Run, run, run, run runaround

February 16- Monday
We woke up (I didn’t wake up early, surprise) when the kids called to talk. It is always nice to talk to them!! We are trying to find a time that we can call them when Elijah is awake. He really wants to talk to them, and I’m sure they want to talk to him, too.
Keith tried to finish packing while I updated our finance log. We quickly ate breakfast and caught a bus to meet Kostya at the courthouse.
He came out of the courthouse with our court decree in hand. Yippeee! We now have proof they are our kids.
We are now on our way, by taxi to Chencerovsky to pick up the birth certificates that have our names on as the girls’ parents. I thought it was the place they were born but apparently it is just the “county seat” type place and is not the place they were born. Kmelinetsly is the region-seat.
I brought the laptop so I could catch up on yesterday.
We are passing lots of pretty country. Little villages and towns and lots of farmland. Very charming and more to my style than the city with its tall buildings and mostly cement. The roads are very bumpy and Keith is car-sick, I’m close.
LATER…………
Wow, it has been a long day. We got to Chencerovsky and filled out the paperwork for the birth certificates. It will take an hour because there are so many of them. (We are in a 1.4 kid society). While Kostya was getting copies made and Keith was paying for it, I took Elijah outside and we watched a procession complete with band and 3 or so priests of some sort. Don’t know what it was for but it was fun to watch. I got a couple pictures of the little church there and the statue of Virgin Mary (I think that is what it was anyway). We walked to a little grocery store and got some treats to tide us over lunch.
It was bitterly cold. You weren’t out very long before it was biting your nose, ears and fingers. So we went back to the taxi to wait the last 15 or so minutes. When it was time we went back in. Nope, not ready, only half done. So back to the taxi for an hour. Still not done, but close. Sign the paper in a million places, make copies and we are off for Khmelinetsky.
Now, I’ve had to eat my words a lot and I’m getting used to it. Today, I had to do it again. I’ve heard stories of cab drivers here in Ukraine and I didn’t believe them. I have always felt safe in all the cabs I’ve ridden in Khmelinetsky. Well, I think Kostya, being perturbed that we had to spend that extra hour there, told the driver to get us back quickly. He was going really fast. He would drive down the middle of the road (less potholes). When a car would come (or a big truck, or a tractor) he would wander to our side of the road, but only barely. I couldn’t watch any more, I distracted myself with taking lots of pictures (some worked, some didn’t), and finally falling asleep. We made the 2 ½ hour trip the first time in just over 2 hours and coming home it only took an hour.
Let’s see if I can remember all of what happened next.
We went back to the apartment to pick up the pictures of the girls that we had forgotten. We went to the social security number place, made copies and got new numbers in about 20 minutes. More copies. Then we went to the notary’s office to have the copies of the birth certificates notarized as true and exact copies. While there Kostya dropped off copies at the social worker’s office. Then we went to a place to get the birth certificates certified. I stayed in the car with Elijah. Keith and Kostya went to the bank to pay the duty for the certification but the bank was closed. Back to the certification place. One of the employees offered to go to a different bank to pay it. 136.50 grivna. We had to have exact change so they came out to me to get it. They ended up changing some money with the cab driver. They called in that the duty had been paid and we got the certified birth certificates. At 6:20 they dropped me off at the church on their way to the train station so I could walk to the hotel at 6:45 to meet Sister Natasha and see the rooms. Keith and Kostya went to the train station to buy tickets for Kyiv on Sunday. Then they went to the grocery store to buy food. I was a little irritated that when we told Kostya we wanted to take the girls out of the orphanage tomorrow he asked us “What about a going away party.” Ok, that would have been nice to know that they do going-away parties. But, we bought food and balloons that we are going to take tomorrow for a party. So it was ok. I guess the thing that irritates me is that we only get part of the information we need to know to be able to make decisions and even then we only get it at the last possible moment. Ok, now that I got that off my chest……… LOL
They picked me up at the hotel and then we came back to the apartment, starving. And very tired.
I tried to upload pictures but for some reason it won't let me.