Family Wedding

Leslie and Lucas, bride and groom

Our niece Leslie recently married her boyfriend Lucas. They were married on the campus of the University of Oregon, a true "Duck" wedding. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. We were all there and dressed up, but I didn't get a family picture.

Deanna and her brothers.

Deanna and her Daddy

Jeremy and Mom
How do you get that boy to smile??

Showing off hair and dress

Swimming Lessons

Deanna has been having fun in swimming lessons. She is very comfortable in the water and eager to learn. She will be getting lots of practice swimming on our upcoming camping trip. She passed her class but her teacher wrote on her report card under things to work on, "listening to instructions and keeping hands to herself". Boy did she nail that assessment! I didn't get any good action shots but here are a few of her modeling her swim suit.

Healing

Since the surgery Deanna has had a few minor complications, but now is on the way to recovery. Several days after the operation her incision seemed too red to me. I had been religiously cleaning it 5 times a day as directed by our plastic surgeon. I wasn't sure if it was becoming infected or just irritated from the cleanings. I finally decided it looked too bad, so I called the doctor. She wanted us to come in that day, and she agreed it was infected. They also took out some stitches. She was started on some antibiotics and it began to improve slightly. But, a day and a half later it looked worse again. She was put on different antibiotics and it slowly has improved. I had to remove some sutures from the inside of her lip and it has been healing better since then.
Her nose looks very good. It is much less flat on one side and the nostril is really lifted and rounder. It is still sore but the swelling is gone.
We kept her home for a week and a half but this week she went to day camp at the church. She really needed the activity and had a great time. Next week she starts swimming lessons. She is back to her old energy level and is in need to things to do!

Surgery

On Wednesday, June 10, Deanna had surgery for "cleft scar revision, cleft rhinoplasty, (and bilateral ear piercing)". The last thing on the list was Deanna's only objective! When the anesthesiologist came in to talk to us and verify the procedure being done (scar revision, etc) Deanna sat up and said "no, my earrings!" and showed them to him. Everyone at the hospital was really great. Yea Doernbecher!

This was a day procedure and we were home in 8 hours. The surgery itself lasted almost 3 hours. They reattached muscles on her lip, to make them straighter and removed the zigzag scar to create a straighter one. Her lip line was also evened out. Her flatter nostril was lifted and reshaped some. It looks pretty good as the swelling goes down but it will take a while to see the final product. Overall everything went very well, but she has been quite swollen and sore. The stitches go from inside her nose all the way down her lip and inside her mouth. She was barely able to smile due to the swelling, what a difference. We are so use to her happy face all the time! We have had to clean and apply ointment to the wound 5 times a day. We (I) have been quite diligent but the scar still seems red to me. Hopefully there will be some improvement soon. The earrings on the other hand look great!

Now for the 6 weeks of no contact sports or tumbling. Swimming pool here we come.

Watching cartoons after surgery.

Beginning of Summer

Deanna loves to hang around with Jordan and his friends! They are quite tolerant. Here with Breanna, Dave and Ericka. They have had some campfires in our back yard and Deanna was allowed to attend for a short while.

Deanna still refers to Jordan as "my O". Jon was making her say Jordan, and she is able, but she then said, "Jordan, I just call you O".

So "O" it is.

Jeremy will soon be moving home for the summer. If he doesn't find a job soon I told him he will be my free baby sitter. Hope she likes staying up late, surfing the internet, and video games. Oh yeah, I guess she does! Deanna loves her "Richie" even though he is by far the biggest teaser.

Someone loves to have their nails polished. To the extent of being obsessed with nail polish. This has resulted in some messes in the house. As a result she is not supposed to ever touch the nail polish herself, and I try to keep it out of reach. This night I did her hands and feet for a special occasion the next day. She was so excited and is showing them off in the pictures. The next morning I found her playing with the same nail polish, trying to touch them up! Needless to say the beautiful polish had to come off and she has been bare since.


Gymnastics is probably our first love. She now is inventing routines involving dance moves and tumbling. Look at that extension!

T-ball is coming along as well. Her last game she was 3 for 3 hitting from a pitcher! Tonight was to be her final game of the season but a sudden thunder and lightening storm cancelled the game. She actually was quite disappointed.

Deanna's surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday the 10th. It will be an outpatient procedure and hopefully not too unpleasant. She is not looking forward to it, so we don't dwell on it. The hard part will be 6 weeks of no contact activities or tumbling. Swimming is okay after 2 weeks so I have signed her up for some lessons. I may take her away to the beach house for some quiet time right after the surgery. (I think I may need it!) Maybe we'll break out the nail polish.

PreSchool Graduation

The preschool year has officially ended. Deanna has learned so much this year and has made many friends. They had a nice program and a ceremony at the church. Deanna will be attending kindergarten there next year so she will already be accustomed to everything. I think she looks very grown up in these pictures!

Preschool program, shes the "mouse" in black.

Getting her certificate from her teacher.

The whole class.

Celebrating with friends!

Catching Up

We have just been busy with the regular routine! Preschool, gymnastics, t-ball, speech therapy, and just playing. Jeremy came home for mother's day weekend so the whole family was together. Deanna loves her brothers despite the teasing! (Jeremy is the biggest teaser).
Deanna has surgery scheduled the first part of June to revise her lip scar. This is something that is commonly done with cleft lip repair, and usually before kids start school. It will just be a day surgery. She is aware of this upcoming procedure and is not too pleased. She says "I don't want my lip cut, I'll just stay home with my Mama". We have told her she can get her ears pierced at the same time, and this has helped to give her something positive to look forward to. She has really wanted pierced ears and is excited for this. I think after the surgery when she looks in the mirror she will focus on her new earrings and not a bandaged lip!

Deanna had some pictures taken at the tulip festival, courtesy of my friend Debbie. This is a preview, stay tuned for more.

MEXICO!!

We just returned from our family vacation to Mexico. This is already Deanna's 2nd trip to Mexico, as it is a favorite vacation destination of ours. This year Jon's brother Mike and his wife Lori shared a suite with us. My parents, my sister and several other friends also made the trip, and they had the pleasure of staying in the penthouse suite. Jeremy and Jordan opted out this year due to school, work, and social obligations. I really missed them, we haven't gone without them before.

Deanna was the only kid in our group, but she seemed to make a friend everywhere we went. At our resort she met several friends at the pool. They swam and participated in many activities together, such as pinatas, coloring contest, watermelon eating contest, dart tournament, bingo, etc. A five year old boy and a five year old girl in particular were good buddies. The girl actually lives in our area and we were on the same plane on the way home. Language being no barrier for Deanna she also made friends with some Mexican children. One little girl she played with for quite some time while we were dining in an outdoor restaurant.

Vacation may not be very relaxing, but always full of fun and excitement with Deanna around.

Mexico cont....

T-Ball

DeAnna has started to play t-ball this spring. She really seems to enjoy it, and tackles it with her usual enthusiasm. She is beginning to learn the rules of the game, with the rest of the kids on the team. Her first inning in the field, she got the ball and proceeded to do a happy dance, neglecting to throwing the ball to first base. The kids all fight to field the balls and DeAnna is usually in the middle of the pile. Players be warned, if you bump heads she won't be the one to come up crying!

Gymnastics

DeAnna continues to enjoy gymnastics. She routinely practices tumbling in the living room, or wherever she may be. Sometimes she'll spontaneously do a little dance number and it looks like a real floor exercise routine, Olga Korbet style! She also has a soul mate in gymnastics class. A little girl who is just as spirited and affectionate, so the hugging is very mutual. This girl has been known to say "DeAnna, I love you". I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

Spring Program

DeAnna had her spring program at preschool last night. Her class was dressed as ducks and they sang a little song. None of the pictures came out very well because we were too far away.
I did get some pictures of DeAnna before the event. She was so excited to get ready to "go sing with her friends" that she was ready way too early. Soon she was tumbling in her dress in the living room!



Naturally wavy hair!!!

She's the duck in the middle.

ONE YEAR HOME

We have been home from Ukraine and had DeAnna in our family for a full year now. Everything has turned out so much better than we could have ever hoped for. DeAnna has such a huge, outgoing personality you would never think she spent her first 4 1/2 years in a desolate orphanage.

She is very bonded with her family and is wonderfully affectionate to all of us. She loves her "Papa" and she asks him every night, "Papa do you go to work tomorrow?" If he says yes she carries on "Oh Papa no!, why? I want Papa home! If he says no she says "Oh Papa, I'm so happy!" followed by many kisses.

She loves her brother Jordan, and she sees him just about every day. She calls him her "O". She does not get to see Jeremy "Richie" as often, but she frequently says she misses him and wants to talk to him. He is good about talking to her on the phone. They enjoy playing with her and teasing her as big brothers do.

She still has some issues with being overly friendly to strangers. We have been working on understanding "stranger danger" and respecting the personal space of people she knows. Although she has made a lot of progress in this area we still have to watch her like a hawk in public.

In the past year DeAnna has grown about 5 1/2 inches and gained about 4 pounds. Her hair has gone from short and falling out, to thick and wavy. She is very healthy and has only had a couple of colds. She had her palate repaired and tubes placed in her ears last May. She will have scar revision surgery on her lip probably early this summer.

Speech therapy has been by far the biggest issue. She went from non-verbal to speaking in short sentences in the past 9 months. Speech does not come easily to her and we have had to work very hard to get to this point. She is so great at communicating, this has actually hindered her motivation to speak. I think it is quite interesting watching her learn to talk. It is apparent that she missed a big developmental stage in language and really has to work to form the pathways from brain to mouth.

DeAnna has endless energy and is especially excited around friends. She sleeps well all night but she NEVER falls asleep anywhere except in her bed. When she is tired she is more active.

DeAnna likes to test her limits but is very directable and likes to please. She sometimes gets frustrated but has never had a tantrum or any kind of "meltdown" (since the plane trip from Ukraine).

She is doing great in preschool this year. She has learned a lot and she feels secure and well accepted there. We will be sending her to kindergarten at the same place next year. I have heard great things about the kindergarten teacher, and they have a longer day and much smaller class size than our public school.

DeAnna loves her gymnastics class and she practices at home all the time. She definitely needs the physical outlet! She is also going to play t-ball this spring. The boys played baseball for many years and it will be fun to go back to the field! DeAnna also shows some potential in this area, but I really would just like her to meet some little girls in our area.

People often say what a lucky girl she is, but we know the truth, we are the lucky ones.

Preschool Field Trip

Last week I went with DeAnna's preshcool class to the fire station. The kids had a great time and it was fun to watch DeAnna interact with her friends.

Sometimes it is hard to remember all of the little things DeAnna has not been exposed to, essentially missing out the the first few years of life. Before this day I don't think she knew what a fire station was, and I hadn't thought to explain it to her. Some of the kids were talking about stop, drop and roll. I know she has never heard of that before! There are so many things to learn!

Beach Trip

Jon had a couple days off, so the three of us went to the beach for a few days (boys not available). The weather was great and we spent a lot of time on the beach with the dogs. We even tried our hand at clam digging, but the tide was really too high and we only got one.

We went to a store where DeAnna found a pair of sunglasses that she wanted really bad. It was a sunny day and they were only four dollars so we said yes. She kept giggling and saying thank you, thank you, I'm so happy!!! People were smiling and turning to look at someone so happy. I tried to quiet her down a little and a lady said, "its okay, just let her be happy!" We went up to the Astoria column where the view was spectacular. The column was closed for repairs so we couldn't climb up.

On the way home we had ice cream. More happiness!

The next day we walked the prom in Seaside. DeAnna insisted on posing on each of the benches, while sprinting up and down the sidewalk in between. Endless energy!

Adoption Day Anniversary

February 11 is the anniversary of our adoption day. We didn't make a big deal out of it because DeAnna really prefers to think she has always been with us. She is at the stage now where she doesn't want to look at pictures of Ukraine at all. Jon kiddingly said something one day about her going back and playing for the Ukrainian national basketball team when she is older and she said NO, I here now! We didn't even know she was paying attention.
So for now we just focus on the fact that she is with us forever!

We also spent the day going to the doctor for a lingering bad cough. We saw our regular pediatrician's brother and partner in the practice. He was very nice to her and when he left the room she said "I like that boy, he's nice".

We then went to TCBY for a treat. I doesn't matter what day it is, every day is a day to celebrate being together!

11 Months Home

DeAnna has been home 11 months, and she has really changed from toddler-like to a little girl. She has recently lost 2 teeth, and grown an amazing 5 inches in 10 months, as well as 3 pounds!! I keep buying her new jeans and they are too short before I know it. She likes to dress up and have her hair styled every day.
She loves to write and carries a spiral notebook around most of the time. Her penmanship is excellent. She likes to write the names of those in her family and some of her very good friends, including Krista her favorite older girl friend!
She is happy 99% of the time and she always wants everyone else to be happy as well. She asks us many time a day "are you happy?" and "do you love me?" Of course we tell her we love her all the time but she likes the reinforcement. We're working on teaching her that even if we are not happy we still love her.

One Year Ago Today, A Day in Court

Finally we were set for our day in court. Now she would finally be ours and we could officially start our 10 day waiting period. Yana arrived in town very early in the morning. I brought a dress to wear and wore my new boots with it, very Ukranian and Yana approved. Jon drug a suit along for this occasion. Yana had all the details arrainged with rides to the courthouse for us and for the orphanage officials who were testifying at the hearing. Yana went over some questions we would likely be asked and made sure our answers were short and to the point. We weren't too nervous because we hadn't heard of anyone being refused by the time they made it to court. We had to wait for a while in a hallway before going into the court room. It was small and similar to a typical American hearing room. There was a judge, a "prosecutor", and some witnesses. The entire procedure was in Ukranian and Yana sat next to us and translated everything. At this time they just started tape recording the court proceedings so the judge read through every single document in our dossier. It was very long, a couple of hours. The judge looked at our family picture book that we brought, and he commented that Deanna looked like our family. They had a short recess and then came back into the room. He said a few things in Ukranian and then left the room. We said "what happened?" and Yana said that he granted our petition and it was over. Several of the people in the court room came over and congratulated us. They now seemed much friendlier! After this experience we went out for a celebratory lunch with Yana. We went to an interesting little restaurant and we were the only ones there. We had good food, and of course Vodka! The waitress took our picture in front of the fireplace, and insisted we crouch down in front of it (see odd picture). It was such a relief to finally begin the waiting period. Even though she was officially ours, we still didn't have possession.

One Year Ago, Daily Routine

Once Roman was gone we were left fend for ourselves. We felt prepared for survival but it is very strange to have NO ONE else to communicate with. They had given us a cell phone to use and we could call Yana anytime we needed help or a translator. When talking to Yana on the phone she always said "hows the girl" in her Russian accent. We still use this phrase when talking about DeAnna. Jeremy and Jordan could call us on this cell phone at no charge to us. I got them an international cell phone package before we left so the calls were fairly inexpensive. Talking to them frequently really ended up saving my sanity.
Visits to the orphanage were the highlights of our day, but actually became somewhat boring for all. The orphanage rules were very rigid. We had to hand over our passports every time we visited! Like we'd try to kidnap her and hide out in Dniprodzerzinsk?? We could visit in the morning from 10-12 and in the afternoon from 4-6. Sometimes they would cut the visits short with no notice. One time a large woman came out on the playground scooped her up, yelled something at us in Russian and went back in the building with her. We looked at each other... I guess the visit is over! In the morning visit we would trek through the snow and ice to the orphanage. It took about 20 minutes. We would stop at the store on the way and get her a healthy snack. We could play with DeAnna outside in the morning as her group was out marching around. We would take her to another part of the play yard as we weren't supposed to interact with her group and heaven forbid never go outside of the gates. She liked to lead us around and show us off to everyone. One time we were spotted giving her juice outside which we found out was a no no. Apparently drinking something cold outside will make you sick! After our morning visit we would walk back to town. Usually we would do some shopping and get some groceries. If you bought too many groceries at once they clerks got irritated. We would then have lunch and hang around the apartment playing games or watching British TV. There was also laundry to do, and the typical Ukrainian washing machine cycle is about 2 hours, no exaggeration, then 24 hours on the line before it was done. Soon it was time to get ready for the afternoon visit and snack. Vlad picked us up everyday like clockwork. In the afternoon we had all of our visits in the coat room, on the floor. There was no furniture and no toys! We brought books, toys and treats, but after a little while she would be getting into mischief. This was a very uncomfortable situation. Clearly they were in charge of her, and she minded them perfectly. She was constantly pushing her limits with us though (in a very charming way). If she was naughty they might think we couldn't handle her and if we upset her they might think we are mean! In the next room all the kids were having free time with a lot of toys and a big screen TV. By the end of the 2 hours sitting on the floor in the cloak room we would all be bored and frustrated. Soon we shortened this evening visit to 1 hour and it was much better for all. Vlad would pick us up for the ride back to the apartment. Sometimes we would have him drop us off at a restaurant, but this was a challenge since he spoke zero English. We usually ate out once a day, either lunch or dinner. Then it was back to the apartment for more BBC or one of the movies we brought. We often went to the Internet cafe down the street to blog and email. So this was it, day after day. Cold, depressing town, so far away from home, nothing else to do, no friendly faces, no one to communicate with, no end in sight. I remember thinking, if I could leave RIGHT NOW I am so far away I would have to take an overnight train to Kiev, get to the airport, buy tickets and fly for 20+ hours to be home. I can't even wait that long, how can I possibly make it 3 more weeks??????

Year Ago, Eating Out

**These One Year Ago posts are a journal of our experiences not before posted, to preserve our memories. May be long and boring to some!

When we were first settling in, we had Roman to help us out. Roman is fluent in Ukrainian so he was able to help us acclimate to the city and find a few restaurants to become familiar with.

We found a little bakery that had great little rolls filled with everything from meat and cheese to fruit. Everything was freshly baked every day and you never knew what varieties they would have available. When Roman was with us there was no problem ordering but when we were alone, as hard as we tried, they never seemed to understand us, and weren't too friendly. We would end up pointing to a few different varieties and holding up 1 or 2 fingers. It was always an adventure, am I biting into apples, cherries, or liver? We called this place the point and grunt shop.

We also found a pizza place that was quite good, called the Pizza Potato. As well as pizza, they had many freshly made salads. No English was spoken here but they were friendly and helpful. Internet was available at this place, but you had to pay by the hour. The connection was so slow it was hard to get much done.

Our favorite place for dinner was a little cafe just across the main street from our apartment. If you didn't know it was there you would never find it. They actually had an English menu! However, you had to ask for it and it only had a few items where the Ukrainian menu had many pages. They had a "salad" that was a whole plate of sliced fresh vegetables. I got this with dinner every time. We loved the BBQ'd chicken. It was a breast with a little wing sticking up, grilled in some way, but the flavor was delicious. I have never tasted chicken this good, some kind of a fresh, salty, buttery taste. They also had a baked chicken dish that was wonderful. It consisted of caramelized onions, some veggies, chicken, and a creamy cheesy sauce over the top. When you ordered this it took a very, very long time to get. The rest of the party could be completely done eating before this order arrived! In Ukrainian restaurants, food arrives when it is ready so you wait for no one! We had a nice waitress that I nicknamed Snow White, and a not so nice one that I called The Vixen. The only downside to this place was the bill seemed to be a lot more when Yana or Roman weren't with us (and we had The Vixen). We still miss this place a year later!

One Year Ago, Settling in

Once we knew we were staying in Dniprodzherzinsk to adopt, Yana wanted to find us other places to stay. I was happy and comfortable at the hotel, but it didn't have a kitchen, laundry facility, or English TV. She said she had an apartment for us to look at. She said it was a nice, safe place with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, laundry, cable TV for $75.00 a night. Being thrifty I really just wanted to stay in the hotel. It was cheaper and I didn't plan on doing much cooking anyway. Later Yana negotiated the price of the apartment to $50.00 a night so I agreed to see it. (Jon didn't care either way). I knew it would be easier for Yana to be able to stay with us when she was in town. The apartment was very nice. New furnishings, new "European" kitchen, etc. It was on the main street in town within a couple of miles to the orphanage, and it was owned by the orphanage doctor. It had two huge entry doors, one on top of the other, with an elaborate system of locks using giant skeleton keys. We were told to never open the door for anyone. This was supposed to be a prestigious apartment, was this type of security necessary??? Anyway, sure we'd stay there, it was nice.

We packed up our stuff at the hotel and went back to move into the apartment. The doctor, Luba and her husband were there to show us around. As it turned out this actually was THEIR apartment where they lived. It seemed a bit awkward displacing them, but the salaries are so low there it would be a huge sum of money for them and they would live with their son.

They were the nicest couple we met on the whole trip. Very genuinely kind and friendly. Luba was very short and stocky with red hair, a huge smile, very talkative, and had very nice fur coats. Nikoli was tall and thin, more reserved, quiet and gentle. Neither of them spoke or understood one word of English. Luba proceeded to show us around the apartment talking a hundred miles an hour in Russian, smiling and laughing. She would point to something and say very deliberately JA- O -N, or S-H-A-L-I in a French sounding voice. There was a clothes line in the main hallway, about 12 feet above the floor and there was a step ladder to use to get the clothes up there. The kitchen had an oven, but she didn't know how to light it. The washing machine was in the bathroom and drained directly into the bath tub (we saw this everywhere). There was a nice TV with a satellite dish. Well, maybe we would get by.

Yana arranged for Luba's son Vlad, to drive us to the orphanage each day. We would walk in the morning every day and Vlad would drive us in the afternoon as it would be dark (and cold!) Vlad was a nice guy but also spoke no English. He could only say Hello and Goodbye, but he was there without fail each day to drive us to and from the orphanage. We were never sure what he did for a living but he seemed to be available all the time and had more than one cell phone. There were some very expensive cars behind our apartment building, we don't know who these people were but we called them "mafia". Weren't sure if it was a good or bad thing to share a building with "mafia"!

One Year Ago, The First Meeting

At last, we were going to the orphanage to meet the little girl. The entire town was gray and dreary. The buildings in the old Soviet style and not well kept up. Most buildings were gray, streets and sidewalks gray, sky gray. The orphanage was an institutional green color. It was surrounded by iron gates and had typical old steel playground equipment in the yard. The building itself was quite nice, and undergoing some renovation. We went into an office where the orphanage director and orphanage doctor were waiting for us. Yana, Roman (our facilitators) as well as the gold tooth lady from the inspectors office were also there. They began telling us that she was born with a cleft lip and palate and she was left at the maternity hospital after birth. She was there for three months before being transferred to the orphanage where she had been ever since. They then went on the say she has severe delays in speech as well as psychological delays. They said she may never be able to talk. Were we still interested? Of course!! We didn't come all this way to be scared off!
Suddenly she was in the room with us. Roman was saying "look at her, she's cute!" It was obvious to us in a matter of seconds that she was the one. She was very adorable, dressed in a fancy dress and new shoes (we never saw these clothes again). She made her way around the room interacting with everyone. She was so inquisitive! She came up to me, looked me straight in the eye and wanted to sit in my lap. She liked my clothes and earrings. She wasn't the least bit intimidated by Jon either. She was eager to go sit with him. We were prepared for a tough decision, and it couldn't have been easier. Our prayers were definately answered. We had an overwhelming sense of relief and happiness (actually euphoria). Everyone was all smiles, even the gold toothed lady. They continued to read her entire medical history to us and I was only half listening as we were more interested in DeAnna. We were told we would get copies of all of it later and could have it translated. (In the end we never received any of it...so I had to rely on my memory which fortunately is good, especially with medical information).
We said of course we want her, so Yana began the proceedings.
First we had to find a place to stay. At this point we had been up for about 30 hours but we kind of wired. Yana knew of a hotel in town. It was above some stores and offices, next to a grocery store on the main street in town. It had an elevator and a nice and very attractive lady at the desk who spoke a few words of English. The rooms were huge with soaring ceilings, lots of wood wardrobe closets, refrigerator, TV and enormous claw foot tub in the bathroom. It had frilly pink bedding and pink curtains on the huge windows. I really liked it and felt safe and comfortable there. It was $55 a night and I would have been happy to stay there the whole time. We got settled in and then went back to the orphanage for another short visit. This time we took pictures and played with her some more. They had to observe us with her all the time for the first weekend we were there.
Finally it was time for some food and celebration. We went to a place close to the hotel that was traditional Ukrainian cuisine, and decorated with taxidermy animals. Roman, Yana and our driver from Kiev were with us. We had lots of good food. Dinner, appetizers and vodka! I asked Yana "what do you have with your vodka" (meaning mixer), and she said slightly puzzled, cucumbers and pickles? We learned the rules of vodka, there must be a toast and everyone must have a shot! Needless to say, I had sips to everyone elses shots. I don't even remember what we had to eat, anything would have been tasted great. It was a wonderful day.
Coming up...Settling in for the long haul.

One Year Ago, Trip to Dneprodzerzhinsk

We were getting packed to leave Kiev at 2:00 am. We got no sleep at all, how do you sleep when your mind is racing and your nerves are on end. Would we know if she was the one for us? Would we be able to determine her delays considering the language barrier and her reported speech delay?
Yana, Roman and a driver were picking us up at 2:00am. How do you check out of the apartment at 2:00am?? At 1:55 the doorbell rang and there was the landlord for the money and the keys! Shortly after the van arrived for us and we were off. It was a large passenger van and Yana sat in front, Roman in the middle and Jon and I in the back seat. We all talked for a while then it was time to try to sleep. Yana was asleep right away and slept right through. Very soon we were in what looked like the middle of nowhere. It was all snow and ice and extremely bumpy. Where were the freeways?? I had a little pillow but when we went over bumps we flew off the seats and my pillow came out from under my head and Jon's head actually was hitting the ceiling. So much for sleep. We were passing what looked like farm land and many little tiny houses, for miles and miles. Many times the van would slide around on the road, while we alternated between slow and extremely fast driving. In the early morning hours when it was still dark there would be lone people walking down the road. The driver would slam on the breaks and jump out of the van and run over to these people. Was he asking for directions? Funny though, they never seemed scared or even surprised. If someone jumped out of a van in the dark and ran at me I would be terrified. We would often turn around after speaking to these people and go back the other way. Were we lost?? We seemed to be going in circles. Sometimes we would actually come to a dead end road and have to turn around. The driver spoke no English and Yana and Roman were sleeping, so we had no idea what was going on. Approximately 6 1/2 hours later we actually arrived in Dneprodzerzhinsk. It was about 9:00 in the morning and we first had to see the City Inspector to get permission to visit the orphanage. Yana had only been to this town once but she remembered how to get to the office. The Inspector was not there we would have to come back. We went to a little restaurant/bar to get some food and coffee. We were so stressed and overtired it was hard to enjoy it. We had these fried, cheese filled, dough things served with sour cream and marinara sauce. This little place was close to the orphanage so we actually ended eating here many times during our stay. This was the best place for coffee, the lattes were like home and always came with chocolate candy!
When we returned to the Inspector's office she was there. It was in an old run down looking building. When we went in she read over all our papers in great detail. She had orange hair and quite a lot of make up. She asked us many questions, including what classes our boys were taking in college! She was very stern and we really didn't care for her. At this time we thought this was just a formality, but we later learned she actually did have the power to prevent us from seeing children at the orphanage.
Yana told us the inspector would have to go with us to the orphanage. We were happy when her assistant decided to go instead. This lady was very nice, with a big smile and all gold teeth. (We would later learn this was quite common in Ukraine)
Up next......the first visit.

One Year Ago, the Mix-Up

One year ago in Kiev, the day after our SDA appointment. We were with Era taking care of some paperwork and going to a notary's office. The plan was to pick up our official referral paper from the SDA and take a van to Dneprodzerzhinsk at 2:00am for an overnight drive. We were excited, nervous, and full of hope. As we were walking around downtown Kiev with Era she began talking very fast and furiously on her cell phone, much more so than normal. I heard her day Di-ah-na, Di-ah-na, many times. I knew something was wrong. She was walking so fast we could barely keep up with her. Finally she stopped and was able to fill us in, bad news as I expected. The SDA had made a mistake and given DeAnna's file to someone else. How could this be?? We picked her first!! She was "ours"! I had a bad feeling yesterday when no one ever wrote anything down.

Era continued to make phone calls as she marched us back to the SDA. It must have been several miles and we didn't stop once, not even for cars or traffic signs. By the time we arrived she had straightened it all out and the ladies at the SDA remembered us and were nice and apologetic. Now we had paperwork in hand and were ready for the next journey.

One Year Ago, SDA Appointment

Unbelievable anxiety surrounded our appointment at the National Adoption Center. We were taken up to the "psychologist's" office and were not allowed to take anyone with us. Our facilitator told us to write down as much information as we could about the children we were interested in such as first and last name, location of orphanage , diagnosis etc. We were then to ask for 20 minutes to think about it, so she could use the information to try and find out as much information as possible before we made any decision. They were polite but not very friendly. They showed us a boy and girl sibling group and a nine year old girl. These were not right for us, and they proceeded to show us a many special needs children, and some with various severe delays. We picked out #1 (7 year old with "low IQ"), and #2 (4 year old with many delays) both girls appeared normal in their pictures. Then Jon pulled out a file and said what about this one? I was surprised he chose it because it was an infant picture of a baby with an unrepaired cleft lip. She was 4 and reported to have speech and psychological delay as well as a still unrepaired palate. We added her as #3 on our list. We asked for 20 minutes to think about our decision and they gave said we could have an hour and a half. We went downstairs and gave Era the information. She immediately started making phone calls and talking a hundred miles an hour in Ukrainian. She actually was using 3 cell phones. We went to a nearby cafe and watched in amazement as she performed many tasks simultaneously. She was able to locate the orphanages and talk to doctors and/or directors about all of the girls. #1 was said to be delayed enough to not even attend school. #2 and #3 were at the same orphanage and the orphanage doctor said she would definitely choose #3 because she was very pretty and very smart. This information was invaluable to us and we chose #3, Deanna. We went back and told them our choice. Era kept saying De-ah-na over and over again to this lady. I was a little worried about this procedure as no one wrote anything down, but all of their procedures seem odd and disorganized. We then left with some sort of relief but still a huge uncertainty of what we would find when we actually arrived at the orphanage. Remember, this would be the only chance we would have to meet a child. We just prayed our answer would be obvious to us.

One Year Ago Today, In Kiev

It was one year ago today that we left for Ukraine. Here are a couple of pictures from the apartment we stayed in. I remember every detail of this apartment very clearly. It was right in the center of Kiev, by Independence Square. It was old but very homey, warm, clean and felt safe. We were very stressed out at this time, overwhelmed with being in a foreign country and the huge uncertainty of what would happen with the adoption. It was in this apartment that we found out we would only receive one appointment at the SDA (instead of 2 or possibly 3 if necessary) to find a child. At the time couples were waiting at least 45 days for a second appointment and were being advised to just go home and wait. We knew due to expense and job obligations this would not be a possibility for us, so it was now or never, and we were at their mercy!
It was just past Christmas but the tree remained in Independence Square. We walked around this area at night and it was very beautiful. We were not brave enough to venture much further. It was easy to get turned around in the underground tunnels and reading street signs was impossible.

Speech Update

DeAnna recently had her follow-up appointment with the Speech Pathologist that specializes in cleft palate disorders. She thinks that DeAnna has made excellent progress in the last 5 months. Her palate is very functional which means no more surgeries, (on the palate that is).

I have been frustrated with the services provided by Early Childhood Intervention so I have been working with her every day at home for the last couple of months. We also found a private therapist who is very enthusiastic. She can repeat just about all words and is beginning to put together sentences of 3-5 words (and does this constantly!) She is sometimes hard to understand but getting better for sure.

Even with her limited vocabulary she can have a conversation with a complete stranger and have no trouble communicating. (Yes, we are working on stranger danger!)

All in all she has come a long way from completely nonverbal (and non-English) just last spring to understandable speech. This process has not been easy and she has and will continue to work very hard to develop the speech part of her brain. Clearly the social part of personality has overcompensated for this delay!

Happy New Year, 10 Months Home!

We had a fun filled New Years Eve at a party with our friends. There were lots of teenagers there so DeAnna was very excited, a little too much so! I forgot my camera so all I have is a picture of her morning bed head!
I am ready for the new year to get back a nice routine of school and activities.
DeAnna continues to do well and is very happy and healthy. We do have some appointments scheduled to plan her next surgery (lip scar revision) and future orthodontia work. She lost her first baby tooth on Christmas Eve!

Christmas Celebration.....Finally!

A few days after Christmas we had our celebration with Jon's family. Uncle Mike and Aunt Lori hosted the festivities. A good time was had by all and DeAnna really loved her gifts as evedenced by her famous thumbs up! There were also some fun dogs to play with!

The following pictures were taken by DeAnna, our budding photographer!

Jordan Saves Christmas

We had a nice Christmas Day celebration at our house this year. We anticipated everyone being able to make it to our house as all major roads were finally cleared. Our street however was still a couple feet deep in hard snow and ice. No regular cars could make it across the blockage created by the highway snow plows at the end of the street. Jordan's lifted jeep however could handle the terrain. He made many trips back and forth to the Safeway parking lot to deliver our family to the house. (Pictures courtesy of DeAnna)

DeAnna was very thrilled with her Santa gifts. She wanted a guitar and that was what she got. She also received a beautiful baby doll, a toy

camera, and lots of clothes.

Winter Storm Postpones Christmas Eve

Our back yard.

Our street.

Making a snowman before the big snowstorm.

This year we have been having a record breaking snow storm. While it may be fun for a short time, this region is not equipped to handle anything like this so getting around the metro area has been next to impossible. Fortunately I have had time off work so I have only had to trek across town and up "the hill" a couple of times. Jon of course must make it to work every day no matter what.

We have had no US mail, UPS, garbage service, or newspaper delivery for over a week!

Jeremy made it home before the second storm hit and his Mustang has been snowed in ever since.

The week before Christmas all parties and activities were cancelled, including the preschool Christmas program. Even our family Christmas Eve gathering was cancelled due to lingering poor road conditions.

We have had some nice family time at home though. The boys built a snowboarding jump in the field and DeAnna has enjoyed going outside with them.

We had a quiet Christmas Eve at home and opened presents from each other. DeAnna was of course thrilled with everything she received, and excited for "HO HO HO" to come.

Santa

DeAnna was able to visit Santa for the first time. She has been very excited about Santa, whom she refers to as "HO HO HO". We had practiced saying what she would like for Christmas (her main request is a guitar!) but when she finally got to see him she was too excited to ask for anything. However, in true DeAnna fashion, she charmed him out of his glasses in about a minute (see picture). The poor guy is lucky he didn't have a cell phone or a camera!

Winter Weather

We have been experiencing our first winter weather this year. Snow and very cold. We haven't had our winter clothes out since we returned from Ukraine in March. DeAnna was very excited to see the snow, but interestingly enough when I came downstairs wearing my Ukrainian fur hat she looked at me like I had lost my mind and said, "MAMAAAAA NO NO NO!!"

DeAnna has had lots of time to play at home because as is customary in our region, when there is snow there is no school (or daycare). Of course we still have work so Jordan has been kind enough to entertain his sister for us.

Christmas Tree

Today we went to find our Christmas Tree. DeAnna is very excited about seeing Christmas trees so we were anxious to get one. It was a georgeous day and we are lucky to have a fantastic tree farm about 1/2 mile from our house! DeAnna didn't care which tree we selected so I made sure we hiked around and saw every last one before making a final decision. The good ones are never close to the car!

9 Months Home

Nine months have passed already, I can hardly keep track. DeAnna is happy and energetic as usual!
We are continually working hard at her speaking skills. She can repeat almost all sounds and words now but has trouble putting them together in sentences. Her speech therapy through Early Childhood Intervention has proven to be disappointing. They only offer her one group session a week and I can not see any progress gained from there. Her private therapist is better, and offers some ideas, but I can get her to more for me working 1:1 at home.
However, this does not stop her from having conversations with complete strangers.
What she lacks in verbal skills she more than makes up for in drama. When shopping at the store she can often be seen practicing some dramatic performance, or character imitation. She's actually quite entertaining and requires no encouragement!

Thanksgiving

I guess everyone can guess what we're thankful for this year!

I had the pleasure of attending the preschool Thanksgiving program where all the kids wore costumes they made and sang songs. This was followed by a lovely "feast". I forgot my camera so I don't have pictures of the actual performance.

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving with our family and Mimi and Grampa. Jeremy managed to come home for 2 days and we were glad to see him if only briefly. Deanna was glad to see him, but worried that he would eat her ice cream (i peam as she says). So we went out and bought him his own carton, she was very relieved. She's really not greedy he just teases her unmercifully about eating ALL the ice cream.

After Thanksgiving dinner we all went over to see Mimi and Grampa's new condo. It is vacant now and the boys hadn't seen it. It is close to downtown Portland and has spectacular views. Deanna was very excited and was sprinting up and down the hallway. She turned her head and ran right into a wall at full speed. She recovered quickly but is now sporting a black eye.

December is here and will be full of many "firsts" for our girl. Stay tuned for the highlights.

8 Months Home

We have been home 7 months now! Here is Deanna's preschool picture, I think it came out pretty nice. Here's a quick update:

She loves preschool and is eager to go every day. She verbal skills are coming along, but continue to require lots of reinforcement. I've found she gets lazy and she will use her "signs" or her own version of words that she can say correctly. At this point we discourage signs and make her repeat things. She is able to say "I want to watch a movie please" but usually says just 2 or 3 words together. She is an excellent communicator and can get her point across to anyone.

She thinks she owns all the ice cream in the house and goes into a little tirade if the boys eat any. She can really tell them off with her limited vocabulary!

Halloween!

Posing in her kitty costume.

She loves her brother "O"

Extremely excited on the way to trick-or-treating

Krista giving Deanna a break trick or treating
Krista's and her group of very nice friends!

Deanna had a very fun filled Halloween this year. She picked out her costume (kitty if you can't tell) and was quite excited to wear it. The day started out with a preschool party with games and prized. Fortunately not too many treats.

Later on she was thrilled to be able to trick or treat with Krista and her friends. The girls had a great time and Deanna kept up pretty well.

We later met up with some of our grown up friends and Deanna busied herself with TV and learned to play some pool.

Thankfully Deanna is very generous with her halloween candy and she was quite excited to share it with Jordan. This is amazing considering this girl LOVES candy and we usually restrict it!

Busy with Fall

Deanna was happy to dress up to go out to dinner for her Grandma's birthday. She is always happy to go to a restaurant, even though she doesn't eat very much.

The Pumpkin Patch!!

We had a great time on the Preschool Pumpkin Patch field trip. We have been enjoying great weather this fall, and this morning was one of the best. This particular pumpkin patch had hay rides, crafts, a hay maze that you crawl-through with flashlights, and animals to pet.

Deanna had a great time and it was fun for me to watch her interact with her preschool friends. She really fits in like she has always been here!

Deanna was so happy to be invited to a pumpkin carving party. We really had a lot of fun and appreciate being included!

Kitty Rescue

Today we were wondering where the little kitty was when Jon heard a faint cry coming from the trees. We spotted our little Lucy way up in a fir tree. The base of these trees is surrounded by blackberries so I imagine she was chased up there, possibly by a coyote which are often invading our property. If you look hard you can see the little black and white spots up in the tree. Jon tried to coax her down but she was too terrified to descend on her own. He had to resort to a ladder rescue. She was spooked but otherwise unhurt. Jon unfortunately suffered several third degree bleeding cat scratches! Below is Deanna doing a victory dance. (She has her bathing suit on, hoping for a hot tub) Thats our excitement for the day!!

Home 7 Months

Deanna has now been home for 7 months. Doesn't she look grown up!! She looks big, but she is actually on the small side for her age.

These pictures were the first day she rode the bus to speech therapy. She was very excited about it, but I was a nervous wreck. Everything went very smoothly and she was home safely in a short amount of time. We both like her new speech teacher very much!

Everything is going well at home and Deanna's new favorite thing to do is watch movies. At first she was not interested in TV at all (not a bad thing) but I was a little concerned about her attention span. Now she watches all kinds of movies and especially enjoys musicals and stories about animals. I do think its good for her english comprehension. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" here we come!

Very Happy and Busy

Today Deanna received a birthday gift from her friend Sophia, who was adopted from the same orphanage in Ukraine! They were best friends in the orphanage and we met and are keeping in touch with Sophia and her family through the internet. She was so excited about this bear and hugged it repeatedly and said "so happy". It will be fun for the girls to keep in contact because they have so much in common!

We have been really busy getting into a routine with our fall schedule. Deanna has preschool 3 mornings a week, daycare 1/2 day, speech therapy 2 times a week, and gymnastics.
She is really enjoying preschool and I can tell she has already learned a lot. One of the teachers has told me several times how much they enjoy having her in the classroom, commenting that "her enthusiasm is infectious". Even though she likes preschool, she says she likes daycare better! (Same location, different area) I know she really likes the teachers and the free playtime.
In addition to her private speech therapy we have added a group speech class with just 2 other children. Deanna seems to really like this class and encourages the other kids to talk as they are much more shy than she.
The gymnastics class is the most fun of all. It is very fast paced and she really loves it. She is about in the middle of the class as far as ability, so there is room for improvement!

The Best Birthday Party!!!

We had a nice birthday party for Deanna with all of our family; aunts, uncles, grandparents, and some cousins. She had a good time planning it with me, picking out the invitations, food and cake. We wanted to make is special because it was her first birthday celebration ever.






















She received many very nice gifts which we appreciate very much!!

DEANNA'S 5th BIRTHDAY

We had a great fun filled day for DeAnna's 5th birthday. It started out at her first gymnastics class. She had a great time and I was pleased at the fast pace of the class. I think she will learn a lot.

Then Jon and I took her to the zoo. Her first time of course, and she loved all the animals. The weather was beautiful and we got to see the new baby elephant!

We then took her to Toys R Us and let her pick out a bike. She chose the Disney Princess model.

Then the whole family went out to dinner. They put a big sombrero on her head and sung happy birthday, she was all smiles!! Deanna had a very special and memorable first birthday with us.

Six Months Home

It has been six months since Deanna has joined our family. She has experienced so much and come so far in such a short time. Here are a few items of interest about Deanna.
She tends to wear too many clothes and always thinks she will be cold. When we first came home she would go to her room and put on tights and snow pants with a turtle neck and a sweater, on a warm day. I still have to hide her long pants on hot days or she will put them on every time.

She would always wear shoes and seemed to be afraid to get wet in the rain. Being an Oregonian now that has changed. Recently she ran through the grass barefoot during a summer downpour and was laughing hysterically.

She would never lounge around in pajamas in the morning, she would be fully dressed as soon as she woke up. She'll lounge for a while now but still does not ever want to put PJ's on until she is actually going to bed. She changes her clothes several times a day and even though she loves to get dressed up, she immediately changes into something casual when we get home.

The first day we were home she was TERRIFIED of the dogs. She is now a full fledged dog lover and says "nice" and "ahhhh" every time she sees a dog, and wants to kiss and hug them extensively. (She likes cats too)

Her English comprehension is excellent and she can repeat most words now, (but speech of course is an ongoing project).

She has a great appetite and loves eggs, bananas, apples, cheese, chicken, rice, mac and cheese, potatoes, ice cream and of course her beloved wheat thins which she will glom onto in any store and hoard them all for herself. Vegetables are still a big negative and there are NONE that she likes. She will even pick miniscule carrots from chicken noodle soup.

She has grown 2 1/4 inches, gained 3 pounds, and expanded 2 1/2 shoe sizes. Her hair has grown quite a lot and has beautiful natural curl. She styles it many, many time a day in various pony tails and clips.

Behavior wise she is pretty good but likes to test her limits. She knows what she wants and loves to be the boss if at all possible. She often has trouble leaving things alone like cell phones, nail polish and anything belonging to Jordan. She really is very outgoing and happy almost all the time. Aside from getting frustrated by prolonged teasing from her brothers (whom she adores) she has never had any kind of a tantrum.

She fits into our family like she has always been here and she is perfect in our eyes!

End of Summer

Nothing too exciting to report. We have just been hanging out at home and getting ready for the school to start. Deanna has been having a great time spending time with her brothers. What will we do when Jeremy goes back to school??? Deanna (and I) will miss him terribly.

Preschool starts next week, and we attended the open house this week. Deanna already is familiar with her teacher and classroom from camp and vacation bible study so she is quite comfortable.

We have decided to try gymnastics, and that also starts next week. Deanna has been practicing at home and is ready to go!

Lake Tahoe Vacation

We just returned from a very fun family vacation to Lake Tahoe with our friends Rick and Debby and all of the kids, and a few of their friends (except Jordan who opted to stay home because he hates car trips).

This was our longest road trip with Deanna, and she did fine. About 10 hours in the car each way. Fortunately we had lots of Disney movies. On the way home she recognized our exit off the freeway and started cheering!

Deanna had an great time with our friend's daughter Krista. They spent A LOT of time together in and out of the pool. Krista was very patient with her and she will be a great babysitter (we get first dibs). Deanna lost her fear of water and was diving in, going under and paddling around the pool by herself (with the swim vest on).

Jeremy and Jeff had the run of the resort, and visited the casinos as well. Two of their high school friends (and baseball team members), who happened to be in the area, came by for a few days and stayed with us. It was fun to have all those young people around.

We had some fun sight seeing on the lake with the wave runners. Jeremy took me for an extended death defying ride and it was gorgeous when I could manage to open my eyes. He also took Deanna out for a much gentler outing, although I'm sure she would have loved a daredevil trip!

We all had a great time and are so glad they invited us along. If Jordan would have been there it would have been perfect!

Dance Class Finale

Today was the last day of the summer dance class. Deanna really enjoyed herself and did well following instructions and interacting with the other girls. I think we will try something new and a little more challenging this fall.

Tackling Speech Therapy

Deanna had her much awaited speech therapy evaluation with the cleft palate specialists at Doernbecher Childrens Hospital yesterday. (Even though she has begun speech therapy with a speech therapist I found myself).
First some history.....Deanna has a history of "misbehaving" at medical appointments. She gets a cute, yet blank smile on her face and sits there like she doesn't understand. Sometimes she starts wandering and getting into things to tests her limits. When asked to speak or demonstrate something, she might cooperate for a minute or two then sighs and acts totally bored.
Well, before this appointment I had a talk with her and asked her to REALLY TRY HARD to do everything they said, and be really good because we will only be there for a little while. I have tried this tactic before speech therapy appointments and it has helped.
Deanna of course reverted to her "doctor's office behavior". By the end of the evaluation the speech pathologist thought Deanna could barely utter a sound, had a limited understanding of English, and had trouble following instructions! (They were not interested in my input only their own observations). I do have great respect for these people but they do not know the real Deanna, and could not have possibly figured it out in this short visit with the show she put on.
I was not happy with her behavior and we had a talk afterward. I told her she really was naughty and did not do what I asked and also reminded her that she was going to have to work very, very hard to learn to talk, etc...
That evening at home she said more words than she ever has. She was initiating (not repeating) three word sentences for the first time!
She must have been paying attention to her prognosis and decided it was time to get with it!

Home 5 Months

We have been home 5 months and everything is great. Looking back on all the pictures Deanna has changed so much. She is taller and thinner, and looks so much healthier. Her feet have grown at least 2 sizes. Her hair is much longer and just short of an attractive pony tail (very important to her).

She loves to run and play catch. We may find our way back to the baseball field soon! She also loves her dance class and loves to tumble. I think she'll make a good gymnast because she is coordinated, tough and a bit of a daredevil. Deanna is also somewhat bossy and has a way of charming everyone to do things her way. Hopefully we can channel this energy into leadership qualities! (Pictures courtesy of my friend Debbie Mehlhaff, more to come)

Camping Trip

We spent the past week camping in Prineville with our good friends. This is only the second time we have participated in this yearly event and it was great. Deanna got to experience camping with a lot of swimming, boating, and socializing. There were several teenagers there who she immediately took a liking to. The young people were all very good with her, allowing her to "hang out" with them and it really made the trip special for her. Thanks to all the adults too, we appreciate your kindness to Deanna.

She did meet a couple of girls her age to play with. They had fun on a trampoline on the water. This is very good, as she prefers older kids.

We had to watch her like a hawk though because she thought everyone in the campground was her friend, and no place was off limits. This was a good time for practicing appropriate vs inappropriate behavior!

Parties

Deanna has been fortunate enough to be invited to several parties and events this summer. She has plenty of clothes and loves wearing new outfits! This day we thought we were going to a BBQ, but it turned out to be a surprise wedding reception. Congratulations Wanda and Neil! We all had a great time and Deanna had fun dancing and "singing" with the band.

New Kitty

Yesterday the "boys" came home with a new kitten. I have been saying that our cat is old and having trouble catching mice and we should get a new one, specifically an orange one.
Jordan called and said they found a nice black and white kitty and I said if we get a cat I want an orange one or a tabby. He said it might be too late, Jeremy might have already bought it, as I hear the car heading for home.
Anyway, she is a very nice kitten, very friendly and not intimidated by the dogs at all. Deanna of course was immediately in love and has been carrying her everywhere. Jon wasn't too happy but seen later that evening petting and kissing her......

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY JEREMY

Hard to believe but our oldest son Jeremy is 21! It keeps getting harder and harder to deny my age when the boys are men. It has been great having him home this summer.
Deanna picked out some gifts for him and kept making some sort of hat gesture, so I'm thinking they did celebrate birthdays in the orphanage with a party hat.
After all the gifts she has received at her showers she is very good about giving to others and not expecting anything for herself.

4th of July

This was Deanna's first 4th of July as an American! If she only understood the significance. Spending 6 weeks in Ukraine makes you really appreciate all we take for granted here.
She of course didn't have a clue what it was all about.
The boys did some fireworks at home, which she loved. Then Deanna and I went to downtown Portland and met Mimi and Grampa for the big fireworks display. Aunt Susan has a condo right down on the waterfront so we went to dinner and hung out there to watch the show. Deanna loved the fireworks for the first 5 minutes but then was just as interested in watching all the people. We had a really good time and I've finally had to hide the t-shirt so she won't wear it every day.

4 Months Home

Summer is going by quickly and although Deanna has been here for 4 months it seems like she's always been with us for much longer. Her hair is really growing and has lightened up considerably as you can tell. She continues to enjoy just about everything she does and is always cheerful and energetic (perhaps too much sometimes!)

Her main issues for improvement are her speech (needs lots of work) and she is still too friendly with strangers, however this is improving. She definately knows who her family is and she is very affectionate and loving.

Dance classes are going well, but when they got out the tumbling mats one day she really came to life. I thought she would be a good gymnast because she is flexible, coordinated, and very tough!

The Summer Begins

This week Deanna was busy with many activities. She attended a day camp at the church where she goes for daycare/preschool. It was everyday, which she is not use to, but she really seemed to enjoy it. I do notice that she interacts more with the teenagers and adults than with the kids her age.

Jeremy is home with us for the summer. Deanna, Jeremy and I drove to Corvallis to pick up some of his things. It was fun for her to see where he lives when he is not with us. She LOVES playing with him and having him around but he is such a big tease! However I do think this bothers me more than it does Deanna.

This week she started private speech therapy. The first visit consisted mostly of testing and assessment, so the real work will begin next week. We are also in the process of evaluation for services through Early Intervention and Doernbecher Children's Hospital. It is clear she will need a lot of work so we are anxious to begin. With her speech delay it is easy for people to forget she has a language barrier as well. (Although her comprehension is excellent)

Deanna loves to play ball and actually is a very good at catching and throwing for her age. She is a girl at heart though, when I went to take her picture with the bat she was hugging and kissing it. I'm sure in all of our years of baseball I never saw either of the boys do that!

Today was very hot so we got out the slip and slide. She didn't quite understand the concept at first but Jeremy was there to demonstrate. He is an old hand at the slip and slide. We all had a great time watching and/or participating and everyone escaped with no injuries. I think this is the beginning of a very busy, hectic, and fun summer.

The Playhouse!!

After several weeks of bad weather, we were finally able to finish the playhouse.

Last winter, well before we went to Ukraine I bought this playhouse for our future daughter. The people I bought if from wanted it gone right away so Jordan, his friend Dave and I disassembled it by flashlight and brought it home one very dark, cold, and foggy night. It has been sitting in the yard in a pile ever since. So after excavating, building a foundation and floor, some paint, trim and hardware, it looks pretty good. The boys said Deanna would never use it and I was just fulfilling my own childhood dream (partially true), but as soon as it was finished she got her dolls, some blankets and a littlel crib and hauled them all out there completely on her own. She has been out there every day since, often with the dogs as they are also fond if it. Now I must begin planning for the interior decor ......

Dancer in Training

Today Deanna started dance classes! We know she has rhythm and moves already, so she's going to have a lot of fun perfecting her skills and learning new ones. She was very excited ahead of time and loved her new dance clothes. In the class she had no trouble following directions and keeping up with everyone. She did keep her eye on me throughout the class, so I don't think I'll be able to sneak out anytime soon. I think this will be first of many such classes.

Mimi and Grampa

Deanna has been having fun hanging out with my parents, also known as Mimi and Grampa. We have been with them at the beach a couple times and of course to Mexico. They are even willing to come to our house to watch her when needed. She is the only granddaughter they have so that makes her very special. Spending time with Deanna will keep you young, she has endless energy and will give you a run for your money!

Meeting New Friends

My mom hosted a very nice party so some of her good friends and family members could meet Deanna. We had a very nice time, and the guests were very generous with gifts. We really appreciate everyones willingness to make her feel so special! Deanna really enjoyed the whole experience.

3 Months Home

We have now had Deanna home for three months! She has experienced so many new things and places and always enjoys everything. She has also endured a major surgical procedure with very little complaint. She is very energetic and really keeps you on your toes. She also likes to test her limits quite regularly, but overall she is very happy and extremely affectionate!! She has a habit of taking other peoples things such as car keys, garage door openers, cell phones, etc and moving them to another location. The good part is she always remembers exactly where she put them! Her english comprehension is excellent and we actually take for granted that she understands everything we say.

We were able to take her to the beach again, which she really loves. She and Rosie (her best friend) got a lot of exercise. It was nice to spend more time with Mimi and Grampa too.

Its Growing

It is no secret Deanna wants to have long hair. She loves girls with long hair. She will only eat some things like vegetables after asking if they will make her hair grow. Today we experimented with some hair styles and she was very happy with the pig tails. Its a good thing she doesn't know about hair extensions!

Deanna continues to recover well from her surgery. She has had her post-op appointments and the surgeon is pleased with the outcome. Also, her hearing is now in the normal range. Next step, speech therapy. Warning, I have told her she can answer the phone when she can talk, and I'm afraid she won't stop talking!

A Day Out

Today we took Deanna to downtown Portland to enjoy the beautiful weather. We did some shopping and had some good food too. We ended up at the fountain where Deanna had a great time playing, and we all ended up soaking wet. The fun finally came to an end when a large girl knocked her down and she skinned her hand. I forgot my camera but managed to capture some shots with my cell phone, which has now taken me an hour to figure out how to upload to the computer!

A Sad Day

Today our little dog Rudy passed away unexpectedly. He was old and had poor stamina, but just yesterday was trotting around and Deanna was feeding him tortellini. Deanna was very upset when we took him away and it was very difficult to try to explain dying to her. I know she understands that he was sick and is now resting comfortably but won't be living with us. Even though we still have Rosie and Tia, Deanna was close to Rudy and she asked about him every night before bed, fed him, took pictures of him on her own, sat with him while watching TV, and cleaned up after him. We'll miss the little guy.

Mother's Day Weekend

This was a very special Mothers Day for me because it was my first with Deanna, the first with three kids, and we were all together. They all surprised me with some great gifts too.
Deanna was very excited to have brother Jeremy home for the weekend. She stayed up late Friday waiting for him and jumped in the car with him, honking the horn when he arrived.
Even though she is recooperating from surgery she was full of energy and thrilled about the little motorcycles Jordan and his friend Dave bought. She couldn't get enough of them, as you can see by the pictures.
It was nice to spend time as a family again.



Deanna has been recovering well. She still has some issues with stitches and incisions in her mouth but this does not stop her from doing everything else. After about 4 days she finally started eating (4 bowls of mac and cheese in one afternoon) but will be on a very restricted diet for 4 weeks. During this experience we have discovered that medications that should cause drowsiness have the reverse effect on her! No wonder the benadryl didn't work on the plane! Thank goodness regular tylenol has controlled her pain.
She has begun to attempt speaking more words and making more sounds but it is clear speech therapy will be essential. Thanks to everyone who called to inquire or stopped by to visit, we really appreciate it!

Medical Update

Tuesday, May 6 Deanna had surgery to repair her cleft palate. It took about 4 hours and required an overnight stay in the hospital. Everything went well but we are having a hard time getting her to eat and drink. She has been offered everything possible but apparently has no appetite. I have resorted to forcing her to drink in order to avoid dehydration and having to return to the hospital for IV fluids. Lack of food and fluids has made it difficult for her to take pain medication.
As bad as this sounds, she is getting dressed each day, playing, running around, and asking to go places. I don't know how someone who hasn't eaten for days can have so much energy! She has continued to amaze us with her resilience and understanding of this whole experience.

Home 2 Months!

We have been home from Ukraine for 2 months now. Deanna has adjusted very, very well. Besides the parties and trips we have settled into a daily routine and she goes to daycare a few hours a week and loves it. She will start pre-school in the fall and will have a year to work on English and speech before kindergarten. She is very attached to her brothers, whom she calls "O" and "E". She is now a big dog lover and wants to stop to meet every dog she sees. Today she blew kisses at a dog at the store! At this time her speech is still limited although she is a great communicator. She seems to understand almost everything we say to her, and is constantly babbling.

Deanna's surgery to repair her palate is scheduled for May 6. We have tried to explain this to her, and are hoping for a uncomplicated and quick recovery. Even though this is a scary thing, we will be glad to have this part over with!

Deanna Sees Mexico

We just returned from a great family vacation in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Our entire family as well as my sister, parents and their good friends joined the fun. It was a great opportunity for us to have fun and all spend time together. Deanna had a great time in the pool, especially playing with her brothers. She was the only child at the resort so she generated a lot of interest.

She loved the Mariachi bands and several times ended up dancing on her chair and even on the table after dinner. At one restaurant all the employees were watching and some were taking pictures with their cell phones. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the entertainment (except her brothers who thought we shouldn't encourage her "inappropriate" behavior!!)

Bathing Beauty

Deanna loves the pool!!

Playing "catch" with Deanna

In the Kiddie pool

Table Dancing!

"Overwhelming Generosity"

DEANNA AND MOM

GAYLE AND NIKKI WITH DEANNA

OZELLA, LYNN, AND DANIELLE

THE NEW KITCHEN!

SAMANTHA HELPING DEANNA WITH GIFTS

Deanna and I had a WONDERFUL time at the huge welcome home shower given to us by my friends at work. Thanks to my friend Ozella for having the event at her house. Deanna received so many wonderful gifts and some awesome "group gifts" including a play kitchen, picinic table, shopping cart and an inflatable bouncing structure. (She plays with the kitchen all the time and we spent the weekend bouncing and flipping!)
She really loved all of the gifts which was evident by her kissing everything and running around the room to show the gifts to everyone. Pretty exciting for a girl who had never received a gift in her life.
The nurses I work with are very caring by nature, but everyone really outdid themselves! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your friendship, support and generosity.

Fun at the Shower

Deanna Meets the Bunco Gals

Deanna's aunt Lori hosted a special "Bunco" party so all of my good friends could meet Deanna. We had a delicious dinner followed by very generous gift giving session. She was shy at first but by the end of the evening she was her entertaining self and had everyone exhausted. Aunt Lori made her a special Raggedy Ann doll, which I know will be very special to her for years to come. Deanna really enjoyed meeting these special friends of mine, and I think the feeling was mutual!

HOME ONE MONTH!!

Today is one month since we returned home from Ukraine with Deanna. She is so happy, smiley and outgoing you would never think she spent her entire life in an orphanage. Deanna was having a great time today playing outside with Rosie and her doll. She is very full of energy and often entertains us with a dance routine or dramatic performance. Right now she is totally engrossed in American Idol!

Medical Update

Today Deanna had several appointments with the specialists at Doernbecher. Her palate repair surgery will be in May. It will be repaired with one surgery. Her scar revision will be at a different time, maybe within a year. Her testing also revealed conductive hearing loss due to fluid blockage. This will be treated surgically at the same time as the palate repair. This problem is common in children with cleft palate, it was just a surprise to us because she seems to hear just fine. Speech therapy won't start until she is healed from the palate repair. We'll see how she does in the mean time, she is already attempting a lot more speech on her own. All in all it was a good experience. Deanna was a very good patient and I was impressed with the compassion and friendliness of the doctors and staff.

Dress Up

Here are some pictures of Deanna dressing up. She often puts on quite a show.

She does clean up too and enjoys vaccuuming, doing dishes and sponging the walls and windows. Although she sometimes she creates more mess I'm trying to encourage her!

"Best Friends"

Deanna has gone from terrified of the dogs, especially Rosie, to Loving them! She wants Rosie to be with her all the time and has climbed gates to be with her. She has taken over the job of feeding (and overfeeding) the dogs. She also likes to have Rosie fetch, using hand signs for sit, stay, get and drop. We knew it would happen, but not so quickly!

Hanging out with the guys

Deanna loves to hang out with her brothers (and their female friends).

She especially likes their cars and listening to music.

Deanna's First Party

A BIG THANKS to all of my great friends who participated in a welcome home shower for us! Deanna had a great time and met a lot of new people who will be part of her life. She loves all of her new things very much, and we really appreciate everyone's generosity.

Deanna Visits The Beach

We took a short trip to the beach, and Deanna did a lot of things for the first time.

First, she has warmed up to the dogs. On the trip down, I looked back and Tia was sitting in the car seat with her. The friendship seems to be very mutual. She loves to feed Rosie and is comfortable in the same room with her.

We took her down on the beach and she yelled very loudly and clapped her hands. We then had to run with her all the way down the beach. She liked watching Rosie fetch sticks.

Mimi and Grampa joined us in Seaside and she had her first carousel ride and her first ice cream cone. Both were hits.

We also took her to feed the seagulls. She was not intimidated at all and had a great time until the bread was gone and she got bird poo on her hands.

She experienced some new restaurants and has been much more adventurous with food, actually eating like a piggy, but still nothing green.

A great time was had by all.

More Beach Pics

All American Girl

Deanna's adjustment to America has been remarkable. Nothing seems to overwhelm her. She goes to stores and restaurants like she has been doing it all her life. She is very happy!

She really knows what she likes as far a clothing goes. When I show her something it is an immediate yes or no. She definately prefers jeans to any other pants and boots or tennies over dress shoes. Purses and "make up" are her favorites, and she likes to style her doll's hair (while waiting for hers to grow).

She is a very picky eater and not willing to try anything new. She does drink milk and has been known to eat 3 bananas and an apple in one day. She has discovered the fridge and the pantry and we are constantly getting her out.

She seems to understand much of what we say, but it's hard to know for sure due to her limited speech. We will be working on therapy soon.

Overall, everything is great!!

The Big Homecoming

We finally made it home Saturday night about midnight after a 20+ hour trip. Jeremy and Jordan met us at the airport, we were so excited to see them!
The flight from Ukraine to New York was pretty rough. Deanna had a few tantrums due to boredom and barely slept at all. When we got to the New York airport she was bouncing off the walls. We were fearful of a repeat performance on the way to Portland, but she slept all the way.
Deanna took to her brothers right away (and they to her). When we got home we showed her around the house and her room. She was especially excited to see her clothes and was jumping up and down clapping. Of course she then had to put on a new outfit.

Her biggest problem is that she is TERRIFIED of the dogs. She won't be in the same room as them and wants repeated reassurance that they won't bite. We are taking it very slow and keeping them confined to one area.

Deanna is sleeping pretty well and is just about adjusted to our time zone. For anyone interested it is okay to call, we are doing great. Email sharis@comcast.net Thanks again for the support!!

WE ARE COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!

We just returned from the US Embassy with Deanna's Visa, the last thing we need to be out of here. It was down to the wire but we will make our flight Saturday and return to Portland Saturday night.

We have been having a good time in Kiev even though our focus is going home. Deanna has learned the fine art of eating in restaurants and has fairly good manners although to Jon's dismay she usually spills her drink at some point. Restaurants here don't have any child menus, no plastic cups and certainly no cups with lids, so what do they expect?? You should see her handle a giant soup spoon and a cup of borsch!

Sorry I haven't answered personal emails lately, we've had internet issues. I have appreciated every email so much I can't thank everyone enough. It really is overwhelming to have so many caring friends and family. We can't wait to share our Deanna with you!

Above: Deanna at a playground in Kiev, Deanna in her new coat, and enjoying some "espresso" in the cafe.

The Orphanage Goodbye

Here is Deanna saying goodbye to some of her favorite caregivers.

A Beautiful Day In Kiev

Well we made it to Kiev this morning. It is blue sky and sunny. Pretty warm too.
After final paperwork yesterday we were able to pick up Deanna from the orphanage. When she saw her new clothes I brought she immediately stripped herself naked to put them on. We then had a little party with the kids in the group. She was so happy and proud of her new things. She was so anxious to leave and left with us, skipping all the way.
We went out to dinner and she was good, especially considering it was her first time in a restaurant. We hung out at the apartment and tried to keep her from climbing the walls with excitement.
Our train left at 10:30pm, which was another experience in itself. When the train arrives you have 2 minutes to get on, or you lose. So, everyone runs to their assigned car when it stops, because you have no idea where your car will land. We had 4 adults, about 10 bags, some of which were very large, and Deanna to heave onto the train in the dark before it pulled away. Afterward we had to organize all 5 of us, and all the luggage in a tiny sleep car 2 bunks up and 2 bunks down, about the size of a walk in closet. It was about 100 degrees with little oxygen in there by morning. Deanna had some trouble falling asleep but no crying or fussing at all, she was all smiles. She and I shared a bunk and she was a restless sleeper to say the least. I think she took 70% and I had 30% of the space. Several times during the night she would crawl over and kiss me and touch my face. By 6:00 she was up and ready to go.
Today we drug her all up and down the streets of Kiev. I know her feet were tired in her new boots but she was a trooper. I finally insisted she take a nap and that involved some crying but she finally gave up and is still asleep. Will post picture later, don't dare to go into the bedroom to get the camera.
Still hoping to be out by Saturday.

Finally Leaving for Kiev?????

If all goes well, we will be picking up Deanna at the orphanage today and going on the overnight train to Kiev. Yana will be going with us so it won't be so bad. Hope Deanna doesn't freak out!!

Almost Made It Out

We came within one signature from being able to TAKE Deanna and leave for Kiev today! All we needed is the orphanage directors signature and we could have gone. But...she was no where to be found today and won't be back till Monday. Hard to believe when everyone has a cell phone you can't contact someone!!! So we're stuck here till Monday. We do have the official court decree and a new birth certificate to show for our efforts.
We have changed our plane tickets to Saturday March 1. As long as the passport comes through we will be home then!!!!!

Above: We ate at an Indian/Vegeterian restaurant, a nice change.

No water in Dniprodzerzhynsk

We had a warning from Yana that they were turning the water off in Dniprodzerzhynsk. We filled up buckets, empty jugs and pans so we'd have water to wash and flush with. We found out from our Ukranian friends that there is some dispute with the neighboring down, so they cut off the electricity to the water plant. This does not seem unusual to them and we have no idea how long it will be off. Kiev is looking even better....................

Fun At The Orphanage

More of our daily visiting fun. Deanna stealing soap from the bath tub, Jon sledding with Deanna, and Auntie pretend painting her nails. We just try to do a variety of activities to keep us all amused. Today she was really trying to speak to us. She was making sure we all understood that she would eat, sleep, and then we would be back again.

New Ukranian Friends

Jon and I met a man who lives in our apartment building who spoke a little English.

Jon saw him and his wife later and found out she is an English Teacher at the elementary school. They invited us all over for a visit.

They gave us a full buffet and we have now spent the past 3 evenings with them, their 2 daughters one of whom is also an elementary school teacher, and their 2 grandchildren. Their granddaughter is learning English and wanted to practice her English with Americans. They are very interested in America and all about our society.

The eldest daughter in particular is fascinated with America and could ask questions for hours. She entertained us in her apartment the last night. Susan hopes to persuade her to come to The US for a visit, but so far she is too intimidated. We have really appreciated their hospitality.

The Waiting Goes On

We are just passing time during the 10 day waiting period. Then we are not sure how long it will be till we get her passport. I think we've now been in almost every shop here. Surprisingly there are a lot of designer clothes here, but not cheap (no bargains to be found). Susie has been having fun buying some things, I don't really care about my clothes right now, another day another turtleneck! I may throw away my clothes when I'm done here. We've tried some new cafes, and discovered some young kids know some English. They learn it in school.

Deanna is good, I think we are as bonded as we can be in this situation, but clearly the orphanage staff is still in control and we are just visitors. She continues to be very excited to see us each day, but sometimes gets bored playing with us in the coat room. She knows she is going with us at some point but I'm sure she has no concept of what this really means.

Aunt Susie Arrives

Susan arrived on Tuesday night after a very long journey. Jon and I picked her up with our driver Vlad at the train station in Dnepropetrovsk. Our first visits with Deanna went very well. Deanna was fascinated with her clothes and tried everything on as well as searching through her purse (she does this to me everyday). Think I'll have to break her of this habit. We did a little shopping and took Susie to my hat lady. When in Ukraine you need a fancy hat!!!

It's Official

Monday, February 11 2008 we went to court and were granted our adoption of Deanna, now officially named Deanna Sophia Gutwig. It was long and stressful, but over now! Above are pictures of Jon and I before court, and afterward with Yana for a celebration. Now we must endure our 10 day waiting period before we can have her in our custody. We should definately be on the down hill side of this experience, but still very ready to return home.

Shari and Deanna

A sample of our nightly visits in the coat room. We try to teach her english words, and she can say a few. Please excuse the bad hair day, on both our parts!

Jon and Deanna

Deanna is trying on her new slippers! The kids wear them all the time inside and hers were worn through.

Stay Tuned...

I promise some new pics soon but we had to go to a different internet place today and there is no way to download. We're counting the days till court, and till Susie gets here. I can't send any individual emails today cause for some reason when I open a new window the typing is in Ukranian! It was hard enough to get the web page in English. I think we're making progress with Deanna. She is excited to see us each visit, and has been getting upset when we leave. She also gets very upset if any of the other kids come near us. They pick up on this and swarm around us when they get the chance. We get a kick out of them and have nicknames for most. We're not allowed to take pics of the others though. Promise new pictures next time. Email, we're bored!

I don't have any new pics now, we all seem to have the same clothes and coats on and we're in the same place at the orphanage. Deanna actually has had the same thing on for a week! We bought her some new slippers as hers had the toes worn through.
We have busied ourselves at a large outdoor marketplace they have here. It is very huge and one can get lost easily. They have clothing (mostly coats and boots) as well as toys, groceries, food, home decor, furniture. It is hard to negotiate though...no English. When you say i speak English they seem afraid of you. This hasn't stopped us from shopping anyway. However, most of the stuff is imported from China etc, rather than hand crafted, so its not that exciting.
We're just going day by day and making the best of it!

Hanging Out

Above, Deanna on her first phone call to Aunt Susie

Above, Jon and Roman by an old soviet statue, the view from our apartment and a street car.

Well we have now been left alone in the city. Roman went home and Yana is back in Kiev for now. We're just getting in to a routine and trying to venture out to a new place each day. Our court date is not till Monday the 11th so the whole process is delayed a bit. Hopefully no new problems. Deanna is getting use to us and is always excited to see us each visit. We bring her a snack of fruit or juice and she is quite piggy! She is not yet interested in learning english but has learned to say snack.

"The Orphanage"

Here are some pics of us at the Orphanage. Quite an interesting place. We walk to the orphanage in the morning, about a 15 minute walk. Then we are allowed to play with her outside for a couple of hours a day. We are pretty frozen after this. At night we have a driver take us back and forth. We get to play with Deanna in a coat room on the floor. Kind of boring for all of us. We try to bring toys and books but that is only interesting for a short while. Strange system, but whatever! We can't wait to get her in a different setting. At this point we are just thinking one day at a time, we still have a long way to go. We should be going to court next week. Then just the waiting period and then we're out of here! Thanks again for everyone's support.

Deanna Sophia Gutwig

Don't have much time right now, more pictures and info to come. All is well. We have offically decided on her name, Deanna Sophia Gutwig. We are on schedule, but probably not coming home any sooner than planned. There is a huge amount of paperwork and red tape. Thanks for all of the emails, keep them comimg. We really love getting them!

Here She Is.....

We will try to give some information about our little girl. We're working on the final name we will give her and are waiting for Jeremy and Jordan's approval. She is 4 years old, birthday September 4. Currently she has an "orphanage" haircut. She has been at the orphanage all of her life, after being relinquished by her parents at birth, her mother was ill but with no drug or alcohol history. She was born with cleft lip which has been repaired but can be revised in the future to look better. She has a speech delay but if you spend one minute with her it is obvious she if very intelligent. She is very outgoing and affectionate with a darling personality. The staff all say she is a favorite and they will be sad to see her go but they are happy for her as well. The first day we met her she had my hair clips and jewelry on, as well as my purse. She's all girl! Can't wait to get her out of the boy clothes.

Will update when possible, we have limited internet access.

The Latest News

Well its been a very busy few days. We left Kiev at 2:00 am on Wednesday and drove all through the night on freezing unimproved roads, getting lost several times before finally making it. I really thought we were in Siberia. This is a real industrial city so not very attractive. After several hours of meetings with officals we were finally allowed to go to the orphanage. We then had to talk to the director, doctor, and psychologist before seeing the little girl. When we finally did, we knew right away she was the one. It was obvious she was smart as well as very outgoing and friendly. She took to us right away, and was calling us Mama and Papa by the end of the visit. I will explain in detail about her later, with some pictures, by the way her name is Deanna, pronounced dee ah na, and Jeremy and Jordan like that name so we may keep it. So, we will be in this town for a couple weeks completing the paperwork and going to court. We have visited the orphanage 3 times and will be back this afternoon. Finally we can relax a little and try to actually enjoy more things. Colder here though, freezing. More to come, but we don't have internet in the apartment so we have to go to the internet cafe, not as convenient.

Good bye to Kiev for now, we are leaving at 2:00am for the next stop. We have a driver and are taking a van to Dniprodzerzhynsk with Roman and Yana, our main facilitators to . I don't even know where we are staying but Yana will have that all worked out. We have really good people working for us, they run around and take care of everything and we just wander. Kiev is very interesting, everyone walks everywhere, very fast for miles and miles. If you need to cross the street you just step into traffic in front of cars, no matter how many lanes, talking on your cell phone or whatever and they stop for you every time. They don't even honk.

On the move

Today we have free time to shop and look around. Many of the shops are underground and you even have to go underground to cross the busy streets. The problem is the underground system is so large you get lost and come up on the wrong side of the street. And forget about reading any signs.....can't even recognize the words. Haven't even bought anything yet, except something for the boys. It is very sunny today so it should be pleasant walking. We are leaving tonight for the next region to visit the orphanage. Hope all goes well. Not sure where we are staying, so internet access may be limited, but will post whenever possible. Jeremy and Jordan know how to get a hold of us by phone. Will try to post more pics before we leave tonight.

Appointment Day

We had our appointment at the Adoption Center today. We are going to Dniprodzerzhynsk (don't ask me to pronounce it) Wednesday to meet the little girl we chose at the meeting today. On a down note, they have recently changed their policy (they can do whatever they want) and if we decide not adopt her we may not be able to see any more children for 45 days. We'll try to remain positive and see what happens. Thanks again for all the emails, we really appreciate it.

Tour of Kiev

Today we went for a walking tour of Kiev with Roman. Below is us in the Metro, the subway system. It is 800 meters underground, originally built to escape the Russians. It is very beautiful. To the left is the tower at the St Sophia cathedral. We climbed all the way to the top!!

Below is the opera house. Trying to get to the ballet!!

Also trying some traditional Ukranian dishes. Can't remember the names of most, except borsch. Finally found a coffee house with Lattes!!

Independance Square, outside our apartment

Sunday

We went out with Roman, our American Facilitator today. Had our first Ukranian food, it was good. Nice to be with someone who reads and speaks the language. Seems that no one here speaks English and nothing is written in English. I have spotted a coffee shop, but the locals seem to drink tea. Roman showed us around town. There are a lot of monuments, cathedrals etc right here in this area. Weather is above freezing and sunny. We went to a large underground shopping mall right by our apartment. There won't be any big adoption news until Tuesday.
We'll just hope for the best!!

Here at last

Well we finally made it to Ukraine. Very long and uncomfortable flight. Kiev is very large, have only gone to grocery store and to the apartment so far. Very clean apartment, bedroom, living room, kitchen, and little balcony. We are right in the middle of downtown, with lots of cathedrals nearby. Trying to figure out electrical situation. Thanks to everyone for all of the phone calls and emails we have received. We are so thankful to have so many great friends and family!! Will post pics later.

Leaving for Ukraine

Well we're finally leaving!! We'll be in New York city Friday morning, and in Kiev on Saturday morning (their time). We have a few days to sight see and get acclimated before our appointment at the National Adoption Center on Tuesday. Hope we don't freeze to death!!

Countdown to the trip

The countdown is on!!! We will be flying out on January 18, 2008. After waiting so long, it is finally coming fast.

Finally some news!

After 3 months of waiting we FINALLY have an appointment at the Ukrainian Adoption Center. It is January 22nd 2008. It is still a long way off, but we can spend the holidays here and make final travel plans.

Waiting and Preparing for Travel

Hi to all family and friends. We are just beginning our adoption webpage, as an efficient way to keep everyone updated on our progress and experiences. We have been working on our adoption since January 2007, and now in August are waiting for our inviation to travel to Ukraine. As we wait, we are in the process of organizing and preparing our house for being away for several weeks, and for the future arrival.