I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

On June 2nd, three Ukrainian children came through the airport terminal to meet us for the first time.  Billy and I were a little intimidated.  I mean we didn’t know what to do.  How do you greet someone that you do not know and can not speak the same language.  Do you run up and hug them?  Do you just smile and shake their hands?  What?

We soon found out that every one of the families standing with us had the same things running through their minds.  Maybe the kids did too.  We were introduced by the translator and had a picture taken before we headed to the car.

Just like that…..

We had three children for the summer.

 

You’ve seen this picture several times by now.  I always think that Vika looks so sad here.  They had traveled a long distance and I was told she had slept about 20 minutes the whole trip.  I knew she had to be exhausted, but she looked so very sad.  She stood next to the interpreter until the very last minute.  Once we walked away she slipped her tiny hand in mine and as I mentioned before, I had a heart meltdown.

I was glad to see that she perked up once we got settled in the car.

I look at this picture and laugh as I see that they ended up riding in the car in this same position most of the time they were here.

 

This was taken when we were headed back to the airport at the end of the three months.

The same seating arrangement.

They were being super silly here.

We had a great summer.  I was amazed at how well they picked up the English language.  When they first arrived they could say very few words.  Thank you very much was a phrase Vika said all the time.  Except she said it so cute, it was more like Zank you very much and would roll her r’s.  It was precious.

Billy and I had only learned one word from a friend of ours before the kids arrived.  That word was gnett.  I doubt I spelled that correctly.  But it means NO.  Yes is easy to get across, but no was nice to have in our vocabulary.   I remember the first time I said gnett, the kids were running around the pool and I was afraid someone would slip so I said it.  The kids almost stopped in their tracks as they looked up at me.  I think they thought I knew more of their language than I had let on.

It was probably like the day we were all in the car and a song came on the radio that Billy and I knew, we started singing to it.  The kids started singing too, in English.  Billy and I swung our heads around so fast it is a wonder we didn’t get whip lash.  It was strange.  They had learned one or two songs in English and they could sing them perfectly.  It was actually a wonderful thing.  We all smiled and kept singing.  Through the summer that happened more and more, songs were a great learning tool.

When I saw that they could learn the songs so easily I enrolled Vika and my granddaughter Layla in music camp at our church.  They were given a cd that contained all the songs they would learn that week.  Every time we went anywhere they wanted to play their music.  It just about drove the boys crazy.   But the girls had a wonderful week. That was another instance where she, Layla and I could all sing together in one language.  I can’t tell you how special that is when the rest of the day you can hardly understand one another.

The last day of the camp they shared a program with the families.  Layla and Vika were pretty goofy that night.  For one they were just exhausted from a full week, but that day after camp they played in the sprinkler, rode their bikes and and were just plain worn out.

They wore their sunglasses that afternoon in the car on the way to church.  They had them in their hands I guess when I ushered them inside.  I took my seat and was so excited, because after all…now I knew all the words to these songs too.

They both came out with their sunglasses on, I couldn’t help but get tickled even though I shouldn’t have.  They were really into the songs, and looked so cute.  I thought Artur and Vlad were going to crawl under the carpet.

As I go through my pictures I smile at all the fun things we did.  Most of them were things that weren’t even planned, they just happened.

Like when we found a huge patch of blackberries.

 

and picked several buckets together.

Except for Vika, she didn’t care for all the stickers. Notice her hand in the basket….she pretty much ate all the ones she picked while we were still busy.  Little stinker!

And one day I noticed Billy gathering tarps from the garage.  The next thing I know the kids were running in the house to put on bathing suits.  Seems Billy had made a home made slip and slide.

 

The kids had a ball.

I think the kids rode a million miles on their bikes.

 

We caught lightning bugs, tadpoles, frogs, fish….

 

Oh…and a big beautiful moth.

Billy and Vika danced in the den….

 

while Artur walked on his hands.

We made homemade banana splits

 

Snapped beans…..

and got caught in the rain.

 

Enjoyed family movie nights, complete with popcorn or ice cream for a treat.

And those were just a few of the things.

We got to see their silly side…..

 

Watch them pose for the camera

And enjoy the little things in life……

 

You get to know each other pretty well in three months.  Well to be exact it was 86 days. That adds up to a lot of good morning hugs and good night kisses. A lot of meals shared where conversations blossomed as we shared words from each others language.  A time when the kids started volunteering to pray out loud…..in English!

We all knew from the beginning that it was only for a limited time.  The kids were to start school as soon as they returned.  About a month before time to go back Vika got a little home sick.  Billy and I hung a calendar where she could reach it and mark a day off at a time with a marker.  About two weeks into marking the calendar she must have gotten over the homesickness.  She then started counting the days and would say, no Ukraine.

However the days continued to march on.  Billy and I teased that if the kids had acted worse the longer they stayed then parting wouldn’t have been so bad.  But instead the days just got sweeter and sweeter.

That dreaded day came, it was time to load the car and head to the airport.

 

We stopped on the way and ate some of their favorite food….yep…McDonalds.

The boys were making their famous sign for being crazy as they watch Vika drool over the Barbies in the display case.

 

They’re boys…they don’t understand girls.

We arrived at the airport, we all helped pull luggage out of the car.  I instinctively reached down to help with Vika’s biggest bag.  She looked up and said “it’s ok” as she took the handle.  I instantly remembered that she was independent like that when they first arrived.  She enjoyed the time I helped her with things through the months, but now it was time to be a big girl again.  I watched them walk toward the entrance.  Backs loaded with new book bags for school.  Stuffed with the treasures they accumulated while here.  Pulling heavy bags behind them.  Bags loaded with clothes and shoes for them and other children at their school.  They looked so small, so young, and yet I couldn’t help but think about how brave they were.

We visited for a while with the other families that had also hosted some children.  Every so often we would stop for another hug and a picture.

 

 

 

 

Trying to keep things light…and upbeat.

 

all of us just enjoying the moment….

 

Yet, wanting time to STOP…. for just a little while.

We gathered together for the last family pic to be taken….

 

It turned out a bit goofier than the first picture we had made three months earlier.

And then….

As quick as they walked into our lives.

 

Just like that…..they walked out……taking our hearts with them.

Please continue to pray for the next chapter of their lives.

Prayerfully it will be a forever home.