Home at Last!!!

A quick and joyous note to let you know we arrived home safely to Cincinnati this afternoon, February 26th. Our flights all went well as we made our connection through Paris and onto Cincinnati with no problems. While the Kiev and Paris officials were not exactly friendly we did get approval and when we got to Cincinnati the immigration folks were down right warm and kind!!!

The girls were great travelers and were so excited to see their new home. It was especially beautiful thanks to my special Wyoming friends who really spiffed it up. We arrived to balloons, gorgeous flowers, home-made cookies, a hand-painted 6ft x 6ft banner hanging from the garage door, personalized gifts for the girls, a fridge full of fresh food for several dinners and a super clean house!!! What a joy and we so appreciated the welcome.

The girls are sound asleep and we are signing off with the same intentions!!! Love, to all and thanks for your prayers as they got us home!!!!

Visa in hand--Cincinnati bound!!!

Well, we have been through some anxiety producing days up to this point and this one has proven to be no exception. Being that we were out of the hands of the Ukrainian government and into the hands of our own, we thought that things might go easier today. We met with a snooty little red-head with a Texas twang in her voice from the consular office who led off with a, "sometimes we don't hear right away from Washington on these visa applications and it may take more than one day," after being told numerous times that our paperwork was in order and there would be no problems. This was not what we wanted to hear and I guess she figured out how we felt. After an anxious half hour of waiting, our faithful Ukrainian-born US official did produce the visas. We, of course, were elated, relieved and cried tears of joy!!!

So after putting the blog to bed, we are next!! We get up in the middle of the night and head to the airport, led by our trusty Igor and Sveta. Our first flight leaves at 6:30am and we expect to be in Cincinnati in the afternoon on Friday the 26th (which is actually about 17hrs in transit - because of time zones). Can't wait to be on U.S. soil!!!! Love, the four card carrying (passport/visa approved) Lentz family!

Kiev and Counting!!

Thank you all for your many blessings, prayers and comments. We are so touched by the community of support surrounding our journey!!

Today started early (4am) and went non-stop until mid-afternoon with much insanity and very little nutrition with the plane ride being the most relaxing part! The most amazing part of the day was being met at the airport by Sveta, our facilitator in Kiev, almost on the tarmac. We think she was guiding the plane in as it landed!!

Because of the heroic work of our handlers, we have good news again as the U.S. embassy accepted our paperwork and we got the girls through the obligatory medical exams. These milestones were only surpassed through the amazing secret talents of Sveta who has magic ways of getting us to the front of line, time after time!!! We have an appointment at 2pm tomorrow to finish the papers and receive our U.S. visas for the girls from the embassy. Yipee!!!!!! Things are looking good!!

We can't even begin to explain the fatigue we all feel - but we are also deeply grateful that things are looking to go our way:) Thanks again for all your love and support!!!! love, the Lentz family.

Unbelievable day

After an ordeal that began at 9 am and lasted until 7 pm, nonstop, and included extensive mishaps, misquoted legal articles, two trips to Balaclava, white knuckle cab rides, and last minute haggling with incensed officials, we were able to get two "special" passports for the girls. Whew!! This is, in our eyes, a complete miracle and we owe it all to Galya, Kostia and your prayers. So we are still on schedule and will leave for Kiev tomorrow at 4 am. We would love to tell you more but are too exhausted to do so. A tired but happy bunch...

Happy Together!!!!!!!!

Finally!! The girls. Tatiana Linnea Lentz (age 12) and Ann Victoria Lentz (age 10), came home with us tonight to stay and we are all so very, very happy!! The ten day waiting period is over and tomorrow the judge will have the court decree for us to pick-up at 10:00am. The rest of the day will be pretty insane, but we will have our girls with us and that's all that matters!!!

Tonight was full of good-byes at the orphanage and sad for all, but then we went out the door hand in hand, us all knowing we were a family and the spirits soared again!! We did lots of packing, had dinner, made up the bed in the Living Room, and now the girls are whispering themselves to sleep as David and I write the blog in hushed tones too:)

Thanks for all your prayers and love each step of the way!!! The Lentz Family:)

Preparing for Blast-Off!!

Beautiful day today, spent mostly in the marketplace buying gifts for the orphanage and things for the kids. Now we are packing and setting up the paper work for tomorrow and Tuesday. We are getting ready to "blast off" into the future and we felt that the illustration by our youngest (shown above) correctly portrays the sentiments of all of us. If today is any indication, our blogs may get shorter but the photos will be more interesting. Stay tuned...

Another Lovely Dinner at Home_Sevastopol

Another fun day with the girls. We brought them home to make dinner again tonight and it such a delight. On the way home we stopped in the market to buy a few things...some potatoes for dinner, walnuts for Mama and an orange and apple each for the girls. They picked out their own fruit and it was so fun to watch them make such careful choices. We didn't have time for them to eat the fruit at home, but they eagerly took it back with them this evening. Fresh fruit is a true treat for them!!

I was better prepared this time to have one girl help me cook while the other had Papa's attention at the computer. He gave the youngest a history lesson with the pictures from Yalta and a home-made timeline, starting with their birthdays, adding ours and a request for Grandmother and Grandfathers birthdates to be added. While they reviewed the reign of Nicholas the 2nd, the older daughter was being a great help with dinner. We really had fun and it seems like it will be even nicer when we are home in Cincinnati!!

As we sat down for dinner the girls had their hands outstretched, ready to hold hands as Papa said a prayer of gratitude, already eager to join us in this family tradition. With many compliments to all the cooks, we all ate with great relish and soon it was time for their return to the orphange. No one wanted the time to end so soon, but our hearts are much lighter knowing we will soon be together permenantly!!

Thanks again for all your love, prayers and comments, Lorelle & David

Counting Down the Days!

We are so excited as we count down the days of our ten-day waiting period. The girls had their last day at school and brought home many gifts and mementos. The first picture is of their school. It appears the youngest has a special bond with her teacher and showed us a delightful photo of the two of them, with a long note in Russian written by the teacher on the back.

We had expected them to go to school on Monday (the last day of the waiting period) but they emphatically said "nyet" and explained that they would be at the orphanage cleaning up their room, saying final good-byes and being totally ready to head out the door at the close of business, when the legal paperwork officially matures!! When we said that would be their last day at the orphanage they simply danced for joy!

We will bring a change of clothes for them that day for them to wear home with us that night and they were giddy with delight at the thought. During our time today we helped them make a list where they matched presents with people and it was so fun to see how carefully they thought it all out. Because I had written out the gifts in English at first they were stumped as they didn't know how to write the recipients names in English, but then I assured them it was fine to write in Russian and soon the list was finished!

We had a lovely time with them and I seemed to get special attention after my absence yesterday so that was fun!! We said our good-byes with such happy thoughts, knowing we will soon be taking them with us permanently.

On the way home, David and I stopped for a bit to eat at a nice coffee shop attached to the Hotel Sevastopol on the main street. The photo shows the sign for the shop. It was relaxing and now we are home starting to make a dent in the paperwork we will soon need for the U.S. Consulate in Kiev, in order to bring the girls home!!

Thanks again for all your love and support!! Lorelle and David

Papa Steps In

As I write today's blog it is from a third party's perspective, as David told me about his adventures with the girls without my presence. I woke up this morning a bit under the weather and we decided that it would be best to let me rest and have David meet the girls on his own. I was going to miss the girls but knew David would do fine without me!

The first step though, according to David was to have me help him by writing up a lesson plan for his two hours with the girls and gather materials needed to keep them busy. So we made sure, as all good teachers do, that there was more planned than he could possibly use and off he went:)

He greeted the girls and explained my absence and they were disappointed to learn I was sick. They suggested to Papa that they should all go back to our apartment to visit with Mama to help her feel better!! But he told them that Mama was sleeping and then got out the maps:) A new twist on the maps, was bringing a 2nd map that came as a set with the world map, a close-up of the Eastern Europe region. Together they were able to trace the trip we took yesterday from Sevastopol to Yalta, and study other local cities.

After playing some Go Fish and practicing some English, they got an unexpected visit from Kostia and Galya, who were there to help them go get their passport photos. David said he was thrilled by the interruption, and was glad to break up his solo stint with the girls for a field trip. After arriving at the shop that takes the photos the youngest took off her woolly hat only to have hair flying this way and that. David found his motherly instincts intact as his helped to rearrange her hair into order, but was admonished by her when he tried to slick down an especially errant strand with his own spit!!

After the photos were taken David and the girls returned to the orphanage for the second half of father-daughter bonding. They had just enough time to make some beautiful "get well" cards for me, which I must say were wonderful and are already helping to gain my health back quickly, and for David to give each one a disposable camera. The idea behind the cameras is for them to take pictures of their friends both at the orphanage and school to provide memories when in Cincinnati. David reports that the results of the pictures may not be quite what we had expected as they both quickly shot multiple images of each other, David and their room. The youngest, always with an eye for the artistic, reportedly took many photos (including several close-ups) of the designs on the rug!!!

Finally David's time came to a close, but not before being loaded up with about 10 hardcover children's books (looks like a mystery series) in Russian, a gift for the girls from their school. Also, they received a lovely children's book in English from one of the loving housemothers who has a special attachment to our girls. What a great time Papa had with his girls today!!!

Yalta Exploration

We met Galya, her husband Kostia, and the two girls at the orphanage today at 9:00am for a full day of sight seeing in Yalta. It was a beautiful drive along the Black Sea coastline and the terrain changed from more rolling hills to high craggy cliff faces as we approached the sea side town of Yalta.

Kostia was our safe and expert driver and David and I were enjoying the views, when thanks to our trusty translator Galya we learned the girls were not faring so well as they struggled with motion sickness. We rolled down the windows for fresh air, and even stopped a couple of times (though one stop was a routine police check and more nerve-wracking to us, but no big deal to Kostia who had all his papers in order) when finally on the third stop our poor youngest slipped out of the car in record speed and was very sick. We all felt so sorry for her!!! Papa and older sister made a quick walk to a mini-mart up ahead and returned with plenty of water and a big back of plain crackers to help our little one. She was a trooper and on we went with no more mishaps thank goodness!

Our destination for the morning was the unbelievably beautiful Nikitsky Botanical Garden, established during the time of the czars in the late 19th century. The garden had a marvelous conifer collection with trees from across the globe. Because it has been there for over 100 years, the collections are mature and the fully grown. The arching allees were nothing short of spectacular. Initially, we were a bit skeptical about visiting a botanical garden in the winter, but even without the blooming annuals the displays were well worth the visit. To David's great delight (and relief), the girls loved the place, and wanted to take pictures of what few flowers (e.g., snowdrops and viburnums) there were. They asked lots of questions about the numerous cones and dried fruits of various sizes and would have stayed there all day if we had had the time!!

For lunch we drove to the central tourist area of Yalta that lines the Black Sea with a beautiful promenade that had great views of the water on one side and was lined with shops and restaurants on the other. It was great fun to walk to the recommended restaurant and be a part of the fun. One could imagine it being even more beautiful in the summer months and a delightful spot to holiday. Galya helped us purchase some motion-sickness pills at the pharmacy (an upscale version of Walgreen's) and we administered a dose after eating hoping it might make the ride home more bearable for the girls.

Next we went to the Lavidia Palace, fabulous seaside dacha of Nicholas II, last czar of Russia. The place is most famous for the meeting of Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt near the end of World War II. This is where they got together and basically decided the fate of Europe for the next 50 years. We couldn't get inside, unfortunately, because for some reason they are closed on Wednesdays. Anyway, we enjoyed strolling the grounds and relished the vista and aura of history.

Finally it was time for the ride home, and a bushed bunch were we!! Not much conversation on the ride home as all but Kostia (our safe and conscientious driver!!) stole a few winks of shut-eye without mishap on the last leg of our adventure. Thanks a million to Kostia and Galya for their incredible tour of lovely Yalta!!

Shopping Sans Translator

Today David and I headed out to go see the girls with the goal of going into the market place and shopping for some of the items that didn't fit yesterday for the older daughter and to get slippers and shoes for both girls. So as to be a bit prepared, we did a quick walk-through the open market checking availability and suitability of items, before returning with the kids.

We could see that the variety of items was limited, but we saw a few places that had what was needed, and we made a mental note and headed off for the to orphanage to pick up the girls. Because we knew we would be shopping without our trusty translator Galya today, we prepared by making a shopping list, so the girls would know what we were looking for and what to expect. We didn't want their hopes to be dashed if we didn't find anything appropriate and were pleased when the eldest used the word "maybe" to show she understood what we were trying to say!! We also drew simple pictures to match up with the words in English to clarify the specific nature of the items on the list. The girls were excited and off we went:)

The market is just across the street from the orphanage so we were there in minutes and we took them to the place we had scouted out for jeans. But now that we had our daughter there to clarify more clearly what we wanted, the woman shook her head, and lead us to another vendor, as without realizing it we had been looking at jeans for men!!! We have learned to have paper and pencil ready when checking price as the vendor can write the number down for us so all will be clear. The prices seemed a bit high and soon they came down (or other styles were shown, we're not sure!) but after trying on several pairs a match between daughter, father and mother's sensibilities were found with a bit of compromise on every one's part:)

A much more fun purchase was the slippers, as there are so many to choose from all in a variety of bright colors and patterns. David was helping the youngest pick out slippers while I helped with the jean purchase. We soon started to see clear differences in their shopping patterns and personalities. The youngest was quick to make a decision, looking at one shop, and no second guessing as far as we could see. The older one needed to see more options and took a lot longer to decide, but was also clear in her preferences.

We had to make several turns around the market before we could cross off most everything on our list. There are still some more items and we may need Galya's help but we were proud of today's accomplishments! For refreshment's we walked to McDonald's and had a bite to eat. Not sure if this is a big seller in the U.S. but here they sell big chocolate muffins and both girls ordered such as a part of their snack/meal. We were surprised when the older girl then wanted ice-cream after we had all finished, as we have established a rule of only one dessert per meal (after previous experiences with multiple dessert requests!). She was equally surprised (and a bit disappointed) to learn that we counted chocolate muffins as dessert. So many lessons for us all to learn:)

Each day we are so thankful for the joy of having these delightful girls in our lives!!! We are counting down each day of our 10-day waiting period that will mature on Monday the 22nd!!!

First Day at the Apartment

Today was another special day; it was the first time we brought the girls back to our apartment and cooked a meal with them. We started out by shopping for all the food for dinner then made our way to the apartment. They were so good about helping out, we could hardly keep the bags of food out their hands, even though some of them were quite heavy.

Once we got inside the kids were very well behaved and we marveled at some of their good habits, such as removing their shoes as soon as they entered the doorway. This, apparently, is a universal Ukrainian custom. Also, they would always turn out the lights each time they left a room. This struck me as being a very sensible habit and I had visions of our declining utility bills. We got to show them some things on the computer and they emitted squeals of delight when we pointed out their orphanage on Google Earth then, around the globe, our home on Hilltop Lane in Wyoming (Ohio).

The big event though, was when the girls got to try on the clothes we brought them from Cincinnati. Everything fit the younger girl and she was thrilled, dancing around like a fairy. Not everything fit the older daughter, however, and she was a little disappointed, but put a brave face on it. It seems we may have a bit more shopping to do.

Lorelle cooked a delicious meal and we learned a bit about the children's likes and dislikes regarding foods. Once again though, they were good sports and we enjoyed a fine family meal together. We were having lots of fun when we realized that our "witching hour" was soon approaching. They are not legally our kids yet but the orphanage will let us take them out now unchaperoned, although they do expect us to have them back on time. Anyway, we bundled them up and whisked them off toward the orphanage in record time. We arrived about a minute late but no one seemed to notice and we were greeted by the usual smiles and well wishes. Another lovely day..

Outing to Chersonesus

Today was a stunningly beautiful day in Sevastopol, so we decided, with the help of our translator Galya, to have a family outing to Chersonesus, an ancient Greek settlement just south of town on the Black Sea. Initially our youngest didn't want to go, saying that she had been there before with her classmates and she would rather stay back for the Sunday art class. But even as we know she loves art, we didn't want to miss our once in a lifetime chance to share this World Heritage Site and Ukrainian treasure with her and her sister. As the day wore on she was nothing but a ball of enthusiasm and energy, and at the end of the day admitted that she was very glad she had come with us!!

It was our first trip on the bus and we enjoyed the splash of local color. The girls skipped their way up to the site as the sun shown brightly and we all luxuriated in the gorgeous day. Mom started playing the "What is this?" game in English with the younger daughter but soon had to bring Dad into the conversation when botanical knowledge became the genre.

When we got to the site the vista of an impressive city came into focus: large archways, complex water delivery systems, wine processing rooms and a Grecian temple complete with Corinthian columns overlooking the Black Sea. All the girls, including mom, enjoyed hamming it up on the stage of the Roman amphitheater. The first three photos are by David. Images 1 and 2 are of the Greek Temple and Image 3 is a view of St. Vladimir's church and the Black Sea in the background. The following two photos are by the girls. Image 4 is our oldest daughters first archaeological photograph recording cornice ornamentation from a building at the site. Image 5 is the younger daughters first botanical recording of moss with reproductive details. Of course they didn't talk a lot about their reasons for choosing these particular subject matters but we're sure this reflects deep and intuitive abilities and desires to explore the field of archaeobotany further!!!!

The tour ended with a visit to St. Vladimir's Church that was built atop the Grecian ruins in the 19th century. It was touching to see how much this visit meant to the girls as they lit candles to their selected patron saints.

After the site visit we went to a lovely restaurant under the guidance of Galya and Kostia. The food was exquisite and the coffee unbelievably rich. The girls, as usual brought their prodigious appetites and inhaled their meals, including sumptuous desserts, with gusto. We all had a wonderful time and a happier Valentines day we cannot remember. Thanks for listening...

Hair Do Surprise

After all the excitement yesterday we were eager to see our girls and get back to our fun routine of spending time playing games, learning English and perhaps make a few more valentine's. When we got there, however, something else appeared to be underfoot but we were not sure what! We were escorted by our daughters to the big group room where lots of kids were hanging out.

It seems that Saturday's at the orphanage are filled with many jobs such as clothes-washing and for the girls a special time of hair-washing and drying of their lovely long locks. We noticed that most of the girls had their long hair down instead of in it's customary braids, pig or pony tails, but we assumed that was because it was still drying. We saw a line of about six chairs in the middle of the room and several of the girls we knew were sitting in them. We couldn't compose a question that was clear enough to get a satisfactory answer so out came the notebook and pen. I drew a quick sketch of the chairs and put the names of the girls in the chairs and then drew a big question mark. Our oldest daughter saw immediately what we wanted to know and explained that the girls were waiting to get their hair done, or put-up into braids, etc,. Ah! - that made sense. What we didn't expect was who the hairdressers were going to be!!

Soon behind each girl was one of the boys (ages 12-14) wielding a hair brush, rubber bands, and the equipment needed to style hair. Our guess is this was not a daily occurrence as the finished results were not up to the standards we normally see the girls hair in each day, but it was funny to watch, as the girls were patient and the boys were quick!!

Next came the Russian Orthodox religious class taught by an older lady who had brought tangerines for the children, which she gave out at the end of class to each child in return for a picture drawn by them. We were hoping our daughters might skip this class in order to spend time with us, and our older daughter wanted to, but the younger had already found her place at the table and seemed interested in the lecture, often raising her hand to answer questions, so we all stayed. It was a group of about 15 children, ages 8-14, with about five girls and the rest boys. Behind the scenes, which we were privy to, there was a certain amount of horse-play, but overall they were very quiet and attentive. We were impressed with how often the children spoke up with answers to the teacher's questions. Many of them seemed genuinely interested. Finally, after turning in their pictures for fruit, our daughters were ready to go back to their room with us:)

The main highlight of our shortened time together was the map lesson. Often David and I divide and conquer in our lessons, by splitting up the girls and each of us working one on one with a topic and then changing girls and repeating it again. To make it fair, I set the timer on my watch, as they always seem to like one activity better than the other no matter what! Today it was maps with David, where they got out the photo albums we had given them on the first day, and matched faces and names with the cities on the U.S.A. part of the world map. We had done something similar before, but now with the photos in front of them it became even more real and they just loved it. David also told the girls that we had heard through the computer recently that the two girls in Cincinnati who speak Russian and used to live in Sevastopol, had written notes to us and were looking forward to meeting them. Their faces lite up at this news!!!

Tomorrow we are looking forward to another afternoon of art classes with Galya. We don't have plans for lunch out tomorrow, and the younger one was STRONGLY suggesting another round of pizza. When my verbal skills were not convincing her that we had just had pizza on Friday and so it was not going to happen again so soon, I decided to draw a calendar, showing that we had pizza on Friday and so would not be having it two days later. We all laughed out loud when the older daughter pointed to the calendar and said, "Pizza, Pizza, Pizza.....as she pointed to each day of the week and then reached her hands out very wide and said something like..."we would all be very fat!" That explanation seemed to work much better than mine:)

The Judge says "Da"

Yeah!!! The judge ruled in our favor and the 10 day waiting period begins!!!!

We sat in the hot seat again today, only this time with the younger daughter in tow. We didn't expect to have any children there and were surprised when we needed to squeeze her in the car (four in the backseat!)when we met Galya at the orphanage. All the appropriate folks were in the court room and everyone spoke in our favor as the judge questioned us all again. The judge asked us if we had changed our mind or had any second thoughts about this adoption. She also asked if perhaps two children were too many to handle! We clearly said, "nyet"!!!

She interviewed the younger daughter with many questions including did she realise in her new country she would never hear Russian spoken again. Our darling countered that she would hear Russian again because there were two girls she knew who lived in Cincinnati who spoke Russian, who had come from Sevastopol!! We liked her spunk:) At one time instead of answering with "da" she answered a clear and loud "yes!" and the adults burst our in polite laughter. From then on she went back to "da" as it appeared she thought better of being too American too soon!! When asked how she can communicate with us, since we don't know Russian, she said it was no problem as her sister translates everything for her:) We were glad to have her in our corner!!

The judge went several times around to all the adults including us, to make sure our answers were still in the positive for adopting these girls. She also went through our dossier (which is now as thick as the phone book from a large city) a second time and read many official papers out loud. Finally she and several of her advisers ceremoniously left the room so that she could make her decision. Such drama!! Luckily I had brought my "Mom" carry-all bag (complete with Dr. Suess graphics) into the court with me through the metal detectors and had some diversions to keep our daughter occupied as we waited for judge's return. When she did return, she read quite a bit of Ukrainian law regarding adoption, and then FINALLY she pronounced the adoption (pending the 10 day waiting period) legal!! I wanted to shout and dance, but that kind of thing is just not allowed in Ukraine. Galya said if I had, perhaps the judge would have been nervous about her previous decision:) So, we had a family group hug and exited the court into a gorgeous, sunny, beautiful afternoon!

We squeezed everyone into the car and went back to the orphanage to get our second daughter and out to pizza we went for a REAL celebration!!!

Photo note: The top photo is a park near the courthouse, the middle is the courthouse and the third is a glimpse of part of the Black Sea Fleet.

Making Valentines

Before we left for Ukraine, I ordered an assortment of books from a great website called Adopting from Russia, including a really cute one we read today about Valentine's Day. The book has wonderful illustrations on one page and the other has text, both in English and Russian. The plot is simple, a little boy discovers all the markers, glue and paper are missing and he goes on a detective hunt to find out why. Along the way he discovers the calendar has February 14th circled in red! Next he finds his sister making Valentine cards, his father planning to buy flowers for Grandmother, Mother and sister (a fabulous tradition I heartily believe in and am glad to indoctrinate them in, as well as encourage David's participation!!)and his mother decorating the house with the help of his little brother dressed as Cupid:) There is a short historical discussion about St. Valentine helping poor couples to get married many years ago, and the suggestion that people make Valentine cards for those they love.

We read through the book, with me reading the text in English first with the younger daughter reading it in Russian next. We had a great time laughing and enjoying the story-line in preparation for our own Valentine Making Event. We sat on the floor in the girl's bedroom and laid out all of the supplies. We had a variety of red and white ribbons, a complete assortment of colorful Valentine Stickers (thank you Target!), markers, glue sticks, scissors, glitter (from yesterday's project) and sketch paper. The girls knew exactly what to do and quickly folded their papers in half and cut out hearts. I think David was a little new at this but after watching the girls for a few minutes he was soon making cards that we were all thrilled to receive!!

It was so much fun to watch everyone create such delightful and individual works of art and it was also a joy to have a simple and easy way to say "I Love You" as a family.

Cause for Celebration_Yipee!!!

Today we got a very happy call from Sveta (our Kiev facilitator) that she had our long-awaited SDA (Ukraine Central Adoption Governing Office) approval!!! Originally we had expected this approval to be easily given early last week, but instead we had been met with the discouraging news that we needed a new background check from the agency Interpol, with the possibility that we could have to wait up to 7 weeks for it to be processed - ugh!! But no, instead it only took a little more than a week, and for that we are eternally grateful. Thank you to each and everyone of you who kept pulling for us, and for all those powerful prayers!!!

We were so happy we were almost skipping to the orphanage today to spend our precious time with the girls:) All this drama with the paperwork is luckily impossible for us to discuss with the girls because of our limited Russian, so they don't have to worry about deadlines and governmental agencies!!! Instead we found them quietly at work making barrettes and other hair decor with the kit we had given as a birthday present the night before. We were so impressed with how quickly they had figured out how to make the items and how adept they were with tools, glue and glitter. We watched for awhile as they made a few more items and laughed at the glitter on the girls faces. Soon we both had a touch of glitter on our cheeks too:)

While we are thrilled to get our SDA approval, we are far from being ready to come home...

The next step is to reconvene with the judge and all the others (social worker, orphanage director, prosecutor, and our translator) that were at the court hearing we had a week ago Monday, again at the courthouse this Friday at noon. Fortunately, the children do not have to be in attendance. We are hoping this will be a fairly straight-forward affair, but are ready to answer any and all questions asked of us. Our prayer is simple, that the judge will rule in our favor and we can start the 10 day waiting period to make the adoption legal. Now that we have the SDA approval all the decision-making power lies with the judge. Wish us well, as I know you all will!!!

But wait, there's more good news!!! We also learned today that the labor dispute with the passport booklet employees has been settled and they have resumed making passport booklets!!! Double Yipee!! What wonderful news!! A funny irony is we learned that the reason the employees had gone on strike was not for higher wages but simply that they were tired of working without any pay at all. It turns out that they resumed work when the government finally sent them some money (as the government is the major purchaser of passports I imagine - at least legally!) and so now the workers have been paid and are happily back at work...

So today we are savoring all this good news, feeling deeply grateful in our hearts for our lovely girls, and the most wonderfully supportive and loving family and friends!!!

Birthdays: Ukrainian Style!

We just returned from the most heart-warming birthday celebration with our two daughters at the orphanage. We hope we can help you to feel the joy, warmth and tenderness we saw shared among the children and staff on our daughter's special day!

When we first arrived at the orphanage and met our youngest, whose birthday it was, we were pleased to see her dressed up in a special skirt of beautiful shantung silk and a blouse complete with a beaded bodice and sequins. It sounds over the top but was actually very cute and she was easily the stand-out of the party. Her hair was down (usually it is up in a pony-tail) and had special braids and hair ribbons. We asked who helped her with her hair and it was one of the older girls (age 15-16?) that shares the older daughter's room.

The excitement was palpable as we waited in the girl's room for party time to arrive. Much preparation was done and when we entered with the party girl the table was set, complete with china and cookies, and all the children were quietly waiting for her arrival. Next the caregivers and children put the birthday girl in the center and they made a circle holding hands around her. They sang several songs to her while circling her and she beamed with joy.

Then it was time for the gift-giving ceremony which just about broke our hearts. One by one each child was chosen to enter the circle and face the celebrant with their gift, but before presenting the gift they each gave a short speech, giving their blessings and best wishes. Galya said a general translation was something like..."you are a good friend. I want to wish you blessings with your new family and happiness and love. I will miss you" as they handed her a gift. Many of the gifts were small stuffed animals that are most likely from their collection of personal possessions. As Pam (who made the adoption journey two years ago) said, "those who have so little are so generous" and we saw that today!

After the gift-giving there was an exciting (and a bit terrifying to new parent views) tradition where they put the birthday girl in a chair (mind you - a sturdy yet heavy wooden chair) and the boys (none older than 13 yrs) grabbed the chair and lifted it from the floor high (at times almost to shoulder height) up and down - 10 times for her 10 years of life!! It was wild, crazy and looked the ride of a lifetime!! She was smiling and laughing from ear to ear. I kept looking at the caregivers who seemed as relaxed as could be - so when in Ukraine...

The entertainment was not quite over as several of the younger boys (ages 5-7) gave an impressive gymnastic demonstration, flying across the floor with high speed cartwheels. Very nice:)

Then it was time for food. Galya and her husband Kostia made a grand appearance with more food than I thought possible for these kids to devour - but wrong again I was...
We set out two good-sized and actually quite sophisticated "cakes" on each plate, along with an apple and an orange and juice. The orphanage had also provided plates of traditional cookies and small candies. The feast began! We were so impressed with the orderly and polite table manners. Not one child asked for a different selection or something he saw on his neighbors plate. And to my surprise just about every cake, apple and orange as well as most cookies and candy were gone at the end of the celebration. David says the kids have a paleolithic appetite...feasting when possible so as to be ready for the next famine. To be fair, we know the kids are fed well at the orphanage, but it's obvious they don't get these kinds of treats in the abundance we are all used to.

At the end of the party many of the older children helped to clean up, including the boys, and they hung around to see what "Mama and Papa" had brought as presents. They were so excited to be a part of the fun and seemed truly happy for our girls, even as you sensed they wished it was their turn to have someone come make them a part of a family again. A bittersweet sentiment but one which brought tears to my eyes many times today. We feel privileged to get to know many of these sweet children and will remember them long after we are back home.

Lots of love, Lorelle and David

Maps and Fauna_Day20

We were glad to see that some morning rain and warmer temps had started to make a dent in the icy sidewalks, leaving a few glorious pathways of actual concrete which now make me delirious with happiness each time I step on it. Our walk time is divided in half as we actually stride towards the orphanage.

Last week on a walk home we stopped into an amazing bookstore on the square, where David had previously purchased his world map. The open space in this shop is about the size of two or possibly three phone booths. When two people must pass each other you must turn sideways! The books cover all the walls except the doorway from floor to ceiling and the proprietor will help you reach what you need with her step stool. At first we struggled to explain the level of book we wanted but the shopkeeper diligently worked until we found some great items written in both Russian and English (British style) for school children. Today we brought those books and the girls enjoyed working through these new materials.

We also added a new activity to maps which surprised the girls by combining our Go Fish cards (A-Z cards with a picture of an animal corresponding to each letter) with the world map. The game consisted of placing the animal card on the continent where it comes from...ie., Koala - Australia, Yak - Asia. David has reminded me that we are not teaching the concepts completely without conflict as frogs, etc., are found in more than one continent even through right now the answer we accept is Cincinnati:) I assured him that we would add layers of complexity to this game as the girls and their language skills were ready for it!!

Tomorrow is a big day for our family as it is the younger girl's birthday!! We will celebrate it with her and about 20 of the children from her age group at the orphanage. We are thrilled to be a part of her day!! Galya is being a huge help with the party by arranging to get us cupcakes, juice and fruit, that as her family we will provide. We don't know what we would do without Galya's generous help!!

The picture opening this blog is from the group room where the children meet to play, do homework and have group events. It is where we attend the art project events and the children spend much time in this room.

Love to all for your warm and wonderful comments!!! No news on SDA (interpol) papers so are trying our best to be patient. Thanks for the prayers!!

Sunday Outing and Art

Today was a fun day, full of activities to delight us all!

First we took the girls to the market with Galya (our facilitator) to shop for parting gifts from the girls to those they will leave behind at the orphanage. They started the trip with definite ideas about what they wanted to give those on their lists, but as good shoppers sometimes must do, they were flexible in their thinking when something better came up, or the object they had in mind wasn't to be found. They bought two group gifts for the children, one being a photo ablum and the other a globe. It turns out that many of the children have loose photos but no album to place them in and so this will be a shared book, used by both boys and girls, carefully chosen so as to be enjoyed by all:)

There are many adults they want to give gifts to, and they made many clever choices, but they became a bit overwhelmed by all the decision making. Thus they decided the best thing to do was upon return to the orphanage, to catalog the gifts purchased so far, then decide who they would be given to, and re-evaluate additional needs. Very sensible thought Mama and Papa (and thank goodness - now we can go eat!!!)

The girls voted clearly for a repeat of pizza from two weeks ago and we thought that a fine choice. We enjoyed having Galya there to translate questions for us to the girls and of course enjoyed her lovely company too! After the pizza we took a walk out on the pier and strolled along the beautiful water and views and soaked up some more fantastic sunshine.

When back at the orphanage the fun continued as Galya had another great art project afternoon planned for the children, complete with exciting new supplies and a return visit from last week's artist. The children flocked to the room and quickly grabbed a seat at the table eager to see what was put before them. Today they were given an assortment of white ceramic plates and bowls, black line drawings, and carbon paper to transfer a drawing to their chosen object. Then with delicate paintbrushes and colorful paints they filled in the designs. More than once the concentration was so wonderfully astute you could have heard a pin drop in the room. It is such a pleasure to see their attention and enjoyment and hat's off to Galya and her organization for making such an important and beautiful contribution to these kids lives.

Sunny Sevastopol

At last the sun came out to greet us today and you could feel the collective relief among the people of Sevastopol as they emerged in droves to shop and stretch their legs. Our girls did not get to go out to play in the sun, however, and were obviously a bit rambunctious. They dutifully sat through an Orthodox religious education class, but this was all their powers of containment could handle. They could not sit still thereafter and it was a struggle to keep them focused on any of our carefully planned activities, even the fun ones. We look forward to the time when we will be able to take them out of the orphanage to give them and us more of a chance to explore their beautiful city on a lovely day like today!

Tomorrow we do get to explore a bit with Galya, our interpreter and facilitator, so the day should me much more fun for all of us. They have requested pizza again at the Potato House followed by shopping in the market for farewell gifts for their friends and caretakers. We are touched by the fact the girls want to purchase gifts with their own monies. Apparently each child is given a small allowance by the orphanage and the girls are planning to use these funds tomorrow.

Some of you have asked for more details on our photographs. The views today are all of Artyleriyska Cove, its ferry, monuments and surrounding architecture. The Black Sea is in the background. We pass by these picturesque scenes each day on our way to the orphanage.

Maps102_Day17

The weather is testing our patience by freezing all the slush into long sheets of ice along our path to the orphanage. Each step is a challenge, especially if there is any incline, as I take one step forward and then slide back a few steps wondering if I'll keep my balance. David is much more nimble and so sometimes I leave early and he catches up to me:) I feel so feeble as I walk with caution but today felt better when a cadre of Russian military walked briskly past and I saw at least one young soldier with his boots sliding out from under him quite unceremoniously.

At the orphanage we had another splendid afternoon! When we arrived the girls were entertaining themselves with some handiwork, including making a dress for one of their dolls, complete with designer embellishments worthy of the runway. After a bit we decided to change the subject, and David brought out his world map (with the countries in Russian). The girls have a good grasp of the 8-10 cities we have already marked (with some valentine stickers I brought for art projects, cut into tiny circles)on the map, and so they needed some additional challenges today. We started to teach them not only the cities, but also the concept of state, as in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as U.S.A. It was so fun to see their amazement that they had learned six states so far but that there were 50 total!! And then to explain to them about the 50 stars on the U.S. flag, because there are 50 states. They seemed to love it. We don't have the language to explain the stripes yet...so that will have to wait:)

It was also so touching to see their excitement when we explained that in Chico, CA there were two grandmothers, one grandfather and an aunt and an uncle. We continued in this vein with city after city and their glee increased exponentially as the count of "family" continued to go up!! It seems that they feel they have won the jack-pot to have so much family that they can call their own.

Thanks again for all the loving comments and support. It is the highlight of our day to read them and we treasure them all!

Walk Home at Dusk_Day16

Walking home from the orphanage was so much sweeter this evening as we were able to enjoy our customary 2 hour visit with our girls. They were still a bit under the weather, but glad to see us, and able to play several hands of UNO and GO FISH:)

It continues to snow like it's never going to stop with about 4-5 inches of snow along our path. With the temps moving around freezing we got a mixture of slush, puddles and snow that made us very happy we had water-proof boots. Crossing the roads were the worst as one tried to aim for a more solid looking foothold only to feel it give way and hear the splash of water, hoping it wasn't as deep as it looked.

The evening seemed so much more lovely tonight and I think it was, as we saw parents and children sledding upon the hill near our apartment accompanied by laughter and at least one adorably happy sausage dog running full tilt, at home in the snow.

We don't have any more news on the interpol paperwork for now, so will have to be patient...but it was certainly easier to do when rewarded by the smiles, hugs and laughter of our own two beautiful girls.