The ten day wait has passed with no objections so as of today Tonya and Joe are legally the parents of three beautiful children. While they aren't on the way home just yet, we all let out a big sigh of relief today. What a blessing for our entire family!
The weather has been very warm and Tonya and Mom have been making the most of the past few days trying to see the sights of Kiev. They are both headed home to the USA tomorrow. Raleigh is slated for thunderstorms so I am hoping that they don't experience any delays. Tonya and Joe will return around the 10th and we are all looking forward to the next homecoming with children in tow!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Ukranian Tourist
All is well in the Ukraine. Mom is enjoying being a tourist and Tonya the tour guide. The last few days have been cold and gray but today the sun popped out and they had a beautiful day to sight see and visit the shops. Tonya has decided that since nothing more can be done until after May 9th that she will return home with Mom on Monday and then she and Joe can return together to pick up the children. They have let Oksana know the plan and told Vitali and Dima's care givers. Ramon has promised to provide updates on the children until Tonya and Joe return. While it is hard to leave the children I think that Tonya is very much looking forward to the comforts of home. Hopefully she and Joe can get rested and refreshed before they head back for round two of the Ukranian paperwork process.
Here is part of the e-mail from Mom:
We just got back from a day being tourists. Walked a lot just looking at buildings, went in two churches, walked down the Chimney Rock of Kiev. Instead of shops there are just booths along the streets. Art work, paintings and a lot of textiles. If anyone has any requests speak now. Also had tourists must haves, postcards etc. After lunch we met Ramon by chance and while chatting with him some man stopped to ask directions. Turns out that he is from Calif.
Here is part of the e-mail from Mom:
We just got back from a day being tourists. Walked a lot just looking at buildings, went in two churches, walked down the Chimney Rock of Kiev. Instead of shops there are just booths along the streets. Art work, paintings and a lot of textiles. If anyone has any requests speak now. Also had tourists must haves, postcards etc. After lunch we met Ramon by chance and while chatting with him some man stopped to ask directions. Turns out that he is from Calif.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Easter in the Ukraine
Joe is back home but busy catching up on things at work, things around the house, and enjoying his Mom's delicious home cooking, so I (Rachel) am resuming blogging duties for now.
From the e-mails they have sent it sounds like Mom and Tonya have had a great week visiting with the children. I think that a visit from Mom and a suitcase full of goodies from home have been very refreshing for Tonya. Her e-mails this week have been more positive and her humor has returned (at least for the moment). They have made friends and shared dinner with an Italian couple who is also there to adopt. They are both professors at a college in Milan. While hanging out at the hotel Mom decided to measure the room and reported that it was about 9 by 9.5. There are 27 inches on one side of the bed and 25 at the bottom and other side.
They have enjoyed playing outside with the boys and got some alone time with Vitali today when he was not allowed to go outside because of a slight fever. It is great to get e-mails from Mom about how all the children on the playground refer to Tonya as Vitali and Dima's Mama and how both boys generously give and receive hugs.
It is Easter in the Ukraine so they prepared Easter baskets for the children and for Oksana's friends that usually accompany her during the visits. I think that between all of them they can piece together enough English to communicate pretty well. Usually when they meet with Oksana, the girls practice saying words in English and then apparently get tickled every time Tonya or Mom try to say the words in Ukranian. Yesterday's visit was a fun break from the normal English lesson. I am going to paste an excerpt from their e-mail below:
Mom writes:
"All five girls were there and Tonya had taken there Easter goodies since we are off to Kiev tomorrow. They seemed pleased with all the chocolate but not very chatty. Then Oksana, Ula and Lila had to leave to shower and we thought the visit might be over but Oksana said stay. When they came back we were going to take a picture which led to them looking at all the pictures on our cameras, and by the way they can name almost everyone in the family from looking at Tonya's album' which led to taking more pictures. We just turned the cameras over to them and they spent a least an hour posing and snapping. A fun time was had by all. We all laughed at each others pictures and the girls were all over the hall taking pictures. When the girls were looking at the pictures in the albumeverytime there was a picture of Elizabeth they always said ohhhh Elizabeth. Babies touch hearts no matter what language or age."
Tonya Writes:
"Mom is ready to start a hosting program in NC. We are going to visit the boys in the morning and take their Easter bags. They each get a "machina", car, chocolate bunny and a couple sticks of gum. We leave for Kiev at 12. I have informed mom that it does not matter what time we arrive we will immediately be going to McDonald's. I think all the girls liked their Easter bags. Lasia ate all her candy immediately. Ula put hers in the window, but kept making frequent trips to her bag. Oksana, Yeva and Lila saved theirs. Mom has been wondering about their spiritual teachings. Ula had gotten out a bible right before we left and was reading it."
Now regarding the current timeline: Mom and Tonya are planning on heading to Kiev tomorrow so that Tonya can show Mom around the Capital for a few days before she returns home. At this point it appears that the Ukranian government will be shut down from April 26-May 4th. I think that Tonya is seriously considering flying home with Mom to catch her breath for a few days and then she and Joe will return together on or around the 5th to hopefully complete this process and come home with their children!
One funny tidbit that I have to include about Mom's plane ride over (which isn't going to surprise anyone that knows her). While on the plane Mom of course befriends the person beside her who turns out to be a Vice President for Merrill Lynch, he speaks six different languages, and his current client is the country of the Ukraine. When they got off the plane he personally escorted Mom through customs and helped her with all her paperwork.
I am not sure if Tonya will blog from Kiev tomorrow or not but one of us will keep you posted.
From the e-mails they have sent it sounds like Mom and Tonya have had a great week visiting with the children. I think that a visit from Mom and a suitcase full of goodies from home have been very refreshing for Tonya. Her e-mails this week have been more positive and her humor has returned (at least for the moment). They have made friends and shared dinner with an Italian couple who is also there to adopt. They are both professors at a college in Milan. While hanging out at the hotel Mom decided to measure the room and reported that it was about 9 by 9.5. There are 27 inches on one side of the bed and 25 at the bottom and other side.
They have enjoyed playing outside with the boys and got some alone time with Vitali today when he was not allowed to go outside because of a slight fever. It is great to get e-mails from Mom about how all the children on the playground refer to Tonya as Vitali and Dima's Mama and how both boys generously give and receive hugs.
It is Easter in the Ukraine so they prepared Easter baskets for the children and for Oksana's friends that usually accompany her during the visits. I think that between all of them they can piece together enough English to communicate pretty well. Usually when they meet with Oksana, the girls practice saying words in English and then apparently get tickled every time Tonya or Mom try to say the words in Ukranian. Yesterday's visit was a fun break from the normal English lesson. I am going to paste an excerpt from their e-mail below:
Mom writes:
"All five girls were there and Tonya had taken there Easter goodies since we are off to Kiev tomorrow. They seemed pleased with all the chocolate but not very chatty. Then Oksana, Ula and Lila had to leave to shower and we thought the visit might be over but Oksana said stay. When they came back we were going to take a picture which led to them looking at all the pictures on our cameras, and by the way they can name almost everyone in the family from looking at Tonya's album' which led to taking more pictures. We just turned the cameras over to them and they spent a least an hour posing and snapping. A fun time was had by all. We all laughed at each others pictures and the girls were all over the hall taking pictures. When the girls were looking at the pictures in the albumeverytime there was a picture of Elizabeth they always said ohhhh Elizabeth. Babies touch hearts no matter what language or age."
Tonya Writes:
"Mom is ready to start a hosting program in NC. We are going to visit the boys in the morning and take their Easter bags. They each get a "machina", car, chocolate bunny and a couple sticks of gum. We leave for Kiev at 12. I have informed mom that it does not matter what time we arrive we will immediately be going to McDonald's. I think all the girls liked their Easter bags. Lasia ate all her candy immediately. Ula put hers in the window, but kept making frequent trips to her bag. Oksana, Yeva and Lila saved theirs. Mom has been wondering about their spiritual teachings. Ula had gotten out a bible right before we left and was reading it."
Now regarding the current timeline: Mom and Tonya are planning on heading to Kiev tomorrow so that Tonya can show Mom around the Capital for a few days before she returns home. At this point it appears that the Ukranian government will be shut down from April 26-May 4th. I think that Tonya is seriously considering flying home with Mom to catch her breath for a few days and then she and Joe will return together on or around the 5th to hopefully complete this process and come home with their children!
One funny tidbit that I have to include about Mom's plane ride over (which isn't going to surprise anyone that knows her). While on the plane Mom of course befriends the person beside her who turns out to be a Vice President for Merrill Lynch, he speaks six different languages, and his current client is the country of the Ukraine. When they got off the plane he personally escorted Mom through customs and helped her with all her paperwork.
I am not sure if Tonya will blog from Kiev tomorrow or not but one of us will keep you posted.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Joe Back to US; Peggy to Ukraine
On Thursday, April 17, Joe spent the day returning to the US. On the same day, Peggy (Tonya's Mom) travelled to Kiev to soak in the Ukraine "experience" and provide a much needed familiar face to Tonya (now a Radamashel refugee).
Both Peggy and I reached our respective destinations on time and without incident - unless you count a harrowing 20 minutes that I spent looking for my passport when passing through US customs (the passport had fallen into a virtually hidden and inaccessible section of my carry-on bag).
I am now enjoying western food and a soft bed - and feel more than a little guilty that Tonya is not here to share them with me! I will just have to endure the guilt pangs and put on a happy face...
Here are a few recent communications from Tonya and Peggy:
April 18 - 1st Mom Visit
Just back from visit with boys. They are very handsome young men and cute kids. Very excited to see Tonya. We spent the time outside, Matthew Dima and I played with the soccer ball and Ty will be happy to know that he loved kicking the soccer ball. Everything seems to make him happy and his laugh is contagious. Wendy will be happy to know that both give and receive big hugs. Jason Vitali is very curious about everything and going to need a nice sand box. We also will need a bike for Matthew Dima.
Basically what Mom is saying is that they will need everything. We came away with tracings of feet that Mom will bring back with her. Matthew Dima's cloths are "medium" - not sure if this is American medium or something else. One of the little girls had on the purple camouflage "My Little Pony" outfit we had left at the orphanage the other day. Mom also got to meet Lyda Oksana and a few of her friends (Yeva, Lesia and Eula) when they were outside on a break between classes. We saw a notebook where Lyda Oksana had been practicing her English. The funny thing is that the phrases were written in Cyrillic and she said them aloud in English. We are going to go back again this afternoon to see her again. Debbie cakes were a big hit with the boys as were the "machinas" (hot wheels cars) as Matthew Dima calls them. Mom also got to meet the orphanage Director and to see one of Jason Vitali's fits (complete with foot stomping and lots of noise) when we were headed back in. Hope everyone has a good day - very nice but windy here today. Tonz and Mom
April 19 - Saturday With The Boys
Good morning. We have already visited the boys this morning - they get so excited when they see Tonya. All the other children say "Dima, Vitali Mama." Fun to watch. Matthew Dima practiced writing again. He used the ABC book and copied from it. He is very neat and shows Mama everything he does. Proud of his work and likes the praise. Jason Vitali spent most of his time playing in the sand. He likes to dig in the dirt so may be a good gardening partner. I try to look at the houses as we pass but it is very hard. Do not want to be staring too long but there is a lot of detail to look at. Some places are old but some are new or remodeled. Same with the cars and scooters. And we have seen several horses pulling wagons. A blending of the old and new. Despite the warmth of the day they still bundle the boys up like it is freezing cold outside. RR (Radamashel refugees)
That's all for now. Send all good thoughts to Tonya and Peggy. I will monitor the Radamashel chatter and try to update the blog daily.
Joe
Both Peggy and I reached our respective destinations on time and without incident - unless you count a harrowing 20 minutes that I spent looking for my passport when passing through US customs (the passport had fallen into a virtually hidden and inaccessible section of my carry-on bag).
I am now enjoying western food and a soft bed - and feel more than a little guilty that Tonya is not here to share them with me! I will just have to endure the guilt pangs and put on a happy face...
Here are a few recent communications from Tonya and Peggy:
April 18 - 1st Mom Visit
Just back from visit with boys. They are very handsome young men and cute kids. Very excited to see Tonya. We spent the time outside, Matthew Dima and I played with the soccer ball and Ty will be happy to know that he loved kicking the soccer ball. Everything seems to make him happy and his laugh is contagious. Wendy will be happy to know that both give and receive big hugs. Jason Vitali is very curious about everything and going to need a nice sand box. We also will need a bike for Matthew Dima.
Basically what Mom is saying is that they will need everything. We came away with tracings of feet that Mom will bring back with her. Matthew Dima's cloths are "medium" - not sure if this is American medium or something else. One of the little girls had on the purple camouflage "My Little Pony" outfit we had left at the orphanage the other day. Mom also got to meet Lyda Oksana and a few of her friends (Yeva, Lesia and Eula) when they were outside on a break between classes. We saw a notebook where Lyda Oksana had been practicing her English. The funny thing is that the phrases were written in Cyrillic and she said them aloud in English. We are going to go back again this afternoon to see her again. Debbie cakes were a big hit with the boys as were the "machinas" (hot wheels cars) as Matthew Dima calls them. Mom also got to meet the orphanage Director and to see one of Jason Vitali's fits (complete with foot stomping and lots of noise) when we were headed back in. Hope everyone has a good day - very nice but windy here today. Tonz and Mom
April 19 - Saturday With The Boys
Good morning. We have already visited the boys this morning - they get so excited when they see Tonya. All the other children say "Dima, Vitali Mama." Fun to watch. Matthew Dima practiced writing again. He used the ABC book and copied from it. He is very neat and shows Mama everything he does. Proud of his work and likes the praise. Jason Vitali spent most of his time playing in the sand. He likes to dig in the dirt so may be a good gardening partner. I try to look at the houses as we pass but it is very hard. Do not want to be staring too long but there is a lot of detail to look at. Some places are old but some are new or remodeled. Same with the cars and scooters. And we have seen several horses pulling wagons. A blending of the old and new. Despite the warmth of the day they still bundle the boys up like it is freezing cold outside. RR (Radamashel refugees)
That's all for now. Send all good thoughts to Tonya and Peggy. I will monitor the Radamashel chatter and try to update the blog daily.
Joe
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Let the Waiting Begin (Continue)
Below is the update from Tonya. It goes into a little more detail than I did yesterday. I have been sending Tonya and Joe e-mail's about how this experience parallels being on the TV show "Survivor". Well this episode is the one where you receive the visit from a loved one at home. Mom will arrive in Kiev today and Joe's mom is picking him up from the airport today, so both will get their much needed hug from home. The thing that continues to amaze me about this process as I read other peoples blogs and journeys, is that every experience is somewhat unique. We can't wait to welcome home the new additions to our family, but I think we all had ideas in our heads that this process would be a little more "warm and fuzzy" than it has turned out to be.
I just checked the flights and Mom's plane has touched down and she should be at the gate! Here is Tonya's update.
" So, as I have some airport time to kill (it is 12:45 and we got here at 8:00, mom gets here at 4:15 - the time is going surprisingly fast) I thought I would update the blog info. I wrote 12 pages in my journal about yesterday but I will try to keep it a little shorter for this.
I think the appropriate title for this is "Let the Waiting Begin (Continue)"
So, we had court yesterday ( Aprill 16th) among other things. All in all a pretty full day.
Court was scheduled for 1:00. Ramon came to Radamashel about. 9:00 to go to the Inspector's office because he needed to get official stamps on some copies of paperwork that the SDA requested. This is paperwork that the SDA does not normally request - but remember Joe and I are not doing this the easy way, that is not our way. This will become even more evident later on. Anyway we basically only got to keep our court date yesterday because Ramon promised to bring the officially stamped copies back to the SDA the same afternoon - 9:00 today is when he actually got them to the SDA as he did not leave Radamashel until almost 7 last night.
So court...
We get to the court - I will have Joe post a picture of the building as well as the courtroom - a little before 1. The other participants arrive shortly after - Inspector (I) and the Orphanage Representative (OR), thr Director' second in command. My fvorite thing about the entire court experience is that the Judge was running around in her slippers (pink!). She was appropriately robed and shod when court started.
Courtroom does not seem to be a busy place as the room was opened specifically for our hearing and closed again afterwards. (You just have to see the picture). They did not even turn the lights on.
Entire court presence:
Joe, myself and Ramon
Inspector
Orphanage Representative
Court Recorder - pencil and paper, no machines here
Judge and 2 other court witnesses
Town Prosecutor
Before setting out for court we asked Ramon what kinds of questions we would be asked and he said none really because this is just a formality. He wasn't exactly correct - I refer back to the difficult way!
When the procedings started there was a lot of reading by the judge of required documents, people present (each of us - including the I and OR - had to stand and identify ourselves and say our birthdays), our rights as petitioners, and other stuff like that. Then the judge says there will be a few questions - 20 minutes later we moved on. The questions ranged from "how many rooms do you have in your house?" to "Will you be able to give these children the love they need?" There were plenty more and if I was not typing this on Joe's blackberry at the airport I would type more.
Aside: I just spent the last hour at the internet cafe in the airport trying to use my school e-mail to send the message instead of the crackberry. Pretty much all I could do was look at messages and delete some - sending did not work. There is something about Wake Counties e-mailsystem that is very difficult to use out of town.
The I and OR then gave their statements approving the adoption petition. There ws some more reading of stuff and then the judge says they will be going out to debate for 15 - 20 minutes. 15-20 minutes later they were back and the judge starts to read a two page, front and back statement, word for word that basically says says the court approves the petition and now we have to wait for 10 days to see if anyone objects. Court adjourned.
Ramon wanted to say a few follow-up words to the judge just to get clear when we could pick up the paperwork and where the new birth certificates need to be made. when he is finished it is now 3:30. Our 20 minute court date took two and a half hours.
We now head to the orphanage to see the Director. Of course she was not there - so 15-20 minutes more waiting. (Ramon has told us that Ukrainians are good at waiting because during the Soviet occupation they had to wait in line for everything) Director was in a very chatty mood. I will not bore you with those details but it was after five when we left.
It is at this point that my anger for the day really takes off. Ramon tells us that he is still waiting to hear about our apartment in Kiev. Why are we still waiting? Why wasn't the apartment booked last week when we told you we were going to need it on Wednesday.
I will skip all the sordid details, but in the end we stayed in Radamashel because there were no hotel rooms or apartments available in the entire city of Kiev. You all know my penchant for having a plan and making preparations ahead of time. So, when the men (sorry men for the stereotyping but this is such a man thing to do) do not try to get an apartment until the day of this is what happens. So, Joe and I leave Radamashel with Nikolai at 6AM to get him to the airport because he is going home for a week or so and mom is taking his place.
Here comes thing two that almost puts me over the edge.
While we are waiting to hear about the apartment we go over the timeline for the next set of paperwork. We have to wait ten days, that is April 26th a Saturday, so we have to wait until Monday to pick up the paperwork, but the 28th is Easter here so Monday is a holiday (no problem the same is true in the US). But, May 1st is a holiday similar to Labor Day (only a much bigger deal here) and the little town we have to get the birth certificates issued in, something like Karastachif, may be closed the entire week. WHAT! So the next day that we could get anything done would be May 5th! WHAT!!!!!
The agency may be open on the 28th and 29th but Ramon does not know that (he is suposed to be finding out today, haven't heard from him yet) and if they are he does not know if they will be able to do the new certificates in two days before they go on vacation until the next week. GOOD GRIEF!
I am trying not to borrow trouble but today is day 40 here and I am ready to get back in touch with my life. I am aware that we will be coming home with three great children and that is the most important thing.
Random Observations:
- the airport is seriously busy and has not slowed down since I got here at 8AM. They could stand for an expansion
- I had a surprisingly good - if not salty lunch at the airport
- the majority of men here carry "man bags" - yes, very much like Joey's on "Friends"
- everyone even if they have a purse or "man bag" carries a plastic shoping type bag. You can buy them at street vendors and "Hugo Boss" is a very popular style. Also seeing a lot of flower covered ones now that the weather is a bit warmer. Joe and I are perplexed by these bags and neither of us has taken up the habit- although we did look at "man bags" for Joe!
Hope this satisfies everyone's craving for an update. I am going to go get a soft serve ice cream. A lot of that is sold here as well and you can get a cone at McDonald's for 1.50 hriyvna which is about thirty cents - pretty good deal. Wonder how much they are here.
3:00, only an hour and a half to go. Mom is almost here."
Tonz
I just checked the flights and Mom's plane has touched down and she should be at the gate! Here is Tonya's update.
" So, as I have some airport time to kill (it is 12:45 and we got here at 8:00, mom gets here at 4:15 - the time is going surprisingly fast) I thought I would update the blog info. I wrote 12 pages in my journal about yesterday but I will try to keep it a little shorter for this.
I think the appropriate title for this is "Let the Waiting Begin (Continue)"
So, we had court yesterday ( Aprill 16th) among other things. All in all a pretty full day.
Court was scheduled for 1:00. Ramon came to Radamashel about. 9:00 to go to the Inspector's office because he needed to get official stamps on some copies of paperwork that the SDA requested. This is paperwork that the SDA does not normally request - but remember Joe and I are not doing this the easy way, that is not our way. This will become even more evident later on. Anyway we basically only got to keep our court date yesterday because Ramon promised to bring the officially stamped copies back to the SDA the same afternoon - 9:00 today is when he actually got them to the SDA as he did not leave Radamashel until almost 7 last night.
So court...
We get to the court - I will have Joe post a picture of the building as well as the courtroom - a little before 1. The other participants arrive shortly after - Inspector (I) and the Orphanage Representative (OR), thr Director' second in command. My fvorite thing about the entire court experience is that the Judge was running around in her slippers (pink!). She was appropriately robed and shod when court started.
Courtroom does not seem to be a busy place as the room was opened specifically for our hearing and closed again afterwards. (You just have to see the picture). They did not even turn the lights on.
Entire court presence:
Joe, myself and Ramon
Inspector
Orphanage Representative
Court Recorder - pencil and paper, no machines here
Judge and 2 other court witnesses
Town Prosecutor
Before setting out for court we asked Ramon what kinds of questions we would be asked and he said none really because this is just a formality. He wasn't exactly correct - I refer back to the difficult way!
When the procedings started there was a lot of reading by the judge of required documents, people present (each of us - including the I and OR - had to stand and identify ourselves and say our birthdays), our rights as petitioners, and other stuff like that. Then the judge says there will be a few questions - 20 minutes later we moved on. The questions ranged from "how many rooms do you have in your house?" to "Will you be able to give these children the love they need?" There were plenty more and if I was not typing this on Joe's blackberry at the airport I would type more.
Aside: I just spent the last hour at the internet cafe in the airport trying to use my school e-mail to send the message instead of the crackberry. Pretty much all I could do was look at messages and delete some - sending did not work. There is something about Wake Counties e-mailsystem that is very difficult to use out of town.
The I and OR then gave their statements approving the adoption petition. There ws some more reading of stuff and then the judge says they will be going out to debate for 15 - 20 minutes. 15-20 minutes later they were back and the judge starts to read a two page, front and back statement, word for word that basically says says the court approves the petition and now we have to wait for 10 days to see if anyone objects. Court adjourned.
Ramon wanted to say a few follow-up words to the judge just to get clear when we could pick up the paperwork and where the new birth certificates need to be made. when he is finished it is now 3:30. Our 20 minute court date took two and a half hours.
We now head to the orphanage to see the Director. Of course she was not there - so 15-20 minutes more waiting. (Ramon has told us that Ukrainians are good at waiting because during the Soviet occupation they had to wait in line for everything) Director was in a very chatty mood. I will not bore you with those details but it was after five when we left.
It is at this point that my anger for the day really takes off. Ramon tells us that he is still waiting to hear about our apartment in Kiev. Why are we still waiting? Why wasn't the apartment booked last week when we told you we were going to need it on Wednesday.
I will skip all the sordid details, but in the end we stayed in Radamashel because there were no hotel rooms or apartments available in the entire city of Kiev. You all know my penchant for having a plan and making preparations ahead of time. So, when the men (sorry men for the stereotyping but this is such a man thing to do) do not try to get an apartment until the day of this is what happens. So, Joe and I leave Radamashel with Nikolai at 6AM to get him to the airport because he is going home for a week or so and mom is taking his place.
Here comes thing two that almost puts me over the edge.
While we are waiting to hear about the apartment we go over the timeline for the next set of paperwork. We have to wait ten days, that is April 26th a Saturday, so we have to wait until Monday to pick up the paperwork, but the 28th is Easter here so Monday is a holiday (no problem the same is true in the US). But, May 1st is a holiday similar to Labor Day (only a much bigger deal here) and the little town we have to get the birth certificates issued in, something like Karastachif, may be closed the entire week. WHAT! So the next day that we could get anything done would be May 5th! WHAT!!!!!
The agency may be open on the 28th and 29th but Ramon does not know that (he is suposed to be finding out today, haven't heard from him yet) and if they are he does not know if they will be able to do the new certificates in two days before they go on vacation until the next week. GOOD GRIEF!
I am trying not to borrow trouble but today is day 40 here and I am ready to get back in touch with my life. I am aware that we will be coming home with three great children and that is the most important thing.
Random Observations:
- the airport is seriously busy and has not slowed down since I got here at 8AM. They could stand for an expansion
- I had a surprisingly good - if not salty lunch at the airport
- the majority of men here carry "man bags" - yes, very much like Joey's on "Friends"
- everyone even if they have a purse or "man bag" carries a plastic shoping type bag. You can buy them at street vendors and "Hugo Boss" is a very popular style. Also seeing a lot of flower covered ones now that the weather is a bit warmer. Joe and I are perplexed by these bags and neither of us has taken up the habit- although we did look at "man bags" for Joe!
Hope this satisfies everyone's craving for an update. I am going to go get a soft serve ice cream. A lot of that is sold here as well and you can get a cone at McDonald's for 1.50 hriyvna which is about thirty cents - pretty good deal. Wonder how much they are here.
3:00, only an hour and a half to go. Mom is almost here."
Tonz
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Day in Court
Sorry to post so late tonight, I was hoping to get an e-mail update from Tonya and Joe but they have had a very long day so that will have to wait until tomorrow. I did speak with them on the phone this afternoon so here is a brief summary.
The great news is that they did get their court appointment (thanks for the prayers) and everything was signed, approved, etc....so now the 10 day wait begins. They also had a very good conversation with the director at the orphanage. Tonya said she was the nicest and chattiest that she has been yet. I am not sure if they got to see the boys today but did say they had a nice visit with Oksana. Mom's plane left on time today so she is well on her way and should arrive in the Ukraine tomorrow at 5 their time.
Now for what is becoming the typical Ukranian twist (I am going to give the short version and hopefully Tonya and Joe can fill in the gaps): they were in court at 1 p.m. and the appointment lasted for over 3 hours then they had to go and wait for the director at the orphanage for over 45 minutes because they needed her signature. The entire time they were planning on returning to Kiev so that Joe could catch his flight out tomorrow. After they left the director they were informed that the reservation they had requested for an apartment in Kiev had never been made. Ramon called this afternoon but there is a conference in Kiev and as a result there are no apartments or hotels in the entire city. So, Tonya and Joe had to spend an extra night in Radamashel, and they are leaving at 6a.m. headed back to Kiev so that Joe can catch his plane. Tonya is going to hang around the airport until Mom lands at 5 and then they are headed back to Radamashel until at least Tuesday. Mom is very excited to see the kids so I am sure that will help her overcome her jetlag.
The 10 day wait has now started and that includes weekends. However, Tonya and Joe's 10 days will end on a Saturday which pushes it to Monday. That happens to be Easter weekend in the Ukraine so Monday is a holiday, so that pushes it until Tuesday. Ramon said that sometimes they take the entire week off for the holiday but he is not sure if that is the case this year or not. He will try to find out tomorrow but that decision can change daily so there is really no way to be sure if they will work that week or not. If they don't, that turns the 10 day wait into 19 days. The kicker is that this time has to pass before they can start the paperwork for passports, birth certificates, etc...
Today's prayer request is for safe flights for Mom and Joe and that whoever is in charge of the paperwork will decide to come to work on the Tuesday after Easter so they can move on with the next step of this process.
Thanks,
Rachel
The great news is that they did get their court appointment (thanks for the prayers) and everything was signed, approved, etc....so now the 10 day wait begins. They also had a very good conversation with the director at the orphanage. Tonya said she was the nicest and chattiest that she has been yet. I am not sure if they got to see the boys today but did say they had a nice visit with Oksana. Mom's plane left on time today so she is well on her way and should arrive in the Ukraine tomorrow at 5 their time.
Now for what is becoming the typical Ukranian twist (I am going to give the short version and hopefully Tonya and Joe can fill in the gaps): they were in court at 1 p.m. and the appointment lasted for over 3 hours then they had to go and wait for the director at the orphanage for over 45 minutes because they needed her signature. The entire time they were planning on returning to Kiev so that Joe could catch his flight out tomorrow. After they left the director they were informed that the reservation they had requested for an apartment in Kiev had never been made. Ramon called this afternoon but there is a conference in Kiev and as a result there are no apartments or hotels in the entire city. So, Tonya and Joe had to spend an extra night in Radamashel, and they are leaving at 6a.m. headed back to Kiev so that Joe can catch his plane. Tonya is going to hang around the airport until Mom lands at 5 and then they are headed back to Radamashel until at least Tuesday. Mom is very excited to see the kids so I am sure that will help her overcome her jetlag.
The 10 day wait has now started and that includes weekends. However, Tonya and Joe's 10 days will end on a Saturday which pushes it to Monday. That happens to be Easter weekend in the Ukraine so Monday is a holiday, so that pushes it until Tuesday. Ramon said that sometimes they take the entire week off for the holiday but he is not sure if that is the case this year or not. He will try to find out tomorrow but that decision can change daily so there is really no way to be sure if they will work that week or not. If they don't, that turns the 10 day wait into 19 days. The kicker is that this time has to pass before they can start the paperwork for passports, birth certificates, etc...
Today's prayer request is for safe flights for Mom and Joe and that whoever is in charge of the paperwork will decide to come to work on the Tuesday after Easter so they can move on with the next step of this process.
Thanks,
Rachel
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pray for paperwork
It seems like as Tonya and Joe move through this process the focus of our prayers change almost daily: safe travel, get a referral, healthy children, good visit with the director, edible food, etc...... so today's focus is getting the paperwork signed so that they can make their court date. Wednesday the prayer request will change again to safe travel for Mom and Joe as they trade places and that the 10 day waiting period passes without incident. Thanks for all the prayers, please keep them up, they are working!
Here is today's update from the Ukraine:
"Just back from visiting with Oksana. We practiced English and Ukrainian today. Yeva and Lasia were there as well.
Visited with the boys this morning. They like to play in the sandbox. We held up some of the clothes to try and get a size estimate. Dima - the 4-5 pants look to be right for him as well as the 4T shirt. He is probably right in the middle of the two. Vitali - the 3T pants were way too long but the 2T looked like he was about to be too big for them. The 3T shirt was a little big but the 2T was definitely too small. So, we are pretty much between sizes. Will probably not be able to tell for sure until we are able to actually get the clothes on them.
Ramon says we are on for court tomorrow at one and he is 90% sure the paperwork will be done. When we talked to him this afternoon he was waiting for them to call and tell him they had been signed.
As an aside it seems that the people who do the preparing of the documents and the people who do the signing are not the same, and the people who do the signing are never around. We needed the Inspector to sign so we could visit the children - not around. We needed the Notary to sign so we could submit documents to Inspector - not around. We need the SDA to sign - not around.Hopefully they will get signed so we do not have to change our tickets or figure out how to get mom.
Hope your day is good.
Tonz and Yo"
Here is today's update from the Ukraine:
"Just back from visiting with Oksana. We practiced English and Ukrainian today. Yeva and Lasia were there as well.
Visited with the boys this morning. They like to play in the sandbox. We held up some of the clothes to try and get a size estimate. Dima - the 4-5 pants look to be right for him as well as the 4T shirt. He is probably right in the middle of the two. Vitali - the 3T pants were way too long but the 2T looked like he was about to be too big for them. The 3T shirt was a little big but the 2T was definitely too small. So, we are pretty much between sizes. Will probably not be able to tell for sure until we are able to actually get the clothes on them.
Ramon says we are on for court tomorrow at one and he is 90% sure the paperwork will be done. When we talked to him this afternoon he was waiting for them to call and tell him they had been signed.
As an aside it seems that the people who do the preparing of the documents and the people who do the signing are not the same, and the people who do the signing are never around. We needed the Inspector to sign so we could visit the children - not around. We needed the Notary to sign so we could submit documents to Inspector - not around. We need the SDA to sign - not around.Hopefully they will get signed so we do not have to change our tickets or figure out how to get mom.
Hope your day is good.
Tonz and Yo"
Monday, April 14, 2008
Back in Radamashal
Tonya and Joe are back in Radamashal so I have resumed blogging duties for the next few days. We had a great time getting the rooms ready over the weekend and cannot wait for our neice and nephews to see them. Mom is preparing to trade places with Joe for 2 weeks so he can come home and refresh, work, etc.. She is very excited and a little anxious about navigating the international airports by herself. She is so brave and adventurous, I am sure that Oxanna, Dima, and Vitali will love her instantly. Since Operation American Junkfood was kidnapped by customs we are attempting once again to get food to Tonya via Mom's suitcase. We are also sending fresh reading material and repleneshing all the toiletries (the travel sizes have all run out). As you can see from the update below all the delay's are really starting to wear on Tonya's nerves. It now looks like they will not make it home even in early May. Two months is a long time to be away from home no matter what the location. Here is Today's update:
"Of course the SDA does not have the paperwork ready today...so, we wait until tomorrow and hope that Ramon can get our court date rescheduled for Wednesday.On another front the couple from Spain (Pila and Fernando), that did not arrive in Ukraine until March 20th compared to our arrival date of March 8th, has their court date on Wednesday. I cannot express the amount of unhappy I am going to be if a couple who started after us ends up "ahead". While I will really be glad that the process has gone quickly for them I may have to vent to someone about why things seem to be taking the slow path for us.Since we are going to miss the NC Primary I am thinking of running for office here. Or maybe I will just open a business to show people how to be more efficient and organized. I am pretty sure that even with my limited computer skills I can teach them a thing or two. As my students can attest I have some serious experience with graphic organizers.Had a fantastic visit with the boys this morning. The entire class was getting ready to go outside so we helped get shoes and coats on and everyone went out. Pila and Fernando were also there, visiting Misha (Miguel) and when the children saw that we all had ballons and bubbles it was like the hounds after the fox. You could hardly see Pila, Fernando and Joe for the crowds of children around them (there are 18 children in the class) trying to get a balloon blown up or a bottle of bubbles. As I was not the dissemenator of any of the above mentioned items I actually did more watching and refereeing than actual work. The pandemonium lasted about 15 minutes until balloons were blowing all over the playground and hundreds of bubbles had been blown and some of the children began to drift off to other pursuits.We stayed outside as long as they did, from about 10:30 to 12. The children are just so cute and in need of attention that you just want to be able to help them all. (They all recognize us as Dima and Vitali's mama and papa.) We have already had this same conversation about Oksana's friends (Lasia, Yeva and Ula). Of course we do not know their situations, but we do know the longer they stay in an orphanage the worse their future options are.You could tell the teacher was glad to have four adults to distract the children because she sat off to the side and talked on her cell phone pretty much the entire time. It is also clear the children have a routine and they follow it like little robots. When it was time to go in they all gathered around the teacher, walked in an orderly group (no stragglers or children running ahead). When they got back inside as soon as they got inside the door the coats, hats and shoes came off. Coats and hats were hung up on little hooks along the wall and little slippers were put on - before anyone went to do anything else. Rachel asked at one point if there was just a big box of hats that they grabbed out of because Vitali has had on a different hat in every picture (sorry, but family members have been sent some pictures), and while there is no box per-se there does seem to be the practice of grabbing whatever hat is handy however, Dima has worn the same hat every time and they both seem to wear the same coats from visit to visit.Did not see Oksana today because of some conferences involving school. But we will see her tomorrow."
Tonz and Joe
"Of course the SDA does not have the paperwork ready today...so, we wait until tomorrow and hope that Ramon can get our court date rescheduled for Wednesday.On another front the couple from Spain (Pila and Fernando), that did not arrive in Ukraine until March 20th compared to our arrival date of March 8th, has their court date on Wednesday. I cannot express the amount of unhappy I am going to be if a couple who started after us ends up "ahead". While I will really be glad that the process has gone quickly for them I may have to vent to someone about why things seem to be taking the slow path for us.Since we are going to miss the NC Primary I am thinking of running for office here. Or maybe I will just open a business to show people how to be more efficient and organized. I am pretty sure that even with my limited computer skills I can teach them a thing or two. As my students can attest I have some serious experience with graphic organizers.Had a fantastic visit with the boys this morning. The entire class was getting ready to go outside so we helped get shoes and coats on and everyone went out. Pila and Fernando were also there, visiting Misha (Miguel) and when the children saw that we all had ballons and bubbles it was like the hounds after the fox. You could hardly see Pila, Fernando and Joe for the crowds of children around them (there are 18 children in the class) trying to get a balloon blown up or a bottle of bubbles. As I was not the dissemenator of any of the above mentioned items I actually did more watching and refereeing than actual work. The pandemonium lasted about 15 minutes until balloons were blowing all over the playground and hundreds of bubbles had been blown and some of the children began to drift off to other pursuits.We stayed outside as long as they did, from about 10:30 to 12. The children are just so cute and in need of attention that you just want to be able to help them all. (They all recognize us as Dima and Vitali's mama and papa.) We have already had this same conversation about Oksana's friends (Lasia, Yeva and Ula). Of course we do not know their situations, but we do know the longer they stay in an orphanage the worse their future options are.You could tell the teacher was glad to have four adults to distract the children because she sat off to the side and talked on her cell phone pretty much the entire time. It is also clear the children have a routine and they follow it like little robots. When it was time to go in they all gathered around the teacher, walked in an orderly group (no stragglers or children running ahead). When they got back inside as soon as they got inside the door the coats, hats and shoes came off. Coats and hats were hung up on little hooks along the wall and little slippers were put on - before anyone went to do anything else. Rachel asked at one point if there was just a big box of hats that they grabbed out of because Vitali has had on a different hat in every picture (sorry, but family members have been sent some pictures), and while there is no box per-se there does seem to be the practice of grabbing whatever hat is handy however, Dima has worn the same hat every time and they both seem to wear the same coats from visit to visit.Did not see Oksana today because of some conferences involving school. But we will see her tomorrow."
Tonz and Joe
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Another Weekend In Kiev
If it were not for the fact that we are in Kiev the last few days would have been very much like we were at home (except for the food, bed, cars on the sidewalks and cigarette smoke everywhere). We have washed clothes, gone to the bank, eaten at McDonald's (conservatively 5 times in four days - we do not eat there that much at home despite what my family thinks), stocked up at the grocery store (pretty much all candy - Mounds (called "Bounty" here), yummy little cake rolls with jam inside and chocolate outside, gummi bears for Joe and the ever present Banaqua (no gas). We also did some randon shopping and took a hike through the city. Our walk was really nice. We went by Dynamo Stadium (local soccer team) who, as we were informed by a street vendor today are not very good, by Marinsky Palace (currently being restored and it was still beautiful), Parliament, a monstrous government building, the National Art Museum (spent a wonderful hour there for only two bucks) and finished up with a walk in the park overlooking the Dnipro River.
Now that I have read all my books and we are finishing up the last few crosswords I pulled out the Sudoku book and Joe (who claims not to like puzzles) was instantly addicted. Thank goodness mom gave us the Fast and Easy book because I am pretty sure we spent about 1 1/2 hours to do the first puzzle. I hope these get easier or our egos might be bruised.
Tomorrow we head back to Radamashel with our hopes of being home in the early single digits of May dashed. The new birth certificates and passports are going to slow us up. Here's where the schedule stands (I have only looked at the calendar about a million times in the last few days).
- Monday pick up papers from SDA (2:00 - very popular time to pick things up here)
- Tuesday court appointment 10:40
- Let the 10 days of waiting begin. - This is where the process really slows down. NO OTHER PAPERWORK CAN BE DONE DURING THIS TEN DAYS!!! Aaaaaargh!
- April 28th - adoption is almost official - take papers to get new birth certificates - 2-3 days
- New Passports 5-7 days
- Medical Appointment Kiev
- US Embassy - Kiev
- Get the heck out of dodge on the first plan out of here - not fast enough!!
Conservatively depending on how fast/slow the passports are we could be here 60 - 62 days.
On the good side, however, Joe will be coming home this Thursday, April 17th for about 10 days. Mom is trading places with him to keep me company while he is gone and see some of the sights. We are very excited that Joe will get to go home - food, bed, food, pets, food, couch, food... you get the picture.
He can also check out the decorating that our families did to the children's room's this weekend. Apparently there was a blitzkrieg on the rooms (Mom's (both Joe and Tonya), Wendy, Rachel, Tammy, assorted spouses and children). Rumor has it beds were assembeled, sheets and linens bought and some minor accessorizing done. It cannot be said enough the blessings a fantastic and loving family bring - not to mention plenty of manual labor. Thanks guys!
Random Toughts:
- One would think that with the advent of warmer weather that the knee/thigh high black stiletto boots would be tucked away, for your normal run of the mill stilettos, but no - who knew that they also look great with mini-skirts and shorts.
- I know some folks who would find this next bit welcome news but apparently no time of day (morning, noon or night) is a bad time to have a beer. We read that they are pretty much in the same category as soft drinks and you are allowed to drink them here on the street. We see people carrying a beer more often that soft drinks. Saw someone drinking one this morning about 9AM. We had a conversation about beer with one of our drivers and told him that in America the drinking age is 21. His question/comment was, "What do the children drink?!" We thought this was rather funny and telling.
Will turn blogging duties back over to Rachel for a few days. Thanks again for all the comments and well-wishes.
Tonya & Joe
Now that I have read all my books and we are finishing up the last few crosswords I pulled out the Sudoku book and Joe (who claims not to like puzzles) was instantly addicted. Thank goodness mom gave us the Fast and Easy book because I am pretty sure we spent about 1 1/2 hours to do the first puzzle. I hope these get easier or our egos might be bruised.
Tomorrow we head back to Radamashel with our hopes of being home in the early single digits of May dashed. The new birth certificates and passports are going to slow us up. Here's where the schedule stands (I have only looked at the calendar about a million times in the last few days).
- Monday pick up papers from SDA (2:00 - very popular time to pick things up here)
- Tuesday court appointment 10:40
- Let the 10 days of waiting begin. - This is where the process really slows down. NO OTHER PAPERWORK CAN BE DONE DURING THIS TEN DAYS!!! Aaaaaargh!
- April 28th - adoption is almost official - take papers to get new birth certificates - 2-3 days
- New Passports 5-7 days
- Medical Appointment Kiev
- US Embassy - Kiev
- Get the heck out of dodge on the first plan out of here - not fast enough!!
Conservatively depending on how fast/slow the passports are we could be here 60 - 62 days.
On the good side, however, Joe will be coming home this Thursday, April 17th for about 10 days. Mom is trading places with him to keep me company while he is gone and see some of the sights. We are very excited that Joe will get to go home - food, bed, food, pets, food, couch, food... you get the picture.
He can also check out the decorating that our families did to the children's room's this weekend. Apparently there was a blitzkrieg on the rooms (Mom's (both Joe and Tonya), Wendy, Rachel, Tammy, assorted spouses and children). Rumor has it beds were assembeled, sheets and linens bought and some minor accessorizing done. It cannot be said enough the blessings a fantastic and loving family bring - not to mention plenty of manual labor. Thanks guys!
Random Toughts:
- One would think that with the advent of warmer weather that the knee/thigh high black stiletto boots would be tucked away, for your normal run of the mill stilettos, but no - who knew that they also look great with mini-skirts and shorts.
- I know some folks who would find this next bit welcome news but apparently no time of day (morning, noon or night) is a bad time to have a beer. We read that they are pretty much in the same category as soft drinks and you are allowed to drink them here on the street. We see people carrying a beer more often that soft drinks. Saw someone drinking one this morning about 9AM. We had a conversation about beer with one of our drivers and told him that in America the drinking age is 21. His question/comment was, "What do the children drink?!" We thought this was rather funny and telling.
Will turn blogging duties back over to Rachel for a few days. Thanks again for all the comments and well-wishes.
Tonya & Joe
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Again in Kiev
Just want to remind everyone that we are not posting pictures of the children until all is completely official.
We have come back to Kiev to get some food. Really if it weren't for the food issue we could stay in Radamashel. Except for a few specific food categories, fish or pretty much anything that lives in water, I never really considered myself to be a picky eater and Joe seems to be less picky than me. However, this trip has shown that if not picky we are definitely not adventerous eaters. As the Ukrainian menu consists of a lot of sausage type meats (not hardly any chicken or pork, lots of dishes made with liver and a disturbing penchant for eating fat - yes folks fat, processed into a square form and cut off in pieces fat - the menu at our hotel is pretty limited. There are about five dishes that we keep eating over and over (chicken soup - mostly little chicken and lots of soup), slaw, potatoes (mashed and fried), fish with vegetables and a Greek Salad that is actually very good but that they have only when they are able to get tomatoes. So, despite the fact that coming back to the city brings us away from the children for a few days it is necessary for our health to get something different in our bodies, even if it is McDonald's. This is "extreme" dieting that I do not really recommend to the general population. Joe has lost about 10 pounds and I am down 5-7. These are general estimates based on how the clothes are starting to fit.
We included several pictures of the places we have been eating in Kiev and the hotel restaurant in Radamashel as well as the grocery store near the apartment. Juice here comes in the containers like the apple juice and "Sandora" is the most popular brand. Lots of people drink water and the most common is "Bonaqua". It comes in two kinds - with gas and without. "With gas" means carbonated, which Joe likes and has a dark blue lid. I like "without", which has the light blue lid pictured. I started carrying a lid with me to show people who might not understand our English very well. It has worked very effectively.
The children are doing well. I saw that Rachel had posted the information about Vitali's penchant for having fits. Thankfully the next couple of days passed without incident. We are confident that much of this behavior comes from being in a room with 18 other children and there being an almost "survival of the fittest" mentality about anything you want to play with.
We are very anxious to be home and back in contact with our lives (bed, food, family, friends, pets, etc). Traveling outside the US definitely makes you appreciate everything our country has to offer. The process continues on and for every step closer we get it seems there is more to be done. After the court date the children will get new birth certificates and passports, a medical exam and a trip to the US Embassy. Of course all theses steps are allowed up to 10 days. Thanks to Ramon, our coordinator, many of these steps have gone much faster so we still hold out hope of being home in the early single digits of May. A lot longer than our original estimate of April 17 but less than it could have been, and we will be returning with three lovely children.
Just found out while we are typing on the blog that Operation American Junk Food has been delayed at Customs for days because food is not allowed to be sent into the country. They will open the boxes tomorrow (not sure why today is not an option since it is still before lunch here but whatever) and take out the Debbies and any other food Wendy may have included. It is possible we will receive these packages before we leave the country. I do know that someone in the Customs Warehouse is going to be enjoying Debbie Cakes for days to come.
Other Random Observations:
- I love the way people drive here - wide open everywhere they go. Surprisingly few wrecks. But, what I really like is that they get over. If someone is coming up behind them they get out of the way. They also have the whole take-gap-give-gap thing down pat. There are very few traffic backups for things like the road crew painting the fencing in the middle of the road because people just merge over and keep the pedal to the metal.
- Have included a picture of the sidewalk parking that goes on. This is pretty much standard all over the city and you do need to watch out for cars driving to their parking space on the sidewalk. We have noticed that there really aren't any parking lots, the one at McDonald's is the only one we have seen, and no parking decks. Our est guess is that not that many people had cars during Soviet Occupation and now that capitalism has set in and more folks can afford one there is no where to park. This is only going to get worse before it gets better.
- Nothing works efficiently. Democracy is a painful process and we feel like we are caught in the middle with all the paperwork that we have to have done.
- Sorry to hear about our Heels but strangely we did get to watch the National Championship Game the day after it happened. We were waiting on Ramon to pickup some paperwork and found it on one of the channels at the hotel - commentated in Ukraininan of course. Did not matter - it wasn't soccer, which we could see 24-7 if we wanted to (sorry Paul!) - and it was a good game. We are glad Kansas won.
- Note the squirrel picture - fuzzy ears. We like them.
- There are huge stork nests in one of the villages we pass through on the way to Radamashel and the last time we came by there were huge storks in them (no pictures yet)which is really cool to see.
Thanks again for all the support. We miss everyone and the familiarity of home and your notes and comments help provide that connection.
Tonya & Joe
We have come back to Kiev to get some food. Really if it weren't for the food issue we could stay in Radamashel. Except for a few specific food categories, fish or pretty much anything that lives in water, I never really considered myself to be a picky eater and Joe seems to be less picky than me. However, this trip has shown that if not picky we are definitely not adventerous eaters. As the Ukrainian menu consists of a lot of sausage type meats (not hardly any chicken or pork, lots of dishes made with liver and a disturbing penchant for eating fat - yes folks fat, processed into a square form and cut off in pieces fat - the menu at our hotel is pretty limited. There are about five dishes that we keep eating over and over (chicken soup - mostly little chicken and lots of soup), slaw, potatoes (mashed and fried), fish with vegetables and a Greek Salad that is actually very good but that they have only when they are able to get tomatoes. So, despite the fact that coming back to the city brings us away from the children for a few days it is necessary for our health to get something different in our bodies, even if it is McDonald's. This is "extreme" dieting that I do not really recommend to the general population. Joe has lost about 10 pounds and I am down 5-7. These are general estimates based on how the clothes are starting to fit.
We included several pictures of the places we have been eating in Kiev and the hotel restaurant in Radamashel as well as the grocery store near the apartment. Juice here comes in the containers like the apple juice and "Sandora" is the most popular brand. Lots of people drink water and the most common is "Bonaqua". It comes in two kinds - with gas and without. "With gas" means carbonated, which Joe likes and has a dark blue lid. I like "without", which has the light blue lid pictured. I started carrying a lid with me to show people who might not understand our English very well. It has worked very effectively.
The children are doing well. I saw that Rachel had posted the information about Vitali's penchant for having fits. Thankfully the next couple of days passed without incident. We are confident that much of this behavior comes from being in a room with 18 other children and there being an almost "survival of the fittest" mentality about anything you want to play with.
We are very anxious to be home and back in contact with our lives (bed, food, family, friends, pets, etc). Traveling outside the US definitely makes you appreciate everything our country has to offer. The process continues on and for every step closer we get it seems there is more to be done. After the court date the children will get new birth certificates and passports, a medical exam and a trip to the US Embassy. Of course all theses steps are allowed up to 10 days. Thanks to Ramon, our coordinator, many of these steps have gone much faster so we still hold out hope of being home in the early single digits of May. A lot longer than our original estimate of April 17 but less than it could have been, and we will be returning with three lovely children.
Just found out while we are typing on the blog that Operation American Junk Food has been delayed at Customs for days because food is not allowed to be sent into the country. They will open the boxes tomorrow (not sure why today is not an option since it is still before lunch here but whatever) and take out the Debbies and any other food Wendy may have included. It is possible we will receive these packages before we leave the country. I do know that someone in the Customs Warehouse is going to be enjoying Debbie Cakes for days to come.
Other Random Observations:
- I love the way people drive here - wide open everywhere they go. Surprisingly few wrecks. But, what I really like is that they get over. If someone is coming up behind them they get out of the way. They also have the whole take-gap-give-gap thing down pat. There are very few traffic backups for things like the road crew painting the fencing in the middle of the road because people just merge over and keep the pedal to the metal.
- Have included a picture of the sidewalk parking that goes on. This is pretty much standard all over the city and you do need to watch out for cars driving to their parking space on the sidewalk. We have noticed that there really aren't any parking lots, the one at McDonald's is the only one we have seen, and no parking decks. Our est guess is that not that many people had cars during Soviet Occupation and now that capitalism has set in and more folks can afford one there is no where to park. This is only going to get worse before it gets better.
- Nothing works efficiently. Democracy is a painful process and we feel like we are caught in the middle with all the paperwork that we have to have done.
- Sorry to hear about our Heels but strangely we did get to watch the National Championship Game the day after it happened. We were waiting on Ramon to pickup some paperwork and found it on one of the channels at the hotel - commentated in Ukraininan of course. Did not matter - it wasn't soccer, which we could see 24-7 if we wanted to (sorry Paul!) - and it was a good game. We are glad Kansas won.
- Note the squirrel picture - fuzzy ears. We like them.
- There are huge stork nests in one of the villages we pass through on the way to Radamashel and the last time we came by there were huge storks in them (no pictures yet)which is really cool to see.
Thanks again for all the support. We miss everyone and the familiarity of home and your notes and comments help provide that connection.
Tonya & Joe
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Back in Kiev
I didn't post yeserday because I thought that Tonya and Joe would be back in Kiev in time to update. They did arrive back in Kiev but not in time to get settled and then venture out to find internet access. To bad they can't get on the internet at their new favorite place, McDonalds. So I am providing one more update for them and then they should be able to post tomorrow. Below is their e-mial:
"We are finally back in Kiev and BigMacs have been injested. We feel like people who have been deprived of food for so long that we need to be careful what we eat- except that we tore right into our Macs and didn't look back. So far the only side effect is that happy feeling from having a full stomach and from having eaten something different than slaw, mashed potatoes or chicken soup for the last seven days!
We have begun describing Radamushel in terms of towns in horror movies that just will not let you leave - where you drive and drive and when you turn the corner you are back in the same town. We were going to come back to Kiev Friday, but because the paperwork was going to be finished yesterday we stayed the weekend. Then it did not get finished and we had to stay Monday night. Today we thought we would be leaving by 12 and it was 3. Then we got all our stuff (just barely) in a cab and started heading out and he found out exactly where we were going and did not want to go there so he lierally drove around the block - and we took our stuff back out of the cab right back in front of the hotel. We had better luck with the second guy although he did abruptly stop at the last building before leaving town, causing us to wonder what the deal was, but he came back out with a Coke and off we went.
We are happily ensconced back in Apartment #44 (our favorite - even the apartment owner was glad to see us back and remembered our names). This is our third time in this building and second time in #44. We are actually going to try and get it when we come back with the kids. We have happily been roaming around the apartment - it is like the Biltmore compared to our hotel room."
Tonz and Yo
"We are finally back in Kiev and BigMacs have been injested. We feel like people who have been deprived of food for so long that we need to be careful what we eat- except that we tore right into our Macs and didn't look back. So far the only side effect is that happy feeling from having a full stomach and from having eaten something different than slaw, mashed potatoes or chicken soup for the last seven days!
We have begun describing Radamushel in terms of towns in horror movies that just will not let you leave - where you drive and drive and when you turn the corner you are back in the same town. We were going to come back to Kiev Friday, but because the paperwork was going to be finished yesterday we stayed the weekend. Then it did not get finished and we had to stay Monday night. Today we thought we would be leaving by 12 and it was 3. Then we got all our stuff (just barely) in a cab and started heading out and he found out exactly where we were going and did not want to go there so he lierally drove around the block - and we took our stuff back out of the cab right back in front of the hotel. We had better luck with the second guy although he did abruptly stop at the last building before leaving town, causing us to wonder what the deal was, but he came back out with a Coke and off we went.
We are happily ensconced back in Apartment #44 (our favorite - even the apartment owner was glad to see us back and remembered our names). This is our third time in this building and second time in #44. We are actually going to try and get it when we come back with the kids. We have happily been roaming around the apartment - it is like the Biltmore compared to our hotel room."
Tonz and Yo
Monday, April 7, 2008
One more day
Looks like one more day before the return to Kiev. The good news is that UPS tracking shows that Operation American Junkfood landed in Kiev at 3 a.m. and just needs to clear customs. Hopefully it will be waiting for them when they arrive tomorrow.
E-mail from Tonya and Joe:
"Boo! No Kiev today. The Inspector will be finished completing the paperwork but there are still some reviews, signatures and going to the judge to be done.
Joe and I actually did not do much today. Ramon said he would be here at 9 today, and he was, just not at the hotel - at the Inspectors office. So the busy day was actually Ramon's busy day. We spent the day very much like we have spent the last several days - doing nothing.
So another night of BigMac dreams.
We did not even visit the children because we thought we would be busy doing stuff. I think it is safe to say we are tired of being in this town - more specifically in this room, and not just beause of the food. If there is such a thing as too much laying around we are doing it - and this is coming from a professional layer arounder. We are not straying from our appointed path to the orphanage because where Kiev is used to foreigners this town is not and it is better to be safe than sorry. So we pretty much stay at the hotel when we are not visiting the children. I'm Kiev we are out every day walking to eat or going to see something.We pretty much saw everything this town has the first 10 minutes we were here.
Ready to be done!"
Tonz and Yo
E-mail from Tonya and Joe:
"Boo! No Kiev today. The Inspector will be finished completing the paperwork but there are still some reviews, signatures and going to the judge to be done.
Joe and I actually did not do much today. Ramon said he would be here at 9 today, and he was, just not at the hotel - at the Inspectors office. So the busy day was actually Ramon's busy day. We spent the day very much like we have spent the last several days - doing nothing.
So another night of BigMac dreams.
We did not even visit the children because we thought we would be busy doing stuff. I think it is safe to say we are tired of being in this town - more specifically in this room, and not just beause of the food. If there is such a thing as too much laying around we are doing it - and this is coming from a professional layer arounder. We are not straying from our appointed path to the orphanage because where Kiev is used to foreigners this town is not and it is better to be safe than sorry. So we pretty much stay at the hotel when we are not visiting the children. I'm Kiev we are out every day walking to eat or going to see something.We pretty much saw everything this town has the first 10 minutes we were here.
Ready to be done!"
Tonz and Yo
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Sad Day for the TarHeels
Thank goodness Tonya and Joe were not here to watch the ever so painful loss to Kansas last night. Seriously, 40-12 after 10 minutes....oh it was hard to watch. On top of that I had to break it to them that Jeff Gordon crashed out around lap 109 of the race. Not a good weekend for sports fans around the Eastman household. At least all was well in the Ukraine over the weekend. Below is the post from Tonya and Joe. Unless plans change they will update us tomorrow from Kiev.
"We had a better visit with the boys this morning. We managed to make it back inside without having any fits. Vitali did try his pretend fit having noises at one point while we were playing and we just ignored him and started playing something else. He saw we were not even giving him attention and finally stopped making noise and started playing with us.
Found out yesterday that there is another couple from Italy visiting a child or children, we do not know which, at our orphanage. It seems like there has been no one there for two years and now there are three couples (America, Spain and Italy) at one time.
Ramon comes at nine in the morning and we will have a full day of paperwork that will hopefully culminate in us eating dinner at McDonald's in Kiev."
Tonya and Joe
"We had a better visit with the boys this morning. We managed to make it back inside without having any fits. Vitali did try his pretend fit having noises at one point while we were playing and we just ignored him and started playing something else. He saw we were not even giving him attention and finally stopped making noise and started playing with us.
Found out yesterday that there is another couple from Italy visiting a child or children, we do not know which, at our orphanage. It seems like there has been no one there for two years and now there are three couples (America, Spain and Italy) at one time.
Ramon comes at nine in the morning and we will have a full day of paperwork that will hopefully culminate in us eating dinner at McDonald's in Kiev."
Tonya and Joe
Friday, April 4, 2008
Official Okay!!!
Even though I probably won't be able to let out a true sigh of relief until I see them touch down at RDU, I find myself getting excited when they say things like "the director has given the official okay". Tonya said that the director told them that she could tell by looking at them that they would be good parents and that she liked the size of their family and the fact that there would be other children around. I knew that being herd bound would prove as an advantage at some point. Tonya and Joe were originally heading back to Kiev today but with the new paperwork developments they won't be going until Monday. Poor Joe's only comment about not going to Kiev tonight was, "We are not having McDonald's for dinner." Hopefully Operation American Junk food will find it's way to them on Monday and they should have enough food to sustain them for the rest of the trip. For those of you keeping score at home, according to Tonya's timeline they hopefully will be home by the end of April or in early May!
A few people have requested pictures. Tonya and Joe were advised not to post any on the blog until the adoption was official. The boys are very cute with short blonde hair. Oksana is very pretty and has shoulder length brown hair.
Below is today's update from Tonya and Joe. Have a great Friday -Rachel
"We have just returned from our meeting with the Orphanage Director and have been given the official okay. The paperwork has been signed by her and turned over to the Inspector.
The Inspector will have the papers ready on Monday at 2:00 (at least a day ahead of time - YAHOO!) - so we are going to stay here for the next two days and then go back to Kiev Monday.
Ramon wil return at 9:00 Monday - we will have copies of documents to make and a couple of things to get notorized and a petition to the court to get. Then we will pick up the documents, set a court date and then return to Kiev for a few days.
It is hard to maintain patience and not count the days down until we can return home. I have my calendar handy and every time we get news of shorter days I refigure when we can go home. Although we have had our last period of shorter days - the SDA will take five and we have to wait ten after the court date.
Will spend the weekend visiting and will let you know how things go. For good or bad someone had better let me know how our Heels do tonight."
Tonz and Yo
A few people have requested pictures. Tonya and Joe were advised not to post any on the blog until the adoption was official. The boys are very cute with short blonde hair. Oksana is very pretty and has shoulder length brown hair.
Below is today's update from Tonya and Joe. Have a great Friday -Rachel
"We have just returned from our meeting with the Orphanage Director and have been given the official okay. The paperwork has been signed by her and turned over to the Inspector.
The Inspector will have the papers ready on Monday at 2:00 (at least a day ahead of time - YAHOO!) - so we are going to stay here for the next two days and then go back to Kiev Monday.
Ramon wil return at 9:00 Monday - we will have copies of documents to make and a couple of things to get notorized and a petition to the court to get. Then we will pick up the documents, set a court date and then return to Kiev for a few days.
It is hard to maintain patience and not count the days down until we can return home. I have my calendar handy and every time we get news of shorter days I refigure when we can go home. Although we have had our last period of shorter days - the SDA will take five and we have to wait ten after the court date.
Will spend the weekend visiting and will let you know how things go. For good or bad someone had better let me know how our Heels do tonight."
Tonz and Yo
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Second Visit Alone
We anxiously await our boxes of goodies, we haven't gotten them and we are already salivating. Thank you or as the Cyrillic is pronounced in English dya-ku-yu.
We had our second visit with the boys this morning. We tried to show them the house pictures but they were not really interested. We then went to the part of the playground more appropriate for little folks like Vitali. Dima did not have as much to do in this area and pretty soon started climbing on things (he loves to climb) that Vitali could not do. So of course Vitali wanted to do everything Dima did. All actually went pretty well until it was time to go back in. Vitali did not want to go had to be picked up whereupon he commenced screaming and thrashing around and stiffening up like a board. This was pleasant. I carried him for a bit like this and then put him down so he could walk - which he did very slowly. Again all was well until we passed the entrance for the larger playground and he wanted to go in. Joe had to pick him up and we had the same fit all over again. Before we actually made it back in the building he had actually lain down on the ground and kicked around.
So we returned him to his room still making a lot of noise, but not actually crying. He never really cried just made a lot of noise - it seems making a lot of noise when he wants something has worked in the past- he is in for a rude awakening.
He and Dima are just far enough apart in age that Dima does not really want to play with him yet at the same time Vitali wants to do everything Dima does, even though he is too small. Remind you of anyone?
Second visit with Oksana went as well as the first. We were practicing our ages and found out we had done our math improperly and she is actually 13. Her birthday and Vitali's are both in February.
Oksana - Feb. 9, 1995
Dima - Oct. 19, 2001
Vitali - Feb. 23, 2005
One correction from yesterday, it was Ula not Ulana. Today we had Yeva and Lasia and we practiced lots of things - clothes, colors, face and head parts, numbers to 20 and ages. We told them the English and they told us the Ukrainian. Some of them sound exactly the same like nose is nis, and some are completely different. It is a goood learning experience for all.
We are going to return to Kiev this weekend but it will not be until tomorrow night so maybe we can get to the internet on Saturday.
Love to All,
Tonz and Yo
We had our second visit with the boys this morning. We tried to show them the house pictures but they were not really interested. We then went to the part of the playground more appropriate for little folks like Vitali. Dima did not have as much to do in this area and pretty soon started climbing on things (he loves to climb) that Vitali could not do. So of course Vitali wanted to do everything Dima did. All actually went pretty well until it was time to go back in. Vitali did not want to go had to be picked up whereupon he commenced screaming and thrashing around and stiffening up like a board. This was pleasant. I carried him for a bit like this and then put him down so he could walk - which he did very slowly. Again all was well until we passed the entrance for the larger playground and he wanted to go in. Joe had to pick him up and we had the same fit all over again. Before we actually made it back in the building he had actually lain down on the ground and kicked around.
So we returned him to his room still making a lot of noise, but not actually crying. He never really cried just made a lot of noise - it seems making a lot of noise when he wants something has worked in the past- he is in for a rude awakening.
He and Dima are just far enough apart in age that Dima does not really want to play with him yet at the same time Vitali wants to do everything Dima does, even though he is too small. Remind you of anyone?
Second visit with Oksana went as well as the first. We were practicing our ages and found out we had done our math improperly and she is actually 13. Her birthday and Vitali's are both in February.
Oksana - Feb. 9, 1995
Dima - Oct. 19, 2001
Vitali - Feb. 23, 2005
One correction from yesterday, it was Ula not Ulana. Today we had Yeva and Lasia and we practiced lots of things - clothes, colors, face and head parts, numbers to 20 and ages. We told them the English and they told us the Ukrainian. Some of them sound exactly the same like nose is nis, and some are completely different. It is a goood learning experience for all.
We are going to return to Kiev this weekend but it will not be until tomorrow night so maybe we can get to the internet on Saturday.
Love to All,
Tonz and Yo
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Operation American Junk Food
After several days of badgering Tonya and Joe finally relented and gave Wendy an address to mail a care package. After all their grumbling about the food you think they would have given her one eagerly, but it took badgering. I think Wendy summed it up perfectly:
"Cost of little debbie cakes: $1.99, cost to ship little debbie cakes internationally: considerably more than that,
Adding bundles of joy to our family by hook or by crook: PRICELESS!!!!"
Below is today's update from Tonya and Joe:
We had good visits with the children. Today we had our first day with the children without our interpreter (Ramon). We saw the boys this morning and they basically just ran around and played. When we met with Oksana this afternoon I think everyone was nervous. Oksana was smart and had brought a friend along, Ulana, who new just a tad bit more English than Oksana. So all in all we got by pretty well. We were able to practice some English with Oksana and Joe and I practiced our Ukrainian. There are a few things we are getting pretty good at. Ramon said that several of the people we have met are happy that we have learned some Ukrainian. How could we not - it is a matter of needing to get by (ie. Eat!)
For example: apple juice ya-bluch-ne seek
We met a couple from Madrid today visiting a three year old, here at the same orphanage, and his six year old brother in an orphanage 80 kilometers away. Apparently the brothers have never met each other. Very nice couple. They knew just enough English and we knew just enough Spanish. We did not ask but this must be their first referral because they have only been here since March 20th. I am sure we will see them again because they are visiting here in the mornings and at the other orphanage in the afternoon. They also made a comment about how long the papwework takes here compared to at the other orphanage. I did not mention that we were hoping our paperwork would be done faster.
I think that no matter what country you come from you get the same information about what to bring. They had exactly the same things we did - coloring book and crayons, balloons, bubbles, stickers, etc. Funny-
I think I said in an earlier e-mail that we had sent half of our orphanage donation with Ramon yesterday, but the Director would not accept it. That's fine with me as long as the paperwork still gets done by Friday!
Hope this was a good update for today. We are getting ready to go eat dinner. Hope eveyone has a good day.
Random Observations -
- gold teeth are not just for rappers - we have seen some people with a mouth full. They are probably a status sign.
- people here seem to be hopeful that their country will get better soon
- I did not think I was a picky eater but I have found that I am not an adventurous (?) eater
- we like that almost everyone here who has their own house with even a little land has their own garden (even if the garden is small). Lots of people have been out working one theirs the last couple of days.
Tonz and Yo
"Cost of little debbie cakes: $1.99, cost to ship little debbie cakes internationally: considerably more than that,
Adding bundles of joy to our family by hook or by crook: PRICELESS!!!!"
Below is today's update from Tonya and Joe:
We had good visits with the children. Today we had our first day with the children without our interpreter (Ramon). We saw the boys this morning and they basically just ran around and played. When we met with Oksana this afternoon I think everyone was nervous. Oksana was smart and had brought a friend along, Ulana, who new just a tad bit more English than Oksana. So all in all we got by pretty well. We were able to practice some English with Oksana and Joe and I practiced our Ukrainian. There are a few things we are getting pretty good at. Ramon said that several of the people we have met are happy that we have learned some Ukrainian. How could we not - it is a matter of needing to get by (ie. Eat!)
For example: apple juice ya-bluch-ne seek
We met a couple from Madrid today visiting a three year old, here at the same orphanage, and his six year old brother in an orphanage 80 kilometers away. Apparently the brothers have never met each other. Very nice couple. They knew just enough English and we knew just enough Spanish. We did not ask but this must be their first referral because they have only been here since March 20th. I am sure we will see them again because they are visiting here in the mornings and at the other orphanage in the afternoon. They also made a comment about how long the papwework takes here compared to at the other orphanage. I did not mention that we were hoping our paperwork would be done faster.
I think that no matter what country you come from you get the same information about what to bring. They had exactly the same things we did - coloring book and crayons, balloons, bubbles, stickers, etc. Funny-
I think I said in an earlier e-mail that we had sent half of our orphanage donation with Ramon yesterday, but the Director would not accept it. That's fine with me as long as the paperwork still gets done by Friday!
Hope this was a good update for today. We are getting ready to go eat dinner. Hope eveyone has a good day.
Random Observations -
- gold teeth are not just for rappers - we have seen some people with a mouth full. They are probably a status sign.
- people here seem to be hopeful that their country will get better soon
- I did not think I was a picky eater but I have found that I am not an adventurous (?) eater
- we like that almost everyone here who has their own house with even a little land has their own garden (even if the garden is small). Lots of people have been out working one theirs the last couple of days.
Tonz and Yo
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Tenative Timeline
Rachel posting again since Tonya and Joe have returned to "no name destination" which they have finally identified as Radamashel. I informed Tonya that while I understand the annoyance of typing more than five words at a time on the crackberry, inquiring minds want to know what is going on, so I need details. She seems to have listened because she has sent me some good info regarding the tenative process moving forward. Below is her e-mail. They have stated many times in e-mails to me that they can feel the support and love coming from home and that really helps. So thanks again for lifting them up.
Excellent news! Ramon is a magic man.
He is back from his meeting with the Inspector and the Director and here is the tentative plan going forward. The school will be ready with the documents THIS Friday. Friday we have a meeting with the Director at 2:00 to pick them up. We will then go to have a couple of documents notarized and turn the papers over to the Inspector who will have their papers ready next Tuesday or Wednesday. At that time we will meet with the judge and set up a court date. The documents will then be taken back to Kiev to the SDA. They will need five days (no speeding them up) to do their part with the documents. The day we return to Radamashel we will have our court date. Next comes the mandatoy 10 day waiting period. Then we will pickup the children go back to Kiev for 3-4 days for medical appointments and to go to the US Embassy.
Then we can get th heck out of dodge!
We saw storks this morning on our way to Radamashel. They have these huge nests on top of poles (kind of like the platforms we saw for the bald eagles in Canada) near little groups of houses. Last week there were no birds in the nests but this morning quite a few were occupied. No pictures of that yet but we may still be able to get some.
We also have found out that they have hedgehogs here. I would love to see one of those - but they are kind of like prarie dogs and gophers in that they live in burrows underground.
We are off to visit the children now. Will check back in with you later.
Tonz & Joe
Excellent news! Ramon is a magic man.
He is back from his meeting with the Inspector and the Director and here is the tentative plan going forward. The school will be ready with the documents THIS Friday. Friday we have a meeting with the Director at 2:00 to pick them up. We will then go to have a couple of documents notarized and turn the papers over to the Inspector who will have their papers ready next Tuesday or Wednesday. At that time we will meet with the judge and set up a court date. The documents will then be taken back to Kiev to the SDA. They will need five days (no speeding them up) to do their part with the documents. The day we return to Radamashel we will have our court date. Next comes the mandatoy 10 day waiting period. Then we will pickup the children go back to Kiev for 3-4 days for medical appointments and to go to the US Embassy.
Then we can get th heck out of dodge!
We saw storks this morning on our way to Radamashel. They have these huge nests on top of poles (kind of like the platforms we saw for the bald eagles in Canada) near little groups of houses. Last week there were no birds in the nests but this morning quite a few were occupied. No pictures of that yet but we may still be able to get some.
We also have found out that they have hedgehogs here. I would love to see one of those - but they are kind of like prarie dogs and gophers in that they live in burrows underground.
We are off to visit the children now. Will check back in with you later.
Tonz & Joe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
