably be coming home approx Wed May 20th, but that has yet to be determined. Needless to say she is very disappointed and is experiencing what Wendy experienced. Luckily she has two beautiful girls to keep her spirits up and my mom to keep it exciting. This week Amy was able to get some more paperwork out of the way (Birth Certificates for the girls, etc...) Now they are playing a waiting game.

Some pictures of Kiev

The large river that goes through the middle of Kiev. Some of the river boats in the picture have been converted into restaurants.

This is the escalator going down to the depths of the city to the subway, with Alex leading the way!

Wedding day for a bride and groom on Odessa.

More pictures of the Odessa trip

Some young boys begging for money.

This is the original gate to the City of Kiev, hundreds of years old. I took this picture the 2nd day after we arrived in Ukraine