We are officially home. We arrived home on November 21st. This is the first time that I have been able to get onto the computer. The one we had in the house has gone to computer heaven...we have once in our shop, but it's outside and after spending the day with the kids...I just don't have the energy. Nadia and Stasi are starting school on Thursday, so I will get on line then and tell you about the last few days in Lugansk...our time in Kiev....and our problems getting home!!!

I know everyone is sitting around waiting for the next posting. I have tons to write about the last three days....but may not get around to doing it until later this week. I only a have a few minutes....it's been crazy the last few days....so many fun things, crazy things, a minor, but fixable problem that I will write about later.

Letters to Brooke....I know exactly who you are. I followed your blog. We have to talk!!! I though the kids orphanage name was Lugansk Children's Orphanage #1, but I looked though a couple of your pictures....it's the same orphanage. There is even a picture of our Stasi in one of your pictures....from what I can see by the room pictures and mamas, it's the same groupa.

It's been a crazy 1 1/2 days. Y came in by train about 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday. She crashed on our sofa until about 7:30 and then took off just before 9 to pick up the court decree and start the paperwork. She called us just before 11 a.m. and at 11 a.m. we left Lugansk and went to the town that the kids were born in, not sure of the name, but it starts with a S, to get the kids new birth certificates. What I do know is that we are in Lugansk, which is about 50 km from Russia, the town is farther east and were we only about 5 km from Russia. It was poring rain out. Everyone here drives like a crazy person....and the cab driver that took us was no better. His wipers were not going fast enough and Y told him to make them go faster. He was passing on solid lines and Y even gave him heck about his driving a few times!!! I was so happy!!! The roads suck. It was a single lane highway. There is no shoulder and the sides of the road was crumbling so they like to drive down the middle of the 2 lanes. I was having a heart attack!!! The speed signs I saw said 45 km, and he was doing anywhere from 70km to 120km.....the best part....they do not have daylight running lights and they do not put their lights on!!!! Gotta love it.

We arrived there about 12:30. The ladies at the office we so nice. They took us next door to a cafe for lunch. We hung out there until just after 2 and went back to the office. They pretty much gave us the new birth certificates and we were out of there about 2:30. We arrived back in Lugansk at 3:40 p.m. I must have calmed down about the driving because I actually fell a sleep for a while. We had to go to this office to get new registration numbers, then to the notary, to 2 passport offices, local and regional. And no, I do not know why 2 passport offices. We were told that the kids new passports would be ready on Thursday morning, so much for flying out on Wednesday night. By the time we were done it was 6 and to late to go visit the kids. The air line office was also closed. We headed back to the hotel and went to the supermarket and got some supper. It was a long tiring day and we were crashed shortly after 9.

Y took off today about 8:30, the air line office was still closed....nothing here opens until 9 a.m.. At 9:30 she called us. There are only 5 flights left on the Thursday night flight. Holly crap, we need all five. She called a cab for us, we rushed over to the Rada office (Ukrainian parliament) and picked her up. We rushed to the travel agency and got the last 5 flights on the Thursday night flight. YAHHHHHHHHHHHH WHOOOOOOOO!!!!

Y took off and left us to get the tickets. We headed back to the hotel and just had time to use the washroom before we were on to the bank and passport office. We headed to the orphanage to make our donation and we were back at the hotel by 1 p.m. Y went home for the night. Her home town is about 1/2 an hour form here. Brad & I headed back to the grocery store to pick up some lunch, went to the internet for a few minutes and then walked back to the orphanage for 4 p.m. for our final visit.

The kids totally understand what is going on. We were not sure how much Stasi understood, but with P & P got there Stasi told P that we are leaving on the plane tomorrow and we are taking 4 planes. Which is true. The funny thing is P & P and their 2 kids and their facilitator are also on our plane. Only 2 flights to Kiev a day. 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.....and the plane only holds about 40 people...we are going to over run the plane.

After our visit we headed to our cafe with P & P so a late supper/snack. The last meal for the 4 of us before the influx of kids tomorrow.

Day 10 is now officially done.....WOOOOHOOOO

Y is coming to town tomorrow, arriving on the train at 5 a.m. so we expect her to be at our door for a shower around 5:30 a.m. and then we start the paperwork. First the court decree needs to be picked up, some paperwork from the orphanage needs to be signed off and then it's off to the kids home town to get their birth certificates redone and then new passports for them in their new name. Once that is done we can head off to Kiev for the kids Visa's. We expect the paperwork here to take 2 days. He are hoping to head to Kiev on the Wednesday night flight.

We went to the orphanage from 4 to 6 tonight as usual. Yesterday when were we there they were cutting the kids hair from one of the groupas. When we got there today they were cutting kids hair from what appeared to be our kids groupa or the one in the next room. Thank goodness they did not cut our kids hair. We told them that if they come near them with the scissors to say nyet (no) - Canada!!! His hair is fine, she only needs her bangs cut. She specifically told us yesterday that she does not want the back cut. When we were waiting for them I pictured her walking out with her hair short and her in tears!!!

As I have said before I think she understands more than he does. She thinks that we are going to Kiev tomorrow, but I straightened that out. Last week we gave them each a comic book/magazine. When she came out of their room today she put the book in our bag....I think she is packing the stuff that she knows is hers, which is very little, jut the stuff we gave her. She also has a small photo album, which is nice because of course we do not have any old pictures of them when they were little.

As usual we are still feeding the cats on every visit. We started out feeding 2, then 3 and now we are up to 4. You should see the cats come running as soon as they hear our voices outside. We have named then Fox, Eliza, Tiger and Spot....no, spot does not have spots. These cat are going to have to go back to table scraps and the garbage can soon....it's so sad. There are so many stray cats and dogs here, it just breaks my heart, thinking of my dog Ben who whines to you if you are not sharing enough of your popcorn with him.

Yesterday, as we do every day, we went to the hotel cafeteria for breakfast. It was packed because they were feeding a Ukrainian soccer team that was staying in our hotel o we shared a table with a man from New York. In error I left my small change purse with under $30 and some ID in the cafeteria. Well when I realized I lot it I had no idea where it was and was freaking out, it a looking everywhere. Well the gentleman had picked it up. He tried to leave a message with the ladies at the front desk that he was trying to find us. He did not know our names or our room number, but knew we had been there for 3 weeks and were Americans (he did not know we were from Canada)...he did not want to leave it at the front desk with a fear of us never getting it. Well he found us at breakfast this morning....needless to say I was ecstatic!!!

On a side note, I am really needing to get out of here, the pushy people on the crowded buses are driving me crazy. They congregate at the front of the bus and never move to the back. They are small buses, so there is only one door at the front. Today on the way to the orphanage a few people got off from the back, but no one moves to the back. I jut wanted to scream "move to the back of the bus". Brad was sitting shot gun with the driver. There are 2 seats in the front with the driver. If someone get out of the front seat Brad dashes for it....I have never seen anyone more so fast!!!

DAYS 8 & 9 DONE!!!!! ONE, THAT'S RIGHT ONLY ONE TO GO!!!!! :)

I guess you can tell we are very excited. We are so happy to think that at this time in just a week at this time we will be getting ready to descend into Minneapolis and then one short flight home!!!


Since the kids did not have school yesterday of today we visited them twice. I am 99.9% sure she knows what is going on, but I am not sure if he does. I think he just follows her and is on for the ride!!!

Since it was out last Saturday night in Lugansk and without kids Brad & I went our for dinner with P & P from Colorado. They are starting their paperwork tomorrow, today is day 19 for them. Unfortunately they were unable to secure flights home next weekend so they are not leaving Kiev until Tuesday November 21th. They are a little disappointed but they are flying to her parent in Indiana first and will be there for Thanksgivings and then will be going home to Denver on the following Saturday the 25th.

Our friends B & S from home are also starting their paperwork tomorrow, there 10 day wait ended on Saturday....we look forward to hooking up with them in Kiev. They are booked to come back to Winnipeg on Saturday the 18th.

It' starting to get cold here. We still have no snow. It's hovering around 0 and we were told but P & P that it's even colder in Kiev. Needless to say we are anxious to get home to our warm cars and houses. No more crowded buses full of rude pushy people and hotel room that it's heating system seems to shut off when it's cold. I am not sure, but I think it shut off at night. It's OK for sleeping but I need it on to dry my clothes...radiator work great from drying clothes.

Brad is starting to get stir crazy. We have not been watching any TV at all, just movies and reading. Well Brad has been watching movies, soccer games and even caught a pre recorded NHL game today...all without the sound!!!

Day 7 done.

We went to the market again today with P & P....we are pretty much ready to go now. We had to buy a duffel bag to take all the extra stuff we bought home. Things for the kids, new jackets and a few souvenirs. I know you are all shocked, Kim the organizer is not prepared and did not think of bringing an extra bag with her.

We took the kids there ski jackets, hats, mitts and boots to try on. They seemed very happy....he was very adamant that his hat got put into his jacket sleeve and put back into our bag for Canada.

Of course....they made sure that we know that there is no school tomorrow and we are to come for 10 a.m. and not at 4 p.m. We told them today that we are going to Canada in 9 days...but I don't think that they realize that they only have a few more days at the orphanage and either 2 or 3 days of school there depending how fast we get our paperwork done here.

There are 20 kids in our kids groupa. Five 5 girls including ours and 15 boys including ours. There is a group of boys that are what I call Brad's fan club. There are two little girls, I would say about 5 or 6 that are so cute and sweet, we would just LOVE to take them home with us. Every once and a while when we get to their groupa at 4, the kids are not there. They are in a different room, I assuming doing some sort of activity. There is this adorable blond little girl who is very sweet, she always has a smile for us. She always wants to go get our kids for us. We sit just outside the room, she runs by on on her way, says something in Russian and gives us a big smile. Brad always says that she looks exactly like my friend Loretta. Loretta....you have a child in Ukraine!!

Day 6 done - 4 to go

We were blessed with some nice weather today, not like yesterday when it was cold and rainy. Brad has had a cold for a few days, but is feeling better now. Thank goodness, he is like a typical man when he is sick....I know you woman know what I mean. We went shopping to the outdoor market with P & P today and then for lunch to the Ukrainian restaurant. We had great weather for shopping outdoors. I got a winter jacket for each kid and a pair of boots, PJ's and slippers for her and a hat for him. We are going back with them tomorrow as we still need a few more things, they do to. We as running out of time. Boy, that was great to say!!! We will have very little time on the weekend and it also super busy on the weekends, it's closed Monday and then we start our paperwork on Tuesday....yeah. We are having a good bye party for the kids groupa on Tuesday night. Probably will just get juice boxes, fruit, cookies and candies....healthy!!

P & P's kids were trying on some of there new clothes lat night so tonight I brought some for Nadia and Stasi to try on. Stasi is 7 and just took everything off right there. Nadia is 9 and we had to go to the bathroom. They are so funny. I brought him a pair of jeans and two sweaters to try one...you would think it was Christmas morning and he was opening up toys....just wait until it is Christmas. I took her two pairs of jeans, two sweaters and and long sleeve t-shirt....she said "wow". Wait till she gets home and realizes that's a very, very small part of her wardrobe. Just wait till I take her to Old Navy (my favourite store) and let her pick out a few things....she is going to faint. I know I brought more for her, but I have no clothes for her a home and I have tons of stuff for him that will fit him. Some new and tons of hand me downs from my nephew Jordan.

Day 4 and 5 gone!!! We are half way there!!!!

Our friends B & S were out for the night last night....it was so nice to see them....we had such a great time. We have not seen them since Kiev on October the 5th. When they left this morning we could say "see you in a week". We will both be back in Kiev for our final paperwork next week. TGIFriday's here we come!!!

Nadia is learning quote a bit of English in school as well, Today she was saying "what is your name" and then she would say Nadia our last name, and Brad and I had to say our name. And then she was saying that we live in our house in Canada and have two dogs. She was saying "Benji the dog". Benji malanky (small).

It has gotten cold here again, but we do not have any snow yet. It was raining this afternoon and bit. Hopefully it will clear up because we need to get back to the outdoor market tomorrow and/or Friday to get some more stuff for the kids...like winter jackets!!! I don't want to go on the weekend when it is busy, besides we see the kids twice a day on the weekend, so that does not give us much time. It's closed on Mondays and then on Tuesday it's time to start our paperwork....and then off to Kiev mid week and home on Sunday God willing.

I am going to start out with the best news....we are coming home. Well...not for a few days, but soon. Thanks to the tireless work by my sister in law Allyson and her friend Anne in Calgary we are booked to come home on Sunday Nov 19th!!! Thanks so much to Anne for finding us a great deal and not paying through the nose for the kids flights....and to Ally for running around like a crazed woman getting everything together!!!

We arrive in Winnipeg at 3:48 p.m. Sorry guys there will be no Grey Cup party at our house this year!!!

For the next good news our friends B & S from Winnipeg who are also in Ukraine adopting two children are coming to Lugansk tomorrow for noon and are spending the night. We are so looking forward to seeing them!!!!! There is going to be a party in Lugansk tomorrow night!!!

We have now completed day 3 of our 10 day wait. We had a cold weekend, but it warmed up a bit today. We visited the kids twice on Saturday and Sunday and went there for 4 to 6 as usual. We told them that we would not be coming to see them tomorrow as B & S are here....we did not tell them that's way though. They seemed to be OK with it....We gave them an extra treat (we always give them one when we leave everyday) and told them it was for tomorrow. Wonder if they saved one for tomorrow????

We went out for salad/soup and pop with P & P from Colorado. I know I have said it 1,000,000 times, but I can not express how blessed we are to have made friends with another couple from North America in our orphanage!!

What a day. I am going to start by going back to last week. Last Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (can't remember exact date) we were told that our court date was Friday November 4th at 11:00 a.m. On Monday we were told by Y that it may be pushed to Monday November 6th as the judge may have to go to Kiev on business. We found out on Wednesday that it would be on Friday, but we did not have a time. Y was coming in on the overnight train from Kiev and would be arriving here about 8:30 a.m. She told us that she was going to come to our room to shower and then she was to call the judge at noon and she would tell us when to come. Today she called us about 9:30 and said that she was on the later train and would be at our hotel for 10:30. Brad and I were just heading out from breakfast when 5 minutes later she called us and said that court was on for 11:00. So we ran downstairs to the cafeteria, had a quick breakfast, ran back up to our room the get changed.

The best part...for those of you who remember I was having some problems with my left eye in June and the optometrist said that I had a viral infection in it, probably caused because of a cold. So I wake up this morning with a bit of a cold and with 1/2 an hour of waking up my eye is killing me.

So we get to the court at exactly 11:00 a.m.. Run up to the judges office, and my eye was killing me. So we sit in the packed office with the judge, her secretary, two jurors, the inspector, the lawyer from the orphanage, the prosecutor from our region, Y our facilitator, Brad & I. It lasted for an hour, I am ready to rip my eye out. Then we have to wait in the hallway for 50 minutes while they did their thing....so finally at 1:00 p.m. they pronounced us parent sot Nadia Ann and Stanislav John. Brad was so happy, I was in pain. I went back to the hotel for an hour to lie down, take some good drugs and 1/2 a bottle of eye drops. Good news is I am feeling better and day one of our 10 day wait starts tomorrow!!!

We had a nice visit with the kids tonight. They were being extra goofy...I think they we showing off to Y. She is back on the train to Kiev to meet her next set of parents, our friends S & H also from back home. We will be seeing Y on November 14th, day 11 when we can start working on our paperwork. It's looking good that we will be able to fly home on November 18th. We will keep you posted on that day as we know more.

p.s. I forgot to tell you that the weather is still wonderful here. No snow. We have walked to the orphanage twice now, Wednesday and Thursday and hope to keep walking daily. It's about a 45 minute walk and great exercise. We will continue to take the bus home as it's dark by six. Since tomorrow is Saturday and there is no school the kids made sure that we knew that and that we were coming at 10 as well as 4 for the next two days!!!

We would like to start by congratulating our friends B & S from home who became parents to a 7 year old and a 9 year old girl on Halloween. Also to P & P from Colorado how became parents to a 6 year old boy and a 3 year 364 day old little boy today. Yes, his 4th birthday is tomorrow.

Tomorrow is our big day. We are not sure if they have to go to court with us or not. P and P went today and they did not have to take there kids, but they are only 4 and 6 and do not go to school, so that could make a difference. B and S took there kids to court, they are the same ages as ours....even the same sex, but they are in a different region. I guess we will find out tomorrow.

We explained to the kids today that we would be going to court tomorrow and would be a family and that we would be going to Canada in 2 weeks. We also reviewed their new last names with them. They were quite excited. One of the ladies that we see all the time (I think she is the head chef) came into the room right after that Nadia told the lady. I know enough key words to understand what she was saying, tomorrow and court. She was so excited to tell her, the lady then gave her the thumbs up. They were in such a good mood after that! I gave him a stuffed frog today and her a stuffed cat. She loves, loves, loves all the cats in the orphanage, thus us feeding them every night. She even feeds the big fluffy beige/yellow and white one that scratched her nose on Sunday. She calls that cat Fox. The cat I got her was about the same colour, so she is now calling it Fox.

Leaving the orphanage tonight was a nightmare. We just missed our bus, so P & P and Brad & I we standing out in the rain for about 1/2 an hour waiting for the next one. P had an umbrella, mine was at the hotel and P's oldest son broke hers today, so P & I were standing under this broken umbrella attempting to stay dry. Luckily it's warm out and was not raining very hard. We were going crazy waiting there as we were going for supper and that was all that we could think about. We are off to our favourite restaurant for Pizza. We finally made it there....it was soooo good!!