Trip to Ukraine 23-29 Jan.

At the airport- Gardemon, Norway

Vanessa, Lisa, Victor, Patrick & me

At the airport- Gardemon, Norway

Vanessa & Lisa

At the airport- Gardemon, Norway

Patrick & I

At the airport- Gardemon, Norway

Andrey

Vanessa waiting eagerly to board the plane

Lisa going to board the plane

Victor & Vanessa on the plane from Oslo to Vienna

Lisa on the way to Vienna

View from the plane near Vienna

View from the plane near Vienna

View from the plane near Vienna

Victor & Patrick on the plane to Dnepr

Andrey & Vanessa on the plane from Vienna to Dnepr

At Babushka's & Djedushka's place

Lisa, Victor, Vanessa & Patrick on uncle Igor's bed watching cartoons

At Globa park

Lisa, Domi (5), Julie (8) & Vanessa

At Globa park

Jan & Michal

Patrick at the 4d movie & game machine senter

Patrick with Julie (8), Victor & Danny (8)

Dnepr home

Vanessa & Vlada (10)

Dnepr home

Patrick, Julie (8), Victor & Danny (8)

Dnepr home

Vanessa, Vlada (10), Lisa with Domi (5), Christoffer (8), Timy (12), Ella (12), Ola (11), me & Mira

Dnepr home

Vanessa, Vlada (10), Lisa with Domi (5), Christoffer (8), Timy (12), Ella (12), Ola (11), me & Mira

Dnepr home

Domi (5), Victor (5), Vlada (10) & Vanessa

Dnepr home

Lisa, aspiring ping pong champion

Dnepr home

We left at 4:30 am on the 23rd (Thursday) to the airport. My brother Danny drove us, through snow & slippery roads. We'd taken all our personal luggage as hand luggage so that we could bring clothes to the home in Dnepr. There were no big lines, so we were able to check in easily. Each of us, kids included, had a small suitcase on the plane, so they pulled those around through the airport.

Because of the snow & ice, after boarding, they drove the plane to an area where it was spayed down with some cheminals to take away ice & prevent freezing. They had a whole train of snow plows on the runways continually clearing them. Vanessa & Patrick have never been on a plane, so they were naturally excited about it! We got food on the plane: eggs with ham & buns, vanilla pudding, drinks (as much as you want.. which the kids made good use of by pushing the button for the stewardess to come & give them more juice).

We were late landing in Vienna, so we had to run to catch our connecting flight to Dnepr.. Andrey left me at the customs control while he ran to our gate to get them to hold the plane. We made it! And it was funny to see, as soon as we got on the bus that would take us out to the plane you could see the change of styles. The women, all with high heel boots, fur coats, tons of makeup & their hair all done up.

The plane from Oslo to Vienna was very full, but this one to Dnepr was half empty, so it was more relaxing. The kids could sit where they wanted to, and they didn't need to wait as long for food & drinks.. this time we got a special box with food, as they didn't have us registered on this flight til the last minute. There were olive breadsticks, salami sticks, cream cheese, chocolate & dark bread.

I haven't visited Ukraine the whole time since we moved to Norway in May 2006, & I expected that things had probably changed for the better, as when we left there were lots of new building sites & roads being fixed. But I found it to be exactly the same. Starting with the runway.. bumpy.. holly.. You really get a culture shock right away. It took me a couple of days to get used to things again.

At the airport the customs guys saw all our suitcases & pulled me over, maybe thinking to get something from us "rich foreigners", but another guard came up & told them to leave us alone as we have 4 kids. Waiting for at the arrivals gate was Andrey's brother- Igor, & Micha, Dana & Jan from the Dnepr home. It was good to see them!

The guys from the home picked up the suitcases for them & then we went with Andrey's brother to their parent's place where they were all waiting for us: Babushka, Djedushka, Zenia, Babushka Lida.. They got to see Lisa & Victor in December when Andrey travelled to Dnepr, but they hadn't seen Vanessa since she was 3, & Patrick since he was a baby. It was a happy family reunion!

We spent the rest of our time there visiting with Andrey's family & the home in Dnepr. I enjoyed the trip very much, & the so did the kids. They had tons of fun with the kids in the home! They were already planning our next trip when we left.

We had a smooth trip, & felt that it went better than expected!

All set

We're all set. I've been cleaning, sorting, de-clutering, washing clothes, putting them away & getting everything in order for our trip. And noe the time has come. Can't believe we're actually all gonna go on this trip. Again, so glad for Andrey's huge discount, otherwise we wouldn't even consider taking a week trip & spending what our tickets would cost full price.

The kids have been so patient these last days. They've had to work, work, work on the homework & trying to do some school work ahead, as they're expected to keep up with what their class covers while they're gone. But now they can relax & take it easy. They're all so excited. This will be the first time Patrick & Vanessa are on a plane.

I'm not really nervous, except for the part of actually flying. Otherwise I figure that if we forget anything, we'll do without for that week, or get it while there.

On the way home from school

Patrick (3), Victor (8), Vanessa (6) & Lisa (9)


Lisa (9) & Vanessa (6)


Vanessa (6)

Lisa (9)

Victor (8) & Patrick (3)

Lisa (9) & Vanessa (6)

Patrick (3)

Real winter weather

Weather, world situation

It's been plus 5-7c the last few days, with sunshine, birds singing & a real feel of spring- even though it's the middle of January. Global warming affects! I started wishing for spring, but then caught myself realizing there's still another 1,5 of winter.

With the fighting in Gaza, there have been several demostrations here that became violent, with young people just using it as a chance to vandalise town. So sad, instead of focussing on getting the people in power to work on helping to resolve things there, they're talking about the violence here. And when did violence ever bring peace?

I am praying for resolution there to stop the pointless loss of life. It's not the people fighting who're suffering, but the poor civilians, who have no choice.

This & that..

I took down the remainder of the Christmas decorations today. The place looks so empty.. I guess the contrast. But today we picked up a wall picture that I ordered online. Japan Photo has a site where you can make photo albums (hard & soft cover), gifts & wall pictures on canvas from a photo. So that helps to decorate the wall.

The kids will be starting ski school from next week. Once a week they go to a ski hill (if there's no snow, they have snow-making machines.. or whatever you call them) & have an instructors who teach the kids to ski. They do this almost every year, so if they learn the basics one year, they can continue to get better. This year we'll be having 3 kids up on the slopes.

I've started doing Tae bo again. My attempts to loose those extra kilos. "Haven't had the time til now".. standard excuse, but now I do it, whether I am dead tired. Andrey got the boot camp set for Christmas. Tried the first part & found it easier & slower than the other advanced one we would do.. where you feel like dying while you do it.

Other than that.. I am looking forward to the week-end with the kids. I have decided to get some games & puzzles up from storage & set aside some of the girls' toys that they've grown out of to give away. We always manage to find someone who is thrilled to get their "grown out of" toys.

Have a good week-end!

Russian proverbs

A fly cannot enter a closed mouth.

A kind word is like a Spring day.

A word of kindness is better than a fat pie.

Absentmindedness is searching for the horse you are riding.

An egg is dear on Easter day.

Beat your own and others will fear you.

Eat what is cooked; listen to what is said.

Fear has big eyes.

Fear the goat from the front, the horse from the rear, and man from all sides.

Having a good wife and rich cabbage soup, seek not other things.

If the pocket is empty, the judge is deaf.

Let everyone pick his own nose.

Pray to God but continue to row to the shore.

Small children give you headache; big children heartache.

Tell God the truth, but give the judge money.

There's no harm in wine; it's drunkenness that is at fault.

You cannot ride two horses with one ass.

You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.

Quotes..

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins. ~Bob Moawad

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage - pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically - to say 'no' to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside. The enemy of the 'best' is often the 'good.' ~Stephen Covey

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts. ~Samuel Johnson

When you feel dog tired at night, it may be because you've growled all day long. ~Author Unknown

There's a saying among prospectors: "Go out looking for one thing, and that's all you'll ever find." ~Robert Flaherty

It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument. Author: William Gibbs McAdoo

Plans..

We're hoping to all visit Dnepr (UA) towards the end of the month. Our plan is to take all our personal lugage as carry on, so that we can bring as much as possible to the home there. It'll be the first time for me to visit since moving here, so I'm looking forward to it! Andrey's family haven't seen Patrick (3) since he was a baby.. so it'll be his first real meeting with them. Vanessa (6) doesn't remember much either, apart from pix she has seen of them. It's nice to have the option of travelling like this with Andrey's "job perks", otherwise we wouldn't bother with the huge expense it would be to just spend a week there. So we're making plans & pr that everything falls into place.

Happy Birthday Danny!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

New Year resolutions

This year will be a year of preparing for moving. We won't move this year, but we will be actively working toward preparing for it. When we first decided to stay in May 2006, we thought we would only stay for 1 or 2 years. But it couldn't be rushed. There are things that we had to go through to bring us to where we are now.
There are many things I know I will miss: living close by my family (not everyone gets to have almost their whole family in one city). But I will not miss the family feuds, misunderstanding, hurt feelings, arguements. It's sad that so much time has to be taken up with that, but I guess that happens in families.
But I think my perspective has changed a little knowing that this is the last year here. I won't take things so close to heart. At the end of this year I want to look back & be happy & not feel that it was all wasted fighting.
So this year I will be setting goals & make changes towards that.

Ice-skating

Victor (8)


Patrick (3)



Lisa (9)

Vanessa (6)

New Year's eve

-11c on New Year's in the morning



Beautiful, sunny, but freezing weather New Year's eve



Small snowflakes formed a rainbow in the sunlight







We took a short walk: Lisa, Vanessa, Victor & Patrick


Vanessa, Victor, Lisa & Patrick in -11c




Sunset on New Year's eve




Lisa dressed up for New Year's eve


Vanessa dressed up for New Year's


New Year's: Victor, me, vanessa, Patrick & Lisa


New Year's: Patrick, Andrey, Victor, Vanessa & Lisa


New Year's dinner- Lamb in a wine/coconut milk/tomato/curry sauce with rice & stir fried veggies
Lisa, Andrey, Patrick, Victor & Vanessa


New Year's dinner- Patrick, Victor & Vanessa


Candle light service- Vanessa




Candle light service- Lisa & Vanessa


Candle light service- Andrey

Lisa, Vanessa & Victor after watching fireworks outside

Sydney's fireworks

London's fireworks