To Ukraine! One Year ago Today.

It is utterly amazing to me that it already has been one year since the day Stacy and I flew off to Ukraine. Stacy and I of course are planning on posting a "gotcha day" post for Olya. We are still trying to decide which day we want to celebrate. We shall see what Olya thinks. But for now, there is something that I have been wanting to do for about a year now, and that is to share more of our trip(s) to Украина (Ukraina, Ukraine). I fell in love with the country, the history, the culture and the people as we began pursuing the adoption for Olya two years ago from this coming July. So here goes, mostly pics to share and this will hopefully come in waves of a few posts. I was going to go linear but since tomorrow is Easter (He is Risen Indeed!), here is the first day of our second trip. A down day upon arrival in Киев (Kyiv, Kiev), Stacy and I took to the streets and here is what we found...

Yes, lots and lots of eggs hanging from trees..

..and trees..

..and trees..

..and many other things..

The locals liked to have their picture taken.

What are they you ask? Well, they are called писанка (Pysanka) Ukrainian Easter eggs.

 

 

Being in Ukraine during Easter was truly a wonderful and enriching experience. We were in Ukraine for both the Prodestant/Catholic observed Easter day as well as the Eastern Orthodox observed Easter day. It was fascinating to be an onlooker of different traditions and it was a great reminder that our Lord Jesus is the Lord of all to whom he calls from every corner. Thank you Lord Jesus for what you have done for me and my life and the lives of so many others. That your resurrection is celebrated by many around the world and across cultures. So that every tongue and every tribe may bless your name.

Well, to close out our tour of the day.. we ventured on..

The hub of Kiev.

Downtown Kiev truly is amazing..

Happy Easter all!