Sunday = day of the sun . . . Monday = not so much

 We awoke Sunday morning to a sight we hadn't seen since arriving in Ukraine last Monday . . . THE SUN!!!  It was a welcome break from the gray skies that have been around for the last week.  From what we understand, the skies back home have been the same; but either way, it was nice to see it shining in the sky.  We figured while we had the light, we would take a couple of pictures from the window in our apartment here in Krivoy Rog.  These are some houses that are sandwiched in between the apartment complexes.  We are told that these houses are highly sought after as places to live . . . maybe it's because, you can have chickens (as you can see in the picture at left).  Whatever the reason, it's an interesting contrast between the towering apartment buildings and the houses with fenced in yards.  Our driver, Andre, came and picked us up and took us to the orphanage to get Artyr.  Again, he was standing outside waiting for us!  On the way to go bowling (which Artyr was VERY excited to do), we stopped at one of the only places in Krivoy to get American hamburgers . . . McDonald's!  Please refrain from laughing at this next comment . . . It was the best meal we have had since we have been over here (stop laughing)!  Chicken McNuggets and Cheeseburgers have never tasted so good!  We sat outside on their exclusive patio for their best customers.  Although it was a little windy and Artyr kept saying how cold he was, nothing was going to deter us from this fine dining experience!  I don't think we will ever look at McDonald's the same way, again . . . hahaha!  After our exquisite lunch, we headed to the nearby bowling alley (which is located inside the same building with the ice rink, movie theatre, and fitness center . . . which we probably should have visited after our lunch).  We paid for bowling and told the gentleman at the counter our shoe sizes  (in European sizes, of course . . . 45 for Joe, 35 for Ginger, and 37 for Artyr).  The man put our names into the system for us; although, we probably could have done that ourselves, considering the keypads and instructions were all in English.  We're guessing that the whole system was from the U.S., because every time you bowled, a saying would pop up in English on the screen like "Bummer" or "Way to Go, Dude!".  

 

We found out that Artyr's bowling style will need a little work, as you can see from the video!  Maybe he can take some lessons from his new Mama . . . check out her form (thanks, Grandpa White for teaching Ginger when she was young)!  After we went bowling, we headed back to our apartment to just hang out with Artyr until we had to take him back to the orphanage.  We had spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner and we realized, once again, that everything tastes different over here (except McDonald's).  The food is not bad, by any means, it's just different.  After dinner, we went back to the orphanage, and little Andre and Dan came in to visit just long enough to get some chocolate and then go back to their group.  No other children came in to visit, which made us a little sad, but it was great to sit and play Uno with Artyr and continue the process of getting to know him a little better.  When we headed home we hoped to be able to find a way to watch the Super Bowl on the internet or on TV.  We were unsuccessful, to say the least; but we stayed up until 2 AM (7:00 PM back home) trying!  This morning we slept in a little extra, because we weren't going to head to the orphanage until later in the afternoon.  We walked to the market and to get some photos printed for Artyr that he had asked for us to bring him.  We also went to exchange money and had lunch at Celentano's Pizza (under $10 for Pizza, a crepe, fruit salad, and drinks . . . woo hoo!).  When we got to the orphanage in the afternoon, we were greeted quickly by Artyr, and we soon saw Anslee and Vika Walk, as well.  We were able to Skype with Cheri (Anslee and Vika's new Mama) while we were there, and we just played ball and spent time with the new Walk Sisters (formerly, the Dorash Sisters) and Artyr.  Several other children popped in and said hello (including Andre for his daily treat).  Here are some of the pictures from our time spent in the orphanage tonight. We were very blessed to be able to obtain a downloaded copy of the Super Bowl, which we only had the opportunity to finish half of (that's why we're up so late).  We will finish the second half tomorrow morning before heading to the orphanage in the afternoon.  Please PRAY for our time spent in the orphanage with Artyr and the other children.  Thank you so much for upholding us in prayer!  God Bless!