The Real Zoo

After I was done at Tyler's zoo, we headed to meet Bryce at the real zoo for his preschool fieldtrip. What a fun filled day! Penguins

We met up with Zach a neighbor and preschool friend.

Tyler with the tigers behind.

Bryce is now the same size as a toddler gorilla!

Tyler

Kindergarten Zoo

Tyler chose to be a lion for his Kindergarten zoo. He made his own costume and poster. He did all of the research himself as well. Way to go! He was a very handsome lion. Mrs. Lightfoot, the zoo keeper (kindergarten teacher).

My fierce lion, with missing teeth. Scary!

Kindergarten Zoo Report

Tyler received a 100% on his lion zoo report! Good job bud!

Tyler-Soccer

Tyler is our burlier boy and we thought he would try him out in soccer. Due to his unique personality and tendency to be silly, he was very entertaining on the soccer field without touching the ball much. We'll try it one more year...at least he has fun right? Running after the ball.

Making friends with the other team. He really did know this friend, Tanner, and begs to play with him all the time. Hint, hint, Wendy!

Getting ready for the kick-off.

Dad as coach.

Chandra's visit

A visit from a friend I hadn't seen in forever...Chandra. I can't believe she and I didn't get a picture taken together. It was so nice to see you! Her son Ethan, with Bryce and Tyler. Aren't they tough!

Chris with Lexi and their new baby. They were tired from traveling. Good to see you my friend!

Happy Birthday JR! We prayed a lot that I would be able to come in time for his birthday (we were still in Ukraine and not scheduled to come home until the 23rd.) And miracles happened! I was even there soon enough to make the cake myself!

His new beta to replace the one that had died a couple months earlier.

The brothers giving their gifts and admiring those already unwrapped!

New jeans...how exciting!

A simple cake this year! Happy Birthday bud! I love you!

Swinging

This was just too funny, not to take a picture. Swinging three at a time--what a time saver! Not to mention fun! Tyler, Bryce and Anastasia.

How sweet. They look like they really love each other, huh! Well, that's because they do.

The Family Together

Hmmm, it has almost been a month since we came home and Drew made me promise I would get the picture updated today! I feel like the last few months have been a blur lately and that I can only keep up with what is happening hour to hour.

We have had doctor's appointment after doctor's appointment and yes, the lovely dentist says there are 8 molars that need fillings. Two are done. Six to go. We've been to the orthodontist and Masha will get braces soon, along with JR getting a small brace to just fix his front teeth until all of his adult teeth come and at that point he'll get a mouth full of braces.

Masha has been brave in attending junior high school with 48 hours of being in the country. She has already made a couple of friends, that I'm hoping will blossom into real friendships because I am not having fun being the sole entertainer for a teenage girl.

We're doing well and tackeling all the ins and outs of being a family. We'll get there...

Here we are at the airport.

I have a little more catching up to do that I'll try and get to soon!

Home on Saturday!!! :)

I just spoke with Jen and she confirmed she was able to get the passport and Visa from the Embassy today. I have called the airlines and was successful in getting her flights changed to tomorrow, Saturday, April 10th. Their flight comes in on Delta flight 1733 from Portland, Oregon arriving in SLC at 3:51 p.m.
The girls will be exhausted but I am sure they would love to see anybody that can make it. --Drew

Last Day in Dniprozherzinsk!

Wow! I can't believe it! This news came as quite a surprise to me yesterday and I wasn't prepared for it happening so quick. I'm thrilled, don't get me wrong, we just had several things to do today before we could leave this town.

We got Masha's hair cut. She looks great! Fresh ends and bangs that don't hang in her eyes. It really is a nice change.

Then we gave our gifts to Nadiya and Masha's teacher (Maria/Masha) and paid our orphanage donation. I got my reciept and we were out of there.

We ate lunch and headed to Babushka's. We spent an hour there with her, Sasha, and Oxana. They were all very kind and loving. They are really going to miss Masha. This has been much different leaving compared to last year with Anastasia.

Anastasia was all smiles. She didn't shed a tear. Masha has been very emotional since she found out yesterday. I don't blame her, so we've spent a lot of time hugging and trying to help her feel better. Babushka, too, was very emotional today and it was bitter sweet leaving them behind when we boarded the bus to come back to the apartment.

I talked with the Embassy this morning and I should be able to get the visa tomorrow and fly home on Saturday! We aren't changing the tickets until I have the visa in hand, but the Embassy said it should work out. Then the guy gave me a 50/50 chance it would work. Umm, I don't really like those odds, but we're going to try. Thanks for everyone's prayers so far. It has worked miracles for us and we need them to keep coming! :)

Thank you, thank you for being a support to me/us while we've ventured through this journey. It means so much to hear from famiy and friends back home and it brings a lot of comfort. Every day I looked forward to seeing who had commented and given me encouragement. It helped me through the last 3 1/2 weeks. Yes, only 3 1/2 weeks, like I said, your prayers are working miracles. Thank you again. Much love! And if I don't get back online in Kiev, which I hope I do, I will see you Saturday!

Coming Home

Well, to be short, we are coming home early and this is an exception to the rule. We ran into more issues with the passport. It is a really long story, but we are now getting it tomorrow after a lot of work on Oxana's part. We have a special situation because we were coming back for a sibling and that is what made it all work out for us. If we were coming for the first time, I would be sitting here for two more weeks. So thank you for all of your prayers, they have been answered. I will see you soon.



I won't know for sure our flights until tomorrow. We have one more issue to work through with the embassy. Once I have talked to them I'll know for sure when we're coming home.



Yea!! I'm so thrilled to be seeing my family again soon.

Day #12!

Day #12 will most likely turn into day 13 and 14 after the brick walls that Oxana ran into today. All the paperwork she wanted to process today was put at a stand still because the very first document she needs to start the process, the birth certificate, cannot be obtained until tomorrow at 10:00. That is when we wanted to be drivng to Dnipropotrosk to deliver all of the documents to start the passport process. She wanted to be doing that tomorrow morning because the office in Dnipropotrosk doesn't take these documents on Thursdays. So then, that part will be postponed until Friday and so and so on. We were hoping to have the passport in hand by next Tuesday, and now it looks as though it might not be until next Friday (a week and a half from now.) Which means an extra wasted weekend in Dniprozherzinsk before we head to Kiev to finish up the paperwork there.

And why are we having all of this trouble??? Because Easter was on Sunday, which means that Monday is then the official holiday, but for some reason Monday isn't enough. Tuesday is the official holiday for the birth certificate office and they won't work with us until tomorrow. I mean holy cow...how many days off do you really need!!!!???????? It makes me angry and frustrated. I just want to be home with my kids and instead I'm wasting time and money here. Yes, I have learned to cook a few meals, but is that what I really want right now? No. I want to be home.

Oxana is out visiting the other two offices that we need to get paperwork from after we get the birth certificate. She is working on plan B and C trying to see if we can speed things up this week or not. I hope she figures something out. If we can get the passport by next Tuesday, then I will be able to come home around the 16th. If we can't get it until Friday, then it won't be until the 20-21st. Please, please, please, let it be sooner!

Day #11

Masha and I were invited by Oxana to have lunch with them today. Another opportunity for me to learn an Ukrainian dish. We made pelmenee (it's translation into English is boiled ear, funny huh!) today, a miniture pasta stuffed with seasoned, minced chicken, onion, salt and pepper. They were yummy, once again. I know my kids will love them. So, one more recipe to add to my list of family favorites.

After we left Oxana's, I came home and Masha headed to Babushka's.

Oxana, my facilitator is here now. We will start on the paperwork tomorrow, now that my ten day waiting period is officially over!!!

We have a day full of running around. We start at the court, then to the birth certificate office, then the security office (to get a number assigned to her that is the equivilent to our SSN,) then to the notary and finally to passport office here in Dniprozherzinsk. Wednesday, we will head to Dnipropotrosk to actually apply for the passport and have it made.

The picture above is a sign on the side of the hospital I toured last Friday. It says "Children's Hospital."

Masha, Shenia and Oxana at Sasha and Oxana's home. We made the pelmenee you see in this picture above.

This is Oxana, Shenia and Masha outside their home. Oxana had had some alcohol in her before we got there, so I could tell she was thinking a little fuzzy while we were there. Oxana (my facilitator) explained to me that the two weeks after Easter is a time when people honor their deceased relatives and typically there is more drinking that goes along with this during those two weeks. This explaination made it more clear to me why she had been drinking in the middle of the day, while home alone. It was all in the spirit of celebration and honor.

Oh, and Oxana told me that that grain I mentioned in the previous post is buckwheat. It is gluten-free and I'm excited to start using it in my cooking at home! It makes a great soup, which our Ukrainian kids love!

Pics of Day 9-10

Us walking to Babushka's on Saturday.

Getting a pic of Masha in her "cooking outfit." I also wanted a picture of Babushka's kitchen. No running water. Her plumbing system are the bowls lined up on the bench on the left. Her food cabinet is on the right where her macaroni, grains, flour, etc. are stored. Under the bench on the left she has buckets filled with potatoes, onions and beets. Nothing gets cleaned with soap here. You use a spoon, lick it and put it right back in the drawer. You use the same knife for cutting chicken as you do for cutting your vegetables. Fortunately, it was all cooked in the end, so I hope I'm okay... I have been paying for yesterday's meal a little bit today...

This is the grain that we put in the soup. It was really good but I don't know what it is. Does anyone else know? This isn't the greatest picture, but it was kind of pyramid shaped and brown. The brown outer shell boiled off while cooking and it opened up to what looked like an oat in the soup. Anyone have an idea?? I hope it is gluten-free because the soup was really good and I'm hoping to make it when I get home. Sorry honey...(he hates soup.)

Babushka's stove. What do you think???:) Up to the left of the picture are folded pieces of paper being held in a cup. These are her matches. When she needs to light a new burner she uses one of these, catches it on fire from another burner and lights the new burner. She then discards it in a tin can that you can barely see beside the garbage can on the right of the picture at the bottom. Quite the system, huh.

Cooking partners.

Babushka and Masha being silly.

Our soup. Do you see the grain? It had chicken, potato, carrot, onion, bullion and this grain. It was very good.

Babushka's plumbing system. This is how she stores the water she needs for the day.

Getting water from the neighbor's bathtub. This water will then be poured into her various tubs and glass bottles.

Me eating Borscht.

Masha and her cousin Shenia. He's 3.

Oxana and I making verineka stuffed with potato and some with cabbage. They were SO good.

Our hands covered in flour.

Poska, the Easter cake.

Our Easter dinner. Sasha, Shenia, Babushka, Tonya, me and Oxana.

Babushka, a little drunk, playing a guitar and singing. Happy Easter!