What do I do with it all?

I found a little booth at the Tatar bazzar that sells batteries so I should have camera fired up again tomorrow. Actually, there is not much that you cannot buy at this little mini-mall of sorts. I found a bread lady that speaks some English! Naturally, I shop her booth every day. I get flaky jam turnovers for breakfast and some bread to go with dinner. Good stuff!

Theo had a runny nose this morning. I pray that he doesn't get sick. They may not let me bust him out then. :(

If Zhen gets sick I will not be a bit surprised. Today the little stinker found a lump of bird poop on the playpen and...you guessed...he ate it! OK, shouldn't a 3 1/2year old child know what is food and what is not? He doesn't have a clue. Yesterday it was a pinecone.

I've got to get a translator to come visit with me. The language barrier is getting me down. Today I sat with Theo after coming inside. He was hot. So I took off his shirt, knowing he would be put back into his crib when I left. Along comes a nurse with a shirt and stuffs him in it! Huh?

Oh, and the good nurse was on duty in Theo's room today and you know what that means! Children I never see are suddenly up and playing. Dear, sweet Edwin (RR Other Angels) has a dimples I noticed today! Like all the kids in this room, he is severely deconditioned. (Think "concentration camp survivor") But he is strong and can actually lift his head!

Other children are not on Reece's Rainbow, but should be. There is a boy named Dima, with CP?, who army crawls over toward me in the playpen when he sees me. He has a sparkle in his eye and I know he doesn't belong here. How I would love to see him crawling around his family's living room, exploring and learning.

There are more children with Down Syndrome in Zhen's room. How many more I do not know. I did see Anastasia today. Her photo on RR doesn't do her justice. She's cute as a button!

The closer we get to going home, the more emotional I get at the orphanage each day. What do I do with the things I've witnessed? Why has God allowed me to see what I have seen, smelled what I have smelled and heard what I have heard?

Wow! Could it really be Thursday?

Sorry, no new photos today. :(

The kids wear the same clothes nearly every day. Today's photos would have looked like yesterday's, and the day before, and so on. Today I figured it was pointless.

I continue to attempt to visit both boys at the same time. I get Theo first, as he lives upstairs. I bring him down, put him in the stroller and then stroll into Zhen's room to get him. He helps me push the stroller out the door and down the stairs! We're careful! Not a single ramp in the place.

Oh, I take that back. There is a ramp in a new wing of the orphanage. It's pretty steep and leads up to a shiny new kitchen. I honestly don't think this kitchen is or has ever been used. Strange. Creepy.

So Zhen and I push Theo outside and we find an empty playpen for Zhen. That's easy because none of the groups are currently playing outside at all. Zhen plays with his car or some books while I take off Theo's socks, hat and shirt.

Today there was piles of cigarette ashes and some butts in the playpen. I looked like someone had a party there last night. The orphanage grounds are pitifully fenced. The chainlink has huge holes in many locations and I have seen young men cutting through the grounds in broad daylight. I can't figure out why. There are paths all over the place and it's not really shorter.

When I get Theo stripped down for comfort I put Zhen in the swing. He's barefoot! He has a way of wedging his shoes in the bars of the playpen and slipping out of his shoes. It totally makes me smile. I put Zhen in the swing and I gently grab his toes when he swings my way. I'm trying to teach him the word "piggies!" I turn and play with Theos' piggies for a moment, too.

I place the Ipod in Theo's stroller, wondering if he can hear the music, and I'm singing to the kids and hoping that God can hear me...

As we lift up our hands
As we call on your name
Will you visit this place
By your mercy and grace

Satan is well pleased with the lives he is destroying here. No secret. But it just hit me hard this afternoon.

I visited Zhen this afternoon, thinking that it was only going to get hotter this weekend. I didn't want to take him outside in the heat so the caregivers let us play in the mostly unused play/therapy/music room. From this room there is a window to the room where all the cribs from this grouppa are located. I saw rows of babies (2-3 year olds) laying very quietly. Quite still. No toys. Nothing to do but wait.

Folks, this is the "good" room at this orphanage! And, that's all I've got to say about that.

What day is it?

Honest, I keep forgetting what day it is! Crazy. I went to church tonight, so maybe that will help me get a grip on the rest of the week.

I didn't get many photos today because the camera is running low on batteries. I need to hit the grocery store and try to find some good batteries. Wish me luck.

Zhen always lays down to play with a car. Funny, huh?


Theo is complaining because all the other kids here get to go outside in just their underwear. At least he wasn't stuffed into some long sleeve pj's like last week. Shortly after this photo he lost the hat, shirt and the socks!

Zhen, or Zhen-ka as they like to call him around here, was trying to put a hat on this balloon! How cute!

After church tonight I got to tag along with the pastor and his wife. We went out to the teen camp that they are running this week. I got to see some of the countryside and learn some history about the road from Simferopol to Yalta. Then I got to listen to some excellent preaching in the hottest room ever! Seriously the building we were in had one door and none of the windows open. The walls were, no kidding, three feet thick. My camera was locked in his trunk, but maybe someone else has some photos.

On the way back to the city, we stopped at a cafe to eat a late dinner. We had a private, air conditioned room to eat in. How fun is that? What a blessing to have made some friends here!

Trying something new!

I was quite proud of myself for getting out of the apartment on time this morning. It is difficult to get to bed on time because late nights here are a great time to catch up with stuff at home in the afternoon. Midnight here is 4pm at home.

So as I'm walking to the bus stop I notice lots of cars parked on my street. I didn't take much notice. Then as I'm walking up the wooded path I notice people hanging around on the path. Very unusual. More and more people as I approach the main street where the buses run.

Pretty soon I'm am pushing through a crowd. There are policemen, military personnel, blue tents set up and people with flags. When I make it to the crosswalk there are military men standing shoulder to shoulder. The crossing light turned green and I pointed to the bus and tried to get through but they moved together so that I couldn't cross.

I wanted to get my camera out, but I had an odd feeling like maybe that would be a bad idea. I had to get on the bus, so I walked down to a corner and tried to cross. The traffic was insane so I went ahead and snapped a photo while I was waiting to cross. This is looking back toward my bus stop.


I got this photo after I crossed over and was walking back up toward the stop.

Ignore the man in the blue tank. The military people in the red berets in the background were the ones that were blocking the crosswalk. It was almost 9am by the time I actually got on the bus. So much for getting out on time. I was hunting on the internet this afternoon trying to figure out what is going on. I did find out the the blue flag people are from a political party called Party of Regions. There were even more of them when I came home at lunchtime. I had to take the bus to the next stop and walk down the hill to get home.

I pick up Theo first in the mornings, but this morning the caregiver would not let me have him. I had to call my facilitator to find out what was up. It seems that the doctor assigned to the groupa has to personally look (examine?) at each child each day. She had not yet seen Theo this morning, so I would have to wait.

No problem, I just went to get Zhen. He was happy to see me! He has some purple medicine dotted on his face.

I wish he was waving hello, but no. He is trying to grab the camera!

We tried a little something new today. I ran out of small bills yesterday and I needed to grab a bus. Not wanting to hand the driver a 100, I ducked into a pharmacy and found these cute toothbrushes! I bought some cotton swabs too. You don't even want to know what it is like to go three weeks without those!!

Zhen did really well chewing on his toothbrush!

Theo was a little harder to convince.

I was pleasantly surprised that he let me put the brush in his mouth. He even let me move it around a bit. One of our first stops at home will be the dentist. He's going to need some work in that department.

It was very hot even this morning. Somehow Theo's shirt "fell" off! As great as he is doing and as much progress that I've seen...well, he has a very long way to go.

I get the impression (even translated it is difficult to understand) that the orphanage doctor is opposed to giving Theo extra calories due to the summer heat. Does this make sense to anyone? I have offered to bring him fish oil, high calorie formula, whatever to help him fill out a bit, but no. We just cannot get home soon enough.

Handbook

There is a handbook created by Reece's Rainbow for families who are planning to travel to Ukraine to adopt. It has been an irreplaceable asset for us. However, there are some practical things that it doesn't cover. I mean, really, it could be hundreds of pages long and still not cover everything, right?

Also, there are some specific information that solely pertains to the city I am in which would be very nice for families to know about. Like, which bus stops closest to the orphanage? Where is a good restaurant and how do I order?

I've started a blog to share some of this kind of specific information with families who are coming to Simferopol. It is a private blog, intended only for families who are officially committed to a child here.

If you have been here and you have some tips you would like to share, please leave me a comment here. If you are committed to a child here and would like an invite, please leave a comment here as well. Thanks!

Me again.

It's me again. My brain is fried from sitting in the sauna (bus) too long. I can't think of a snappy title for the post!

This morning we had a fantastic visit! This afternoon...well it didn't happen. I got all the way over to the other side of town before I decided that it was too hot to play with the kids. It would not be fair to them to take them out in this heat. I checked the temp when I got back home and it was 37C/98F but 42C/107F with the heat index. Then I didn't feel so bad. I may just stick to morning visits if this heatwave does not break.

Again, I'm visiting with both boys at one time. The caregivers generally help me get the stroller down the steps, which I am thankful for! I'm sure they would love to have a ramp. (Thinking mission project in my head.)

Zhenya is well trained to push a stroller! You just put his hands on it and away we go. He may complain but he doesn't quit or try to run/crawl away.


Look at Theo sitting up tall! This boy is getting stronger and stronger every single day. God is so good! Zhenya decided to sample some dirt while I was getting this pic. The boy will eat anything he can grab!

My favorite caregiver showed up. Actually, come to think of it, she walked out with us. I was curious about her, so I called my facilitator to ask her some questions. It turns out that she is a speech therapist and works to improve the conditions for all the children in the orphanage. She is a great asset to the place and deserves a huge raise. Here she is working with Theo.

Handsome boy!

James, you know what this face means! It is hard to believe that he could barely sit up when we met him two weeks ago.

Yes, you are still handsome! Thanks for looking at the camera.

There are some lovely girls in the background here. We asked about one of them that James fell in love with. Turns out that she has parents with rights to her AND a brother in this orphanage as well. She is not available. :(

I just love this lady. She works hard for these kids. I wasn't too sure about the swing for Theo after the last time I tried, but he did great today! Oops! How did Masha get in the photo! I'm telling you, this little girl is FULL of life. She is just a joy! I'm praying her family will feel God nudging them to step forward.

Say da-da-da-da-da!

Yes, he is tied into the swing. It's a common practice here. I was OK with it because we weren't going to leave him there or anything. This place could really use some baby swings. After all , it is a baby house. The oldest kids are 4, 5, or 6, depending on what sort of special needs they might have.

There is that face again. He is snorting snot. Sinus issues perhaps.

Therapist working with Theo and Masha in the playpen. Yep, he is tied in. It gives him a little more support to sit up straight.

See?

Oh, you are OK!

See? What a big boy you are!!

I'm glad that I called the facilitator and had her ask questions from the therapist. She shared with me that they have seen big changes in both boys since we arrived. She is so happy for them and for us. She wants to take pictures of us together all the time. What a great lady. What a fun morning!

Dog days

Not quite sure how much of this you want to know or see, but here is the wallpaper in my room! haha! Now you know why I keep getting headaches!


Actually, I think my head hurts today because I got dehydrated this morning. There is hardly a breath of wind here and the air is thick. It is surely the dog days of summer here. Here are some photos from my shortcut to the orphanage. This is the side of an apartment building that I walk past. Nice, huh?

I told my driver that I would not walk through a neighborhood in my country that looked like this. Here, though, it is perfectly safe. This is what EVERY neighborhood looks like.

Someone has a cute little flower garden fenced off outside of their apartment building. Perhaps it is a babushka that sells flowers on the street?

I guess this is where you park your car if it is a nice one. Not very many people own cars here. It is really easy and cheap to get around on the bus, so a car is not a necessity.

Check out this huge school. This is only half of it. It looks very empty and lonely since school is out for the summer.

This dog ran out in front of me while I was walking. I was confused for a split second because it looks so much like my Gunther! I am headed right up those steps in front of me.

What's that up ahead?

Oh, look! The orphanage gates! My shortcut is really a pleasant shady walk. Much nicer than walking along a busy street.

These children are filling up their water bottles from a mossy old spigot on the side of the building. I would not want to drink that water.

It was so HOT this morning. Most of the kids were inside. I had no trouble borrowing the stroller again. Looks like Zhen has noticed that he has a big/little brother!

Yep, he has noticed him alright!

I just love the expression on both of their faces here! Theo is like, whoa - what just happened? Zhen is like, heh-heh-heh - look what I got!

Hey, give me my goofy hat back!!

I guess Zhen figured if he couldn't have the hat, then no one should have it!

It was so hot that we were done visiting by 11am. Zhen was crying pitifully like he did for me one other day. I think he was just hot and thirsty so I took him back inside. Theo's little tummy was very bloated today and he kept burping when ever I had him upright. He needs to be upright more often. I would love to have given him a drink, but he might have burst! I can't wait to get this little pumpkin home and figure him out.