Day 21 - 3 weeks here and the wait is nearly over!

Yes folks...80% done! Two more days...4 more visits... I will spare you the hours/minutes countdown....

I have been over here for 3 weeks now. I would be lying if I said I wasn't BEYOND ready to leave this place. Sure - it is interesting and hope to tell Everlyn all about it one day, but it is NOT home. Not even close......

I have noticed something. My favorite little (former) orphan does not act like one. :o) I have watched the other children in her baby home, I have seen pictures and videos that other families have shared along their journeys. Yep - my little firecracker is not the norm. Most of the kids will sit on the blanket, purposefully stretched out on the floor in the playroom, content to play with one or two toys for what seems like hours. They are content to examine their hands as a form of amusement. They stare off into space as if there is something really intriguing there. Well, NOT Miss Everlyn! She is into everything: opening cabinets, digging in the wastebasket under the desk, climbing on the small table even though I have said "nyet" (no) 1800 times. She throws toys out of baskets and knocks them off shelves...just to laugh at the mess she has made. She runs around the room pulling a toy airplane by a tattered string, laughs at herself in the shiny reflection of a polished wooden cabinet and pouts when she doesn't get her way....a pout that turns to a devilish grin when she realizes you are staring at her with a big smile on your face. She will go sit in a chair across the room, just so she can charge at me with her arms stretched out, waiting for a big mommy hug. This game never gets old....not from where I am sitting, waiting for her to jump in my lap and hug my neck. And then she's off again......

Oh my goodness...this girl is animated! And you know what? I would not want her ANY other way! It is obvious that this little love bug has been well-cared for. Everyone at the baby home knows her by name and has to give her hugs, kisses and a little pat of affection when they see her. God has watched over her until her Mommy and Daddy come come for her and bring her home. For all of this, we are grateful.

Day 20 - 70 percent done with this wait...

Wow...70%! Now we're gettin' somewhere!

Today was much like every other day here. Imagine that.

We did hit the open air market today. I walked my mom all over this town. LOL! We bought some "souvenirs" for the kids at home, including the cousins (my sister has had my 4 kids plus her 3 during our trip). We walked to our favorite restaurant here, Zeppelin, and then walked backed towards the market. I got some medicine I needed (with the help of my facilitator..I called her on my cell phone and let her tell the pharmacist what I needed). Hey - whatever works, right?

Visits were fun - as always. She is mommy's little ray of sunshine on otherwise dreary, boring days. I forgot my camera today. D'oh! I will try to get some new pics of the pretty pretty Princess tomorrow!

I will show you a few pics we took from the balcony of our hotel.

This is a port city and I was able to get a shot of that area of town..although it is far away. It is the best I could do....

Here is a large apartment building nearby. Most people here live in tall apartment buildings, many without elevators, as opposed to single-family homes.

Here are a few pics of a nearby church that is currently undergoing some renovations.

Tomorrow is HOPEFULLY our last Saturday here.... Hooray for that!!!

Day 19 - We are 60 percent done waiting......

For some reason, 60% done sounded further along than 6 of 10 days done. I know - same thing, but it's all about perspective right now! :o) So, 60% done waiting it is.....

Two fun visits today. She had fun with the puffy Dora stickers my mom brought her...but she quickly moved onto playing with the large empty water bottles someone had thrown away and the dried pine cones left on someone's desk. Have I mentioned that this girl is BUSY?

We did learn more about her mystery rash - it seems to be something rather yucky and contagious so we are working to make sure it is treated properly. Poor sweet muffin - I feel so bad for her!

Nothing else to report...just chuggin' along during this wait. Sorry - no pics from today - except of her rash to send to my nurse friends...you don't really want to see those do you? I didn't think so.

We hope to hit the market tomorrow between visits for a few goodies!

Thanks for all of the comments and prayers!

Day 18 - Day 5 of 10-Day Wait...HALFWAY THERE!

WooHoo! Our wait is HALF over! Get excited!

Today was interesting.... We arrived at the baby home for our morning visit, only to be told Everlyn was going to the hospital for a "consultation." I asked if everything was OK and they assured me she was fine; it was just a check-up. They said just come back for the 4pm visit. So we had to call our facilitator and have her call our driver and tell him to come back and get us. As we were waiting for him to arrive to take us back to our hotel, two nurses walked out of the baby home, each carrying a small child. I recognized Everlyn right away and waved. She saw me and started to whine but was whisked away into a waiting car, headed for the hospital. I won't lie...it is REALLY hard to be that little girl's mommy and have ZERO control over what is happening to her. Ahhh.....5 more days of waiting.

So we come back to the hotel. It's 10:30am. What on Earth are we going to do until 4pm? So I played on the internet for a bit, took a short nap, etc. Then our facilitator called. She got a call from the baby home Director letting her know that Everlyn had "dermatitis" and it was contagious. The Director wanted to know if we had any skin issues. Nope. We're good - she didn't get "whatever she has" from us. She told me that if we developed any issues t let her know and she would be sure we got some "ointment" for it. Super. Here's my issue: "dermatitis" is NOT contagious. I am wondered if this is being translated loosely somewhere along the way. My first thought was "OMG - scabies!" Sadly, scabies is all too common in settings like orphanages. But it doesn't look like typical scabies. Problem is, it doesn't look like typical ANYTHING I have seen. Only time will tell I guess. ((sigh)) I hope they are slathering her up good with that "ointment." Again....it is so hard to have no control......

We went back for our 4pm visit and she was happy as can be. Boy oh boy...is she a BUSY one. And this girl is QUICK! You can't take your eyes off of her for a second; she is into everything! I tried so hard to take some pictures of her for Daddy and brothers/sister/cousins etc back home....she would NOT hold still for a second. She kept running towards me every time I pulled the camera out. She wanted to sit in my lap and see the pictures I took...I tried to explain to her than you have to let me take the pictures FIRST, and then we can sit down and look at them. She didn't understand a bit of that. :o) She was wanting all kinds of mommy snuggles today and I was happy to oblige! Of course, she also tried to escape from the playroom 3-4 times too...yep, she's a wild one!

So - for your viewing pleasure, this is the BEST I could do today. Photographing a moving target is no easy task!

Love the sprout, don't you?

Planning her next move....

And this one is my favorite from today. I tried to explain to her (in English...there's problem number one. LOL!) that I cannot take her picture if she is IN my lap. She wouldn't budge so I held the camera up, showing her how it wouldn't focus to let me take a pic from so close. Wouldn't you know it? The darn camera focused and took a picture. She totally proved me wrong. I have a feeling this little girl is going to prove a LOT of people wrong.....

Day 17 - Today is Day 4 of this God-forsaken wait

Yes, I hate this wait. Betcha couldn't tell.....

Today was another COLD, rainy, dreary day in Ukraine. But, we got to visit little Miss Sunshine and she is enough to brighten anyone's day! This girl is something..... LOL!

Since it was so yucky outside we got to stay inside and play. I came armed with foam, sparkly shape stickers! She LOVED them. And Mommy had fun too!

Mom and I also ordered food for dinner from an Irish pub here that delivers to our hotel. Their chicken is good, but man oh man...I LOVE their fried potatoes! There goes any hope I had of losing a little weight on this trip.

Tomorrow is another day of the same ol' thing. But every day brings us that much closer to HOME! Hooray for that!

Day 16 - Day 3 of the LONGEST 10 days of my life

:o) No, really..........

My mom made it to Kherson today so she got to go to both visits. My little gal showed "GiGi" her spunky side.....this girl has so much personality! She is strong-willed, busy and bright! (Yes, she has Ds, but I am telling you right now NOTHING gets by her.....) And she gives GREAT snuggles when she holds still long enough. And during the afternoon visit, they brought her to us rockin' not one....not two....but FOUR pigtails! It was hilarious! I have a pic on my phone and will upload it at some point... (Who am I kidding....I will never get around to it. Just trust me.....it was cute!)

Then I took Mom to our favorite restaurant, Zeppelin. Eric and I ate there every night while he was here. We walk in, they show us to our table and break out the English menus...automatically. LOL!

Eric is flying out BRIGHT & EARLY in the am. Pray for his safe travels from Kiev to St. Louis. I think he is on the same flight out of Kiev as the Falvo family...their blog is linked on the left - "I Love Ya More than Cookies."

More visits tomorrow...yep, Ground Hog Day...... But I keep thinking that ONE WEEK from tomorrow we should be able to pick up our court decree, her passport, her new birth certificate and oh yeah.....BUST HER OUTTA THAT BABY HOME FOR GOOD!!!! :o)

Oh - and speaking of Gotcha Day, I think I have FINALLY decided on her outfit for her very special day. It was down to two choices, but I decided that one of them may need to be exchanged for a different size. I cannot wait to see her all dressed up in HER clothes....clothes that MATCH...right down to the hair bows and shoes!!! :o)

Day 15 - It's Day 2 of the waiting game

EIGHT MORE DAYS........no, not 'til we come home (I WISH), but 8 more days to wait before we can finalize things here in her region, head back Kiev for our Embassy appt and then FLY HOME. I am so so so ready. Well, I am NOT so ready to entertain a VERY busy and rather independent toddler on an international flight (3 flights really)...or on the 12.5 hour train ride back to Kiev for that matter. But each step brings us that much closer to HOME! Hooray!

We moved into a new place here. Our first place was an apartment - what we might consider a duplex really - but it was being torn down to make way for a multi-story apartment building. Eric and I joke that it was actually being condemned. OK, so it wasn't THAT bad....well, anyways. We shopped around for a place to move into and decided on Hotel Imperial. It has a large living area with a leather sofa, dining room table, TV, fireplace etc and a nice large comfortable bedroom with a REAL MATTRESS. We have been sleeping on "futon-like" mattresses or pull-outs up to this point. But my favorite part of this place is the bathroom! It has a sink (our last place did not!), HOT water (our last place did not!) and heated tile floors (do I need to say that the last place did not? LOL) Yes, it is costing us a bit more, but we had budgeted for about $50-60 USD per night for lodging and the first place here was only $35.....so we can justify spending a little more now to balance it all out, right? Plus, it is nice to be COMFORTABLE while we wait. Oh - and they will do your laundry for you too (for a fee). And they wash AND dry! After more than 2 weeks in the same few sets of clothes, this is PRICELESS!

Here are some pics of the new digs: