A beautiful crisp evening here in Ukraine

A wonderful evening for a walk, although it should be a brisk one to keep the blood flowing. Not a lot to report, got out for a nice meal and settled in early as Nastya seems a little tired today. Maybee the whole thing is taking a bit of a toll. I understand that as her world has really been rocked. We all know it is for the ultimate good but none the less a big change for this little Ukrainian girl. Just to comment on the request for some Russian singing when I get home, I don't think so unless Nastya has us better prepared than we are right now. Actually I bet she would be happy to sing for anyone. She absolutely loves to sing. On our way to school in the am. and on the way home she is always singing along with the radio. Anyway Anna and Jill thanks for asking. I'm going to make it a short one tonight and catch up with you all tomorrow. Take care and may the Lord bless. Randy

Skipping( A very good Indicator)

What do I mean by this?,on one of our first trips to MacDonalds, where else, on the way out Nastya began skipping very quickly across the parking lot. Now we can't help but notice whenever she is happy she begins to skip, the apartment, outside anywhere, it matters not. The good thing is her skipping is definitly on the increase.
Well it's very cool here this am. My guess would be around -12 to 15, with a chill factor much lower. Anyway it is winter and we're not that far from Siberia so what can we expect. Looking forward to another good day together. We just got back from droping her at school and have taken a extra bit of time at the good ol internet cafe.
So good to here from you mom as always, I think you are our most consistant commentor. And yes that sounds like a good idea, with printing off the blog and having it in book form. Will be a neat keepsake for sure. Its also good to here from you again sis, I thought you had left Oakville, or the planet maybee. Glad its just a computor thing, hope you are back to stay. As far as what her name is, we are pretty much going with Nastya for now. Who knows when we get home what will take place. We kind of covered the bases by giving her a new name which is Nadya. This will go her new birth certificate before we leave. At the end of the day I'm sure we will be calling many different things, sneak, tease, precious, just to name a few.
As well good to here from you Terry , can't wait to here all about Haiti when I get back. We'll have to have one of our McDonalds breakfasts for sure.
Got a note from Tara as well, I really like your comment to dad regarding the little guy ( John) hoisting the cup as a leaf one day. I agree with you, I don't know if we will all see that in our lifetime???
Well its good to chat with you all once again, keep in touch as you can be sure we will continue to post daily on our progress. Much love to all, Randy and Debbie

The intenet,a wonderful tool indeed.

Yes I have never been so gratefull to have the internet at my easy reach. Even as I'm walking down here I get a little excited as I have another chance to touch base with you all back home. I hope I'm not starting to bore you to tears but for me being a people person not having anyone else to talk too gets to me a little. Don't get me wrong Debbie and I have never talked so much to one another and this is all good but when your me and your used to speaking to people whether you know them or not, just to strike up conversation it becomes a little frustrating. Anyway I tend to use this platform as my way to get some of my talking vented.
As far as the day , things are going along fine. Today for the first time when school got out Nastya came out and gave us both a kiss and an embrace. It all seemed pretty natural today but we know this is real progress.I think for me to get out for an hour or so in the evenings gives mother and daughter time alone to do their own bonding. I think that this is very important as Debbie will be spending more time with her once we are home and for them to be close is very important I believe. I can really see the difference she is having towards me and I like it alot. I admit in the beginning It wasn't easy but now there are lots of laughs and playtime for all. I think our Nastya will pick up her english very quickly and by the time fall rolls around she should really be in the swing of things. Her and I have one thing very much in common, we both like to tease. I think I've met my match with this little one, as she always tries to stay just one ahead of me all the time. As they say , let the good times role. For now we just wait until our court date and move on from there. I must say we have really settled in and right now things are going along just fine.
Thanks for the update mom, Roy and thanks for stopping by Cliff. Keep us updated on Simone Roy , trust and pray it'll be ok for her. She isn't pregnant is she???. Seriously give her our love and best wishes. We'll be back at you again soon, Randy

Reading lessons

Nastya loves to read so last night we got in bed with her russian reader and she began to read. After a while she decided that she would read a sentence and I would read a sentence. She found my attempts at reading russian hilarious and so decided she would teach me correctly. I had to sound out each letter and than repeat the word until I got a nod and thumbs up. One poem in her reader is a song so of course we had to sing it. The only thing funnier than my reading was my singing. So began my lessons in singing the scales up and down. do re me fa so le te do and back down. Once she was satisfied she began the song again guiding me with her hands as where each note was on the scale. She was very patient and I think someday our little girl might be a very good teacher.

Ukraine travel tip # 2
When ordering food always have your 2 way dictionary handy. We wanted to have some blini's ??, (crepes stuffed with assorted fillings) and had to guess at the filling. They came stuffed with cheese, orange caviar, and chives. My first and last experience with caviar I hope. We ordered more (via dictionary)filled with apples, sugar and cinnamon, yum yum.



Commemts:
Hi Laura, Dave and girls, hoping to see you on the way home.

Marco and Lana, Any news?

Simone, how are you feeling?

Scott and Mel, Let us know of any news with you?

Mom, we bought a hair clipper yesterday, Randy was thrilled to get a hair cut.

Another good day Indeed!

All is well here,you guessed it, my after supper walk. We have hade a great day together, although a bit shortened as Nastya is back at school for the week. We take her back to the orphanage for school and pick her up around 2pm. It was kind of funny today, as just before the bell rang to end class I couldn't resist peeking in as they were all singing. Nastya did'nt see me right away but a few of her chums did and gave her a nudge. She quickly looked my way and it was kind of neat to see her respond. She looked at her friend and said something which I'll never know. I like to think it went something like this, { Thats my papa, hands off}. Oh well you never know???? It was great to here from you all at the dairy. I am so pleased for Donnie as he now has a grandson to spoil. The only sad thing is he's probably going to make a leaf fan out of him, poor little guy. Personally I think that its kind of cruel but what can I do?? As well good to here Robin is recovering well, hang in there buddie. Give everyone my best and tell Terry to comment here when he can, want to here about Haiti.Not much else to say right now, except I must tell you about a little soccer match that took place here yesterday. I had just been for a run and was feeling pretty spunky for an old guy, it was then I spotted a couple of young fellows playing around with a soccer ball. I challenged them to a little match as far as 5. One of these guys was 8, the other was 11, easy prey for an old high school soccer player like myself right? Wrong , no kidding, FINAL SCORE, Ukraine 5- Canada 2. You may be thinking he took pity on the little guys, wrong again, those of you that know me know I'm too competitive for that. Anyway the two little guys asked me to go again, I kindly declined. You see here soccer{ football} is the name of the game as hockey is at home so most kids get good pretty quick and pretty young. Anyway I learned my lesson for the day.
Enough for now , take care everyone and keep the comments coming. Love, Randy

Go Mariners!

I hear the team is doing well and winning games. Hope you won yesterday. We should be back home soon enough to catch some games.
They have a beautiful soccer stadium here, the season starts in March. We are hoping to find some things to do in the next couple of weeks, there is an indoor circus that we want to see.
It is getting colder by the day but we have found a shortcut to the internet cafe and shopping area, it's only about a 15 minute walk now.
Nastya went back to school this morning, we had a fun weekend, played lots of Crazy eights, she caught on quick and was overall champ. She loves the tub, fills it high and floats on balloons she has tied together under head and feet.
We signed the social workers conclusion this morning, that is the document needed to present to the judge and ask for a court date. Once we go to court we have a 10 day waiting period and than get her new birth certificate and passport. She will maintain her Ukraine citizenship until she 18 years and will also become a landed immigrant in Canada once we arrive.



Comments:

Candi.... Randy and I were so surprised to realise you are Cathy's daughter. Say hello to her for us, it has been so long since we saw her. When we get back we can help you and give you lots of information about the process. Do you live in Halifax?


Sandra, Linda, Bea..... Appreciate your prayers and comments. I brought a Beth Moore study that I am working on here, it's the one about the temple, very good and relevent for present cicumstances.

Kate..... Thanks for checking in on us, I hear you have a new job in child care. How are all things in Banff.

Jared and Kim .....couldn't reach you on the weekend but will call later.

Mitch.... Hope you got back to P.H. safely.

Ryan.... Dads on the next computer on your blog. Looks like you are playing at some universities, thats great. Nastya isn't shy about singing with the radio.

Kitty comments: please don't anyone drop off any stray kittens on my door step, Nastya is content with, Mocha her stuffed one for now, we will wait till we get home for the real one :)

Another after supper stroll.

I am picking up a bit where Debbie left off. Our time illapsed without realizing it. You see while we are posting we have to keep our little Nastya entertained. So far she has been quite content to play a game on the computor but today she was a little more restless. Anyway just something we will be getting used to. One thing for sure she has amazing energy. She can occupy herself with a book or a game or a cartoon, but there are moments where its as if she just has to be on the move. She loves to play hard meaning wrestling and tickling. She has found where I am the most vulnerable and goes there quite often. She loves her fruit in her diet. Whether this is a favorite here or not I don't know, but what she really likes is to half fill a cereal bowl with orange juice and then procede to cut up pieces of banana and orange to mix in said bowl. She then does quite a number on this concoction. To tell you the truth its very good and quite nutritious for sure. As we had hoped this weekend has proved well for all of us. There have been even a few genuine kisses exchanged, although when I left the apartment she refused me one and I had one blown across the room as I was heading out the door. She has a lot of caracter, in a given 5 minutes you could see anything from hysterical laughter to a annimated sulk all the way to a few tears. She can really bring it and I think she plays whatever card will bring results at the given moment. For sure it has been a fun time the past 48 hrs.
I will let Debbie respond to previous comments tommorrow. Ryan as far as your update you ought to be pretty excited about whats going on right now. I don't know what this E.C.M.A.'S thing means , please give details. We are very proud of all that you have going on right now. Who knows maybee a real breakthrough is just around the corner. No matter what just keep on having fun with it and keep on writing new tunes. To me this its whats really neat, original material.
As well I want to say hi to Shelly and all the girls at Tims . It is always good to here from you . Please keep in touch and as hard a job as it is keep those girls in line. Only kidding ofcourse they are are a very special bunch indeed. One thing I'll ask though is no more mention of a large double, double. Even the thought sends me into withdrawl.
Take care all the rest of you , my boys, mom and dad, Kelly and Randy and crew, Patrick and family. Love ya much, Randy

Ukrainian Orthodox Mass

That's right we got to attend Nastya's church this morning at the invitation of the orphanage director. It was a beautiful churh and a beautiful service. The whole church was painted in murals and lit with candles and gilded chandeliers. There are no seats everyone stands and kneels on the floor at the appropriate time. The service was sung in Russian so we didn't understand much. After the service the director broght Nastya back to us and she had a russian church booklet, a cross and her communion. The church is very tradional, all women cover their heads and you must not eat for an hour before service. Unfortunately we had made a pit stop at McDonalds on the way to have a coffee and Nastya had some breakfast. The communion looks like a small biscuit with the cross molded on top. When she got home it all went under her pillow.
The orphanage life is very communal so when the children recieve something special they often hide it under their pillow so that no one will take it from them. So we have a little squirrel in our midst it is always interesting to see what will be under her pillow in the morning. Today it was a flashlight, hair clip, my gum and her new plastic cell phone.

Stylin

We had to do a little shopping today for Nastya, Igor took us to a department store and oh what fun. Nastya got some fancy jeans, a pretty pink skirt, top with lots of sparkles, a pink jacket and pink hat ,scarf and also a pink stroller to transport Mocha her kitty around in.
We also made a trip to the post office and there are pictures on route to Yarmouth and Oakville, they could be a long time getting there. It is illegal for us to post pictures of her until we have been to court so I guess thats all we can do for now.
The weather has cooled off here also and it is snowing out now. We walked down to the cafe, It was slow moving as Nastya had to stop every 5 minutes to shake the snow off Mocha. She is playing the barbie site at the next computer. It has been a great weekend so far, her english is coming along and she has more hugs and kisses.

Comment: Jill so good to hear from you, there are so many beautiful children in her orphanage, you should have come along :)

Mike & Leonora-- We feel so bad that things didn't work out. I can't seem to get into email but when I get it figured out I will email you.

Sandra-- Thaks for your help, and PTL for Dick's good report.

Dave and Laura-- Hope you get some sking in!

Roy-- Thanks for yor blog, Randy has really been missing it.

Debbie

Out for an evening stroll.

I find that after the events of the day I need to get out for a little fresh air. It is a lovely evening here, I'm guessing the temp. to be around 0 maybee slightly below. We have had wonderful weather since our arrival, hope it continues. Again as I have already shared we have Nastya all to our selves for the weekend. Even this evening I can see small cracks in her armour. Maybee there only hairline at this point but I know they are there. You are so right mom, I just want to get back home and begin rasing our fourth child. I looked at her tonight and said to myself I'm in this for the long haul now and do look forward to the challenges for there will be many. I've never considered myself to be a quitter and I don't plan to start now. As long as the good Lord gives me strength I will see this through. I feel so lucky to have someone as commited as Debbie along side, she is really something when it comes to relating to this little girl. I just think of the day when we'll be all packing the gear for a trip to where else, Crawley's aboard Crawley's Bound.
Anyway just a short post tonight, will chat again soon, love you guys much, Randy
Ps, If you catch this note Roy, please send your blog address. I thought I could survive without it, can't do it. Thanks my friend, looking forward to getting back on the page with you guys.

Request for Sandra

Sandra---- We have been unable to reach Sergei in Odessa and we were wondering if you could get his email and phone number from Pator Jim. The number we have is wrong. If you could post in comments that woud be great. Thank you

Regarding Comments

Re: Comments,

Keith and Candace- Yes I'm sure this is a bit of a flashback for you. Lesya said to say hi to you all. She thought Christina was adorable. We are using kiev Star and yes I beieve incoming calls are free. We noticed our phone is not working this morning but hope to get it fixed. Natasha will be in a panic if she can't reach us, although we are making out fine. It is very hard to bond with Nastya while Natasha is here to jump ahead of us at her every need. We have tried to explain this to her a couple of times but she doesn't seem to get it. Time alone is so important for attachment to take place. Anyway last night was great, we were able to give her a bath and snuggle. This morning we got her up and ready for school with no problem communicating. We are doing well with limited english, russian and charades.

Craig and Tracy - So glad you have been able to follow our adventure it is the best way to get a handle on this very complicated process. Read as many blogs as you can and also check into the FRUA site daily to find out the latest news from the adoption center. It is a very difficult process but not impossible.If you are looking for a child over 3 years or siblings your chances of success are much better. We were given porfiles of 4 seven year old girls and one set of siblings. Two of the girls had mental delays. The siblings were fine but we had both wanted to visit Nastya. Anyway when we get home perhaps we can meet. Also Keith and Candace may be able to answer some quetions for you. They brought their daughter home Last January I believe. Oh and Randy say's keep him posted on the super bowl hype. He is missing sports desk in a big a way.

Jared and Kim-- Hope to call you tonight if we get the phone going. Nastya picked up a stray cat last night on the way home and it took some convincing to get her to put it down. Mitch is right we have another animal lover in the family. Miss you guys and hope Kim isn't to lonely with out Jared.

Mom and dad-- Nastya has changed her mind ( a girls perogative) she now wants a kitty like the one on her card.

Mitch, Hope the mac is working for you and school is going well. If you need help with the passport form call nan.

Patrick, Nathan, Ryan, and all single guys following this blog-- You can not believe how many beautiful girls there are in Kiev, they all look as if they stepped off the runway. They all wear stilleto boots and fur jackets of every color. No wonder Randy is falling in man holes.

Dave C-- Lots of fish on cars here :)

Bea & George, Dick & Sandra. So happy that you have our blog address it is great to hear from our church family. We are so praying that Dick is doing well and everything will be fine.

Girls at the pharmacy and Tims--- We got our first photos back this morning and Randy will be carrying a big brag book when he gets home. We went to a childrens
shop this morning to but some things for Nastya while she is at school and Randy got the pictures out to show all the clerks.

Samham--- This girl loves nail polish, last night after bath she had out the blue sparkly and red for alternating fingers, wait till she sees your creativity.

Can you tell we have 2 hours here at the internet cafe this morning? It's nice to not have to rush. I need to catch up on local news, weather. The cafe is full of homeless teen boys and the noise and smell have made it a challenge. They hang out here and play computer games all day. Soooo sad! Debbie

A good night last night!

We had our first full night alone with Nastya. Our translator has gone back to Kiev for a few days to finish some paperwork which needs to be in place preceeding our court date. As Kieth and Candice have shared here we are in for a long journey yet. As they say they know what we are in for as they have been here and done this. Thanks so much for your words of encouragement as we know we will need them.
Getting back to last evening we took a walk down to a pizza shop for some supper. I ended up carrying her most of the way. We probably treked about 2 and a half to 3 km's. Fortunatly she ways just about 50 lbs. Now thats a good thing but I would be lying if I said it wasn't a good thing to see our apartment once again. To tell you the truth I really belief that this piggy backing and shoulder rides have been our greatest moments of bonding. It seems that in this she is starting to trust me and be more comfortable with me. If being her chief mode of transportation is a means of breaking the ice then thats cool, no pun intented.
I'll tell you one thing that you notice very quickly around here is that when it comes to driving its literally each man for himself. The way the streets are layed out here you have the right to pass anywhere anytime. Further more you are able to make u-turns as well , anywhere any time depending on traffic flow. As well there are cross walks here but basically this only indicates where you should cross, some abide most don't. Besides that once your on the sidewalk nobody is slowing down. What I mean is you basically dodge traffic to make your way to the other side. This I find really strange because as I am sitting in the passenger seat and we approach a sidewalk loaded with people I'm hitting the brake, meanwhile our driver seems to speed up if anything sometimes laying on the horn just to give everbody a heads up. Now at the intersections where there are lights in place you can feel pretty safe getting across but no lingering even then. All part of the way it is here. Amazingly I have only witnessed a few accidents , its truly a wonder there aren't more.
Anyway we are really looking fotward to the weekend as we will have Nastya all to ourselves. Should be good for all of us. We are planning to find a hair dresser tommorrow and get her done up. Maybee a little shopping, whatever we feel will work to make a fun day for all. It can be a bit of a roller coaster ride in this bonding process and I find I have to be able to put my feelings on the shelf. For now its all about her and her feelings. I mean even last night when you think about it , we had a normal evening and a normal am of getting up , getting ready for school,etc,etc. For her this may have never happened quite this way before. The transition for all of this will certainly take time. One thing to mention , she did sleep very well and we kind of wondered if that was going to happen our first night together, so this was a very good thing and certaonly a step forward. Well I going to shut it down for now. Take care all of you and we so much appreciate your comments and encouragement. Love and miss ya much, Randy

Name Game

As you have read , Nastya is the short form of Anastacia, but that won't work to well for her in Canada ( although at times it fits quite well, ha ha). Anyway we thought that she should be in on the decision so we asked her opinion last evening and she thought "Buffy" would be nice because somewhere along the way she had seen "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", that was the end of her input on the subject.
We decided to name her "Nadya Anastacia" because it seemed like an easy transition from Nastya and besides Anastacia can lead to many nicknames in the future if she doesn't like Nadya. She does look like a Nadya :).
Our translator left tonight for Kiev to deliver documents so we are really looking forward to our time alone. Nastya is much easier to interact with when she can't depend on Natasha. We will take her to school in the morning and than she will be with us all weekend alone so should be fun.
We went to an awesome outdoor market today where you could buy most anything. From pig feet to chicken heads and feet, yummy got to have some of that. These people don't waste anything, many tables lined with pork fat, a delicasy here. We bought a frying pan, leotards, candy, oranges,etc..
We are breaking new ground here as Nastya is the first child to be adopted internationally in this region. Fortunatly the main social worker in the area is in favor and has gone above and beyond to help us in every way. Our other advantage is the director of the orphanage that has been fully cooperative and lenient with us taking Nastya to the apartment so that she will see what it is like to be part of a family. So things are going well so far.

Comments:
Thanks Laura, Allie & Julia, Nastya is really enjoying her electronic game and the clothes and jacket & hat that you sent with us. PS Also card & book will be invaluable.

Kelly, Greys Anatomy is a nighly favorite., I figured you would ask if I got a picture of Randy falling in the manhole but you were too kind.

Marco & Lana, also loving the King, we have our translator hooked too.

Mom & Dad, I gave Nastya your card today and what do you know a pink card with a kitten, 2 or her favorite things.

Roy, The pictures have come in handy to get Nastya familiar with her new home to be.

Peter and Pam, I suppose Jared has talked your ear off, hope your new addition is settling in well and behaving.

I will get to some more comments tommorrow. Got to get our little Matrushka home to bed.
Da svedonya.....good bye
Debbie

Another day of progress!

It has been more of the same this day. We were able to spend most of the afternoon with Nastyia. We picked her up this am. at the orphanage. She had just finised her classes and was very proud of her accomplishments for the day. We went from the orphanage to our apartment and as I have said spent time alone with her. Our translator was busy with getting paperwork done down town. I felt today we were maybee making a little more eye contact. Its become kind of a game I think as I catch her looking my way. The minute we make eye contact she quickly looks away. I guess the games may continue for some time and thats ok. As I post to you tonight, I must say I am feeling much better about things. Again I knew from the beginning this would take time, but its hard not to be over anxiuos.Debbie stayed back at the apartment tonight and I'm out and about on my own. Yes I am keeping a close eye out for those man holes, espesially in the dark. The streets here are very dimly lit and nearly dark. By the way those several man holes we came across last night were wide open, meaning no covers insight. These things are 8 to ten feet deep. Anyway in my defence I was keeping an eye on the little one when we stepped out of our vehicle the other day and I never even saw the man hole. Anyway no real harm done, but at first I did think it was serious. Tonight as well we have Nastyia for the night, and we will take her back to orphanage first thing in the am. for classes. Its all part of the bonding process , more and more time alone with us as we go along. We hope to have enough paperwork in place tommorrow to make a court date. We may wait up to 10 days for this so the quicker things are in order the better.
To back track a bit on some of my early comments I must say that especially in Kiev there is quite a bit of constuction going on. Parts of this beautiful city are quite alot New York. We have yet to have alot of time to sight see but that will happen towards the end of our time here. In some ways it seems We've been here longer 9 days. The biggist obsticle remains the language barrior. Until you are emersed in this culture I suppose its difficult to realize what I'm saying, for that matter any culture where the language is foriegn to your own can be an interesting adventure to say the least.
Anyway I'm starting to ramble so I'll stop for now. Thanks again for the comments. I'm happy thinks are going well at the jail Marco, give my best to the guys for me. I had no doubt that I left this in good hands with you and Bill.Thanks again for all the rest of you that keep in touch, will post again soon. Much love to all, Randy

Things are coming together!

Hey Everyone,
Thanks for your love and prayer that is so evident in all the comments. They have been so encouraging to read and we look forward to them.

Today was a day of accomplishments for us, we have collected most documents we need to ask for a court date and we are hoping to ask for court date by the end of the week. Anastacia's bloodwork was all fine, no communicable diseases.

She is very smart, reads well,very good with electronics. Some of her first english words have been ipod...pink....cat....counts from 1-10...yes....no...Canada...McDonalds.

Yesterday in Kiev We told her we would take her out for breakfast, we said cafe to help her understand, her face lit up and she said McDonalds,yes. I guess some things are universal.

We have a translator with us at all times her name is Natasha and we also have a driver to take us anywhere. Tha apartment here in kreev is nice, warm and has a washer yea. The building itself is scary looking and the hallways awful, we were expecting the worst but when we walked into the apartment itself it was just newly refinished and smelled great.

The food here is unbelievable, a huge selection of salads, stuffed meats, breads i was hoping to lose the prepregnancy weight but it will be a challenge ha ha.

Randy's Ukraine Travel Tips:
1. Never step on a manhole cover.
Yes, we almost lost him yesterday when he stepped on a manhole cover,the cover flipped and one leg went down and when he tried to pull his leg out the cover came back and wedged him.It caused a bit of a comotion as we were in a supermarket parking lot but we were able to get him out with abrasions but no fractures. Many locals were shaking there heads and we thought they were sympathetic, later we realized that they were probably thinking "stupid foreigners". All Ukrainian mothers teach their children early on to always walk around a manhole. Tonight we passed three without any covers.

We have found our bearings here in Kreev and will be able to get to the internet more often. Also we purchased a cell phone today as we have been unable to make long distance calls from the apartment so her os the number 380982138125 I think you have to dial 011 before ot for international calls check and see..got to go time is running out

Its been another day of progress but a long day as everything seems to move slowly. Maybee I am being over anxious and its my problem. While Debbie was busy doing some paper work I had a little one on one time at the orphanage today. Nastia and I just play , she has tons of energy and loves to play hard. She isn't making much eye contact with me yet and I guess this is par for the course. You see she has some recolection of a mom, even though she hasn't seen her more than once or twice over the past couple of years. Amazingly she still speaks of her natural mom and wonders about her. Now on the other side of the coin there is no mention of a dad in the picture, so the director in her orphanage has become the only dad in a sense she knows. I must say this diregtor is a very special guy and loves these children very much. The problem for him is that there are approx. 176 chidren in the facility so he has a huge task along with the workers there. So you see along comes Randy Cook with a smile wanting to just be her dad overnight. Its simply not going to happen that way, I knew that before this began but I now realize It may take quite awile. Hey just realizing this is much of the battle but at the same time I've already fallen in love with her. I trust in time once we are back home it will be much better. You have no idea just how good it feels to be posting to you right now. As much as anything for me its just to be able to express how I'm feeling and as well to know that you my family and friends are all in our corner. We think we are on scedule but its still early in the game. Thanks for all the comments please keep them coming as they mean so much to us.
Will somebody at the dairy please say hello to Robin for me , tell him I'm thinking of him and hope he is feeling much better after the operation. As well I trust that Donnie is a grampa twice over by now, hope everyone is well. Give our best to Tara and family. As well would somebody please let me know who is playing in the superbowl as I have know clue. Anyway I'll say goodbye for now, take care all of you on the West side, as well to all my Tim Horton girls, I would do anything for a large double, double right now.Take care Patrick, Nathan, Vic, and all the rest of you. Thanks for keeping and eye on everything back home for us Mom and Dad. Miss you all very much, Randy

Quite a day Indeed!

I new when this all began we would need to be patient and today tested all of it. We spent most of our day at the doctors office as we are getting the medical paperwork in order. The problem is there were about 60 others wanting to get their thing done as well. Anyway we made progress and thats all I can say for now. We are seeing progress with Nastia as well, it isn't easy for her in all of this. We have the language problem and she is dealing with much in her own world. Again patience is the name of the game right now. If you are praying for us this would be the greatest area of need right now. We are heading back from wence we came in a couple of hours by train. Its a 6 to 7 hour trip and not the most comfortable. I may seem as though I'm venting a little and maybee I am. All I know is when We look into the eyes of this presious child we know that Lord willing we will be bringing her home to Canada. All the best to my boys, I love you all and miss ya much. I understand things went well at the Grand last night, well done Ryan. Take care everyone else out there, will post again soon. Love, Randy and Debbie

On the run!

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all the wonderful comments. We are in a rush agian so just a few words until tommorrow. Anastacia is here on my lap and we are catching a train in 15 minutes to go back to Kiev for Anastacia's exam at the Canadian medical center. Tommorrow we will spend the day in Kiev and will get a chance to go to the internet cafe.
Patrick , I am so sorry to hear about your great grandfather and also surpised sense he always seemed in good health. I am sure you must be feeling sad about all that .
Talk to you tommorrow with some details.
love, Debbie

We are toast!

Yes we are sold out after one meeting. We have found our girl. Randy and I both felt connected to the same childs profile at the adoption center and just one look at her has us convinced she is the one.
She is tiny for 7 years, the size 6 skirt i brought is too big, but the shirt fits. She has blue eyes, no front teeth and has straight brownish hair. An impish grin!
She has already asked for a chorney(black) kitten. "Jared get on that"
Randy has sore shoulders from carrying her around the grounds but it is a good sore.
We don't have much time to blog tonight but tommorrow, maybe more.
Thanks everyone for the great comments and and good wishes. I have been unable to access my eastlink email but my other one I can get into. It is dbrh_ck@yahoo.com .

To my boys, I hope you are doing well, good luck Ryan, Dad says knock em dead. I hope to be able to call you all this weekend.

Love, Debbie & Randy

Wow what a day!

What can I say, It has been a wild past 24 hours. First the very good news, we have had our appointment and we have chosen a little girl to visit. Her name is Anastasia, she is 7 and one half years old. We are leaving Kiev and heading out by train this eneving ay 11 pm. The place or province is called Dniproprotersk. We will travel all night to get there. Tommorrow we will get to meet her. Thats all I have time to share with you for now. We are very excited to get to meet her so tommorrow can't get here fast enough. Love you all and will try to post again soon. Bye for now. Randy

Appointment Day ( YES)

Yes this is what all the fuss has been about. Today at 2 pm Ukraine time we will go to the adoption centre for our appointment. To say we are pretty wound up would be an understatement for sure. Once we see the childs profile we have to set up an appointment at the particular orphanage she is in. This could be many miles from where we are and it could be around the corner. More than likely it will be another day or so before we actually get to meet her. Having at least a visual will be enough for now. We had a great walk about this amazing city yesterday. The history being so rich and the culture so different makes for many interesting sites. One thing you can't help notice is that smoking is very popular here , it seems most people are lighting up. The other things that stand out are the number of people using cell phones, it seems everyone has one in operation. The other thing is the fashion here , men wear prodominatly black, the ladies mostly reds, blacks, and certainly more colourful. The ladies for the most part are wearing very high boots with pointy toes. Anyway at this point we have caught up on our rest. I'm still a little off scedule but Debbie on the other hand is getting obout 12 to 14 hours of sleep a day. Kelly I think before we leave Debbie may be speaking to those Russian bears about hybernation. I'm sure she can help them out a bit. What else can I say at this point, I am checking the time and it is only an hour from now that we head off to the adoption centre. We will post again soon , thanks again for the comments, it is so neat to here from each one of you. Comments from Nova Scotia to Ireland and all the way to Australia. The internet is a wonderful thing. Love you all and can't wait to share more news with you. By the way Roy, thanks for the offer but even good old Acadian lingo won't help you here very much I'm afraid. Bye for now, Randy

New Kids in Town

Yes we are safely here in Keiv, the capital of this country Ukraine. We had a good flight from Tor. Our flying time was appox. 9 hours which was a little less than I first thought but that was long enough for sure. We gained 6 hours from Nova Scotia time which did a number on us so we pretty much forced ourselves to shut it all down. We are feeling pretty much alive now. The one thing that I feel as you take in our surroundings is that you step back in time. Everything you see seems to be in black and white some 25 to 30 years ago. The buildings are very old and there is little evidence of new constuction of any kind going on. The truth is this country will be another generation behind because of their history, only recently coming out of communism. Ofcouse for us the language barrier is our biggist challenge. Debbie keeps a small Russian/English conversion book at hand and it will come in handy. People for the most part are a little reluctant to offer help, once they realize you speak English they kind of back away. We ofcourse have interpretors that will be working with us. They met us at the airport and got us to our apartment, which by the way is not bad at all. Again a very old building but clean and very livable. Our interpretors are very nice, they have made us feel welcome and are very helpful. Their names are Lesya and Irina and work as a team. Ofcourse tomorrow , Wed. is our big day as we have our appointment at the addoption centre. Yes as my cousin Barry has said we are having all the feelings he has discribed. Yes we are anxious and excited to finally go there and make plans to meet our little girl. It seems so strange to be referring to a little girl, I'm sure I'll get used to it. Anyway enough for now, thanks again for all all the comments, keep them coming. A big hello to all my Tim Horton girls in Shel. and Barr. Will be posting again soon, hope to have good news to share with you all. Thanks as well for your thoughts and prayers, With much love Randy and Debbie.

Today We Fly

First of all I want to thank you all for your comments, they are greatly appreciated. We have had a great little visit with my sister Laura and family. After a good nights sleep we are more than ready for the next leg of this journey. Today our flight leaves at 5:30 pm. Tor. Time. Our flight is oppox. 12 hours non stop to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. For me this is like living out the impossible dream, for so long it didn't look as if we were ever going to get there. Now that its a reality I'm still dealing with some disbelief that its really happening. We are very excited that in only a few days we will be meeting a little girl that we will fall in love with and will become our very own. We feel very priveliged and blessed to be in this position. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as we continue on in this awesome journey.

Ready or not..........here we come

Yikes, this is it, our last day to purchase, pack and organize before we hit the road. It's looking like a busy day ahead for me. Randy is working his last day for about 5 or 6 weeks, needless to say he had a spring in his step this morning.

Happy Birthday to my brother Scott! Tonight we'll join him and the family for a birthday dinner and than catch the rest of the mariners game at the arena.

Tomorrow we leave early and drive to Halifax, say goodbye to the boys, who all happen to be there this weekend and catch our flight to Toronto.

If you happen to be in Halifax this weekend don't miss the CD release party of Ryan Cook and Sunny Acres band who will be performing at the Seahorse Tavern. and............ if you miss that join them at Haley's in Yarmouth on January 20th.

We are sure going to miss you all while we are away. Please do keep in touch via blog or email.

Love, Debbie & Randy

Countdown to Kiev

9 days until our appointment at the Adoption Center in Kiev

We leave on Saturday morning, drive to Halifax and fly to Toronto. We will spend Saturday night and Sunday with Laura, Dave and girls in Oakville. Sunday evening our flight leaves Toronto around 5:30 pm and we arrive in Kiev at around 11:30 am Monday morning. That will give us a couple of days to recover and do some sight seeing before our appointment at the adoption center on Wednesday. The time difference is 6 hours ahead. The weather in Kiev this week is about 3-5 oC with rain, thats mild for Ukraine ....yea.