Douberly Dynamics

Dear Friends and Family,

Some of you have told me you have checked periodically to see if we are adding any news about our adjustment process here at the Douberly household. I thought by now you would have been sick to death of looking at our photos and reading about our going-ons. However, for those of you still hanging on, I can hang with you! It's my honor. Now let's get to the good stuff.

Oh, the Douberly boys! Where do I begin? Alex and Andrew are troopers. We won the orphan-jack pot! (Is that politically incorrect to say? Sorry if it was!) We cannot begin to tell you just how quickly they have adjusted and learned. We went from Alex screaming and pitching fits when he did something wrong to now him walking himself to time-out. It's quite impressive. Andrew is still really hard on himself and wants to please everyone. He does not like to disappoint and hides when he has done something he thinks is wrong. This is very new to me. I'm used to the elder two coming up and talking in circles trying to get out of trouble. They have never hid from it. Alex and Andrew's relationship with each other has changed drastically in the last 2 1/2 weeks. When we were in Ukraine they constantly held hands and cried when the other one would get in trouble (sympathy pains!). However, now, they are both very quick to throw each other under the bus. They even go so far as to wave and say "bye bye" while I'm marching the other one to time-out. It's all we can do from busting out laughing. Don't get me wrong. They are still super close. In fact, it still brings tear to my eyes when I check in on them in the middle of the night and it never fails that Andrew has left his bed and crawled into bed with Alex. He always is sleeping with a protective arm around his brother (who is spread out 'owning' the bed!) and holding his hand. It's too precious. I guess even though Andrew no longer feels like he has to be by Alex's side every minute, he subcosciously still it the protector. I look forward to him letting go a little more of that role so he can sit back and enjoy being a child for a while.

Alex and Andrew have truly enjoyed their new worlds. Every day is a new adventure. In fact, after we drop Joshua and Jacob off at the bus stop in our front yard, they race to get in the car. They LOVE the car! They particularly LOVE daddy's Jeep. Actually, Andrew would be quick to correct me that it's "Andrew's truck!" It's no longer "Daddy's Jeep". We have sat out in the Jeep in the driveway and just hung out on many occasions. I think of how they must feel though when they do get in the car to go somewhere. They have NO idea where we are going to end up. It could be King's Dominion, Five Guys, a park, or something as simple as a grocery store that has REALLY cool shopping carts shaped like cars! Oh, the excitement! They can't get enough. The other day we were having a lazy day. Lamar was making breakfast and the boys came out of the mud room with our shoes, pushing us to put them on. Then they pointed toward the car and started saying, "Bbye-bye car!" They wanted to go! They didn't care where....they were just ready. It's really too funny.

Joshua and Jacob have been tremendous helpers. At first they tried taking on the role of Parent #3 and Parent #4- telling the boys "Nyet(no)" to everything they tried to touch or do. However, after some coaching they are better filling the role of big brothers- guiding and leading them the right way. They have learned every word of Ukrainian and Russian that Lamar and I learned while we were away. They have flashcards for the boys that they use at the table while I'm making dinner. Don't get me wrong. We struggle with Jacob realizing his own super strength as he tosses-the-sibiling across the room. I think it's a power-trip! However, Alex holds his own and makes up what he doesn't have in muscular strength with that of lung and vocal power. Let's just say, it's rarely a dull moment here.

Well, I know there is a ton more I could share with you. I'm trying to work on getting video clips attached to the blog so you can see for yourself some of this craziness.

Again I want to thank all of you for your generosity, phone calls, cards, emails, etc. It's so sweet to know so many people are praying for us during this transition.

Love to all,

Kristina and boys X 5

Oct 2009 (106 photos), by Kristina Douberly

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We're Dome!

First Douberly family photo!

We couldn't have done it without Babushka and Dedushka! They were the glue to this entire operation! We love you, Nana C and Papa J. You've only been gone 30 minutes and you are missed by all of us!

Nana C and Papa J enjoy time bonding with their new grandsons

Preparing for our walk around their new neighborhood
Crazy Ukrainian Friends for life!!! (Andrew, Max Bryant, and Alex)

Laura Thoroman...I couldn't even begin to tell you everything she did for us! Mommy missed her eldest boys terribly

Our Homecoming awaits (and waits...and waits...)

Dearest Loved Ones,

We did it! We are home in the good 'ol USA. Dome Sweet Dome (Dome is Ukrainian for 'home'). We couldn't be happier. The boys act as if they have owned the place since Day 1! We love it. Joshua and Jacob have adjusted to being big brothers instantly. They continue to impress us with their helpful attitudes and biting their tongues if the boys wake them up screaming in the middle of the night. (Yes, we have some adjustment issues to work on, but it's ALL GOOD!)

Mom and Dad just drove off (sigh) and I'm nervous if we can handle it without them here. They have been such life savers. They made the boys feel so loved and comfortable that they never cried from homesickness. How amazing! I think maybe I should have brought them with me to help with MY homesickness! They juggled soccer practices, games, social events, laundry, cooking, etc, with such ease, zest and experience. We have heard over and over again how awesome they were with the boys while we were away. God bless my folks!

The homecoming was spectacular. The Thoroman and Bryant families joined my family in welcoming us home. It was such a treat. They made beautiful posters, delicious cookies, lasagna, etc. They even baby-proofed our house for us. When we came in the door, my mom had Laura and Scott go upstairs with me to see everything they had done. I get tears in my eyes all over again when I tell you this. They put together the entire boys' room! They had put together bunk beds for the boys (and had to get the parts themselves because they didn't come with the set!), stripped and painted the walls and made it feel like such a welcoming and warm bedroom for the boys. They/I LOVED it. It was too much. Laura and my mom had gone through an entire closet of junk to organize and sort clothes for the boys. It looked so nice. What have I done to have such beautiful people placed in my lives?

I can't thank all of you enough for the sweet phone calls, emails, clothes, and gifts. Our neighbor, Laurie brought over bags of precious clothes for the boys along with a new big wheel and Legos for the elder boys. Way too sweet! Another dear neighbor, Betsy handmade blankets for the boys. They love them! We also received matching helicopter long sleeve ultra-cool T-shirts from Hammer and gang. I can't wait to get them all in them for a picture. I have them washed and plan on taking the picture ASAP. I just have to round up the entire gang. I could go on and on talking about all of your generosity and I want to. However, Lamar just took the boys out for a men-outing and left me with a few precious moments to finally unpack my bags. (Hey, it's only been 3 days....not bad!)

Please don't be upset if we don't immediately return emails, phone calls, etc. We are still trying to find some balance in giving all the boys the attention they need. That's a huge priority right now.

My last request from you all....Could you all please just take a minute and send prayers of thanksgiving up to our mighty Lord and Savior. He has worked miracles for us and we are forever in debt for his graciousness, kindness, and love. I'm sure you all feel Him touching each of your lives, too. It's so easy to focus on praying to Him when we are in need. Lamar and I want to remember to give Him extra praise and glory during times of happiness and joy as well. He has given us two more gifts that we are just not worthy to have. God is good...

ALL THE TIME!

God bless you all.

Kris

God is good

Dearest Loved Ones,

I would love to beat around the bush or drag this out....but I can't....
WE ARE COMING HOME!!! That's right! We just got our tickets and we fly out tomorrow EARLY morning. We will be landing at Dulles International at 3:45 Saturday afternoon.

Everything happened VERY fast. Yuri hinted there was a very slim chance that if we got everything done today, we MIGHT be able to leave this weekend or Tuesday at the latest. Well, we got it all done! Today we did medicals (the boys were troopers!) and visas at the embassy. We got it all done in time to book some tickets. We will be getting up at 2:30 this morning (if Lamar and I even go to bed...we are REALLY jazzed) to get the boys ready and out the door to the airport.

It will be a very long day of traveling with the boys and we do worry about their sinuses, but every flight and every layover is still a step closer to getting back to my boys, family, friends, and home.

I feel like this is the end of a journey I have so enjoyed taking with each and every one of you. However, I do believe that is the beginning of a new chapter, not just for Alexander and Andrew, but for the entire Douberly Family. We look forward to keeping you updated on the reunion, adjustment process, and the many boyish antics that are sure to come. Oh, I can't wait!!!

God bless you all and thank you for your continued prayers on this last push to get the Douberly family all together.

Love always,

Kris

Joshua's comment

Dearest Friends,

I just went back and found an entry Joshua added after I had read that day's comments. It made me cry. I still sit here with tears in my eyes thinking of him looking for each and every letter on the keyboard as he is sounding out words he's not sure how to spell. My mom says he spends so much time at the computer composing his messages.

His words and message touched me so much that I am copying and pasting it (just the way he wrote it) and adding it as an entry to share with you all.

Joshua, my dear son, thank you for your sweet and encouraging words. I enjoy our Skype time, too, but can't wait to hold you in my arms again. Please continue to be helpful in school. That is the best thing we can hear is that you are helping others. What you write about your brothers is just as special as what adults write, too. Be proud of yourself and what you do. And as always, keep trying your best.

Daddy and I love you very much and we are touched beyond measure that you and Jacob are trying so hard to be good for Nana C and Papa J. Hang in there....we will be home soon.

I love you, dear. Share my long distant hugs and kisses with your brother!

Love,

Mommy

Joshua's comment from Sept 23, 2009

Mom and Dad,Thank you for calling us this morning on skype. It was fun watching my brothers wrestle.Thank you for keeping in touch with us.It really helps me from getting homesick.Well today at school I helped others so much Mrs. Ellington just layed 30 dollars in fake money on my desk!I now have 118$ .School is coming very well.I love reading what you post on the blog.I really can't wait to meat Alex and Andrew.We are keeping you at the top of our minds when we can.I am sorry I can't write a long message about the children like the other adualts can.I am very thankful to have parents like you who can pull through at hard times like this.I love writing in my journal.I know you like it.Nana and Papa went out and bought the big legos today.Nothing big has happened today.Thank you for mentioning that you like what I write.Boy did I bet you had fun at that park.God bless you.Love,Joshua

Project Escape Kiev...Day 2

Have you ever seen such a McSmile?Alex enjoys sharing his first French Fry ever with Daddy
Alex and Daddy on a Ferris Wheel in Kirovograd

Mommy and Andrew have fun at a park in Kirovograd

Good evening,

As I sit down and reflect on our day here in Kiev, it blows my mind that the boys have only been with us for less than a week. Today was incredible! We went the entire day without any meltdowns from Alex. Don't get me wrong...he let us know in his very own special way that he still doesn't dig having showers or his teeth brushed. However, no temper tantrums or fits. Yeah!

The highlight of my day was just now while I was putting them down to bed. We said our prayers. They kneel beside me and while I say the "Lord's Prayer" they do their own sweet gibberish Ukrainian versions along with me. Then, as we laid in bed together I sang them some songs. Even though they have NEVER heard these songs before and have NO idea what I'm singing, they both sang along with me. It was the sweetest, funniest thing I ever heard. I had to wipe tears from my eyes because I was laughing so hard. It was precious. If I can somehow get a recording of this, you too, could be sore in the abs from the laughter. I'll see what I can do...

Tonight we went out for a delicious Ukrainian feast. It still suprises me what the boys will eat. They had egg plant, yellow and red peppers, cucumbers, black olives, borsh (beats and cabbage), and a part of Lamar's finger because it got too close to the trap he was feeding! We then went for a nice long walk and found a place we had heard about that had delicious desserts. The boys didn't leave a crumb! What a treat!

Well, we will catch up more tomorrow. We are both tired and ready to kick back and relax.

Love to you all.

Kris

PS If you want to see more pictures they are posted in a Snapfish album on the side. Enjoy!

Back in Kiev

Hello, all!

I have to share this first. Lamar and I have stayed and become so connected with each of you through our blog, that throughout the day we will say to each other..."Oh, this will be great to put on the blog" or "Don't forget to remind me to share that on the blog..."so and so"("so and so" would be each of you at different times) would get a kick out of this!" We love it! Thanks for staying strong with the comments. I know this may have become a bit humdrum for you, but we still relish each and every comment you take the time to share with us on a daily basis. We fight to get to the internet first to see whom we have heard from. We, too, get excited when we see Joshua has taken all that time and put so much heart into typing his own comments. It thrills us to hear from our faithful followers and we get giddy when we hear from someone new whom we didn't know was following. Yes, we have officially become blog dorks! We can't help it. It's been better than any Ukrainian wine (which isn't really saying too much) or therapy sessions we would need to get through this without you. What I'm trying to say is, "Thank you" from Lamar, Alex and Andrew, and myself. We are blessed to have each and every one of you pulling for us to get home quickly and soundly.

Alright...now to start sharing things I tried to remember throughout the day!

Our train ride to Kiev...where do I begin? Our cab driver and new friend, Nikolai, picked us up 40 minutes late to get to the train station. They don't tend to mind being late because they cut time out by not slowing down to get over the potholes. This wouldn't be an issue at all if the kids were buckled saftely in 5 point safety harnesses. But they were not. Alex, Andrew and I were bouncing around the backseat like a bunch of monkeys. They thought it was great! The bigger the bounce, the better the ride. I was quickly replaying in my mind where I had strategically place barf bags and wipes for the trip. (Thanks for the heads up Bryants!) However, they weren't for the boys...they were for me! Luckily I didn't get sick, I just turned a few shades of green.

Since we were now running late, We ran from the Taxi to the train. Alright...if you had seen us, you would have laughed hysterically that I chose to use the word "ran". Picture this...Lamar is carrying THREE shoulder bags, pulling two large bags and somehow has a stroller balanced on his head (or was it under his chin?). I really didn't take the time to look to see HOW he was carrying all of our stuff. I was holding Alex on my hip, Andrew with one hand, and an awkward overstuffed pillow I think between my knees. It's really a blur at this point. OK.. we really weren't "running" at all. In fact we had one-legged 100 year old women carrying 3 bags push us out of their ways.

Getting to the train proved to be easier than getting up on the train. We had 3 minutes! It was the fastest three minutes EVER. Lamar and I were pushing and pulling and tugging and dropping. It was crazy. Meanwhile, the boys were angels. They just hung on (for dear life) and enjoyed their surroundings. It's so precious to see in their little faces how exciting and new everything is. They must get sick and tired of me snapping pictures of them all the time. I just don't want to ever forget this true sense of "awe" they are both experiencing...no matter how crazy and chaotic it gets sometimes.

Of course when we get on the train, our seats were taken by some Ukrainian people that chose to spread out instead of staying with the assigned seats. The train is moving and Lamar and I are standing in the aisle with the boys trying to figure out how we are going to get our seats back. It's 3 hours and we can't stand the whole time. We were being ushered to sit and we signaled our seats were taken. They moved the (not-so-happy) people out of our seats so we could sit down. Dirty looks were being thrown our ways left and right. To top it off it was at least 100 degrees in there. We were boiling! (especially poor Andrew who runs on ultra-high). We were settling in our seats and I was stripping layers of the boys so they wouldn't roast. One of the women whom we had dis-placed, told me in Ukrainian anger, to put their coats and hats back on. I signaled with the international "no" by shaking my head. She proceeded to continue chewing me out that I was taking off their coats and I needed to put them on like her granddaughter was wearing. I looked down at her poor granddaughter whose cheeks were flushed and face was sweating. She looked like she would suffer heat stroke with all the layers she had on. Again, I shoke my head "no". She shrugged, gave me a dirty look and said something in Ukrainian that I know was reference to me being a horrible mommy. Now here's where I wish I could say I took the high road and just smiled and looked away...but I didn't. I could blame my reaction on the chaos getting onto the train, the heat, or my nerves just being ready to explode, but I did something I'm afraid to admit. (However, if I don't confess, Lamar would be sure to tattle on me later because he is still shocked I did it). I mimicked her! (Yes, pull out the hot sauce). I copied her shrug, look of disgust and underbreath mumblings. It was bad. Now here I am FACING knee to knee with this woman whom has just insulted me and I in return (and in shame) insulted back. It was going to be the LONGEST three hours ever. I closed my eyes and prayed. Honestly, at first I prayed for patience and that the woman across for me might turn into a pillar of salt...hey! It's happened before! Then God worked on my heart and my prayer changed from that of asking for patience to that of asking for forgiveness. I had behaved like the stereotypical ugly American and no matter what she had done, I really shouldn't have responded the way I did. I realized then and there I had to do something. I pulled out a peace offering. I took out some Animal Crackers and I offered them to her granddaughter. I knew she would refuse them, but I had to try. As I suspected, she immediately said, "Nyet (no)" but her granddaugher REALLY wanted them. Bless her precious (over heated) little heart. She won her babushka (grandma) over and we broke Animal Crackers and became friends. The rest of the ride was beautiful. We tried communicating with each other. We shared our treats, they shared their color pencils. Life was good and peace was restored once again. (However, I must say,it got sooo hot on the train that the grandaughter AND the babushka took off all their coats and hats. I'm not telling you this because I like to say "I told you so", I'm just saying it to complete the facts of my story.)

So, our train ride ended with not a single disturbance...other than a few giggles and laughs...from our boys. They were troopers. We got to our apartment (same building as before but higher up....nicer view!) around midnight and the boys STILL hadn't gone to sleep. Needless to say, they crashed quickly and they crashed hard.

They were still up and ready to go at 6:15 a.m. That's not enough sleep for two boys who are seeing the world from new angles! Lamar thought it would be a hoot to take them to McDonalds for the first time in their lives. There's not that many kid-friendly things to do here in Kiev, so I agreed. C'mon! Every kids has got to experience a Happy Meal at least once in their lives! And they can say their once experience of McDonalds was in Ukraine! Well, they loved it! I think they would have eaten the box the Happy Meals came in if we let them. We do think is was their first hamburgers ever. They didn't know how to hold them or to eat them. Andrew turned his sideways and everything fell out, so he ate after separating out the layers. Too funny. I hope they enjoyed their moments because tonight it's back to borsch (beat and cabbage soup), salad and chicken. Yumm!

We walked around the underground mall in attempts to burn off a mere fraction of our 2 million ingested calories. Unfortunately, Alex decided to have a meltdown because we wouldn't let him touch every car we passed along the street. Oh, can that boy scream. It turns many-a-heads. Of course, we don't acknowledge the melt down or temper it with treats. We ignore it which makes it get louder and bigger and causes even more heads to turn. I swear people thought we must had just beaten our son. They do NOT like children crying here. (Did you experience this
Rebecca and Sam?) Babushkas kept stopping us left and right in attempts to calm down our son with treats, sweet words, etc. Lamar practically ran them all down. I was very proud of him. He was on a mission to get our son home and into bed. The poor little guys was done! That long and loud walk home was such a frustrating and hair-pulling experience. However, the moment he finally calmed down we had him apologize to all three of us. He had to say "sorry" and give each of us kisses, and he did. It melted my heart and erased a lot of anger. Isn't that amazing how that works? Oh the joys!

Well, as much as I would love to sit here and type more, I must take advantage of this down time and do about 100 lunges, 50 sit ups, and 75 squats to burn off each fry I ate. (Oh, will I be sore tomorrow, or what!)

Love you all and have a great week. We will keep you posted...thanks, again for keeping us posted as well.

As the Bryants so eloquently said, now we are fully involved with 'Operation Escape Kiev'!

Much love,

Kris

First days with the newbies.....

Too, too funny. Wild times and priceless moments of challenge filled these past couple of days with our new sons. We are trying to soften the edges on our parenting, but the little one (Alexander Yarik) will paint you into a corner very quickly. His hot temper demands immediate attention (our will against his 2yr 6mo will), and the poor kid just can't get over that we will simply not back down from the big bad man that he is.

Our second youngest son, Andrew Nikolai (Kolya) is a pure joy who is only mildly difficult at his absolute worst. Like any kid though, he will still crawl under folks' skin if they let him. Like our Joshua at home, he is verbally relentless until you either politely tell him to hush or you give him what he seeks. He is easily the most sensitive of the four boys and must be watched closely by the hurt feelings police. He will not be overt about his tenderness; rather he'll just find a quiet place to shed silent tears while trying to talk himself back in the game. At night, the poor thing appears to be worried that if we leave him in the bedroom without falling asleep with him that we will not be there in the morning. This must be the emotional scarring from a year and a half in the orphanage. Maybe he still remembers (even if subconsciously) his mother and the circumstances which drove their family apart. The kid is sweeter than the day is long though. Kinda like his dad - sensitivity and sweetness - God bless him. Andrew really has no idea what is in store for him when he gets home - he will be very happy.

Our youngest one, Alexander Yarik, is quite the pistol. He is relatively undersized for his 2 and a half years (think 18 month old size) but he more than makes up for it with sheer grit and determination. Of course, with those traits come the requisite stubbornness and single-minded behaviors as well. We are still trying to figure out this poor kid's internal clock when it comes to feeding time and nappy's house. This guy will absolutely shut it down and just squat when he has had enough of any situation not to his liking IF CAUGHT AT THE WRONG TIME. Today he just off and threw a couple of tantrums as we approached his normal nap time of 1PM. I think he must've lost approximately 1.75 liters (we are in Europe) of tears, snot, spit, and sweat as he struggled with us on the way home from a little amusement park. We thought that once home he would crash from utter exhaustion considering his colorful display all the way back. Alas, we were so very alarmed to find that he has an easily-tapped extra reserve for fit-pitching. Eventually, he did pass out from self-induced oxygen starvation and took a nice little nap. Tonight at dinner we had a huge turning point. He started to pitch a fit when we wanted him to eat his main dish before his banana, but he quickly realized the battle of the wills would not be won by whining. We feel well on the way to obedience, but we know there are many tough but fun days ahead.

Late Breaking News: We had our best evening yet tonight. First, there was no whining at dinner (mentioned above). Next, we had a great Skype with Aunt Teresa. We also had no tears during shower time as the boys shared the shower with their Mom. (Trust me, she could make a grown man cry though). Anyway, night-night time went swell too - no separation tears from Andrew tonight. Our translator Katja has been relaying to him that we will be there in the morning-time no matter what.

There's more to come later......

Gotcha Day

Just in case you missed Josh's comment on the last blog....WE GOT 'EM!!!!! The two new rats are sleeping in the room right next to me and I swear life just keeps getting better for our
family. This road has been long, but today was worth every drop of pain and agony of the last 21 months. Just a little insight here......

First off, many of you know the various delays and false starts we experienced during the process. We nearly had a referral last summer, but the facilitator couldn't make it happen in Kiev. Something about a bad rain storm that scared everybody away - including him obviously. We stuck by this first facilitator for another six months or so until he failed us yet again. We then switched to Yuri Safonov - sort of a God-send if you ask us.

Don't ever mistake what this whole adoption business acutally is - you guessed it...strictly business. Only the most persistent of facilitators get the referrals and only those good facilitators have the contacts to make the adoptions happen without fanfare. Of course, those same facilitators demand the highest fees and get them solely because they produce. We actually believe Yuri to be one of the good ones who can balance the cut-throat world of adoption with making sure the right kids are placed with the right parents. Thanks be to God for bringing him into our lives.

That said, I want you all to know that God had his hand in this right from the beginning. One of the children we just adopted today was all of nine months old and still with his mom when we started down this road. Heck, these two weren't even in the orphanage until June of last year. To top it all off, they weren't eligible for international adoption until a scant one week before we met them. AND, there was a Spanish couple who met them just before we did but couldn't pull off bringing two children home. They fell in love with the boys, couldn't take them both nor could they split them. We also hear rumblings there was a couple just hours behind us who were devastated when they found out the boys were already referred to us. You can see just how small this window was that God opened for us.

I guess that all set the stage for today. We arrived back in court at 10AM seemingly only a few hours after leaving yesterday afternoon. Court went reasonably well - just a little longer than expected. The judge appeared to be grilling us; we later found out he was so fascinated with our international background and overall life experiences. He just wanted to talk to us for a nice long while. Kristina managed to win him and all the ladies in the room with one very key statement. She was asked how she would provide for five men in the home without a daughter to help her with the house work. She smartly but politely replied that she was merely training our boys
on how to be the best future husbands possible. There were no-kidding gasps quickly followed by smiles of adoration from all the Ukranaian ladies. They then quickly turned a very smarmy eye to the judge who sheepishly and IMMEDIATELY changed his line of questioning. The only thing about me that he found quaint was that someone who had been in the military for this long did not have a big belly to only sit behind a desk telling people what to do. I told him to just give me couple of years and that would be the case.

Anyway, court ended and we went home to finish a little more shopping. We then picked up our translator and headed to the orphanage to complete the transfer and "take delivery" of our precious cargo. We packed up some new clothes for the boys and sure enough, the ladies at the orphanage watched us strip our new kids to their birthday suits (sorta apropos). The ladies promptly hauled away their old clothes while we clad them in true Douberly-wear....track suits. They may be comfortable now, but little do our children know of the miles ahead of them on the treadmill, bicycle, and elliptical in those very track suits. We then gave the boys' classmates a whole heap of fruit and fruit juice in lieu of the traditional cake (too sweet for this orphanage apparently) and we left for our apartment.

The night has flown by so much more rapidly than our other evenings here in Ukraine. We cooked dinner, cleaned up, took baths, sacked the quarterback, drank some beer, and looked at the pretty girls walk by. All in a night's work for a Douberly if I may say so myself. They performed all their new tasks with utter distinction and will be certain to attain "man" status in record time. Alexander Yarik does seem to have an aversion to the shower and brushing his teeth - pesky personal hygeine. Andrew Nikolai exceeded all expectations and is well on his way to achieving "kid of the month" in some social circle somewhere.

If you are still reading at this point, God bless your soul. I could ramble on for hours like this, but I will spare you all until tomorrow. The only thing I do want to share is that an irrepressible feeling that has been lifted off my shoulder. Every Ukrainian woman with a scowl seemed to be the lady who would simply swoop in right before court and take the boys from our grasp with a claim to motherhood. Gone are those pressures and now I can get back to the serious business of cutting the fool with my four urchins.

Thanks for staying with us on this magnificent ride so far....more to come later.

Letter to Andrew and Alex

Dear Sons,

I wonder what it will be like when you jump into my arms. I feel my heart swelling with pride when I picture you taking those first steps up to that very big slide. Will you let us help you brush your teeth, cut your food, wash between your toes? Have you ever been tucked into bed or had someone kiss you on the head wishing blessings upon your future? Did you ever know you would have someone who would NEVER give up on you, no matter how tough the tough gets or how rough the rough gets? Have you ever pictured a family there to cheer you on at your first soccer game and a mommy who will be there with the first aid kit when you get your first skinned knee? I wonder when you went to sleep at night, if you knew there was something so much more out there waiting for you. Could you feel us trying to get to you? Did you know we already loved you even though we hadn't met?

Sons, thank you for waiting for us. Thank you for joining our families. Thank you for completing our home. Thank you for the laughs, the tears, the hugs, and the good times to come.
Even though today will mark the first day you are a "Douberly", we truly believe you have always been Douberlys. It just took us a little while to get you home where you belong.
But now that you are almost here, forever is a mere reach away. Your daddy and I will forever be here for you. Your daddy and I will forever love you no matter what happens in your lives.
Our prayer for you is that someday God will bless you with this same happiness that your daddy and I feel when we think of you, play with you, and dream for you.

Thank you so much for allowing us the honor of being your mommy and daddy. We won't let you down. Even when it seems like we are being hard on you, it's only because we love you. If you ever doubt it, talk with your big brothers Joshua and Jacob. They will tell you that sometimes it's tough being "a Douberly", but in the end, it pays off. We are a family. We eat together, read together, play together, cry together, laugh together, and pray together. This is the best gift we could ever give you.

Thank you, God, for entrusting Lamar, Joshua, Jacob and I with these two precious boys. Help them feel the love we already have for them and help them grow in the comfort and strength of your abundant love. Thank you, God, for helping their birth mom make what had to be the most difficult decision of her life. Be with her. Guide her. Shower her with peace. Let her know her boys are happy, safe, and mostly loved. Please reserve a special place in heaven for her. Her decision gave us the most amazing gift of all. More love!

Andrew and Alex, welcome to our family. It is an honor. It is a privilege. It is a gift. We will not take it lightly. We will give you our all.

We love you.

God bless,
Your Mommy

Court update

Greetings All,

"Tomorrow, tomorrow...I love ya, tomorrow..." (Why do "Annie" songs keep popping into my head while we are here?)

Our court date has been pushed back to tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m. We stuck around the court this afternoon for several hours hoping Yuri could get the documents from Kiev faxed to us here. However, it didn't work out. They had a big SDA meeting today that lasted all day, so they didn't release anyone's documents. Have no fret! We do have the documents signed and ready to go for the judge first thing in the morning. Now, usually you get custody of the children the day after court. However, considering our court date is now on Friday, that would mean we would have to wait until Monday. Natasha, our lawyer, is really pushing hard for us to get them before the weekend. We will see...

We did find out we will have to stay here in Kirovograd until mid-late next week while Natasha gets our birth certificates completed. We then have another week in Kiev before returning home. We are anticipating, but not setting in stone, an estimated October 2nd return. We will see... Even though two weeks seems like a long time to wait still, it's all good! After all, that would only be a month from start to finish, which is much shorter than we ever expected.

Well, today was a very draining day, so I'm going to pour a glass of wine for my husband and myself and we are going to chill out and relax a bit.

Please pray, if it's God' will, that not only will the court hearing go well, but we get all the paperwork done before the weekend so we can take the boys out of the orphanage.

We love you all.

God bless and good night.

Kris

Extra Prayers Needed...

Greeting Everyone,


Well, here's the update. We did not get the required signature in Kiev from the SDA today. However, all is not lost! Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, Yuri assures us they are suppose to sign it. The judge here in Kirovograd has agreed to accept a faxed copy until the original is sent by train. So we are still on the schedule for 2:00 tomorrow in court. However, if Yuri does NOT get the signature first thing in the morning, we have to wait until next week. PLEASE pray they sign it first thing in the morning. I completely believe in the power of prayer. Luke 1:37 "Nothing is impossible with God".

We still haven't heard when the boys will be able to come home with us. If Lamar and I had it our way, we would leave the judge's chamber, take a cab over to JetSki Dom, grab the kids and never look back. However, it's not that easy. Yuri wants us to keep them there until our birth certificates and passports are done. He said it is really tough to bring kids with you and have that done. Obviously we respect Yuri, but it will be hard knowing we could have the kids if we so desired. Hmmm? I'm very anxious to see how this pans out.

The boys are doing very well. They are being great sports trying out English. When it's time to clean up and Lamar and I start singing the "Clean Up" song that you all know, remember, and love. Kolya pipes right in and sings, "Lean-da....lean-da". Now when we start cleaning up, Lamar says, "It's Lean-da time!" It kills me! We are still working with sharing toys. Actually Kolya has an amazing strategy. If he sees something Yarik has that he really wants, he finds a "decoy" toy, runs up to Yarik and grabs the toy he wants. Before Yarik has a chance to cry, he throws the "decoy" toy into his hands and takes off with the desired toy. It works for him, too! Yarik falls for it every time. I have a sneaky suspicion that his two big brother back at home will not be as gullible falling for this Master Plan.

Yarik is still a mess. He fell on the corner of a brick wall and cut open the side of his face near his eye. We were sure it was going to be a black eye. He cried less than a minute and then he wanted down to play. He's incredible. He's VERY tough. He impresses us with how he is trying English, too- especially if the reward is a bite of banana. He will try saying ANYTHING for a bite of food. However, even though he is a very good eater, if he doesn't like something, there is NO way it is going down. We cracked open a walnut outside and gave him some of the inside upon his begging insistence. He took one taste of it and spit it out so quickly while wiping his tongue to remove any residual taste. We really had to try hard to not laugh. I can't wait to see his reaction to the taste of his first lemon. Watch out! We might have to pull out the rain gear again!

We had a chance to go to the market again. We finished up all our shopping for the boys today. we have everything from Pull-Ups for Yarik at night to new toothbrushes, teddy's, hats, underwear, clothes, snacks, etc. We don't want to get too much stuff here because we have to bring it home with us. However, we will be here at least a week with them, so we need some stuff.

This morning our land line phone rang at 7 a.m. I think it was Sergei wanting to know if we would be going to lunch at that restaurant. Augh! We were sound asleep, too. We stay up late here so we can Skype with the boys after their school, and we try and sleep in. I'm trying to remain positive about being woken up by a large, persistent Ukrainian man, but the only thing I've got is that maybe God is preparing me for being woken up by hungry, little, persistent Ukrainian boys. Could be...! I can't wait!

One thing I keep forgetting to mention. To all my Dog-Loving Friends and Family (especially my big sister, Teresa...hee hee hee!) I must share with you something very sad. There are street dogs ALL over the place in Ukraine. I never heard of street dogs except in "All Dogs Go to Heaven". I didn't know they still existed? Dogs roam all over the place here begging for scraps and hand outs. If they want to take a nap, they just drop where they are and fall asleep. Lamar and I have to step over sleeping dogs when we walk places. It's the craziest thing. It even breaks MY heart to see so many animals without homes. The dogs are all over the outside playgrounds at the orphanage, too. Ukrainian dogs don't say 'Bow Wow' here either. Ukrainian dogs say, 'Gov-gov'! When Yarik and Kolya see a dog, they point and say, "Gov-Gov". Isn't that a riot?


Well, I'm off to see if I can get online to paste this blog. We are having a real difficult time with our internet the past couple of days.

We will let you all know as soon as we receive word about tomorrow. Fingers crossed, prayers sent, and candles lit...but please don't burn down your houses!

Love to all-
Kris

15SEP Halfway there - or so we hope

Today was another fantastic day spending time with the kids and getting some quality shopping done as well. The mornings here are becoming increasingly chilly; we woke up to a nice breeze. Our driver was right on time (again)and we made it to the orphanage about 5 minutes before our appointment time.

We usually spend the morning session upstairs in the center's musical room. There are numerous toys - but the boys' favorite discoveries are the enormous foam-filled cushions in the back of this giant room. We pull out every single cushion each morning and commence to throwing them around the room like a bunch of wild-men (and one wild woman). It is so nice to see the new boys' comfort with rough-housing....hopefully my very shy older children will shed their horse-play reticence when they meet these two. Really now, I think you all know how prone the older ones are to get in trouble for their silliness and rough play already - no worries there...except for the emergency room visits we will surely incur.

Another new revelation is that Alex Yarik and Andrew Kolya favor sliced apples just as much as bananas. This is probably a good thing as it takes them about four times longer to eat a single apple than it would a whole bunch of bananas (approximately 1 minute and 43 seconds). Kristina has the boys nearly programmed with please and thank you - now even in English.

Kristina and I went shopping at the gray market again today and managed to find Andrew Kolya a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts. We also found Alex Yarik five pair of socks. We are now confident we can sufficiently outfit them if the call came tomorrow to clear them out of the orphanage. We are still seeking a couple more minor items - we are trying not go too crazy over here as we must pack it all up and bring it home with us in the end.

The afternoon visits are typically spent outside on one (or all) of the plentiful playgrounds dotting the landscape. Each one is slightly different, but you can tell Andrew Kolya (the older one) is ready for bigger and better play equipment. Regardless of which play area we choose, invariably a class of other children manages to displace us somewhere else. So be it - it certainly keeps the boys interested when we have to keep moving.

Kristina did manage to get some great one-on-one time with Andrew Kolya. It seems he may have a slight tendency to want things done exactly his way or not at all. (Sounds like a Douberly perhaps?) The two of them worked on a sticker book that helps identify shapes and objects. He managed to do very well throughout, provided that he could go at his own pace (ludicrous speed) and place the stickers precisely the way they were outlined in the book. Great, another Type A that I (a known non-Type A) have to tolerate in this family. I mean, if they would all only
do things my way and succumb to my perfectly reasonable will - wouldn't this all just go so much smoother?

Tomorrow looms as a very important day in the process. IF we can get the approval from Kiev's State Department for Adoption tomorrow (Wednesday), THEN we can have the court hearing in Kirovograd on Thursday to finalize the Ukrainian legal end of the whole process. The boys would then be officially ours and we could begin the next bureaucratic cycle of completing their passports and birth certificates here in Kirovograd before then moving back to Kiev for medical finalization and finally the visas from the US Embassy. Not home-free yet, but I definitely
feel as if we are running downhill to the house now. Now if we could just get those Jaguars to run downhill on their opposition each Sunday....I guess that's a rant that will simply have to wait.

See you all soon!

Take a Walk With Me in Kirovograd

Mommy plays with YarikAngry Ukrainian woman at orphanage did NOT want me taking the picture!
First time Lamar rocks Yarik to sleep!


Kolya enjoys a snack!

We take Sergei and Vova to lunch in Kirovograd

Paka! Kak de la?

Greetings from Kirovograd. I wanted to share with you guys a little bit about where we are and thus where our boys are from. Kirovograd is a 3 hour train ride away from Kiev...which might as well be another planet away. Gone are the bright city lights, McDonald's, cathedrals, and malls. We are in a simple city. When I say city, that is a stretch. It is more like a village. They are slightly more courteous with their driving (by that I mean they will wave if they run you over as opposed to getting angry at you in Kiev because running over you slowed them down). There is a LOT of dirt in the air since the part of the road that are paved are very torn up). The shoes we wear on a daily basis are all ready to be trashed. We are staying in a one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen. Looking in from the outside, there could be nothing tempting inside to take. Our place is two steps away from looking like an abandoned building. Inside, it is relatively decent. Our landlord have access to the washing machine so we have to pay them do to our laundry. Then they come up to our balcony outside our room and hang it to dry. Our beds were boards when we first arrived. In fact, it was so painful the first night, I packed us up to go find another apartments. However, our landlords came up and added a ton of outside lawn furniture mattresses to our bed. I kid you not! Lamar and I are sleeping on top of approximately 5-6 thin mattresses stacked up on each other! God has been good to me because I know by now with my back I shouldn't even be walking!

Our kitchen has a gas stove top, a mini-fridge, and small ice box. That's it. No microwave, no oven, no Kitchen Aid blender! We are roughing it here. Meals consist of lots of spaghetti, scrambled eggs, omelets, and oatmeal. Two nights ago Lamar bought some stuffed noodles, sauce, and sausage to make spaghetti. Little did he know that the noodles were stuffed with raw onions (everyone knows what Lamar and I think of raw onions!), and the "sauce" was ketchup. He tried to add a bunch of mustard and pepper to it to make it something more that just ketchup on onion noodles, but it made it much worse! We could NOT eat it to save our lives. Lamar proceeded to pour it in a dish, top it off with his homemade ketchup/mustard/pepper sauce and sent it down to our landlord and his family. He tried passing it off as some special American delicacy. I couldn't believe it! I still wonder if they even tried it.

On days we want to go to the market, we walk from the Jetski Dome (That's how they say Children's Home in Ukrainian). It's about a 2 mile walk door to door. The most difficult part of the walk is passing by all the beggars. They're more out on the weekends than during the week. I haven't quite figured that out yet.

Jetski Dome is located in the middle of a neighborhood- off the beaten path. I think that is good because it would be very tempting for passers-by to gawk at the orphan children playing in the yard. All the kids get very excited when a ma-chine-a (truck, car, or motorbike) passes by. Everything stops for that moment. You can see the curiosity and amazement in their eyes. It's just beyond reach...

When we arrive at Jetski Dome everyday, we check in and they ask us if we want to go upstairs and play or outside. We do one each visit each day. If we stay inside we have to put on Scrub booties on our feet so our dirty American shoes don't track on their very clean floors. The orphanage is actually kept up really nicely inside. It surprised us - we were expecting more cob webs, rats, and chipped paint, but it's actually very lovely. We were also surprised to hear from their caregivers that the children eat 6 time per day! We also expected gruel and bread maybe once! No wonder Kolya is so big! They are not lacking for food. They have great appetites, too. Apparently they eat everything. They get two breakfasts, a lunch, a snack, two dinners and sour milk and cookies before bed. Lamar asked what he needed to do to reserve a place there for him to live! He could easily overlook the sour milk in lieu of TWO breakfasts and TWO dinners.

For the most part, everyone there is very nice and pleased to see us. They are patient with our attempts to talk in Russian and they even give us assistance as we butcher their language. They smile and wave when I take pictures...except for one angry Russian woman yesterday who waved my off and told me "Nyet! Nyet!" I felt horrible she got so upset with me taking the pictures. However, Lamar comforted me by saying, "Maybe she is just having a bad hair day!" Oh, how my husband gets me through things!

Today as we walked around the orphanage outside, many caregivers from inside would knock on the window and yell out to the boys. "Mamma? Pappa?" They were asking Kolya and Yarik if we were their new parents. I think I may have even caught a glimpse of a tear or two in some of the ladies' eyes. It must be hard knowing that two of their precious babies will be leaving them soon. It would definitely destroy me.

We walked to the market today and found some great buys! We officially have coming home outfits for the boys. We found several pieces (including overalls...yeah!) for Yarik, and a few great shirts for Kolya. we have some more work to do, but we made great progress today. We were very pleased. We aren't used to haggling, and we might even stink at it, but we do enjoy finding what we think is a "good deal". I'm sure as we walk away from each booth they utter, "Silly American Suckers!"

Yuri called us from Kiev today. It looks like the SDA should review our plan of adoption by Wednesday. That means Lamar and I SHOULD go to court on Thursday. If you are asking what that means I can explain it as simply as this....the boys will legally be OURS by Thursday of this week. Yes, that is right! If all goes well, the Douberly 4 will become the Douberly 6 in nearly 3 more days. We aren't holding our breath, but we are saying lots of prayers that all goes well. We still don't know if the boys will be able to come home with us right away. We tend to get different answers from different people. After court we will have passports, visas, and medicals to deal with...but hey, one hurdle at a time....right?

Yesterday, our landlord and his son, (Sergei and Vova) asked us if we wanted them to show us a different grocery store. We walked about 2 miles to a giant place that almost looked like their version of a Costco. They strongly encouraged us to buy groceries, even though they cost more than our local grocery store. They didn't buy anything. However, they used their card and collected points off of our purchases. They showed us the point system and the "prizes" they can get when so much is spent. We felt oddly and slightly used, but nothing like how we felt at lunch. Serge was anxious to show us an authentic Ukrainian restaurant with English menus. We took a cab from the grocery store and drove to a beautiful restaurant. We told them we wanted to treat since they were taking the time to show us around. Sergei refused and said we would eat and he would drink coffee and his son would only have one drink. We insisted that they order food. While reviewing the menus, Sergei had a LONG discussion with our waitress. Little did we know he had ordered a 6 course meal for everyone including wine and some crazy pitcher of who-knows what! There was enough food to feed the entire Kirovograd village. As surprised as we were that Sergei quickly went from drinking "just coffee" to a 6 course meal of food we had never heard of, we were even more surprised that apparently he made some sort of negotiations and arrangements with the staff that we would come back EVERY day for lunch. He kept pushing it and pushing it- asking us what time we would come back tomorrow...what would we eat...call him and he would get the cab...etc., etc., We realize there is quite a cultural and language gap, but Lamar and I both became very uncomfortable with the situation. Even the waitress asked us what time we would be back each day. Don't get me wrong, the food was good but they were NOT giving it away. Also, real Ukrainian food is EXTREMELY rich and fattening. Lamar and I could never eat that way every day. It didn't stop there either! Sergei came up to our apartment last night asking AGAIN what time we would go back tomorrow. We told him we weren't and he appeared to be angry. I guess we can't win them all...!

I can't conclude this long-winded blog entry without giving you an update on Andrew and Alex. There is a HUGE adjustment phase for all of us. They have been 2 in a group of about 15 the past year and a half. They have never received the kind of attention that Lamar and I pour on them. We LOVE to have fun. We will blow bubbles, play chase, build building, and push them on the swing for hours. However, with this attention comes correction of any disobedience, disrespect, or ill-behavior. I think more often than not, if a sticky situation arises, the caregivers just look away or hope the problem just dissolves. This is when it is tough for them to have TWO parents that do NOT look away. They may have both received the first time-outs in their lives....and they HATE it! I'm not talking about hating being in time out. They both HATE when their brother is in trouble and has to be put in time out! In fact, both of them have cried when the OTHER child has been in trouble~! Kolya as gone so far as to chew us out in angry Russian. It's crazy! They are both very protective of one another and very sensitive. They are good kids. It's so amazing to really see all their colors.

Today I spent quite a bit of time pushing Yarik on a swing he likes. He kept "pretending" to sleep. However, Lamar came over and said he wasn't pretending...he really was tired. I didn't buy it, but Lamar picked him up and Yarik was out cold in less than 2 minutes. That's right! We were on the playground and Lamar rocked his son to sleep while standing up. It melted my heart. It shows me just how comfortable Yarik is becoming with mommy and daddy. How precious!

Kolya is a little tougher to get through the layers. Although he is sensitive, he isn't voluntarily affectionate. We have to ask for hugs and kisses. We realize it will come with time. However, today we saw a bit of a break-through. We were inside playing this afternoon and randomly there was a huge clap of thunder outside. Apparently he is scared silly of thunder and jumped a million miles. He instantly came running over to me and jumped in my lap. He let me be a mommy to him! It was so precious and sweet to me. I will treasure that random clap of thunder sent from God forever. Thank you, God!

There is one other couple here going through the process with us. They are a bit ahead. They had their court date on Friday and they will be taking their son home tomorrow. They are from Haifa, Israel and if you can believe this...their family has NO idea they are adopting! They just think they are on vacation. How did they do that? How did they go through the process without the support and help of their family and friends? There is NO way I could have done it without each and every one of you. I cannot even imagine...

On that note, I will leave you for now. Thanks for reading my thoughts and for being patient with the rambling.

We love you all.

God bless,
Kris

To market...to market

Dearest Loved Ones,

Can you just hear the giggles? They crack us up! We had such a wonderful Saturday with our boys. Lamar and I can't get over how quickly they are adjusting to us just during our brief visits together. They are something else. We are so very anxious to have custody of them. Hopefully less than a week...

Today we walked home from the orphanage so we could stop at some of the happenin' markets. We had a ball! We bought our first items here for the boys. We succeeded in finding a pair of sneakers for each of them, a work out suit and socks for Kolya, and a hat for Yarik. Each day we will continue our search in order to find enough items for the time we will have them before returning to the states. It tough to sort through all of the "European" styles that the boys are very quickly retiring (i.e. the minute they walk out those gates around the orphanage).

Sorry I haven't been able to download the video clips I have been taking. I'm struggling with our slow Internet with that one. I'll keep trying. I would love for you to hear their giggling and Russian gibberish. It's too darling.

We hope you are all enjoying your weekends. We do wish we were home attending soccer games with Joshua and Jacob and joining all our friends whom are entertaining my folks. In fact, as I type, the Thoromans are at my house finishing stripping the wall paper in our nursery. I started the project on a whim before I left, but figured I would have tons of time to burn while upon our return trip and while I waited for Lamar to go back to Ukraine to pick up the boys. We had NO idea we would be bringing them home together. Therefore, I left that room a MESS. It is horrible. I feel so terrible about having left it that way. However, my dear friends have stepped up to the plate and are stripping AND painting it for me so the boys have a place to call "theirs" when we return. I wish I could say the work stops there, but it doesn't. They are also taking down furniture that won't quite work for boys. They have their work cut out for them. I love you, Thoroman Family! You guys rock!!!

Again, I can't thank all of you enough for your continual support and letter writing. Every morning we log on immediately and start our day by reading your comments aloud. They make us smile and laugh so much! It gives us strength and motivation to make it through yet another day away from our home and boys (even though Nana C and Papa J are doing a rockin' job with our boys!).

We love you all and hope you have a blessed weekend.

God bless,

Kris

Sep 11 - Joy and Remembrance

First off, please take a moment to remember not only September 11, but also the countless lives lost or scarred by the wars since that fateful day. It is only through the heroic folks who have paid such heavy prices (in addition to the many loved ones) that there have not been more attacks in the last 8 years. Thanks for reflecting...it is the very least we can do.

Strangely, not much mention of the September 11 attacks here in Ukraine. Understandable considering their struggles of the last 20 years just to get out from underneath the shadow of the old Iron Curtain. There was scant coverage on BBC World News and Al Jazeera International (my only two English-speaking news networks).

Regardless, we sailed through Guardian Council today with a unanimous approval from the seven board members. It looks like the adoption is now a mere formality provided old Uncle Sergei doesn't rise up in the next week claiming he replaced his vodka bottle with a Bible and is ready to assume custody of his long lost nephews. If you have been waiting to celebrate, behold the moment is here - do your happy dances in the privacy of your own homes so as not to frighten the neighbors with strange gyrations.

We feel so confident now that we were able to buy another set of bunk beds for our growing family. They are the same model as Josh and Jake's set - just a little darker with more of a maple finish. Sweet, now my dream of perfect symmetry can be nearly realized in the bedroom furniture spectrum - does anyone else suffer from this rare affliction? Don't answer that and certainly don't dare make any disparaging comments. If you can't help yourself and feel compelled to comment negatively, just remember - this disease is contagious.

We missed our morning visit with the kids due to Guardian Council, but the afternoon session went according to plan. The boys came out looking as stylish as ever - enough said on that sad state. We promptly went outside and got down to the serious business of blowing American-style soap bubbles with one of those gigantic wands. I am fairly certain it was the first time these two had ever seen this natural phenomenon - they screamed like a bunch of monkeys who just found a banana tree. Pictures and video to follow provided we can upload them.

The boys were extremely well-behaved and will clearly assimilate into the Douberly collective with only minor hurt feelings. They can easily join our team of crack future world dominators prepared for any and all challenges. Ok, Ok, maybe the delusions are clouding my judgment - but these kids are really special y'all. If you guys fall in love with them just a half a percent as much as me and Kris, you are in for some side-splitting and life-changing fun and happiness.

Thanks to you all for the prayers and thoughts. Today was a huge hurdle that I am probably understating. Any number of things could have prevented the Council from going well - and those things just didn't happen. I am convinced it's because of the extensive network of friends and family we have that are monitoring this process eagerly and with all the support you can possibly harness. Again, many thanks.

Our next big hurdle will be the court date next week with the local judge that will finalize the adoption. That will be our Gotcha Day. Please think of the kids as they must continue in the orphanage until that final stamp.

Good night and have a great weekend all.

10SEP Solid Day

For the very first time here in Kirovograd (say that ten times really fast), we finally felt like it was a normal day.

Our facilitator Yuri went back to Kiev last night so we were finally all alone in our apartment above Sergei, Vova, and the landlady (unrecognizable name). No more having to tiptoe around in the mornings or quietly make breakfast while Yuri rests in the living room on the sofa. We are finally all alone to fend for ourselves in this beautiful, thriving, and friendly part of the country (drip, drip goes the sarcasm).

We had our normal daily breakfast of gruel, bland porridge, and for a special treat - a mealy apple with negative crunch...MMMM, MMMM. Seriously though, we had some good cereal and all its accompaniements like oranges and yogurt. Not that any of you care, but if you're getting excited about what we're eating, you need to see a therapist. I'll get you mine off speed-dial.

The boys were in great spirits this morning and dressed a little better. We are still itching to get our hands on them and find them some clothes that aren't quite as ill-fitting. At least their clothes are VERY fashionable as you can see from the six thousand pictures we posted on the site via Snapfish.

We played inside this morning and began the introductory period to Douberly Discipline Part 1. We discussed basic techniques like how to live off 80% of your income while giving away 10% and saving the other 10%. They nodded their precious little heads in complete understanding which permitted us to move on to quantum physics as applied to sharing toys with friends and siblings - lovely little angels these two.

They actually did seem to grasp the idea of sharing and they also possess a compulsory understanding of the values surrounding the novel concept "please" and its bedfellow "thank you." You know, these two were so fast on the uptake today that it made me wonder if they are already plotting my ultimate demise as soon as we get back to the States. I mean, who's to say they aren't loyal to the now-defunct Soviet cause and just can't wait to strike a blow at the evil Capitalists? Anway, please forgive my lapse into Red paranoia - Alex and Andrew are stunning us daily with their ability to learn quickly and make us happy to the point of tears. They are truly great kids.

This afternoon, we went outside and took a walk-about around the "school" grounds. It is actually a pretty nice facility. There are several areas in utter disrepair, but with all the playgrounds - let's just say the kids will never go without outdoor physcial activity...weather-permitting. We managed to catch up with the Israeli couple and their adopted son Yakhil. The Israeli couple are of Indian descent and possess that natural olive skin-tone. Yakhil is about as Caucasian as they get - complete with fair hair, fair skin, and bright blue eyes. In other words, he is a perfect fit for his new family. Tell you what folks, I don't care if these kids were fluorescent green, they each and every one deserved to be loved.

Anyway, the boys continue to eat bananas and whole grain animal crackers at something approaching the speed of light - probably a harbinger of dark days ahead of us at the grocery store. They are picking up quite a bit of English...let me translate that for you. They are already calling us Mommy and Daddy - heart-melting as you can imagine. The transition will be so much smoother than either of us ever dreamed.

Tomorrow we are going to the Guardian Council which should rubber stamp as Category 3 - Silly Americans Who Want To Double Their Kid Count and Give Our Tourist Economy a 3.7% Boost. After tomorrow's hearing we should have a much better idea of when the "Gotcha Day" will be when we can bring these rats home with us for the first time to sleep under our roof. Oh, the places will we all go and the things we will do. After "Gotcha Day," we are still staring at an approximate week before we can clear visas, passports, and the such to enable us to navigate through customs and immigration upon our return. Seemingly trivial stuff, but very important if I ever want these two to be counted in the census as good God-fearing Independent thinkers skeptical of all things government.

Thanks for soldiering through this mess of a posting. It has been too long since any of us could sit around in our underwear and entertain the masses. Gotta love wireless.

Check you later.....

Ooops! Sept 9 corrections of Sept 8

Dear Family and Friends,
Wow! What did I learn from yesterday? Never, never, never arm me with a laptop and access to our blog when I'm THAT tired. I just re-read what I wrote and I'm soooo very embarrassed. I really messed up terribly with our boys' names. Lamar was kind enough to add a correction blog for me, but even that didn't do it justice.

Just for clarity...especially for Nana C, Papa J, and the boys who are logging all of this down on charts...

Nikolai IS Kolya! He is the eldest.

Yarik is Yaroslav and he is the baby.

I'm going back now and making all of the corrections. I'm too embarrassed to leave them.
I guess I should get this straight before they can understand English. Eeks! (What am I saying? I mix up Jacob's and Joshua's names all the time.)

I promise to have Lamar start proofreading my blogs...especially when I'm that exhausted.

Thanks for understanding.

God bless you all and have a great day. We are very excited because we will have two visitations with Kolya and Yarik.

Love ya,
Kris

Corrections

By the way everybody....Alexander's middle name is Yarik. That's short for Yaroslav.
Andrew's middle name is Nikolai. Up to now, he has been called Kolya - that's short for Nikolai.
Clearly we are too tired to get all the facts in line. Please forgive us the shortcomings.
All the best,Lamar and Kris

Two for the Price of One...

...and I'm not talking about the orphans we are buying...ha! I'm talking about Lamar and I both having a chance to post blogs today. Originally I started this letter for my boys, but I thought you might all get a kick out of getting to know our Ukrainian boys better.

Love to all.

Kris
NOTE: I just went through and made all of the corrections. Somehow when I did spellcheck I cancelled out Yarik's poor name. So sorry....I'll be more careful!

Dear Joshua and Jacob,

We were so touched to hear Nana C and Papa J are quizzing you on Drew and Alex facts. Here are some more to add to your studies:

Right now while they are in the orphanage, we are calling them Kolya and Yarik. We "should" be bringing them back to our apartment by next Friday. Yeah! At that time Daddy and I will start calling them Andrew Kolya and Alexander Yarik. I know it is a mouthful, but this will help with their transition.

Soon, we will be able to drop their middle names when addressing them, once they get used to it. Just remember, their entire lives they have gone by Kolya and Yaroslav. They don't know who Andrew and Alexander are. It would be like one day waking up and daddy and I started calling you Barney and Fred. You would never look at us if we called you! It's the same thing. We just need to give them time.

Also, to add to the homework Nana C and Papa J are teaching you, we would like you to learn some Russian so you can help communicate with the boys. They don't know ANY English and we don't have ANY Russian or Ukrainian friends. We need to help them not get homesick by being able to communicate with them certain simple phrases. We will teach you a few new words each night during Skype. You can write them down and practice with each other so it is comfortable when we come home in a few weeks.

Alright. Here are some more facts we learned today by spending time with Kolya and Yarik. You can add these to the chart Nana C has made for you. Kolya (the eldest)....He is 4 years old and his birthday is December 19th. However, we have the option to change his birthday when we apply for his birth certificate and passport. We are going to do that with both boys. As sweet and kind as Kolya is, he isn't nearly ready to start kindergarten next year...especially since he doesn't know any English yet. I would like to have another year with him, so we are going to push his birthday back a year. Therefore, he will be celebrating his 4th birthday shortly after we get home in October. We get to pick the day. Does anyone have any input or suggestions about a particular date in October for us to have for his birthday? We are open to suggestions...

Kolya also loves bugs just like you, Jacob. We found a nest of lady bugs that they call "fire house bugs". Yarik could have cared less. Kolya LOVED them. I can picture the two of you squatting over an ant hill or catching a ton of fireflies together and loving life. You now have someone to share that passion with, Jacob! It takes the pressure off of me! Yeah! (You ALL know how I feel about bugs....yuck!) Some way...some how...he also loves to pretend to be racing fast cars. As far as we all know, he hasn't been in a car since he was dropped off at the orphanage a year and half ago. He gets so excited making car noises and sounds that drool flies everywhere! Watch out! We may need to wear some panchos playing with him! Hee hee hee! Oh, and by the way...Kolya LOVES to eat. We brought him a tiny banana the first visit and he wolfed it down without even chewing it! He is solid, too. I can't lift him to save my life. I expected all kids to me malnourished and scrawny. Kolya breaks the rules on that one! Again, Jacob, you will have another partner in crime. Meal time is going to be insane at the Douberly household. Anyone know how I can get a BJs membership from here?

Joshua, don't feel left out. Kolya reminds us of you a lot, too. He definitely has BBS (BIG BROTHER SYNDROME). He is very protective of his little brother and even though he runs off and does his own thing...don't be mistaken...he always has an eye on Yarik. It's very sweet...just like you!

Now for Yarik. Yarik, Yarik, Yarik. Where do I start with Yarik? First of all he is fearless and FAST! He will keep all of us on our toes. He is a 6 year old trapped in a 2 year old's body. He thinks he is huge. It's hilarious. He takes these giant steps and can already alternate feet climbing stairs. He is already potty trained....yeah!, but he got really excited with us today and had an accident (whoopsy!). He got VERY upset when we had to leave the playground to get him changed. He's definitely got spunk...and his own opinion! He is just learning how to speak Russian and it's the darnedest cutest thing when we make him say Pazhalsta (Please...). You will crack up laughing the first time you hear it. Yarik's birthday is March 14 and he will be 3. However, we will push his birthday back, too, to buy some more time for him to catch up. His birthday will probably be in November. Again, if anyone has any input as to a particular date...that would be great! Do you guys see what we are doing? Jan...Joshua's birthday (the eldest)...February....Jacob's birthday...November Kolya and December Yarik. Do you seen the pattern?

Yarik can also take a beating. He fell face-first in the dirt two or three times, brushed himself off and kept on going. He never shedded a tear. We were very impressed. He can definitely hang with the Douberly Men's Wrestling time. Watch out. He may be wrapped in a small package, but he is a strong little man. Yikes!

Well, I thought this might help you to get to know your brothers better. I hope this helps. I can't wait for you to meet them so you can see these things for yourself.

We love you and miss you and can't wait to hear about your first days of school.

Hugs and Kisses

Mommy

Day What? We can't remember...

Bureaucracy in the US doesn't hold a candle to this.....

Man, this place is truly something else. Everybody seemingly has their hand out for some piece of the overall action - and I'm not even talking about financial matters. It appears that red tape in Ukraine goes hand in hand with prestige and self-importance. Nevertheless, right now we have a window of return from some time between 28SEP and 3OCT. It's OK though, twice a day we get to go hang out with our new Douberlys.

That's probably what you all tuned in for anyway. Enough whining, on with the show. A quick scene-setter first - we got to play outside on a playground today with the two boys and we learned quite a bit regarding their personalities.

Andrew (oldest) is the cautious wary one who will absolutely not take a chance unless he is quite sure of the outcome - that is that the outcome will not result in physical harm. He is typical big brother material to his younger charge - specifically in that he looks out for Alex pretty much every step of the way. He is going to be just fine with all the new dangers lurking just outside the orphanage walls. Andrew is also an incredibly solid young boy with an appetite for ANY food placed near his incessantly wide-open and wanton gullet. Ah yes, you all must already know how personally proud I am of that singular trait.

Now Alex on the other hand is a completely haphazard individual with no apparent fear of grave injury or death itself. He will stand at a precipice and give you an evil grin right before he steps off the edge into whatever abyss lies below. That's just grand considering he will have three older and much more capable brothers to imitate and follow into all kinds of peril and danger. The only good news here is Alex possesses a determination that could easily rival that of his mother (you all know of what I speak). That fierce can-do attitude, married to a near obsession with task completion, make this child quite possibly the funnest two year old to sit just sit back and observe (no offense Josh and Jake). Of course, that fun only lasts until we pull this kid out of a hole his brothers dig for him right before selling him to the circus.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention we are hurtling down a pot-hole stricken two lane road at breakneck speeds with our hair on fire? It kinda makes the typing a little - how does one say? - treacherous. That's right - you heard it first here folks....treacherous typing. I am quite certain the horror movie makers will be lined up to write a script centered around this new and sinister way to hurt yourself. You just never know when your screen may jump into your face and give you an unexpected LCD burn on the tip of your nose - whatever you do, just don't try this new adventure sport at home.

Back to the fun now. Put your smiles away at our utter misfortune and focus people on the task at hand. Please keep up the well-wishes and prayers - they truly perpetuate us through some not so pleasant times. It looks about near certain now that all the trap doors have been removed and our path is relatively clear - albeit extremely narrow and windy. (Metaphor anyone? - Or is that even the correct literary term for all the crazy-speak?) But we still need you each and every one to continue lifting up these kids. The heck with me and Kristina, we will be just fine regardless (if you consider us "just fine" now) - it's the two boys who really need us all now. These are incredible young men with no limits to their potential - they just need a family to care for them and some older brothers to torture them to within an inch of their existential limits. (Josh and Jake, this is not a license for this kind of behavior - don't get any big ideas.)
Thanks for all the support and thanks in advance for the boat-loads to come. You have all been so wonderful (and patient with my silly prose).

Signing off for now,

Lamar and Kristina