A Whole New World!

We were able to take the children out again today for some shopping. We went to Target (no, not the one your thinking of and the one I am missing) and got them toothbrushes & toothpaste. Then Ukraine has a lot of outdoor markets and we were able to purchase them some pajamas and some socks for the girls in Anya's group. The kids were great today and we had a good time. We dropped them off at 1:00 and then we were back again from 3:30-6:30. We had a good time with the kids. Anya is opening up more and more each day. AND SHE SAID FLOWER ALL ON HER OWN TODAY!!! As her teacher (mom) I have been trying to assess the children developmentally. Dima is pretty quick to learn and eager. Anya's shyness and Dimas eagerness inhibits her abililty to answer questions. So for the past 4-5 days as I walk her around the orphanage we look at the flowers and I say, "Pahngliski (in english), flower" So I went from verbally reminding her to just mouthing the word. ANd then today when we were at the market, we saw an outdoor flower market and I pointed and said, "Pahngliski" and she said, "Flower". It was such a joyous occasion that I bought her one!!! :) Joyful day.

Dima did well today. I will let Scott talk about the experience the two of them had together today. What joy fills our heart to be the parents of 3 children. There are some rough roads ahead, but God is faithful and His grace is sufficient so we are excited about the journey.

Love you all and hope you are having a great day!
Kayla :)

Hi,

Yes, we did have a wonderful day. We went to Target as Kayla said and we ate in a cafe' that is inside. We thought Dima could have pizza and Anya could have something else. Dima actually didn't have pizza, but his experience of the place was just as amazing. His "wonder" was directed this time to the trip to the "toilet" as they call it in Ukraine. He had never washed his hands with soap from a pump dispenser on the wall and he was amazed at the fully automatic hand dryer. Oh, the things we take for granted in America. It was a joy to experience that with him today. But you know there are many "simple pleasures" that we are missing right now. One of those is soft laundry that is dried in a dryer and not scratchy from being hung on a clothes line to dry. And then there is just being able to drive our own cars and sleep in our own bed. I am really ready to get back to my "pillowtop" matress. Enough about that. There is so much to be thankful for here and more important things to think about as well.

I played a lot of soccer today as well as catch with a suction ball and plastic mits that Kade bought. An excellent game. Good find Kade. One time I caught Anya off guard while she was running by me. I swept her up and swung her around and around. She giggled and giggled as I did it several times. I gave her a kiss and sent her on her way, back to her MaMa. It was great. I tried again as best I could to spread my attention to as many kids as possible, without Kade, Dima, and Anya feeling neglected. This is difficult as you can probably imagine. It was fun and many kids smiled as we played which made it all worth it. It seems like such a long time that we are here and the whole time we can't wait to get home. These kids however, are not wanting us to leave ever (unless we take them with us of course.) I hadn't really considered this until today. It gives me something else to think about for sure, and maybe now that Dima and Anya are officially ours, they can share me with these other kids for a short time and know that they will have me for a lifetime. God is definitely at work in everything!

My body is tired from all of the physical activities, but my mind in spinning at the end of the day from all of the things that I have to reflect on. It is very humbling. Like a wise woman (Kayla) said earlier... there are other purposes which we are here for. I realize that more and more each day. Now I pray that I don't miss any opportunities that God gives me to be nice, smile at someone or talk to or listen to them. We are meeting more friends here than I ever thought we would, like a family from Oklahoma that we will visit for lunch next Wednesday. Again I say yeah God!

Well I guess I am done for now. We'll talk again soon.

Scott

p.s. To the guy from South Africa that I met at the internet cafe. Please post and maybe we can meet for lunch. I promise we will speak only English:)

Ukrainian trivia for the day: Nothing in Ukrainian restaurants is "made to order". If it isn't on the menu, good luck trying to order it.