Today was a little warm. We had had a little break from the heat. But, today it returned. We visited with the little ones. Jacob was so warm he didn't have his shirt on. Jaryd was trying to shine the flashlight in his ear last night to see if you could see all the way through. We were at the park and he was in a tree of course. Kailyn was trying to listen to the music. We had our own little church service this morning. We played the church music for children CD and sang with the little ones. Jacob probably sat for 45 minutes and just listened to the music. Kailyn wanted to hear it up close and personal. Here are a few other pictures of the outside of our apartment.
We went down to the market again today and picked up some more things. A few toys and some more food. We have been cooking every day at home. I have fried chicken twice. Today I made kind of a peach pie. I used like a fila dough for the crust. I cooked it and the peaches separtely. Then we just poured the peaches over the crust. It was pretty good. I told Kevin if we did as much walking at home we could eat pie every day. Jaryd does not like Macaroni and cheese. I told Kevin that's unamerican. Hopefully that will change when we get home.
I loaded a few pictures of the outside of our apartment building. We feel really safe.
We had a little bit of an incident with the taxi driver last night. Our regular driver was busy and sent someone else. We were a little lost. We were out in the boonies. I finally called the translator and she talked to the driver and we were back on course. Thank goodness for cell phones. It was a little scary for awhile. Thanks Natasha.
Better check my e-mail.
Kevin, Tammy, Jaryd, Jacob, Alyssa, and Kailyn
4 comments:
We adopted our son Kole in Dec of 2006. We had a great time while in Kirovograd. I would love to email you our helpful advice
fromhomeandback@msn.com
The director at the baby house is wonderful.
The Stewart's, Tad & Kristi
Sooooo good to see you with your children :) Can't wait to see the new family pics when have them ALL home together! Keep looking in all things to the One who has it tied together for you! No calling is ever easy but this one is SOOOOOO amazing! ENJOY YOUR TIME THERE as much as you want to get home, there are things you believe it or not will miss when you get back home. See if you can go to a market and pick up some books or music for the kids that are in Russian too so they will each have something later to look at and remember :)
MANY BLESSINGS!
The Smiths :)
Hi Guys! I can't wait to get home with our beautiful children and let them play while we catch up!
Is it possible to miss someone you haven't "met" yet?
Good Morning.
We were the first Americans to adopt from Kirovorad. I think we were the first foreigners. It was such an adventure I wrote a book about it. You definately don't want to read the book until you are safely back home.
We live in Albuquerque and would love to come down and visit you when you get home and life is somewhat normal again.
Hi!
My name is Janalyn! My sister's and I were the first kids to be adopted from Kirovograd.
December, 1997 was when we were adopted and was then taken home to the US January, 1998! I was 4 1/2 and now I'm 15. We live in Albuquerque, NM. My Mom found your blog and told us about it over dinner and wow! You guys are doing a great thing(just so you know)and I wish you the best of luck. Stay strong and never ever give up no matter what happens. My parent's went through alot to get my sister's and I, but they never gave up!. Stay determined and don't give up on hope! I know these are just words you are reading on a computer now,and also the fact that they are from a girl you don't even know, but I hope they give you encouragment and alot more hope! Good luck!! -- Janalyn
Anastasia, the oldest, is struggling with Algebra II right now. She wanted to post something but homework comes first. Lydia is very busy being 13 and doing the opposite of what I want her to do.
I have enjoyed reading about your concerns about language, food and other things. Someone told me I should try to offer the girls things they were used to when we got home. I made some cooked buckwheat and set it down in front of Lydia. She started crying. They lived for weeks on bananas and potatoes, and small amounts of other things but began to branch out once they had gotten their need for potassium taken care of.
Ana learned English in three weeks when we got her back here and within three months nobody could tell she was not a native Englich speaker. Janalyn stopped speaking at all for a while, then spoke gibberish that sounded like English, then started using the biggest English words she could think of whether she knew what they meant or not. Lydia did not speak at all in the orphanage, and she had just turned 3 when we brought her home. The speech therapist said, though, that she was the most expressive non-verbal child they had ever met so she managed to make her needs known. She still has speeech and language issues, but once you learn how she speaks she is easy enough to understand. I wouldn't worry about any of it, just deal with things as they come along.
As our pastor told us, God makes sure you learn the lessons you need to know when you need to know them. The whole adoption experience was the greatest lesson in living in the moment and not worrying about the future that we ever had - and we are still learning it.
We hope to hear that the kids are yours very soon.
Lynn Doxon
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