Weekend - Quick update
We have been granted great weather over the weekend and a charming little town to walk around. We had a great time finding all the sites and amazing ourselves that we can get around even though largerly we do not speak the language since on the western part of Ukraine they speak Ukrainian.
We will be headed back to Kiev this evening on the train (I can already hear Andy's excitement at this prospect).
In light and love,
Audrey & Andy
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
Editorial Section - Week in Review
FIRST PORTION OF THE WEEK
It seems that something transformative occurred over this week and we thought we might try to capture this in writing. There are also many funny moments worthy of note.
Firstly, Audrey was never comfortable with the referral of the little girl and was hopeful due to the faith that Andy was holding that this would all turn out perfect. In the end this did turn out perfectly.
The day of decision making started out with a phone call from my beloved mother at 4am (she was thinking it was 4pm). In Kiev the longitute is so much further north than Southern CA it seems it is always light it gets dark after 10pm and is light before 4am. Audrey in particular is attuned to the light and has not been sleeping well given the light, the mental gymnastics and the being sorely homesick. So, the first day that Audrey is sound asleep past the witching hour of 4 am the phone rings. Note that the rooster did not start his song and dance till way after 5 am and we figure he needs a reminder call from CA every morning about his morning duties.
We were both hoping that we had a strong sense or sign of how this part of the story was suppose to go and hence, would not have required the long hours of discusssion. The discussion itself between us was rather amazing when Andy spoke he added clarity to how Audrey saw things and vice versa. The decision on this matter really was a true result of partnership where we were able to build off each others strengths to get to the right answer for us as a family. As time has past and we have discussed this further it is clear as day that we made the right decision on many levels.
During the course of lot's of discussion over this week we have had a lot of levity over how Andy plays the rooster (mouth piece) at times and at times is very happy to pass the rooster role over to Audrey. Over the last several years Audrey has had the opportunity to actually see that she is not the main and only rooster in the coupe.
It seems hard to capture that during the discussion and decision making process regarding the first referral we now have a little less exprectation and are not attached to the end result in a very healthy way. We guess the only way to say this is in truth we do not have control over the entire process and however it turns out it was meant to be. This is a very freeing spot to be in since in our daily lives we try to think at least that we are in control of how everything turns out. It is clear that we can do all that is required of us and at some point the rest is left to faith. As we have said about this journey it take a tremendous amount of faith to go out on a limb like this and a certain amount of crazy to just hang out with however it turns out.
MID WEEK
Being back in Kiev on Tuesday night gave us pause to consider what our options were for the rest of the week. We knew we would wait on word from the SDA if we could get a second appointment this week or have to wait till next week. In the interim we forged out into the rain on Wednesday. There has been persistent rain since we have been here far different than three years ago when it was hot as blazes (and we are prepared for that). On Wednesday out during our errands we ran into two English speaking women from Canada trying to dodge the rain at this upscale coffee house. We sat and chatted for about two hours. These gals are in Kiev with their kids who were performing the next evening at the Kiev Opera house doing traditional Ukrainian dance. As we were talking on of the gals was telling us about her trip to Lviv last year as this is where her heritage is from. We found it humorous that Lviv was on of three options for our weekend divertion and that we would sit with someone who knew none of this and was sharing abou the things to see and do in Lviv.
Flying anywhere seemed prohibitively expensive and g-d forbid we did not have access to our lifeline the cellphone we decided we needed to stay in Ukraine. As you know we took the train to Lviv. Ukraine as a country has a lot of economic issues which play out in things like their energy grid and plumbing (if you can call it that). So, we feel very fortunate to actually have had a washing machine in the apartment but no one in Ukraine (except for maybe the very wealthy) have clothes dryers. Audrey washed our clothes first thing in the morning and it seems the washer takes like three hours and hung everything to dry before our late night train excursion. Surprise it rained all day and the clothes were not drying. Audrey was actually ironing everything from undies to t-shirts in the hopes of drying out to put into our backpacks. On the train ride all our personal undergarments were strewn throughout the cabin still trying to dry out.
The train ride is made for smidges/midges. Andy was making fun of everything from the minute we got onto the train. Andy really was humorous as he went on about the Russian music that we were subjected to in the cabin and how Mr. Proper really did not care what anybody thought at this point anymore. Andy was climbing up on the sleeping bunk shoes intacted trying to do anythig to get rid of the music when in comes the train attendant. It was just a funny moment of many on our uncomfortable ride from Kiev to Lviv last night.
We are at the Lion's Castle this evening and have not seen a lick of Lviv as it has rained/poured the entire day additionally it was virtually impossible to sleep on the train. We actually splurged and paid for the best class cabin on the train and would not do that again. We will be venturing out to the internet cafe (our home away from home) and we did go our for a exquisite (Andy's words) dinner this evening that cost USD $70 (such a deal). We have not gone out to dinner since we have been in Ukraine and this must be some kind of a record for us.
Our hotel in Lviv is quite and peaceful which is a large contrast from where we have been staying in Kiev. The various apartments in Kiev have been in the center of town and very noisey. The other morning the translator called at 10am and we were sound asleep since we probably were up till around 3 am given all the noise.
Well it is a blessing that we took the train to Lviv as it is cooler and delightful here. We look forward to seeing the town tomorrow. Lviv seems to be alot more like western Europe.
Have a loverly weekend,
Love,
Audrey & Andy
It seems hard to capture
It seems that something transformative occurred over this week and we thought we might try to capture this in writing. There are also many funny moments worthy of note.
Firstly, Audrey was never comfortable with the referral of the little girl and was hopeful due to the faith that Andy was holding that this would all turn out perfect. In the end this did turn out perfectly.
The day of decision making started out with a phone call from my beloved mother at 4am (she was thinking it was 4pm). In Kiev the longitute is so much further north than Southern CA it seems it is always light it gets dark after 10pm and is light before 4am. Audrey in particular is attuned to the light and has not been sleeping well given the light, the mental gymnastics and the being sorely homesick. So, the first day that Audrey is sound asleep past the witching hour of 4 am the phone rings. Note that the rooster did not start his song and dance till way after 5 am and we figure he needs a reminder call from CA every morning about his morning duties.
We were both hoping that we had a strong sense or sign of how this part of the story was suppose to go and hence, would not have required the long hours of discusssion. The discussion itself between us was rather amazing when Andy spoke he added clarity to how Audrey saw things and vice versa. The decision on this matter really was a true result of partnership where we were able to build off each others strengths to get to the right answer for us as a family. As time has past and we have discussed this further it is clear as day that we made the right decision on many levels.
During the course of lot's of discussion over this week we have had a lot of levity over how Andy plays the rooster (mouth piece) at times and at times is very happy to pass the rooster role over to Audrey. Over the last several years Audrey has had the opportunity to actually see that she is not the main and only rooster in the coupe.
It seems hard to capture that during the discussion and decision making process regarding the first referral we now have a little less exprectation and are not attached to the end result in a very healthy way. We guess the only way to say this is in truth we do not have control over the entire process and however it turns out it was meant to be. This is a very freeing spot to be in since in our daily lives we try to think at least that we are in control of how everything turns out. It is clear that we can do all that is required of us and at some point the rest is left to faith. As we have said about this journey it take a tremendous amount of faith to go out on a limb like this and a certain amount of crazy to just hang out with however it turns out.
MID WEEK
Being back in Kiev on Tuesday night gave us pause to consider what our options were for the rest of the week. We knew we would wait on word from the SDA if we could get a second appointment this week or have to wait till next week. In the interim we forged out into the rain on Wednesday. There has been persistent rain since we have been here far different than three years ago when it was hot as blazes (and we are prepared for that). On Wednesday out during our errands we ran into two English speaking women from Canada trying to dodge the rain at this upscale coffee house. We sat and chatted for about two hours. These gals are in Kiev with their kids who were performing the next evening at the Kiev Opera house doing traditional Ukrainian dance. As we were talking on of the gals was telling us about her trip to Lviv last year as this is where her heritage is from. We found it humorous that Lviv was on of three options for our weekend divertion and that we would sit with someone who knew none of this and was sharing abou the things to see and do in Lviv.
Flying anywhere seemed prohibitively expensive and g-d forbid we did not have access to our lifeline the cellphone we decided we needed to stay in Ukraine. As you know we took the train to Lviv. Ukraine as a country has a lot of economic issues which play out in things like their energy grid and plumbing (if you can call it that). So, we feel very fortunate to actually have had a washing machine in the apartment but no one in Ukraine (except for maybe the very wealthy) have clothes dryers. Audrey washed our clothes first thing in the morning and it seems the washer takes like three hours and hung everything to dry before our late night train excursion. Surprise it rained all day and the clothes were not drying. Audrey was actually ironing everything from undies to t-shirts in the hopes of drying out to put into our backpacks. On the train ride all our personal undergarments were strewn throughout the cabin still trying to dry out.
The train ride is made for smidges/midges. Andy was making fun of everything from the minute we got onto the train. Andy really was humorous as he went on about the Russian music that we were subjected to in the cabin and how Mr. Proper really did not care what anybody thought at this point anymore. Andy was climbing up on the sleeping bunk shoes intacted trying to do anythig to get rid of the music when in comes the train attendant. It was just a funny moment of many on our uncomfortable ride from Kiev to Lviv last night.
We are at the Lion's Castle this evening and have not seen a lick of Lviv as it has rained/poured the entire day additionally it was virtually impossible to sleep on the train. We actually splurged and paid for the best class cabin on the train and would not do that again. We will be venturing out to the internet cafe (our home away from home) and we did go our for a exquisite (Andy's words) dinner this evening that cost USD $70 (such a deal). We have not gone out to dinner since we have been in Ukraine and this must be some kind of a record for us.
Our hotel in Lviv is quite and peaceful which is a large contrast from where we have been staying in Kiev. The various apartments in Kiev have been in the center of town and very noisey. The other morning the translator called at 10am and we were sound asleep since we probably were up till around 3 am given all the noise.
Well it is a blessing that we took the train to Lviv as it is cooler and delightful here. We look forward to seeing the town tomorrow. Lviv seems to be alot more like western Europe.
Have a loverly weekend,
Love,
Audrey & Andy
It seems hard to capture
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Weekend
To all,
We waited around today to see if the SDA would call to give us a second appointment this week (no surprise) we did not receive a phone call and anticipate that we should get an appointment the first of next week. It seems that there are a multitude of issues at the SDA at this point and we are one of 50 families awaiting a second appointment. I think we are different to the extent that we actually went out to see the child and then declined as opposed to refusing the referrals given without even seeing the child. At this point only time will tell the final outcome and if we are meant to add to our family with a son or daughter.
I mostly cannot imagine the thought of spending another weekend waiting around in Kiev. I have seen as many Churches as I care to for along while. Hence, we are off by train to Lviv. My grandfathers family was from this area. Lviv is close to the Carpathian mountains and if nothing else since we really only have two HEAVY backpacks with us we might venture into the mountains. I do have to say that this was not at all the way I imagined this trip to go.
However, all said I have learned and seen another side of my sweetie that is confirmation of what a good man he is and Andy has also had an opportunity to see me in new and different light.
I do not think that there is much else to say except that we are open to whatever possibilities show up for us at our second appointment and ask all to hold good thoughts and prayers that we get an appointment early in the week and early in the day that will have a child available that matches our criteria and will be a compliment to our existing family.
To all a grand weekend,
In light and love,
Audrey & Andy
We waited around today to see if the SDA would call to give us a second appointment this week (no surprise) we did not receive a phone call and anticipate that we should get an appointment the first of next week. It seems that there are a multitude of issues at the SDA at this point and we are one of 50 families awaiting a second appointment. I think we are different to the extent that we actually went out to see the child and then declined as opposed to refusing the referrals given without even seeing the child. At this point only time will tell the final outcome and if we are meant to add to our family with a son or daughter.
I mostly cannot imagine the thought of spending another weekend waiting around in Kiev. I have seen as many Churches as I care to for along while. Hence, we are off by train to Lviv. My grandfathers family was from this area. Lviv is close to the Carpathian mountains and if nothing else since we really only have two HEAVY backpacks with us we might venture into the mountains. I do have to say that this was not at all the way I imagined this trip to go.
However, all said I have learned and seen another side of my sweetie that is confirmation of what a good man he is and Andy has also had an opportunity to see me in new and different light.
I do not think that there is much else to say except that we are open to whatever possibilities show up for us at our second appointment and ask all to hold good thoughts and prayers that we get an appointment early in the week and early in the day that will have a child available that matches our criteria and will be a compliment to our existing family.
To all a grand weekend,
In light and love,
Audrey & Andy
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Update Pryluky Referral
To all,
We went out to the region on Monday to visit with the little girl that we were given a referral for. First seems like nothing has changed when being in the region it is hard to obtain good communications in any form (cell or Internet).
When at the SDA (Ukraine Adoption Agency) we were shown a handful of children that did not fit our criteria and we chose the little girl in the Pryluky region. As I already said we visited the little girl on Monday and to our dismay and grand disappointment there were many health conditions not previously disclosed to us. The long and short of it is that we had a very long day mulling over what the right choice regarding this particular adoption was for our family. After much discussion we have chosen to decline going through with this referral. We are scheduled for a second appointment for another referral soon. Once there is any substantive news we will update.
Andy was stellar today in making one of the toughest decision that we have ever had to make as a couple. Working through this together allowed us to make a very hard choice and what in the long run we believe in our hearts is best for all concerned parties. In connection with the events in Pryluky I have to say for the record that Andy was 100% correct in being stubborn about not bringing Jackson. It was hard enough to face what we saw, felt and discussed without the concern of the love of our lives.
We can not say enough thanks to everyone for all the various forms of support.
In peace,
Audrey & Andy
We went out to the region on Monday to visit with the little girl that we were given a referral for. First seems like nothing has changed when being in the region it is hard to obtain good communications in any form (cell or Internet).
When at the SDA (Ukraine Adoption Agency) we were shown a handful of children that did not fit our criteria and we chose the little girl in the Pryluky region. As I already said we visited the little girl on Monday and to our dismay and grand disappointment there were many health conditions not previously disclosed to us. The long and short of it is that we had a very long day mulling over what the right choice regarding this particular adoption was for our family. After much discussion we have chosen to decline going through with this referral. We are scheduled for a second appointment for another referral soon. Once there is any substantive news we will update.
Andy was stellar today in making one of the toughest decision that we have ever had to make as a couple. Working through this together allowed us to make a very hard choice and what in the long run we believe in our hearts is best for all concerned parties. In connection with the events in Pryluky I have to say for the record that Andy was 100% correct in being stubborn about not bringing Jackson. It was hard enough to face what we saw, felt and discussed without the concern of the love of our lives.
We can not say enough thanks to everyone for all the various forms of support.
In peace,
Audrey & Andy
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Kiev - July 1st 2007
Good Day,
It is the middle of the night here and it is pouring down rain (Jackson it is raining cats and dogs). Being the light sleeper that I am I thought I might as well get up and do something besides lay sleeps in the room. Having grown up as a child on the East coast and remembering the summer rains and the fond memories I find the sound very pleasing even if it is keeping me up this evening/morning.
My quick story on the pictures is as follows:
Picture 1) The first view of the Church where we visited today.
Picture 2) A closer view of the entrance to the Church where we visited today. We went to the caves located on the Church grounds. An experience for all. The caves take you what seems like a long way down under the ground. I thought the ground was shaking under there and maybe experienced for the first time a touch of claustrophobia. For Andy the challenge was his height since a large portion of the caves were not much taller than me (mama mia - the poor fellow).
Picture 3) My beloved and me somewhere in Kiev.
Picture 4) Olga and Ira on the Church grounds. Ira is Olga's niece. It was a delight to meet Ira and as you can see she is a beautiful young lady and has an equally lovely personality.
Picture 5) Olga, Ira, Andy, Lena and Vadim at the train station in Kiev. Lena is also Olga's niece and Ira's sister. Vadim and Lena are boyfriend and girlfriend. Vadim studied English at the University and speaks English amazingly well and was helpful in clearly translating stories that got some good giggles.
Picture 6) It is a special day when there is more than one picture of me. Andy and Audrey on the Church grounds in Kiev.
We had another grand and very full day today. We were warmly welcomed by all of Olga's family. Being busy has been a blessing for both us since waiting is HARD and we get to go to Pryluky tomorrow evening.
We had a lot of very good laughs today regarding the many similarities in English and Russian. It was also a great honor to have the opportunity to spend the entire weekend with what feels like family in a land far from home.
Thanks for all the e-mails and posts to the blog as it is nice to wake up to look and see that there is someone on the other end of cyber world.
Good night/Good Day - Love,
A&A
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Weekend - Pictures
Well it was eventful this weekend since it is still Indepence Day celebration and many demonstations as well. See attached photos and explanation of sites.
I will number the pictures down the left side and then continue on the right side.
Picture 1) A picture of Kiev from the river boat we took down the Dnipro River.
Picture 5) Andy in the park on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Kiev.
Picture 6) Andy and Olga in Independence Square by statue of Horse. I tried to get Andy up on the horse Evaleen/Charlene for a great shot and Andy would not oblige (afraid the police would arrest him). Holy oh me oh my I have never seen so many Police (Militia) in one day in my entire life i.e., anticipated demonstrations.
Picture 3)St. Michael's. The grounds are loverly and the church is stunning at night with the glimmer off the gold domes.
Picture 3)St. Michael's. The grounds are loverly and the church is stunning at night with the glimmer off the gold domes.
Picture 2) Bela I am assuming you might be the only one to recognize what party the red and blue flags belong to. Having witnessed demonstrations of both parties one very pro East/Putin and the other pro West let's you know that there is a free speech.
Picture 4) Ola and me in Independence Square by the same horse that Andy would not ride.
I hope everyone had a loverly weekend back in the states and will have many stories to share with us when we get back home.
Much love,
A & A
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Pictur es - Kiev
Picture:
1) is the gate way to our Apartment,
2) is across the street from the apartment,
3) where the gal is coming out is our apartment building, and
4) is a statute in Independence Square.
Loading pictures is so simple it is just a push of a button. Soon to be showing pictures of new family members along with other members of the existing family.
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