Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all my friends in America and everywhere else!

Today, our family met and spent time with N & A's grandparents. What a privledge. We walked to the orphanage around 12:00 and met them there. They drove in from Chernigov. It was a warm atmosphere when we met them. They were emotional, which made us emotional. We drove to a park and museum where the Battle of Poltava took place. There is also a beautiful monestary there. We then went back to the park near the internat. We were surprised to hear that their grandmother had prepared lunch for all of us. Now, I believe God did this for me! I have been craving some real food, comfort food, a little taste of home. This wonderful lady hand prepared 2 different types of bread- one filled with cherries and one filled with liver. Those of you that know me well know that I adore liver! It was soooo good! A really soft and sweet bread. She laid out this enormous spread on a park bench on top of some cloths. There was the bread, baked chicken & turkey, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, apples and oranges, another bread and homemade compote. We all raved on it, as it was ALL eaten up! She then brought out the homemade Vodka. They were so proud of it and told us how they had made it. They wanted us to try this. So, I told them a little for me. I put it to my lips, but couldn't drink it!! It was 60% alcohol and was very stong. I played with it until they finished it, then put my cup down. The grandfather drank his small dixie cup size drink like it was water.....Wow!!!

They are precious and we can tell they love and adore A & N. We talked a little about life in Ukraine, about life in the U.S., and the kids. We took many pictures. When we left them, we got big hugs and kisses from them. It was a special gift to get to meet them.

As we walked with Zhenia and talked about our timeline, we are estimating that we may be flying home around June 5th or 6th- give or take a day or two. This is good! It is good to have a goal in mind.

Tomorrow is the boy's 9th birthday. We are going to do something special just for them tomorrow. They really deserve some special one on one time with us. It will be a different birthday, but I hope one they will always remember.