One of the things about this trip that I was looking forward to the most was meeting Misha's dad for the first time. Misha's dad (Yuriy) moved back to Ukraine one month before Misha and I started dating. We just missed each other! Yuriy was also not present with us (physically anyway) when Misha and I got married due to several reasons - the main one being we couldn't get travel documents for him in time for the wedding. It would have been so wonderful if that could have been possible, but the important thing is that we are a family that loves each other.
Yuriy has written letters to me (in Russian) and Misha translates them for me and vice versa. Misha and his dad are so close (and similar in many ways). I can't imagine being so far away from your family although Misha talks with Yuriy on Skype at least once every week or so.
Can you believe that Misha hasn't seen his dad in three years? Can I just tell you that we were both so excited about getting to spend time with Yuriy?
Misha and Yuriy!
Yuriy's sister (Olya) was also there to greet us when we arrived at the house Misha grew up in. They were so sweet to give flowers to me!
We stayed with Yuriy at the house Misha grew up in. I actually stayed at the same place last time I was in Ukraine, but it was being used as the church building then. Yuriy has moved back in and really done a lot with the place. He has a large garden, animals, and even cherry, apple, and walnut trees!
We were able to spend some quality time with Yuriy and also with his side of the family. His sister, Olya, and her family live in a nearby town and had us over for dinner one night. It was GREAT!
Yuriy, me, and Yulia (Misha's cousin)
They have these delicious strawberries that they grow in their garden. They told me to put a little bit of sour cream and sugar on them. I was hesitant at first, but tried it and fell in love!
They also had homemade pelmeni (the Russian/Ukrainian version of ravioli) and salad with vegetables from their garden. We even brought a treat that we received from a friend of Yuriy's.
Freshly-made sunflower oil!
The weather was so nice that we ate dinner outside in their garden. They built this eating area that was pretty much like a covered patio. We had good food, fresh night air, music, and family!
Olya and her husband have four daughters - Nadia, Yulia, Sasha, and Katya. It was so nice meeting and getting to spend time with all of them!
We had dinner, talked, told stories, laughed, and looked at each others photo albums. It was a great night!
I think we got home at like 2:00 in the morning! The sun comes up around 4:00 in the morning and it gets dark there around 11:00 at night so it's very easy to loose track of time. Russians stay up late anyway. ;-)
We also got to spend some time with Misha's grandmother.
Babushka Tonya. She is such a sweet lady.
She has had such an interesting life. A hard life, but an interesting one. She showed us many pictures and
I loved listening to her stories! Well, I enjoyed listening to her tell stories and having Misha interpret them for me. :-)
Look at this sweet picture that she had!
Babushka Tonya is 80 years old and lives on her own. She has a new apartment and loves having people come visit. We were so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with this woman. She is such a sweet, strong, generous, wise, and loving lady.
Babushka Tonya has three daughters - Nadia, Lyuba (Misha's mom), and Galina. This is a picture of me with Lyuba, Gala, and Nadia's two granddaughters Sveta & Anya.
Me & Mama Lyuba (who lives in Florida by the way)
Me with Nadia's two granddaughters
Sveta is the older sister and Anya is the little one. I think that I held little Anya during church services the first time I was in Ukraine. Anya sat in my lap and Sveta was right beside me. Misha and I were not dating at the time - we didn't even know each other. Well, the girls have grown so much since then that I hardly even recognized them, but they knew exactly who I was! Sveta is almost as tall as I am. She is also speaking English too!
Little Anya was also in my class this year!
Me, Anya, Sveta, Misha, and Sergey (the girls' dad - Nadia's son)
Lyuba, Anya, me, Sveta, Sergey, and Misha
There are also some close friends who are basically like family anyway! This is Larissa (Lyuba's friend) with me and Gala.
Larissa has a son (Dima) who is our age. He and Misha are good friends. Dima's wife is Rita and we instantly bonded. I feel very close to their family.
Also, here is Nickolai and his grandson Vitya. Nickolai and his wife Vera - who usually helps with camp, but wasn't able to be there this year - live in Sochi, Russia. Vera and Lyuba have been friends for a long time. I think they were actually roommates in college. They are so awesome! They actually came to Florida for a visit back in 2010 after Misha and I were first married and right before we moved to Birmingham.
Me and Vitya making a house of cards. Isn't he so cute?! I also taught him how to shuffle a deck of cards. He was pretty popular after that and I had kids coming up to me handing me cards and speaking veryquickly in Russian. I understood what they wanted though. :-)
We also got to spend some good time with these fine people
Victor & Gala!
They are on my "most awesome people" list. :-) You know those all-around good, down-to-earth people who are so talented and that you just really look up to and admire? Victor and Gala are definitely some of those people for me.
Gala prepared a wonderful meal
and we ate, drank, and enjoyed each other's company all day one Saturday. It was so refreshing.
Family is the most important thing in the world - no matter where in this world they are.
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