Our Apartment in Kiev

Hello Everyone, it is 10:00 PM in Kiev, and it's really hard to believe it's only 3:00 PM back home.  Our flights to Ukraine were pretty uneventful, for the most part.  On the way to Detroit from State College, the University of Iowa wrestling team flew with us, shortly after they finished defeating the #1 team in the nation, Penn State.  Although, we weren't too excited about the defeat, we congratulated the wrestlers and explained that we were both Penn State grads.  They were very gracious and seemed appreciative of the kind words (we didn't tell them that we hoped they lose the rest of the year, though . . . haha).  While in the airport in Detroit, we had the opportunity to watch some of the NFL Pro-Bowl before we boarded our plane.  The plane we boarded was an AirBus that held approximately 280 people.  There were only 50 or so people on the plane, though!  This made that overnight flight a little more enjoyable, because we could spread out and relax.  We landed in Paris almost an hour ahead of schedule, which was nice (but still didn't have time to go visit the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre).  We did still get to enjoy some heavenly croissants, at the airport, though).  On the way from Paris was opposite in almost every way.  From the start, we were delayed about a half hour.  Then, on a plane that held about 50, approximately 280 people crowded on (we didn't know standing room only was allowed on flights . . . okay, we are exaggerating, but it sure seemed like that many were on the plane . . . it was crowded).  When we arrived late in Kiev, we called Sasha (from the adoption agency, STORK) and he and Sergei (our driver) came to pick us up.  They drove us in to the city of Kiev and took us right to the market (grocery store) so that we could get some food and supplies for our three day stay in Kiev.  We Skyped with Grace and Jordyn last night at about 10:45 our time, and that was really nice.  They are with very good friends of ours (Hello, Foltz family) in Hershey, so they informed us that they had gone to Chocolate World on that day.  They are always excited about visiting Chocolate World and visiting with the Foltzes and their dogs, Cody and Poncho.  After the call, it was time for bed.  We had been awake for quite a long time, intentionally, so that we would be tired when it was nighttime here.  It worked.  We fell asleep pretty easily last night.  Our day then started early this morning with the alarm going off at 6:00 AM.  Russie and Cheri were coming back to Kiev from Krivoy Rog (pronounced Krivy Rig) on their way back to the U.S.  They had their court date yesterday and are now officially the parents of Anslee and Vika (that makes 6 children total, including their 4 lovely kids that are at home waiting for them to return).  Please PRAY that Russie and Cheri would not be delayed in their journey home because of the snowy weather.  Speaking of the weather, in case you all are not happy with the snow and such, please know that we prayed for A LOT of snow days while on our trip.  Outside of her 4 personal days, Ginger will not be paid while we are gone, so we've been praying for a lot of snow and a lot of school days off.  2 days off per week, would work pretty well for us . . . :).  We have been enjoying our time in Kiev so far.  We've included some pictures of the outside of the apartment buildings here in Kiev and also of the inside. This is pretty much what all the apartment buildings look like from the outside.  We understand that this is as nice an apartment as there is in Kiev on the inside.  So, we feel really blessed.  Tomorrow is our appointment with the SDA (State Department of Adoption) here in Kiev.  It is at noon.  Please pray that all goes well and that we are granted permission to visit Krivoy Rog.  Lord willing, we will receive permission on Thursday, and we will then travel overnight by train to Krivoy Rog.  We will then visit the children's home and see Artyr on Friday, if everything goes according to plan.  Thank you so much for all of the kind words and for the prayers.  We are truly blessed to have you in our lives to walk this journey with us.  We are excited to have each of you meet Artyr when we arrive home.  Please keep the prayers for us coming and for all of those who will follow.  One more prayer request before we go, though.  Please PRAY for Mick and Janel, as they prepare to leave Krivoy Rog with their daughter Vika on Friday.  They have been here for awhile, and we are sure they are ready to go home.  Lord willing, we will see them on Friday when we arrive in Krivoy Rog.  Thank you, again, for your prayers for our family, as well as all of the other families!  God Bless!