Visit with SnowWhite. So we wake up, get all of our stuff together (we can't leave anything in the Kyiv flat) and get on a mini-bus to XXX early in the morning. Its a 2 hour drive, but its comfortable enough. Thankfully the bus had a little place in the "trunk" to put our bags. We get to the city center and take a shabby little "local" bus towards the detsky dom. All the old babushkas are looking at us all weird - we stand out as Americans in the smaller towns because of our straight white teeth, my glasses, and I guess our clothes. We tried to dress like Ukrainians....and we were mistaken as Ukrainians in Kyiv more than once....and we are NOT typical fat older Americans like most of the Americans they are used to seeing at the detsky doms...but still they KNEW somehow. We get off the local bus and start walking with all our bags. It was a long dirt road, but it looked familiar to me from my trip in January. When we got the the little green shed at the branch in the road, I knew which way to go. I even remembered where the directors office was. We go in, hug the director, she invites us in to her office and tells us to sit down and put our bags down while she has someone get SnowWhite for us. G talks to her in Russian about our visit, plans, and the status of SnowWhite's paperwork - when suddenly in runs this little elf of a girl screaming "Mayleesa" and jumps into my arms. G introduces her to Andrew, whom she has seen photos of but never met, and she immediately hugs him. We give her her gifts - some we brought with us and some were left at the orphanage over the summer a charity group. As before she is fixated on the cameras and photos. We go back to her groupa, play with her and her friends, she shows off her gifts etc. We were even allowed to have "alone" time with her - with no caretaker supervising us. She flat-out refused to draw pictures for us with paper and crayons....but she loved Papa's laptop! LOL She draw us a few pictures there and even wrote our names over and over in Cyrillic and her own name in English. She really bonded with Andrew - drawing pictures of him and her together and "forgetting" to include me! haha Then it was time for the kids to have lunch and nap, so we went to the market to get fruits and juices for a birthday party/graduation party for SnowWhite. Her birthday was earlier in that month. G had arranged for a driver, Vladimir, and he drove us to the local Rynok to buy fruit - we got plums, tangerines, and bananas. The kids get fruit fairly often, but nothing exotic like plums, so this would be a treat for them. We also went to a indoor market and bought juice, cookies and lollipops. When we got back to the detsky dom (which translates as "Children's Home"), SnowWhite is waiting by the door for us and comes running. We have the little party and the kids make a mess with the plums! None of them could unwrap the lollipops, so Andrew and I became the official lollipop unwrappers. SnowWhite went through her gifts and pulled out the toys she didn't like to give to her classmates. She was very possessive and didn't want to give anything up, but we finally convinced her to share. She also had tons of fun with the polaroid camera we brought - telling her classmates to get together for group shots, assigning her friends to "shake" the pictures as they came out of the camera. The kids just LOVED seeing the photos instantly - so it was worth the expense of the polaroid film. When she ran out of polaroid film she commandeered my digital camera. After the party we left the orphanage and Vladimir took us to dinner at a local cafe he recommended. It was empty, but very nice and the food was good. The staff had issues giving us back change when we paid the bill though - and we paid with a $40 bill (200 grivna bill), so that tells you about their economy there - don't ever pay for anything with a bill bigger than a $20 (100 grivna) as they likely won't have change. That night we stayed at Vladimir's mother in laws home/flat. Ludmilla and her grandson (Vladimir's stepson) lived in the flat - we slept in Ludmilla's bedroom, George slept in Dennnis's bedroom, and they slept on the fold out couch. That was the coolest part of our trip I think - staying with an actual Ukrainian family. Ludmilla is a caretaker at SnowWhite's orphanage - though not for her groupa. She knew SW by reputation though LOL. She told us alot about how the orphanage is run, how the caretakers get paid and just the orphanage culture in general. It was eye-opening. The caretakers actually get paid more than the average Ukrainian - they consider being an orphanage caretaker to be hazard pay type of work - like police or firefighters here inthe US - because these kids are "disturbed" "defective" and "genetically inferior." Dennis was a hoot. He is 7 years old - same as SW- as was starting his first day at school the next day. They REALLY dress up kids for the first day of school - this boy had a tuxedo hanging on the door ready to go! He spoke no English, but knew the English alphabet very well- and when he tried to talk to us, we'd tell him in Russian "We don't speak Russian"...so he'd say whatever he was saying again, slower and louder. LOL It was the same thing with the kids in SW's groupa. No matter how many times you tell them you don't speak Russian, they continue to try. SW was smarter than that though - she was very adept at sign language and a few English words. Andrew wow'd Dennis with the laptop, showing him how to draw like SW did, how to play pinball on it and such. These kids picked up computers very well - Ludmilla told us that at the orphanage the kids actually have 2 computers and they get classes on how to use them. Ludmilla herself was a very warm and gracious host. They had no hot water in the building, but she boiled two HUGE pots of hot water on the stove and poured them into the bath tub for Andrew - without us asking BTW. We were fine without hot water, but once she had done it we couldn't turn her down and be rude. Though she worked at the detsky dom, her father and husband (not sure if she was divorced or he was dead? but he wasnt there)were bee keepers. They made honey...so she breaks out this huge honey comb from the cabinet and slices us off some pieces....I really didn't want to eat it as I am really not a honey fan to begin with, but again, not to be rude, I ate it. I almost puked, but I ate it. Andrew was laughing at me. You chew the honey while its still in the comb - suck all the honey out and spit out the waxy comb. Lovely. Next morning we go to the detsky dom again and visit SW- she runs into the little locker room yelling "Mayleesa" again and jumps into my arms. We play with the kids again, and even got to go outside with SW- totally unsupervised, just the 4 of us. We played a bit on what little playground equipment they had and then sat on a bench. G explained to SW everything -and I mean EVERYTHING. That we wanted to adopt her, was that ok with her, yes, when could she go home with us, why was it taking so long, about the change in ministries, about her birth mom, everything! She even asked some very mature and thoughtful questions, which G then answered to her satisfaction. We finally got our cell phone working too and make two short phone calls to our parents in the states so they could hear SW's voice - she spoke in English, but she was just repeating what G was saying haha.Then we started making plans to transport SW and some of her friends to their new internats. The kids needed to be moved the next morning, but neither orphanage had the transportation to do it. If we didn't arrange something the kids would end up on the local city buses with their bags- how scary and traumatic would that be? So we found a guy with an older mini-bus who would drive us. We rented him and his bus for the day and he only charged us 1 grivna per mile - what a deal! It was plenty big enough for us, G, the 5 kids and their caretaker/chaperone.
So, I never got around to finishing our trip story...I will eventually :) It has been SOOO busy around here. We have decided to switch to a new facilitator for our adoption - we liked Sasha, but he was not very pro-active and didn't keep us "in the loop" very much. Our new facilitator- Masha - is VERY pro-active and emails us almost daily! She is working on getting our two oldest moved to the same orphanage so that the adoption will be faster and easier. She also caught some problems in our dossier that we need to fix - better now than when we are in court in Ukraine! In summary, she is AWSOME. We have been updating all of our dossier documents as they start to expire in January. Some of the documents are "good" until June, so we are going to submit the "old" documents while we wait for the updates to come in. When the updated documents eventually arrive, we will send them in to Ukraine. But, for registration purposes, many of our documents are still good. I'm going to the Secretary of State's office today to get all the notary stamps "apostilled" as that is a required level of authentication required by the Hague convention and Ukraine. It just verifies that the notaries are indeed REAL notaries. I also need 
to get our GBI state police clearance renewed. This is one of the first documents to expire in January, but it is a tedious process to update - I have to go to the GBI office, pick up the fingerprinting cards, take them to the Atlanta police department to actually have the fingerprints done, then take the completed cards back to GBI and pay them $30 to run the prints through the state system...then wait 10-15 days for the results/document. A lot of driving ugh.We have also been busy preparing for a Ukrainian visitor! A pediatrician from a special needs baby house in Kharkiv Ukraine is staying in our home for a week and receiving training with Andrew at Emory hospital in pediatric neurology. I know of this doctor and his orphanage through two different charity groups - Life2Orphans and a smaller group called OrphanBaby. I've arranged for training for him at Emory, CHOA, the Marcus Institutes IA medicine clinic, and a trip to MedShare to get some free medical equipment and supplies 
Kiev filled with beauty, Orthodox history
fact that this is a city of the far north - farther north than Quebec - with extremely harsh winters.Humankind has been harsher. Over the centuries, Ukraine has been overrun by the Mongol Golden Horde and absorbed variously by Lithuania, Poland and Russia. Josef Stalin engineered famines that killed millions in the 1930s. World War II took an additional 8 million to 9 million lives.Today Ukraine is struggling to find its way as an independent nation in the new world that emerged with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Its political life is torn between those who favor traditional ties with Russia and those who covet membership in NATO and the European Union.In two visits to Kiev in the past year, I did not hear people talking politics, except for one small communist gathering on a side street near the Parliament building and a larger gathering of nostalgic communists getting ready for the May Day parade. In both cases, the gatherings seemed anachronistic.Instead it seemed much of Kiev was in love. It was spring, the weather was mild and people - many of them as couples - flocked to the parks and the vibrant heart of downtown around Khreschatyk St. and Independence Square. The city was festive for no particular reason.On both trips, I stayed at Sherborne Guest House, a 24-hour staffed apartment building near the Dnipro River within easy walking distance of most of the must-see sites. The apartment was a 10-minute stroll from the city's top tourist site - the Kiev Pechersk Lavra 
monastery. It is one of two medieval religious landmarks in the city on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.The Lavra traces its origin to the arrival of St. Anthony, who moved into a cave on a hill overlooking modern Kiev around 1051. Although most of the original buildings have been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries, it remains one of the most sacred sites in Orthodoxy.I was there for the Orthodox Easter service in April. The combination of the elaborate iconography and the beauty and emotional power of the Old Slavonic liturgy was an unforgettably moving experience. Although I would strongly recommend that any visitor to Kiev go to an Orthodox service, be forewarned that it is physically demanding. Liturgies are long and 
church-goers stand during the service.Caves where monks livedThe 70-acre Lavra complex includes more than 20 churches, a sprinkling of national museums and an iconic 300-foot-tall bell tower that is closed for renovation. But its most famous feature may be the Far and Near Caves.The caves are where the monks first lived and were later laid to rest. Tours are available in Russian, Ukrainian and English for a small fee. The dim light, incense, iconography and the preserved remains of the saints create an experience that is solemn and even mystical.Claustrophobic tourists should think twice before going in, however. I am just under 6 feet tall and in some places had only an inch or so of clearance. There are many tight squeezes. With a line of people front and back, there is no easy way out should panic set in.St. Sophia, located in the heart of the old city, is also on the UNESCO list. Like the Lavra, it has endured centuries of damage and destruction. The current incarnation dates mainly to the early 1700s.It is most famous for intricate mosaics and frescoes by 11th-century Byzantine artists.On both of my visits, there was a special treat. An old man with wild white hair and an angelic voice sat on a bench near the church singing folk songs and playing the bandura, a harp-like Ukrainian instrument believed to date to the 14th or 15th century.A short walk from St. Sophia is the blue-
walled St. Michael's Monastery, rebuilt and dedicated six years ago after its destruction during the Stalinist terror of the 1930s. Its bell tower is a great place to pose for pictures with golden domes as a backdrop.Symbol in disputePerhaps the most striking of Kiev's cathedrals is St. Vladimir's, a 19th-century gem with a canary-yellow exterior topped by a series of blue domes and a single golden one. It is also an important symbol in the ongoing religious dispute between Ukraine and Russia.Unlike the Lavra, which is still under the control of Moscow, St. Vladimir's is part of the break-away Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The cathedral is on Taras Shevchenko Blvd. With lines of trees reaching to the horizon in a park-like median, Taras Shevchenko is a lovely example of one of Kiev's most memorable and surprising features - its wonderful trees - as well as a tribute to the nation's most revered poet.Unlike many American cities, Kiev is exceptionally oriented toward pedestrians. At many of the largest intersections, stairs lead down to underground passageways, lined with shops, flower stalls, food markets and arts and crafts vendors. It is a safe and leisurely way to get to the other side.The easy maneuverability is complemented by a very good and cheap public transportation system using buses and trains. I enjoyed the train stations, both for the mosaics and other art work and for long escalator rides down to the train platforms.Kiev's tree-lined streets always seem to lead to a park. The city has two large botanical gardens - one across Taras Shevchenko from St. Vladimir's and the other south of the Lavra on the right bank of the Dnipro. The latter, the Central Botanical Garden, is home to another pair of monasteries and forms the southern end of a long unbroken stretch of parks extending for about five miles northward along the river.The chain of parks takes in Kiev's impressive World War II museum and the giant Motherland Statue, skirts 
the back side of the Lavra, leads to Marinsky Palace and the adjacent Ukrainian Parliament and eventually reaches the Podil, Kiev's traditional merchant quarter. Marinsky Palace, built by Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the 18th century for Empress Elizabeth, is a blue-and-cream gem used on ceremonial occasions. It is a vivid reminder of Kiev's tsarist past. Although the palace is closed to the public, the park is open to all and offers panoramic views of the river.At the northern end is Andrevsky Uzviz, an old cobblestoned street that connects the Upper City to the Podil. Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov, a legend of the Soviet era, lived there and his home is now open as a museum.Billed as Kiev's Montmartre, Andrevsky is home to museums, artists, musicians, restaurants and souvenir stands. This is the place to buy nesting dolls, traditional painted Ukrainian eggs, T-shirts mocking Lenin, old Soviet military uniforms and other souvenirs. It also features the quirky, eclectic Museum of One Street, which traces Kiev's history in fascinating fashion.Andrevsky is a linguistic respite, much welcomed after the strain of struggling to understand Russian and Ukrainian phrases. Many of the vendors speak English, something not generally common in the city even at tourist sites. At the top of Andrevsky is St. Andrew's, another photogenic design built in the mid-1700s.Its teal domes make it one of the most photographed sites in Kiev. I watched on successive days as three different couples had wedding pictures made with it as a backdrop. According to legend, the apostle Andrew, the patron saint of Russia, put a cross on the site where the church now stands nearly 2,000 years ago and predicted that a great city would someday grow there.
