Guest Bloggers

I’m busy at work and Heidi and I are working on finishing up the Dossier that will eventually bring Lizzie home. Therefore, stay tuned for some guest bloggers over the next few weeks...our kids! If anything exciting happens, I will be sure to post, too!

I asked our kids to write about something, anything that they would like to put here on our family blog. I told them it could be about whatever they would like to share with you, our readers and followers. Most, if not all, of their writing will be unedited and cut and pasted just as they wrote it.

I got some enthusiastic responses, some eye rolling (to which I said, “don’t look at me with that tone of voice!”) and some excuses for not attempting the effort. It will be interesting to see what topics they choose, who will be first, and who will ditch the assignment.

To the whiners, I told them that one day when we make this blog a book, they will be in it. That kinda got them motivated. Hey, it isn’t everyday that you get published :-)

Editor-in-Chief
Felix

Wishing for "Old Man Winter"

We are in the final stages of our dossier and we will send it to our facilitator next week! We are only waiting on the 171h. The USCIS e-mailed us that our case was approved and that the "golden ticket" is on it's way! I'll run down to Denver at the beginning of the week to get everything apostilled and then, we will overnight it to Ukraine...Whoo-hoo!


Lizzie knows it's getting close too. I got the following Facebook message from our sweetie today...

hi Tet'ka!!!
how are you????
I'm fine!!!soon I 'll have holidays!!!
i miss you!!!
i'm waiting for winter!!!!cause in winter you'll come!!!
i love you!!!!

Lizzie could speak a little English before she came here for 10 weeks this past summer. However, in past years she would inevitably ask for a translator after we spoke on the phone for only a minute or two. Nowadays, she carries on for long lengths of time when we call. Sometimes we have to tell her that we have to go and that we will speak again soon. Boy did that 10 weeks with us do wonders for her English skills! (Note the I'm, I'll and 'cause word use).

Yep, we both can't wait 'till Old Man Winter arrives this year!

~ Tet'ka Felix ~

A's & B's

Rimma & Nadia got their mid-term report cards today. Rimma came home with:

Language Arts = A-
Math = A
Science= A-
US History = B
Technology elective = A+


Nadia Came home with:

ELL = A
Math = A
Science = B
US History = C
Art elective = A+

I'm proud of both girls! Rimma has only been using English for 6 months and Nadia is wanting to succeed by feeding off Rimma. Good news all around! Julia & Kole should be bringing their reports home today or early next week. I'm hearing good things from them too!

Here are some pictures from Rimma's birthday outing to Red Robin. Enjoy!

Rimma's first American Birthday!

So, is she 1 or 14? Years from now she may want to use that smaller number! I can see her 40th birthday scene now, "I'm not 40 everyone, I'm 26!" And she may be right!

Rimma 11, at the Internot, Feb 2008

It's hard to believe sometimes that she was this spunky little 11 year old that stole our hearts back in 2007. We had to watch her grow up in pictures on the other side of the earth for two years. Looking back, it was money well spent to go see Rimma and Lizzie once a year, usually around their birthdays, just to see how they were doing and to continue the family bond. Rimma speaks highly of those visits.

14 today, at home in Colorado

I am haunted by the faces of those kids that would look on and attend our birthday celebrations with them, saying "Could you find me a family of my own, too?" Consider adoption, please!

~ Felix ~

Moratorium postponed

Here's the skinny...

Ukrainian parliament POSTPONED THE VOTING on introduction of moratorium on international adoptions based on request of Parliamentary Committee on Youth and Sports, which sent a letter to Head of Parliament stating they need more time to prepare the proper language as to moratorium and... align accompanying legislation. No new date on voting was discussed. Usually, several months pass before parliament will return to this issue.

We all can breathe a sign of relief for a little while longer.

~ Felix ~

News to pass on...

I received the following comment today from a friend, Eric. Are you looking?

Heidi and Felix, I do not have your email, but my wife posted a picture of two boys from Ukraine on her blog, if you know of anyone who would possibly be interested, have them contact us. They are great kids. http://loving-da-bears.blogspot.com/2010/09/do-you-know-their-mom-and-dad.html

There are a few kids from previous camps we know that want families as well. Visit the UOO website and contact us there for more information.

In other news, I've been made aware of another supposed moratorium on adoption. I quit worrying about this as I stated back in June. This is the first time that I have heard that Ukraine voted twice in the same year, though. I do pray everyday about it, but I put it in God's hands and trust that He will take care of it. A friend informed me...

The information is sketchy, but many reliable contacts are telling us that Ukraine's government is scheduled to vote on Tuesday, September 21st to stop adoptions with countries that do not have a written agreement with them (an agreement to protect the children). As I understand, the only country with this agreement in place right now is Israel. Please pray this vote does not pass!!! While it is important to protect the children, we want these agreements and changes to be made without putting a stop to current adoptions. There are many children whose time is running out. They need homes. They need families. They may need therapy or medical attention. They may need a family before they age out of the system. Whatever the case, a moratorium could mean the end of the possibility of family for them. Before you go to bed on September 20, pray that this vote will either not even come up, or that it will not pass.

Lastly, Lizzie still wants to come home! Pray for her, the moratorium vote and all the orphans world over who sleep alone each night.

~ Tet'ka Felix ~

September Babies!

Just a quick post to let you all know that we are alive and well. School is in full swing and Kole and I are the only boys in the "House of women". Like I told my daughter, Jessica, I don't run the place...I just pay the bills!

As the title says, this is a big birthday month around the house. Starting us off on the 12th was Heidi's B-Day! Rimma's will be on the 22nd and mine will be on the 24th. I'm resisting the urge to combine R's and my birthday's into one party, cake, etc. My mom did that when I was growing up with me and my sister. Her birthday is on the 26th.

Seated L to R; Laura our German exchange student, Jessica, Rimma, Julia, Nadia, Felix, Jordan, the Birthday girl - Heidi, and Kole

In other news (wonderful news, I might add), our pastor has decided to join the ranks of Ukie adoptive parents! He and his wife are pursuing a 15 year old girl that has been on the minds and hearts of Karen Springs and Yulia. I had seen a little Facebook traffic between our pastor and Karen these past couple of weeks, but thought nothing of it other than God's people connecting through Him. Surprise, surprise! He announced the decision during last weeks message and it was quite an emotional event for him and for us Grace Place members. I don't think I've ever seen Pastor Clay get emotional. It has made Heidi cry (happy) every time she listens to the sermon and I admit, I get a little choked up, too. Click on "Grace Place - Our Church" and navigate your way through the website to find his sermon on September 12th. Wow, what a wonderful miracle!

We are drawing closer to getting our dossier together to go after Lizzie. We finished the homestudy awhile back and completed our forms for the USCIS. Our fingerprinting appointment is this Friday morning and we are excited to check of this important step. Heidi started her medical work this week and I will begin in the next few days as well. We want to have our dossier there and get submitted sometime in October. Unless a miracle occurs, Lizzie should not be eligible until mid-January. We are just getting our dossier there before the November-December slow-downs and cutoffs. (No, there isn't a hold on adoptions and we don't have any inside information, but past experience has shown us that the SDA starts end-of-year closures and slow-downs around this time frame)

I got the following Facebook message from Lizzie last Saturday:

Can't wait going my home!!!I love you!!!you are my Daddy(Tet'ka) forever!!!

Been grinnin' like an idiot ever since!

~ Tet'ka Felix ~