Bill's Birthday

February 8, 2012

Hi Everyone,

What a wonderful day we had today.  I felt like I was a stay at home Mom again.  I spent the whole day cooking a real American dinner for Bill's birthday.  I even made a lentil soup for the boys for their after school snack, and they all liked it.  Actually not all of them like lentils, but they liked everything else in it and the flavor.

For dinner we had baked chicken, potato salad, green salad with dressing, bread and a cake from a cake mix that I brought over from the States.  We learned that in Ukraine, when there is a celebration dinner, it is usually a 12 course meal, with many different potato and cabbage dishes.  Alex (Agape) asked the boys how they liked the American meal and to compare it to the 12 course meal, and they were all in agreement that they liked the American way.  Alex was thinking that it is probably easier on the stomach to have only a few different flavors in your stomach rather then a lot.  Something to think about.

The house parents and the boys bought Bill a cup with Happy Birthday Bill written on it and a lion made out of fire.  Very cool.  It will be a nice thing for Bill to bring home for the memories.  Alex and Vera also got Bill a present, but as of this writing he has not opened it.  I on the other hand got Bill nothing.  I told him his present from me was the dinner.

We have been trying hard to find just plain old potato chips.  There is every flavor here that you can imagine.  Tonight we opened a bag that was mushroom flavored.  Not good, and I like mushrooms!  I decided that they have so many different flavors because they eat so many potatoes anyway that they don't want just plain chips.

It has been real fun watching the boys and girls learn english.  Bill has been teaching his group the ABC song and we hear all the boys at times singing the words out loud and humming it to themselves; fun, fun, fun.  Sometimes one of them will approach one of us and ask us to help them finish because they are stuck at a certain spot.  Bill has one girl (Nadia), that apparently loves to talk during the lessons.  All I know is he maintains control because my group is never interrupted.

My group learned the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song today.  We had just a whole bunch of laughs.  Alona's English is getting better each day.  Even when we are not in class I am working with her on her sentences and I make her tell me or ask me in English rather then getting someone to translate.  She did tell me at the beginning that she wanted me to be hard on her.  I tell her all the time how proud of her I am.

Today while cooking at various times Alona or one of the boys would ask me what I was doing and the name of the ingredients.  I think they had fun watching things come together.  I thought the boys would just devour the chicken because they do not get whole pieces of meat.  Yes, they ate the chicken, but wow! they loved the lettuce salad.  For seconds they would heap the lettuce onto their plates.  Some of them were so full that they had a hard time eating cake.  It was fun to see their excited faces.

A funny for the day:  Yesterday while getting ingredients I found corn meal (so I thought).  I was really excited to be able to make corn bread.  When I was about to make it Alona asked me if I was going to boil the corn meal, and I said no.  From that comment I decided to taste the corn meal.  It was not powdery, it was crunchy.  Oh My, I have no idea how to make bread from that.  But, I remembered seeing what looked like real corn meal at the store.  So, Bill was out and about and I asked him to go get it for me.  Bill has Sasha with him and Alona told Sasha also what I was looking for.  Well, they came home with corn beads or something that I definitely do not know how to cook.  Alona said it was okay, she would show me what to do.

We are finally breaking through to Antone.  He is the boy that has only been here about two weeks.  He got here just before we did.  I try and hug him and there is no way he wants me to do it, but today he was comfortable enough to tell me he did not want any hugs.  He will let me touch his arm or pat his back and he will talk with me and smile and laugh and want me to help him with things, so I think that is progress.  Bill on the other had can put his arm around his shoulders and give him a hug that way and he is okay.  Still progress.

Sasha and Dima are our go to guys.  When we are trying to talk those two are the ones that usually figure out what we want.  And if one of the other boys wants to tell us something it is Sasha or Dima that can usually get across to us what they want.  Dima is better at the English talking and Sasha is better at the charades and typing on the translator.

We have not been able to do anything with the greenhouse yet.  The ground is so frozen we can not dig and it is so cold it would be dangerous to work outside breathing the cold air.  Last night the wind was horrible and there was a metal clanging outside.  Bill went out twice and could not figure it out.  There was no way he was going out a third time - it was that cold.

The boys are funny.  They like being warm, but some of them don't wear stocking caps because they don't like the way they feel on their head.  Some don't like the way the gloves feel on their hands, so they will spend time putting on the gloves then taking them off.

It is so great to be able to laugh so much with the boys and the house parents.  Even when we tell one of the boys no about something (usually drinking from a bottle instead of using a cup) it ends up in laughter.

Sorry, I just re-read what I wrote and I see that I jumped around from topic to topic a little bit.  Bill will tell you it is okay that is how I talk too.

Blessings,
Karen


O.K., it's my turn.  I just have one memorable thought to share.

I was asked this evening to sum up my 55 years of life in just a few words, and the words that immediately came to mind were "God has blessed me."  As I sit here reflecting on those words I realize just how true they are.

I was blessed to be brought into this world by two of the most incredible, smart, loving role models a child could ever ask for.  They provided me with everything I ever needed, and many many things that I just wanted.  They also taught me how to work hard, treat people fairly, be honest, and treat my family and friends with respect.

I have a terrific family!  Karen and I have now been married for 17 years, and I love her more every day.  How many men have a wife that will leave all of the comforts of home and go to Ukraine in the middle of the winter?  The kids have all grown up and are learning the ups and downs of life.  Each of them has a great heart, and I am proud of all of them.  I pray that I have passed along to them the characteristics that my parents taught me.  And we have grand-babies!  Words can not express how wonderful that is.

I have the best friends any man could have.  There isn't a day that goes bye that I don't thank God for my friends.

I am a member of a FANTASTIC church, where the people and Pastor's really care for me.  Never before have I felt such an abundance of love in one place.  Thank you Grace Place.

And finally, I have a God that knows me, and loves me.  A God that cares for me and provides for me.  A God that has honored us by allowing us to do His work, in Ukraine and at home.

As you can see, God really has blessed me, and I thank Him for those blessings.

Bill