Day 25

Another great day, we are getting closer and closer. Jay is changing our tickets to Friday, November 10th and if all goes well, which I believe it will, we will be arriving at 7:30 Friday evening at RDU. (Heath can you call me :))
We had a nice visit this morning, had to stay inside because it is getting a little colder and rainy. It was nice because we were the only people in the Music Room. We finally met the director of the Orphanage. She has been on vacation since we arrived here. She was nice, spoke no English, and ‘checked’ on us a few times. Thank goodness she didn’t ‘peek in while we were all doing somersaults in the middle of the room. (I am getting old, it hurt!) She (via Irena) told us we were picking up Charles on Friday? Haven’t heard from Svitlana yet on that one…..we will see. This evening was a little different; since we didn’t get to go outside this morning I think Charles was full of energy….full of something! He was silly crazy, running around, bouncing off the walls (not as bad as you are picturing) but would not sit still or listen. He and Jay rough housed for quite a while. The KGB couple’s little girl sat still and cute on the couch, while “nice lady’s” little one sat in her lap while she read a book to her! Charles had the run of the huge room and he took advantage of it! One cute thing happened when one of the workers came in, he walked up to her and told her that we were his ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’.
I have been working on Jay’s ‘honey do’ for the week I am not there, so far it is only 2 pages! Not that bad, just a little rearranging of the house as you can well imagine, Dr. appointments, birthday party for a little girl turning one, and ordering wood to make me a bigger dinner table!
Tonight we are just getting a few gifts together for some of the women at the orphanage that have been kind to us, and writing in the children’s Bibles we scoured the city for. I think Jay has bought the entire city out!
I am mentally and physically exhausted as you can probably tell by the last few blogs. We are feeling the pressure of Jay leaving and the upcoming travel. There is no doubt in my mind that Charles and I will be fine, it is a little alarming thinking of traveling with out him. If I were in Italy, Spain or even France at least I could get by speaking a little and reading, but as I have said before I can not even begin to read one sign or speak a lick. I will be so glad to get back home! We have enjoyed this journey immensely and are so thankful for the support, love and prayers from all of you back home.
I must end and help my hubby……love to you all

Day 24

Hey guys.....Monday and the countdown begins. Hope everyone had a great weekend, enjoyed the fall colors, bagged a big buck, and just relaxed! We did 2 of the 3, can you guess which ones? Of course Jay dreamed of the other one. Sounds like the girls had a fun weekend, I am curious as to the Charles dolls? What do they look like? I think that is great for them to have and can't wait to meet the 3 other Charles'.
We had a fun visit outside with Master Charles today. We played with bubbles, colored a little and ran up and down the sidewalk. We collected leaves; they have the biggest leaves here. I think that is one of the things I will always remember about Donetsk. The children love to pick them up and sweep with them. The leaves have long stems so the kids can gather a huge hand full and sweep until their heart is content. It is very hard to leave Charles, he is crying now when we go. I keep trying to tell him (convincing myself) that it is ok and in 4 days (maybe 7) and he can leave with me. I am almost to the point that I want to tell Svitlana that I just want to take him to Odessa with us. I just don't know what to do.
We are just sitting around the apartment today waiting for Svitlana to call about times and dates and I am resting. I have caught a cold (sinus something) and am hoping to make it a quick one by resting a little and not doing too much outside between visits today.
Jay has talked 2x's to Svitlana while I have been typing and we do not know any more than when I started. Hopefully we will know something by tomorrow.
I am going to try to post now and then update later when we get home from visiting the Master :)
Have a blessed day!
The post didn’t work earlier today so I decided to just continue. We just got back from visiting with Charles. It turned into a rainy, chilly day so we played inside with KGB couple, the really nice lady, and a new lady who had a set of twin girls that she was playing with. It was nice to see so much action in the orphanage. We had a great visit, with Charles running to us and hugging and kissing. The best moment was when he kissed Jay on the head. It occurred to me that he had probably never touched a ‘bald’ head much less any other head so I had him rub Jays head, he backed up a little scared and then I kissed Jay on the head and Charles ran over and said Papa and kissed Jay right smack on the head. It was such a genuine kiss and Charles was so excited. He stayed with us the whole time, only venturing away to grab a new toy from the shelves. We have come so far in 21 days; he is not even the same little boy we met. He is so loving and trusting. Stays around us which doesn’t sound that important but it is, it shows us that he recognizes us as his family. He loves for Jay to throw him up in the air and catch him. He is so funny, he backs up to Jay, counting one…two…, so that he will pick him up and throw him up. We will be standing there talking and he will back right up and try to get him to do it. My heart is so full of love that I can’t bear leaving him there. When we left tonight, there was a lady we had never seen picking him up and he was obviously scared of her. He didn’t argue (which he always does) and just stood there with a scared look. I wanted to just grab him and run…..to the Twinkie and jump in and tell Rashid to go. But we have waited this long…..
I was just informed that it is now time for a little Gin Rummy. We miss you all.
Love us.

Day 23

Sunny Sunday in Donetsk! We woke up to one of the first sunny days here. Usually when we wake up it is grey and damp which is a hard way to start every day. Today how glorious to see the sun peeking through our underwear, undershirts and pants hanging in the sun room drying. Okay, I ruined the whole vision but you get the picture. We decided to take a long walk and venture across the bridge behind the apartment and cross the river and see what was over there. It was a pretty walk but we found nothing more exciting than on our side of of the river. Now as you can tell we are at the internet cafe checking our blog, e-mail and downloading pictures. Linda, we accidentally deleted the picture of us with Charles but sent a cute one to your e-mail. We are going to log on to MST and listen to last weeks sermon and then head out to take some pictures of the city. Can you believe that we are down to 4 days until Jay leaves and we need to get a few things done before he goes. Plus we found a museum that we would like to go through before he leaves too. Nothing too exciting, 18 and 19th century landscapes from Ukrainian artists.
Jeanie, where are you?
We played cards last night until 10pm. I am up by 2 games.
We will update you later this evening.....hope you all have a wonderful day!
love us

Day 22

In seven days Jay will be back in the good ‘ole US of A! I know he is so excited. Keep your phone lines open, since it will be late and he will want to talk to everyone on the 3 hour drive home. Let him know if you are up to a call between 9pm to 11pm, but I know it will be too late for some. Even though he is leaving, I am just as excited to get Charles out of ‘Our Children’, get on the train to Odessa, and then the plane to Kiev to finish up the paperwork and get home too! Looks as though we may be home in time to go to Litton’s Playoffs in Charlotte. I am just guessing as I have not changed our plane tickets yet. Watch out Heath, we may be sitting on your front porch!
Just got off the phone with Oma. She sounds great and I am so excited that she is staying (I knew she would), so that she can get to know Charles before she leaves. I just can’t wait to get an Oma hug and have some time to unwind with her. As you all know, Oma and I can sit for days in our jammies and talk, watch the Hallmark Cannel and “Mary and the House”! Anyway we were talking about how we are going to rearrange the bedrooms. We are thinking that Litton will move to the downstairs bedroom with a queen bed, and the two twins will go in Litton’s old room for Charles. I know Litton wants to move down stairs and it will give him more room to have a desk and study area. (I am not sure he is excited about the study area.)
We had a good visit with Charles today, we played outside and got some cute pictures that we will download tomorrow when we go to the internet café and listen to Manassas St. Thomas’s sermon from last week. We will catch up on e-mail (Litton, yours never made it) and download pictures. I was reading some of the blogs, a few people said that they could tell a change in the pictures so we went back through all the pictures today and we think that he looks more ‘at ease’ or peace. He does look happier, thanks Cynthia and all of you who noticed it first. It really made us feel good looking back. Now we are just so ready to take him out of there. I am almost sick of the orphanage, it is a lot more difficult to leave him each day. I want to go see him, of course, but just want to take him with us when we leave. There is so much I want to show him and teach him.
I finished my one English book that I found at the bookstore, for all you literary folks, Molly, Dad, Jeanie, Howell….The Picture of Dorian Gray is weird! (Oscar Wilde) It was all I could find last week. If you have read it you will understand why Jay is not interested. By the way, were they gay or just weird? Today we went to three book stores and I found Good Wives (Alcott) and Kidnapped (Stevenson). There was another Wilde but I didn’t think I could do it. All the books are classics, which is nice (since I haven’t read many of them, just cliff notes :)) but strange, no good mysteries or easy read trashy books! I’ll let you know how these go, no book reports from me though!
Tomorrow, we will head out to the café, then maybe to the bazaar to find some shoes and undershirts for Charles. I think that is all we have left to get him. I can’t wait to get to Target! I will check on the kitty coat to make sure it is still there. Check the pictures tomorrow, I took one of the kitty coat and will send it! I am not sure what we will do in the afternoon……maybe just hang out and read, play cards and drink a little beer and Baileys. Wish we could watch some football games. If anyone gets a chance send us the scores of Nebraska, VA Tech and NC State. Actually I think Tech played Thursday? Just curious.
Well off to the land of Gin Rummy…….and some cheese and bread for dinner.
Love to you all………
Not so fast folks. I just wanted to be able to put my two cents in for today. I had a great visit with the kids today on the phone, and was talking to Litton before we were cut off. Just to let everyone know – from all reports the rut appears to be in full swing back in Carolina and it is time that the Van Der Werff clan opens up the safe, digs out the cammies and orange vests, grabs a couple of rounds (because we’re all real good shots), and head to the woods. I think this is the year that Litton will get a buck that rivals mine in the playroom. The rack isn’t huge, but it would be a good start for his wall. After that we just need to start adding…
Okay, that’s it. I just had to focus all of the men that are reading this blog, since some may get all caught up in the girl talk that goes back and forth about a daggone coat. I am not too worried if she does buy the coat, because I know where some of my old uniforms are that can be cut up and a couple of patches on the coat would fit right in.
Love ya...

Day 21

We were unable to pull up the website last night to post, but here it is for those who want to read it over their coffee....

Hi-di-ho neighbors and family…. You guessed it. Kelley’s taking a night off from the Blog. Actually, she said that since I haven’t typed anything of significance (her opinion) the last couple of days I needed to grace everyone with some of my satire.
First, to all of my hunting family and friends. Scott – if your family won’t eat venison, mine will. We’ll hit the woods when I get home. And you still owe me the story about the quail. I guess it can wait until next Sunday.
Howell – I went by the “hunting” store today. Kelley and I had to go outside to turn around, it was so small. Although, they did have about five or six nice Rizzini over/unders – but the price was appropriate. So no bargain deals in Ukraine. Drats…. Maybe if I save enough money by eating ham and cheese sandwiches the rest of the time I am here, Kelley will feel kind enough to let me get an O/U when I get home. Why? Because I have slots open in my gun safe. Can one ever have enough firearms????
For those of you that are taken back by this little pro-NRA frenzy, the rest is for you. And yes, I’m still holding out on the kitty coat – but there are ongoing negotiations and Kofi Annan is thinking about coming to Donetsk to mediate for Kelley and me. If not Kofi, then I hear it may be Hillary. This really isn’t looking good for me, and I am hoping to see if anyone can find Newt Gingrich’s phone number. Or maybe William Bennett?? Somebody please help me!!
Okay… Today started off pretty good. Rashid picked us up and he described the upcoming weekend, since Sunday is a national holiday here for professional taxi drivers. I didn’t know Hallmark was so well entrenched over here too, but apparently it is a pretty big day. He had plans for a barbecue with a lot of his friends and family.
Irina did not allow us to go outside, so we played in the Music Room this morning. We had the young lady and her mother in the room with us. The really cool thing is that the young lady must have noticed Kelley’s cross necklace, because she asked if we were Christians. We said we were, and then she asked if we were Baptists to which we answered we were Methodists. And that’s about as far as our Ukrainian and her English (of which she spoke none) got us. But I thought it was very refreshing and… really, just awesome that in Donetsk, Ukraine the Holy Spirit can bring believers together and reveal His love. Our God truly is an Awesome God!! I just wish that our Ukrainian, or even my Russian, was better and that we could have communicated more.
Well, after our time with Chas we headed to Lenin Square to walk around. We were on a mission to head to the “hunting store”, but we allowed ourselves a lot of wandering to get there. We have about four hours each day between Rashid dropping us off and picking us up again at our apartment, so there is definitely no rush. We walked into a couple of stores prior to finding the gun store. Every time we find a bookstore we go in to see if they have children’s Bibles. Most of the time we can find one, maybe two, and we purchase them to give to the orphanage as a gift. I think we are up to five now, but hopefully we will find some more.
After some strolling we made it to the gun store. They had one rack of jackets with some old Soviet style camouflage – I guess Mossy Oak hasn’t hit here yet – and about 30 firearms in all. They also had a small display case with some knives, scopes, dog repellant(?), and a few other items. Apparently, dogs are a real problem when you are out hunting around here….
Well, as I stated earlier I had to forego the over/under as much as it pained me to leave. I was soon back to myself though, as we sat down at the “Chateau” restaurant for some lunch and a beer. Yes, this is the same restaurant that we found last week and we really like their food. And their prices are good too, considering we can both have a meal and a beer and still walk out under $20 including the tip.
Well a full belly and a good beer…. We made it back to the apartment with about two hours before Rashid would pick us up. I succumbed to a nap, while Kelley was reading. It was very hard and I tried to resist the temptation, but I failed. For those that are truly concerned for me, don’t worry… I was okay after about an hour.
Then we headed back to see Chas for our afternoon visit. We brought along a toy helicopter (gee, I wonder why?) that we found in the bazaar yesterday. He was very excited to see the new toy, so we put it together and started flying it around the little area they have to play in. That didn’t last too long, as Kelley – be careful or I’ll kick your butt – used her brute strength to break the helicopter. Thankfully, there was a little saucer-like toy that came with it too and we were able to fly that around the rest of the time. It was a little cool out, but that didn’t stop Chas from having some good ‘ole ~3 year old fun. At least we didn’t let him get too muddy tonight. That is the only downside to them allowing us to play outside – not letting little boys just run around and get dirty. I can see already that we’ll be clearing the shelves of Tide once we get home, but that’s okay. I understand that they don’t want to do laundry a lot, but sometimes they just need to let boys be boys. Of course, I have one “almost teen” and two little girls – with a third not far behind – back home in Carolina that enjoy getting dirty too, so don’t think that I am biased. I say Mossy Oak for everyone!!!!
We wrapped up our visit… Actually, that’s not accurate. While we were playing with Chas, a couple ladies brought out about six or seven children to “play” outside. For those that have seen the pictures of the play yard, you will remember the little round “cupolas” that the children can go in and sit. Well…. That’s where these ladies put their children, while they we’re complaining about someone. The international language of yelling and hand gestures gave it away – maybe trouble with their men…. Gents, you know what I’m talking about. I know, all I wanted to do was grab a beer and turn on NASCAR.
Anyway…. One of the ladies came over right at 5:00pm to take Chas. She didn’t take him inside, but back over with the rest of the kids. Oh well, I guess he had too much fun and needed to get back with the rest of the others. Thankfully, this will all be over for him by this time next week.
Then as we were traveling back to the apartment, Rashid informed us that he would not pick us up tomorrow morning. We were puzzled and he explained that his aunt had died today and that he needed to make preparations for her funeral. So that set a somber mood for the drive home.
A little reading, ham and cheese, a game of gin rummy, and here we are. Wrapping up a note for the blog before going to bed.
We hope that everyone is doing well back home. We love and miss you all, and can not wait to get back on U.S. soil. This has been fun for Kelley and I in a lot of respects, and I know that we will look back and reflect hoping that we had done more; but we’re ready to come back home to everyone.
That’s it from Donetsk. God bless you all and stay tuned for the next update from Ukraine….
<><

Day 20

Ok, Big Button Brother Bo the kid that was sitting beside me in the internet cafe just left because I was laughing so hard. He tried to pretend he was not trying to read what I was reading then he realized he couldn't join in so he left. I will get the kitty coat, Jay says "NO", but hey he will be leaving me here all by my lonesome so.... I will send pictures soon.
We saw Charles and his friends do their fall program. There were about 40 children in it and 20 adults watching, mostly workers but a few others. We did not understand a thing, but it was cute just like anything we would watch back home. A bunch of 'moms' telling 2 and 3 year olds what to do and where to sit. A few little fights, some crying, and some cute singing. Did I mention that Jay forgot the video camera? Just in case I forgot to tell you that we will not have this memorable event on film, we won't because Jay forgot the video camera.
We got to play after the program. While everyone was still in the music room Oksana told Charles that he could come to us. He ran across the room to me and I was squatting down, then he 'tackled' me. Knocked me all the way over on to the floor! I was so embarrassed that after I sat up, I just sat there until Jay informed me there was a line behind me trying to get out. Looks as though we may have another football player in the mix!
Did everyone get to see the new pictures? Was that the cutest car? I think I want one.
Dawn, I won again last night....No changing rules! Score is Kelley 13 - Jay 9 (when I am losing I will get up with you about some rules we may not know). I don't think there will be any fighting over the coat... Amelia thinks she has all rights over all clothes, so she will probably be wearing it. Of course I may try to find one for Litton too!
Other than that, it is 11:15 here and we are going to get some lunch and walk around until 3:30, when Rashid will pick us up to go back to see Charles.
Hugs and kisses to all

Day 19

(3pm)
We just got back into the apartment after a pretty full morning/mid-afternoon. We went to see Charles this morning for about an hour and had a really good visit outside. We brought him a banana and some cookies and a sippy cup with juice. He liked them all and enjoyed carrying the cup around, although I don’t think he figured out exactly how to get the juice out of it. He likes to sit in my lap and lean back like he is drinking a bottle. We were told that tomorrow morning we must be at the orphanage by 9:30 because they are putting on a ‘Fall program” and that we can video tape and take pictures (guess who forgot the video camera? Jay did.) Since he is asleep right now due to a headache, I think I will blame it on him. So if you see any thing written to the contrary, he woke up before I could post this. We will be able to take pictures though. We are looking forward to seeing it. Of course we had to check our schedule and see if we could make it……..since we will be celebrating Groundhog Day 20 tomorrow.
After the orphanage we got to go to the Notary again. It is truly amazing how complicated some things are over here, but they are. We waited there for about an hour. We had to get an application for a new Birth certificate notarized. Oleg had to come on his lunch break, because a translator has to be there. He could not stay and wait for the Notary to do the Power of Attorney (from Jay to me) and the Passport application, so we have to meet him there after work at 5pm. From there we went to lunch (pizza, French fries, Baileys and coffee, and a Guinness for Jay) and then walked to the Bazaar to look for a new fan and hot pot (those in the apartment broke). We had a nice walk and talked to Oma for about a half an hour, while she was getting the girls ready for dance and feeding them breakfast. Now we are back waiting for Rashid to come and pick up Jay’s passport to take to the airport and buy Jay a plane ticket to fly to Kiev next Thursday (11/3). It is a little scary giving your passport to someone over here, but that is how it is done. Everyone 18 years and older gets a passport as their official identification, just like we would get a driver’s license. We had to do it in Kiev too to get our train tickets. As soon as we give him Jay’s passport, we head back to the notary to sign some documents. (This has just made me realize there is a problem with this plan, do you already see it? How can he sign without his passport?) Crap. Oh well. After we walk all the way to the notary, we will probably turn right around and hit the market and grab some stuff for dinner.
We had another kink in our travel plans yesterday after court. This is a little confusing so hang on. We found out a little more about Charles, he was actually born in Odessa (500 miles SW of here, check your maps) and to change his birth certificate (new rule coming here) we have to travel there! However, we can not travel until we get Charles’ paperwork from the court/orphanage, which we can not get until next Friday (11/4, another new rule) when we pick up Charles. SO… Svitlana is trying to talk the orphanage into keeping Charles until that Monday (11/6), so she and I can travel to Odessa on Friday (11/4) and return Sunday (11/5). Then take the paperwork to the Birth Certificate office Monday morning, pick up Charles, and do the rest of the paperwork and hopefully fly to Kiev on Tuesday. She does NOT want to travel with Charles at all. I don’t see the issue, but have learned that she does know what is best. So Jay is just standing with wallet open wondering how much the orphanage is going to charge to keep him. :) Isn’t it funny how long we wait to be able to take him and now we are trying to pay to get them to keep him……..
A little more about Charles’ story, after his mom had him in Odessa, she must have traveled immediately back to Donetsk and taken him to the hospital here. The papers say she took him to the hospital and then never came back. All his papers are at the translator in Kiev right now and we will get them when we get to Kiev. I am looking forward to trying to piece his short little life together. Especially, since it is very confusing not having seen any translated documents and only receiving bits and pieces of the story.
Talked to Dad, Jo, and Dawn last night, which was fun. They are in good spirits as usual, it is always so nice to talk to someone at home and catch up on what is going on there. Bo and Molly kept trying to call, but something kept cutting us off. Around here it depends on the time of the day for cell calls, because there are soooooo many cell phones here that the airwaves must be full….. I know that is not how it works, but it sounded good.
Cousin Howell, you put a big grin on my husband’s face. He was so excited to talk to you and guess what? He sniffed out an Ukranian hunting store today, so we are leaving early to go to the notary so he can check it out. What started it was a billboard (which we could not read) that had a picture of a hand-carved shot gun that showed one shot gun chamber and two rifle chambers (again, if there is a correction later in this message Jay has woken up, but as it stands his mouth is open and he is snoring!) and he started looking around and found the shop. We had to get to the notary, but I knew we would make it back there today. I feel a stroller and Kitty coat coming my way!
Jeanie, have you heard anything about traveling for the football team for Regional playoffs? We were trying to plan my trip back and what is going on the weekend of 11/11. Are we going to be in Charlotte? Just curious. Tell Zac that Charles is ready to play. Miss talking to you, but it is month end. :)
3 hours later: (7pm)
I guess I did not know the plan for this afternoon, so just ignore the above. Everything was fine with the passport, etc. We are now back, we were picked up by Rashid and Svitlana and taken to get Jay’s plane ticket, then to the Notary’s office - where we took care of our documents - and then off to the bank to make a ‘donation’ into the orphanages bank account. Svitlana wanted to make sure everything was done here. Now she is off to Kiev with our documents and will return next Thursday before Jay leaves, so I won’t be here by myself. We stopped by the Opera House to get tickets for the ballet this Saturday, but they were sold out - bummer. Oleg was going to join us, but I guess we will go have a beer instead at the Chicago Bikers Bar (how sophisticated!)
Now we are getting ready for some ham and cheese sandwiches, chips and Stella Artois beer.
Hugs and kisses to you all.
Now a word from my broke sponsor:
Howell – didn’t make it by the hunting store today, but it is on the list of places to go. I am hoping that tomorrow I will have to go by the internet café to do some research on how to bring that gun back into the States. Hmm… If that doesn’t look like it will work, I think I may start working the stroller thing. One more stroller and I get a nice over/under. If that works, then I may go for the kitty coat and look at a nice Leupold spotting scope or rangefinder. That Cabela’s list is filling up nicely!! Save a big buck for Litton and me. We’ll be down soon and he needs to get something to hang on the wall in his room.
Bo – brother, we need to talk about Emma’s international calling plan. Maybe you need to see if they paid last month’s statement. If not, perhaps AT&T can help out. Keep trying… It’s not like we’re going anywhere anytime soon.
Litton - Mom and I would love to hear from you when you get a chance. Call us or e-mail. Love you.
God bless,
<><

Day 18 Court Day

Well we waited 3 years for our 15 minutes in front of the judge. I will give you the quick low down. After stuffing 4 people in the twinkie; 1) our 'other translator Oleg', who actually has a translator license (which is required to meet in with the judge), 2) Svitlana, who arrived at 7am from Kiev, 3) Jay, and 4) myself - of course, Rashid drove us - and we arrived at the court. The court house is directly in front of the orphanage which is very convenient for them. We waited for about 20 minutes, and at exactly 11am were taken into the chambers.....Me, Jay, Oleg, social worker, lawyer, Irena (care worker) and another woman who we are not sure was. A bunch of talking between them, and then Jay had to stand with Oleg and the judge asked him questions about our income, house, and why he wanted to adopt. Then on to me, same questions except, "Would I treat Charles the same as my other children even if he was sick." After that she looked at our pictures and granted us the adoption. Of course, I am simplifying the process but it is REALLY hot in the internet cafe today!
They have changed the rules on us yet again and we can not pick up Charles until November 4th at 5pm, and then we have to start his paperwork here in Donetsk......we are having a hard time understanding what Svitlana's plan is and when we can leave. Jay knows he is leaving next Friday; but as of right now Charles and I will be staying here for a few days after Jay leaves, then on to Kiev for the rest of the paperwork. Which means getting home for Virginia's birthday is not looking too good for me and Charles. But, "it is what it is" and there is nothing we can do. I have a little feeling that Svitlana has some other plans, but does not want to tell us yet. So you all are in the dark as much as we are.
Thanks for the comments everyone, as usual Howell you have all the kids here in the internet cafe thinking Jay and I are crazy Americans because we were laughing so much. As for the coat, it will fit Olivia Mae too! Jay is already drooling over the thought of a bear hunt so plan on him very soon, probably before I even get home! He'll probably call you on his drive from RDU to Cape Carteret.
We will update tonight after Svitlana gets back from her trips to the Dept. of Social Work and Passport agency to find out the real scoop. We are taking Svitlana and Oleg out to dinner tonight at 6pm to celebrate and thank them both. We are publishing some new pictures today and hopefully a few more tomorrow. Amelia, we put a picture of Mommy and Daddy and Charles like you asked. We also put a picture of your and Olivia Mae's car - it's a Mercedes. The panoramic view (if it works for everyone) is from our apartment kitchen window.
Love to you all........

Day 17

Groundhog Day 17……did you just ever have one of those days where there is just nothing to tell? Well, read Friday’s, Thursday’s, Wednesday’s, etc. Blog and you will know what we did today. Yep, just same old, same old. The good news is that we go to court tomorrow at 11am. Svitlana will arrive by train tomorrow morning at 5am. Later in the morning we will sit down and she will tell us what we need to say in court and how things will proceed. After tomorrow we should have a pretty good time line for the next few weeks. Stephanie, we just got disconnected. I think that after 33 minutes our phone disconnects automatically. Now a word from my sponsor…..Hi folks. Just when I think that we’re in some “normal” country that has put the past of the Soviet Union behind them, we see what it may have been like 20 years ago. We haven’t had any hot water since mid-morning, but are really hoping that it will be available tomorrow morning for showers. I can shave with cold water (re: six months in Iraq), but it is kind of a pain when you are paying for your apartment. At least in Iraq my room and board were “free”. Oh, and for those of you that have a line on our gin rummy tournament… Kelley is up two games – 11 to 9. I’m taking the tortoise approach and will beat her in the long haul. That is my plan right now.Kelley failed to mention that KGB couple was “conveniently” walking down the street for their visit, just as we were pulling up with Rashid. Funny how their timing worked out. Of course, they were in the dimly lit hallway with us for awhile, before Chas and their daughter were brought out. Hmmm… then a little change of tactics (because I think they know about our blog and are on to us). There was a new lady and her grandmother in the Music Room this evening. Maxwell Smart (for those who don’t know who I’m referring too, just go to Google now) would have been proud, because I wasn’t fooled by their disguise. In fact, all the while I am confident that I saw the grandmother talking into her broach. We plan on posting a few new pictures tomorrow, if we get by the internet cafй. If so, we’ll put a quick post on the blog to let you know.That’s about it. It is a little after 10:00pm here, so we’ll try to connect and post this and then head off to bed. We hope that everyone is doing well back in the good ‘ole U.S. of A. We are definitely ready to get back to some Fox News, ESPN and real coffee. God bless y’all and good night.
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Day 16.5

Day 16 ½

I’ll give everyone one guess what we’re doing this evening. Come on now, it shouldn’t be too hard… Nope, not that. Try again. Congratulations!! You got it!!! That’s correct, we’re sitting in our apartment playing gin rummy! I knew we had the brightest family and friends. No, we won’t count that one person that always gets confused with the light switch on both sides of the room. That will be our little secret.
After we left everyone at the internet café today, we walked the streets of Donetsk. Our plan was to hit the bazaar, perhaps with a stop for some food at a restaurant on the way, and then make our way home. Well we walked quite awhile and found one of the restaurants that Rashid told us was very good. We went inside and saw all the little “reserved” signs on the tables, and when the hostess came up to us and asked us if we had a reservation… What? You actually think that we understood every word she said? Not at all. I think it was the blank stare that Kelley and I gave her that clued her in to us not having a reservation. Then she said in perfect Ukrainian, with the international signal of pointing to the door, that there was no room for us. That – we understood. So we were off, to the other side of the street and back towards the bazaar.
But we were off and eventually found the “Cherry Pizza” restaurant. I know what you’re thinking, but it was actually very good. And the waitress spoke very good English, so that helped out as well. After this we were recharged and ready for some shopping!!! Okay, one of us was ready for some shopping…
We spent awhile walking around the bazaar, walking off the pizza and taking a phone call from Linda. We picked up a few necessities for the apartment and then started our trek back. A quick stop by the market for “dinner and a movie”, without the movie, and here we are. Thankfully, our card games have been broken up by a couple of phone calls from Oma and Ricia, as well. We appreciate everyone that has called – and tried to call, as we know it can be very difficult – since it keeps us up to date with everyone back home.
Me here….Ricia, we just got cut off. Yes, we are going to call him “Chas”. “Charles”, if he is doing something bad; and “Charles Everett” if it is horrible! Let’s hope he never hears, “Charles Everett Van Der Werff”.
Okay, it is obviously time for us to close. Kelley and I are now tied in our gin rummy tournament. She used some stratagem that I was unaware of to best me tonight. Everyone can be confident that I will not be so gullible next time (tomorrow…). Have a great night!
God bless,
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Day 16

We are sitting in the internet cafe, just finished listening to a couple sermons from two old friends from our old church in Virginia. That was more than enough to lift our spirits, since we can't go see Charles today.
We were going to go get some pancakes, but got turned around and couldn't find the restaruant so we ended up here - which was on our list of places to be today. It is grey again today, not too cold. I was hoping the sun would peek out like yesterday, but it is not looking like it will.
We were glad to hear Litton won his game yesterday, hopefully they behaved at Tim's last night. I heard that Oma did not take everyone's money. I think she must not want to make anyone mad. So who did win? Any big money to be had? Do tell, try and bore me. I really missed being there....who has next month anyway?
Linda should have returned home last night?
We played Gin Rummy (Jay 8, Kelley 6) until about 10 and then went to bed, NOTHING exciting here.........Today I think we are just looking to find a couple things at the bazaar (open air market) for Charles.

Well, I think we will close this post for now. Perhaps we will have more later this evening, once our afternoon develops. Love to all...
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Day 15

Happy Saturday…..we are just getting back from a long outing. We went to see Charles this morning and played outside. It was muddy/damp out so he got really dirty. I am trying to adjust to boys, sticks, rocks, falling down and sitting in the dirt. Of course my girls do none of that, those sweet princesses! We had fun just running around. It is amazing how Charles can find a toy in anything. He would rather play with a stick and a chestnut than anything we bring. We did find a Spiderman telephone today which I think he will love. I get to give it to him though, since Jay is ‘king daddy’ these days. I am the one who gets hit with the chestnuts and sticks! He just hasn’t learned who the ‘big boss’ is yet. :)
After playing we headed to the Baby World store. Rashid dropped us off and we told him we would walk home and would see him on Monday, since we can’t go see Charles tomorrow (Sunday). It was fun to see the toys and clothes in the store. Things are very inexpensive compared to our standards. We got the Spiderman phone and a sippy cup for traveling. I am not sure he even uses one, but I thought it would be good for the train and plane. I will take it Monday and see what he thinks. After Baby World we went to the Free Market, an outside market with everything you can imagine. EXCEPT strollers, yes ladies I am in the market for yet another stroller, for those of you who don’t know my stroller fetish I have no less than 7 at the moment in my garage. Jay is cringing with the thought of having to buy another one, but he knows that we must and is on the hunt for the cheapest one he can find. I say let’s get a cool one and get rid of one in the garage, he’s not falling for that again though. We did find some shoes, 2 sweaters, pajamas and a hat today. I found a cute coat but Jay thinks it is a girl’s coat because it has a cat on it……any thoughts from the gallery? Three-quarter length, BROWN, and a kitty on the bottom (Jay says ‘embroidered kitten” with the tail going around the back).
Come on girls, Heather, help me out here! Either help me out or put me in check.
Now we are back, Jay is eating Tonka gummies and I am getting ready to work on my new Sudoku puzzle I got off the internet at the café. We have a ton of Tonka and Nascar gummies that I brought to give the kids at Our Children, but they do not let the children have any candy or sticky sweets. I realize this is a blessing, because Charles and the other children I have seen have very nice teeth. So Jay is doing his best to consume them, I don’t like them or I would help.
I forgot to mention that we ate at a Mexican Restaurant for a late lunch. It was pretty good, the refried beans were a little different, but overall the atmosphere and food was good. I will definitely try it again.
Talked to Svitlana today and we are going to court on Tuesday. She will arrive here Tuesday morning and go over what we are to say in court. From there I believe the 10 day waiting period starts. That leaves us at Nov. 2 for picking up Charles, then on a train that day to Kiev arriving Friday morning, and hopefully starting some paperwork on that day. Jay leaves Saturday at 12:30 and arrives in Raleigh at 7:30 Saturday evening and home with the kids by 11 pm (can you tell I am jealous). Charles and I will work on paperwork the first of the next week and hopefully leave by Thursday. Of course as usual this is just our ‘guestimation’.
Love to you all………Hope Bunko is fun tonight! I wish I was there playing with Oma (watch out for her. She will take all your money; trust me, I have been to Vegas with her!)

p.s. - Jennie B. will you call Oma when you get a chance. She needs to talk about the field trip with you. She is wondering if you would take Amelia with you, since she can’t go.

Now a word from my sponsor………
Howell, I’m thinking the really good Woolrich, soft cami fleece in Cabela’s would be much better than some “kitty” on a jacket. I am already seeing that my task is laid out for me and I’ll need to watch how Kelley wants to dress him. I need to hit an OshKosh outlet for some overalls and maybe a few flannel shirts for the winter.
Kim, thank you for your note. We were really bummed that we couldn’t be at small group Wednesday night, but know that we were with you in spirit and prayer. And we were happy to hear the news about Zach and that things seem to be looking good there.
Litton, we hope you have a good game today. We’re looking forward to a full report tomorrow.
Jeanie, thanks for the call last night and taking the boys to the ball game today.
Oma, Litton should be able to find another flashlight around the house. There should be two more animal flashlights in the house, as well as a couple of maglights. If you still don’t have any success, there’s always the Dollar Store! :)

Day 14

While the day began grey and cloudy, the afternoon cleared for some sunshine and a little warmer weather (~50s). Kelley is finally back to 100-percent. We went to see Charles in the morning and they had us play outside for most of our time. It was a change of pace from the Play room and Music room, but it was a little chilly this morning. And then for the last 15 minutes we went inside to warm up before Chas had to go back with Oksana. We did learn that he eats lunch around 11:00 and then takes a nap at 12:00.
Then it was back to the apartment for some lunch, reading and a light game of gin rummy. The tally is currently eight games to six, in favor of me (Jay). Don’t worry, Kelley is counting. She was actually up one game the other night, but my superior card playing skills came into play and after letting her ego get a little boost I took charge of the game again.
The sky began to clear as we were getting ready for this afternoon’s visit. It should have been grey and cold though, since I knew that we would be facing Irina (the other caregiver at the orphanage) whom I am persona non grata with right now. Yes, it is time for a little story…
Yesterday morning, when Kelley visited after being sick, Irina brought a prescription from the doctor for Kelley. She also included another list of medicines that they wanted for the orphanage. We thanked her for the prescription for Kelley and the list of meds for the children, and probably left her with the impression that we would be bringing them back that afternoon. Well, as Paul Harvey would say here’s “the rest of the story.” When we left I called Svitlana to let her know that they had asked for us to buy meds, since our “donations” are a bargaining chip for her and she has told us that we would give any donations after our court date. Little did I know that Svitlana would immediately hang up the phone with me and call the orphanage to voice her opinion. Thus, the next time (this afternoon) that we met up with Irina it was not as pleasant as it has been in the past.
All of that behind, we had another afternoon outside with Charles and the KGB couple. It was a little warmer and we had a pretty good time. We chose to go back in about 10 minutes before our time was up and let him warm up a bit. The KGB man got upset when Kelley put her coat on the floor and he had Irina tell me to pick it up? I think it was covering up the little camera he had hidden in the sole of his shoe. No really, I thought I heard something running when I bent down to pick up her coat. It is getting harder to leave him there at night and we are looking forward to when he can curl up in his bed in North Carolina.
Rashid then gave us a lesson in Russian on our drive back to Lenin Square. Kelley is going to try it out in the morning when he picks up. After dropping us at Lenin Square, we began to walk around to get some air. Jeanie called and gave us the latest on football and the boys. Then we started our way back to the apartment. Thankfully we came upon a restaurant that we wanted to try, and when faced with the option of rice back in the apartment… we quickly went in and sat down.
We had a really good dinner and it was a very nice restaurant. (Kelley here now) It is so nice to be able to go in to eat and have 4 beers, soup, I had pancakes and mash potatoes and Jay had a steak with veggies and total with tip was $25. And I didn’t have to do dishes! We hit the mini market and Jay grabbed his gallon of beer and I got some candy and we headed back. Now we sit and type, post and play gin rummy until bed time.
Howell, we haven’t laughed that hard since we got here! I always wonder if Litton’s name came up like that on other people’s computers. I am laughing now! And Litton, the brother formerly known as Bubby and otherwise known as ******, asked the same question as you…..Charles does speaks Ukrainian and no English, but we were told to only speak English to him now. We call him Charles (Chas) and try not to speak any Ukrainian (which isn’t hard for me!) The language barrier is not as bad as it could be, but does hinder us a little. Especially when we are with the KGB couple and they are talking in Ukrainian and he understands what they are saying and we are speaking American gibberish. We look forward to talking to you (Jay is feeling a little left out, wants to know how big the bucks are this year). He is having withdrawals!!!! He will be heading your way as soon as he gets back……he has a kitchen pass. :)
That is about it from here. Dad, Jo and Dawn we heard you on the other end of the phone yesterday, don’t give up so easily! Call us when you get a chance. And yes, Dawn, it is cold and grey here.
Who ever sees the kids next, please give them a hug and kiss from us and tell them we love and miss them.
Love to you all…..

Day 13

Everyone, Kelley is feeling better today. She still wasn’t 100-percent, but at least she was able to accompany me to see Chas today. A couple more days of taking it easy and I think she’ll be back to walking the town of Donetsk. We took a little excursion tonight and ate at the only restaurant that we know of with English menus – “Three Fat Guys”. It was good, but not as good as after our 12-hour train ride.
Like most weather forecasters, those in Ukraine are not that accurate either. The weather was supposed to be in the mid- to upper-50s by today, but we were still around 40-45 today. I think it will be cold for the rest of the time we are here.
Our visit went pretty well today. This morning we had him by ourselves in the Music Room. He is definitely getting more comfortable with us and has begun to see what limits are set for him. What he doesn’t know is that we have had plenty of recent experience dealing with the “terrible twos” (and threes?).
We decided not to push our limits with Kelley, so we came back to the apartment to rest a bit. Then we were surprised with a phone call from Litton. It was very nice to talk to him and catch up. We also chatted with Oma and at the end I was able to talk to Olivia Mae, who had just awakened. We miss them all a ton and are counting the days to be back as one “big” happy family.
This afternoon’s visit wasn’t quite as good, since the KGB couple was already in the room. He was distracted by their playing with their soon-to-be daughter, and the fact that he understood what they were saying as opposed to our gibberish. It was very awkward as he tried to play with the toys that they brought for their little girl and neither Kelley nor I could communicate with them. Some “traveler’s sign language” and shrugging shoulders a couple times, we at least were able to laugh about some common things that children do. They left before us, which amounted to about ten minutes alone with Chas. Once the distraction of others was gone, he was back to himself and wanting to play with us. So we were able to leave on a good note.
Rashid picked us up in the twinkie and took us down to the restaurant where we had dinner. A decent dinner, a walk home in the brisk evening air, and here we are. Back in our apartment with laundry drying in the little (I mean little) sun porch. Sun porch is probably not the best description, since it is the original balcony with windows and doors added to make it into a little room. At least we didn’t have to string some cord in our bedroom.
That’s all folks. Nothing too exciting here in Donetsk, Ukraine. I know that surprises many, but it is true. So at 7:35pm, we’re going to sign off and play some cards or read.
God bless.

p.s. I checked the heels of our shoes to see if the KGB couple put a listening device in them while we weren’t looking. You just never know…. ;)

Day 12

Well it is now 5pm and I am still lying in bed since 8:00 this morning. Oops, did you think I had not gotten out of bed all day, well you are wrong. I’ve been to the potty at least 57 times. Yep, I got it (Stalin’s revenge, better known to you as Montezuma’s revenge!) So Jay has been to see Charles all by himself today. The good news is that Rashid is back and the Twinkie is up and running. Jay said that he can’t see where it was wrecked but Rashid is back and it only took Jay 15 minutes to get to Our Children this morning as opposed to the 30 it takes Yuri, the other driver.
Jay said that Charles was doing fine. They must have played pretty hard this morning, because Jay said that they had fun and Charles went down the slide for the first time. I don’t know why he didn’t want to previously but Jay talked him into it today. They played in the ball pit too. He wasn’t too interested in the books today.
I sit and spend my quiet time wondering what Charles will think when he sees our back yard and all the unknowns that are going to be facing him. How weird it will be to get in a car for the first time, see and ride a train and plane, stay in an apartment/hotel, sleep in a big bed, walk and shop in Kiev, eat out, have sisters and brothers, open a refrigerator, eat at the bar with his sisters and brothers, take a bath, I could go on and on. I was trying to give Litton an idea of what Charles has never seen…..as we were talking I was amazed at all that we could come up with and then overwhelmed with what we didn’t think of. Vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, sprinklers, battery operated jeep (he loves the picture of Olivia Mae riding hers) food, ice cream, Christmas! How scary for him. Can you image the sensory overload for the next few months?
I have been sitting here working on a Sudoku puzzle that is kicking my butt. Litton, I wish you were here to help me. Jay should be home in a few minutes and we will figure out something for dinner and I can promise you it will not be the little sweet pizzas or chicken wrap things we had last night! Probably rice for me. Oh how we wish we were home right now so we could go to Small Group tonight (in NC and in VA).
Tomorrow is Thursday and hopefully we will both be well and Jay does not get this stomach thing. The good news is Jay’s Doc gave us some antibiotics for just what I have, so I will be able to take it at 7 and maybe by tomorrow morning I will be better.
I am just sitting here rambling on so I will just post or maybe Jay will have some news for you………

Hi-di-ho neighbors! And family!! Kelley just informed me that she has never seen Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, so the humor was lost on her. After five and a half years of marriage, I am not offended. Many of the things that I find humorous the rest of the family just scratch their heads and shrug their shoulders. At least I’m smiling!!
Today was pretty good with Chas. I was a little intimidated going there on my own. It is nice when both Kelley and I go, because if one is doing something he doesn’t like we can usually bail each other out. Not a chance today. We managed to fill both hours with a lot of laughter and some play. Chas is definitely trying to see what he can get away with. This morning’s session allowed me to be pretty firm, since we were the only two in the play room.
However, this evening we were in the Music Room with the KGB couple and their “son” and soon to be adoptive daughter. Of course, I know that the KGB no longer exists, but… you can never be too sure. They “mysteriously” show up whenever I am around. How do they know????? I am thinking about buying some sunglasses that have little mirrors in them to see if they follow me down the street.
Okay, I’ve just been informed that I am “so weird”. We knew that already, though.
With the other couple there, Chas and I were not able to be too loud or boisterous. This also proved a little challenging as he continued to push the limits and I really didn’t want to have the KGB couple put in their report that I was disciplining our new son. I can see it now… I am being taken away in the back of some old Russian truck, under a tarp, and Kelley is back at the apartment sick as a dog wondering when I will come back to cook her some rice. Thankfully, that didn’t happen and Kelley got her rice.
Tonight’s dinner was rice and pork chops. Actually, they were more like rubber strands colored like pork chops. I haven’t eaten something that tough in quite awhile, and guess who forgot the floss?
Most are tired of the drivel, so I will let you go. Just know that we can not wait until we can get back home to friends and family. We are enjoying our time here with Chas, but want to be home. We appreciate all the prayers and help that everyone is giving Oma and the kids. Thank you!!
Hope everyone is doing great. We love and miss you……..

Day 11

Groundhog Day? Rainy and cold again today, thought about just rolling over and sleeping the day away (don't even say it Heather!) Just kidding we were really excited to go see Chas this morning and have become accustomed to our days here.
I am sorry to inform you (Bo especially) the Twinkie is out of commission. Rashid had a little accident yesterday (he was driving an Italian couple that was finishing their adoption) so we were not with him when it happened. We were a little worried when he did not show up in the evening though to take us to Our Children so we called Svitlana in Kiev and she called him. He did not have any numbers to call and tell us he could not come. We were really bummed that we could not get to the orphanage but Svitlana called another driver (yes he drives a twinkie too) who came about an hour later and took us. We did not get there until 5:10, so we were late but they let us play anyway. It was a good visit just as they all are becoming. We've discovered the room with all the slides and tunnels is the best because there are not little toys all around to distract Charles like in the music room. We left about 6 and had the driver drop us at Lenin Square (the main square) and we found a phone store to recharge our phone. Jeanie I believe we were in the middle of our conversation when Jay so rudely interrupted us! Actually the whole time he was asking me to get off the phone I thought it was because he was being a butt, really there was a fight with about 10 teens going on and he wanted me to quit speaking English so we wouldn't draw attention to ourselves! GO figure! We were going to go out to dinner but it was getting late and the walk from Lenin Square is a little spooky (about 1/2 mile) so we decided to go on home and have some dinner (bet you think we had ham and cheese)...Nope... We changed it up a little and had some butter noodles. If we both come back 10 pounds lighter you will know why.
Right now we are sitting at the internet cafe, Jay has his own computer today. Since we have about 3 hours before the driver gets back we thought we would catch up on e-mail and type our blog from here. Usually we type it in the apt and then come here and send, or just send it from the apt. via Bluetooth. Again we are changing it up a little (call us crazy) and maybe we will actually go out to lunch before we go back to Our Children. The visit this morning went great, we played in the play room for an hour. Charles loves it when Jay throws him in the ball pit and then tickle him. I am the 'saver' and rescue him from sinking in the balls. There is a neat tunnel, but we have not gotten him to go through it and we don't fit - maybe after we lose the 10 pounds. He doesn't seem to like to go 'into' anything. He doesn't like the tents filled with balls or any of the little houses, cant figure out why. He let me look through some books with him, I showed him Bubby and then I kissed Bubby's picture, which was funny because about 10 minutes later we were playing/running around and I think he thought we were getting ready to leave so he ran over to his backpack and got out the picture of Bubby and sat down to read and kissed Bubby. We haven't gotten him to say Bubby yet but he did show interest in the pictures of home. After about an hour we went up to the music room. The keyboard he has been dying to play with was sitting on the couch so we figured that he could play with it. He loved it! He played and sang for about 15 min and then we had to go because our driver was waiting. We will head back at 3:30.
I know you are all waiting to hear about the paperwork. As we stand right now the State Department told Svitlana they would sign it on Monday (she thinks Friday) and she will travel by train Monday night arriving Tuesday morning and we will go to court Tuesday. If all goes well, we will have to wait 10 days from Tuesday until we can pick him up. That would mean a Friday night train to Kiev arriving Saturday morning and starting paperwork on Monday. There is 3-4 days of paperwork in Kiev and then hopefully Charles and I can depart by that weekend. Jay will be on a plane to the states on the Saturday morning we return to Kiev so it will just be me and Charles for a week. Not the best plan, a little scary, but that how it is shaping up right now. Jay has to be back at work on Tuesday morning so he can not stay here with us. As you all know, things can change in an instant so this is our best case scenario right now.
Heath, I don't know why we keep getting disconected. Don't get too frustrated.
We love you all!
hugs and kisses

Day 10

Well, everyone has had the pleasure of reading Kelley’s posts the last few days, so today you will get me. Nice and boring, matter of fact, and from what I am told, generally cold and not entertaining. It’s a good thing that I have a big enough ego to overcome all of that!
Yesterday afternoon it began to mist and it continued into the evening. By the time we woke up this morning it was a nice gentle rain and about 45-degrees. We didn’t have to worry about playing outside this morning. After some coffee and devotions, we went downstairs to meet our driver. Rashid was busy this morning, so his nephew came to pick us up. He had a very nice, clean car and was playing American 50’s music on the radio. Nothing like waking up to Little Richard and Chubby Checker!
We arrived at the orphanage and had to look around a bit for one of the workers that we know. Within a couple of minutes Oksana came down the hallway and greeted us. She went to get Chas and brought him to us. The Music Room was having a class (they sounded very cute), so she shuffled us off to another part of the orphanage to another play room. This room had a bunch of foam-padded toys, and we thought it may be an occupational therapy room. Of course, I am used to padded rooms and felt right at home. Even the white jacketed ladies didn’t bother me today.
We had a good hour of playing with Chas. Yesterday on our walk around town we found a little store that had children’s backpacks/book bags. We purchased one for Chas, as well as some crayons and paper, and a little bag for his toy cars. At first he was a little intimidated by the bag, but once we showed him what was in the pack he was very excited. Since we could find no coloring books, Kelley and I had to resort to drawing pictures in the notebook. Chas helped us a little, but quickly became bored with that and just wanted to carry his crayons around, dump them out and put them back in the bag.
They had a slide in the room too, so we grabbed a couple of cars and began to play with them on the slide. Hmmm, let’s see – crashing cars and lots of noise. Yep, he enjoyed playing on the slide with those. He laughed and laughed as the cars went down the slide. There was also a lot of tickling today, which is irresistible with any child.
Unfortunately, our hour went very quick this morning. We will be heading back this afternoon for another hour, so we are looking forward to that. Now we are back in the apartment for some lunch… We mixed it up today by adding a fried egg to our ham and cheese. Good stuff!! After completing this post, we’ll probably wander down to the internet café to check e-mail and news. Then meet up with a driver at ~3:30 to head back to see Chas.
You can see that our days are beginning to get very routine and without the ability to play DVDs on this thing – pretty long evenings. Although, I think we may head out to a restaurant after this afternoon’s meeting to have an early dinner. It’s either that or finally cook the noodles that have been sitting here for almost a week now. If we have the same driver as this morning, we may ask him to take us by the Evangelical Church. We would like to see when their worship services are for this Sunday, since we didn’t go yesterday.
Perhaps, more later tonight. If not, then we’ll post more tomorrow.
Oh, one last thing. Svitlana is in Kiev today trying to get our court date set for this Friday. We are anxiously awaiting word from her, and hopefully it will be in our favor. We truly appreciate all of the prayers that are being lifted for us. Thank you.
His blessings,
Jay and Kelley
P.S. It was not me that said he was boring and cold, he must just recognize that in himself! :)
p.s.s. Jennie, I don't have your e-mail address and couldn't find one on your blog. Would you please send it, so we can send pictures? Thanks. And yes, it was non-alcoholic...

Day 9

Last night was different than any we have spent here. We got back to the apt about 12 and decided to wait for Svitlana to pick up her tickets and come back (since she doesn’t have a key) so we started playing gin rummy. We thought she would be back by 2 or 3. Wrong. She was out until 5 probably trying to stay out of our way. Anyway she came in and packed and left for the train station around 5:30 and told us not to go out after dark……ok…. we had 30 minutes. Ran to the mini mart (the one with all the dried fish) right down the street and grabbed two beers and some bread and cheese (no ham) and came back. Started playing gin rummy again and within 15 minutes realized we needed some more beer as this was going to be a long evening. It was dark, so (imagine this) we are looking around the apt for ‘weapons’ I had the camera (figured I could swing it and deal a pretty good blow) and Jay had a mini-maglight flashlight! We made it there and back. I had to laugh though…..bad American movie: We are being hustled by teens, call Rashid and say ‘Help’ into the phone he comes speeding up in the ‘Twinkie’ honking his ridiculous horn (sounds like ‘hookie-hookie’) while jamming to some terrible American Techno (did I forget to mention while we are riding around in this little car he has a big stereo that jams American music, old stuff turned into techno) and we are saved just in the nick of time. Although Jay hits his head on the door trying to duck below the tinted window cover. Thank goodness I had the camera and was able to take a picture! ENOUGH. For those who are worried that did NOT happen we came home and drank all our beer and played cards until 11.
We are now in the process of washing some clothes and will hang them to dry before we head out to the internet café to hang out for a while. We can not go see Chas today, so we have to create a little adventure.
Jeff, we got on the internet yesterday via Bluetooth, I think they had changed the access code. We are good now. We downloaded the comments this morning. We are going to try to address the Snapfish issue this morning. Thank you Scott for sending the pictures. There are a few of you that didn’t get an invitation to see the pictures and we will try to send them.
Gerard, what is your e-mail?
Bo it was GREAT talking to you last night. I will remember that you have FREE international calling. :) I will send the pictures to your address too.
Debbie, it was great talking to you, I am so excited about you guys getting a new travel trailer! Are you going to pull it yourself? :) I forgot to ask how Nick and Elizabeth are. And I forgot to wish you a Happy Birthday! Ugh, I am sorry. I am sure you got a spectacular piece of jewelry from you wonderful husband who spoils you.
Oma and Linda, how was shopping? Any good shoes? Linda, did we really talk for an hour? Jay says we did, it just seemed like our normal conversations.;)
Jay found out that they apparently turn off the hot water mid-morning. He was so conscious of conserving hot water that he was all lathered up with soap, but when he went to rinse there was only cold water left. He asked me to warm some water in the hot pot and put it in an old water bottle to rinse off. He said it reminded him of Iraq and the couple weeks that he had to take water bottle showers. Something I don’t think I need to learn how to do. I wish I had remembered to get the camera and get a picture!
Well, folks after that disturbing mental picture of me in the shower (thankfully no pictures were taken), we will wrap this up and head out on the town. We consider ourselves very grateful for all of the thoughts and prayers going up for us. Thank you.
Bill, Kelley and I will lift you up today as you preach at all three services. That’s awesome! Hopefully, we will be able to download them from MST’s site later this week and listen to them. If not, then we’ll have to have you send a copy to us in NC, or maybe we can get a private audience with you around that campfire.
May God bless you all.
Litton, Mimi, Olivia Mae and Virginia – we miss you guys a whole lot and can’t wait to get home to get a ton of sugar.
All our love,
Jay and Kelley

Day 8

Day 8

I’m sitting in the kitchen of the apartment laughing with Jay about our yummy ham and cheese sandwich! Really they are good, just getting a little old (not the meat just the taste). Last night we went to dinner at the Elephant Cafe. A little restaurant about 2 blocks from here…..the menu was in Russian and we had forgotten our translation book Jay had some kind of meat (hamburger) and I had a HAM AND CHEESE OMLET! Go figure, what was I thinking. It was good and the waiter tried so hard to communicate with us. We all had a good needed laugh and will probably frequent Elephant just because they were friendly and the food was good. We are getting good at the point and eat menu!
Svetlana is leaving this evening for Kiev. She will take our paperwork and get to see her grandchildren. She is such a wonderful caring person. She does not want to leave us because she is afraid for us in the city. She is just like an Oma, worried about her kids! We feel very safe here; however, we do not speak English on the streets (because Svetlana told us not to). It’s not like you can’t tell we are the ‘big ugly Americans’! She will be gone until Tuesday. She has to try to get our papers signed and approved for our court date next FRIDAY! Pray, Pray and Pray that she gets them signed/approved. The Italian translator there has been waiting seven days to get his client’s paperwork signed, but Svetlana says she has a plan.
Well, today at Our Children we had our best day yet! We are so uplifted and our spirits are very high. It must be all the prayers from our friends and family. Thank you for lifting us up to the Lord, we feel His love raining down on us today! Chas was very receptive to us today. We did not have anything different from the other days, and he was really glad to see us. When I bend down and hold out my arms, he comes into them and lets me pick him up and kiss his face and he laughs. Then he looks at Jay and smiles and lets him kiss him. Jay did not get a chance to hold him today. The workers do not like us to carry him, I guess because there is no way they could carry all the children. You know us; we are always holding at least one of our children at any given time, so it is hard for us to not carry him around everywhere. When we do the worker stomps her feet like she is walking and says, ‘Mama’, and motions for me to put him down so he can walk.
Today we went outside, which I was a little worried about because he hasn’t listened to us when we call. By the way, they told us to only speak in English and to call him Charles and I think they are going to do the same (use his new name) when he is with them. We went out to our little area, Chas carrying his pink bag (yes, they have pink here too, I love it! Remind me to tell you about our new hot pink terrycloth sheets! ) and we looked at pictures of Bubby and some books. Took the Hot wheels out of the box, put them back in the box and into the pink bag again, and again, and again. Then we got to actually play with them after a while, I guess he realized we were not going to take them away from him. We drove them all over Dad and the bench. He thought that was funny. He will play just like a 2 year old and then something comes over him and he packs everything (and I mean everything he can get his hands on) and tries to leave. We let him go today to see what he would do. He got about 20 feet from us and Jay called him sternly ‘Vlad” and he turned around, thought and came back (Praise the Lord) - now a few times we did have to go get him. We made sure we were not playing a game of ‘catch me’ because we are so afraid of him wondering off later. He is trying his boundaries and we are trying to set a few simple ones. We tried to go inside a few times to the music room, but he would lower his head and go back to the bench and wait. I really think he did not want us to go or maybe he did not want to go back to his room, either way it felt good. I did a sanity check with Jay, and he said I am not being overly optimistic. After about an hour Oksana (his care giver) came and got him, told me to put him down and told him to say, “Good bye.” He doesn’t seem to care that we are leaving, hopefully that will change. Svetlana said all in good time. She is wonderful woman. I will have to tell you her story one day when you are bored at work/home ;) Oksana came back a few minutes later and told us that we could not come tomorrow, because they are not staffed for visitors on Sunday. She said that we could come Monday two times: 10-11 and 4-5, so Svetlana has arranged with Rashid (the Twinkie driver) to pick us up each day while she is in Kiev. I am going to try to get him to take me shopping too! I have seen some neat stores, a large kids store but haven’t been able to find it again. Jenny do you remember where it is?

Right now Jay is trying to find a church for us to go to tomorrow. He found a Mormon church (we’ll pass) and then an Evangelical church, which is on the other side of town. Maybe we will tell Rashid, “Hey, (translated – ‘group of trees’) will you drive us across town to go to an English speaking Christian Church?” That will probably work. I am looking forward to listening/watching Jay try to explain it.

Thanks everyone for your comments and the phone calls! Cousin Howell, how GREAT it was to hear your voice. I needed some Bubba Southern to make me laugh yesterday! We had a bad connection, because I was standing between two tall buildings. Jay was inside a Kievstar (phone company) office trying to ask them what number to dial for our computer to connect via Bluetooth to send and receive e-mails/internet. Now THAT was amusing. We are usually in our room about 7 pm here and we seem to have a good connection. Jeanie sounds great and I was excited to hear Zac is ‘cruisin’ around the living room. Watch out Virginia! Especially since he is getting 2 teeth!
Oma you need to go shoe shopping with Linda today. I am having Target withdraws so go for me so I can know you are having fun. Elizabeth is wonderful with the kids, so no worries!

Jenny, I do not think this is the same orphanage, we went to your blog and looked at the pictures and I don’t think this is Eddie’s orphanage. It is right next to a court house. I could not believe the pictures of both of those beautiful children! How a year has changed them. It is truly a blessing how they have flourished under your loving family’s care. I only pray our Chas will blossom as they have. We are glad to know we have you and all our wonderful friends and family to help ‘raise him up’.

Day 7

Day 7-Friday
A long week... Just think, last week we were just leaving Raleigh to start this adventure. We woke up after about 8 hours of sleep last night. It is getting a little cold here so we were both a little chilly last night. I think the heat is controlled by the super, there is only one radiator and that is in the kitchen so we are hoping it doesn’t get too cold here before we leave. We do have a little electric radiator in our room which I am sitting by right now. It is almost 1pm here. We went to see Chas this morning and it went fine. And yes, the old lady was sweeping up leaves again this morning. We took him a pink bag with some books, pictures of the family and some matchbox cars. He was more interested in taking the cars out of the box and then putting them right back in the exact way he found them than playing with them. He really liked carrying the bag around and stopping and checking to make sure everything was in there. We were outside for about 45 minutes. It is challenging to be outside because there is so much to distract him. There was another couple looking/adopting(?) a small girl and there were lots of ‘groups’ (children) out sitting in their little huts with their caretakers. If you look in our pictures, this is where we sit when we are with Chas. We went inside and sat in the music room, the other couple (Ukrainian) was in there with the little girl. We played for about an hour. Today was about the same with Chas, he doesn’t really listen, but hey what would he understand anyway? He wants to play with the stereo and keyboard and keeps trying to touch it even though he knows he shouldn’t. Jay and I both are trying to be stern with ‘ni’- no. He listens, but runs away to something else. After a while I think he was getting tired and hungry and his caretaker came in to get him. He gave me and Jay a kiss and a big hug but was fine with leaving. I wish I knew where he went and what he did when we weren’t there. I probably will never know. Now we are home staring at the option of a ham and cheese sandwich or heading out to an early dinner after we post this blog. Svetlana went to the Dept. of Social Services this morning and got the ‘Conclusion’ finished (very important, so we can get a court date) and now is waiting for the director of Social Services to sign the document. She dropped us off and is heading back to sit outside the office and wait. If I am correct, she then has to take the paper to Kiev (by train) and take it to the State Dept. for approval of the court date. Pray, Pray, Pray today that we will receive a court date for next week. If that were to happen we may stay on our original time table! We are not going back to Our Children today because Svetlana needs to be at the Social Service building and doesn’t want us to go by ourselves. I am not sure what the weekends bring here, if we can go over or not - I forgot to ask. We talked to Dad, Jo and Dawn, Ricia, Jeanie, and someone called at 5:30am Carolina time I think it must have been Linda? Thank you for all your calls! Ricia said she had seen the girls and they were great.Litton I am waiting for you to blog me! I miss talking to you since you are at school all day. Tomorrow is Saturday so call before your game. I miss you so much and love you even more. Tell Amelia, Olivia Mae and Virginia that Mom and Dad love them and can’t wait to get home. Show them the pictures of your new baby brother. We were showing him your picture trying to get him to say ‘Bubby’. :)Well, off to the internet cafe to see if they will let us use our thumb drive. We still haven’t figured out how to connect via Bluetooth from our apt. We may stop by Kievstar and see if they can help. It would be great to be able to see what is going on in the world.
Love to you all, us

Day 6.5

Day 6.5 (Thursday)
Happy Birthday Heather!
This is a long one……Well, we just got back from the Orphanage ‘Our Children’ for the second time today. The doctor told Svetlana that she needed to see us before we saw Chas. I was curious as to what she needed, since she had watched us all morning (from a far) while we were with him. We went to her office and she asked if we liked him and had made a connection and wanted to keep him. Jay and I both told her of course. That being said, she asked if we would be able to make a donation to Our Children. Of course I said, “Yes!” But Svetlana said it was a little early and she would let her know later. I am guessing there is a reason for the delay, she also doesn’t want us to take our toys and candy in just yet. She has been doing this for a long time and has seen it all, so she keeps telling us to be patient - I thought we were :). You know me; I am dying to give all the gifts (an entire suitcase of candy, toys, and books). Svetlana went to the Dept. of Social Services this afternoon to take our paperwork and see about getting a court date. No news today, pray for a decision for tomorrow so we can start our five day (business days) waiting period for court. If we get it tomorrow, we would have a date next Friday. After our court appearance the judge imposes a ten day waiting period, and if I am correct it is not 10 working days but 10 calendar days. After the 10 days, I think we leave straight for Kiev. By train again because Jay is skeptical about Ukrainian airlines (go figure). In Kiev we will have to get another apartment and have doctor visits at the US Embassy, get Chas a passport and some other documents, and then we can leave and come home to Carolina (Litton are you smiling at ‘Carolina’ :)). Since I am sitting in the apartment now (Jay, who can sleep any time/where is napping) I am hoping that the internet cafй down the street accepts a thumb drive, so this can be transferred and I don’t have to type there. Anyway I can tell you a little bit about our apt and the people here. So if you are in a hurry, thanks for reading and keeping up with us!
P.S. if the whole thumb drive worked, there are new pictures on Snapfish, and Heather - I sent yours to your e-mail.
Those who are at work/home and bored……this is for you. We had to wait until 8 pm last night to get into our apt. I was so hoping that it would be like the one in Kiev. I know the pictures didn’t show it, but it was very clean (albeit the sheets, not sure they had been changed, thank goodness for my pillow and fleece blanket I brought! Sorry Jay….again he can sleep ANYWHERE) but the kitchen was nice, and the bathroom was really nice for Ukrainian standards. Here is a little different. The apartment is ok, one bedroom, kitchen, bathroom with washer (very important) and a den. Svetlana is parked in the den and Jay and I have the bedroom. We were not aware she would be staying with us, but it has worked fine. She is always working on our paperwork and is a wonderful woman. Svetlana is great - 58 years old, very active/fit and very kind, so it is not bad sharing an apartment with her. However, the complex is very yucky. There is virtually no crime here, but it is just dirty and poor. People are not as friendly on the street (or anywhere), not rude just not talkative. Maybe since I don’t speak one word of their language that would explain why they don’t talk to me! I try… I say ‘Hey’, ‘thank you’ and ‘please’. Donetsk (for the slower ones, this is the city we are in now) is an industrial city, population 1.1 million. Founded in 1869 based on coal and mining. It is touted as one of the ‘greenest’ cities in Ukraine with thousands of acres of parks and gardens. Somewhere in the city there is a 692 acre park. The area Our Children is in one of the poorest areas I have seen. While we are outside with Chas, there are men climbing over the fence and walking through the play area, bottles and trash all over the fence and one old lady (and I mean old!) that has been sweeping up the leaves for two days. I am dying to help her and tell her they are the same leaves from yesterday. Jay says it is job security! I have laughed about that all day. Anyway, back to Our Children. It is a very clean orphanage, not like what I was expecting. The children are all well fed and I would like to say happy, but how could you be happy in a place like that. There are about 100+ children there (newborns – 3 years). They seem to have toys; there is a bag of stuffed animals in the music room that is not even opened. Maybe it is for special occasions. What they need is someone to adopt these children. There are at least four other orphanages in the city and more outside. Svetlana says that when they turn 16/17 they are just put out on the street to fend for themselves with no education or training. The workers all seem nice, but they could be putting on a front. There is a little kitten (see pictures) that hangs outside the kitchen that is cute. A bright spot, you can’t touch but just watching him play is fun. I was told today that Chas sleeps in a ‘little bed’ not a crib. That was good to know, so ‘bed people’ I do not need a crib. :) Let’s see, now if you need to go back to work now is the time. I am just rambling about odds and ends.We haven’t been eating much here. Although I love the Borsch soup…..beet soup (Molly, if you are reading I always think of you when I eat it since you introduced me to beets). Yesterday, Svetlana dropped us off at a restaurant that had cheeseburgers and some American fare and an American menu. Of course I had a cheeseburger, fries and a banana split. But other than that we have had ham and cheese sandwiches for the rest of our meals. We did go to a grocery store yesterday, it was overwhelming, tons of food and stuff. For some reason we hurried and didn’t really get to look that much and plan what we needed. I should have bought a set of sheets and a pillow. Maybe we will get to go again soon. Especially after we get our court date and have time to kill. We can go see Chas from 10-11 am and 4-5pm each day. The trip over there is about 10 minutes.
Hopefully Jay is getting ready to fix some dinner, after writing about food I am hungry. Let’s see, I think I will have a ham and cheese sandwich.
Miss and love you all!

Day 6

Well, here we are making our way through Donetsk. We are so thankful for all of the posts on the blog. We woke up this morning later than we had planned, so after a quick shower and a cup of coffee we were out the door to the orphanage. When we arrived, Svetlana had to meet with a lawyer to complete some paperwork and we took Chas (Charles) outside to play. We had brought a book and a couple small toys for him to play with and we played and watched him for almost an hour. By then I think Kelley and I were both chilly enough to go inside and play in the Music Room. Once inside we had about another half-hour before he had to leave. We sat on the sofas and on the floor and watched him play. He seems much more familiar playing inside than outside, because there is little to do outside. We'll change all of that when we get him back to North Carolina.
After our meeting we were given a quick tour by our driver in the 'twinkie' around the center of Donetsk. He pointed out a place to get on the internet (not here), and how to get back to our apartment from there.
Once we arrived back in the apartment we made some coffee and had a couple snacks to take the edge off. Svetlana had to go to the Social Services to try to get us a court date which she thinks will take 5 working days to get. We are praying that will not be the case and we can get a date by Monday or Tuesday. Every day longer it takes to get that date delays our return home. We went up to the appartment and had some coffee and caught up on some much needed devotions and reading. We were feeling a little down and overwhelmed! You would think that we would be on 'cloud nine' but the opposite is true. It is so emotionally draining- wondering is Chas going to fit in? Will he adjust to his new life and life style? He has NEVER been out of an institutional setting. Think how overwhelming our house and yard will be. All his new friends. Will he like the girls? Litton? (of course he will) Will he listen, play, love? At times we wonder 'what are we doing' and then after some well needed reading Thank you Oswald Chambers! We realize that these SMALL things are not in our control and that we must listen, even if the answer comes in silence and is not the answer WE are looking for. (Oswald Chambers, October 11)
We are getting ready to head back to the apartment (that is another story in itself) and then catch the twinkie to the orphanage.
Thank you all so much for your comments. We live for the time we get to come and read. It is really our only connection to everyone, the phone is so spotty and hard to hear on. We feel so uplifted after we finish reading.
Now, I know you are all saying 'where is the picture'. We were run out of our apt. by the lady coming in to clean and forgot to download to our thumb drive. We will take some more pictures today of everything and then download. If you are having trouble looking at them you need to join/create an account at Snapfish. Which actually is a great deal, you can order any pictures you want. We will try to come back here tonight if at all possible and send some pictures.
Love to you all and thank you so much for the comments and for taking care of our family while we are away.

Day 5

We arrived by train this morning at 7:30. After a crazy afternoon yesterday. We had to find a notary (they're on every corner, but getting one that wants to work on your papers... not an easy thing in Ukraine) and then go to the State Dept and pick up our papers allowing us to travel to the orphanage and see our little one.
Got on the train last night at 7:30 pm (Jenny you will laugh to know that the escalator was broken!) hauled our bags up, up, up stairs to take them down, down, down again and RUN to catch the train. After a little finageling (sp?), Svetlana (our translator) got us a car/cabin together. Let me just say, 1st class train travel is not quite 'business class' on Delta. Pretty bad to say the least, not to mention the potty. But we had fun - ate our pizza and played gin rummy until 10 and then looked at pictures on the computer of the kids until 11. Slept (if you call it that) until 6 and then arrived in Donetsk and were picked up by a 'twinkie' (thats for you Bo!), small yellow Fiat. Imagine 3 American suitcases, 2 packed backpacks and 4 large adults.....The driver that was going to pick us up had car trouble (leaking something all over the parking lot). Not to worry, I guess he fixed his car (smaller than the Fiat but with a Jammin' stereo) and picked us up at the Dept. of Social Services and has been driving us since. First we went to the Orphanage where we talked to a worker about the child, she read his entire folder to us and then we got to go to a large room and see our little Charles (Vladislav Arkhepov). He was very shy and clung to his care giver at first. They think that he was afraid of Jay because he had never seen a man before. He has been in the State's care since he was born. And because I was wearing black and not white, like he is used to. Well, I don't think that was the case because when we went outside and they left us alone, he followed us around and let me carry him around the small area looking at a woodpecker and a cat. We got to stay about 1 hour and then went to another Notary (2.5 hour ordeal, go figure) and then back to the orphanage. When he came out this time he was really happy to see us and even said 'mama' and 'papa' probably at the urging of the caregiver but it still felt wonderful. By the way, Charles (name picked by my husband since I named all the girls :)) will be 3 on February 13th. He feels about 25-27 pounds and is a little shorter than Olivia Mae. He doesn't speak much, probably delayed about 1 year with speech but seems up to speed with motor skills (maybe a little behind US standards). While we were there he did say 'car' since we took some NASCAR gummies. He would not eat in front of us even though I know he was dying to eat them. We now are at the internet cafe and waiting to get into our appartment. We have not had a shower or stopped since this morning so we are both exhausted and mentally fried.
We think that tomorrow our paperwork will begin to be processed for the court date. The good thing is that Svetlana misses her granddaughter a lot, so she is going to push whatever she can so the timeline is shortened. She wants to get back as much as we do.
We will get some pictures and some other things coordinated tonight for posting tomorrow. Best wishes to everyone back home and thank you for your comments, but most importantly for your prayers.
God bless you all,
Jay and Kelley

Day 4

Okay folks, here we go. We leave our apartment in one hour and then catch a train at 7:30 tonight. What are we doing from 2:00 - 7:30? We haven't a clue, but I am sure that it will involve sitting on our suitcases on some corner in Kiev. We will board the train and then head to Donetsk. Hopefully we will be able to find an internet cafe there tomorrow, so we can update more.
Kelley says, "Please feel free to comment on our blog posts." That's what she is living for these days. Any little contact with the homeland!!
Dad, Oma, Litton, Heather (Happy Birthday), and everyone else who hasn't posted a comment.... please do. It will make my (Jay) life easier. ;)
Love to everyone...

Linda

Linda – Here are the directions (for XP, so there may be a couple minor differences) to allow us to see our e-mail. Go to our ‘Inbox’ and select Tools then select E-mail Accounts from the drop down menu. Here’s where it gets tricky… You should have another window come up with our e-mail account. You should be able to click on Properties, which will give another window. At this point you should have a tab allowing you to see Advanced, and down below there should be a box to check under Delivery that says “Leave a copy of messages on the server” That should do it. Thanks!!!
And remember, if these directions didn't make sense it's because I'm a guy trying to explain it to a woman....
luv ya!!

p.s. maybe Keith will understand...

Day 3 1/2

We had our appointment today at the State Department and everything went very well. The building was very nice and clean, and our appointment was right on time. Our translator was young and we went back to an office to meet with a psychologist/social worker. They showed us profiles of five children, oldest to youngest, and early on we both noticed one boy that touched our hearts. Although, it was not quite that easy as we looked over all of the profiles for quite awhile. We then asked to see younger children and they provided another five to six children and their pictures – all of which had some medical condition that would require some special care. It was very difficult to make a decision, when you know that all of the children are in need of a loving family. I think that it was the hardest decision I have EVER had to make. We are confident that the orphanages are doing everything that they can to provide for the children, but it seems that there are so many children in need of love. At the end of the hour meeting we were both so drained emotionally. It was hard to make a decision like that and then to sit and think of what we had just done….we have 4 beautiful children and is this what is right? Can you believe that after 3 years of knowing we were going to adopt that AFTER we made the decision of the child we start to question it? After a good cry (thanks for the call Linda) we both realized that this is EXACTLY what we wanted and how important it is for us to do. Jeanie you caught me at a weak moment…..I’ll talk next time J Our family unit is so strong (thanks Oma for reminding us of that!) and now at 7 pm we are so excited and feel so blessed to be traveling tomorrow. Wow, you can not even imagine how drained we are. If all goes well and we accept the little boy and he accepts us we will be bringing him home to add to our family.

After our appointment we went to lunch with our facilitators to discuss the next phase. The orphanage is in Donetsk about 500 miles to the southeast of Kiev. So tomorrow night (Tues) we will be boarding a train for a 12 hour trip to Donetsk. It should be fun!!
Once we arrive in Donetsk, our new facilitator, Svetlana, will arrange an apartment for us and make all of the arrangements for our visit to the orphanage. We should be able to visit our child by noon on Wednesday.

We just talked to Ricia, talk about a good sound…..Southern speak!

We miss you all and are so thankful for all your calls throughout the day today, just knowing you are praying and thinking of us makes this all easier. Knowing that the girls and Litton are happy and cared for is wonderful.

Until tomorrow…….

Day 3

While you are all slumber land we are up and getting ready for our appointment. We will be picked up in 1 1/2 hours and head to the State Department. We spent the morning praying that the Lord would open our hearts and minds and lead us to the child that He wishes us to have.
When you wake, we should be done with our appointment and hopefully be packing to move to a new region to visit the little one. We will keep all posted throughout the day.
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Thanks to all who sent us comments, it was great to know you were thinking of us.
Bo, mundane is great, wish we had a little here. Miss hearing the girls fuss about Belle :)
Rose, Hey to you and Bob....the Lord will watch over you as He always has! You will be in our prayers as always.
Joy, I am feeling great. Thanks for your prayers and wisdom!
Jeanie.......Thanks for the call it was great hearing from you. How was the Birthday party?
Oma, Good Morning to you and all the kids. We sure do miss you. Call us around 8 am your time.
Love to you all!

Day 2

Day 2- Sunday October 8, 2006

We went to bed around 11 pm after a few rounds of pinball on the computer…Jay is winning but I will catch up.
I couldn’t sleep for part of the night but with a few Tylenol PMs (thanks Ricia) I was able to fall back asleep and we slept until 1:30. I can’t remember the last time I slept that long, oh yeah, it was before I had children ? So after an hour of unsuccessful attempts to figure out the Bluetooth internet thing in the apartment we are heading out to buy a thumb-drive (why we didn’t bring one I don’t know, I guess it would have taken up too much space ?) At least that way we can send some pictures of our apartment. The bed is kind of hard, no box springs just the mattress, I feel like we are sleeping on the floor but I guess it wasn’t that bad, we slept for 14 hours.

Kim - I hope Hannah is feeling better and enjoying a huge stack of pancakes this morning.

Ricia - I will be praying for you and your first KVC meeting on Tuesday. I can’t think of ANYONE better suited for the job. Mark my words, you will take that program and make it the best there is. I do think that if you had any questions you could call Ingrid and she would put you in touch with Susan Watkins who is ours and is a really good KVC and has been in the system for years. Just a thought.

8:10pm our time, just got back from a full day of sightseeing. We walked to the Statue of Independence square and looked around. The main street “Khreschatyk” is closed from 11:00am to 9:00pm on Saturday and Sunday, so many people were walking the street and shopping. There is a huge underground mall (largest in Europe) that we looked in for a bit. It was neat, lots of European styles and American merchandise (way over priced) and then headed out to the local venders and did a little shopping. We didn’t make it to the metro, maybe another day. We had dinner at a cafeteria style restaurant. It was good and we are thinking that we will eat there more. The food was good and inexpensive. Lesya just called and said Irina will pick us up tomorrow at 11:30 to go to the State Department. Hopefully we will be able to hit the internet café as soon as we finish and let you know how it all went. We bought a thumb drive today so we could write in word and the go to the café and send. If you are reading this it worked.

I think we are attaching a few pictures of the apartment and the local area….if you go to Snapfish and they are there it worked. They are not the greatest pictures in the world, but they will give you a quick snapshot of our apartment and the city.

Love you all!

Amelia, tomorrow is the day we pick our baby!