A whole new outlook

Hi everyone,

(Gail here)Craig and I are getting to the bored stage. We haven't ventured out much except for the few blocks to the orphanage.It's time for a night out and maybe we can stumble onto a good toy store. At the orphanage Briley is also getting a bit restless with the same toys and the same 4 walls to stare at. Yesterday she was looking through our photo book and a picture of Tory fell out.She picked up the picture and ran over to me so I could fix it. Her words were"Momma, Tory-Tory," she caught me off guard a little. Today she's been saying Momma, Poppa,Daddy, and Tory. She tries to say Collin but so far only the K sound comes out. Collin-Mom will try working on it-I know she's just going to love the two of you!

On the way home from our walk today, I told Craig I missed my toaster (besides our family) he laughed. Well then the game started, he misses his (besides our family) daily newspaper and his diet Sunkist and being able to have a good glass of milk out of a jug. The microwave and his being able to jump into a vehicle and on ,and on and on!!! So things we take for granted...........................,

1. Fresh water out of the faucet: Yesterday a line of people were standing behind a water truck waiting to get their empty bottles filled.
2. A clothes dryer: I'm not sure why they don't use them. I've already thought of how they can run a dryer pipe out of our apartment. Too much time on my hands!
3. A car: I won't complain about my Ford anymore, I'm just glad I have one.
4. A garage: I don't even have to see the snow if I don't want too, I just drive in and drive out at home.
5. A house: A home with two floors and our very own bedrooms. Many Ukrainian homes have the bedroom and living room together.
6. Roads without pot holes: not common here.
7. Country side without scattered trash: not common here.
8. Bubbly smiling people: I think because of the conditions and the way they're brought up they are inclined to being serious most of the time.
9. Manicured and landscaped yards: From the looks of the grass it doesn't get mowed. I love my anal "lawn man" (Craig) more every day.
10. Menard's, Lowe's, and Home Depot: They all could make a killing over here. Their local home store is put to shame.
11. A fresh variety of colors: All of the paint colors are still back in the 60's. Orange-blue-green are the basics.
12. Our select comfort air bed: All we have had is a futon mattress, with side boards.
13. A top sheet: They use the flat sheet to lay on and a covered feather blanket to cover up with.
14. Microwave popcorn: We haven't been able to find popcorn of any kind here.
15. Canned soup: None here, period! That we can recognize anyway.
16. A fresh meat counter: One that doesn't stare back at you!!!
17. Carpeting: Haven't see any since we left the States!
18. Clean sidewalks: Between the doggy landmines, the gravel ruts and scattered garbage you have to watch where you walk.
19. Charmin: It's made out of cardboard here.
20. We also miss "the system" in the United States. It might be far from perfect, but it has the bureaucracy here beat all to heck.
21. And last but not least "English", We miss talking with people....!

Craig here now with our daily photo journal:
This is the entrance to our apartment building. If the front door is left open all the neighborhood cats like to .... shall we say "mark their territory" on this landing. UFFDA!!

This is our backyard/playground.

This is our "garbage disposal" on the second floor in the locked position.

This is the open position in which you deposit your trash and then close it and "Presto" your garbage is gone. I don`t have any idea where it goes and probably don`t want to know.Thompson Sanitation doesn`t have to worry about these locals running them out of business. A lot of the trucks here look to be running on LP by the looks of the tanks behind the cab.Mobile repair truck- the guy was working on the apartments and wasn`t too happy to have his "ride" photographed. Notice "The Look"This was an "Uh Oh" moment. She already has a taste for jewelry. Just what we need- another one!!!Having a good giggle with Dad.And the giggling continues. We have not found anything with Briley that would give us any cause for concern. She seems to be a very healthy and happy 2 yr. old and we feel very fortunate and blessed!!!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Hi everyone,
(Gail here) Didn't do much today. It's been raining . Weather is a bit goofy from what we are used to in MN. Yesterday was beautiful, the sun was starting to melt the snow off the sidewalks so you could get around a little bit better. Today everyone had to use their umbrella's to fight the rain and wind. If anyone had told me to bring an umbrella for the middle of Feb. I would of said "Ya right!"

Briley is warming up to us more and more everyday.Today we got our share of hugs with a lot of smiles. We brought here some sliced turkey for her afternoon snack. Something about candy and cookies two times a day just wasn't setting well with me -hmmm can't imagine why? Anyway you would've thought she had never seen meat. She just kept piling it in ,storing it like a little pocket gopher. A cute one at that but nevertheless her cheeks were as round as they could be.

Each time we come to visit Briley the caregivers change her into her pink dress. We are going to have fifteen days of "pink dress" pictures to look back on.Today she had some foamy light slippers on and she thought she was pretty cool.

Meanwhile Craig`s been scaring the neighbors with his body guard stature. He had two woman stop and wait for another gentleman to catch up to them before they would walk past him. He said he wanted to growl at them so bad. I told him he should of growled when the old Russian woman chewed him out for walking on her freshly mopped floor at the grocery store. Boy - If looks could kill after he tried saying "Sorry." It didn't phase him though,I think he has maybe seen the stink eye before. :)

Well tomorrow's another day of visitation , two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon with a few hours in between to stop at the grocery store. Our highlight of the day is seeing Briley then deciding how much food we can carry back home in our little plastic sack. Thats another story: In Ukraine you have to buy plastic bags as you check out your groceries. Most Ukrainians carry heavy plastic bags (like some bag they got from purchasing a garment from the clothing store) that have a sturdier handle. Each day they stop at the store and take a few items home with them, remember most Ukrainians walk everywhere. If you have your own carrying bag it gets placed in a locker (with a key) at the enterance of the store. After purchasing your items you walk through the clearance gate and back to your locker to get your bag. Also when you choose your fruits ,veggies, or bulk cookies a clerk in that department will weigh them ahead of time putting a price on them before you go through your check out. Each check out clerk gets to sit down when scanning your food. Security Gaurds stand at the entrance and also around the check out counters at all times.


Here is the fancy Ukrainian clothes dryer we have in the apartment. So far this is the only type of dryer we have seen.
Here`s the same clothes dryer on the "High" setting. Used when your in a hurry.Pretty typical "look" of the Ukranian women, leather, fur and heels.This is the view of the orphanage we get when we come up the sidewalk.Another sidewalk on the orphanage grounds.Briley and Mom having a little alone time.Dad and Briley learning how to drink out of a juice box. He already sort of knew how but she didn`t.

More things in Ukraine that make you go hmmmm.

We are in a routine now for the next 10 days of visiting everyday for two hours in the AM and two hours in the afternoon, so there won`t be much new stuff to report. Thought it may be a good time to show some more of the things here that are just plain different than we are used to. Briley is warming up a little more each day with us. She is young enough that we are sure she doesn`t grasp the whole adoption thing, but nevertheless she is starting to like being around us. It probably doesn`t hurt that she knows she can expect a cookie and some crackers everytime she sees us. We brought her a juice box today without even thinking that she might have never seen such a thing. She struggled at first but after a few dribbles she caught right on. Her given name is Oxanna which isn`t actually too bad, even sorta catchy. But we figured if she turns out to be heavier set that the "ox" part was a joke waiting to happen. Just kidding, we decided on Briley over a year ago.





This is Tory-age 6, one of the two main reasons we are ready to be back home. .





This is Tory with his head down, ready to race!!This is Collin our oldest boy, age 9. Reason #2 we want to get home.Collin also eats, sleeps and breathes racing all summer long. He is our Mr. Smooth.This is Babushcka Judy and the boys. Without Grandma Judy and Grandpa Kenny taking care of the boys, we wouldn`t have been able to come to UkraineWe were at a mall with John and Charlene from Kentucky when all of a sudden music was blaring, people were crowding around the red carpet, and red ropes were getting strung up with a lot of security looking guys. We thought great, we are going to see some dignitaries or some celebrities. The music reached a crescendo, the crowd was going wild and then.............OUT MARCHED OF ALL THINGS............DUCKS!!!!!!! I thought I had led a sheltered life but sheesh, give me a break!Charlie Brown lives in Ukraine and heres the proof- his Christmas treeIn Ukraine the cars are so small they don`t use a tow truck in our sense. They just pull up alongside with a little crane and hoist away. No bull, this is how they do it.They do value their meats here. Notice the anti-theft thingy on the sausage.Fish is really popular at the markets here. Here`s the fresh cleaned fish.Fresh carp, and Gail thought it was walleye she had been eating. Notice the price-25 gryivna (about $3.00). I could retire if I sold the carp in Geneva Lake at that price.Don`t like the whole fish?- not a problem, just buy the heads.Pick out the milk to drink. Took us three tries before we found one to drink.Good selection of fruit juices here. Mostly boxed and non -refridgerated.Like your fish fresh? Not a problem- take your pick, carp or catfish.Bagged ice cream. (we think :) )Wonderful selection of beer!!!I thought 9000 miles away from home would stop the antique bug. WRONG!!Elvis Lives!!!!And last but not least. Our new little one!!!!!And one more with Mama Gail. HOPE YOU ENJOYED!! Thanks for checking in. Gail and Craig

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.

Sunday check-in

Hi Everyone, Had a busy Sunday here, we were awakened by our cell phone this morning and it was Luba our translator. We were to be ready to move to a new apartment at noon. Right at noon she was at our door and away we went. Much nicer apartment and we have internet to boot. If you have e-mailed us and we don`t reply, please don`t be offended. We downloaded over 160 e-mails today due to our 3 day absence and there probably won`t be any way to answer them all. We spent the day with John and Char, our friends from Kentucky. We travelled on the subway and met them at a station where we were to tour the Chernobyl museum. We had directions but couldn`t find it, so we started asking 3 different people and got three different answers. After striking out with all three we found a taxi and made him aware of what we wanted. No problem- for 50 gryivna he would take us. (about $6.00) So all 4 of us got into this tiny car and away we go. We went about a block and he motions, we`re there!! So close and yet so far :))) and to top it off the darn thing was closed on Sundays. So we walk back to tour a Church we had seen and of course had to walk by the same cabbies parking spot. I`m sure he thought "what a bunch of stooges". The Church was actually a church that is currently in use, not just a museum type place. People would come in and approach not an altar but all sorts of pictures and statues and light a candle and say a prayer. No pews or anything like a service, just come as an individual and walk to where you want and for lack of a better term, just have your own private worship service. It was actually really neat to be involved in something like this. The subway rides are something else! We ride an escalator down about 344 ft.- no not a misprint, it is the deepest subway in Europe I believe. But anyways, once you get to the bottom where the trains are you have to decipher if you want the blue, red or green train and which way you want to go on it. Once you have that figured out, just stand with the other "cattle" on the platform. When the train pulls up wait for the onslaught of people coming off before the onslaught of people getting on runs your butt over. No hurry though, you have about 30 seconds before the doors slam shut and away you go at a very brisk pace. Oh yeah, remember the 344 ft. deep thingy? That means when you travel across town, you are also travelling underneath a quite large river. All we can think of is, we hope that the tunnel is better maintained than some of the apartments and buildings are over here. We were just getting settled in at the apartment tonight when we heard the Skype ringing. Collin had already noticed that we were back online so we were able to talk with the kids for a long time, and also Judy/Kenny so that alone made us feel alot better after 3 days of no skyping. Well nothing else to add but we have had a few requests for some picture so we will tack a few on here. Oh, one last big bit of news, Gail did finally give in on letting me get a nanny. She will love it in the U.S.. The only problem is that she has two kids of her own and I`m not sure if they will be able to adapt. I`ll put her picture down below.

`Til our next posting, Gail and Craig














Here is a picture of our new "nanny" and one of her "kids". Sorta cute eh? Doing dishes is easy with a little help from our own personal "Fairy"Street musician by one of the Cathedrals serenading us for a few gryivnas.Gail at the internet cafe doing her thing. The only person in Ukraine with a green coat.One of the buildings off the square lit up at night. Neat to see all these buildings at night. Picture from a bell tower of the St. Sophia`s CathedralOnce you get out of downtown Kyiv things aren`t quite as neat and tidy. This was at one of our subway stops on Saturday.