April

April has been a busy month, and it has just flown by!  Vika's birthday was on the 2nd and she had a bowling birthday party with a lot of family and friends.  We do not think she has ever had a birthday party before and we wanted to make this one special.
In the middle of the month, Michelle and Paul Polotza took Vika, Anslee, Vika Love, Leana, and Marybeth Raabe to Revolve in Reading Pa.  This is a christian retreat for teenage girls.  They loved it!  They stayed in a hotel and went to two concerts, one by Britt Nicole and the other was Dream On.  Vika brought back a CD of both and plays them often.
On Palm Sunday we got together with some of the other children and they each did a Pysanky egg for Easter.  Mick knows a lady named Francine who was nice enough to come to Tyrone and bring the eggs and equipment and show the children how to decorate the eggs.  We also dyed eggs at home saturday before Easter but ours were not a fancy.  Easter brought a new basket filled with candy, Uno cards and a cross necklace and earrings.  After church we went to my parents home to visit and have ham.  Vika was not to sure she wanted to go into my parents house.  There were many relatives there and she did not know many of them.  I told her it would be ok and would stay with her, and when she went into the house and met everyone she was good.  Mick and I both have large families and she has not met all of them.  It must be overwhelming to her, and I don't know what she must think everytime we tell her this is another cousin, aunt or uncle.   We ended the day at Micks parents home with dinner and a game of Uno. 
These are some of  the highlights from our month.  Vika is still taking English lessons from Lilly, and I can see improvement in her speech and she is understanding more.  There are many day to day issues and we handle each one as they come.  We pray everyday for guidence and wisdom and thank everyone who is praying for us.  Most days I feel inadequate, that I need to be doing, saying, and giving more.  We want to make sure Vika knows she is loved and nothing she can do will stop us from loving her, but she has boundries and certain things are expected of her.  Some days you feel like saying - stop the ride I want to get off!!  Then you see that smile, hear her singing and realize it is about her, not me.  My heart has been broken more times than I can count, but I can not imagine my life without Vika.   I am posting a few photos from the months events- enjoy!

How are things going?

This is the question of the month.  Don't get us wrong we are happy people are concerned and interested! So how are things going?  Well, we take it day by day. Most days are good and some are challenging, but everytime it seems difficult we think of what it must be like for Vika.  She is in a different country, does not speak the language that well, and can not understand everything we say.  She has never been part of a family and does not know what unconditional love is or understand why someone would have love like that.  We have had many  challenges and anticipate many more.  One thing Vika does like is school and her ESL teacher Mrs. Dugan.  When she first started to school she would tell us school no, Mrs. Dugan yes.  Vika is going to all her regular classes with the other students and all her teachers have been very good about helping her and understanding that her English is very limited. She has had some homework, but nothing she could not handle, Mick and I have both helped her so she knows she does not have to worry if she has questions.
We have been to a few gatherings with the other childeren that have come home to the US.  Anslee, Vika Love, and Dema's parents had a welcome to America party, and Autyr's family had a welcome home party for him the following weekend. It is so nice to get the kids together to visit, and they love being able to converse in their own language.

America!!!

We are back! After a long day of travel we our back in the USA! We left Ukraine thursday morning at 6:45 and flew to Amsterdam, we had a 5 hour layover there, thank goodness we could get Wifi on the computer, and then another 9 hour flight to Dulles. When we were getting on the plane in Amsterdam Vika ask me how long the flight would be, she was not happy when I told her 9 hours! Luckly our plane was not full and there was an empty seat in our row so she could lay down and sleep. She kept watching the monitor to see where the plane was on the map and showing me the distance we had to go was getting smaller. It never felt so good to land! It took us a while to get through customs, then my sister Michelle picked us up and  took us to her house. Michelle and her husband Jeremy are kindly letting us stay with them, and are driving us to Breezwood today where my parents are going to meet us and take us the rest of the way home.  Yesterday we took Vika shopping. In the morning we went with Michelle and Jeremy, after lunch my sister Renee took us to Target, then we went and picked up her daughter after school and went to the mall. Vika said to me 3 shopping! She could not believe that we went shopping three times in one day. Michelle and Jeremy had a very nice dinner for us, it was complete with balloons, flowers, and a welcome cake with Vika's name on it. Unfortunately, Mick Vika and I were very tired and by nine we were fighting to stay awake. Mick and I have never seen Vika sleeping in the evening, she usually tells us no sleep. That was not the case last night.
Please remember to pray for Joe and Ginger, who are in Ukraine on their first trip, and Cheri and Russy who are leaving this sunday for the second trip to bring home their girls.

Last day in Ukraine

Today is our last full day in Ukraine!! We can not believe it is finally here! Sorry about not posting the last few days, but Vika is using the computer for entertainment and learning English. Sunday we went to a huge open air market, it is about 10 minutes walk from our apartment.  You can get anything there, toilets, car parts, cleaning supplies, clothing, shoes, fruit, vegetables, the only thing we could not find was bread, but we did not see the whole market.
Monday morning we went to the medical center for Vika's physical. She is not a morning person! We had to leave by 9 so we woke her at 7:30. The medical system here is very different, we are used to sitting in a waiting room and waiting for you named to be called, not here. They have a waiting hallway, but everyone that comes just knocks on the door they need to go into and sticks their head in, then they are told to wait or come in. There did not seem to be and order to the process, but things seem to get done and move along. Vika had to have some bloodwork and a chest x-ray. We were told that all the children at the home have had a TB vaccination, so when they have a TB test done it will read a false positive. They do an x-ray to show that there is no TB.  We went back to the apartment after the medical exam, and Vika was much happier. She did not want to go anywhere so I walked to the market and Mick stayed with Vika.
Yesterday we had to leave by 8:30, so we woke the sleeping bear at 7 again, not happy:(  Our first stop was the medical center again, they had me sign the wrong form the day before so we had to go back and resign, I then received my packet of medical information to take to the embassy.  The traffic in Kiev in is horrendous! Like any big city you drive then sit, drive then sit, it has taken us over an hour each day to get to our destinations. I could tell from our drivers body lanaguage that we were late for our appoinment at the embassy. When we arrived there you had to go through security in an outer building, no cameras, cell phones, or computers. My purse was searched and x-rayed and you have to go through a metal detector, then you go outside and into another building. Mick talked to a gentleman and he told him what parts of different forms he had to complete, then they fingerprinted Vika and told us to come back today at 2.  The weather here yesterday was beautiful! The sun was out, and it felt like it was near 40 degrees, the wind was blowing but it was not cold. It felt like a spring day, so we walked to the open air market. Vika got two shirts a pair of pants and a pair of earrings.  We stopped at the grocery store an bought frozen pizza for dinner, they were not bad! Vika also had her first english lesson with her teacher Liliya. Mick and I were a little concerned that she would not like it, or get bored half way through, but this was not the case.  She enjoyed it and told us that Liliya was a good teacher and ask if she was going to be her english teacher in America.
Today we are going to go back to the embassy and pack. We are ready to go home, but we are going to miss all the children from the orphange. It was difficult to leave them last friday, but it is a different feeling knowing that you will be half way around the world from them - instead of just in a different city. So many childern have taken our hearts we feel that we are leaving behind part of our family. One minute we are happy to leave and the next we are fighting tears for those that are left.
Thank you everyone who had made this journey possible for us!  Thank you for your prayers, we know that without all the prayer we would not have been able to do this, See you soon!

First day in Kiev

When we arrived yesterday morning, Sveta took us to a market so we could get food and water for the next couple days. It was nice because there were not many people in the market at that time of the moring.  While in the check out line a gentleman behind us ask if he could go in front of us, he only had one item, and we let him.  When he was finished checking out he removed his hat and with a sweeping gester he preformed a bow, it made us all laugh and smile.  After we were settled in the apartment Vika called Olya, and Rusa on skype, she misses her friends.  Later when we were all showered and ready we took a short walk outside, and when we got back to the apartment Sasha called and ask if Vika wanted to go ice skating. He drove us to a new mall with three floors, the top floor had an ice rink, roller rink, movie theater, bumper cars, and a large area for small children to play in. It was very clean and bright, most of the stores were clothing stores for adults. We walked around for a while and then Mick and Vika skated. Mick said the rink was very smooth and had a better surface than the one in Krivey Rig but was more crowded. Vika liked this rink also, she only fell once and was skating backwards and trying to pick up one leg and put it out behind her.
We had to walk back from the mall, it took about half and hour, Vika was not pleased about this, but we stopped at the open air market and got her a DVD so that made the trip better.  Mick and I do not mind walking, we enjoy knowing different places we can go by walking. There is no snow here, just mud, and the wind was blowing yesterday but the tempreture was not bad.
We are not sure what we are we are going to do today we are hoping to have fun. Vika mentioned ice skating again, I we would like to walk through the open air market.

Kiev

We are back in Kiev we took the overnight train and arrived about  5:40 am. Once agian there is no sleeping on the train, at least not for Mick and I Vika said she slept and by the energy she has I would say she did.
Last night was a difficult evening. We met with the orphanage director for tea, they have a tea with every family on the childs last day at the home, that went well. It was when we went upstairs for Vika to change into her new clothes that it started getting hard.  Vika's teacher was waiting for her in the hall, and then the girls from her group started to come in to say goodbye. The tears were flowing from everyone, we cried because Vika was crying, she cried because she was going to miss her friends, and they cried because they would miss her, and they all want a family also. It was so hard to say good bye to several of the girls, and a couple of them hugged me so hard I did not think that they would let go. We made it from the group room to the art room where Joe and Ginger were visiting with their son Autur, and a group of children. They were playing cards and eating candy, it lightened the mood for a while, then the cars came to take us, including Vika, back to the apartment. It took us 20 minutes to make itinto the car, then Anslee,Vika Love, and Olya got in with me. It took another 5 minutes to get them our and our Vika in, it was heartbreaking.
Mick, Vika and I went back to the apartment and waited for Sveta to come and then we all took the train together.  When we were on the train Vika said, I miss the group. Meaning her group of girls. I told her we missed them to.
We are now in Kiev and watching a movie. I would like a nap but I don't know if it will happen today.

PARTY

Our next to last day in Krivoy Rig and it snowed!  When we walk to the market this moring it was snowing pretty hard it was sticking on our faces and covering our coats.  We had a mission at the market today, we had Vika's going away party this evening and we had a list of things we wanted to get. We also wanted to have some breakfast for tomorrow because Joe and Ginger Rose are going to be here around 7am and we want to have something prepared for them. For the party we had chips, juice, two cakes, and 6 pizzas from the pizza shop. ( we ordered the pizza ahead of time, then stopped for them on our way to the home.)
When we arrived at the childrens home the girls had the group room decorated with ballons and angles, hanging from the ceiling, it was very nice.  Anslee helped me get the plates out and pour the drinks, she made sure everyone had a pizza and a drink and put the chips on plates. Before we ate all the girls said something nice about Vika and the teacher gave a speach that made Vika cry, I was crying to and I could not understand a word she said, but the teacher had tears in her eyes while she was speaking. The one girl told Vika she was the best of best. After that we all did a cheers with our cups and ate.
The girls in this group are like sisters, and before we left Vika said to us good girls and pointed to her group. We can not disagree, there are so many wonderful talented and smart girls.  We can only imagine how hard it is going to be for Vika to leave her family, because this has been her family for as long as she can remember. There will be tears, we are crying and we have only know the girls for a month, and most of them we have not seen every day. Pray that we have a good departure tomorrow, and that Vika will begin to look to us as her family, as she has looked to the girls in the past.

Alone again

Here we are alone again, since Russ and Cheri left monday evening, and we had no appointments today we can feel the longing to go home set in. When we are busy or visiting with people from home it is not bad, but after being here so long and by ourselves we start to think about home. We only have one week left in Ukraine, we enjoy our time with the children and are already starting to think about having to say goodbye to most of them. It was difficult to see Vika leave in August, we do not know how to describe to feeling of leaving a dozen of children knowing that you will not see them again. We pray every day that all of them could find a home and someone to show them the love and kindness that all the children that are being adopted have. We can see in their eyes the hope and longing, they are happy for their friends but you can see that they wonder if it will ever happen for them. 
Vika was in a good mood tonight, she knows that we are leaving for Kiev on friday, and as always her first question is "no school friday?'' I am not sure what time we are getting her from the home so I can not answer the question. Anslee and Vika Love are missing their parents and wanted us to tell them they love them.
We played cards and ate apples and candy. It was a nice evening and the girls were trying to talk with us more than usual. They were using our English/Ukrainian dictionary to find a word and we would use it to show them a word. It is late and and time to go to bed, tomorrow we are another day closer to home.

Passport

Yesterday we, along with Vika, drove two + hours, one way, to another city/town to apply for Vika's international passport. Everyone in Ukraine has an in country passport, it is their form of ID. But you have to apply for a passport for travel outside Ukraine. I know that we complain about potholes back home, but you should experience the roads here! There are potholes that would wreck your car, you have to swerve one way and then back the other, half of the time we were driving in the middle of the road. The ladies at the passport office had me print out Vika's full name for her passport, they could not understand the McC in McCracken, Sveta told me to get out my passport and show them. It was done correctly, but I don't think they understood why anyone would spell their name that way.
It is quite here today, we are going to start to get things repacked for friday. Other than going to the market and maybe for a walk we will wait until we can go the childrens home to visit. One full week left, please pray that there is NO snow or bad weather next thursday for our return trip.  We have not had good luck with our flights and would like to have an uneventful trip back.
I do not have any photos from yesterday so I will post a few from past days.

Another Court complete

We did not get to blog last night, and we only have a few minutes this morning, so this will be short. We went to the notary office yesterday to prepare some documents for todays trip for Vika's passport. After that we went to the market and waited to go to the childrens home. We had a few of the pictures we took made for some of the kids and they really appreciaated them.  Most of them have a photo album, and they like to add to them.  Russ and Cheri had their court and everything went well.  They were happy and their girls were happy! We met them for dinner at a very nice restaurant for dinner and all the girls got to come along, including our Vika.  Russ and Cheri had to leave from the restaurant to catch the train so the girls rode with Mick and I back to the childrens home. When we got there the main gate was closed and locked and my first thought was, we are going to have to lift each girl over the fence! But the girls motioned for us to follow them and we walked around the fence until we came to a spot with a hole in it, so we all went through. We got them back inside and went back to our apartment.  On the ride back Mick and I both said how empty it feels here since Russ and Cheri left. We did not know them well before, but we know now that we will be friends forever. This experience has made a strong bond between us and several of the other families we have met. To those of you coming after us - if you thought the week of camp was life changing wait until you get here!

Relaxing day

We picked up all the girls today and came back to our apartment and made spaghetti, salad and watched movies. It was a very easy day and the girls liked being here, it was nice to be able to do nothing. We hung out and used google translate when we wanted to ask them a question.  Cheri also brought finger nail polish and different designs and stencils for doing nails. Cheri made fruit smoothies and Vika Love got so much enjoyment out of toping them off with the whipped cream from the can. This must have been the first time that the girls experienced whipped cream of this kind. This was a very special day, the closest thing to being home that they have experienced since last summer. When it was time to leave of course they wanted to stay. They told us that they would stay in the apartment for the night and that we could go to the orphnage and sleep in their beds. It is so hard to leave Autur back at the home when we go out on the weekends. He is there to see us off and waiting for us when we get back. Joe and Ginger you have a very special young Man. We have grown to love so many of the children here. It is going to be very hard to leave them behind this Friday when we leave for Kiev.

Fun Day

Russie, Cheri, Mick and I were able to take our girls for the day, and as the girls requested we took them ice skating.  They did well on skates only a few spills, but all skated at a higher level then they have in the past. Afterwards we took them to eat at a pizza place, well there was more than pizza but that is what we had to eat. This restaurant had a menu in english, which was nice for us, and a russian menu for the girls. We know they( the people at the restaurant) thought we were big eaters, we each had a salad, then ordered three pizzas, and the girls ordered dessert. It was a large amount of food.
While we were eating we told Vika that we are leaving for home on Febuary 10th, she was so happy.  I think giving her a date makes it seem as if it is really going to happen.  The children all know the process and the steps - parents come, have court, and leave for the 10 day wait, then come back and finish the paperwork.  Our trip was different, we stayed after court and we were here for the 10 day wait or we would have had to make three trips. We know Vika understood this, but it must seem to her like we were never going to get to leave.  She had ask us before when we would be going home and we could not tell her because we were not sure. Now we have a set day I am sure it seems real and she is letting herself believe that it is going to happen.

Birth Certificate

At 8:30 this morning we left are apartment with Sveta to start the process to change Vika's birth certificate. (We are listed as her partents and her last name is changed to McCracken) We also received our court resolution today, which means Vika is offically ours. It was a long day, with a lot of waiting every where we went. For spending most of the day sitting in the car I am wore out and still thawing out.
We did not get to the childrens home until 5, and the kids seemed a little off. They got better as the evening went on, and by the time we left they were excited about going ice skating tomorrow.  Yes we are going skating again, we ask the girls what they wanted to do and they said ice skate. We enjoy getting to take them out to have fun. Oh, How could I forget! we have a flight booked! YEAH!! The 10th of Feburary, it  may sound far off but after being here for almost 3 weeks it does not sounds that far off to us.

Last day of the 10 day wait

Today was the final day of our 10 day waiting period.  We are so thankful that  this step is complete, now we can move unto the next round of paperwork.  It was another cold day but the sun was shining and the walk to the market was not to bad. Some of the vendors in the open air market know us by site now and will say hello and thank you.
The children were all in a good mood when we arrived at the the home and Russie and Cheri brought a large pack of embroidery floss so the children could make friendship bracelets.  Everyone started a bracelet but only a few finished, it is enjoyable but it takes some time to finish. Our Vika, Anslee and sister Vika, Rusalana, Ira, Olya and Russie had a snow and snowball fight. Everyone was wet when they came back inside, but they all had big smiles on their faces. I think the girls ganged up on Russie.

Don't ring a doorbell in the dark

We can not believe it! The sun was out again, we do not know what to think! This is the most consecutive days of sunshine we have seen on both our trips. We are not complaining we are enjoying.  It is cold- but the sun makes you want to be outside. We walked to the market and had a nice day with Russie and Cheri.
We were back in the art room tonight, but we had a fun time. Cheri has a program on her computer that distorts your face, like a mirror in a fun house, all the kids liked it.  They took turns sitting in front of her computer making faces and pulling each other into the picture. Russie had a childrens book with pictures and words in english, to see if the kids knew the english word for objects, like bear, shirt, plate.  We were suprised that most of the kids could read the written word, but could not tell you the name of an object if you covered the word. They know the word but not the meaning. Our Vika did not have much interest in this, Russie did get her to do it a few times because all the kids were taking a turn.  Autur on the other hand went through Russie's book and the book I had, and when we were finished he said "thank you". All the children impressed us with their reading skills, and Anslee and Sister Vika with their math.  We had a nice evening talking, reading, and playing with bend-a-roos. (They are a craft toy Cheri brought) Vika had sneakers on this evening, and when we made a comment on this she told us the zipper on her one boot broke.  I ask her if she wanted us to bring the boots we brought for her and she said yes. I was happy that she ask.
Russie and Cheri had us over for dinner, but when we arrived at their apartment door the light in the hallway was not on, it was very dark.  Mick rang what he thought was their doorbell, but it was the neighbors! I said you rang the wrong doorbell! When Russie opened the door the man in the next apartment was standing there in his pajamas, and did not looked to pleased, we said sorry! So never ring a doorbell in a dark hallway unless you are 100% sure it is the correct one.

Group Room

Winter has arrived!  There is snow and it is cold, not as cold as home, but the coldest since we have been here.  When we walked to the market today we found out the Mick's boots are not meant for walking on packed snow.  He was sliding around like he was wearing ice skates, but instead of going forward he was going sideways! I was afraid to walk in front of him or to close behide him, because if he fell he would have taken me with him! He did not fall, he just slide around a lot. 
Russie and Cheri took their Wii to the childrens home tonight and we stayed in the group room with all the girls.  There are 12 to 15 girls in Vika's group, ages 13 and 14. The girls loved the Wii games, they did bowling, ping pong, and sword fighting. It was nice to sit back and watch the kids play and be themselves.  It was a group of children having fun, playing. Mick and I had as much fun watching them as they did playing the games. Most of the girls took a turn but a few did their homework or just watched. It was a pleasant evening, the atmosphere was very relaxed.
We are all tired this evening so Russie and Cheri went to their apartment and we came back to ours to blog and get ready for bed.  Mick has already fallen asleep once, it is only 8 here and it feels like 10.

A sunny snow day

We awoke to about 5 inches of snow, but the sun was out and with the snow on the ground it was very bright, we needed sun glasses.  We showed Russie and Cheri the way to walk to the market and the open air market.  It was a cold walk but it was not unbearable, and by the time we were coming back to the apartment I hardly noticed the wind. We went to visit the kids around 3:30 and were there until about 7.  That was a long visit, last week were had to leave at 6:20.  Because it had snowed all the kids wanted to play in the snow, or bring a handful inside to try to put down someones back. I should not say all, mostly it was our Vika.  She had me go outside with her and take a picture of her and Autur lying in the snow - it made me cold looking at them! When we went to leave there was a young boy outside waiting for a snow ball fight. Mick, Russie, and several of the other kids (boys and girls) had a good battle.  A few of the younger girls that kidnapped Mick the other evening were watching from an upstairs window.  They opened their window and were calling Mick- Mick!  When he looked up at them they started to talk to him in Russian- I think they were trying to give him pointers on the snowball fight.
Russie, Cheri, and Sveta came over to our apartment for dinner, it was nice to have company and share meal. Now it is late and time for bed, we are both tired.

Movie and a Pizza

The snow came down most of the day, not hard but fine and steady.  By 6 pm there was not much on the ground, but right now, 12:30 am it is coming down hard and the wind is blowing. We heard that we might have 6 inches by morning.  We are not sure how things work around here with that much snow.  We know that their are no snow shovles, and no plows, it might be interesting tomorrow.  It is a good thing that we can walk most places.
We along with Russie and Cheri Walk took all the girls to see Tangled, in 3D. The girls enjoyed the movie, Cheri and I took a nap through some of it, and Mick and Russie watched it all.  It was in Russian with not subtitles. Afterwards we ask the girls how they liked it, they said it was good but they had already seen it 2 times already!  We did not know this! We don't know who took them or when they saw it, but they did not seem to mind watching it again. From there we went to the pizza shop, we all ate different salads and pizza.  mick and I always let Vika order the pizza, because that way she can get the toppings she likes.  Tonight it was mushrooms, chicken, and tomatoes, all good choices. We went back to the childrens home and visited for about half and hour and stopped at the market on the way home. The drivers went to the big mega store, Cheri and Russie have not been there before so it was a new adventure for them.
When we got back to the apartment we put our groceries away and walked to Cheri and Russie's apartment, then walked them back to ours so they know where we are located. No one knows what we are doing tomorrow except going to visist the kids in the afternoon, we think our morning is free, maybe we will take a walk and enjoy the snow.

Ice skating and the Circus

Today was another good day. We had snow last night, about an inch and everything was white and bright.  We, along with the Walks, took Vika to the ice skating rink, and then met up with the orphanage at the circus.  When we arrived at the skating rink they said that there would be no skating until 1:30.  It seems that they run skating sessions in one hour shifts, and we were to late for the one that was started before we got there.  We were told we could purchase tickets in advance for the next session, but not for another 50 minutes. So we went bowling, Vika was not to thrilled about this because she had her heart set on skating.  The bowling section was not as croweded as last week and we got a lane with bumper guards, so there were no gutter balls. This made for a better game for the girls, and it put Vika in a better mood because they could knock some pins over every time, not just once in a while. After the alotted waiting period I went and waited in line for ice skating tickets, there was already a line. We finished our bowling game and went and got our skates. Vika, Nastya, and sister Vika did a great job on skates! There were a couple spills but nothing major. What we had to be carful of was the skaters around us! There was a group of teenage boys, and none of them could skate, they would come by us with their arm and legs flailing and if you were not careful they would crash and take you down with them!
With the help of Nastya, Russ and Cheri's daughter, we ordered lunch at the restaurant by the skating rink. The girls all had pizza, and Vika got chocolate ice cream.
After lunch we were off to the circus. We had purchased our tickets before we went skating to make sure we had seats.  We found the kids teacher and they sat with their group.  We were on the other side of the ring from them, but they kept waving at us.  The circus was better than we anticipated, there were many different acts. The kids had been there before and were not as impressed, but they still enjoyed it. It was after 6 when we left and we took the kids back to the home and said goodnight.  I only have two pictures from today, because Vika had our camera last night and the battery was almost dead when we got it back this morning. It was worth it, there are some excellant pictures of her and some of the other children.

The Walks have arrived

Russie and Cheri Walk arrived in Krivoy today!  We did not see them until we went to the childrens home this afternoon, but it was good to see them. Their girls were smiling from ear to ear, and our Vika was with them when we meet them.  We all went to the art room and they told us about their trian ride and what they did today.  They had not been to the market yet so they were going after our visit at the home was finished.  We had so many children come and visit tonight that we lost count.  Mick was kidnapped by three little girls, all wanting him to give them his undivided attention and play with them. The one girl would come up beside you and hold your hand and hang onto you. She has been coming to visit on and off for the past week but has never said to much, but tonight she was very friendly, we think her name is Violya (Vi-ol-a?) I think  because it was friday night, and there is no school tomorrow, the kids had more freedom and were allowed to visit longer.  I played cards with Autur, and the other kids were busy taking pictures and talking with Russie and Cheri.  At one point Russie tried to tickle our Vika and she ran away saying no, no!  She said no but we know that she was enjoying it.  We took fruit and water for the kids and came back with an empty bag.  We know that they get fed, but we are not sure if all of them eat.  They tell us the food is the same all the time and it is not very good. Our Vika knows she is the next in line to leave for america, and she seems to be ready to go.  When we talk about taking the train to Keiv she will ask when, I wish we had an answer!
Tomorrow we and Russie and Cheri are going to take the girls ice skating, and to eat, but we have to be at the circus before 4.  The whole childrens home is going to the circus and we need to make sure our girls  get there also. We (the adults) are welcome to go also, but we were ask to be there early enough to get tickets. We figure if we pick up the girls by 11 am we should have enough time for everything.
There are no pictures tonight because Vika ask to keep the camera over night to take pictures of her group- how could I say no. This was a very good day.

What is that light in the sky?

Yes we got to see the sun today, well at least some sunshine here or there. The day was overall brighter than most.  Yes we walked to the market, again, we got yellow and red peppers, cucumbers, apples, and chocolate for the kids.  We went on a walk today and found a different market- grocery store. ( when we say market we mean grocery store, when we say open air market, we are talking about stands with fresh rabbit) The market we came across today has a larger bakery with some tasty looking items, we will return to purchase some.
When we arrived at the home this afternoon Vika was sleeping in a chair, I ask her if she was tired and she said yes.  Some of the girls were doing their homework and some were watching tv.  We went to the art room and watched a movie, Mama Mia, in Russian.  We found it at a video store and could not pass it up.  for those of you who do not know, when Vika was at our house she watched that movie every night, but it was the english version.  She was so happy to watch it Russian.  Nastya and Autur watched it with us, and part way through some of the younger children came in to visit. For a while I thought we would be taking the peppers and cucumbers back to the apartment with us, but when the smaller children came everyone started to eat them.  They were gone within 10 minutes.
Vika was in a good mood tonight, and when I told her about Eric and Dema flying to America today she let out a big sigh, and I ask her if she was ready to go and she said yes.
Tomorrow Russie and Cheri Walk will be arriving, and we are hoping that we can all go ice skating on saturday.  Nastya and Vika really want to go, sister Vika was not there to ask but I am sure she will want to also.

What day is it?

We seem to lose track of time and days here.  One day is pretty much like the next, but the highlight of every day is visiting the childrens home.  We don't know who waits for the the visit time more us or the kids! Today when we went to the market we got fruit and cheese for the kids.  We took apples, tangerines, kiwi, cheese, chocolate bars, and water.  We left with an empty bag. Nastya and sister Vika got to skype with their parents, who are in Kiev, and will be in Kriviy Rig on friday.  Andre got to skype with his papa for a few minutes, he really enjoyed that.
All the children seem to be tired tonight, several of them told us "I sleep". I can understand why, the sun never shines here and you get the rainy day feeling, like you could nap all day. I know this is not much of a post, maybe we can have more tomorrow.

The wait begins

The first of our 10 day stretch, a long quite day.  We walked to the market and I made vegetable soup for dinner.  It had snowed yesterday, but it was melted by this morning and everything is muddy again. Cheri and Russi arrived in Kiev today.  They called us and said they needed Sashas phone number, they had been waiting for two hours and no one had come to pick them up.  We phoned Sasha and he set someone for them.  We are waiting to hear if they have made it to their apartment. We went to the childrens home about 3:45 and stayed until 6:20.  It seems strange to be there with no other families.  We had our group of kids- Vika, Nastya, Vika, Rusa, and Autur, and from time to time a few other children stopped by to say hello. Some of the kids stay for the duration, others say hi then take off. All of them are precious!

Vika Grace McCracken

We had a good day. We got up and went to the market so we could be back in plenty of time to go to court. Sveta came to the apartment around noon and said we had court at 2. The judge was still sick but was going to be at court today. We left the apartment around one, went to the childrens home picked up Vika and her teacher for court.  The director was busy and could not be a court today so Vika's teacher went to represent the childrens home.  We had court in a small room, there were the four of us, the judge, prosecutor, the local social worker, the secretary, and two ladies that represented the local community.  Court lasted longer than we thought, about fifty minutes to an hour.  They ask Mick a few questions -Why we wanted to adopt,  why we wanted to adopt Vika, the five things that we need to know when we get Vika home.  Then she ask me more than Mick!  I was not prepared for this because we were told that the men usually get most of the question.  But I got through it, and we have our daughter!
After court we took the teacher back to the home and went to eat dinner, and Vika got to come with us! Eric and his son Dima meet us a nice restaurant.  This restaurant had traditional Ukrainian food, I had borscht, Mick had russian salad, and we both had a dish with pork, mushrooms, potatoes and cheese -everything was very good. Vika has some kind of sea food salad and chicken and mashed potatoes.
After dinner we said good-bye to Eric and Dima, they are taking the train to Kiev tonight, and they will finish the rest of their paperwork there.
Now we begin our 10 waiting period, Sveta said we could start the 28th on our next round of paperwork.

Movie Day

We forgot our camera at the apartment today so we do not have any pictures of todays journey.  Mick, myself and Eric were able to take our children out of the home today, and we went to the movies. We saw a disney picture but I do not know the name of it, I have seen it advertised back home so it is a recent film. The theater seemed fairly new, it had nice sets with a lot of leg room- unlike the airplanes! The popcorn here is sweet, no salt or butter.  I was alright but it makes you miss the real thing. After the movie we went to the potato house to eat.  They have more than just potatoes, I had a crepe with a mushroom and chicken filling, Eric had ribs, which he said were not bad, Mick just had potato wedges with a dipping sauce.  The kids both had potatoes and Dima has chicken, and Vika had the same crepe I had. We went to the big mega store/supermarket after that.  Eric needed to buy Dima a backpack, they are leaving for Kiev tomorrow evening and he wanted to have something for Dima to pack his things in.  We are going to miss Eric, it has been so nice having him here with us, but we are happy that his journey is almost complete and he is on his way home.
We went back to the childrens home and spent about an hour with the kids, they skyped Cindy and we showed them our house on Google Maps.  Then everyone wanted to see their home in America. Joe and Ginger we need your address, Autur really wanted to see his home.
Tomorrow we are hoping to have court, we pray that the judge has recovered from her illness and will feel well enough.

Ice Skating and Bowling

Today Mick, Eric and I got to take our children out of the home for most of the day.  We went to a complex that had an ice rink, bowling alley, and movie theater.  We were not planning to go ice skating but Vika said her ankle was better.  We knew that Vika liked to bowl, but we did not know about ice skating, but she loved it. She did very well, at first she stuck close to the wall and by the time we were about finished she wanted to skate in the middle of the rink and she was trying to do some tricks.  She only fell once. From there we went to the bowling section, Vika did not do as well at bowling but she enjoyed it anyway.  Shoe sizes here are European and that was a challenge for us, not the kids, they knew what size they wore.  By this time we were all hungry, so off to the pizza shop we went.  Mick, Eric, and myself thought we were going to the pizza place we always go to but we went to a different one, we like the one closer to our apartment better because they are use to dealing with we English speaking people. But to our suprise there was a kind customer at this shop that spoke Engligh and offered to help us with our ordering.  Vika chose what toppings for our pizza and we had salad and fruit. We all ate until we were full and we still had food left.
It was nice to be able to take the children out of the home and just watch them be kids and have fun! Vika told me she has ice skated four times before and has bowled several times. She ask me if we could ice skate in America. Seeing their faces when we were out as a family was all that we needed.
We ended our day back at the childrens home visiting with Nastya, sister Vika, Autur, and Ruslana. This group of children have formed a close bond. We had a few visitors, Dan, and Andre, but no one else came to visit :( We enjoy when the kids show up and spend some time with us, even when we do not know their names we enjoy their company.

No Court Today

We got up this morning anticipating court, knowing we had to be there at 3 pm we walked to the market and were back by 12:30.  At 1 pm Sveta called to say the judge was sick and there would be no court today. As we stated in our last blog, nothing here is for certain, you take one day at a time, and some days hour by hour. We pray for patience.
Eric Nole had his sons farwell party at the childrens home this evening.  He took pizza, juice, cake, and banannas.  His son is in the younger age group, maybe ages 6 -9.  I stayed  in the art room with our Vika, Nostya, sister Vika and Autur.  Eric gave me a pizza for these children and they ate it all!  It is good to see them eat because you know that they are hungry. The children skyped family and friends in the US until the battery on the computer went dead.  Then we sat and talked and played games.  Sometime during the evening all the pictures, except the ones that were taken tonight, got deleted from our camera card :(  There our some that we can not replace. Our day was not the best.
Tomorrow we are going to take Vika bowling, Eric and Deam are going with us. We ask Vika if she wanted to go ice skating, but she said her ankle hurt.  She said she fell yesterday and hurt it, but she feels fine otherwise. 
Sveta showed me how to make borscht last evening, it was very good and we ate the last of it today for lunch. I wrote down the recipe so I can make it when I get back home.

Two for One

I am going to combine today and yesterdays blog because one I am tired ( very little sleep last night) and two I did not get yesterdays blog done this morning.  Yesterday morning we received our missing piece of luggage --YEAH!  Mick was so happy to have pants, socks, t-shirts, and most important his suit for court. We walked to the market and another store to get plastic cups and spoons, we took ice cream to the childrens home last night.  At first the kids said no, no , but once one had some ice cream the rest followed. We got to skype with Auturs family and he was so happy!  His whole face lights up and he smiles and smiles.  When his soon to be Papa ask him what he wanted them to bring for him, Autur said "nothing, just come."
Today Sveta took us and Eric to a local museum, and a few video stores.  We found Mamma Mia in Russian, Vika will be thrilled.  We also got an Russian to English Rosetta Stone for ages 7 and up.  That she will not be as thrilled about. 
It was a quite evening at the childrens home, not to many children came to visit.  I will post a few pictures before going to bed.  Please remember us tommorow, we have court at 3 pm Ukraine time that will be 8 am in the US.  We do not anticipate any problems, but we have learned in this process nothing is certain until it is finished.

Reunited

At 3:30 yesterday afternoon Mick and I were ready and out the door to go to the orphanage.  When we arrived the art teacher waved us down and motioned us to come to her room.  We did not want to but we went, she tried to tell us something about Vika, but we could not understand.  She showed us that there was a program going on down the hall, so we thought Vika might be in there.  We went back to the art room and waited.  Autur was the first to spot us, he was outside an saw us through the window.  He came in gave us each a HUGE hug, then he left to go locate Vika.  Through the window we saw Nostya, and sister Vika with a group of girls in their dance outfits, they had been preforming at the program. They came inside and gave us hugs then went off to change.  Then we saw our Vika running to come inside, she came in with a smile on her face and gave us each a big hug! It was wonderful to see and hug her again. We showed her the new camera and the basics of how it worked, and that was all it took.  Most of the pictures taken last night were taken by her.
Soon the other children came back and we skyped with Lilly and Dema, we tried Cindy but she was not there, and Cheri & Russ, Joe & Ginger were not on skype, we will try again tonight. The kids loved talking with Lilly and Vika told her she was ready to go home to America - that made us happy.  The children were not so enthusiastic when she told them about having English lessons every day on skype.  She told them it would not be boring, she was going to make it fun, but they did not seem convinced.
After that the girls all wanted You Tube so we could have music. They like Lady Gaga, Rhianna, and Avril Lavigne, but not Mily Cyrus, and a BIG no to Justin Beiber. They also enjoyed Abba - Mama Mia! Vika and Nostya were singing along with Mama Mia and Nostya told me that Vika likes to sing.  At one point the girls were called to eat and Vika told us she was going to go, which is diffferent because she usually does not.  When she came back she had a cookie for Mick and myself.  The children here have nothing yet they want to share everything and anything they have.  We know that Vika did not go to eat, she went to get us a cookie.
The time went by so quickly and Sveta was there before we knew it.  All the kids were giving us good- bye hugs and saying zaftra, meaning tomorrow. They all had smiles on their faces and were happy.
Mick and I will probably walk to the market today to get something for the children to eat.  We try to take fruit or yogurt, and of course some candy. Bubble gum is also a big hit.  We hope you enjoy our new photos and will post again tomorrow.

Eric and the train ride

Eric Noel made it back to Ukraine yesterday afternoon and stayed with us at the apartment until we got the train, Mick and I both enjoyed having someone to talk with.  After 8 last night we left for the train, Mick and Eric slept in one compartment and Sveta and I in another. The train left Kiev after 9 and we arrived at Krivoy Rig around 6:30 this morning. Niether Mick or I slept very well, well we did not sleep at all.  I do not know why we can not sleep on the train it is very restful.  We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast, the coffee tasted very good!  Mick and I are staying in one apartment with Sveta and Eric is by himself in another. We are in the apartment Eric and Cindy were in last time and Eric is in the one Tina had.  After we got unpacked and showered we went to the martket.  We got food and a pair of pants and socks for Mick, no we still do not have our suitcase. (Yes Bianca it is the suitcase we borrowed from you - we are never going to borrow anything again!) We did have some good news about the missing bag, it has been located in Germany and we should- notice I said should- have it by thursday. Keep praying! 
This afternoon around 3:30 we are going to the orphanage to see Vika, the kids all know we are to come back today and we can not wait to see their faces and give them hugs! We will have some great pictures tomorrow.  I am going to try to sleep for a while, Mick is already napping.

Back in Kiev

WE made it!! It was not the best trip, but you live(and travel) and learn.  Our flight from State College was delayed for 2+ hours so we knew that we would not make our connection in Philly.  The ladies working for U S Airways in State College were great, they rebooked us on a later flight to London.  But with the rebook came changes- so now we were going from State to Philly, from Philly to London, from London to Germany, and from Germany to Kiev.  We sat in Germany for 7 hours at the airport and got into Kiev at 2 am. minus one piece of luggage.  The suitcase with Micks suit for court and most of his other clothing.  We will contact the airline later this morning and see if it can be located.  It is after 4 in the morning here and we are going to try and get some rest.  Eric Nole is arriving today, and we are going to take the train tonight to Krivy Rog with him and Sveta.  That is good news because we can see Vika on Tuesday.

Back Again

Home for one and a half weeks and back we go.  We just found out this morning that our court date is not until the 14th- bummer!  It would have been nice to stay home a few more days, but there was a chance that our court could have been on the 11th, so we had planned our return trip accordingly.  We have purchased a new camera, repacked our bags, and will leave today at noon for the airport. Will blog when we have internet service in Ukraine.