The Shaughnessey SEVEN!!!!!

The Shaughnessey's are now SEVEN strong! Seven you ask? Well, of course! Don't forget about Astro, Cocoa and Pebbles. We can't wait to see our puppies! We reall miss them. And Astro, boy does he have a surprise waiting for him!

We haven't updated the blog for a while due mainly in part to the lousy phone system in Odessa. Remember my previous comments about Odessa being "cosmopolitan?" Well Odessa Mizzurah is more cosmopolitan and upscale. Odessa is a hole, and both of us were grateful to get out of there!

We nicknamed the flat we stayed at the "Hotel Beruit." The outside of the flat was pathetic. It looked like a traditional Soviet suburban flat (the cities are better in Ukraine -- not the suburbs), less 15 years of maintenance and upkeep!

Inside, the flat was very nice, but the walls had this strange ability to grow mold in mass quantities. Seriously, we had to have the walls bleached all the time! The floor was always damp and the bedsheets always felt a little wet. Apparently the Soviets forgot about drainage and street sewers, because we always had to trudge through an inch or two of slush.

We picked up the kids Saturday morning and rode seven hours in the car to Kyiv. They were wonderful! However, they also got to sit on Mommy and Daddy's lap the whole way. When we asked about buying car seats -- the replay was "What?!" Our next road trip in America may not be as wonderful when they are all strapped into their seats.

Apparently the apartment landlords saved the best apartment for our last few days. It is time for dinner so we'll update more later.

Introducing Megan Jane Shaughnessey

Finally -- a decent internet connection! Nothing to write home about -- 28.8 kbps -- but, it let's us update the blog, so we're happy!

So, without further ado, here's our precious little girl. These pictures were taken on Wednesday, and her little scabbies from the chicken pox were still pretty visable. She looked much better this morning.








Daddy's little girl...













Walking to right to Mommy as soon as she saw her. Megan comes right to us when she sees us.











Megan is VERY shy. But she warms up quickly! She is absolutely adorable! Look out Liberty! Here comes Megan!

If only these kids realized how many people back home are eagerly anticipating their arrival! Someday they MIGHT comprehend...






This is my absolute favorite picture of Danny. It really captures his spunk, curiousity and energy. Our little guy had a fever yesterday, so we haven't seen him since Wednesday. However, we were told he should be better tomorrow. He's wearing clothes that we bought after our first full day wth him. Why you ask? Because the orphanage workers had my boy dressed in "Lil Lady" pants. No way, Jose. The silly hat was his nanny's idea. These kids are wrapped up like the little brother in that movie, "A Christmas Story."



Danny making the rounds on his walking track! He sticks his tongue out when he's happy or concentrating.









OK, now on to serious matters. Many of you have asked when we can expect to be home. The short answer is, "we don't know." However, we can make an educated guess.

We were hoping to have court today, but unfortunately it didn't happen. Our court date is Monday. That being the case, here's how things should shake out:

1) Once the judge approves our adoption of the kids, we must wait ten days for the order of the court to become official. We are told there is no way around this. The law was changed by Ukrainian nationalists back in November so that birthparents could stop the adoption if they so desired. Many Ukrainian do not want their kids adopted by foreigners, so the nationalists hoped this change in the law would help keep kids in Ukraine. It's a matter of national pride, and I understand the reasoning behind it. Nevertheless, it's a major pain in the butt. In Danny and Megan's case, they were found abandoned on the street. Every effort was made to find their birthparents, without success. So basically, we're waiting 10 days for someone to claim them that doesn't even know where they are.....And in true Ukrainian form, the judge does not have the authority to use common sense to waive this requirement.

2) Once the full ten days are up, we'll need to spend another day driving around Odessa getting new birth certificates and passports. This cannot be done in advance of the court decision becoming official. No way around it....

3) After we get their birth certificates and passports, we head for Kyiv. Once we're in Kyiv, Danny and Megan will have a medical exam by an American physician to ensure they do not have syphyllis, TB, AIDS, etc.

4) Hopefully on the same day they will receive their immigration visas from the US Embassy. You can't get an appointment with the Embassy until 3PM, so getting out of Kyiv the same day is really tough.

5) Most likely the next day, we head for home...

My best "guestimate" is that we'll be home sometime between the 26th through 28th. Let's hope it's the 26th! We can't wait to get home. For me, the worst part of the whole trip is losing the momentum we built for the new Merrill Northland office. But I'll tell you what -- I'm ready to get some work done! There's only so much relaxing one can do before you start to go nuts.

Hanging Out with Danny Boy

Today, we got to spend time this morning and afternoon with Danny. We didn't get to see Megan because she has the chicken pox.

Both times when the nanny brought us Danny, he had to walk around for several minutes. He has his little course he has made in the room where we visit him. He grabs hold of my pinky finger and off we go a walking. I think he enjoys walking because he gets to explore while he's walking.

We took him a toy today that is a car with big keys and two buttons. One of the buttons goes "beep, beep." And, the other button plays, "the wheels on the bus go round and round...." We would sing the song or go "beep, beep" depending on which button he pushed.

Danny gave us a surprise today. Towards the end of our second visit he said his first word! It wasn't Mama or Papa as many kids say for their first word. Danny said, "Beep, beep." He did this four times before we left and he went to dinner. Needless to say, hearing Danny's first word
made our day.

From the New Mom = Karin

Introducing Daniel Patrick Shaughnessey

Well, as the headline says, here are some pictures of one our little cuties! We found out this afternoon that Megan has the chicken pox, so we weren't able to see her. Apparently when one child gets a contagious illness, the entire ward is segregated from the rest of the orphanage. Sad for us, but definitely in the best interests of the rest of the children....

Karin and I decided on Daniel, more or less on a whim. We've been kicking around boys names for seven years, and neither of us liked the other's suggestions. I finally suggested Daniel -- and we both sighed, laughed a little bit, and knew
that was the right name for our little guy. We plan on calling him Danny.



Mommy and 'lil Mozart at the piano. For those of you lucky enough to see the video when we get home, he actually banged out some notes that sounded "together."













Look Ma -- Frogs!!! Albino Frogs (no kiddin!)












Just wait till I get home! Lots of things to pull over and see what's inside!












I'm not so sure about this camera thingy....Buzz off Dad!












Don't worry Daddy. I promise to wrestle and play football. AMERICAN football! I also promise to root for the Tigers!!!!!! (Jayhawk Momma is quite disturbed!!!!! hahahaha).

Hi Ho, Hi Ho -- Off to Odesa We Go!

We've heard a lot of horror stories about appointments at the National Adoption Center. Books filled with terribly deformed children. Psychologists yelling at prospective parents. Nothing of the sort for us.

Thank God for Oleg and his team...

Our appointment was less than ten minutes.

We were shown two young, healthy children.

We had an easy decision.

Here's a little bit about the kids.

Our little girl was born on 1 October 2003. Her name for the moment is Kristina, but her American name will be Megan Jane. From what we were told, she's a healthy, happy little girl.

Our boy was born on 1 April 2004. His name at the moment is Dennis, however, this name will be changed as well. He's apparently healthy as well. Your more than welcome to offer some suggestions for by names. I like Irish names and Karin doesn't. I think his name should be Padraig, Liam, Aiden -- you get the picture.

Take it easy....S

Karin's in labor....Boil some water and get some towels!

Hello everyone!

We've been told to be ready to go tomorrow at 9:00 AM for an appointment with the National Adoption Center. It may not happen -- things are a little crazy over there at the moment (gee, I couldn't guess why?) -- but the news is very encouraging. Long story short, things are starting to get exciting. Personally I hope we get to go tomorrow. We've been waiting for 15 days, and we need a little excitment in our day!

Karin and I travelled to Independence Square today and toured the "Globus" shopping mall. Seemed like Independence Center in Independence, Missouri -- but it was all contained underground. The main difference was that there weren't any major department stores, but come to think of it, I don't know if there are any major department stores in Ukraine.

Independence Square is really pretty neat to see -- especially considering it was grond zero for the Orange Revolution a year ago last December. We didn't take any pictures because it was pretty overcast, and more accurately, because I forgot the video camera.

So -- quite possibly, Karin and I have less than 12 hours before we learn about our children. A little different than going into labor, but I'm still edgy and a bit nervous. Karin just thinks I'm jut being my old crumugeonly self. She's the one about to "deliver." I'm a little worried about her -- she hasn't asked for any painkillers yet. haha

It's Done -- The Bill is Signed

Finally! We can move on to the business of adopting children instead of monitoring Ukrainian politics. Frankly, if I never mention Yuschenkho's name again, it will be fine by me...

THE LAW OF UKRAINE _ 3335-IV


About the introduction of variations to the Ukraine law "About the introduction of variations to The family code of Ukraine concerning Center from усиновлення children"

The Ukraine supreme rada makes provisions :

1. To enter to chapter II "Prikintsevi position" The law of Ukraine "About the introduction of variations to The family code of Ukraine concerning Center from усиновлення children" from 16 novembers 2005 year such variations :

Article 2 to represent in such editorial staff :

"2. To establish that to the bringing of the legislation of Ukraine into accordance with this Law the effective acts of the legislation of Ukraine are applied in part, what does not contradict this Law" ;

To complement the article 3 such content :

"3. The Ukraine cabinet of ministers :

To create to 1 May 2006 year the government organ of state department from усиновлення and the protection of rights babies in the composition of the central organ of executive power from questions family and youth ;

To the creation of the government organ of state department from усиновлення and the protection of rights babies in the composition of the central organ of executive power from questions family and youth and the beginning of execution to it confered it in routine of the authorities to deposit the execution of the authorities of this organ in the part of transaction the accounting of individuals which would like to adopt baby, the accounting of children, what can be adopted, and realisation the order of усиновлення children on Center on усиновленню children at The ministry of education and the sciences of Ukraine ;

Into тримісячний term from the day of gaining validity by this Law :

To provide for approval The supreme rada of Ukraine proposal concerning the introduction of variations to the legal acts of Ukraine, what flow out of this Law ;

To bring the normative-legal acts into accordance with this Law ;

To ensure bringing by ministries and other central organs of the executive power of their normative-legal acts into accordance with this Law".

2. This Law assumes validity from the day of it manifestation.

President Ukraini Victor YUSHCHENKO

12 januaries 2006 year

News we feel comfortable sharing

Oleg has given us some information that I believe it's OK to share with you.

1) He's pretty convinced the NAC is going to open next week, come hell or high water. The NAC director told him that we should expect an appointment next week.
2) Apparently there are quite a few sibling groups available in Odesa -- with girls, within our age range. There are siblings groups in Kyiv, but Kyiv is a more difficult place to adopt. As a result, it looks like we're headed to Odesa sometime next week.

Frankly, I'm thrilled we're probably going to Odesa. Not only is it warmer, but it is as cosmopolitan a city as you're going to find in Ukraine. Very European and very Russian, as opposed to Ukrainian. Odesa was settled in the 18th century by Catherine the Great, and has served as Russia's southern-most port since its inception. It is well maintained, and apparently, Odessans refer to Kyivans as "those hicks up north..." I picked that up from the Lonely planet guide.

Take it easy...S

Hanging Out in Ukraine

After closely watching reports on Friday, the President did not sign the Adoption bill. It was an intense and nerve-racking day but we survived. It is our understanding that the bill now goes back to the Rada (congress) for approval. Rada is expected to approve it immediately next week because they support it. I see this as good news because the President could have vetoed the law. Our wait is just a little longer.

There is an American couple from Nashville staying in the same apartment building as us. They are here to adopt another child. They adopted a girl three years ago. She is now 5 and a half. We saw beautiful pictures of her. It has been reassuring to visit with them over dinner for two evenings this week. They have told some things to expect when we get home with our kid(s) and how to deal with them.

We had plans to go to the circus early this evening. We got there and stood in line at the ticket counter, only to find that they were sold out. We were disappointed but maybe we can try again tomorrow. Since we were already out and about, we got a cab and went to dinner.

While at dinner, we meet another family here to adopt a girl. They have been here since December 24. Their 37 days definitely puts our 11 days into prespective. Needless to say, we're glad our wait hasn't been that long. We exchanged contact information and plan to go to dinner together on Monday. I hope it works out.

I feel blessed that we have meet two American families over here to visit with. It feels good to have other Americans adopting here to visit with in English.

Today, the high temperature was supposed to be negative 4 Celsius. Much warmer than the negative 25 Celsius last Saturday but not as balmy as the 60's Fahrenheit we've heard about at home. This week it is supposed to be between negative 4 and zero Celsius.

We hope to have good news to share with you this coming week. Please continue to say your prayers for us!

Karin

Interesting Sights and Somewhat Encouraging News

Sunny and warmer today in Kyiv. By warmer, I mean -6 celisus instead of -25. Still, it was nice enough that Karin and I decided to go on a little excursion around town.

Our trip took us to Kyiv's famous Andriyivsky Uzviz Street. Apparently this is THE place to go for Ukrainian souvenirs and crafts. Karin and I bought a few items, the most interesting being two sets of Ukrainian nesting dolls. Karin said we got a really good deal on the dolls.

Last night Nastya called and told us that an American couple just arrived in Kyiv to adopt with their facilitation team. They're staying in the apartment directly above us. We had a chance to speak with them last night, and we're planning on going out for dinner this evening. It sure will be nice to have some English speaking company to visit with.

Nastya also told us that Oleg expects the NAC to open early next week, and that we will be moving forward almost immediately after they open. Of course, this is all dependent on President Yuschenchko signing the bill today or tomorrow. By law he has to sign or veto by close of business tomorrow. Keep your fingers and toes crossed, and it probably wouldn't hurt to say a prayer or two. We need all the help we can get. The Embassy expects him to sign, but Nastya said that in Ukraine, absolutely anything can happen. We'll see.

Here are some more pictures for you.


St. Andrew's Church













Just by coincidence, our little trip landed us very close to the new ministry for adoptions, startng on May 1, 2006.













Interesting statute -- couldn't find anything about it. However, Karin want me to make sure we got the shot below...










Why does this gentleman have a spider on his
backside?












For those of you that know and love Karin, this shot should come as no surprise. Big K polishes off the chips and salsa at Friday's last Sunday.

New Ukrainian Hairstyles and Nyquil Needed!

I'm pleased to report that "The Mullet" is alive and well in Ukraine. Southern Mizzurah doesn't have anything on these folks! If I could only get them to start dippin' skoal...Actually, the mullet is favored by both fashion consciensious men and women here. It is a sight to behold.

For those of you unfamiliar with this 80's favorite, the mullet is a popular hairstyle where "the mulleted" has short hair on top and long hair in the back. In the States, it is also commonly referred to as the "Kentucky Waterfall," "The Mizzurah Compromise," "The Ape Drape," and "business in the front -- party in the back." You get the picture.

It appears that President Yuschenkho is in need of the nighttime stuffy -- achy -- cough -- so you can rest medicine. As a result, no update on the bill today. Apparently he has a cold. I'm sure he joins the rest of the Ukrainian population that went for a swim on Ephinany in the freezing cold Dniper River. By the way, check out his picture with the Swedish Prime Minister on the front page of his website. The Swedish P.M. was dressed for -20 celsius. President Yuschenkho wore a sport coat. Any co - inky - dinks here?

My apologies if none of this makes sense to you. Spend 8 days in the Kyiv freezer and it just might.

We need our diversions at the point...haha

Sean

Finally -- Pix to Show Everyone

Here's the Happy K in Chicago















The view outside from our kitchen window.
Downtown Kyiv, Ukraine














Same view, looking to the right.













The Infamous Washer/Dryer on Goncharra Street. Prior residents have told us to "fuhgetaboutit." The dryer, that is.....













The floor soaking shower head. Firehoses have nothing on this thing!









Looking down Goncharra Street from the window in our living room.

The Lighter Side

We have been able to get out into the cold a little bit. If we hadn't, then I think I would have to commit Sean to the looney bin or myself for dealing with him. :<)! I love my hubby but patience just isn't one of his virtues.

We do make daily trips to the neighborhood grocery store. Every day we purchase bottled water and Coca Cola Light (diet) in addition to food items for the day. The water is unsafe for Americans to drink even for brushing your teeth. We seem to have teeth brushing with bottled water routine mastered.

During this frigid weather, we have been eating one daily meal at a restaurant to get us out of the apartment for a while. On Sunday, we went to T.G.I.Friday's for Sean's birthday lunch. Fridy's tasted pretty much like it does in America. Last night, we went to the neighborhood restaurant. We both had Wiener Schnitzel (German dish - breaded tender pork). It was superb!

Yesterday, we visited the Chernobyl Museum in Kiev. It was interesting and moving to learn about the heroes who sacrificed their lives to extinquish the fire and remove the radiation infected debris. We paid extra to have an English tour guide. It was money well spent because we would not have got much out of our visit otherwise.

On Sean's birthday, we bought him a Russian version of Monopoly at the mall. We played that evening for THREE hours! I hung on until the bitter end when paying rent on Sean's properties with hotels finally got the best of my bank account.

Today, we had some excitement when trying to exit the apartment building. We got stuck in the elevator. Almost immediately after loading the elevator and the door closing it halted. Luckily, a kind gentleman heard Sean calling for help and came to our rescue. He got us out in about ten minutes with a bent clothes hanger. We had to step up about two and a half feet to get out of the elevator. Needless to say, Sean was scared and I kept telling him that the gentleman would either get us out or call someone to get us out.

We went to a business center to print some documents off for Sean's office, fill them out, and fax them to his office. Then, since we were next door to the mall, we spent some time there. I had to get some new gloves because one of my gloves fell out of my pocket last night. We were going to bowl at the bowling alley but all of the lanes were full.

We have come to appreciate our clothes dryer at home. Our apartment is supposed to have a washer and dryer combo. However, the dryer part doesn't work. They told us we would have to hang our laundry on the porch. We couldn't do that because we would have frozen undies! Sean had the good idea to suggest we drape our clothes over the heat radiators and it worked. The load we washed this afternoon is hanging all over out apartment.

We enjoy reading your comments to our blog and your e-mails. It means a great deal to us that you care enough to take time to check-in on us.

Hoping for warmer weather,
Karin

Updates, updates, updates....

Sorry it's taken us so long to post an update. I did try and update everyone on Sunday, but apparently I didn't save the blog. Sorry about that.

So -- what's happened thus far?

No update on President Yuschenho signing the bill. Much to our dismay and disappointment, we've learned that apparently he wasn't in favor of reopening the NAC. As a result, he has been sitting on this bill since the 12th going over his legal options and making sure the bill is in his country's best interests. His deadline is January 27, which is Friday, and the U.S. Embassy assured us that they did not have any reason to believe that he was not going to sign the bill. When we came over here, we knew that there was the distinct possibility that we would have to wait. The odds at that time were pointing towards a much quicker result, but Murphy's law has been haunting us when it comes to children for six years. Why should he stop now?

I don't want to give you the idea that everything is doom and gloom. Not the case. Our facilitators still have every intention of sending us home with our new family. But, we're also getting a pretty rude awakening to Ukrainian politics.

SPS

McDonald's

We made our first trip to McDonald's for dinner this evening. It took some planning and research to accomplish this simple task in America. We had to contact our translator for directions on how to order a taxi, what our street address was, etc. She came to our apartment to give us a lesson on how to order a cab/taxi, places to sightsee, etc.

After three phone calls over about 75 minutes, we finally got a cab. Once we got the first cab, it was easier. The food tasted really similar to what it tastes like back home. To return home, we asked the manager to call the cab for us and he did.

We were excited when we got back to our apartment because we had just made our first round trip in a cab. We felt like we had made a big accomplishment. It doesn't sound like much but to us it was so good to get out of the apartment for a while.

Since it is so cold here (negative 25 celsius) we haven't been able to go outside for very long.

Tomorrow is Sean's birthday. We're going to venture to T.G.I.Friday's for his birthday dinner. We'll have to get a cab for that trip as well. I'm looking forward to getting some chips and salsa.

We love to read the e-mails and comments everyone has been sending us. We feel it is our connection to our life in America.

Take care,
Karin

Sleepless in Kyiv Part 2

It just occured to me that most of the folks reading this blogsite really don't have any idea what I mean by wanting President Yuschencho to "sign the bill." Let me explain.

Viktor Yschencho is the President of Ukraine. You may remember him as the politician that was poisoned by his political opponents during last year's Ukrainian Orange Revolution.

Back in December, the Ukrainian Rada (congress) passed a law that reassigned the jurisdiction of the National Adoption Center (NAC) from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports. Unfortunately, they did not have any interim plans for the NAC while it was being reorganized. The end result was that numerous adoptive families were trapped in Ukraine, in various stages of completing their adoptions, without any government entity that could legally approve an adoption. Immediately after the bill was passed, the Ukrainian Supreme Court ruled that because the bill revoked the authority of the NAC, these adoptive parents were out of luck until the Rada and President did something about it. As for families with January appointments with the NAC (i.e., the Shaughnessey's), these appointments were essentially null and void without further government intervenion.

On January 12, the Rada passed a law giving interim power over adoptions to the NAC until May 1, 2006, at which time the NAC would begin work under the new ministry. Under Ukrainian law, the President has 15 days to sign the bill, but most adoption pundits felt Yuschenho would sign it sometime this week. Our facilitator told us that while coming to Ukraine without the bill signed was a risk, there was a greater risk of the NAC being stampeded as soon as it opens, cleaning out all of the "healthy kid" referals. Combine that with the substantial increase in the cost of our plane tickets had we rescheduled, and you can see why we're here now.

I hope that makes sense...Sean

Sleepless in Kyiv

2AM here. I fell asleep on the couch watching the Ukrainian 10PM news -- and then Karin woke me to come to bed. Haven't had a wink of sleep since. I guess I need the voice of a Ukrainian news anchor to put me to sleep.

Anway, two life lessons for today.

1) Do not, under any circumstance, purchase Russian spaghetti sauce thinking it should taste like Ragu. I sat down to dinner and the smell just didn't agree with me.

2) If your wife makes spaghetti with Russian spaghetti sauce, shut up and eat it. The unpleasant smell isn't nearly as bad as the unpleasant response you will get from your wife who just made the meal.

After dinner we ventured out into Kyiv so I could smoke a Cuban and the both of us could shake some of our cabin fever. The snow keeps on coming! We've easily had a foot of snow since we arrived, and it's still coming down. According to Helen, we should expect this for another month or two.

Apparently Ephinany is pretty important around here. I thought it was just another church service down until lent. When the president, house speaker and prime minister all dive into a freezing river for a swim, there must be some sort of significance to it. The evening news was filled with pictures of Ukrainians in Speedos floating around with smiles on their faces. Put that together with -20 celsius temps, and there better be a pretty damned good reason to do it!

We did have an excellent meal at a local cafe down the street from our apartment. The menu was in Ukrainian and English, which made things a lot easier. I had meat perogis, Ukrainian beer and a REAL cup of coffee. Karin had chicken and mushrooms and an Irish coffee.

More later....I'm going to try and go back to sleep. Maybe the singing of the slightly tipsy gentlemen out in the street wil help. Hopefully we'll have some good news today...Sean

No news to report....

Hi Gang!

Nothing new to report from this end. President Yuschenko still has not signed the bill authorizing the NAC to reopen.

Russian cartoons are prety funny -- even without knowing what they're saying. It's also fun to see Russian and Ukrainian television ads for products back home.

Pretty uneventful day here. We made our daily trip to the grocery store, and I do believe we're starting to get a little more adventurous. Some of the grocery store clerks are starting to remember us, and my sign language seems to get the point across. Tonight we're having spaghetti and frozen vegetables for dinner. Tomorrow I think we're going to try going out to eat.

As a whole, the people here are pretty nice. However, it is quite apparent that many of the adults were "conditioned" from the years they lived under totalitarian rule. They all speak very softly and don't say the common pleasantries like please, thank you and you're welcome with the same commonality as Americans.

Take it easy...Sean

We're Here!

Good evening from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Our first 24 hours in Ukraine has been interesing, to say the least!

We landed in Kyiv right on time, and we're immediately greeted by the harsh Ukrainian wind nipping at our behinds! Unlike in America, you literally deplane to the tarmack and then you take a tram to the terminal

Once inside the terminal, the customs area certainly looked like something from a communist country. Very stark, with uniformed officers and unapproacheable looking customs officials. But after about five minutes, things started to change for the better! I think that's when the "Oleg factor" started to kick in. (For those of you that don't know, Oleg is our facilitator in Ukraine. He's the guy that going to help us find our family!)

After five minutes in the customs area, a very nice Ukrainian official directed us to the "VIP" line for passport processing. After a few moments, he stamped our passports, and away we went. Next stop, declarations. I tried to declare our cash, but to no avail, the customs officer basically told us that, as far as he was concerned, we didn't have anything to declare. Then we hit the door to the "real world" and things started to look a lot more like a western country.

Sergey picked us up at the airport and drove us to our apartment. Along the way he pointed out a number of things, including the two McDonald's restaurants that were within a mile of each other. Kyiv is truly a pretty city - lots of old European style buildings and Ukrainian Orthodox churches.

One very interesting thing about Kyiv: this is defintely a booming town. On our way into te city we passed through some suburbs, and the new houses they were building could have easily been built in dear ole Liberty. Big, too!

After getting settled in we walked down to the grocery store and did a little shopping. I think we did very well! Last night Karin made a very nice meal with sausages, cheese, good bread and evian. This morning we had yogurt, the same cheese, INSTANT COFFEE (YUCK!!!! THAT'S ALL THEY HAVE HERE)and cottage cheese. Karin was smart and bought some chai (Russian for all versions of tea -- I may be joining her!). By the way, Coca Cola Light tastes a lot better than Diet Coke! Soon after finishing dinner we crashed.

We woke around 11:00 AM Kyiv time and after breakfast we walked down to the main mall in Kyiv. Very interesting. Electronics are priced about the same as in the US. Most everything else is cheaper.

After shopping we did some sight seeing with Helen, one of Oleg's interpretors. She showed us some beautiful churches, as well as some catacombs that contained the visable remains of some of the Ukrainian Orthodox's most important saints. Very cool -- very wierd, though. Nothing like we've ever seen in the U.S.

As far as the adoption is concerned, no progress to report. Still waiting for Yuchencko to sign the bill granting interim power to the NAC (national adoption center) to complete adoptions. Soon as we know something we'll post.

Dinner time!

Sean

Whoppers taste different in Switzerland

I know, I know, how pathetic. My first meal in Europe is with The King. Pomme Frites mit mayo, anyone?

We landed in Zurich about twenty minutes earlier than anticipated. A snow storm over Switzerland kept us from seeing anything from the plane until we were just about to land. The airport is beyond clean -- almost ridiculously clean! If anyone would like to visit the world's cleanest airport lavatory, book a flight to Zurich.

Karin and I stopped at one of the duty free shops after we landed. I bought ten Romeo y Julietta cigars -- CUBANS. Too bad I can't bring 'em home!

Once we get to Kiev, I imagine Karin and I will crash. It will be about 8:00 AM central time when we get there. Karin will be working on 2 days without much sleep. Luckily she did catch some Z's on the plane over. As for me, I spent the flight listening to Johnny Cash and playing video solitaire. I'm not much of an airplane sleeper!

We'll update soon.....

Thanks for Visiting!

Karin and I have always wanted to raise a family together! Had we had things our way, our first child would have arrived nine months after our wedding. Instead of having a baby, we spent the next three years of our marriage trying to get pregnant. Six AVFs, one IVF and $20,000 later, we decided we'd had enough with infertility treatments. Adoption became our next option.

For those of you that don't know, I was adopted. Growing up without anyone that looked like me left a lot of unanswered questions that initially turned me off to adoption. My reasons were selfish -- but I believe justified. Bottom line: I wanted to know someone on this earth that looked like me and had my blood pumping through their veins. Unless you were a closed adoption "adoptee," I don't think there's anyway someone could relate to this desire.

But Karin was always comfortable with the idea of adopting. In fact, I think Karin would have gone straight to adoption without any of the infertility treatments. Her main goal has always been to parent, regardless of how it happens.

In January of 2003, five years of searching for my birth family came to an end on my 31st birthday. Since then, I have met my birthmother and my 8 siblings. My need for a biological "link" seemed to disappear afterwards. After finding my birthfamily, I could now focus on the true goal -- finding a child to parent.

And now -- January 16, 2006 - we're finally leaving for Ukraine to build our family. Six years, five months and eight days after we got married. Better late than never, huh?

Keep your fingers crossed!