Kherson Memories

I will describe our last real day of vacation in reverse...

But first let me share this very rare treasure, a picture of all the kids smiling (no prompting or bribery involved, Jax posed it).  I guess this was the souvenir they gave to me on our last day, I couldn't imagine a better gift.

We fittingly finished our vacation with a visit to the central playground in Kherson and some ice cream.  This seems like the perfect summary of our trip, a tour of European playgrounds and sweets. 

I guess hamsters are on to something, Jax loved this unique contraption.  And though none are pictured here there is no question that see saws are the favorite and most common piece of playground equipment in Ukraine.  And our kids are like magnets to them.  But I can totally understand why they are all but outlawed in the U.S.  Eventually all the kids learned not to get on one with Jax.  Despite the fact that every one of our kids has some type of scratch or bruise to remember the see saws by, they kept going back for more.  And where would we find Katya?  

That's right, in the sandbox.  Why do we not have one of these in our yard yet?

Now going back to the afternoon... We spent much of the day at this little interactive museum type farm where we visited different stations and learned about Ukrainian history, folklore, games, arts and crafts, and more.  Then we were treated to another traditional Ukrainian lunch, yum.  Gene was even able to coax Cullen into eating a whole bowl of borsch.  I hate to admit it but one of my favorite things was the bread spread with herbed animal fat, aka seasoned lard.  I didn't want to like it but it was impossible not to. 

After lunch each kid could pick two stations to go back and try.  

Cullen picked music:

He loved the "shakers", but the fact that he picked this station was a bit funny since he held his ears through the entire introductory demonstration earlier in the day.  None the less all the kids danced and made music, and the boys got their first (and Mommy hopes last) drum lesson.

Ethan and Jax both picked weapons.  They had all kinds of ancient and modern weapons for them to throw and shoot.  We have no pictures because Mommy couldn't stand to watch.  But they loved it and Jax even picked it again for his second activity.

Katya picked horseback riding.

Cullen tried to ride with her but that didn't last long.  Plus she spent the first half of the ride yelling "Mommy, this isn't safe, I need my helmet".  We've taught her well :) But the second half of the ride was great, she settled in and neither she or the horse master were afraid to walk fast --  mommy was afraid enough for both of them.

All three little kids picked weaving for their second activity.  They demonstrated weaving baskets, but we just tried with ribbons and ended up with very pretty bracelets. 

During the demos Ethan got picked to help with pottery and Katya with art, we'll see if either of these creations survive the trip home, I hope. 

Along the way we saw and learned about so many cool things, like how they used to make sunflower oil:

And how they cook their children, ha!

Jax is the smart one jumping out as quick as he can :). Actially, they said they used these long ago to heat water in the winter and for "swimming" in the summer.  

And we tried some things just for fun:

We were not winning any races on this but it was good for a laugh, go team Lassiter!

One of the coolest parts was the traditional greeting we received when we arrived.  You tear off a price of bread, dip it in the salt in the middle of the loaf, and make a wish.  I wonder what the kids wished for?  Any guesses?  Mommy wished for happy kids and it came true!

Now back to the morning... This morning was the reason we are in Kherson.  The readon we are in Ukraine at all really.  We spent the morning visiting the Kherson Baby Home, the orphanage where Jax lived when he was a baby.  It was a very sweet time but I will write about it in another post.  It is a lot to process and it is Jax's story to tell.  

I will just say that the donation was greatly appreciated, they let us visit with the kids, staff, and tour the facility and overall I think it left a positive impression on Jax.  I know he left a positive impression on them.  It was beyond difficult to walk away from all the sweet children there, but comforting to see them well cared for and to know how to pray for them.  I choked back lots of tears of joy and pride in Jax and sadness too.  And Katya, Ethan, and Cullen all handled it very well too.  We are blessed.

Now we begin the final adventure, our trip home...

We leave Kherson at 3am tonight and drive 8 hours to the airport in Kiev.  From there we fly to Paris with a layover in Germany. We spend the night in Paris then the next day fly to Dulles with a layover in Iceland. We get to Dulles late Thursday night, will spend the night in Herndon then drive home Friday morning.  Did you get all that?  The summary is: 10 hours driving, 4 flights, 14 total hours in the air, 3 layovers, 3 days to get home -- there is no way the iPad battery will hold out that long so wish us luck!  And stay tuned for more pictures and stories when we get home.