Saturday, July 14, 2007

No summer school. The school will not admit Matt and Maria for summer. The children who are in summer school present more data indicating that they should be in the summer session. Matt and Maria did not go through much testing last May. We are disappointment but know that we can get through this. Mrs. Sgro, their tutor, continues to meet with them weekly and we work on subjects at home.

Their English is great. They seldom had difficulty expressing themselves. This is good. We are working on reading, and they are picking it up. Of course in books that are under their age range but at least they are reading. This is important.

Next Saturday is their combined birthday party. Since they seem to be joined at the hip, we decided to throw a combined birthday party. They are thrilled to be celebrating their birthdays in the US. America is great. They just want to be like other American children.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Matt and Maria are speaking more and more English every day. . We are speaking to them like we would Caroline and Luke. They are not asking "what is this...." as often as they were. These two are so motivated to fit in. Now, we just need to take that motivation and start reading. They are truly amazing. Someone came up to them yesterday at church and spoke Russian to them. They walked away. We tried to explained that they should not walk away, but Matt told us, "Only English. I am in America."


Also yesterday, they experienced fishing. They have been asking to fish for a few days. We purchased new hooks and corks and took them to the pond. They are so happy to be fishing. They kissed us over and over again. They just want to catch dinner. Matt wants to catch something for Mom to cook. Dad does not want to clean the catch. Maria just wants someone to bait her hook. We are calling this fishing program a "catch and release plan". In other words, no cleaning and cooking of the fish. They were so noisy fishing that the fish swam to the other side of the pond. What a time!



Today, Caroline decided to mow the yard with the riding lawn mower. Matt wanted to ride the mower, but Cindy said no. He was not happy, so he started up the push mower and just randomly started mowing the yard. He followed no pattern. Cindy tried to channel this energy to the front yard. Maria felt left out, so she started pushing the mower with Matt. So, let me further explain what was happening. Caroline is riding the lawn tractor. Matt and Maria are pushing the same lawn mower. Gretchen, our dog, is running wild with excitement. Cindy is stumbling around trying to capture all of this on her camera. Tom was in Rhode Island and telephoned home wanting to talk to his family. Cindy explained the above situation, and Tom just laughed. Tonight, the yard is cut. That is all that I can say at this time.

Sunday June 24, 2007

Matt and Maria are busy enjoying their first American summer. They just adore swimming and cannot get enough time in the pool. Matt can keep himself afloat in the pool with no problems. He just needs to learn the strokes. Maria is starting to be more comfortable in the water and starting to keep herself afloat. She has more to learn. We plan on enrolling them in lessons in July. June has also been busy with sports camps.

Maria participated in Volleyball and basketball camps. She enjoyed both activities, but she will tell you that she likes basketball better. Of course, she is in Indiana. Matt had basketball camp two weeks ago. He won the passing contest and came in 3rd in the free throw shooting contest.
He adapts easily to any sport. Both children are playing tennis in July and on a soccer team in the fall. They cannot wait to officially play a soccer game.

Maria turned 10 on Wednesday, June 20th. As always, the Uhrig child having the birthday picked the dinner menu for the day. She asked for Polish sausage, french fries, broccoli and Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake. We all enjoyed the meal and the day. She liked opening presents. We even gave Matt a present, so he did not feel left out.

Luke is in China on a mission trip. Today, we spoke to him via a satellite phone in church. The kids are still wondering how we saw Luke on the screen at church and when will he ever stay home. One time Maria asked if Luke lived at school because she seldom saw him.

Our phone bill was higher this month but I can report that the random dailing has stopped. We are happy for that and no broken fingers.

Wednesday, June 7, 2007

Buttons, buttons, buttons. Matt and Maria cannot stop pushing buttons. They could be an elevator button, telephone buttons, TV remote or the garage door openers. Cindy has the homelink feature in her car. Homelink lets you use the button which is built in the sun visor to operate the garage door. Matt has reprogrammed that feature. We are trying to figure out how to restore it to its original state.

For the past few nights, the television has been on ESPN about 11:30pm. Cindy thought since school is out, the older guys are watching television late at night. NO, this is not the case. Someone programmed the television to come on at 11:32 pm. It will run for 2 hours then shut off. Tom figured out how to deprogram the TV.

Someone called our house last week and asked why we are calling their number then hanging up when they answer the phone. That was the last straw. Cindy told the kids that prank callers will have broken fingers. Matt and Maria have stopped the random dialing of the phone.

June 4, 2007

We have been in the US for more than 4 weeks. Matt and Maria really benefited from attending school. They can read about 100 to 150 words now. They are really trying to communicate in English. When Tom tries to speak Russian to them, they tell him, "No. Only English." We hope they retain their native language skills but are thrilled that they want to speak only English. At this time, Matt will speak Russian to Maria when he wants to make her angry. When he turns to her and starts speaking in Russian, we immediately tell him, "Be nice."

This past weekend, we traveled to Chicago to visit Tom's sister and her family. Maria and Matt did not understand cousins until now. Even though they have met Cindy's sister and her family, they did not understand the word cousin. Now they are speaking about their cousin, Stephen, who is close to their age. We also visited China Town and ate at a wonderful resturant. They did not like several of the dishes, but with time, they will. They like traveling and living a hotel, which as a pool. They are sad that we need to leave tomorrow.

Yesterday, we took them to the Shedd Aquarium. This is the first American Museum/Aquarium experience. They handled it better than they did in Ukraine. Their attention span is slowly growing longer. This is a good sign.

School ended last Thursday. Matt won a medal in a basketball contest. We do not know excactly what he did to earn the medal, but he is very proud. Maria and Matt just enjoy the school and were a bit sad that it was the end of the year. Little do they know, that summer school may be in the cards for them. We are still waiting to hear about this.

Monday, May 28, 2007 Memorial Day

The past week may new experiences have occurred. First of all, Matt and Maria went to the dentist to get some repair work done. Maria did not like the experience, but her teeth need many repairs. No one has taught her how to properly brush. She had a tooth pulled because it was so bad the dentist could not repair it. Fortunately, all of the repairs are on baby teeth. She will have 3 temporary fillings with medication fillings to help stop the decay. Matt just had 3 air abrasions done. Very easy and painless. After he was done, he played the PlayStation in the waiting room and thoroughly enjoyed it. He cannot wait until Maria's next appointment.

A translator was needed this week. Matt acted improperly at school. Cindy wanted to make certain that he understood why his actions were wrong. She called Olya, who helped her through the situation. Since the dentist was a terrifying experience for Maria, Olya explained that the worst was over and Maria will not have the same experience again. Both kids were shocked that Cindy got a translator involved, but they knew Cindy really wanted them to understand her point of view on each situation.

Matt continues his crush on Jasmine. We believe this is a mutual crush. The week, Jasmine gave him a heart with her phone number on it. This is the second time she has given him her phone number. Why? What would they talk about? Jasmine is a bit forward for a second grader. Should we tell her parents? Anyway, Cindy took the phone number, so no calls will be made.

On Thursday, Matt and Maria started speaking English to each other. This occurred in Cindy's car. It was truly amazing. In fact, on Friday, Maria started speaking Russian to Matt, and he started only English. Sometimes they call each other Maksym and Oksanna. It is enjoyable to see the changes in them.

Beds. Beds. Beds. It is so difficult to get them to make their bed. This is ironic since their rooms at the orphanage were so perfect. The orphanage caregivers made certain that each kids put away their pajamas and made their bed each day. They kids just want to drop their pajamas on the floor and leave their beds unmade. Is this a rebellion? When Cindy asked them to make their beds, they will say, "No good bed today." Then Cindy's response is, "No outside." They will hang their heads and make the bed.

One day this past week, each child became angry at Cindy and told her that they would get in the car and drive to to Ukraine. Cindy told them they could not drive to Ukraine. Maria even sat in the car waiting for the car to move. Each child has a strong will.

Overall, the kids are happy. Matt especially. He has thanked us for coming to get him. Maria often tells us that she loves us. Maria just enjoys spending time with Caroline.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Today was the Fast Flash Race. The 5K race and the 2K kids race raise money for the Franklin Central Cross Country team and the Franklin Central Educational Foundation. We participated as a family with Gretchen our dog. What a day! Matt and Maria were scheduled to run the 2K kids run but did not want to wait for that to start at 9am. So they decided to enter in the 5K race, which started at 8am. After participating in the 5K race, Matt decided to run the 2K. Well, if Thing 1 does something, Thing 2 will follow. Now, Maria was in the race too. Maria finished the 2K race. She walked part of it. She was tired, but we liked her determination. Matt on the other hand finished 7th in the 2K race. We have a runner! He just did not slow down. He wanted to be in the front of the pack. He could not believe how many people were cheering for him, and that kept him going. Caroline and Luke met him at the finish line. After he crossed the line, he did not know what to do next. We took him to the medal stand. Maria received a medal also. They kids wore the medals all day long.

May 18, 2007

Matt and Maria have completed 9 days of school as of today. We have come into some interesting situations. First of all, Wednesday, Matt had a field trip to Eagle Creek Reservoir. Tom mentioned this at breakfast, and Maria went nuts. "If Matt has no school, I will not go to school." She really meant this. She was not going. After we practically dressed her, she decided to attend school. School is not optional.

Matt enjoyed the field trip with his dad. Because Tom was a chaperon, Matt got to pick which classmates could be in his group. The most interesting pick was Jasmine. When we asked him why he picked Jasmine, Matt told us that he likes her. The next day, he came home with Jasmine's phone number. Cindy threw it away. He is too young for this.

Yesterday, both kids spoke a full grammatically correct sentence in English. Don't get too excited. It was a short simple sentence, but progress in English is evident. Both told Cindy what they like and used the word "I" at the beginning of the sentence and not "me."

Caroline had an orchestra concert on Wednesday and Matt and Maria went. Now, both want to play the violin. Let's see how they feel about this in 5th grade when the program starts.

They have enjoyed library books more this week. They are understanding them more and more with each reading. Cindy works with each child 1 to 1.5 hours a day after school on math, spelling and phonics. She is really trying to bring them along.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Matt and Maria have attended school for 3 days. Matt wants a break. We told him that Saturday and Sundays are non-school days, and he was OK with that. He is used to spending time in his school room 7 days a week. Not here buddy. Maria likes school especially the cafteria. She just thinks this set up is great. She tells us daily what she had for lunch.

After school, Cindy will make them write their spelling words then make them learn the definition of 4 words from their lists. Matt does not have time for this and just wants to go outside and ride a bike. His fuss makes his lesson last longer. Maria will put her nose to the grindstone and go.

Because our neighborhood is being redistricted next fall, the school corporation is letting the kids attend the new school. This is good because it is one less change for them. This also means that we need to provide the transportation to and from school. Most kids would like this arrangement but not Matt and Maria. They are just thrilled with the idea of riding in a school bus. They cannot wait. We will remind them of this in 7 years when they ask to drive to school.

Back in School

First day at school!

Sunday May 6, 2007

The children have been in America for 2 full days. They just think that America is great. They have met some children in the neighborhood and have been swimming at a neighbors. They have played baseball and soccer in the yard or basketball in the driveway. Remember, this is Indiana. They need to learn basketball. They are not comfortable with American food yet. They did not like green beans and peas. They did not eat these vegetables while living in Ukraine. Cucumbers are well liked. They just enjoyed their first church service together. They went to "Kids Rock". It is a wild time, and they were trying to sing and dance to the music. Folks are amazed at how quickly they are trying out their English commands. "Let's go everybody." "Now." " I said then some Russian or Ukrainian may follow." They are following directions. They did not want to go to bed. They want to stay up until the last ray of sunshine is gone. Cindy can relate to this.

Back in the USA - News at 11:00

Cindy, Maria and Matt are in the US and are scheduled arrive in Indianapolis at 10:40 this evening!

Homeward Bound - May 4, 2007

Cindy just called me from the plane. They were able to make a 1:00 PM flight that will get them into New York at 4 this afternoon. If all goes well and they are able to make it through immigration, they will arrive late this evening. We cannot wait until they are finally home!

They were originally scheduled to come home on May 5. As with much of this process, we planned for the worst and prayed for the best! They got the doctor's appointment done last Saturday and, due to the extended May 1 holiday, had to wait until Thursday for the U.S. Embassy appointment. They went early with all the paperwork and hopes of getting the visa the same day. They were happy that Alyona received her visa the same day. Julie took care of changing all the tickets because they thought all the visas were complete. At the end of Thursday, they found that there was a technical problem with scanning a photo. They were promised the visas for Maria and Matt early today, Friday

I got a call at 2:30 AM letting me know that they had the visa. Then we went hunting for new tickets home. I was dropping Caroline off at school when I got the message that they had made it onto the Aerosvit flight. Caroline has a field trip with her class to Chicago. Hopefully she will see her mom, sister and brother when she gets back.

The last week was eventful. Cindy, Maria and Matt shared and apartment in downtown Kyiv with Julie and Alyona. I wanted to stay to help the kids get home, but it turned out best for Matt and the girls to help each other out. They went on walking tours around town and played in parks near their apartment.

The taste of everyday life in Ukraine continued. They were shopping and Matt wanted sunflower seeds. Cindy did not want to get too many because they can be messy in the apartment. She asked for half a bag. The clerk weighed the bag, but rolled her eyes as she gave it back. When checking out, the clerk at the check out counter stated that she could not sell her the partial bag because that quantity was not in her system. No sunflower seeds for you!

The kids are getting used to a life with more choices. Cindy told Maria and Matt they could get one soft drink from the soft drink aisle. While Maria picked hers quickly, Matt selected and returned five bottles before completing his selection. Must be a guy thing.

I have set up doctors and dentist appointments for the kids and they will start school next week. The house has been updated to make places for a family of six plus one exchange student, who will be returning to Germany in June.

We are very thankful for the many blessings that God has shown to us through this process. He has shown us the path around the many obstacles, provided wonderful people that share our love and concern for the children to help us and given us the patience to see His way. Praise God!

Saturday April 28, 2007

We arrived in Kyiv on time, 8:44am. We quickly left the train and jumped into two cabs. Off to the Industry for Oil for the physicals. I do not understand why the building has this name because it is actually a hospital. Asa, our translator, told us that is was a very nice hospital. It was old according to US standards.

Luba went over some paperwork with some of the staff prior to the MD seeing the children. The physicians spoke moderate english but the support staff did not. At least they did not try to speak english. Matt went first. His medical records from the orphanage are in poor shape. They do not show any polio vacincations. The MD could not believe this because it is given with other injections that he had received. Then one MD wrote that he had TB. I sawed the results of this skin tests in the file and argued that if he had TB, the readings would not be normal. The MD was surprised at this. I just wanted to understand if a misdiagnosis could have taken place. She agreed with me. She pointed our a few things such as scrapes and his tonsils. She continued to say that I could treat them "focally." After 5 focallys, I asked if she meant locally. In the US. She said yes. The MD had Matt read and was going to write developementally delayed. But after speaking to him, she decided not to write this because his verbal skins were quick and sharp. She stated that he was neglected because no one read to him. He can come around and seems clever. Just give him one on one attention or time.

Maria was next. The MD had her read. She is a good reader. But she failed the eye exam. I explained that we took he to get her eyes checked. I also gave the MD the prescription since I wondered if she understood what I was trying to communicate. She just smiled and said, "good job." Maria just wanted out of the office without any injections. She could not get dressed fast enough and out to the hallway. All was fine with Maria and Matt.

I waved the vaccinations. We will take care of that at home where record keeping is better. We need to get to the MD within 30 days of returning home.

After both kids left the room, the MD started thanking me for adopting them. She explained that she does both pre and post adoption exams and wanted me to know how lucky these kids are. 1. Not to be left on the street some day. 2. to have parents to teach them 3. to go to the United States to live. So many Ukrainians would like to be in their place. She also stated that I will be a good mother because I will argue for my children. She had me in tears and hugged me.

After the physicals, we took a taxi to the apt. The apt is nice and new. Great location in the center of the city. Two concerns. The protestors have a huge stage about 20 yards from our windows. The second, no washing machine. Julie and I were counting on a washing machine.
Oh well. We can survive. We are almost home.

We took over the apt and them went to a park for a walk to get the wiggles out of the kids. This park had a small amusement parks with rides. The children rode a few rides and enjoyed them. After dinner, we let them play on the apartment's playground until the rain started.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Out of Matveekva

After all of the preparation yesterday, the final exit was very quick. Cindy met the kids in the early afternoon, after the trip to Meritopol and Vonyents. They went to Larissa's office and first Maria changed from her school uniform to her travelling clothes while Matt waited outside. Then it was Matt's turn. They were out of there quickly and went to their classroom to return their clothes. We did not hear much about that other than Sasha cried.

Larissa told the kids to send greetings from America and quickly helped them into the cab. Cindy and the kids drove away in silence. These kids are so stoic in the face of change in their lives. We will work on them having more joyous occasions.

Cindy has been up from the early morning and has not had anything to eat. They finally has a chance to sit down and have lunch mid-afternoon. The passports will be ready around 3 and they want to leave for the train station at 5 for their 6:40 train to Kyiv.

All the paperwork is done! Larissa made a special trip to come out to say good-bye to the group. It was very emotional for Alonya.

On to Kyiv!

They will arrive in Kyiv around 10 AM and will have to quickly go to their doctor appointment. They are trying to get provisions for the long journey. Cindy sent a message from the train. It is HOT! The trains are either hot or cold. There is no real ventilation and, while the windows cannot open, the insulation is thin and there can be a draft.

Maria and Matthew are now Uhrigs, next we need to get them home. This is going to take most of the next week due to the three days of holidays in Ukraine. They could not get their appoinment at the embassy until Thursday. I hope they appreciate the time in Kyiv and the kids have a chance to really see the capitol city.

Thursday April 26, 2007 - Officially Uhrigs

Today the kids officially became part of the Uhrig family! Luba is back in town and we are back on the paper chase.

Here is Tom's update from the calls to Cindy:

It is finally time to prepare to leave Zaporozhye. Cindy is packing her bags. She created a package of clothes for each of the children. They will leave all their current clothes at the internat. This is the last night our kids will spend at the orphanage. We praise God that He has brought us all this far on the journey.

Luba has been working to make things smooth tomorrow. Cindy will get up early go to Meritopol to get Matt's new birth certificate. This city is a two hour drive each way from Zaporozhye. Then she will go to Vonyets to get the same for Maria. With new birth certificates in hand, they can go to Zaporozhye to get the new passports.

Cindy was at Matveevka today and basically said good-bye. There was some function inside, so she stayed outside with all the children there. I am glad that we stayed in the area and were able to be with more of the children. We know that we are not taking any more home, but we also know that we can make at least one day brighter for them as well as provide a connection with the parents that want to adopt more of these children. We hope that we have done that.

Wednesday April 25, 2007

Today is Caroline's birthday. Happy Birthday!

Today, I spent the day at the orphanage. When I arrived 11 cars and 2 vans were in the parking area. This is unusual. I walked into the entrance, and Larissa walked out. She looked stunning. Something big was going to happen today. She immediately told two teenagers to find Matt and Maria Oksana, and go outside. I needed to make myself unseen. That is OK. I would rather be outside anyway.

I took Tom's bag of goodies. Well, the Frisbee bit the dust today. See kids play with toys so long and hard there. Toys do not last long. I had to air up the new basketball because it lost air. Also a new soccer ball had a hole. The Nerf footballs are starting to miss pieces. The toys are used after 2.5 weeks at the orphanage.

We did walk to the store for snacks. I told the kids they could have 3 things. This was tough. They wanted four. They had to make a decision. Interestingly enough, they spoke to each other about this, then ordered. After we started enjoying our snacks, they started sharing. They planned what each one would get. This was cute.

I left the orphanage at 6:15pm before Julie and Molly returned Alyona and Sasha. Larissa wanted all children to stay at the orphanage the next two days. I guess it will give them a chance to say their good byes. The kids do not seem that emotional, and I wonder if they will be.

This makes me think back to our day in court. When the judge stated that he would grant the adoption, the kids were stoic. They showed no emotion. After we left the court room Tom continued to say their names and tell them when they could come home with us. They started getting excited. I wonder if they initially believed what they heard in court. Remember, court was conducted in Ukrainian. They heard the conclusion before Tom and I did. The translator had to tell us that we were approved.

Both kids are helping me speak to other children. They are starting to understand more English. Natisha wanted to write Paula a letter. I tried to tell her that I would be back tomorrow, and she could give it to me then. She did not understand, so Maria Oksana set her straight. Matt also helped me talk to another boy about soccer.

Zap is now green. Very few trees have buds anymore. Most have their full set of leaves. It makes the place look better. Also, remember a few days ago, I told you that folks do not mow their yards. Yards are small. They do plant flowers. Many yards are just all tulips. A sea of red and yellow. I am enjoying the tulips here since I am missing them at home.

Tuesday April 24, 2007

Yesterday afternoon, I prepared the kids to go back to the orphanage. Maria started crying. She did not want to go. Matt slowly put on his clothes to return. I just told them 4 more days then we go to Kiyv. We took a crowded bus to the orphanage. Alyona, Julie's daughter, was the only one who could see out a window and instructed the driver when to stop.

Matt and Maria did not want to go inside, so we went to the playground for a few minutes to play soccer. I am playing soccer for hours every day. Florian be ready for my return home! After 15 minutes of soccer, I decided it was time to rejoin the others in case they decided to leave. Alyona, Molly and Sasha were in front of the orphanage jumping around and were all smiles. Alyona was acting as our translator, and told Molly that Larissa would let Molly and Jim keep Sasha in the hotel room for the night. See, Molly and Jim were going to adopt Sasha, but she was taken off the register and is not available for international adoption at this time. Since Sasha was spending the night in the hotel, so was everyone else. Even Matt and Maria Oksana. This did cause a concern for me. I moved into a single room yesterday. Now, I only had one bed. Cozy, huh?

We headed back to Zap for dinner. We then played Volleyball in the park for over an hour. A little boy joined us. He told us that he was in 9th grade, but he was small for his age. Just before dark, he started his departure home. His father passed away a while ago, and he lives with his mother. He thanked us for letting him play then took off just before the last ray of sunlight was gone.

We have to have the kids back at 1pm today. So we will feed them lunch the take the bus back to the orphanage.

Monday April 23, 2007

Yesterday was sunny, and we play many games in the park. They do not mow the grass in Zap, so now some grasses are higher than my ankles. It is becoming more difficult to see the holes in the park and the broken glass. Eventually, they will weed wack these grasses, but I do not know when. Parks are not considered a jewel in an urban area here.

Yesterday, while we were playing many men were enjoying the sunny day by having a beer. There are no "open container" laws in Ukraine. Men just walk around with mainly open beer bottles. Some make it into the trash containers and some do not. Remember the liter campaign of the 70's in America? They need that here.

Yesterday, we went to the park with the rocks and the mosaics. We found a local artist who paints nesting dolls, plates, and other wooden novelties. She signs each item, writes the year and Zap on them. Each child picked out an item. We purchased several items as souvenirs. She has much talent.

Eating: The children still want to eat all the time. We have breakfast down to several trips to the buffet, but they still want to eat everything in the room. At the orphanage, they only have set times to eat. If they do not finish their snack or meal, they must wait until the next offering. I think with food in site, they just want to get it NOW. I regulated their eating yesterday and continued to assure them that they would get food. We ate at the cafeteria last evening. This way I could control Matt's ordering. The 3 of us ate for $11.

I needed to renew or change my room. The weekend staff told me that everything was booked except the higher price rooms. I told this lady that I have been at this hotel for 2 weeks and know for a fact they are not sold out. She was taken back with my comment. She offered me a room almost twice my current rate. I told her that I will take care of this with the administrator on Monday or move to the Hotel Ukraine. Well, guess what? This morning I have a single room at a competitive price. Tom and I think they try to take advantage of Americans here. Every American is considered wealthy and able to pay.

Today, the children return to the orphanage for their last remaining days. They understand this. Please just pray that nothing gets in our way. The 10 days are up Friday, and then I take them out for good. Our days are numbered in Zap and this feels GREAT!

Sunday April 22, 2007

Yesterday, the kids really wanted to learn how to write their names. They also played "Go Fish" many times. They are playing well together. Matt stated that he is glad that Maria Oksana is his sister.

Last evening, dinner went smoother. Matt did not order so much, and I think this is progress. The children like to play soccer and football, so after dinner we played for a few more minutes before the sun set. They like being outside later.

They are starting to trust me with food. Today at breakfast, they did not fill their plates so full that food falls off the plate. They understand that they can return to the breakfast buffet. Both children made three trips. They are also trying to speak English. They struggle to find words but try hard to speak to me. Matt used the word "Now" with force. I guess that he picked that up somewhere?

Tom and Mark made it home safely. We are happy for that. Thanks Helen for holding down the fort while we were away.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Tom woke us up with a phone call from the airport. Jenia dropped Tom and Mark off and set them up. She is so good to us. Cindy took the kids to breakfast with Julie and Alyona, who is 13. Alyona wanted tea. Of course, Matt decides to join her with his morning cup of tea. He decided to have two cups with lots of sugar. Caffiene and sugar. What a combination for an already active kid.

Tom had Jenia translate the video of the girl that we met on Thursday. If you remember, this girl stated that she knew Maria Oksana's Mama and Papa. Jenia stated that Maria Oksana's parents know that she is being adopted and heading to America, and they are OK with this. This is shocking news for us. Please pray that these folks to not interfer with the adoption during this 10 day waiting period. It is stated in Maria Oksana's file that her mother had nothing to do with her. Let's hope they do what is best for Maria Oksana.

Julie and Cindy took the kids to the internet cafe this morning. Maria Oksana continue to work English educational website, and Matt plays warrior games. We will need an outside activity again today. The weater is pleasent.

Friday, April 20 evening

Just before Tom leaves for the train station we get a surprise. We were told that our "people" and Kyiv would purchase our train tickets. Well, for some reason, they could not purchase the train tickets. Remember Wednesday, we wrote about Tom's Ukrainian adventure at the Train's service center? Well, now Cindy was about to have one. Luckily, we were able to get a translator, Anya. She was wonderful. We purchased the tickets then Anya helped Tom and Mark to their train car. Her presense was a blessing. So, we now have train tickets back to Kyiv on April 27. The bad news is that our ride will be about 14 hours. Our train has many stops. We will need to purchase breakfast before we go.

Julie and Cindy met Molly and Jim, who were watching the kids for us, at the hotel. We went to the pizza place for dinner. Matt ordered a large pizza and the waitress did not tell Cindy what he was ordering. Well, guess what he is having for lunch on Saturday! It will be good to get him to America. At least we will be able to understand what he is ordering.

We were tired. The children talked in bed for several minutes then fell asleep. Cindy received a few phone calls then started reading a book.

Friday April 20, 2007

Cindy and Tom are enjoying these leisurely breakfasts. We just have a lengthy coffee hour with conversation then start to enjoy the breakfast. After breakfast Tom started packing. We then made our way to the AMCSTOP. We are wondering is the name of this store equates to American Store because it is like a Walmart. Tom purchased many food items to take back home. He figures that Luke, Florian and Caroline will enjoy these. We also purchased a soccer ball grade class. They need a new ball. This will be delivered on Monday.

Alyona and her sister Anaya rode the bus into Zap with Maria Oksana and Matt. We met them and then had lunch. Cindy will have them for the weekend. This will be their last day with Tom in Zap. The next time they see him, they will be in Indiana.

Now, it will be up to Cindy to post on the blog. It is hard to get to the Internet during the weekend because so many teenagers are taking up the computers by playing games. Cindy will try to get to an Internet cafe, but will have Matt and Maria Oksana. Larissa is allowing them to spend the weekend in Zap at the hotel. They love this. It should be a wild weekend for Cindy.

It is a beautiful afternoon. Time to play soccer in the park with the kids.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

To All Readers,
Do you have any thoughts when reading this blog? Are ready to send comments? It would be great to hear from someone other than Kristy G. She has been a faithful commentator. Can you join her at this level?
Cindy and Tom


After a leisurely breakfast, Tom and Cindy started getting organized to leave the country. Tom leaves Zap on Friday evening. He will take the train to Kyiv. Cindy will bring the children home. We arranged one way tickets for Cindy and the kids on Lot Airline. They are scheduled to leave May 5th from Kyiv to Chicago via Warsaw, yet another country and city to visit on this journey. While it was nice to have fewer stops on the way to Kyiv on Delta, we planned to use another airline on the way home since the one way tickets were prohibitively expensive for the kids. Lot offered the best price for the three of us. We are excited to plan our exit from the country.

Larissa asked us to lunch at the orphanage. We took a marshutka bus to the orphanage. It is always crowded on these buses and the bus with a capacity of 13 held over 20 people. Tom rarely gets to sit down for the ride, and in this case was happy to get close to Cindy.

We did eat lunch at Matveevka then just enjoyed a wonderful sunny day at the orphanage. We played basketball, soccer, volleyball and Frisbee all in one afternoon. The children just like the adult interaction.

Tom had the video camera and was getting lots of footage on his last trip to Matveevka. Natasha and Vika wanted to say Hi to Mike and Paula and Tom made a video postcard. We talked with a teacher that understands English and asked the kids to sit on a jungle gym and speak in Russian. Some times these postcards are nothing more than hello and I love you. With this approach, the girls spoke for 10 minutes! Tom was encouraged and tried to get others to send a message.

This is the warm spot of the day. Tom was shooting video and a girl went up to speak with Maria Oksana. She was older and spoke only a little English. Tom thought that she said that she knew Maria’s mom and dad. She had to leave and this was too much to leave alone. Yana, their English teacher and our fond friend and Matveevka, was there and we asked her to ask Maria about the girl. Maria said that the girl was her friend and that she thought she knew her pappa. Yana asked if she knows her pappa. When she said no, Tom looked at her. She then pointed to Tom and said “Dad” and gave him a big hug. She knows her dad now.

We did walk to the little convenience store for a snack. The kids just like having options when ordering food. A goat has been tied up along the sidewalk for the last two weeks. This trip, we decided to pet the lively goat. Many folks will tied a cow or goat to a concrete block and move the block around to taller grass. See, they do not mow the grass. They use animals or just plow up the yards and plant flowers.

Spring is definitely here. The flowers are beautiful and each day the trees are becoming greener. It is nice to see more green color. It tones down the bleak buildings. See, most of these apartment buildings were built after WWII by Stalin, who did not really like the Ukrainians. He did not use his best assets.

We ate a light dinner at the orphanage then returned to Zap for Tom’s last evening. We ended the evening swapping pictures with Mark and Julie.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Uhrigs in Ukraine became like the American Griswalds at breakfast. Matt wanted sausages. While carrying his plate to the table, he spilled some of the sausages on the floor. Maria Oksana spilled her orange juice. After we left our mark in the restaurant, we decided to go back to the room and start English lessons.

We reviewed time, the alphabet and math. The kids are picking up English and are motivated to learn. They are trying harder to speak to us in English. Do not get the wrong idea. They are not totally communicating in English, but they are trying.

When we took a break from English, Julie and Mark called and asked if we wanted to go bowling. Well, that sounded good since the kids were ready for a physical activity. Zap has a Brunswick bowling alley. It was great! We had two lanes and the kids enjoyed the experience. Maria bowled by bending over and putting the ball between her legs then pushing it. It was cute. Matt would swing the ball back and forth several times to get the momentum to THROW it forward with a bounce. Matt actually got a strike. Maria had a couple of spares. A good time was had by all.

We had lunch the Tom took the kids to the optical store to pick up Maria’s glasses. She looks so cute in the glasses. She was amazed at what she could see after putting on the glasses. She noticed and read signs that she has walked by for the last 12 days. We are on the fifth floor of the hotel. She stared out the window for the longest time talking to Matt about what she could see in the distance. What a difference a pair of glasses made for this girl.

We had to have the children to the orphanage by 5pm. We made the deadline. Larissa wanted us to eat, of course. So we had the cold egg omelet with carrots. Those of you who have visited Matveevka are now laughing, aren’t you. Anyway, we spent an hour or so with Larissa. She decided to give us her point of view when raising these kids. Her basic message. Stand firm. When we say no stick to it. When we tell them to clean up their room, make certain that they do it. They are good kids. We listened to her philosophy and then watch Luba trade paperwork with her. Luba is always pushing paper.

Maria Oksana cried when we left her at the orphanage. She did not want us to leave.

We took the bus back to Zap and went to restaurant to finish dinner. This is our last night with a translator and hardly no one speaks English at this restaurant. The menu is in Cyrillic and Asa is our only hope in obtaining food at this place. Poor Asa, She gets a work out when we visit this place.

Now we are back at the hotel without kids. It is quiet again. Too quiet.
By the way, Luke we are so proud of you and your accomplishments with the Brain Game.

April 17, 2007

We started the day out with breakfast at the Intourist Hotel. The kids like the buffet. Since Matt is a growing boy, he really likes the amount of the food. He likes meat. He does not get much meat at the orphanage. Maria likes the variety.

We have to get the birth certificates, then the new passports and then the check-up at the clinic in Kyiv. If all goes well, and that is a big if, we will have the passports on the 27th. But now the US Embassy is telling us that the clinic is closed on Saturday, the 28th, as well as Monday the 30th. Then the US Embassy is telling us that they are closed until May 3rd. We are still working of this.Timing is everything. Today is day one of the 10 day wait period and we will get the official judgement today. We are already working on flights home, but the Ukrainian Holiday calendar, the required sequenceofevents and, worst of all, the US Embassy are working against us.

Sunday, the children experienced working on a computer at an internet café. They wanted to use the computer again. We went to one where we had 3 computers together. Cindy and Tom shared a computer and each child had their own. Maria played on educational websites. Matt lasted almost 1 hour on these same sites and just wanted to play games. He tried this on Sunday and really enjoyed it. He is such a rough and tough little boy.

After the internet café, we walked past on optical store. Maria Oksana is always squinting and reads materials just inches from her face. Since she could be tested by an optometrist in her native language, we decided to see how much this would cost. Well, sit down for this. The examination costs the equalivent of $1. I am not kidding. We had her tested and she needs glasses. Her prescription is 2.5 in both eyes. On boy. We had Luke in glasses at the age. Remember friends, all of the glass stories. Here we go again. We also had Matt tested. He is fine and does not need glasses. But….he became jealous when he saw Cindy and Maria Oksana picking out frames. He NOW wants glasses. When we were finished and with our translator, we had the translator, Asa, explain that he is lucky and blessed that he does not need glasses. His jealously wore off.

We had to get another document notarized. Off to the notary, again. We kept the kids outside, so they could play. After the notary, Tom had to purchase train tickets home. He went on another Ukrainian adventure with Asa, our translator. They had to go to the Zap train station. So many people were there. It was unbelievable. It seemed to take forever to get to a window to purchase the tickets. When they were the next in line, the person at the window stated, “It is my break time.” Twenty minutes later, the 15 minute break was over. Finally, he had train tickets.

Tom actually took the above ground subway after purchasing the train tickets. The trains on this system look like they were new in the 50’s, and they are still running today. They only cost 75 kopete. This equals 15 cents. So they are affordable and crowded.

While he was gone, Cindy was in the park with the kids. Marie wanted to play Freebee and Matt wanted to pass the football. Of course they could not want to play the same thing. After this we met Tom for dinner.
The children stayed with us one last night. They enjoy showering every night and sleeping in the hotel. They like spending time in the hotel with Mom and Dad




We have to get the birth certificates, then the new passports and then the check-up at the clinic in Kyiv. If all goes well, and that is a big if, we will have the passports on the 27th. But now the US Embassy is telling us that the clinic is closed on Saturday, the 28th, as well as Monday the 30th. Then the US Embassy is telling us that they are closed until May 3rd.

We are still working of this.Timing is everything. Today is day one of the 10 day wait period and we will get the official judgement today. We are already working on flights home, but the Ukrainian Holiday calendar, the required sequenceofevents and, worst of all, the US Embassy are working against us.

April 16, 2007 COURT DAY

We were up early and ready. Today is the day.

We went to the courthouse of the Matveevyka region, Vonyesks. The court room was plain and bare. We actually sat on a bench. The room was very small with a cage for criminals. The windows had decorative rod iron in them to prevent folks from jumping out of the court room. The judge was an older man. The prosecutor was younger. The two jury members were middle aged women.

Court started with much formality. Of course we could not understand anything. The the judge started asking us questions. Tom answered more of the questions. The officials of the court liked his answered and asked if Cindy had anything to add. Well, why ruin a good run. Cindy kept her mouth shut until the judge asked to see pictures of our home and Matthew Maksim when he stayed with us. Then she had her chance.

He asked the children questions also. He asked Maria Oksana questions first. He asked her is she wanted to be adopted. She replied, "Yes." He asked, "Why?" Maria thought for a moment then said, "They love me." The judge moved onto Matthew. Of course the Yes to the adoption question came out quickly. Then the judge told Matthew Maksim that he has friends here and not in America. "Does that bother you?" Matthew Maksim said, "NO. I will make friends there." Since we asked to change the birth date to meet the ISHAA guidelines, the prosecutor asked, "What sport do you want to play?" "Basketball" replied Matthew Maksim.

More formal proceedings occurred then the judge asked if we had anything else to say. Tom thanked the officials of the court for their time and Larissa for taking such good care of the children.

Verdict: We are a family. We need to wait 10 days and then proceed with obtaining new birth certificates and passports.

Julie and Mark entered the room after the court officials left the room. We quickly told them what to expect then waited in the hallway while they had court. It was hard to be quiet but we did out best.

The judge asked Luba to write for the court proceedings and give them to him tomorrow to sign. Luba, the efficient paper pusher, is perfect for this. She is a worker.

Cindy, Tom, Matt and Maria.
Maksim announced today that he wants to be called Matt. He is something else.
If you want to check later today, we will probably add more details.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

We had a leisurely morning today. The breakfast at the hotel offers much variety, and we did not hurry thought it today. After breakfast, out to the orphanage to pick up the kids. They were outside on the playground. Matthew Maksim's teacher was asking him to wear a coat, but he did not want to listen. He saw us and ran to us ignoring his teacher.

It was a sunny but cool day. We passed the football outside and enjoyed another walk. The kids were excited to stay with us because they could spend the night in the hotel, so we could get them ready for court tomorrow.

Luba and Asa met with us to prepare us for court. Luba has met with the judge and knew his concerns with our adoption. She wanted us to answer his questions without any hesitation. She also gave us more on the children's' backgrounds. We now have a new town to go to obtain Matthew Maksim's birth certificate. It is Melitopol. Each day, we seem to obtain more of different information on these kids. Both children have been to other orphanages prior to arriving at Matveevka. Matthew Maksim's mother was very young when she gave birth to him.

Back to preparing for court. Luba wants Cindy and Tom to have court first and wear down the judge for the Mark and Julie. We will give it our best shot! There are four questions that Tom has to ask the judge.
1. Permission to adopt the children using their full names.
2. Permission to changes their names.
3. Premission to changes Matthew Maksim's birth date
4. Record all changes in the register.

Tom is ready. Now, Matthew and Maria need to answer questions. Luba started to ask Matthew Maksim this question, "Do you want to be...." Before she said adopted, he shouted "Yes." He is ready. So is Maria Oksana, but she does not have the rough and lively spirit that Matthew does.

Time for a good night's rest.

Saturday April 14, 2007

Julie went to pick up the children today because we were able to get Sasha for Jim and Molly. When she arrived, we spent some time with Matthew Maksim and Maria Oksana then ate lunch. Our task today was passport pictures and photos for their files. We needed many pictures. Cindy as just washed Matthew Maksim's shirt but he dirtied it during lunch. Luba suggested that he wear his jacket because it was clean. He messes up his shirts and pants so quickly. We forgot how messy little boys can be.

We could not pick up the picture until 3 hours later, so we walked along Prospect Lenin street until we came to a very large park. The kids were happy with the playground equipment and enjoyed running around. We left the park and Tom and Matthew Maksim went to see "Meet the Robinsons" in Russian. Marie Oksana and Cindy went back to the hotel to have more English lessons.

After the movie, we picked up the photos and took the bus to the orphanage. We had arranged for some children who have traveled to America to call their American families. It was fun to see the facial expressions of the children. They truly enjoyed the conversations with their American families.

Tom and Cindy headed back to the hotel and waited for the others from Indiana to join them. While waiting, we found a new restaurant, a wonderful cafe. The entire menu is in Russian but the manager speaks very good English. We ate more new foods. I need to comment on the food in Ukraine. It is all good. We are enjoying most everything that we try. Some people come to Europe to loss weight. Well, the portions are smaller than our American portions, but the food is very tastey. Many of us have read other blogs of adoptive couples and these couples comment on the weight loss. We are still wondering when we will make the same remarks.

Friday, April 13, 2007

We just found out that we have court on Monday, April 16, at 10am. Hurray! We received this news as Tom brought the children back to the hotel. Tom and I jumped around our room just like the kids did. We are happy. This means that Cindy and Luba can travel to Berdansk on Friday April 27 for Matthew Maksim's birth certificate. Maria Oksana's birth certificate will be obtained here in Zap. This is good news.

Tom contines to upload pictures to a Kodak site today. If you did not get the link to the photos let us know. He added to this site in the morning and this evening.

We just had the afternoon with the children today because the SDA was at the orphanage. We let them have some snacks in our room then off to the park with rocks. Those of you who have been to Zap know of the smooth rocks with mosaics in them. Kids climb on the rocks and we took some wonderful pictures. Also in this park, artists display their oil paintings for sale. The prices are very low. $30 for an oil painting. I wish that one could fit in my suit case. It might fit after Tom leaves!

We then passed and played football because it was a beautiful afternoon. The kids like passing the football and Tom and I like being outside. We when headed to the Mustang for an early dinner. Matthew Maksim orders then Maria Oksana will order the same thing. This has happened several times at restaurants. It is funny. Then after Matthew Maksim finishes his meal, he continues to order more items such as desserts, chocolate and tea. We do understand a bit of Russian and stop him. He is a sly one who will need a watchful eye.

We returned to the hotel where the kids brushed their teeth prior to leaving for the orphanage. Maria Oksana may have a cavity. It is hard to tell, but she calls our names and points to her mouth. I guess that will need some attention when we get home.

Both children are getting along well. Today, they were telling us about their family. Both mentioned the other and of course Caroline and Luke. They cannot wait to get to our house. Cindy feels the same. Maria Oksana could not believe that Socrates, our cat, sleeps wtih Caroline. She now wants to sleep with the cat. Matthew Maksim asked to sleep with Gretchen, our dog.

Tom is torn between going home and taking Matthew and Marie home. Cindy thinks that he needs to get home. Caroline has learned how to dial international calls and is calling us 2 to 3 times a day. We do miss the kids at home. We basically have two families 5000 miles apart.

Tomorrow, we pick up the children for passport photos. We will have them for the day.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

We started the day at the Zap Baby Orphanage. Molly and Jim are adopting a boy from there. He is adorable. We played with him for 2 hours then off to the notary. The one only took 2.25 hours. Good notary experience! We needed to get signatures for the passport. My using a notary, our lawyer can get these items on our behalf.

We were very hungry by 2pm and ate lunch at the the Rodeo restuarant. A western theme with Ukrainian food. It was fortunate that we were in the area since Jim and Molly had to update another document while we were eating lunch. There is always more paperwork and it is not predictable.

We called Sasha - our cab driver is on a first name basis with us - and he took us to Matvivka. Sasha is a common short name for Alexander as well as Alexandra.

The children were worried because we were late. As soon as they saw Tom's bag of goodies, they asked for Tom to go outside. We started playing outside and it started raining. While we were outside a young man came up and Matthew immediately ran up to him and gave him a hug. He came over and I introduced myself in Russian. He brought a bag of sporting goods and went off to play with the children. Max left me and followed along. I went inside and asked Asa to ask Maria about Sasha. He is from a local church and comes out to play with the children each Sunday. Later, when it started raining harder, I asked Matthew, through Asa, about Sasha. He said that he believes in God and he likes him. I am so thankful that Sasha is teaching the kids about God.

We went in and played cards and games. Then we received a call that Luba needed more signatures for the SDA. So we headed back to the hotel.

The SDA is looking at our paperwork in Kyiv. That is the good news. No definite court date yet. At least they are looking at our paperwork. I just want a court date, so we can start planning appointments.

Luba, our lawyer in the region, is very hard working. At the end of the day she looks tired. She is moving as fast as she can and juggles many people, offices and documents well. She is a wonder woman. Debbie, you are right. Luba has been offer a position as a judge in Kyiv and will most likely take it. She will be a great judge but will be missing in this process.

Tomorrow, we cannot go to the orphanange before 1pm. The SDA is inspecting the site. Larissa asked us to come late and not take the kids out of school.

Time for dinner, ciao!

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Cindy and Julie went to the orphanage to pick up the children. They were so excited to go clothes shopping. While at the orphanage, Yana, the English teacher, gave us a packet of letters for Stas and Sergi. The children sent them a wonderful packet and some pictures. We came back to the hotel, bathed the children then off to the market for shopping. It was easy to find clothes for Maria Oksana but a challenge for Matthew Maksim. We did get them items to wear to court. They just enjoyed the outing.

After shopping, we had lunch. Matthew ordered a dinner and then started ordering a pizza. He wanted two meals. We had to hold him back. He loves to eat. He is so funny. He was calling the waitress by her first name. Maria was just a princess watching him. They really interact well. They do take care of each other. Later in the day, when Maria was pouting, Matthew gave her gum.

They are learning English slowly. We are just enjoying spending the time with them. We took them back to the orphanage via the bus.

We ate at the mall and spent the evening updating the blog.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Larissa asked us not to come to the orphanage before 1pm. We used the morning to update our blog and catch up on email. We are still trying to adjust to the deprivation of the internet. We ate lunch and off to the orphanage.

We took a football to show the kids how to pass it and play football. They did not need us. They knew how to pass the ball. That football was in the air for 2.5 hours with no rest. They just loved it.

Cindy played Frisbee with other children. They like this also. Tom put up a new basketball net for the playground. He played basketball so much that a young boy came to Cindy and said, “Tom likes basketball” in English. Kids were everywhere. They were thrilled to have the attention of the Americans and just liked being active outdoors in the sunshine.

Matkveevka has some wonderful children. One boy, Ruslang, who is 14, stayed with us most of the day. He was able to be on the playground when his youngest sister came out to play. He introduced Cindy to his sister. Cindy could just tell how much he loved his sister. They are part of a 6 person sibling group at the orphanage. Because he is older, he does not get to spend much time with his younger sister. He played with her and ran around the playground.

We left the orphanage before 6pm and came back to the hotel. We ate at the pizza place next to the hotel. Luba, our lawyer in the region, was very tired. She is working so hard to help the three families in Zap get through this process.

Luba did tell us that the SDA stated this week that it is only accepting paperwork from the Region on Wed and Fridays. Hitting a moving target is easier than working with the SDA. Our paperwork arrived in Kyiv on Monday but was not accepted today, Tuesday. So tomorrow it should be accepted. This means that our court date is Monday, April 16 at the earliest. We were a bit disappointed but at least we are in the process. The SDA has suspended the processing of new dossiers again. Let’s just hope they get us through the system.

Monday, April 9, 2007

Helen, Jenia, Luke and Caroline are in Kyiv, while Tom, Cindy, Maria and Matthew are in Zaporozhye.

Cindy and Julie went to the orphanage to pick up the kids. They had school but Larissa let us take them out of school. We came back to the hotel and bathed them. They found the tub in the hotel delightful. They just soaked in the warm bathwater. Marian Oksana and Mathew Maksim tried on the new clothes that we brought for them. We read books and worked on some English. We ate at the cafeteria at the mall and purchased some shoes for them. Maria Oskana wanted Powder Puff Girls shoes and Matthew Maksim wanted sporty tennis shoes. They were thrilled. We have two nerf footballs and went outside to pass them. Within 45 minutes, Mathew Maksim had two grass stains on his pants. Maria would stop every so often and clean the dirt from her new shoes. The kids liked the time playing in the sunshine.

We tried to take the bus back to the orphanage but one or two for our routes were broken. We waited for almost an hour and no bus. Of course the bus stop has a kiosk that sells everything from candy to liqueur. One a bus stopped in front of us, so we got on, while the driver went to the kiosk to get a drink (hopefully a soft drink). A woman in front said something and the kids got off. We did not understand what she said, so we called Asa and asked her to speak to Maria Oksana. Maria took the phone and was silent. Finally she said Allo and something else and stopped. Tom took the phone and asked Asa what Maria said. Asa translated that Matthew wanted a bad of sun flower seeds and Maria wanted some chocolate!

Tom asked her to tell her about the bus. She said that it was broken and is out of service. We gave p on the bus. So what do we do? Call Jenia! I left all the contact names and phone numbers in the hotel. So we knew that Jenia would save the day. She called us a taxi from Kyiv, and we made it to the orphanage by dinner time for the kids.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Easter – He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!
Our plan for the day was to pick up the kids, have our own Easter service, go to a Ukrainian Church and then have lunch. Tom went to the orphanage to pick up the kids. When Tom picked up the kids he wished them Happy Easter. Maria Oksana told him that in Ukraine you wish someone Happy Easter by stating, “He is Risen!” To which they reply, “He is Risen Indeed!”

For our Easter service we read John 20: 1-23. Tom purchased a bible written in both Russian and English. He read the English portion and Maria Oskana read the Russian version, one of the first dad-daughter experiences. Maria read so well. In the Russian portion of the bible Mary is written and pronounced Maria. It was a moving experience and we felt we have the right name for our daughter! We then walked to a church for part of the Easter Service. After church, we started a new Easter tradition. The closest restaurant to the Hotel is a nice sit-down Pizza place. The new tradition is the Easter Pizza!

The clock was ticking for Luke and Caroline to do some souvenir shopping and they were itching to go. We walked to an open market down the hill and towards the river from the restaurant. It is a collection of permanent shops and looks like a department store spread out with many narrow, claustrophobic isles. Luke was interested in purchasing a leather jacket. He found a jacket with the help of Tom and Jenia. Jenia told him that he looked like a Russian and Tom paid for it. Caroline found a wallet to match the purse she bought at the mall. Meanwhile, Cindy purchased Maria and Matthew sunglasses. They looked like celebrities walking throughout the market.

After the market we met Asa, the Settlemyres, and Alona’s sister at the Circus. The Circus was a combination of acrobatics, clowns and many different animal acts as part of their entertainment. The kids enjoyed the circus. There were a large number of animal acts, including cats, snakes, monkies, bears and alligators. The kids were in the front row and Matthew Maksim wanted to pet the alligator as it came by. The Circus staff had to remind him to keep in his seat. Yes, that is our boy.

Tom and Jenia dashed out of the circus to take the kids back to the orphanage. We had not planned to go to the Circus and we were running late in getting the kids back in time. Tom was hoping that Jenia could cover for him. As it turned out, Larissa, the orphanage director, had special Ukrainian Easter Cakes waiting for us to take back to everyone.

Luke and Caroline had to say good bye to them. Both Luke and Caroline did not want to go home. They could have stayed. Remember, Luke likes the pace of life here. Saying good bye to Luke and Caroline was difficult for us. They were so good to their new siblings and really enjoyed the time in Zap. They took the train back to Kyiv with Helen and Jenia.

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Tom and Jenia went to pick up Max and Oskana. They came back to our apt. I will not give much detail about our apt, but it is a USSR type apt. We spoke to the children and explained that we wanted them to have American names along with their Ukrainian names. When speaking to Oskana, we explained that her full name will be Maria Oskana Uhrig. She agreed. We told Max that his name will be Matthew Maksim Uhrig. He immediately stated that he wanted to be called Matthew. He jumps into anything quickly. We also explained that we have an exchange student from Germany until June. The exchange student, Florian, will leave but they will stay. They stated that they understood. It is such a delight to work with Jenia, our translator. She is so good and thorough.

We then headed to Khortytse island. This is the island that they Cossacks used as a rallying point before fighting. It is a beautiful island with a museum. We found the museum interesting. They had a soldiers uniform from 4 B.C. to WWII. The museum gave history from this time period also. We also found out that Germany occupied Zap for 2 years. The battle to free Zap was a long and hard fought battle. In fact, the east side of the river was freed 2 months prior to the west side. Much of Zap was destroyed in this battle. Buildings were bombed or burned to the ground. That is why Zap is a USSR made city. Stalin had to rebuilt the city.

After the museum, we ate at the restaurant on the island. The food was good but the service was slow. We were at the restaurant 2 hours. The children were well behaved. It was hard for all of us to sit that long. We then left the island and went to the mall. We purchased the kids one toy each. They were happy. Tom and Jenia left with the kids to take them back to the orphanage.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Today, Tom and I made our way to the US Consulate to sign forms in case we do not return together. It was a hike, but we made it fine. We met Jeff and Lydia there. Mark and Julie were having trouble finding the location but made it. We all signed our papers then went to the SDA while the last 4 couples had their appointments. Yuri instructed us to remain in the cafe near the SDA. She wanted the Settlemyres, Tom and I to sign a paper with a notary.

Yuri arrived and whisked us away to another part of town to meet a certain notary. We walked several miles today! We completed the needed document then went back to the SDA. Helen and the kids saw many sites today including a beautiful church. Helen encouraged me to stop by this church on the way back to the apt. St. Andrew's was breathtaking. I am so glad, again, that Helen helped us find another jewel in Kyiv.

Helen, Luke, Caroline and I went back to the apt to shower prior to our train ride. Tom stayed at the SDA to pick up our referral paperwork. He later joined us, ran through the shower then we were off to the train.

The train ride was warm and uneventful. I shared a bunk with Caroline because our translator, Asa, did not have a ticket. So we had 9 people and 8 bunks. I knew that Caroline would sleep regardless of the bed, and I wanted Asa well rested because she needed to work the next day. I slept on the edge of the bunk holding onto the table to keep from falling off the bed.

We arrived in Zap and Luba, our lawyer in the region, met us. She whisked us away to our apt then off to the Regional Inspectors office. She wanted us to be there prior to the opening of the office, so we would be first in line.

The Inspector arrived and we were standing outside her office. Luba had already met with her and created the documents. The inspector just needed the referral numbers from the SDA. She typed in the numbers, printed off the documents which gave us permission to visit the children then told us that we could go to the orphanage to meet the kids. The inspector had a court appearance at 10am. Luba waited at her office for her return, so that Luba could take the inspector to the orphanage. The inspector needs to ask the children if they want to be adopted, then she will write a summary for the judge.

Meanwhile, while Luba waited for the inspector, we went to the orphanage. Larissa, the orphanage director, met us and started asking us what we wanted to eat and drink. We had a snack then then Max and Oskana came into the room. The immediately ran to us and hugged us. It was good to see them again. Helen, Luke and Caroline arrived just minutes after we met Max and Oskana.

The inspector came in and spoke to Max and Oskana. She asked them if they wanted to be adopted. They could not have said "yes" quicker. They followed their yes with "when can we go with them?" That was good to here. We ate lunch at the orphanage then Luba announced that our paperwork was completed. We could possibly have court on Friday, April 13. I was stunned to hear that. What a joy it would be to have court on Friday.

We spent the afternoon at the orphanage. Luke and Caroline played with all the children and really enjoyed it. Of course, both played basketball but Luke was determined to play soccer. Oskana and Max just ran between Luke and Caroline. They seemed happy. Prior to leaving, we received permission to get the kids the next day and take them to Zap. We had to sign a letter stating when we would pick them up and return them.

While waiting for the bus, we experienced some excitement. A boy riding his bike darted out in the street and hit the side of a car. The car threw him up in the air and to the side of the road. Julie, Mark and I went to help him. I started treating him for shock. He just was stunned at the occurrence. After 10 minutes of calming him down, he walked to the orphanage where a nurse cleaned him up and examined him. None of his parents were near. We then caught the bus back to Zap.

We ate at a cafeteria then returned to our apt to shower and rest.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

We slept later today. Ate lunch before out appt. Tom and I took a cab to our appointment at the State Department of Adoption, SDA. The streets were so packed with protesters that the driver could not get us to the SDA. We took side streets and alleys. In fact, he drove on the sidewalk in front of McDonald and almost hit Jeff Tarr who stopped there for lunch! It took 45 minutes to get to the SDA by car. We could have walked it in 20 minutes.

We had a bit of excitement before our appointment because Yuri our lawyer wanted to speak to the Interim Director of the SDA. They had a lively discussion in his office while we and the Settlemyres waited in the Administrative office. Finally, we went downstairs to meet the SDA's translator and Child Psychologist. We hand them our newest document asking to adopt Maksim and Oskana. They had Maksim's file and went through that quickly. They needed to leave and find Oskana's file. They obtained her file because they mentioned that she was 10 years old. They reviewed her file with us then stated that we could have a referral. We were joyful and went outside to meet the others.

We went to a cafe while the others had their Wed meetings with the SDA. Our family and Jenia had to leave because we went to the ballet. The ballet was wonderful and we enjoyed the performance. I am very glad that Helen thought of this idea.

After the ballet, we grabbed a snack and went back to the apt.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Tom and Cindy started the day at a Notary. We needed to add a document to our paperwork and Jenia and her mother had arranged the notary and an official translator. This process took only a fraction of the time that Cindy spent with her last experience with a notary. They create very beautiful documents with many stamps. It takes a minimum of two people to create these and the notary office felt like a trip to the BMV. We met the rest of the Zap group at a Pizza place and had great pancakes and omelets. We went back to the Apt to get ready for a day of sight seeing.

Two of the major sights were a subway ride away. As we entered the station, Jenia warned us to be aware of our belongings. When Tom got on the train, one man tried to block his way and he had to push his way around him. Then Jim and Mark got on and Tom noticed three people around both of them. Tom also noticed the person behind Jim had a bag that he was opening and closing as if he were preparing to stash stolen property. Tom kept motioning to Jim to watch them and at one point Jim yelled at one to keep his hands off him. This caused quite a seen on a very crowded subway. Jenia made her way over to ask what the problem was and the third guy denied anything. Thankfully, we came to the next stop and everyone got off. The three quickly vanished. We were trying to make sure everyone was OK while we were riding the escalator to the exit. Kyiv is built on hills much like SF and the escalators move very quickly because the subway is so far underground. When we got to the top, we found that Caroline was near one of the men on the way up and was terrified. She clung to Tom's arm and he settled her down. Welcome to the big city. Tom told her that these things can happen anywhere and we should be thankful. We were fine and the person that the theives chose to go after is an IMPD officer.

We walked through the Caves Monastery to go to a WWII museum. They call it the Great Patriotic War and the museum had old Russian planes and militiary equipment on display on the outside and an indoor museum beheath the "Motherland Statue". The indoor Museum had displays on the war from the Russian point of view, with no mention of the allied sacrifice. Caroline and Shelby wanted their picture taken in one of the planes on display. We tried to go in the plane and found that we needed a separeate ticket. After going back for the ticket, Tom took the girls up to the cockpit so they could be seen from the outside. As the girls got their picture taken, Tom noticed that the controls on the plane were in English. The woman collecting the tickets came up and said "McDonald Douglas DC3" .

We found out later that day, the children are taught that Russia won the war, Not the Allies. The exhibits in the museum were interesting because they used many 3D exhibits with artifacts from the war. Germany occupied many cities in Ukraine. In fact, they recognized many cities that kept the Germans out as "Hero Cities."

We stopped for a quick snack and rest break and Tom found what he had been looking for at a shop near the subway, a map and Kyiv and Zaporozhye! Kyiv was in English, but Zaporozhye was only in Russian. The Zap map had enogh detail to map the whole route from Zap to the Matveevka orphanage.

Our church has been active in Ukraine for many years and we wanted to pray with a new Ukrainian friend. Chris Alexander made the introduction to Olga. We initially planned to meet in a park, but we were delayed in meeting the rest of the group because of all the political demonstartions. We were going through an underground tunnel to meet them when we saw them passing the other way. There were 17 Americans greeting and hugging each other in a realtively dark pedestrian tunnel. I am sure that we made quite a sight. Olga was taking them to a coffee shop because it was cold.

We found room for all at the coffe shop. Olga stated that it was a God thing since the shop was almost always crowded. In this case, there was room at the inn! Olga led us in a wonderful prayer session and fellowship. She could not join us for dinner, but was kind enough to share a good story about her time with Chris and Gary. Evidently they are good at cooking Ukrainian food.

We are trying to stay away from fish while in Ukraine since Tom had an unpleasant experience of the last trip and the CDC recommended this on their website. Jenia was busy helping others get through the cafeteria line. I needed to help Caroline with her food selections. The lady did not understand English. I need to find out if fish was in the piece of food that Caroline wanted. So, I waved my hand like a fish tail and made my mouth look like a fish mouth. My body language worked! The lady was laughing so hard that she had stomach pains but did tell us that no fish was in Caroline's first choice of meat. I am getting very good at getting my point across.

After dinner, we went back to the Apt.

Monday April 2

We arrived in Kyiv at 9am. Jenia met us at the airport. We were taken to the same apt that we had in Feb. This apt is in the middle of the city. We could walk anywhere. Great location. The high speed Internet was not working because a plug was broken. See, in Ukraine, people are not in a hurry to fix anything. No blood pressure problems are related to stress. We could not get to the Internet so that is why you have not received updates.

Now, back to Monday. It was a beautiful day and we went shopping for food then took a walking tour of Kyiv. This tour led us to the government center. We were by a Presidential building and the building for Parliament when we saw the protesters. The President wants to dissolve Parliament and the Parliament wants to impeach the President. What a time to be in Kyiv. While we were walking around the protesters, Jenia, our translator, phoned us. She asked, "Where are you?" Cindy explained that we were with the protesters and she ran through the crowd shouting, "U.S.A." Jenia immediately said, "Cindy, you go away from there." We finished the day with dinner then bed. We were very tired.

April in Kyiv

We are finally here. We got our appointment to meet with the SDA on Wednesday and hope to get the referral to begin to complete this journey.

We had quite an adventure getting here. We planned to take a taxi to the airport to catch our early Sunday morning flight. I dutifully scheduled a pickup the night before while we were finishing up our last minute packing. The next day, the taxi did not show. I called for another and he had to come across town to pick us up. I called every three minutes until it finally showed. I was just on the verge of giving up, driving to the airport, and facing the problem of finding a parking spot during spring break. When we arrived at IND the place was packed - on Palm Sunday morning. We met the Cleeks and later the Settlemyres and the whole Zap gang was ready to go.

The trip to JFK was smooth. We had a van to pick up the whole group for a quick trip into NYC. Bill and Anastasia enthusiastically planned the layover for everyone. We stopped by their home, Bill guided us on a tour of Manhattan and the Empire State Building and then were were back at their home where Anastasia had a wonderful waiting for us. It was great to see them. They are very supportive of everyone's journey. The rest, refreshment and encouragement left us thankful for being able to share our journey with them.

We met Helen at JFK. She flew in from SFO and met us at the gate as the plane was boarding. We got settled in and Helen and Caroline were behind Cindy and me with Luke in front. We were on a 767 300 and took a very northern route to get to Kyiv. When I woke up, we had just passed over Stockholm, which is of course special for me...

We had no problems with customs and me Jenia at the airport.

More later from Kyiv.

End of Day 1 at Matveevka

After the party, we piled back into the van and headed back to Matveevka. At the Internat, we were fairly confined to the canteen area because of Max's leg. I have seen many pictures of it and it is smaller than what I had imagined. Now it is let the games begin time. We had some bounce balloons that have a rubber band handle. The kids used these in every way; as soccer balls, punch balls, volley balls and even ping pong balls. We played games for the afternoon and it was my time to have fun with Maksim.

Midway through the afternoon, Max wanted me to come to his classroom. The class was watching a video of Beethoven (a film with a hero dog character that looked like it was made in the early 1980s). I watched the video with him and noted the different titles in the room. Most were older films in VHS format. Jenia helped me ask the teacher if it was OK to add to the collection. The teacher said it was OK and I made a note to stop by a video kiosk to pick up a variety of kid comedies and educational videos.

Max gave Cindy and me a tour. He climbed the stairs to the room that he shares with 10 other children. The beds are made and the room is picked up. There is a chore chart on the wall, but Max does not want to explain the chores. Also on the wall are new cabinets. These were the fruits of our fund raising last fall.

There are many children at the Internat who live there like a boarding school. One was Sergey. He spoke English well and he was very polite and pleasant with us. In the afternoon, he told us that he was leaving to spend the evening with his mother and that he would be back to see us on Sunday evening. He had only one short day per week to spend with one parent.

Saturday ended with dinner at Matveevka. Maksim was able to eat dinner with us. This was the first day that I had been able to be with him since April 2006.

On the wayback to the hotel we stopped by the mall. There was a grocery store. I bought minutes for my cell phone and we got groceries. We went back to Hotel and crashed.

The Birthday Party

The kids climbed out the van like a circus act. Max got some grease on his hands in the van and we were looking for something to get him cleaned up. McDonalds has two stories. They have a party room on the second floor, but our group was too big for it. Instead they reserved a number of tables together and we had our own area. I distributed the party supplies that we brought. Each child got a hat and a lay. I brought over 1 pair of disguise glasses and gave them to Max. We decided against the noise makers and I showed everyone the Happy Birthday Banner. I put the banner and a center piece on Max’s table.

McDonald’s throws an excellent party. There was a host that took our food order and totaled the charges for the event. I went downstairs to pay and they got the festivities started. They first had a group game that was similar to musical chairs. The children gathered in a circle and slapped the hand of the person next to them based on a rhyme. At some point, one person would hold their hand back and the other would be out.

They had all the children gather around Max and started to build a wall out of paper drink cups. The wall got quite high before it started to fall. Once one section fell, the kids knocked down the whole wall. There was simply a mess of cups below the table. Then the game changed. Whoever could create the tallest stack of cups would win. The kids went to work on stacking the cups and they were cleaned up in no time. I was impressed.

Bring on the food and cake. The happy meals are the same as any other McDonalds; cheese burger, fries and a drink. Max did have cream Birthday cake. He told Jenia that one of his favorite things about McDonalds was the French fries or Chipsee as they call them.