The Graduate

Our youngest son Mitchell graduated from marine navigation at Nautical school this past week. He now has the basic skills and safety courses to begin a career aboard a ship.

Pictured above Mitchell and his grandfather who is a retired sea captain. Mitchell and Anastacia.

My parents joined us on the trek up to Cape Breton for the graduation.

"Climbing Higher"

Warm spring days have given Anastacia another world to discover. There are trees to climb, picnics to attend, forts to build, flowers to pick, swings, slides and bike rides.

A new Machina!

New to us, anyway! We decided it was time to depart with the Camry and get a SUV, so after checking around we found a good deal in Halifax on a Honda CRV. We went to the city overnight and Randy shopped around for the best deal he could get. We got a 2004 Honda with just 60,000 klm and extended warranty.
Anastacia and I hung out at the hotel pool for the morning and she had so much fun, we had the pool to ourselves.
In the afternoon her and I went shopping, first stop "Pets Unlimited" for a treat for Mocha. She wanted one of every animal and fish. She saw an animal stoller that she tried to talk me into buying, it was very cool but way too expensive. We stopped in to Winners and Anastacia was my fashion consultant. I picked out a couple of things and she said " No Debbie No" shaking her head. I settled on a purse and she got sandals.
All in all a good trip, Anastacia proved to be a good traveller with few complaints about the long car ride.

Debbie

Easter blessings!

Anastacia and Katia decorating Easter cookies.

Progress

We have been home a month already and I can really see that Anastacia has made great progress. She is starting to let her guard down and trusting us much more, she is also showing lots of affection with Randy and I.
Today we went to three new places and she actually got out of the car, without me coaxing her. The first appointment was with the Doctor and although she wasn't very cooperative, there were no tears and she thanked the doctor for an Easter egg. The next stop was the library, she loved this place and was excited to get a card with her name on it and very happy to know she didn't have to pay for the books. Third stop, the YMCA, where we registered her for swimming lessons and watched some kids in the pool. After this of course we had to go to walmart to get some swimming gear.
Usually when I meet someone I know and they speak to Anastacia she turns away and doesn't speak but today she said hello to everyone that spoke to her. Yeah!
I asked her today if she was happy that she had come to Canada and she gave me a big hug and said "yes, Canada very good".
Her English vocabulary is expanding quickly and she has resigned herself to the fact that there will be school work to do each morning when she gets up.
She has also made some new friends in the neighborhood and it is so great to see them running and playing outside.
Randy and I are also adjusting well to the pitter patter of two more feet. The days seem to fly quickly and the nights can be lively with a little one one who is not used to sleeping alone and who has her ears fine tuned to hear her precious kitten.

Debbie

Thoughts of a Mother who couldn't be.

I had planned to post this some time ago and failed to do so. Even though only a few may get to read it, so be it. I will never forget that day just before going to court that second day. We were told that Anastasia's mom would meet with us that am. I know for me I had mixed feelings as I wasn't sure it was the best idea. In hind sight I'm really glad it happened. It was a very aukward moment for all of us you can be sure. For a moment I felt like the bad guy that was taking her daughter away from her. The truth is her daughter had already been taken from her by the Goverment, and here we were to take her from her once again, although this time it may very well be for good. The reason I wanted to share a few thoughts on this matter is this. From the very beginning of our time there we would here references about a mom that had failed her daughter and comments regarding her life style. For me at least I had a pretty dim view of this person that could not be a mom to her children. I want to say for the record that I have no ill feelings whatsoever towards this mom. What I witnessed that day was indeed a sad sight. Here before me was a mom and her daughter holding one another, and I know in my heart that this was the last thing she wanted to be doing that day. I must say that I admire her for telling Anastacia to go to Canada with us as this would be the best for her. I realize that this is the very best thing that could have happened for her given the circumstances. The look that I saw in this mothers eyes , said , how did it ever come to this? She shed tears that day over much regret I'm sure,but I can only hope and pray that she can find peace in the fact that her daughter is now cared and loved for and has a family to call her own. I have nothing but compassion for a mom who couldn't be.
Take care, Randy

Happy Birthday Ryan

Our oldest son turns 26 tomorrow April 3rd. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see what he has been up to lately. We are enjoying his music and so glad he has moved on from "Metal". He will be home for the next month helping Randy out at work.
The boys have all been great with Anastacia. Jared and Kim spent a few days taking care of her while I worked. Mitchell will be back home this weekend for Easter.
Speaking of Easter, we are excited about the holiday weekend coming up. Anastacia, spent the afternoon painting a basket and eggs. She blew out the eggs and we got a laugh when one broke in her hands.
Katya ( the exchange student from Bellarus) came for a visit this past Friday evening. It was great to see her and "A" chattering away in Russian. Katya was only 7, when she first came here on a hosting program, so she can certainly empathize with Anastacia.
Yesterday was a sunny day so we decided to take a drive to the lighthouse. Emma(niece) and Anastacia had a great time, they climbed the large rocks and also had a chance to play at the beach. Can't wait till summer!

Adoption Creed

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously
My own.
Never forget
For a single minute:
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.


--Fleur Conkling Heyliger

Congratulations Candy Daley and any others that are beginning the journey of adoption. I pray the Lord will give you direction and already be at work preparing the heart of your child to receive you.

Blessings, Debbie

Running

One of the challenges we have faced with Anastacia is that she tends to bolt when she is in a situation that she is uncomfortable with or if she finds herself in the limelight or if she is upset with us. This can make for some interesting scenes out in public as she doesn't always stick to the sidewalks. Randy is usually the one that is in hot pursuit ( only because he tends to take her more places than I do). In the last couple of weeks he has been seen chasing "A" around the neighbors house, through a field near a bicycle shop, several times around the superstore, the church parking lot,....okay you get the picture. I'm thinking a retractable dog leash would come in handy about now.
Some people have commented " She will keep you young", I'm not so sure about that but at least we will be in good shape as we age.

We have been connected with a young girl living in the area that is from Bellarus. She is here as an exchange student and speaks both english and russian very well. We are so excited about this and hope to meet her soon. Anastacia spoke with her on the phone the other evening for about an hour and was so happy to be able to talk in her own language.

Randy took some abuse over the last picture of him and Anastacia in their Canadians Hats. I think I stirred the pot on that one. I must say she loves hockey, we got out to see her cousins Shane and Devin play a bit on the weekend. She was really into the game, constantly checking the score and cheering. She also begs to stay up and watch hockey on TV with Randy. Our little Ukie is becoming a real Canadian.

Go Habs Go!

Randy has found a new "habs" fan. Anastacia gets very fired up when the reds score.

"Wheels"

Anastacia recieved a special gift this week, Our neighbor gave her a beautiful bike that her daughter had outgrown. It was just the right size and with the addition of training wheels, Anastacia is on the move. Riding her bike has become her favorite thing to do. The first night after she recieved the bike she woke several times through the night saying" tomorrow bicycle".
The bicycle has also been a gift for us as we are able to use it to reward good behavior and encourage her to try new things.
Yesterday, Anastacia had her first dental check-up, she drives a hard bargain, that outing cost 7 bicycle rides.

Debbie

Home for a week!

The week has passed quickly and we all seem to be settling in nicely. Anastacia has definately taken up residence which is evident from the toys, books, movies and clothes that litter the floors of our home. We only ventured out of the house about three times,once for sledding, the grocery store, and church on Sunday. We haven't yet developed a routine for school but we have been squeezing in lots of reading and some crafts and Anastacia spends time each day playing on the piano and picking at the guitar
She loves her cat Mocha and takes care of all his needs.
It's been fun watching her interact with her brothers. I think they find her quite amuzing and they all enjoy teasing each other.
We are finding that her mood swings are calming down and she is becoming more predictable with her reactions. She gets easily overwhelmed and frustrated with new experiences so we are moving slowly. Overall she she seems happy and content with her new home and family.
Randy is happy to be back in the routine of work. Mitchell is home for March break and is working with Randy. I am loving the fact that the time has changed and we are getting more daylight.

Pictures

A few pictures taken while visiting Sergei and Dina in Odessa!
Anastacia and their son Kirril!
The three of us!
Anastacia with Kirril and Alena
Also one of the infamous manholes waiting for a victim!

We Are Family!

Yes it is is certainly feeling and looking that way around here. Nastya has settled in even more than I thought possible. The only problem I see right now is that despite all our efforts at bonding and such, we have now been relagated to second place behind Mocha the cat. Go figure, we spend countless hours and effort over nearly 7 weeks and along comes this kitten and instantly has first place in her heart. I'm really enjoying watching her in action, all the things going on in her new world right now. The life and the energy that she brings is a lot of fun to be part of. I know that we will turn around twice and these childish years will have passed, but in the meantime I am going to enjoy each moment as it comes. It is a little strange to be living the reality of it all right now. The thing that we longed for for so long has happened and in some ways , I still pinch myself to make sure this isn't all a dream.
Well I have one day in back at work, and it feels sooooo-good to be back into a routine. I still felt a little jet lag yesterday but I think it is finally past. Let me take you back to just one week ago today and give you a run down of what a day in this process can be like. Debbie and Nastya had left for Kiev the night before and I stayed behind to get her passport in hand. We needed one more signature from the police chief so we headed down early to be at the station for 9 am. Once there our translater went in and told me to wait , if I was needed she would call for me. After a little wait she came out and said that the chief was in a meeting and we could see him at noon. So with nearly 3 hours to kill we went for some breakfast to kill some time. Anyway we went back at noon hoping to get things wrapped up. Again she went in soon to return with the news we would have to wait until 2 pm. I realized at that point I was in for a long day. I went for a walk just to kill time and returned for 2 pm. This time we were successful and I thought great , lets head for the bus station and get out of Dodge. Hold it , not so fast. Because of our delays we missed our bus for Kiev. It left at one pm, so then we headed , you guessed it for that dreaded train. I new that the earliest train out never left till 8 pm but at least I would get there. Not so fast, no tickets for the first train. The next option was the later train which would be the all- nighter, even so that was all that was left. Not so fast, that train is full as well, now what??. My translator told me that I would have to wait till Friday, you've got to be kidding I said. She then started inquiring about trains leaving from other cities. She was told that there was room on a train leaving Dnipro, the city we had been in the day before. The problem was it was leaving at 5 pm. It was a little after 3 pm, with an hour and a half drive to the train station in Dnipro. I looked at our driver and he motioned towards the parking lot, and I new he was going for it. Well it was a fast ride on the highway, thats for sure, that little 4 cylinder was really tested but we made it, with about 15 minutes to spare. The trip from here a 6 hour journey. The only problem was I ended up in the cheap seats with no possibility of laying down, and ofcourse surrounded by folk that I couldn't speak a word to . Afrer struggling through 3 Russian movies on an old television set, trying to follow a story line, without understanding one word, I thought I would lose my mind. Anyway I did make it to Kiev and took a cab to the apartment where I was reunited with Debbie and Nastya. Another typical day of Ukrainian addoption behind me I finally crashed some time after mid-night.
I look back now and kind of laugh bit at the time I wasn't doing much laughing. Anyway we're still getting the house back to rights so I guess I'd better go and help, besides there's a little Ukrainian girl in our midst that may need her daddy. Catch you later, love Randy.

The Finish Line!

Yea, we passed the finish line at about 11:30 pm last night. Our flight from Toronto arrived at about 5:30 pm and after a visit with our son Jared who is staying with our friends Peter and Pam. We headed for home and arrived safely after encountering snow squalls the last hour of the trip. Anastacia slept most of the way but was wide awake when we got home and happy to meet another brother Ryan. We got her settled into bed around midnight and we all got a good nights sleep.
We could hear her moving in her room at about 7 am and Randy went to investigate. She was all dressed and was unpacking the 2 boxes of clothes,books, music and videos that her aunt Laura had packed up for us to bring from Toronto. She is a very independent little chick. Thanks to the Colwell cousins, we won't need to buy anything for some time.
Today was a snow day so Anastacia had visits from some of her cousins and of course met her grandparents and Aunt Kelly and Uncle Rick. It was much like Christmas day and for the most part she has handled all the excitement very well. The only thing missing was that elusive kitten that she so longs for. My brother Rick brought a fluffy kitten for her after lunch. You should have seen her eyes pop when she saw the kitten which she named Mocha.
I glanced in a while ago and she has mocha sleeping in a box and had prepared a nice area for his food. She has also prepared a tea party with my Silver Tea service which is badly tarnished and was drinking sugar water from a dusty cup and saucer. Needless to say I had to confiscate the works and clean it up before she could continue. She is certainly having fun exploring her new home and we are having fun watching all her antics.
People say that she is a lucky little girl but I say we are the lucky ones.

Debbie

PS Our camera was in the bag that got lost enroute so once we get it back we'll post more pictures.

Canada- Home SWEET Home!!

Good am everyone from upper Canada. As you probably already realize we are indeed FINALLY home, and yes how SWEET it is. I got to tell you a hot tub and a beer wasn't too hard to take when we arrived here at my sisters in Oakville. We forced ourselves to stay up last night even though our bodies wanted to crash. By the time we finally called it a day it was around 10:30 pm here which made it 5:30 am on our Ukrainian clock. Anyway did sleep well and ready to catch our early pm flight back to good ol' Nova Scotia.
I can't really describe to you all the feelng of actually being home, mere words don't seem enough somehow. There will be much time for reflection of all the past 7 weeks have held for us, but all that really matters is we came home with quite a treasure for our efforts. I'm so gratefull to be living this impossible dream out. It truly gives even more meaning to the the promise, { That with God, all things are possible.}Our little Nastya will be like a fish out of water for awile as she contends with the language barrier. I expect to be hearing a lot of her saying, { ya ne panimaete}, which in Russian means, I don't understand. Thats ok, the main thing we want her to understand is that she has a new home, a new family, and a new country to call her own and that she is loved.
We can't wait to get home and catch up with the rest of our family, it ought to be a nice reunion. I know a few days have past since you have heard from us , its just in the last end we didn't have access to the internet. There will be much to share as the days unfold for us and maybe we'll keep it going for a bit just to keep you all informed. I had an idea the other night and thought it would be good for Debbie and I to have tee-shirts made up that say, We Survived Ukrainian Adoption. Then I thought we'll get a bunch made up and include you all as so many of you have been along on our journey. All in all just excited to be home and can't wait to see you all soon. Thanks to my son Ryan for posting Nastya's pic, we will have more to follow later on. Love to all, Randy

Picture

Hi its Ryan here... im posting this picture of Anastacia on Mom and Dads Behalf. Who does she look like most? Me? Mom? ...

One more day down!

Well we just got back a short while ago from our day trip to that other city in this region, don't get me to repeat it, something like Deepro. Thats the wrong spelling but sounds something like that. Anyway we left early so we could get to the proper office and hopefully be one of the first in line. We were successful in that except we were told to come back at 2 pm, I don't know why?? At that point our translator made a decision to catch a bus back from wence we came. She felt if she waited she would get back too late to get everything done here. She left our driver in charge with insructions and off she went. With some time to kill we took in some of the sites, actually it was quite a beautiful city and lots to see. Finally we went back to the office, picked up our paperwork there and headed back for here. In the meantime Our translator ran into a bit of a snag as the one person at the police station that needed to sign one of the documents is out sick for the day. This causes more confusion and what happened is Debbie and Nastya head out for Kiev tonight to be there early in the am to go to the Canadian Embassy to take care of something there. The reason I need to stay behind is one of us must be present tomorrow at the police station. So thats our status right now. Hopefully we can catch a bus out of here at a reasonable time tomorrow and catch up with everyone in Kiev. Never a dull moment here in Ukraine, and as Keith knows there never seems to be an actual end to it. I told Debbie tonight we ought to wallpaper Nastya's room with all the paper work once we are home as a reminder to all we have been through. I don't know if I'll need any reminder, I'll never forget our journey as long as I live thats for sure. There was a point today when Nastya had one of her meltdowns. She just wasn't doing real well and when I asked her to hold my hand as we were in a very busy area she had no intentions of complying. When I tried to force the issue she ran on me, at this point I was in no mood for the games so when I got to her the game was over. At this point we are nearing Mcdonalds and thought this will calm the waters, wrong made it worse, wasn't going in period. Well after wondering if we would cause a scene or not we went for it. She continued her defiance and the tears and the sobs began. Debbie went to get us something to eat and I tended the fort. All around us people were kind of wispering and I'm sure wondering what was up with this poor little girl and her mean old dad. I could have cared less at this point at one anyone was thinking, I would have maybee said something to the ones closest but can't speak the language so just grin and bear it. Soon Debbie returned and Nastya was still wanting nothing to do with us or her food. Within a few minutes she stopped the crying at least and then it was one of those moments I won't forget. She reached for her happy meal and began to join us. She wouldn't take her jacket off or her hat and by this time with all the tears and such she looked terrible. Her hair was a mess under her hat that had become twisted in all the commotion. She was pretty well done and we were just kind of ignoring her a bit trying to avoid another scene. At that moment I looked her way and through her tear stained eyes and messed up hair she held out her last chicken mc-nugget to me and said, for you daddy. I just about lost it and then she broke out with one of those tootless grins and I was no good. I realized something at that moment and it was simply this , she's worth it all. All of the fustration, and there's been plenty, all of the heartache for home and there's been plenty, its all worth it. I for maybee the first time can actually see the end of our time here and our new life that lies ahead of us. To tell you the truth I actually held up better than Debbie today, first time. I could see that finally the whole thing was taking a toll and I had to comfort her for a change. Its been a real test of all that we're made of and we have grown together through it all and are still standing. We both can't wait to settle back in our seats on Sunday and head for home. I kind of took a double take of all the sites on my walk down here this evening and realized that this part of the world will soon be a distant memory to me. I do believe I'll never forget my path back to the apartment, I can just about do it with my eyes closed. I'd even give it a try , but there are those man-holes and I have a great deal of respect for those suckers now. Well it'll be a quite night back at the apartment but it'll be the last night there so it'll be ok. A good time to reflect on all thats taken place in our lives over the past number of weeks. As always thanks for the comments, Jared we will be in touch soon to let you know where we can meet. Thats all for now , will try and post from Kiev tomorrow. With lots of love, Randy

Another day of more Notorization!

We have spent the last 6 hours or so getting more done towards Nastya's bith cetificate being finalized. We did make out pretty well I 'm being told. Tomorrow we travel by car about an hour and a half to get another thing taken care of?? There is so much documintation involved but we need it all together before we head to the Canadian Embassy on Thur. We are recieving a little more hope that we will indeed make our flight on Sun. No garrantees mind you but if the next 3 days go as well as today we should be fine. We hit the road early in the am so once the day winds down we jump on the train for Kiev and arrive there early Thurs am. Thats the extent of things for now.
I do want to thank you all once again for your comments and continued support, again you'll never know what it means to us. I especially want to mention Keiths comments. Keith and his wife Candice as many of you have already have figured out adopted here in Ukraine 1 year ago. They have a beautiful little girl by the name of Cristina. I believe she just turned 4 within the last couple of weeks. Anyway we got to know them and followed their story at the time. We have spoken with Kieth while we have been here, I can tell you his words have meant alot as He knew first hand what we were experiencing. What he has shared here in his latest comment does bear a slow reading especially for our family back home. The attachment issues are very important for us to understand and for the first while espesially we will have to be very aware of how we're handling things. It is so natural to want to overwelm her with love , gifts and attention. These things will happen to some degree but again it is so crucial that Nastya bonds with us and recognizes us as her parents and gardians. This whole process of foriegn addoption here in Ukraine is very complex and there will be much for me to learn when it comes to Nastya and what her needs are. I'm sure that I will be in touch with Kieth and Candice once we get home. I know you may have felt a little awkward Kieth for sharing the things you did but I commend you for your honesty and know that you have all of our best interests at heart, espesially Nastya's. To Debbie's credit she has read more about the attachment issues and such and whats involved. I will learn as I go along but I do realize that we can avoid future problems if we pay close attention now. These early days are important days as we begin our new life together.
Well I'm going to get out of here for now, hope to get a post in later tomorrow. My thoughts are on home these days and I can almost see it now. Take care all , love ya much, Randy

10 Day Wait Over!

Today marks the end of the waiting period in regards to the court decision. I thought we could begin to wrap it up today but I guess we have to wait until tomorrow. Our Translator will come back to us on the am train from Kiev. She said it will take 2 days to get the birth certificate in order. We are supposed to leave here on the train on Wed. evening for Kiev. Once there the only thing remaining is her passport which again should take no more than 2 days. This ofcourse takes the rest of the week and we can only hope there are no further delays as our flight leaves on Sunday. The people working for us here that we have hired if you like say they will do everything in their power to get us on our flight. I would be more comfortable if we had another day to play with but we don't, so I guess we'll see how good our guys are here at getting it done. Many times we've heard its not our problem and they will take care of it. Ofcourse they fall short of making any garantees as they know as well we are in Ukraine and that says it all.
I have had to take stock , or do a personel inventory of my own statis many times over the last number of weeks. If you have been following our journey thus far you have seen me run the whole gammet at one point or another. Have I been guilty of a little fair-weather faith at times, you bet. As I sit here at this point and realize just where we're at with things I can say yes and that I have faith and I do trust in the final outcome. To be completely honest my faith in God will always be a constant, but I will look back on this whole thing and remember the poem , Footprints in the sand. One thing that I do know is that when I am weak He is strong. Paul at one point boasted in his weaknesses realizing this very thing. I want to thank you sis for the words of encouragement we all need to be reminded at times. Well I need to get back to the apartment as we have a few things to take care of today, love you all , catch you later , Randy