Riding the rollercoaster

The weather forecasters had it right today - this was a cold one!  High was in the mid 30s, but wind chill was mid 20s.  Brrrrrrr.  The Foxes had their court date today, so we were going to watch the youngest while the older two went with their parents. Svetlana called saying the computers were working again,  and after court was done, Libby and I and Julia would go to Sumy.  Before very long, Sean called in a panic.  The judge would not let the children in court - could I come get them? So I walked across town, found the kids being watched by some office lady, walked them home in a very brisk wind.  Court seemed to take a while, and instead of giving the Foxes the decision on the spot, they had to come back at 2:00.  This delayed our Sumy plans, since Svetlana had to be at court.  We threw together some lunch, I picked up Julia at 1:00, back to the Foxes to watch the kids, court was completed (yeah - the Foxes win!), and it is approaching 3:00 before we get out of town.  We went back to the Registration building, where literally all that was required was for me to sign my name in one location, to the notary office again, for Julia to officially change her name ( I think), and then we headed to the Tax office ( a new step in the process).  I believe everyone has a tax number, and Julia has to have hers updated with her new name.  This is an essential part of getting her new passport (the one she doesn't need ever again once she leaves the country).  And guess what?  The tax office computers are down!  We cannot take this next step, the office is closed on the weekend, of course, and no telling if the computers will work on Monday.  So back in the taxi and head for home.  These multiple trips to Sumy are particularly irksome to me, since each taxi ride costs $125.  I'm never sure how many more trips are required.  I guess we'll see.  So . . . The 5 days to process the passport still have not started.  We are still trying to sort out the immigration paperwork confusion.  Sounds like I will be calling the embassy on Monday to see what is really required.  Hopefully this will be much ado about nothing.  There is a funny clash of Ukrainian culture happening tonight.  There has been an invasion of the hotel by a group of big wheel Orthodox priests and their entourage, at the same time as a loud and (we suspect) alcohol imbibing party going on in the cafe.  We are pleased to report that we set no fires today.  During lunch, just to kill time, I started writing out the alphabet and going over the sounds each letter makes with Julia.  She already has a good grasp of the letters and sounds, so that is very helpful.  On the trip, Libby prompted her to say, and she was able to say very clearly, "My name is Julia Elizabeth Perry."