Well I do know where Masha is at this moment, she is either in Kyiv or on a train to Kyiv (12 hours long) and meeting our  online friends.

 

 

Lets see how wonderful it all comes together as Melissa and Drew meet and adopt their daughters!

 

Happy adoptions to Melissa and Drew and their daughters to be!  You are with the best facilitator in Ukraine

I was taking a few moments to look through some of the blogs of those traveling today.  I came across this picture from the Passanita Family blog  http://passanitafamily.blogspot.com/2007/06/best-friends.html  (there three boys are just darling too)

 

When I was looking at the picture of the little girl and the Passanita's darling son, it suddenly hit me.  The little girl is missing parts of her legs below her knees.  So I quickly checked to see what region they were in.  They are in a region called Zaporizhzhya.  At our NAC appointment for referral, we had debated between Oksana's file and that of a little smiling girl missing both of her legs, somewhere below her knees, in Zaporizhzhya.

 

 She would probably be around two and half -three years old as well.  If this is the same girl, she is a cutie!  It would be awesome if we could get the word out about her and maybe a special family could adopt her!! 

 

 

Five years ago in June 2002, we were in Ukraine .

Five years ago in June 2002, we were at the NAC and got a referral of a little boy who just turned 14 months old.

We met this little boy named Konstatine (Kostya) Alexandrivch Trubachov

He was a riot

He was "chubby".  He reminded us a bit of a sumo wrestler in baby form.  He had lots of hair.   He had lots and lots of dark hair, even on his face, and very pale skin, three dimples including one on his chin and red red lips.  We named him little "harry" as we decided his new name.  He was sweet.  He cried big crocodile tears at these strangers.  He was dressed in wool layers and a girl's bonnet when we met him.  He had an awful infection with red stripes on his cheeks.  We at first were not quite sure what to make of this gentle chubby baby.  Our first son was only 11 pounds at 15 months and here was a fat little cherub at 18 pounds and 14 months.  He sucked a pacifier for comfort and once he left the orphanage was the easiest baby ever.

He was our son.

Five years ago today, we officially became the parents of Nikolai Alexander Seyler.

He is an amazing child with a smile to melt your heart, a friend to everyone he meets, that is gentle and quiet, with  the soul of a saint, who  sounds a bit like Elmo when he talks, and has barely grown since we met him.  We are blessed we are his parents.

Happy Gotcha Day Nikolai!

 

The photos (the one feature I hate about MSN) is that it shrinks embedded photos and you need to click them the expand button next to the X for true clarity (Try it it works)

Here is Nikolai in the orphanage and during his adoption.  Isnt he cute!!

I have a friend at work that carries the same burden as me.   It is called the Burden of Caring.  Now this burden can be applied to so many things and for me it applies to my very big passions in life which are Animals and Children.  It is not a fun burden to have.

 

My friend and I can talk for hours worrying about the baby geese we see hatching and their parents crossing the highway with cars flying by, to a stray cat or a bat trapped in our building.  We are the people you probably hate.  I am the one that doesnt kill a lonely ant because he ventured into my space.  I am the one trapping and redirecting.  I am the one that when they catch the biggest whale that has lived 130 years http://achangeinthewind.typepad.com/achangeinthewind/2007/06/130yearold_bowh.html cries for the loss and the one that cried when they trapped a giant squid http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,238289,00.html  His eyes haunted me and my friend.

 

 My friend and I are the ones that wonder why not let it go...  Why must we destroy every last thing on earth?

 

So this week I was estatic to see this http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070612-sudan-pictures.html

 

Maybe there is hope that we can live in peace with nature and give back a little bit of what we think is our given right to take and claim.

 

I did rejoice for one day until I read this http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_re_us/slaughtered_dolphins

and this http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/070612/world/zambia_wildlife_poaching

 

why?  The burden of caring

 

Sorry for the stress about the school situation and the writing rampage about it- I apologize . 

 

No it has not been resolved but I just have put it on the back burner on low.  Not more can I do.

 

My top ten things I love about summer

 

1.  Flowers in bloom

2.  Watching fireflies

3.  No Homework and the kids can just relax and be kids all day

4.  Late evenings to walk my dogs/early mornings with light

5.  Sparklers

6.  Sitting on the deck listening to the crickets

7.  Children in swimming pools/sprinklers

8.  Summer vacation

9.  Birds singing

10. Sandals

 

What are your favorite things past or present?

Tag you are it to some of my favorite bloggers

U know who u are ;)  and when you get done let me know so I can see yours as well!!