Day 42 - Taking the wrong bus - Saturday, Oct. 29

So we got up early, Yarik took forever in the shower and Sergei and I got breakfast. We got all of our stuff together and got out the door. Yarik called Vitalli to see which bus would take us to the train station. He said bus number 2. We waited and waited, no bus number 2! So it was getting closer and closer to the time we would have to get on the train, so I suggested we take a different bus downtown and then catch one from there to the train station. I thought that bus 4 took us downtown. Well, it did go downtown, but then turned before it got where I wanted to get off. I did not notice that it turned off until things were looking really unfamiliar. I was not sure which way we were going, so I figured we would just take the ride and maybe get lucky. Well, not this time...we ended up in an unfamiliar part of town and decided to get off and take another bus going back to town. By this time it was too late to catch the train. I apologized to the guys and Yarik choose the bus this time, which did take us back to the center where we could walk back to the apartment. We went back to the apartment and dropped off the gifts. We had a snack and then headed back to the open air market. Since we had some extra time, we wanted to see if we could find any other good deals for gifts.
We got a few more things for friends and some gifts for family back in the US. We went back to the apartment again and then went to get groceries. The team from Open Arms were planning to come for dinner on Sunday, so I started preparing things for the next day. They were hungry for Mexican food, so I made the salsa. It sure smelled good, I hoped it tasted good. I had even found some cilantro to use, which was good for me, because I like cilantro, but Darren does not. So I got to use it and enjoy it without him disliking it.
Darren and I got some time to have a "date" online and then we all got to bed at a fairly decent time so we would be ready for church the next morning. Fortunately, we also got the extra hour of sleep, since they change the time a week earlier here.

Day 41 - More of the same - Friday October 28

We needed some additional gifts for Sergei's friends, so we did some more shopping. He chose some small skate boards and some gum and candy. We also bought some orchids for several teachers. We had planned to catch the 10am train the next morning, so wanted to have everything in order.

The boys wrapping a book for a friend

Ksenia called mid-morning and said we might be able to get some paperwork done. She was going to call when she was ready early afternoon. I was pretty excited at the possibility! Unfortunately, when she did call back, she said that we could not get the paperwork yet and would have to wait for Tuesday. Big Bummer!!  Then later I got a message from Yarik's teacher's daughter telling us that she was sick and we would not be able to join them for dinner. So all our plans for the day were pretty much shot. At least we got to sleep in and get a few more gifts for friends.

Gym bag full of gifts

Without much to do that night, we just made dinner and hung out at the apartment. We wanted to get to sleep early, so we would be awake and ready to get to the train. The boys got all their gifts ready to transport and we went to sleep.

Day 40 -Hurray for Internet - Thursday October 27

So another Groundhog Day wake up. Same old same old. Not much to do, just Sergei and I being lazy. I did wake up again and type quite a few more entries. After I had caught up to Monday, I woke Sergei. He had a few more gifts he wanted to get for his friends that we would have to buy in a regular store. I had also promised two families that I would get phones for kids at the orphanage so they could keep in touch. I was just about out of grivnas so I knew we would have to go to the bank. There was a bank in the strip mall by our apartment and a phone store a few doors away from that. I figured we would check those out first and then try to find a sport store to get the goalkeeper gloves that he wanted for one of his friends. Before we left the apartment Ksenya called to tell us that the landlord was planning to come and clean in about half an hour and the internet guy was going to be there in about an hour. It was better that we weren't around while they cleaned, but I would have to be there for the internet hook up. I figured it would work well to do the money exchange and phones and still be close enough to meet the internet guy. We went down to the bank, it was a different branch of the one I normally went to downtown, so I hoped it would work just as easy. There were 3 other women at the cashier window, so Sergei and I waited for quite a while. Sergei was restless and wanted to wait for me outside. I said okay and after a while longer it was finally my turn. I handed her the passport and money and she looked a little perplexed. She took the passport and did some sort of search on the computer. She asked me something in Russian and I conveyed that I spoke English. She asked if I had exchanged money at this bank before and I tried to explain that I had changed some downtown. I am not sure that she understood, but the answer did not help. She still was perplexed and went to confer with some other employees. Evidently the one she needed to talk to was helping another customer, so I waited some more. Just as she began talking to the other employee, Ksenya called to say that the internet guy was at the apartment entrance waiting for me to let them in. I thanked the girl and said I had to go and would come back later. Not sure if she was actually ready to help me by then, but I did not want to wait any longer.
Outside I had Sergei walk back to the apartment with me and we let the guys in and they followed us up to the apartment. I had thought that the landlord would be there cleaning, but he still had not arrived. The guys plugged in the ethernet cord that was already there and made some calls, logged into the computer and adjusted some settings and got online. He tried out 2 different YouTube videos to test the quality and then ran some speed tests. In the meantime the landlord and cleaning lady showed up and started cleaning. The internet guy was asking me some questions and I was not sure what he needed. Fortunately, the landlord translated a bit for me and they wanted to know if the speed was going to be okay. I said I just wanted to be able to Skype to America and figured I would test it out. Of course, no one was awake or logged in, so I tried to call my house to tell them to get on. No one answered! I tried a few neighbors, but could not get anyone. I tried my house again and finally got an answer. They were busy trying to get Bekka out the door, but Darren woke Ellie so we could test the video chat.
It worked fine and the landlord was anxious for us to leave so he could clean without us around. I promised to call back later in the day and Sergei and I decided to go downtown to exchange money where I normally went and would not have so much trouble. As I figured, I went right in and there was no line. I got the money changed fast and we went to the phone store. We got the two phones. We were getting hungry so we went into the EcoMarket and got some snacks. We also found some gift bags to use for his gifts. We got those and I kind of wanted to have us eat something healthy before our candy bars, so we went to a little gyro stand outside the supermarket. Darren and I had seen it before and had wanted to try it out, but never did. Just before we ordered, Yarik called to say that he was on his way. Sergei and I got two gyro type sandwiches. Just as we got our order, Anika called to let us know where there were two sport stores that we could try to find the soccer gloves.. We ate our sandwiches, very yummy, and just as we were finishing we found Yarik. He wanted one, too, so we went back and he ordered one for himself.
After he got his order, we went to the first sports store that Anika recommended that was on the 4th floor above the EcoMarket.  Vitalli met us there. They did not have what he wanted so we went back to the EcoMarket, because Yarik wanted to buy a birthday cake for one of his friends. He got a cake, some juice and some gift bags as well. Then Yarik and Vitalii left us to go back to celebrate the birthday. Sergei and I went to the other sport store that was only a block away. This time we were in luck as they had many gloves to choose from. Sergei found a pair he liked and we bought them and headed home.


At home we took advantage of having internet and called home again. We talked to Bekka a bit and wanted to talk to Darren, but he had a business call. So I saw that Sam Dye was online and thought his boys who were from the same orphanage, but had been adopted this summer, might want to talk to Sergei. They were happy to talk to him and the three of them had a very lively conversation! The boys had to log off, and Darren was finally available, so I got to talk to him as well. Ellie got on later and we talked to her and Bekka and TJ. It was so good to see them all. But I think talking to them so much is making me more homesick. Yarik had finished with his friends and came back to the apartment. He was allowed to sleep with us again. He was also hungry for apples. Sergei and I had snacked earlier in the evening and our gyros were enough of a meal, so we didn't really make dinner. Sergei had eaten all of the apples, so Yarik and I went over to the store to get some more. We bought a huge bag this time. Maybe they will last more than a day!

Sergei posing in the kitchen-although he was not cooking here, he has been working on his cooking skills!

Stretching in the living room

Sergei spread out on my bed

Ellie asked us to take photos of our apartment, so Sergei posed in each room as I took the photos. Then the boys ate some more apples and Sergei and I started watching Mr. Bean episodes. Yarik wanted a bath, so he started filling the tub with water. I poured in some of my body wash and suds it up. He was pleased with that idea. After his bath he wanted to sleep, so Sergei and I gave him the couch for his bed and we took the computer to my room to watch more Mr. Bean. I finally convinced Sergei to get to bed and I had the computer to myself. I finally could upload the blogs and photos that I had ready. I caught up on some email and hoped that Darren would be back online to talk. No luck...it was really late, so I finally gave up and went to sleep.

Day 39 - More shopping - Wednesday Oct. 26

My sleeping prince

So it was just Sergei and I with a whole lot of nothing to do. I woke up fairly early and could not sleep, so I worked on typing up more blog entries to save and post once we had internet. Sergei still had a few more things he wanted to find, so I pulled out the stash of grivnas and refilled my wallet before we headed out for the day. We took the bus downtown again and went back to the open air market. We filed through the numerous stands looking for just the right things for his friends. I had bought him a jacket the day before as the one he was wearing when he left the orphanage was too small and not really warm enough. Yarik had seen it and asked for one as well, so we had to find one for him. We got pretty much all of the gifts that we could buy at the open air market as well as a few gifts to take back to America. It was a really beautiful day out, so we decided to walk back to the apartment. It really wasn't that far and after riding the bus a few times, I realized it was pretty much a straight shot. We got back and worked on English and a few other things. Sergei played some games on the computer, and really just hung out. Yarik came over after school and we decided to make chicken for dinner, so we went back over to the grocery store for supplies to make chicken. I also got some frozen veggies as we had not had many veggies on our menus lately. We came home and the boys helped me make dinner. We fried the chicken with some onions and mushrooms; fried some sliced potatoes with mushrooms and cooked a small pan of peas. The boys covered theirs in ketchup. I thought it was pretty good and I was thankful that we had all worked together to make the dinner. Once again, Yarik had to go back to school to sleep, so he left and Sergei and I followed our regular routine of watching a couple movies. We also played some Uno, but he started cheating again, so I told him he could not choose the movie if he cheated. So I chose Ever After. He did okay through most of it, but got a little bored in the middle and was pesting me. At the end he watched and I think he kind of liked it okay. He still was not ready to sleep, so we watched the end of The Lord of the Rings. We had started the third film the other night and we picked up where we had left off. After that he was ready to sleep, so we both got to bed.

Day 38 - Settling In - Tuesday, October 25

My friend Tonya who left a few weeks ago, said that her life after being in Ukraine waiting for awhile felt like the movie Groundhog Day. I am starting to feel that way a bit as well. As I blog for today, I feel like most of the days this week are blurring together. We really have not had any significant stuff happening, no paperwork to do and not much contact with our family.
Yarik and Vitalii left early in the morning to get back to school. So Sergei and I took advantage of the quiet to try to catch up on our sleep. I knew we could not sleep all day, however tempting it was, as the open air market starts shutting down around 1 o'clock, so we had to get out there to find the things that we needed.
We made a list before we went and I had asked Vitalii for the bus numbers to get us downtown. We took a bus to the center and got off and walked the short distance to the open air market. We found a blanket so Sergei would not have to use pillows to cover with and gifts for some of his friends. I got a pair of gloves as the temps were getting a little chilly. I was running low on cash, because I had forgotten to refill the wallet I take out with me before we left. So the last purchase of gloves that I intended to buy for Sergei had to wait. Which I was glad because I thought they should have been much cheaper than what she was asking. By the time we were done shopping we were both hungry and I figured I would take the opportunity to use the wifi at Celentanos, so we shared a pizza and breadsticks. We each had a Fanta as well, and it was only about $5. Not too bad! The only hitch was that I asked for a pepperoni pizza and we ended up with a pizza with hot peppers. 
We took another bus back to the apartment and dropped off our purchases. Then we went across the street to the supermarket for some ingredients to make spaghetti for dinner and some other food and supplies. I can never buy too many apples, these guys eat them up like crazy. At least it is better than chips and candy, which I rarely buy for them. Yarik and Vitalli came over later and we were trying to get Vitalli's sister's computer to get online. It was not working, so we gave up and Vitalli had to leave. Yarik stayed for our spaghetti dinner, but had to go back to school to sleep that night. So I guess we really did not need to hurry to get Sergei that blanket. Sergei and I watched movies and hung out. It is definitely giving us plenty of bonding time. I hope he is not too bored hanging out with me. I want to try to borrow some movies from the Open Arms gals that we can watch in Russian with English subtitles. Although it is good for him to hear the movies in English, I am sure hearing his own language would me nice as well.
I had asked Ksenya about the guy coming to hook up internet, but no luck yet. Sometime during the day we did some English as well. Both boys are really coming along well with their English. I am really proud of them.

Day 37 - Our new apartment - Monday Oct. 24

Some of the kids, including Yarik, had to be back for school that morning, so I woke up for a little while when they made noise getting ready to leave. I was too tired to be up for the day, and we were just having milk and cereal, so I did not have to worry about cooking anything for breakfast. I fell back asleep and rested well. Somewhere between 9 and 10 I woke up and got dressed. I organized all my belongings to take home that day. We had our devotions together and talked about the plan for the day. Then I went down to see what I could do to help.

19 people in the 11 passenger van

We put out the breakfast cereal and milk, the bowls and spoons. Since about half of the kids had to be back at school, we just had the kids come and eat when they were ready. After they ate, the Ukrainian leaders had one final meeting with the kids. While they were doing that, the rest of the team and I were cleaning up. We packed up the kitchen stuff and cleaned floors and tables. Got all of the dishes washed and put away, etc. The plan was to have a large van take half the group to the nearest bus stop and from there each one could take the bus to where they needed to go. Sergei and I were in the first wave and Anika put us on the bus that would take us back to the center of town to meet Ksenya who would take us to our new apartment.

I was so excited to have a place to set up life with my two boys. We would be able to stay in the apartment until it was time to go to Kiev before going home to America. Sergei and I got off the bus at McDonald's where Ksenya had arranged to meet us. It was about 12:30, and we were both hungry, so I went and ordered us some big mac meals. When we were just taking our last bites, Ksenya arrived and we loaded our stuff into the taxi. The apartment was not far from downtown, so it took us just a few minutes to get there. We were right across from the larger Celentanos Pizza place and a Billa grocery store was across from that. I knew that Celentanos had wifi and with a grocery store across the street, we would be set.

The landlord met us outside the building and took us to the fifth floor where our apartment was located. We went over the terms of the contract and I paid for two weeks and a small deposit. The apartment was just right for us. We had a stove, a washing machine, a bedroom for me with an enclosed balcony, the living room had a couch that folded down into a bed, a sofa and a desk. I also asked about getting internet, and the landlord explained to Ksenya where to go to find out about hooking it up.

Sergei waiting to eat

Our first dinner at our new place

I was very excited! The landlord left and Ksenya pointed out the general direction of things and she left while Sergei and I went to the grocery store. We got water and supplies to make dinner, lunches and breakfast, and of course lots of apples and juice. We were waiting to hear from Yarik. Ksenya had given him instructions on which bus stop would take him to our apartment, so when walked by the bus stop, Yarik was there and saw us. He joined us as we walked back to the apartment. He liked our apartment and was glad that we would have this place to live for a while. He had been talking to Vitaly on the phone to give him instructions to get to the apartment.

Yarik had talked to his teacher and told her about Sergei. She said that Sergei could not join us for dinner at her house that night. I had Anika translate for Yarik to make sure he explained to his teacher that Sergei was with me for good and I could not come without him. So Yarik called his teacher and she said that her house was too small to do it that evening and would have us over a different day.

So Vitaly arrived to visit for the evening. Sergei and I made dinner for the three boys and myself. Sergei had chosen some pelmini and little sausages. It worked out pretty well.

Vitaly had brought his sister's laptop and we were trying to get internet working on that, but the aircard was not working. So we went over to Celentanos to get dessert and use the wifi. Ksenya had gotten information on setting up internet, but had not been able to have someone come and hook it up for us. At Celentanos, we got some fruit and nuts with whipped cream and the boys ordered 2 blinis (crepes) with chocolate. We were able to talk to Darren for a while and chat on Facebook. The restaurant was pretty loud, so it was hard to communicate. At least we got to have a little virtual time together. The guys all came back to the apartment and we put in a movie. Yarik and Vitaly decided to sleep over, so they took Sergei's spot on the fold out bed. They were ready to sleep, but Sergei wanted to keep watching movies. He and I came to my room and watched the rest of the movie. I was ready to get to sleep, but he wanted another movie, I put in one of the batman movies and he watched that while I drifted off to sleep. He woke me at the end of that episode and wanted another. I got that one going and then after the next episode, he woke me again to turn it off. He went back over to the living room to sleep on the small couch. We did not have anymore blankets. I was sorry that he got stuck on the small couch with no blankets, but he did not care. I planned to get to the open air market and get him a blanket the next day!

Day 36 - Camp Fun - Sunday Oct. 23

Again, I woke up early and could not sleep. I started the breakfast planned for that morning. It was pretty easy, I was making baked french toast and frying up some kielbasa. I laid out the bread into the pans. The hardest part would be trying to bake enough for everyone in the oven that was very tricky to regulate. I got the first batch of eggs and milk mixed up and could not find the vanilla. I asked the girls who were awake, and Annie could not find it. She thought maybe Anika knew where it was. I waited to see if we could find it when she woke up. In the meantime, I sliced the kielbasa and put it into the frying pans to cook while the toast baked.

After we had our team morning devotions, I asked about the vanilla, but it seems that it was left behind. So I poured the egg/milk mixture on top without it. And started the first couple batches baking. After the cookie experience, I decided to rotate the pans turning them from front to back and also switching the top and bottom pans. I kept rotating the three batches and by the time they were ready to eat, the first two pans were done just right. We served out the french toast and put bowls of fried kielbasa on the tables. The last pan was just about done when they needed more servings. We brought it out and it was still a little runny in the middle, but we had to make due. I also scrambled the last of the eggs for anyone who wanted them. Nearly everything got eaten up. There was about one serving of french toast left, and all the meat and eggs were cleaned up. Now the hard part of that meal, cleaning the pans. They did not stick as bad as they could have, but there was still a good bit of bread stuck to the pan. We ended up soaking them and letting them sit for later.

The Ukrainian adults had left early that morning to attend their church, so this morning, the worship was led by the Americans. Brett played his guitar and we did 2 songs in English. The Ukrainians had the words in Russian, but most of the kids did not know the songs well enough to sing out. Then one of the Ukrainian girls played a song on the guitar and the kids sang that one out in Russian. I tried to sing along as best as I could, but the English songs were much easier. Next the girl who played the guitar spoke to the group and read several scriptures. She spoke about friends. There was some interaction, and she did well holding their interest. After that the kids had free time and I went to work on lunch.

Craft and Card making

Today's lunch was potato soup, so I figured I would get right on to peeling the potatoes, as I would need a lot. I got them washed and started to peel. Lena, the girl who had given me the ring, volunteered to help peel. I was not turning away any help on this job! Two more people came to help: Brett, one of the American guys and another of the Ukrainian boys. With four of us working, it did not take long to get the potatoes peeled. Then Lena and I chopped them all up. We put them into the two big pots and then Brett and I worked on the rest of the preparations. I chopped up onions and he chopped up the bacon. Once it was all ready, I fried the bacon and onions together until the onions were soft. Then added some water and the potatoes. Now I just had to let it cook until the potatoes were soft. Anika was soon ready to round up the troops for lunch, so I checked the potatoes and they were just right. I added flour whisked into some milk to thicken the soup and it turned out just right. We had also shredded some cheese to put out with the soup. We served out the bowls and again had bread on the tables. The soup was well received, although the bacon was pretty fatty and some of the kids, including Yarik, were not excited about the larger chunks of fat. Can't say that I blame them, but we had to use what was available. There was not too much soup left over, so I guess it turned out pretty well.

Annie and Sergei at the campfire

The afternoon we had a fair amount of free time. First they put out supplies to make crafts. They had paper and glitter and flowers and decorations to make cards. At the end of morning worship, they passed out slips of paper with the name of a secret friend. I took the time to make a card for the gal whose name I had gotten. Many of the kids were making elaborate cards and decorated flowers. Katya brought a decorated flower bunch to me. It was very sweet of her.

Yarik, Mike and Sergei at the campfire

The day before, Sergei had asked me to come outside and play with him, but I had to cook, so today, I searched him out and asked if he wanted to play soccer with me. We went out and kicked the ball around a bit. He challenged me to one on one, but I can not hold my own with him, so it got boring for him fast. We decided to go back inside and he asked to play on the computer. We played a few games of Mahjong and Yarik brought me a pen with a decorated flower attached. Such a sweet son! Soon it was time to make dinner. The group was ready for another meeting, but Sergei wanted to help me, so he stayed with me to make dinner. We had planned to make a chicken and rice dish, but no one had gotten the chicken, so it was just rice. We also had some spaghetti left that they had planned to use for a game, but did not and some eggs that we we could scramble. So that night we had a buffet of the leftover kasha soup, leftover potato soup, spaghetti, rice with seasoning and bread.

Anika and Yarik at the campfire

Sergei was a great help at making dinner. It was really a good day of spending time with him. I had wondered how it was going for him. All of the kids were Yarik's age and older, so he was several years younger than all of the other kids. I was torn between wanting him to have fun and join in with the others and wanting to spend time with him as mother and son, which I had been waiting for so long to do. Having this time with him was really special for me and I hope it was special for him as well. Since we had so much time with Yarik after school each day and on weekends, it was good for him to be with the others and spend this one last weekend with his friends. I feel so blessed that God worked this out for us to be able to attend this retreat. And I still got some time with both of the boys.

Partial group photo at the campfire

After dinner there was more free time, so Sergei and I played some card games. We played Sequence and some Uno. We also played a round of Yahtzee. I think he understood how to play, but it was his first time, so I don't think he understood the scoring quite well enough. The guys had lit a campfire for s'mores and after Sergei and I finished up another round of cards, we joined the others at the campfire to roast our marshmallows. It was his first s'more. He liked it pretty well. Yarik was out there too, taking pictures of all of his friends. He was having a great time around the campfire. I took some good pictures of Sergei as well as many others. They did a big pose with a bunch of the kids who were out by the fire and I got some good shots of that with my camera and a few other cameras. But Sergei was getting bored and wanted to go back in, so I joined him and we went back to play some more cards. We played a few hands of Uno and had a few people join us. Sergei started cheating, so I said I was not playing anymore if he cheated. He started playing fair and we played a little longer. Then Sergei wanted to go watch the film they had started. I played one more round with two of the other kids who had joined us and then went to check on Sergei.

Sergei's first s'more

The film had English subtitles, so I went back and got chairs for Sergei and myself and a few others who did not have one. I sat with him and watched the rest of the movie. After that we both got ready for bed. I found Yarik and gave him his nightly hug and went to my room. This time I slept in my sweats and fleece pullover. Finally I did not shiver through the night.