A picture says a 1000 words...

(Picture taken by Nadia)

This picture was taken during a concert that the Boyarka orphanage was putting on for my mom and the other ladies-- I thought it was a beautiful (and sad) picture.

An update on my moms trip to Ukraine

A GREAT picture of Ella and my mom


My mom has been gone for about a week and a half now. I've had the opportunity to talk to her almost everyday through Skype. It has been great to hear how things are going on a day-to-day basis.

Her trip seems to have been really successful on multiple levels so far. She has met some great people, figured out more details of a future adoption, formed great relationships to help our hosting program Global Family Alliance, and also seems to really enjoy learning more about the Ukrainian culture.

Ella didn't realize my mom was going to Ukraine, so she was quite surprised when she was approached by the other kids in the orphanage saying "your American is here." My mom spent a lot of time at the orphanage- doing crafts, playing games, etc. Eventually my mom asked Ella if she wanted to be adopted, Ella said "I don't know, I'm not sure." From the beginning, my family discussed how we would handle that exact situation. For numerous reasons, we decided that we would never try to persuade her (or have someone else). My family understands her uncertainty and is willing to adopt someone else. There are so many other kids that want a family SO bad and we wouldn't want L to change her mind last minute or regret her decision once she was here. Ella is really just not ready.

My mom said Ella became more standoffish towards the end of the trip. I'm not a bit surprised by this. She is the type of girl that will push away anything that makes her feel anything. It's easier to distance yourself from something then to deal with your emotions. It's understandable, she hasn't had anyone in her life to actually trust. It can be hard on us sometimes though.

My mom has been looking for other kids that want a family- there's a 15 year old girl and 12 year old boy that have especially touched her heart. Our intentions were never to adopt 2, especially since Alona may become adoptable later, which would be 3 kids. We are confident there is a plan for us, and are waiting to see how everything unravels.

Tomorrow my mom is going to Northern Ukraine to visit Alona and a couple orphanages up there. I'm so excited to hear about her experiences. I'm sure Alona will be absolutely thrilled to see my mom! I'll add a picture of her onto this blog once I have one!


Here she is while my mom visited her in Ukraine!

My moms in Ukraine!

My mom left early yesterday morning for Ukraine and arrived at 3am our time in Kiev. We talked briefly on skype and she seemed to be in good spirits even after all of that traveling.

In 2008, before we decided to host Alona, we were going to host another little girl named Alona who immediately stole our hearts. We decided that it wasn't a good idea to host her because we found out that she was going to be adopted within the next few months- it would be too many transitions for her. My mom just learned that the adoption fell through and she's still in the orphanage and constantly tells the social worker how bad she wants a family. I feel awful for her because not only did she lose out on the opportunity to be hosted, but her short-lived hope of a forever family quickly faded. Apparently she doesn't have a single person that visits her in the orphanage. My heart aches for her... and all the other children who want a family and have no outside support.

There are so many stories.