Coming home!

We are cleared to come home!!!! After a hectic two days running around getting Dima's passport and then doing his medical and then going to the Embassy to submit his paperwork and then again the next day to do the interview, Dima has a visa and is allowed to leave with me!! We are so excited, to say the least! Today, Galya, Dima, and I walked around and basically just "hung out". It was so good and relaxing to not have to do anything! Tomorrow, there is a team coming from our home church to do some mission work in some of the orphanages. Dima and I will hang out with them sight-seeing and talking with them. It will be a great way to end our trip. Our flight will leave at 11.45 AM Sunday from Kiev, and will land around 10.20 PM Sunday night in Louisville. When you add in the 7 hour time change, it makes it almost a 24 hour day. But at least we will be home and seeing our family and friends.

Well, the weather here has turned really cold (high 40's-50's), at least really cold for sleeveless shirts and flip-flops! I have been wearing my one non sleeveless shirt layered with my one "I'm not going to need this for a summer trip but will take it anyway" sweater and my thin rain jacket for the last couple of days. Add to that a wool scarf I received as a gift the other day and I am sure I am making a great fashion statement walking around wearing this outfit with my flip-flops! I of course sent my socks and tennis shoes home with Dave thinking that I wouldn't need them! Oh well. I hear that it is nice and warm in Kentucky.

I hope everyone is doing well at home. I can't express how much I miss everyone! The last couple of days have been hard and very tiring. I have basically come home and gone to bed when Dima went to bed. Tonight, I had to do laundry and make one last batch of Borscht (yummy!!) and write this post. Otherwise I would already be getting my Zzzz's!

Well, I better be off to bed for now. Tomorrow promises to be a busy day with the mission team. But before I go, I will leave this funny story (at least it is funny for me now!). For all of you who know all the crazy and abnormal things that happened before we left and even while on this trip, here is another. Yesterday, while waiting for our interview at the Embassy, Galya and I walked along St Andrew's Street looking at Souvenirs. We stopped at one of the kiosks and looked at the things one of the ladies was selling. While looking, I kept feeling a sharp stinging sensation on my hip, but couldn't figure out what was happening or what was causing it. I even bent down the waist of my skirt to see if there was anything. Nothing. Finally, after yet another sting, I felt and then saw a bee crawling around under my skirt around my waist. When I tried to get it out by once again folding down the edge of my skirt's waist, I realized that the bee was in between the outer layer of the skirt and the "slip" portion. How in the WORLD did it get up there?!?!? After realizing that there was only one way to get this bee out along a crowded and very public street, Galya and the lady at the kiosk began lifting the outer layer of my skirt all the way up to the waist to let this bee out. Soooo, to those of you taking notes of things that have happened to us, you can now add getting my first bee-sting in over 20 years and also flashing the many passer-buyers along the souvenir street, both of which happening on a trip already filled with many firsts and "never been seen before"s. Oh well. I guess it wouldn't be me if it wasn't interesting!

Much love to you all!
Candace