Happy Communist Day

May Day! May Day!

May 1 is a big international Labor Day holiday here. It is so big that they have made it a 4 day weekend this year. We have been spending the weekend so far getting to know each other as best as we can even though we do not speak each other's languages.

Thursday night we got on the train at 7:00pm. Several of T's friends came to the station to see her off. They were all excited and scared and sad at the same time. We also traveled with two facilitators. I think they helped to ease some of the fears that were very evident. S remembered the train ride from the summer. He was just bouncing like Tigger the tiger. We spent the night on the train traveling to Kiev. We arrived yesterday morning and were met by our Kiev facilitator. We had several hours to wait for our apt. so he took us to the Zoo in town. Unfortunately, the weather was cold and drizzly and we were not enjoying it the way we could have. Then he took us to our apertment and helped us get settled. We unpacked and went to a small food store for supplies.

Later when we were hungry for dinner, Bill & I and S went exploring. T wanted to stay in. The three of us went to a restaurant and enjoyed all the sights and sounds of a big city on holiday. Streets were blocked to cars and a stage was set us for a concert. There were people everywhere, and later fireworks. It was a little too stimulating for S, so we came home and had a quiet evening.

Today we had a homemade breakfast together - the first one. After getting the computer set up, we then went out exploring and bought some more provisions. This afternoon, Bill took S to the famous Botanical Gardens, while Rebecca stayed home with T and learned how to make the famous soup called Borsht. We all had the soup for dinner and got along great. Another quiet evening for us.

We can't wait to introduce you to our newest son and daughter. It is wonderful to have five children and it is high time we all got under one roof and stayed there. Once these holidays are over, it will be time to wrap this process up and get the US Embassy to work issuing visas for these children. We are so READY to be back in the United States to stay!!! We finally found the "TGI Friday's" the other families have been talking about. (That and the US Embassy will have to suffice for familiarity this week.)

We are planning on going to church tomorrow and we'd like to explore the city more. We are so happy to be in Kiev when it is sunny. All the other times it was ice cold and snowing. We'd like to go to the famous Monastery sometime. It is supposed to be a little creepy with mummys. If you know of any other "Must Sees" here, let us know. We still have a few more days to wait through. Neither of these kids has spent any time here, so we are seeing it all for the first time.

"We walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7