Miranda

It's hard to believe that tomorrow Miranda will be 17! We recently bought her a car, so now we never see her...ha ha... Some of her friends threw her a surprise b-day party last week. They actually kidnapped her by tying her up, covering her face with a pillow case and stuffing her in the trunk of their car! I got most of it on video. Some of the pics are of the party. The one of her and I was taken at a graduation. Next year my baby will be graduating, hard to believe.

Christopher

Christopher is getting cuter by the day! He is learning so much. Now he will get his face wet at the pool and is dunking himself under water. He is talking so much now that he wants to call people on the phone.

Softball Team

Aya and Hailey are on the same team. Unfortunately they do not have a very good team...haven't won a game yet. However, the girls are doing a great job and improving every day. Hailey usually plays short stop or thrid base. Aya is learning how to do do catcher! She is tough and trying her best!

Swim team

Trevor, Sergey and Hailey are all on a swim team. They are doing great and improving each week!

June 16th

Hi Everyone!
Yes, I know it has taken awhole year for me to update! Sorry. It has been a crazy year to say the least. I just wanted to share some recent pics. Aya was baptizes last Sunday. Jon was able to baptize her. We are so proud of her decision to follow Christ!

June 23rd

Here are a couple of pictures of kids at home with us. There are also one of when Jon picked the kids up fromthe orphanage. The kids are all doing well. It seems as if we have had Aya and Sergey forever. They fit in so perfect. Trevor and Sergey are together non-stop either playing outside or on the Playstation. Aya is very good at entertaining herself with all of the goodies we have around. At the moment she is singing on Hailey's karaoke machine! I don't think she is going to be the next American Idol ...LOL
We will try to update pictures regularly of stuff going on with the kids.

There Home...June 22nd

Hello Everyone!
Well Jon and the kids made it safely home last night. We had a busy night since Trevor had a baseball game. After picking up everyone from the airport we then all headed to the baseball field to watch Trevor's game. The night went incredibly smooth as the kids came home and looked around. Their eyes were big as saucers and they giggled as they went through the house. Trevor and Sergey have had a blast together. When I asked Trevor how he liked his new brother he smiled bigger than I have ever seen and said "Yes". They have become instant friends and it is truly very sweet. Aya has been fascinated with Barbies and American girl dolls and has been playing with them all nonstop. Today we started the kids on their English lessons. Sergey was more eager than Aya, however.
Overall, we are doing wonderfully and everyone is adjusting well. Keep us in your prayers as I am sure there is bound to be some bumps in the road. I can't find the cord to load the photos so I will have to add pics of them at home later.

Day ????

June 20th
I (Krystal) made it home safe and sound. Jon and the kids will be coming home Thursday!!! Jon does not have internet so that is why there has not been any posts lately. He says things are going well, but the kids are getting pretty restless. Already he has experienced some pouting and mild temper tantrums. I ams ure the kids are overstimulated, excited, scared, all rolled in to one. Overall, he says the kids have been great, but he is anxious to get home.
We will update photos on Friday of their return home. Thanks for your prayers!

Krystal

Day 12

Well today started out as a sad but joyous morning. I dropped Krystal off at the airport at 6:15 and said our goodbyes. The hardest part is in knowing that I have the only phone that works in this country, so there is no way of getting in touch with her if by chance something went wrong with her flight in Kiev. I am confident that the Lord is protecting her so I have peace. My day is being spent without the kids today, which give me sometime to catch up on some reading for school. I might kill some of the day watching Lord of the Rings. I miss everyone so much and I can’t wait to get home, most likely Wednesday night or possibly Thursday if there are any delays at the embassy. I spent most of lunch today taking pictures of the sights and I ran across an old lady begging. I watched as people were giving her some loose change and saw the joy it was giving her. I then passed by her and was going to give her a little bit but all I had was a fifty. When I gave her this she fell to the ground sobbing. Fifty grevin (sic) is worth only ten dollars in U.S. currency, but out here the minimum wage for most people is 60-100 grevin per month.
To my kids at home, make sure you give your mom a great welcome, she really missed you. Love Jon

Day 11

God IS AWESOME!

WE GOT OUR MIRACLE!!! THE JUDGE WAIVED THE TEN DAYS WAIT!!!

Needless to say we are thrilled with the outcome of court. Court was short, sweet and to the point. The judge was very nice and and made things extremely easy for all of us. The judge had been telling our facilitator that there was NO WAY he could waive the 10 days. So when we got to court she told us we can ask for it, but he is not going to grant it. So during the proceedings a teacher from the orphanage had to speak and grant us her permission to adopt the kids and while doing this she mentioned to the judge that next week all the kids at the orphanage will be leaving for camp. Then she tells the judge that there will not be anyone at the orphanage to feed or take care of the kids. So with that information he waived the wait! I was so excited I could have burst out of my chair screaming. I knew this was a direct answer to prayer. I am amazed at how God has orchestrated every piece of this journey!! So our entire trip will be almost exactly 2 weeks….like a world record!! (Sorry to brag to all of you who have gone so much longer) The kids are officially ours now.
I am still leaving tomorrow since I had already changed my ticket. Jon will be flying home Wed or Thursday because he still has things he needs to do here before leaving.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us! We serve a mighty God!

Day 10

Day 10
Okay, so this pic of Christopher has nothing to do with our trip, but Debbie M sent us this in an email... and isn't he cute? Thanks, Debbie

Today was a busy day. After taking a walk and having some coffee we took the kids to an open air market to buy a few clothing items for Sergey. Many of the items I brought for him will probably be too big because he is very thin. So at the market he picked out a couple of items so he would have something clean and nice to wear to court tomorrow. It was interesting because there are no dressing rooms, so he just tried his clothes on right there outside in front of everyone. I commented to the translator how odd that was to Americans because we change in dressing rooms. She said it is common here to do as Sergey did. I was embarrassed for him and in fact, moved to the side so I would not see him. I kept thinking how mortified Trevor would have been had that been him! No way would Trevor take his clothes off in the middle of a bunch of people!
It was very hot today and on account of that Aya got carsick on the way to the market! So we are now officially her parent because she has thrown up on us! Poor thing. I think because they are not used to driving in cars (and people drive nuts here) it is common for the orphans to get carsick. Most of the time people walk or take buses places.
Once back at the hotel Jon and I rested before heading to a Mexican restaurant for dinner….Yes, I said “Mexican”. The restaurant was called “Tequila Boom” and it was very good and we enjoyed it a lot. I had chicken soft tacos and Jon had a chicken burrito.
Tomorrow we will leave the hotel at 9 a.m. to pick the kids up and head to court. Pray that the hearing is short, easy and the 10 day wait is waived.

Miranda, Hailey, and Trevor….How was shopping? Give Christopher a hug and tell him we love him, okay??? Show him my picture so he doesn’t forget me.

Lucia…we did not host in Dec..we hosted in the Summer. I hope all is well and you get an appointment very soon. Thanks for your prayers!

Theresa… Thanks for your messages. It is nice to connect with others in the midst of the process. When we get back I have lots of info I can share about Donetsk, if your interested. When do you think you will be getting here?

Gail…Can you let me know what you guys did about gifts? If you can email me I would love to know who and what you gave, if you don’t mind. Thanks…

Pittsboro Baptist's Youth

So how is youth going? Please be in prayer today for our court date. We are hoping that the judge will wave the mandatory 10 day wait, if this happens then I will be home for the Harvest Crusade. Speaking of this, are you guys inviting people? Please get fired up for this event, I will be praying for you guys this week. Go easy on Karl and Christina and Steve and Chip and Todd. Please!! I’ll see ya’ll soon. Love Jon

Dinner, and it was delicious!

Here We Are

I miss my Buddy

Steve I love you and I can’t stand being without you for this length of time. If only you were here, the days would not be so long. I miss our friendship; being locked in this room with my wife is driving me nuts. I’ll talk to you later Jon

Day 9

Day 9- Wednesday
Today has been relatively uneventful. We slept in a little and then walked downtown where we feasted on McDonalds. And the answer is yes, the food is just as gross here as in the US. Although I have to say the ice cream was pretty good. However, it was nice to have something familiar, gross or not. Really, I would have to say the food has been very good and at every meal I have found something that I have liked. After eating we walked through something like a flea market and looked at the items for sale. I guess we must be a magnet for strange occurrences because at the flea market a woman of about 50 or older took her top off right in front of everyone so she could try on one of the shirts that was for sale at one of the booths. I mean good grief! If it is strange we seem to be witnessing it. Thankfully she had a bra on!! On our way back to the hotel it started to rain. We plan to walk back over to the downtown area and have dinner at a restaurant that our facilitator recommended. Sorry we haven’t put pics up, but with dial up it takes forever to load them.



Miranda- What kind of cookies did you make? Try to keep yourself busy, okay?

Hailey- How was Michelle’s?
Trevor- How was practice?

Tim and Colleen- It is good to hear from you guys. We would be happy to have you whenever you can make it. We look forward to it! Love you guys!

Kristin- Glad all is going well for you. Thanks for the notes…we miss you! Say “Hi” to everyone at youth tonight.


Erin- I got your email...you are so sweet. I will email you later. I will miss you and congrats on your new job!

Steven- Sorry you feel ignored :) Welcome to my world...(just kidding, Jon)
Barb- Will email you!

Still Day 8

Teresa C.....I wanted to tell you to keep me posted. I love ya and am praying for you and your new addition. Remember and I know you know this....God is bigger than the dr.!!! Love ya, K

Day 8

Day 8- Tuesday
Today we went to the orphanage at about 11:00 a.m. our time. Every time we get to the orphanage the kids try to speak a new English phrase. It is so cute because they are trying very hard to learn some English. Today’s phrase was “My name is Aya”. We then took them to a park that had rides that we could buy tickets to ride. It was so interesting to watch them because they were happy to ride just one ride despite us encouraging them to do more. They are happy with whatever you give them and will not ask for anything. We then had ice cream and Aya pointed to a candy bracelet so we bought one for her and one for her best friend, Mary. All the rides and food at the park were very inexpensive so it was a good, cheap day. Afterwards we took them back to the orphanage and when we pulled up we saw some missionaries delivering some food. The kids got out of the car and yelled to the missionaries telling them that we were their mama and papa. On the way home our facilitator showed us where we could walk around near our hotel. We found out where the McDonald’s, pizza place, some shops, and really good buffet is located. So tomorrow we are going to have some fun checking it out since we won’t be going to the orphanage tomorrow. Our facilitator has to do some paperwork for our court case on Friday.
Overall, it was a very nice day. Right now we are just relaxing and planning to have some dinner in the hotel restaurant. They have very good food for a fairly cheap price. The picture is what Jon had last night…YUCK….. Octopus, squid, clams, and salmon.

Prayer request: Please pray with us that the judge will waive the 10 day wait!!!!Our facilitator says it would take a miracle….well, I happen to serve a miracle working God, so please pray with us for this!

Miranda- So tell me what you bought while shopping with Grandma? How were the French dips? I am jealous.

Hailey- Did you buy anything? Remember, only 4 more days and it will go by very quickly. Have fun at Michelle’s tomorrow.

Trevor- Did you have a good time at Matt’s? What did you do? Did you get batteries for the controller?

Tim- Hey, will you mow the lawn before Sat??? I love a nice mowed lawn  Thanks, Tim….
Matt- You are so sweet for having Trevor over. Remind me not to be mean to you for at least one whole day when I get back, okay? No, really….your the best! Now maybe I won’t embarrass you too much at VBS.

Dan and Sandy- Everything is going so fantastic! Angelina is absolutely wonderful. I can’t say enough about all she is doing. I will email you with some information she wants me to relay to you. I told her to check her email. She said she has been very busy.

Rhonda- Thanks for all your support and prayers. I really, really appreciate it. It is keeping me sane.

Christina- How are you ?…..tell the girls I miss them on Wed and I will be back next Wed.
Gail- I am so amazed at how God is working everything out. Angelina is amazing…Your blog has really helped us know what to expect…. I hope all is well with you all! God Bless!

Beckie- Thanks for your support, friend. Without my family and friends I don’t know what I would do.

Dad….are you out there? Call or email me when you get a chance. Love you!

Forrest and Blaine- I told Jon he has to stay in hotel when I leave :) Ha ha
Love to all, Krystal and Jon

Day 7

Day 7- Monday

If you heard a loud sound that awoke you early this morning….it was me screaming all the way from Ukraine because WE GOT A COURT DATE FOR THIS FRIDAY!!!!
God is so good! So, Miranda, Hailey, Trevor, and Christopher, I am coming home on Saturday and I will be there for Miranda’s birthday on Sunday! We are so excited, especially me….I feel bad for Jon as he will have to hang out for the 10 day wait, but he is being a trooper about it, as usual. I am married to an amazing man.I am trying to work out the details with Delta about changing my flight…it looks like they don’t have any seats in coach and I will have to pay extra to go first class (oh bummer ). I am not sure how much extra, they are going to call me back.
Their brother has signed papers agreeing to let Aya and Sergei be adopted, so at this point it looks like smooth sailing. As for now it looks like Jon will be coming home on June 27th, which the actual day I originally made for his flight! The amazing thing is that there is a holiday here on the 28th and 29th, so the Embassy was closed on those days which would have held Jon up till into July! It is so amazing to see how God worked out every small detail of this trip. Why was I nervous? All I needed to do is get out of the boat and He did the rest.
Today our facilitator is very busy doing paperwork and running errands to make sure everything runs smoothly, therefore we will not be going to the orphanage today. So here we are another long day in the hotel room. We think we may take a short walk outside, even if to the corner and back. They have discouraged us from going anywhere. I think we have a big sign on our heads that says “I am American, steal all my money because I am an idiot and don’t know what I am doing”.
We had a very delicious dinner last night at the hotel. The food here is surprisingly very good. Jon had fried calamari and I had fried mushrooms and some shrimp that still had their heads and eyeballs on. For dessert I had a cherry cake that was pretty tasty. Before we left the restaurant we sure got the shock of our life when a stripper, yes , a stripper, came out and did a strip tease for the guy at the table behind us! This was in a public restaurant. I was completely mortified as we could not even leave because the stripper was blocking the exit! Jon had his back to it and I was threatening him with his life if he turned around  The strangest thing was that no one even thought anything of this as employees casually watched this very graphic event. I am quite sure that everyone was laughing at me when we left because I was covering my face, and it was probably red as a tomato.

Tim- Jon wanted me to tell you that Sergey reminds him a lot of you 

Miranda- What are your plans for today? I will be home for your birthday!
Hailey- I miss you too. So I hear you are going to Michelle’s this week…have fun and before you know it I will be there, okay?
Trevor- Who is on your all-star team?

Marsha- Sergey is probably a size 8 or 10, like Trevor. I am guessing that once in the US and getting good nutrition he will shoot up. He is very and I would guess that is because he spends so much time outside playing. Aya is probably a size 8/10. Fortunately, Hailey has lots of hand me downs that will fit her.

Lucia- Wow, that is amazing about your church? How big is your church? I would love to see our church, as a whole, be more proactive for children. Maybe our journeys will inspire others.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers…we definitely feel them!

Day 6- Sunday

Hello Everyone!
Today we got up, had breakfast and went to the orphanage. Since it was the director’s day off we had to go around and search for Aya and Sergey. Since there is no school right now for them they pretty much just have free time to do whatever they want. You see kids sitting in groups talking. Sergey was behind the building playing soccer with his friends. As we waited for the kids to come up front we enjoyed observing the kids. Some kids were very interested in us and eyed us longingly, while others completely dismissed us. It struck me how aimless their days are there with no real purpose.Another thing we noticed is the kids have worn the same outfit everyday. Our translator, Olga, told us they have their own personal clothes, but there is very few items. We recognized a couple of kids from the hosting program from last summer. Once we had both the kids, we left to go to a very nice park and shopping area. The kids played on the toys and then we took them to get ice cream which they devoured! While we ate, Jon brought out his laptop and started working with the kids on English. They already know the alphabet, numbers, and many vocabulary words. Sergey is especially interested in learning English. We brought Hailey’s ipod and the both love listening to the music. In fact, there is a lot of American music played here in Ukraine. It surprised us to hear so much music in English. The kids even try to read the names of the songs. After eating it was time to take them back to the orphanage so they would not miss lunch. So here we are …it is 1pm and we don’t have much to do today except hang out at the hotel! Boring!

Hailey- Thank you for letting me take your ipod…they both love it! Please write me an email and tell me how you are doing, okay? I miss you and want to hug you. Hang in there…time will go quickly and I will be there!

Trevor- Miranda told me you won! Tell me all the details…score, who did you play, how did you hit?

Miranda- Thanks for writing me and telling me the score. Dad and I waited up late, hoping you guys would call and tell us about the game. Tell everyone at church to pray we get a court date this week ASAP….. Tell Christopher I love him please!

Barbara- Thanks for all you doing…what would I do without you?
Sue- Thanks for updating everyone and praying. Also, thanks for having Linda call me …I enjoyed sharing all that was going on with her!

If any of you see my kids today…Give them a hug from us!
Love to you all, Krystal