Friday, November 30, 2007
FRIDAY!!!!!
Friday again.....
We are still here! Of course, our highlight of the day is visiting Kolya and the rest of the kids and stopping by the internet cafe (now known as Ukraine's "B.O." capital) twice or more times a day to do a little work.
We had a really nice visit with Kolya yesterday. He seems to be settling in to the fact that we will be his parents (hopefully) one day soon. We bought fake finger nails for Natasha and Anina and candy for the boys. They had a ball putting them on. We also showed them some underwater video clips of one of our scuba trips. They were amazed (I think the caregivers were too).
Hopefully we will go to court the early part of next week. Wednesday is our court date but we are trying to get it moved up (which obviously doesn't matter because we have tried everything we know to rush the process since we arrived). At the latest, we will be home Friday (oh, sweet home!).
I had to jump in a taxi and go to the internet cafe last night around 9:00 pm. Had a few work issues come up. Let me tell you one place you do not want to be at night in the city of Sumy.. that would be at the internet cafe. Maury wasn't with me... I was the only female in the bunch. Experiences, experiences. Thank goodness, with the help of my 'right arm' Sephanie, I was able to do what I needed to do and get back to the hotel.
We have been spending a lot of time with our new friends (now family) that are adopting a boy named Sergey/Austin. They should be leaving for good Wednesday. They have been here over a month. They are very nice people. She is a teacher and he is in public relations. They have two girls at home.
We went to the market yesterday. The market is the place everyone shops.. No malls here Karmon. You can find everything from clothing, to food, to pickled pigs feet. I will attach some pictures from the market.
Today we plan on visiting Kolya, stopping by the market and stopping by the internet cafe. Oh, I guess that is our plan everyday!
Mom said they want to put up her Christmas tree. She didn't want to do it unless I was there. Like Thanksgiving, this will be the first year in my life I haven't put up Mom's Christmas tree with her, Dad and the rest of the family. I guess it is a year full of first!
Maury said he can not wait to tell you all about Olga. I know you all want to know!!! Pretty funny stuff!
Hope everyone is doing good. We love you and miss you!
Kim, Maury and Kol
We are still here! Of course, our highlight of the day is visiting Kolya and the rest of the kids and stopping by the internet cafe (now known as Ukraine's "B.O." capital) twice or more times a day to do a little work.
We had a really nice visit with Kolya yesterday. He seems to be settling in to the fact that we will be his parents (hopefully) one day soon. We bought fake finger nails for Natasha and Anina and candy for the boys. They had a ball putting them on. We also showed them some underwater video clips of one of our scuba trips. They were amazed (I think the caregivers were too).
Hopefully we will go to court the early part of next week. Wednesday is our court date but we are trying to get it moved up (which obviously doesn't matter because we have tried everything we know to rush the process since we arrived). At the latest, we will be home Friday (oh, sweet home!).
I had to jump in a taxi and go to the internet cafe last night around 9:00 pm. Had a few work issues come up. Let me tell you one place you do not want to be at night in the city of Sumy.. that would be at the internet cafe. Maury wasn't with me... I was the only female in the bunch. Experiences, experiences. Thank goodness, with the help of my 'right arm' Sephanie, I was able to do what I needed to do and get back to the hotel.
We have been spending a lot of time with our new friends (now family) that are adopting a boy named Sergey/Austin. They should be leaving for good Wednesday. They have been here over a month. They are very nice people. She is a teacher and he is in public relations. They have two girls at home.
We went to the market yesterday. The market is the place everyone shops.. No malls here Karmon. You can find everything from clothing, to food, to pickled pigs feet. I will attach some pictures from the market.
Today we plan on visiting Kolya, stopping by the market and stopping by the internet cafe. Oh, I guess that is our plan everyday!
Mom said they want to put up her Christmas tree. She didn't want to do it unless I was there. Like Thanksgiving, this will be the first year in my life I haven't put up Mom's Christmas tree with her, Dad and the rest of the family. I guess it is a year full of first!
Maury said he can not wait to tell you all about Olga. I know you all want to know!!! Pretty funny stuff!
Hope everyone is doing good. We love you and miss you!
Kim, Maury and Kol
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wednesday... seems like Thursday!
Really, all the days kind of run into each other now. Craig at my work connected my global services on my BlackBerry - hopefully it will make working easier than visiting the internet cafe several times a day.
Koyla's visit today was good! We really had a testing time last night. He tested, we won... for now any way. He was a perfect little angel today. We played, ate an apple (the entire apple - the only thing that was left was the stem). He wore Maury's shoes and my gloves. He laughs and loves to run and play. He is counting better now. I don't think he has ever had anyone show him how to write or count... Only limited exposure in their "school". We are settling into a routine and seem to be doing better.
Karmon's knee is doing better. Thank you friends and family for checking on her and taking care of her.
It is snowing today. It put a nice layer of beautiful white snow over the gray snow that has been covering the streets for days. Makes things a lot nicer.
Ask Maury about Olga.. or should I say "beast"...
Love you all and miss you,
Kim, Maury and Kol
Koyla's visit today was good! We really had a testing time last night. He tested, we won... for now any way. He was a perfect little angel today. We played, ate an apple (the entire apple - the only thing that was left was the stem). He wore Maury's shoes and my gloves. He laughs and loves to run and play. He is counting better now. I don't think he has ever had anyone show him how to write or count... Only limited exposure in their "school". We are settling into a routine and seem to be doing better.
Karmon's knee is doing better. Thank you friends and family for checking on her and taking care of her.
It is snowing today. It put a nice layer of beautiful white snow over the gray snow that has been covering the streets for days. Makes things a lot nicer.
Ask Maury about Olga.. or should I say "beast"...
Love you all and miss you,
Kim, Maury and Kol
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Tuesday in Sumy
Hello Everyone, We have now been in the Ukraine for over a week. We both are longing for our beds, hot water and a big steak!
Our visits with Kolya are going pretty good. We visit twice a day for a couple of hours (unless he is in "school"). The visits usually consist of about 15 minutes of writing his name and going through the list of english words and names, 30 minutes of him eating or asking for more food and the rest of the time is spent playing, jumping, running, climbing, crawling all over me and Maury!!! Maury calls him "little Hiroshima"! The name fits!
He is picking up words quickly. He can count to five (with a little encouragment), can write the letters "O" and "L" in his name - the "K" looks like something else .. soooo, we have just decided to call him "OL" - why make it hard on him! ha
Karmon fell last night while ice skating - she hurt her knee. Got a call around 2:00 am our time.. I hate those kind of calls... It sounds like she will be fine. She has her mothers grace. I fell down some stairs at a toy store in Kieve... For the Strausman bunch... Maury called me "Sherry".
Kyle sounds good and is back in school. He told me last night that he thought he had a girlfriend. It is Adrienne.. the girl that he has been dating for a while. He just didn't realize it until this weekend (so he says). BOYS!
We left the orphanage today and the kids were outside playing. They didn't want us to leave.. they hung on Maury's leg and begged us to stay.. to take them home.. to hold them. It is hearbreaking and rewarding all at the same time. They are the sweetest things.
Kolya's medical test all came back negative - looks like he is a healthy child!!! That is great news. We will go on with the adoption process now. Hoping to get a court date this week .. .if we can't it will be next Wednesday. Once that is over with, we can head home!!!! >I am dancing in he internet cafe as I write those words!!<
Maury and I have mastered ordering food in a restaurant where the menu's are in Ukraine and not one person speaks English. I really don't know what we are eating, but so far so good!
Take care, we will write again later,
Maury and Kim
Our visits with Kolya are going pretty good. We visit twice a day for a couple of hours (unless he is in "school"). The visits usually consist of about 15 minutes of writing his name and going through the list of english words and names, 30 minutes of him eating or asking for more food and the rest of the time is spent playing, jumping, running, climbing, crawling all over me and Maury!!! Maury calls him "little Hiroshima"! The name fits!
He is picking up words quickly. He can count to five (with a little encouragment), can write the letters "O" and "L" in his name - the "K" looks like something else .. soooo, we have just decided to call him "OL" - why make it hard on him! ha
Karmon fell last night while ice skating - she hurt her knee. Got a call around 2:00 am our time.. I hate those kind of calls... It sounds like she will be fine. She has her mothers grace. I fell down some stairs at a toy store in Kieve... For the Strausman bunch... Maury called me "Sherry".
Kyle sounds good and is back in school. He told me last night that he thought he had a girlfriend. It is Adrienne.. the girl that he has been dating for a while. He just didn't realize it until this weekend (so he says). BOYS!
We left the orphanage today and the kids were outside playing. They didn't want us to leave.. they hung on Maury's leg and begged us to stay.. to take them home.. to hold them. It is hearbreaking and rewarding all at the same time. They are the sweetest things.
Kolya's medical test all came back negative - looks like he is a healthy child!!! That is great news. We will go on with the adoption process now. Hoping to get a court date this week .. .if we can't it will be next Wednesday. Once that is over with, we can head home!!!! >I am dancing in he internet cafe as I write those words!!<
Maury and I have mastered ordering food in a restaurant where the menu's are in Ukraine and not one person speaks English. I really don't know what we are eating, but so far so good!
Take care, we will write again later,
Maury and Kim
Monday, November 26, 2007
Anina
NatashaMonday in Sumy
It is Monday evening in Sumy. Maury is visiting Kolya. I am trying to get some work done.
Maury and I have been blessed and have been able to go to some of the finest hotels/resorts. I now know what it is like to go to the opposite of "fine resort". We are staying at the 'HOTEL INTERNATIONAL' sounds impressive, right!! It is a five story building with a restaurant that is only open between 1:00 and 10:00 (most people do not eat until after 1:00). All the lights in the hotel are turned off with the exception of maybe one or two. So most places are very dark. I understand now why this country or area is so 'depressed' - it is because it is depressing!!! The skies are almost always cloudy. It snows or rains and it is cold. The buildings are very old and falling down. The pot holes in the streets are so big that a small car could get lost in one of them. The sidewalks are so bad that you have to walk in the street. Okay, am I depressing you too??? I think you get the visual. We are missing home!!
Now that we have all that out of the way; we are enjoying our time with Koyla and the orphange. We have been able to bring all of the kids snacks, movies and other goodies. The love playing with me and Maury. We wished we could adopt all of them. There are two little girls that are the sweetest little things. Their names are Natasha and Anina. They are both six and just beautiful and loving. I called the department in Kieve to see if there was any way we could adopt one of them since we approved for two children. They not only said "no" but more or less "hell no." They shot me down like I asked them to take them to the US to work in a factory. I just don't get it - there are so many kids that need a good home. Oh well, I guess that is Ukraine and the government here.
Kolya is learning to write his name and learning a few American words. He talked to Memaw, Kyle, Karmon, Aunt Tina and Nana on the phone. He doesn't know what they are saying but knows they will be apart of his family soon.
He is the sweetest little thing. We are allowed to visit with him twice a day. We go into a room (like a gym) and write, draw, dance and play. When we bring him food, candy or toys, he always ask to share it with the other kids in his class. Of course, we want him to do that. We enjoy seeing the other kids too! He has a kind heart and some how in his six year old little mind understands what is happening to him.
Kyle and Karmon seem excited. They think it is cool that their little brother's name will start with a "K" like their names and mine. They are excited to learn about him and for him to learn about our family and culture. Karmon remembers so much Russian from Kristan and Maxim's visit. She is able to talk to Kolya (well, say a few things any way).
Our hotel, remember, HOTEL INTERNATIONAL, (ha) is the hot spot for wedding receptions. They had several a day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Last night, we arrived after our visit at the orphange. The wedding reception was over and several people were standing outside talking and smoking (which everyone does here). If you have seen movies where Russian guys are singing with their arms around each other and laughing loudly then you can imagine the scene. They spotted Maury and immediatly began singing and arm restling and begging for him to come take pictures with the wedding party - which of course he did! He put is arms around the groom and bestman and took individual pictures with the bride. I had to remind him that I WAS HIS BRIDE (ha) a few times before they would let him go. I think he enjoyed it more than they did.
We are waiting to hear about our appointment with the department of children welfare - we hope it is this Wednesday but fear that it will be next Wednesday. We will keep you all updated.
We have met two really nice couples from the US that are adopting. One is adopting a six year old boy from the orphange where Kolya lives. The other couple is adopting in a town South of Sumy. It has been wonderful getting to know them and enjoying this "journey" with them.
It sounds like everyone had a wonderful holiday. Again, we miss you all and wished we could have shared the time with you.
Kim, Maury and Kolya (Kol Christopher Strausman)
Maury and I have been blessed and have been able to go to some of the finest hotels/resorts. I now know what it is like to go to the opposite of "fine resort". We are staying at the 'HOTEL INTERNATIONAL' sounds impressive, right!! It is a five story building with a restaurant that is only open between 1:00 and 10:00 (most people do not eat until after 1:00). All the lights in the hotel are turned off with the exception of maybe one or two. So most places are very dark. I understand now why this country or area is so 'depressed' - it is because it is depressing!!! The skies are almost always cloudy. It snows or rains and it is cold. The buildings are very old and falling down. The pot holes in the streets are so big that a small car could get lost in one of them. The sidewalks are so bad that you have to walk in the street. Okay, am I depressing you too??? I think you get the visual. We are missing home!!
Now that we have all that out of the way; we are enjoying our time with Koyla and the orphange. We have been able to bring all of the kids snacks, movies and other goodies. The love playing with me and Maury. We wished we could adopt all of them. There are two little girls that are the sweetest little things. Their names are Natasha and Anina. They are both six and just beautiful and loving. I called the department in Kieve to see if there was any way we could adopt one of them since we approved for two children. They not only said "no" but more or less "hell no." They shot me down like I asked them to take them to the US to work in a factory. I just don't get it - there are so many kids that need a good home. Oh well, I guess that is Ukraine and the government here.
Kolya is learning to write his name and learning a few American words. He talked to Memaw, Kyle, Karmon, Aunt Tina and Nana on the phone. He doesn't know what they are saying but knows they will be apart of his family soon.
He is the sweetest little thing. We are allowed to visit with him twice a day. We go into a room (like a gym) and write, draw, dance and play. When we bring him food, candy or toys, he always ask to share it with the other kids in his class. Of course, we want him to do that. We enjoy seeing the other kids too! He has a kind heart and some how in his six year old little mind understands what is happening to him.
Kyle and Karmon seem excited. They think it is cool that their little brother's name will start with a "K" like their names and mine. They are excited to learn about him and for him to learn about our family and culture. Karmon remembers so much Russian from Kristan and Maxim's visit. She is able to talk to Kolya (well, say a few things any way).
Our hotel, remember, HOTEL INTERNATIONAL, (ha) is the hot spot for wedding receptions. They had several a day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Last night, we arrived after our visit at the orphange. The wedding reception was over and several people were standing outside talking and smoking (which everyone does here). If you have seen movies where Russian guys are singing with their arms around each other and laughing loudly then you can imagine the scene. They spotted Maury and immediatly began singing and arm restling and begging for him to come take pictures with the wedding party - which of course he did! He put is arms around the groom and bestman and took individual pictures with the bride. I had to remind him that I WAS HIS BRIDE (ha) a few times before they would let him go. I think he enjoyed it more than they did.
We are waiting to hear about our appointment with the department of children welfare - we hope it is this Wednesday but fear that it will be next Wednesday. We will keep you all updated.
We have met two really nice couples from the US that are adopting. One is adopting a six year old boy from the orphange where Kolya lives. The other couple is adopting in a town South of Sumy. It has been wonderful getting to know them and enjoying this "journey" with them.
It sounds like everyone had a wonderful holiday. Again, we miss you all and wished we could have shared the time with you.
Kim, Maury and Kolya (Kol Christopher Strausman)
Friday, November 23, 2007
Hopefully we will have all of the results back from the medical evaluation today. If all goes well, we will finish the paper work next week and be back in the US!!! Everything is going well... just very slow. The city of Sumy is on the Russia border and has about 300 thousand people. I think they all live in the same apartment complex... It looks like the Bronx of NYC here. It is really amazing how they live. It is a very simple life. It makes me appreciate the 'comforts' of home!
Yesterday was hard for me mentally.. the first Thanksgiving without Maury's Dad, my Dad or Kyle and Karmon. It was sad, but turned out okay with a visit to the orphanage and pizza with friends.
I hope my sisters are picking up my slack shopping on black Friday today. I think this is the first time I have missed Starbucks the shopping in years. I will try to make up for it later (ha).
Well, we miss you all. If everything goes well today, we will start teaching Kolya (Cole-ya) the names of his sister and brother and many cousins (Marina, your name should be easy!!).
Take care, we love and miss you!
Kim
Yesterday was hard for me mentally.. the first Thanksgiving without Maury's Dad, my Dad or Kyle and Karmon. It was sad, but turned out okay with a visit to the orphanage and pizza with friends.
I hope my sisters are picking up my slack shopping on black Friday today. I think this is the first time I have missed Starbucks the shopping in years. I will try to make up for it later (ha).
Well, we miss you all. If everything goes well today, we will start teaching Kolya (Cole-ya) the names of his sister and brother and many cousins (Marina, your name should be easy!!).
Take care, we love and miss you!
Kim
Friday in Sumy
Well, today we're just running around town getting paperwork signed and all that fun stuff. We met a couple yesterday at the orphanage, Nina and Tim from Indiana that are adopting a precious little boy that just happens to be Kolya's good friend. They're both 6 and we all played hard. Wow, I didn't realize how much excercise you can get by swinging kids around and playing horsey, I know one fat horse that was ready to be put in the barn!!!! After we left the kids, we all ended up at a pizza joint last night eating pizza and drinking beer for Thanksgiving. We laughed about making it a new tradition for now on, every Thanksgiving we'll have Borscht and pizza!!!! Hopefully we'll all stay in touch back in the states and the boys will remain friends.
As we mentioned earlier, we had also met a couple when we were in Kiev from South Carolina, Rob and Lisa that are trying to adopt a little boy from another region. We're so lucky to have met such good people on this trip and hopefully everything will work out for them and we'll stay in touch as well. Rob and Lisa, if you're reading this our prayers are with you....Good Luck!!!
I have already e-mailed Dan at Red River Scuba back home and told him to get ready because we have a new addition to the swim lessons!!!!! We're really looking forward to seeing Kolya react to the "New World" that's out there and just simple pleasures like eating an apple that we take for granted is really appreciated by some people. Life is good....
As we mentioned earlier, we had also met a couple when we were in Kiev from South Carolina, Rob and Lisa that are trying to adopt a little boy from another region. We're so lucky to have met such good people on this trip and hopefully everything will work out for them and we'll stay in touch as well. Rob and Lisa, if you're reading this our prayers are with you....Good Luck!!!
I have already e-mailed Dan at Red River Scuba back home and told him to get ready because we have a new addition to the swim lessons!!!!! We're really looking forward to seeing Kolya react to the "New World" that's out there and just simple pleasures like eating an apple that we take for granted is really appreciated by some people. Life is good....
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Our Meeting
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! We wish we were there frying a turkey and enjoying the company. Well, we had our first meeting with a little boy named Nickoli (?) they call him Kolya for short. He's 6 yrs old and is a little character. He's been there about 10 months and seems just perfect.
We're getting in touch with a specialist in the US and hopefully everything will check out just fine. He ate a package of Oreos and whole apple yesterday......I mean a WHOLE apple, core and everything!!!! We also brought him a few little cars and legos to play with. We're looking forward to getting back to the orphanage and spending some time with him.
We just couldn't get the opportunity to meet two children as they were only showing us pictures of siblings with health problems. We finally were shown a picture of Kolya as a last resort and he was just precious.....funny how they make that work!
We're in a city named Sumy not far from Russia and it's interesting.....pretty run down, lots of apartments and run down buildings. The orphanage itself looks run down but it's really pretty nice on the inside. It still seems funny to see beautiful women in fur coats walking to work through dirt lots and down filthy streets.
Well, time to go for now. We hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving and we're thinking of you all!!!!! Wish us luck!!!!
Maury and Kimsky
We're getting in touch with a specialist in the US and hopefully everything will check out just fine. He ate a package of Oreos and whole apple yesterday......I mean a WHOLE apple, core and everything!!!! We also brought him a few little cars and legos to play with. We're looking forward to getting back to the orphanage and spending some time with him.
We just couldn't get the opportunity to meet two children as they were only showing us pictures of siblings with health problems. We finally were shown a picture of Kolya as a last resort and he was just precious.....funny how they make that work!
We're in a city named Sumy not far from Russia and it's interesting.....pretty run down, lots of apartments and run down buildings. The orphanage itself looks run down but it's really pretty nice on the inside. It still seems funny to see beautiful women in fur coats walking to work through dirt lots and down filthy streets.
Well, time to go for now. We hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving and we're thinking of you all!!!!! Wish us luck!!!!
Maury and Kimsky
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Tuesday in Kiev
Hello Everyone, it is another cold day in Kiev waiting to travel tomorrow. Yesterday was disappointing in a way. We only had one hour to decide on a child or if we really were going to go through with this. I thought used car sales people are bad... It is sad you are talking about a child, a human life and they show you a couple of pictures, read a limited medical history and then they say ... make a decision. The child we selected seemed to look "normal" and out of all the children, appeared to have the least amount of issues. Although, we really will not be able to tell until we get into the region and meet him.
Tomorrow we will travel to Sumy. It is a couple hours away from Kiev. Because of the weather (snow and ice) I am sure we will travel by train. We will have a meeting at the local child services center then travel to the orphanage to meet Kolya. We decided to bring him candy (Kristina and Maxim loved candy so we thought he would be the same) and a few toys. We are pryaing the meeting goes well.
We met another couple from the US at dinner. We heard a southern accent and asked where they were from. They are from South Carolina. They are here to adopt as well. It was interesting hearing their story - it is so much like ours.
I continue to find Kiev very interesting. There are no children here.. no kidding... I think we have seen one. No teenagers and very few people that would be considered elderly. Most are between 20-60. It is the strangest thing I have ever seen. We walked around a mall last night and honestly did't see a child or group of kids any where. As I said yesterday, the woman are beautiful - men too. Maury has decided to stay here and go into public service... I will not mention what field he has decided to go in to (just kidding). There is a public bus stop by our apartment. Out of the 15 woman standing in line for the bus, 9 had full length mink coats on... it was the craziest thing I have ever seen. I wanted to take a picture (thought you guys would get a kick out of that) but didn't have my camera. Anyway, this city is a lot like New York City (very trendy, a lot of money and crowded). I am sure we will go into culture shock when we leave the fast paced city to the Sumy region. As a matter of fact, our translator said this is the only city like this in the Ukraine.
We do not have a dryer in our apartment and can not figure out how to work the washing machine. Maury and I washed our clothes in the sink and hung them to dry. My pampered self was fussing a little... Maury keeps reminding me that it builds character!!! I will not say what my response is to him!!!! :)
Well today is another waiting game. I think we will do a little shopping for Kyle and Karmon, explore the city and learn about the history. We are finally on their time zone (sleeping) so we feel better. I tried to work a little but forgot that it is 2:00 am there now. Our server is down for maintenance. I can not check emails until later this afternoon.
Talk to you soon!
Kim and Maury
By the way, Maury is on another computer checking scores. We see the Saints lost (sad) but feel happy the ULM beat Alabama!!!!! That is almost better than LSU beating them! Congrats Saban!!
Tomorrow we will travel to Sumy. It is a couple hours away from Kiev. Because of the weather (snow and ice) I am sure we will travel by train. We will have a meeting at the local child services center then travel to the orphanage to meet Kolya. We decided to bring him candy (Kristina and Maxim loved candy so we thought he would be the same) and a few toys. We are pryaing the meeting goes well.
We met another couple from the US at dinner. We heard a southern accent and asked where they were from. They are from South Carolina. They are here to adopt as well. It was interesting hearing their story - it is so much like ours.
I continue to find Kiev very interesting. There are no children here.. no kidding... I think we have seen one. No teenagers and very few people that would be considered elderly. Most are between 20-60. It is the strangest thing I have ever seen. We walked around a mall last night and honestly did't see a child or group of kids any where. As I said yesterday, the woman are beautiful - men too. Maury has decided to stay here and go into public service... I will not mention what field he has decided to go in to (just kidding). There is a public bus stop by our apartment. Out of the 15 woman standing in line for the bus, 9 had full length mink coats on... it was the craziest thing I have ever seen. I wanted to take a picture (thought you guys would get a kick out of that) but didn't have my camera. Anyway, this city is a lot like New York City (very trendy, a lot of money and crowded). I am sure we will go into culture shock when we leave the fast paced city to the Sumy region. As a matter of fact, our translator said this is the only city like this in the Ukraine.
We do not have a dryer in our apartment and can not figure out how to work the washing machine. Maury and I washed our clothes in the sink and hung them to dry. My pampered self was fussing a little... Maury keeps reminding me that it builds character!!! I will not say what my response is to him!!!! :)
Well today is another waiting game. I think we will do a little shopping for Kyle and Karmon, explore the city and learn about the history. We are finally on their time zone (sleeping) so we feel better. I tried to work a little but forgot that it is 2:00 am there now. Our server is down for maintenance. I can not check emails until later this afternoon.
Talk to you soon!
Kim and Maury
By the way, Maury is on another computer checking scores. We see the Saints lost (sad) but feel happy the ULM beat Alabama!!!!! That is almost better than LSU beating them! Congrats Saban!!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Hello everyone! We left Shreveport at 4:30 Saturday. We almost missed our plane because Maury wouldn't leave the airport and the LSU game... no kidding, we were running to the plane and the doors closed behind us. We arrived in Kiev (Ukraine's capital) Sunday (last night) about 5:30 pm.. WOW, what a very long day. A non-English speaking guy picked us up from the airport and drove us to our apartment. Kiev is beautiful and covered in snow. The buildings are beautiful and the people are beautiful. I have never seen so many mink coats in my life... I told Maury I felt like an orphan (that bad joke wasn't it). We ate dinner last night a O'Briens (doesn't sound Ukrainian does it).. Well that would be because it isn't.. We can not speak Russian/Ukrainian and didn't know the currency exchange.... We thought it would be safer to go there first.
Our apartment is what I pictured as a typical home in the Ukraine. It is very very old..one bedroom, a small kitchen, a room with a toilet, a bathroom (with a tub and sink), a living room and a bedroom. There really isn't much to it.. There is a very old woman (looks like what I imagined - actually looks like pictures of Maury's grandmother) with a long dress, scarf on her head and three teeth. She guards the door of the apartment.. She lives in a very small room and watches people go in and out.. .she is about 80 years old so I am not sure how much guarding she actually does. Maury brought her candy so she fell in love with him. She comes out and hugs him now. I took a picture of them, I will post it if I can. The funnest thing about the apartment is the elevator. It is smaller than a very small closet.. room for about two people at most. Well, Maury is the size of two or more people. You should see us trying to fit ourselves and our luggage into the thing... It is funny. We paid for an apartment so we could have high speed internet connectivity. Unfortunately, having a phone in the room is a luxury and there is no internet connectivity. Thank goodness we are a block away from the main square and there is an internet cafe.
We went to the NICA - like our children's services department. We stood in line with a group of people - one family from the US and the others from Spain, Italy and the Ukraine. They took us to a room with a translator and a "psychologist". We ask them about Kristina and Maxim and showed them pictures. They said they were not available. The showed us pictures of children that met our criteria. Which was pretty broad (healthy ages 4 - 11). Unfortunately, out of the 7 sibling groups, only 1 group (a sister and brother) seemed to really be healthy (the others had problems ranging from a mother with HIV to one girl who had heart surgery). It was really sad. They then showed us single children (without siblings). We selected a little boy that is 6 years old. His name is Koyla. He seemed to be very healthy and looked happy. We really do not know very much about him other than his age and some medical history and that he has a younger sister. His little sister has already been adopted by parents in the Ukraine.We will get our orders to visit him tomorrow afternoon and travel to his region Wednesday.
Other than the visits, Maury and I have walked around and enjoyed the snow and cold. Again, the history is amazing.
We miss you all and know that our hearts with you this holiday. I am very sad that I will not be there during Thanksgiving. Know that I will be thinking of you!
I will try to post things later. I am checking my email so write if you would like. I will try and post some pictures here. If not, I will post where they are.
Love you,
Kim and Maury
Our apartment is what I pictured as a typical home in the Ukraine. It is very very old..one bedroom, a small kitchen, a room with a toilet, a bathroom (with a tub and sink), a living room and a bedroom. There really isn't much to it.. There is a very old woman (looks like what I imagined - actually looks like pictures of Maury's grandmother) with a long dress, scarf on her head and three teeth. She guards the door of the apartment.. She lives in a very small room and watches people go in and out.. .she is about 80 years old so I am not sure how much guarding she actually does. Maury brought her candy so she fell in love with him. She comes out and hugs him now. I took a picture of them, I will post it if I can. The funnest thing about the apartment is the elevator. It is smaller than a very small closet.. room for about two people at most. Well, Maury is the size of two or more people. You should see us trying to fit ourselves and our luggage into the thing... It is funny. We paid for an apartment so we could have high speed internet connectivity. Unfortunately, having a phone in the room is a luxury and there is no internet connectivity. Thank goodness we are a block away from the main square and there is an internet cafe.
We went to the NICA - like our children's services department. We stood in line with a group of people - one family from the US and the others from Spain, Italy and the Ukraine. They took us to a room with a translator and a "psychologist". We ask them about Kristina and Maxim and showed them pictures. They said they were not available. The showed us pictures of children that met our criteria. Which was pretty broad (healthy ages 4 - 11). Unfortunately, out of the 7 sibling groups, only 1 group (a sister and brother) seemed to really be healthy (the others had problems ranging from a mother with HIV to one girl who had heart surgery). It was really sad. They then showed us single children (without siblings). We selected a little boy that is 6 years old. His name is Koyla. He seemed to be very healthy and looked happy. We really do not know very much about him other than his age and some medical history and that he has a younger sister. His little sister has already been adopted by parents in the Ukraine.We will get our orders to visit him tomorrow afternoon and travel to his region Wednesday.
Other than the visits, Maury and I have walked around and enjoyed the snow and cold. Again, the history is amazing.
We miss you all and know that our hearts with you this holiday. I am very sad that I will not be there during Thanksgiving. Know that I will be thinking of you!
I will try to post things later. I am checking my email so write if you would like. I will try and post some pictures here. If not, I will post where they are.
Love you,
Kim and Maury
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)