Our Adoption: Independence Day!

Friday, August 24th, was a very special day in the Ukraine. As mentioned in the previous post, it is the day Ukraine declared Independence from the former USSR! Kyiv has a population of 2.6M and is the third largest city in all of the former Soviet Union. And, as the capital of Ukraine, what better place to spend Independence Day than Kyiv!

We started our day slowly, allowing Zhenya to get some needed rest. I, Mike, awoke early and did some work. At around 1:15 we were out the door for a 1.8km (1.1miles) walk to Khreshchatyk, where we caught up with Bob & Dima. Khreshchatyk is on the main road that intersects with Independence Square and, being a Holiday, it was closed. There were many festivities along the street, including some 3 on 3 basketball, hockey, skateboard and bicycle stunts, gymnastics and, of course, music/entertainment. While there was a large stage for the "main stream" music and entertainment at Independence Square, there was also a small stage along Khreshchatyk for "Ukrainian Idol" type entertainment. When the mic was turned on and both boys covered there ears, we continued our walk!

The boys were enamored with the stunts the skateboarders and bicyclers were doing. So, while they got close to the action, the adults were able to stand back and have some adult discussions. It is great to follow behind the Daley's, who have been so helpful in this journey. Our prayer is that, as we move along in this process, God will put someone in our path to assist as the Daley family has done for us.

After some more walking and talking, we ventured back to the Daley's apartment. Sitting off of Khreshchatyk, it was a very convenient stop for a needed rest. The men and boys entered a wrestling match while Mandy and Jana conversed on through Skype! It was not what I expected when initially heading to the apartment, but getting tackled by Dima and Zhenya was fun!

For dinner, we met the Tidwells, enjoying their fellowship. We also got to meet Wendy Bergstrom and some of her family. We hope to meet up with them during our stay in Kyiv. Zhenya took control of the order, which was exciting to see. When Zhenya desires something, he quickly goes after it! He kept everyone on task, making sure we were all ready to order and working with the waitress to break up the bill for the three families. One lesson we learned was not to allow Zhenya to order on his own without consulting with us. He ordered four entrees, including two steak shashlik (shish kabobs) that were enormous! Lesson learned :-) We did take one back to our apartment after the festivities and Zhenya ate 1/2 before bed!

As the day (and night) wore on, the crowd grew and we became more weary :-) We walked around Independence Square, where there were far too many people for our comfort, before running into Brad and Andrew (formerly Zhenya) Lantis. They are flying home today, Saturday!! What an awesome testimony of God's goodness. Departing the Square and walking towards Bob's apartment gave us some relief and also allowed us to watch the fireworks before a short 1.8km walk home.

We were able to Skype our boys, Nana and Pawpaw, before getting to bed. What a busy day!