Good to meet the adoptive community is Southern Colorado.
Took some pictures. Been a long time since I added pictures.
Us
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Why I Love America, by Sophia Christofferson
"America is not as hot as Ukraine. My family not hit me every day like in Ukraine. I like the supermarkets, they are bigger than in Ukraine. I like my house, because I don't have a house in Ukraine. I don't have a computer in Ukraine. It is beautiful outside in America. I like America because we never in Ukraine go to camp, and not go swimming and I never saw before fire trucks. I like America because the school helps me learn English. In Ukraine we learned a little English be we cannot understand, but in America I learn a lot. I like America because in Ukraine I never had good house, but slept outside. I like America because all my sisters are close to me. In Ukraine I was never very clean, but in America I can take a shower. I like America because there are no boys hitting me. I like America because the teachers never take money away from me."
Sunday, September 6, 2009
What not to do
Ann learned a lesson this week. Don't wear a T-shirt to school, if the T-shirt has the name of the rival high school. Within an hour, she called: "Please bring another T-shirt, right now!"
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
What's up?
Summer is over?? Rats.
In June, we had a vacation in a beautiful home on Lake Elmandor in California.
The girls lived in their swimming suits for a week.
In July, the two little girls lost 3 teeth in as many days. Sophia had a loose tooth, and worked very hard to take it out, but the tooth refused. She was in tears, partly because it now hurt. Before putting them to bed, I gave them a small glass of warm milk. Sophia looked at me, and said, "I swallowed it." Sigh. The next day, she found another loose tooth, and worked that one out. Two nights, the tooth fairy visited her pillow. Then, I was driving Sophia and Anna from the swimming pool. Sophia had gotten Fritos, and the girls were eating them, when Anna said, "I broke a tooth." Knowing how rotten some of her teeth are, I believed it. She leaned out the window so she could spit blood. Finally, she gave me the tooth, and it was obvious a baby tooth had come out. It did have a hole in the top.
Then there was Josh's wedding. Eileen's brothers and her mom came out. For many, this was their first time to our house. The groomsmen got to wear tuxes, and the weather was hot. Sarah had a beautiful dress.
And then came August. Rolan lost his job. We had to get vaccinations for the girls. Sophia caught a cold or bronchial infection that has lasted into September. School started. We have visited all three schools due to problems of one sort or another. Eileen has started working at temp jobs, doing cooking and food delivery, but is not sure that working is the right thing. Rolan had a birthday, too. I can now play a card for every year of my age.
And now the whining. We sure thought we were doing God's will when we set out on this adoption trip. We tried to believe that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He would take care of us if we took a chance and went to get these girls, even though the economy was not good. After all, what is faith without action? And now we have medical and dental bills and no income. The stress level is high, there are tears and anger and frustration. Did we bring the girls from poverty in Ukraine, just to show them poverty in America?
We have been through hard times in the past, so hard that we cried out and said, "Enough! I can't take any more!" And now here we are again. Here is how I am feeling: #%!^*#@. No, that's not a regular expression (programming term). That's confusion and anger and fear and exhaustion. The only hope I have now is that I came out of those other times, and maybe I can make it through this one.
This week is Sophia's birthday. She wants to take "pupcakes" to school. :)
Rolan
In June, we had a vacation in a beautiful home on Lake Elmandor in California.
The girls lived in their swimming suits for a week.
In July, the two little girls lost 3 teeth in as many days. Sophia had a loose tooth, and worked very hard to take it out, but the tooth refused. She was in tears, partly because it now hurt. Before putting them to bed, I gave them a small glass of warm milk. Sophia looked at me, and said, "I swallowed it." Sigh. The next day, she found another loose tooth, and worked that one out. Two nights, the tooth fairy visited her pillow. Then, I was driving Sophia and Anna from the swimming pool. Sophia had gotten Fritos, and the girls were eating them, when Anna said, "I broke a tooth." Knowing how rotten some of her teeth are, I believed it. She leaned out the window so she could spit blood. Finally, she gave me the tooth, and it was obvious a baby tooth had come out. It did have a hole in the top.
Then there was Josh's wedding. Eileen's brothers and her mom came out. For many, this was their first time to our house. The groomsmen got to wear tuxes, and the weather was hot. Sarah had a beautiful dress.
And then came August. Rolan lost his job. We had to get vaccinations for the girls. Sophia caught a cold or bronchial infection that has lasted into September. School started. We have visited all three schools due to problems of one sort or another. Eileen has started working at temp jobs, doing cooking and food delivery, but is not sure that working is the right thing. Rolan had a birthday, too. I can now play a card for every year of my age.
And now the whining. We sure thought we were doing God's will when we set out on this adoption trip. We tried to believe that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He would take care of us if we took a chance and went to get these girls, even though the economy was not good. After all, what is faith without action? And now we have medical and dental bills and no income. The stress level is high, there are tears and anger and frustration. Did we bring the girls from poverty in Ukraine, just to show them poverty in America?
We have been through hard times in the past, so hard that we cried out and said, "Enough! I can't take any more!" And now here we are again. Here is how I am feeling: #%!^*#@. No, that's not a regular expression (programming term). That's confusion and anger and fear and exhaustion. The only hope I have now is that I came out of those other times, and maybe I can make it through this one.
This week is Sophia's birthday. She wants to take "pupcakes" to school. :)
Rolan
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Brief Update
[Rolan]
Things are going well, a lot is happening. All the kids want to be on the computer, and it's hard to make time to update the blog.
That just changed. I get let go from work.
The roller coaster ride continues. *sigh*
Things are going well, a lot is happening. All the kids want to be on the computer, and it's hard to make time to update the blog.
That just changed. I get let go from work.
The roller coaster ride continues. *sigh*
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Just About Three Months
I'm pooped today. Do I say that every day? Naw.
Life is settling down slowly. When you take two steps forward and one step back, you eventually get somewhere, be it ever soooooo slowly. No longer hyper-vigilant wondering if my new children are thieves, liars, bullies, homicidal maniacs of some sort. Getting to know people a little better makes them easier to live with.
I thought we would never get through May. School getting out and the anniversary of the girls' mom's death. Birthdays and injuries and tooth work. I'm not kidding, I panicked, realizing I would only have a few more days to get the things done that I wouldn't get done with the girls home, so I scheduled dentist, doc, eye exams all in one week. Then I got mad at myself because the days were so beautiful and I should be spending them outside in the garden. It made for one grouchy mama.
Now June is here and the days are getting hot and really, the optimal time to plant is gone. Sit back and enjoy the kids! Okay, its raining. Something has gone terribly askew with the weather. I don't remember when I've seen Colorado so wet. Or GREEN! The two younger girls have started half day summer school. The school bus picks them up (it still makes me cry), and someone even feeds them a light breakfast and lunch, and then the school bus brings them home. No muss, no fuss. I hope they are learning something and not just eating. Hmmmm. Wondering if this program is out of compassion to find a way to feed starving ESL students in the summer. There are many stereotypes surrounding ESL students, I'm finding.
Some *&$!@ counselor down at Tanya's school (yeah, those guys) told me she finished High School and therefore has no more rights to public education. I made the mistake of submitting Tanya's General Education Certificate which she received at 15 years of age in Ukraine. I really just wanted to find out what she needs to get an American high school diploma. After an embarrassing meltdown in front of my family, I decided that we needed to hire an attorney. Not an easy decision for me who believes in using lawyers for only the most dire of circumstances. Yes, I knew that someday I can tell Tanya she means that much to us. I prayed. Even as I was praying, the lawyer called me back. In less than a week, it has all turned out as we hoped and the district called yesterday re-enstating Tanya's rights to summer school and High School in the fall. The lawyer did minimal work and will not charge us! Don't know where this will lead in the coming year but I so very much want Tanya to have choices for her future.
We deal with issues that are sometimes new and sometimes revisits of stuff we have seen before and thought we took care of. This is common. All in all the girls are progressing well. There are a few things that concern us but we have found a great Russian speaking therapist in Denver that has been helpful. We may end up putting Sophia in a private school in the fall because she has some behavior issues we are concerned about but she seems to be there academically. Fortunately, we have all summer to think about it.
Hope to post some photos soon!
Life is settling down slowly. When you take two steps forward and one step back, you eventually get somewhere, be it ever soooooo slowly. No longer hyper-vigilant wondering if my new children are thieves, liars, bullies, homicidal maniacs of some sort. Getting to know people a little better makes them easier to live with.
I thought we would never get through May. School getting out and the anniversary of the girls' mom's death. Birthdays and injuries and tooth work. I'm not kidding, I panicked, realizing I would only have a few more days to get the things done that I wouldn't get done with the girls home, so I scheduled dentist, doc, eye exams all in one week. Then I got mad at myself because the days were so beautiful and I should be spending them outside in the garden. It made for one grouchy mama.
Now June is here and the days are getting hot and really, the optimal time to plant is gone. Sit back and enjoy the kids! Okay, its raining. Something has gone terribly askew with the weather. I don't remember when I've seen Colorado so wet. Or GREEN! The two younger girls have started half day summer school. The school bus picks them up (it still makes me cry), and someone even feeds them a light breakfast and lunch, and then the school bus brings them home. No muss, no fuss. I hope they are learning something and not just eating. Hmmmm. Wondering if this program is out of compassion to find a way to feed starving ESL students in the summer. There are many stereotypes surrounding ESL students, I'm finding.
Some *&$!@ counselor down at Tanya's school (yeah, those guys) told me she finished High School and therefore has no more rights to public education. I made the mistake of submitting Tanya's General Education Certificate which she received at 15 years of age in Ukraine. I really just wanted to find out what she needs to get an American high school diploma. After an embarrassing meltdown in front of my family, I decided that we needed to hire an attorney. Not an easy decision for me who believes in using lawyers for only the most dire of circumstances. Yes, I knew that someday I can tell Tanya she means that much to us. I prayed. Even as I was praying, the lawyer called me back. In less than a week, it has all turned out as we hoped and the district called yesterday re-enstating Tanya's rights to summer school and High School in the fall. The lawyer did minimal work and will not charge us! Don't know where this will lead in the coming year but I so very much want Tanya to have choices for her future.
We deal with issues that are sometimes new and sometimes revisits of stuff we have seen before and thought we took care of. This is common. All in all the girls are progressing well. There are a few things that concern us but we have found a great Russian speaking therapist in Denver that has been helpful. We may end up putting Sophia in a private school in the fall because she has some behavior issues we are concerned about but she seems to be there academically. Fortunately, we have all summer to think about it.
Hope to post some photos soon!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Not Over-protecting
They say that if you never take your kids to the hospital, you are over-protecting them.
Saturday, Eileen and I worked many long hours trying to cover up our dirt and clay with flagstones. We had a nice size patio before the construction started. We took pictures of the stones before we moved them out of the way, so when construction was done, we would be able to put them back together. The pictures helped a lot. We should also have numbered or lettered each stone. Guessing is fun, but time consuming.
Sunday, my muscles were achy. We had a picnic planned for Mother's day, but the weather did not cooperate. So I took Sophia and Anna swimming. I was going to spend a long time in the hot tub, relaxing the sore muscles. After 10 minutes in the tub, Anna wanted me to come slide down the slide with her. OK, I'll come back to the hot tub later. We got to the child's pool, and were then told by one of the life guards that everyone had to get out of the pool. OK, not sure what was going on, but I can follow directions. Anna and I waited near the locker rooms. Where was Sophia? Anna, go check the ladies locker room. No, not there. I wandered out to the pool area and asked a life guard, "Did someone get hurt?" "Yes." "Was it a 10 year old girl?" "Yes." Sigh.
I found Sophia strapped to a board with her head immobilized. Supposedly, she had tried a back flip from the diving board. The life guards thought they saw her hit her head on the diving board. They did not want to take any chances. After I got our gear together, Anna and I changed into clothes, and we followed the ambulance to the hospital.
Of course, Sophia was scared. She did not want doctors poking on her. And her leg hurt. A doctor came in, checked her neck, and declared it to be ok. The neck brace could come off. After a long wait, we were wheeled down to the CAT scan room for pictures. Not too scary, and a warm blanket to boot. Back down to the trauma room, for another long wait. This time, the X-ray technician came in and took pictures of the leg. Another long wait. A nurse wheeled in a cart for doing sutures. Another long wait. Sophia was ready to go home. So was Anna. Anna reached under the little stool that can raise or lower, and got grease all over her hand. We walked down to the bathroom and got the grease off. And of course, the doctor who wanted to do the sutures came in while we were out. When Anna and I got back, we had to wait some more.
Sophia was now quite scared. She did NOT want stitches. She saw this in Ukraine, or had it done, and was certain it was going to hurt like blazes. Her leg had had a topical anesthetic applied, and was changing colors nicely. I don't remember which came first, the local anesthetic or the washing. The local hurt a little, but I don't think it hurt as much as Sophia thought it would. The nurse who came to do the washing brought a huge syringe to squirt saline in the wound, and Sophia almost had a cow. She had to be shown that there was no needle on this thing. She had to be shown that it squirted water, by making the bed wet. OK, now she could accept the washing.
Finally, the doctor came back in. Sophia saw the used hypo in his shirt pocket, and started panicking. The doctor pitched hypo onto a counter, which helped calm her down. Then he took out the needle and sutures, and again the fear reached great heights. With the help of other nurses, they held her leg still, blocked her view, and got the first stitch in. With that, all fear was gone. Hey! That didnt' hurt!. Now she wanted to watch the next stitch go in. I think she would have done it herself if the doctors would let her.
Two stitches done, all bandged up, ready to go... except for the final papers. So we waited another long while. I think the whole process took more than three hours. Now the girls have seen an American hospital (this is twice for Sophia). Maybe next time won't be as scary.
Rolan
Saturday, Eileen and I worked many long hours trying to cover up our dirt and clay with flagstones. We had a nice size patio before the construction started. We took pictures of the stones before we moved them out of the way, so when construction was done, we would be able to put them back together. The pictures helped a lot. We should also have numbered or lettered each stone. Guessing is fun, but time consuming.
Sunday, my muscles were achy. We had a picnic planned for Mother's day, but the weather did not cooperate. So I took Sophia and Anna swimming. I was going to spend a long time in the hot tub, relaxing the sore muscles. After 10 minutes in the tub, Anna wanted me to come slide down the slide with her. OK, I'll come back to the hot tub later. We got to the child's pool, and were then told by one of the life guards that everyone had to get out of the pool. OK, not sure what was going on, but I can follow directions. Anna and I waited near the locker rooms. Where was Sophia? Anna, go check the ladies locker room. No, not there. I wandered out to the pool area and asked a life guard, "Did someone get hurt?" "Yes." "Was it a 10 year old girl?" "Yes." Sigh.
I found Sophia strapped to a board with her head immobilized. Supposedly, she had tried a back flip from the diving board. The life guards thought they saw her hit her head on the diving board. They did not want to take any chances. After I got our gear together, Anna and I changed into clothes, and we followed the ambulance to the hospital.
Of course, Sophia was scared. She did not want doctors poking on her. And her leg hurt. A doctor came in, checked her neck, and declared it to be ok. The neck brace could come off. After a long wait, we were wheeled down to the CAT scan room for pictures. Not too scary, and a warm blanket to boot. Back down to the trauma room, for another long wait. This time, the X-ray technician came in and took pictures of the leg. Another long wait. A nurse wheeled in a cart for doing sutures. Another long wait. Sophia was ready to go home. So was Anna. Anna reached under the little stool that can raise or lower, and got grease all over her hand. We walked down to the bathroom and got the grease off. And of course, the doctor who wanted to do the sutures came in while we were out. When Anna and I got back, we had to wait some more.
Sophia was now quite scared. She did NOT want stitches. She saw this in Ukraine, or had it done, and was certain it was going to hurt like blazes. Her leg had had a topical anesthetic applied, and was changing colors nicely. I don't remember which came first, the local anesthetic or the washing. The local hurt a little, but I don't think it hurt as much as Sophia thought it would. The nurse who came to do the washing brought a huge syringe to squirt saline in the wound, and Sophia almost had a cow. She had to be shown that there was no needle on this thing. She had to be shown that it squirted water, by making the bed wet. OK, now she could accept the washing.
Finally, the doctor came back in. Sophia saw the used hypo in his shirt pocket, and started panicking. The doctor pitched hypo onto a counter, which helped calm her down. Then he took out the needle and sutures, and again the fear reached great heights. With the help of other nurses, they held her leg still, blocked her view, and got the first stitch in. With that, all fear was gone. Hey! That didnt' hurt!. Now she wanted to watch the next stitch go in. I think she would have done it herself if the doctors would let her.
Two stitches done, all bandged up, ready to go... except for the final papers. So we waited another long while. I think the whole process took more than three hours. Now the girls have seen an American hospital (this is twice for Sophia). Maybe next time won't be as scary.
Rolan
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