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I haven't posted much through this entire process... 1) I had to be vague about what we were doing which I didn't expect to have to do and 2) My wife started a blog about it and has more time than I to post.  I may post once and a while here still but you should follow my wife's blog...

http://piecesofmyheartukraine.blogspot.com

That said everything has been going absolutely fabulous.  Still waiting for the expected age regression and struggle with authority but it hasn't happened after over 7weeks of being together full-time... even the transition with school has been great and, though she jokingly whines a tiny bit, she clearly loves it.

I guess I should say we always have the age regression... she is like a happy 10yr old nearly all the time ;)  Which is a blast for me but I think Melissa could do without most of it.... hehe.

Oh... and as I expected from summer... she has clearly been "churched".  She has no issue praying, wants to pray when I tuck her in at night, and found out recently that after she prays then she is reciting the Lord's Prayer... the Russian word for "bread" that I caught after a couple of times.

Home

Everyone arrived safely and the family is sleeping soundly... Well except me since I'm used to staying up late. Now starts the actual hard part of adoption :) Thank you for praying through this with us.

The weekend

Since I didn't post any pictures of the court date. Ashley did well though it was nearing all she could stand. Amber was a bit deer in the headlights. It was all really quick... I didn't think it could be quicker than our last one. This judge was no nonsense and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a single unnecessary word spoken in the entire proceeding. I'm told that most judges don't like their pictures taken and she didn't stick around for one.

Today we went shopping for DVDs and a DVD player. I only found two players that support US voltage also and fortunately they were the cheapest at $35. We got about fifteen Russian DVDs... Hopefully Amber will like them. It is kind of hard to pick out movies for a 14 year old who is between liking twilight and barbie. They all look legal but it is really hard to tell over here. I will replace the plug on the player when we get home and we will use it as a way for Amber to just relax after all the school and home work is done on the weekend... Something she can listen to without having to work to understand it. Most can be listened to in English or russian and mix/match with English or Russian subtitles.

We also picked up one of those magic pots... Though it turns out the cheap one we got isn't all that magic. Takes nearly as long as the gas stove to boil water. So they all aren't created equal by the magic pot fairy. When we went to the market we found some English books that help teach the alphabet and reading but explain it in Russian. Most things including Rosetta stone and what she will get in school are primary language agnostic... So we grabbed both lesson books they had and may look for more on amazon.

Tonight we went to the local carnival... The rides looked safer than the ones that show up in our home town. It was fun... Maybe go again tomorrow after the circus.

Today the temperature suddenly dropped and it got windy. In virginia I would be looking for the thunderstorm... Not sure what was up here but it was a relief. The last couple of days have been warm and humid... And me without shorts. In zap you can see the industrial areas spewing out smoke and pollution that hangs over the city... To make matters worse, the air settles in the evening and everyone and their uncle seems to want to create a random bonfire in the nearest field. We even saw people carrying wood and a rock to sit on from their apartment tonight to the embankment next to the main road... Before we left the market they had a good fire going.

Found a close restaurant today with a reasonable variety of food. I liked the pizza but it was close to a meat pie in taste and Melissa did not like the dill they used all over it. Our favorite place to eat is over by the open market but I doubt we will walk the 4.5km to get there at night.

Lastly... I really like the yogurt over hear. Not the stuff they put chocolate on that makes me feel ill, the normal yogurt... Even finding three of the containers having blue mold in them hasn't dissuaded me from eating the others. I also love the fruit juice... Pineapple in particular.

Court done

Yippee

Court tomorrow

Court is at 10a tomorrow... Please pray it goes smoothly.

The deputy director showed us their newly redone computer lab and a speech therapy room. Apparently the staff is doing all the labor themselves to save money and they are doing a really nice job. I will add pictures once I get them off the camera.

Court

Another great few days... I haven't written much simply cause it has been fairly uneventful besides having fun.





We spent more time today with the kids. We brought two basketballs and two soccer balls which were really well received.

There is one really sweet girl there I wish could find a family... She has like five siblings over various ages though and would probably have to be separated to be practical. She was hanging out with us periodically, always has a smile, and has a very meek/mild personality. Unfortunately I don't think she is on the hosting program this time.

We got this Friday the 23rd as a court date.

Praises
- early court date
- all the paperwork made it out last Friday
- Melissa is doing much better but still under the weather

Prayer requests
- the next few days go well, especially with Ashley who was really tired today
- for a great court... The main adoption judge is out so we aren't exactly sure what to expect




I think this picture says it.

Just keeps getting better

Our translator is awesome and all the documents made it on a bus to Kyiv so we can get a scheduled court date.

We got to the school at 8am and went out playing with Amber shortly after. Some of the kids seem took take the opportunity to use our being there as yet another excuse to ditch class. Amber's best friend actually asked and got permission to spend time with us. Once I caught on to what was going on I took the iPad away from the boys getting in trouble and told them to go to class. Apparently some kids have a half day on Friday and some a full day... Had one trustworthy kid who could speak English ok -- the one who actually asked permission -- help me figure out which was which :)

The iPad is a huge hit and since there is no internet there I don't have to worry about the kids getting into trouble with it. I don't put anything on there i wouldn't let my 11 yr old daughter use. The boys tend to play one of the racing games and the girls alternate between barbie fashion studios and cake doodle. I frankly just leave it and let them play with it... Ashley doesn't mind letting them use her toy and the only "problem" I've had is forcing things so the less assertive kids get a chance.

We have been able to spend a lot of time with Amber and gotten to see her with her friends... And not so friends. Had some good conversations with the caregivers too.

Looking forward to tomorrow... Especially not having to get up at 6a to head out. Keep in mind it takes me two weeks to adjust to a timezone... Always been that way... And 6a here is 11p back home.

Location:Zaporizhzhya,Ukraine