First, Happy Birthday John.
I didn't expect to be posting today so I didn't prepare any more photos. I posted a link to the right for where the photos are and here is the link: http://www.pbase.com/higgmeister/adoption
Thank you MamaPoRuski for the insight.
We are waiting for the Mayor of Yalta to sign the conclusion so we can apply to the court for our hearing. We're hoping it's this morning but I'm not holding my breath. Irina showed us how to get into Yalta on the bus from our small town. It's larger than a village by my standards and would call it a small town of about 8K +- people. We haven't had an opportunity to check out this town yet.
As mentioned before, this region is beautiful with high mountains on the North strongly sloping to the sea to the South. Our flat is on the North most side of the town so it's a walk to reach the beach which we'll explore once the girls are off fall break. Our bedroom window looks into the forrest with a stream flowing gently below the house. It's quiet except for all the animals and leaves rustling. It's a bit rustic for most but we are fine with the conditions. The stove is outside because these flats are mostly used during the summer tourist season. This morning, I awoke to see a dark blue sky behind a golden crown of mountains shimmering through the trees. I'm glad we moved and Virginia will be glad too once we remove all the spiders in the flat (she's arachniphobic (sp)).
We feel very lucky, not paperwork wise, but people wise. The director in charge of the orphans and the helpers like us so we've had opportunities that I'v not read about with other families. Other than the first meeting, we've been able to spend plenty of time with our girls. Last Friday was the end of school for a week so on Saturday, we were able to pick up the girls and take them to Yalta for the day. Same with Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Now that we are here, they allow the girls to come over to our flat so we can play, eat or whatever. We're nearly done shopping for the girls and have most of what we will need for them while here. For those who've adopted from Ukraine know, a family usually can't get the kids off the grounds until after the court hearing and only then with a representative. The paperwork may be going slower than anticipated, but the bonding is happening really quickly because we spend so much time with them. They now only call us Mama and Papa/i and Irina is Ira, not Mama any more.
Yesterday, we did several things at our flat. One was to show the older one (almost user her name, oops) how to spell her name in our latin alphabet which she did as well as Mama and Papa. She drew our family and made some comments. What a sweetheart. She wants so much to learn and is like a sponge. Actually, both are like sponges. I'll humm a diddy to myself and next thing I know I'm hearing it back from them. The younger one is very curious about everything and is always asking Irina questions about whatever, almost as though she likes hearing herself. Typical girl...:). The other thing we did was view some of the pictures the girls had taken. They remember who took what and where so it reiforced those memories they created. I feel that when they view these pictues in the future, they will hold positive memories.
I must also once again apologize for my bad spelling. Virginia usually proofs my work but her and Irina are out shopping for groceries and whatever they shop for.
I could keep typing but I must check my business email since I haven't had time to lately. The ladies get impatient with me regarding posting. They have no idea as to why it takes so long to post and check email. Then, they've never worked on these systems before either.
Cheers for now,
Chris and Virginia
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
29Oct update
I've posted new pictues of Yalta and some more of Kiev. Hopfully I can post some pictures of the girls by the end of next week. I will make a special trip if I have to so I can post and update. I've already taken a few hundred pixs and the girls are at about 200 themselves.
Paperwork is starting to move but there is not definate end in sight. We are guestimating 3-4 weeks still but could be less. In Ukraine, the only certain thing is uncertainty itself.
We move in a few hours so it's time for me to sign out. We're loving all the positive thoughts coming though and enjoy reading your comments. Virginia is ready to come home right now but there is so much more for me to learn about this place. We'll make the best of our stay.
We haven't been able to find a battery for Virginia's phone is if you need to message us, use my phone.
Cheers and miss you all. Actually, wish you all could be here :)
Paperwork is starting to move but there is not definate end in sight. We are guestimating 3-4 weeks still but could be less. In Ukraine, the only certain thing is uncertainty itself.
We move in a few hours so it's time for me to sign out. We're loving all the positive thoughts coming though and enjoy reading your comments. Virginia is ready to come home right now but there is so much more for me to learn about this place. We'll make the best of our stay.
We haven't been able to find a battery for Virginia's phone is if you need to message us, use my phone.
Cheers and miss you all. Actually, wish you all could be here :)
27-28 Oct Update
27Oct2008
No paperwork action today since it’s fall break and the principle is out. Maybe tomorrow. The one advantage of this is we get the girls all day again to our delight. Update on paperwork. We did need to go to the Notary at 9am for some paperwork. They told us they couldn’t find 3 pieces including both copies of the girl’s birth certificates. Also, most everyone was out sick so it was looking grim but they came through and we got our papers.
We did a bit of shopping today for the girls. We picked up a top each and an over-sweater type thing. We are trying to spread out the purchases so we have something to get them every few days. This is all stuff they will need since they will not leave with anything from the school; that includes the cloths. We haven’t been told this but it’s usual practice since most of the cloths are community property.
We spent most of the day in the apartment playing games and just having fun. We found out that the kids at this school watch a fair bit of TV. A benefactor donated a large screen TV so they all like to watch it. We’ve been trying to keep the TV to a minimum and spend time together instead.
While out shopping, the girls asked who was cooking tonight and Irina said I was. The older one chucked and didn’t did Papa had it in him to cook anything. Actually, I was only cooking the appetizer and Virginia was cooking spaghetti carbinara (sp.). I sautйed mushrooms in butter and garlic and then melted cheese in the mushroom bowl. Not much left of either dish and they were impressed that Papa could use a knife. Irina remarked that the girls have been taught to cook amongst other things which leads her to believe the Mother took car of her children. I would love to believe that. We won’t know for sure till they open up with us.
The other night I was washing dishes after others made the meal. The girls asked if I always did the dishes and we explained that Virginia and I share the duties around the house (they will have to as well). When these girls get older, if the boys make it past my shotgun, then they’ll be in for a surprise because our girls will expect much from them.
The language progress is coming along slowly. I think I’m learning more Russian than they are English…for now. They are a little scared about the language problem and we are trying not to scare them too much. We use an English phrase or word and follow it by the Russian term. They are catching on. I think their favorite phrase is “Let’s go”. They know exactly what it means. We wanted to spend some time on the Alphabet but couldn’t find enough time to fit it in.
Some of the pictures just updated contain some women’s fashion shots as requested. Kiev is much more fashionable than here in Yalta. Kiev is pretty much Ukrainian and Yalta is pretty much Russian. Most of the people we’ve talked to..OK, everyone we’ve talked to here claims to be Russian, not Ukrainian and wants to be a part of Russia.
28Oct2008
Hurray, we have movement on our paperwork. The principle called in sick so the paperwork was done by someone else, I guess. There are so many confusing twists to this adoption that I can’t keep track, but who cares when the process is finally moving forward. The children and school paperwork make it to the inspector’s office today so they can write the conclusion. With that and some more paperwork from the school, we can send it to Kiev. It’ll still be later this week before that happens. Seems that is no direct route for paperwork to Kiev from here so Irina is finding out the best way to get the docs to Kiev. If things flowed perfectly, court is still more than a week away so we’ll be here for quite a spell (20 or so days +-). Then we have to wait for passports before we can go to Kiev so maybe early to mid December we can be on a plane.
And, we had the girls again today. They don’t share shoes so we went ahead and bought them new shoes, socks and stockings. Their shoes were either falling apart or were way too big for their feet. This family thing is going to get expensive because they need new of everything. For the most part, they are good about not wanting everything they see. We buy some small things and not others, but the buying will need to stop for awhile since the money burn rate is rather high. Irina is helping us keep the costs down but it still costs a fair bit for these things.
Tomorrow we move into a flat near the school. We’ll lose our cloths washer so it’ll be done by hand. We should be able to see the girls on a more regular basis (though we’ve seen them every day for the max time) and they should be able to eat in the evenings with us. We can have them bathe more often and start working on better hygiene like clean socks every day, or every few days, or even once a week. New shoes, clean socks and feet should keep some of the French Perfume down to a minimum.
We can’t wait to post some pictures of them after court. The older one is a little camera shy but I’m working on that. I got some really good pictures of her today and I seem to always get good pictures of the younger one. It usually take me at least 1 hour in the evenings to look at the pictures and transfer them to the computer. I have my DSlr I use and sometimes let the girls use. I brought another digital camera for Virginia, but the girls use it and they also love to use Virginia’s cell phone. We’re letting them use the cameras so they can record what they see and will remember. We’re having a good time with it and they are getting some really wonderful pictures. They put their hands together and open them like a clam to tell us they want to use Virginia’s flip phone. The younger one will make camera click sounds to tell us she want to use the other digital camera. It’s quite effective at getting their points across.
Speaking of language, both are doing a little better. The older one will have no problem with language and want to go to school ASAP when we get back. The younger one has the cutest accent which is quite thick and endearing. I’m thinking she’ll learn much from her older sister, language wise. On the ride from Yalta to the school, I worked with the older one on please, thank you and you’re welcome. She knew the first two but not the last. Russian has the same word for please and you’re welcome so I had to convey this in English. I handed her my pocket knife and motioned for her to give it to me. When she did, I said “Thank You” and followed it with the Russian. When she repeated what I said I knew she didn’t understand so we did it again. This time she didn’t repeat what I said and then made it understood about “Your Welcome”. #3’s the charm because she understood about this communication transaction and even said “Your Welcome” when appropriate. “Your Welcome” is a pretty large word to start out on but she’s sharp…they both are.
Jerry, could you email us a picture of Virginia when she was young. You have some from the disk you made about your Mom.
There’s an uncanny resemblance between the girls and Virginia when Virginia was young. The school admin even commented that Virginia looks a lot like them. Virginia is European by birth and Mother so this makes sense.
****Note: Virginia’s phone has died a painless death. It seems to have died in it’s sleep so she will not be able to receive any more text messages. We can’t get this thing to charge at all, even from various different chargers. We’ll see if we can breathe some life into it by replacing the battery if we can find one.
I have no idea if there is any Internet connectivity or cafй in the village we are off to. If not, it may be awhile before we can update again. I’m hoping they have something. Also, for those waiting to travel and intend on bringing a laptop, make sure you have a very good antivirus always running. I use a USB drive to upload these updates and pictures. I don’t write to the stick but always come back with several viruses/trogons on it.
Last post from Yalta…Cheers
Chris and Virginia
Almost feels like we’re heading into a black hole or something. It’s really not that bad here, actually it’s very nice and we’re enjoying ourselves. It’s a major tourist destination and quite beautiful so we’re not complaining.
No paperwork action today since it’s fall break and the principle is out. Maybe tomorrow. The one advantage of this is we get the girls all day again to our delight. Update on paperwork. We did need to go to the Notary at 9am for some paperwork. They told us they couldn’t find 3 pieces including both copies of the girl’s birth certificates. Also, most everyone was out sick so it was looking grim but they came through and we got our papers.
We did a bit of shopping today for the girls. We picked up a top each and an over-sweater type thing. We are trying to spread out the purchases so we have something to get them every few days. This is all stuff they will need since they will not leave with anything from the school; that includes the cloths. We haven’t been told this but it’s usual practice since most of the cloths are community property.
We spent most of the day in the apartment playing games and just having fun. We found out that the kids at this school watch a fair bit of TV. A benefactor donated a large screen TV so they all like to watch it. We’ve been trying to keep the TV to a minimum and spend time together instead.
While out shopping, the girls asked who was cooking tonight and Irina said I was. The older one chucked and didn’t did Papa had it in him to cook anything. Actually, I was only cooking the appetizer and Virginia was cooking spaghetti carbinara (sp.). I sautйed mushrooms in butter and garlic and then melted cheese in the mushroom bowl. Not much left of either dish and they were impressed that Papa could use a knife. Irina remarked that the girls have been taught to cook amongst other things which leads her to believe the Mother took car of her children. I would love to believe that. We won’t know for sure till they open up with us.
The other night I was washing dishes after others made the meal. The girls asked if I always did the dishes and we explained that Virginia and I share the duties around the house (they will have to as well). When these girls get older, if the boys make it past my shotgun, then they’ll be in for a surprise because our girls will expect much from them.
The language progress is coming along slowly. I think I’m learning more Russian than they are English…for now. They are a little scared about the language problem and we are trying not to scare them too much. We use an English phrase or word and follow it by the Russian term. They are catching on. I think their favorite phrase is “Let’s go”. They know exactly what it means. We wanted to spend some time on the Alphabet but couldn’t find enough time to fit it in.
Some of the pictures just updated contain some women’s fashion shots as requested. Kiev is much more fashionable than here in Yalta. Kiev is pretty much Ukrainian and Yalta is pretty much Russian. Most of the people we’ve talked to..OK, everyone we’ve talked to here claims to be Russian, not Ukrainian and wants to be a part of Russia.
28Oct2008
Hurray, we have movement on our paperwork. The principle called in sick so the paperwork was done by someone else, I guess. There are so many confusing twists to this adoption that I can’t keep track, but who cares when the process is finally moving forward. The children and school paperwork make it to the inspector’s office today so they can write the conclusion. With that and some more paperwork from the school, we can send it to Kiev. It’ll still be later this week before that happens. Seems that is no direct route for paperwork to Kiev from here so Irina is finding out the best way to get the docs to Kiev. If things flowed perfectly, court is still more than a week away so we’ll be here for quite a spell (20 or so days +-). Then we have to wait for passports before we can go to Kiev so maybe early to mid December we can be on a plane.
And, we had the girls again today. They don’t share shoes so we went ahead and bought them new shoes, socks and stockings. Their shoes were either falling apart or were way too big for their feet. This family thing is going to get expensive because they need new of everything. For the most part, they are good about not wanting everything they see. We buy some small things and not others, but the buying will need to stop for awhile since the money burn rate is rather high. Irina is helping us keep the costs down but it still costs a fair bit for these things.
Tomorrow we move into a flat near the school. We’ll lose our cloths washer so it’ll be done by hand. We should be able to see the girls on a more regular basis (though we’ve seen them every day for the max time) and they should be able to eat in the evenings with us. We can have them bathe more often and start working on better hygiene like clean socks every day, or every few days, or even once a week. New shoes, clean socks and feet should keep some of the French Perfume down to a minimum.
We can’t wait to post some pictures of them after court. The older one is a little camera shy but I’m working on that. I got some really good pictures of her today and I seem to always get good pictures of the younger one. It usually take me at least 1 hour in the evenings to look at the pictures and transfer them to the computer. I have my DSlr I use and sometimes let the girls use. I brought another digital camera for Virginia, but the girls use it and they also love to use Virginia’s cell phone. We’re letting them use the cameras so they can record what they see and will remember. We’re having a good time with it and they are getting some really wonderful pictures. They put their hands together and open them like a clam to tell us they want to use Virginia’s flip phone. The younger one will make camera click sounds to tell us she want to use the other digital camera. It’s quite effective at getting their points across.
Speaking of language, both are doing a little better. The older one will have no problem with language and want to go to school ASAP when we get back. The younger one has the cutest accent which is quite thick and endearing. I’m thinking she’ll learn much from her older sister, language wise. On the ride from Yalta to the school, I worked with the older one on please, thank you and you’re welcome. She knew the first two but not the last. Russian has the same word for please and you’re welcome so I had to convey this in English. I handed her my pocket knife and motioned for her to give it to me. When she did, I said “Thank You” and followed it with the Russian. When she repeated what I said I knew she didn’t understand so we did it again. This time she didn’t repeat what I said and then made it understood about “Your Welcome”. #3’s the charm because she understood about this communication transaction and even said “Your Welcome” when appropriate. “Your Welcome” is a pretty large word to start out on but she’s sharp…they both are.
Jerry, could you email us a picture of Virginia when she was young. You have some from the disk you made about your Mom.
There’s an uncanny resemblance between the girls and Virginia when Virginia was young. The school admin even commented that Virginia looks a lot like them. Virginia is European by birth and Mother so this makes sense.
****Note: Virginia’s phone has died a painless death. It seems to have died in it’s sleep so she will not be able to receive any more text messages. We can’t get this thing to charge at all, even from various different chargers. We’ll see if we can breathe some life into it by replacing the battery if we can find one.
I have no idea if there is any Internet connectivity or cafй in the village we are off to. If not, it may be awhile before we can update again. I’m hoping they have something. Also, for those waiting to travel and intend on bringing a laptop, make sure you have a very good antivirus always running. I use a USB drive to upload these updates and pictures. I don’t write to the stick but always come back with several viruses/trogons on it.
Last post from Yalta…Cheers
Chris and Virginia
Almost feels like we’re heading into a black hole or something. It’s really not that bad here, actually it’s very nice and we’re enjoying ourselves. It’s a major tourist destination and quite beautiful so we’re not complaining.
Monday, October 27, 2008
26 Oct Update
26Oct2008
We had the girls again all day and had a blast. We decided to do some touristy stuff. The highest peak in Crimea is just outside of Yalta which has a cable car from bottom to the top. We had our driver take us to the top with a few stops along the way. Most stops were unplanned because the older one was getting car sick. The roads are windey, rough and these drivers think they’re in a rally race (Moose, they run a rally each year from top to bottom; check it out).
We stopped at a Tartar village on the way up to eat some real kabob. We had meat, rice, mountain tea, vegetables and local bread. Talk about good eats!! We got a few pictures of all the girls on horses. I think we are making some wonderful memories of the girls home for them to keep close to their heart since this is their first home. We finished the trip to the top and did quite a hike to reach the peak where we got some wonderful pictures. I was even able to take a few aerial shots of the town where their school is. The girls did some shopping and I tagged along looking for picture opportunities. We then took the cable car down to the bottom; all this taking most of the day.
When we got to the apartment, the girls played some cards and then they all made a salad that they make in the school. Both girls like to help in the kitchen and know how to prepare some dishes. They cut the meat, pealed cooked carrots and sliced them (I panicked each time they were using knives but it’s normal for them at their age). They did much of the preparing and did much of the eating. The salad was scrumptious and we all ate plenty of it. What should have easily fed 6 people fed the 4 of us with just a tiny bit left over.
We played for the next hour before we had to take them back. We’ve been lucky in that we were able to have the girls all day for the last two days. We’re still trying to get the paperwork from the school principle to we can get this process going. We can’t do anything till the principle does her part; then we can apply to the court for a hearing and get the paperwork to the SDA. Until then, we’ve been waiting for a week without any paperwork progress. Our team can’t do anything till the principle does hers. The gal in charge of the orphans has wanted us to get the paperwork last week so we go move forward, but she doesn’t have the power to do that since the principle has to sign it.
If anyone wants to know more about the area, just ask and I can give descriptions of what I’ve seen. This place isn’t as fashionable as Kiev. Not nearly as many short skirts and spiked heals. These streets plus spiked heals = broken shoe or busted leg. It can be hard enough in flat shoes to walk around here.
I did record the girls talking and playing and even made a short movie of them playing a card game. We also worked on their names. In the end, they decided to keep their original names and we gave them American middle names. The older one picked Angela and the younger one picked Cassandra. Gotta run so I can post this before they get back from picking up the girls (it’s Monday morning so I’ll have to catch up today tomorrow). I’ll have to get some pictures formatted and get them posted tomorrow since I don’t know if there’s any place in the village for Internet access.
Signing off from Yalta for now J.
We had the girls again all day and had a blast. We decided to do some touristy stuff. The highest peak in Crimea is just outside of Yalta which has a cable car from bottom to the top. We had our driver take us to the top with a few stops along the way. Most stops were unplanned because the older one was getting car sick. The roads are windey, rough and these drivers think they’re in a rally race (Moose, they run a rally each year from top to bottom; check it out).
We stopped at a Tartar village on the way up to eat some real kabob. We had meat, rice, mountain tea, vegetables and local bread. Talk about good eats!! We got a few pictures of all the girls on horses. I think we are making some wonderful memories of the girls home for them to keep close to their heart since this is their first home. We finished the trip to the top and did quite a hike to reach the peak where we got some wonderful pictures. I was even able to take a few aerial shots of the town where their school is. The girls did some shopping and I tagged along looking for picture opportunities. We then took the cable car down to the bottom; all this taking most of the day.
When we got to the apartment, the girls played some cards and then they all made a salad that they make in the school. Both girls like to help in the kitchen and know how to prepare some dishes. They cut the meat, pealed cooked carrots and sliced them (I panicked each time they were using knives but it’s normal for them at their age). They did much of the preparing and did much of the eating. The salad was scrumptious and we all ate plenty of it. What should have easily fed 6 people fed the 4 of us with just a tiny bit left over.
We played for the next hour before we had to take them back. We’ve been lucky in that we were able to have the girls all day for the last two days. We’re still trying to get the paperwork from the school principle to we can get this process going. We can’t do anything till the principle does her part; then we can apply to the court for a hearing and get the paperwork to the SDA. Until then, we’ve been waiting for a week without any paperwork progress. Our team can’t do anything till the principle does hers. The gal in charge of the orphans has wanted us to get the paperwork last week so we go move forward, but she doesn’t have the power to do that since the principle has to sign it.
If anyone wants to know more about the area, just ask and I can give descriptions of what I’ve seen. This place isn’t as fashionable as Kiev. Not nearly as many short skirts and spiked heals. These streets plus spiked heals = broken shoe or busted leg. It can be hard enough in flat shoes to walk around here.
I did record the girls talking and playing and even made a short movie of them playing a card game. We also worked on their names. In the end, they decided to keep their original names and we gave them American middle names. The older one picked Angela and the younger one picked Cassandra. Gotta run so I can post this before they get back from picking up the girls (it’s Monday morning so I’ll have to catch up today tomorrow). I’ll have to get some pictures formatted and get them posted tomorrow since I don’t know if there’s any place in the village for Internet access.
Signing off from Yalta for now J.
25Oct Update
25Oct2008
We made a decision to vacate Yalta on Wednesday…Just so we can move into the village and be closer to the girls. We have a place right across the street from the school and the owner is a worker there. What this means is that the girls will be able to stay with us on the weekends and we’ll have much more time with them. We won’t have to commute each day from Yalta, but when there is paperwork to be done we’ll have to travel there. Not a problem and it’ll probably save money in the end. Though the Internet is rare, but we did find one here in Yalta, it may be even sparser in the village. We’ll have to explore some.
We had the girls all day today. They allowed us to take them from the school until late evening (up to 8pm if we fed them at least twice, NP). When asked where they wanted to go, they said Yalta in synchronous. When we arrived at the school, all the children were working outside cleaning the drives, whitewashing the walls and general cleaning. They make their own brooms from branches from local trees. It seems to work pretty well from what I could see.
The Taxi dropped us off along the ocean front. The younger one got Virginia’s cell phone camera and I introduced the older one to a real digital camera. They are both sharp as a tack which I think I mentioned before. I showed them once how to use the camera, how to view the pictures just taken and how to delete a photo they don’t want. Only once and they were good to go. The menus are in English but that didn’t slow them down and they’ve even found a shortcut that we didn’t know about. They are teaching me some Russian and we’re teaching them some English. Until further in the process, we’re not going to push the English until after court. (I felt strongly when I first saw their dossier and still feel the same that God meant us to have these girls. We both understand why we had all the previous problems; it’s because these girls were not ready.).
They wanted to go to McDonalds even though they had never eaten it before. Neither the translator (Irina) nor us had any intention on eating at Mc’s but the girls convinced us otherwise. I’m glad we went because I know I won’t have to worry about them with Mc’s later; they said the food at school was better then Mc’s. We’re so happy. The Mc’s is very similar to ours but there’s a slight difference which I attribute to the bun (I had a Big Mac) which was flatter with less taste. My curiosity has been satiated and I have no need to ever eat Mc’s anywhere else in the world let alone the US.
We spent the day coloring, stickers and the girls (including the big ones) doing hair and makeup. They watched a little TV and I got the Russian laptop keyboard working properly. They can spell so I have them spell the word and I enter it into a bidirectional dictionary. I oopsed and brought our Ukrainian phrase/dictionary book and left the Russian one so this is what I have.
While we played, Irina went shopping for dinner and the ladies all made dinner together while I worked on my Russian. The dinner was all local fare and was scrumptious. We had two types of sausage, mashed potatoes and three types of salad. I pigged out but wasn’t the only one. The older one takes her time and eats deliberately like all things she does. The younger one devoured her dinner and many more helpings. Virginia is one of the fastest eaters I’ve ever seen (or not seen), but the younger one is going to give her a run for her money. They eat similarly, 3-4 chews and then swallow it. I can’t see how they can even taste their food. They’re not finicky eaters though; they like meat, fruit, vegetables and even drink water.
A little more about the girls.
The older one is methodical, calculating and observant. It takes her a bit longer to try something but then it’s usually done correctly the first time. She’s not slow, just more calculating. When they were learning our last name, the younger one was going at it brute force, over and over till she got it. The older one waited and listened. When she was ready to say it, it barley had any accent pronounced perfectly (Slavic adults have a hard time with pronouncing our familial name). She’s more cautious than her sister about most things. She is our thinker; in this respect much like her Mama to be. She is a girly-girl (Annabelle’s age) X10 and is absolutely fascinated by Virginia’s nails. Sharing with others is always on the top of her list. She is also a mother hen type always trying to take care of everyone else especially her sister. No doubt she looked after her sister when things were tough at home. It appears she is already bonding with Virginia and has really taken to her; she cuddles to Virginia on a regular, unprompted basis. Reading and spelling are already grade level from next to nothing before entering the orphanage not that long ago and she likes to read. Our translator mentioned that she speaks in full, grammatically correct sentences without the usual shortcuts which impressed Irina. I suspect language will not be a problem for her.
The younger one is spontaneous, adventurous and fearless. I forgot to mention funny as she’s going to be the class clown, that’s for sure. She’s almost a complete opposite of her sister in many respects. When learning our familial name, she tries it one way, then another till she gets it. In this way, she is like her Papa to be. She’s not afraid to try and jumps in with both feet. Her accent is absolutely adorable and it’ll be a shame when she looses it. It was agreed that they would help us learn Russian which she is taking to heart with me. She is always giving me the correct pronunciation of my butchered Russian. Her name for me is Papi (Poppy in like the poppy seed) instead of Papa and I hope she never stops calling me that. Like her sister, she mostly hangs with Virginia but is not a girly-girl. (Connie, she’s older than you by one day and much the same as you, both of you should get along great.) She can read but I haven’t seen her try to write anything. She’s most always ready with a smile which is very contagious for all of us.
They are both girls and like to do girl things like shopping. I’ve already had to play the heavy and said "Nyet" to several things. They didn’t get very mad but did go to Virginia on the next want. Speaking for myself, I’m bonding quickly to these girls and I firmly believe Virginia is too. I also feel the girls are bonding to us as well. Moose (my teenage nephew), you’re going to be puddy in their hands; you are so ill prepared for their girly ways.
It’s really late but I wanted to get caught up. Tomorrow we have the girls from 10-7 again and looking forward to it. Time for me to go pass out now as I’ve had a busy day; everyone else has been out for hours now. I’ll usually pass the last few minutes of consciousness looking at a picture of the four of us, very reassuring. Now to just get them officially and that will make our decade.
We made a decision to vacate Yalta on Wednesday…Just so we can move into the village and be closer to the girls. We have a place right across the street from the school and the owner is a worker there. What this means is that the girls will be able to stay with us on the weekends and we’ll have much more time with them. We won’t have to commute each day from Yalta, but when there is paperwork to be done we’ll have to travel there. Not a problem and it’ll probably save money in the end. Though the Internet is rare, but we did find one here in Yalta, it may be even sparser in the village. We’ll have to explore some.
We had the girls all day today. They allowed us to take them from the school until late evening (up to 8pm if we fed them at least twice, NP). When asked where they wanted to go, they said Yalta in synchronous. When we arrived at the school, all the children were working outside cleaning the drives, whitewashing the walls and general cleaning. They make their own brooms from branches from local trees. It seems to work pretty well from what I could see.
The Taxi dropped us off along the ocean front. The younger one got Virginia’s cell phone camera and I introduced the older one to a real digital camera. They are both sharp as a tack which I think I mentioned before. I showed them once how to use the camera, how to view the pictures just taken and how to delete a photo they don’t want. Only once and they were good to go. The menus are in English but that didn’t slow them down and they’ve even found a shortcut that we didn’t know about. They are teaching me some Russian and we’re teaching them some English. Until further in the process, we’re not going to push the English until after court. (I felt strongly when I first saw their dossier and still feel the same that God meant us to have these girls. We both understand why we had all the previous problems; it’s because these girls were not ready.).
They wanted to go to McDonalds even though they had never eaten it before. Neither the translator (Irina) nor us had any intention on eating at Mc’s but the girls convinced us otherwise. I’m glad we went because I know I won’t have to worry about them with Mc’s later; they said the food at school was better then Mc’s. We’re so happy. The Mc’s is very similar to ours but there’s a slight difference which I attribute to the bun (I had a Big Mac) which was flatter with less taste. My curiosity has been satiated and I have no need to ever eat Mc’s anywhere else in the world let alone the US.
We spent the day coloring, stickers and the girls (including the big ones) doing hair and makeup. They watched a little TV and I got the Russian laptop keyboard working properly. They can spell so I have them spell the word and I enter it into a bidirectional dictionary. I oopsed and brought our Ukrainian phrase/dictionary book and left the Russian one so this is what I have.
While we played, Irina went shopping for dinner and the ladies all made dinner together while I worked on my Russian. The dinner was all local fare and was scrumptious. We had two types of sausage, mashed potatoes and three types of salad. I pigged out but wasn’t the only one. The older one takes her time and eats deliberately like all things she does. The younger one devoured her dinner and many more helpings. Virginia is one of the fastest eaters I’ve ever seen (or not seen), but the younger one is going to give her a run for her money. They eat similarly, 3-4 chews and then swallow it. I can’t see how they can even taste their food. They’re not finicky eaters though; they like meat, fruit, vegetables and even drink water.
A little more about the girls.
The older one is methodical, calculating and observant. It takes her a bit longer to try something but then it’s usually done correctly the first time. She’s not slow, just more calculating. When they were learning our last name, the younger one was going at it brute force, over and over till she got it. The older one waited and listened. When she was ready to say it, it barley had any accent pronounced perfectly (Slavic adults have a hard time with pronouncing our familial name). She’s more cautious than her sister about most things. She is our thinker; in this respect much like her Mama to be. She is a girly-girl (Annabelle’s age) X10 and is absolutely fascinated by Virginia’s nails. Sharing with others is always on the top of her list. She is also a mother hen type always trying to take care of everyone else especially her sister. No doubt she looked after her sister when things were tough at home. It appears she is already bonding with Virginia and has really taken to her; she cuddles to Virginia on a regular, unprompted basis. Reading and spelling are already grade level from next to nothing before entering the orphanage not that long ago and she likes to read. Our translator mentioned that she speaks in full, grammatically correct sentences without the usual shortcuts which impressed Irina. I suspect language will not be a problem for her.
The younger one is spontaneous, adventurous and fearless. I forgot to mention funny as she’s going to be the class clown, that’s for sure. She’s almost a complete opposite of her sister in many respects. When learning our familial name, she tries it one way, then another till she gets it. In this way, she is like her Papa to be. She’s not afraid to try and jumps in with both feet. Her accent is absolutely adorable and it’ll be a shame when she looses it. It was agreed that they would help us learn Russian which she is taking to heart with me. She is always giving me the correct pronunciation of my butchered Russian. Her name for me is Papi (Poppy in like the poppy seed) instead of Papa and I hope she never stops calling me that. Like her sister, she mostly hangs with Virginia but is not a girly-girl. (Connie, she’s older than you by one day and much the same as you, both of you should get along great.) She can read but I haven’t seen her try to write anything. She’s most always ready with a smile which is very contagious for all of us.
They are both girls and like to do girl things like shopping. I’ve already had to play the heavy and said "Nyet" to several things. They didn’t get very mad but did go to Virginia on the next want. Speaking for myself, I’m bonding quickly to these girls and I firmly believe Virginia is too. I also feel the girls are bonding to us as well. Moose (my teenage nephew), you’re going to be puddy in their hands; you are so ill prepared for their girly ways.
It’s really late but I wanted to get caught up. Tomorrow we have the girls from 10-7 again and looking forward to it. Time for me to go pass out now as I’ve had a busy day; everyone else has been out for hours now. I’ll usually pass the last few minutes of consciousness looking at a picture of the four of us, very reassuring. Now to just get them officially and that will make our decade.
21Oct - 24Oct update
Much of the following is written in hindsight since I haven’t had Internet access to update. It’s more to create a log and update the followers. I’m trying to recall the events since it’s already the 25th.
21Oct08
Not much to report. We had to wait all day for the paperwork from the SDA. We decided to fly to Simferopol to try and get the process going quickly. Also, it just might mean that we could possibly have the paperwork for the court date in Kiev by Friday.
The flight from Kiev to Simferopol was uneventful and took 2 hours. They offered us a hard candy before flight and we didn’t see another attendant until we landed. Of course they went through the standard seatbelt thing and if we go down, you’re not going to make it. OK, not quite that bad, but the jet was older and creaked a lot. The seats were very tight but we survived…I think…Yep, we did.
After flying to Simferopol, we had to find a reasonable hotel at 11pm. We tried two hotels and they were either expensive or didn’t have any hot water. The third one verified that they had hot water so we stayed there the night. Not as pricey as Kiev, but we had a long way to go and didn’t want to waste our money so early on.
I took lots of pictures of one of the churches in downtown and got a few fashion shots as well. Just have to find a system to post them from now. Some Internet cafés will allow you to connect your system, just not if you have Vista. Guess the word has even made it over here.
22Oct08
The drive from Simferopol to Yalta was beautiful. The season is changing and the trees are in full color. The drive is over a mountain chain and took 2 hours. The temp go to 2 Celsius on the way over some passes and only averaged 9 C while traveling through the mountains.
Yalta is a beautiful little city of about 300K nested between the Black Sea on the south and mountainous cliffs surrounding the city. I can see why many people want to come here to see the sights; I’ll want to come back and visit some day. They have a small port that takes small cruise liners which were coming in. OK, I know this isn’t why your reading the blog so I’ll get to the adoption process.
We visited the inspector first thing in the morning and they were running late so we waited. Then we waited some more. Did I mention that we waited but more on that later. We did speak to an inspector but there was only two on duty (others were either sick, vacation, or just didn’t show up) so we waited some more because an inspector is supposed to go to the orphanage with you on your first visit to meet the child/ren. So, did I mention that we waited and waited some more. We were there at 8:30 am and finally got to visit the orphanage after 3pm. And then we waited…just kidding. We spoke with the school principle, doctor and others. I’d be more specific but there could be some hiccups here so mums the word for now. No info on where or whom until later.
We did visit two older girls. They’re quiet, polite and cute as a button and definitely sisters. We brought some Kinder Surprises and a few other chocolates for the adults (all were eaten before we left). After talking will all but the children’s teachers, the girls took us on a tour of the playground and surrounding area. They were playful and friendly. I did think that their eyes were going to bug out when I climbed up on some of their bars to play. They looked at me on the bars, looked at each other, giggled and kept playing. (Note: I may have to grow old, but that doesn’t mean I have to grow up). We had roughly an hour to spend with them and we did just that. Later we learned that we made a very positive impression on all concerned, even the girls.
The one thing I can tell you is that the inspector that helped us is going on study starting Monday so the only person that can sight the conclusion is the Mayor of Yalta. This may be a problem. But then, this is why we have facilitators and hope he can work some magic through the SDA or wherever. But if there is no one, then there is no one. We’re not sure how long this will slow the process but it could add another week or so. But this isn’t the whole story…
23Oct2008
Now, the rest of the story…
The school principle will not give her consent for 10 days, OUCH! That's official policy here and she wasn’t in the mood to negotiate. Our facilitator got the SDA involved and now it may be less, but definitely not this week. Hmmm, add a few more days to the process.
We got to visit the girls again. We brought them a large pear, some grapes and dried apricot. They shared the pear and ate some grapes. I’m not sure they knew what the dried apricots were and don’t think they even tried them. Then again, it was a huge pear.
We brought some Playdough and a friendship bracelet craft book with us. We played with the Playdough for awhile outside since it was warm and clear. We then went inside to view a picture book we made and make some bracelets. All was going well until some other children came into the room and became curious about us and what the girls had. Their mood immediately changed and they wanted to get out of there. We weren’t exactly sure what was going on but got the message. We wrapped up the day a little earlier than we had to but had a good visit just the same. It appeared that the girls were being possessive of our time and didn’t want to share us; fully understandable.
24Oct2008
We’re only allowed to visit the girls after 3pm because of class and only until 5pm so they have time for their homework. It’s not much time be we all try to make the best of it. Today we didn’t bring any other toys since Virginia played the softy and let them keep the goods from the previous day. I wasn’t going to leave them so that way we had them to use on another day. It turns out that this isn’t a problem there.
We took a walk and we gave them some Oreo cookies and pineapple juice. You would think that they would devour them but were pleasantly surprised. The older one offered her first cookie to Virginia and the second one to me. The younger girl saved two cookies, unbeknownst to us, until the end of our visit and shared them with us. I’ll go out on a limb and say they either have hearts of gold or know how to work us already. Either way, they’re doing a great job.
The girls wanted to play outside instead of inside so off to a playground we went. You’ll see this playground in pictures when I post the girls. The equipment is old and pretty dilapidated, but not so much that they couldn’t be used. Virginia and I even got on some of them and didn’t worry about our lives.
Of course language can be a problem, but not so much that we can’t communicate. It took a few tries before the girls ended up on the same side of the teeter-totter and I on the other side. We had the girls howling with laughter; it was the greatest thing to them. Then I didn’t just go up and down but would stop quickly half way and change directions when they weren’t expecting it. Up until then, we hadn’t heard them laugh. Plenty of smiles but no laughter. That’s all changed now. We played together on several other pieces of equipment and loved it.
By now, they had discovered Virginia’s cell phone camera. Oh my goodness!! The older girl would pose us or her sister, compose the shot with one knee on the ground for a different perspective. She looked like she was a professional photographer and actually does very well with picture taking. Guess she’ll need a camera of her own eventually. Both girls love taking pictures, especially of the wild kittens.
These girls are so gently with the kittens and they just love them. Whenever they see one, they have to go pick it up and cuddle it. Let’s not forget about the girls taking pictures of all these kittens. I prefer that they take lots of pictures because they’re old enough to remember this place and we hope their later memories won’t be bad memories.
There were some older children on the playground and some other younger boys. Everything was fine until….some of their peers, especially girls their own age showed up and they wanted to leave. I think that they know we’re interested in daughters and not sons so boys are not a threat as other girls are. We’ll play this game for awhile till they are more secure about us and we are more secure in the process.
They play a game here called knots. Several kids will all hold hands in a circle facing each other while one child stands away and doesn’t look. The children (in our case adults and child) will then move around, up and under other’s arms, to create a knot. The hands cannot be broken. The one out then has to figure out how to untangle the group without breaking any holds. It’s definitely harder than you think if you’ve never played it before.
We all had a good time. The girls called us Mama and Papa for the first time on the playground, probably because they didn’t remember our names. Just before leaving we were all standing around the taxi and having a good chat. The girls said that they wanted to be a part of our family and that feeling is mutual. We would love to get this process going so we can officially be a family sooner than later. They also mentioned that they want to take on American names which is kind of a bummer because they both have beautiful names. One of their names is actually one that we would have chosen to change it to if they had had an unacceptable name (for the U.S.). It’s a name that is a derivative of Virginia’s dearly departed Mom’s name. We need to see what the girls come up with.
Lastly, they even said they still had the toys we had left with them the previous day. As for the process, we’re still waiting. We have a Notary on Monday morning and still need everything else to get this process going.
One last thing. This area is known to have some problems with US adoptions. If the caretakers don’t like the parents to be, they’ll tell the children that we’re adopting them to sell their organs when we get to the states. You may laugh, but that’s enough for the children to decide they don’t want to be adopted and then the process stops. Luckily for us, everyone likes us.
Sorry for the long, long, long post. I had to play catch-up. There are two uses for this blog, only one of those being for you, the reader. The main reason is for a log of events in our journey to our daughters. And yes, we have found them. We can’t wait to post pictures and more info on the girls.
21Oct08
Not much to report. We had to wait all day for the paperwork from the SDA. We decided to fly to Simferopol to try and get the process going quickly. Also, it just might mean that we could possibly have the paperwork for the court date in Kiev by Friday.
The flight from Kiev to Simferopol was uneventful and took 2 hours. They offered us a hard candy before flight and we didn’t see another attendant until we landed. Of course they went through the standard seatbelt thing and if we go down, you’re not going to make it. OK, not quite that bad, but the jet was older and creaked a lot. The seats were very tight but we survived…I think…Yep, we did.
After flying to Simferopol, we had to find a reasonable hotel at 11pm. We tried two hotels and they were either expensive or didn’t have any hot water. The third one verified that they had hot water so we stayed there the night. Not as pricey as Kiev, but we had a long way to go and didn’t want to waste our money so early on.
I took lots of pictures of one of the churches in downtown and got a few fashion shots as well. Just have to find a system to post them from now. Some Internet cafés will allow you to connect your system, just not if you have Vista. Guess the word has even made it over here.
22Oct08
The drive from Simferopol to Yalta was beautiful. The season is changing and the trees are in full color. The drive is over a mountain chain and took 2 hours. The temp go to 2 Celsius on the way over some passes and only averaged 9 C while traveling through the mountains.
Yalta is a beautiful little city of about 300K nested between the Black Sea on the south and mountainous cliffs surrounding the city. I can see why many people want to come here to see the sights; I’ll want to come back and visit some day. They have a small port that takes small cruise liners which were coming in. OK, I know this isn’t why your reading the blog so I’ll get to the adoption process.
We visited the inspector first thing in the morning and they were running late so we waited. Then we waited some more. Did I mention that we waited but more on that later. We did speak to an inspector but there was only two on duty (others were either sick, vacation, or just didn’t show up) so we waited some more because an inspector is supposed to go to the orphanage with you on your first visit to meet the child/ren. So, did I mention that we waited and waited some more. We were there at 8:30 am and finally got to visit the orphanage after 3pm. And then we waited…just kidding. We spoke with the school principle, doctor and others. I’d be more specific but there could be some hiccups here so mums the word for now. No info on where or whom until later.
We did visit two older girls. They’re quiet, polite and cute as a button and definitely sisters. We brought some Kinder Surprises and a few other chocolates for the adults (all were eaten before we left). After talking will all but the children’s teachers, the girls took us on a tour of the playground and surrounding area. They were playful and friendly. I did think that their eyes were going to bug out when I climbed up on some of their bars to play. They looked at me on the bars, looked at each other, giggled and kept playing. (Note: I may have to grow old, but that doesn’t mean I have to grow up). We had roughly an hour to spend with them and we did just that. Later we learned that we made a very positive impression on all concerned, even the girls.
The one thing I can tell you is that the inspector that helped us is going on study starting Monday so the only person that can sight the conclusion is the Mayor of Yalta. This may be a problem. But then, this is why we have facilitators and hope he can work some magic through the SDA or wherever. But if there is no one, then there is no one. We’re not sure how long this will slow the process but it could add another week or so. But this isn’t the whole story…
23Oct2008
Now, the rest of the story…
The school principle will not give her consent for 10 days, OUCH! That's official policy here and she wasn’t in the mood to negotiate. Our facilitator got the SDA involved and now it may be less, but definitely not this week. Hmmm, add a few more days to the process.
We got to visit the girls again. We brought them a large pear, some grapes and dried apricot. They shared the pear and ate some grapes. I’m not sure they knew what the dried apricots were and don’t think they even tried them. Then again, it was a huge pear.
We brought some Playdough and a friendship bracelet craft book with us. We played with the Playdough for awhile outside since it was warm and clear. We then went inside to view a picture book we made and make some bracelets. All was going well until some other children came into the room and became curious about us and what the girls had. Their mood immediately changed and they wanted to get out of there. We weren’t exactly sure what was going on but got the message. We wrapped up the day a little earlier than we had to but had a good visit just the same. It appeared that the girls were being possessive of our time and didn’t want to share us; fully understandable.
24Oct2008
We’re only allowed to visit the girls after 3pm because of class and only until 5pm so they have time for their homework. It’s not much time be we all try to make the best of it. Today we didn’t bring any other toys since Virginia played the softy and let them keep the goods from the previous day. I wasn’t going to leave them so that way we had them to use on another day. It turns out that this isn’t a problem there.
We took a walk and we gave them some Oreo cookies and pineapple juice. You would think that they would devour them but were pleasantly surprised. The older one offered her first cookie to Virginia and the second one to me. The younger girl saved two cookies, unbeknownst to us, until the end of our visit and shared them with us. I’ll go out on a limb and say they either have hearts of gold or know how to work us already. Either way, they’re doing a great job.
The girls wanted to play outside instead of inside so off to a playground we went. You’ll see this playground in pictures when I post the girls. The equipment is old and pretty dilapidated, but not so much that they couldn’t be used. Virginia and I even got on some of them and didn’t worry about our lives.
Of course language can be a problem, but not so much that we can’t communicate. It took a few tries before the girls ended up on the same side of the teeter-totter and I on the other side. We had the girls howling with laughter; it was the greatest thing to them. Then I didn’t just go up and down but would stop quickly half way and change directions when they weren’t expecting it. Up until then, we hadn’t heard them laugh. Plenty of smiles but no laughter. That’s all changed now. We played together on several other pieces of equipment and loved it.
By now, they had discovered Virginia’s cell phone camera. Oh my goodness!! The older girl would pose us or her sister, compose the shot with one knee on the ground for a different perspective. She looked like she was a professional photographer and actually does very well with picture taking. Guess she’ll need a camera of her own eventually. Both girls love taking pictures, especially of the wild kittens.
These girls are so gently with the kittens and they just love them. Whenever they see one, they have to go pick it up and cuddle it. Let’s not forget about the girls taking pictures of all these kittens. I prefer that they take lots of pictures because they’re old enough to remember this place and we hope their later memories won’t be bad memories.
There were some older children on the playground and some other younger boys. Everything was fine until….some of their peers, especially girls their own age showed up and they wanted to leave. I think that they know we’re interested in daughters and not sons so boys are not a threat as other girls are. We’ll play this game for awhile till they are more secure about us and we are more secure in the process.
They play a game here called knots. Several kids will all hold hands in a circle facing each other while one child stands away and doesn’t look. The children (in our case adults and child) will then move around, up and under other’s arms, to create a knot. The hands cannot be broken. The one out then has to figure out how to untangle the group without breaking any holds. It’s definitely harder than you think if you’ve never played it before.
We all had a good time. The girls called us Mama and Papa for the first time on the playground, probably because they didn’t remember our names. Just before leaving we were all standing around the taxi and having a good chat. The girls said that they wanted to be a part of our family and that feeling is mutual. We would love to get this process going so we can officially be a family sooner than later. They also mentioned that they want to take on American names which is kind of a bummer because they both have beautiful names. One of their names is actually one that we would have chosen to change it to if they had had an unacceptable name (for the U.S.). It’s a name that is a derivative of Virginia’s dearly departed Mom’s name. We need to see what the girls come up with.
Lastly, they even said they still had the toys we had left with them the previous day. As for the process, we’re still waiting. We have a Notary on Monday morning and still need everything else to get this process going.
One last thing. This area is known to have some problems with US adoptions. If the caretakers don’t like the parents to be, they’ll tell the children that we’re adopting them to sell their organs when we get to the states. You may laugh, but that’s enough for the children to decide they don’t want to be adopted and then the process stops. Luckily for us, everyone likes us.
Sorry for the long, long, long post. I had to play catch-up. There are two uses for this blog, only one of those being for you, the reader. The main reason is for a log of events in our journey to our daughters. And yes, we have found them. We can’t wait to post pictures and more info on the girls.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Yalta
Just a quick note since I only have 5 minutes left to update.
We have visited two beautiful older girls outside of Yalta. I'll give more details and pictures of the girls after we have our court date. They are definitely healthy and on track; we couldn't be happier.
Yalta is beautiful but internet access is really hard to find. I'll give a longer update on another day when I have time to pretype it. This area is a difficult one so we are not really sure of how long we will be here. In a few days, we will move out of Yalta to a place near the girls. I reckon that if finding internet access here is tough, then it will be really tough when we are staying in the village.
Gotta run but hope to give a long update before we leave Yalta. This place is worth a visit if you are ever in the area.
We have visited two beautiful older girls outside of Yalta. I'll give more details and pictures of the girls after we have our court date. They are definitely healthy and on track; we couldn't be happier.
Yalta is beautiful but internet access is really hard to find. I'll give a longer update on another day when I have time to pretype it. This area is a difficult one so we are not really sure of how long we will be here. In a few days, we will move out of Yalta to a place near the girls. I reckon that if finding internet access here is tough, then it will be really tough when we are staying in the village.
Gotta run but hope to give a long update before we leave Yalta. This place is worth a visit if you are ever in the area.
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