Mark is on his way!

My time here in Kiev has been a nice break from the very busy and full life I lead at home. I am missing my husband and my children. The good news is I will see Mark tomorrow. It is still such a long way to go before I can see my children again. I called home yesterday and the girls sounded so sad because they miss me and it broke my heart. We are very close and we do so much together. We cook together and it is so much fun. Julia loves to do the meat and Alesa does fantastic salads, she make a Ukrainian salad that is so yummy. I do the vegetables and just generally supervise and teach the girls the how to do it part. We were discussing where Lena might want to help or even take charge of a part of the meal. This is our "girl" sharing time and we enjoy it.
Kyle gave me a compliment yesterday I have always wanted to hear, "Mom I have a new appreciation for all that you and Dad do. I never realized how much work you two put into our family. Just keeping up with the schedule is a full time job." Those words were music to my ears.
They are doing such a good job. Brett is taking on the daddy role he told Julia he is going to sign her up for a reading camp at the library because he wants her to improve her reading. This warmed my heart.
My days are pretty much routine now. The only bad part is I am still on Texas time. I stay up all night reading or watching DVDs. About 7 in the morning I fall asleep and sleep until 3. I know when things start moving here I will be forced to adjust. I walk around the city, come to the internet place for a computer. I stop by my little restaurant for my one meal of the day. The sweet waitress knows me well now. I absoutely love the food it tastes so homemade. I have enjoyed everything, but something called Varenky, it is a dough with mashed potatoes in the middle and it is boiled. I know Zhenya and the girls love Varenky we had a Russian friend come to our house one day to teach us how to make it. Those were made with meat and were good I can't say the potato was too enjoyable for me.
Kiev is a city of contrasts it is so beautiful and they have some of the prettiest buildings I have seen anywhere in my travels. The stores would rival any in New York. Then it is heartbreaking for me to see the poverty. They have been hit hard by the economy situation. It is the old women and the orphans that I can hardly bear to think about. I walked today past an old woman who was begging and one of her arms was missing. I put some money in her pot but I know that will only help for today. There is a young mother with a face of hopelessness holding her baby in one arm and a cup in the other. I see the bent old woman collecting bottles from the garbage cans carrying bags so heavy that I don't know how her frail frame can hold the extra weight. I wish I could make their lives better but all I can do is drop in some money and then ask God to bring a special blessing on them in some way.
Tomorrow Mark arrives at noon. We are hoping the SDA will see us in the afternoon or Tuesday morning. We have tickets to leave for the orphanage Tuesday afternoon. We ask for prayers that this process goes quickly and smoothly.
Thank you for your comments I really appreciate hearing from you. It is nice to know I have connections to all my friends and even those of you I do not know in person. Thank you for your encouragement.
I will let you know if we get an appointment tomorrow.