Day 19

Thank you all for the prayers and suggestions regarding the migraines. They were bad before we left, so this is nothing new to me. I do think that I am probably dehydrated in this dry COLD air, so I plan on upping the water intake to see if that helps. We also got up this morning and actually ate breakfast instead of heading out the door with coffee/tea in hand. I think it helped  :)

The other day, we were walking home and Nathan asked me, "Isn't is the strangest feeling when your nose hairs freeze?".
 I had no idea what he was talking about.
Well, I do now. It is SO, SO (dangerously) cold, even wearing five layers of clothes.. When we got home tonight, I literally had tears frozen on my cheeks. (I wasn't crying, my eyes were burning from the wind.)

There have been several deaths here with the temps being so low. It is expected to be around -30* C tomorrow. They are closing schools and advising everyone to stay in, if possible. Please be in prayer for those that don't have that option.

In warmer news:
We had another great day with our little love muffin!

Isn't she just scrumptious?!
{turn your head to the left!}

Annie was a little unsure about her daddy's beard today. Especially after he kissed all over her- her little face broke out!

She fell asleep like a little koala bear today, with both arms and legs wrapped around me- so sweet!

We had our first experience on the metro tonight! It was during rush hour so it kind of felt like a cattle stampede. Coming home was much better!

We met Carrie and Lee for dinner at a Ukrainian buffet.

It was really good, and really cheap... or it would have been. I didn't realize when you pointed at something, they fix you an entire plate of it. Then they weigh it, to make sure they gave you enough. If you point at two somethings, they give you two entire plates. Four plates later, I had more food than I could eat in a week.

It was really good though! We will probably try to go back before Nathan gets out of here, but HOPEFULLY that only gives us a few more days :) Still praying!!

Day 18

It's a "Breathe in Jesus, Breathe out Satan" kind of day.
Not adoption-related happenings, just... you know, life.


But I tell you what...  the second this little girl comes in the room, everything else just melts away for a little while.

AG was very chatty today!  Nathan is pretty sure she's gonna be fiesty one. I don't know if we can fit much more personality in our house, but we sure will try!

Today, she laughed harder than I've ever heard her laugh. At everything.

Nathan was taking the only pics my camera allowed today (REALLY starting to irritate me. I have got to figure out what's wrong...) and I said, "I wish (they) could hear her laugh".
I don't know why it didn't occur to us sooner that you CAN.

We are planning to try to record her first thing tomorrow before she gets tired ;)

We (think) we are close to having a court date, we are just waiting on confirmation.

In addition to praying about the court date, can we ask that you pray for relief for me? I don't know why I'm still having migraines every.single.day. I'm eating regularly, getting enough sleep, I don't feel overly stressed? I have a long way to go though and it will be much more tolerable if I'm not painfully ill.

It should be noted, that when you are sick with a migraine, Ukrainian driving is about the worst thing that could happen to you. It took every bit of energy I had to not vomit in the back of Edward's lovely car.

Edward, by the way, is a bit of a rebel. He looks SO much like someone we know at home (Jonathan Bowers), except much taller/bigger. He keeps some scruff= rebel. He wears tennis shoes= rebel. He wears sweatpants in public= rebel. And he wears sunglasses= rebel. He only plays American music in the car, mostly rad 90s music: Ace of Base, Madonna, Ricky Martin. I haven't decided if that's his preference or if he does that for our benefit, but he did crank up the Britney at one point today (Layla and Brynn, that made me miss you SO much! I can't wait to get home and play Just Dance with you!).


Also, seeing how massive she looks in this picture:

reminded me to tell you that we took some of the clothes we brought to try on her today, to see what size she would wear. We got her into the 9 month outfit, and it's fine to get her home, but she clearly needs at least a 12 month.  That means we have two outfits here that fit and will have to get a couple more, (blerg) but it also means we have several outfits to leave behind for the orphanage- bonus :)

Nathan did homemade chicken nuggets tonight, with horseradish mustard (yum), and a mix of rice/spinach- one of the best meals we've had so far! Almost as good as the cabbage rolls I made Saturday night :)

When he leaves, I fully intend to survive on Ukraine's finest: bread, butter, and chocolate.

Day 17

I find it really amusing how similar our Sunday in Ukraine was to our Sundays at home.

Wake up, (be lazy until the absolute last minute when you have to...) get ready for church. Get to church, talk until service started three minutes ago. Worship to the point of tears (My God is Mighty to Save!), even though it's in a completely different language. Listen to God talking directly to you (always?!) during the service (in Russian?), His word is His word no matter where you are.  Fellowship after church until everyone's stomaches are growling. Help tear down church (I thought we were done with that?!). Go eat late lunch with friends. Come home happy. Let your kids make you laugh (God bless Skype).

Throw in a movie, ice cream, and a haircut for Nathan- feels like home today!

Today's lessons courtesy of Calvary Church and 1 Kings 22:
Beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing. God's true prophets are right 100% of the time, not 99%. Trust your spiritual discernment. Satan can't make attempts to ruin you without God's permission. So if God allows it, it's because HE has something for you.

ETA: Holy cow, I make a good grilled cheese in Ukraine!

Day 16

Look at my little ball of sunshine!!

I LOVED her in yellow today- I think it will be her signature color. She was so warm and bright :)

Learning about her family....

She rolled over today!! Front to back. We tried to work on back to front, but she did not like that one bit.

When she started getting tired, Daddy raced her in the walker again... until Daddy got tired. And yes, she does stare at her hands (DS mommas!). I don't think I've posted a photo of it yet.  She thinks her hands are the coolest thing EVER.  I think it's really sweet :)

Her tongue was nearly raw today from chewing/sucking. In the very first picture we got of her from RR, there was a paci in the bed with her. I wasn't sure if she still used it or not, so I brought a few different kinds. Today, when she was sucking her tongue and fighting sleep, I stuck it in. She sucked it just fine and fell asleep. We will ask our pedi about it, since I knows there's some debate about whether strengthening her sucking reflex/keeping her tongue intact is worth the risk of paci addiction. We'll see... (she's looked awfully sweet with it though).

We may have had a little too much fun trying to keep her awake...

I believe we shall have breakfast at Tiffany's in the near future....

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous. -Coco Chanel

It was a good day!

Follow up: Pasta sauce...hmmm... maybe? More like tomato paste, but perhaps that is their pasta sauce? Regardless, we didn't find anything else at the market that was even close.
Tonight, I'm attempting a Ukrainian recipe!

LAYLA, BRYNN, AND CALE:
Did you have fun at the circus?! Did you take your surprises with you?? I can't wait to hear all about it! What was your favorite part?! I bet you had lots of sugary treats :) We miss you like crraazzyyy.  Cale, how was your pet parade? Did you bring your puppy home?  Is your tooth still wiggly? Layla, who did you play with at school yesterday? Do you miss riding the bus? Brynn, any more loose teeth? Annie tried to kiss your picture today :) Love you love you love you!!