Day 39

Let's just get this out of the way first, shall we?  No, we don't have an appeal date yet.  We have judges, we have a place in the system...and we have a promise of a date some time. 

It's time for a gratitude list, because I'm failing at having patience or peace about this whole situation right now.  Right this very moment, I am grateful for:

• Skype, so that we may see our boys' faces every day, even though they've decided that talking to us via the computer is mostly boring.
• The ability to sleep 8 hours in a row.
• New friends here in Kharkov who help lift our spirits.
• New friends through the adoptive community who help us rally.
• Many places that feed us spiritually.
• The knowledge that many people are coming together to make sure our stateside boys are happy, healthy, and safe.
• Extra visits with our Danya :)
• Gelato
• EE Chocolate
• Having a washing machine in our apartment
• The fact that Bryan and I have been together almost every single day all day long for 39 days and we are both still alive and talking to each other.

Ingratitude list (because I gotta let it out somewhere):

• How I wake up every morning with a crick in my neck.  Had I known I would be here for over a month, I would have invested in a new mattress.
• Being illiterate, especially regarding food labels and menus.
• Wearing the SAME DANG PANTS EVERY DAY (again, had I known I would be here for a change of seasons, I would have packed differently!)
• Someone needs to put air conditioning on the Metro.  Just sayin'.
• Why didn't I pack any sweatpants?
• The guilt I am feeling about being away from Ian, Chase and Gavin.  It physically hurts that we've been gone so long.

And to lighten the mood, Tesney reminded me today that there are scads and scads of things that we could be doing here with the extra time, like:

• Eastern European fashion photography (her idea, but I like it!)
• Finding a new murse for Bryan (possibly one that will match his new Speedo)
• Trying on new shoes at Plato
• Drinking beer on the park benches at night
• Learning how to drive without any lines on the road
• Collecting kittens, and making them talk in little kitty voices with bad grammar.
• Playing "guess the ingedients" with new foods.
• Racing each other up the five flights of stairs in the apartment building (when Bryan has full mobility on his knee again...until then, I can challenge other tenants)
• Riding the Metro without holding on...winner is the last to fall, bonus points if you take down a local.
• Learn one new Russian word a day (we are totally failing at this.  We only know like 12 now.)
• Read another 4,000 pages of a new book series (Game of Thrones, anyone?)
• Do all sorts of things without kids, and laugh at parents who can't sit down because they are chasing after their children.
• Facebook stalk all our new friends.
• Name all the stray dogs in the city.
• Play "guess where that tram (or bus) goes"
• Try to speak English to the locals.  When they don't understand, speak LOUDER.

Suggestions for any of the lists are welcomed :)



Otherwise, good visit with Danya and his grandparents today.  Well, except for the part when he hit me upside the head multiple times because I was trying to help him turn on the remote control for his car.  But, you know.  Chase went through a phase (maybe is still going through it??) where he didn't have the words to say, "Hey, please don't touch that," or "Get out of my way," and so he'd use his hands.  It's a communication thing, and it happens.  What is hard is showing any amount of discipline to him, when clearly we are intruders on his environment.  At home, any of my kids would get time by themselves to sit in a chair, and removal from the situation.  It's hard to do that here.

Oh, well.  We made up at the end, so we're friends again.

'til tomorrow...