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