Richard’s Personal Blog

More excerpted news:

I have to tell you that we saw the biggest smile on Anna’s face ever when we picked her up at 8 PM last night from junior high youth group. She was totally stoked with the group, the message, the fun (they have a skate board ramp in their room), the cute, young pastor (married, of course), etc. The girls were very nice to her; we have a very cool youth group. Since the weather was cold and drizzly and because of her cold, we decided to pass on Disneyland but we took her to the Disney Store in one of the largest shopping centers in the country, saw the Christmas decorations, had lunch and much fun. She is resting now; we have had a busy week and she has been getting up early because of our schedule. She is taking a much needed rest but said she wants to go in the jacuzzi again later.

Well, thanks to the email updates and the accompanying photos, it certainly looks like Anna is doing well. She’s got her own room with a very nice, ornate four-poster, her room looking ready to be personalized by her. The backyard looks great with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, bar area, and even a loosely thatched grass umbrella for shade. Can’t tell if there’s a big grill there; if so, maybe they can adopt me, too!

I’m hoping that the family is a fit; sounds like they might be. I have a few minor misgivings about their age and ability to cope with the stressors of her life over the next five to seven years. She is very independent by nature and they clearly have voiced a preference for independence, but I fear that Anna will require more dependence than they (or even she) will have the capacity to recognize, and only to increase over time. Other than that, everything seems golden!

We all do the best we can. I hope by assisting her potential new family as much as I can that the directive placed upon me by God will be satisfied.

(Unless you know me, you have no idea how strange it is for me to write or even think that.)

This note from Karen just in! (excerpted as before, since some of other things said just aren’t any of your business)

She wanted to play golf so we all went to the range at the Club; I of course am not able to do much because of my feet but she and Henry had a great time and she has the potential of being a good little golfer. She is now swimming in the pool and going down the slide and in the jacuzzi with Henry; unfortunately I cannot participate in that either. It’s kind of a bummer for me in my condition but I am around and participating when I can; she and Henry are having a great time!

A recent note from one of the program directors choked me up a bit:

Your generosity and kindness to that girl is truly amazing and inspiring… I hope that you know how grateful I am for that.

It was not for them that I have done anything. All I have done with regards to the children and the adoption program, I have done for Anna.

Looks like Aня is doing quite well in Southern California. I will be completely devastated if she is not able to find a compatible adoptive family, so my hopes are set on this couple.

Excerpt of a note from potential parent, Karen, to me:

One of our planned stops is a trip to the nail salon, so I’m glad you mentioned that. She slept well and really likes her room. Henry has introduced her to pool (we have a pool table upstairs in the bonus room) and she is up here now playing; it’s like a new toy for her and she loves it. She seems very happy so far.

Excerpt of a note from Karen to one of the program directors, who sent me a copy:

Anna and Henry and I are doing great! We had a fun day yesterday. Henry has taught her how to play pool, she got her feet wet in our pool, she lilkes [sic] to color and she loves our dog Gidget. She picked apples and we made applesauce and spaghetti for dinner. She is a lovely, sweet, kind girl. We’ve only been together one day but she feels at home, loves her room and our house, and we all get along very well.

Hoping…

Both intensely glad and sad news today: an older couple (Karen and Henry) in Southern California (interested in adopting Anna before we had known of her) expressed renewed interest, and arranged to have her flown down to Orange County.

I flew down with her, made the transfer to the couple, cried for about half an hour, ate a quarter pounder and fries in the terminal, and then flew back home. I never left the airport.

She’ll be back on Friday, just in time for dinner and sleep, followed by a pre-dawn flight back to the Ukraine.

Anna eats very little. She doesn’t always finish the small amounts that are served to her, although she will now very occasionally get seconds on something that appeals to her.

For breakfast, she has responded well to homemade pancakes and waffles, sausages, scrambled eggs, blueberry muffins (homemade, of course!), and cinnamon rolls. She’s eaten bacon, but I’m not really sure how much she likes it. She doesn’t seem to care for any jams or jellies on toast, preferring instead to eat breads plain, or with a small amount of butter. She does not drink milk of any kind, nor does she eat anything with cheese. Anna tends to shy away from most dairy products, with exceptions for vanilla or strawberry ice cream (obviously I refer to after-dinner dessert here, not breakfast!), and strawberry or cherry yogurt. I believe it’s mainly a choice, not related to any intolerance or digestive issues. I have yet to see her drink anything with breakfast.

Lunch, if she wants anything at all, tends to be simple: a roll in which she folds some turkey or ham, some fruit (oranges and/or grapes), maybe some pretzels. In contrast, she has polished off a hamburger and fries! She rarely drinks soda, Sprite her drink of choice when she does. Milkshakes don’t seem popular, not even strawberry; again, that dairy thing! If she drinks anything at any meal, it’ll generally be apple juice. She has also expressed a secondary like for cranberry juice and a third choice of grape juice. She will sometimes drink filtered tap water as well; haven’t tried flavored or carbonated waters.

We’ve exposed her to the most variety of foods during dinner, with moderate success. Meat-filled tortellini with a marinara sauce, hamburger and fries (both In-’n-Out and Carl’s Jr.), Johnsonville bratwurst, mashed potatoes, corn, baked chicken. She tends to avoid salad and vegetables, but I’m sure that can be modified over time! We tried baked stuffed potatoes, but she wanted hers plain – not even with butter or sour cream.

Getting the right foods in front of her has been the biggest challenge, even beyond the normal communication issues. Fortunately, she’ll eat almost anything I make by hand from scratch.