Routine

On Tuesday we went to the orphanage again. Nicholas is doing great and we’re working on the alphabet with him. He’s got numbers 1 through 8 mastered now. Next we will tackle 9 thru 20. We gave him a stuffed animal that I had brought from the USA. He loved it! We also drew pictures and played Uno.

On the way home we went to the FoxMart and found two books that were in Russian and English. One has animals and the other has activities (like sledding, swimming, etc). I couldn’t believe our luck at finding those books as they were the last two and I couldn’t find anything else in English. We also bought a book which teaches colors, numbers, seasons, etc - it is in Russian but is space under each word and I’ve written in the English words. I emailed with two of my Aunts who were teachers and they suggested mastering the alphabet first so that will be our main focus. We can save the books for later.

On the drive to the orphanage the driver pulled over at a church that Mike and I admire each time we pass. It’s beautiful - and on that day the gold domes were really shining (even though there’s still no sun). We took a bunch of photos which we hope to post one of these days - but it may not be until we’re back in Kiev.

Since we were in the photo taking mood - we asked the driver via sign language to stop at the sign announcing the town where the orphanage is. Ukraine has very grand signs for each town. We thought that he understood what we wanted, but obviously we were wrong because he zoomed past the sign - all the while Mike and I are yammering away in English asking him to stop and imitating taking a photo. It’s so funny how animated we get. :o) But it could be that he just wanted us out of the car as just prior Mike and I were laughing like crazy. The driver had the radio on some retro music station and the song “What is love (baby don’t hurt me)” came on. This will only be funny if you’ve watched Saturday Night Live - but I was in the back seat bobbing my head like the two “Night at the Roxbury guys”. I tapped Mike on the shoulder and he looked back and burst out laughing. This is just one more memorable moment in our surreal adventure.

We’ve turned this trip into quite the adventure and I hope my prior posts are not painting a bad picture as we are actually having a lot of fun. We’ve got a new hobby of writing our own TV shows. We put on the TV and turn down the volume and try to come up with a funny story about the characters - kind of like “Whose Line is it Anyway”. I’m sure it would only be funny to us but we get to laughing and can’t stop.

We’ve also become quite the Ukraine pop music “fans”. That is a joke - but we watch MTV and Music Box quite a bit and make up lyrics.

We’ve been cooking together as well - it’s really nice to both be in the kitchen cooking. We’re treating this as our honeymoon since we’ve not taken one yet! Ukraine in winter - where else would you go? :o) And we’ll come back from the honeymoon with a son - how great is that? Talk about a “Honeymoon Baby”!!

On Wednesday the water in our apartment was a bit hit or miss. First we didn’t have any cold water - then that came on and we didn’t have any hot water. Then the hot came on but we didn’t have any cold. I braved a shower while the hot was on - then Mike lucked out and got both hot and cold. This afternoon we went out in search of the outdoor market. We found it - and it’s enormous!! Tomorrow we’re off to the orphanage but I think we’ll be going back to the market on Thursday. They have everything from clothes to housewares to fruits and meat and even a Steelers jersey. I was looking at a winter coat for Nicholas but we need to try the shirt I bought to see if I got the right size.

We asked the Director if there was anything that she needed from the USA. She did ask for swimsuits and flip-flops. So when we get home we’ll start our quest for those things.

We spoke to Luba today. She is doing okay, but is already off travelling helping another family.

Please say a prayer for Mike’s Mom and Dad. Sandra’s had a rough few days and Mick is working very hard to take care of her. We’re hoping that a change in medication is all that is needed.

Love to all...