FIRST DAYS IN IVANCIV

During the first weekend we needed cleaning supplies and a fan for our room. The rooms at the hotel had windows put it was still warm and it took until after 11 pm to cool down. We enlisted the kids to help us find just what we needed. They took us to there enclosed shopping mall. It had the capability of having about 8 - 10 stores in it. There were 6 operating and a lady who sold flowers at the entrance. It was two stories tall and about 4,000 sq. feet of store space with about the same in area to walk around to get from store to store. The middle area was where they set up vendors during the winter who set up outside in warmer times.

Our group of children had grown from our three girls and the girl who could interpret to ten with other children who just tagged along. As a group we entered these little stores and the shop keeper looked at us with horror. Later we found they were afraid the kids would steal things from them.

We quickly found the things we needed and headed back to the hotel . We bought soda's for everyone and when we got to the room we opened up a 3 1/2 lb. bag of mixed candy and passed it around. It made it one time around and was empty. We also had a dozen banana's we had bought for the girls and they got eaten within the first 15 minutes. The fan got hooked up and the rooms got cleaned by everybody doing something and in no time we were all watching pictures I had brought with us on our laptop.

As you could imagine they were enthralled with the pictures of our house and the pets. Then we all started taking pictures of each other and then the wrestling started. Next thing I know someone is banging on the door asking us to hold it down. With that we took them back to the orphanage and played there for a while.

Word of the candy spread quick. I was surrounded with kid's wanting candy. I went to the nearest store and bought about a dozen packs of gum and started handing it out to all of them. This started something that we did for the rest of the trip. Candy or gum or ice cream, they were looking for it when we got there.

Meeting the girls

On the first day we were in Ivanciv we checked into our room. We were late getting there and were to meet the girls at 2:30 pm. We opened the door to the room and pushed our bags in and left to go to the orphanage.

The next 15 minutes were very anxious for me. It was like a cross between that first date, asking my wife to marry me and our wedding . I thought all of the what if's, what if they didn't like me, what if I didn't like them?

As we pulled up to the orphanage I noticed a girl coming through the bushes ( we would later find this was a short cut for the kid's) towards the building. As I got out of the car she came to see us and I saw it was one of our girls. She saw wife and a huge smile came across her face. She gave us a hug and ran into the orphanage to get the other girl who was there. We found out we had missed the Orphanage Director by a few minutes and nobody knew if or when she would be back. Protocol was to see her first and give her some paper work and then she would bring the children in for a formal introduction. Instead we walked over to the town stadium located next the orphanage and sat in the stands with these two girls and tryed to talk to them through the interpreter. They were shy and only gave yes and no answers. A few minutes later the Director came up and we all went inside where we did it the right way.


As we headed in the two girls ran off to the school to get the other girl and bring her back. Upon her return the director gave them a pep talk about there lives would be different and that sh had met us in America and we were good people etc. She excused herself and we had a few questions asked back and forth. The youngest one was antsy and couldn't sit still. The oldest one looked as though she was going to burst out of her skin but they remained reserved. We decided to go to the market area and see if we could find some banana's. The girls came with us to show us the way. As we were walking there one of the girls gave wife a hug. That started what became love fest. Another one hugged me and it was one hug after another from then until we left them to go back to the hotel 5 hours later.

After getting a box of banana's we went back and the director brought the kids into the great room and told them who we were and what we were there to do. Most of them smiled and for the first time I felt awkward. It dawned on me that all these kids wanted to go home and some had the why not me look. The fruit was enjoyed and we saw that our girls all had a servants heart as they passed out the fruit and the candy we bought for all them.

The time flew as the girls wanted us to see there beds and the few things they possessed. They each gave us a little trinket as a gift and we gave them some things we brought for them. They would bring their Friends over and introduce us to them through the interpreter.

At about 6 pm the interpreter announced she had to leave and go back to Kyiv. We were there with only a little girl we had met in the states to help us talk with them. The girl and her brother were going to be adopted by another couple we knew. The girl had been to the states and had been taking English lessons. She could speak some and spent the remainder of the weekend helping out. One of the first questions the girls asked was what do you want us to call you. I asked what do you want to call us and they answered Mama and Papa.

That was settled and in time it was time for us to go leave as the orphanage locked down at 9 pm. We left and felt as though we walking on clouds. These children were all so loving and ours seemed to need it the most.

After cleaning up the rooms enough to get by we called it a night about 11:30 pm. At about 12:30 I was awakened as wife was shaking me and I heard someone coming in the door to our room. I looked at him and he was bobbing back and forth, obviously drunk, and I said hay!! He said something I didn't understand and backed out into the hall and closed the door. It took me a minute for it to sink and I got up and stacked the bags against the door so no else could get, key or no key. When I woke up the next morning I looked around to see if we had any other visitors.

Hilton Hotel Ivanciv

While we were in Ukraine we stayed at a little hotel in Ivanciv. This was the town where the orphanage was. The best way to describe this hotel is to imagine a double wide mobile home with another one stacked on top of each and about two long. It would shake as the trucks went by but after a week you didn't notice. The hallways were up and down and crooked. It left the feeling of being tipsy when walking down it.

On the first level there was a few rooms and the rest were used for hotel needs ie; laundry room etc. The first floor also had a restaurant. It had a small eating area inside and another one on a patio. Inside had about five or six tables with four chairs each and a small bar that seated five or six more. Every time we went there you could cut the cigarette smoke with a knife. We ate outside every time, even when the weather got cool.

The owner of the restaurant was not friendly and never smiled once while we were there. The waitress was the same. No expression, no reaction, no matter what. They had about four or five things on the menu and the best was a steak platter that had a cubed steak covered with grilled mushrooms, peppers and onions and a cheese with potatoes. It came with a salad made with green peppers, onions, squash cucumber and a light oil & vinegar dressing. It was good but it was the only thing that was.

I lost about 20 lbs. while staying there. There were no super markets as we know them.The food stores were about the same size as our gas stations. They offered a wide variety of food but in small quantities. Bread, for instance was brought in twice a week. If you wanted a loaf the day before it came in you had a choice of take it or leave it. We always left it and remembered the days it came in. There was not a lot of choice in foods and we ate a lot of bread ( which was very good) with tuna we brought with us. As long as it lasted. Then we bought chicken cooked there and made sandwich's, but that got old after a week or two. Our biggest treat was to go into Kyiv every Saturday and eat at McDonlds or TGIF's.

Now , all that being said, there was great food in Ukraine. We only found it when we moved back into Kyiv at the end of our trip. We enjoyed a few meals that were great with Friends we made in Ivanciv but the restaurants were non existent while we were there.

The hotel was filthy. No other way to put it. When we checked in the room looked as it would if you had people stay in it and didn't clean it for months. Which is what it was. They give you clean sheets and bed covers and all the dirt you want. The bathroom was so bad I was afraid to use it. We spent hours cleaning it in order to make it acceptable.


We had the deluxe suite which included a towel each, a small bar of soap each, and two wash cloths for three of us, no matter how long you stayed . There was two rooms, one had a bed dresser and amoire. The other had a sofa that pulled out to make a bed and a chair, Coffee table and end table and a book case that also served as a closet/ storage area. On the coffee table was a huge ash tray with a couple of cigarette butts left. Under the end table was an empty wine bottle. Each room had a window. In the entryway you had four doors, one to the left had the sink and toilet. The next to it had a shower. Straight ahead was the bedroom and to the right was the other room. It was set up so each room could be rented separate and you would share the bath.

Friends or ours who also adopted three girls from the same orphanage called it "The Hilton Hotel Ivanciv". They had been there, in the same room, about six months before us. We thanked them for leaving the dirt.

It was interesting to me that the girls and their Friends who came by to visit were in awe of this place. The girls wanted to be able to spend at least one nite there before we left.

We were just living it up at the Hilton Hotel Ivanciv !!

PHILLIES WIN !!!!

All is well here. The Phillies won their third straight division title and are heading into the playoff's. So far, the Philadelphia Eagles look strong and will have their starting QB back this week. Alas, Penn State continues to have trouble beating Iowa but they looked good last week.

Bananna Peal Caper

We had something happen while we were in our last days in Kyiv Ukraine finishing up our adoption of four lovely girls. We had been out most of the day and returned with some food from the local store. Among the items purchased were banana's and other fruit and eggs. As we had come to learn of the girls, they loved banana's and eggs. The apartment we had was on the 7th or top floor of the building we were in. It had a small balcony off the kitchen and another one off the living room. We were all watching TV and talking and the kids were enjoying eating all they wanted when they wanted. This was something they couldn't do in the orphanage. All of a sudden the door bell rings and son and oldest daughter come running in from the kitchen to answer it. As the door opens I hear and can barley see, two women just giving son and daughter the what for about something. Daughter says something to them in Ukrainian and slams the door in their face's. As I get to the door this happens and I ask what was that about? They both shrug their shoulders and son says they were at the wrong place.

Now.... we have been in Ukraine for about 8 1/2 weeks at this point and I can understand a little bit of what is said. Son doesn't know too much more that I do and don't see how he could have understood what they were saying. I think there is more to this than they are fessing up to. As I continue to question them about this I walk into the kitchen and notice that all the banana's are gone. I look in the refrigerator to see if they got put there and I notice the egg carton is open and four eggs are missing. As I am looking daughter is looking at me with a strange look on her face, like the one of the cat Sylvester with the Tweety bird in his mouth. I also notice that the door to the balcony is open and since it is about 40 degrees out I think it see what they were up too. As I look out over the balcony into the street I can see banana peals all over the side walk and eggs splattered there as well. I turn tell them to get garbage bags and come with me. Son starts to tell me that daughter was doing it and that he tryed to stop here. She understands enough English at this point to realize that he is blaming her and starts to protest in Ukrainian. I hush them up and tell wife what has happened and that we are going down to clean it up. All the way down in the elevator they are arguing as to who did what. Once down on the street they pick up all the peals and egg shells as people are walking by. Some of these people see what is going on and say something that only daughter understands. Her response was to stick her tongue out them.

After completing the task we go back upstairs and wife gets her two cents in. Later as I tell her what happened down in the street with daughter sticking her tongue out we start to laugh. With that daughter comes in and asks " ok now?" All the kids come in and start tickling and playing and finally son tells all.

It seems he and daughter were eating a banana when he went to throw his peal in the trash can , he missed and they started to take turns throwing it in. One of them got the idea to open the balcony door and put the can out there and throw them in so if you missed it would go over and down to the next balcony. Except it went further than they thought and hit the side walk and the street. After throwing a lot of the stuff son looked over after having just tossed an egg to see where it all was going. As he looked over he saw that all of it was in the street or side walk and that he had just missed two ladies with the egg. They were the two who came up to the door fussing at them.
We still laugh at that one, especially when a banana peal misses the trash can.

Home

As I sit here writing this I can hear two my girls practicing their clarinet's. The third one started playing two years ago. Her younger sister started this year. They practice together most afternoons. The oldest girl is preparing dinner. It is soup made from scratch, a stew made with potatoes, sausage and vegetables. Corn cut off the cob and fryed with seasonings and raspberry and cream cheese mix in home made batter for dessert. The next oldest girl is dragging around because of hard practice she went through today. As she improves each week at running cross country she is pushing herself more and more.
Four years ago the couldn't speak ten words of English, had no idea what it was like in America and were very cautious about us not knowing what they were getting into by being adopted by this family from America. Now.... They have become Americans in the truest sense. The youngest has an American southern accent, the next one has lost almost all her Ukraine accent. The older two still have a strong Ukraine accent but have learned the true art of shopping in America. Shop until Mom drops is the call !! Wife is not a shopper but has done well to show the art to the girls.
It is incredible to see how far they have come. The language, the change in customs, being in a family, all was new to them. I remember the oldest girl making a statement after having trouble adapting to some of our rule. She looked at wife and said " It's a lot harder to be in a family than I thought it would be."
Now all the girls cling to wife and always get excited when she returns home from work. Daughter #3 still runs out the door and to the car when she arrives to be the first to give her a hug. I love them dearly but I would feel smothered if they clinged to me like they do wife. She is a trooper and shows much love and patience with them. Unlike most teens that our friends have who want out of the house and to run around and have fun, our girls want to be around us and at home. They 18, 16, 14 & 12 now. They enjoy doing things and going places but home and family is something they craved when in the orphanages and are just happy to be here.
Two years ago we moved from the house they knew upon arriving here to a bigger house with a lot more property, in part to buy a horse. They took it hard and one of them said that the other house was there first house they lived in with a family. Even though they shared two bedrooms and now have their own they still talk of the other house with fond memory's.
This is a good life we share together and we are Blessed to have them as our children.
Over the next few blogs I will share stories about our trip to get the girls.
Ah !! The dogs are barking and the kids are running out the door....Mama's home !!!!!!!!1

Catherine again

My daughter Catherine, the runner, ran today and knocked another minute off her time. She also finished first of all her school. It rained here all night and all day. She ran in the rain and developed a blister during the race and still finished strong. Wow, we are proud of her and excited to see how good she can get. In Ukraine she would not have even been allowed to do any thing like this.

Speaking of rain.... we have had a lot of it. Three inches today, five yesterday, one and a half the day before and one inch each day for the two days before. No end in sight, this could go on for another four days. Even the ducks are starting to cry foul.