Spending time with the kids while Terry is in the US

I haven’t written in the blog for a while. I have been spending time with the kids at the orphanage asking them questions and getting to know them. When I am not with the kids, I have been enjoying some good ole R & R, reading and studying the bible (something I love to do and don’t get enough time at home to do). On 6/17 I officially asked Keyril to be our son. On 6/18 Victor and I took both kids to get passport pictures, which Victor did not like because they “looked like photocopies”, and not good passport pictures. While we waited for the passport pictures Victor, Alina and Matthew got their hair cut. Alina got her hair dyed blonde. Her roots were brownish. I am still wondering what her natural hair color is and is it so bad. I think Victor left for Kiev that night because Lisa and Dan Dipiazzio were coming to Ukraine to get Dima. On 6/19 toward the end of my visit, I saw Keyril (Matthew) and a lady with long blondish hair walking out of the orphanage grounds toward the market place. Alina yelled for him, but he couldn’t hear or was ignoring her. Marina and I and (I am sure) Alina were wondering who this lady was. I asked if she was a teacher or worker at the orphanage and Marina said she didn’t think so. On 6/20 I came to the orphanage to take Alina and Matthew to lunch. It was then that Alina told me that Matthew had told her he had been crying all night and did not sleep. Apparently he had told his mother who had come to see him (out of the blue?) that he was being adopted. She got angry and stomped off and left the orphanage. He thought his mother would not allow him to leave and be adopted. I understood that the grandma was more active in his life, but wanted him adopted because she had many children of her own to include a 15 year old and could not take care of Keyril (I think Keyril told me this). I didn’t know what to say or do so Marina, Alina and Matthew went to lunch at an Armenian restaurant. It was nice it had a pond with fish and grass with a big fish tank inside. It was the nicest restaurant I have been to so far. After we ate at the restaurant I knew I needed to talk to Keyril. So I told Vladimir the cab driver to please wait, I had to go talk to my son. I found him in a classroom and asked if we could have some privacy. There were several other boys in the classroom. I told him I cared about him and did not know he was sad. I let him know that I wanted to be his mom every day and I gave him my phone number. Even though I could not speak Russian and he could not speak English, on top of him not having a phone, I wanted him to know I really wanted to be there for him. I told him if we were at home and he was sad or crying he could come find me and knock on my door and I would be there for him. I cared about him and wanted him to be happy regardless if that was in Ukraine or the United States. I told him he had a difficult decision to make and that I would support him. Marina told him that his mother did not have parental rights and could not keep him from going to America. Alina said “So are you coming to America or not”? As if the answer was obvious. From that time on Matthew seemed to be okay and expressed his desire to come with me to America. Woo Hoo!!! From 6/21 to 6/23 there is not much to tell. I continued to visit the kids at the orphanage. Before the kids went to Berdyansk on 6/24 I talked to Ekaterina about Matthew and his mother’s visit. She told me she would talk to him about his options. I don’t mean to be so flat about it, but it would be stay in the orphanage and maybe mom would visit (2-3 visits in the past 2-3 years) or go with the Steens. I realized this might be his one shot at a real family!! Maybe he knows that too although he is young. In the past week, I did find out that Matthew has never seen Terry. Not even when we came to the orphanage the first time to see Alina. I also found out that Matthew cuts his own toenails and likes to take a bath every day, but only takes a bath every other day. Alina likes this apple soda and is hungry all the time. I think she is in full-blown puberty. She did not have breasts last year from what Terry told me and from the pictures from last year. Matthew and Alina left the orphanage very early on 6/24 to go to Berdyansk. I stayed in Zaporizhia while Victor wrapped up the inspector meeting, the meeting with Ekaterina and paperwork with the DiPiazzios’ family for Dima’s adoption on 6/24 and 6/25. We left on 6/26 and I got to see my kids at the camp. We splashed around at the beach and ate. On the way back to camp from the beach we stopped and got ice cream. Alina beat everyone up to the top of the hill so Victor gave her 10 grivna so she bought a sandwich (she is always so hungry). We where walking and Keyril had toys in his chip bag. There was a gun with 2 suction cup arrows with it. Alina, Keyril, Dan and Victor were running around shooting each other with it. While watching the kids play soccer and playing with stickers, I had Victor tell Keyril his name will be Matthew James in the United States. He said, “Yes” and smiled and nodded so I am guessing he likes his new name and everything is okay with that. Victor told me to just pick a name for him because he is so young instead of asking him like we did for Alina (Elizabeth). We were there for about 2 hours. I saw Vitalik Suchkov again and think about how he could have been my son because he is an only child and is available for adoption. I felt kind of bad for him and would like to see him adopted. Alina ate 2 bananas, chips, 2 granola bars, apple soda and I don’t know what else. Like I said she is always hungry right now. It is 6/28 and Terry arrived in Kiev yesterday. He took the train to Zap and is now on a bus to Berdyansk. We have been blessed to be staying at the church Fran and the Scweikerts stayed at here in Berdyansk. It is far away from the beach, markets and camp, but is only $10 a night. Where can you find a place like that anywhere? God is blessing us. Victor bought a router so we can have WiFi here in the apartment and the Dipiazzios and us (Steens) will pay half and donate the router to the church.