A year ago today...

December 17th, 2007 at 8:30pm - we walked through the Customs doors at Detroit Metro Airport as a family of 3. It was one of the proudest and happiest moments of my life. The little girl we have grown to know and love was finally being introduced our life.... her new life. We came through those doors expecting to see only our parents and by surprise we were greeted by many many family and friends. It was so overwhelming and all I could do was cry. I was completely exhausted, we hadn't slept a wink in about 20 hours, we had just listened to our new darling angel cry and throw fits for the last 14 hours, we were all sick, and the emotions were beyond explanation.

Being home and in our house we so great. My bed NEVER felt so comfortable, my house never looked so clean (thanks to my momma, and Rickie), the house was decorated for Christmas, and the nursery was complete....everything was perfect!! It wasn't all sugar plums and candy canes though. The next 2-3 weeks were some of the hardest times this year. It was a huge adjustment for everyone. On top of that, we were all sick and being the week of Christmas, it was a whirlwind of chaos with family and friends visiting. She managed pretty good considering but there were many many sleepless nights, and many days of tears - for all of us.

None-the-less, I would never change a thing. This adoption was the best thing I have ever done and regardless of how rocky the road was to get here, it was worth every bit of pain. It's not much to ask, considering the little girl I was given in return.

Well this was suppose to be my last post, however, I am currently working on the "grand finale" and it is not complete yet. So I have decided to post a few more times throughout Christmas, and sometime before the New Year I will bring it to an end! I have decided to create a new blog that I will keep private for family and friends to view. I of course want to keep in touch and I know everyone enjoys reading the follow ups and see the new pictures so hopefully this will still enable you to do so without compromising my family's privacy.

Here are a few pictures from out Family Day!!!

Our skinny xmas tree!

Tea time with Teddy

Bundled up, helping daddy decorate the house with lights.

One of the few times she has looked precious this week.

This look more like what I have seen this week!!

The finals days

Not only have things been unbelievably busy in this house hold, our darling daughter has decided to make a complete fool out of me the last week and a half. Remember my last post when I was bragging about my perfect little obedient angel?? Well she is now a thing of the past! One day last week she woke up from her nap on the wrong side of the bed and has not been right since. NO is practically every other word out of her mouth, she is a total sass!, she is back to the screaming fits and jumping up and down when she doesn't get her way the second she wants it, it is a fight to get her to eat anything, and bed time has become a 30 minute fiasco! Drama Queen about sums it up! and it is driving me bonkers. Why now? why right at the Holidays when we have things to do and people to see?? though it doesn't seem like it, I am managing to turn things around slowly but surely. We had a really good day yesterday and today, things were great too...until nap. Which she refused to take even though she was exhausted.
I was able to get her down and asleep by 8:30 tonight, so now I pray! Jason wasn't here to tuck her in and that is something she has trouble cooping with, so it didn't go so smoothly. But I called him and had him say goodnight on the speaker phone and it made her feel a little better. She is definitely a daddy's girl at times :)
One positive note is that we are making great progress with potty training. This will be her second week and she has done really well. She still won't go on her own, we have to tell her to go, but she will actually hold it now. Whereas before she would just free flow regardless of where she was and what she was doing! If we don't catch the pee pee wiggle though, she will end up having an accident. I am happy and as long as we are moving forward I am satisfied.
She is extremely excited about Christmas. She understands everything that is going on. She is well aware of who Santa is and what his job is...to bring "BIG toys" as she would say. When we are out and about she greets everyone and says "ho ho ho mirrory ismas" and her new tune of choice is Jingle Bells. We are going to have a lot of fun this year and I am so excited about seeing her face Christmas morning!
Well looking back to last year at this time, we were in Kiev. We left Mykolayiv with Olena on the night of December 12. I still remember that night like it was yesterday and I still get that feeling of sadness in the pit of my stomach when I think about it. Believe it or not, I felt so bad leaving there and taking her with me. I was so happy to finally leave with her in my arms, but it just didn't seem fair. My heart stills aches just thinking about the rest of them who are still there. I will sometimes try to imagine what some of the others might be like if there were in Olena's shoes, and sadly I have looked at it from the other side too. What would Olena be like if she was still there?? The baby house was awesome and they did the best with what they had and these girls were well taken care of. Yet, it just isn't enough. Looking at the changes that she has made over this past year is remarkable. Today I looked at her while she was laughing...it is hard to explain, but when she laughs, you can't help but to be in awe because her laughter is filled with so much pure joy. You just know that this little girl, at this exact moment couldn't be any happier and that makes me feel so good.
Anyhow, we left for Kiev on the night of December 12 around 9:30 at night. We took pictures, said our goodbyes and tucked each one in for the night, kissing them on the forehead. We decided to drive by car which was a great idea. It took us about 6 hours. We were in a very comfortable car, and Olena did sleep a majority of the way. The "rest stops" were interesting enough and made the whole trip worth it. Along the highway people set up "market booths" and they would sell things like coffee, pop, water, snacks, warm food sometimes, and then back behind the booth they would have a bucket for those who had to go to the bathroom! I don't know way it amused me so much but I thought that was so cool. Well, except the bathrooms. I did opt for another option, but stopping at a hotel and using there "hole in the ground". It was actually a very very nice bathroom. It was all teal ceramic with gold fixings, and yes it was a "hole" but not in the ground. It was a real ceramic hole toilet, complete with grips for where you put your feet so you don't slip and it flush and rinsed with water. I didn't take my camera and I was bummed, but I wasn't about to ask the guys if I could go back in to take pictures, they would have thought I was crazy!!
We got to Kiev about 3 am in the morning. We stayed in a huge apartment right down town. The first night was pretty rough. Jason and I did not sleep much at all during the drive, and once we were in the apartment Olena was pretty nervous and had a lot of trouble sleeping. We managed to get a few hours then it was off to finalize the paper work at the embassy and to get her medical physical done. The day went pretty smooth. We got to see Tonya and Lyra for a few minutes, they were leaving later that day to head home.
It took us 2 days to get everything done, and we were scheduled to fly out 3 days later on the 17th. We said our good byes to Gene, and cried at the idea of leaving our new friend. And we finished off our time just getting to know each other as a family. We walked around the city, went shopping at the market for gifts for the family, went out to eat, and we even met up with Pam, Brian, and Angelina and had a celebration dinner. We found this very nice Italian restaurant right near the SDA, we had very very SLOW service, but the food was fabulous. We had ordered the girls both a bowl of mashed potatoes and they were the last to get their food, which came over 45 minutes after we ordered it. They were noisy, and screamed quite a bit, fluffing the nerves of a few guests, but all in all it was a good moment and now a great memory. Oh and Jason and I finally got that steak we were dying for. There was a Potato House across the street from our apartment and we both got a Tbone steak and it was the best steak I ever had! If you are in Kiev this restaurant is awesome! and not just for the steak. We ate there 3 times and everything we had was excellent.
Sitting here remembering everything brings a smile to my face. Those last 5 days - or should I say those FIRST 5 days as a family, together, was great. Waking up to that smiling face, bathing her myself, brushing her hair, and tucking her in at night. We experienced alot of our "first moments" those 5 days and they are some of the most previous memories of Ukriane that I have.

Busted!!!!

back when my baby would polish off a meal!

"first nap" with mommy and daddy

"woowho" life outside the desky dom is sweet!

Daddy and Olena checking things out!

Court was over, and we had about 2 weeks left. We didn't really have much to do but just hang out so we decided to do some site seeing. We couldn't take Olena out of the orphange, so we just filled our days with visiting her, going to the zoo, shopping, and just enjoying our last days. We had a good time - here are few pictures from 12/2 and 12/3/2006.

Jason and I showed up to visit Olena and Brian and Pam were not there yet, we thought Angelina was so cute with her milk mustash and little spike we took a picture for them to see we so that they wouldn't miss it.

Jason and Gene had just gotten there haircut...how handsome!

My chucky monkey!

This was taken on 12/1 but theses chunky little cheeks just melts my heart! They are all so darn cute.

Entertainment anyone? How about going to the Disco/strip club/bowling alley! Dang why didn't we know about this when we all went bowling??

What do you think?? she said it was "too itchy"

Her buddy, Mugsy!

My little book worm. She constantly has her nose in a book.

so much fun taking ornaments off of mommy's tree.

Gotcha Day....a fews days late!

Sorry for the tardiness of my post. As many of you know, we just celebrated the 1 year anniversary since become the legal parents of Olena. A day we call "Adoption Day". Granted it is a day that we will NEVER forget, it is not the day we felt like we were her parents. Perhaps the legal end of it didn't really matter much to me. I knew I was her momma from the second I laid eyes on her. I just look at court like another hoop to jump in the legal process monotony.

My true moment of happiness and total relief was December 17 - the day I walked through those immigration doors at the Detroit airport. That is the day that I knew we were going to be ok. We were safe, and we were home! We were finally going to start living like a family.


Anyhow, we did not celebrate in any way. Just a normal ole' day with the exception that daddy stayed home from work and spent the day with Olena. We have been doing to winter cleaning around the house, which has been great. I have been able to get my pack rat of a husband to actually get rid of some things, and I must say it is looking good. We have a lot of storage space in our basement and we seem to have taken advantage of that and have managed to collect way too much junk. I was also able to reorganize many of the boxes I had. The Christmas stuff was all a mess. I guess last year in January I was pretty tired, because I just crammed everything into a bunch of boxes and bags. It was pretty scary, but I went through it all and was able to condense everything into 2 big totes. (When I pulled it out, there were the 2 big totes, 2 regular size totes, and 4 cardboard boxes and a garbage bag full of garland.) and I did not get rid of anything!! I feel very accomplished.

To bring you up to date with Olena, she is doing remarkable!! You all know I praise Tonya for all of her wise wisdom and because of that we have been enjoying a marvelous, happy toddler around here lately. No fits, the whining has improved greatly, she comes on the first call, she goes to bed without issue, she says please and thank you regularly, "may I" is standard practice, and she is just all around silly and happy! I couldn't be happier myself. Don't get me wrong, I still have to be on the ball every day. I am constantly reminding her to pick up her toys, be nice to the dogs and cats, don't swing from mommy's ceiling fan...lol! no, but honestly, every day we are still teaching her, but she listens and acts without complaint (98% of the time), and that is what I love! She is content with doing as I say and she takes pride in herself and the stuff that she does. Jason and I went through our home videos today and get ready for the holidays and I watched one tape with Olena throwing one of her infamous fits. I laughed because I had forgotten about those, believe it or not. She would throw herself on the floor, scream her head off, and scoot herself across the floor with her feet - just plain ridiculous! I cannot believe how bad she was. I laugh now, because I know she would NEVER consider doing that again! Her behavior and emotional state of mind is definitely something that has made a huge improvement since bringing her home.

Jason and I have been very blessed this past year and we are going into the Holiday season with a new love and warmth in our hearts. We have a lot to be thankful for, and I hope you all do as well.

Enjoy some new picture from this week.

Olena and her peeps! We all had to decorate the xmas tree!

look at her eyes in this pic. I am still amazed to this day just how big and beautiful they are!

My baby, 1 year ago.

I don't have much time to post, but I went through my albums and these pictures were taken last year on the 25th and 26th of November. 1 year ago today! During this time, not too much was happening. We got through some major issues we encounter with our Judge and a few other road blocks but at this point we were just waiting for a court date so that we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We were into the trip 2 weeks and still had 3 to go. O was on her best behavior as you can see from the picture above (haha) and mommy and daddy were loosing thier minds! ahh the memories!

Sorry for the delay. I just haven't been in the blogging mood. Things have been pretty busy around here lately and by the time I even get to the computer the idea of posting is "painful".

I went back to last November and read the blog entry I made, and I looked in my journal. At this point last year, I was not a happy camper :( I was starting to get terribly home sick, my little angel had turned evil! and I had enough of living with 2 men in a 800 square foot flat with nothing but Russian television or Meet the Fockers on DVD. Meet the Fockers was the only DVD we brought that actually worked in their players. Much to my surprise, it seems that DVD players are formatted to only work with certain DVDs. Look on the DVD itself, and you will see a globe, and a number in the globe must be '5' in order to work over there. Keep that in mind! We ended up watching it about 4 times a day because we could not stand to watch another program that we didn't understand!

Our life was pretty repetitive, kinda like Ground Hog Day. We would get up, eat breakfast of tea, sausage/cheese and crackers, we would walk to the orphanage, visit until about noon, walk home, stop at the market, eat lunch, take a nap, wake up and walk back to the orphanage, leave there about 6:30, head home, eat dinner, then sit around and talk with Gene, or I would read.
That was life for about 2 weeks.....boring!! I think back now and feel guilty for those feelings but I understand it was a point where we were both exhausted, mentally and emotionally...all I wanted to do was go home and be with my family.

At this point in our trip we also ran into some other problems. I wish I could go into further detail but being a public blog I am not crazy enough to post them here and take any risks, but I want to share with those of you traveling soon, issues will arise. Be prepared. Ukrainians love to drink, sometimes way too much. And Ukrainians know Americans have money, and sometimes they want too much!! Regardless, we had a huge support system when our issues did arise, Cathy and her Team were there the second we called on them, and our families were here at home, working things on this end! It all turned out for the better and the adoption went on of course, and we hold no hard feelings against anyone. Adoption is a way of life over there - it is what puts food on the table for many families. Some do abuse the system, but that is just a fact. Choosing Ukraine was exactly that....a choice. I educated myself as much as I could, and I was always aware of what was going on and what to expect, and that is way I now cherish my experience, and remember the good points and not so much of the bad. Every time I look at this little girl I am filled with so much love and passion, none of that re enters my mind, for the most part, it is forgotten. I guess it is like giving birth, the pain is all forgotten once it is over!

Thanksgiving was also on the same day last year - November 23rd. That was a coincidence! I wanted to take a moment to reflect back over this year a share a few of things that I am most thankful for....

*Of course, top on my list is Olena and her awesome transition. She is one of the bravest little girls I have ever known and she has really opened her heart to learn to how to love and trust us. That is a huge feat for such a little girl.

* I am thankful for my friends and family, especially my parents, for the support that they have given us as a family, financially and emotionally. There were many days over the first few months were I had to just "give up". I am not saying that babies are easy, but at least when you bring a baby home, for the most part they just eat and sleep. You feed them and then do things for yourself while they are sleeping. Then over a period of a few months, the demands get tougher, but you are gradually worked into that routine. We went for worrying about nobody but ourselves to having a crying, whining, running, screaming, hungry, sick, confused, and EXTREMELY tired toddler. She kept us up all hours of the night, she screamed and cried a lot, and I never knew what she wanted...I don't think she knew either ;) It was one of the toughest, and most testing moments of my life!

*I am thankful for my husband. He had to tough it out too and I know it was hard. All the while we stayed strong as husband and wife. He held me the many times I cried in frustration, and he was always there to take over when he knew I hit the breaking point.

*I am thankful for my employer who has been a complete blessing over the past year. They firmly believe in "family first" and that has made my life so much easier!

*and last but not least, I am thankful to Tonya Kissack. Though she is hundreds of miles away, and we don't talk too much personally, she has been an inspiration, a teacher, and a great influence. Much more than she will ever know! (until now) Many of you who read my blog read hers too, so you are aware of what kind of mother and wife she is - which is AMAZING!! I have learned many parenting tips and ideas, I have read many of her recommendations and because of her I know I am a better person and a better mother. She radiates love and a strong opinion of faith - she is an angel in disguise for many people and I am sure for many of the you who read her posts everyday! I for the first time in my life have decided to read the Bible. My husband and I went to church for the first time for Sunday Mass a few weeks back, I now strive to be a better person, wife, mother, daughter and friend. This is definitely something that has proved to be much easier with the help of God and the power of prayer. If you have read my blog from the start, you are aware that I was never a person of Faith. I lacked that in my life and I now know that my heart was very empty because of it. A dear friend put me on the path before we left for Ukraine, but once I came home, for whatever reason it was tough to continue. I got sucked back into the old bad habits. Reading Tonya's blog, and hearing her "words" put that glow back in my heart and encouraged me to get back on the path and move forward. It has been a slow process, but I am trying and that is all that matters. It seems Tonya is always there to pull you back up when you start to slip! and she does it without even realizing it. So without boring you all too much, Cheers to Tonya. I will remember her and her family tomorrow and thank God for bringing her into my life!
Thank you Tonya for being a true inspiration~

Say a prayer tonight for all of your family and friends. And lets not forget those little ones we left behind!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the Warchol Family! and God Bless.

The day we met.

November 15th is the day we met.

We got off of the train in Mykolayiv at 6a.m. in the morning after a 12 hour trip. We couldn't visit the orphanage until we got approval from the Municipal Council - which didn't open until 9 a.m.! So what do you do?? First you lug all of our luggage off of the train. Your tired, you stink, you look like crap and your legs wobble when you walk because you can't shake the feeling of being on a moving train. Then with wobbly legs you (and all of your luggage) climb 4 flights of stairs to walk across a bridge and just walk back down. We then had to pay to sit in a waiting room so that we could try to take a nap. Every time I closed my eyes, I got "train" spins and I was sicker then hell do to low blood sugar. At this point, we had not eaten anything of substance since dinner on Monday night (it is now Wednesday morning). We hang out for a few hours then we decide to take a taxi into town. There is a McDonalds there, so Gene wanted to get a bite to eat and at least wait where it was warm until the M.C opened. We hail a cab, put everything in the trunk, and take the ride through Mykolayiv. This is where the reality sets in. Kiev is so much different then typical Ukraine - as you drive through the town, you see how Ukraine's majority lives.
We get to McDonalds and they don't open for another hour, so we sit in the outside court yard, freezing our butts off. When they finally opened, we rush in and all of us are starving so we go to order. The menu is a bit different there though....no breakfast. Yep, we scarfed down a double cheese burger at 8am in the morning, and I have to admit it was probably the best dcb I have ever had :)
At 9a.m we hail another taxi, go the the Municipal Council, unload the luggage again. We go in, taking the luggage with us and Gene takes us into this office that I swear was no bigger than my bathroom. It is packed with 4 desks, 4 ladies with an ungodly amount of perfume on, filing cabinets, stacks and stacks of paper everywhere. We figured we would wait in the hall....oh no, come on in, and don't forget the luggage! Good grief! and to top it all off - they ALWAYS close doors in a room. Now the claustrophobia kicks in :) Just kidding. It was fine, but pretty comical. They were very nice to us, and babbled on in Russian all the while just smiling at us (hhmmm, wonder what they were saying??) but we got what we needed and got the heck out of dodge.
Now the fun begins. It seems that the taxi drivers in Mykolayiv require no common knowledge of City and the places that are in it. Our first experience with this was finding the "desky dom". After we leave the M.C, get another cab, get our luggage in, again... we're off to the orphanage. But not before spending 45 minutes, driving through woods, back alleys, dead end roads, construction sites and only God knows where else, we FINALLY arrive. Unload the luggage drag it into the orphanage, just to find out that the director just left for court about 5 minutes before hand. We have to wait for her to return before we can see Olena. So we wait, we wait and yes, we wait a little more. There is a nurse that keeps walking back and forth between one of the rooms and the exam room, each time with a different little girl or boy, and each time having them say "Dobry den'!" (good day!). Some would smile with pure joy and obey her command, others would give us a laugh by purposely defying her and acting silly! Olga, the director, finally returns after about 2 hours. She has us follow her up to her office (still dragging the luggage) She welcomes us in, has us sit down, goes over a few things about Olena and her birth parents. Then is asks us if we are ready to meet her. If you recall from our original post, we were introduced to the wrong little girl first. There was another Olena K. who was a bit older, the error was discovered fairly quickly though. All laughs aside, and now more tense then ever, we walk back through the halls and through the doors of the toddler room. They were eating lunch. She points to Olena and said that's her. OMG! the most absolutely gorgeous little girl I had ever seen in my life. I was bawling my eyes out before I even realized it.
Those next 30 minutes were and are the most magical moments in my life. I will never forget them.

we didn't think to bring out the camera, so Gene was taking pictures with his camera phone.

This was taken within minutes of meeting her.

We took these pictures when we returned later that night to visit her again.

Well it seems great minds think alike because I read Tonya's blog today and she had the same exact idea I did...I was going to spend these next 50 some days remembering our time in Ukraine. I thought I would post a few things that we didn't while there due to obvious reasons, and try to share some of the great memories I have that I just didn't think to post at the time.

Our adoption trip was perfect, and I tell that to everyone I meet. I still do read the adoption boards, and yes I am still a blogging junkie - scoping out all of the new blogs and following the stories of those families who are currently there - I love to relive the experience. Every time I start to reminisce I will usually remember something small that I had forgotten about that brings a smile to my face. Reading all of this, I often hear/see words of frustration due to the snags you hit along the way....inaccurate paperwork, delays, delays and more delays, expediting fees, etc. Jason and I were thrown a few curve balls during our time there, believe me. That doesn't mean we had a bad experience. I expected it, expected it all. And because of that, we were able to tackle anything that came our way. We didn't stress about it, we just accepted it. That's Ukraine! We are all told that from the very beginning. Expect the unexpected if you chose to adopt from Ukraine. I educated myself upside down and backwards. Gene very rarely even had to explain what he was doing, because I already knew. Just like the ole' saying goes "knowledge is power" and that is why we were able to enjoy this experience to it's fullest!

Anyhow, like I said I will go back in time, and start to re-blog our path to parent hood. Our "Family Day" will be celebrated on December 17th. I know that is not the date that we officially became a family, but it is day that I officially FELT like a family. December 17th is the day that I stepped onto US soil with my daughter in hand and the first night she slept under my roof, where she belongs.

December 17th will also be the day that I end the blog.
I have done my part to advocate adoption the best way I can. I have shared my time before, during and the whole year after. If this blog isn't testimony enough, as to why adoption is such a miracle, then sadly I have failed what I was striving for. I have shared my daughter's daily life with the whole world for a year now, and I think it is time that I start to respect her privacy. I hope that this blog will serve many purposes....to inspire others to adopt, to educate those who will adopt, and bring comfort to those who have adopted.

I have grown to know many of you in the cyber world and I would love to keep you posted with how she progresses. If you are ever curious please do not hesitate to email me!

Thank you to everyone who actually found my life interesting enough to read about.

One year ago!

November 13, 2006....the "due" date of our adoption. The one date that we waited for, for almost 2 years!

One year ago today, Jason and I walked hand in hand through the door of the SDA, leaving Gene behind. Walking down the hall, through a room with parents who were already in their meeting, through another door into a small office. Closing the door behind us, the translators asks us to sit down. There are 2 other ladies in addition to the translator...the psychologist, and a "reporter" who recorded the whole meeting. They explained to us that they had preselected 5 young girls, all under the age of 3. All were healthy with the exception of developmental delays. "Are you ready?" they asked. Jason and I scared out of our wit just nodded our heads in agreement. She laid down the first profile in front of us, before she could even speak I busted out in tears. I couldn't contain myself any longer. "Are you alright?" the translator asks. "YES, this is just the moment I have been waiting for 2 years, I am just excited". She gives us some details of this little girl (who turned out to be Angelina White), then she lays down the second profile...Olena. The picture was beyond beautiful. She had this huge smile, and huge brown eyes, and a brown fuzzy head, she was 6 months old and absolutely perfect. They went on to show us 3 more, all of whom where beautiful but at this point I couldn't stop thinking about the first 2. After seeing all 5, the psychologist asks "Do you have any questions?"
Jason, looks at me, "what do you think?"
"I really love Angelina - the first one, she reminds me of the gerber baby!"
I pull out her file and Olena's lay them next to each other and look at both pictures again. The translator, points to Angeline's file, "the caregivers say she is really really cute!"
"she is, but maybe this one instead" I grab Olena's file.
Jason perks up and smiles, "Yes, she is the one! I know it, she looks like my sister!"
"OK." I hand the file to the psyhologist. "We want to meet her!"
"No questions about her, or the others?"
"No, we don't care - we want to meet her"

That was it. It lasted maybe a whole 10minutes. We showed them the photo album we brought, they loved it! they asked us about our home and our family, and gave us many compliments. A few minutes later, the translator hands us a piece of paper and shows us a map. "Here is where she lives, Myckolayiv! and here is her name and birth date. "
she hands me a paper with some writing on it.

'Olena Sergivena K. 1.20.2005'

They hug us both and send us out the door. We walk back down the hallway and the translator pushes the door open, Gene, and a room full of families and there facilitators are all staring at us. Silence....."we found our daughter - she lives in Mykolayiv" I wave the piece of paper in the air like a trophy. Gene snatches it from my hand, and grabs his cell phone, he starts making all the necessary plans. The families and everyone else, surround us, asking us questions, hugging us, crying, it was complete chaos, but also a moment of complete relief, and happiness.
And that is how is all began!!

Happy Appointment Anniversary!

the long awaited Halloween pics!

I don't have a lot of time to post tonight - I have a couple of important chores to tackle but I know that many of you have been waiting for Halloween pictures, so here are a few! BTW, she is a trick or treating champ! 2 hours, and a huge, UN-needed bag of candy that daddy and Aunt Rickie will devour!

In case you are wondering, she started out as a fairy, but became a little goulish somewhere down the line! She somewhat reminds me of Beetlejuice!

Mykolayiv Baby House has expanded!!!!

I have known about this for awhile now but sadly havn't had much time to investigate it much. I took some time the other night to start going through some websites and I read about this in futher detail. It is amazing and I am very proud to see such a great improvement.

Olga, the director of the Mykolayiv (Nikolaiev) baby house is a saint. She strives so hard to improve the life of these children and I am delighted to see how and where donations are spent. Last year a seminar organized by the new Ukrainian ministry for youth and sports, the Mykolayiv Baby House received the mandate to carry out a pilot project of a Montesorri class.

The Montessori classes are based on the teaching method elaborate by Maria Montessori .
In short, the philosophy of this pedagogy is to let the child learn by itself at his rate/rhythm in a suitable environment and with specific toys. This represents a drastic change (in other words a 180° turn) of the educational methods within Ukrainian orphanages.

After successfully finishing the first Montessori indoor class room last November (2006), Director Olga Ivanovna at the MBH decided to extend Montessori project and build an outdoor Montessori playground for the children. That playground includes a pool and many different pedagogical outdoor toys and sensotherapy areas. This project costs a total of 12,900 US$ In order to complete Montessori certification in spring 2008 Nikolaiev Baby House needs a kit of special Montessori educational toys. Cost to buy those Montessori toys (called “standard” kit) is US$ 1,000 Before final Montessori certification NBH staff needs to attend a final training course in Kiev which costs for travel and subsistence US$ 300

donations can be made at the link above.

Out door pool, finished this past summer.

To the rightof this path is where they built the pool. It is right outside the window of Olena's room.

This is Alex, the desky dom (sha-bach-ka) His home is directly under their window. The new outdoor Montassori play area is now right behind his dog house.

Corner of the building, upper windows is where Olena was housed. Those windows are looking out from the sleeping room. The addition, that you can somewhat see sticking out (behind the tree) was a "veranda" where we would take Olena to play sometimes when we would visit.