Bob and Charrisse

2011-10-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

Week Six

This is the last week of my photography class. I have learned so much and want to learn more. these are pictures taken during our family pumpkin carving contest.

f/5.6, 1/25, ISO 200

f/5.6, 1/10, ISO 200

f/5.6, 1/13, ISO 200

f/4.5, 1/320, ISO 400

Thanks Brooke for a great class.

2011-10-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

Week 5

Natural Light Indoors

I loved using the light from my windows

Natural light and reflector

f/4.5, 1/8, ISO 200

The light is coming from the kitchen window and reflects off the white counter.

Silhouette

f/5, 1/160 ISO 200

Portrait

f/5.3, 1/60, ISO 200

Couldn't decide which one was best for the assgnment.

Still Life

f/5.6, 1/13, ISO 200

2011-10-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

Week 4

Natural Light

Silhouette

f/8, 1/250, ISO 200

I had a hard time getting a good picture. In a silhouette should you be able to see the detail of the girls jumping on the trampoline?

Sidelight

f/25, 1/30, ISO 200

Sara at the pumpkin patch.

How do I get the background to be more unfocused?

Do I need to a different lense?

Backlight

f/5.6, 1/400, ISO 200

Megan at the pumpkin patch. I really like the backlight effect.

Frontlight

f/5.6, 1/400, ISO 200

She couldn't look directly at the light so I had her turn her head.

Week 3

2011-10-09T21:01:00.001-07:00

This week was on composition,

f/4.5, 1/2500, ISO 400

This is of my daughter and three of her friends during a break at a dance convention. It was at the Zermatt in Midway. Outside there was a giant chess set. The day was very cloudy and rainy.

f/18, 1/60, ISO 400

I wanted to try the implied motion with the water.

f/22, 1/50, ISO 400

I wanted to catch the ripples in the water, and the reflections of the sky and trees.

Extra Picture

f/11, 1/800, ISO 400

The Chess Set

f/4.8, 1/640, ISO 200

Just a quick question about this picture, how could I have made this picture brighter so that I could have got the girls in back to show more. It was a very cloudy day, would bringing up the ISO to 400?

Week Two

2011-10-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

This weeks assignment took more thought and planning. But I enjoyed finding new ways to capture some awesome pictures.

Panning

f/25, 1/30, ISO 200

f/18, 1/60, ISO 200

The first picture of my dog, I couldn't get him in focus and get the background blurred.

The second is of my son's lacrosse game, the boy is in focus more but I don't know if the background is blurred enough.

Implying Action

f/32, 1/30, ISO 200

I wasn't quite sure that this is what implied action was to look like. It was fun to see the results.

Frozen Action

f/5, 1/1000, ISO 200

I had my daughter jump on the trampoline. I was hoping not to get the trampoline in the picture, oh well I can edit that out right? I like the second one best, but I almost cut her head off, woops. I found out that this kind of picture was easier to take than the others.

Photo Class Assignment 1

2011-09-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

f5.6, shutter 1/2, ISO 200

Singular

f/22, shutter 1/30, ISO 200

Storytelling

f/11, shutter 1/200, ISO 400

Who Cares

FLIGHT HOME

2009-08-03T23:31:00.000-07:00

For those that are interested we will arrive home Friday Aug 7th at 2:52 pm. United 6006.

Birth Certificate and Passport

2009-08-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

Our day started at 7:30 am. We first went to the judge to get our decree so that we could finish the paperwork. Then we went to get Katia's birth certificate, they weren't working today, SURPRISE! So Natasha got on her phone and called the woman she said she would come at 1:00 and have it ready by 2 for us. So we went to the notary and got the other papers notarized, the court decree. Then we wen to get Katia from the camp permamently. They were really picky this time they had to see the court decree and everything. Katia said goodbye to her friends, it was sad, especially since I don't think those kids will have a chance of being adopted with the way things are in that region. We found out they are still upset about Katia being separated from her brothers that they have involved the KGB. Irena has an appointment with the KGB today. Natasha pointed out to the director of the orphanage that it is against the national law to stop adoptions that the SDA have approved. The SDA had no problem with the separation. We went to lunch then headed back to get the birth certificate for Poltava then we headed to Krememchuk. We had to keep it really quiet while we were there, we didn't want to cause any more problems. It was 5:30 and Natasha and Vld talked to the passport man and he said he would meet us at the passport office in Poltava between 7:00 and 7:30. So another wild ride. Vladimir is such a crazy driver. So at about 8:30 pm we return to our apartment. We have Sara's new birth certificate and her passport.

Sunday

2009-08-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

We went to church at the Poltava Branch. It was good to be with them again. The cute sister missionaries are coming home in a couple of weeks, so we have asked them to help teach Katia. The members are so friendly and are curious about the process of adopotion. So when we go we answer alot of questions. The branch is growing and the missionaries usually bring an investigator with them every Sunday.

Saturday Activities

2009-08-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning Irena went and got Katia from the camp so she could get her money from the bank. Needless to say it wasn't as much as what they thought. So Katia won't have as much money in her account when we get home. We got our cute translator, Marina, and went to lunch at the pizza place. Then we walked around Poltava. Katia has never seen the sights here in Poltava so it is to bad that we didn't get to spend more time outside of camp with her. We went to a couple of parks, the fountains were going(they only turn them on on the weekends) and all the brides. Saturday is the big wedding day around here. On the way to the park with the dumpling monument there is a building where the justice of the peace is. All the brides are lined up outside the door waiting for their turn. The cars are all decorated up, they put bows and ribbons on the front ends. Katia could only spend a couple of hours with us before we had to take her back to camp. Only a couple more days of saying goodbye to her.

Oh What Do You Do.....

2009-07-26T04:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I haven't posted recently. But all we do is sit in our apartment and then in the afternoon go to the camp to visit Katia. Bob and I saw all the sights in Poltava last year, some of them twice. We wanted to take Katia with us but they won't allow haer out of the camp. Natasha even recommended that we don't go to the camp everyday, because they are watching us. So Bob has read 2 books, I am on my second and have finished crocheting around a blanket and burpcloth. They are for my new grandbaby that is ready to be born any day now. We are hoping that he/she won't make an appearance until we are home. Our daugther Shemay had a baby girl the Thursday before we left, I hope she hasn't grown to much while we have been gone.

2009-07-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here we are with the judge.

Sorry we had to keep it quiet when our court date was, we have had so much controversy over our case.

The Court

2009-07-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well today was our court hearing. It went really well, the judge was kind. It only lasted about 30 minutes. Of course the orphanage was there saying they did not approve it, but the city inspector said that we had met all the requirements and therefore they approved. The prosecutor asked how many children we had and how would we be able to take care of Katia, we explained that most of our children were living on their own. Then he said that he approved. The Judge asked Katia why she didn't go with her brothers and she said that she loved us and want us to be her mom and dad. Her courage to stand up and say what she wants is what has carried us through all the people that don't want this adoption to take place. She has never wavered. The judge asked us how we would communicate we told him sign, pantomime and he just laughed. Then we told him that Nadiya and Stephen would help, he said now that you will have three children maybe you need to learn Ukrainian. The Judge and his helpers left the court room for all of 5 minutes to make their decision. When the judge came back he declared us her parents and that her birth certificate would be changed accordingly with the name Sara Kateryna Fuhriman. He shook our hands and congratulated us and then we got a picture with him. When we got in the car Natasha called the director of the orphanage to see if Katia could stay with us now. She told her no, the region lady is keeping an eye on us, she knows when we go to the camp, what we do there and where we go when we are there. She still thinks Katia shouldn't have been separated from her brothers. She is really causing problems, all the children are still in the camp after their court hearings. The region lady is meeting with the orphanag3 director about twice a week to stop her from internatioanl adoptions. Actually international adooptions have increased this year in this region despite her. So we will just play along and not cause anymore ripples. By the way one of the people who sat on the board of guardians, she voted against separation, had a heart attack on Monday, she was worried about her job. so we took Katia back to the camp after she had been with us most of the afternoon. She was not real happy about it but she understood.

Church in Poltava

2009-07-22T04:29:00.000-07:00

We went to church on Sunday, it was wonderful to be with the saints. We tried to go last Sunday but they had moved the location. We went to the building that it was at last year and it wasn't there so I looked it up on the church website and found the address. It is a much nicer building than the last one but it doesn't have AC. We walked in the door and was greeted by the missionaries, they thought we were the new mission president, he was arriving soon. After we told them who we were and why we are in Poltava, some of the members recognized us from last year. The Pattee's, the senior couple, just left a couple of months ago. The cute young man that translated for us last year married the Sunday School teacher and is now the Branch President. The elders and sisters translated for us, they are so helpful. One of the sister's was talking to Bob that we need to take pictures of the children and encourage others to come and adopt. It is so difficult to adopt in the Poltava Region, I would have a hard time encouraging others. It was wonderful and I had my cup filled.

Visiting At Camp

2009-07-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to go there everyday to spend just a little while with Katia. We have to pay a taxi to get there and then pay to have him wait for us. There really isn't anything to do there we sat through part of a program but Natasha said it was pretty vulgar. We were so spoiled with Nadiya, we got to keep her with us a few days after we got there. This year all the children from Poltava are at the camp, no one was allowed to go to Italy or France fro the summer. There is also children that are mentally delayed from another orphanage there this year. They are really cute kids and very friendly, especially if we have brought treats to Katia.
So on Saturday we decided to do something different. We brought a little portable DVD player with us, we took it to the camp with "High School Musical 3". We sat down and watched it there on one of the benches, pretty soon we had a bunch of kids surrounding us watching too. The kids from the other orphanage came over, one sat between Bob and I with his arm around me and one sat on Bob's lap. Another little girls sat next to Katia. They seemed like they hadn't had very many experiences. They have such sweet spirits, you can tell that they are some of God's special children. We are taking to DVD back today to finish the show, maybe we can get a picture.

Katia's Grandpa

2009-07-18T02:39:00.000-07:00

Katia is next to her Uncle and then her Grandfather. Katia looks alot like her grandfather, especially her nose. We were so grateful for them to come and support Katia. We definately will keep in touch with them.

At Camp

2009-07-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

Her we are visiting Katia and her friend Kshausha(?)She is the one who has let Katia use her phone.

We Have It!

2009-07-18T01:51:00.000-07:00

Vladimir picked up the paper for the separation. The man signed it, so everything is ok, except now there are a few people afraid for their jobs. It's sad when they feel that it was right and have to be afraid. Vladimir hurried back from Krememchuk and we went to go before the City Council. The gentleman over it said that he had a letter from Katia that she wanted to go with us and the letter of separation, so Katia didn't need to be there. So Vlad, Natasha, Bob and Me went to see him. He was very friendly and asked about our jobs and family. Then he smiled and told us to go adopt Katia. It was great. The people in Poltava are wonderful and really care about their children. Vladimir and Natasha hurried to Keiv to turn our paperwork in to the SDA. And to pick up the Lobos at the airport on Saturday. So later we went to visit Katia. We had a 17 year old girl as a translator. It will be good to have Katia with us all the time so she will try to understand us and not depend on the translator. Bob and I had forgotten how hard it was to cummunicate at first. Katia loves us and we love her so everything will be fine.

Separation letters

2009-07-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Two days ago we found out that the foster mom had the two brothers write letters protesting the separation. They said they were forced to do it but I really wonder. If she hadn't called in the first place things wouldn't have happened like this. Of course the two brothers weren't there to today at the Board of Guardians, they probably couldn't look Katia in the face.

Board of Guardians

2009-07-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

We were so nervous and it was so hot in the room we all about melted. the head of the board started talking and said, "Well Katia's brothers don't want to be separated so we can't let her go." Vladimir stood up and told them that according to the law she was old enough to make her decision and since the brothers already separated themselves from her by going to the foster family. Katia's Grandfather and Uncle came, we were worried that they would not let her go, But her grandfather stood up and said that no one has visited her and that he cannot take take of her that he was willing to let her go with us so she could be happy and have a family, the uncle agreed. The grandfather was so cute during the proceedings he came over and looked Katia in the eyes and asked her if she loved us and wanted to be with us, Katia said yes and he said that it was fine and bent down put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her forhead. When it seemed like they were not going to alow us to take her Katia stood up and said that she didn't want to be with her brothers and that she loved us, she started to cry then I started to cry. The board finally decided to ask us some questions, what our home is like, how many children, about Nadiya and Stephen. Oh this was the best question: How soon will we return for a visit? We couldn't say never but I sure wanted to. Who would check up on us and the children? Like they keep track of the kids up at camp! But an Ukrainian family might come and adopt her, please she has been in the orphanage for 8 years and the older they get the less likely. Well they finally put it to a vote 9 for the separation, 3 against and 4 obstained. Boy what a relief, Katia was so quiet I think she thought she hadn't done what she was suppose to do. They wanted her to be more out spoken, but that isn't really her nature. Maybe it was best for her to sit quietly until the right moment when she really told them how she felt. We left and talked to Katia's grandfather and uncle and got their address and a picture with them. Katia didn't even know who they were but she sure looks like her grandfather, they are from her mothers side. Vladimir and Natasha went back up and news had already traveled to the lady over the region(we are a very high profile case) she has already threatened those that agreed to the separation with their jobs. What a witch!!!! We still need to get the letter tomorrow signed by the guy in charge of the board of guardians, he wasn't there today. So there is still a chance that they could change their minds. So keep praying. Tomorrow we visit with the City Inspector and their board, it will be a piece of cake compared to today. The Inspector likes us and we like her. We have had to take the guy from the camp for our representative from the orphanage, he's a good guy

The Battle Begins!

2009-07-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

Natasha and Vladimir were so sure that things were moving along just wonderfully until.....we went to visit Katia's brothers. We left Poltava and headed to the home of the foster family where Katia's brothers, Misha 17 and Slavic 9, live. We were greeted by Misha, well kinda, he said something and went into the house. Soon papa comes around the corner with no shirt zipping up his pants and mama comes out the front door. We came just to visit and to let her brothers meet us. Irena started talking to Misha about how he was doing in school and about Katia wanting to live with us. She never mentioned the letter of separation that he would eventually have to sign. But Mama only heard parts and pieces of the conversation so she called the authorities over foster care in the region. We were invited into their home and they took us around the home. We met there other children, their oldest,19, adopted when he was a baby, a girl 10, two girl foster children, 10 and 6 and Katia's brothers. They all seemed very nice. We didn't know that mama had called the authorities until we had met and talked for a little bit. As we were talking Natasha told us we needed to leave, to late they had arrived. There were three of them, two women and a man. The man never really said anything. They were all upset because mama had told them that we were forcing Misha to sign the letter, but that was never our intention. The foster mom said that Katia had be there a couple of weekends every month, we knew that wasn't true because we would call Katia almost every weekend and she was at the orphanage. Mama didn't even acknowledge Katia, talk to her or hug her. Katia held on to me the whole time. Mama said that Misha was really upset the Katia was going to America, I think watching him he was jealous. He never talked to Katia while we were there. Katia was asked if she had talked to us often and she said yes and then the one woman called her a liar. Katia left with Irena. And Natasha told the woman that she had no right to treat Katia that way. When we finally made the authorities listen to the real story why we were there and that we had a right to be there, they calmed down and wished us the best of luck. We breathed a sigh of relief so we thought. After we had gotten into the car the director of the orphanage called. News of this episode had reached the regional director, you know the one who hates international adoptions, she was stopping everything and starting an investigation on this case. The orphanage director was threatened with her job and Irena quit the job at the orphanage as a social worker. She will still be the math teacher. Because of that one call everything is now screwed up. Right now I don't know if I can ever see that foster mom again without wanting to -----. Natasha still thinks we will be able to adopt Katia it just will take some fighting for her. Adoption here now is a rocky road they are looking for anything to stop the process. Pray for us please.

Here we are again!

2009-07-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

We arrived here in Ukraine on Tuesday July 7th. Our SDA appointment on the 8th went really well, we were in and out in about 10 minutes. We left Kiev on Thursday to go to Poltava. I remembered all the familiar landmarks. We left Kiev at 5:30 am so we could meet with the city inspector before 10:00 am. We meet her and she remembered us from before. Then we did some other paperwork and Irena and Vladimir went to the camp to get Katia. She walked into the restaurant and saw Natasha first and then noticed us. She came running over to me and thru her arms around me and started crying. Then she gave Bob a big hug. It was so good to see her. We had her released to Irena so she was able to stay with us in our apartment. Thursday night we sat and watched "Freaky Friday" together on the little DVD player we brought. It was fun to have her with us again.

New News

2009-07-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

Kurt recived his mission call, he is going to the Vincia del Mar Chile Mission on Oct. 7, 2009.
Shemay had a precious little girl on July 2, she weighed 7 lbs. 15 ozs. and was 19 inches long. She will be named Ellie Gunther. I will post pictures of both events when I get a moment.

Kurt Playing at the Lacrosse Nationals

2009-07-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

I went to Denver, Colorado in May to watch Kurt play in the national lacrosse tournament. It was great to watch him play. His defensive coach, Coach Long, told me that Kurt was excited that I was there, I was too. Kurt has enjoyed this experience very much. His head coach paid Bob and I a wonderful comment, he told us that we had done a fine job in raising Kurt and he had enjoyed having Kurt on the team.

Megan's competitions

2009-05-13T13:42:00.001-07:00

Megan playing the harp at the recital. She has grown very much in her ability to play. She is beginning to sense the beauty of the harp. She played in a competition and recieved a superior plus a silver star. She had to move the levers on the harp and struggled a little bit with that but kept her cool and was still able to play beautifully. She played in sacrament meeting for the Primary Program, "Love One Another". Everyone became quiet when she was playing. I love listening to her play.

Tell Him

New Girl in Town

Megan with some of her friends on the mini team.

Megan has been performing with the mini team since March. They have been in 7 competitions. The have done very well taking first for both dances in all the competitions. It is quite an ordeal getting her ready for a competition, we have to have her hair in a curly ponytail and the makeup has to be done the same everytime. She even has to wear false eyelashes. She wears rhinestone earrings and barrettes. She has really enjoyed the experience, so much so that she tried out for next year. She made Junior team!

2009-05-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

Stephen waiting for his turn to try the key in the box.

Does it work?

It doesn't. Stephen recieved two Keys of Success cards for his effots in learning at school. He doesn't know how to drive so the car would have had to sit until he learned anyway. Stephen is doing really well in school and now he is running on the track team. Sterling told him that if he read two chapters a week in a book he would bring him a different DVD to watch. Because of his reading his english has improved, so much that the kids at school have noticed.

Troy and Lacrosse

2009-05-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Troy, number 52, plays on West Jordan Lacrosse Team. They did very well this year. They were able to go to the finals. They won there first game against Woods Cross but lost the second one to Skyview. They were hoping they would play in the State Championship Game. They are losing 15 seniors this year. As you can see from the picture Troy plays defense like his brother Kurt.

Nadiya's Award

2009-05-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

Nadiya was chosen as Student of the Month for April. Bob and I were invited to a breakfast at the school. It was a surprize for Nadiya. The principal has taken a great interest in Nadiya. Nadiya has done very well in school with a GPA of 3.2 and her english is really good. She has made alot of friends.

2009-02-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

I thought I would update you on Stephen's injury from the Team Ukraine game. We took him to the emergency room and they put him on crutches. A week later I took him to the doctor for a follow-up visit. This doctor explained better what happened. Apparently Stephen put so much force on his front thigh muscle that it tore the muscle away from his pelvis pulling bone with it. He has to not run or jump for a week then Mar 15 the doctor will take an x-ray to see if it is healing properly. He won't be able to play contact sports until April 1. So that pretty much does it for him playing soccer for West Jordan. He was pretty upset but I told him if he did what the doctor said he would heal properly and be able to play next year. I asked the lacrosse coach of Troy's team if he could come and help be a manager, and he said that would be fine. Maybe that will help ease the pain of not being able to play. He's a good kid and is obeying the doctor's orders. It helps when his friends come and get him to hang out with them. He has made some great friends at the school.

2009-02-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

Kurt has been chosen to play on the Westminster College Lacrosse Team. We are so proud of him. In a couple of weeks he will be flying to Georgia and Tennessee, to play with the team. Stephen has been wrestling with West Jordan and took 5th place in the varsity Region 3 finals. During his second to last match he broke his finger, but he still had one more match, he wrestled anyway and won. He did very well, now he is trying to decide if he wants to play soccer or lacrosse. Nadiya and Stephen are doing very well in school. Nadiya got a 3.0 and Stephen got a 3.2 this last term. We are very proud of them. Their English is pretty impressive, for only being here for 6 months. They are such a joy to have in our family. Troy is now conditioning for lacrosse for the West Jordan team. Megan is in the Mini Dance Company at the studio where she dances. She is preparing for competitions in March. Bob and I get to be grandparents 3 new times this year. Aleisha's baby is due Feb. 20th, Shemay's baby is due July and Kristen's is due in August. That will make 9 grandchildren. We are so blessed.

2009-01-09T11:28:00.001-08:00

We arrived back in America. We were so glad to be back, 5 weeks from your family is a long time. Let me add a few things that I wasn't able to tell you while we were in Ukraine. The reason that the KGB was after us was because Nadiya had told her parents where we were staying at. Her parents had called her on the cell phone that they had given her. She innocently told them where we were. I had her tell Natasha what she had done and she called the hotel desk to have them tell anyone that came looking for us that we had already checked out. The next day her drunken father(he couldn't even stand up) came looking for Nadiya. When they told them they didn't know where we were he went to the police and told them that there were Americans in Poltave forcing his daughter to go with them. So the police went to the orphanage, they told they that they didn't know where we were either, the also asked the father if he wanted Nadiya why he hadn't applied to get his parental rights back. So because of this we had to stay in our hotel room for three days until we left for Keiv.

Arrived safely at the airport.

2009-01-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

Passports

2008-08-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

Monday we did some sightseeing. We went to the museum of minatures. There were some amazing things there. On Wednesday the passports had arrived in Poltava. So here we go driving all the way back to Poltava about a 4 hour drive. We got there at 2:30 and had to wait until 5:30 for the only man with the stamp. Then we headed back to Keiv. Today, Thursday,WE ARE FINISHED!! First we had to be at the Embassy to get Stephen fingerprinted, then went to get their medicals, Stephen hadn't had an HIV test so they had to do that. Both children had to have vaccinations. Then we waited for the results of the HIV test. Then we hurried to the Embassy for our appointment. They talk to you for 5 minutes then you wait for an hour while they print the visas. It feels so good to have that done. Tomorrow we are going to the museum under the open sky.
For those that want to know we will be flying home Saturday August 9 Delta 97 arrives 8:11 pm

We are in Keiv

2008-08-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Keiv on the 1st of August. We are excired to be in a new environment. Maybe we won't be so bored. Saturday we layed around the apartment and did some laundry. It was nice to have a washing machine, it is really hard to wash levis in a small bathroom sink. Sunday we went to church at the International Branch. Natasha went with us to make sure we found the church and it made her to late to attend hers, so she went with us. We doubled the attendance with the five of us. Everyone is on vacation in that branch and they will get a whole group of interns in the fall. It was very enjoyable, it was all in English. But maybe it would have been better to go to the ward in Keiv, that way Nadiya and Stephen could have understood it. We are waiting for passports. With the new passports it takes about 5 days, especially if you are adopting a child 14 or older, they have to do a background check. Hopefully their passports will be ready on Wednesday. Stephan also has to have his fingerprints taken, that takes 24 hours. So while we wait we are going to see the sights. Keiv is browner than Poltava and very hot and humid. Our apartment doesn't have air conditioning but usually at night there is a pretty good breeze that blows through. It has a kitchen so we can cook our own meals, it is so nice to eat home cooked food. The apartment has three bedrooms, Bob and I, Nadiya, and Natasha, Stephan sleeps on the couch fold out.

No we haven't disappeared

2008-08-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

It was hard to get to the internet cafe in Poltava the last few days we were there. We had to stay in our hotel, because the KGB was involved. I will tell you more when we are safely on American soil.

We are still here!

2008-07-26T02:28:00.000-07:00

We went to the Space and Areonatics Musuem. It was very interesting, it had parts from the Sputnik( russian satelite) It also had pictures and planes fromWorld War I and II. There was a large globe in the front of the exihibit, we were trying to show Nadiya how far we had to travel to get home. Our translator told the lady there that we were adopting Nadiya and taking her to America. The ladies eyes lit up and she told us thank you for taking care of their children. Then she said something to Nadiya in Ukrainian of course. It made Bob and I feel really good that we are making a difference in a couple of children's lives. We went to the library, don't bother going there, there are guards everywhere. You have to ask to look at any books and to check one out they have to copy your passport and it takes one month. Not a very friendly atmosphere. Alona told us they don't use the libraries very often, I know why. The circus was across the street in the park. (Of course it wasn't very well attend because they all live in one every day) It was one small tent, with everyone smoking, we decided not to bother. Then at 10:00 they shot off fireworks, right on the curb of the park. They were big ones too. We enjoyed them they were right outside our window, closest we have ever been to fireworks. Of course we missed Hannah Montana.(comment from the luggage) One month in a foreign country is a long time!

What do you do in Poltava?

2008-07-25T02:59:00.000-07:00

Well you can go to musuems but.....sometimes they just close because they want to. Natasha could never figure that out. And by the whay don't plan on being allowed in the musuem an hour before closing, the ticket lady has already gone home. There really is not much to do in Poltava you can only see the horseshoe gazebo so many times.
Last night we had dinner at the senior couple, the Pattees, apartment. On the outside the apartment looks really run down, but inside it was very nice. There was another couple with us, the Lees, they are with the church humanitarian projects. They travel all over Ukraine. Right now they are teaching parenting classes. They told us about all the things that they have helped to accomplish here. Amazing the things the church does in other countries that no one ever knows. The Lees had a cute girl as a translator with them, she really helped with Nadiya. It was wonderful to have a home cooked meal.

Some of you were wondering about Katia, we weren't allowed to adopt her.

Life after Court

2008-07-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well I guess you finally saw the pictures. The first one is a monument honoring National Dumpling Day. You can order any kind of dumpling you want. We tried to get Nadiya to sit in the spoon but she wouldn't. Nadiya's picture, Stephen's picture. Then all of us together. Then just the kids in their best right after they were approved to be ours. Stephen's named was to be spelled Stephan but it was misspelled on the documents and it is a headache to change it all so from now on it is spelled Stephen. Life after the court is rather boring, we have seen alot of sites but....even Nadiya has said "Let's go to America". she hasn't even been there but anything would be better then going to an art musuem. Bob and I enjoy the musuems but Nadiya get yelled at. We took Stephen back to the camp on Saturday, he was bored and he really didn't want to go to musuems, he wanted to say goodbye to his friends.

Pictures!!

2008-07-23T02:58:00.000-07:00

Order in the Court

2008-07-22T00:38:00.000-07:00

Today, July 18th, we appeared in court. Bob and I were pretty nervous, Natasha had prompted us as what to say. Most definitely don't mention religion! We were all dressed up, we had bought a dress for Nadiya and some pants for Stephen. The judge came in and read our petition. She first asked Bob questions about work, how we would help the children learn english, if we would treat them like our other children. Then the judge asked me some questions, if I would be ready to teach them and help them. She also asked if we would be able to deal with Nadiya's medical situation, we felt confident because of the experience we had with our daughter, Alexia. (I'm Back) Charrisse told me that I had to tell you about court but I was still shaking so hard I couldn't find the keys, still not much better but here goes. After we both talked both the children were asked to stand and talk to the court. Did I mention that the Judge was a woman (even scarier!) Stephen (notice the change in spelling--we'll tell you why later)kind of stood and kind of leaned before the judge . She asked if he was ready to learnEnglish he said ya. She asked what he would call us_his parents, he kind of hummed and hawed then said father and mother(typical teenager) Next was Nadiya, When the judge asked her to stand she jumped to attention and listened intently to the judge. The judge asked if she wanted to go to America she immediately responded 'yes'. She was asked what she would call her parents and loudly , clearly, and quickly she said mama and papa. That was worth the whole two weeks of frustration!Now back to someone who can actually type.
The Inspector of the city of Poltava had to comment about how she felt about the adoption. She looked over at Nadiya and commented that 3 days before she had met Nadiya and she was shy and timid but look at her now. She is looking up and confident, this will be good for her. Bob and I felt great that they had noticed the change in her. The prosecutor woke up long enoughto say he didn't have any questions and it was approved by him. The judge asked us 'How many boys and how many girls' we said 5 and 5. She laughed and said 1 more of each, 6 and 6 now. Irena said that it was divine intervention that we had come when we did or we wouldn't have found Nadiya. Because all the other girls were in Italy, we saw her.
The court was dismissed and we waited for 15 minutes and the judge came back and read the papers, Stephen and Nadiya are ours!

Tuesday July 15

2008-07-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

Today we have to meet with the city council. We, Bob, Charrisse, Nadiya and Stephan on one side. Natasha, Irena, Inspector and City Councilman on the other side. They asked us some questions about our home, work, and family. And then they talked to the children about their wishes. The city has to approve the adoption also. Natasha told us not to mention anything about our religion. They don't have a very clear picture of LDS. The city approved our adoption. We went to the park and got to meet Stephan's girlfriend and his sister. His sister is happy that he is coming to America. The weather here is very hot and humid right now. Our apartment doesn't heve airconditioning but we will be moving into one that does. Thank goodness. We wrote the petition for Katia, she really wants to be adopted. So we decided to try it. Natasha wrote a wonderful petition we shall see what they say. Vasili is leaving tonight to go back to Keiv with all the paperwork to take it to the SDA.

Monday July 14

2008-07-21T01:27:00.000-07:00

We picked up Nadiya and Stephan from the camp they will be staying with us now. How do you entertain two children for days? We went shopping for the children, because they will have no clothing when we leave. All the clothing stays at the orphanage including the underwear. We met with the Inspector of the city of Poltava. She wanted to talk to the children, to see if they really wanted to be adopted by us. She seems really concerned about the welfare of the children. Nadiya's father showed up at the orphanage wanting to know where she was. The Director told him she didn't know where she was and that he had no parental rights over her. We asked Nadiya how he found out, because we told her not to let him know, she had told a friend the they told her father. It shouldn't be a problem because they lost their parental rights 2 years ago at least. They have never applied to have them reinstated. Nadiya got her ears pierced today. She is not our shy little girl anymore. Oh the sunflowers here are spectacular here. There are acres and acres of bright yellow flowers, they use them for the sunflower oil.

Sunday day of rest (from paperwork)

2008-07-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

We have had some of you ask about Anna. We were planning on adopting Anna until we recieved an email telling us that she had decided to go to Italy for the summer. And her Italian family was planning on adopting her and she wanted to go with them. We were crushed but decided that Anna needed to make that choice. So when we came to Ukraine we came with prayers in our heart that we would find another little girl. Our prayers were answered and we have Nadiya. She is shy but very spunky when she wants to be. She has some medical issues that we will have to take care of, but we fell in love with her the first time we saw her.
On Sunday I get to spend all day out and about, so here goes. We got up early and had Vasili take us to the L.D.S. Chapel at 9:00. We got there and there was absolutely no one there. Fortuantly there was a sign saying that the meetings started at 11:00. Vasili was kind enough to take us home and then return us at 11:00. He sure is a wonderful person and a good driver. When we walked into the chapel we were warmly welcomed by many members and three sets of Elders, one pair of Sisters, and a Senior couple on humanitarian assignment.
For Sacrament Meeting we had a native, George translate for us. He did a marvelous job -but would not translated poetry---I'ts getting dark have to go!

Still on the run!

2008-07-15T01:46:00.000-07:00

On Saturday as we were picking up Stephan and Nadiya there was a cute girl that was very interested in Nadiya's well being. We asked about her, Katia, she came to america two years ago and stayed with the Morgan's. We asked about her availability, Natasha said she had some siblings but would check. So we might get another girl. We took the kids shopping, what a treat. Give me a good mall, Shopco, or Kohl's. It was radiculous, there were no shoes or clothes for children. When you look for shoes they only have one size in one style. Charrisse opened the suitcase so I'm back a quick comment or two! Imelda Marcos would love the Ukraine! I have never seen so many types , colors, or shapes of shoes. Many of the mens shoes have pointed toes_Like fairy shoes! Vasili has a nice pair of white pointed shoes. Many of the clothes styles seem to be borrowed from MTV or the like(translation:doesn't leave much to the imagination)gjlkjlgjl (oop's back into the suitcase). I don't know where we will find clothes for Nadiya, she is so small. We were able to walk around and see some of the sights. There are a lot of statues of lions it is for Peter the Great. They don't have a statue of him just a lion. There was a monument dedicate for Dumpling Day, it's a region holiday in Poltava. Saturday is a big wedding day in Poltava where ever we went there was a wedding. We took the children to dinner at the buffet restaurant. They have very good food, but it's nothing like our buffets. They dish up the food and weigh it. The children like it though.

Visiting Stephans Brother

2008-07-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today July 10th we had to get up early we were traveling to visit Stephan's brother, Misha. We drove for 3 hours, Misha was working on farm machinery. When he walked out of the barn he surprised us. He is just a child himself, he is only 17. We had to have Misha write a letter saying that we could adopt him. It was very touching, I felt so sorry for Misha knowing that he will probably never see his younger brother again. Misha looked so sad as we drove away. Stephan was sitting next to me and I could see that he was close to tears. I looked at him and asked if he was ok. Next we had to go to Stephan's home town to have the minister there approve the separation of Stephan from his brother. Natasha was a little worried because the minister wanted to talk to us but all she asked us if we would let Stephan keep in contact with his brother. Then she asked Stephan if he wanted to be adopted by us and go to America. The minister congratulated us and we were on our way. We need to go back to pick up the papers on Tuesday.

I want to go to America

2008-07-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted the Millers and the Carrs to know that we saw their their cute kids. All is well with them. All I can say is be patient, the process moves so slow. The second day we went to see Nadiya and Stephan they had to write letters saying that they wanted to come to America and us to adopt them. We were a little bit apprehensive as we approached the camp because of the cool reception the day before by Nadiya (even a little bit by Stephan). We were relieved however upon arrival to see Stephan smiling and walking quickly toward the van. Later, after they found her, Nadiya came marching toward us with a smile on her face and quickly came over to us. Irena (psychologist) asked her if she wanted us to adopt her and go to America she would have to write a letter. Nadiya nodded yes grabbed the pen and started to write!
The weather has been cool and stormy. It has rained for 2 days. Our apartment in Keiv was very nice, had a kitchen, living room and bedroom($110 usd) a night. Our apartment in Poltava is smaller. One room and 2 twin beds($40 usd) we are hoping to move into the larger one on Tuesday($80 usd). The children will problably be able to stay with us after our court date on Friday.

Meeting Stephan and Nadiya

2008-07-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

First we had to go to the ophanage to get Irena and more paperwork. Lots and lots of paper. Then we had to meet with the Minister of Children to OK with her. She had gold teeth in almost all of her teeth. She was very nice though. She told us that she hoped we would develop a relationship with Nadiya like we had with Stephan. Now we are off to visit the children at the camp. It is a camp where the children go during the summer. There really are no children in the ophanage during the summer. Except K-2. Some of the children are invited to Italy, 52 children, some have gone to camps in Alabama.
Charrisse is now making me tell you something about my thoughts about this whole thing. She said that she just as well have brought one more peice of luggage to carry around as much help as I have been--Oh well
Anyway we got to camp with the orphanage psychologist (who all the children love), and many of the kids came out to greet her. Stephan saw us and wandered over to say hi. Our translator asked the kids to go find Nadiya they excitedly ran to find her.
Later they appeared almost dragging this small girl who would not even look up. The children (especially the ones who had been to the U.S.) were very excited when the translator told her of the reason for our visit. Nadiya would still have nothing to do with it. She still would talk to the translator and Irena (psychologist) but not to us. It was fun to watch the other girls come over and one by one tell her what a good opportunity they thought this was for her. We were leaving so all the kids took off. As we were pulling out of camp one of her friends came running up out of breath and announced that Nadiya had changed her mind and decided to have us adopt her. We left camp with a good feeling.
Now maybe I can go back to being like luggage!

Here we are!

2008-07-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well we finally made it here after 9 hour flight, to an airport no larger that Logans. We had to show our passports to enter and country and fill out a paper where we would be. We didn't have an address so the girl behing the counter was being difficult while eating her breakfast. But we made it through and found Natasha and Vasili. And headed to our apartment. The next day was our appointment with the SDA. We were suppose to have an hour but we only had a half because they were late and then had to have lunch. Picked out a little 12 year old girl after looking through about 10 books. They either had younger siblings or were in Italy. We also got the referral for Stephan, 15. The next day we were heading for Poltava, 41/2 hour on a two lane highway, sometimes a one lane. The roads are really bumpy and they drive crazy.

Ukraine

2008-07-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

So I am attempting to create this blog so everyone can be up to date on our Ukraine adventure. Right now I am scrambling doing last minute things, and praying that our house will still be here when we return. We are excited and nervous for this adventure and we are lucky to have so much support. Thank you all, and I will try to be good about posting often! Wish us luck!