A peek at the progress

Hope to have the new group house ready to move in this coming week. Here's some pics I took Friday morning.

The kids bedroom on the group home parent side

The smallest room, all the window boxing
 is painted a different color than the rooms

the great room

three couches on order for here

shower

the lights have different color edging on that lights up

group home parent kitchenette

one of the bathrooms, blinds are coming

some of the girls at our house

Vacation weekend

Garry took the second year students on a trip to the sea, they have been working hard all summer, 2 girls and 4 guys, I think he said. We have not had a good phone connection in the last while, and the internet at the farm doesn't work often, it seems. You can look forward to more blog posts once I get back to Ukraine next week. Here are a few photos of the students enjoying a water slide at the beach.

One of the girls, Yulia or Karina?

Sasha going headfirst, I think

Kolya M I think

Almost ready to move in...

Since Garry returned last week, the work to finish the new house for the students and group home family has progressed rapidly. New kitchen cabinets and appliances went in this week, tile has been grouted, furniture is being purchased, and they are getting running water going, too I think.

the new group home family of four living in our house in the village for the last month and now there are six new female students living (well sleeping, during the day they are more in the real house) in our summer kitchen (last year's classroom). Garry says the cistern to the house has run dry four days in a row, not just from all the people showering, but because the toilet in the "little house" (summer kitchen) has been left "running" and wasting water.

Kitchen cabinets in the main part of the house

Everybody is working to get it done

Everybody (this is the six year old daughter of the new group home parents)

 Anyway here are some photos Garry sent of the work in progress, he hopes to get everyone moved in next week, I think. I told him I am glad I am still in Canada, since he says its noisy in our house now .

New students and new house progress

Four new students arrived in the village on Monday, they are staying in the summer kitchen while the the house is finished. Garry hopes to start buying furniture after he arrives Wednesday or maybe on Thursday. There are four more girls and two new guys planning on coming to the school this fall with almost all our students from last year returning for year two. Here are some photos from a week or two ago on the progress they are making while he was gone.

Laminate in bedrooms 

Tiles on the floor of the kitchen area
of the Family side of the house

Rooms are painted and ceilings are in now

Laminate on the family's side living room

Polo is in the house, looks like the main student living area

Work progress

 Here are some photos from the work on the group home that has taken place since Garry left last week, thanks to Maria who has emailed them to me. As you can see the outside is finished and they are hard at work finishing the bathrooms.

Maria

Karina

Julia

even Polo

 The new family is staying at our house while they, Max and the students work on finishing the new house. The new students are scheduled to arrive July 20th, hopefully it will be ready around that time! Most of the new students are girls, so the new house will have female students. Garry will be flying back to Ukraine on the same day.

Nikolai seems to have a hedgehog!

Getting ready for next year

Garry is busy getting the new house ready for next year's students. The septic system was finished last week.  He was tiling floors in the parents side of the house this week, the bathroom and kitchen area. The main kitchen and student bathroom still need to be tiled. He is buying the laminate flooring for the rest of the house.  Rooms have been painted and Garry hopes the family will be able to move in within a short time frame. They are moving to the village and will be living in our house for a few weeks while Garry joins me in Canada for our son's wedding and our daughter's too!
Garry says he has been interviewing for new students do next year and he has two guys and eight girls so far, so it looks like the new home will be for females.
The other news is the container with farm equipment in has been loaded and is on its way to Ukraine.
 Finally the long awaited  hooking up to the power should be done before the end of July. We really will be ready by the fall to use the new classroom built last year and get cows milking in the barn over there when we are hooked up to the electrical grid. This week our guys got the poles installed, the local electrical company needs to install one on village land and a transformer iput in before the wires are attached to hook the buildings up.

School year end picnic

With a few of the students (the younger Sasha and Valera) heading off for the summer to work elsewhere, there was a year end picnic at the pond with shishlik on the fire on Friday night.

at left is our newest group home family

It looks like everyone was there (even Polo) except me (Teresa) and Nastya, who did not return to school after visiting her father for his birthday the week before I left for Canada. She had decided she wanted to study at a sewing trade school next year and live with her father in the fall. The day before she left, she was disappointed to find out her mother is alive but does not want to meet her. We will miss her smiling face.

The new group home family was there, the one that will be moving into the new house, the other two house families and Maxim Rudei with Yulia and baby Vika. Max supervises student work, especially when Garry is gone.

mmm, shislik

Maria and Julia with little Vika

Sasha with the six year old daughter from the new group home

LOOK Garry IS ON CRUTCHES

Looks like she's on Valera's shoulders now

Earlier on Friday it was work day and the students were working on the final coat of stucco for the new house, looks like white is the color!