Adventures in Babysitting

Remember that movie from the 80's? Adventures in Babysitting? Well thankfully babysitting my 5 cousins in Kiev is nothing like that-- but it always proves to be a fun little adventure. I feel so blessed to be a part of their lives and love all the roles I get to play-- cousin, older sister, friend, and this week- mother! Now I hope our McDonald's night last night doesn't mean I'm going to be a "push over" of a mom someday. No, I'd like to think it means I'm just a fun babysitter! :) You have to feel a tinge of guilt though when you see the consumption of 5 big macs, fries, cokes and ice-cream cones! Oh well...we went for a nice walk in the park today to burn off those grams of fat! :) It still amazes me how much I love McDonalds so much in Ukraine...when I avoid it like the plague in America. This seems to be the opinion of all the Americans I know in Ukraine. A fact that bonds us!

I even had my first driving experience in Kiev this weekend. Call me brave, or crazy, but I loaded my 5 sweeties into their car and got us all to church on time this morning. You wouldn't think that driving here is a great feat unless you've been here. But in all honestly, Sundays are quite friendly to the novice Kiev driver, so I felt quite confident in my 11 years behind the wheel preparing me for today.

So 5 more days of fun and adventures with these kiddos!

Waiting for the Parade

Well I just finished a 3 night run of the play "Waiting for the Parade" with 5 senior girls at Kiev Christian Academy! We had a blast and had a great turn out-- probably close to 250 over the 3 nights! It was fantastic and so much fun. I was so proud of my girls and our audiences were very impressed as well-- I received so many compliments on their behalf. I've known most of these girls since they were in 8th grade, so I've had the opportunity to see them grow and mature over the years into very talented actresses and just awesome young women. I'll sure miss them next year! Usually I just direct one show a year at KCA- in the spring, so this was an added bonus-- for me and them! So now that we've finished this one we have to hurry up and start rehearsing for the next one-- May will be here before we know it! Enjoy the photos!

Getting back into the swing

So by the lack of posts lately you can see I've been busy- well that and I've been trying to think of something interesting to write about! I've been back in Kiev now for 2 weeks after my 2 month trip to the states.


The last few weeks with my family were very full, with a lot of great time doing my new favorite thing-- spending time with my adorable nephew Caleb. Then I headed to Virginia for a few days of catching up with some dear friends and having some meetings at our CBN office in VA Beach. I was blessed to reconnect with two families who became close friends to me through their adoption processes in Ukraine- 2 years ago! I continue to count all these adoptive families I've come to know and love over the years as such a blessing in my life, and having walked through the adoption journey with them I feel extra connected- in a weird maternal sort of way-- and I'm not even a mother!

With Erin- adopted in '06 and Katya-adopted 1 month ago

With Luda and Galina Hughes- adopted in 2006

Then it was back to Kiev and straight back to work. In many ways it seemed like I had never left! I've been working on a special play with the senior girls at the High School where I direct drama, and our performances are next weekend. So nothing like just getting back and putting the final touches on a full length play! Life is full to say the least. My girls have been doing great and we are really excited for this coming weekend and are hoping for full audiences.

I was also able to connect with another Colorado family I've come to know (via email) who was here adopting 2 kids that we had brought over on previous hosting trips. Again, another blessing to get to meet them and be a witness yet again to the miracle of adoption.

With Jim Volf and 2 new kids, Joshua and Ashley

(wife Kari already at home)

So hopefully I can get back to this blogging thing again -to keep everyone updated on the happenings here in Ukraine--both the mundane and the extraordinary!