Tomorrow with the kids, Monday in Court

Well we are on the move again. We will be able to see the kids late afternoon on Sunday and then we will be in Court Monday morning. Stay tuned. I think this has been one of the longest "paper pregnancy's." And I've told Teresa that the weight of the three kids in this case is about equal to hers. No numbers! my head is still recovering from the frying pan therapy (behavior modification.)

Waiting again

Well we are home for a little more than two weeks. Court is scheduled for November 30. While we are gone our facilitator has visited the kids and taken them care packages Teresa made for them.

Ukraine seems to be unwinding from the Swine Flu scare so in a few days we should be with the kids again.

It is giving us a chance to get caught up on work and do a few things around the house now that we have an idea of what the kids like.

Parenting, We asked for it.

Well our youngest is in the hospital with a fever of 101-102. Even the orphanage staff were not allowed to see him to take him some fruit. They are still letting us visit the older two kids even on the weekends. Today they finally let some of the kids friends join us. Our daughter showed some jealousy today. Kind of nice except for kicking & hitting her friends. Ahh parenting, what we've been waiting for.

As for finding a location with fast enough internet speed to use our skype webcam we are still unsuccessful.

We are lucky in our location to be in one of the few oblasts (states) in Ukraine where there have been no deaths reported from swine flu. Interestingly here they are referring to the strain of swine flu as the California strain.

Lights Out

Well our power is out not just for the motel but as far as we can see in all directions. Since we still have internet access I'm assuming somewhere nearby has power. So with battery powered laptops and windup flashlights we have another of those Ukrainian moments like internet access on the train where the toilet empties onto the tracks below. I guess it's about time to sleep anyway.

Do po bach ne ya (Goodbye)

Birthday's Weird Coincidence

When we were looking at the kids documents Teresa said oh look N's (daughter) birthday is the day after mine. I'm thinking good that helps with remembering important dates.

Then she says I's (oldest son) birthday is the day after her Dad's. So I'm thinking kind of spooky and then we see the S's (youngest son) is the day before Teresa's sister's birthday.

So much for spreading dates around the calendar.

Under Construction

We are waiting for the State Department for Adoption to handle the paperwork. Thinking they should have plenty of time now that they have cancelled/postponed other family's appointments.

Just curious if anyone else has noticed that construction remodeling seems to follow us where ever we are staying. Is it just to annoy my nap or our we providing the funding for it when we rent the motel room?

Funny thing what the mind comes up with to think about at times.

The diaper

Ukraine is in the middle of paranoia over swine flu. In order to visit the kids at the orphanage we are now required to wear face masks. The aptika (Pharmacy) are sold out of them so Valentin, our facilitator made us some on his daughter's sowing machine.

I was going with the idea that it made us look like taliban but thanks to our friends John & Felix it has taken a new direction. John thought it looked more like a diaper and Felix reminded us that the diaper goes on the bottom not the face.

Anyway we have a judge assigned to our adoption case we should know our court date tomorrow. The state department for adoption has a few more pieces of paperwork for our file to be complete, but we are moving forward.

Ukraine has closed all schools and theaters for three weeks to try to prevent the spread of swine flu. The state department for adoption has postponed anyone who had an appointment for the next three weeks. Our case is moving forward but there are other families, some already here that this is really messing up their situation. Please pray for a quick resolution for all. There have been some deaths due to the flu but the news reports that it really isn't any more than in a regular flu season.

Our nephew Kenton will be happy to learn that all three of his new cousins are younger than he is.

Anyway here's a picture of the latest fashion trend sweeping Ukraine. Join us if you wish.