On Our Own For The Weekend

With no official duties pending, Nataliya was given a couple days off. Her birthday is Sunday so, she took the train back to her home city to spend time with her husband. As you know, Yuri is visiting his Babushka for the weekend. So, with Yuri and Nataliya gone for the weekend, Renee and I have a couple days to ourselves. We plan to catch up on rest, reflect on where we've been, and do a little planning for the future--immediate and long term.

Fingerprints: We learned today we must definitely update our fingerprints. We hoped the Embassy might let us "squeak by" since our current prints expire so close to the day we hope to depart for home with Yuri. This means Renee and I will make trip to the US Embassy in Kiev to have our prints redone. We hear flights from Odessa to Kiev are very reasonable so, we'll check that out with a local travel agent. We hope to depart for Kiev as soon as we can after our court date on April 2.

Potential plans/schedule: Once the court date is over and we get our fingerprints updated at the Embassy in Kiev, Paul could fly back to Omaha, putting him home mid to late the week of April 2. Renee would return to Odessa and stay with Yuri through the 10-day waiting period. Then, bring him home via the US Embassy in Kiev where Yuri would be processed. Assuming the court in Odessa holds us to the full, 10-day waiting period, and depending on how quickly the Embassy can process Yuri (hours limited to: 9 - noon, M-F) we guess they could arrive in Omaha in mid April. We only share this with you to give you some idea of what we are thinking and what we might expect. We do our best to make plans but realize that ultimately none of this is in our hands. ;-)

Prayer Request - Continue to pray for Yuri and his family members this weekend. Patience and wisdom for Paul and Renee as we attempt to make plans in the coming days.

Below, is a photo of Yuri and his Babushka taken a two years ago when she visited the Internot. Thank you to Carolynn Lennard for emailing this image to us. The photo was taken by Kyle and Susie Lennard when they where here to pick up their adopted son, Cole. You can definitely see the family resemblance! Yuri looks so young only two years ago. (I love Babushka's hat.)


Today's Report - Yesterday, in rained lightly most of the day. Today, strong winds kicked up the dirt from the streets. The dust hung in the air like fog. Today's "to do" list was much like other recent days. Go to market. Check email. Do laundry. Compose blog. Renee works. In keeping with the cleaning theme, Paul tried out the Hoover vacuum today. It works, great! While Renee worked, Paul got in a quick work out then went for a two hour walk around the old city with camera in hand. Below, you can view our trip to the market.

Another Day, Another Market...

I don't recall the Russian name for this market but it translates into "new market". Judging by the photo above, it might not look new. That's because the "new market" is located behind a very old meat market.


Inside the meat market, is a large, pastoral mural showing farmers and their livestock. I guess it is appropriate subject matter for a meat market.


Ah, the meat market. I think you can find pretty much any kind of meat product you would ever want--or, not want. The vendors butcher their daily offering on counters right in front of you. It smells like it too. (Dr. Paul says the hams from the "smoked" section of the market are delicious.)


Mmm. Fresh ham hocks. Anyone hungry for lunch?


After passing through the meat market, you enter an open air courtyard. Here, you can shop for produce of all types. As well as, clothes, footwear, cleaning supplies, small appliances and housewares.

As you can tell from the images above, the produce looks great. I think Renee and I found a new source for fresh produce!