A Beautiful Day in Kyiv

By majority vote today we had church at home. Vitalik chose the passage we would study and he chose Ephesians 6:1; perhaps because it is the one with which he is most familiar. We backed up a few verses and read about wives and husbands and children and parents. What a beautiful picture to both boys of what a godly family should look like. Then we continued reading about spiritual warfare. Vitalik remembered these passages from our visit to Holy Trinity Presyterian 2 weeks ago. We talked about who our enemy was and the kids drew pictures representing the armor of God.

Afterward we walked over to Kreschatik for Roman's first ride on the metro. This small town boy is unphased by the big city. You would have thought he had ridden the metro all his life. We met our friend, Zhenia, and took a river boat cruise. It was a perfect day for it.

Zhenia talked with Vitalik about some of the emotions he has been feeling lately. It was good to have someone around that he knew and trusted and could talk with openly. This was Zhenia's first time to meet Roman and he was impressed with the relationship that has already formed between the two. More and more everyday I see God's hand in the life of our growing family. After the river boat cruise we ate at McDonalds then got back on the metro and headed towards the World War II Museum.

Vitalik, Alexandra and I were able to climb Metal Mama and see Kyiv from a different perspective. Children under 14 are not allowed up so Zhenia stayed with Roman who enjoyed climbing on the tanks. I think Roman talked his ears off.

We enjoyed ice cream, the beautiful weather and perfect behavior. Vitalik was so protective of Roman on and around the metro. And Roman thouroughly enjoyed the sights of the city and never once complained. There are days when tension and stress rule; days when past hurts and insecurities reveal themsleves in a myriad of ways. Today was a reward for loving and pressing on through those difficult moments.

My beautiful daughter was her patient and cheerful self. I told her as we were walking back to the apartment, "this might be our last weekend in Ukraine." She sighed. As much as we miss home and can't wait to get back, especially to be with the rest of the family, we are going to miss this crazy place. There is just something about it that we love.

We stopped at the Pazata Hata for dinner before coming home then the boys zoned out with some computer games while Alexandra loaded pics on the computer and I talked with Colton and Gabe. The boys are given 2 hours of computer usage a day. When I announced the 2 hours were up, both signed off without a single question, whine, or pout. The day ended with all of us playing a game of Sorry. Hugs all around; lots of "I love you's" and then they scattered to their beds; to what I would bet is sweet, peaceful sleep. Everybody was happy. Everbody was tired. Everybody felt loved and hopeful and content. It was a beautiful day in Kyiv.