Last Day in Kharkov

Well it is our last night in Kharkov (pronounced harkiv) and we board a train at 7:00am tomorrow to go to Kiev. We spent the last two days here even though we finished all of our paperwork on Friday because it is Labor Day on Monday and all of the trains were completely booked. We figured God wanted us to stay here so we could see our new friends again. We had a great time with the Mapp's on Saturday and then were the first Americans in attendance at their Bible study on Sunday morning. We really enjoyed getting to know them and their congregation. Our other new friends were also at church. They are students here from Nigeria/South Africa. We met them in the internet café a week or so before. They are really nice and we enjoyed getting to know them as well. One of them, Francis may be coming to America this summer. How exciting.

Once we get to Kiev, we get two more days off due to their holiday. We will get the children’s required medical exams on Wednesday and their visas from the American embassy on Thursday and have plane tickets to fly home on Friday. Hooray! We are finally coming to America. We are on the final leg of a totally amazing journey. I am so excited to be home, but also to share more stories and memories with all of you in person. We miss you all very much. This will be the last post until we get settled in Kiev and find another internet café.
Thanks for all of your prayers. We are trusting God that he will give us safe travels the rest of our way. I hope you enjoy these pictures. We will post again as soon as possible.

The Thompson Five :)

This is the day that the Lord has made...

Well...they are ours!!!!! Thursday morning we went bright & early to pick up the court decree. We had to wait until afternoon for the Director to get back to the orphanage so we could check the children out. When we arrived, both of them were so excited. We got Dima (Nate) ready first. He said "Paca" (bye) to his friends. He didn't cry, but I did. Then we all went together to get Anya. She had just started her nap time. She came right in and we got her ready to go. Since her groupa was napping, she went around to her friends beds and told them "paca". Her teacher, Sveta was really sad to see her go, but she said something that I will never forget. Let me digress for a moment. Those in the "adoption community" are VERY SENSITIVE about the words "real parents". People will ask parents & children alike, "So, where are your real parents?", etc. Not intending to be cruel, I'm sure. Well as we were leaving yesterday she is telling Anya (Hannah), "Now you will have REAL PARENTS, and a REAL FAMILY!" Isn't that wonderful? Because that REALLY is the definition of the term. So it was a beautiful day. I asked the Dir. if this was a sad or happy day for her. She said that it is sad for her because you see the children come in sickly/malnourished and they do their best to provide for them and make them well. But she said the one thing that we can't provide for the children is a family. And they should all have family's. So it is a happy day in that regard." Isn't that great too?!?!? Then we went to dinner with some new friends (the Mapp's) and Francis (another new friend from Nigera here studying comp. engineering). We went to a local Ukrainian restaurant with Ukr. cuisine. It was sooooo good. WE had the equiv. of Ukr. BBQ (nothing like Bad Brad's in Yukon) and it was great! Then they had a live authentic Ukrainine band, complete with tambourine and goatskin covered drum/bass. The kids LOVED it! They had so much fun. And as the band played and sang the kids were dancing, it was great. Then our translator leaned over to me and said, "Kayla, they sing a song about children should have good families." Isn't God sooooo cool. We really had a terrific day. Dima said to Anya, "Anya looks, it's dark outside and we are still playing!" Such little things that really put things into perspective.

The kids were a hoot last night trying to go to sleep. We made a pallet for them on the floor and they were so giggly and wiggly. What fun! We just video-taped about 10-15 minutes straight of this time. Scott & I were in stitches with laughter. Anya did wake up about 3:00 am crying, I;m sure it was a little scary being in a new place. So she came & climbed in bed with S&I and she promptly went back to sleep while S&I got little sleep the rest of the evening. Oh well, they'll be time to sleep later! :)

Well the bad news, if you could call it that is that we are not leaving Kharkiv until Monday. I was so ready to leave tomorrow that today while Scott went to get new birth cert & passports, I stayed home with the children, I pulled out all of our stuff so we could pack. Now we are stuck here for the weekend. Their "labor day" is Mon & Tues so we won't be able to get any business done in Kiev until after Tuesday. We HOPE & PRAY that we leave on Friday. I have to email the travel agent tonight so I can get our tickets changed. THERE"S NO PLACE LIKE HOME...THERE"S NO PLACE LIKE HOME...

So thanks again for your prayers. We are here at the internet cafe' with 3 children and a BUNCH of international college students. We are getting some odd looks, but hey! You do what you gotta do! I keep thinking of my friends with 3+ children. WOW!!! I had no idea how tough this is (great & tough) so know that I am praising God for you!

Until tomorrow...
Much love from Ukraine.

PS: Kelly & Jennifer I vacuum sealed the cookies you made for us before we left and we just ate them (vacuum sealed for freshness) anyway, the kids loved them and they were like a little taste of love from home, so thanks! :P

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!! (from Kayla)

Hi Dottie: Thanks for keeping an eye on the homefront. I am glad you had a good time at the Women's Retreat. Kade is really ready to play with David, too. Hopefully we will see you guys in 7-10 days!!!!
Hi Susan: Thanks so much for your faithful posts. I miss your smiling face too! Where is Jan? Is she doing good? Is she going to the retreat with you this weekend? You guys are going to have great fun!!! Happy Scrappin!
Alikia May: Sure do miss you guys too! How was the cruise?? Do you feel rested & relaxed? how did Beanie do?
Cathy: Thank you dear friend for the faithful prayers. We have felt them. Before we left, Ginny gave us some of those silver crosses that are on the Lord's table several times each year. She said I am sure you have a million of these, but I want you to keep these in your pockets while you gone. They will remind you that people are praying for you. And I can't tell you how many times I have reached in my pocket, just today even, and thought of everyone at home taking the time & thought to pray with us. Wow! It is very humbling. But those crosses have reminded us to pray for y'all, too. So thank you again, dear friend.
Flurry's: Thanks for the posts, too! How is Caroline? Leslie, are you getting any sleep? Kade misses seeing Cooper.
I hope I didn't miss anyone who posted yesterday. Sorry if I did. But thank you to EVERYONE for praying for us. It is the mercy of God through your intercession that sustains us. Thank you!

Well here is my (Kayla) perspective on the last 24 hours. I woke up this morning sooooo excited I could barely sleep (and those of you that know me, know that I am a SLEEPER and a late-sleeper, at that!) We started the day by going to the notary office to draft letters to apply for passports for the children.

UKRAINIAN TRIVIA: It is perfectly normal for you to have a "office cat" that can wander on its own about your lobby amongst your customers and if your office opens at 9:30, then go ahead and arrive at 9:35, pretend like your not late (because in Ukraine you're not!). Crazy!

Anyway, then we went to have lunch with some good ol Baptist missionaries. What a joy this was!!!! Totally God coordinated! We had to have a substitue translator for court last week, our normal substitue translator was having some pregnancy difficulties. Our substitute substitute, Sveta, works for these American missionaries here in Ukr. She was soooo nervous about meeting us before we had court, that she asked Aubery & Cheryl (her employers, the missionaries, who let her off for the day to come to court with us) what she should talk to us about. Aubrey said, "Ask them where they're from, who knows they may even be from Oklahoma." (Aubrey is from around the Choteau area, up by Tulsa) Well when she got home, she couldn't wait to tell him that in fact we were from Oklahoma!!! We had a great visit at their house today. It was so nice to have a conversation with others. We don't have real conversations with anyone else other than the 3 of us. So this was such a blessing for us and for them, too. They have been here in Ukraine for about 1 year. And Scott and I were just talking the other night about how God is using this experience of living in another culture for a month to develop a deep appreciation for those who are called by God to live in another culture for extended amounts of time to further the Kingdom. I was having a conversation with our other subs. tranlator the other day, it gets confusing, I know, but anyway, I was talking about the gmother and my concerns about how she lied to us about going without us to meet with the children. And you have to understand that this culture is post-communism/socialism, so she says to me, "sometimes you have to "pay off" the gmothers." And I said, "I WILL NOT PAY OFF ANYONE FOR MY CHILDREN!, you have GOT to be kidding me." She said in this culture, you just tell people what they want to hear, so you can get what you want." I told her that I would not do that because then I would be lying just like the gmother did, and I am not going to do that. She just sort of shrugged me off. But as Scott & I were pillow-talking that night, we were talking about this and how these are the types of things that you don't know about before you come to another country. When you visit a country for a short amount of time (2 weeks or less) you really don't experience the sub-culture or dynamics of the people. But as we have lived here for going on a month now, we have seen first hand this "way of life". The other interesting thing about this culture is the expectation of gifts. If you are paid to do a job, at the end of the job in addition to your money, you expect a gift. And sometimes they drop BIG HINTS about the gift that is expected. BIG HINTS. As S&I were talking we said, "How can anyone in this culture accept the ultimate Gift of Jesus?" Such an amazing gift, so freely given, and yet if it is not on their "expected gift" radar screen, they can't see it. Things such as this are helping us to understand the heart & struggles of a missionary to this place and others around the world. Scott has a cousin who is a missionary to India, and I don't think we fully understand all of the things she encounters there that can't really be verbalized. But we have been praying for her with a new fervor. Same thing for Aubrey & Cheryl that we met today. Such obedient, struggling servants for the King. WOW!!!! We were so thankful for the afternoon with them and they truly have hearts for God's will in their lives. Please take a second right now to pray for them. They need to be renewed in the Spirit, they need friends for their children, Godly good friends, they need open hearts to the Word. I just realized that we will give them our crosses that Ginny gave us for our pockets. It will remind them that you are praying for them. Their translator, Sveta the one who went to court with us, said to them the other day, "Why has no one come to my village before to tell me about Jesus?" She earnestly wanted to know. When we think of "untouched" places on the earth, we think of remote jungles in Africa. This girl is 23 years old, and has NEVER heard, nor anyone else in her village heard, the name of Jesus. Jeremy B. if you are reading, let's get some mission trips scheduled to this country, pronto, please :)

We went to the orphanage again today from 3-6. We had a good time with the kids. As we were about to leave, Dima was sing-songing in Russian, "I am so happy I am leaving this place with my family tomorrow!" And then Scott said, "Me, too!" So he began to sing, "And Papa too!" What a sweet gift! The kids are die-hard Uno fans now. This is a great game for teaching numbers and colors. I told our subs. translator who is also a kindergarten teacher that I would leave the game for her to use with her students. So we'll have to get a new Uno set when we get home so we can continue this fun game. Anya was wonderful today. She came right up to me hugs, kisses and laughter! She is doing great, she even told Dima . She has Scott on her radar screen and will ask Papa for help with stuff and will go to him and sit in his lap, etc. Dima is his usual loving self to all of us. Pray for Kade, he is struggling with wanting to love on Anya, but I am not for sure that Anya is quite for sure how to love him back right now. I keep telling him to give her another month at home with us and she will come around. Pray for his patience and Anya's opening heart. Oh I wish you could have seen Anya & Dima today. They have faithfully, each day, been marking off the days on the calendar that I made for them. When we first started this, it seemed like such a long time. But here we are the BIG DAY is upon us. They were so happy! I asked them if they were scared, they both said no. I asked them if they were happy to be going and they both said an emphatic YES! And Anya said today, I am American. I will tell you of a Divine Intervention that happened on Dima's birthday. As the gmother was leaving the orphanage, she stopped the Dir. and told her that she was having second thoughts. The Dir. looked her in the eye and said, "Do not hold these children back from this family. They are a good family and A&D will be very loved. They should not live their life in an orphanange. Let them go." WOW!!! God putting people in the right place at the right time. I think her words comforted the gmothers heart (and as angry as I am with her), I am glad she was comforted. Dima told two of his teachers, "I love my grandmother, but now I have a FAMILY, and I want to go with my family. " The burdens in this boys heart make me ache. Such big stuff to deal with, but I know that God knows everything about him and will give him the strength he needs to bear all of this.

I can't not wait to get home. We say the word "home" now with such longing in our hearts. I did not realize all that "home" means to us. It means you guys! Not just our bed with our sheets, but our friends & family. If I haven't said it before, let me say it now, "thanks for being "home" for us!" As Scott mentioned earlier, we are wearing thin. We are at the end of ourselves and are having to be totally sustained by God.

Well, I guess I better close. This is a really long rambling and I am not sure I made much sense.

UKRAINIA TRIVIA #2 for this post: The police here stand on the side of the road with a black/white baton. When they want to stop you they just hold out the baton toward your car and YOU HAD BETTER STOP or else big trouble. They will "fine" you for an offense without writing you a ticket or telling you what offense you committed.

love to you all!
Kayla :P

Aloh(hello in Ukrainian)

Tomorow(Thursday) WE GET TO TAKE THE KIDS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Exciting news isn't it. Today we visited the children. We played inside and made sure that Dima and Anya understood that we are taking them out of the orphanage forever. We met up with a missionary family from Oklahoma. They were so excited to meet with an American family. I felt excited to play with their kids, Lindsey and Camden. We made paper airplanes and played video games together.

Dima and Anya are really excited about coming to America and having a family. We are really excited about tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the comments.

Kade :)

p.s. Emily, the animals we saw at the zoo are a two humped camel, lion, tiger, birds, bears, elephants, hippos, eagles, owls, monkeys, turtles, llamas, and the fish we didn't have time for.

p.s.s. Tony and Zack, thanks for the encouragement and updates.

Tuesday April 25th

Since they don't have subway maps I took a picture and printed my own...American ingenuity (and a digital camera)

Below, air hockey fun for all!

Blowing bubbles with "Hooba Booba" bubble gum :)
Mini Golf - a first.
"Jumping, Jumping, Jumping"... and sliding.

It seems like a long time since we last posted, but I'm pretty much losing track of the time now. I guess we are wearing down a little. I will do my best in my tired state to fill you in on all the happenings. God, please give me a second wind.

Let's see. I believe the last news we shared was about Dima' birthday. A lot has happened since then. No more news from the grandmother, which is probable good. We don't know for sure if we will see her again before we leave for home, but are certain (with God's hand) that she will not contest the adoption.

Back to the fun stuff. The last few days have been wonderful, except for the weather. One day, we went to a place that had ice skating, bowling, mini golf, and arcade games. Bowling was closed, ice skating too expensive and difficult, so we chose mini golf and games. Golf was actually rather difficult, but it was wonderfully fun for all of us. We also played air hockey. Kade enjoyed a skateboarding game and Dima and Anya were race car drivers for a few minutes. Kayla got on the internet while we were there and showed Dima and Anya their pictures on our blog and they thought that was amazing! Just another magic moment. Yeah God!

One day we went to a park with slides, swings, etc. The hands down favorite though was the inflateable slide. We told the kids they could go "jumping, jumping, jumping" on an inflateable we saw at the zoo, but it was "not working" and then taken down, so they didn't get to do it. So when they saw the slide, they were of course very excited. They climbed, and jumped, and slid, with some acrobatics I might add, and had an amazing time. Now they want to go jumping, jumping, jumping (their words) everyday.

This same day, we found out that 2 bombs went off at one or two grocery stores in Kharkov. Before entering the grocery stores here, you have to check your bags in little lockers to prevent theft and for security. Someone placed the bombs in the lockers and several people were injured and some may have been killed. You all may have heard about this already. Of course we are all fine, but a little uncomfortable about being so close to terrorist activity. We actually were at a grocery store near the park and checked our bags, and went in and shopped at a grocery store that could have been a target for these bombings. They reportedly closed down many stores around the city for a time because they believed there were a total of 12 bombs, though no others were found or detonated. Thank God for his protection!

Let's see, yesterday we tried to find a park that we could just play on the free equipment. It seems though that they want to charge for everything here. We did do a little playing even though it was cold, windy and rainy. Finally we went back to our apartment with the kids and let them try on their new shoes and taught them how to play UNO while we ate Pringles. This was of course great and they caught on quickly to UNO and the Pringles. Oh, yes we had to stop for ice cream before heading back to the orphanage. We'll have to do better on nutrition when we get home. For those of you who are worried though, we do bring them bananas at least every other day. Dad, I think of you when we eat ice cream, but I sure do miss Braum's. I also miss frozen custard, and all of our familiar places for that matter.

Today, we went back to the huge market for the last time. We went by ourselves without a translator and we rode the subway. Wow aren't we adventurous. The subway cost us 20 cents per person round trip. Much cheaper than a taxi. It was fun and we finished our clothes shopping for the kids, at least to get them home. Kade is now feeling sick and Anya has a runny nose and a cough. We went to the Orphanage around 4:00pm and played. Anya required almost no warmup time and was as happy as could be, despite her cold. We played soccer, and had a big UNO game with all of us and another girl at the Orphanage. It was great interaction and Kayla does a great job showing Dima and Anya how to "get into the game" with animated faces when playing a skip or a draw 4 card. It was a joy and fun all around. I felt sorry for Kade who was dragging a little, but hope he feels better tomorrow.

Well that is all I can think of for now. Tomorrow we are getting up early to go to the notary office and make application for passports. This should give us a head start for Thursday; the BIG day!! After we are done at the notary office, we will have lunch with some missionaries from Oklahoma who are about 10 minutes away from us here. This should be interesting and a nice break from all of the foreigners. Wait, we are the foreigners here. Anyway, you get the idea. I hope this is making sense as I am getting tired. It is about 10:00pm here and we have had a long day.

Now I really better shut up and post some pictures!

Love to all and thank you for your prayers!

Scott, Kayla, Kade, Dima and Anya

Birthday fun starts out with a suprise. :(, :)

Hello family and friends,

Dima's bithday did start out with a surprise, but more of a suprise for Kayla, Kade and I. When we went to the orphanage to pick up the kids, we found our translator there with "the grandmother" She came for Dima's birthday. Great for Dima, but she totally disregarded our wishes that she see them only with us. Of course it was confusing for both kids, especially Anya who was very distant. Please pray for this Grandmother, that she would do the right thing, that she will encourage the kids to love us and that she will not try to stand in the way of our adoption.

After this shaky start, we had a wonderful day together. The weather was sunny and beautiful. We started off at McDonald's with ice cream for desert. The zoo was great, the kids were happy and smiles were all around. We will of course post pictures, but it will probably be tomorrow. Anya and Dima didn't get their usual nap time so I'm sure they slept like rocks. I'm sure it will be a time they remember forever. Kayla and I enjoyed so much watching all three of the kids get to experience this outing together. My favorite part was when Anya saw the 2 humped camels and came running back screaming something of excitement in Russian; the look on her face was priceless.

Love to all,
Scott


Yesterday, we took Dima out for his birthday and of course, Anya came too. We went to “MacDonald’s” for lunch and what do you know, there is a school party at "MacDonald’s". So it was really crowded, but Ronald McDonald was there and Dima and Anya enjoyed it. Afterward we went to the zoo and saw everything from birds to bears. The hippos and the elephants were stinky. My favorites were the camels with 2 humps!! There was an area with rides, etc. We rode a little train that we all liked. We also enjoyed the funny mirrors. All three of us kids had the choice between a toy and a pony ride. Dima chose a toy eagle; Anya and I chose the pony ride.

Thanks again for all the comments.

Kade:)

p.s. Daroux, you won't mind if just Anya and Mom visit your spa will you?

hello from Kade

Today we got to take them out and we got to visit them at our normal visiting time!!!!!!!! I felt really happy and joyful. Dima, Papa, and I had a fun day of soccer. And there is a song that Dima likes to sing, it goes "yetebellyublue i love you" etc. At an outdoor market we got Dima & Anya sunglasses and pajamas(which they really liked).

Thanks for all the comments.

Kade :)

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.

My perspective on a great day!

Hi folks (everyone we know and don't know that are reading this thing!)

Hi Brandi, nice to meet you, I'll look forward to seeing you at GASC this year! Thanks for your prayers.

Hi Cathy: Thanks for the news on Norman. No, we hadn't heard, but felt is was coming. That man has worked hard for Jesus! I am anxious to meet the new Sr. minister. How old is he? Sorry about the donughts, but sounds like you made the police & fire dept. VERY HAPPY! I love that AD & KH are friends. I don't know what to do about the post office. Love ya!

Nicole: God uses children to tell us we need to adopt sometimes! LISTEN TO HIM...you'll be glad you did!

Kristi: Have fun on your trip. We are so ready to be home, we can hardly stand it. If we were able to take A&D today, we would be outta here. But we wait. There is a reasons we are here. Scott is two computers down from me talking to a foreign exchange student about what God is doing in our lives. So there is purpose still.

We really had such a great day! We met the children at the orpahange at 10:00 am. They were so excited to see us coming so early in the morning. The teachers got them dressed for a special day. We took the kids to a photography place to get their passport photos made. Then we went to a new restaurant called Adriano's (now are food choices with English menus is up to 4). The kids were soooooo excited. On our way to the restaurant we bought nuts from a street vendor which they really enjoyed. When we arrived at the restaurant they were so happy. Their eyes were just full of wonder. They said the restaurant was the most beautiful that they had ever seen. They kept calling it a cafe'. Soo cute! Then we ordered the pizza and we waited. In the orphanage the younger children don't really see the food being prepared, they just walk in from the playground and it is sitting on their desks. So it was very difficult for the children to WAIT for the food. Then when it finally arrived, they weren't quite for sure how to eat it. I will post a picture. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. They were so excited to be eating PIZZA, and yet weren't quite sure what to do with it. We finally showed them how to pick up a piece and eat it. It took some practice, but they got it pretty quickly. Since we get to take the children out for tomorrow for shopping, we asked Dima what he wanted to eat and he said, "Pizza!" and rubbed his tummy. Silly boy!

The kids really had a fun morning just looking around at everything. Then we had to drop them off at 1:00 because they nap between 1-3. We were back at the orphanage at around 3:30 and they were so happy to see us. Seeing us twice really helped reduce Anya's "warm-up" period. It was good. She ran right up to me and gave me the biggest squeeze yet! She is such a good girl. Yesterday when we went to the market, I kept looking for sidewalk chalk, but couldn't find any. Today, our friend Julia, found some. So we took it to the kids and they were estatic. These children at the orphanage make hopscotch boards & pictures with pieces of rock or broken tiles (all white). I wanted to see some color, some rainbows and pretty flowers. Yesterday we took some jumpropes to the childrens groupas. Today Anya worked on her jumproping skills. She successfully attempted at least 3 good jumps. She was so excited and we were excited for her! She asked me to french braid her hair again today. This is something special as most of the girls wear pigtails or nothing at all. So after i did her hair, her two friends asked if I would do theirs. So we have three beautiful little girls with french braids at the orphanage right now. It was precious. Then Anya fixed my hair into the TIGHTEST pigtails I have ever had (yes, that's right A. Wanda, they were even tighter than yours!). It was great.

ADDISON OLIPHANT: YOU PURCHASED 120 HAIRBOWS & SCRUNCHIES FOR THE GIRLS IN THE DETSKEY DOMA, KHARKIV UKRAINE WITH YOUR $. You made some girls very happy!!!!!!!!

Dima was having a hard time today sharing us. He said to one girl, my mama & papa come to visit me, why do you come to bother them when they came for me. This is a very different sub-culture for these children. They know NOTHING about the whole adoption process, and when they see foreigners come to the orphanage the youngers ones yell, "Pick me, Pick me!" The older ones just watch with wide eyes to see who will be "picked" They don't know and it just breaks my heart. So, anyway I had to have a "talk" with Dima. We are HIS mama & papa & Kade, but we can have many friends. He is my son, and Jiana can be my friend. After a few minutes of pouting, he understood. Then he cuddled. My favorite part. We have a saying in our family that after a tough time or "disciplining" we "hug it out", so I got to "hug it out" with Dima without him even realizing that this is family tradition. Good day.

Well now we are at the internet cafe and then we are on our way to dinner. Today we ate at the new pizza place and it was really good. Right next door to the pizza place was a place called the "Potato House". We thought we would try it tonight. Although we were told it is a mexican restaurant. Oh well, we up for adventure this evening.

Hope you guys are having a great day! Know we look forward to seeing your smiling faces as soon as we can!
Kayla :)

A day OUT with Dima & Anya

Anya as MaMa's hair stylist. And another sneaking into the picture.
Anya's first pizza!
Dima's first pizza!
Height comparison for Grandma.
Fried Ukrainian food at "the" Market

Hello everyone,

This is Kade speaking. Yeah God, we got to take them out of the orphanage today!! Today we took Dima & Anya to lunch at the pizzaria. Dima enjoyed his pizza! I really enjoyed it because Dima and Anya got to eat pizza for the first time. We took them back to the orphanage and got to see them again and play with them this afternoon also. I really enjoyed getting to see them almost all day.

Thank you for all the comments.

Kade:)

Hi, (from Scott)

Well now for some more detailed news. The market we went to yesterday wore us out. We were told that it spans about 2 kilometers in diameter. Wow! it was huge. We did great though, getting enough clothes for Dima and Anya to at least make it home. We would like to get a few more things, but we don't have to. We even tried some of the food at the market. It was some kind of meat mixture fried in sort of a eggroll wrap and deep fried. They had many things inside these fried shells; chicken legs, chicken, cabbage, other veggies, etc. Very interesting, but authentic Ukrainian food. We had a great time. We were there from 10:30 until 2:30 and we didn't even get through half of it. Kayla and I are posting simultaneously again to save time, so I am sorry if our comments are redundant. We took Dima and Anya to get passport photos today. It was so fun just to be with them out of the orphanage. The best part I think, besides seeing them eat pizza for the first time was the taxi rides. The 5 of us and our translator packed into a large taxi by Ukraine standards and we enjoyed looking at all of the construction equipment and other sites, then Anya started mocking Dima's every word and action and then Kade chimed in for a great show. The only thing interupting the "mocking" was belly laughs from all of us. I think even the taxi driver was amused. I think it was the best time to date in Ukraine. I am looking forward to tomorrow when we will take the kids for some mild shopping and lunch again. Dima wants pizza again, but Anya doesn't. :) Either way it will be great. Then on friday we will get to spend the entire day with them to celebrate Dima's birthday. Yeah God. How will we be able to take them back to the orphanage after that?!?

Oh by the way, who was the person at the office all by yourself crying from the blog? We want to know who you are. Thanks for reading and posting. We found another translator who helped us in court on Monday. She works for a church here in Kharkov. She gave us the names of the minister and his wife and we are going to meet them for dinner in the next few days. God is so good at organizing things like this. It is so nice to meet people like this, especially half way around the world. By the way where is all of the down time we were supposed to have. It seems we are just as busy here as in OKC.??? Oh well, it helps the days go faster and reminds us that God is watching us, leading us, helping us, and loving us.

Well that's enough for now from me. We'll talk again soon. Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Enjoying every moment of being a dad of three,

Scott

Sorry...

Sorry guys...not much news today. We are so tired. We spent the morning & afternoon at a HUGE market and then late afternoon evening with the children. Then we had a meeting with the translator to try to clear some things up and now guess where we are going to dinner?!?! That's right, good ol' McD's. Woo hoo!

Fortunately we get to take the children out tomorrow morning for passport photos. That will be fun!

We will post more tomorrow. We've got to hurry and eat before we fall over asleep!

Love you all!
The Thompsons :P

From Scott after court... Hallellujah!

Becoming a Mom of 3 today!
You never outgrow legos.
Cotton Candy clowns at the Circus.

Well court is over and all I can say is I'm excited as can be, and I can see the five of us at the end of the tunnel in America. Yeah God! Yeah God! Yeah God! I am actually going to keep this pretty short. Just let me say I am excited again and that we are on the down hill side of our journey. We get to take Dima and Anya out for Dima's birthday all day. Yeah God again!

Yes we still have some obstacles and could use your prayers for those. Thank you to all of you who have posted and I encourage you other readers out there (You know who you are.) to post also. We would love to hear from you. I don't know if it has been said yet, but we set up this blog so that all of you at home could follow us and know what's going on with our journey. However, it has turned out to be a huge blessing for us to read all of your encouraging words and news. Plus it is just really neat to know that there are so many people who are interested in our journey. Thanks again.

Love, Scott

This is Kade

This is the 8:00 news; oops! sorry. Dear everybody, here in Kharkov it's about dinner time. Guess what! We're going to McDonald's(again). Today the five of us stayed inside the orphanage. Dad and I helped Dima build his legos that Dad picked out. That was really fun! We also got approved by the court today!!!!! All my friends, please send me your email addresses.

Thank you for all the comments.

Kade:)

p.s. Addi, your hair looks nice.

p.s.s. Meryl we need to schedule a tennis match when we get back.

It's Official (Kinda)

Today was a big day. We had court at 10:00 am (although the jurors arrived at 11:00). We were prepared for the worst, but it really wasn't too bad. We were asked about our ability to take care of 3 children. We were asked if we had heard about the woman who murdered her child from Russia and if we were suprised to see a woman for a judge (there was an Italian couple who was in court previously and they were surprised by this.) Then there was conversation regarding the documents and conversation regarding the children and how much we care for each other. We were asked if we understood A&D's health conditions and could we provide them with healthcare. We really were prepared for the worst and it was over in about 45 minutes. The judge said she wished us many good wishes for our family and hopes that we would be happy. And then off we went to lunch.

Please pray for us, we are really having some difficulty with our translator. There are so many things getting lost in translation that makes this a very difficult process. I have been praying that I could be Christ-like to her, but the woman is driving me nuts! So you might pray for her, too, 'cause I am, for sure, not doing a very good job of serving as a witness!

We met a girl today who translates for a Baptist Missionary couple. They are interested in adoption from Ukraine, so we are hoping to have dinner with them later in the week. And tomorrow we are going back to the HUGE outdoor market. We are excited to go back and are going to try to finish buying A&D their clothes and other items. We are on the hunt for some more soccer balls, these boys need balls of any kind to play with, otherwise they just hang on the playground with nothing to do. Addi O. - I found a special purpose for the $ you sent. Dima's teacher says that there are 6 girls in his class and they do not have any hairbows for them. And let me tell you, hairbows for girls are VERY IMPORTANT for these girls. I have seen some girls where the tops of their heads look like a Christmas present! So anyway, she asked if we could find some bows for them. I told her a very special girl in America sent some money for a special reason and this was it! I know you will be so happy to know that you are blessing the heads of these little girls. I am looking for the bows tomorrow at the market for you and will try to get pictures of the girls with them on. This will make those girls so happy!

After lunch we came home, changed clothes and headed to the orphanage. We asked the director if we could take the children out for shopping and for Dima's (Nate) birthday on Friday. She said, "yes." We are so happy. So we will take them Wed & Thurs for a couple of hours for shopping, and then we will plan the zoo & ICE CREAM for our special boys birthday! Dima is so ready for ice cream he is having delusions. I pulled out a baby wipe the other day and he sniffed it and said it smells like ice cream. Dad, it will be real important for you to have your car pointed to Braums for this boy! He is a true Thompson! Dima played well with S&K today. They built legos. I am reminded that it doesn't matter how the boy (man), they will never outgrow legos. The 3 of them built and Army Medical Truck complete with medical staff. It was really cute. Today Dima asked us to take his toys with us. Normally, he rushes to put his toy/present in his cubby or his desk. Today he said that Maxim & Dennis always break his toys after we leave. So we took them with us and will bring them back tomorrow. Dima is precious and has such a good heart.

Anya was great today. She really is bonding well to me. She will come sit with me and pretty much stays by my side most of the time. She is making good eye contact and really likes our "giddy up" time. Almost every day, we bring the children a banana. Well imagine Anya sitting on my lap facing me, with her banana peeled, ready to eat. Just at the moment she is about to take a bite, I bounce my legs so she can't get the banana in her mouth. She belly laughs and then she tries to beat me by getting the banana in her mouth before I start bouncing my legs again. It is a hoot. We will have to get it on videotape. Anya & I played house today. I have not played house in 25+ years, so I had to reach way back in my brain and remember how to do this. My world has been StarWars and legos for so long, it was a stretch for me. I managed and we had a good time. I made dinner for my pretend grandchildren (her babies), apparently pretend meatloaf & cheese is very good and we had a lovely time. A few days ago, I french-braided her hair. Oh the simple joys of mothering a girl! She loves it and likes to feel the smooth braids. Yesterday, my clip was falling out of my hair and she wanted to fix my hair for me. What a joy! It's a good life!

We can finally see coming home. Just a few days ago, it seemed as if we had been here forever and were destined to communicate with our family & friends through email for all eternity. But there is light at the end of this tunnel! Yeah God! We have enjoyed our time here, but are soooo ready to get home that we are just "chomping at the bit". We are ready to get these kids to the lake and start our summer. I really can't wait for all of us to speak the same language.

I think Scott is going to post a few pictures from the circus yesterday and from visiting the kids today. We now get two computers when we come to the internet cafe. He has work, I have work, and then we both want to post to the blog, that taking turns is cumbersome.

We love you and pray that you are doing well. Hope you are enjoying sunny, warm weather. It is still about 45'ish around here. Sometimes cold & rainy, sometimes cold & sunny.

UKRAINIAN TRIVIA: If you can't find a parking space on the side of the road, it is perfectly acceptable for you to drive up on the curb, honk at the pedestrians to move, put your car in park, and get on with your business.

My perspective...Happy Resurrection Sunday!

We have had a couple of interesting days. We tried to post yesterday but had some technical difficulties so it didn't get uploaded to the blog. Sorry!

Easter in Ukraine is not celebrated until next weekend. So things are pretty much the same to look around. But we have joy in our hearts as we celebrate today, the Risen King! We started the day out with a bible study and then had lunch hat McDonalds. And now we are off to the circus. Then we have a meeting re: court tomorrow and then off to the orphanage to see my babies! After court, we are hoping to be able to take them for some outings.

The other night we had dinner with a real, live Ukrainian family. Remember our substitute translator that we just loved?! Her family lives her in Kharkiv, and so they invited us to dinner. Her aunt & uncle from Germany were there too. So including us, there were over 9 people for dinner. They were such a loving, gracious family and we felt so honored to be invited into their home. It was such a blessing to us. They had lots of questions about America and we in turn inquired about Ukraine. It was a wonderful evening. I took a picture of the table with all of the food on it. We will post that in a few days. I wish they could come have dinner in our home.

Other than than, we are good. We just continue to look forward to your posts everyday. They are such a blessing to us. I have a funny story about Anya that I will have to save for another post when i have more time. Until then, know that we love you guys and appreciate your prayers. Please pass along your prayer requests to us, so that we can be liftin' you!

HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY!!!! Jesus loves you so much that he chose to die for you rather than to live eternity without you!

Love ya! Kayla :)

Ukrainian Trivia: Remember guys with "lines" in their hair? (circa 1986) Scott had "lines" when we first started dating. Well, here the trend never died! I have yet to see a bi-level (mullet) but will keep you posted! :)

An emotional day of a different kind.

Dear ones, (as Granny Moberly used to say)

The kids wore me out today. Not Dima and Anya, but all of the rest. One boy tried to get my attention by crying every time someone touched him or he didn't get the ball. He also tried to be angry at me. It sounded like he was cursing me in Russian, though he was probably only 4. All of the need for attention made me stop and wonder about all of these other children's futures. I don't know what will happen to all these kids, but God did give me a great confirmation in my heart that Dima and Anya are OUR children, and always were, and always will be. That feels so wonderful. There are two other really sweet girls who are probably 8 or 9 years old. They have managed to learn a few english words, so every time we see them they say "hallo" and smile and blush as we walk by. We wonder is there any family with a home for them? Today these girls climbed a small tree near the play area and in unison were shouting Pa Pa, Pa Pa, I... Love... You... to me. Wow, can you imagine how this feels for me or for them?!?! God, please find them a home.

We are going to the circus today. It is the last day of the season, so we won't be able to take Dima and Anya. We tried to get them for a day, but were unable since we haven't gone to court yet. We will enjoy it anyway and take lots of pictures. We should be able to take them several days after court and will try the zoo, parks or whatever we can with them. We will enjoy whatever time we get with just the 5 of us.

Happy Easter to everyone. We are spending an unusual one. We woke up about 8:30am and read the Easter story together, prayed and relished in the thoughts of what God and Jesus did for us so long ago. And how powerful it still is today. We walked to McDonald's for lunch (it's the quickest.) and now it's to the circus. Definitely a day we will not forget for many reasons. Enjoy your day and time with our Savior today.

Scott

ddddddddddddddddddeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr eeeevvvvvvveeerrrrryyyybodyy,

Saturday (at the Orphanage) one of the little kids said "I love you" (in English) because he wanted us to take him home. I felt sad for him because he and his brother got ignored by the other kids.

I am excited to go to the circus today. I hope I enjoy it.

Please pray for me in obeying my parents happily.

Thank you for all of the posts. And no Burton's YOU'RE going DOOOOOOOWWWWWNNNN!!!

Kade:)

Good Friday!

HHHHHHHHHHHHHeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooooo everybodyyyy Yesterday we gave the Orphanage a soccerrrrrrrrr ballssssssssssss. Dima liked kicking one of them to Dad & I. Then the older kids wanted to play soccer with me(wich took a while to under stand). Anya opened up alot today. Dad got her a little dish set (Mom said she ate to many pretend fritters she would burst) lol. Ukrainian Trivia today is you know when you're in Ukraine when you go into a cafe and ask for no smoking and there isn't a nonsmoking section.

Thank you for all the comments.

Kade :)

A feeble attempt at resonding...

Hey Everyone:
I realized that several of you have asked us questions and we have not responded. Your posts are like emails and we haven’t responded to them individually. Sorry about that, and for sure didn’t mean to leave your questions/comments hanging. So here is an attempt to respond to the last two days of posts.
Clint: Glad to hear Logan is growing and that his teeth are coming in. Hang in there, just 6 more weeks of school!
Sherri: Hey Babe! Love what you said about sublime and especially your phrase about being “fleshed out”. How’s TOF planning coming? I’ve been praying for all of the TOF gals. Sure wish I could be there to see those pretty tables.  I am praying for Jamie, too, and know she will do a terrific job! It’s your last “event”…how’s your heart? Hopefully feeling fully obedient and at the center of His will. Love ya! Kade misses you in SS too!
Daisy: Thanks sweet friend for your encouraging words and uplifting scripture reminder.
Ginny: Thanks so much for the prayers dear friend. The first day of sickness I was bummed. The next day I was mad. Today I surrendered. I’m not quite for sure of God’s will in this, but I’m sure there is some purpose. Maybe He will be gracious and let me know it. Are you packing yet? How are Cathy & Caitlin. How fun for you guys to be a new aunt, uncle & cousin. Love ya!
MJ: Thanks for the post. When we set this up, we thought we would be helping everyone keep tabs on us…you know cut down on the phone bills sort of thing. However, this has turned into a HUGE blessing for us. We look forward to checking out the blog everyday to see what friends & family are saying. So thanks!
Tony, Gayle and Abbey: Thank for all of your posts and for the sports update. I appreciate it. Do you think the new coach will be good for OU? I’m glad you liked the flatulence story. It was so funny and we need to remember funny times like that, because Anya had a sad day with a lot of crying yesterday. I think it is particularly hard on her for us to come and go everyday and not just be constant yet. So we are counting the days. Kayla made a calendar for them to cross off each day we come. Because they are both ready to leave the orphanage even though Dima is more vocal about it.
Mom:
Sure hope your dentist appt. went well. When we get back and get the kids added to insurance that will be one of the first stops we make. Dima has a tooth that does not look too good and makes me hurt for him. He doesn’t complain, but it still needs some major attention. Scott & I are debating whether it’s a permanent one or not. He lost one of his front teeth on Monday. It was so dangling and wiggly that I wanted to pull (pull really is too strong of a word) it on Sunday, but our facilitator told me not to do that before court because someone could misconstrue that as abuse. Well…that thought had not crossed my mind. So I just prayed that the poor child wouldn’t choke on it! It finally came out on Monday and he let Scott take a great picture of him without his tooth. I’m sure Scott will post it on the blog.
Regarding travel time, we really don’t have any idea yet. I am sure our plane tickets will have to be changed at least once. We knew that going into this, but had to book return flights home so we didn’t get stopped at every airport security checkpoint between OKC & Kiev.
Regarding their American names, we haven’t told them yet. They have a lot to deal with right now so the nicknames Anya & Dima will stick for a while and then we will integrate their new names on a more consistent basis when we get back. Before we leave, we will tell them they have American names, but we’ll still use their Ukrainian names until it’s best for them to switch over. Hannah, won’t be too hard and Nate, sounds totally different than Dima, so we may go with Nate Dima for a while. Whatever is best for them is what we’ll do. (Gayle I think that answers your question too!)
You asked also about court. Well, I don’t know if you remember me telling you that almost everything we did state side will have to be done here. So in regards to paperwork that is pretty much true, but we also have to go before a judge and officially adopt Anya & Dima. The court date has been changed to Monday, the 17th, which adds a few days to our stay. We figure, best guess, that we should be home sometime around the 5th or 6th of May. We hear court is not really too big of a deal. They ask you questions, you answer honestly, and then they impose the mandatory 10 day waiting period. So we hang here for 10 days. If it wasn’t so expensive, it would be nice to fly home and then come back at the end of 10 days. So to answer Dima’s question about when they get to leave with us, the answer: April 27th looks like it’s the big day.
PS: Tell Dad that we are so proud of him for posting. Miracles never cease… (tee hee)
Hey Corley Family:
We’re excited to hear about new neighbors. You keep telling us how pretty & green everything will be when we get back home, but I just keep imagining you looking out your window at what is now a small jungle that used to be formerly the Thompson’s yard. Let us know if things get too high and we can try to call a lawnmower person & get them to tackle it. Kade misses playing with David, too. He went to a big market yesterday and bought some more Kingdom Knight Legos. He is excited to play Legos with David when we get home.
Hey Amy:
Soooo glad to hear from you. A manicure when you come visit sounds great. So by the intent of a scrapbooking question, am I to assume you’ve started scrapbooking yourself? It would make this cousin mighty proud! Can’t wait to see ya this summer and thanks for your posts!
Addi:
Yes, I have learned Sudoku and I really enjoy it. Thanks! The smoke is still annoying me a little bit. I hope you don't get stung.
Hey Thompson Tribe:
We did check out your blog and love the pictures of you and your precious family at the beach. Your family is just beautiful!!!
Ginny:
Thanks dear friend for your encouraging words. Have you showed JD Kade’s picture on the computer? Kade sure misses him.
Preston:
That's great that you built the DeathStar, blew up Naboo, etc. May the force be with you at StarWars.com Tell Daroux hi!
Cathy:
I'm sad that I missed the Little Donkey's Easter Journey play. I can't wait to meet Kelly, but I won't see her long since I am going into 6th grade. Thanks for writing and tell Robbie & Zack hi.
Heather:
So glad that you are checking up on your big sis, isn’t that what little sisters are for? Glad to hear that Cady is doing well and thriving and that she was able to play with a friend. I know that is a big deal for you & her. I continue to pray for her and you & Anthony & the new baby. What are some names you have picked??? Can you send your home address to my email at home yeahGod@inetfamily.us Our computer crashed and I don’t have it anymore. Thanks! I totally understand about the bacon deal. When I was pregnant with Kade, all I craved were Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic Cheeseburgers with the onions & the pickles. Haven’t had one since December 95 when he was born, but I still remember how good they tasted. Something about the bacon! Yum-O During this “pregnancy” all I can think about is this restaurant at home called Ted’s. They have the best fajitas and I am missing them in a bad way! The food here is not too bad, but sends my stomach in a quiver when I think about eating something with which I’m not too familiar. Hence, the temporary restoration of our eating of McD’s, it at least tastes like home. Glad you are doing well. Keep rested and keep your feet up!
Boones:
Thanks for the prayers. How is Bill’s dad? How are you Florence Nightingale Boone of OKC?
Hey Oliphants:
Que’ Pasa??? Glad to hear you are alive and well in Mexico. Drowning victims, exercise on the beach, Mexican Wal-Mart and cliff divers…sounds pretty interesting to me. Hope you guys arrive home safely. I know the girls will be looking forward to seeing you. I have thought about Addi & Anya playing at the lake this summer. Wonder how they will communicate? Our new translator (thank God for her) keeps telling us that Anya is pretending to cook, or playing house, etc. I forgot what it was like to play like a girl. My world has been legos, magnets, tree climbing and Star Wars for the last 10 years. I will have to try to think wayyyy back to girly pretend to help foster her playtime. Thanks for the prayers, we miss you too. How is your aunt?
Allison:
You need to get to work and quit checking our blog when you are supposed to be working! Ha, just kidding dear friend. Miss you too. I have a couple of KK’s questions for you that I’ll email you privately. I have been thinking about your words of A&D running through the hall at home. Such a beautiful picture in my mind. Thanks for sharing that! How did your hand dr. appt go?
Susy W: How are you doing??? Have you been coming to scrapbooking on Tues. morning? How is your mom? In regards to the grandmother, we are not for sure. I have asked her to provide me with a list of important things that the children might want to know later, she seemed receptive to this, so I hope she provides something. But ongoing contact will really have to be discerned later. Whatever is best for A&D. Thanks for offering to help with clothes and the like. We really can’t gauge sizes as European sizes are different than American sizes. So we may just have to send their measurements. I am sick in bed again today, but am at least strong enough to type so that is my job for the day. Scott decided he would go back to the market today with measurements in hand and try to find these children something to wear when they leave the orphanage. What a man! So, I’ll have to let you know. And regarding having things in place when we return, I can’t think of anything at the moment, but will let you know if something pops into this brain of mine! Have a good day!
Kimmy:
Glad to hear that you are sharing the blog with the boys. You know me, I’m all about life learning, and this is definitely education at its best. Have you looked up Ukraine on the map with them yet? Ukraine wasn’t even its own country until 1991, when they separated (along with some other countries) from Russia. Where we are, they primarily speak Russian, but if you were to head west, they speak mostly Ukrainian. It’s a really interesting country. Glad to hear the store transitioned to Jenn well. I know that you are excited about all the new things she is going to do and I am excited as well. When I am well, I will be going back to that market and I will be looking for you the white mesh shirt. Don’t deny it…you secretly want it. Miss ya!
Molly:
Thanks for reporting on the TN cousins. I read Stephens blog right before we left and he had only one post. Sounds like that boy is having the adventure of his life! He is far more adventuresome than me! But his sense of adventure is definitely accredited to your family’s “mission spirit”, so that Stephen is able to have an international awareness that many his age don’t have. Sure can’t wait to see you guys this summer. Did you say you were coming in June or July? Do you have the dates nailed down yet? And I can’t wait to hear about the scrapbooking Moscow missionary. I have some product we can send her that might help her in her efforts. Do you have an address for her?
Norman children: Hope you guys are well. Thanks for the post. Joshaua, Kade should have answered your Europe vs. Asia question by now. Have you all looked Ukraine up on the map? You guys will have a good time getting to know your new cousins. God has prepared them since the beginning of time to be a part of our family. Happy Resurrection Sunday and Happy Spring.
Whew! Well that better be it for now. I know this isn’t responding to everyone, but I will continue to try my best. Know that we love ALL of you and continuously thank the Lord for each & everyone of you! I think it’s fun to see who has done this blog thing before and who is doing this for the first time. Hey Scott’s dad posted & I heard through email grapevine that my aunt & uncle in Tulsa even got online to check out this blog thing. This crazy internet really has changed the way we live & travel. Thanks for taking this journey with us!
PS: Here is my Ukrainian trivia for the day. Since I have not left the apartment (except for brief moments of stupidity) in the last few days due to my illness, this “trivia” happened a few days ago. Actually the same day as the white mesh shirt incident, but it is so good that I thought I would save it for today. Okay, here it is…
You know you are in Ukraine when…you are sitting in McD’s eating a Big Mac and you hear Diana Ross’s “Upside Down” (circa 1984) on the loudspeaker and look across to the kids party room and watch the McD’s worker lead the children in a lovely rendition of “The Chicken Dance” Did we really leave America???
PS: Alicia: you asked me if the bunny rabbit fingers in photographs were a universal goofy thing or if Kade taught Dima to do that. Well the answer is…Kade has carried the bunny rabbit fingers across the Atlantic to his brother. So now, future generations in our family will not be without the fine, long-standing tradition, of bunny rabbit fingers in their photographs. Kind of brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?

Yesterday, Anya had a tough day. She had a caretaker that kept instilling some fear about coming to America in her, right in front of us!!! Our translator finally told her that this was not appropriate. Why would you do that to a little girl?! Anya began to cry. Then she talked about how her Babushka promised to come visit for her birthday. Up until yesterday, the girl didn't even know when her birthday was! This must have weighed heavily on her heart throughout the night. I told her I was sorry that a promise to her had been broken. I told her we were going to do something special on her birthday, that her dad & I would keep our promise and then I had the translator ask if there was room in her heart to love Scott, Kade & I. She said yes. She let me comfort her a little yesterday, but it will take some time for her heart to heal. I don't know what is the right way to do this, but it just makes my heart hurt that this little girl remembers a promise made to her over a year ago! Kade barely remembers me telling him to brush his teeth from day to day. (JK) Her heart will heal with time, prayer and working through it. Pray for her today, please. Dima on the other hand is gung-ho and ready to let the doors hit him in the rear! He would go today if the documents and plane tickets were ready. Please pray for me, too. I am still not 100% and am wondeirng what is the purpose to all this. There is a small chance that court could be tomorrow, friday. We are praying. Also we are asking if we could spend some time with the kids this weekend to go shopping for them. Pray we are able to, it would be good for all of us.

Dahs Vedanya (Good-bye in Russian)

A really good picture of Kade!
Dima in gym class.

Anya finally opening up :)

Our trip to the orphanage was different today. Kayla did not go because she was not feeling well. She is better today though. Another difference was our translator. Our regular translator went back to Kiev to take care of some things, so we got a substitute that we had met last week, but she is pregnant and for some reason is in the hospital so her sister ended up translating for us today. She did an excellent job and was very helpful. During our visit we found out that Dima didn’t know what day of April his birthday was on so I told him the 21st. I also asked him what he would like to do for his birthday (thinking this would be an easy question), but he said he didn’t know. Eventually he said, “I would like to play with you.” Well as you can imagine this made my heart feel good for me but sad for him realizing that he had never really celebrated his birthday before. He will feel celebrated this year and every year from now on. After talking about Dima’s birthday, Anya asked, “When is my birthday?” She didn’t even know what month. I told her it was June 19th. Rest assured she will not forget her birthday ever again either. Just one more thing we can do to make these kids know they are special and that we and God love them very much. Wow what a day! It was fun and we seemed to be able to communicate quite a bit with Dima and Anya today. And this was so exciting. The funniest thing about our visit today was when somebody farted. Yes somebody farted and I wasn’t sure who, but I assumed it was Kade (knowing his track record). Whoever it was, Anya was the animated one about it. She started waving her hand in front of her face and holding her nose and said something like “shooey”. Apparently it was so bad that she got up and walked away while still holding her nose and making an awful face. It was so funny, that I laughed harder than I have in a while. After all we’ve said about Anya being shy and coming out of her shell, it was quite funny to see her act this way. And furthermore, Anya was the one who perpetrated the “shooey”.
It looks like our court date is actually next Monday. Add 3 days to our stay, but 3 more days is nothing compared to a lifetime with these wonderful kids. So I guess we’ll accept the date. :) We are going shopping for the kids tomorrow and are going to try to figure out sizes. We will let you know as best we can what they are for those of you who have asked us for sizes.

Well I'm running out of time. I will try to get some more pictures up before I go. Love to all!

Scott

p.s. Kayla is not feeling well, please pray for her.

April 10, 2006

Dima and Kade sort Uno cards.
Kayla and Anya playing that hand clapping game?
Our first McDonald's experience in Kharkov.
Kade enjoying his first train ride.
Uno pizza to go. Giftwrapped?

Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooo frommmmmmmmmm Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade
Yesterday when we went to the Orphanage we played in Anya’s coat room instead of Dima’s (he was pretty upset but he understood). Anya opened up a lot more yesterday. Mom found out what the kids at the Orphanage eat, they eat dried oatmeal. Well today we slept in because our paper work is done. Today we went to the Orphanage and played outside. I picked out a baseball bat & baseball. He liked to play with the baseball gear! When it was time to go, we thought a taxi was our taxi but it was our friends then our taxi drove up it was tinted windows, race car flag, and the driver had B.O. we wanted to get out of the car.
Thank you for all the comments.
Preston: At one internet café they had Empire at war & Battlefront 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “Brother from another mother”.
Josh & Emily: Ukraine is in Europe. Please post again.
Your friend
Kade :)
P.S. Zack: I haven’t lost my American accent yet.

Hey all you sleepy heads.

Get up it is 2:30 in the afternoon here. I sometimes think I can email one of you and you will respond while I'm online, but then remember that you are all probably still in bed. Oh well, I'm still thankful that we can communicate. I was thinking late last night about our journey and everything else that came into my head and I realized I hadn't driven a car in two weeks now. How weird. Just one more thing I didn't realize I would miss. It has been really nice to have sort of a vacation. I mean this will be the most days in a row I have spent with Kayla or Kade ever. That part is a big blessing and I need to make sure I count it. It is still bitter sweet getting to see Dima and Anya everyday but only for a couple of hours. We are all looking forward to seeing them 24/7. Today is an unusually pretty day. I am guessing about 50 degrees and sunny. A big difference from rainy and cloudy. Well I hope you enjoy some these additional pictures. God bless everyone.

Scott

Hi folks! I have been thinking about all of the help we received before we traveled and I just want to say thanks again! Really, sincerely, thanks!
Gayle, yesterday we gave the kids the build-a-bear & truck you sent. They really liked them. Anya had fun dressing the bear. Some of the places (hallways, etc.) in the orphanage are very dark, so Dima used his flashlight truck to light the way. Ah… such a parable…the darkness in his life is about to be lifted.  Thanks!
Ginny so glad to hear about Cathy & Caitlin! Praise God. Angela, we are singing praises for the decision for Angelica, too. S&T, how’s Mexico? C&A, are you gearing up for the cruise? Mom, how was the MRI? Let’s see, I feel like I am forgetting several things, so let us know how each of you are doing! We did hear that there was a tornado in Tennessee. Can a Thompson report back on Jeff & Brooke’s safety? Nicole, it will be fun to have girls the same age. Corley’s, so glad the house sold. We have been praying for a “good” family. Foreman’s, thanks for the scripture. And to the rest of you thanks thanks thanks for your prayers! Let us know how things are going.
I am missing my friends, family, “scrapbook girls”, our church family, etc. and will be so glad when we are able to come home. Not that this place is bad, it’s just we want to get on with it. We want to show Nate (Dima, we’ll ease into his American name at home, but the nickname Dima will probably stick for a while) and Hannah (Anya, her nickname will stick, too) their home. We want to just get them in the groove of their life, to go to church, to play in their backyard, to swim in Beaver Lake, to eat at our kitchen table, to sleep in THEIR beds… While this going to the orphanage everyday is respectful (I agree Gayle), it is also tiresome. It feels as if you have a perpetual babysitter and you only get to spend an hour or so with your children. It is tough to start & stop each day. And it just breaks my heart to have to leave them. So it is good in some sense, and drawn out in another. But as I try to remind myself, 5 years from now, this won’t matter. I will have my children home and happy and this will be but a faint memory.
We had a good day with the kids yesterday. Remember the other day when Dima asked when he could go home with us? Well, today, I drew a picture of a calendar. I did my very best to explain “today” Then I circled the 23rd and tried to communicate that this is when he would be leaving. (The only would I could communicate was Americanyets) but he got the idea and we happy. I wanted them to see there was a timeframe for this process and that this daily visiting does have an end. We played in the coat closet again. The teachers are on a 3 day rotation. Teacher 1 is pretty particular and she was on duty yesterday. She kept coming out and telling us to be quiet. But I don’t want to be quiet. When do my children get to belly laugh? Yesterday was a hoot. Anya started out quiet again, but do NOT let this girl fool you. She is anything but quiet. All of the video we took yesterday was at the beginning of our visit. So we have video of this nice, demure little girl, while Dima is doing his best pitcher impression and throwing Velcro balls on a felt target. But about halfway through the visit the tone changed. Anya’s warming up and Dima’s on a roll. Scott is playing with the Dima & Kade doing the felt target thing. I have Anya sitting on my lap and I start bouncing her. The next thing I know is, she is taking the empty water bottle and bonking herself on the head and belly laughing hysterically. Then Dima wants a turn. So I start bouncing him on my lap and Anya thinks it’s a hoot to now hit Dima on the head with the water bottle. Kade & Scott are rolling. I am laughing. Mom’s legs are worn out, so Dad takes over. It all starts again and even Kade wants in on the bouncing action. Then we take the water bottle from the kids and play keep away. Scott and I are bonking the kids on the head and fanny and then tossing the bottle across the room to each other. They are laughing, laughing. What a joyous time! Then Teacher 1 appears and tells Dima it’s time for dinner. What a great day! He said he loved us as we were leaving (in English). Isn’t that precious! I remember Kade telling me the first time, and I will remember Dima’s accented English saying it to me today! Anya gave each of us a hug and kiss and waved her sweet little wave. I just love all 3 of my babies so much!!!!! And really I am giving Teacher 1 a hard time. She has a tough job to do and I respect her for her work.
We had a great lunch with another family from Colorado adopting a 16 year old girl. They are a precious family and we enjoyed an English speaking lunch. They showed us a local café and the food was great. I had a creamed vegetable & chicken soup with boiled potatoes. Kade had a ham & egg omelet. Scott had borscht. Then Scott & Kade had a crepe, ice cream dessert. We are going back there again today for lunch. Yum-O!
So today we are doing are top 3: 1. Internet Café 2. Lunch 3. Play with Dima & Anya
We are doing some school today. Scott’s working on CPE and I am going to draw for KK’s Volume 6.
PG-13: And now here’s another exciting episode of Ukrainian trivia: If you were the equivalent of a paralegal working in an office here, it would be totally okay for you to wear a black bra under a white mesh shirt. We saw two!
Kimmy: How about that trend for ya!
The people are great, and we are enjoying our trip. I just wish Anya & Dima could be with us 24/7 right now.
We love you all. Have a great night and now we are thanking God continuously for you!
Kayla

dear everybody,

Yesterday we went to the orphanage and played with Dima & Anya. Anya really opened up today and Dima tickled me. I felt really glad that both of them opened up more today. We went to a kaфe (cafe') for brunch.

Thank you for all the comments.

pt: Yes, I do think we should have an easter egg hunt. Thanks for asking.

gt: Yes, I'll tell them about Braum's. Thanks for the reminder.

Kade :)

Well, it's my turn. I just checked email and am ready to post. We now get 2 computers when we come to the internet cafe so we can multi task. I have some Ukrainian trivia of my own today. What are 3 Americans and a translator trying to cross the street in Kharkov? A nice game of Frogger. :) I liked the Borscht yesterday it was really good and inexpensive too. Finally I feel like we got to sample some good local quisine. Also we don't have to depend on McDonalds even though it is smoke free and free bathrooms. Speaking of bathrooms, there is a free one in the internet cafe which is unusual, but it was the stand up or squat kind that just has a porcelain hole in the floor, also no toilet paper, no soap and no towels. I am still thankful that it was there so I didn't have to run down the street to McDonalds. Ha! Well we should have an exciting time at the orphange today. If it isn't raining we will play baseball outside, if it is raining we will play inside and color, play with the truck flashlight that Kade and I had to "take to the garage" last night. Dima is hard on his vehicles. It needed a new battery, the bed glued back on and the key chain removed. I hope it will make him happy to have it overhauled. Well, as you can tell we are having the trip of our lives and we are enjoying it very much. Thanks to all of the new posts; we love hearing from ALL of you. If you haven't posted yet, please do, even if you have never used a blog before just try it or ask for help. It is a lot of fun to see what you have to say half way around the world. I'll even reward you with some more fun pictures and they will be portrait layout for easier viewing. Enjoy!!! We'll talk again soon.

Scott

We have a court date!

hey everybody!
Our translator told us yesterday that our court date will be next Thursday, April 13th. After court, we have a mandatory 10 day waiting period where we just hang out to see if anyone contests the adoption. Unlikely. So that means we would get to leave Kharkiv on the 23rd of April. We would head back to Kiev for passports, medical exams & visas. That should be another 3-4 days and then we are on our way home! Woo hoo!!! So why we aren't even halfway there yet, it is nice to be able to ballpark a timeframe. Our paperwork on this end is really going pretty smoothly. Praises to the King. We are so grateful for his mercy & your prayers.

The kids are doing great. Kade is sitting next to us playing Tetris. He would eat at McD's every meal if only we would let him! He is happy to be with his family and is anxious about showing Dima (Nate) and Anya (Hannah) everything back at home. We were talking about playing at the lake together in just a few short weeks. That will be so fun. We brought homeschool math with us, so we are accomplishing some traditional schooling, although we are more of "life school" mode right now. This is definitely an experience of a lifetime for him! Dima (Nate) is doing well, too. He is learning more English. Yesterday they both learned to say "cookie, please" in English. Dima's 7th birthday is April 21. We hope to be able to take him out of the orphanage to celebrate such a special day! His front tooth is loose. He is going to look so cute missing that front tooth. Anya (Hannah) is really progessing. Yesterday I went to her class to excuse her for some family play time, and she ran right to me and said, "Mama!" Warmed this mom's heart! She really is coming out of her shell. She is giving Kade hugs goodbye, she is allowing Scott to swing her around (daredevil) and she went to him and let him hold her. She likes to count to 3 in english while Scott and I swing her as we walk. And one of the biggest things for me was that she repeated "Giddy Up Horsey" in english about 5-6 times. She likes the "don't...fall...down" part. (see picture)

I am fighting a little cold, but am hopefully on the mend. Scott is good. He will tell you more about that later, as soon as I quit hogging the computer. Yesterday we did have a pretty funny experience. We have to hang our clothes out on a clothes line to dry. (average dry time-2 days) We went to retrieve some clothes and noticed that one of Scott's shirts was missing. Our apartment is on the 6th floor. So we look over the edge of the balcony where the clothesline is and there is Scott's shirt. It has blown down 3 stories and is stuck in a tree. We are not quite for sure how we are going to retrieve that shirt. :)

Today we are at the internet cafe, then we are meeting another American family for lunch. We met them the other day when we were grocery shopping at Target. (not american Target) They are adopting a girl from the same orphanange. She is around 14-15 years old. His parents flew in yesterday so now their whole family is together, it is very sweet. They are staying in the same area (the Center) as we are, McD's is walking distance between us. So we are meeting at McD's and then they are going to show us a local restaurant that has great borscht. This is their 3rd adoption from this orphanage. What special people and we are grateful for the english company. At 3:00 we are headed to the orphanage to visit A&D (can't wait to quit saying that!) to play for a couple of hours and then we will go to Target to get some TP and some more yogurt. Kade & I will do math later and Scott will probably work on CPE. That's the jest of our day.

It's time now for everyone's favorite game show.... Ukrainian trivia! Okay, so yesterday we were walking along the street trying to find a grocery store with some TP. Each time we went into a "grocery store" it turned out to be more of a little deli. Water, meat cheeses, etc. So as we are leaving the last deli, we notice a dingy car in the parking lot with the trunk open. We take a gander in the trunk and do you know what we saw? Chicken legs, ground beef, etc. all out in the open air, exposed, no refrigeration, in rubbermaid bins. This guy was delivering the meat to the grocery store. Thank the Lord for the FDA!

Now for Scott, Kade & pictures...
Love ya!
Kayla :)


Hello I'm Bob the tomato oops sorry today we're going to lunch with some people we met. Yesterday we played inside & outside with Dima & Anya. Dima,Dad, & I played tag.

Thank you for the comments.

Preston, no, I'm not tired of McD's

Kade :)

Hi from the third leg of this post. Thanks for all of the comments you have posted. It's good to hear from the newcomers too. I hope everyone has a chance to post. We would love to hear from all of you. Now from my perspective. We had the pleasure of watching a firework show outside our apartment window last night. Our translator said it was probably someone's birthday. I asked if it was someone famous and she said no, just rich. In any case it was an impressive show of continuous blue and gold fireworks. Kade and I enjoyed it as Kayla rested from feeling sick. I am really enjoying our time as a family at the orphanage every day, although for all the time we are spending over here, I would like to spend more of it with all five of us. Again, all in God's time. We'll be patient and enjoy the time we have. It was great seeing Anya play with Kayla yesterday and me getting to spin all three kids around until they were not quite dizzy. I get the feeling that Anya and Dima just enjoy any excuse to smile and laugh. This is okay with me as I enjoy watching all my kids smile as much as they enjoy smiling. As you might know, I am quite content and very thankful for all that God is doing in our lives. Okay, enough words for now. Time for some more pictures. We'll talk again later.

Scott

Yeah!!! more pictures!

Scott, Dima & Kade - such handsome boys!

Anya & Mama

Silly Kids!

Happy Boys!

Anya gets a manicure!

From Scott

I too had done some journalling and was not able to post it to the blog. It was good stuff too. Kayla has told you most of it though. If any of you are wondering why it is so difficult for us to do what we want on internet, I will explain briefly. They don't do flash drives or USB everywhere. You really have to hunt for these places. We thought oh how convenient it will be to journal and copy pictures to our memory key in our apartment and then just go take a few minutes to find a computer with an internet connection and update everything in a few minutes. Not so. Also, they don't have it set up for us to use our own computer and their internet. I guess not many people in Ukraine have their own computers. That's probably why they have so many internet cafe's. Anyway, this is probable boring some of you, so I'll move on.

We had a great time today playing with our 3 kids. Doesn't that sound great? I can't wait to bring my family home. We getting strangely familiar with this place... a little. We got from the orphanage to our apartment, to McDonald's, and to the internet cafe all by ourselves, without a translator. We did find a Ukrainian boy about 13 years old in the internet cafe who knew some English and was very helpful. So I guess we are didn't do it all by ourselves. I will also add that as soon as I give myself credit for doing something by myself, I am soon reminded that it is God who really coordinates. So to God goes the credit. For helping us learn some Russian to get us by. For sending us an Englist speaking person every once in a while, and for our translator, whom we of course are very dependent on. I want to thank all of you personally for your posts to our website. We enjoy reading them so much and appreciate all of your prayers as well. Please continue to pray for Dima and Anya that they will be able to learn English quickly and adjust to life in their home. I know they will be great kids and will have a great example in Kade.

Well we have been at this internet cafe, which is really a gaming center that is dark and full of internet gaming junkies. Really nice people though, I'm sure. :) I think it is time to go.

Until next time, we look forward to blogging with you again soon.

Scott

Now we know...

Well I just spent an hour giving you this really great post and the internet cafe lady kicked me off the computer without any warning and I lost everything. We have been trying to post for several days now and had some difficulties locating an internet cafe. We found one but it does not have USB ports. So we will have to keep looking for another one so we can post pictures. Sorry about that.

So where do I start? We are in an apartment. Cooking isn't quite what it could be. Our long awaited homecooked meal turned out to taste like ketchup spaghetti. It was nasty. So our peaceful boycott of McD's has been temporarily suspended until we return to the States.

Everyone here has been very nice. The orphanage director is a wonderful woman and I really like her. We are grateful.

We played with the children for two & half hours today without our translator. This was so good. The kids really warmed up to us. Kade is having so much fun playing tag with Dima and when we were starting to leave Dima jumped on Scott's back for a piggy back ride. Today Anya warmed up to me pretty quickly. I was bouncing her on my knee and she wanted one wild ride. I think she will be Scott's future roller coaster buddy! :) Good stuff. We love them so much and want to take them home. We are looking forward to being able to communicate and swimming together at the lake this summer. The day before yesterday Dima asked when he could leave with us from the orphanage. We told him soon and that we were trying to get all of the necessary documents in place. He is a kind and tough boy. It will be fun to speak the same language so we can fully experience who God made him to be. Anya is quiet and tough. She tends to be a little more reserved, but knows exactly what she wants.

We now know why are paperwork took so long. According to Ukrainian law, any child available for adoption must be on a registry for in-country adoption for 14 months prior to becoming available for international adoption. We met with the biological grandmother yesterday (lovely woman who really loves the children and wants whats best for them: us!) and she was asking about several different things. In the course of conversation, we told her that we had been working on our paperwork for almost two years. And the next words out of her mouth made my heart burst into tears. She said, "In August, Dima & Anya will have been in the orphanage for two years." In August...in August (almost two years ago) was when Scott & I started the paperwork process to adopt from Ukraine. And then on March 30, the last day of NAC appointments before they transfer to a new ministry, was the first day that A&D came off of the registry and available for international adoption. God has been keeping our paperwork in tandem so that all of this could coordinate in His perfect timing. I say that now like I believed it the whole time, but you know, the last 60 days were probably the toughest for me. Why? Why were we having to wait sooooooo long. Well now we know! Just one more gracious confirmation from the King of Kings that we are in the center of His will. Praise be to the Lord, Most High!!!

Let's see...Ukrainian trivia. If you were a Ukrainian woman, it would be perfectly normal for you to wear capri pants with knee high stiletto heeled black boots all the time (even in the icy snow!)

Things are great and we want to say thanks to you! It is because of your continued prayers lifted for us that we do not feel alone on the other side of this planet. We feel connected to you and for that we are so grateful! I am praying for the prayer requests you sent (Ginny's sister (has the baby come yet, today right?) Angela's court date and Tina's aunt) Please let us know how we can be in prayer for you, too. We have a lot of time in taxis, that is just prayer time waiting to happen! :) Thanks, too, for your kind words to Kade. He loves checking the blog and seeing his friends names on the posts. Thanks!!!

Tomorrow should be pretty uneventful. We should just be playing with the kids and exploring our surroundings. Hopefully we'll find a better internet cafe'

Love you all!
Kayla :)