Ice Ice Baby

You may think the title of today's blog is about the weather, but it isn't.  It is about the song by Vanilla Ice, which we heard on the radio here in Ukraine today on the way to the orphanage.  They were also saying that MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" was coming up.  We were both dancing in the backseat of the car . . . We're sure that our driver, Andre, thinks we're weird!  The first two pictures posted here are of the Art Room in the orphanage.  This is our hang out when we come each day.  We have been going into the other building where Artyr's group room is, but we were very sternly told no today (in Russian) by the one nurse/doctor of the orphanage.  During flu season, the orphanage pretty much gets quarantined to keep sickness to a minimum.  They told us this at our initial meeting and told us we should buy masks to bring with us (which we did the first day we were in Krivoy).  We have brought them with us each day (not sure how much good they do us in our pockets . . . but we have them).  We believe we will only go in the Art Room from here on out, unless we are wearing our masks.  The next picture is what we do almost every day in the orphanage . . . play Uno!  The children really like Uno, and so do we.  It is fun to interact with the children as they attempt to speak English and we attempt to speak Russian.  They laugh at us frequently when we pronounce words incorrectly.  The picture at left is Artyr, immediately after he was caught cheating in Uno . . . Janel, maybe that's how he beat you so frequently!  We sometimes have one or two children come to visit, but tonight more than ten children came in to see us during our time.  Not all of them played Uno, some just came in for the treats, and some just came to say, "Hello".  Tonight's special treat was potato chips in everyone's favorite flavor . . . bacon!  Yes, we said "bacon".  They were actually very good.  They tasted a lot like our BBQ chips back home.  The children ate a bag and a half of these chips along with some candy that we had brought.  We have been bringing yogurt and fruit for the children, so tonight was a nice break from all that healthy stuff!  After Uno was over, we played with the Bendaroos that we had brought over.  If you are unfamiliar with what a Bendaroo is, it is a skinny, flexible craft item that you bend into any shape that you wish.  You can make all kinds of different things with them.  There are patterns that you can follow, or you can let your imagination guide you.  We made deer (Ginger, a doe; Joe, a buck), as you can see by the picture.  Russie and Cheri, who were here before us, told us how much the children liked the Bendaroos.  Boy, were they right.  All of the children, except one or two, were playing with them.  We gave the buck to this young girl, whose name is Nastya. The doe will stay in the Art Room along with Russie's shark that he made while he was here.  All too soon, we saw our driver, Andre, pull up in his car outside.  This meant it was time to go.  It is always sad leaving Artyr and the other children at the orphanage, but we know that, if the Lord allows, we will return tomorrow to see them.  We are going to end our blog with some more pictures of these beautiful children; but before we do, we have some exciting news we want to share with you . . . No, we're not pregnant, and No, we haven't decided to adopt another child, yet.  

We found out for sure that our court date has been scheduled for MONDAY at 10 AM!!!  We've known that was a possibility for several days, but we didn't want to say anything until we were told for sure.  This means that we will be able to fly home on Tuesday.  We were able to change our tickets for just the minimum change fee ($250 per ticket) with no additional charges . . . Praise God!  We are now scheduled to leave Kiev at 6:45 AM and, because of the time zone differences, arrive in State College at 4:15 PM the same day!  That's a full 5 days ahead of our previous plans!  We are so excited!   BUT PLEASE DO NOT TELL OUR GIRLS, GRACE AND JORDYN!!!  We want it to be a surprise.  We're going to work it out with the Stine family, who they will be staying with at that time, so that we can surprise them.  We are so excited, because we miss them soooooooooooooo much!  Please PRAY that this would all work out, and that we will be able to come home on Tuesday.  Thank you!  Speaking of coming home, please PRAY for Mick and Janel and Vika Grace, as they fly out of Kiev on Thursday morning.  Please PRAY for safety and that Vika would adjust well to her new life in America.  The McCrackens are a lovely family and we were blessed to share in this journey with them and all of the other families that we have gotten to know so well during this adoption journey.  On an unrelated note, please PRAY for Joe's brother, Robert, who was in a car accident yesterday in York, PA.  Thank you!  Okay, here are some more pictures of these beautiful children . . . As always, we ask that you would PRAY for them to find a family that would love them, and please PRAY that God would show you how He wants to use you to love these children!  Thanks and God Bless!