Saturday, December 22, 2007

12/22/07 - Our Life In-Region

Hello again,

Our landlord came to the flat yesterday to fix our kitchen sink for the second time. It appears our sink might not have been designed to actually wash dishes in
:-). This was the second time that it had backed up but at least she left us the sink plunger so we can unstop it ourselves. We have hired our Translator to stay with us for a few extra days just to get us through the bumps of acclimatizing to life in-region. The town we are in is very spread out and it is difficult to get anywhere without a taxi. This make little things like getting back and forth to the Detsky Dom (orphanage), the grochery, or the internet cafe' quite an adventure.

We bought a cable for our translator's cell phone today and that is how we are updating the blog currently. I think we may just dive in and buy a G3 Card because the speed of a GPRS card will be similar to a cellular connection and two words describe that, SLOW and UNRELIABLE. Konstantine is looking for a GPRS card for us in Kiev so we will talk to him tonight to see if he was successful. The G3 card is roughly the equivalent of DSL so thats probably where we need to go.

Our visit with our daughter was awesome today. The three hours literally flew by and too soon it was time to go. She continues to amaze us. Today we introduced her to the computer and she was a very quick study. I hazard to guess that Click-n-read will get quite a workout back home. I can't wait until our waiting period is over so that we can post photos and such for everyone to see. I think we're going to head downtown in a little while to buy tea and sugar. Mostly we just want to get out of the apartment and walk around for a little while.

We miss our boys more than I ever imagined. Mom and Dad are doing great with them and really holding down the fort. Already we have missed a few firsts though and that is tough. Jesse scored his first hockey goal of the season last weekend and won his first belt in Tae Kwon Do two Wednesday's ago. Jacob is our first teenager and we missed out on being there for that too. We missed Jeremiah's Christmas program last week though mom and dad video taped it for us. (thanks!)

Our best to all,

Mike and Donna

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow!!!! Donna and Mike I am so happy for you guys. Way to stick with a dream and follow it through. I've really enjoyed reading about your adventures thank you for thinking of me. I can't wait to see pictures of your daughter. Congratulations and Merry Christmas...Jen and Mike Duren

Amy said...

Mike and Donna!
Don't fret too much! This time you spend in the region is just a blink in time - compared to everything else! Glad to hear that you got a court date - I hope that goes well for you!
Keep your chins up!
Best wishes!
Amy

ps- can't wait to hear more about little "A"

Drew and Rita said...

We are so happy that things are going well for you. We can all hope that boredom is our biggest challenge. I'm so glad your daugher is everything you hoped for.

Sharon & Brian said...

Michael & Donna -
Congrats on the upcoming court date. I finally got home and got a few minutes to check out how everything was going. I am hoping the best for you but totally understand the hurry up and wait process. I pray things start to go smoother (fewer lows and lot more highs!!) Glad the movies could help we totally know where you are coming from. I am so happy everything is working out for you. Enjoy your holidays with your new daughter. Feel free to email us if you need anything as we do know what you are going through. Congrats again and I'll keeping watching to hear more good news.
Sharon & Brian