Post Written, Dec. 30

Dear Family and Friends,


We are all home and in one piece. It's been a while since the last post, so I'll go back to when we arrived in Kiev, last Tuesday morning.

We arrived in town at 7 am and met the landlady at the new apartment. William was vocalizing so strongly his need for the toilet that Elena just asked the landlady to take him quickly. She must be a mother, because she didn't hesitate. We caught up to the two of them, and discovered a very nice apartment. This one was by far the best one yet. My favorite feature was the bed—a real bed, not a bed-like cot. There was plenty of room for the boys to play, also. It was located right downtown near Independence Square (we highly recommend this for folks heading over their in the future).

We only had time to freshen up before we had to go to our doctor’s appointment. The boys were tired and cranky, but we got through the process alright. The boys were pronounced healthy, except for a few minor problems that were in agreement with what we already knew about.

Our next visit was to the embassy, where we would obtain their travel visas. It was a long process, because they were operating on a reduced staff due to the holiday. I was feeling worse and worse, but figured it was just sleepiness. After we finally got the visas at 2 pm, I realized that I was, in fact, becoming sick. I had muscle aches, fever and chills.

When we got back to the apartment, I had to go straight to bed, leaving Kelly to juggle both boys, who were very cranky. I awoke around 8, to find the boys bouncing off the walls and Kelly climbing them. We calmed them down by getting them into the bathtub for their first bath. They loved it! Since then, they’ve begun begging for baths the minute they wake up. They also really like to brush their teeth! This leaves us with the very curious dilemma of whether or not to ever utter: “if you’re not good today, you won’t get to take your bath!”

Even though they had been up for so long, they still had a lot of fight in them when it came to bedtime. Lawrence asked to sleep on the couch, and we accommodated, but that only lasted for five minutes after William started sleeping with Momma and Poppa. His little brother is a kicker, though, so Lawrence ended up at the foot of the bed by morning.

Wednesday:

This was a fun day, because it was our first full day with the boys all on our own. We made an appearance outside, visiting some stores and letting the boys soak it all up. Independence Square is the vibrant heart of the city, alive with pre-New Year’s celebrations, shopping and socializing.

Thursday:

This was our last full day in the city, and we hired the driver and Luiba for a few hours to buy souvenirs. We visited the vendor stalls near the SDA, which cater to souvenir seekers. We found some beautiful Matruishkas and embroidery, as well other stuff. We also found some more clothes for the kids, and visited the beautiful Christmas tree in the square.

While we were souvenir shopping, Kelly had her heart warmed when Luiba took William back to the car because he was cold, then returned to let us know that he was crying because he missed his Mama.

Friday:

The big day: we had a 3 hour flight from Kiev to Amsterdam, then an 8 hour flight home, followed by customs and immigration. The boys were a handful, especially since we had two seats at the front of the 747 and two at the rear, and both boys preferred to sit next to Momma. William hit a rough patch where he had a full blown tantrum for half an hour. William slept for only 2 hours, and Lawrence none at all, so they were very cranky. Lawrence was very interested in the map that showed where the jet was on its flight path, and kept pointing to the end of the arrow saying with genuine excitement, “America!” then hugging me.

When we finally landed and made it through immigration and customs, it was 7 pm local time. Kelly’s mother and sister were there to pick us up, and thus got to meet the boys first. At home were my parents. They had prepared sloppy joes and snacks. Kelly’s family had fixed up the boys’ room, even doing some painting for us. We had a lot of fun introducing the boys to their new families, as my three sisters showed up during the next three hours.

We soon, however, had a new test as a family. William was spinning around in the living room and fell over, hitting his head on the coffee table. He gave himself a deep cut on the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes. Kelly showed great nerve as she tried to calm William as the blood streamed down his face. My parents agreed to watch after Lawrence while we went to the hospital.

We went to the emergency room, where William was terrified. He screamed every time someone came into the room and whimpered when they left. I’m not sure what he was saying, but he kept repeating something over and over that ended with “good boy.” I think maybe he was saying to us that he’d be a good boy, if only we’d go home. It was not a pleasant time for him, as his temperature was taken (not orally). The doctor also was interested in the rash on his hands, and said that he had to be naked. You all know by now that unless there’s a bath involved, William isn’t too enthusiastic about getting undressed. Both of these involved Mama and Papa pinning him down while the doctor worked. The hardest part turned out to be the stitches, of which William received three.

The rash turned out to be scabies, which is an infestation of mites that is very itchy. Because it is highly contagious, the doctor recommended that we all apply the curative cream that very night. The cream had to be applied to every nook and cranny from the neck down, and left on overnight for 8 hours. This also meant that we had to wake Lawrence up when we got home from his much needed sleep.

This was a short cranky night of sleep, but we all survived!

Peace & love,

Bill & Kelly