I am sure that all of you are on pins and needles waiting to know about my condition. I am feeling much better today. The headache is better, the green goop is clear, the stomach aches are less and the fever is gone. Unfortunately Jon has also been having the same symptoms so he received his very own Z-pack last night. He too is feeling better today. I even made him study for Social Studies and take a test, yes, on Thanksgiving holidays! So, there isn’t much news today because I am the head news maker in the family, Jerry is just too boring, but hey, I love him. Sergey was able to get Jake’s registration number so all of that is settled. While he and the deputy director were buzzing around Vasilivik taking care of that, Jake and Jerry were hanging out just being together. Word has CLEARLY gotten around school that we are here to adopt Jake. Now when we show up the kids automatically just go run and call for him. We did find out that there are only about 30 orphans that attend this school. The rest are kids that have families and live in the village. Today Svetlana (AKA Fitz-Lanna) told Jerry the sweetest thing. She looked at Jake and said that she was so happy for him and that she was sure that he belonged with us. She told Jerry that he is happier than she has ever seen him and that he even looks like Jerry and that could only be from God! Oh, I will treasure this lady in my heart forever. She is so very, very dear to us for all the things she has done. The boys played football, munched on McDonalds and just hung out. Jake is really beginning to show affection to Jerry. Today there were lots of hugs and pats, and laying his head on Jerry’s shoulder and just gentleness and a few funny pics on the cell phone for Mom and Jon. But he still needed mama today!! Once Jerry got home the phone was ringing and Jake wanted to talk to Mama. I was on the phone with my buddy and Jake told Jon to tell me to hang up and talk to him. I’m telling you ever since we met him, he is like a man on a mission! Nothing gets in that boy’s way! We did to peek into his past through some documents that were found. I do not want to go into detail but I will tell you that this child is truly a survivor. We are blessed to have him whole and strong. God has protected this child tremendously. He has preformed works that only He could do. Tomorrow I feel like making the ride so we are all getting up at the crack of dawn, 8 am, to head out. Sergey has to approach the judge again. Poor Sergey, its like going before the poster girl for PMS!! He needs one of the original documents that she has in order to apply for a passport for Jake. Who knows if she will give it to him or not. If not we have to make a trip to the end of the Earth again. Jerry finally asked someone why the judge was just so grumpy, and they told him that she had just finished divorce #2—if she would like for me to give her some insight I will be MORE THAN HAPPY to do so. Somehow I don’t think she will be asking. She did finally ask Sergey something about us today. She wanted to know how many times we had visited Jake and how long we had known him. When Sergey told her, she did seem to soften a little. Now mind you it is like watching ice melt, but ANYTHING is better than what she has been. Oh, I forgot Jon and I have projected date as to when we hope to come home. If all goes as planned we should be on a plane homeward bound on Dec. 4th. Everything is ready for us to leave after court. Jerry will stay in country and wait for the final items to be completed and hopefully the Williams family will all be home by Christmas. Please pray with us for that to happen. I would love to have all my little chickens in the nest by that time. Jon and I are so excited about getting home. Our own beds, bathrooms with full size toilets, Jon’s toys… Oh we can’t wait. Look I am serious, we even have a LIST of places that we want to eat at!!!! I hope Mi Toro has a bowl of cheese dip the size of a bath tub cause that’s what we want. Dinner Bell better be locating the largest, most tender steak they can find. Oh, and lettuce. I may just stand at the salad bar and eat straight from the bowls!!! China Palace should be equally prepared as they are going to lose some money when we hit the buffet! I just want to drive around and be waved at, well if I still remember how to drive. I would love to just walk through Wal-mart and talk to random people. I hope to visit Walgreen’s and read every label and not wonder if I am get shampoo or Metamucil. I plan on taking a shower in water that doesn’t smell like a lake. I want to go to Kroger and just go up and down every row just looking and being able to actually read the labels without the help of a dictionary. I want, desperately, law have mercy yes I do, desperately want to sink my teeth into a Jack’s bologna and biscuit and have butter ooze out all over my hands and just scoop it up with the grits. Oh mercy me, I might sale Jerry for a bowl of grits right now! Add some chocolate gravy and biscuit and you would have yourself your very own Jerry Williams. I miss the smell of fresh air and I know that scents of Christmas are everywhere. Mama better get the cookie sheet ready cause that is the first thing Jon wants. I bet every radio station is playing Christmas music and all the great Christmas movies and cartoons are about to start playing. It won’t be long before the choir has their performance either. Salvation Army volunteers will soon be ringing bells and hopefully listening to the sound of change being dropped in their red buckets. Everybody will be hustling and bustling getting goodies ready and talking about how they don’t have their shopping done and how busy they are and how there is just not enough time in the day, and they wouldn’t have it any other way! Christmas trees filled with ornaments that bring back tons of sweet memories, cooking in Mom’s kitchen with the kids watching movies and playing together, wrapping paper, gifts, decorating, parties, candy goodies, love and being loved. Having a place to call home and celebrate the birth of Jesus openly and fully and with excitement and joy and at peace, giving gifts and seeing the joy on each other’s faces as they are opened and trying to imagine what joy God must have watching His children celebrate His most precious gift to us. Oh, I am homesick, not really for things, but for what life is like in America. For what we are able to enjoy and do and call tradition. Well I have rattled on long enough to get my eyes weepy. We do have good news. Our friends, the Underwoods, have made it to Ukraine, and are in Kiev. They will arrive by train tomorrow night and be here for Thanksgiving. God is so very good. We love them and they have been on this journey as long as we have. They are here to adopt #2 to add to their household of 4. We are going to have a Thanksgiving Par-tay! Hopefully Sergey will have time to join in and eat some turkey (actually its chicken but we hope to find a REALLY large chicken) We might even watch the egg bowl in the wee hours of the morning, maybe the cowbell won’t wake the neighbors because I KNOW we will be ringing that baby a lot!!! Lots to do lots to do! Remember to save us some pecan pie cause there are NO pecans in Ukraine and give each other big hugs and kisses. Toodles for now, gonna take my medicine and hit the sack dreaming of a waiter with an armful of mexican goodness and those words I long to hear…”Hot plate, hot plate!”
