Well our boy is going to start school tomorrow. He is really ready to be around other kids besides his sister. He is such a trooper and I can't get over how sweet natured he is. When we talked about adopting, I was all for getting girls and only girls. But to please my husband I agree to get a boy. I have to say, I am head over heels for this boy! He is so smart, sweet, caring, helpful and just plain wonderful. He tries hard at everything he does and rarely does anything wrong. He just goes with the flow. I am quite nervous about school tomorrow, but we think he needs to go so he can get on a regular schedule. I have been told that his teacher is one of the best in his grade and others says they would want their kids in her class. I still can't help but be nervous for him. How scary it would be to be 10 years old and going to a place where no one can really talk to you...and mama and papa are not around. He seems happy about going to school. At the end of his school day, he will make a short trip by bus to my school which is 2 minutes away. Then we will drive home together. My friend/ed assistant's boyfriend's son Dylan goes to the same school and is so excited to help Zhenya with the bus. Dylan rides the bus to our school daily and will be a great help getting Zhenya to me tomorrow. Kasey (my ed assistant) told me today that Dylan has been practicing Zhenya's name. She said one day he was suppose to be brushing his teeth and when she told him to get it done, He told her he couldn't because he was practicing his name!! How sweet and terribly cute!!
Please pray for Zhenya tomorrow that he will have a good day and feel God's hand on him while he is in what has to be a scary situation!
Our girl won't start school until after fall break. We took them both to their age group class at church and they had to page us about 15 minutes into the service. I stayed there with her for about 20 minutes so she could see how much fun it was and then I was able to sneak out. She was fine after that. Maybe she just needs to know that we will always come back for her. We did get to meet her teacher and visit her classroom at school. She was very nervous, but sat on her teacher leg while meeting her class. I think she will be fine once she goes, but she needs a bit more time. She is perfectly happy hanging out with papa. We will continue to try her in her church class for the next three weeks. I think that will help her to understand that we are always coming back for her. It may also help her to see that Zhenya is coming home everyday after school too.
Anyway, things are still going well. They are fabulous kids.....Jeff and I feel so blessed to have such precious sweet natured kids. I will post more about school after tomorrow!!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Boy, Am I Tired?!
Things with the kids are going great. They seem to be adjusting well and are very happy to be in America. Everytime Zhenay sees an American flag, he gets so excited and says "Mama, Americoo" So cute!!
After meeting my Ed Assistant at work, my daughter is now giving everyone the thumbs up!! I think she thinks that is how we say Hi in America!! Thanks, Kasey!!! LOL She gave thumbs up to everyone in the doctor's office and everyone in McDonald's which we visited after the doctor's office!
The kids sleep all night now, but Leeza is still an early riser which will be great once she starts school...but right now mama wants to sleep in!! This morning I got her to sleep a bit longer by pulling her in the bed when she came into our room at 7am and promptly closing my eyes as if asleep rather than talking to her. We laid there until 8am....not as late as I would like to sleep!! But oh well! Guess I should be in bed now! Zhenya usually sleeps until about 8am everyday no matter what time he goes to bed.
Today we went to the doctor about their immunization shot. Zhenya got 3 shots and did not cry at all. He teared up a bit, but I kept talking to him and telling him I love him. He would say "Dah mama!" He is such a trooper....he didn't doubt my love even though I am the one who took him to the doctor to get the shots. Leeza started to cry when he was done, because she thought she was next. She would have been except the doctor doesn't want to give her shots yet. Her lymph nodes are enlarged...from what we all think is due to the rotten teeth in her mouth. I can not begin to tell you just how bad they are. So she has to take an antibiotic for the next 10 days, but of course the infection can keep coming back as long as her teeth are in their current condition. Teeth are the next thing on the agenda as well as getting them to the adoption clinic at Vanderbilt in Nashville. I should find out tomorrow when we have our appointment.
One last adorable thing my kids did....Jeff had bible study tonight and we don't feel like the kids are ready yet to go to kid's church, so I stayed with the kids and we went to DQ for ice cream. Ice cream is consolation for not having papa with them. I asked Jeff if he was happy that the only thing that consoled his children from his absense was ice cream!! LOL ANYWAY, while we were at DQ, I was showing Leeza the pictures in my cell phone. I came to a picture of Jeff from a visit we made months ago to a waterfall. As soon as she saw the picture, she said " PAPA, priveyet Papa!" (Hi papa) and waved at the picture. Then Zhenya wanted to see and he did the same thing. It was so cute. They LOVE LOVE their papa! Leeza asked to see the picture again and she smiled so big while saying "Paapaaa!" and sighing. When we went back to the church to pick up Jeff , we could see him through the window. She started jumping up and down saying papa papa papa and giggling her little girl giggle. I wish I could record her little laugh and the intake of breath she does when she gets excited....it is the most adorable thing ever!
I am off to bed now...hoping I can get readjusted to this time again. I, myself, keep waking up at 5am which is HIGHLY unusual for me! I LOVE to sleep!!
After meeting my Ed Assistant at work, my daughter is now giving everyone the thumbs up!! I think she thinks that is how we say Hi in America!! Thanks, Kasey!!! LOL She gave thumbs up to everyone in the doctor's office and everyone in McDonald's which we visited after the doctor's office!
The kids sleep all night now, but Leeza is still an early riser which will be great once she starts school...but right now mama wants to sleep in!! This morning I got her to sleep a bit longer by pulling her in the bed when she came into our room at 7am and promptly closing my eyes as if asleep rather than talking to her. We laid there until 8am....not as late as I would like to sleep!! But oh well! Guess I should be in bed now! Zhenya usually sleeps until about 8am everyday no matter what time he goes to bed.
Today we went to the doctor about their immunization shot. Zhenya got 3 shots and did not cry at all. He teared up a bit, but I kept talking to him and telling him I love him. He would say "Dah mama!" He is such a trooper....he didn't doubt my love even though I am the one who took him to the doctor to get the shots. Leeza started to cry when he was done, because she thought she was next. She would have been except the doctor doesn't want to give her shots yet. Her lymph nodes are enlarged...from what we all think is due to the rotten teeth in her mouth. I can not begin to tell you just how bad they are. So she has to take an antibiotic for the next 10 days, but of course the infection can keep coming back as long as her teeth are in their current condition. Teeth are the next thing on the agenda as well as getting them to the adoption clinic at Vanderbilt in Nashville. I should find out tomorrow when we have our appointment.
One last adorable thing my kids did....Jeff had bible study tonight and we don't feel like the kids are ready yet to go to kid's church, so I stayed with the kids and we went to DQ for ice cream. Ice cream is consolation for not having papa with them. I asked Jeff if he was happy that the only thing that consoled his children from his absense was ice cream!! LOL ANYWAY, while we were at DQ, I was showing Leeza the pictures in my cell phone. I came to a picture of Jeff from a visit we made months ago to a waterfall. As soon as she saw the picture, she said " PAPA, priveyet Papa!" (Hi papa) and waved at the picture. Then Zhenya wanted to see and he did the same thing. It was so cute. They LOVE LOVE their papa! Leeza asked to see the picture again and she smiled so big while saying "Paapaaa!" and sighing. When we went back to the church to pick up Jeff , we could see him through the window. She started jumping up and down saying papa papa papa and giggling her little girl giggle. I wish I could record her little laugh and the intake of breath she does when she gets excited....it is the most adorable thing ever!
I am off to bed now...hoping I can get readjusted to this time again. I, myself, keep waking up at 5am which is HIGHLY unusual for me! I LOVE to sleep!!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Random Moments in Our Adoption
I wasn't always great about posting photos during our trip..so I am posting some now!
These are a series of photos at the museum. I looked the statues. The detail was amazing!
One of the gorgeous catherdrals in Kiev. Not sure of the name.
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| Zhenya's 10th Birthday Cake! |
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| Zhenya and his cake |
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| Zhenya's class eating birthday cake and drinking Orange Fanta |
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| Our faciliator bringing us more documents from an office in the town the kids were born. |
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| Zhenya and his best friend on the day he is leaving the internat forever! |
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| Our first family outing ! This is the beach on the Black Sea near the hotel. |
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| Leeza and her orphanage director. |
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| Leeza, one of her caretakers and a girl Yulia from her groupa. |
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| Leeza leaving the orphanage forever with her papa. |
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| Leeza and Zhenya at the Nickolaev zoo |
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| The Opera House in Kiev |
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| A photo Zhenya took of us at the museum. |
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| Leeza and mama in the taxi heading to the airport. |
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| Zhenya and papa in the taxi heading for the airport |
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| Zhenya and Leeza on the airplane heading to America |
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| Zhenya with his first American money ( a gift from Aunt Barb) |
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| Leeza with her first American money (also from Aunt Barb) |
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| First American breakfast at Cracker Barrel. (We came home to an oven/stove not working) |
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| Zhenya with his Cracker Barrel pancakes |
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| My three FAVORITE Ukrainians! My sister Ira and my kiddos! |
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| Zhenya helping papa today with cooking ribs for the football game! |
Friday, September 17, 2010
Home Sweet Home!
Okay...so I know I said I probably wouldn't get to post today, but I am completely addicted to the internet. LOL!
The kids were great on the airplane! It was such a long flight with changes to three airplanes, but they were troopers. Leeza had a minor meltdown on the Paris to Atlanta flight when she fell asleep on me and I moved. It woke her up and she wouldn't go back to sleep even though she was so so tired. She is a silent crier..which is completely pitiful and heartbreaking and I hated it that I couldn't comfort her. Only her papa would do...so I switched seats with Jeff and she cuddled him with a big smile while waving at me across the aisle. Then promptly fell asleep in his arms. Zhenya stayed awake most of the flight. He slept maybe an hour and a half when Jeff was holding Leeza. Jeff and I did not sleep at all for over 24 hours. We got to bed about 2am Central time...and wouldn't you know it...I woke up at 6am and could not go back to sleep!!!
When we were in our layover in Atlanta, I was on the phone with my mother when I saw my assistant principal, Pam, standing in the waiting area for the Nashville flight! She had attended a conference and was on the same flight back home that we were on! I was so surprised. I teased and said she came all the way to Atlanta to meet us at the airport. So she was the first one to meet our children! When we finally got home, my fabulous Ed Assistant, Kasey and her boyfriend Josh were waiting with a sign, gifts, and balloons for the kids. It was great to see her. Glad I was missed!! I think she is as excited about my kids as Jeff and me. Then we went down the escalator where my mother was waiting with our friend Ryan (he rode with her to airport to pick us up) and Amanda, our home study social worker. I was so happy to finally be home that I had a hard time holding back the tears especially when I got to hug my mama!! Zhenya and Leeza took it all in stride even though they probably were a bit overwhelmed. I was happy that they were still just as excited to be in America about traveling for 20 hours as they were before we left Kiev. Leeza and Zhenya warmed up to my mom right away. I am glad we got to skype Mom a couple times while we were in Ukraine. I think it helped them to feel comfortable with her right away. Leeza is already running to her for hugs and kisses....which of course thrills my mother!
They were so happy with their bedrooms and their new toys. When it was time for bed..Leeza cried a little bit when she found out she was not sleeping in the same room with Zhenya. I stayed in the room with her until she fell asleep. Zhenya went right to bed and sleep right away. My mom spent the night in case the kids woke up early, so Jeff and I could sleep. She found Leeza in Zhenya's bed this morning!! I guess when she woke up this morning, she didn't know what to do so she got in his bed. He was completely zonked out so he had no idea. Mom got her up and took her to the bathroom. I happened to wake up and called her in to our room to cuddle. She is a great morning cuddler! She loved getting on our big bed too. Zhenya sleep until about 8:30 and has been going since. He should sleep good tonight. I am still completely exhausted even though I took a nap. Leeza took one too but was not happy about it. Guess she thought she was missing out on something.
We will hopefully crash early tonight after bathtime. Our home will never be the same...it is completely full of life and NOISE! But we love it!
The kids were great on the airplane! It was such a long flight with changes to three airplanes, but they were troopers. Leeza had a minor meltdown on the Paris to Atlanta flight when she fell asleep on me and I moved. It woke her up and she wouldn't go back to sleep even though she was so so tired. She is a silent crier..which is completely pitiful and heartbreaking and I hated it that I couldn't comfort her. Only her papa would do...so I switched seats with Jeff and she cuddled him with a big smile while waving at me across the aisle. Then promptly fell asleep in his arms. Zhenya stayed awake most of the flight. He slept maybe an hour and a half when Jeff was holding Leeza. Jeff and I did not sleep at all for over 24 hours. We got to bed about 2am Central time...and wouldn't you know it...I woke up at 6am and could not go back to sleep!!!
When we were in our layover in Atlanta, I was on the phone with my mother when I saw my assistant principal, Pam, standing in the waiting area for the Nashville flight! She had attended a conference and was on the same flight back home that we were on! I was so surprised. I teased and said she came all the way to Atlanta to meet us at the airport. So she was the first one to meet our children! When we finally got home, my fabulous Ed Assistant, Kasey and her boyfriend Josh were waiting with a sign, gifts, and balloons for the kids. It was great to see her. Glad I was missed!! I think she is as excited about my kids as Jeff and me. Then we went down the escalator where my mother was waiting with our friend Ryan (he rode with her to airport to pick us up) and Amanda, our home study social worker. I was so happy to finally be home that I had a hard time holding back the tears especially when I got to hug my mama!! Zhenya and Leeza took it all in stride even though they probably were a bit overwhelmed. I was happy that they were still just as excited to be in America about traveling for 20 hours as they were before we left Kiev. Leeza and Zhenya warmed up to my mom right away. I am glad we got to skype Mom a couple times while we were in Ukraine. I think it helped them to feel comfortable with her right away. Leeza is already running to her for hugs and kisses....which of course thrills my mother!
They were so happy with their bedrooms and their new toys. When it was time for bed..Leeza cried a little bit when she found out she was not sleeping in the same room with Zhenya. I stayed in the room with her until she fell asleep. Zhenya went right to bed and sleep right away. My mom spent the night in case the kids woke up early, so Jeff and I could sleep. She found Leeza in Zhenya's bed this morning!! I guess when she woke up this morning, she didn't know what to do so she got in his bed. He was completely zonked out so he had no idea. Mom got her up and took her to the bathroom. I happened to wake up and called her in to our room to cuddle. She is a great morning cuddler! She loved getting on our big bed too. Zhenya sleep until about 8:30 and has been going since. He should sleep good tonight. I am still completely exhausted even though I took a nap. Leeza took one too but was not happy about it. Guess she thought she was missing out on something.
We will hopefully crash early tonight after bathtime. Our home will never be the same...it is completely full of life and NOISE! But we love it!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Last Night In Kiev
Tonight is our last night in Kiev. We are super excited and have assured Zhenya that YES we go to America tomorrow after one more sleep! We got their visas today so we are officially ready to go...except for the repacking for the hundredth time.
We are going out to eat with our facilitator tonight. Jeff wants either Turkish foods or to visit a restraurant he found that features food from various regions of the Soviet Union.
The kids are getting impatient to leave. The apartment only offers so much entertainment. They aren't much for watching television. Probably a good thing!
Last night I assessed Zhenya's math skills. I was happy to see that he knows the majority of his multiplication tables and understand the concept so he can figure out the ones he doesn't know. He can also add and subtract two to three digit number without regrouping. (Sounds like I am writing an assessment for an IEP...LOL)
We are practicing counting...we count EVERYTHING. We practice the alaphabet and how to write their names. Zhenya does much better, but he has been in school whereas Leeza has had no formal education. She has a long way to go to get to grade level. We will work on it. Since I am a Special Education teacher, I am aware that she may never be on grade level..and that is fine. It is too early to determine how she will do since she has had no instruction. She has made a lot changes since meeting us. She is in no way the same kid we met a month ago. I am excited to see the continued changes once we get home! Zhenya will go into the 4th grade at home. I gave this a very large amount of thought and Jeff and I discussed it. I think it is socially in his best interest to go into the 4th grade. He is very aware that he was in class 4...he is also more aware of things than a typical third grader would be due to the exposure of older children in the internat. He might be a little 4th grader and he might be a bit behind..but we get kids in our schools who are Hispanic and they make gains. Zhenya has the advantage of having a teacher for a mom!! He is very smart and has a lot of common sense. He catches onto things really fast.
Well, we are going to eat our last dinner in Ukraine!! Then having our last sleep in Ukraine!! We are ALMOST HOME!!! I may not get a chance to post until Friday..since we are traveling and then recovering from jetlag!
Please pray for a safe flight. We will be in Nashville at 10:55 pm tomorrow night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are going out to eat with our facilitator tonight. Jeff wants either Turkish foods or to visit a restraurant he found that features food from various regions of the Soviet Union.
The kids are getting impatient to leave. The apartment only offers so much entertainment. They aren't much for watching television. Probably a good thing!
Last night I assessed Zhenya's math skills. I was happy to see that he knows the majority of his multiplication tables and understand the concept so he can figure out the ones he doesn't know. He can also add and subtract two to three digit number without regrouping. (Sounds like I am writing an assessment for an IEP...LOL)
We are practicing counting...we count EVERYTHING. We practice the alaphabet and how to write their names. Zhenya does much better, but he has been in school whereas Leeza has had no formal education. She has a long way to go to get to grade level. We will work on it. Since I am a Special Education teacher, I am aware that she may never be on grade level..and that is fine. It is too early to determine how she will do since she has had no instruction. She has made a lot changes since meeting us. She is in no way the same kid we met a month ago. I am excited to see the continued changes once we get home! Zhenya will go into the 4th grade at home. I gave this a very large amount of thought and Jeff and I discussed it. I think it is socially in his best interest to go into the 4th grade. He is very aware that he was in class 4...he is also more aware of things than a typical third grader would be due to the exposure of older children in the internat. He might be a little 4th grader and he might be a bit behind..but we get kids in our schools who are Hispanic and they make gains. Zhenya has the advantage of having a teacher for a mom!! He is very smart and has a lot of common sense. He catches onto things really fast.
Well, we are going to eat our last dinner in Ukraine!! Then having our last sleep in Ukraine!! We are ALMOST HOME!!! I may not get a chance to post until Friday..since we are traveling and then recovering from jetlag!
Please pray for a safe flight. We will be in Nashville at 10:55 pm tomorrow night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The kids are getting comfortable!
Well today, we found out that our kids are NOT perfect!! Yes, we are as surprised as you are! ;-)
Today was the first time, they have tried us. We went to the museum in Kiev that has numerous World War 2 and later military vehichles. Zhenya enjoyed it....Leeza not so much...... Not surprising really. When we were leaving, we were walking down steps toward a VERY busy road and Leeza was told to stop to wait for papa...but completely ignored us. She is also quite clumsy on the steps and we didn't want her to fall into the road. No excuse for the language barrier since "STOP" is the same in both languages. When papa caught her and said Nyet!(no)...she laughed. She got the evil eye from mama.....didn't phase her at all. Then she refused to hold papa's hand to walk across the street. Of course she was made to anyway...papa just grabbed her hand and started walking. She didn't cry or anything..but this is the first time she has not listened to us. Then our sweet boy (back at the apartment) was being curious and plugging in something he didn't need to touch. Mama was cooking dinner and could hear papa repeating saying Nyet and shockingly hearing sass from Zhenya!! Believe me, sassy is easy to recognize in any language. Mama walked into the room and told him to "Slu shai" Papa. Which means "Listen" and then proceeded to show him that he would have to sit down for a bit if he did not listen. He got the message and gave me the cutest grin. My Russian is a bit better than Jeff's and I know a few more words that are parental...normally I would not interfere with papa's directives, but the message was not getting across at that point. Alas, I know this is just the beginning and actually wasn't that bad...except the road thing was scary. I however am just so surprised my kids aren't perfect!!!! ;-) I told Jeff that these are signs that they are getting comfortable with us...which is a good thing and we are going to have to be tough and stand our ground when they don't mind. Oh yea....Zhenya is a bit of a pouter! But he quickly gets in good spirits after receiving "The Look!".
By the way, the museum was really cool and we took tons of pictures. We will download them later!
We went to the U.S Consulate today and turned in a bunch of paperwork for the kid's visas. Tomorrow we got back at 2 pm for an interview and to receive their visas. Have I mentioned that adopting required TONS of paperwork!? I think we have killed several trees in this process.
Our internet service is out of minutes so we have to go places with free WiFi...like now we are sitting in McDonald's. Our kids are going to think that we eat ice cream at McDonalds every day!
Well two more sleeps and we head home!! Yippee!
Please continue to pray!
Love you all!
Jeff, Sheila, Zhenya and Leeza
Today was the first time, they have tried us. We went to the museum in Kiev that has numerous World War 2 and later military vehichles. Zhenya enjoyed it....Leeza not so much...... Not surprising really. When we were leaving, we were walking down steps toward a VERY busy road and Leeza was told to stop to wait for papa...but completely ignored us. She is also quite clumsy on the steps and we didn't want her to fall into the road. No excuse for the language barrier since "STOP" is the same in both languages. When papa caught her and said Nyet!(no)...she laughed. She got the evil eye from mama.....didn't phase her at all. Then she refused to hold papa's hand to walk across the street. Of course she was made to anyway...papa just grabbed her hand and started walking. She didn't cry or anything..but this is the first time she has not listened to us. Then our sweet boy (back at the apartment) was being curious and plugging in something he didn't need to touch. Mama was cooking dinner and could hear papa repeating saying Nyet and shockingly hearing sass from Zhenya!! Believe me, sassy is easy to recognize in any language. Mama walked into the room and told him to "Slu shai" Papa. Which means "Listen" and then proceeded to show him that he would have to sit down for a bit if he did not listen. He got the message and gave me the cutest grin. My Russian is a bit better than Jeff's and I know a few more words that are parental...normally I would not interfere with papa's directives, but the message was not getting across at that point. Alas, I know this is just the beginning and actually wasn't that bad...except the road thing was scary. I however am just so surprised my kids aren't perfect!!!! ;-) I told Jeff that these are signs that they are getting comfortable with us...which is a good thing and we are going to have to be tough and stand our ground when they don't mind. Oh yea....Zhenya is a bit of a pouter! But he quickly gets in good spirits after receiving "The Look!".
By the way, the museum was really cool and we took tons of pictures. We will download them later!
We went to the U.S Consulate today and turned in a bunch of paperwork for the kid's visas. Tomorrow we got back at 2 pm for an interview and to receive their visas. Have I mentioned that adopting required TONS of paperwork!? I think we have killed several trees in this process.
Our internet service is out of minutes so we have to go places with free WiFi...like now we are sitting in McDonald's. Our kids are going to think that we eat ice cream at McDonalds every day!
Well two more sleeps and we head home!! Yippee!
Please continue to pray!
Love you all!
Jeff, Sheila, Zhenya and Leeza
Monday, September 13, 2010
Almost Home!
As I told Zhenya...we have three more sleeps and then we leave for America. He asked me everyday when we are leaving for America. He continues to be so excited about almost everything we do. Yesterday, we met two sweet American women, Tara and her friend, who gave us clothes for the children to keep us from having to buy new clothes. It was very sweet of them to take time out of their day and some meet us in town. Kiev is a huge city...kind of reminds me of New York. They were also sweet enough to introduce us to the Metro. The kids had a blast riding the extremely long escalator down to the metro. We rode three stops with Tara and then got off and rode our three stops back. It was funny for us and the kids.
We went for the children's medical exams today. They didn't tell us anything we didn't already know or that I hadn't figured out. Zhenya is completely healthy other than an upper respiratory thing...still coughing a bit. Leeza has some issues with her skin..which we knew and could see...she also has some speech delays which I figured out right away when we were teaching her to say her numbers. She needs a lot of dental work...also obvious and the doctor said we need to take her to a neurologist for the tremors. We knew all of this...but it had to be done. We notice that Leeza only has the tremors when she is nervous or focusing really hard on a fine motor task. She pretty clumsy too....we knew from the beginning that there were some issues with her that needed to be taken care of once we get her home. We don't care though...she is our girl and we will deal with whatever lies ahead!
Tomorrow we are going for the visas and then Wednesday we are going to explore more of Kiev and pack up. Heading home on Thursday!! Yay!!!
Thanks for the continued prayers and emails/comments. We appreciate hearing from home!
We went for the children's medical exams today. They didn't tell us anything we didn't already know or that I hadn't figured out. Zhenya is completely healthy other than an upper respiratory thing...still coughing a bit. Leeza has some issues with her skin..which we knew and could see...she also has some speech delays which I figured out right away when we were teaching her to say her numbers. She needs a lot of dental work...also obvious and the doctor said we need to take her to a neurologist for the tremors. We knew all of this...but it had to be done. We notice that Leeza only has the tremors when she is nervous or focusing really hard on a fine motor task. She pretty clumsy too....we knew from the beginning that there were some issues with her that needed to be taken care of once we get her home. We don't care though...she is our girl and we will deal with whatever lies ahead!
Tomorrow we are going for the visas and then Wednesday we are going to explore more of Kiev and pack up. Heading home on Thursday!! Yay!!!
Thanks for the continued prayers and emails/comments. We appreciate hearing from home!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Second Night as a Family!
These kids are the best! Zhenya continues to get so excited about each new things he sees that I think he is going to hyperventilate. We got the final papers for Leeza signed yesterday and she said her official good bye to her caretakers. Then, we finally made it to Nickolaev and spent last night in an apartment with a kitchen. We cooked dinner together...the kids stayed right there with us...watching everything we did and getting so excited about it. We have spend the last a day and a half hearing Leeza say mamachka and papachka. Our facilitator said that is more endearing than mama and papa. Zhenya is saying it to us all the time as well.
We always reply Leezachka and Zhenyachka.....if we have heard and said it once we have heard and said it a thousand times. They are excited to have a mama and a papa. We are excited to have them too!!
Before we got our apartment we took them to the Nickolaev zoo, which boasts to be the best in all of Ukraine. The American animal rights activists would have a stroke if they saw the tiny space the animals have. The zoo was like something America would have had in the 60s or 70s. We had a great time though seeing the animals. My camera was dying so I didn't get many pictures. It was interesting to see all the animals getting fed...you don't often see that in American zoos.
Last night we walked through the market area near our apartment. I asked Zhenya if he likes Nickolaev to which he responded DAH. (yes) Then I said that mama likes Kiev and he responded that he will like Kiev. Then he quickly added that he likes America. It made my heart happy!! I can not tell you what a relief it is that our children are excited about going to America. I have read stories about kids who got this far and didn't want to go any more. It has to be heartbreaking to go through. Praise God....we don't have to be concerned about that....they are raring to go!!!
For the second night, they BOTH fell asleep with no fuss. I even had to move Leeza to her bed because she fell asleep in our bed where Jeff had crashed out as well. It was a long day! Leeza was the first one awake this morning at 7:45...well actually mama was the first awake...but wasn't ready to get up just yet.
Now my husband and kiddos are going to walk over to the market to buy jam and whatever else for breakfast. The kids are so excited to be going with their papa.
We should get their passports today and then we are off to Kiev.
We always reply Leezachka and Zhenyachka.....if we have heard and said it once we have heard and said it a thousand times. They are excited to have a mama and a papa. We are excited to have them too!!
Before we got our apartment we took them to the Nickolaev zoo, which boasts to be the best in all of Ukraine. The American animal rights activists would have a stroke if they saw the tiny space the animals have. The zoo was like something America would have had in the 60s or 70s. We had a great time though seeing the animals. My camera was dying so I didn't get many pictures. It was interesting to see all the animals getting fed...you don't often see that in American zoos.
Last night we walked through the market area near our apartment. I asked Zhenya if he likes Nickolaev to which he responded DAH. (yes) Then I said that mama likes Kiev and he responded that he will like Kiev. Then he quickly added that he likes America. It made my heart happy!! I can not tell you what a relief it is that our children are excited about going to America. I have read stories about kids who got this far and didn't want to go any more. It has to be heartbreaking to go through. Praise God....we don't have to be concerned about that....they are raring to go!!!
For the second night, they BOTH fell asleep with no fuss. I even had to move Leeza to her bed because she fell asleep in our bed where Jeff had crashed out as well. It was a long day! Leeza was the first one awake this morning at 7:45...well actually mama was the first awake...but wasn't ready to get up just yet.
Now my husband and kiddos are going to walk over to the market to buy jam and whatever else for breakfast. The kids are so excited to be going with their papa.
We should get their passports today and then we are off to Kiev.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
We have the children!
We officially (kind of) have the children in our custody. I say kind of because we are stuck another in night in what I like to refer to as purgatory!!! I am not even Catholic!! We could not leave the town the children have lived in the last year and a half and go to Nickolaev tonight as planned, BECAUSE Leeza's orphanage director left town for a meeting and was in available to sign yet ANOTHER piece of paper. SO.....one more night at the hotel. I shouldn't be complaining, but we are so ready to blow this joint and get to some civilizan and independence. I am at least thankful that we got to take Leeza with us tonight.
Now on to happier thoughts. Zhenya smiled the entire time we were leaving his internat. His caregiver cried which made me cry. She didn't realize at first that we were there for the actually final time...she started tearing up as soon as she realized he was leaving for good. We really liked her and feel that she really cared about him. He happily changed into his new clothes and hopped in the car. Very excited to be going to America. I am so happy that he is so happy. Leeza's leaving won't be official until tomorrow technically even though we do have her for good. Tomorrow she will officially say good bye to her caregivers.
We came back to the hotel and I changed Leeza's clothes into the new clothes I bought her. While we were doing that Jeff was going through book we bought. It is a English Ukrainian picture dictionary. Zhenya was asking if all these things were in American. He was so excited as they went through the book seeing all the thing that are in American that I thought he was going to bounce off the end of the bed. I wish I had a video of it. I was awesome!!! He was sooooooooooooooooo excited! Leeza was so happy about her new clothes and the dolls we got her.
So hopefully tonight is our last night here in the hotel and tomorrow we are off to Nickolaev after we sign the last paper and say PAKA (bye) to Leeza's caregivers. Even better maybe the passports will be ready and we can head to Kiev instead!!
I have to say everything with having the kids with us for real is going great. I do believe we got the cutest, smartest, best kids in all of Ukraine. Can't wait to get them home!!
We booked our flights home today for September 16th. We will arrive home in Nashville at 10:55 pm. Yay!! I am so happy to have a return date!!
Now on to happier thoughts. Zhenya smiled the entire time we were leaving his internat. His caregiver cried which made me cry. She didn't realize at first that we were there for the actually final time...she started tearing up as soon as she realized he was leaving for good. We really liked her and feel that she really cared about him. He happily changed into his new clothes and hopped in the car. Very excited to be going to America. I am so happy that he is so happy. Leeza's leaving won't be official until tomorrow technically even though we do have her for good. Tomorrow she will officially say good bye to her caregivers.
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| Zhenya with his caregiver (Nastasha) |
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| Our kids in their new clothes. We took a short walk by the beach this evening. |
We came back to the hotel and I changed Leeza's clothes into the new clothes I bought her. While we were doing that Jeff was going through book we bought. It is a English Ukrainian picture dictionary. Zhenya was asking if all these things were in American. He was so excited as they went through the book seeing all the thing that are in American that I thought he was going to bounce off the end of the bed. I wish I had a video of it. I was awesome!!! He was sooooooooooooooooo excited! Leeza was so happy about her new clothes and the dolls we got her.
So hopefully tonight is our last night here in the hotel and tomorrow we are off to Nickolaev after we sign the last paper and say PAKA (bye) to Leeza's caregivers. Even better maybe the passports will be ready and we can head to Kiev instead!!
I have to say everything with having the kids with us for real is going great. I do believe we got the cutest, smartest, best kids in all of Ukraine. Can't wait to get them home!!
We booked our flights home today for September 16th. We will arrive home in Nashville at 10:55 pm. Yay!! I am so happy to have a return date!!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
No kids yet................
Things in Ukraine and the adoption process are unpredictable at best. We woke up fully expecting to get possession of our children....but the inspector has to sign some papers in order for that to happen and she was in court all day..............so no kids yet. We did however get the passports applied for and got to take the kids into Nickolaev for that adventure. They were really good, though Leeza was REALLY scared to be in the car at first. We cuddled her and she claimed down. BUT it broke my heart to see the extreme look of fear on her face and the tears running down. It took all my strength not to cry too.
We made it to the passport office and she was frightened again at the men in uniform standing around...she was scared in the passport office, but the ladies there were very sweet to her. She was really only comfortable when she was in the car with us and her brother. Zhenya was a trooper. Nothing seems to phase him...I am certain it is due to his age and ability to understand what is going on.
After passports, we took them to the ONE place in Ukraine that was something American....McDonalds where they each got their first ever Happy Meal. Zhenya eats very little so he only ate half his burger. Leeza is an eater...she had chicken nuggets and ate most of it. Food costs shouldn't be too much at first since they eat so little.
So tonight we are back at the hotel we first stayed in here...because we HAD to have a hot shower. We haven't had a real shower in 12 days. We finally feel human again! The lady we stayed with was very sweet and it was nice and a blessing to have a real Ukrainian experience as well as save money on food and lodging for the last two weeks. She asked for our address so she can send us a New Year's card. We got her address as well. I plan to send her a picture of our first family photo. She didn't meet the kids. She took really great care of us while we were in her home. We gave her a scarf and her adult son who lives there some cologne as a parting gift. They were thrilled to receive them.
Tomorrow.....we should have the kids in our custody....I am hesitant to say that because you never know around here......
Passports should be here by Friday or Saturday and tomorrow we are rebooking our flights....trying to decide on the 15th or 16th. Medicals and visas at the US Consulate on HOPEFULLY Monday and Tuesday. If we decide to leave on the 16th it will be a safety measure for any unexpected events.....
Please keep praying, we REALLY REALLY need it.
We made it to the passport office and she was frightened again at the men in uniform standing around...she was scared in the passport office, but the ladies there were very sweet to her. She was really only comfortable when she was in the car with us and her brother. Zhenya was a trooper. Nothing seems to phase him...I am certain it is due to his age and ability to understand what is going on.
After passports, we took them to the ONE place in Ukraine that was something American....McDonalds where they each got their first ever Happy Meal. Zhenya eats very little so he only ate half his burger. Leeza is an eater...she had chicken nuggets and ate most of it. Food costs shouldn't be too much at first since they eat so little.
So tonight we are back at the hotel we first stayed in here...because we HAD to have a hot shower. We haven't had a real shower in 12 days. We finally feel human again! The lady we stayed with was very sweet and it was nice and a blessing to have a real Ukrainian experience as well as save money on food and lodging for the last two weeks. She asked for our address so she can send us a New Year's card. We got her address as well. I plan to send her a picture of our first family photo. She didn't meet the kids. She took really great care of us while we were in her home. We gave her a scarf and her adult son who lives there some cologne as a parting gift. They were thrilled to receive them.
Tomorrow.....we should have the kids in our custody....I am hesitant to say that because you never know around here......
Passports should be here by Friday or Saturday and tomorrow we are rebooking our flights....trying to decide on the 15th or 16th. Medicals and visas at the US Consulate on HOPEFULLY Monday and Tuesday. If we decide to leave on the 16th it will be a safety measure for any unexpected events.....
Please keep praying, we REALLY REALLY need it.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
We have birth certificates!
Today we got the children's new birth certificates listing us as their parents! It is even more official now. It took ALL day and we are completely wiped out. We had to drive to the town of their birth which is about 160 km from where we are staying. In addition to passports, we had to get their names changed on their ID number...similiar to an United States social security number. So we got both items done today and they are needed in order to apply for passports. Tomorrow we get the children and head to Nickolaev for passports!!
We have had some extra stress the last few days and today's accomplishment was kind of tainted. As previously mention about the children's older brother contacting us. Today we received a call from an Aunt. It is interesting that SUDDENLY relatives are coming out of the woodworks after all this time.....imagine the frustration. We in our love and care for Zhenya and Leeza want to know about their families, but at the same time feel frustrated that they have had no contact all this time and NOW they care about them!? We know however that Zhenya and Leeza may want to find their family one day and we want to be able to let them by having as much information as possible. I just wish his family was excited that someone loves these kids and wants to give them a life they won't have staying in the orphanage and internat. Anyway, this has added some stress here at the end that we weren't expecting. It is difficult to explain what we are feeling, unless you are a parent to an adopted child who will look to you for answers about their past. I want to be able to provide that and at this point I am not sure it will be possible due to the negativity involved.
Another added stress has been finances....I haven't talked about money much since we traveled because it seemed a minor issue compared to meeting our children. We have done what we can to save money,but we have had some extra expenses that we did not expect and it is causing a strain on us. Some have wondered if the fundraising thermometer on our blog is accurate....IT IS. We had to borrow a large sum of money in order to travel. The decision to travel when we did was not made lightly...we prayed and felt we needed to go. Also, the state department here in Ukraine does not look too kindly on being told to reschedule something due to lack of money. It is possible they would have rejected our dossier and we wouldn't be able to get children. We had prayed for God's timing through the whole process and did what we felt we had to do to get our children. One look at their faces and I would do it again. However, due to the unexpected expenses and the amount of money will be owe upon returning home...I have been quite stressed. I am praying and trying to give to God, but this can be tough. Please pray for God to continue to provide the money we need to pay for the adoption fully as well as paying for getting Leeza's teeth fixed. Poor child has teeth that are completely rotten in the front...it is an urgent need that we have to get looked at immediately when we get home.
Anyway, on to happier thoughts....we get our children tomorrow!! Tomorrow, they will leave the internat and orphanage FOREVER!!! They will FOREVER be our children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for your continued prayers!! We love you all! We are almost home!
We have had some extra stress the last few days and today's accomplishment was kind of tainted. As previously mention about the children's older brother contacting us. Today we received a call from an Aunt. It is interesting that SUDDENLY relatives are coming out of the woodworks after all this time.....imagine the frustration. We in our love and care for Zhenya and Leeza want to know about their families, but at the same time feel frustrated that they have had no contact all this time and NOW they care about them!? We know however that Zhenya and Leeza may want to find their family one day and we want to be able to let them by having as much information as possible. I just wish his family was excited that someone loves these kids and wants to give them a life they won't have staying in the orphanage and internat. Anyway, this has added some stress here at the end that we weren't expecting. It is difficult to explain what we are feeling, unless you are a parent to an adopted child who will look to you for answers about their past. I want to be able to provide that and at this point I am not sure it will be possible due to the negativity involved.
Another added stress has been finances....I haven't talked about money much since we traveled because it seemed a minor issue compared to meeting our children. We have done what we can to save money,but we have had some extra expenses that we did not expect and it is causing a strain on us. Some have wondered if the fundraising thermometer on our blog is accurate....IT IS. We had to borrow a large sum of money in order to travel. The decision to travel when we did was not made lightly...we prayed and felt we needed to go. Also, the state department here in Ukraine does not look too kindly on being told to reschedule something due to lack of money. It is possible they would have rejected our dossier and we wouldn't be able to get children. We had prayed for God's timing through the whole process and did what we felt we had to do to get our children. One look at their faces and I would do it again. However, due to the unexpected expenses and the amount of money will be owe upon returning home...I have been quite stressed. I am praying and trying to give to God, but this can be tough. Please pray for God to continue to provide the money we need to pay for the adoption fully as well as paying for getting Leeza's teeth fixed. Poor child has teeth that are completely rotten in the front...it is an urgent need that we have to get looked at immediately when we get home.
Anyway, on to happier thoughts....we get our children tomorrow!! Tomorrow, they will leave the internat and orphanage FOREVER!!! They will FOREVER be our children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for your continued prayers!! We love you all! We are almost home!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Zhenya turned 10 today!
Zhenya’s birthday was today and we did take a cake and some Orange Fanta to his internat to celebrate with his class. Zhenya was all smiles and very excited about the cake! We lit candles and sang Happy Birthday to him. There are 4 boys in all in his class including Zhenya. They are all sweet boys that we really like.
We stayed for a couple hours at the internat spending time with Zhenya and some of the other kids. I must say that we are not having the same experience with the older children that I have read in some blogs. Maybe it is different in different internats, but we have found the teenagers in this internat to be rude for the most part. They said very bad words in English and rattle off stuff in Russian and laugh. They are very clearly “mocking” us after they ask us our name or whatever. We would just walk away and they would follow. At one point they were throwing things at us!! I was surprised at the level of rudeness after reading other blogs about the older children being so sweet. Maybe those bloggers just left our the negative stuff. I am certainly not a negative person…but I can’t wait to get my boy away from those kids. They of course are a product of their environment with little to no adult supervision they have few boundaries and little respect for adults. Now, I must clarify that there were some teenagers that were precious. They were polite and said nice things to use and clearly wanted our attention. I feel bad that the other naughty teenagers shred such a negative light that I can completely understand why people are nervous about adopting older children. Anyway, Jeff and I talked about it and decided that we clearly need to pray for these teenagers. They need Jesus and they need some love. Sadly, many will not receive appropriate attention from an adult. After enduring their mouths for as long as we could and seeing that Zhenya was safely playing with his same aged classmates, we left the internat. Praise God, we are getting Zhenya out of there soon. He is such a sweet boy. He had a necklace on yesterday and I asked to see it….it was a wooden cross. He pulled it out of his shirt and smiled really big at me. He knows we are Christians, because we have prayed with him several times.
Today was the end of our 10 day waiting period, but we did not get the court decree until late this afternoon. Therefore, we aren’t getting the children just yet. Trust me, I am soo eager to get them now that they are ours to get. Our facilitator says we need to wait until Wednesday morning, because tomorrow we will be running all over getting their birth certificates and other papers signed. So it looks like we will get them Wednesday morning and then head to the Nickolaev for passports. I have protested about getting them sooner, but the facilitator said that all the running around for paperwork would be a challenge for the child. Maybe he’s right…but we waited and waited and I want my kids!! I definitely want my boy out of that internat!! Trying to be patient, however…………..this entire journey is a practice in patience. So as far as our timeline…it looks like we will leave for Nickolaev on Wednesday morning and apply for passports. Then we will wait for hopefully no more than 3 days for them. We hope to be in Kiev by Saturday which means we will get the medicals done on Monday and Tuesday and be able to come home on Wednesday or Thursday the 15th or 16th. Still another 10 days…………….I won’t tell you how I feel about that. It is certainly not within the timeline I was hoping for! Our plane tickets are for Saturday the 11th..so clearly we have to change them.
Another interesting development was a strained meeting with the children’s older brother. He wanted to meet us which was totally fine with us. It was an interesting meeting that I am not going to go into detail about since I plan for this blog to be read by Zhenya and Leeza one day. I will talk with them about it when they are old enough to understand. The brother did ask us if he could call Zhenya in America.to which we answered yes. He gave his number to our facilitator and I guess they will work it out. I told our facilitator that I would like to have the number in case Zhenya or Leeza wants to contact his brother one day to find out more about his family.
Tomorrow we get birth certificates with Jeff and I listed as their parents!! Woo Hoo!
We stayed for a couple hours at the internat spending time with Zhenya and some of the other kids. I must say that we are not having the same experience with the older children that I have read in some blogs. Maybe it is different in different internats, but we have found the teenagers in this internat to be rude for the most part. They said very bad words in English and rattle off stuff in Russian and laugh. They are very clearly “mocking” us after they ask us our name or whatever. We would just walk away and they would follow. At one point they were throwing things at us!! I was surprised at the level of rudeness after reading other blogs about the older children being so sweet. Maybe those bloggers just left our the negative stuff. I am certainly not a negative person…but I can’t wait to get my boy away from those kids. They of course are a product of their environment with little to no adult supervision they have few boundaries and little respect for adults. Now, I must clarify that there were some teenagers that were precious. They were polite and said nice things to use and clearly wanted our attention. I feel bad that the other naughty teenagers shred such a negative light that I can completely understand why people are nervous about adopting older children. Anyway, Jeff and I talked about it and decided that we clearly need to pray for these teenagers. They need Jesus and they need some love. Sadly, many will not receive appropriate attention from an adult. After enduring their mouths for as long as we could and seeing that Zhenya was safely playing with his same aged classmates, we left the internat. Praise God, we are getting Zhenya out of there soon. He is such a sweet boy. He had a necklace on yesterday and I asked to see it….it was a wooden cross. He pulled it out of his shirt and smiled really big at me. He knows we are Christians, because we have prayed with him several times.
Today was the end of our 10 day waiting period, but we did not get the court decree until late this afternoon. Therefore, we aren’t getting the children just yet. Trust me, I am soo eager to get them now that they are ours to get. Our facilitator says we need to wait until Wednesday morning, because tomorrow we will be running all over getting their birth certificates and other papers signed. So it looks like we will get them Wednesday morning and then head to the Nickolaev for passports. I have protested about getting them sooner, but the facilitator said that all the running around for paperwork would be a challenge for the child. Maybe he’s right…but we waited and waited and I want my kids!! I definitely want my boy out of that internat!! Trying to be patient, however…………..this entire journey is a practice in patience. So as far as our timeline…it looks like we will leave for Nickolaev on Wednesday morning and apply for passports. Then we will wait for hopefully no more than 3 days for them. We hope to be in Kiev by Saturday which means we will get the medicals done on Monday and Tuesday and be able to come home on Wednesday or Thursday the 15th or 16th. Still another 10 days…………….I won’t tell you how I feel about that. It is certainly not within the timeline I was hoping for! Our plane tickets are for Saturday the 11th..so clearly we have to change them.
Another interesting development was a strained meeting with the children’s older brother. He wanted to meet us which was totally fine with us. It was an interesting meeting that I am not going to go into detail about since I plan for this blog to be read by Zhenya and Leeza one day. I will talk with them about it when they are old enough to understand. The brother did ask us if he could call Zhenya in America.to which we answered yes. He gave his number to our facilitator and I guess they will work it out. I told our facilitator that I would like to have the number in case Zhenya or Leeza wants to contact his brother one day to find out more about his family.
Tomorrow we get birth certificates with Jeff and I listed as their parents!! Woo Hoo!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
The Fellers Four Family Photo
We had a really great day today. Probably the best day we've had here so far.....we spent quite awhile with Zhenya at his internat and then he came with us to visit Leeza at the orphanage. We played football, American football, ate pizza and just had a great time.
The kids in Zhenya's internat were very interested in us, Americans. One little girl kept asking me to take her to America with us. Another little girl has been to America twice on a hosting program....she couldn't tell me where. A few kids knew a few words in English and many of them knew how to say "My name is".
One little boy was a booger. He said he was in the 5th class. I told him I teach the 5th class and knew how to handle him. I gave him my strongest "teacher" face and he backed away!! LOL He was quite a mess. It was amusing when some of the old kids would say things kind of mocking us..... like we cared!!! I will be glad to get my boy out of there....there are so many boys there that are really out of control...so sad.
Jeff still had a good time running around playing football with the boys.
We played on the computer with Zhenya for awhile today. I hooked up the camera and we played with the feature that makes your face into crazy shapes and such. We were quickly surrounded by Zhenya's friends.
The boy in black is his close friend. I will have to ask his name again...I forgot it!!
Zhenya's caregiver (Natasha) is a very nice lady who seems to really care about him. She speaks a tiny bit of English. She showed us a bag of clothes that Zhenya's older brother sent him. We aren't sure of the details and were surprised to hear this. We did not think he had any contact with his older brother. We were told Zhenya and Leeza had an older brother and sister who are 26 and 28. We wondered why they didn't live with them.....
I tried to ask the caregiver more questions and she said Zhenya does not see his brother. We will have our facilitator ask more about that when he gets here. I would love to get contact information for their siblings, so we will have it one day if they want contact them. I assume the siblings had relinquished all their rights, because it was not mentioned in court to my knowledge...of course much is said in court that is not translated word for word.
We left Zhenya's internat and took him into town to have pizza. It is not pizza exactly like America...but good enough. More along the lines of gourmet pizza. Very tasty...but I miss Dominos! There was a political rally going on in town when we arrive. We stayed for a bit of it, but Zhenya was getting bored....mama was too!! ;-) So we left to see Leeza....she hugged her brother right away!! We called my mother on Skype so they could all meet. They got to see our dogs, cat and their bedrooms. Then we went outside for some family football! Jeff taught Zhenya how to say "hike" and throw the football...I tried to intercept a couple times, but I am not a great football player!! Leeza was more affectionate with me today..but I think that is because papa was playing football and gave more attention to Zhenya. I was second choice...it's okay though!! I still got several hugs and kisses!
Well, we have one more day for our 10 day waiting period. Our facilitator will be here either tomorrow evening or Monday morning. Then we will go get the court decree and the new birth certificates. If we get back in time, we will be able to get the kids. Otherwise we will visit them and celebrate Zhenya's birthday. Then we should be able to get them for sure on Tuesday...but everything in Ukraine is subject to change so I won't say for sure. Just hoping!!
Thank you for the continued prayers!!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Day 26
We got to see our boy today. He seemed a bit grumpy at first, but then I guess I am grumpy when people wake me up! He cheered up once he got to play with the camera. He loves taking pictures. He discovered how to use the timer on the camera and he had a great time with that feature. He also discovered the zoom feature. Here are a few examples of his work.... I think we have a star photographer on our hands!!! :-)
We could only stay a short time, because he is still in the infirmary. When it was time for us to go, he did not want us to leave. This made us very happy! Not because we want to disappoint our kids, but it means he likes us...either us or our camera...LOL Anyway, I told him we would be back tomorrow and he wanted to see it on the calendar. So I show him the cell phone calendar...I showed him "today' and then pointed at the next date and said "tomorrow". He seemed to understand. We also talked about when we would leave for the next destination and then Kiev and finally America. He smiled his sweet smile! I can't tell you how awesome it feels to know that he is happy to go to America with us. This can be a very scary experience for these children. He seems to be happy about going!! Yay, God!!!
Of course we went to visit our girl again. We had a great time playing American football with her. She is full of energy!! Today was the first time we saw the other children in the orphanage. One little boy really caught our eye...............SOOOOOOO stinking cute. He is stocky and will certainly be a football player. I have no idea what his name is, but I just wanted to kiss his face off!
Seriously, I want to bring the whole lot home!!! It is so tough knowing we are leaving and these precious kiddos have to stay with no parents. At least the caregivers here seem to really care about these kids, but that can not compare to having a mama and a papa.
Here's our girl sporting her "cool" look!!
Have I mention how much I can't wait to get my kiddos home?!?! Maybe a few time!?
We are in the home stretch for our waiting period. I asked our facilitator whether we would get them on Monday or Tuesday. He couldn't say yet. I am assuming that is because we don't know how the paperwork will work out. There is ALWAYS more and more paperwork.
Keep praying...we are almost home.....
Of course we went to visit our girl again. We had a great time playing American football with her. She is full of energy!! Today was the first time we saw the other children in the orphanage. One little boy really caught our eye...............SOOOOOOO stinking cute. He is stocky and will certainly be a football player. I have no idea what his name is, but I just wanted to kiss his face off!
Have I mention how much I can't wait to get my kiddos home?!?! Maybe a few time!?
We are in the home stretch for our waiting period. I asked our facilitator whether we would get them on Monday or Tuesday. He couldn't say yet. I am assuming that is because we don't know how the paperwork will work out. There is ALWAYS more and more paperwork.
Keep praying...we are almost home.....
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Still sick!
Our boy is still sick....we weren't allowed to see him today. :-(
He had a fever of 38 C...which is about 101. I am not happy we couldn't see him. I am his mama!! I will be the one giving him chicken soup and medicine very soon. We of course prayed for his healing as we were leaving the internat. We have the phone number of the caregiver in charge. She said a doctor has seen him and given him the appropriate medicine. Please pray the fever will break and he will get better fast. We really want/need to spend time with him in his place of comfort before we take him away from everything he has known.
My only consolation for not seeing him was that if he is contagious I don't want any germs traveling on our clothes when we see Leeza. Don't want both my kids sick! That will happen soon enough once they live together again!!
Jeff thought today was Friday...I had to disappoint him...its only Thursday. The waiting and lack of things to do is finally getting to him too. He has thought I was crazy for the past week. Since we are trying to save money, we can't really get out and about other than walking to nearby places or the taxi to the internat and orphanage. We are so eager to get to the next town and then to Kiev. Something new to see and our kids will be with us for good!
Anyway, please pray for Zhenya!
He had a fever of 38 C...which is about 101. I am not happy we couldn't see him. I am his mama!! I will be the one giving him chicken soup and medicine very soon. We of course prayed for his healing as we were leaving the internat. We have the phone number of the caregiver in charge. She said a doctor has seen him and given him the appropriate medicine. Please pray the fever will break and he will get better fast. We really want/need to spend time with him in his place of comfort before we take him away from everything he has known.
My only consolation for not seeing him was that if he is contagious I don't want any germs traveling on our clothes when we see Leeza. Don't want both my kids sick! That will happen soon enough once they live together again!!
Jeff thought today was Friday...I had to disappoint him...its only Thursday. The waiting and lack of things to do is finally getting to him too. He has thought I was crazy for the past week. Since we are trying to save money, we can't really get out and about other than walking to nearby places or the taxi to the internat and orphanage. We are so eager to get to the next town and then to Kiev. Something new to see and our kids will be with us for good!
Anyway, please pray for Zhenya!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
School begins-First Bell
Today we were allowed to witness and video an important celebration here in the Ukraine. It was the first day of school. They call it First Bell. The children all dress in black pants/skirts and white shirts. The younger girls have giant puffy hairbows in the hair. They have a ceremony in which the seniors welcome the first year students. There was singing, dancing and introduction of those who I assume were teachers. We went to Zhenya's school so we could take pictures and video part of the ceremony for him. We felt this would be a great thing to have documented for him to remember an important part of Ukrainian culture. When we arrived we looked for him amongst the neatly dressed children...he was no where to be found. We stayed for the entire ceremony and took pictures all the while looking for our boy. We never found him!! Later we found out that he did not get to attend because he was sick. He has been coughing alot when we've seen him and I have been concerned. Apparently he had a fever today, so he had to stay in isolation. So he missed the whole thing. I was doubly glad I was there to video it. We went to visit him this afternoon and I showed him the pictures and the video. He seemed to really enjoy watching it. (Quick pronunciation lesson on Zhenya's name... the Zh makes the JE sounds like the French word for "I"... it is not quite a "J" sound and definately not a "Z" sound. The rest is pronounced like it looks EN YA...like the singer Enya. So it is "Je- Enya" It took Jeff a few days to get it down. I took French in high school and college...so I had no problem once I associated it with "Je" in French. I love the name, but know that we will have a life time of name correction.
After visiting Zhenya, we went to see our girl! She was as happy as ever to see us! Her entire groupa of children has changed. There were three brand new kids that we have never met. They were so quiet and shy, especially in comparison to the wild bunch that use to be in her groupa. We found out on Monday that three of the kids were going to school this year. Our hearts were sad that we will not see them again. They are sweet precious children that really need a family. One of the girls, Olga, really touched our hearts. We don't know about her availability for adoption, but we know she has one older sister. No other details unfortunately....she is a beautiful little girl, full of life. I pray God brings a family for her and her sister. We have also prayed for the little boy, Bogdan. Leeza really loves Bogdan. She says his name all the time, if we draw a picture, its a picture of Bogdan...when we write her name, she wants to write Bogdan's name too. He has no siblings and is SOOOOO smart. I wish we could pack up the whole group and bring them home. They are all great kids. The third girl that went to school, Karina, was a bundle of unlimited energy. She so desperately wants attention...my heart breaks for her. Please pray for these sweet children that God brings them a family! There were three others in Leeza's groupa until today and they have apparently been moved to a new group. I am unsure of why and why Leeza did not move as well. They are all about the same age. The new children are younger than Leeza. I can only assume they didn't move her, because she will be leaving soon. Anyway, now we have three new kids in her group to fall in love with over the next few days.
We have been in Ukraine 25 days now!! Wow...I don't think I have ever been away from home for longer than a couple of weeks. We really love this country, but ready to come home. Everyday, I watch my children and I am so eager to get home so we can show them what it is like to have a family not just a mama and papa who come visit and then leave. We are at the halfway point of our 10 day waiting period. Please please continue to pray for us. We are so longing to be home with our family, church family and friends.
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| The children lining up the ceremony. |
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| First year students- they are so tiny compared to the other kiddos! |
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| Our sick boy in the infirmary |
After visiting Zhenya, we went to see our girl! She was as happy as ever to see us! Her entire groupa of children has changed. There were three brand new kids that we have never met. They were so quiet and shy, especially in comparison to the wild bunch that use to be in her groupa. We found out on Monday that three of the kids were going to school this year. Our hearts were sad that we will not see them again. They are sweet precious children that really need a family. One of the girls, Olga, really touched our hearts. We don't know about her availability for adoption, but we know she has one older sister. No other details unfortunately....she is a beautiful little girl, full of life. I pray God brings a family for her and her sister. We have also prayed for the little boy, Bogdan. Leeza really loves Bogdan. She says his name all the time, if we draw a picture, its a picture of Bogdan...when we write her name, she wants to write Bogdan's name too. He has no siblings and is SOOOOO smart. I wish we could pack up the whole group and bring them home. They are all great kids. The third girl that went to school, Karina, was a bundle of unlimited energy. She so desperately wants attention...my heart breaks for her. Please pray for these sweet children that God brings them a family! There were three others in Leeza's groupa until today and they have apparently been moved to a new group. I am unsure of why and why Leeza did not move as well. They are all about the same age. The new children are younger than Leeza. I can only assume they didn't move her, because she will be leaving soon. Anyway, now we have three new kids in her group to fall in love with over the next few days.
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| Papa "hiding" from Leeza! |
We have been in Ukraine 25 days now!! Wow...I don't think I have ever been away from home for longer than a couple of weeks. We really love this country, but ready to come home. Everyday, I watch my children and I am so eager to get home so we can show them what it is like to have a family not just a mama and papa who come visit and then leave. We are at the halfway point of our 10 day waiting period. Please please continue to pray for us. We are so longing to be home with our family, church family and friends.
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