Back home again in Shpola!

Hello everyone! We are back in our small town Shpola. We enjoyed our stay in Cherkasy but missed our kids too much so we came back. I have to say that I did miss this town as well. Cherkasy is a very busy place. There were people everywhere and they all seemed to be in a big hurry. The sidewalks were filled with ice and snow and people push and shove to get by. They have no consideration for the elderly and you seen very few people smiling. However, we did love meeting up with the other Indiana families and talking about our experiences and our children. Our apartment there was very nice and I was able to take a bath everyday!!!:) So now we are back to the reality of no running water, two television channels and one restaurant. The streets are quiet and so much calmer here. It has a certain charm about it that I seem to like. We have meet some amazing people on this journey. My only regret is that we have no way to communicate with them to share our love for their country and the love of God! I ask everyday that God uses my hands, feet, eyes, ears, heart and soul to somehow reach these people. I can only hope that they see the love of Christ through me. When we spoke to Natasha this morning, she said that she called the orphanage to tell the kids we were coming to see them today. Losha stated that it had been too long since our last visit. When we pulled up to the orphanage both children were standing at the end of the drive waiting on us. Their cheeks were all red and fingers frozen. We have no clue how long they had been standing there waiting. We didn't even make it out of the taxi before they ran in our arms!! We spent our time with them playing games and simply loving them. I just can't wait for everyone to meet them. They are some pretty remarkable children but that is just how there Momma and Poppy feel about them, we will have to let you form your own opinions I guess. Our court is still scheduled for Wednesday and we were suppose to hear something today about Interpol but that has not happened. First they said we would hear something last Friday, then today but nothing has been said. We just keep praying and try to stay positive. God has kept me very calm through all of this!! He is an amazing God!! I didn't think anyone could keep me calm (lol). Well, we are off to our restaurant by ourselves tonight. Natasha is not coming back to Shpola until court. Let's see if we end up with the food we order without Natasha's help. Should be interesting. Yesterday in Cherkasy there was not English speaking waitresses to help up so instead of saying Chicken we would act like a chicken. Instead of saying pork we would act like a pig. Well, you get the picture. It was pretty comical to say the least. Love you All Todd & Lori