Family

On Cousin-Fetching and Toddler Bribery

Posted on by kimnjed

This weekend was full.

Full of fun, full of laughs, full of food, and full of lessons learned the hard way. Hence all the laughter.

My cousin Hannah came to stay for the weekend! She arrived on Friday afternoon and we were so excited it was like Christmas Eve on Thursday night. Our first real visitor from afar! Hannah has been in Western Ukraine doing an internship through her University back in Oregon. She arrived in Ukraine in September and leaves in December, so this weekend was our chance to experience Ukraine together. We had a BLAST.

 

Jed was at Romaniv orphanage with MTU on Friday, so it was up to me to fetch Hannah from the bus and get her back to our house…with all the kids in tow. It might have been a tad intimidating, but I was feelin' good, feelin' confident. I could do this!

When our family travels from Kiev to Zhitomir we take a certain bus that randomly picks up at a metro stop in Kiev and stops really close to our house in Zhitomir. Well, Hannah wasn't taking that bus. She arrive in Kiev via train, so she was going to catch a bus leaving from the official bus station in Kiev. I asked a friend where that bus would drop her and he was pretty sure it would take her straight to the big bus station in Zhitomir.

 

The kids and I left early so that we could easily navigate the local buses to get to the big bus station. I knew that I knew where I was going, so it was all good. I prepped the kids (listen to Mommy, stay close to Mommy, pay attention to what's happening around you…blah blah blah) and they were doing great! We arrived at the bus station plenty early; we even had time to get a little bread treat at a bakery next door (which was suprisingly filled with meat…not a bad thing, unless you're hoping for sweet. Hehe) All was well…or so I thought. 🙂


I have no idea what Ez is doing in this pic...we had been waiting at the wrong bus station for quite a while at this point...I think he was delirious.

After about 45 minutes I get a phone call from Hannah:

 

“I'm here! Where are you guys?”

“Oh, we're inside. We'll come right out! Hmmmm I don't see you…where are you? Maybe stand underneath one of the bus stall numbers so we can find each other that way.”

“Okay, I'm standing under number 7.”

“Ummmm…me too. Oh geeeeeeeez.”

 

Oops. Hahahaha! We were at the wrong bus station! Apparently the Kiev bus station sometimes delivers to the OTHER bus station in Zhitomir. Wa waaaaah. No big deal, except I totally didn't know how to get from one station to the other. So, I told Hannah to stay put, and in good faith, told her we would find her. 😉

I called Jed, who happened to be with locals who also spoke English and everyone was trying to give me directions…it wasn't happening. So, I got all brave and starting asking directions in broken Russian. And, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, we made it! We found Hannah!!!

It was quite the triumphant moment. Hannah and I were squealing with joy, everyone around was laughing at us, the kids were jumping up and down…it was a sight to behold, I'm sure. 🙂
At that point I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Look at me, all travel-savvy! Errrrr…not quite.
So, I thought I knew the way home from the second bus station, but once we started walking, the street I thought I needed was a one-way. Looking back, we probably should have just returned the way we came, but I think I was too overcome with joy at seeing Hannah to think rationally.
We started walking, and walking, and walking, looking for a familiar landmark. Oy. Struggle. Soon we were quite lost. Ha! The kids were being quite the little troopers until Seth decided he was done walking. He started doing that limp-noodle thing until I was basically dragging him down the sidewalk. If any of you know Seth in real life you know he's a big boy. He's no lightweight. Hannah and I had already taken turns carrying him and Hava quite a bit, and at that point he just really needed to walk. But he wouldn't. He sat down on the sidewalk and started screaming his lungs out. I didn't know what to do, so I did the “Okay, Mommy's leaving..bye bye…” thing (which rarely works with Hava and NEVER works with Seth. He calls my bluff every time) and Seth continued to park it and scream, much to the amusement of everyone passing by. Again, quite the sight to behold, I'm sure.
Enter the Babushkas.
Two little old ladies walked up to Seth and started rattling off in Russian. I'm not sure what they were saying, but they were apparently trying to convince him to stand up. They were tugging at him, pulling at him, talking and talking and talking to him as I stood back laughing way too hard to be considered a good parent. Seth was not havin' it. He only started screaming louder and louder. “Who are these people?? What are they saying? What have I gotten myself in to???” Then one of the Babushkas started digging around in her bag and pulled out a piece of candy. She offered it to Seth- in exchange for him standing up…which worked. OF COURSE! Seth grabbed that candy, stood right on up, wiped his tears, and marched over to Mommy, “I eat my candy now???” OMG.
Hannah and I were dying. We were laughing so hard. Only NOT in the US would a total stranger walk up to your screaming toddler on the street and bribe him with candy. It was amazing. In that moment I was so stinkin' thankful for that Babushka! She saved my life. 😉 I told Seth he couldn't eat his candy till he walked all the way to the bus. Oh yeah, I got some mileage out of that bribe. You better believe it! Oh I love Ukraine.
Eventually we found a bus number I recognized, made it home, and settled in to a cozy weekend of fun with our Hannah.
Stay tuned for the rest of our weekend adventures!

 

How it Went Down

Posted on by kimnjed

We are here! We are here! Holy, moly, the outpouring of support has blown us away. We feel so loved and spoiled! Our friends and family rock. So many Viber messages, so much facebook encouragement, so many emails. Thank you all for loving us so well.

Here's how it went down.

Portland:

We said goodbye to my family and it was p-a-i-n-f-u-l. Picture Addy clinging to the window, sobbing as our family walked away and you'll be able to picture the level of sadness. Our family has so fully released us to this and we know it is hard. I can't imagine how we could even do this if they didn't let us know that they are behind this 100%. Thank you dear fam for letting us go. WE LOVE YOU!

We were feeling rather pathetic, so we hurried off to distract ourselves with a long security line. That line made us want to poke our eyes out, so the other sadness was forgotten for a bit. It felt like all we had ever known was that line and our 4 roller carry-ons + 5 backpacks + 1 guitar. All time stopped and we were lost in the vortex of shoe-taking off, pocket-emptying, luggage-heaving, and luggage-scanning and re-scanning. Did I mention the miracle that we got to check all 12 bags ALL THE WAY to Kiev, and 7 of them were a couple pounds overweight and they made us pay nothing? Oh the cheering that rang out at the American Airlines ticket counter!! Did I also mention that TSA officers have a knack for opening the bags stuffed with loose legos? Yep, they chose the lego bags without fail. Hehe…it was like an explosion of legos every time. Annnnnd it never stopped being funny.

Flight #1

This flight was pretty uneventful. As we were heading down the runway I explained to Havalah that we have to go really fast before we go up in the air. She said “Oh, when we start to drive really fast will our hair blow back?” 🙂


Chicago:

TSA really had a ball with our luggage this time. They must have scanned Ezra's backpack 4 times. I think the nerf gun bullets were the culprit…or maybe the scary shark toy? I guess it will always remain a mystery.

We ate some yummy food, took a train, changed terminals and we were off again!

Flight #2

This was the biggie. We were flying from Chicago to Istanbul and it was a 10 hour doozy. The kids did AWESOME!!!! They really couldn't have done better. We watched movies, ate, and slept. I won't bore you with all the details…

 
Istanbul:

Before we arrived in Istanbul we explained to the kids that when we got off that plane we wouldn't be in America anymore, so they needed to expect things to be different. The first sign of different was when we went through the security check. O.M.G. As Havalah went through the x-ray scanner deal-io the TSA officer (a woman) grabbed Havalah and started smothering her face with kisses. HAHAHA!!! It was so awesome. She was going on and on in Turkish, grabbing, kissing, talking, more kissing. At that point we were certain we weren't in Oregon anymore. Seth got the same smooch treatment and we were on our way. I'm not sure they took note of anything in our bags, they were just too enamored with our kids. I loved every second of it, and Hava and Seth didn't seem to mind it much either. 🙂

Flight #3:

This flight was less than 2 hours long, so I don't have much to say about it. Quick and painless, and before we knew it we were in Kiev! The feelings as we touched down in Ukraine were like nothing I've ever felt before. Jed and I met eyes and were like “Holy cow. We did it. We made it. God did this. After 3 years of dreaming, we are here- with our kids. WOW.”

Kiev:

Once we got down to baggage claim in Kiev we were in good hands. We looked out the glass doors and could see a group of our dear friends from the Kiev Vineyard waiting for us, waving and smiling. YES!!! All we had to do was get our bags from the carousel to the door and then we had many hands hugging us and helping us. Praise God for the Body of Christ. Praise God for family in Kiev. We love them so much!

Want to know the biggest miracle of all? ALL 12 BAGS MADE IT TO KIEV. Jed and I were literally whooping with joy when we grabbed the last bag off the carousel. It was definitely a moment to celebrate. 🙂

Our friends helped us to the van we had hired and we were off on the road to Zhitomir! All the kids except Seth fell asleep on the two hour drive, so that was easy peasy. When we arrived at the house our friend Oleg was waiting with keys to let us right in. He even brought food for breakfast this morning! All our friends here made us feel so loved and welcome. Then we logged online and all our friends from the US were cheering us on like crazy! It's like one ginormous hug fest and we are loving every second of it. Thank you, dear ones, both near and far.

All in all, the travel couldn't have been more perfect. Tomorrow I'll show you pictures of the house, so stay tuned! Woot! 😉

We are so unbelievable thankful that God has brought us this far. He has covered every single detail. It just goes to show you that the children we've come to serve are so stinkin' dear to His heart. He will stop at nothing to have His way. He will stop at nothing to bring light into darkness. All of this is for His glory. He continues to pave the way and we simply can not wait to see what He has in store next. He is changing the atmosphere and softening hearts. He is opening eyes and we are humbled to be His hands and feet in this place.

To God be ALL the glory for the great, amazing, fantastic, unbelievably good things He has done.

 

On Bravery

Posted on by kimnjed

 

My kids have a strange phobia of escalators.

 

When presented with an escalator their eyes grow huge, they back away slowly…hanging on to Mommy for dear life. They would choose an elevator over an escalator any day.

 

These kids- the same ones who will happily take on Space Mountain and California Screamin' with a smile on their faces are totally, illogically scared out of their minds when it comes to escalators.

 

That would be fine and I wouldn't care at all, except the teeny weeny fact that we're moving to Ukraine next month. Ummmm have you seen how you get down to the subway in Ukraine???

Ummm…yeah…our little fear of escalators just isn't gonna cut it.

 

So, today we practiced!

We faced our fears

We helped each other when they were afraid

And we conquered!

We are so brave!!!

Bam! Take that escalator!
Brace yourself, Kiev Metro. We're comin' for ya.
 
PS: Our t-shirt fundraiser is still going on! You have till October 31st to help us reach our goal of selling 50 shirts. Click this link to buy your shirt or sweatshirt today!
https://www.bonfirefunds.com/wide-awake-international/?r=14098

 

45 Days

Posted on by kimnjed

We leave on a jet plan in 45 days. Holy moly. How in the world? I can't believe it. Did I mention one-way tickets? Anywaysssss….

 

In honor of 45 days remaining here in the good ol' US of A, here are 45 thoughts.

1. It's pretty cold here in Montana. When we left for this road trip on September 13th it was kind of hard to guesstimate how the weather would change before our return to Oregon on October 6th. Let's just say that by not packing any long-sleeved shirts for my family I was less than successful at guesstimating correctly.

2.

Staying with Jed's fam is so fun. The kids and I get 10 whole days with Jed's sis Jessy and her fam. I love my sister. I am happy. 🙂

3. Last Thanksgiving we brought 6 boxes of books and keepsakes to Montana to store in a garage. Today we found the boxes and went through them and I found a box full of books I've been looking for!!! It was like Christmas! Those books were never supposed to come to MT. Oh happy day!!

4. We've eaten a whole heckofalotta ice cream on this trip. (and by “we”, I mostly mean “me”) My body is very, very angry with me. So are my jeans.

5.

When we left Great Falls we had to say goodbye to Jed's wonderful grandma. She is the biggest prayer warrior I know. She prays for us every.single.day. We are so blessed to be her kids. Sniff sniff…
6. I'm still curious how our visa situation is going to work out. I know God's got it, but it's a tad hard not to worry. If you want to pray about that it would be really awesome of you.
7. If you haven't seen the movie “The Way, Way Back” you are missing out. I think it might be one of my all time faves. I keep telling everyone about it. Go watch it, okay?
8. There's a vintage clothing store here in Billings that I adore. So many skirts, too little time.
9. I've been thinking a lot lately about what it will be like to raise our kids overseas. We've always wanted to raise our kids out of the US for at least part of their childhoods. I wonder what it will be like? I wonder how it will shape them? Exciting stuff!
10.
My kids are in cousin heaven right now. Just so ya know.
11. Jed leaves tomorrow for Colorado Springs to a Vineyard Missional Leaders Summit. He is so excited to build more relationship with missions peeps in the Vineyard. We are blessed he gets to go. Super coooool.
12. Yay for Fall!!! Yay for pumpkin goodness! Yay for afternoon coffee! Yay for gray skies and drizzling clouds! Yay for less sunshine beating down on my too white skin!
13. Another thing on my brain a lot lately is our family's evolving philosophy of education. I'm liking it A LOT.
14. I think I feel a home school post brewing!
15.
We miss our boys at Romaniv. Our hearts ache to get back to them.
16. The friends and supporters of Wide Awake are amazing. Thank you all for sharing the word, praying for us, loving us, and loving the children of Ukraine. We truly don't feel alone on this mission and are so giddy to be partnering with you.
17. Yesterday alone, three different friends from home texted me and included conversation about Dairy Queen in the texts. Does that mean I have a problem???
18. Only 45 days of Dairy Queen left. Hold me.
19. Twitter baffles me. I don't understand it, yet I feel like I'm a fairly bright person. Thanks goodness for my dearest Sarah who can tackle the twitter beast for me. I owe Sarah a blizzard.
20. Today Seth and I had our first real (for a 3-year -old) convo about adoption. We were looking at pics of when Havalah was born and when I put Seth down for his nap he said “Remember when I come out your tummy too Mommy?” I told him about when I came to the hospital and asked if he could be my baby. Precious, precious moments. We are so blessed to have our baby.
21. I love adoption. Beautiful.
22.
My mom's class sent us a Flat Stanley to take on the rest of our road trip. The kids are pretty excited!!
23. Running
24. Out
25. Of
26. Things
27. To
28. Say
29. Tonight we get to share Wide Awake at City Church of Billings. A group of people that love Jed and his sis are coming to hear what all the fuss is about. Yay for bringing Wide Awake into Montana territory!
30. Another thing mulling around in my brain: I wonder which friendships will survive and thrive when we move away, and which ones will kind of fall off the map? I wonder if we'll be surprised at which ones keep on keepin' on? I wonder if I'll do a good job at loving on my friends from far away? I hope I do well.
31. I never really knew what all the fuss was about concerning CS Lewis. I never thought I was smart enough or “deep” enough to read his works. I'm just now really discovering him for the first time and I get it.
32. Read this: http://www.inhisname.org/give-all.html
33.
I got to go on a date with this guy today. I'm the luckiest wife eva.
34. As of today I'm officially unemployed.
35. Jed's last day at work was the day before we left on this trip.
36. That means we're both unemployed. Scary. Weird. Relieving. Scary. Faith-building. Eek!
37. Salem Hospital was good to me. I worked there for all of the 12 years I've been an RN, minus a brief 9 month stint in Corvallis. My boss for the past several years was the BEST.
38. The girls in this family need serious hair-trimming attention. Good thing Jessy can do it for us.
39. I'm not sure Havalah's hair is capable of growing any longer than it is right now.
40. I'm not sure Havalah's body is capable of growing any bigger than it is right now. 😉
41. Speaking of hair. We just took a jaunt down memory lane, recalling the time when Addy got a mullet. Hahahahahaha! That's what you get when you go to Great Clips in Montana. Kidding, kidding! (sorta)
42. My view right now:
43. And now…
44. And now!
45. I'm surrounded by cuteness and life is gooooooood. 🙂

 

Along the Way

Posted on by kimnjed

Welp, we're in Montana now. 🙂

We arrived in Great Falls on Friday after a loooooong day of driving through nowheresville Idaho, a drive through part of Yellowstone, a stopover at a very cheap interesting motel, and another morning of driving. With all of us stuffed in a car, quarters are preeeeetty close and comfy. We've been listening to the audiobook of Pinocchio and it's so funny! I'd only ever seen the Disney cartoon and the book is of course so different and so weird. With Pinocchio, a steady stream of Pimsleur Russian, and our favorite albums we don't get too terribly bored. All that said, we are super happy to be out of the car and in Montana spending lots of quality time with the cousins and Jed's grandma. We are so blessed!

Here's some pics from along the way:

Seth calls this his Mickey Mouse pose. Hmmmm?

Havalah and her Playmobils. Inseparable.

Showin' off the faves.

Addy is my VERY close car companion... 🙂

We ate in a covered wagon! Note the creepy animals...only in good ol' Montana!

Ridin' a bear in West Yellowstone

Look! Elk! (Sorry about the stranger in the corner...I'm not in a photo editing mood)

BOYS!

GIRLS!

Listening to the accordion with the cousins at GG's

Girly cousins. Addy looks just a wee bit frightening!

The little boys. Cuteness!

 
 

Either on Tuesday or Wednesday we'll head to Jed's sister and her fam in Billings, MT. This trip has been super wonderful so far! Jed is feeling quite a bit better, so thanks for the prayers!