Stuff In General and Stuffy

First, the stuff. We thought we would see Igor last night, after his journey up to Kiev for us and a short time with his family. No sign yet. We do know his mother, who lives here in Kherson, is having a birthday today, and he planned to be back with her for that. He's probably back at the flat as we speak. We'll post his news when we get it. May he have good news from the SDA.

You know how sometimes we learn more about our children when we are furthest away from them? That's when we see things we may not notice when we're all together in a regular routine? Well, please pray that our kids back home will be living at their fullest potential while we wait to be together again. There have been some bumps along the way and our desire is that everyone will have good memories and good relationships with each other when this whole adoption process is complete.

Why the word stuffy? That's what Maxim is today. He has a cold and cough. He was definitely more quiet than usual today and not quite as energetic. The caretakers were quick to tell us he should not spend any time on the floor playing today.

Our visit was just over an hour, as only shorter times are allowed at this point on weekends. Okay, today, since he does have the cold and it's chilly and wet outside so we couldn't go out.

Day Of Rest

Kherson Skyline from the Dnipr River at evening on Thanksgiving.

Just enjoying some quiet time in, for the most part, today. We didn't feel so well last night, so we went to bed at 7:30 and slept for twelve hours. Still dragging a little today, so it's good we did not plan a visit with Maxim. It was a nice relaxed morning of some breakfast together and just enjoying some music (Paul Wilbur on Daniel's laptop) and Bible study together. We decided to go ahead and walk to the Internet cafe, although we have no more news until Igor returns tonight from Kiev. Hopefully, he will have a positive report.

We are really looking forward to the day we can bring Maxim back to the flat with us, although we know it will be interesting and challenging in many ways. On Thanksgiving, we went to visit him for a shorter time than usual. Normally, we stay right up until his lunchtime at 1pm, but we had to leave earlier that day to go and join others for the holiday. Maxim was so sad. He cried which made us sad. We are tired of saying goodbye. The day we get to take him with us, I will be a puddle of joyful tears (Daniel might be too).

Right now, Maxim knows we are Papa and Mama but that just means happy people who come to see him everyday, and leave at lunch. We try to teach him a little English and beginning numbers each day (he would rather eat and play, but generally is very good at these things, sitting in Papa's lap). If something comes up occasionally where he needs to be corrected, he is usually pretty quick to respond, but still he is a long way from seeing the whole picture of a parent/child relationship.

Please pray with us as we make the transition (very soon hopefully) to being with him 24/7. Although we can't wait to be home with him and together with all of our children, this will be a good time to get used to each other full time before we leave Ukraine. That is probably a blessing, actually.

Almost A Month

The greenhouse at the orphanage.

No news in particular for the week. We are getting used to the bus system, and aside from some longer waits than expected at times, we haven't had any problems. The stops are a quick walk from the flat and the orphanage, so very convenient to get back and forth this way. As far as grabbing a bus to just take off around the city, we haven't tackled that, and don't really need to. The Internet cafe, grocery market, museums and anything else we're really needed/wanted is close enough to walk. It's nice to get the fresh air and exercise anyway.

This morning, we took Maxim into the greenhouse on the orphanage premises. We have noticed it many times but never stepped inside. It's not very large, but there were some really neat plants inside. Cactus, lilies, a lemon tree, and several other things that were beautiful but we would need my sister-in-law, Shannon the trusty master gardener, to identify (Shannon, Daniel took several pictures for you). Maxim liked this and wanted to go back inside when we were finished.

The other day, Daniel pulled a coin out and did a little slight of hand with Maxim, making it appear that the coin had somehow gone from Daniel's hand to behind Maxim's ear. He really liked that. As soon as Daniel was done, Maxim used the coin to "repeat" the trick back to Daniel. He didn't miss a beat. Just went right into it and had obviously watched closely. Of course, we could see the coin while Maxim was doing it, but it was fun to see him try. He really has a sweet personality and very quick sense of humor.

We have also noticed that he enjoys music. He hums a lot when we're just doing something simple like coloring together on the floor. Sometimes, he gets up on all fours the best he can, raises his little bum in the air as far as he can, and just happily wiggles and hums. Love it.

A couple of days ago, a man that Daniel and I sometimes call the mad scientist (wears a white lab coat and has a wild frenzy of white hair) came to Maxim's group. He played his accordion and the boys sang with him for quite awhile. I think just some traditional folk songs. They sounded really good, singing very loud and happily. They were asking for more. When the boys have things to focus on, they're happy and well behaved. Things get more complicated when they are bored. Makes sense, right? Anyway, we enjoyed hearing them sing and I hope the man comes to their group again sometime while we're here.

We enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving with several other Americans. Thank you to James and Julia Thornton for welcoming us into your home, and to everyone else for including us so warmly. It was a really pleasant time together. A piece of the U.S. for just a little while.

Blessings to you all.