John's Blog
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Learning to be a family
Well, this will be a shorter blog. Shelly will tell you all about the fortress we visited today, so read her blog for that.
We visited the children twice today, one hour in the morning and one hour in the early evening. During the morning, we met inside, because it had rained while we went to the market (which is a cool place) to buy fruit. We gave them all bananas, which they loved. (BTW, banana is something like "banan" in Ukrainian, so that will be easy for them to learn!) This meeting was pretty good, but I think I gave Aleksa a good scare toward the end. Liana was looking sort of longingly at Shelly with Aleksa sitting on her lap. So, I asked her if she wanted to sit on Mama's lap, and she nodded. I grabbed her and plopped her down near Mama, and picked up Aleksa, who didn't like that much. So, I tried to put her up on my shoulders, which made things worse. Oh well.
Our second visit was another good one. This time we were outside at a bench away from the other children (even though one or two will still find us anyway). We had fun playing with balloons for a while. Liana still does this weird thing where if I'm looking at her while she is playing with something, she might look up and pull the toy away from me, even if I wasn't holding out my hand. Not sure what's up with that, but we'll deal with it later if it doesn't go away on it's own. (I think it might have something to do with the fact that they don't really get to keep any of the stuff we've brought them, yet.)
At the end of the visit, we got good hugs. I was wondering if Aleksa would give me a hug at all, so I just knelt next to her while she gave Shelly a hug. Then, Shelly turned her to me, and she gave me a very nice hug, plus a kiss on the cheek! Woohoo! Liana gave us nice hugs, and then we hunted down Adam who had sort of taken off. (We think they are a little shy about showing affection in front of the other kids.) Anyway, I found him and gave him a good hug, then called him back to give Shelly a good one, too. On our way back to the car, we walked past Liana's play area and she was watching us. So, she got 2 hugs on the way out this time. It was nice.
I'm sure that a bunch of other stuff happened today, but my brain and heart are all caught up in the kids, so that's all I'm posting about! :O)
P.S. Just read some comments. Right now, we'll hold off on the children's history, except to say that they've been in the orphanage for 2 years. Also, I haven't been able to tell that Adam's arm has any noticeable problems. He's been busy tying balloons and messing around in a bunch of different ways, too.
We visited the children twice today, one hour in the morning and one hour in the early evening. During the morning, we met inside, because it had rained while we went to the market (which is a cool place) to buy fruit. We gave them all bananas, which they loved. (BTW, banana is something like "banan" in Ukrainian, so that will be easy for them to learn!) This meeting was pretty good, but I think I gave Aleksa a good scare toward the end. Liana was looking sort of longingly at Shelly with Aleksa sitting on her lap. So, I asked her if she wanted to sit on Mama's lap, and she nodded. I grabbed her and plopped her down near Mama, and picked up Aleksa, who didn't like that much. So, I tried to put her up on my shoulders, which made things worse. Oh well.
Our second visit was another good one. This time we were outside at a bench away from the other children (even though one or two will still find us anyway). We had fun playing with balloons for a while. Liana still does this weird thing where if I'm looking at her while she is playing with something, she might look up and pull the toy away from me, even if I wasn't holding out my hand. Not sure what's up with that, but we'll deal with it later if it doesn't go away on it's own. (I think it might have something to do with the fact that they don't really get to keep any of the stuff we've brought them, yet.)
At the end of the visit, we got good hugs. I was wondering if Aleksa would give me a hug at all, so I just knelt next to her while she gave Shelly a hug. Then, Shelly turned her to me, and she gave me a very nice hug, plus a kiss on the cheek! Woohoo! Liana gave us nice hugs, and then we hunted down Adam who had sort of taken off. (We think they are a little shy about showing affection in front of the other kids.) Anyway, I found him and gave him a good hug, then called him back to give Shelly a good one, too. On our way back to the car, we walked past Liana's play area and she was watching us. So, she got 2 hugs on the way out this time. It was nice.
I'm sure that a bunch of other stuff happened today, but my brain and heart are all caught up in the kids, so that's all I'm posting about! :O)
P.S. Just read some comments. Right now, we'll hold off on the children's history, except to say that they've been in the orphanage for 2 years. Also, I haven't been able to tell that Adam's arm has any noticeable problems. He's been busy tying balloons and messing around in a bunch of different ways, too.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Thursday
NOTE: This entry and the next two are out of date order, but since I am putting them all up at the same time, I wanted you to read them in the proper order (from top to bottom for these 3).
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Shelly wanted me to write my own blog entries, without reading hers first. That way, you can all get my view of things. That sounded good, even though there will be some repeat information.
Where do I begin? There is so much to talk about. 3 children! Woohoo! And they are all wonderful. I thought that it would be difficult to find 2 mostly normal children, but here we are, trying to adopt 3 children who will be in very good shape a few months after we’ve been taking care of them! (And they are in pretty good shape already. We will give them the nutrition they need, love they require, and whatever else is useful in helping them grow to their full potential.)
Yesterday, around 1:00, we first visited Liana and Aleksa (I misspelled it as Alexa in the link to the pictures). The second they walked into the director’s office, we were in love. Liana was very shy, and would hardly even look up at us. On the other hand, Aleksa was as bold as could be, and quickly claimed Shelly as her private possession. (BTW, we are still calling them by their birth names, Vallia (Valentina), Zena (Zenaida), and Meesha (Mikhial).
When we went to leave the director’s office to visit with them in a separate room, Shelly and I weren’t sure where we were going. Liana was holding my hand, and decided that we were leaving the orphanage (or at least walking outside the building). About the time that we got out of the building, one of the workers called us back in and showed us what room to go to. We visited for a while, and got the pictures that you saw of them. Liana loved the camera, and pushed buttons and played with it for a good while. Aleksa just kept on hugging and playing with Shelly.
After going back into the director’s office with them, the director (very nice lady, perfect person to be a director), asked them if they wanted us to be their mama and papa. Liana simply nodded with a straight face, and Alexa happily said agreed. This was a real mood booster! Liana was sitting on Vika’s lap (our translator) when she realized that we were leaving. Vika said that she started to tremble! Vika and the director calmed her down and made sure she knew that we were coming back. When we hugged them both before we left to get Adam, Liana (still looking down) said, “Come back, Papa.” – I think I need a new heart.
The trip to get Adam was long and winding. Several of the roads were under construction in several different places, so it seemed that we were constantly slowing down and speeding up. I thought it would take us much too long to get there, but we made it in only a little more than the expected time. Toward the end of the trip there, we drove through very rural locations, complete with goats, cows (we almost hit one, and Shelly squealed!), horse-drawn wagons with loads of hay, fields FULL of sunflowers, etc.
We arrived at Adam’s camp, and got out. The receptionist from the director’s office (she had to come along) gave the official papers to the director of the camp, and Meesha came running out, smiling. We didn’t have much time, so he said goodbye to his favorite care-giver, Irina. Then we piled in the car and took off (and waved at the now-infamous cow, which the woman taxi driver fondly remembered had scared Shelly). Most of the way back, we just tried to sleep. But, we did stop and get some fruit-filled bread and some drinkable yogurt with pineapple and peach in it (good stuff). Adam liked to play with my Pocket PC just like Liana did, but the batteries wore out, so we had to put it away rather quickly.
Well, that’s the novel for Thursday!
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Shelly wanted me to write my own blog entries, without reading hers first. That way, you can all get my view of things. That sounded good, even though there will be some repeat information.
Where do I begin? There is so much to talk about. 3 children! Woohoo! And they are all wonderful. I thought that it would be difficult to find 2 mostly normal children, but here we are, trying to adopt 3 children who will be in very good shape a few months after we’ve been taking care of them! (And they are in pretty good shape already. We will give them the nutrition they need, love they require, and whatever else is useful in helping them grow to their full potential.)
Yesterday, around 1:00, we first visited Liana and Aleksa (I misspelled it as Alexa in the link to the pictures). The second they walked into the director’s office, we were in love. Liana was very shy, and would hardly even look up at us. On the other hand, Aleksa was as bold as could be, and quickly claimed Shelly as her private possession. (BTW, we are still calling them by their birth names, Vallia (Valentina), Zena (Zenaida), and Meesha (Mikhial).
When we went to leave the director’s office to visit with them in a separate room, Shelly and I weren’t sure where we were going. Liana was holding my hand, and decided that we were leaving the orphanage (or at least walking outside the building). About the time that we got out of the building, one of the workers called us back in and showed us what room to go to. We visited for a while, and got the pictures that you saw of them. Liana loved the camera, and pushed buttons and played with it for a good while. Aleksa just kept on hugging and playing with Shelly.
After going back into the director’s office with them, the director (very nice lady, perfect person to be a director), asked them if they wanted us to be their mama and papa. Liana simply nodded with a straight face, and Alexa happily said agreed. This was a real mood booster! Liana was sitting on Vika’s lap (our translator) when she realized that we were leaving. Vika said that she started to tremble! Vika and the director calmed her down and made sure she knew that we were coming back. When we hugged them both before we left to get Adam, Liana (still looking down) said, “Come back, Papa.” – I think I need a new heart.
The trip to get Adam was long and winding. Several of the roads were under construction in several different places, so it seemed that we were constantly slowing down and speeding up. I thought it would take us much too long to get there, but we made it in only a little more than the expected time. Toward the end of the trip there, we drove through very rural locations, complete with goats, cows (we almost hit one, and Shelly squealed!), horse-drawn wagons with loads of hay, fields FULL of sunflowers, etc.
We arrived at Adam’s camp, and got out. The receptionist from the director’s office (she had to come along) gave the official papers to the director of the camp, and Meesha came running out, smiling. We didn’t have much time, so he said goodbye to his favorite care-giver, Irina. Then we piled in the car and took off (and waved at the now-infamous cow, which the woman taxi driver fondly remembered had scared Shelly). Most of the way back, we just tried to sleep. But, we did stop and get some fruit-filled bread and some drinkable yogurt with pineapple and peach in it (good stuff). Adam liked to play with my Pocket PC just like Liana did, but the batteries wore out, so we had to put it away rather quickly.
Well, that’s the novel for Thursday!
Friday running around
Friday, July 30, 2004
Today, we got up at 7:20 (since I woke up 20 minutes after I intended the alarm to go off). I couldn’t get the shower water heater to turn on, so we had cold showers. (I think it had something to do with the low water pressure at the time.)
Then, we drove over to the notary, and waited for Vika to get some paperwork started over there. (A notary here is sort of a cross between our notaries and our lawyers.) After the notary, we drove to the city hall to get some paperwork going there. (During most of these trips, we just waited in the taxi, while Vika worked her magic.) Then we headed over to the orphanage to get some papers we needed. Vika found out that a previous couple had bought a replacement ink cartridge for the orphanage’s printer, but it didn’t work! So, we took the box that it had come in, and added to our list the purchase of a new ink cartridge (which would then allow them to print out some of the things we needed!)
So, after another trip to city hall, we actually got out and signed some papers. (There may have been another city hall trip in there, but I think it was only 2.) These papers were a petition to the city to allow us to adopt, as well as changing the names of the children, and requesting to wave the 30 day waiting period. (I might have missed something, but those were the items that I cared about enough to remember.)
Now, we had some waiting to do, so we headed to the grocery store to by some food for the next day or two. I really like food, and could spend a few paragraphs on our trip to the store, but my blog entry is already going to be quite long. Maybe I’ll add some food information in one of the comments if someone requests it.
After the store, we went back to our rooms, and Vika cooked some of the Ukrainian breaded meat thingies that we bought. (Think ravioli without sauce, and with pork and beef instead.) We enjoyed some talking over the meal. (Vika is very good at striking up conversations with people, which is a big plus, since I’m sure that her friendliness has helped us quite a bit in the course of our paperwork.)
Around 2:30, Dmitri (or Dima, I’m never sure which I should call him), came to see us before he headed back to Kiev. Since we now know that we are adopting 3 children, we payed the extra money for the other 2. Dima was very happy for us, and we enjoyed chatting with him for several minutes. We had to be at the notary by 3:00, so we couldn’t go to eat with him, like he wanted us to do. I guess we’ll see him again before we leave, since routine is that he will bring us the final papers and take us to the airport. (That sounds like it is at least 2 weeks away, if things go smoothly.)
We got to the notary at around 3:00, and stood in a small, open hallway with a bunch of Ukranians who were waiting to get in. I got the impression that they weren’t very pleased when Vika just walked in (we waited in the hall still). After a bit, one of the ladies asked me something or other. Using my incredible language skills, I eloquently told them that I didn’t understand anything. (Ya ny’pinyemiao) They accepted this, and I sort of figured that they were trying to figure out who was in line first, and who had appointments, etc.
When Vika came back out, all she wanted was our passports, so we had to wait a little longer. She came back out again, and it was only to wait with us. But just a few minutes later, we were let in, and the lady notary took a little time filling ledgers with Ukrainian cursive writing. (It is rather interesting to watch. For some reason, it seems that they write slower than we do, but if I were to time it, I doubt that it would be the case. When I watch Vika write her signature, it looks like she finishes the first couple of letters, the goes back and starts by writing inside those letters, then extending out past that again. It might just be a signature-thing, but my curiosity is up, so I keep watching when I get the chance.)
Anyway, after the ledger and official papers were ready, Shelly and I each signed once on 2 very official looking sheets of paper, then twice in the ledger. One document was to for the city, and the other for the NAC. Both of them had something to do with requesting that they complete the adoption process.
It was near to 4:00, now. Vika asked us if we wanted to go to the orphanage, even though the children might not be available until 5:00. We said yes, but first we needed to pick up the printer cartridge. A nice little store with a lot of crayons, brushes, paper, pens, rulers, glue, copy machines, etc. was the place to go. The quickly found the cartridge we needed, and we payed 195 grivna for it (almost $40 – quite in line with U.S. prices).
Back at the orphanage, we gave them the cartridge, and this one worked! Woohoo! The secretary-like lady that we talked with was thankful, and she talked with Vika for quite a while, since we had to wait for the children to come back from wherever they were.
I think I’ll start a new blog entry for our visit with the kids, so hang onto your seats!
Today, we got up at 7:20 (since I woke up 20 minutes after I intended the alarm to go off). I couldn’t get the shower water heater to turn on, so we had cold showers. (I think it had something to do with the low water pressure at the time.)
Then, we drove over to the notary, and waited for Vika to get some paperwork started over there. (A notary here is sort of a cross between our notaries and our lawyers.) After the notary, we drove to the city hall to get some paperwork going there. (During most of these trips, we just waited in the taxi, while Vika worked her magic.) Then we headed over to the orphanage to get some papers we needed. Vika found out that a previous couple had bought a replacement ink cartridge for the orphanage’s printer, but it didn’t work! So, we took the box that it had come in, and added to our list the purchase of a new ink cartridge (which would then allow them to print out some of the things we needed!)
So, after another trip to city hall, we actually got out and signed some papers. (There may have been another city hall trip in there, but I think it was only 2.) These papers were a petition to the city to allow us to adopt, as well as changing the names of the children, and requesting to wave the 30 day waiting period. (I might have missed something, but those were the items that I cared about enough to remember.)
Now, we had some waiting to do, so we headed to the grocery store to by some food for the next day or two. I really like food, and could spend a few paragraphs on our trip to the store, but my blog entry is already going to be quite long. Maybe I’ll add some food information in one of the comments if someone requests it.
After the store, we went back to our rooms, and Vika cooked some of the Ukrainian breaded meat thingies that we bought. (Think ravioli without sauce, and with pork and beef instead.) We enjoyed some talking over the meal. (Vika is very good at striking up conversations with people, which is a big plus, since I’m sure that her friendliness has helped us quite a bit in the course of our paperwork.)
Around 2:30, Dmitri (or Dima, I’m never sure which I should call him), came to see us before he headed back to Kiev. Since we now know that we are adopting 3 children, we payed the extra money for the other 2. Dima was very happy for us, and we enjoyed chatting with him for several minutes. We had to be at the notary by 3:00, so we couldn’t go to eat with him, like he wanted us to do. I guess we’ll see him again before we leave, since routine is that he will bring us the final papers and take us to the airport. (That sounds like it is at least 2 weeks away, if things go smoothly.)
We got to the notary at around 3:00, and stood in a small, open hallway with a bunch of Ukranians who were waiting to get in. I got the impression that they weren’t very pleased when Vika just walked in (we waited in the hall still). After a bit, one of the ladies asked me something or other. Using my incredible language skills, I eloquently told them that I didn’t understand anything. (Ya ny’pinyemiao) They accepted this, and I sort of figured that they were trying to figure out who was in line first, and who had appointments, etc.
When Vika came back out, all she wanted was our passports, so we had to wait a little longer. She came back out again, and it was only to wait with us. But just a few minutes later, we were let in, and the lady notary took a little time filling ledgers with Ukrainian cursive writing. (It is rather interesting to watch. For some reason, it seems that they write slower than we do, but if I were to time it, I doubt that it would be the case. When I watch Vika write her signature, it looks like she finishes the first couple of letters, the goes back and starts by writing inside those letters, then extending out past that again. It might just be a signature-thing, but my curiosity is up, so I keep watching when I get the chance.)
Anyway, after the ledger and official papers were ready, Shelly and I each signed once on 2 very official looking sheets of paper, then twice in the ledger. One document was to for the city, and the other for the NAC. Both of them had something to do with requesting that they complete the adoption process.
It was near to 4:00, now. Vika asked us if we wanted to go to the orphanage, even though the children might not be available until 5:00. We said yes, but first we needed to pick up the printer cartridge. A nice little store with a lot of crayons, brushes, paper, pens, rulers, glue, copy machines, etc. was the place to go. The quickly found the cartridge we needed, and we payed 195 grivna for it (almost $40 – quite in line with U.S. prices).
Back at the orphanage, we gave them the cartridge, and this one worked! Woohoo! The secretary-like lady that we talked with was thankful, and she talked with Vika for quite a while, since we had to wait for the children to come back from wherever they were.
I think I’ll start a new blog entry for our visit with the kids, so hang onto your seats!
Friday Meetings
Friday Meetings, July 30, 2004
We visited the children twice today. Once in the morning (12:30-ish to 1:00-ish?), and once in the afternoon (around 5:00 – 6:00).
This time, we got to meet with all three of them together! This was so exciting! But, this first meeting seemed very short. We walked over to a bench, away from most of the other children, though some still came over for a bit. Liana loved looking at the camera again, and discovered how to flip through the pictures that we had already taken. (She seems like she’s pretty bright.)
We took out the balloons, and we found out which color they wanted. Then I asked them what I should make with them. Alexa (Zena) wasn’t sure what she wanted, so I made a dog for her. Liana wanted a bird – Ouch! I told them that it was hard, and made a somewhat feeble attempt at it. She seemed to like it anyway. Adam seemed like he wante to take it easy on me, so he asked for a dog. :o) After a little playing around, I showed Liana and Adam how to blow up the balloons for themselves. Then, I showed them how to curl up the balloon without tying it, and to let it spin in circles after letting go. Liana really liked that for about 5 or 10 minutes.
Time went way to fast, and Adam had to leave before the others. He looked dreadfully disappointed at first, but was smiling when we hugged him before he left. Then Liana had to go, and Zena followed soon after. It was a pleasant visit, and we wished we could have stayed longer, but didn’t really know what we would have done with the little that we had brought.
VISIT 2
We went out looking for them after waiting in the director’s waiting room. We found Adam (Meesha) first, and then we found Liana (Vallia). They both came running, and got big hugs. Liana was smiling a lot more than we expected, and seemed almost like a different girl. Adam showed me his deflated balloon, and I tied off the holes and reinflated the part that was still good. We also had two balloons left, and I gave them to Adam and Liana. They chased each other around for a while, and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I tried to play a little, and watch more. (This language barrier is *incredibly* frustrating.)
Aleksa (Zena) walked around the corner while we weren’t looking, and ran to Shelly for a hug. I reached for a hug after Shelly put her down, and she came. (Sometime soon, I think she will genuinely want to give me a hug, but she still seems somewhat uncomfortable with me.)
We found a little bench area with 3 walls and a roof, where we sat down and did some stuff. Liana started to show some character traits that scared us, since she grabbed the pictures we had brought, then ran off without letting anyone (even me) look at them with her. She did this with the balloon, and the beach ball that we inflated as well.
Adam is bigger and stronger, so he was able to get the ball from her (in what looked like a playful manner). They enjoyed running around the little seating building we were in, chasing each other and laughing. I joined in, catching them and putting them back down, which they didn’t seem to mind too much. Aleksa was still just sitting on Shelly’s lap.
Somewhere during this time, the rest of the kids started to flood in. They demanded things, and tried to poke around in Shelly’s purse. It was very difficult for us to pay attention to Adam and Liana. Sometime during this, Liana got very disturbed and whenever I walked toward her, she would walk away. This totally freaked us out! I ended up following her back to the place where she was playing with her friends before. The caregiver there looked at me sympathetically and tried to help, but I couldn’t tell her what was going on – because I didn’t know, and because I can’t speak Russian! (Argh!)
The caregiver tried to speak to Liana, but she wouldn’t listen. I walked toward her again, and she went into a different little seating building, supposedly to hide. I found her standing on the seat, with her back to the corner. I held my hands out for her to come down to me, and she refused. Then I just reached for her, told her that I loved her (I think I did, anyway), and hugged her (picking her up at the same time). She seemed okay after a little bit, and even accepted the hug! So, I carried her back to where Shelly was.
I’m not sure exactly how things happened, but Adam did something very similar after that, too. (Scary * 2 = extra scary!) It was much harder to deal with him. At least twice, I followed him, picked him up gently, and carried him back to the place where we were. Vika was not there at this time, and we sure could have used her. She did show up after a little while, and asked if we were ready to leave. Instead, we explained what happened, and she spent at least half an hour talking, following, and figuring out what was going on with Adam. It all boiled down to a little fight that Adam and Liana had had, as well as all the other things going on. Vika is pretty sure that they were also fighting for attention from us. During this whole time, Aleksa had Shelly’s lap locked up, and I was running after the one with the most obvious problem.
Things eventually improved, and all three ended up at a bench much farther from the other children. We had them drawing in coloring books, and Vika dominated things in a continued attempt to keep things going well. (If I haven’t said it already, Vika is an absolute God-send!)
We colored for a while, and then it was time for us to leave. Adam gave me a shy, but accepting hug, and I told him that I loved him (I know I had messed it up when I tried the other two or three times during this situation.) Aleksa let me hug her without any problems, and when I told her that I loved her (as I did with each of them), she looked me straight in the face (at very close, hugging range). Nothing much happened, but she seemed like she was analyzing me. Liana was a little more difficult, but it seemed that she just wanted more attention, not that she didn’t want to be with us. I gave her a good, long hug, as well as a couple kisses on the cheek. (Boy will my insides feel better when I know that they feel accepted by us. This in-between stuff, which will probably last for a few weeks, is really tough – particularly since we didn’t learn Russian.) In the mean-time, we will do our best to visit them in a place that is completely separate from the other children, and will try very hard to give them all the attention we can. (Did I say that I love them, yet? I sure do. They really need it, too.)
We visited the children twice today. Once in the morning (12:30-ish to 1:00-ish?), and once in the afternoon (around 5:00 – 6:00).
This time, we got to meet with all three of them together! This was so exciting! But, this first meeting seemed very short. We walked over to a bench, away from most of the other children, though some still came over for a bit. Liana loved looking at the camera again, and discovered how to flip through the pictures that we had already taken. (She seems like she’s pretty bright.)
We took out the balloons, and we found out which color they wanted. Then I asked them what I should make with them. Alexa (Zena) wasn’t sure what she wanted, so I made a dog for her. Liana wanted a bird – Ouch! I told them that it was hard, and made a somewhat feeble attempt at it. She seemed to like it anyway. Adam seemed like he wante to take it easy on me, so he asked for a dog. :o) After a little playing around, I showed Liana and Adam how to blow up the balloons for themselves. Then, I showed them how to curl up the balloon without tying it, and to let it spin in circles after letting go. Liana really liked that for about 5 or 10 minutes.
Time went way to fast, and Adam had to leave before the others. He looked dreadfully disappointed at first, but was smiling when we hugged him before he left. Then Liana had to go, and Zena followed soon after. It was a pleasant visit, and we wished we could have stayed longer, but didn’t really know what we would have done with the little that we had brought.
VISIT 2
We went out looking for them after waiting in the director’s waiting room. We found Adam (Meesha) first, and then we found Liana (Vallia). They both came running, and got big hugs. Liana was smiling a lot more than we expected, and seemed almost like a different girl. Adam showed me his deflated balloon, and I tied off the holes and reinflated the part that was still good. We also had two balloons left, and I gave them to Adam and Liana. They chased each other around for a while, and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I tried to play a little, and watch more. (This language barrier is *incredibly* frustrating.)
Aleksa (Zena) walked around the corner while we weren’t looking, and ran to Shelly for a hug. I reached for a hug after Shelly put her down, and she came. (Sometime soon, I think she will genuinely want to give me a hug, but she still seems somewhat uncomfortable with me.)
We found a little bench area with 3 walls and a roof, where we sat down and did some stuff. Liana started to show some character traits that scared us, since she grabbed the pictures we had brought, then ran off without letting anyone (even me) look at them with her. She did this with the balloon, and the beach ball that we inflated as well.
Adam is bigger and stronger, so he was able to get the ball from her (in what looked like a playful manner). They enjoyed running around the little seating building we were in, chasing each other and laughing. I joined in, catching them and putting them back down, which they didn’t seem to mind too much. Aleksa was still just sitting on Shelly’s lap.
Somewhere during this time, the rest of the kids started to flood in. They demanded things, and tried to poke around in Shelly’s purse. It was very difficult for us to pay attention to Adam and Liana. Sometime during this, Liana got very disturbed and whenever I walked toward her, she would walk away. This totally freaked us out! I ended up following her back to the place where she was playing with her friends before. The caregiver there looked at me sympathetically and tried to help, but I couldn’t tell her what was going on – because I didn’t know, and because I can’t speak Russian! (Argh!)
The caregiver tried to speak to Liana, but she wouldn’t listen. I walked toward her again, and she went into a different little seating building, supposedly to hide. I found her standing on the seat, with her back to the corner. I held my hands out for her to come down to me, and she refused. Then I just reached for her, told her that I loved her (I think I did, anyway), and hugged her (picking her up at the same time). She seemed okay after a little bit, and even accepted the hug! So, I carried her back to where Shelly was.
I’m not sure exactly how things happened, but Adam did something very similar after that, too. (Scary * 2 = extra scary!) It was much harder to deal with him. At least twice, I followed him, picked him up gently, and carried him back to the place where we were. Vika was not there at this time, and we sure could have used her. She did show up after a little while, and asked if we were ready to leave. Instead, we explained what happened, and she spent at least half an hour talking, following, and figuring out what was going on with Adam. It all boiled down to a little fight that Adam and Liana had had, as well as all the other things going on. Vika is pretty sure that they were also fighting for attention from us. During this whole time, Aleksa had Shelly’s lap locked up, and I was running after the one with the most obvious problem.
Things eventually improved, and all three ended up at a bench much farther from the other children. We had them drawing in coloring books, and Vika dominated things in a continued attempt to keep things going well. (If I haven’t said it already, Vika is an absolute God-send!)
We colored for a while, and then it was time for us to leave. Adam gave me a shy, but accepting hug, and I told him that I loved him (I know I had messed it up when I tried the other two or three times during this situation.) Aleksa let me hug her without any problems, and when I told her that I loved her (as I did with each of them), she looked me straight in the face (at very close, hugging range). Nothing much happened, but she seemed like she was analyzing me. Liana was a little more difficult, but it seemed that she just wanted more attention, not that she didn’t want to be with us. I gave her a good, long hug, as well as a couple kisses on the cheek. (Boy will my insides feel better when I know that they feel accepted by us. This in-between stuff, which will probably last for a few weeks, is really tough – particularly since we didn’t learn Russian.) In the mean-time, we will do our best to visit them in a place that is completely separate from the other children, and will try very hard to give them all the attention we can. (Did I say that I love them, yet? I sure do. They really need it, too.)
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Comments on comments
I just read through the comments on these blog entries. (We haven't had enough internet time to do that until today.
If you haven't noted the little treasures that my brother Jared posted, please read them. No, I don't think the colds are turning into pneoumonia, in fact, we're getting better. And no, you don't become multiple uncles by having multiple nieces and nephews! ;oP
If you haven't noted the little treasures that my brother Jared posted, please read them. No, I don't think the colds are turning into pneoumonia, in fact, we're getting better. And no, you don't become multiple uncles by having multiple nieces and nephews! ;oP
My comments to Shelly's recent novel
Well, Shelly has stolen all of the thunder I would have had, if I had written first. So, maybe I should just say that while she is slightly worried about the way things could go, I am pretty optimistic. Whatever happens, God is in charge, and it doesn’t really matter if these are the right children or not. If they are not, then God sent us here for a reason, and if money is a problem, He will supply it when we need it. It’s great to type that, since it helps to reinforce the thoughts we should be having. :o)
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
We have a referral!
The N.A.C. appointment went well (and a bit quickly). We were nervous, and there were several acceptable referrals we could have chosen. It seems that as soon as we mentioned that the acceptable ages were 0-9 and that we would take 2 or 3 children, the questions stopped and we started getting referrals shoved at us!
Anyway, we accepted a referral for 1 boy (oldest), and 2 girls. Check Shelly's blog for the rest!
Anyway, we accepted a referral for 1 boy (oldest), and 2 girls. Check Shelly's blog for the rest!
Sunday, July 25, 2004
We landed!!!
Well, here we are IN UKRAINE! It was a very long set of flights. The longest was the 8 hour flight that started about 7:00 pm on Saturday night and ended at 8:00 am on Sunday. (We switched timezones, so those numbers really are right.) Shelly and I were in the worst of our colds, and the seating was rather cramped, so it was a rough night. But, we landed in Prague, took off for Ukraine, and here we are!
There's a lot to deal with, but we've got this evening and tomorrow before we actually go in for our appointment. Hopefully, we'll get all the rest that we need, and manage to conquer our colds.
Shelly's got a good story about using her Spanish capabilities on this trip, so check her blog, if you haven't already.
There's a lot to deal with, but we've got this evening and tomorrow before we actually go in for our appointment. Hopefully, we'll get all the rest that we need, and manage to conquer our colds.
Shelly's got a good story about using her Spanish capabilities on this trip, so check her blog, if you haven't already.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Subscribing to our blog
If you look up at the top-right corner of this blog, you'll notice an "Atom Feed" link. With this kind of link you can use a "news reader" program to read our blog. The advantage to using a news reader is that it will tell you when a new blog entry has been added -- a lot like email. That way you don't need to check the site (every 30 minutes ;oP ) just to find out that we didn't post anything new, yet.
Here is a good list of available news reader programs: http://www.reallysimplesyndication.com/directory/22/reviews My favorite is SharpReader, but you must first go to www.WindowsUpdate.com and download the ".Net Framework 1.1" from the "Recommended" section, if you don't already have it installed.
Enjoy!
Here is a good list of available news reader programs: http://www.reallysimplesyndication.com/directory/22/reviews My favorite is SharpReader, but you must first go to www.WindowsUpdate.com and download the ".Net Framework 1.1" from the "Recommended" section, if you don't already have it installed.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
The adventure begins, prematurely?
We've all heard of good adoption stories as well as scary ones. The more common 'scary' stories include people getting sick while they are in the process of the adoption.
Well, guess what? There's a cold bug working pretty hard on me right now. Hopefully, I'll beat it by Saturday, and Shelly won't catch it!
BTW, have others ever thought that gargling with mouthwash made the back of their throat feel better when they had a cold?
Well, guess what? There's a cold bug working pretty hard on me right now. Hopefully, I'll beat it by Saturday, and Shelly won't catch it!
BTW, have others ever thought that gargling with mouthwash made the back of their throat feel better when they had a cold?
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Advertisement moving
Well, it looks like the banner has been successfully moved to the bottom. Let me know what browser and version you are using if the blog looks strange when you view it.
Blog switching
Not only has it been a while since I blogged anything, but we just switched to a different blog setup. Shelly wanted features that were not simple to add, and there were some small inconsistencies with the blog setup we were using before. So, we are now trying out Blogger.com. So far, it looks good, and there is a relatively simple way for us to add pictures.
You'll notice the advertisement at the top. I really wanted to cover that up, but the licence agreement says that doing so would be cause for immediate termination of our ability to use the site. (Maybe I can move it to the bottom or something...)
Shelly and I will be blogging when we get the opportunities while we're in Ukraine. We'll even put pictures up for you to see, unless there are technical difficulties. (Of course, if we come upon technical difficulties, I'll be monkeying with that for a while before we give up. There are so many different ways to accomplish the same things, when it comes to computers.)
You'll notice the advertisement at the top. I really wanted to cover that up, but the licence agreement says that doing so would be cause for immediate termination of our ability to use the site. (Maybe I can move it to the bottom or something...)
Shelly and I will be blogging when we get the opportunities while we're in Ukraine. We'll even put pictures up for you to see, unless there are technical difficulties. (Of course, if we come upon technical difficulties, I'll be monkeying with that for a while before we give up. There are so many different ways to accomplish the same things, when it comes to computers.)
