Getting US passports

Monday the kids were out of school again for a teacher work day. They enjoyed sleeping in a little bit and watching TV. The big thing to be accomplished today was to apply for US passports. Why is this necessary? Having a US passport is proof you are a US citizen. We do have SS cards and certificates of US citizenship for each of them, but a passport is a widely used form of ID. Their birth certificates are in Russian and there are many times when you have to show documentation of a birthday and a passport is much easier to show. Also we'll have them if we decide to go back to Ukraine, which will not be any time soon. I spent most of Sunday evening photocopying birth certificates, court decrees, Ukrainian passports, and citizenship certificates not knowing what paperwork would be needed. As it turned out all that was needed was the certificate of citizenship and the court decree from last July saying we were parents. Actually we weren't at the post office for very long at all. Afterwards we met Papa and Babushka for lunch at Jason's Deli. The girls love going to places with salad bars, Kristina isn't big on chicken or hamburgers.

After we ate we went to Trantwood Elementary to see Allison's classroom. She teaches 3rd grade. They all loved it. We were there for two hours. They completed a magnetic map of the United States, enjoyed writing on the marker board, looked at books and did some coloring.

Wednesday we realized the girls were noticing boys more. When they got off the bus, Kristina was announcing that Luba had two boyfriends. Luba just looked at me and shook her head and said, "No . . . three." She was serious, and started naming them. I guess they like to sit with her on the bus or in school. They are not all in her class.

I had forgotten to tell John about Luba's boyfriend situation until Thursday at dinner. While we were eating I mentioned Luba had three boyfriends at which point she just looked at me and said, "Not three, . . . five," and she named the other two. I guess we will really have to watch out when she gets older.

Friday Michael enjoyed going to storytime. He feels very important because he has his own book he is adding to duing each session.

Saturday I took the girls to see the Hannah Montana 3D movie. Unfortunately they don't know many of the words to the songs. Kristina really enjoyed it was was trying to sing along when she could. Luba on the other hand seemed bored and after each song asked, "Finished?" The last 20 minutes of the movie she put down her jacket to try to make a bed so she could sleep. Oh well!! After the movie we went to the Rec Center so they could see the pool since they will start swimming lessons next week. They were very excited, but Luba keeps saying she doesn't need lessons or she likes swimming with a jacket.

Mama x3

Grandparent's Day

Monday the kids were out of school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. They enjoyed sleeping in a little, (which means about 30 minutes). They spent most of the morning coloring and drawing while watching a little TV. It was still so cold outside with just a little bit of snow left on the ground. For lunch we went with Allison and Brian to Chik-fil-a so the kids could play in the play area. We were there for over 2 hours. Unfortuately we weren't the only one who thought of the idea, but it wasn't too crowded and the other kids didn't stay nearly as long. Everytime we go to eat they always ask if we are going to a place they can play. Afterwards we went over to my mom's house to visit. When ended up staying for dinner too.


Wednesday I started working on a latch hook rug for Kristina, (thank you Peggy and Dennis). In the past I've done cross-stitches for friends babies, but will not have the time and our kids are so much older. I figured I could do the rugs for them and they could use it knowing I had made it for them. Kristina checks on my progress everyday. I think she thought I would be done in two days.

Friday was Grandparent's Day at school. Kristina was so excited because the whole 3rd grade was singing. Earlier in the week she had said her throat was sore, but she didn't want to miss school. She said she would cry if she couldn't go to school on Friday. Both girls enjoyed having my parents and John's mom come to school and visit their classrooms. Notice how Luba is sitting at a table with 3 boys.












When we left the school we went straight to the Kempsville Library for Storytime for Michael. He was so excited since he felt like he was going to school also. He would have just enjoyed going to the library to look at books. He felt very important since he had his own little book he has to bring back each week.

Mama x3

Girls make dinner

This past week was a slow week, which was good. Many days were spent running errands. I feel as if I'm always buying food, I go to Wal-mart about twice a week usually because I've forgotten something. I not very good a making lists for food.

Tuesday night the girls decided they wanted to make dinner. It ended up just being sandwiches, but they did almost everything. They even got out the milk and poured it for everyone. They really do like helping around the house. The younger two always want to bring over a stool to 'help'. They even will stand at the sink cleaning dishes before they are put into the dishwasher.

Wednesday Kristina came home with a green ribbon. She and one other boy in her class have run a total of twenty miles each in PE. She is now in the 'Running Club' and is very excited.






Friday my mom had laproscopic surgery so Michael got the stay home with his other Babushka and enjoyed watching TV and coloring.

Saturday we woke up to snow. I was so glad I had managed to get all 3 children boots. Michael and Luba wanted to go outside even though the grass was barely covered. Kristina though told them it wasn't worth it because there was so little snow and they were used to much more snow. They were all hoping it would snow more, but I don't think it will. We were able to sit and enjoy watching "Toy Story" which is a very cute movie.

Mama x3

Riding bikes, Post placement interview

This past week brought warmer weather so after school the kids wanted to go outside to ride bikes. Luba, again wanted to try a two wheeler. She had tried for a few days last month, but was scared and very unsure of herself. This time I took the training wheels off the 12 inch bike. She did so much better because she wasn't afraid of falling so far. She just needed a little help starting off. Every time she tried to turn she would turn to sharp and almost fall over. She really was doing much better and by summer she should be able to do it all by herself. Michael also is able to ride a 12 inch bike with training wheels, he just has to be careful turning. He tends to be looking everywhere but in the direction of where he is going. He just needs more time. Kristina has also started riding a 24 inch bike. She is just a little short and has to start off with one foot on the curb. She has also mastered the hand brakes.

Thursday we had our six month post placement interview. It lasted about 3 hours. Everything went very well. All of the kids have grown 2 inches which means all of their pants are a little short, but the next size up is too big in the waist. Kristina has gained 7 pounds the other two around 4-5 pounds.

The last thing we have to do is get US Passports. A passport would be the ultimate proof they are US citizens. I just have to get the paperwork together and take the children to the Post Office to apply.

Mama x3

The New Year!!

This is our 6 month anniversary of being parents. The first week of the New Year. Boy, (and girl, girl), how things have changed for us! Last year at this time we excited because Ukraine had just reopened and we knew we would finally be going. We had no idea how much our lives would change. They always saying having a baby changes everything. Well, we didn't have a baby, but adding three children REALLY changes things. I can't imagine what it would be like without them. Sometimes we think back to when we would eat dinner on the couch and watch TV all evening or just play on the computer for hours, but we don't miss it. (We led such exciting lives!) We have so much to be thankful for from the past year and it will only increase this year.

New Year's Day the kids enjoyed coloring and playing games. They know they go back to school tomorrow, but they do like playing around the house. My parents and Allison and Brian came over for dinner, pork roast and sauerkraut, a good northern dish. We also had some black-eyed peas at John's insistance. Unfortuately UVA lost their bowl game, but at least Virginia Tech lost their's a few days later.

Wednesday, Michael and I started undecorating the house from Christmas. We were able to put away all the stuffed animals, stockings, and Precious Moments. Most of the time he is such a good help. He always says, "Mom, I boodoo (want to, in Russian) help."

Thursday evening I got to go out to eat at PF Chang's with a friend. This was the first time I had been out to eat without the rest of the family since June. It was very relaxing to only have to worry about myself and to be able to carry on a conversation. John had to put all the kids to bed.

Mama x3

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve we went to the mall for the first time, all five of us. We met Allison and Brian at the food court for a late lunch. All the kids enjoyed going to the food court to eat. They still love to just sit and stare at the many different types of people they see. Of course, like normal children they notice everything and have to ask questions about why people do what they do, although since they don't know the words they use exaggerated hand gestures which sometimes can be more embarassing. A question I hear a lot is, "Why her wearing that?" Which is usually within ear shot of the person. I just keep walking trying not to laugh.

We went to multiple stores in the mall because I was looking for a new purse, my current I bought the day of John and my first date 6/3/00. I figured it was about time. Of course all the ones the girls wanted me to get wouldn't even fit my wallet or were way to flashy. The last store we went into was Sears. We only had 20 minutes until the mall was closing, (it closed at 6PM). When it was announced overhead that the store was closing in 15 minutes Kristina started to get worried. She kept saying, "Come on, mom. We have to go." Then Michael and Luba were wondering where all the people were. After they annouced only 10 more minutes John said he was going to go look at mattresses because we were obviously going to spend the night in the mall. The kids started to panic saying, "We have to go, we have to go!" Of course I didn't find what I wanted, (John said they stopped making the kind I want years ago). As we were walking toward the mall Kristina realized they were starting to roll down the door and all the kids started running toward the door. They really thought we were going to be stuck in Sears for the night! They were so glad whent we got to the truck.

On the way home we stopped by a house which had Christmas lights turning on and off to music. They loved watching it. Michael kept saying, "Cock, they do dat?"

When we got home the kids were all tired and had a very small dinner before going to bed. We thought about letting Kristina stay up to watch the ball drop, but we didn't want her to be exhausted in the morning. So we got to have a nice quiet night. We watched some football and watched the ball drop before going to bed.

UVA Basketball Game 12/30/07

We decided the children needed the experience of a UVA basketball game. Even I have never been to a basketball game and it has been years since John has been to one. Everyone was very excited to be going to see Virginia again. They wanted to know if we were going to be able to eat sandwiches outside again. We tried to explain it would be cold and we would eat inside before the game. They were just happy to know they would be eating out.

It is amazing they seem to be able to look a building a know it is a restaurant, even Michael would rather go into Applebee's and eat instead to eating at Subway. And really we rarely eat out and they sure weren't eating out in the orphanage.

We first ate hotdogs and pizza before the game started. They also had popcorn just before we went to sit down. The game was good, although Luba and Michael were more interested in cards they had been given instead of watching the game. Kristina was more into the game and cheered when UVA made a basket. She was very excited when they won the game.

On the way home we stopped at Red Robin to eat dinner. Luba is definately the slowest eater of the three. She seems to want to savor every bite, but she is so very easily distracted. Everyone was done eating and when she realized John was paying the bill she said, "What about dessert?" I was shocked, I didn't even know she knew that word. We have never gotten dessert eating out, although they do have ice cream 3-4 nights a week. I think we are keeping Edy's in business. Kristina just said, "Luba, you not finished, it time to go!" So Luba stuffed as many 'french spies' into her mouth that she could and we left.

Cindy :-)

Family Pictures

Today all the kids spent most of their time playing with different toys and watching new DVD's. They did take the time to set up all their toys so pictures could be taken. For dinner we went back over to my parents house for leftover turkey sandwiches followed by cherry pie! After we ate we were able to all sit down and take some family photos.

Christmas Day!

We finally got to bed this morning at about 1:30 AM. Boy were we tired and we knew we probably wouldn't be able to sleep in. We felt like we were almost more excited than the children.

At about 7:40 this morning I woke up because I could hear Michael talking. He was calling Luba, trying to wake her up saying there were presents downstairs. Then he walked into our room around to John's side of the bed and was starting to get into bed with us. I asked him if Santa came and he said, "Yes!" I asked what he brought and Michael said, "Presents!" I asked him what he was going to do and he said he was going to sleep and he crawled in be next to John. I asked, "Don't you want to open the presents?" He said, "Oh, can I wake up Kristina and Luba?" Then he went racing out of the room to wake them up. Everyone was so excited! They couldn't believe Santa had actually come. They just kept saying WOW! over and over again. First they got their stockings down and were very excited about all the candy. Then they started opening presents. We had to try to slow them down so they could see what everyone was getting. They items they liked

the most were the 'cell phones' and the girls liked the High School Musical Dolls. Michael's favorite item was a 'Cars' racetrack. They all had a short period of time to play with their toys and them we went over to my parents house at about 11:30.


Before we opened presents we sat down and had a big breakfast with eggs, hash browns, saugage, bacon, coffee cake, and juice. None of the children even tried to open any presents. I guess they were just very hungry. When we finally did start opening presents everyone had to go one at time. They children found it so hard to wait. They were all so anxious to open gifts by this time. I don't think they could believe all the presents they were getting. After we finished opening the presents we took a long walk around the neighborhood.

We didn't get home until after 9PM. This was such a wonderful Christmas. God has truely blessed us.

Christmas Eve

The longest day of the year is finally here! Literally I felt I was working in the kitchen and time was not going buy. My whole family was coming over for dinner so we were cooking the turkey. I even had to go to three stores to make last minute purchases, (actually I love shopping on Christmas Eve), and I was gone less than 1 1/2 hours.

All day the kids wanted to know when everyone was coming over to eat because they knew after they ate it would soon be time for bed and Santa Claus was coming. (Luba says Santa Clock.) They enjoyed coloring and watching TV and not having to go to school.

Everyone arrived at about 4 PM. The kids were all excited to be eating out in the sunroom since there wasn't enought room for them in the kitchen, (we had 11 people total). They really enjoy the mashed potatoes. Even though they like chicken, they still aren't too sure about turkey. They decided they liked ice cream over pie. After we are we sat around and talked for a while. We also looked on the computer to see the Santa tracker so the kids could know where Santa was. They were excited to know he had been to Ukraine because he didn't always go there.

Before they went to bed they set out milk and cookies for Santa. Luba wanted to make sure there was also an apple for Santa's reindeer. They kids were all told they couldn't go downstairs until Mama and Papa were up and we weren't getting up until 7:30. We were surprised they had no trouble going to sleep. We don't think they understand what Christmas will be like.

With a huge smile in my heart,

Cindy

Week before Christmas

This was the last week before Christmas. John and I can't wait! Michael and I have gone shopping almost everyday. He is very good about closing his eyes when I tell him to. I have to put my jacket in the cart and put any items I'm buying under the jacket. A few times I caught him trying to lean way over, almost knocking over the cart to try to see what was under the jacket. If I realized he saw something it was put back on the shelf. So any time he saw me looking at anything that could possibly be for him he would say, "Close eyes?" hoping the item might be put in the basket. He is constantly saying he needs more presents. All the children seem a bit worried though, since there are no presents with their names on them under the tree.

Monday, my sister Allison, had surgery and we went in to see her on Tuesday before she went home. I think Michael was a little worried he was having surgery again. He keeps saying, "Mama, no ow in the hospital, but at home OW!" Being in the hospital made me realize I do miss working a little. I just loved nursing!

Tuesday evening I went into school to have a meeting with the ESL (English as a second Language) teacher. Both Kristina and Luba are doing very well. In fact they have determined Luba would do better saying in the classroom and learning instead of being pulled out of the class for short periods of time and few times a week. Kristina still writes all the time in Russian in a notebook. We are encouraging it since it would be great if she could maintain both Russian and English. Kristina is able to read smaller books in English.

Thursday I went to the funeral of a former Sunday School teacher. It was sad knowing she was gone, but joyous knowing she was now in heaven. That evening we were able to go to dinner with friends, who were down for the funeral. We hadn't seen them in a few years. They also have a son named Michael who just turned 3. Our Michael was so excited to have someone near his age.

Saturday Kristina had a birthday party to go to. This was the first time she would be going to a party. She seemed excited, but a little nervous. We all drove her, since we were going on to Allison's house. Luba and Michael couldn't understand why they couldn't go too. We arrived back at the party to pick her up five minutes after 4PM, (party ended at 4), and she was about to use the mother's cell phone to call to see where we were, even though no one else had been picked up. They all have such a fear that they will be left somewhere and no one will be coming back to pick them up since this happened to them in the past.

Thanks for your prayers,

JCKLM

Getting ready for Christmas

Christmas is getting closer and everyone is so excited. Luba made a ginger bread house at school. She keeps talking about Santa Claus coming and what she wants for Christmas, though she tends to want the same things Kristina wants. I have done a lot of shopping at different stores. Michael knows he has to close his eyes when I tell him to, then I put any items under my coat in the cart. Twice I caught him pretending to sleep, but he was really trying to peek around to see what was in the cart. When I realized what he had seen I pulled the item out of the cart and put it back on the shelf. He got so upset, but I told him he couldn't look. He has even seen me return items for Kristina and Luba which he saw in the back of the truck. So he knows he can't try to see what is being bought or he may not get the items. We have a count down to Santa sitting on the counter and everyday Kristina looks to see how many days are left till Christmas. Luba is always looking on the calender hanging on the wall to see where Christmas is. They have no idea what to expect at Christmas which is so exciting.

JCKLM

Some time to ourselves

Friday was John's work party at Sterling's. My parents came over to watch the kids. They kids were even excited to have Babuska and D'aduska come over for the evening. We had the kids take baths before we left so they were all ready to go to bed. When we were driving away, we felt like 'Woo Hoo.' This was the first time we had been out, by ourselves, since the begining of June, in Kyiv. We did miss the kids, but it was nice to be able to eat a meal and just relax, without having to make sure everyone was eating.

Saturday I was able to use a gift certificate which I had gotten last Christmas for a massage and pedicure. John took the kids shopping while I was relaxing. This was the first time I was able to go anywhere by myself. When I told the lady giving me the massage that we had adopted she wanted to know all about the children. Just telling her stories about our time in Ukraine was bringing tears to my eyes. We were talking about how exciting Christmas was going to be and that was bringing tears to my eyes too.

Even though we were able to spend time by ourselves we did realize how much richer our lives are with Kristina, Luba, and Michael.

Sunday I noticed another first. While we were standing up singing in church, Kristina was actually sounding out the words on the screen and singing! I don't think she fully understands what the words are, but she is able to sound out bigger words.

Thanks for your prayers,
John, Cindy, Kristina, Luba, and Michael

Girls eat next door

Today when the girls got off the bus they wanted to go next door and play with Mitzi. They had never gone over to someone elses house, kids had always come here to play. I told them they had to do their homework first. They were so excited to go to someone elses house. I told them they had to be good and they had to stay inside. Michael was a little upset he couldn't go, but it would be too much to send all three kids over.

After I made dinner, I called next door, but the girls wanted to stay and eat dinner there. Since this was a first I thought it would be ok. Well, dinner was just John, Michael, and me. It seemed so quiet. I can't imagine if we had only come home with one child. It was almost sad to just have one child sitting at the table.

Sunday School party and orphan play

Sunday was had our annual Sunday School Christmas party. All the kids enjoyed eating pizza at church although they are so used to Tombstone every Friday night, that they don't seem to like other pizza's as well. They were also able to make their own Christmas ornaments, which they were so excited to hang up on the tree. They are all very creative and love to do crafts and draw.















Sunday evening we went to the Virgina Beach Community Chapel to watch the orphans do the play 'They Shoemaker.' Many of the songs were in Russian and it brought tears to my eyes to watch the girls sing along. When Luba first realized the songs were in Russian she gasped and broke out a big smile. Afterwards Kristina was able to sit down with her friends and talk for about an hour. She was excited because they were people she knew and she hadn't been able to talk in Russian in a long time. The other girls all wanted to know about her home and school and how America is. I think it was a little hard on Kristina because she realized they had to go back to Ukraine and she had a family. She did write long letters to all her friends back at the orphanage.


Thanks for your prayers,

John, Cindy, Kristina, Luba, and Michael