Good evening from Kramatorsk, Donetsk! We have water..... and it looks as if it is not temporary....... at least until the next pipe breaks. Our facilitator has been working very hard getting documents notarized, submitted, sent off on the train back to Kiev, etc. etc. where she is headed back to do a couple more things necessary for the adoption process. Again, we couldn't be happier with how wonderful she is.
Come time to visit Dennis, we decided to walk since it is only around 15 minutes away by foot.
Come join us.......... this is main drag we walk down. Wild flowers or pretty weeds, which ever you want to call them, scatter the empty field on either side of us.
The castle like building and wall behind the recycle bins are the orphanage walls. It is neat to see that Ukraine is attempting to recycle. Too bad we haven't seen too many people doing it.
I had the privelege of being shown around the orphanage. Going up the stairs and down the halls had all of these wonderful pieces of art with styrofoam backing.
Here is the one of the nurse's rooms. We have to go through that door every morning to sign in.
And here is the star of this blog-------Dennis!
Once again he was bright eyed and bushy tailed when we came in to get him. Because the nurses didn't have him quite ready for us to take him, I had the privelege of checking in on him through his bedroom window. Instantly he spotted me and we locked eyes. It was a good feeling.
Dennis continues to amaze us-------- it is like he has been introduced to a whole new world. He wants to explore everything and has come to adore his Daddy already!
I love this picture of Dennis on Daddy's shoulders!
At first, he wasn't too sure about these balls. But Daddy made them fun.
Dennis enjoyed this swing very much. Not so much the swinging part, but he really liked playing with the little balls that slid up the rope. We could only push him ever softly because his balance is not too good yet. Though I don't have pictures, we got to feed Dennis mashed banana and later, baby food that we brought. After hearing how the caretakers feed Dennis, we had no trouble feeding him the pureed food. I am glad to see that he enjoys eating with little trouble afterall, just as long as it is pureed.
In between visits with Dennis, we went to the notary, post office, and courthouse. It was a very busy day but we also managed to stop for coffee and ice-cream and enjoy a little bit of down time.
By one of the post offices was this children's play area. They have them all over Ukraine. It is really a wonderful thing------ wish we had them back home. I would say our swingsets in our backyards are equivalent to them.
Next to the courthouse they had this mini bazaar--- like a farmer's market. We walked up and down the rows and got to see all of the different things they had for sale.
Since the shoes we brought are way too big for Dennis, we looked for new ones but didn't find any. :(
John is standing in front of what we know as Home Depot back home.
There was lots of fresh produce for sale. We bought fingerling potatoes, pickling cucumbers, and tasty tomatoes. Very inexpensive.... only a couple of grivna.
As we were leaving, I saw this Babushka selling cherries and strawberries. They were both very tiny berries and the strawberries were quite pathetic looking. We passed on the strawberries but bought a cup of the cherries which turned out to be very tart. Our driver pointed out back in the car that we could have picked these cherries off of any of the trees growing along the sidewalk. But it didn't matter to us because we wanted to help the Babushka who by the way was very very nice as was every vendor we bought from.
Around 3:30 pm, our facilitator came out of the courthouse to inform us that we have a courtdate! Tuesday, July 1 at 9:00 am we will have court to offically adopt Dennis and make him a Reed! Hooray!
Before our facilitator left for Kyiv, John and I wanted to cook her a homemade meal.
We made potatoes fried in butter, cucumber-tomato-lemon salad, fried eggs, and bread and butter. It was very simple but we all agreed it was delicious.
Later, I stewed up those tart cherries with lots of sugar. And to my girls reading back home---the cherries turned out delicious---- better than the berry compote I make at home. 
As I close, I must say that while I feel very at home here, I do miss my family and own home back in good ol' California. Being here has once again humbled me greatly as I look around the kitchen I am cooking in and compare it to my own luxurious American kitchen. Everything here is half the size of what my own kitchen is minus a dishwasher, can opener, ice maker, and garbage disposal. Makes me think twice about complaining that I don't have a second oven.
