Saturday in Kiev.

It's been a week - it feels like we have been here a month.

I know that hearing something worse than what you have been through shouldn't make you feel better, and I guess it doesn't really make me feel BETTER - but it does put a perspective on our experience.

There is a couple from the US here that has been here since some time in October. They had their referral and went to meet their two daughters. They started the proceedings and took a couple of weeks getting to know their new daughters - visiting them daily at the orphanage...everything was going along great. These people fell in love with their new children. And their new children fell in love with them. Can you imagine? How exciting.

Then their worst nightmare came true - the girls couldn't be adopted. For some reason, the paperwork was messed up and these girls were not available and wouldn't be for over a year or more. They had to leave the girls. The girls had to be abandoned. For the second time in their lives. How awful would that be?

As much as I felt like I was having my heart ripped from my chest, at least these boys didn't think they were coming home with us. They just thought we were people who talked weird and took pictures of their ow-ies. We weren't momma and daddy to them. We were just people. These girls thought they were going home. Talk about an ouch.

They were able to get an second appointment and they are now in Odessa proceeding with two boys - but it isn't like those girls will ever leave their hearts or their minds. Like I said - what a different game it is we are playing here. They certainly don't play by the rules.

Anyway, it didn't make me feel "better" - if anything, I hurt for all of them. But it made me thankful that I didn't get to know these boys and to love these boys. I will never forget them - but they WILL forget me. And for that, I am thankful. Very thankful.

Today we went to the Post Office, to visit a friend from 11 years ago and to do some grocery shopping in a SUPERMARKET - a REAL supermarket called Billa. I was amazed. Like I had never been in a supermarket - but this was in Ukraine! Of course the problem with loading your cart full of groceries here is that you have to get them home! So...after loading up on groceries, we stuffed it in to 5 canvas bags (Janis was prepared) and a plastic bag you have to pay for at the store. And then we begin the trek - out the door, down the walk, down the stairs, under the street, up the stairs, down through the Metro walkway, back up to the street and across the street and on to a Marshutka (which is a half van/half bus...Tom calls them marsupials). Then we ride for about 30 minutes, get off and run to another marshutka and get on it for about 5 minutes and then walk about 5 blocks to the flat. At least the elevator is working or it would be 10 flights up (and they have had times that the elevators did NOT work- but not since we have been here). It takes forever to do anything here - and you can see why. It takes not having a car to be thankful for the car you have - and I am THANKFUL for my car! I am thankful for Wal-Mart. I am thankful for America. And I am thankful for Billa, here in Ukraine.

We bought dinner at Billa and came home to prepare it - we had...Chicken Kiev. How funny is that? It was pretty good, too!

Janis printed off the picture of Dima and Vanya. Kostya wants to take them with him when he takes the begging letter on Monday. He thinks it may help the cause. It is hard to look at those pictures - but both of the boys have beautiful brown eyes. Heavy sigh.

I'm heading to bed. Church tomorrow - and it takes a marshutka and about an hour to get there. Night!