Lights, Camera, but no action

OK, OK, I admit it! These are actually hanging clothes from another date but you still get the picture.

Boy, I guess the most exciting news of the day is that we got our official referral for R from the SDA at about 5:30. Good grief! That place was packed with people waiting for referrals, I guess. We're supposed to be ready at 9:00 am to go meet the region inspector and hopefully then we'll get to see the orphanage director. Timing of everything is very up in the air since adoptions from this place are unknown, as far as we know.

Other than that I spent the day running our cute little washing machine and hanging wet clothes all over the place. The two pair of jeans I hung on the radiator are destined for slow drying, I'm afraid, since there is very little heat from that source. However, the space heater is doing its cheery best and does a great job keeping our piggies warm while we are in bed.

We just passed up the photo shoot opportunity of the century. We were walking around in Independence Square when this big kid approaches me with this poofy-feathery hawk on his arm. He transfers the bird to my arm and then proceeds to have his buddy take several shots of Kevin, me and the bird. Then the bird is transferred to Kevin's shoulder for my photos. Of course then comes the purpose of the whole exercise: 200 grievnas please. I am sorry to report that we did not take him up on his great offer.

A message to our kids: Daddy sent you guys a message at our ukraine08 address. Let us know if you got it. We could not open our mail from the apartment laptop. We heard on the news that there's a big problem with Internet Explorer--some security issue. We love you so much and hope you are doing well with school, with home work (!), and at home with Brandi. Jesus is with you even when we are not.

Kristy Newbold

Kristy, I hope you see this. For some reason I can't access my email this morning. Our phone in our apartment is 279-7434, our address is Gorodetskogo 4, apartment 11 (I've also seen it written Horodetskogo) We can see the top of the tall statue at Independence Square and the New Year's tree from our window. We are using Oleg's group. We don't have an appointment to go anywhere until 4:30 pm.

SDA Appointment

The results of our grocery shopping: I don't know why I get such a kick out of seeing the names of foods written in another language. I think it's fun.

Our bathroom with it's own water heater. Two good things in this room are the heated towel rack (which you can't see) and the heated floor tiles (which you can't see either!) Smile.

Kevin took along two of his ministerial training courses. We also watched tons and tons of News on TV (which I jokingly called "Olds" after hearing it re-run so many times) Occasionally there were sports programs and even Christian programs in English as well.

Here are a couple views of Independence Square, the top one actually taken from our apartment window.

Here's the sign outside the entry to the SDA. There were lots of other people in there waiting on the stairway and right inside the doorway. This is where we got the official referral for Steven and permission to go visit him.


Exhausted me.

It has taken me at least 5 of my allotted 30 minutes to figure out how to get on here but we did it! It is tricky to try to follow directions written in another language.

Today was our SDA appointment. The SDA is only about 5 minutes by car, probably 15 minutes on foot. Our translator Nastya and Oleg met us at Mister Snack (looks like Mictep Chek). The lady who interviewed us was named Maria and she seemed very sweet and like she truly cares about children. I just 'happened' to take along a photo album with pictures of all of our kids and copies of Caleb's recent and handsome school pictures. I was asked if he has had surgery--I guess the one that is supposed to erase visible signs of DS.
Anyway, we got to read over R's file, found out his birthday and place of birth, weight, length at birth, etc. I asked if I could take a picture of the photo on the file and was told that I can actually have it in exchange for a newer one, once we are actually his parents.
The current plan is that we will pick up the official referral tomorrow about 5 pm as the SDA no longer gives it the same day as the appointment.

Sorry this sounds so choppy. Usually when I post I spend a lot of time thinking about my wording--now I am just trying to get done before my time is up.

Last night after posting we found a place called The Potato House. It was set up in kind of a cowboy style with the waitresses wearing cowboy hats, a thick wooden ledge for our table, wooden stools and thankfully an English menu. Kevin ordered the BBQ ribs, I ordered a baked potato with cheesy brocolli sauce and some kind of meat (veal I think), and we shared a 'salt' pancake--a very thin pancake rolled up with cheese, raw tomatoes and raw red peppers. Kevin ended up ordering a potato for himself as well. We are actually thinking of taking our on-line friends there tonight for dinner.

On our way to the grocery store we passed what we think was a street service. There was a man who would talk for awhile and then the group would sing and then he would talk again. We both think we heard the name Jesus Christ being mentioned.

This shopping expedition was much less 'interesting' than our original trip in January. Here in the minimarket all the chicken was placidly cut up, lying on styrofoam, wrapped in saran wrap; the pepper was already ground; we had a shopping cart and we paid for everything at once. I must admit I didn't mind the convenience at all. We each had two pretty hefty bags to tote home and up the stairs.

Today I have just been a sleepy-head. We have dark blue curtains and the weather has been very foggy which all just adds to my desire to close my eyes.

We are here

Kevin doing last-minute paperwork on the way to the airport in Boise right after Joy completed hers.

Kevin and his sister, Pauline, visiting at a restaurant at the Boise airport. Thanks, Pauline, for taking care of our van while we were gone.

This school orchestra was playing beautiful Christmas music at the Boise airport.

Above, Joy has a bag and will travel. Below, Kevin is looking bright and chipper on this end of the journey.

The above airplanes were seen in the Minneapolis airport hanging from the ceiling.

The above 4 pictures were taken in the Amsterdam Airport. I don't know why I was so amazed that there really were blue and white china, windmills, wooden shoes and tulips in Holland! And I thought the Christmas decorations were very unique.

I just wanted to let everyone know that our flights went very well, we arrived in Kiev on time and were taken to our apartment by Alexi. I guess his wife Anastasia will be our interpretor. The guy who met us at our apartment is also Alexi. Our apartment is small but seems to have everything we need. There is apparently some kind of problem with heat in this part of the city (we were told the Ukrainian govt failed to pay the gas bill to the Russians so the Russians turned off the heat!) but we have an electric space heater that is working to the best of its ability. Our ceiling is about 16 feet tall. We do have a jacuzzi tub that we haven't tried yet. We are thankful also for the two blankets that Kevin brought with him.

Sorry for not writing yesterday. We don't have internet in our apt yet and though we hunted around we could not find an internet cafe. However, now that we know what to look for, there are several close by. It is costing us 6 grievnas for 1/2 hour! (That's just a little over a dollar!)

I had hoped to go to church this morning but my only contact with the missionary was over the internet. Also with my on-line friend Bev.

We ate last night in the food court of the underground mall at Independence Square (McDonalds!) I absolutely cannot believe we are here again. We also found the grocery store which is very near us. There is a Mister Snack situated on the bottom floor of our building. We are about a block from Independence Square and tonight they were putting the star on top of a huge tree-they call it the New Years Tree--and just got it lighted up.

Our SDA appointment is scheduled for tomorrow--we don't have the time yet. Thank you everyone for your love and prayers.

And a special hug and kiss to all of our kids. We love you lots.

One hour and 17 minutes

We are supposed to be leaving at 8 a.m. to head for the airport. I guess at this point, it is something like "ready or not, here we come!"

What's Up Here

Dec. 2 was one of those days where nothing seemed to be going right, mainly I think because I wasn't feeling well at all. We'd had some kind of intestinal 'bug' buzzing through our household and I'd had a different child home sick on 2 different days. Now it was my turn and I just didn't have time to be sick. I was feeling the tremendous pressure of a rapidly approaching departure date, my cute little son was acting "active":), the furnace quit working, the computer was moving at the speed of sludge moving uphill in the arctic winter and I couldn't respond to the guy who was trying to set up our flights, I had to tell my bro-in-law, Richard, I couldn't take him to his eye appointment, I still had to take my oldest son to his medication follow-up, my husband was working major over time (yes, I know the money will be a huge blessing) and I really just wanted to go bury my head under my pillow. AND because I was sick I couldn't attend our annual women's ministry's Christmas party which is the silliest, craziest and generally "funnest" party of the year. Thanks to all of you who prayed for me that day in the midst of all my gloom and doom. Praise the Lord, I felt quite a bit better the next day.

Thursday morning, Dec 4 I got on the computer early in the morning and found a message from our facilitator that there had been a mix-up and our SDA appointment is on Dec 15 rather than Dec 12. Oh my goodness! That threw me into a tailspin because we had just-I think the day before-- got our airline tickets all finalized and because the reason I'd got on the computer so early was to finalize apartment plans (Kiev is 9 hours ahead of us so contacting people during business hours requires purposeful effort) So I emailed all the appropriate people, got kids off to school, picked up my Mom and my bro-in-law, drove to Twin and took him to his first appointment while Mom and I got Christmas cards, family letters and school pictures stamped and on their way. Took him to his eye appointment while Mom and I and Caleb went to Shopko. We nabbed Richard and all headed homeward for Caleb's OT appointment. Then back to Twin for Richard's next appointment, then home a little late--three of my kids were already home from school. By this time I was starting to feel kind of puny again.

Friday I felt much better and I did not have to go anywhere all day long.

Saturday was another FULL day. Around 10 a.m. S. and J. went with Carol N. from church to pass out fliers all around town for Good News Club which is starting up again on Thursday. About 10:15 they were back to use the restroom and get warmer clothes and gloves :) 10:30-12:00 Kevin and I had mandatory rehearsal for "Hope Has Hands"--an arrangement of Christmas songs that our community choir is doing this year. Then we had to run back home, pick up J and S, grab Richard and head to Twin. We left J, S, and T off at Skateland for a young friend's birthday party; we took Richard to his friend's; stopped at the store for Christmas cookies and finger foods, then scooted over to our Special Needs Support Group Christmas party with only B and Caleb in tow. Then I did a couple hours of Christmas shopping at Kmart while Kevin and the kids got good deals at Grocery Outlet. Once home Kevin cooked supper while I went to Mom's to sort through Christmas presents. (We keep them at her house to keep spying eyes away) We had decided to let each of our children open one present from Mommy and Daddy so they ate their spaghetti supper in a flash. We read the Bible story of baby Jesus, sang a few Christmas carols and then opened gifts from youngest to oldest. I was so pleased that each of the kids seemed delighted with what was inside.

Sunday, of course, was Sunday school and church. I was pretty emotional knowing that this was our last Sunday home for awhile and that our children would be celebrating Christmas without us. I was reminded that God's gifts are hope, peace, joy and that He has everything under control. I was so pleased that Richard and our neighbor boy accompanied us to the evening Christmas concert--Hope Has Hands. The choir director, Pastor Mike from Kimberly Nazarene, opened with prayer followed by several traditional Christmas songs and hymns. Then he read the Bible passages concerning Simeon and Anna who had been waiting and waiting and waiting for God to send our Savior as He had promised hundreds of years earlier while the choir, made up of people from several of our local churches--Assembly of God, Nazarene, Christian, Methodist -- assembled on the risers. We sang the title song, as well as All the World Has Joy, Joy to the World, The Word Became Flesh, The Lord Has Been Kind, Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, Mary Rocks the Rock, Hope Has Hands, Mary, Did you Know?, Come, Go Tell It On the Mountain. Then we all stood around, chatted, and munched on cookies.

And all the while there's a little boy in a Ukrainian orphanage who has no idea the special surprise that God has planned for him: a mommy and daddy, 3 brothers and two sisters. We are coming soon!

Our Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends, November 29, 2008
Merry Christmas! I just love this time of year though I’m sure you are totally shocked to be getting a letter from us already. Yesterday morning, my mom and I were standing in line outside Kings Department Store at 6:30 a.m. for Christmas shopping, last night our family went to the Annual “Christmas in the Nighttime Sky” fireworks display, we have our tree decorated, at least six nativities in place, and artwork from the kids’ “Christmases Past” displayed on the walls. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas—except our fairly-heavy snow from October is long gone.

We are kind of rushing the season a bit because Kevin and I just found out on November 25 that we have a 2nd adoption appointment in Kiev, Ukraine on December 12 so we are hoping to be in the air on December 9 (as in 10 days from now!) This time we are going there to try to adopt a little 5 year old boy with Down syndrome who has already been transferred to a mental institution. We haven’t totally settled on a name for him yet. I would so appreciate your prayers for safety, for a smooth process, for bonding with our new son, and for our other children while we are gone.

We basically started this year the same way that we are ending it: Kevin spent 3 weeks in Kiev and I (Joy) stayed for a total of 5 weeks in January/February 2008 to adopt our youngest son, Caleb Alexander who was 3 at the time. (All 3 of our boys have birthdays in June!) His Ukrainian name, Sasha, is a nickname for Alexander. Caleb has been such a joy to our family with his adorable smile, easy-going attitude and his exuberance. He has blond hair, sparkly blue eyes and Down syndrome. He is having a great time in preschool and is picking up English surprisingly well. Our kids have thanked us repeatedly for adopting him. If you would like to read about either adoption journey, please visit our blog at www.considertheadoptionoption.blogspot.com and leave a comment for us. We would be absolutely delighted to see you there. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible charitable donation to our adoption (or someone else’s adoption) you can visit www.reecesrainbow.com/familysponsorshipalmostthere.htm and scroll down to McClain. All money goes directly for adoption expenses, NOT to us personally.

Let me update you a bit on each of us: Kevin is still working full-time for UPS Freight out of the Jerome terminal and working part-time at Murtaugh as their water/waste water supervisor. He continues to serve on the board for Hansen Assembly of God as well as being Sunday School superintendant, Royal Ranger leader, member of the worship team, Men’s Ministries leader and occasionally he gets a chance to golf or to work on his ministerial correspondence courses.
I am a stay-at-home Mommy to our 5.9 (!) children and chief taxi driver to doctor’s and other appointments. I am not home-schooling anyone this year but I do refer to myself as The Homework Nazi. I teach the preschool/kindergarten Sunday School class, have the PRIMs (1st and 2nd grade girls) on Sunday nights and am head of our local church’s food pantry. Kevin and I are both singing this year in the annual community Christmas choir—“Hope Has Hands”--at the old Kimberly high school gym on Dec. 7. That song, Mary Did You Know, makes me cry every time I sing it. Can you truly imagine the reality of the line “when you kissed your little baby, you kissed the face of God”? That truth boggles my mind.

We have two in Junior High, two in elementary and soon will have two in preschool. B, 14, is in 8th grade, just completed a model of Saturn and did a presentation on the Revolutionary War, and wants you all to know about the pretty lights on our Christmas tree. S, 12, is in 7th grade and wants me to mention that her basketball team won against Murtaugh 50-4, that she can’t wait until her new brother gets home, that she loves you all and wishes you a Merry Christmas. T is 12 and in 6th grade, attended Little Cheerleaders Camp this year, ran one cross country race, just completed an edible cell model and asks that I tell you that she loves animals and little boys. J, 10, is in 5th grade, played on the football team, and asked me to share that he is cute, pleasant, and that he found a skull on the Royal Ranger hike to Star Falls this afternoon. (Hey, I don’t make the news, I just report it!J) Our dog, cat, turtle, and fish are also alive and well but have no comments at this time.

This summer we went on a great vacation to the Washington coast and on to Seattle. We visited a Star Wars store, an interpretive center, the beach, the Russ M family, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Aquarium, and Pike Market. We went up in the Space Needle, rode the monorail and took a cruise around the harbor. A highlight for me was walking around the Northwest University campus in Kirkland—a well-loved place I hadn’t seen since my graduation in 1984.
I really hope this wonderful season finds you closer to Jesus, the Reason for the Season.

Joy for the Crew