Graduation 2008

I can hardly believe it but 3 of our kids have graduated from high school! Zhanna, Boris and Artyom are headed to a technical school to learn a trade. Sometimes I just have to ask myself - where did the time go?! Needless to say we are very proud of them! I believe they have a very bright future and we’ll do all we can to help them reach their goal. They along with the rest of the children are the future of Ukraine!

Better than going to the dentist is learning how to floss

This week we have a team here from Lansing Michigan and one of their events was to teach our kids how to floss. Fortunately, they brought with them plenty of flossing material. It took a few tries for the kids to learn just how much was needed to get between their teeth. After they heard some interesting stories of what can happen if you don’t floss, they all were motivated to floss daily. It’s just one of those things that kids need to learn and hopefully practice. The part they liked best was if they floss they would probably have fewer trips to the dentist. Going to the dentist here can be quite scary! The technology is a couple decades behind Western methods. Even I would not want to go to a dentist here!!

Flat Stanley visits the Ark!

Maybe you have heard of Flat Stanley? He recently visited the children at the Ark in Kiev. Unfortunately, Flat Stanley hasn’t been translated into Russian yet so I had to try and retell the story so our kids would understand just what in the world I was doing walking around with a piece of paper that looked somewhat like a person and was taking photos with the paper figure of Flat Stanley. Some of the kids thought I had finally lost my mind.

Nevertheless, Flat Stanley enjoyed lunch with the children and helped wash dishes afterwards. Then when the kids had a “party” night, Flat Stanley showed up and helped with the sound system and made a few announcements. He even sang a song or 2 for the kids and appeared in a dance contest. Needless to say Flat Stanley had a terrific time at the Ark and hopes to return one day and perhaps bring along his Ukrainian counterpart. All the kids look forward to that visit!

New blog!!

So many have asked me for more photos of the kids and of stuff in Kiev that I decided to start just a photo blog. A friend of mine here “just happened” to mention to me that she also started one. That was the jump start I needed to get it going! Thanks Marianna!!

You can check it out for yourself at  www.kodakmoments.wordpress.com

Please keep in mind it is in the infantile stages as I just started 2 days ago. So check back often for new photos.

Amazing talent!

If you are an animal lover or even if you appreciate interesting talents, then you will absolutely love this short video clip. Just click on the posted link, sit back and enjoy!!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1287932/video/R/CFD_1002/

Birthdays, end of school, busy busy busy

7 cakes and 7 kilos of ice cream later and this birthday “season” is finished! School is over for the summer and the kids are way too excited about that! It has been a wild couple of weeks. Throw in the fact that we’ve had quite a few guests come visit the Ark and it’s easy to see why I haven’t blogged much. Well, that’s my excuse anyway.

Seriously it has been a marvelous time with folks coming to help us at the Ark! Taking care of 12 acres and remodeling buildings while working with the children is sometimes a bit overwhelming. Thanks to our guests we have a good garden coming up, some remodeling finished and most of all the children received a lot of love. Now it’s time to prepare for the next group of guests arriving this month. We’re all looking forward to it!!

 

Getting uncluttered

Ok, I have been asked this question - “just what have you discarded in your 365 day clutter challenge?” So far I have tossed or given away - a broken remote, work schedules from 2004, hair brush, empty shampoo bottles (now sure why I was saving them!), pens that don’t write, broken vase that I thought maybe I could glue back together, an old unchargeable tooth brush, T-shirt, worn out zip-lock bags, a torn beanie baby, purse I didn’t use, shopping bags that were torn, 2 blouses I haven’t worn in 6 years, cassette player, souvenirs from Ukraine, empty box from laundry detergent (no idea why I was saving that!), a pair of jeans that are too small, and last but not least an old broken dog leash. I feel like I should say “and a partridge in a pear tree” - but it’s not Christmas…yet. It feels good to get rid of clutter and stuff that had been set aside thinking it might one day be useful.

Speaking of stuff that “might be useful” - I remember several years ago when the repairman came to fix the stove. The handle had to be pushed in to let the gas flow so the burner would light. Only problem was the handle wouldn’t push in. So the repairman asked me if I had a pen with a small spring in it. Yep, you guessed it! He took the spring and used that to fix the handle. Who ever would have thought a small thing like that would fix a stove handle?! So sometimes it does pay to have some “useful” clutter laying around. Only sometimes though!! How about you? Are you willing to take the 365 day clutter challenge?

Boris turns 17!

Birthday season is now in high speed! We have a birthday nearly every other day. On 21 May, we celebrated Boris’ 17th birthday. Boris has made great changes in his life and is now living with family members. He comes to school at the Ark and will complete 9th grade this year. Right now he plans to go to a technical school and learn auto mechanics. I’d say that’s quite some progress considering just 4 years ago he was living on the streets of Kiev. Praise God for His mercy and faithfulness! Go Boris!!

Take the clutter challenge!

 

 

 

Well a friend of mine in Kiev has silently encouraged me to accept the 365 day clutter challenge. Now I realize this can be quite a test  nevertheless, it’s one I choose to begin starting today! The rules I understand are quite simple -
Toss, Donate, or Sell one item from your home every single day for one year.
No rules. No advice.

Any other folks up for trying this? Today I pitched a broken remote control (minus the 2 batteries of course as they were still good).

They say it’s your birthday…

We have officially entered “birthday season” at the Ark! Why do I call it birthday season? Because in the next 30 days we will celebrate 9 birthdays. That will be a lot of cake and ice cream!! At the Ark we have 2 traditions -on your birthday you get to choose what kind of cake (homemade) you  would like and you get to go to lunch with Jane, Barbara and Zhanna (director of the Ark). Woo hoo lots of visits to Mickey D’s and pizza. For me one of the greatest joys is seeing the huge smile on their faces when we present the cake. There’s just nothing like it!! This past Saturday was Alla’s birthday. She’s 10 yrs old now and her smile is contagious. Just take a look at the photos and see the joy. All the kids rejoice with each other on birthday days. Can you tell we really emphasize birthdays at the Ark? It’s an important day because it is THE day God created them. So for the next few weeks you’ll be seeing and hearing more about birthdays. It’s a great time!