Some people's kids??

        Well obviously, not everyone is concerned about the weather.......Some peoples kids....... :-)

We are very thankful to Marko and Lori Horb for opening their homes to our girls for the night and allowing them to call us. Marko was very kind to interpret to the girls everything that we wanted to make sure they understood. It was important for us to make sure, even though Anya is good at speaking English, that they understood things that were very important. He explained many things to them and we are so thankful for his help. 

I also received these pictures of the girls having fun on the beach before leaving Boston.

Everything has been clear so far for their trip to Kiev. Karen Medve, Maggie Scobie and Pat Throup had kept us updated on everything going on with the weather and making sure that they were safe.

Now, yes we have decided, as did they....they fit beautifully in our family. Yes, you heard right. God gives you what he wants for you to have.....That is our Motto!

                                           Yeah.........EVEN SUPERMAN WAS ADOPTED!

Deep seeded worry and fear.....

Our girls are traveling and unknowing what to expect with the upcoming weather. We have prayed to our Lord to keep our angels safe with his. ABC news had this to say in their press release.......

Hurricane Irene's fury is growing and the National Hurricane Center warned today that the storm could be upgraded from its current level of Category 3 to a more ominous Category 4 by Thursday.

The core of the hurricane is expected to move across the southeastern and central Bahamas tonight, with maximum winds near 120 mph.

As the storm clears the island and continues over the warm water of the Atlantic, its wind speed is expected to strengthen and the size of the storm could increase, the Hurricane Center predicted.

"Warm water is essentially like their fuel. It helps them strengthen and it's got plenty of that ahead of it, at least in the next few days," said John Cangialosi, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

The threshold for a category 4 is wind speeds of at least 131 mph.

Forecasters predict Irene could hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday, move up to the mid-Atlantic region including Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey late Saturday or early Sunday, and hit New England late Sunday.

All good things come to a end......at least for now

This morning marks the end of our host visit. I have learned so many things about living, loving and giving. You often find yourself as a parent forgetting things about yourself that are long buried through the sandstorms of life.I had forgotten the deep pain of loving and letting go. I forgotten the feelings of loneliness when you feel as though your it. This morning, I remembered all those things. We watched our little freckled face girls walk down the ramp to their seat, only to return being escorted by the flight attendant back to see us one last time before the flight left.

What a painful thing. As parents, you can kiss bruises, clean and dress cuts, nurse them when they are ill but there is nothing you can do about a broken heart. That is the most helpless feeling and there is no way to explain that. All I can do is hold them close, remind them that it will be fine and that we love them. I felt as heartbroken as they did. We cried with them and everyone else did too. The flight attendants, gate workers and other passengers were crying.

We lived, we loved, we laughed and now we let go. We have trust that God will keep them safe and protect them. We trust that every night, they will be tucked in by angels and kept warm be his shaw. We trust that his host of angels will stand watch until our return. We trust that our Lord will remind them daily, they are wanted and they are loved.

The last family night outing

We decided on Cracker Barrel, simply because they have a variety of home cooking from fried chicken to soup beans and corn bread.

This is a really neat restaurant that is truly southern. From the rocking chairs on the front porch to the cozy fireplace in the middle eating area.

                     To mind boggling games with multiple colored golf tee's the measure your IQ level

Then, the meal.......

We are in the car, loading up to drop Luke off at Karate tonight. Then, we head to the house. Gotta rest! Morning comes early and these girls don't do morning very good at all.

         

Coming close to the end.......

I hated to break the news and be the bearer of disappointment, the time is closing to the end. I sat down last night and explained that they have 2 days left here with us. The girls understand. We have discussed several things and I am very proud to know they both have ambition to do something very important with their lives.

I worry what will happen to them. I hate that we can't give them nice things but everything gets stolen and frankly that makes me angry! I understand however, it becomes survior of the fittest in that atmosphere.

Tomorrow, we wash and begin to pack. We have coats, clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, beads, bands and pretty dresses. I hope they see those items and remember their time in America.

What do things cost in the Ukraine today?

The hryvnia, sometimes hryvnya or grivna, has  been the national currency of Ukraine since September 2, 1996. Abbreviated UAH

Banknotes come in the following denomination: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 Hryvnia (UAH)

Change coins come in the denomination: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 kopiykas.

Change coins of 1 Hryvnia denomination.

The minimum living standard established by law in Ukraine is 423 UAH or 84 USD per month.

Monthly average pension by age in Ukraine is 383 UAH or 76 USD. 

Minimum monthly pension - 332 UAH or 65 USD.

                                                            

 

is that our old granny??????

No its our Lacy dog......... The girls played and dressed our 8 month old sheltie up....like a little granny with her scarf and shaw. Anya and Kristina had a blast playing with her and she is such a good sport!

Today, we went to Lexington to the mall. the kids were going to get their ears pierced. On the way to the Fayette Mall, we passed a beholding sight. Being from here, we really never paid any attention to the castle on the hill. It was just there, full of mystery. Not many had been inside the walls and not much was discussed with it. Needless to say, the girls did notice. They did ask questions and it made me realize, I need to share this with those that area reading our post.

                                

    Here is Martin Castle sold, bought, renamed and rebuilt after a fire. Currently known as Castle Post.

Located on US 60 and Pisque Pike between Versailes and Lexington, KY. It sits on 53 acres, surrounded by lush green farmland and thouroughbread horse farms.

Keeneland is very close by and very popular in the spring and fall for the races. This is the horse capital of the world.

                   We traveled on to the mall on a mission.......to get those ears pierced.

                                        Straight to Claire's to pick out earrings

                                                             Who's first?

                                                 Anya picked out 3mm silver balls

                                               Kristina picked Hello Kitty earrings

                                                      Luke picked a diamond stud.

And Noah lead them 2 by 2

                                        Our day at the Louisville Zoo was AWESOME!!!!!

          We went with Brian and Christy and Maddie. the weather was great and the animals were lazy!

                              All the animals were a hit but the funniest, was the peek a boo monkey!

Then, of course pictures.....pictures and more pictures......way to many to post!

                                    The trip was fun and we love the zoo at all ages and stages in life!

a little girlie time, well sort of.......

Well , today has been a day of first for the little ladies. The girls have never had a manicure or a pedicure before. I took all the kids to Real Nails to get their pretties fluffed and buffed. I had each one pick out their colors and here we go...

                                               Anya picked green and Kristina picked purple.

One was getting her nails done while the other got their toe nails worked on.

The smiles and giggles came from everywhere.

Just to be fair, the male had to get a pedicure......he was in instant love too. It kept saying it tickles..it tickles.

                                                By the way, he didn't pick out any nail polish.....

                                                           Total cost: PRICELESS!

lessons in living.....

This morning is church, being good southern baptist, we had food after the service. It was to raise money for Awanas program on Wednesday nights. It went very well and after talking to the girls, very different than what they are use too. They enjoyed it and was a little overwhelmed with all the people. They realized that our church family was very happy to see them and would not do anything to case them harm.

After eating lunch, there was piano in be fellowship hall. I knew Kristina could play the piano a little but I had no idea that they both could play beautifully. They have such a wonderful talent and others there enjoyed their joyous sounds.

As days go by I see the gates and bars slowly lower. I still see some behaviors from them that are directly related to being in a institution. The food hoarding has stopped, still easily overwhelmed by things. Those will improve with time. I know that I should expect them but you have no idea until you see and deal with these.

We look at pictures of their school, swimming,beach and so on. They are very surprised to see them. They are exhausted now. It has been a busy weekend. Swimming, parties and a visit to the nail salon.......

instant fun......just add water!

Well today was the first day at the pool. We have a great local public swimming pool here and its made.for fun of all ages.
We did find out that not only do we have two cities, we have three cute little fishes. They love to swim and are pretty good at it too. Kristina could use a few more lessons to strengthen her skills. The waterslide, was a instant hit of course.

Anya and Luke burned the diving board up.

Needless to say, by the end if the day......exhaustion! Ramon noodles are a wonderful snack.