Our Journey ends- We`re coming home

Not really, but that was how things were looking at our third appointment. We did end up getting a little 2 yr old girl that we were after. We wish we were able to say that things went well but that is far from the truth. If we were to write a book on this trip, the last 48 hrs. would take up 1/2 of it. For a number of reasons, we can`t elaborate but we are very pleased with the final result!! We are in the Donetsk region again in a town called Kramatorsk, coincidentally at the same orphanage where we had taken the 4 yr old to have her CT scan done. Things are going well as our paperwork got finished today and now just has to go through the proper channels, court etc etc. We are staying at a very nice apartment that is about a 10 minute walk from the orphanage and 5 minutes from a nice supermarket. Everyday we have to bring treats for our litte girl`s "groupa" ( ten little guys/gals) and for her too. We were able to spend about 2 and 1/2 hours with her today and it went very well. She was really shy at first but began to warm up to us in the play area which we were happy to see. She is very bright for a two year old and the only issue she has is a lazy eye that we have talked to Doctors in the states about and were assured that is minor. (Thanks Tim) We will be just fine with this little girl because I was schmoozing her with a cookie before we left this afternoon and when Gail took her out of my arms she said "NYET" ( no in Russian) She might even learn to like Gail after awhile!! :) The day of our appointment we spent the morning at Pechersk Lavra. This is the Cathedral with the underground tunnels where past monks and saints are laid in glass enclosed coffins. The bodies are wrapped in elegant cloth and very well preserved. When I say tunnels I don`t mean 8 ft. high and 5 ft. wide. Some of the tunnels are about 6.5 ft. tall and some were about 6 ft tall and the width was approximately 36 in wide. Oh, there wasn`t any light bulbs to be found either, we carried little candles to light our way along with scattered little candle lamps along the way. Needless to say after bouncing off the white whitewashed walls with my thin physique, Gails says I looked like the Pillsbury dough boy. After about twenty minutes I had had enough and got out of there. I was looking for a signed "confined space entry permit" but none were to be found. We don`t have much more to share for now, but here`s some pictures of our latest exploits. Take Care, Gail and Craig


PS- Our newest little household member's name is : Briley Ann Christenson




This is a picture of the Parliament building here in Kyiv. They have I believe 28 political parties here and none get along.

Snow removal Ukraine style if it gets removed at all.

Typical apartment building in Ukraine. Sorta rough on the outside but quite nice inside. Very high number of apartment dwellers here.

Picture of the infamous door that takes us into the SDA

Our newest friend here in Ukraine- he speaks English better than most people over here.