ABCDEFG......

Ok, for starters Russie Clark and I were standing in the kitchen this afternoon...he loves to play with the magnets on the refrigerator...and he starts singing the ABC song. He has a Leap Frog ABC magnet set that sings the song and says each letter...anyway, guess the little guy was paying attention. It blew my socks off. Then, as I am typing this he is in the tub and he started counting (in English)...so he went from 1-4 and then skipped to 7...but it's a start. He has the cutest little voice...we want to capture his voice on video, but haven't been successful.

Let me see what I can tell you...he had his first dr. visit the other day. Everything went well except that the dr. is a little concerned about his small size. He isn't even on the chart...except for the 1% in either height or weight (can't remember which one). She told me to give him Pediasure once or twice a day. She said she would like to see him on the chart very soon. He is 1/4 of an inch taller than Ali was at 18 months...if you can believe that. (she has always been TALL though)But that is amazing to me. He weighed 27 lbs. and is 34 1/2 inches tall. He wore a size 2T shorts today and they came to his mid calf...man capris(as T.C. calls them), if you will. :) He fits best into 12 months shorts. (and he is 3 1/2!!!)Anyway, I know he will start growing with more protein and vitamins. He is doing better with eating...which is a relief.

We ventured out to the beach yesterday for the first time with him. He LOVED it. He played in the sand and T.C. took him to wade in the water. I think he would have stayed for hours! The boy was covered from head to toe with sand by the time we left.

This weekend he will get to attend his first birthday party with Ali. After the party, we are meeting my brother and his family half way between here and Lake Charles (only about an hour and a half away) so that they can meet Mr. Russie!

Well, summer is officially over for Ali. We will begin school on Monday morning. (about 3 weeks later than we usually start) It will be interesting to see how that goes with a toddler under foot. Ummm...might be interesting. We will probably try to cram a lot in during his nap times.

Ali has decided to do year around swimming starting this fall. Registration is this Sat. Her best friend, Sierra, is joining also...so I think they REALLY like the idea of seeing each other several times a week. :) She is excited to get back in the water. She absolutely loved swim team this summer.

Our church is giving us a baby shower on Sun. We can't believe they are doing that for us, since we have only been there a few months. It is a huge blessing, though! With he and Ali so far apart...well, we are basically starting over.

I am posting some pictures from the last couple of days. He also has become quite fond of his Little Tikes car...as you can see from the photos.

Life with Russie...

At home with Russie Clark

I am finally posting some new pictures! This will be a quick post...we are headed out of the door for Russie Clark's first dr. appointment. We will see how that goes! We have such a limited medical record on him that I don't know exactly what the doctor will choose to do.



We have had a fun time having our family together. We went to the neighborhood pool yesterday for the first time since being home. OH MY GOODNESS....the boy has NO fear of the water...which is a little scary. He walked right down the steps like it was nothing. He was jumping off the side, going under, etc. Looks like he might be a little swimmer like his big sister. We had to watch him so closely because he just doesn't understand how dangerous the water can be. I had to make a Target (darn my bad luck..heehee..remember that is my favorite store!!) run this morning to get a float with leg holes. We can't wait to take him to Galveston and see what he thinks of the beach. He will love digging in the sand.



I am posting pictures of the kids on the plane up until this morning playing with his kitchen set. We will be posting pictures from Ukraine as well. I am hoping T.C. will make a slide show of pictures.

Russie Clark at home...

And toddler makes 4........

We are home in the good ole' USA....and finally a family of 4. We waited a long time for this moment, and we are loving every minute of it. (ok, minus the screaming in Target earlier today...heehee)



Where to begin? Ali and I were in Ukraine for a total of 5 weeks and 1 day, but who is counting? :) There were some moments that I wondered if we would ever make it home. But God got us through it...and your support and prayers were immeasurable. Thank you so much. I wasn't able to post while we were in Kiev due to not knowing where to find an internet cafe' (as they call them there). We drove to Kiev last Friday. We were pretty much on our own as the other 2 American families that we were with were all in different apartment buildings in other parts of town. That was a bit of a bummer, but we survived. Monday morning we were picked up around 7:45AM and we began our visa process. Before you can file for the visa, you have to have them evaluated by a doctor. We had the doctor visit first thing, and then headed right over to the American Embassy. The Embassy visit took at least 2 hours....so you can imagine what that was like...4 children that had not had lunch or a nap and we didn't leave there until 1:00. Ummm, we were all glad when that was over. From there we went to TGI Friday's for a celebratory lunch....I know, I know...how sad but we were all desperate for some American food! After having lunch we were able to head back to the Embassy around 3:30 to pick up our visas. We were so thrilled when those babies were placed in our hands...that meant it was all over and we could all go home!! Hip Hip Hooray! Since we already had our tickets for Wed., we had an extra day in Kiev before flying home on Wed. Wed. morning we were picked up at 4:30AM by one of our facilitators and wisked off to the airport. What a scary ride that was.......remember the driving we described in earlier posts....well it was raining on top of the horrible driving. I was really glad to see the airport that morning. I basically had not slept in around 30 hours or more by the time we finally made it to Houston Wed. night. Actually it was way more than 30 hours because even the days leading up to us leaving I was only sleeping in small blocks of time during the night. You see, Ruslan Clark is an extremely rough sleeper. A very deep sleeper mind you, but a rough one at that. He moves constantly all night long. I was having to stay awake most of the night making sure he wouldn't fall off the bed. I even tried sandwiching him in between Ali and I in the bed and he would even crawl over us (in his sleep) and almost fall off the bed. Ali finally opted for sleeping on the couch. :) So anyway....back to my NOT having slept much prior to boarding the plane...then fast forward 24 hours to us landing in Houston...I was beyond tired! Not to mention we missed our flight in Atlanta and had to wait another 3 hours to BARELY make onto another flight. We were stand by and the only way we were able to make it is that Ruslan had to sit in my lap. Let me just say that I would have had Ali and Ruslan sit in my lap if it got us home. Know what I mean? Oh, here is a not so funny visual for you....and for the weak stomachs...you might want to stop reading....ok, were were all doing fine and had made it through a very long flight from Prague (like 10 1/2 hours) and were making the descent into Atlanta...seat belt lights were on...we happen to hit an air pocket or something and it was very turbulent...all of a sudden Ruslan gets sick all over himself and the seat...I get him cleaned up and clothes changed and look over and Ali has her eyes closed tight (never a good sign) and then she leans over toward me with her hand over her mouth (again, never a good sign) and I have just enough time to grab a plastic sack that one of the flight attendants had given me for Ruslan...and Ali gets sick. Ok, let me point out that I was already feeling sick myself...and if catching my sons...um, you know...in my hands...and watching Ali and cleaning them both up...I was feeling REALLY good at this point. But, thank heavens I was able to get off the plane and make it to the bathroom in the Atlanta airport....before I ended up getting sick. But I have a feeling mine was from some of the airplane food...it was terrible and I felt sick up until this morning. But, after a good nights sleep last night...I felt much better this morning. Was that like way tooooo much information or what? I just thought I would share a bit of what it was like flying from Ukraine to the U.S. with 2 kids. Back to my original point...after all that sickness...we finally get through passport control and customs (which takes a while with an adopted child...you have to turn in a packet of paperwork), and I look down at my watch......LOW and BEHOLD our flight was to leave in like 15 minutes. (keep in mind I am NOWHERE near our gate) Needless to say we missed our flight (I was about in tears from fatigue) and had to wait stand by to see if we could make it onto a later flight. We DID and here I sit...so thankful to be home.



I still have not even begun to unpack...though I shall tackle that tomorrow. Ugh...ugh! But I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Ruslan Clark explore his new home. He has been so cute. He loves Timmy and Happy...though not sure they feel the same. If one of them does something he doesn't like he points at them and says "no"...too funny. We had to make a Target (my oh so favorite store) run today to pick up some boy toys. He (and T.C.) are the new owners of a Thomas the Tank Engine train track. We bought a small starter set and he can't get enough it...neither can Ruslan...heehee. Russie loves anything that makes noise...and lots of it. I am sure we will be adding to the train set in the future. As I am typing he is crying his little heart out because it is time to go to bed and he is having to say good night to Thomas...it isn't going well. It is very hard for him to understand that his toys are HIS and they will still be his in the morning.



Well, we will be posting some new pictures soon. I took a ton of pictures after T.C. left. But it is getting late and my jet lag is still lagging...so I had better close for now!

Back home again...

After leaving Kyiv early (that never happens on American airline flights!), a four-hour layover in Prague, missing their flight from Atlanta due to a hangup in American immigration (the 3 year old looks suspicious?), and getting the last two seats on a the red-eye...the gang made it back to Houston at 10:30 p.m. last night...safe, sound, happy, and exhausted!

They're all sleeping it off...more later!

Homecoming...

After five weeks and two days...today is homecoming day!!! Expect a brief update tonight when everyone gets home.

Countdown...

Believe it or not, everything is set for the gang to come home tomorrow...as planned! The embassy came through with SRCJ's visa yesterday (Monday), so after packing everything up, the gang is just spending some time walking the streets of Kyiv a final time this trip and enjoying not having to stress about paperwork (for the first time in a month). When I spoke with them this morning (three o'clock in the afternoon), taking it easy was the order for the rest of the day because our facilitator is picking them up at 4:30 am to begin their adventure trip home! Regardless of what the gang does today, tomorrow night the girls will be sleeping in their own beds for the first time in 36 days and Russie in his own bed for the first time...ever.

Countdown...

I just got off the phone with Rachel (in Kyiv) who was heading to the U.S. Embassy to pick up SRCJ's visa and finish up paperwork! It looks like they'll have everything in order a day ahead of their flight out on Wednesday, which is a total switch for a change, ha, ha. Anyway, all is well and the gang is looking forward to getting home Wednesday night. Like Becky S. said, I'm sure Rach will kiss the ground when they land in the U.S. of A.

Rachel...the unsung hero of our family

Let me begin by saying that I'm a sentimental sap from time to time...and now is one of those times. Going through 200+ pictures from Ukraine (see below); making reservations for the crew to come home; and talking to them long distance where I get to hear the joy, fatigue, despair, and hope in Rachel's voice each day has compelled me to say what has gone unsaid for too long...my lovely bride is the unsung hero of our family. While I get to zip around the world for the Air Force and NASA doing Lord-only-knows-what from day to day, Rachel not only manages but excels at making our house into our home whether we're in renting in Florida, living in ancient base housing in New Mexico, squeezing into a tiny apartment in Kentucky, or settling in to our first home in Texas. She's the best wife and best friend anyone could ever hope for, without a doubt.

So in a totally sappy mood tonight, I put together some pictures from the past few years. Some of them are serious, some of them are thankfully silly, but all of them have my beautiful bride in them...my 'hot wife' as I call her for fun. Anyway, for all you do for us every single moment of every day, I love you, my dear. You ARE everything to me...

A whole bunch of pictures!!!

Hey all...I've been meaning to sort these pictures and get them posted for over two weeks now, but with the gang coming home soon and me in the middle of working twelve days straight in support of the shuttle mission, it ain't happening! Anyway, here are 200+ pictures of our first two weeks in Khmelnytskyy at the orphanage with Russie. They are in chronological order, and I've put captions on some of them to give you a glimpse of what was going on, but that's all the organization we're going to get.

It's funny to look through them and see how clothing changed in the span of two weeks: from sweatshirts and jackets, to shorts, to the kids in underwear and sandals (w/ socks of course), back to shorts, and back to underwear and sandals (and no socks because it was really hot)!

I enjoyed reminiscing and thinking back on these two weeks...it will be good to get the gang home in a couple more days. Until then, have fun with these!

Khmelnytskyy/Orphanage Pics

The gang is in Kyiv...with passport in hand!

A bit of good news to pass on to everyone...Rachel, Ali, and SRCJ headed to Kyiv yesterday (Friday) in a caravan of taxis with the two other American families in town. They all arrived safely after a multitude of extra stops between Khmelnyts'kyy and Kyiv due to one of the young ones fighting a rough bout of carsickness and getting sick over and over and over...yuck! Fortunately, Rachel said that Clark had a blast in the car and was no problem at all, which is a tremendous blessing considering the marathon airline flights that await them!

But in Kyiv the plot thickens...(stage direction: ominous music begins playing softly)

So everybody heads to Kyiv without passports for any of the children...just more promises that the passports could be picked up in town. No sooner did they arrive than they found out that the passports were on their way to Khmelnyts'kyy and probably passed them on the highway going the other direction!!! (stage direction: ominous music reaches a crescendo) But never one to be troubled by logistical problems, the mysterious Mr. X. hires a courier to chase them down and return them to Kyiv, where they arrived this evening, Saturday (stage direction: angels begin singing Hallelujah chorus).

Now, parents, children, and passports are all safety together in Kyiv, where our gang will head to the U.S. embassy on Monday to begin their final paperwork and visa applications. I almost hate to say anything yet, but it looks like everyone will finally get to head back to the States by mid-week. Rachel and Ali are still having the time of their lives but are also ready to be home after so long apart. Clark is probably totally confused and wondering why he gets to talk to Papa everyday on the phone but hasn't seen him in two weeks. Between my Air Force training this year and our adoption trip, we've all spent more time apart than we ever did on active duty--so much for stability, ha!

Anyway, in honor of the safe return to Kyiv, here are some pictures we took way back in mid-July when we first got to town. These are from our day-long walking tour of the center part of the city of Kyiv and reflect, in part, what a wonderful city it is. Enjoy...

Kyiv Photos

A great day was had by all......

What a great day God blessed us with! He knew I needed a little pick me up today. He gave me the thought this morning as I was getting ready....to call my facilitator and see if I could take Ruslan to the hotel for the day.....he called the orphanage and they said YES! It was so much fun. We took a taxi, went to lunch (he was a good boy..ate a little food...then wanted in my lap to rest on my shoulder)..we then came back to the hotel and he took a nap for almost 2 hours. He and Ali played and played...watched a little of "Cars" on Ali's DVD player, etc. It was fantastic. He wasn't scared at all. A funny little side note as I am not used to taking boys "potty"...I had him sitting on the toilet and he shot tinkle all over his clothes....OOPS!! I will learn! He kind of looked at me like "Mama, what are you doing"...pretty funny stuff.

We were told today...again...that passports were being printed today and SHOULD arrive here tomorrow. We PRAY!!!

If all goes as planned (that is a joke by the way)...we HOPE to fly home maybe next Wed. Oh we sure hope and pray!!

Thanks for all the comments...I love reading them. Just knowing everyone is praying means more than you could possibly know. I will keep you posted or if we leave tomorrow, T.C. will probably post for me. LOVE YOU GUYS!

Hurry up and wait.....some more!!!

Well, here we are on Wed. here in Ukraine...and we still do not have a passport for Ruslan. There was a mix up with some code the children need that had to be updated when we changed his name...well, his name was printed wrong and had to be updated....therefore delaying his passport being processed. The other family had the same thing happen, so we are both waiting. Our facilitator has been "promised" that it will be here on Friday....haven't we heard this before? We were promised last Friday. So, we have to once again change our flights...keep in mind that we had to purchase all new airline tickets to get home...now these have to be changed. I don't know what the cost will be for this. I just want to get home!!

My mom made it home safely Tuesday afternoon (your time). There was a little problem in Kiev, but was resolved and she left on time. I believe she was very nervous and probably has NO desire to travel international by herself any time soon! :) I will probably be saying the same thing after I fly with both kids all the way home....I believe I will have had enough traveling for quite some time.

I thank you for all your prayers...I know God hears them...I am just discouraged at the moment. It is tough being this far from home without T.C. and not knowing when the end of the wait will come. I just want to be on the plane headed for the good ole' USA! For that I am certain.

I didn't have very good visits with Ruslan Clark yesterday or today. I don't know what is wrong. He won't listen and just seems to be out of sorts. I know he has to be confused as well. I am trying to be patient. Wish I could post some new pictures...I am just scared of wiping out our memory card again.

Oh yes, to top off all the problems I have had getting his passport.....I also have an issue with customs and immigrations. Well, my fingerprints expire Aug. 16th (next Thursday)...if I don't fly out by then...I will have to be re-fingerprinted and who knows HOW long that would take. T.C.'s expire on Aug. 23rd....and I was told that "worst case scenario"...if I haven't traveled by then, that T.C. will have to be re-fingerprinted in the states as well. Isn't that grand? Just adds to my headache. Ok...I will quit complaining now!

Would love to hear from you all........email me.

Still no passport...crunch time

I just got off the phone with Rachel (8:30 pm her time) and found out for certain that no passports came in today! Our facilitators will find out before lunch time tomorrow whether or not they will arrive tomorrow (Tues), which will still allow everyone to fly out on Thursday morning...with zero room for delays or hiccups. Anyway, if they don't come back, we're essentially stuck in the same situation with airline tickets that we were this time last week when we were assured that they would come in no later than Friday.

Please keep the whole situation in your prayers, especially Rachel, who was really looking forward to finally having a concrete date for coming home. We'll find out more tomorrow and let everybody know! Until then...

What is love?

As I sat and watched my daughter and son playing today....I contemplated this thought. As a 30 something adult...I, of course, know the answer to that question. However, watching my 3 year old play I realized he does not. He has never known love...never felt love...he has just survived. Ali, on the other hand, came into the world knowing love...from the moment she entered the world she felt our love. She has always known that Mom and Dad pick her up when she falls, kisses her boo boos, wipes her tears, gives her more hugs and kisses than she knows what to do with, and will ALWAYS love her no matter what. So my question is this...how do you teach a child what love is all about? He will have to learn all that Ali has learned from birth....only he is starting 3 1/2 years late. But he WILL learn! He will learn that Moma and Papa will always love him, always take care of him, always wipe away his tears....and just as we would do for Ali...we would do all in our power to protect him...even giving our own lives for his. That is what our little man will have to discover about love. Not only that...he will have to learn that God loves him even more than we are capable of loving him. He will have to learn to trust in God whom he has more than likely never heard spoken of before. God has truly entrusted us with such a gift as our son! We are blessed beyond measure....more than words could express here. The wait was all worth it. When I lean down to kiss Ruslan (Clark) and see him light up... I know it was all worth it. God planned his birth before the creation of the world knowing full well that he would be our son...and we would be his proud parents. All I can say is that I am humbled.

Please continue to pray for us as we await to see if Ruslan's passport is ready tomorrow. I want it in my hands!!!! We are packed up and ready to head to Kiev.

Just another day.....

It is so strange being here and doing the same things day in and day out. I am used to being at home and constantly running here and there with Ali. This has been so different for me.

Ok Kathy....so why did you have to go and bring Jason's Deli into this? Huh, tell me why!!!!! heehee....we sometimes joke around here about where we would like to eat when we get home or what we miss eating. Today our friends, the Seals, mentioned glazed donuts...YUM! They don't have donuts here. We also talked about Texas Roadhouse...and I have wanted Mexican food like crazy. I am used to eating that like once a week back home. Yes Kathy...we will have to share a treat and let the kids play....that sounds sooooo good right about now! We miss you guys...Ali will SOOOO look forward to playing with the kids again.

Well, today between visits Mom, Ali, and I did a little shopping. We still lacked some souvenirs to take home...so we went in search of some. (don't worry, T.C., they don't take credit cards...haha) I still need to pick up a couple of more things...but I found what I wanted for the most part. I really wanted to take quite a few things home from Ukraine to put around the house. We want Ruslan (Clark) to know we love his birth country....and want him to feel like his birth country is woven into our family. I want to be able to pull things out on Christmas, etc. that are from Ukraine....I think that will be neat for him.

We will pack up our things tomorrow......YIPPY SKIPPY!! However, we still do not know what time we will be leaving town. The sooner the better! I can't wait to pick up Russie from the orphanage. I just wonder what his reaction will be? He had a great day today at our visits. Ali wanted to bring the stroller to see what he would do. He loved it....had a huge smile on his face while she pushed him around.

I am having trouble logging into my email account...so I am going to put a couple of notes here to people I can't seem to email. Suzanne...why were you in the hospital? I hope everything is OK! Email me soon. April, we found some marigold plants today and we picked a ton of seeds for you. I will bring them when we come to Louisville or either I can mail them to you. I think we will keep some and plant them also...what a great idea! I love hearing your stories that you have posted of your experiences! I will be emailing you about questions regarding how it went with getting Hailey settled in at home, etc. Miss Faye...so glad you are able to keep up with us. Can't wait for you to see Ruslan...very cute if I might say so myself. ;)

No passport as of yet....

Well, today brought the news that Ruslan's passport will not be ready until Monday. Bummer! But, God did bless us with a taxi driver here that does speak a little English...and he agreed to drive us to Kiev on Monday. He is charging us a fair rate...which is a huge blessing...this trip has cost a nice bundle...as you might imagine.



Our visit with Ruslan Clark went well today. He was as cute as ever...of course! Ali bribed him with food and had him repeating some words. He has a cute little voice. He said "Mama, Papa, Ali, I love you, MiMi, Nona, Poppy"....we haven't figured out how to introduce T.C.'s dad (Papaw) to him yet....you see...over here they call fathers Papa instead of Daddy...so we aren't sure about that one! :)



I spoke with T.C. today...he had a meeting at Kennedy Space Center yesterday and today. He will return home Sat. evening, I believe.



Well, there really isn't any news around here.......it is a strange existence...wake up...go to the orphanage...find something to do all afternoon...then head to the orphanage again in the afternoon...have dinner...go to bed. Ha! Sound exciting? Ali is looking forward to getting home and seeing her friends. She is already planning a sleepover....ummmm, I told her Mommy gets a day off when we return home. Ha...yeah, right! The truth of the matter is that Mommy doesn't get a day off because Daddy has to get up early and go to work the next day....he has something that he can't get out of. Bummer! So it should be interesting with 3 of us suffering jet lag all at once...and one being a 3 year old that will be totally confused on top of it all.



I found a stroller at a shop today. I was so glad to find one. I had not seen any at all...but I knew I had to eventually walk into the correct store. And....finally...I did. I knew I would HAVE to have a stroller in the airport...with 2 plane changes. It will help out so much. I just hope I can pull my carry on and push a stroller. It should be an experience of a lifetime traveling from Ukraine to Houston with 2 kids....that will have gotten up around 4:00 AM to make our plane on time.



I will close for now. I will post as I know more about when we are leaving for Kiev!!!! You might here my shout from here. heehee

Hello again...

Seems I could not log into our blogger account yesterday to make a post. So, I will back up a day and fill you in. We still do not have Ruslan with us in the hotel. Everyone fought me on that...seems "everyone" thinks it would be a bad idea to have him in the hotel for several days. Ugh...we really wanted to get him out of the orphanage.

We are currently waiting on his passport to be processed. We had an appointment with passport on Tuesday and had his picture made, etc. We are now being told that it SHOULD be ready either tomorrow or Monday. Please pray it will be tomorrow so that we can get to Kiev over the weekend and begin our meetings there on Monday morning. Can you tell I am ready to come home? :) T.C. made our returning flight reservations for next Thursday...pray it will all be finished by then so that we will not have any added expenses with our tickets! My mom will fly out on Tuesday morning. Pray for her as well...she is nervous to make the trip alone again. It was just more economical for her to use her return ticket and just pay a $200 change fee...where we actually had to buy all new return tickets for Ali and me. I told her..."just think about me...I will be flying alone with 2 kids"...that hopefully made her feel better. Ha! So one week from today we will, God willing, be landing on U.S. soil again.....and I think I might actually kiss it!!!!

We had a good visit with Ruslan Clark this morning. He took a pretty bad fall and got a goose egg on his forehead. Poor little man.....Mama had to give him extra kisses for that one.

T.C. is on his way to Florida (lucky dog) for a 2 day business trip to Kennedy Space Center. Something about there is a shuttle being loaded and he had to attend some meetings down there. You know...he so totally didn't have to rub that one in!! I was a tad bit envious.

Ali once again was able to bring some joy into the kids lives at the orphanage. They just LOVE her. Several children played with her on some play equipment for the longest time today. As they were leaving one boy kissed her on both cheeks...so cute. She will remember them forever...I believe. I hope it gives her a heart for orphans. There are so many beautiful children that need homes and love and they have such bleak futures. They may never hear the name of Jesus. Oh it just tears your heart out.

As you can see...I don't have much exciting news. Just know we are still coveting your prayers. Please pray we get Ruslan's passport tomorrow...and we can travel next Thursday! Love you all.

I'm baaaaaaaaack!!!

I am finally able to post again. I have not been able to get online since last Wed. Ugh! I miss more modern technology.

So much to write about yet I don't know where to start. T.C. mentioned our outing this weekend to the castles. I will add that it was in the 90+ temp. and it was a WALKING tour! Ummm...we were all dying of heat. I have a hard time with long periods of time in the heat anyway..so needless to say I experienced heat exhaustion and was really sick when it was all said and done. I get major headaches in the heat and other things...which I will spare you details. Needless to say my prayer on the way back in the van was "oh God please don't let me get sick in the van...please"!!!!! :) I know we have mentioned the driving around here...so being sick with these drivers isn't a pleasant experience. Oh well, after about a 1/2 gallon of water and some Excedrin...I felt better after a couple of hours. I was glad that I made the trip when all was said and done. The castles were amazing, beautiful churches, wonderful scenery, etc.

Ruslan Clark's going away party was yesterday. It was crazy. The kids were so wound up. We brought them chocolates, juice, and cookies. (give them sugar and then let the caretakers suffer the consequences...) Today was day 11 for us after the court hearing. I will remove Ruslan from the orphanage in the morning. I am so excited about that. Ali and I have been in Ukraine for 3 weeks today. Just ask me how homesick I am! I have enjoyed Ukraine and all....but there is nothing like home. I miss so many things....especially my husband.

The party yesterday was such an amazing experience, despite the sugar levels. All of those children are so in need of human touch. They all want to be held, touched, loved on, etc. Mom sat on a couch and several children wanted their turn to sit on her lap. One little boy wanted to sit as close as he could to her...it was precious....but heart breaking at the same time. I want to take them all home. There are so many children at the orphanage that are so full of life, smiles, and love....but they don't have anyone to love them back...wow! To think about their futures is a sobering thought!

Please pray for our passport situation...well, not OUR passports, but Ruslan's passport. (and the other American family) See, recently the passports have changed and the new passports are taking longer to process. We were originally told we could wait an extra 10 days for his passport. Ummmm.....didn't make me happy! But our facilitators have worked SO hard for us and are trying to get that changed. In fact, in the morning one facilitator is waiting to hear if SOMEHOW we can get them in the same day. Please pray for that. If that could happen, we could drive to Kiev tomorrow or the next day to start our Embassy meetings to get the heck out here. That means we could possibly fly out this weekend...if we could find flights available. I will keep you guys posted....or T.C. will.

I will close for now. I need to go and pack our bags JUST IN CASE we leave for Kiev tomorrow. We get such short notice around here...better to be safe than sorry.

Anyway...again...tomorrow is freedom day for our son! YIPPY!

And on the tenth day...

...the children had a party! Today marked the tenth day since our adoption was ratified in court and so now is officially complete! No one came forward to object to the unpublished verdict of the judge, surprise, surprise--but we're not complaining. The kids at the orphanage had a party today for Ruslan, Artoom, and Katia, hosted by Rachel/Ali and Don/Jackie. Some chocolate and milk for the kids--champagne for the caregivers--and it sounds like everyone had a great time. When I talked to Rachel this morning (mid-afternoon for her), she wasn't sure whether or not young Clark would have to spend one more night at the orphanage or be able to come back to the hotel with her today. Either way, tomorrow begins the process of picking up birth certificates, applying for passports, requesting visas, and preparing to COME HOME!!!

While I don't have any pictures of the party to share with you (Rach's internet connection is still down), I did manage to find some pictures of the girls' weekend to show everyone. As you know on Saturday, all three families in Khmelnetsky took a castle-hunting tour to the towns of Kamyanets-Podilsky and Chernivtsi, which are about 25km from the Romanian border. Here are some pictures I found online of the region and the castles they visted:

Castle in Kamyanets-Podilsky

Another picture of the castle...

Chernivtsi

BTW, all of these pictures are © by the US-Ukraine Foundation (i.e., I'm not stealing them!) and can be viewed here with lots of other great photographs. I highly recommend this site to everyone to get a taste of what a beautiful and diverse country Ukraine is We didn't get to all the regions with photos, but I can vouch for every picture of Kyiv that is shown...absolutely wonderful! These will have to suffice until the girls' internet connection is back up at the hotel or they get home, whichever comes first.

Rachel and Ali say to tell everyone hello and that they miss you and being able to read your comments here on the blog! They continue to be adventurous and find new places to eat, shop, and enjoy what little time they have away from the orphanage. At a Greek restaurant they wandered into to a few nights ago, they were getting stuck on the Ukrainian-only menu (i.e., no English), when they ran into our wonderful, somewhat-English speaking cab driver, Gnadi, who so faithfully drove us around town until someone rear ended his 26 year-old Mercedes two weeks ago...anyway, he stepped up and ordered for them and saved the day! Everybody enjoyed seeing him there as well as he quickly became our friend right after getting to town. His English, which is pretty good for someone who has never left continental Europe, the pride he took in his city (as evidenced by driving us by every WWII monument, cemetery, and memorial in town!), and the great gifts from all over Europe he and his wife sell at the local bazaar each Sunday (we bought a beautiful bronze crucifix from Germany), endeared him to us right from the start. He's really a pretty cool guy with a great sense of humor, and we're all praying his car gets fixed soon since driving is his livelihood.

Enough rambling for today. I won't leave you with any strange Ukrainian pop star videos today (though I do have a really funny Ukrainian Army recruiting video on my blog over here). Just some great pictures of castles I've never seen and some second-hand tales of children's parties and new friends...can you sense my jealousy at having to come home? Ahhh...Хорошо (it's ok).

Foreign Frivolity

Well, the girls haven't had an internet connection at the hotel for the past few days, so I figured I'd write a short blurb to fill everyone in on there news from our short phone calls each day (11pm in Houston / 7am in Kiev)...Rachel's mom arrived without incident on Thursday evening after two long flights and one harrowing van ride from Kyiv to Khelmetsky. Little Russie has thankfully not had any more quirky, ugly toddler days since Wednesday, which is good for Rachel et al since they have enough to deal with without a moody three year-old! Other than that, Rach reports more of the same--good times playing with and loving on Ruslan Clark, Ali being the hit of the orphanage, still not understanding exactly what they're eating all the time, and enjoying every minute of it all. As I just got off the phone with her (Saturday AM there), Rachel, Ali, and Alice (Rach's mom) are getting ready to head off for the day to visit castles in the southwestern part of the country...I'm totally jealous!

With most of my jet lag behind me now, I've had some time to post some videos from our trip...both of them comedies, of course. The first is Ali's YouTube debut (she's so totally impressed that she's on YouTube, grin) and is the direct result of long days in the heat, too much sugar, some strange French can-can influence, a bit of gangsta rap (huh?), and...of course...some Elvis thrown in for effect. [BTW, I had to rotate this video 90 degrees because I took it in 'portrait' mode, which YouTube didn't know how to handle...hence Ali looks a bit short and stout, sorry kiddo!] Enjoy...



This second video is all three of 'our' orphans (Russie [in blue] as well as Don and Jackie's two, Artoomie [in red] and Katia) being introduced to bubbles! It's really funny to watch them but at the same time points out a lot of the observations we've been writing about for days, like:

1. Ruslan's little giggle (he's the quiet laugh here and Artoomie is the loud one)
2. Boys acting like boys...trying to stomp, pop, and otherwise squash bubbles
3. All three of them pretty amazed by the novelty of everything
4. Boys getting clocked in the head and not missing a beat
   
5. The 'orphan toy swap'...actually an attempt by Artoom that fails and ends up in a great display of toddlerhood, kids are the same around the world

Anyway, enjoy this one too...



This last clip doesn't feature any of our clan or have anything to do with us except that it is Ukraine's entry in the 2007 Eurovision music competition. The singer Вєрка Сердючка (Verka Serduchka) is actually, ahem, a guy who started this 'Boy George meets Richard Simmons' act in college...frat boys are the same around the world too...just like toddlers. Anyway, this guy is on TV all the time and this song is wildly popular, in a sort of Russo-Germanic, pop-polka sort of way. I think the act is hilarious...and come to think of it, we did see a crew of cross-dressing types in Khelmetsky on a Monday afternoon, so maybe this does have something to do with our trip...anyway, Хорошо (it's ok!).