Fathers' Day/Quinn's Birthday

I woke up Sunday morning really looking forward to church. We got to the orphanage to get Ruslan changed into the clothes we brought, and he was nowhere to be found. All the children were helping us look for him. After about ten minutes, he appeared through the side entry of the grounds. He had gone to the store. Michael had given him some change yesterday, and I guess he wanted to buy some candy. Several of the children and a teacher were all trying to speak to him at once as if to say, "Where have you been? Your parents have been waiting for you?" I think he was embarrassed. Michael quickly helped him get changed. (He wanted to also give him a bath and scrub him, but that will have to wait.) We drove with Constantine and Lena to Dniproprotrosk, the nearest LDS church, about 30 minutes away. The Bensons went in a separate car with George, Nadia's husband. This picture is the door going into church. Doesn't Ruslan look spiffy?
When we walked in, there were eight cute, white-shirted elders and two sister missionaries, the majority from good old Utah. I wanted to hug them all. We felt so welcome, and I think they were so glad to have us there. They are such good young people and are doing such a good work. It was so nice to take the sacrament. Ruslan sat nice and reverently during Sacrament Meeting, but the second it was over, he was out of there! He was waiting for us in the hall while we visited with the elders. I'm sure it's difficult for these kids. We've heard from others that it takes a long time for them to start to like church. Any comments anyone?

After Sacrament Meeting we ate there in the city before heading back to Dniprodzerzhink. We dropped Ruslan off at the orphanage and told him we'd come back later. (We had our Sunday clothes on.) Everything was fine. When we came back later, he had transformed into someone we didn't know. Pout, pout, pout. He was mad about something, and we still don't know why. He wouldn't come to us, wouldn't talk to us. I know many of you adoptive parents out there have experienced this over and over, so I know this was to be expected. I was very discouraged, and then on top of that, I called home to wish Quinn a happy birthday and started crying as soon as I heard his voice, and then Quinn started crying. (Oh, do I miss my kids.) I looked up, and there were twenty children and adults staring at me watching me cry. Jen and Alex were trying to comfort me, and I felt really stupid that I couldn't control my emotions better. Anyway, it wasn't the greatest of days, and I hope today is better. Quinn, I hope you had a very happy birthday. We're going to do it all over again as soon as we get home. Dad, I tried to call you. I love you. Thanks for being a great dad.

Well, that's it for now. Lena is on her way to pick us up for the notary.

Day 3 and 4 at the Orphanage

Yesterday we ate lunch in the orphanage cafeteria. Before the children could come in and eat, an assigned group of children had to set the tables and put the food on the plates. Our own children were not allowed to sit at our table; they had to sit with the children. The food was good: soup, potatoes, beets, bread.

Here is a group of orphans. It amazes me how good these kids are to each other. It really brings tears to your eyes. If one has a bag of goodies or candy they received, they have no problem with sharing with the others. Some of the boys have on bandanas they made with the volunteers. Ruslan is in the yellow. He's standing next to Vlados. Vlados doesn't know anything about his dad; his mother lives in Moscow.

This is out of order, but here is our night train ride. Michael and I have to do this again Monday morning and back again (hopefully) Monday night.

This is us with the director, Nadia, a very gracious lady.

Today we got to take Ruslan out of the orphanage. Lena did some lengthy negotiating with the teacher, and we got permission to keep him until 5:00 p.m. We walked with the Bensons to get pizza. This kid can eat, I tell you. Three large slices of pizza, some soda, and ice cream. I don't know where he put it. Food is cheap here. A pizza, two salads, and three drinks cost $8. Then we walked to a park, and Ruslan led the way. He knows this city pretty well. We practiced naming the colors and counting money. We did some math. Ruslan said, "Math, no problem." As we walked back to the orphanage, he walked along the top of every wall he could. He loves to climb. He later climbed a tree so high, I was really nervous. We had to do a little parenting today. He threw his wrappers on the ground, and we made him go back and get them and throw them away. We explained to him that in America, we try really hard to keep our neighborhoods and cities clean and that he should start practicing now. He understood and was obedient. On the way home, he wanted a doughnut. We said no. We haven't had any pouting yet.

Day 2 at the Orphanage

Today we were armed with a day's worth of entertainment for the kids. I had a grocery sack full to the brim with flash cards, easy reader books, Uno, Barrel of Monkeys, movies, math games, etc. I also stuffed my purse with candy we brought with us from Costco. Wow, it was a success. And may I say that Ruslan is one smart cookie. He knew his English alphabet, and we started working on the sounds the letters make. He picks up fast. We also worked on the English names for colors. I was relieved to discover he has a really good attention span. Here is his reward, a Russian animated movie we brought with us.

The next two pictures were taken in the main administration building. The walls are colorfully painted with enchanting scenes.

The Loboses, the Bensons, and the Lawrence families got to take their kids and go to a restaurant for lunch. We had to have special permission from the director. Nadia, the director, has her heart in the right place. I think she would like to see every one of the kids find homes.

The Barrel of Monkeys was a hit. Here are Ruslan, Dema, and Tawnya playing. Notice the Tootsie Roll Ruslan has. We had to get stern with him. He was nonstop begging for more candy, but once we got a little stern, he stopped. Tawnya spent a couple hours with us. What a sweet girl.

Ruslan and Sasha. We were allowed to play ping pong. They had to unlock the door for us.

More children at the orphanage.

And more.

And another. So many of them come up and touch you and tell you their names. This little girl came up and wrapped her arms around Michael's legs and told him her name.

There were games going on in this room. Twenty volunteers from The States are here for a few weeks doing games, crafts, etc. with the children. The Young Man in the black and white is a volunteer from Arizona.

This is where Ruslan sleeps with lots and lots of other boys.

I couldn't help but take a picture of Ruslan's shoes today. He was embarrassed, but I wanted my own children to appreciate their shoes. The whole side of his shoe has ripped apart. I don't know how he kept them on as he walked.

This is Zhenia. We considered adopting this little guy, but it just didn't feel right at this time. He's looking for a home.

It is heart-breaking to see these children. They are dirty and ragged for the most part. I started giving candy away out of my purse, and I got swarmed until it was all gone. I wish I could take them all and find homes for them.

Before we left today, we sat down with our fantastic interpreter, Elena, and asked Ruslan if he wanted to be part of our family. We told him that being part of a family was a great thing, but it comes with lots of responsibility--family chores, responsibility, hard work, being kind, helping each other, doing homework. He said "dah" to everything. Of course, he already knew what was going on. Why else would we be learning the alphabet? But now it is official, and we are moving forward.

A word of explanation: Since we were not here to see Ruslan but Zhenia this time, we have to travel back to Kiev for another SDA appointment and start with the paperwork for Ruslan. We are hoping that will happen Monday. It looks like another train ride.

Here are a few pictures from Kiev. Some places were really beautiful and modern, and other places were incredibly run down.

Someone had planted this little garden right outside the door of our apartment in Kiev. It was a little spot of beauty along the street. This is Drew, Michael, and Jen. This was right before our SDA appointments. We were outside waiting for Irina to pick us up. Notice Drew and Jen are dressed up. Michael kindly wore jeans to make me feel better. All I had were jeans since my luggage was floating around somewhere.

This was right by the garden. I wonder why they put the trash by the bin instead of inside the bin?

Lots of graffiti everywhere.

This little playground was near our apartment in Kiev.

A Night on the Train; a Day at the Orphanage

It's 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, June 17. It has been an eventful 24 hours. Yesterday we took the night train from Kiev to Dneprodzerzhinsk, which we call Dnepro for short. The train left at 11:30 p.m. and arrived at 6:10 a.m. It was kinda fun. We stayed in the same cabin as the Bensons. We each had our own little bunk, and it was fun sleeping to the swaying and clackety-clack-clack of the train. We all awoke about thirty minutes before we needed to disembark and watched the beautiful landscape go by. It was raining, and there were miles and miles of beautiful little vegetable and flower gardens growing in rich, black, fertile soil. People, holding umbrellas, were walking along paths from their homes, going who knows where? Possibly the train station? It was a picturesque scene.

After arriving at the train station, Oleg carted our luggage to our apartment, and we took a taxi. Then we went to the inspector's office and then to the orphanage. Michael and I were both so nervous. We knew we would meet a boy or boys today that might become a part of our family.

We followed the Bensons into a room, where Nastia and Masha were waiting for them. Jen started crying, and I started snapping pictures. As I was snapping away, Lena came and whispered in my ear, "Your boy is sitting at the side of the room."

What? I thought we were going to be more subtle than that. I nervously glanced over, and there was this little boy sitting there watching me taking pictures.

He was so cute sitting there looking nervous. We went over to talk to him. He was so tiny that his feet didn't touch the floor as he was sitting in this chair. This little boy is Ruslan. He has been an orphan since 2007. His mother lost parental rights and has since died. We immediately fell in love with him. His little clothes were so dirty, and his fingernails looked like he hadn't had a bath for so long, but his spirit is so sweet. The workers told us he has been longing for a family for a long time. He didn't let us out of his sight for the next two or three hours. We spent time talking to him and getting to know him and playing with him.

Here is a photo of the boys' bath tub in the orphanage. Is there any wonder why this little guy is so dirty?

We'll take lots more pictures tomorrow. We're going to be at the orphanage all day tomorrow , and we'll when we get back to the apartment.

Bittersweet Day at Lagoon

Last Monday, the 8th of June, all four of us kids took a trip to Lagoon for one last hoo-ha before we would be separated. It was very spur of the moment but we knew we just HAD to do something great since Monday was the last day all four of us could be together for a few years.





Waiting in line for the Samurai, the very first ride of the day.

Strapping up for The Rocket Re-entry! Definitely one of our favorites.

I took a risk and had my camera out on the Rocket so I could catch a clip of us in extreme falling action. :)

The day was absolutely beautiful. The sun was out but wasn't cooking us and there was a light breeze. Funny thing was that we checked the weather forecast the day before and it was predicted to be rainy with lightning and thunderstorms. Quite the contrary, instead it started to rain the moment we began to drive home. Heavenly Father made sure our day of togetherness went uninterrupted.



A great deal of laughter and goofiness is always to be expected when the four of us hooligans are together.

All in all our little trip was a success. We had a simply wonderful time! Although it was bittersweet the time we had together was very cherished.

This is Marissa, signing off. Haha!

The Saga Continues

Well, it's 5:45 p.m. Monday. We're back in the apartment. Still no sign of my suitcase, but today I learned that there's a lot worse things than lost luggage and having only one set of clothes.

Our appointment was 9:30 a.m. The first thing the woman at the SDA asked was, "You want to adopt two children, Bogdan and Yan?"

Oh, boy, are they behind. They had to go hunt down our latest letter to them. Then they couldn't find the files on the two new boys we want to look at. After a while, they found the files but said it appeared that Ruslan's paperwork had not been registered and that he may not be available for adoption. We were a little blown away by this bit of news because we have been most interested in and feeling positive about Ruslan. They told us to come back after lunch so they could investigate the situation.

So we left and waited and waited for Irina to call us while we mulled over the possibilities. We walked for hours with Jen and Drew and did more than enough sightseeing, ate lunch, and waited some more. Finally Irina called and told us to come back to the SDA. Yeah! She met us outside the building and said, "We are very sorry, but Ruslan's paperwork did not ever get sent from the region to the SDA. He will not be available for international adoption for one year."

I can't begin to describe the emotions that welled up inside of me. I hope Irina and Sergei aren't afraid of me now, but I started to get slightly hysterical. I said, "This is the second time we've been to Ukraine. We picked this little boy out of a group of others. We were told he was officially available June 8. We've paid over $20,000 to get to this point. How could someone have made this mistake?"

I know there was a lot more said, but I'm giving the Reader's Digest version.

Irina said, "Just a moment." She walked away from us and got on her cell phone. Then things started to happen that I will probably never fully understand, but eventually a woman came out of the SDA with a file, handed it to Irina, Irina went back into the SDA, then came out again and said, "They have found the paperwork. Ruslan will be available June 22."

What? I don't get it, but I'm not asking too many questions. Somehow the papers were found, and I don't care where they found them or whether they will be manufacturing them, just that for now everything is still okay.

So tomorrow we're headed for Dnipro with Jen and Drew on the night train to meet Zhenia and (unofficially) Ruslan.

And with that, I will end on the happy note that my luggage just arrived.