We Made It!!

It is a very surreal feeling to be sitting here in Kiev writing this post! This is what we have been looking forward to for what seems like forever, and here we are!!

We departed Little Rock yesterday afternoon at 1 pm. I was a complete basket case all morning knowing that I would soon be saying goodbye to my 4 baby girls for who knows how long. With the Lord's help, I managed to get out the door and drive away before letting the tears start coming down. I would be lying if I said that I did not ball my eyes out the entire way to the airport. By the time we touched down in Atlanta, I was still crying. I finally pulled it together for our long flight to Amsterdam. 

Ryan and I ready for take off!

We are so thankful that all of our flights were one time. We only had 30 minutes to make our connecting flight in Amsterdam to Kiev, but we made it...and all of our luggage did too! We did not sleep a wink, but the flights went by fairly quickly. I read an entire book, and we watched Sherlock and HGTV Design Star on the kindle to pass our time:) 

Our facilitator her in Kiev met us at the airport and drove us to our apartment. I wasn't sure what to expect, as he made our lodging arrangements for us. Ryan and I were pleasantly surprised by our little apartment. It is right in the heart of downtown, and super clean! 

Apartment Living Room 

 Bathroom

 Bedroom

Kitchen

After getting settled and taking a cat nap, Ryan and I ventured out on our own to explore a little bit. We visited St. Michael's Cathedral, which is right next to our apartment building. It is a beautiful cathedral that was rebuilt in 2000. It was originally built in 1108, but was destroyed in the 1930's by the Soviet Regime because they believed to hold no significant historic value.

  Behind St. Michael's Cathedral was a little park that my girls would have gotten a kick out of. It was a regular playground, but also featured a bouncy slide, trampoline, and a Shetland pony to ride. Quite a mix of interesting things to occupy children:)

 Park behind St. Michael's Cathedral

After walking through an underground mall, we decided to try our first Ukrainian meal. We found a restaurant that had a menu written in Russian and English, and sat outside. The weather is fabulous here...70's and no humidity!! As we were sitting outside, we saw a man run down the street in an Arkansas Razorbacks t shirt...crazy!!! We tried to snap a picture, but he jumped into a car before we could get one. At dinner we ordered Borsch, Chebureka with meat and cheese, and Togerek-Yantik with meat, cheese, and tomatoes. The food was AMAZING!! I could have eaten a ton of the Chebureka. Our feast only cost $16 USD!!

Ryan trying the Borsch

After dinner, we walked around a bit and saw street performers, Scratch from Ice Age, a big carousel, and lots of other interesting things.

 Hard to see, but that is Scratch from Ice Age peering around the pole while a child is performing a rap song

Carousel

Tomorrow, our facilitator will be busy welcoming another American family that is coming over to adopt, so he has hired another man, Eugene, to show us around the city.

Tuesday morning at 10 am, we have our SDA appointment, where we officially accept A's file to proceed with the adoption process. Wednesday at 4 pm, we will be able to pick up her file, and will then hop on a LONG train ride to her city to finally meet her!!

Thank you to all who are praying for us. We can feel your prayers, and they truly helped us have a smooth day of travel. Now, we are off to bed! It is 9:30 pm our time on Sunday, and we have not slept more than an hour in the last 48 hours!!