GETTING TO KNOW OUR FAMILY

The boys with Dad

The boys are doing really well with transitioning to their life in California. We have been home less than 2 weeks and it seems to be feeling more like home for them everyday. The schedule is working and they are really good sleepers. We feel like all we do is eat, change diapers, and then put them to bed.

Great Grandma with Sasha

There have been several visits from family and the boys have met their 3 great grandparents this week. Many more family have visits scheduled over the next month or so. We look forward to introducing them to everyone in time.

Looking for the Cat outside

What one does the other does. They work as a team or they work in exact opposites it depends on their moods. We see the back of their heads like this often. They are also getting used to bare heads and bare feet in the California warmth.

One of their new friends Louella at the beach park

We have made only a couple adventures out to meet people but have spent the last couple days at home for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We are really excited to just have some time to get well and rested and over our colds brought from Ukraine.

The boys in their tropical beach room

The boys are sharing a room for now and they are doing well with it. They sleep next to each other and don't seem to wake each other up much. They can see each other when they do get up and we are now finding them quietly waiting for us to get them up.
We will keep you up to date and hope to see you all soon.

HOME AT LAST!

On the flight from London to Los Angeles, 10.5 hours

We have made it home and we are so happy to be here! We are so overwhelmed with all of the things that our friends and family have done in the house. We have started our transition back to California time but it is taking a few days. The boys slept almost 12 hours last night and are taking their nap right now. I apologize for the delay in the post. We have also been finding our way around getting to tasks while keeping the boys safe and happy. They are overwhelmed with the wonderful toys and can’t decide what to play with first. We got home Monday night and had a nice drive with my brother Chris up PCH with a beautiful smoke sunset. When we got home the house was clean and fully stocked. As very tired new parents we were able to take the boys up to their room, show them around, change their diapers and get new pajamas on them. It was then not too hard to get them to sleep in their cribs. It made us feel almost like experienced parents. That hasn’t lasted! They are so happy here in the US and Losha will show you just how excited he is.

WE ARE COMING HOME!!!!

Just like our trip has gone so far, another surprise has happened for the ending. We have just completed our paperwork on Friday in time for the weekend. That means we are free to leave and emmigrate these boys to the USA. We are really glad to have this very busy and of course stressful day behind us and it really took the boys out of their routine. What continues to be evolving is the understanding that we have very sturdy troopers for boys. They spent the majority of the day in a medical facility getting there exam for the embassy or in a car on our laps. The day progressed along just as Olga had planned and we made every deadline set for us, mostly by the skin of our teeth.

We are scheduled to leave here Sunday and make it home late Monday or Early Tuesday morning. This has truly been an incredible journey and we have learned so much about the Ukrainian culture and people.

THREE FUNNY STORIES

We are in our last day in Mykolayiv and are frantically trying to get all essentials bought and all tasks we can do done before we pick up those little squirming bundles of joy. We skipped a morning visit today as we got everything packed and did our last shopping run. Diapers, bottom cream and cereal are a few. We are ready except we are finalizing a few gifts for the boy’s caregivers and the local directors. Wow, we have a lot of stuff. Olga and our driver from Kyiv will arrive here sometime tonight and we will have one nights sleep before picking the boys up at about 9:30am. This is perfect for us. We get to say goodbye and not in the dark of night. We will be giving our cake and coffee for the caregivers and medical staff, getting any final information we can, taking pictures, and dressing our boys in their new clothes to leave the baby house for good. We are hoping that at least a couple of them have written notes for our boys to take. All the paperwork is done so they are ready to go. We may have some down time as we travel but we will get some kind of post up to let you know we are in Kyiv. Olga has a very nice apartment reserved for us and we should have a comfortable stay there with the boys.

Now that the update is done to the funny stories!

Yesterday we did another donation to the baby house as we withdrew the boy’s social money and took it to the accountant of the facility. We didn’t think much about it but Sasha said let’s take the car so we don’t have to walk with cash. We’ve been walking with cash for the last month! When the cashier called us up when our withdrawal was ready, we then knew what she was talking about. They gave it to us in twenties which made it look very big in large wraped stacks. Eight stacks of bills plus another thousand in 100’s. The bank was filled with older people waiting as well. Greg said that the lady behind me was counting along with us and had big eyes. It wasn’t until we got home and looked in our Ukraine book to determine how much money that is in relation to most citizens. It was equal to about an average years salary for a Ukrainian. For those older women it must have looked amazing and Sasha said it is the biggest she has taken out because there are two children. This money is going to help them replace the windows in the area of the house the boys lived in for the past 14 months.

Also, while I was standing in line at the processing window where we gave them all the paperwork and showed our passports for the social money, a women behind me noticed something on my coat that she just couldn’t let pass. She grabbed my coat and pulled me towards her so she could do a better job. She licked her fingers and rubbed out the whatever-it-was. She was talking to me the whole time and Sasha and the social worker were snickering while Greg was trying to keep me from pulling it out of her hands so she could do her work.

The other funny story is from 3 days ago. Greg and little Sasha had been following a pigeon when we were outside for our walk. They walked away from Losha and I and then I heard a "Whoa!" from Greg and a covey of birds flew off. Then I saw a cat run off with the pigeon that Greg and Sasha were following in its mouth. Greg didn’t know whether to watch or pull him away but didn’t want to startle Sasha so they just turned quickly and walked away. There are many cats on the property and we fear for the happiness and sanity of our cat at home. At least Baci will loose a few pounds running away from small hands.

BUSTING OUT OF THE BABY HOUSE! TEST RUN.

In front of the delivery house where they were born.

Big Sasha says, "Just born babies!"

Only for 2 hours, but we got them out on an off-campus pass. We had a little outing to the passport office today for paperwork and more photos for the authorities. We went in Victor's car and the boys sat on our laps in the back seat with no fuss. They were very interested in looking at all the cars and buses go by. At the office we had only a few minute wait in the hall and then we went into a room with two people working. We sat to wait for a few more minutes and they were ready for us. I was pleased to see a computerized program and digital photo system set up. The boys had to sit on a stool, with our help of course, to get a digital image to be sent to Kyiv for authentication and confirmation of their identity. They are really officially ours now. We have new birth certificates with our names on them and adoption certificates that state their name change and where they are from. Sasha has been very efficient with our time and the paperwork has gone quite easily for us. Behind the scenes it is quite time consuming and requires extensive networking to get anything done.

Sasha our facilitator with Losha

We had our own little photo session in front of the delivery house where the boys were born and spent there first week of life. It is very close to the Baby House and we have walked past it several times on our way to the big market. We feel like this was a very good day! Not only for our paperwork process but for our piece of mind with the boys and travel. This was their first time in a car since they were placed in the orphanage. Mind you this was only a test and many hours in a car or plane will be a much more challenging feat. But Losha was even able to fall asleep lying on me in the car on the way back from the passport office. The warm heater and hum of the road just put him to sleep.

Gift Crest from the Baby House Director

We were also given a gift of this City crest from the Baby House Director. She was unable to meet us today because she was away at a meeting but gave it to Sasha ahead of time so we would get it this weekend. There have also been a couple requests for photos of our family from the Local Board of Custody Director and the Baby House Director. We will try to find some frames and get prints done. These will make good gifts.

TOUR DE MYKOLAYIV

Victor and Sasha in front of Victory Park

WWII Memorial

We took a tour of Mykolayiv on Wednesday. It was a welcome chance to learn more of our boys' hometown. Victor and Sasha were ideal interpretors for the job. Both grew up in Mykolayiv and attended universities here. Sasha has two degrees, and speaks both English and French. Victor studied at the Shipbuilding College, the most prestigious in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

We had already visited the main drag, vul Radnyanska, on shopping excursions for the boys. It is a wide street closed to traffic, filled with higher end stores and anchored by an unusually loud McDonalds. Nearby, is the Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet. There was once an arguement between which town, Odessa or Mikolayiv, had the nicest museum of this sort. But since a fire burned down the museum in Odessa, there is little question that we visited the finest one. Victor comes from a military family and was able to add personal details to the exhibits.

Ukrainian language Theatre. The city's two theatres, one in Russian language, the other in Ukrainian, still shows the dichotomy of their evolving identity.

Mykolayiv is best known as a shipbuilding port. Originally named, "New Shipyard on the Ingul River" in 1789, the port has formed the identity of the town and its citizens for nearly 230 years. It has had some hard times since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Once the center for shipbuilding for all of the Republic, the switch to a capitalist market has been understandably difficult. The port was the heart of Mykolayiv, employing most of the town and providing high incomes compared to most other jobs. Warships, aircraft carriers, and seemingly anything else that floated were built here. But when Ukraine gained its independence, the Soviet demand for ships faded and production was mostly halted. The port was forced to sell its steel for scrap just to survive. Fortunately there is evidence that the market is steadily building by manufacturing for the private sector. In the photo below you can see a yacht being constructed behind the red and green cranes. The shipbuilding univerity has also diversified, and offers a larger selection of Majors. Kathy and I have noted before the groups of students walking the streets.

Ship building port now building luxury yachts

Mykolayiv also has the nickname, "City of Brides." Men from around Ukraine and the world come here in search of romance and spouses. The women of Mykolayiv are considered some of the most beautiful in the world. There is an unconfirmed story that traces the source to Peter the Great, who asked that the most beautiful single women in Russia be brought to the Mykolayiv region to become the brides of his soldiers. In current times, the combination of a country with more women than men, a volitile economy, and an embrace of feminine ideals lost in many western countries, has led to a robust international dating scene.

Memorial to Afghanistan War in Victory Park

The art on the streets and the ships on the water remind us of home. We walked through Victory Park. On one side of vul Prospect was the memorial to World War II Veterans. On the other side, a memorial to the Afghanistan War Veterans. A paved trail leads to the river, unpopulated in the autumn weather. Sasha told us that in the summer the area is filled with parties, kiosks, and tent pubs. We see volleyball courts with the nets taken down for the season. The autumn, with falling leaves and dropping temperatures feels more appropriate for our visit, leaving behind one season and trancending toward another.

Footbridge across the Ingul River

Our great thanks to Andrea and the rest of our Virtual Shower and Home-Readying Team! It has been a challenge for us to figure out a way to be ready when we arrive home with all the pieces in place for the boys. A blind adoption, where we didn't know the sex, age or disability of the child, gave us little opportunity to prepare ahead. We are so thankful to everyone for your help. You truly are a part of this journey to bring these boys home.

Andrea is requesting any gifts arrive at Pacific Therapy in Ventura by November 18. From there, gifts will be delivered to our home where our home-readying team will get all the parts together. Shipping directly to our home is also fine. If there are hand-me-downs that need a good home let us know. Most of all we love to hear your bits of wisdom and well wishes.

Thank you planners, donors, and well wishers. We look forward to returning home and having a great gathering to introduce each of you to our new sons as soon as possible.

SUPER NANNIES!

The nannies were seen in action today as one of the little ones took a bad fall and landed on his head hard. You know what happened next. A wail from the little boy and as he was turned over a stream of blood ran from his head about an inch above his eyebrows. Quick action and a cloth for compression was established as the child was held still. Of course this happened with 6 other children in the room Greg and I as well as two other caregivers. They were very calm but stern with the other kids to keep them away and engaged in their own tasks of getting dressed. Within seconds there were gloves, disinfectant and more pressure dressings. The medical staff was immediately summoned and we know from all our time there that the nurse on staff is only about 40 ft from where this happened. The staff was very calm. With that many children I'm sure heads get hit quite often. They just bleed so much it is very dramatic.



Just last week we got a taste of this with Losha. He has a little test he does with me and goes into the kitchen area where he is not allowed. Of course he looked and saw that I was coming to get him out, turned quick and ran directly into the corner of the wood table. His little head directly the height to land at his eye level. He missed the eye but hit the side of his head. He let out only a little cry and then stopped and I thought "that was a hard one, what a tough head." Well he was not doing well getting on with the next task and I then noticed that he had a welt in that impact spot. I showed the Nannie and it was right to the ice bottle in the freezer. Now he was crying and screaming with the ice pressed onto his head. It was my first of many of these little trauma's I'm sure. It was not easy to see him crying and not be sure if he was hurt or just really mad. Well he was just really mad. It only took about 3 minutes and Greg had him calmed down and onto the push toys in the Veranda.



They are in good hands here and we are excited to get to have our interpreter with us tomorrow during our visit. We are hoping to get some information about habits and see if they are sleeping with the blankets we got for them. We are also going to share with them our letter that we had interpreted into Ukrainian. We have 4 copies to give out and we hope it spurs on some letters from them to our boys. We think this would be so wonderful to have for the boys as they grow and understand their first year and a half was with these wonderful ladies. They have been at this baby house we think without leaving since they were 2 months old. We still have so many questions about our boys and we plan to gather as much information in the next week as we can. All of a sudden the time seems so short to get all the answers.

GETTING CLOSER ALL THE TIME

The boys are doing well even if they don't look happy in this photo, they are. The Italian family was taking our picture and the boys get very serious in the presence of strangers. But, as you can see below, she was a better photographer than we were.

Family from Italy

We are very excited for the pending paperwork and then traveling home. We plan to leave this region and travel to Kyiv by car around the 15th of November. We then will be in Kyiv for about 3-4 days to do Embassy paperwork and get their Visa's. Then we fly home sometime around November 22nd. (Written, per usual, with stick in the sand.)

So many have asked how they can help so we have put together some registries on-line. The regular places and they are easy to access on-line or at the store. Amazon.com, target.com, and Babiesrus.com All under Kathy and Greg Jones.

Thank you for hanging in there with us. The support and suggestions from home have made all the difference in this trip.

Best to all!