Coming home, temporarily

Tonight, our sweetie Lizzie, will be boarding the overnight train to Kiev and boarding the plane bound for the US to stay with her family. Now that I think of it, she is actually on the train at this moment, being that Ukraine is a 9 hour time-zone difference. So, she's on her way and will get here at 10:30 pm on Friday night. We will get a glimpse of what our family will be like this summer.

Lizzie will be with us temporarily for 10 weeks this summer and will have to go back on the last day of August. No international incident here - she will have to return to be adopted by us, a process that we have already begun here in the States. The hope is that our SDA appointment coincides with her mid-January availability date. Ugh, another (the third) Ukraine winter adoption! Oh well, we will brave the temps again to bring our girl home!

Heidi talked with her on the phone this week and she was ecstatically happy. That reminded me of this picture from Rimma's adoption back in January & February. I know she is jumping for joy right about now!

Row, row, row your boat...

...gently down the Animas Rapids! We're still on vacation here in Durango, Colorado! We have visited Four Corners and stood in four sates at once, visited ancient ruins at Mesa Verde, and white water rafted. Tomorrow we push on the see the Great Sand Dunes NP in southern Colorado. See ya back home soon!

~Felix~

Happy Birthday, Kole!

This is Kole's second birthday with us and he has turned into an all-American boy. Since he's been home, he has ridden a second-hand bicycle. He never made a fuss about it, after all, he never had a bike before. He got a few other gifts, but his prized possession is this red mountain bike. It had to be red, his favorite color, and it needed to be a few sizes too big for him as he grows. Hence, the leg draped over the center bar.

Happy Birthday, Kole. May your new life bring you as much happiness as you have brought us!

~ Felix ~

It's all in His hands!

Kole, Dad, Rimma, Jordan, Julia, Nadia, Mom

I, Felix, struggle from time to time with the fact that I have to let go and trust in God and follow His plan. When I do, He provides us with everything we need, not everything we want, but everything we need.

Therefore, awhile back, I quit "worrying" about Rimma's and Z's eventual adoption and just knew He would make it happen, if it was His plan. Hence the name of this blog. The naysayers, and there were a lot of them, said both registrations and adoptions would never happen. "Just go and find some other children!" Well, we did, and we were gifted with N, J, & K. But, we never quit praying for R & Z! Rimma and Z got registered via pressure from us and God's intervention, Rimma is home now, Z will be here for the summer for 10 weeks.

The recent return of an adopted boy to Russia has everyone up in arms and my family and friends constantly asking me if Ukraine will shut down adoptions too. Some folks confuse Ukraine as being part of Russia and remind me that Russia has stopped all adoptions. Others "in-the-know" ask if Ukraine will follow suit, especially with their "Russia-leaning" new president.

I just smile and say, "No, Russia and Ukraine are two different countries and God is in control...he hears my prayers...she WILL come home to her forever family in early 2011."

"How do you know for sure?" they ask. "How do you know Ukraine won't shut down adoptions this year?" Because He ANSWERED our prayers again this week! Our friend Becky (in Ukraine) reports...

Ukrainian Supreme Parliament (Rada) DID NOT SUPPORT introduction of moratorium on all international adoptions. ONLY 191 MPs supported the moratorium out of 404 MPs in the Rada session (450 MPs total in Ukraine) . CONGRATULATIONS - ADOPTIONS CONTINUE!

Happy Birthday, Julia!!

The newest teen, Julia!

Today is Julia's 13th Birthday! Happy birthday, sweetie! This is her second birthday with us and she got to choose where she wanted her family party (we had an earlier friends party on Saturday). Of course, she choose Red Robin where her dinner is free and so is the dessert!

It just occurred to me that I now have three teenage daughters at home...five when Lizzie and Jordan come home for the summer! Six when Jessica comes home for a week in July. Yikes, was I dropped on my head as a child?

~ Felix ~

Then...and Now

Awhile back, someone commented that it was amazing to see the difference in our kids. That got me to thinking, what if I put together some pictures to see the difference. After all, with the exception of Z, we live with them and it's hard to see the changes sometimes. Heidi and I know that Nadia & Julia have gone through growth spurts, we keep the thrift shops in business with all the clothes we have bought. So, without further delay...here's our kids, then and now, in order of oldest to youngest.

Lizzie, 12 in March 2008

Lizzie, 14 in March 2010

Nadia, 12 in November 2008

Nadia, 14 in May 2010

Rimma, 11 in March 2008

Rimma, 13 in May 2010



Julia, 11 in November 2008

Julia, 12 in May 2010

An angry and confused Kolya, 9 in November 2008

Kole, 10 in May 2010




All four in early May 2010

~ Felix ~

Third Time's the Charm!

What's the title mean? I updated the '3rd adoption timeline' over on the right side. That's right, we have started the push for Z!


The update says, 'Dossier Started'. The first step for our adoption of Z will be updating the home study. This won't be a problem with our social worker. The cool part will be that our SW will actually get to meet Z when she comes to visit this summer.


Hopefully, we will have the dossier done and submitted at the exact time Z becomes eligible for adoption by us, mid-January. Every time we talk to Z, she says she wants to be home forever.


Mom & I talked to Z on Saturday. She was very chipper and stated that she was very happy to be coming home on June 19th! I talked about her visit and subsequent return to Ukraine. She said that she wouldn't want to leave after the summer, but I reminded her that she would definitely be returning. "After all", I said, "you have to go back if you ever want to come home permanently." She said, "I know, but I will no like it!"


~ Felix ~