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(Laura)
Miss you honey! Hope all is well on the home front. Perhaps you could ask the goodyear people for some old tires and bury them in the backyard and paint them for the kids enjoyment. I little touch of Ukraine right there in Williamsburg. Let's skip the broken glass, empty cigarette and beer containers though. I think the neighbors might complain. Still trying to get a picture of the diaperhead. Don't think you are getting off that easy. I have my ways! Moo Ha Ha (as Travis would say)

Glad we didn't stay in Tokmak longer. It was very unsettling and exhausting. Not sure why though because we didn't do much walking but it was still exhausting all the same. Great to see Victor a little more. He is a very happy little boy but isn't quite sure about this not being able to understand mama thing. He really enjoyed Igor's company and wanted to go everywhere he went and do whatever he was doing. We also spent time with the little girl, Sasha (Victor calls her sashka) who always comes up to me when we get there too. She was quite a handful and can turn on the tears at a moments notice when she doesn't get her way. I'm glad Victor isn't like that although he does get a pretty sad face and gets very quiet when corrected. Similar to Yuri but Victor is a little more ornery. He likes to mimick me and say Daaaaaa when I say nyet. Shortly after that is when the sad face enters the picture. Then mama gets off her broom and we move on to something else. The older kids went to camp so it was nice just having the younger ones. They had asked us to play by ourselves and it was so hard to hollar at the kids to go away. They don't take a hint and we didn't want to get in trouble with the teachers but today I finally had to say "oh well" because I just couldn't do that to them anymore. We had a much more plaesant day even with the looks we got from the teachers. It was easier to ignore them than it was to ignore the kids.
We asked some of the teachers about some things with regard to Victor and they all said they thought he was the best one in the group (I'm sure they say that about each one though) and that he was a very handsome little boy. I have to agree with both of those comments. He also doesn't like fish, is a picky eater, and eats less when he is in a bad mood. I'm sure the other two boys won't mind finishing his portions if he doesn't eat them. That could work to our advantage. Hmmmm. Just kidding. Have to add a little humor here and there to stay sane. He is 1 meter tall and weighs 26 kilos which I think means he is about 3 ft tall and weighs 37 pounds. Anyone can correct me if they want. It was just my best guestimate. His best friend is named Deema and they said they do everything together including sometimes sleeping in the same bed. I got to meet Deema and get a picture of the two of them together. I'm sure Victor will want to see that when we get home. He is very loving and seems to take to men very easily. Our cab driver was kept quite busy today playing ball and showing him his machina (car). I also found out that Victor loves to play hide and seek. I finally found something he likes to do with mama. Basketball and other ball playing he prefers to do with other people but mama holds the key to the hide and seek and also (unfortunately) potty time. He got a real big kick out of watering one of the bushes and almost turned right toward me to tell me! Thank goodness he was about done.
We took alot of pictures today as that will be the last time we will see him before we come to pick him up next week. He loves the machina so I don't think we will have a problem getting him to get in the car to leave. Everyone needs to pray hard that there are no birds present at the train station or the airport because all 3 are quite enthralled with chasing the birds no matter what the cost. I could just see babushka doing the OJ run through the airport to keep Vanya from going out on the runway. That, I would get video for. I think I will strap Victor into the stroller and Vanya will be on my hip so it will just be Yuri I'll have really watch out for and he is usually pretty good when I call his name. I'm still upset they sent him to camp. We were getting along so well and were really starting to understand each other even if we didn't know the exact words. I'm sure it will be fine though.
For the next several days we will have 2 visits a day with Vanya so that should be nice. I have missed him the past few days. He just makes my morning with his hugs. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Victor also but in a different way. Victor is much more independent and not as affectionate but his smile and long eyelashes are just as effective.
Our friends from Israel left today and I was so bummed I didn't get to say goodbye. They finished their process up in record time. So they are Argentinian Israeli's who adopted an oriental baby from Ukraine. What a hoot! They joked about it alot also so I don't think they will mind my putting it on here too. Our Italian friends and the other 2 American couples are still here and we will see them tomorrow morning.
We are in a new apartment now that is less comfortable but closer to everything (except McDonalds :( ) It cracked me up though that in the whole apartment there was no sink! No sink in the kitchen OR bathroom. I guess we will brush teeth, wash dishes, and shower all in the tub. I forsee plastic utensils and plates in my future. No AC but we have a clothes drying apparatice on our balcony.
Our 10 days will be up on Friday but we can't get the papers until Monday. The birth certificate offices are not open on Mondays so we have to wait until Tuesday to run around get everything, including one or more of the boys. Hopefully we will finish everything up and be on our way to Kyiv but we played it safe and will be taking the wednesday night train since the embassy won't be open anyway due to the 4th of July holiday. Then Thursday it's off to the embassy and medical and then home on Saturday. Still looking for a flight from JFK to Richmond. Evidently there aren't any affordable ones on Saturday evening. I'll have to do my super slouth internet surfing to see what I can find.
Babushka is still having culture shock particularly after visiting Victors orphanage. "Glory Be!", "Oh my goodness!", "That just doesn't make any sense at all!", "How long are we waiting this time, all day?", are all phrases that are frequently occuring at this point in time. Any one who knows my mom can picture her saying these things I'm sure. She has been a great help though and has been the "watcher of the stuff", much to her chagrin. I think she envisioned happily watching little boys sit quietly and read and color pictures with her and instead she has been hit with a ball, a hand, a head, and has sat on the ground, a slide, a one rung bench as well as on the steps. She has used the sand paper (oops!, I mean toilet paper) and has eaten things not on the safety approved list from the CDC. We have used up quite a bit of hand sanitizer though which is good because she is planning to bring anything and everything that we don't use home in order not to be wasteful. God bless her! I really mean that. She has been a trooper so far and will be a great help in keeping up with the boys as we travel home. I like the sound of that "travel home". Ahhhhh. I can forsee a long bathtime for mama and then some intense scrubbing of 3 pairs of little feet, hands and bodies. The may look totally different when they're clean. It's OK though, I'll take them clean or dirty and still scoop them up and tell them I love them. Not that they know what I'm saying, but it does seem to get big smiles from all of them. Must be a God thing.
That's it for now.
Am starting to fold up my tray table and put my seat back forward in order to look forward to the end of this part of the process. Am ready for the final decent (into Richmond, I hope).
Love to all,
Laura