Monday, June 4, 2007

Slackers!

Only 9 comments, here we were so excited to be able to get to the computer 2 days in a row and we open up the blog with only 9 comments to read :) Do you know how desperate we are for American interaction! We get so excited when the commercials come on for the French Open because they are in English!!!! and then when an American Video comes on on MTV... Jake- we saw the Fergie video today and thought of you---- Yep, Jake has a bit of a crush on Fergie! Daddy says he has good taste!

So we have officially moved to Preluky for the next 5 days... we will most likely go back to Kiev for the weekend. We like our hotel room, it has an air conditioner which is a rarity that actually blows cold air! and it has a small refrigerator and a big bathroom... we are living it up now!

After getting moved in we took a walk, got aquainted with the area... we are just 1.5 blocks from a very small internet cafe... so we will hopefully be able to get on every day for the next few days to check in.... They only have 2 internet computers though, so no guarantees... the rest of the computers are used by a bunch of pre teen and teen age boys playing games!

We had our first afternoon visit with Eli today... it was cooler here and he had on some cute cords and a nice Minnie Mouse Sweatshirt ;) They aren't really concerned with gender specific clothes around here! We had brought him some bubbles and he enjoyed chasing them and popping them and then blowing them for daddy to pop as well! We also did some more coloring and just a lot of walking, he kept on trying to get us to walk him out of the orphanage- I think he is ready to leave- just like us! Leaving today was harder than normal, he really got upset... but we just keep on telling him we will be back tomorrow. We are on the down hill slide now... by our calculations we have been here longer than we have left to stay! Eager to get it down to single digit days!

And finally- we finished Season 2 of Entourage last night---- we looked around some DVD shops in Kiev to see if they had Season 3... but no luck! Oh, and I am sure Kenny would like you all to know that he is currently kicking my rear in Rummy... and last night when we played Sequence with the Anezskos him and Jim beat Iris and I 7 games to 1.... Kenny was cheating! (he said I should take that off of here, but I am not going to cause he was!) Tonight I think we might start watching the Sopranos... we got a lot of nights to fill.

Well---- now it is your turn, tell us what is going on back at home! We will check back in often... Miss everyone...

All our Love
Kenny and Shannon

21 comments:

DP & Laura said...

Sorry for being a slacker. I had no intention of leaving you guys hanging but Brianna's team made the city championship game this past weekend for 5/6 grade A team. Unfortunately, the first girl up in the bottom of the last inning from St. Patrick creamed her last pitch to the fence and scored the winning run for them. Oh well, it was a really good defensive game - we just didn't have our bats that day.

I love your stories and am soooo glad that Eli has joined your family so quickly. He sounds absolutely perfect and adorable. We can't wait to meet this little guy!!

Good luck on filling your spare time. Eli might have to fight you and Kenny for the coloring book pretty soon.

Love,
DP and Laura

Mom said...

Well here is your Dad again. even tho' it says mom. Took Jake to his Fire game Sunday which by the way WASN'T. Seems they change the schedule very regularly. No big deal as he had practice for the Sox's(which we did not know about EITHER). Jake seemed to enjoy practice and hit one over the fence for a homer, but it was on a smaller field but a real good hit anyway you look at it. All the coaches and other parents are so nice to Jake and your mom and I. they are going to make sure we stay clued in on practice and games in the future. For the record i was not a good listener after the Sox's game last Wednesday as they announced the sunday practice and i did not get it. Rest assured all is well with Jake, he has been a real treat for us to be with and has been a true little gentleman. Love, Dad.

Noelle Kordes said...

Hey Shannon & Kenny,

Beaven sent me your blog last week, so I've been keeping up with your journey. This is such a neat experience and I'm so happy to hear that everything is going well! Eli sounds like is such a sweet little boy and I know personally that he couln't be entering a more loving, interactive, FUN, great family! My thoughts and prayers have been with you all and will continue always! Love Noelle

rachel said...

another slacker here. I've loved reading your updates, and am so glad that things are going well! Can't wait until you guys get to take Eli home :)

jane said...

HI, I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO KEEP IN TOUCH MORE OFTEN, WE MISS YOU HERE. IT SEEMS THAT LITTLE ELI HAS CAPTURED EVERYONES HEARTS AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN MET HIM YET, AND I FOR ONE CAN HARDLY WAIT. LOVE YOU NANNIE

The Blake Family said...

Kenny, Shannon and Eli...Got your email and sent you a reply with all Jake's baseball information for you to digest. Jake plays tonight against the Orioles. It is very cloudy and we have had a few scattered showers today and more are on the way so don't know at this point if we will make it tonight or not. Glad everything is going well and glad to know you are on the downhill side of the trip. It sounds from you post that you all have bonded with Eli well in a short time. He is so lucky to have you guys. Keep getting on the slackers! Ha, Ha Keep safe and write us back when you get a chance. Yes, you had the right address. God Bless!

David, Suzanne, Austin and Aaron

GA MILLERS said...

Glad to hear everything is going OK. We can't wait to meet Eli and see you guys. Hopefully we'll have some time this summer to be there after you guys get back.

Tell Eli that his favorite Aunt, Cathy says We love you from Georgia !!!!

Love, The Millers

Lynn D said...

Hey Guys,

Have you run out of clean clothes yet? I assume you have already turned things inside-out and back again by now huh? I realize this is not the most important thing on your mind ... just trying to make you smile for a sec.

Emily and I went to PBK and picked up a few items for Eli's room. You picked some cute things ... he will be in heaven when he gets home.

Shannon - I was glad to read that you got some chicken fingers and other good ol' American grub. Be you left you mentioned you were worried about the food. What is Ukrainian fare like anyway?

John and I saw Beaven at St. Martha's last night. She was playing volleyball and John was there playing softball on Ascension's "old man's" team (his words, not mine). It was fun to see her. Can't wait to see you guys again, we miss you.

Shana said...

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that there is not an hour or two that goes by that I am not thinking about you and your new little guy. There is no doubt that he is a lucky guy but you will realize more and more that YOU are the lucky ones. When you take him from the orphanage you will see things through his little innocent eyes and it is the GREATEST feeling in the world! We may be on vacation when you guys arrive home so I'll be calling you as soon as we get back and seeing when we can come and let Mason play with Jake and we can meet Eli. It is funny that you wait for the commercials to hear English, we would hold our ears up to the t.v. to hear English on a diving competition that was dubbed over in Ukrainian. We can't wait for you all to get home and get your life back to normal--only a short time left!! At least you will have Eli a little more to occupy your time. We played ALOT of skip-bo. Tonia and I would walk everyday for at least an hour. I lost 12 pounds--I didn't get to have Fridays:( Just keep hanging in there and this will be over with before you know it!!

Shana said...

After a 10 minute converstation with Mason about what I was doing on the computer, he wanted me to e-mail you again and to tell you that if you see his friend "Janca",
(no idea if I spelled that right) please tell him hello.

You do know that Mason was almost the exact same age when we adopted him. He still remembers alot about the orphanage so Eli may keep that also.

Have you got to meet alot of kids in Eli's orphanage? Do you know how many there are? Do all the girls wear BIG hair bows with very little hair?? HaHa

paige fitzhugh said...

Hey guys, boy am I glad that you are closer to an internet cafe...Shannon I feel like I have lost my left arm without you here..I need to at least feel like I've talked to you each day! Which I can't cause I just found out it is about $5.37 a minute to call and we have talked A LOT of minutes so far! Tell those teenagers to move it or loose it off those computers and if they give you any guff tell them Mrs. Fitz said so (that works at good ole'SBS!)
By the way Jake was with us Friday and Saturday night and I forgot to leave his medicine out for Scott in the morning when I headed to the Fitzhugh's for Nannie's party (which I think she loved!) After his soccer game Larry and Scott took him and Clay to some fishing tournament weigh in and they got all kinds of goodies and played a lot of games Scott said he was very good!
On Sunday at mass during announcements Jake wanted to tell everyone that you all had "bought" him a new brother but then he got shy and Anna told them about your "adoption" Diane Stemmle was there..she is so cute ...she had tears in her eyes and is just so happy for you guys!After church we went to Target and bought Mr. Eli some clothes his big brother picked out along with some things for his room and a toy that Anna Clay and Jake are going to share with him...THEN we went to Chili's with Mom and Dad.Jake had Mac and Cheese and Sprite! So there is some good old American news for ya! I love you guys and can't wait for you to get home! Anna wants to write to you now...
Sha Sha and Mr. Uncle Kenny Sir..When are you going to get home? I can't believe Sha Sha can't figure out how to send us pictures of Eli I am dying to see him! By the way , it hasn't been so bad having two brothers on the weekends. Jake's not near as annoying as Clay. I love you and i miss you all soooooo much.
Anna
Guess what... Clay is too busy playing his video game to come type a message but he says he loves you!

Kelly Goree Photography said...

Shan - see to win in sequence you gotta stash the jacks, girl - esp those 2 eyed ones! ;)

So glad things are going so well for you all and that Eli seems to be adjusting to having a mommy and daddy and that you are adjusting to him :)

I'm leaving for Australia in the morning, but I'll try and check in to see how things are progressing!

Hugs to you all!

Kelly Goree Photography said...

Ps....I just had to tell you I'm officially a baseball mom now as Turner had his first Tball game the other night. He's an Oriole of all things ;)

and HA! I had to laugh too after I read the comment from your niece! I see she's as amazed as I am there are no pics of Eli yet!! (I imagine you couldn't get your camera in the orphanage?)

Anyhow, Miss You and we'll have to do some CPK when you get back to celebrate, 'k? :)

Huffs said...

We are soo excited for you!! What a trip you have had!! Eli sounds adorable. He is so lucky to have you as parents!! We wish you the best, we will be praying for all of you!! Can't wait until you get to bring him home. You are so awesome!
All our love, Lynn and Sam Huff

Angie said...

Shannon, How could you let Kenny beat you at Sequence? The boys (Adam, Jake, Trey and Evan)were at Male's baseball camp yesterday. I picked them up and could not get them to leave. They must have enjoyed it. They were having contests against each other. We probably stayed an extra 45 minutes after camp was over. One of the coaches came over and asked "Do they all have rides?" I think I am taking all of them to the pool tomorrow after camp. Anyway, we are still thinking about you guys. I think I will also be on vacation when you guys get home. (Bummer) Talk to you soon!

Dave and Mary Beth said...

Hi Guys! We are loving your blog...each day its like reading another chapter in a book we hate to put down! We are thrilled that it sounds like your 'book' will have a happy ending!

What's going on here? After reading the comments, it sounds like alot of people are into baseball right now, but not us! Allison is starting her summer basketball league and a tournament this week. Right now she will play at least 6 games between now and Saturday night and more on Sunday if her team makes it through the first round. Both kids are thoroughly enjoying the beginning of their summer vacation. I hate having to get up and go to work and they're still snoozing! Boy do they have it good!

Sorry to hear that the highlight of your culinary experiences so far is Friday's! Maybe things will get better....

We can't wait to meet Eli...he sounds like a real character! He'll fit in to the family perfectly!

Take care!
Dave, Mary Beth, Ben, and Allison

Heather said...

Looks like some of the St. B boys may be MALE graduates. Woo-hoo...go Bulldawgs! :) Shay & K-Z...we had a gggrrreeat time at your house Saturday night. JV got mad at me b/c he was actually painting (and no, he did not put the spot on the ceiling) but I made him stop to get the pizza order together because I was beating Roy Hill, Beaven & Ty in Rummy. So KZ we may have to have a championship game when you get home! Updates on the house...drywall is completely done and trim starts tomorrow. Exciting stuff but I need Shay-Z here to help pick out paint colors!! The girls all picked out the colors for their rooms (I think I have this right): Anna's is green with purple polka dots, Olivia's is bright pink with black polka dots, Madison's is yellow with orange polka dots, and Cassie's is lavender with white DUCKS. So it will be very colorful!!

Heather said...

Looks like some of the St. B boys may be MALE graduates. Woo-hoo...go Bulldawgs! :)

Shay & K-Z...we had a gggrrreeat time at your house Saturday night. JV got mad at me b/c he was actually painting (and no, he did not put the spot on the ceiling) but I made him stop to get the pizza order together because I was beating Roy Hill, Beaven & Ty in Rummy. So KZ we may have to have a championship game when you get home!

Updates on the house...drywall is completely done and trim starts tomorrow. Exciting stuff but I need Shay-Z here to help pick out paint colors!! The girls all picked out the colors for their rooms (I think I have this right): Anna's is green with purple polka dots, Olivia's is bright pink with black polka dots, Madison's is yellow with orange polka dots, and Cassie's is lavender with white DUCKS. So it will be very colorful!!

We had our first ST. B's co-ed softball game yesterday. We had to have someone sub for KZ and while he was nice, it just wasn't the same as having Mr. Schweaty Balls out there!!

Miss you guys and give Eli a hug from "Aunt Heather" and Weeel. :)

tara said...

I must say that I agree with Anna, I can't believe we don't have any pictures. I was hoping your family would of had pictures of Mr. Eli for us to see Saturday. Oh well! Even better we'll get to see him soon. Bryce put his dibs on Jake for one night this weekend, hopefully we can do something fun with him. You all are still in our thoughts and prayers. Hang in there!

Tara

Dave and Mary Beth said...

Hey guys, this is David Z.. Wanted to let you know about Dad’s new favorite pastime. I took him to watch a Uof L baseball game a few weeks ago at their new stadium. He loved it and went back the next day on his own. Then he read in the paper that the high school regionals were going to be played at U of L . He was out there 6 hours watching baseball on a Friday, went back Saturday and Sunday. I don’t know if you heard, but the Cardinals won their Regional and are moving on to the Super Regional against Oklahoma St. The games are going to be held at U of L, starting Friday. I imagine Dad will be the first one in the stands. If they win that they will go to the college World Series with seven other teams. Dad wanted me to tell you congratulations and to hurry home with his new grandson!

See you soon

Robyn said...

Welcome little Eli, the Fischer family can not wait to meet you. It sounds like your mommy & daddy are doing everything right to bring you home safe and sound. Your going to love your new brother Jake and all your wonderful family & friends. My boys, Hunter, Daniel & Jack are very excited to hear all about you and can not wait to meet you very soon.

I know you guys are exhausted, both emotionally and physically. Can't wait to hear your on a plane home to the states with Eli. We've been thinking of you all everyday....yes, like everyone else we are deep, deep into baseball except still traveling all over...heading to Cincy on Friday (for two weekends for Hunter's team)Not much else going on in our lives at the moment, don't have time for anything else. I was hoping to see Jake at Ferncreek sun. night but I guess they didn't play....my kids just got out of school so we haven't had time to call him to play at our house....Daniel is in b-ball camp at St. X this week.
Miss you all!