We are here!!!

Well, believe it or not, we are here. Things have gone so well, I can't believe it. The flight was LONG! David slept for almost half of the trip but stayed up the entire time. I did get in some good movies on the plane. You all should have seen us at the airport in Memphis. We had a 1 1/2 hour layover and David decided that we should go to the gate first before we grabbed a bite. We looked like two people from the Amazing Race trying to get to the next place...David in front with me always behind him. For those who have seen the show, you know when the man gets frustrated when their partner doesn't keep up...well, that was us, but David wasn't frustrated...just laughing. In Amsterdam, we just stayed quite.

When we arrived in Kyiv, things went well. We hit the bathrooms as soon as we got off the plane, but before customs so that people wouldn 't bother us. A missionary couple from the US were in front of us and told us what to fill out on the customs form, so that went quickly. Funny story, we didn't know what to fill out for children, so when the customs lady inquired about children David told them we had a child at home (What, where did that come from?) and the lady told him if the child was not in the bag or in his coat it did not matter. That was too funny.

Our translator, Kostya, met us when we exited customs with a big orange sign with Raskin. All of the other signs were in black and white...of course ours would be fun!!! He is extremely nice, is handsome and single. He has been very nice, professional and helpful. He took us to exchange money (the bank cashiers are at desks and surrounded by shatterproof glass in the mall), then he took us to the market. There were many familiar brands, we purchased cheese, ham, bread, pretzels and oatmeal for things to have in the apartment...oh and COKE of course. Then we went to dinner and had crepes with meat inside, cabbage rolls, chicken covered in some cheese, and bordst. It was wonderful.

Kostya has been very kind and showing around the city today after David decided to get up. He went to bed at 9:30 (not unusual) and woke up at 10:00. The trip is wearing him out!! The churches are beautiful are so are the statues. I will try to post pictures when we have time. We are at Independence Square right now.

Oh, Marilyn, thank you for the last minute food. It was desperately needed since the plane was boarding when we arrived in Memphis and we didn't get to eat dinner. David also used your blanket to sleep under last night.

Dad, Happy Birthday to you.

Mom and Ren....thank you for helping Matthew stop crying and making things fun for him.

Matthew, we love you the MOST!! I hope you enjoyed riding the bus from Perryville.

I want to thank everyone who has helped us over the past two years, I can't believe we are finally here!!

The temperature here is not as cold as it could be...it is only 33 degrees. Last year this time it was zero...so I guess this is good!