Home at last!

Well...we're finally at home. I woke up this morning to find Alexandra staring at me this time. I smiled at her and she smiled back and we sort of "talked" for about 15 minutes before Candace woke up and joined us. It was a neat first morning back in Canada. Candace's sister and her husband kept their Christmas tree up so Alexandra had a chance to open presents under a tree, probably for the first time. Thanks to Camille and Anthony for your thoughtfulness and caring. It is these qualities that helped us decide that you should be our daughter's godparents. After breakfast and some visiting we hit the highway. We stopped at Portage to visit Walmart but it was in the process of relocating so we decided to pass through Brandon to go to the store there. Despite our eagerness to get home, we spent two hours in Walmart. I knew we were in for a long visit when I left Candace and Alexandra in the toy section to go back and get a second cart. Later, after catching up with them after a brief side trip to the electronic department, I found their cart overflowing with alot of size 3 clothing. After stuffing the three of us and our new purchases back into a vehicle already full with luggage, we finally made our way back home. As we pulled in the driveway, we were greeted by a sign that welcomed the three of us. Rumour has it that the handwriting matches a certain retired principal from Shoal Lake. Thanks so much for the wonderful gesture.

Originally, we were going to come home, get settled, have a quiet supper, and then retire early. After a short time however, we decided to invite some friends over to meet Alexandra. That was pretty exciting to say the least. There were more presents for her to open and we talked about our experience a bit more and watched video excerpts from our trip. The best part was having this little girl walking around calling us mommy and daddy with witnesses to confirm that it actually happened. I know there are many different ways to start a family, but I expect the end result is the same. It is hard to articulate what this end result is...but I expect it was close to that feeling I had as I sat there watching our daughter hug and kiss everyone as she was on her way to bed. I am not sure what is in store for me as a parent, and I know I have countless things to learn in my new role as a dad. As I sat in my living room watching Alexandra make her rounds I felt so many emotions...pride in being able to share this wonderful little girl with others, excitment about being able to introduce her to even more people, hope that her lifetime would be long and rewarding, and even a bit of fear, for those times in the future that I may not know exactly what to do as her father. It's ironic that when you get married, you pledge an oath to your new spouse that you will love, honour and cherish them until death causes you to part. Yet, people who have children aren't required to do anything similar. I expect that for most people the responsibility is understood. I am new at this, so I feel the need to be more concrete. So, Alexandra...my promise to you is very simple...I will do everything I can for as long as we are on this earth together to show you how much you mean to us and how deeply you are loved.

This is the last post that I will be making. The blog's purpose was to chronicle our experiences away from home so that everyone knew what was happening. We also wanted to keep a record for future reference, mainly to give Alexandra a sense of how we all came together. But we are home now and our Ukrainian adventure has ended...and so too must this blog. Now our Canadian adventure begins.

Friendly Manitoba

"Sweet home Manitoba,

Where the sky's cold and grey,

Sweet home Manitoba,

Alexandra's comin' home to stay!"

Well, after 37 days away from home we are back in Canada with our new daughter. And about 2.5 years after we started this process, we are now a family with a daddy, mommy, and child. The airlines and airports tried to work together to conspire against us to make the day more challenging than it needed to be...but regardless of the mix-ups and delays, we finally made it back to Manitoba. That is really all that matters.

As soon as we boarded the plane for the last leg of our journey, from Toronto to Winnipeg, Alexandra fell asleep. She was still out when we came down the escalator at the Winnipeg airport. Despite having a really long day, Candace and I could not sleep during that final flight. The excitement of finally being home was tremendous and the anticipation of seeing everyone we care about and introducing them to our daughter was almost too much to bear. What a wonderful reception we received when we arrived at the airport in Manitoba. Looking down from the top of that escalator at all of you who came to welcome us back, one couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. Seeing all of your smiling faces made everything so concrete in an instant...Candace and Stephen and Alexandra were finally home and we were finally a family. To those who came to greet us, thanks of course for the gifts for Alexandra and the Tim Horton's coffee and the kind words and hugs and handshakes. But thanks mostly for taking time out of your busy lives to come and help us welcome our daughter to Manitoba. For those of you that did not make it, and we certainly did not expect anyone to come, know that you were with us all the way through our trip, in our hearts and in our minds. We can't wait to see you all.

Reflecting upon all that has happened as we left Frankfurt, I almost had to shake my head with disbelief. Looking over at Alexandra in her plane seat listening to the in-flight radio on her headphones, I realized how happy I am that things worked out as they did. I am so glad that we chose to adopt, I am pleased that we found our way to the Ukraine, and I am very thankful that our trip did not happen until it did. I would not choose to change a thing, because in doing so, the three of us may not be together as we are now. I am thankful for everything that has happened during this little adventure. Since this will be my second last posting, I will indulge myself and take a moment to acknowledge those people that have helped make this all possible. Thanks to the Ukrainian Adoption Services of Winnipeg and their Ukrainian facilitators for leading us through the myriad of steps necessary to make this all happen. Thanks to all of those wonderful people at the orphanage for caring for our daughter until we could come and get her. Thanks to all of those people who posted comments on our blog. It would be an understatement to say that your thoughtful words were merely helpful. Every single comment kept us connected with home and made us stay focused, even during some challenging moments during our time away. It seemed whenever we needed a boost you gave it to us. Thanks to our family and friends for all of the love and support during the entire process. Your encouragement has provided us with considerable strength and hope along the way. Thanks of course to Candace, who is already proving herself to be a wonderful mother by showing compassion, wisdom, patience, and unconditional love for our new daughter. And finally, thanks to our beautiful little girl Alexandra. We promise to do something every day of your life to remind you how much you mean to us. It starts tomorrow on our drive back home...anything you want at Walmart is yours...except for a Montreal Canadians jersey that is...the David's are Maple Leaf fans.

For what it is worth, I did kiss the ground when I got back to Manitoba to show my joy in being home finally. I had contemplated doing it at the airport but I was worried about what some people may have thrown on the ground outside the terminal, so I waited until I got back to Candace's sister's house.

Goodbye Ukraine, Hello Germany

Let me start by saying this is a difficult post to make...because a German keyboard is different than the one that I am use to. I couldn't find the @ for my email login so I had to cut and paste it from another website.

Well, I woke up at just past seven and started staring at my sleeping daughter. She must have felt the eyes on her because she woke up shortly thereafter and started staring back at me. So I went over and joined her and we made faces at each other for a little while before getting out of bed. After breakfast, I went for a walk to find a post office to buy some stamps and postcards.

Our driver arrived just before eleven and took us to the airport. When we were checking our bags we encountered another little snag. First, we were told that our luggage had to be checked right through to our final destination. Then the attendant asked if I knew we would not be able to leave the airport. Since Alexandra has a Ukrainian passport, she requires a visa to enter Germany. So it looked like we would have to overnight in the terminal. When we arrived in Frankfurt I went up to the passport control and explained our situation. We were brought to the main office and spoke with the director. He was very compassionate and decided he could draw up a tempoary visa for us. Yee haw! Even though Karolin Klein is still the nicest German that I have ever met...this guy is now my second favourite.

Alexandra has been amazing all day. Before we even took off from Kiev, she fell asleep with her feet on Candace's lap and her head on mine. Somehow she managed to do this even with her seatbelt on...I guess her 20 inch waist made this possible. She slept for well over an hour. When she awoke we placed the airline meal in front of her and watched as she devoured it. It was as if she had not eaten in a month. We will add pasta with alfredo sauce to the list of foods that she loves...which already includes plain bread, bananas, and oranges. Interestingly, the foods she does not care for include chocolate and ice cream.

Back to Frankfurt...it was really mild when we arrived. We had to go outside to get our shuttle to the hotel. The airport here is huge and every cab parked in front, and there seems to be well over a hundred, seems to be a cream coloured Mercedez. Our hotel is only 4 kms from the terminal. It is called the Frankfurt Ibis and it is really nice...other than the wacky keyboard that has some of the letters mixed up. For example, the y and the y are reveresed so I have been spell checking alot.

Well, time for supper. Even though I am incredibly excited, I wish I could go to sleep right now until the morning. Tomorrow, it's goodbye Frankfurt and hello Canada. The post that I make tomorrow evening will be from Candace's sister's house in Winnipeg. I know it is dreadfully cold back home and I am sure it is uncomfortable for everyone...but I could care less. Minus 40 Manitoba will be a welcome relief from plus 10 Europe. See you all tomorrow!

Our last full day in the Ukraine!

I am making this post a little bit earlier because the internet cafe is quite a way from our apartment. I actually came to update the last two days that I missed as we travelled across the country.

Well...I can tell you this morning was like waking up on Christmas morning. At 5:20 am my eyes opened and I sat right up to look at the small bed next to ours. I saw this precious little girl lying there peacefully with her arm hanging over the side. Once I determined she was inhaling and exhaling, I spent the next few minutes sitting there watching her sleep. Candace must have sensed something because she sort of woke up and said "what's wrong?". I said "Look" and pointed at Alexandra. Candace looked, smiled, then went instantly fell back to sleep.

The girls got out of bed around 8:15 am. Candace and I took turns hanging out with Alexandra while the other one got ready. It was a great way to start the day, and an even better way to end this trip. I was smiling as I sat with Alexandra on my lap at the kitchen table...watching her as she ate an orange and a banana. I though how lucky I was that she was with us...and how lucky we were that we brought lots of wet wipes.

Around 10:00 am, I was picked up to go to the Canadian Embassy. We dropped off the documents to finalize Alexandra's immigration to Canada. I will go back at 4:00 pm to pick up her visa. Then Candace and Alexandra joined us and we did a bit of running around before stopping at a big outdoor market to purchase some souveniers.

Well, it's getting close to 3:00 pm and I have to get to the grocery store and back to the apartment before heading back to the Embassy. This evening we are getting together with the facilitators and another Manitoban couple for a farewell meal at TGIFridays. I am so excited I think I will need a sleeping pill or something to help me rest tonight. That being said, I could not care less if I sleep because I am heading home tomorrow. And if I am restless I will just lay on my bed and watch Alexandra as she dreams of her new life in Canada with mommy and daddy. It's funny...as I typed that last sentence I remembered something that happened this morning. I said something to Candace but called her "mommy". I told her I probably wouldn't be using her first name for the next few years. I imagined us being out for dinner alone or something and me saying something like "Does mommy want some wine or dessert". We'll see what happens I guess.

The next post I make will be from Frankfurt, Germany where we will spend tomorrow night. We can't wait to see everyone! Best of luck to the Strathclair Skyhawks Varsity Girls' basketball team at their home tournament this weekend. See you at our first league game on Monday.

Goodbye Kramatorsk!

Okay...Kramatorsk was the city where we have spent the last month. We are no longer there...we are now back in Kiev. Also, as of today, Stephen, Candace and Alexandra are a family 24/7!

We woke up at 6:30 am, got ready, and were joined by a new facilitator at 7:30 am. We went to the court house to pick up the adoption decree, got a new birth certificate, and headed to the orphanage. When we went to Alexandra's room, all of her caregivers were there to see her off, and they started crying as they said good bye. Then Candace and I got caught up in the moment and became a bit teary-eyed. So eight adults were shaking hands and hugging with tears on their faces and Alexandra was left to wonder what the heck was going on.

We then left for Donestsk and arrived at noon. After having lunch, we were dropped off at the apartment of another couple from Manitoba. We stayed there while our facilitator went and did the paperwork necessary for Alexandra's passport. Our plane was scheduled to leave at 6:10 pm but an announcement was made saying that it would be delayed until 8:30 pm. Everyone seemed very upset by this with the exception of us and the American couple. We were still smiling because we had our children with us and were on our way back home finally. I believe things happen for a reason and I was actually glad the plane was delayed. You see, our friends, the Spanish couple, had a big problem with their paper work back in Kramatorsk and did not arrive at the airport until 6:45 pm. Had their been no delay they would not have been able to leave until tomorrow.

When we landed in Kiev at 9:00 pm, we were met by a driver who took us to our new apartment. It was a great place in a building adjacent to the American Embassy. It even had digital cable and a high speed internet connection. Too bad I did not bring a laptop. After a late supper, we tried to go to bed. It took Alexandra quite a while to get horizontal. I wouldn't say she was wound up per se...it was more that she had a really big day and had lots of new experiences. To be fair, even I had trouble sleeping. I spent some time watching my wife and daughter sleeping beside me before drifting off myself...I assume with a big smile on my face.

Another Day in Paradise

The bad news first...we went to pick up our official adoption decree today and they told us we had to wait until tomorrow. The good news...we are still scheduled to come home on Friday.

Candace and I packed everything up last night, woke at 5:45 am, and checked out of the hotel at 7:30 pm. We had assumed we would pick up the decree, finish the paper work today, and fly to Kiev tonight. We all know that things don't always work out the way that we assume they will.

We arrived at the court house at 7:55 am and we went in with our facilitator. Shortly thereafter, the representatives for the American and Spanish couples arrived. Candace and I sat on a bench watching them talk to the lady in the office of the decrees. There seemed to be a bit of a discussion, then our facilitatir started walking and we followed her to the third floor. The lady in the office came behind us. In a nutshell, the judge had guaranteed that we would get the decree today. The pencil-pusher from the second floor went up to remind him that the ten-day waiting period can not end on a holiday...it must end on a working day. The judge said he made a mistake and all three families were told they had to wait an additional day. It was quite disappointing...but what can you do. Needless to say there were some teary-eyed people outside the courthouse. I even found myself reciting the serenity prayer, which our facilitator then asked me to write in her notebook.

The rest of the morning was spent completing many of the tasks that we were supposed to anyway. The bureaucracy over here is amazing. You get a form filled out at one office then you drive across town to get it notarized, then bring it back to show them it is official. From 8:10 am until about noon we visited, in this order...the court house, the department of vital statistics, the court house, the notary public, and the court house again. Then we went to the orphanage to complete the paper work there and make our donation. After a month of driving in extremely warm cabs we spent three hours in the coldest taxi in the Ukraine. Fortunately, we got almost everything done and we got our plane tickets for tomorrow evening. Tomorrow at 8:00 am we pick up her decree and then we stop to get Alexandra's birth certificate and passport application. We pick up our daughter (hopefully) at 9:00 am before we drive 90 minutes to the regional capital (Donetsk) to get the passport. Then we spend the afternoon there and fly to Kiev at 6:00 pm.

On a positive note, we had a much better room at our hotel when we returned. It has three rooms plus a bathroom with a tub. The most appealing feature however was the two beds and the couch. I guess the morning played us out a bit because Candace and I spent the afternoon napping.

Our evening visit, while not planned, was extremely enjoyable. For the first hour it was just the three of us. Alexandra actually spent some time teaching us Russian. She would say a word or phrase, I would repeat it, and then she would laugh hysterically. Then she spent some time sort of yelling phrases at the door to the room while sitting in the swing. Candace and I assumed that she was telling off anyone who had wronged her prior to her departure. We joined in and encouraged her a bit telling her to yell at whomever took her nail polish off as well as the lady who gave her heck for using the adult washroom. I don't know if Alexandra was actually doing what we thought but it was quite therapeutic for mom and dad nevertheless.

The American couple actually had to drive to Donetsk to pick up the plane ticket for one of their kids. Like us, they'll go back tomorrow and head to Kiev on the same flight as us. After our evening visit, we went out for supper with them and their facilitator to a nice restaurant that we had somehow missed in the last month.

Final visits and goodbyes

I hope everyone is having a good first day back to school after the Christmas holidays. I can tell you that I wish I was doing the same thing. We are really getting excited about getting home on Saturday. No matter what time I go to bed lately, I am waking before 6:00 am and thinking about being home in Manitoba with Alexandra. I also am waking up thinking about how much I miss my work and about getting back to our basketball team. While I will miss the home tournament, I am excited about the league starting Monday.

Taking to the Spanish couple, I discovered something else that Candace and I missed out on at our hotel. At the beginning of our time here, we spent one night in a small room with two single beds. The next morning I asked for a double doom and they told me it was three times the price. So we elected on keeping our smaller room. So in conversation with the Spanish couple, we found out that the double room we were offered was actually the deluxe suite. There is a wider range of rooms that are available that I guess was lost in translation when I first talked to the receptionist. For an extra $5. American a night they have a suite with a full bath, a living room, and an adjacent bedroom. Had I found this out last week I would have upgraded immediately. Given tonight is our final one here, we just laughed it off and are staying put. Live and learn I guess.

During our morning visit, Alexandra was already downstairs with a cargiver when we arrived at the orphanage. We threw her off a bit given that we were still wearing our jackets. She probabaly thought we were going outside again, which she doesn't seem to like. Tomorrow should be interesting. Once she settled in, she was full of the chatter (still in Russian) and was really animated. She even fed a bottle to the Spanish couple's little boy for about five minutes. It was so cute and everyone was taking pictures. While she likes feeding babies, I learned shortly thereafter that she does not care for wet willies.

Our final visit to the orphanage took place tonight from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. I can't believe how nice it was to type that sentence. It was both a happy and sad time as we said good bye to the other couples and their children with whom we have shared the experience over the last few weeks. We are all happy that we finally get to go home, but you do get close to people quickly in this type of circumstance. To our friends from Minnesota and El Corona, Spain...best of luck as you begin your new lives together back home as a family. I will send you a copy of the Christmas Concert video in a couple of weeks.

This might be the last post for the next couple of days. We leave this city tomorrow and I am not sure where we we'll be tomorrow evening. Tomorrow at 8:00 am we pick up the official adoption decree. After taking care of some additional paperwork, we head to the orphanage for the final time...to pick up our daughter for good!

Srozhdestvom Kristovym!

Srozhdestvom Kristovym...or Merry Ukrainian Christmas.

It was a relatively uneventful day...but very enjoyable considering how close we are to getting home. We made our 47th and 48th visits to the orphanage. Two more tomorrow will bring it to an even 50...which is a nice point to wrap it up.

It seems that we have had many interesting cab rides during the trip. Our cab driver this morning, for example, started by asking me if we were Spanish. I told him that we were Canadian and then he told us, in very broken English, that he had been a seaman on a Spanish trawler that worked from the Grand Banks off Newfoundland down to Cuba. He told me he had visited Halifax, St. John's and Labrador. When he said "Halifax", Candace thought he saw Terry Fox...so she was really excited.

Our morning visit was much quieter today given that we did not try to take Alexandra outside again. The highlight was probably the half-hour that we spent playing keep-away with an empty plastic bag. I have a duffle bag full of toys that I always bring and she spent most of the morning playing with something that I originally wanted to put in the garbage.

We had lunch at the hotel before doing a little bit of shopping. We returned and I finished reading "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and did a couple of crossword puzzles. Candace finished reading "Jane Eyre"...but I can't say how the remainder of her afternoon went. I told her recently that I would not mention her napping anymore in the blog so I want to keep my word to her.

The evening visit was more of the usual fare...eating, quiet playing, tickling, frantic running, some more quiet play, followed by hugging, kissing and carrying. When I write it that way it almost sounds like my first date with Candace. Despite the repetitive nature of the visit, I still thought it was exceptional. Every single opportunity that I get to spend with Alexandra is greatly appreciated. While I am excited about returning home this week, I also will miss the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with my new daughter every morning once I get back to work.

After our visit, the three remaining couples went out for a celebratory meal to end our time here. Tomorrow evening will be spent packing and getting ready for returning to Kiev on Tuesday. I have made several references to how Candace and I have been doing our hand-washing in the sink of our hotel room. The second day that we got here I went to the front desk and asked if they had a laundromat or a laundry service. They said they they had neither and directed me to the nearest laundromat. It was about a kilometre away and it takes them 3 days to return your clothes. So we kept doing it ourselves in the sink. So during supper I asked the Spanish couple if they have been doing their own laundry in the sink. They said that their facilitator made arrangements with their lady on their floor to do their laundry for them. They dropped the clothes off in the morning and got them back cleaned and pressed in the evening. Another benefit of having a full-time translator that we missed out on. Both Candace and I laughed about this, especially considering that there are clothes hanging all around our room.

Alexandra's first cry

I stayed up late last night watching a movie in Russian. I actually understood the plot but it wasn't that in depth. The movie was "Vampyres des Muertos" and it had John Bob Jovi fighting vampires in Mexico. I would definitely recommend it if you have spent over a month in a foreign country with no English language television stations. Despite going to bed a bit later, I woke up at 5:30 am. I came down to the internet cafe to find out Canada had won their third straight junior gold. As we got ready this morning Candace and I realized that we left home 31 days ago. It's hard to believe we have been gone so long.

Our morning visit did not start off that well but it ended much better. I brought a note that I translated on the computer asking if we could take Alexandra outside. We took her first to the big room for her morning banana and then dressed her in her ski suit. She reluctantly followed me to the exit and then I picked her up and carried her through the door. When we stepped outside the orphanage and the sun and cool air hit her face she became instantly teary-eyed. Then I put her on the ground and she started crying and asked to be picked up again. We carried her around for 10 minutes and tried to reassure her but it didn't help. You have to wonder if the kids here ever go outside during the winter. We had hoped she would get a few days to get used to outside before leaving this week. Unfortunately, the poor weather (mild but rainy and sleety) has prevented this from happening. Given today's reaction, we have made new plans. We will now wait until our departure day before taking her outside again. Hopefully, she will handle it better...or else cry herself out during the 90 minute ride to the airport for the flight to Kiev.

As the title of this entry says, this was the first time in four weeks that Alexandra has actually cried. She has fallen, tripped, been banged, bumped and even poked...but she never seemed to be bothered. Outside, however, she doesn't like so much. She continued to cry for about 5 minutes after we came in and only relaxed when we finally put her ski suit back in the bag. For the next hour, she went back to being the usual playful and cheerful self. The only exception was about 30 minutes later when I pulled out the ski suit and said "Outside?". She glared at me, said "No" in a firm voice, and pointed for me to place it back in the bag. I complied quickly and she seemed to forgive me.

It is Christmas Eve today, so it is a time for gift giving. The three couples remaining presented the staff with a token of our appreciation. The doctor had suggested that we could bring things such as champagne, chocolates, coffee and tea. To make it simple, we gave them a little bit of everything. Then Candace and I went up to Alexandra's room. We gave each of the 16 kids there some candy, a banana, a toy, and some cigarettes. Of course I am joking about the cigarettes. While it does seem like everyone in the Ukraine smokes, I don't think that they actually start until they are 8 or 9 and our orphanage only goes up to four years old. I had imagined playing Santa Claus as I sat on the small stool at the front of the room. I was going to ask each child to come up individually before reaching into the bag for a special toy that suited them. There were eight boys and eight girls and we had gender-specific toys ready. So...I called the first boy up, pulled out a car...and then the other 15 kids, including Alexandra, rushed us. It took the caregivers about 2 - 3 minutes to get them sitting again. Candace and I then took a bag each and started dishing the doys out quickly as the children were seated. In her haste, Candace misjudged the gender of one of the boys, so I had to give the last little girl a toy car. I hope she likes it.

Animated animals and cab drivers

Happy Birthday Nana! My grandmother in Nova Scotia, and Alexandra's great grandmother, turns 94 today. Congratulations!

Here I am in the Russian part of Ukraine and the gold medal final of the world juniors between Canada and Russia is not televised. And I still can't get the broadband feed from TSN. Fortunately, I have been following along on the internet and I know the first period has ended with Canada up 3 - 0. I will come down again before I go to bed to see how it ends.

Hanging around with two girls all the time while being almost completely removed from Western media is starting to have an effect on me I think. The daily tea parties and hair and jewelry sessions are changing my interests...at least temporarily. For example, I read another period romance "Jane Eyre" and actually enjoyed it. I need to get home and read Sports Illustrated, watch some Spike TV, and have a Swanson Hungry Man frozen dinner.

I have been noticing there are lots of cars over here that we don't have back home. I am not talking about the European automakers like Puegot, Lada, and Daewoo. No, I am referring to the North American carmakers who have different models. I have seen Ford Scorpios and Mondeos as well as Chevrolet Vivants, Metros, and Nivas. Also, in the four weeks that we have been here, the only pick-up truck we have seen has been at the toy stores. I think I will kiss the first Dodge Ram that I see when we finally get home.

Our visits continue to go extremely well. It is amazing how connected the three of us are becoming. It is hard to believe how quickly she has become attached to us. It is a powerful thing to have a little girl give you a hug or kiss and ask you to pick her up and carry her around. Alexandra was still wound up a bit during the morning. After much reflection, we have identified the source of her hyperactivity. It seems that whenever Candace and I spend extended periods of time chasing her, tickling her, or agitating her she gets wound up. Given this epiphany, it will be us that take the time outs in the future. The evening visit was much calmer. Candace and I played nicely and quitely and amazingly Alexandra followed suit. Alexandra even became trilingual, saying goodbye in three languages. On the way out the door she said "Bye bye", "Paka", and "Adios". I feel like submitting her university application right now to get a head start on possible scholarships.

It was very mild out today and Candace and I walked home from the morning visit. On the way we saw a Russian dog chase a Russian cat down the slippery sidewalk. Candace had another one of her laughing fits as the whole thing unfolded around us. The little dog was quick but fortunately the cat was smarter and managed to evade capture. At one point about mid-chase the cat ducked in the open door of a flower shop and the dog followed. It was funny to see the shop owner first chase the dog out with a stick before going back in for the cat.

This evening, we took a cab home. I told the driver, who I had never seen before, "Hotel". He got extremely excited, said "My friend, my friend...Canada". I said "yes" and he shook my hand and started telling me how he remembered us from a previous trip to Kiev I think. He was confusing us with someone else but he was so glad to see us (again) that I decided not to spoil it. For the duration of our short trip, he was talking really loudly and excitedly and patting my arm and shoulder. At one point he said "Canada...hockey" and began simulating checking me and roughing me up while going down the main street at about 60 km per hour. Candace didn't really do anything to bail me out...she was too busy laughing in the back seat. When we arrived at the hotel he refused my money and said "Free for my friend". Again, this was the first time we had ever come across him. Then he gave me some kind of handshake as if he and I were homies. Going up the steps to the hotel entrance, I told Candace that the ride was both fun and traumatic at the same time. He gave us his card, which we will use to identify and avoid his cab for our last few days here.

Well...tomorrow is Christmas Eve here. I know that Father Frost came last week so I am not sure exactly what will happen. I am guessing it will involve some kind of fireworks display.

Five more sleeps then back to Kiev

First off, thanks to Candace's sister and mother who called last night. She was very excited to hear from you both.

I have a little scrap of paper with the name and address of the orphanage that I carry with me to give to taxi drivers who don't know the location by name. It was given to me by one of the translators on December 14th. The paper is tattered from frequent use and from one accidental washing in the sink. I have a new copy that I rewrote but I am partial to the original. I plan to use it to get to the orphanage until our final day and then save it as a souvenier.

Our visits today were fantastic. This morning Alexandra was doing and saying all kinds of things to make us laugh. She is very animated and she is bridging the language barrier with eye rolls and a multitude of facial expressions. She also is really good at expressing surprise, both real and imagined. For example, she will hide things from me and then act really surprised when she finds them...under her legs.

During the evening visit, all of the kids were really wound up. I am not sure what they served for supper but I am guessing that it included sugar. We may have contributed by bringing several new toys that we purchased. Candace actually gave Alexandra her first time out for throwing toys instead of laying them neatly on the floor. Alexandra sat quitely, smiling for a minute or so before getting a sort of bored expression on her face. As I sat there watching her I felt as if I was the one being punished. I can say proudly that she did her time without incident and returned a calmer girl as a result. We are finding out that things we learned as teachers actually work on your own children. Everyone who kept telling us how different things would be when we had kids will be really surprised to learn that we are not totally unskilled. That being said, we have yet to experience our first temper tantrum at Walmart or sandwich in a vcr type incident.

Today we had an interesting experience at a large bank called PrivatBank. We were greeted at the door of this modern five story glass and stone buidling by an electronic screening device, a man in a suit, and two security guards. I passed the man in the suit a note which stated in cyrillic Russian that I was there to withdraw some American currency. He gave me instructions to go to the next floor and visit what I thought was room 207. When I arrived, the two gentlemen working there were surpised to see us. I gave them my note and one of them took us to room 209. I gave the note to the lady there and she took us an area on the same floor which had two tellers behind a glass and wire enclosure. She said something to one teller, pointed to us to wait in line, and then went back to her office. We were waiting for about 15 minutes and the line wasn't moving. An older lady who appeared to be waiting in line said something to us then walked down the hallway. Candace was nervous and thought we did something wrong. What actually happened was the lady went to get the first lady to come back and help us again. Apparently, she had cut us in line and we were supposed to be served first. By this time we had kind of lost our place and were about sixth in line. The lady gave the teller heck I think and then told us to come with her. We followed her to her office where she processed our withdrawl on her own computer. Then we were taken back to the first floor to what appeared to be the vault area. The lady pressed a coded keypad which had a camera above us. A third lady came to the door, was handed our withdrawl slip, and went and got us some cash. At home, withdrawing money from an ATM takes about 45 - 60 seconds. Our experience at this bank took about 45 minutes. That being said, it was really kind of neat and the people that we encountered were extremely helpful.

After the bank, we went to a nearby restaurant and had a lunch of ice cream sundaes and tea. Then we picked up some more toys and books, as well as a new duffle bag to bring all of Alexandra's stuff home. We had brought another bag with us but it is no longer big enough given the amount of stuff we have purchased. Its hard to resist when toys and children's clothes are so cheap over here.

At the end of the afternoon, Candace did some reading and I came down to check my email. While I was there, I noticed three colleagues were logged into their computers back at the office in Manitoba. We have communication software that allows for instant messaging so we ended up chatting for about five minutes online. I was getting ready for my evening visit and the three of them were just starting their day at about 8:00 am CST. Thanks to Charlene, Shawna, and Heather for allowing the interruption.

It ended up being a day for unusual communication. As I made this blog entry, the Spaniard who is also adopting was sitting beside me. He and his wife are both staying at the same hotel. I sent him a message using an online translator, showed him the site, and then we "talked" for about ten minutes before he headed upstairs.

Well I have to get going...I have the last month of Saturday crosswords from the Winnipeg Free Press printed out. Let me tell you...the fun never stops over here.

Russian cats and costume jewelry

Some guy in the next building has had trouble starting his car. Yesterday morning he tried from 6:05 - 8:00 am and today he went from 5:15 to 7:40 am. I was tempted to run down and offer to pay for a cab. Given the early wake-up, I decided to go downstairs around 5:30 am and check the blog. I was excited to see the postings following the uploading of Alexandra's picture. Thanks for all of the wonderful comments. And I told you she was beautiful. I look forward to sharing the blog and its comments with her when she gets a bit older. Our plan is to print everything off with some added pictures and make a book as a keepsake. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this process.

For our morning visit, Candace brought all of our leftover food items down for the dumspter cats near the orphanage. There are cats everywhere but they all look healthy so they must be very resourceful. And they all look Russian...they are very attractive but have stern faces and they are all covered with elaborate fur coats, much like most of the women over here. Candace tried to call a few with "Kitty, Kitty" but none of them came...so they must not understand English.

After the visit, we walked a few blocks to the Americans' neighbourhood and went to the big market that they have been telling us about. They described it as hundreds of little shops and booths in a partially enclosed area about the size of five Walmarts. That was accurate, although when we arrived only about 20% of the shops were open. I am not sure if it was the rain or if today is still a holiday. Within an hour almost all of the shops were closed. We did get to go to a really great toystore where Candace made us buy more girly toys.

So...the better part of our evening visit was spent watching Alexandra adorn herself with costume jewelry. That was after the two of us tried, to no avail, to do something about her wicked bed-head. She must have had a really good afternoon nap...dreaming about Canada no doubt. We learned that while Alexandra loves bracelets, bangles, and rings, she doesn't care much for tiaras and earrings, and she absolutely hates necklaces. The shortest-lived new toy was a pair of sunglasses. I put them on Alexandra, she grabbed them by the arm and whipped them off, snapping the arm in the process. Then she looked at them, smiled, and snapped off the other arm. I think I will wear contacts for the rest of our visits. Fortunately, the little boy being adopted by the Spanish couple was really into sunglasses without arms. Candace also tried to put on nail polish again because what she applied yesterday was gone...but Alexandra wanted no part of it. We suspect that she may have gotten heck last night when she went to her room with her nails all done up.

We went out and had a nice supper before returning back to our hotel. It actually is beautiful outside tonight...well above zero and the rain has finally stopped. Candace was really excited because her sister Camille called from Manitoba. I am really excited because the end is in sight...and it is getting closer quickly.

Nail polish and the guy from Ghana

Let me start by wishing my brother Robert in Pembroke, Ontario a happy birthday today. Thanks to Rob and family for all of the supportive comments...as well as for the updates on the World Juniors. There is a game on right now that I wish I could watch...Sweden vs the Czech Republic. I tried to get the broadband feed from TSN but all I got was a message that said "It appears to you are connecting from outside of Canada. This live event is limited to residents of Canada only". I feel like writing a letter to TSN telling them that "Hey, I am still a resident of Canada!".

We came downstairs this morning and had tea in the lounge before coming into the internet cafe to check our blog. We haven't had internet access for a couple of days because of the holiday so we were anxious to see what comments there were. It was a really nice way to start our day. Its funny...being so far away from home it is little things such as the internet that help you feel connected. When that connection is gone you feel somewhat lost.

I mentioned that there are only really three couples still here. All three of us get our official decrees on January 9th. We fly out on Janaury 12th as do the Americans while the Spanish couple does not leave until January 17th. One or two of the other families were done before the holidays while the remaining couples returned home for a bit and will come back for their children. I can't imagine how tough that must be.

Our visits today were alot of fun. Candace has Alexandra not only doing the tea party thing, but now she has to wash the dishes when they are finished. She washes while Mommy dries. This evening was another step towards her becoming a total girly-girl. Candace brought nail polish. Just after we got there, an American lady from Arkansas dropped in to visit. She has been gone back home for a bit but returned with her mom yesterday to pick up her little one tomorrow. As I was talking to them, Alexandra first came over to show me her finger nails. I told her they looked really nice and she headed back over with Candace. About five minutes later she came back to show me her toe nails and I had to fawn over them for a bit. It was tough to get her to put her socks back on a little while later. Fortunately, she isn't at the stage yet where she wants to paint Daddy's nails. Once she gets there, I will have to do what every other father of a girl does. That will be the day I leave the orphanage with red finger nails.

We had lunch with the American couple and their translator. After that we all went to the local grocery store. As I was going through the till, I tried to ask the cashier to give me 20 five cent coins for a $1.00 note. She had no clue what I was saying and I even tried to write it out for her. Then a voice asked "Do you need some help?". It was a gentleman from Ghana who works here as a pastor. He translated for me and even provided me with the change himself when the cashier was unable to. The first person I ever met from Ghana and I did it while I was in Ukraine.

Candace and I are pretty excited about tomorrow. The American couple recently moved to a new apartment and they discovered a giant flea market down the street. They said it is the size of about five Walmarts. They spent 2.5 hours there and they said they didn't even get through it. We are all going after our morning visit tomorrow. While there I am going to make sure to pick up some nail polish remover...for both Alexandra and myself.

Hello 2007!

Happy new year everyone! Candace and I hope that each of you brought in 2007 safely. Also, happy birthday to my sister Nicole who celebrates her special day today. I won't say how old she is...younger then me but still old.

It was incredibly quiet here this morning. It took us 15 minutes before we saw a taxi. Uusally, there are 6 - 10 parked in fron of our hotel. While we were waiting we walked a bit. Even though it was around 9:00 am, there were still some people in Santa hats drinking. There were empty bottles and spent fireworks littering the streets, as well as a couple of used syringes. We also came upon a two-vehicle collision. Several people were pushing one car (a Lada) from a pole that it had struck after it hit another car. Everyone seemed okay...and everyone appeared to be inebriated.

Walking home from our morning visit, there were still fireworks going off as we walked down the street. Candace said, "Oh I can't wait to get home. It's been four weeks since I have shopped". I am sure the merchants in Brandon miss her business as well. To be fair, I can't wait to get back to where the poeple in the stores talk like me and where there are products with which I am familiar in a currency that I am used to. I can't wait to get to the toy section of Walmart with Alexandra in tow as I help her fill a shopping cart with things to take home.

Our evening visit was really peaceful. When we arrived the Spanish couple was just leaving and the Americans did not show up. So it was just the three of us in the big room from about 5:30 - 7:00 pm. Alexandra was quite entertaining...she did several things that made us laugh out loud.

We had supper at our hotel room watching Euronews, which was actually mainly in English. Then I worked on Alexandra's immigration application while Candace did some laundry in our sink. We played cards for a couple of hours while watching the countdown for the Top 100 music videos of 2006. Then it was lights out by 11:00 pm. What a wild life we are leading over here.

Since New Years is the time for resolutions, I thought I would help Alexandra make her resolutions for 2007 since she doesn't speak English so well. Here goes...I Mila Alexandra David do hereby resolve:

1. To always wear a seatbelt when travelling in a car.

2. To stop eating hard candy, even when it given to me by doctors.

3. To brush my teeth regularly.

4. To stop drinking tea during breakfast and my evening snack.

5. To love mommy and daddy, even when they do things for me that are good for me but I don't like.

6. To stay away from boys until I am 21 years old.