Well today is Tuesday and we are posting our last blog before we come home. Yeah!!
We have spent the past 2 days in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The city is so large, it takes hours to drive from one end to the other. We have expierienced the sub-way, and that was an experience. It's the way most people travel here. We were so fortunate to be able to go with our translator to the construction site of the new temple being built. It is going to be beautiful, and the members here are so excited. It will be finished in 2010. Right now the members have to travel for 24 hours on bus to the Frankfurt Germany temple, which is expensive for them to do.
We have our appointment today at the American embassy to pick up Artems visa, and once that is complete we will be on our way home. This has been a real learning experience, and it's helped us understand Artem's culture and way of life better. Artem is excited about coming to American, and joining his new family and home. Thanks to our family and loved ones that have supported us and helped make this dream for Artem a reality.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
We'll be coming home sooner, YEAH
Things have been going smoothly here and it looks like we will be coming home on Wednesday, Oct. 1st at 8:15 p.m., on United Airlines. Neil traveled to Artem's birth city yesterday to get his birth certificate, it took two and a half hours to get there, then there was a 3 hour wait at the office because they had never done this type of change of certificate before. It was a very old and small town, very few cars and alot of bikes and horses and carriages. We will probably be going to check Artem out of the orphange today and then travel back to Keiv, to finish up the medical exam and visa. We are hoping to have some time to go and see the temple site in Keiv, which is suppose to be finished in 2010. Here are some pictures of the past 3 days.
Love, Carolyn
Love, Carolyn
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Our shopping adventure
We made it back to the internet cafe. Yesterday while we were putting in ourlast blog, we got a phone call fromour translator who informed us that we needed to meet with the school director of the orphange. So, we quickly tood the bus to the orphanage to meet with him. We have been told all along that a donation to the orphange is expected of all the adopting couples SO when we meet with hime he asked us how much we wanted to donate. All of the other couples have donated $500, so we did the same to keep everyone happy. To make sure that the money went to the right place we were invited to go shopping with the director. This turned into a wild shopping trip. First, we went to ahardware store where we bought a weed wacker and drawer handles. Next, we went to an insurance office to pay for a health insurance plan for all of the kids for a year. Next, we went to the photo shop to purchase 78 photos that will be taken of the children along with some frames. They are planning on hanging these pictures up at the orphange. Next, we went to a pot and plant shop where we bought 2 large ceramic pots and 2 circular plant holders to decorate the main lobby of the school. At this point we were ready to call it quits, so we finished up our shopping and went to lunch. We still had $70 dollars left, which is 300 grevna in their money, so the director said that we could go shopping another time. Anyway, Neil informed me that he wouldn't be going on that trip. Neil hates tos hop so this was pure torture for him. We then went to our apartment and rested for awhile. Next, we went to family home evening and played a game that the new missionary requested. It is the game called don't eat Pete with M&M's. This was a nice change of pace from the shopping.
It sounds like things are busy but going well at home. Devin and Lauren are keeping busy with school and work. Shawn is serving in a new town called Forest Hill, and loving it. Janessa is winning her high school volleyball games and her team is predicted to win state. She is also applying for Sterling Scholar. And Aubrey is doing well in school and having fun with friends. We are counting down the days until we get to come home to be with our sweet family.
Here are some pictures that we've taken in the past few days.
It sounds like things are busy but going well at home. Devin and Lauren are keeping busy with school and work. Shawn is serving in a new town called Forest Hill, and loving it. Janessa is winning her high school volleyball games and her team is predicted to win state. She is also applying for Sterling Scholar. And Aubrey is doing well in school and having fun with friends. We are counting down the days until we get to come home to be with our sweet family.
Here are some pictures that we've taken in the past few days.
Monday, September 22, 2008
A warmer day
Well today is definitely a warmer day, in fact the weather forecast is looking better for the week, which is a good thing when you are walking and taking buses everywhere you go. I now have a real appreciation of how nice it is to own your own car and be able to go whenever and where ever you'd like. It takes about a half an hour each way by bus when we go to the orphange, which is pretty much everyday.
Yesterday was Sunday and they asked Neil and Todd Heiner to speak in sacrament meeting. Todd and Janet Heiner are the couple we have been staying with for the past 10 days. They are from Centerville, and are the nicest couple you'd ever meet. We have really enjoyed getting to know them. They are a few days behind us in the adoption process, and so they have just begun their 10 day wait. Todd and Janet decided to travel back home for the 10 day wait and then Todd is coming back to get the cute 16 year old girl that they've adopted. So, we are now alone in our apartment, and in fact Brent and Lucinda and the Rogers are traveling to Keiv on Tuesday, finishing up the paperwork and flying home on Thurs. with their boys.
The ward here is very small and it consists of mostly women. There is one young women and 3 primary children. It is so different than home. Two of our translators are LDS and they have been with us quite a bit over the past 2 weeks. Tonight we are going to meet with the ward members for family night. They usually have a spiritual thought, a song, and then play games. On Thurs. night there is a dance class that a cute 25 year old gal teaches. She was so excited when I meet with them last week and taught them the boot scootin boogie. They loved it!
We feed the new missionaries yesterday, and they loved it. They don't get alot of dinner appointments here in Ukraine, so they loved it too.
Thank you Prince and Johnson family for the sweet comments that you've sent us. It means alot. Good luck to Josh and Heather on the new arrival this week. Now that's exciting.
We are running to the ophanage right now to meet with the director, so we have to run. We will post our pictures tomorrow. We hope everyone is well at home.
Love, Neil and Carolyn and Artem
Yesterday was Sunday and they asked Neil and Todd Heiner to speak in sacrament meeting. Todd and Janet Heiner are the couple we have been staying with for the past 10 days. They are from Centerville, and are the nicest couple you'd ever meet. We have really enjoyed getting to know them. They are a few days behind us in the adoption process, and so they have just begun their 10 day wait. Todd and Janet decided to travel back home for the 10 day wait and then Todd is coming back to get the cute 16 year old girl that they've adopted. So, we are now alone in our apartment, and in fact Brent and Lucinda and the Rogers are traveling to Keiv on Tuesday, finishing up the paperwork and flying home on Thurs. with their boys.
The ward here is very small and it consists of mostly women. There is one young women and 3 primary children. It is so different than home. Two of our translators are LDS and they have been with us quite a bit over the past 2 weeks. Tonight we are going to meet with the ward members for family night. They usually have a spiritual thought, a song, and then play games. On Thurs. night there is a dance class that a cute 25 year old gal teaches. She was so excited when I meet with them last week and taught them the boot scootin boogie. They loved it!
We feed the new missionaries yesterday, and they loved it. They don't get alot of dinner appointments here in Ukraine, so they loved it too.
Thank you Prince and Johnson family for the sweet comments that you've sent us. It means alot. Good luck to Josh and Heather on the new arrival this week. Now that's exciting.
We are running to the ophanage right now to meet with the director, so we have to run. We will post our pictures tomorrow. We hope everyone is well at home.
Love, Neil and Carolyn and Artem
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Another cold and rainy day
We are sitting at the internet cafe and not wanting to go outside at all. It feels like winter here.
We took the boys to McDonalds yesterday, their favorite place to eat. We also got Artem's passport picture taken yesterday. After the taking the pictures we headed to the orphanage and Artem's class performed some musical numbers for all of the parents. We are going to try and post that small video footage. After the performance we rushed back to the apartment and visited with the missionaries, who are being transfered out today. Only one missionary from each companionship is being transfered, so we invited all four of them over. They had some Mac and Cheese and loved it. I also sent some home with them. One elder is from Armainia, one from Idaho, one from Oregon, and the other from Seattle. The missionaries were so excited about visiting with Americans, and having American food. The one missionary claimed that he's been in the country for 9 months and this is only his 3rd dinner appointment. I felt sorry for them because this is a very hard mission. Shawn on the other hand has it made, Shawn you have been so blessed to be able to serve in the mission that you have.
We are getting use to things here. I can tell you that we are so blessed to live in the United States, we have had a taste of what living in another country feels like, and it makes me feel so blessed to have what we have. We are looking forward to coming home, and I hope the time goes quickly because we really miss our family and home. We are eating plenty and doing fine. We miss you all!! Love Neil and Carolyn and Artem
We took the boys to McDonalds yesterday, their favorite place to eat. We also got Artem's passport picture taken yesterday. After the taking the pictures we headed to the orphanage and Artem's class performed some musical numbers for all of the parents. We are going to try and post that small video footage. After the performance we rushed back to the apartment and visited with the missionaries, who are being transfered out today. Only one missionary from each companionship is being transfered, so we invited all four of them over. They had some Mac and Cheese and loved it. I also sent some home with them. One elder is from Armainia, one from Idaho, one from Oregon, and the other from Seattle. The missionaries were so excited about visiting with Americans, and having American food. The one missionary claimed that he's been in the country for 9 months and this is only his 3rd dinner appointment. I felt sorry for them because this is a very hard mission. Shawn on the other hand has it made, Shawn you have been so blessed to be able to serve in the mission that you have.
We are getting use to things here. I can tell you that we are so blessed to live in the United States, we have had a taste of what living in another country feels like, and it makes me feel so blessed to have what we have. We are looking forward to coming home, and I hope the time goes quickly because we really miss our family and home. We are eating plenty and doing fine. We miss you all!! Love Neil and Carolyn and Artem
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Our apartment building, and Artems sister
Here is a picture of the apartment that we are staying in. It is better on the inside than on the outside.
The second picture is a picture of Artem's 18 year old sister who came to meet us and visit with Artem. She is going to school full time to be a vet and is happy for Artem. No one in the family supports any family ties. Artem doesn't know his father and has only seen his mother once in the past 7 years. He is excited to have a home and a family of his own.
The weather here was very hot for the first 2 days, and for the past 6 days it has been very cold rainy and windy. We are wearing coats. Hope the weather is better for you in Utah.
We love and miss you all and hope that all is going well at home.
Love,
Neil and Carolyn and Artem
Celebration dinner
Things went well and the court approved our adoption, so Artem is now a member of our family. We were so relieved to have the court over, so we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. We had our interpreter, the inspector and the lawyer come along with us. The meal was actually really good.Artem had to stand and talk to the judge, and he didn't seem nervous at all. I'm sure he was very happy when it was all said and done. They asked him if he wanted to be adopted and his answer was a very definite "YES". He is excited about the whole thing.
Monday, September 15, 2008
today is the big day
Alot has happened since the last time that we wrote. First of all, we celebrated Artem's birthday at the orphanage. We made a cake, after searching down a cake pan, and the boys loved it. We played some card and dice games and then headed back to the apartment. It was fun to celebrate his birthday with all of his friends.
We found out that Artem has a sister that lives an hour away from Sumy. She found out that Artem is being adopted and she came to the orphanage to see Artem and meet us. His sisters name is Vikka, or Victoria, and she turned 18 years old on Sept. 5th, a day before we traveled to the Ukraine. That was important that she turned 18 before we started the adoption because any sibling under 18 can protest the adoption, so that was a relief. We found out that she had only visited him a few times over the past 2-3 years. She has a boyfriend and is glad that Artem is being adopted. She is only a half sister to Artem and looks like him alittle.
Artem is excited to be adopted, and the cool thing is that many of his friends will be going to the same junior high school when we get back to Murray. Two of his friends, Austin, Brent and Lucindas boy and Logan Mark and Julie Hatches boy are being adopted right now from the same orphanage and are only one week ahead of us. I think this will make things alittle easier for Artem, having the other boys that are experiencing the same things that he will be experiencing.
Well, we have tried to call home and our phone cards have been acting up. We tried to call home and wish Devin a Happy Birthday and the phone died, sorry Devin. So here it goes, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEVIN, I hope you had a great day, we were thinking about you.
Yes, today is very important because we are going to court and they will make a decision on the adoption. Our apointment is at 4:00 so we are really anxious for that. Artem will be at the court and will be asked a few questions, like if wants to be adopted and what our home is like.
He a little quiet at times, so I hope that he handles it well. We have talked to his teacher about Artem, and she absolutely loves Artem. She says that he's a hard worker, very honest, very kind, good with his hands, we have noticed that he is very giving and thoughtful, and he loves cars. He likes to rollerblade, play soccer, and eat. Anyway, I have been very impressed with him and I'm sure everyone will love him when we bring him home.
Just so you know, anyone can e-mail us on our regular e-mails if you need to let us know something. We check our e-mails everytime we come to the internet cafe.
We love you all, and hope that all is going well at home.
Love, MOM and DAD
We found out that Artem has a sister that lives an hour away from Sumy. She found out that Artem is being adopted and she came to the orphanage to see Artem and meet us. His sisters name is Vikka, or Victoria, and she turned 18 years old on Sept. 5th, a day before we traveled to the Ukraine. That was important that she turned 18 before we started the adoption because any sibling under 18 can protest the adoption, so that was a relief. We found out that she had only visited him a few times over the past 2-3 years. She has a boyfriend and is glad that Artem is being adopted. She is only a half sister to Artem and looks like him alittle.
Artem is excited to be adopted, and the cool thing is that many of his friends will be going to the same junior high school when we get back to Murray. Two of his friends, Austin, Brent and Lucindas boy and Logan Mark and Julie Hatches boy are being adopted right now from the same orphanage and are only one week ahead of us. I think this will make things alittle easier for Artem, having the other boys that are experiencing the same things that he will be experiencing.
Well, we have tried to call home and our phone cards have been acting up. We tried to call home and wish Devin a Happy Birthday and the phone died, sorry Devin. So here it goes, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEVIN, I hope you had a great day, we were thinking about you.
Yes, today is very important because we are going to court and they will make a decision on the adoption. Our apointment is at 4:00 so we are really anxious for that. Artem will be at the court and will be asked a few questions, like if wants to be adopted and what our home is like.
He a little quiet at times, so I hope that he handles it well. We have talked to his teacher about Artem, and she absolutely loves Artem. She says that he's a hard worker, very honest, very kind, good with his hands, we have noticed that he is very giving and thoughtful, and he loves cars. He likes to rollerblade, play soccer, and eat. Anyway, I have been very impressed with him and I'm sure everyone will love him when we bring him home.
Just so you know, anyone can e-mail us on our regular e-mails if you need to let us know something. We check our e-mails everytime we come to the internet cafe.
We love you all, and hope that all is going well at home.
Love, MOM and DAD
Friday, September 12, 2008
Finally sent some pictures
Hi there, how is everyone going? Hope you like these pictures, I finally made it to a computer that is in English so that I can read the prompts to send the pictures. We had a birthday party with Artem yesterday and the cake that we made was a hit, all of the boys loved it. We usually get up in the morning, shop, go to the internet cafe, then head to the orphanage to visit with the boys. We usually leave the orphanage at 7:00pm on a bus and head back to our apartment and we try to be in before it gets dark. Our court is on Monday, and then we start the 10 day waiting period where anyone can protest the adoption, which hasn't happened yet. After the 10 day waiting period we have to get Artem's birth certificate, Visa, and passport, which will take another 3 or 4 days. Then we will be coming home. We are hoping for Sept. 28th or 29th.
Here is Brent and Lucinda's blogspot if you want to check out more pictures
www.brentandlucinda.blogspot.com
Here is Brent and Lucinda's blogspot if you want to check out more pictures
www.brentandlucinda.blogspot.com
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Hello everyone,
We finally got to a computer and want to tell you what we have been doing for the last five days. We started off with a 15 hour flight, which seemed like it lasted forever. We had a 3 hour layover in Dueseldorf, Germany. When we arrived in the Ukraine we were tierd, but unable to sleep because our days and nights were totally mixed up. We finally got our first good night sleep last night. The first night we stayed in Kiev, which is the capital of the Ukraine. We stayed in an apartment the first night that was in the older part of the city. The next morning we had an appointment at the SDA to claim which child we wanted to adopt. That appointment went well, and we started off to the city of Sumy to meet Artem. After a 4 hour drive we met up with Artem. We drove down a dirt road to the orphanage, and there waiting for us on the outside of the gates was Artem. He had been there for awhile because he knew we were coming. He was excited to see us. We talked for awhile and soon Brent and Lucinda came walking down the lane to say "hi". They had just got done with their court, and their adoption had been approved, and are now in their 10 day waiting period. Our court date is set for Monday, and should know on Monday if our adoption is approved.
For all those who are wondering how we are doing, we are doing fine. The apartment that we are staying in is located in the middle of the city, so we have 3 different keys that let us into our apartment. One key to get into the building, one to get into our hallway, and one key to get into our room. I guess they want to make sure we are safe. We really need to watch were we put our wallets because the Ukraine is the #1 location for pick pocketing. I have already had an experience with that, so I know what to look out for. The buildings here are scarey on the outside, but the inside of the our apartment is really quite nice. We are now staying with the Heiner family, who are trying to adopt a 15 year old girl who is going to be 16 on Friday.
We found out that Artem has a 18 year old sister who has visited her a few times and is okay with him being adopted. They have been trying to locate her and have been unable to.
We are going to visit with Artem today at the orphanage to see his teacher and school.
If you were wondering, we are going to name him Artem Ian Milne, the meaning of Ian, is "A gift from God/ God is gracious. We will call him Artem, and you'll notice that the spelling is different than our blogspot because we have Americanize the spelling to make it easier to pronounce.
In our next blog we will include some pictures.
We now have a phone so we are able to call home and keep in contact with those that are
helping us here in the Ukraine. I hope that all is well at home. Love Neil and Carolyn
We finally got to a computer and want to tell you what we have been doing for the last five days. We started off with a 15 hour flight, which seemed like it lasted forever. We had a 3 hour layover in Dueseldorf, Germany. When we arrived in the Ukraine we were tierd, but unable to sleep because our days and nights were totally mixed up. We finally got our first good night sleep last night. The first night we stayed in Kiev, which is the capital of the Ukraine. We stayed in an apartment the first night that was in the older part of the city. The next morning we had an appointment at the SDA to claim which child we wanted to adopt. That appointment went well, and we started off to the city of Sumy to meet Artem. After a 4 hour drive we met up with Artem. We drove down a dirt road to the orphanage, and there waiting for us on the outside of the gates was Artem. He had been there for awhile because he knew we were coming. He was excited to see us. We talked for awhile and soon Brent and Lucinda came walking down the lane to say "hi". They had just got done with their court, and their adoption had been approved, and are now in their 10 day waiting period. Our court date is set for Monday, and should know on Monday if our adoption is approved.
For all those who are wondering how we are doing, we are doing fine. The apartment that we are staying in is located in the middle of the city, so we have 3 different keys that let us into our apartment. One key to get into the building, one to get into our hallway, and one key to get into our room. I guess they want to make sure we are safe. We really need to watch were we put our wallets because the Ukraine is the #1 location for pick pocketing. I have already had an experience with that, so I know what to look out for. The buildings here are scarey on the outside, but the inside of the our apartment is really quite nice. We are now staying with the Heiner family, who are trying to adopt a 15 year old girl who is going to be 16 on Friday.
We found out that Artem has a 18 year old sister who has visited her a few times and is okay with him being adopted. They have been trying to locate her and have been unable to.
We are going to visit with Artem today at the orphanage to see his teacher and school.
If you were wondering, we are going to name him Artem Ian Milne, the meaning of Ian, is "A gift from God/ God is gracious. We will call him Artem, and you'll notice that the spelling is different than our blogspot because we have Americanize the spelling to make it easier to pronounce.
In our next blog we will include some pictures.
We now have a phone so we are able to call home and keep in contact with those that are
helping us here in the Ukraine. I hope that all is well at home. Love Neil and Carolyn
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Bringing Artyom Home
The adventure of bringing Artyom home has been in the works for over a year and the final chapter is about to begin. Neil and I will be flying to the Ukraine on Sat.,
Sept. 6th, and will be arriving on Sun. Sept. 7th to finish the process of adoption.
Artyom is a very bright and kind 14, soon to be 15 year old boy. He is very excited for us to come to the Ukraine and adopt him. His dream of having a family will become a reality in about a month. The adoption process in the Ukraine takes about a month, therefore Neil and I will be gone, and our great kids will be taking care of things at home. Devin and Lauren will be staying with the girls, and we so appreciated their willingness to help. We will miss our sweet family, but we know that Heavenly Father will watch over them while we are gone. Thanks to all of our love ones, and for your support and help in making this dream for Artyom come true.
Sept. 6th, and will be arriving on Sun. Sept. 7th to finish the process of adoption.
Artyom is a very bright and kind 14, soon to be 15 year old boy. He is very excited for us to come to the Ukraine and adopt him. His dream of having a family will become a reality in about a month. The adoption process in the Ukraine takes about a month, therefore Neil and I will be gone, and our great kids will be taking care of things at home. Devin and Lauren will be staying with the girls, and we so appreciated their willingness to help. We will miss our sweet family, but we know that Heavenly Father will watch over them while we are gone. Thanks to all of our love ones, and for your support and help in making this dream for Artyom come true.
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