Time for Some Truth

If you enter into adoption thinking only of how wonderful it will be to have a child or how much of a blessing you can be for a child in need, you WILL be sorely disappointed.  Don't get me wrong, it IS wonderful to have a child (or in our case more children).  And you ARE or WILL BE an incredible blessing to the child.  But you also need to realize that there will be days, weeks, maybe even months when everything seems upside down or backwards and very little seems to be going right.  Times when you only get glimpses of that bliss you imagined in the beginning.

It is frustrating to find words that your child can understand.  Frustrating for you and for them.  Likely they want very much to understand you and to do what you want them to do, they just don't know what you want.  They also can't express what they're feeling or what they want, and THAT is frustrating.  It takes months to get to a point where you can communicate effectively.

Even when you think you're communicating, you will find gaps in language ability that you don't expect.  For example, your child gets in trouble for "touching" another child in school.  When asked why he touched the child, he said the other child touched him first.  The other child denies touching him.  Here's the problem.  They bumped into each other and then your child touched the other child by putting his arm around him and giving him a pat on the shoulder.  Your child sees the bump as a "touch" and his "touch" as friendly, but the other child does not.  Neither does the school.  So your child not only gets in trouble for "touching" another child but for "lying" about what happened.

Culture shock is something else.  I can't tell you how often we hear, "But in Ukraine it is different."  Yes, in Ukraine it is or was different.  Your family was unstable there.  Here it is not.  You were unsupervised much of the time.  Here you are not.  You were abused and neglected there not only by your birth family but by the people who were supposed to care for you in their stead.  Here you have plenty to eat, clothes appropriate for the season, toys to play with, hugs and kisses as well as limits and consequences.  School is different here.  Expectations are different here.  The language is different, ways of doing things are different.  Yes, it is different.  The sands are shifting under your feet, but there is solid ground.

As they navigate all these differences, you will be surprised by the defenses that come up and the behaviors they choose to help them deal with all the changes.  One might become completely obnoxious which, when paired with impulsive behavior, gets him in trouble at school and at home.  It also alienates other kids.  So you spend a lot of time at the school having conferences with the teacher, counselor, assistant principal, mentor, and ESOL teacher about his behavior.

Or maybe she talks incessantly, narrating your every move, asking questions that if she just observed and thought about what she saw she wouldn't need to ask.  Or she insinuates herself into everyone's business, taking over any show of affection to another child, bossing people around or acting like the parent.  Or she fusses every time she has to wait 5 minutes for you to finish preparing dinner and fix her plate.  Or she plays for 3 hours in the middle of the night.  Every night.  For months.  So you never get a full night's rest.

And then, of course, there are the revelations about their life prior to you.  You just can't prepare yourself for what you might hear.  Some memories that they share might be sweet and beautiful - like climbing cherry trees and eating cherries until they can't eat cherries anymore.  Or gratitude for a nice lady who fed them when they were hungry.  Other times you will hear that the reason the lady fed them was because their birth mom took off for several days and left them alone with nothing.  Or you'll hear about someone pulling a knife an stabbing someone.  Or you'll hear about beatings when birth mom was drunk.

I haven't even mentioned medical and developmental issues.  Sure you get some medical information on the child/ren in country, but you really don't know what you got until you get home and have them evaluated.  And what constitutes "healthy" in Ukraine is vastly different from what is considered "healthy" here.

You will likely have medical and developmental issues to address that were not noted in their medical history - if you even have a medical history.  All three of ours operate on a level significantly younger than their chronological age.  Two are not even on the growth charts for their age.  Two likely have fetal alcohol syndrome and the complications that go with that.  Two likely have ADD/ADHD.  One may be mentally delayed.  None of this was in their medical files - such as they were.

And this leads to therapy.  Lots and lots of therapy.  Speech therapy.  Occupational therapy.  Physical therapy.  Vision therapy.  Counseling.  Evaluations.  Appointments.  Life revolving around getting each one's needs assessed and met.  Hours in the car and sitting in waiting rooms.  Coordination of schedules and getting virtually nothing else in your life done.

IF you have other children (as we do), you enter another level of complication.  Their lives are now upside down, too.  They spend hours in the car with you trucking everyone else around.  They don't get to do some of the things they used to do.  They don't have as much individual time and attention.  And even if they were excited and supportive of the adoption, they also didn't know how deeply it would affect their everyday lives.  So not only do you have to manage your own emotions, you get to help them manage theirs as well.

That's not to say that it isn't worth it.  It absolutely is.  But until you are in it, you just can't appreciate how completely exhausting it is - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  All parents go through this to some extent, so in some ways it is no different from anyone else's parenting journey.  But in other ways it is TOTALLY different, and others just can't understand the unique experience of adding these kids to the family.  They think it is the same when it absolutely is not.  They may not mean to, but they dismiss expressions of difficulty with tales of their own parenting woes.  Or they come back with platitudes such as "this, too, will end."  Or my personal favorite, "It hasn't even been a year yet."  As if I'm not aware of how long it has been or as if everything will magically resolve at the one year mark.

I know this is a depressing post, but that happens to be where I am right now.  This is hard.  Yes, it will get better.  And I know that.  But RIGHT NOW it is HARD.  And I want you to know, if you are considering adopting, that there are times like this.  I have read several adoption blogs where the writers never mention anything negative at all.  I don't want this blog to be like that.  I want to be real.  And right now it is hard. . . .But it will get better!

Our First Thanksgiving

A few pictures from our first Thanksgiving together.  They don't really have an understanding of what we celebrate or why, but they did enjoy the family time and food.

Since we are in a new place and we have no family here, we celebrated just the 7 of us.

Drought Conditions

Our home state of Texas is under drought conditions.  It hasn't rained enough for a long time, and the water table is depleted.  Drought is not just a physical phenomenon of weather.  No, it is a delicate balance between water supply and demand.  Drought conditions occur when demands for water exceed the natural availability of water.

Relation between streams
and underground water

A=Gaining stream,
B= Losing stream,
C= Losing stream that is disconectes from the water table.

1= Water table;
2= Unsaturated zone;
3= Saturated zone ,
4=Flow direction



I was thinking about this yesterday and realized that our kids are living under drought conditions.  For far too long they have lived without the love and care that every child needs.  As a result, they look like Figure C.

What does this look like right now?  Extreme neediness, need for approval, impulsive behavior, emotional outbursts, disruptive behavior in school and church, fear of punishment for any mistake, insincere apologies, charming and manipulative behavior, hypersensitivity to my mood (with frequent misinterpretation), and more.  They have little basis for healthy human interaction.

Fortunately for us, they got enough love and care (at times from their birth mother and also from others in their lives) and are resilient enough that they still have some emotional ground water.  And that gives us hope that as we pour love, affection, time, attention, gifts, structure, discipline, and the love of Christ into their lives, the ground water level will rise and hopefully, eventually, resemble Figure A.

But that's just it.  We hope.  We don't know.  And how long?  We don't know.  At times it is incredibly frustrating.  Some days it appears impossible.  Our hearts break for the things they have seen and experienced.  

Other days are amazing, and we wonder how we doubted.  When we receive spontaneous hugs.  When we laugh together over something silly.  When we can see that they "get" something that we've been trying to teach.

It definitely is not easy.  We must always remember that we started down this path for a reason.  The reason hasn't changed.  We had no guarantee of ease.  We do not even know where the path is headed. All we know for sure is that it is the right path.

So for now, we live in drought.



This is the promise of God:  I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them. - Isaiah 42:16

Big Changes

Many who will read this know us personally and already know much of what you will read in this post. For those who don't know us, this will get you caught up.

Some of these changes actually started in the summer of 2010, so bear with me. I didn't blog about them at the time, because I didn't know how they would affect the adoption. We chose to keep these things private for that reason and are only now getting around to sharing.

Change #1 - About six months into our adoption paperwork (June 2010) - well before we had an SDA appointment - I found out that I have diabetes. It is an unusual form of autoimmune (like Type1) that shows up later in life (like Type 2). Technically it is called Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA).   I took it seriously, changed my diet (somewhat, I already ate pretty well), started walking everyday, lost some weight, and started monitoring and insulin injections.

We talked with our agency and decided that we would continue with the adoption. They assured us that as long as I was healthy and under control there would be no problem.   We are posting now to let others know that we were able to adopt with no problems. So if you have something unexpected like this happen, it likely will not stop your adoption. Of course it will depend upon current adoption laws in Ukraine and your individual situation.

Change #2 - The next big change came about six weeks later in July when Cliff accepted a new job in another state.  Again we didn't know how that might affect the adoption - to get new documentation for job and home.  Turns out it was not a big deal. The timing of the change happened right before we started work on our dossier, so we didn't have to re-do anything.

So Cliff started his job in September 2010, and we essentially lived apart until we left for Ukraine at the end of January 2011. Fortunately Cliff was able to be home with us a lot. He scheduled his travel out of our city and so got to spend more time with us. This was good, because we were trying to get the house ready to sell and then sell it, so we could move to the new city.

The house went on the market at the end of October, so then we were into the fun of open houses and showings. And nothing happened. We left for Ukraine with the house on the market and returned from Ukraine with the house on the market. We brought the kids home at the end of March with the house still on the market.

Change #3 - By May we decided that living apart with the 5 kids and me in one city and Cliff in another city much of the time just wasn't working.  Cliff found a house in the new city, and we prepared to move. Shortly thereafter our house sold.  By the end of July 2011 we had moved out, signed the papers on our old house, spent a week on the road driving to our new city, and signed the papers on our new home.

Now we have been in our new home for about 2-1/2 months. We're settling in and getting used to all the new things. I will post more another time. I just wanted to get you all up to date given that new posts will likely be about or at least mention these changes.

Recent Hanna-isms

Hanna is busy learning English, and sometimes she makes us laugh with what she says.

Here are a couple of examples:

Ha-la-luvia = Halleluia

Pockporn= Popcorn

She routinely sings anything she's heard more than once.  She breaks out into song at some odd moments, and the words are rarely right but almost always recognizable if you know the song.  Camp songs (Hello, Hanna. How are you? and The Moose Song) are some of her favorites.  She also sings with the radio and asks for music every morning.

I'll post more "-isms" when I can.

Good News

Lots going on here, and I promise to update as soon as I can.  But we have some good news to report!

Hanna DOES NOT have Turner's Syndrome!!!!

Both our doctor at the International Adoption Clinic and our occupational therapist thought it was a possibility given some of her physical characteristics.

Briefly, Turners is a genetic disorder that only affects girls.  They are missing a chromosome or have an abnormal chromosome that affects their height in particular but also some other physical characteristics.  For more information check out these websites:

Wikipedia
Kids' Health
Turners Syndrome
Blog

Today I received confirmed results of Hanna's genetic test that reveal that she is genetically "normal".

So my little girl is just little!

And Singing

One morning this week, Hanna was sitting at the table eating breakfast, and I was in the kitchen when I heard: "You go, I go.  You stay, I stay.  You move, I move.  I follow YOUUUUUUU!"  Took a second, but I recognized the Chris Tomlin song.  This is the first time she has sung a song on her own.  I didn't even know she KNEW this song!  She learned it from the radio.

And this morning she was singing the ABC's .  Very cute.  She doesn't get them all right, but she gets pretty darn close.

Medical Week

This was medical week, and thankfully it ended about 95% positive.

We started Tuesday with eye appointments for the older girls.  They are healthy and their prescriptions have not changed.  They still need their glasses for reading.

Same day, Cliff had his eyes checked and found out he needs glasses for the first time in his life.  He was bummed - didn't want to admit that he needed them.

Thursday, the new kids had a follow up appointment at the International Adoption Clinic.  It took all morning, but we FINALLY got the results of all those blood tests.

All three kids are healthy, no diseases or vitamin deficiencies.  A few of their immunizations in Ukraine did not "take," so we have to re-do them.  Oleg got 3 shots, Lena got 2, and Hanna got 5 (poor thing!).  HIV tests for Oleg and Hanna came back "indeterminate," but the doctor said not to worry about that.  We are having them redone.  One of Hanna's blood tests was incorrectly ordered, so we are having that one redone as well.  Oleg's stool sample was positive for giardia, so we treated that.  The little girls were negative for parasites, but their stool smells awful, so we're retesting just in case we missed something.

All three kids gained weight and height, but the little girls are still off the growth charts small.  Lena is developmentally behind her peers.  We have no medical reason for that, so it is likely due to lack of attention to her early development.  We will know more when she has some school experience.

Hanna is making great strides.  She didn't gain much weight, but developmentally, she is closer to her chronological age than Lena is.

We left with lab slips for the follow up blood tests and stool tests and orders for speech therapy for all three kids and physical and occupational therapy for Hanna.

Friday the new kids had their eyes checked.  I had been a bit concerned about Lena, as she seemed to be having trouble seeing things.  Turns out she's fine.  Her prescription is borderline for her age for needing glasses, and one eye is "worse" than the other.  If she is still in the same place this time next year, she will need correction.  She has a slight delay in converging when looking at something up close,  and she also has a slight tracking problem that might resolve over time.  Now that we are aware of the tracking issue, we can work with her to strengthen her eyes.

Hanna was also a bit of a concern given that she was so premature at birth.  She is also doing fine.  She is slightly more near-sighted than she should be for her age.  That could change over time and get either better or worse, but for now she does not need correction.  Given her prematurity, she will need a dilated eye exam on a yearly basis.  

Oleg, on the other hand, needs glasses for reading and will need vision therapy to correct some issues with the working of his eyes.  They don't work together effectively, and he has trouble focusing his eyes which makes him very tired when he reads.  The exam itself really strained his eyes, as the doctor made him work in ways he had not before.  He also has very little pigment inside his eyes, so he is especially sensitive to bright light (explains all the squinting).  Recommendation there is to wear good quality polarized sunglasses when outside.

Whew!  We still have a few items outstanding, but as you can see, about 95% positive.

Hanna is Talking!

Hanna is talking more and more.

On Saturday, Cliff got the kids candy.  He cut Hanna's into bite size pieces and put it on a napkin in the middle of the table.  Then he would dole out a piece at a time.  All the other kids scarfed theirs and left the table with Hanna still sitting there.  Cliff walked away from the table briefly, and I watched to see what she would do.  She definitely wanted to stand up and grab the candy herself, but she knew she was not to do that.  She fought the impulse for a while and then said, "Can I . . . have more . . . dis?"  That is officially her first unprompted complete expressive sentence.  To which I said, "YES!" and immediately rewarded her effort.  Decided not to quibble over the may/can grammar.

Since then, she's been trying more and more.  On Monday after her dental work we were sitting on the couch.  She put her hand on my leg and said, "Dis is Mama."  Then she put her hand on her leg and said, "Dis is Hanna."  Then she looked up at me and said, "Dis is Hanna's Mama."  So sweet.

And tonight she bonked her head on the wall (by accident) and said, "I hurt Hanna," as she rubbed her head.

There have been many other examples.  These are just a few that I remember.

Soccer

When we got home from Ukraine, I signed Oleg up for a soccer.  He had a blast!  Every day he wanted to know how many more days till soccer.  And he's pretty good.  I loved watching him play.  Over the course of the season he got better at working with the other players on the team.  He has good ball handling skills, and he loves to mix it up.  Not so fond of playing goalie or defense.  His team won the league championship.  Over the course of the season, he scored 5 goals.  And he got his first sports trophy.

My pictures are not the best, but you get the idea.  I was a little busy on the sideline keeping up with Lena and Hanna who had very little interest in the games.  If I can get some more pictures from Cliff, I'll add them to the slideshow.

Hanna's Dental

This morning Hanna and I headed to the Children's Hospital Day Surgery Unit for her dental work.  As mentioned before, her procedure had to be done in the hospital due to her small size.

We arrived about 6:25am and got checked in.  Hanna played for about 30min before they called us to go in to take vital signs and medical history.  THAT'S always fun.  Hanna did great with the medical part.  But I have to explain over and over again why I don't know more about her medical status than I do.  Only part of it has to do with the adoption.  At this point, I still don't have the results of the blood tests ordered back in April.

After the medical intake, we went to another waiting area to put on the cute yellow pajamas that they gave her to wear during the procedure.  Waited there for a bit before the doctors started arriving to explain the procedure, get consent, and confirm medical info (again with the explaining why I don't know more than I do).  At 7:25 they took her back to the operating room, and I headed to the family room to eat my breakfast and wait.

At a little before 9am they called me to go to the recovery area.  When I entered, all I saw was a little lump under a thick blanket.  She was still out.  The dentist told me that they didn't have to do the root canal.  She has a crown and several fillings.  She is on soft foods for the next 24 hours, and we need to schedule a follow up in a week or so to check the work and healing.

After the consult with the dentist, the nurse pulled back the blanket, and Hanna woke right up.  She had a tube in her mouth that they quickly removed.  The first thing she said was a groggy, "Hello."  So cute!

The nurse let me pick her up and sit with her in a glider while she checked her vitals again and removed the monitors and tubes.  When I asked her how her teeth felt, she said, "Good."  Within about 15-20 minutes we were heading for the elevator.

We waited for our car (valet parked and validated) then headed home.  We walked in the door a little after 10am.  I got Hanna set up on the couch with some water and yogurt and tv.  At noon, I put her down for a nap.  Then I actually had to wake her up at 3pm to keep her somewhat on her usual schedule.  Once up and after a little time to wake up, she seemed like her usual self.  No complaints.

"You must be . . . ."

It happened again today, and I must say I'm getting a little bit tired of it.  People mean well, but it is down right embarrassing.

"You must be __(insert flattering adjective)__."  Let's see, what have I heard?  Courageous, strong, compassionate, Super Mom, a hero, and many others.  I never know what to say.

The fact of the matter is that I am none of those things.  I appreciate the acknowledgement that my family is doing something that few others do.  But we didn't do this to be recognized for any of those traits.  We did this because we felt, as a family, that we were meant to do this.  NOT doing it wasn't a viable option.

So here's where the real credit lies:  with God.

The courage you see in me comes from Him.  I am a coward by nature.

The strength you see comes from Him.  I am a spineless wimp.

The compassion you see comes from HIM.  I am selfish and protective of my own comfort.

The Super Mom, the hero you see is Christ Himself.  I can't do those things.

God called us to adopt.  We were happy with our lives as they were.

God paved our way and moved mountains for us along the way.

God continues to work in our family as he weaves us together into a beautiful tapestry - much different from what WE thought, but more richly colored and textured than we could conceive.

At times I forget these things, and life gets pretty rough.  I crumble under the weight, wither in the face of difficulty, retreat into self-preservation.  And then I remember. . . .

So when someone says, "I could never do what you do," I firmly believe, "Yes, you could.  IF you are MEANT to do it.  Because when you are meant to do it, you just DO."

Summer is in Full Swing

This morning we put the 3 big kids on a bus to church camp for 4 days/3 nights.  The girls are really excited, as they've gone the last few years and know what awaits them.  Oleg was a bit unsure.  We tried to explain what it would be like, but he seemed to have a hard time with being away from us (particularly me) for 3 nights.  Ultimately, I think he's going to have so much fun that he won't miss us that much anyway.

And the little girls are at occupational therapy day camp while the big kids are gone.  They, too, should have a blast.  Lena is a bit unsure about being away from Oleg, but I think that might only be a problem at night (if at all, really).  I fully expect them to be hungry and tired after all their fun at the farm!

Hanna on Gizmo

Lena on Pony

Blast from Their Past

I debated whether to deal publicly with this and decided that it was better to give a true picture of our journey rather than a sanitized version.  I even held onto this post for several days before publishing.  While some things will arise that are personal and private (and will not be shared), I thought others might benefit from our experience.  My intention is to be real but also fair in my representation of this event. I hope it is taken that way.

You may recall from earlier in the blog that Oleg and Lena participated in a hosting program that brings orphaned children to the U.S. in an attempt to find forever families for them. Our kids had the opportunity to stay with the same family on two occasions - once last summer for 4 weeks and again at Christmas for 2 weeks.  See these previous posts for more info:  Urgent Prayer Needed  and  Meeting older kids.  

Recently that family found our blog and contacted us.  I must admit that it caught me completely off guard. My heart was in my throat, and I felt threatened and protective of my family. I delayed responding for several days as I worked through my emotions and drafted a response. I prayed about it many times, Cliff and I talked about it several times, and I consulted with a social worker at our adoption agency.

Below is an edited version of the email from the family. I removed personal information that would identify them. I also removed the comment from the blog - again, to protect their identity.  The comment is kind and clearly well considered.

Hello, my name is [name] and our family hosted Oleg and Lena last summer and again over the Christmas holiday. We are glad to hear that it is going well for you and you are adjusting to the new normal. We have been praying for you ALL and will continue to do so. If you are open to it, we would love to hear from you how the kids are doing and when the time is appropriate from Oleg. If you choose not to, we understand. We have some of their gifts from Christmas and from Oleg's birthday that I would like to send to them if that is okay. [Name] asked the other day if she could write to Lena. Please let us know what you decide regardless so I know that you got this message. Thanks. May the Lord continue to bless your faithfulness.

In Christ

[Name and contact info]


This was my response:


Dear [Name],

Thank you for your inquiry about the children.  We understand that you share history and good memories of them, and they speak fondly of their time with you.  

At this time we are focused on solidifying our family - as you said, "adjusting to the new normal."  Things seem to be going well, but it does take time.  For now we are keeping things as low key and uncomplicated as possible.  

Thank you for your prayers.  They are most welcome.  We will be in touch, but I cannot predict when that will be.  Please know that we appreciate the love and care that you showed Oleg and Lena when they were with you.  I think it has eased our transition in many ways.

I am awed by the grace and kindness evident in your email.  Thank you for understanding that we need time.  I can only hope that I could be so gracious in your position.

Courtney Johnson

For now, we are not telling the kids about the inquiry. We will. But not yet.  

First Family Photo

Found this among the many cameras/phones that we took to Ukraine.  It is our first family photo.  All 7 of us together at the airport.

Lena's Birthday

Ever since she saw her birthday marked on the calendar, Lena has been talking about it and singing her own versions of Happy Birthday To You.  We also learned that she had never had a birthday party.  That made me a bit apprehensive, as I didn't know what she might be expecting.

Our family tradition is to do dinner out ON the actual birthday and a celebration with family and friends as close to the actual day as possible. Since Lena has no friends yet, we decided to make it family only and take a trip to see Uncle John and Uncle Dan and their families.

So the Sunday before her birthday we met at Pease Park and had pizza and cake. The park has a splash pad and playground for entertainment. You can see from the pictures that she had a great time.  Lena insisted on dressing for her party, and she chose her prettiest dress.


Because we opted for a casual family get together, and we were traveling, the cake was not my normal creation.  I baked it the night before we left.  Big thanks to Aunt Darby for making the frosting.  It was yummy!  We just put it together at the park.  I had to draw the Happy Birthday in with the knife, but as you can see, it worked!


We had a really lovely time at the park.  The weather was good, it wasn't as crowded as I expected, and we got to spend some quality time with family.  The kids were excited to see Uncle John again, as they have only seen him one other time since we got home from Ukraine.

On her actual birthday, I made doughnut holes as a special treat.  I had planned to take her to Clay's Restaurant for her birthday dinner. They have a little farm where you can feed and pet goats, horses, chickens, etc. They also have a huge area to run and play and a large sandbox. Seemed perfect until the temperature climbed to near 100 degrees.  So our second choice was Taco Cabana after she said she wanted quesadillas for her birthday.  You can see from the pictures that we had some fun.

All the kids tried pico de gallo (which they didn't like) and jalapeños (which surprisingly Lena and Oleg DID like).  And we had plenty of time for fun family silliness. At one point Oleg said "I am bathroom," meaning, "I need to go to the bathroom."

I replied, "I thought I smelled something stinky."

Without missing a beat he said, "That is Hanna." I think we all just about lost it laughing.

When we got home from dinner we did cake and presents. The big girls wanted to do the sundae cupcakes for Lena. I think they turned out great. Lena asked for a baby doll, so we made sure she had one. Grandma gave her clothes. The big girls gave her a beach towel with Rapunzel from Tangled. Oleg gave her a water toy for playing in the sprinkler.

All in all a very good first birthday celebration. And in normal kid fashion, she said the next day, "I (wish) mine birthday and presents every day."

Medical Frustrations

I have about had enough of the delays in getting our medical information.  I realize that we likely would have these delays regardless of who was on our medical team, but REALLY.

We got in to the adoption clinic within 3 weeks of coming home.  Apparently THAT was the easy part.  When we left our appointment, we had orders for blood tests.  It took us about 6 weeks to get all the blood tests done.  The reason is due to the number of tests ordered and the fact that our little girls are . . . well. . . . little.  They could only take 11ml from Lena at one time and 7 ml from Hanna at one time.  And then you can only take blood every other day or so.  And the ease with which they can take the blood varies with the skill of the technician, the child's cooperation, and other variables.

The kids were great through the whole blood collection thing.  Oleg only got stuck once.  No problems.  Lena and Hanna were real troopers considering how many times they got stuck.  Neither one pitched a fit or completely refused.  The most we heard from them was a few whimpers and whispered, "Ow, ow, ow."  And neither willingly gave up an arm.  Not sure I could be so brave myself.

We also had to collect stool samples.  Hanna was easy - diaper.  Lena thought it was funny, so she cooperated.  Oleg was another story.  He insisted he was fine and refused for quite some time.  I was preoccupied with getting blood from the girls, so I didn't push it.  I finally got it last week and sent it to the lab.

Yesterday the nurse called to tell me that Oleg has giardia - a parasitic protozoa most commonly found in untreated water.  When I asked, she said the girls' samples were fine.  She called in a prescription, and that should take care of the giardia.  We will have to do another sample to confirm.  Oh, joy!

The big frustration is that we can't get any more of the results until we see the doctor again.  And they wouldn't schedule an appointment until they had all the test results.  I understand why, but this is really dragging out!  I guess if something was REALLY wrong, they would tell us (like the giardia) or schedule us to come in immediately.  So, I'm not really worried.  But they can't see us until July 7th.

I really don't know how other people get their medical stuff done faster.  Our adoption agency requires a medical letter within 1 month of returning home.  There is absolutely NO WAY we could do that.  We are lucky that they accepted a letter from our doctor stating that the children had been seen and studies were pending.  We will have to submit another letter after our appointment stating each child's health status.

So for now we continue to wait. . . .

Every Body Time for Bed

For a child who whimpers every night when we start our bedtime routine and then won't sleep, Hanna is obsessed with playing "bedtime."  Lena taught her a little made up song, and she sings it when she plays.  "Every body poro spot."  You just sing it over and over. . .and over.  

Here's a picture of Hanna playing "bedtime" while lying on a window sill.  As you can see, this is a flexible game.

This morning Hanna changed the song to "Every body time for bed."  She wrapped herself in a blanket, sat in a chair at the breakfast table, and then lay down across another chair.  She sang and sang and sang.  Wish I could have gotten a picture or some video.

Lena's Dental Work

Today Lena had some major dental work done. At her check up (which very well could have been the only dental exam ever done) the dentist identified several cavities and a possible root canal in addition to some items we will need to watch over time.

We arrived at the dentist's office a little after 7 this morning. They finally gave her the sedative about 7:50 and took her back around 8am. I sat in the parent's room and worked on blog updates until the assistant came in about 9:15 to tell me that they were almost done and that they actually had less to do than the expected. Praise God!  And thank you prayer warriors.

A little while later they called me back to talk to the dentist who confirmed what the assistant said.  Then they took me to the recovery room.

Lena was just beginning to stir when I got there.  It took about 30 min for her to wake enough to go home. The funny thing is that when she tried to talk with her mouth numb, she actually spoke more clearly than usual.  Normally she has trouble with r's sounding like l's. I don't remember what she said, but she said it perfectly with her mouth and tongue numb.

She asked for some water and then said she wanted lunch.  That's when we knew she was okay to go home. Once home she ate some vanilla pudding, lay on the couch for about a minute, and then resumed her normal activities.  Thankfully, apart from not liking the numbness, she has had no pain or discomfort at all.

Life at Home

We are settling into a routine.  Thought you might want to see some highlights of the last month or so.

Easter Pictures

I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here is what I have to document the occasion.  We dyed 36 eggs on Saturday night after Hanna went to bed.  It was a really good time.  Oleg turned it into a competition to see who could fill their 18 egg carton first.

About 30 min before we needed to be at church on Sunday, we were hunting eggs in the backyard.  That never lasts long, so I was lucky to get any pictures at all.  I think we have a video, too, so when I find it, I'll add it to this post.

Unfortunately, I did not get a family picture or even a picture of all the kids together.  Everyone looked so good!  You'll just have to imagine it.

First trip to Dentist

Well, our first trip to the dentist was eventful to say the least.  Vivian had her last 2 baby teeth removed.  Oleg, Lena and Hanna had their first cleanings and exams.  Don't know anything about their dental care before, so we're considering this their first time.  All of them did great and earned high praises from the staff for their behavior and cooperation.

Oleg is totally healthy.  All he needs is sealants on his back teeth - like any other child his age.  He does have some residual black spots on his teeth, but the dentist says they will come off over time.  After his appointment, he played some video games waiting for the rest of us to finish.

Lena is another matter.  Her mouth is riddled with cavities.  One is so bad, they are considering a root canal.  She will have to be sedated to get all the work done, so this is no simple procedure.  She also may have to have oral surgery at some point in the future (a couple of years maybe) to remove a growth.  It is possible that as her mouth grows and changes the dentist will be able to do it, but it is more likely to be an oral surgeon.

Hanna also has several cavities.  And again, one is so bad they are considering root canal.  Unfortunately, she is so little that her procedure will have to be done at the Children's Hospital.  If she weighed more than 25lbs, they could do it in the office.

Will be scheduling as soon as we can.

Making Pizza with Lena

As promised, video of Lena and me making pizza.

This was also Hanna's first experience with pizza.  The pictures did not turn out well, so I didn't post them.

"Where is Lena?"

Yesterday, Oleg wanted to ride his scooter over to the school playground (after school hours).  I talked Emma into going with him (not quite ready to let him out on his own).  And Lena went, too.

About 20-30 min. later Oleg returned and said to me, "Where is Lena?"  I thought he was messing around (because he likes to do that), so I didn't take it very seriously.  I responded that she wasn't here and she should be with Emma if she wasn't with him.  Then I saw Emma come up the driveway without Lena.

Panic set in.  I asked Emma where Lena was, and she said, "She's too slow."  So apparently they just LEFT HER!

I put Vivian in charge of Hanna (since the other two CLEARLY were not trustworthy at the moment), grabbed my keys, and went to rescue my child.

I found her easily enough, surrounded by moms (presumably) trying to comfort her.  Oleg had also gone back on his bike.  Lena was crying silently and scared out of her mind.  I picked her up and put her in the car.  Then I put her bike in the back.  Oleg saw that I had it under control and turned back for home.  I had to endure some criticism from those who found her.  I just responded that it was more complicated than what they saw.

Once I got her home, I held Lena for about 20-30 min. until she relaxed and responded to me.  I told her that she was not in trouble, that the older kids were wrong to leave her, that I love her and was worried about her, that I would always come for her.  I don't know how much she understood, but she needed to hear it.  She was stiff and emotionally shut down from the time I put her in the car.  I just held her and talked to her until she relaxed and responded to me.  Oddly enough that was when I asked if she wanted to help me cook dinner.

<<Now she's asking if she can go on a ride in the neighborhood.  Must not be TOO traumatized!>>

I tried to explain to Oleg that what he did was wrong.  Not sure how that went.  He is now grounded from bike/scooter rides in the neighborhood until Cliff gets back this weekend.

Emma knows that we "Never leave a man behind!"  Don't know what happened there.  Also not sure what her consequences will be.  We're starting with no computer time on our next computer day, but I don't think that is enough for the severity of the offense.  Still need to talk to Cliff about the whole thing.

Oddly enough, I think this was a "good" thing.  It gave me an opportunity to show Lena how important she is to me which is good for bonding.  She and I have had some trouble in that department, and this may have moved us to another level.

She's out on her bike now.

Second Week Home

This was a LONG week.  Cliff left on Monday to work out of the office in Virginia.  That left me with the kids.  We definitely feel his absence.  Most of our time together is good.  Some not so good.  I can't remember the specifics of each day, so I'll just tell you some of what we've been doing.

We went to play at a friend's house.  She has a daughter Lena's age and a son Oleg's age (in addition to an older daughter and a son between O and L).  We had so much fun we forgot about taekwon do.  Oleg climbed the tree in their backyard (quite well, I must say) and then played some video games.  Lena and Hanna played mostly outside in the yard and in the hammock.

The older kids went to Weds night church activities.  Oleg earned his TnT shirt and book (after only 2 weeks at AWANA) and was very proud of his achievement.  Lena's teacher said she is doing well, too, but needs to learn some boundaries.  Apparently she was kissing people.  Hanna and I went to the grocery and dropped in on another friend until time to get the big kids.

Thursday night Lena and I made pizza.  I have some cute videos, but they are on my phone, and I need time to transfer to computer.  So look for that (hopefully) sometime in the future.

Friday morning, my mother-in-law helped me get all the kids to the doctor at the International Adoption Clinic at Texas Children's Hospital.  She sat in the waiting room with Emma and Vivian while I took the others to their appointments.  Whole thing took about 3 hours.  Thankfully their service included a Russian translator.  All kids are healthy.  Good news and not so good news, of course.  I learned more about their life prior to the orphanage and us.  And the doctor had some action items we need to pursue.  Most is normal kid stuff.

We did not do blood work at this appointment.  We are still waiting for our insurance to add the kids, and we did not want to take the chance that they would not cover the tests.  So we will have to do all that after we get the insurance iron out.  I thought it was important to have the kids seen ASAP, so we paid out of pocket (hoping for reimbursement).  Don't know if insurance is going to be a problem or not at this point.  Not worrying about it right now.

Oh, Oleg also informed me that Lena doesn't like me.  I told him is was okay.  He said, "it no okay."  He's right, but I only meant that she's entitled to her opinion.  Then I told him that she is my daughter just like he is my son, Hanna is my daughter, and Emma and Vivian are my daughters.  Whether she like me or not, she's here to stay, and we'll just have to figure it out.  She's having trouble with limits on her behavior, so its no wonder she doesn't like me.  Just wish Cliff was here to take some of the heat with me!

Saturday, Emma and Vivian went on a field trip with their girl scout troop to the ASPCA.  The rest of us stayed home.  Then later in the afternoon we braved near 90 degree heat for Oleg's first soccer game.  He had a good time, I think, and he's pretty good.  Surprisingly, I got to watch a good amount of the game.  The little girls behaved fairly well.

Sunday we got up early and made the 2+hour drive to Austin to visit Uncle John and his family.  We went for Cousin Eli's 5th birthday party.  Unfortunately, we missed the cake and most of the party, but we got to spend the rest of the day with them before heading back home.  While there we had lunch at P.Terry's, played at John's house, went bowling, and had dinner at Craigo's Pizza.  I have a dvd player in my Expedition, so we watched movies there and back to pass the time in the car.  It was a long but good day.

Still having some sleep issues with Hanna, but I think we've found a good routine for the older kids.  School-wise, Lena has asked for schoolwork, so I need to find the things I have in mind for her and get her started.  We're mostly focusing on fine motor skills, building her English vocabulary, and letter forms and sounds.  Oleg is doing better with math than I reported in the last post.  We just had a language issue to get through.  We also have cultural differences in how problems are written or presented that have made math less straightforward.  Division facts are solid as is fairly simple long division.  Next up is more practice with division and assessing fraction/decimal/percent knowledge.  We will have more cultural differences there as well, but I'm prepared for it now!  LOL!

We also played in the sprinkler, Hanna had her first pizza, Lena got a bike with training wheels, the older kids did several bike rides in the afternoons (one with Lena), and if I think of anything else we did, I'll add it later.

I have some pictures and videos to share, but I don't have a lot of time to get them uploaded.  Will when I get a chance.

First Week Home

Well, we're settling in.  Everyone seems to be sleeping fairly well and eating fairly well.  We do a lot of correcting of behavior - like how they let us know they don't like a certain food or not to run out in the street.  Hanna is getting very good at parroting, "on your bottom," as we tell her ALL THE TIME to sit down on her bottom.

After the excitement of church and the shower, we've been to the farm twice, to Taekwon Do, to Target, to the grocery store and to AWANA.  Seems they are handling it all fairly well.  Both big kids enjoyed TKD and AWANA.  We went to the farm this morning for their official Occupational Therapy evaluations.  Good news all around.  Turns out that Lena is the most affected by sensory issues.  Hanna needs some oral motor therapy to help her with the tongue thrusting and sucking difficulties.  Oleg just needs some social skills with kids his age (and a physical activity outlet).

When we got home last week, Cliff was not feeling well.  On Monday he went to the doctor and found out he has pneumonia.  He's now on medication and feeling better, but he's still not 100%.  And now, as of this morning, I am running a fever.  Not sure where it will go, but I definitely DON'T need to be sick right now.

School work is going well with Oleg.  He spends about half and hour or so on an English language program and then does some math.  I have determined that his basic facts are solid.  He does not know how to regroup in addition/subtraction or in multiplication.  We haven't looked at division yet.  Not sure how to explain it to him given the language difference, but we'll figure it out.

Lena has no formal schooling, and given her activity level, she's a challenge to "teach".  But she does want to learn, so we will figure it out.

Emma and Vivian are a great help.  They are tired, as they are not used to this activity level or starting their day before 8 am.  But we're getting used to the new routine.

Please continue to pray for adjustment, for health for Cliff and for me (as we are both under the weather), and for me as Cliff leaves Monday for 2 weeks in DC.

Shower

Our church held a shower for us on Sunday afternoon.  I can't tell you how much that meant to all of us.   We received so many wonderful gifts, notes, and gift cards.  Their love and generosity are overwhelming to us.  The decorations were lovely and the food was great.  They even took into account our gluten free and diabetic needs.

We got everything home with the help of some friends.  Oleg loves his new bike.  He has been on it every chance he gets.  The super soaker was also a big hit.  He filled it up, went outside, and "washed" my car with it.  Vivian joined him and got the garden hose.  They started having a water fight and got completely soaked.  They even came in to change to swimsuits and continue the fight.  I wish I had pictures or video.  They were really having a good time.

And the shorts for him are terrific.  He was concerned about not having shorts.  Jeans are too hot, and we hadn't had a chance to get him any shorts.

Lena has touched/handled everything we received.  She asks, "Me?" with every item.  She loves pushing Hanna around in the stroller.  Both girls slept in new pajamas and have worn new outfits.

I now have everything sorted into the laundry baskets we received.  It controls the chaos - a bit.

First Time to Church

Believe it or not, we actually made it to church this morning.  Our morning started early (like yesterday).  Got everyone fed, clean, dressed and ready.  The kids walked right into church, shook hands with people, and went readily into their classes.  At the end of service, our pastor announced that we were home and gave the kids' names and ages.  It was a really good morning.

1st Day Home

Hanna was up in the night, but really slept fairly well considering the long travel day.  Lena apparently awakened Oleg before he was ready to get up - early.  We had a good morning anyway.  Hanna got a little nap, then we left the house and went to the KVPAC Family Day.  Our house showed while we were gone (they liked it, but have to sell their house first).  We were gone a couple of hours (it was HOT!).  Made burgers and tots for dinner, watched a movie, and went to bed.

I am still really tired.  I went to bed shortly after Hanna and Lena.  Cliff has been great to stay up with the other kids.  He is not feeling well and would probably prefer to be in bed early himself.

Marathon Travel Day

So I went to bed, and about 2 hours later, Hanna was awake and not going back to sleep.  That meant I didn't go back to sleep.  We wrestled for about an hour.  I finally got her to relax enough that she could doze a bit more.  I went ahead and got up.  It was only an hour until the alarm would go off.

I got dressed and made some coffee.  I got my Bible and devotional guide and decided to "catch up" on the readings that I had missed.  I was really not in the right frame of mind.  I was mad that I wasn't getting as much sleep as possible before the trip.  But then I got to Friday's reading.  Totally refocused me.  So I wasn't going to get the sleep I thought I would get.  I just had to deal with it.  The kids would need me to be calm and patient whether I slept or not.  And I didn't have the luxury of being grumpy.

The alarm went off.  John and I got everything ready.  We got the kids up about 20 min before Andre arrived.  We met him at the door, got everything in the car and headed off to the airport.  It was a difficult drive just because we had to sit for 30 min.  It allowed us to get sleepy again.

At the Kiev airport, we got our boarding passes, ate some breakfast (that we packed), went to the bathroom, and headed upstairs to passport control.  THAT took longer than we thought it would, so we ended up being among the last people to board our flight.  But we DID get on.  Lena slept on that flight. Just 2-1/2 hours to Munich.

Once in Munich, we had to go through security twice, but at least we didn't change terminals.  Once through the second security point, we had a passport check.  This is where we had trouble.  The attendant took our passports and proceeded to declare that we could not travel, because the kids' visas were expired.  I just about lost it.  Thankfully John stepped in.  As the attendant was chastising us for traveling the day after the visas expired, John pointed out that the visas were ISSUED the day before.  She disappeared, and another attendant approached and apologized for the delay and explained that the other attendant had mis-read the issue date as the expired date.  Once that was cleared up, we barely made the flight to Newark.

This was an 8-1/2 hour flight.  Hanna slept for about the first 2 hours (YES!!).  I sat with her on the 2 seat side.  John had Lena and Oleg in the 3 seat middle section.  They did well - playing games on the video console, watching movies (I think), etc.  I really don't remember. And we survived the flight.

In Newark, we had to go through customs and immigration before catching our last flight.  The embassy in Kiev gave me a packet of documents for each child that I had to hand over.  This is where the embassy staff said we "could" have a problem due to the mismatched pictures of Hanna.  Fortunately, no problems.  Would rather have gone through in Houston.  While no one was actually rude, the attitude is different there.  We made it through with enough time to get to the gate and call home.

The last flight, both Lena and Oleg slept.  Oleg asked me to sit with him.  That upset both Lena and Hanna, but I did it anyway.  He and I took the 2 seat by the window.  Lena was across the aisle, so we could hold hands from time to time.  John took Hanna duty - for a while.  Shortly after take-off Oleg was asleep with his head partially on my lap.  Hanna ended up with me.  Lena stretched out with John.  We actually had to wake them up to land.

We got off the plane and headed for baggage claim.  When we got there, Cliff, Emma, Vivian, and Grandma Johnson were there waiting for us with a big "Welcome Home" banner.  The big kids ran to Cliff to give him hugs, then hugged everyone else.   We got the bags, got them all in the car, and drove home.  Hanna fell asleep on the way, so we decided to go home and make dinner.  Fortunately, I had stocked the freezer with a few things for our return.  Cliff had pulled out burgers and spaghetti sauce.  Oleg really likes spaghetti, so that's what we did.  

John went ahead and left for Austin, so dinner was just us Johnsons.  We had a good evening.

Headed Home!!!

Packing while the kids sleep.  We will be up really early to catch our 6:45 am plane (that's almost midnight CST).  Our route takes us from Kiev to Munich, Munich to Newark, Newark to Houston, arriving in Houston about 6PM still on Friday.  While the whole Johnson family will go home, Uncle John will still have a 2+ hour drive back to Austin to HIS family.

PLEASE pray that we have a good trip.  Not sure how this is all going to work out.  We're tired and excited and so ready to be home.  It could be great or it could be a nightmare.  Pray especially for our passage through immigration.

I won't be able to update in transit, so this is it until we get home.  Even then, don't expect much.  I'm sure when I'm not sleeping, I'll be chasing kids!

Have Visas, Will Travel

Took the kids to a park this morning.  Kinda chilly.  Hanna likes to swing.  Oleg likes to run.  Lena likes to show off ("Mama, LOOK!").  We were trying to keep them occupied as we waited for our appointment at the embassy.

Zhenia arrived at 1pm to take us to get new pictures of Hanna.  For some reason we were one picture short yesterday, so we're getting new pics made.  We were early for our appointment at the embassy which was acutally good.  I got the last few things written in on our paperwork (I wanted to confirm with Zhenia what to put), and was the first in line.

When I got to the window, I found out that the pictures we had just made of Hanna were not acceptable.  I needed and exact match to the picture I gave them yesterday or the computer wouldn't take it.  It would be another 24hours before we could get our visas.  I said that was not acceptable.  We finally worked out that they would put a smaller size of the same picture with a larger size of the new picture with the paperwork that was going to the States with me.  She said I might have a little trouble getting through immigration, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem.  I figure the paperwork is all in order, and I have the rest of the copies of the photos, so I should be able to prove that I am her mom.  That, and I'll just agree with them that I did it wrong but that I have EVERYTHING ELSE right.  I can't imagine that American immigration would give an American citizen a super hard time over the size of a picture when everything else is in order.  Then again. . . . .  So please pray for us getting through immigration.

After getting the papers turned in, we waited another 10 min or so for our "interview."  The officer just needed me to sign the papers in front of him and to see all the kids.  Thirty minutes later we had the visas.

While we were waiting I had a chance to talk with some other American adoptive parents.  One couple from Ohio using our agency and Zhenia and adopting a cute 4 year old boy.  Another from Nebraska who had adopted before.  We just exchanged some info while we waited and wished each other good luck.  Even though I was first in line, I was the last to get our visas.  I figure it was 3 kids versus 1.  No worries.  I have them now, so we are 100% ready to go home.

Zhenia brought us some gifts before he left us.  He will not come to the airport at 5 in the morning, so this was our last opportunity to see him.  He gave me a hand carved chess set for Cliff.  Two matrushka dolls, a porcelain plate of Kiev, and a fridge magnet.  He also gave John a hat with the symbol of Ukraine, a matrushka doll, and a magnet.  He made sure he told me that he doesn't usually give his families so many gifts.  He just feels especially close to us.  After a couple of hugs, well wishes, and goodbyes, we were left at the flat for our last night in Kiev.

John and the big kids are wrestling now.  Before he left, Zhenia made sure the older kids know that we are going home tomorrow on 3 different planes and that they need to listen to John and me and stay close to us.  I hope they heard him!

In a little while we will go to the Fat House for supper, come back to the flat, try to get the kids to sleep, pack the bags and food for the trip, and try to get some sleep ourselves.  Andre will be here at 4:30am to take us to the airport.  And then we will be on our way home.

Please pray for some sleep tonight, for us to get up and to the airport on time, for our flights, for managing the kids through the airports and flights and anything else you can think of.  Also pray for Cliff and the girls as they prepare the kids beds for our arrival.  We will be in Houston around 6pm Friday night.

Embassy

We slept until about 7:15 this morning.  Amazing!  We got up and got our day started with some oatmeal.  Predictably Hanna loved it, Lena refused (then ate it after she saw Hanna eating it), and Oleg tried it but didn't like it (he's not much of a breakfast guy).

Zhenia arrived about 10 to take us to the embassy.  I didn't realize that he would not be going in with us.  That unnerved me a bit, but it was okay.

We had a bit of trouble getting through security.  We didn't realize that it would be more strict than airport security, so we had things with us that were not allowed - like our diabetes monitors (that we always have with us) and Oleg's GameBoy - but we also had things in our pockets that we forgot were there that caused problems as well.  It really wasn't that big a deal.  They took everything, put it in a box, and gave us a claim number to get it when we left.  It just took longer to get through than it could have taken.

Once inside, we went to the adoptions section.  They took the packet of documents that Zhenia had given me and had me fill out the visa applications.  For some reason, I did not have three of them prepared ahead of time.  I have 3-4 of every document EXCEPT that one, so I had to fill out 2 by hand.  I was shaking the whole time.  Excited to be so close to getting the kids home.  Nervous about doing something wrong.

I finished the paperwork, paid the fees, returned the receipts to the paperwork lady, and we left.  Zhenia was upset with us for causing problems for him at the security station.  We didn't do it on purpose, but he didn't tell us what we could and could not have with us.  If he had said, "No electronics. Nothing with batteries.  No metal.  They have a toy room for the kids.  Just take some diapers for the baby," we would have done what he said and understood why.   Apparently security gave him quite a lecture.  Then we got it from him.  I understand that he doesn't like to look foolish.  Nobody does, but sheesh!  He does this for a living.  We're doing ONCE.  I was pretty peeved with him at the time, but I think I'm over it now.  Unless he pursues it.  Then I'll give him a piece of my mind.

Back at the flat now.  Had lunch.  Hanna took a long time to quiet down.  Still not sure she's asleep.  John took Lena with him to buy some presents for his family.  She came back with chocolate all over her face (ice cream).  While they were gone, Oleg worked on English.  He really likes it, and he works hard.  He likes to get 100%, so we will work on something over and over until he gets it just right.  He likes being smart.

Not sure what we'll do tonight.  Maybe take a walk or watch a movie.  We have the morning tomorrow to see some sights with the kids.  Then tomorrow afternoon we go back to the embassy to complete the visa process.  Flight on Friday is at 6:45 am.

Please pray for the remainder of our time here.  That visas will come through without problems.  That we can sleep Thursday night and get up early Friday morning to get our flight.  That we make all our flights (3 in all).  That we can manage the kids through airports and planes.  That we clear customs with no issues.  And anything else that you can think of to make this as smooth as possible.

Medical Exams today

We arrived in Kiev about 7:30 am.  Andre the driver picked us up and took us to the flat to stow our bags and eat a quick breakfast.  Everyone seemed to sleep fairly well on the train.  The girls and I had a "room" and the boys had a "room."  I slept with Hanna.  Lena fussed a bit about not being sleepy but was snoring within 5 min of turning off the lights.  Hanna took a bit more, but did sleep.  And I slept more than I thought I would.

The flat is in a different location from our first Kiev flat.  It is likely the "nicest" that we have had.  More on it another time.  Pictures, too, if I can.

We arrived at the medical center for 9am appointment and of course had to wait.  We saw Dr. Yuri who did a good job of evaluating the kids.  He talked with them and not just examined them.  I didn't get everyone's stats, but I do have the paperwork, so I can look it up.  I do know that Hanna has gained 1.3 kilos since her last checkup in September.

Oleg has a hernia that we will need to have checked when we get home but is otherwise healthy.  Lena is healthy.  And Hanna is healthy, although he did give us a recommendation for an antibacterial ointment for the spots she has on her arm and face.  He thinks they are just a little infected.  She also has a spot (not a birthmark) on her bottom that he says is probably nothing but should be checked out at home.

Spent the rest of the day at the flat.  I got a nap with Hanna.  Lena fell asleep, too.  John and Oleg had some "quality time" together that just about drove John nuts (according to John).  Supper (chicken, spaghetti with tomato sauce, and pineapple chunks) went over fairly well.  Oleg ate ALL of his.  Lena ate some and didn't complain about the taste.  Hanna eats anything, so she was happy as well.  Then baths, a movie (Toy Story 2), and bed.  Got a quick skype with Cliff and a good talk with John, and now I'm ready for bed!

Embassy interview tomorrow morning at 10am.   It should just be filing paperwork for the visas and for the kids' files.  Visas should be ready Thursday, then fly home Friday.  Zhenia says we are 98% done.  Oleg is ready to be home.  Me too!

Traveling tonight

Had a reasonably good night and a good morning.  Went for a walk past the Odessa Opera House and around to the Potemkin Steps.  Had a picnic lunch and headed back.  Weather was partly cloudy, more mild, but cold wind.  Zhenia arrived just as we were leaving for our walk, so he joined us and took a bunch of pictures for me.  He "liked" my hat.  I don't think he really did.

Trying to get Hanna to nap now.  Maybe she will sleep some.  Trying NOT holding her and just putting here down (and back in bed when she gets out).  So far no luck.  But it is getting better.  Thanks so much for your prayers!

Quiet afternoon, supper at Fat House (maybe with Rachel, Jonathan, Sasha, and Boris), then catch the overnight train to Kiev.  PLEASE pray for our travel.  The kids have never been on the train before, so it could get wonky.  Also we have medical exams in the morning (after dropping our bags at the new flat in Kiev).  So we will likely have some VERY tired kids tomorrow.

Should have internet in the flat, but if not, we know we can do wifi at McD's.

Getting closer to home every day!

Black Sea!!

I got to really see the Black Sea today!!  Special thanks to our new friends Rachel and Jonathan and their boys Sasha and Boris.

We were up a bit later than usual this morning (yes, another rough night) and met our friends at 9:30.  Rachel got us taxis, and we were on our way.  When we arrived at the waterfront, we checked the times on the dolphin show and found we had about an hour to kill until show time, so we walked up the hill to a big park above the water and looked down on the docks and out across the water.  The big boys had a great time "wrestling" as we walked.  Boris and Lena walked holding hands sometimes and usually in animated conversation.  I carried Hanna so long, I think I sprained my left wrist.  She got down and walked some, but she didn't want anyone but me to carry her.  We walked and talked, had a snack, then walked back to the aquarium for the show.

The kids LOVED the show.  John got some video, so I'll upload when I can.  I know I keep saying that, but we're just so busy we don't have time for things like that.

After the show we walked along the beach.  The kids loved that, too.  Very excited.  I have a pocketful of shells (Hanna had a diaper full of sand).  The water is cold.  Jonathan and Rachel said that the whole area where we were walking was ice just a couple of weeks ago.  The weather today was beautiful!  Hard to believe that it was snow and ice so recently.

We returned to the flat about 1:30-2pm for Hanna's NON-nap.  Yes, refusal again.  She's really wearing on us.  Fortunately, she's been fairly good-natured even without sleep.  She has her moments, but for the most part she's a happy kid.  When she got up, all three kids played together for a little while.  It was really cute to see them all together.  Oleg is a really good big brother.  He plays gently with her and she loves it.  Lena wants her to be more of a baby and let her carry her and dress her and such.  Hanna knows she isn't a baby, so she's not very happy when Lena gets bossy.  However, she does love to be chased and tickled and play hide-and-seek with Lena.  That was really cute.

Late in the afternoon John took the big kids to the grocery store.  We have one more night here, and we needed some supplies for tonight, tomorrow, and for the train tomorrow night.  I can tell John is really tired.  I really hope he can get some sleep tonight.  While they were gone, I was able to skype for a little while with Cliff.  Our internet has been down for a couple of days, and I just wanted to see if I could get on today.  Thankfully, yes.  It was so good to see and talk to him.  Made me really miss him and the girls and home, though.  Five more days and we'll be in our own beds!!

After supper and cleanup we dimmed the lights, lit some candles, put on some music and tried to get the girls to quiet down.  Lena started to cry which made Hanna cry a little (she's a sympathetic crier).  Got them somewhat calm and put them down.  Hoping that letting Hanna put herself to sleep will work better than what we've been trying.  I put Hanna down first (with strict instructions from Oleg to go to sleep).  Then we put Lena down.  I think they probably played a little, but Lena is asleep now.  Hoping Hanna is, but kinda afaid to check yet.  Here's praying!

May have lost the internet again, so posts will be delayed until we get to Kiev and get some time.  Zhenia says we will have passports tomorrow.  Medical exams on Tuesday.  Embassy interview on Wednesday.  Visas on Thursday.  Flight on Friday.  PLEASE pray that all goes as planned, all paperwork is in order, and we have no delays or snafus!!!

Tired!


Here's a picture of the kids and me on the beach.  The Black Sea is behind us.  Not exactly the pose I pictured, but you take what you can get!  I LOVE IT!