Weird food o' the day

Dried seafood is very, very popular in southern Ukraine. You can buy it in pouches much like beef jerkey in the States. When I saw the selection today, I couldn't pass up on the dried fish and dried squid (pictured above). I also thought of my brother, Jon, when I saw the dried whole anchovies which my facilitator, Oksana, said is too salty. I tried the dried fish when I got back to my room. The smell is pretty overpowering and it turned Kelly off immediately. I, on the other hand, dove right in. You peel the skin off the fish and don't eat the tail fin; otherwise all else is fair game. The fish tasted pretty much as expected from the smell and it is also fairly salty. While I'd still rather have my Jack Link's Peppered Jerkey, the fish wasn't a horrible substitute. The major drawback, though, is that Kelly won't kiss me until after I brush my teeth now.

Tomorrow I'll tear into the squid which Oksana said is superior to the fish. We'll see.

I must admit that I LOVE grocery shopping here. First off, the prices are less than half what they are in the States. Secondly, you constantly run across unusual foods. Thirdly, it's interesting to see how American exports are packaged and marketed here. I've spent more time in the grocery store the last two days than probably the last two years beforehand and loved every minute of it.

We're talking about heading to the open air market tomorrow after church. Oksana said there will be a lot of street vendors selling food. I feel like Andrew Zimmerman all of a sudden.

LAP Electrical VRT idea

I apologize to those folks who aren't on my electrical team at Ford, but I couldn't pass this up...

We've seen many vehicles in Ukraine with these straps hanging down. Apparently Russian-made cars are not grounded properly and these straps serve the purpose. There have been several instances of folks talking on cellphones and having an electrostatic discharge explode the phone resulting in fatalities. These straps prevent that from occurring. Perhaps we should suggest this for our next vehicle as optional equipment.

Feeling like royalty

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather today (it was in the 40s and sunny) and do a little siteseeing in between visits with our little guy. One of the main attractions in Belgorod-Dnestrovsky is the medieval fortress on the bay. From our guide book, we knew that it was built from the 12th to the 15th centuries, but we had no idea how expansive it was. It is over 500 yards wide by 250 yards deep - and that's not including the ruins of the old town outside its walls. We were also struck by how complete the fortress is - the exterior walls are in good shape, the moat appears to be near its original depth, and the interior walls (to include the keep) are still intact. You are completely free to roam as you want - there are "danger" signs posted but nothing else to inhibit your exploring. We climbed onto the ramparts (about 40 feet high from the inner grounds and explored several of the fortifications. Kelly even tried her hand at the crossbow while we were there.

Potato chips

Yes people, those are crab flavored potato chips!! Today we went to a big new grocery store (kind of like Wal Mart). They had many aisles of choices and since we have a kitchen where we are staying, we picked up some food. Tonight for dinner was salami and cheese sandwiches and these chips. They taste exactly the way they sound. We also picked up some toys and snacks for our little guy. We got a coloring book with stickers and were so proud to see him match up all of the stickers to the right spots. He is a smart one!

First meeting

OK - I know everyone is dying of suspense. Here is what you wanted to hear about......

We left Kiev at 3:00am. Whoa! We were so tired. Drove and drove to get here. Then got lost, cracked out the GPS and finally found our way. We went straight to the inspector's office. She provides the local paperwork needed to visit the orphanage. Then she loaded up into the van with us and went to the orphanage to meet him. Yes - we had been riding in the van all day, no sleep, and now we are finally going to meet this little boy. The moment we've been waiting for.....

At the orphanage, first the physician comes in and tells about him. He was off having lunch. We wait some more and then finally the caregiver walks in with him. She is holding his hand and blocking my view. I am craning around - so eager for my first glimpse. And there he is - a smiling little boy, very tall. He smiles really big and says, 'My name is ____, I am 4 years old and I have a song for you.' (name removed for privacy) and then he starts to sing. Of course, all of this is in Ukrainian, so we have no idea what he's saying. But what a cutie with a big personality! We brought him a juice box and he warmed right up to us.

We visited for a little bit and then had to leave. We came back later in the day, after his nap, and played some more. Then today, 2 more visits. He is a very verbal child - inquisitive and ACTIVE! We are going to be hopping. He is already repeating words in English when prompted. And - he is trying to teach us Ukrainian. We aren't very good students! He counts in Ukrainian and we count back in English. He will pick it up quickly, I know.

He is well taken care of. There are quite a few care givers and they all seem concerned about his well being. He is eating well and they have a playroom full of toys as well as outside play grounds. We will continue to visit him twice a day and move forward with paperwork. We feel certain that this is the little boy that God picked out for us and we can't wait to bring him home to meet you all. We appreciate your comments and prayers. We love and miss you all!

Quick update

We made it to the town (thanks to the GPS). We met the little boy - so cute! We are so tired. I will post more later. We are staying at a nice Christian facility which is used in the summer for traveling missionaries. We feel right at home. I know you want more info. Too tired.....will post tomorrow......

Pictures

Visiting the Lavra in Kiev - a huge Eastern Orthodox complex of churches. We went through the caves in the lower Lavra and saw the deceased monks from centuries past. What an experience!

Our first Kiev geocache! Doesn't Galya look like she's having fun?

Jason and his muskrat hat. Doesn't he look just like a local??

A change in plans.....

Thank you for all of your comments! We love to get a word from home. Keep them coming!!

It turns out the little boy outside Kiev was not available. So, we have accepted another referral for a 4 year old little boy. He is in an orphanage in Bilgorod-Dnistrovsky, a town southwest of Odessa. This is in Southern Ukraine, about 6 hours south of Kiev. We are happy to go south and find some warmer weather. It is on the coast of the Black Sea.

We are waiting in Kiev for some paperwork and then will be heading down there at 3:00AM tomorrow. We are leaving early in the hope that we can get to town, get the necessary local paperwork done and get to meet this little guy tomorrow. We are so excited to finally meet him!

After all of that excitement yesterday, we spent the evening at the Ukrainian National Ballet. The performance was Don Quixote and we were very impressed. The dancers were excellent! We had a good time with Galya and kept her out late!

Food update - we finally ate some local Ukraine food. They have cafeteria style restaurants that are great because we can see all of the food and pick out what looks good. Lunch for Kelly consisted of Borscht (with a dollop of sour cream - yummy!) and a plate of cabbage and valenky (which are like peirogies). Jason had fish baked in paprika and buttery mashed potatoes. Dinner took us to another cafeteria (right near the ballet). Kelly had cabbage rolls and potato cakes and Jason had Chicken Kiev (yes, they call it that here) and vegetables. We are enjoying trying new things, so far everything is yummy and cholesterol free :) . We had some wonderful baklava for dessert.

You can tell we are eating good and enjoying our time here, just hanging out waiting to meet the little one. More news tomorrow, hopefully good!! Thank you for your continued prayers. We feel the hand of God moving in this adoption and we are following His lead.

And the good news is.......

We had our appointment! Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We really felt covered in prayer and did not have a lot of anxiety going into the appointment. We knew that all is in God's hands. We have accepted a referral for a 5 year old little boy. He is 2 hours outside of Kiev - so we don't have to travel too far. I know you want more info, but that is all we have right now. Please continue to pray that when we meet this little guy that all will go well. We are so excited!!!

On a side note - before the appointment, we were visiting the souvenier stands out on the street. Jason got a big fluffy fur cap - muskrat! He looks so cool. We will try to post a photo later. We are having fun. It's cooooold! Jason only brought a ball cap, so he needed something to keep his head warm. It is colder than we expected. It was 7 yesterday - and just a little warmer today.

Our facilitator, Galya, has been great! She has enjoyed learning about geocaching and we are having fun wandering around the city with her. She has a good sense of humor. She never heard anyone say 'Holy Cow!' before. Now that we are conscious of it - we say it a lot more than we realized. We all crack up laughing every time!

More later......

We made it!!

Pryvet and Hello from Ukraine! The flight was long, but no problems getting here. We have had a BIG day. We've already been geocaching a little bit around Kiev, rode the subway, saw St. Michael's church, visited Babi Yar (site of WWII Jewish massacre), and even ate McDonalds. We figured we had to keep moving this first day or we would fall asleep on our feet! It's coming up on 8p and we can't keep our eyes open any longer. We are excited for our appointment tomorrow and appreciate your continued prayers.

The adventure begins.....

House Sitter

We had dinner tonight at the Mayan Cafe (excellent, by the way!) with Jake - our friend that will be staying at our house full time while we are gone. We are so thankful to leave everything in his capable hands. What a good friend!

Thanks to all of you who have supported us throughout this entire process. Your prayers, interest and excitement in our lives and this adoption have meant so much to us. We are so thankful for all of you and feel so blessed to have such an amazing group of family and friends.

Are we ready? Well, not yet - but we will be soon! We had the carpets cleaned in the kid's room today. All of the final pieces are coming together. We are so sure that this is God's plan for our lives and we can't wait to see how He will bring it all together. We are stressed about pulling everything together for the trip, but not in the least about the adoption. We can be calm and confident knowing that this is His plan.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Valentine Painting Party!

One week until we leave and I finally agreed to paint the room. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!!! AAAaaahhhh!! But, we got it done. It's a boring neutral, but we can spiff it up later. So many last minute things to do. Where did the month go?? Thanks Dad and Peggy! What would we have done without you?

Sock Monkeys!

A friend of ours from the Geocaching community made these sock monkeys for the kid(s). (or one for the kid and one for Jason!) Aren't they the cutest? Our geocaching name is 'CaptainPunkin' so that's why they have the pumpkin hats. How cute! Thanks Laurie!!

We met with the Baby Lady at church today to go over the details of the trip. I feel so much better after speaking with her. I know it is in God's hands, but talking it all through just made me feel better. She went through all of the things we should and shouldn't take, what to expect when we get there, etc. We are so excited!!!!