We finally have internet in our apartment
Me (Joy) with my improvised shopping cart-bag
The store has bunches of different kinds of tomato-based sauces. We guessed right with this one--thankfully the picture of spaghetti on the front was a good clue to the contents of the pouch
This is the only type of 'spatula' in the apartment. I must say it really doesn't work that well for fried eggs :)
The dishes we bought for Steven just in case his tossing talent pertains to glassware as well as toys, plants, and knick-knacks
Yes indeed! I am typing in my own internet cafe right here in the living room of our apartment! This morning the 'apartment lady' called about 9:35- 9:40 to say a man was coming at 10:00 am--"in 20 minutes"-- to repair the computer. I got Teresa out of bed and rushed to the shower. The guy was a little late but about 2 1/2 hours after his arrival we had a screen with Google on it. Hurrah!! I'm sure the guy behind the desk at the Samsung Internet cafe there at the mall will miss our daily presence and donation of 12 grievnas per hour.
I am so losing track of time here. Do I blame it on the NutraSweet in the Cola Light? To continued jet lag? Certainly not to being old!!! Maybe because so many days are so much like so many other days? And I can't keep straight what I've put in my blog, written in my journal and/or written in separate emails.
Let's see, I was going to tell about yesterday's visit. When Teresa and I arrived at the orphanage, the place was absolutely quiet which was weird because I knew it was not the scheduled nap time. We tried the door to Steven's area and it was locked. I just went to sit in our usual chairs in the hallway. Finally a lady came walking by and went in search of "Roman." It was such a nice day--warm but not hot--that the kids were outside playing. Steven looked so cute when he walked in--cap, short-sleeves, shorts without leggings for the 2nd time. He was smiling. We were invited into the coat-room to play. Well, I didn't have a ball since it hopped out the window yesterday or the wiggly-squishy ball cuz Steven took it with him yesterday. We sat down for awhile and looked at pictures of our family and Steven seemed to be calmly paying attention. He had more difficulty than I would have guessed with turning the pages of the album but didn't fight me turning the pages. One of the workers came and she seemed very interested in the pictures as well. (I've been told that the workers here are concerned about how Steven is going to do in a family. Like Nastya says, they've heard a lot of bad rumors about what happens to kids once adopted, so she suggests that I send them pictures about every 3 months so they know he is OK.) He played a little with the finger puppets then went into the entry way and swept for quite awhile with a branch broom and a very stout dust pan with a handle. I am trying to get pictures of this young man every day but very few are even showing his face. He is soooooo wiggly and I'm using my cell phone so the lens just isn't quick enough. Even when I think I've finally got a decent one--I'm usually wrong. I've even tried video but then I just get his back. He walked into the living room and was gone for some time. When I went after him, I found out he'd taken himself to the bathroom. I've noticed he wears underwear! I wonder if he is actually potty-trained rather than just trained to go potty at certain times (and if he'll stay that way once he's with us.) I'm thinking that especially on the airplane or in someone's car that pullups might be in order. Anyone have suggestions on this? We kept our visit even a little shorter this time. Steven waved bye-bye, tried to say 'bye', blew kisses, kissed my cheek, even opened up the door into the hallway behind us and waved some more.
I am really hopeful that once he gets into another environment, he will settle down. Now of course he keeps checking in with the people that are familiar. But when he gets here, WE will be the people that are familiar.
Was this Thursday or Friday? See, I told you I can't keep the days straight :) We were really thirsty so we stopped to buy drinks on the way home. It was one of those refrigerated coolers with the sliding glass doors on the front. The owner opened only one side and we were trying to reach across to the larger ones on the other side. In the process we managed to knock over about 10-15 bottles. I went ahead and bought the one that rolled out and bit the dust in addition to the 2 we were already buying. 3 bottles are heavier than you'd think when carrying them. We went and sat down for awhile on a bench in the little park by the metro stop.
I know this is Friday: Then on to the Kreschatik stop for internet and something to eat. There's a place Kevin calls Captain Potato. It IS a potato place and it starts like "KAPT" (yes, I know the P is pronounced like an R) But wouldn't you believe it, they were out of potatoes for the day so we had sandwiches instead with boxes of fruit juice.
Today after getting on-line, Teresa and I ventured off for true grocery-shopping now that we know we aren't moving tomorrow. I've seen several ladies around here pulling enclosed bags with wheels on them with groceries inside so we decided to make a piece of luggage into a grocery cart. First we headed to the nearby 24-hour store for a big jug of water, big bottle of Pepsi, cookies, some stuff that looked like cup-of-soup, etc, loaded it into our bag and brought it back to the apartment. Ate the tasty soup and headed for Mega Market where we did our best to buy what we need at the best prices. Thankfully most foods have pictures on them :) We tried not to go too crazy because we knew we had to either get it into the bag or carry it all the way back to our apartment. We did pretty well I think--even managed to buy red sauce that tasted like the spaghetti sauce we were hoping for--except we chose 2 loose apples and an orange and apparently missed the weighing-station somewhere. The lady at the check-out couldn't take them without them being weighed and we didn't understand what we were supposed to do. We went upstairs and found napkins, Q-tips!!!, trash bags and another nail file. On the in-between level we got plastic plates, bowl and cup for Steven. But we abandoned our apples and oranges.
By the way, I thought our 10-day wait was up on Monday the 15th but that is actually the 10th day. Tuesday will be a very full day of running around in the car and paperwork so I think it will actually be Wednesday before we can get him. I have been reminded that he will be 'excused' from the orphanage into our care in only his birthday suit, though Alexey said the director agreed he would give us clothes if necessary. Of course I brought clothes that I definitely hope will fit (same size as Caleb's except smaller pants because Steven seems so much lighter) but the naughty part of me wonders whether a child has ever walked out the front gate stark naked.
Much more comfortable in here tonight--today has been cooler and much more pleasant.
Thanks for all the notes and prayers and encouragement. Yes, I do remember that our visits with Caleb were awful and he is a wonderful child--whom I miss very much by the way. We've been gone two weeks today. So here are hugs and kisses for my kiddos and my Sweetheart.
Love to all and to all a good night.
PS If anyone knows how to get in touch with the other RR couples here in Kiev, I would LOVE to meet them.
I am so losing track of time here. Do I blame it on the NutraSweet in the Cola Light? To continued jet lag? Certainly not to being old!!! Maybe because so many days are so much like so many other days? And I can't keep straight what I've put in my blog, written in my journal and/or written in separate emails.
Let's see, I was going to tell about yesterday's visit. When Teresa and I arrived at the orphanage, the place was absolutely quiet which was weird because I knew it was not the scheduled nap time. We tried the door to Steven's area and it was locked. I just went to sit in our usual chairs in the hallway. Finally a lady came walking by and went in search of "Roman." It was such a nice day--warm but not hot--that the kids were outside playing. Steven looked so cute when he walked in--cap, short-sleeves, shorts without leggings for the 2nd time. He was smiling. We were invited into the coat-room to play. Well, I didn't have a ball since it hopped out the window yesterday or the wiggly-squishy ball cuz Steven took it with him yesterday. We sat down for awhile and looked at pictures of our family and Steven seemed to be calmly paying attention. He had more difficulty than I would have guessed with turning the pages of the album but didn't fight me turning the pages. One of the workers came and she seemed very interested in the pictures as well. (I've been told that the workers here are concerned about how Steven is going to do in a family. Like Nastya says, they've heard a lot of bad rumors about what happens to kids once adopted, so she suggests that I send them pictures about every 3 months so they know he is OK.) He played a little with the finger puppets then went into the entry way and swept for quite awhile with a branch broom and a very stout dust pan with a handle. I am trying to get pictures of this young man every day but very few are even showing his face. He is soooooo wiggly and I'm using my cell phone so the lens just isn't quick enough. Even when I think I've finally got a decent one--I'm usually wrong. I've even tried video but then I just get his back. He walked into the living room and was gone for some time. When I went after him, I found out he'd taken himself to the bathroom. I've noticed he wears underwear! I wonder if he is actually potty-trained rather than just trained to go potty at certain times (and if he'll stay that way once he's with us.) I'm thinking that especially on the airplane or in someone's car that pullups might be in order. Anyone have suggestions on this? We kept our visit even a little shorter this time. Steven waved bye-bye, tried to say 'bye', blew kisses, kissed my cheek, even opened up the door into the hallway behind us and waved some more.
I am really hopeful that once he gets into another environment, he will settle down. Now of course he keeps checking in with the people that are familiar. But when he gets here, WE will be the people that are familiar.
Was this Thursday or Friday? See, I told you I can't keep the days straight :) We were really thirsty so we stopped to buy drinks on the way home. It was one of those refrigerated coolers with the sliding glass doors on the front. The owner opened only one side and we were trying to reach across to the larger ones on the other side. In the process we managed to knock over about 10-15 bottles. I went ahead and bought the one that rolled out and bit the dust in addition to the 2 we were already buying. 3 bottles are heavier than you'd think when carrying them. We went and sat down for awhile on a bench in the little park by the metro stop.
I know this is Friday: Then on to the Kreschatik stop for internet and something to eat. There's a place Kevin calls Captain Potato. It IS a potato place and it starts like "KAPT" (yes, I know the P is pronounced like an R) But wouldn't you believe it, they were out of potatoes for the day so we had sandwiches instead with boxes of fruit juice.
Today after getting on-line, Teresa and I ventured off for true grocery-shopping now that we know we aren't moving tomorrow. I've seen several ladies around here pulling enclosed bags with wheels on them with groceries inside so we decided to make a piece of luggage into a grocery cart. First we headed to the nearby 24-hour store for a big jug of water, big bottle of Pepsi, cookies, some stuff that looked like cup-of-soup, etc, loaded it into our bag and brought it back to the apartment. Ate the tasty soup and headed for Mega Market where we did our best to buy what we need at the best prices. Thankfully most foods have pictures on them :) We tried not to go too crazy because we knew we had to either get it into the bag or carry it all the way back to our apartment. We did pretty well I think--even managed to buy red sauce that tasted like the spaghetti sauce we were hoping for--except we chose 2 loose apples and an orange and apparently missed the weighing-station somewhere. The lady at the check-out couldn't take them without them being weighed and we didn't understand what we were supposed to do. We went upstairs and found napkins, Q-tips!!!, trash bags and another nail file. On the in-between level we got plastic plates, bowl and cup for Steven. But we abandoned our apples and oranges.
By the way, I thought our 10-day wait was up on Monday the 15th but that is actually the 10th day. Tuesday will be a very full day of running around in the car and paperwork so I think it will actually be Wednesday before we can get him. I have been reminded that he will be 'excused' from the orphanage into our care in only his birthday suit, though Alexey said the director agreed he would give us clothes if necessary. Of course I brought clothes that I definitely hope will fit (same size as Caleb's except smaller pants because Steven seems so much lighter) but the naughty part of me wonders whether a child has ever walked out the front gate stark naked.
Much more comfortable in here tonight--today has been cooler and much more pleasant.
Thanks for all the notes and prayers and encouragement. Yes, I do remember that our visits with Caleb were awful and he is a wonderful child--whom I miss very much by the way. We've been gone two weeks today. So here are hugs and kisses for my kiddos and my Sweetheart.
Love to all and to all a good night.
PS If anyone knows how to get in touch with the other RR couples here in Kiev, I would LOVE to meet them.
4 comments:
Glad your 10 day wait is almost up! Prayers all goes well on the rest of your trip and you all get home soon!
Hi Joy,
I just got my computer back and couldn't wait to check in on you! You are almost there and Steven will leave that place forever.:) I am praying for a smooth transition for him, what a blessed day that will be!
Amy
What a great update! I think the Torres family is there now, their orphanage it outside of Kyiv I believe in a suburb. Did you email the yahoo group?
I cannot believe your 10 day wait is nearly over, I missed so much, I cannot tell you how much my heart is swelling with gratitude that Steven has a family and that it is your family that will be his mom.
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