Montessori
Kate’s last Montessori they pretended to be bees and learned about pollen, honey and flowers. this is a quick post because I am getting too much help
Posted 2 years ago
Going home
We are in Frankfurt sitting on the plane for Toronto. I feel relief
Posted 2 years ago
Making loud noises was not possible at the orphanage. Kate was able to enjoy her new found freedom with a gift her father bought her for when she would be ours. She thinks that it is awesome
Posted 2 years ago
Kate’s first photos as a Hickey. We had an emotional farewell at the orphanage. It was hard for some of the caregivers as Kate has been there all of her life. One of them chased us down as we were leaving and we took her photo for Kate. Since leaving we have learned a few things about Kate- she likes brushing her teeth (she laughs when I brush them) washing her hands and she especially likes having a bath. babushka brought bubble bath so this is especially fun. She was not likely allowed to splash in the orphanage tub. The last photo shows her with her tongue out splashing in the tub- she truly is a Hickey!
Posted 2 years ago
Katerina was freed
At 1:42 pm in Sumy.
Kate is in our hands. She, Wendy and Babushka Rinella are now on their way to Kyiv. One more day of paperwork to get Kate’s Canadian Citizenship and another day to wait for all Kate’s documents to be translated and they’ll be on a plane home to Oakville early next week!
Posted 2 years ago
Significant Progress Today.
Today we accomplished a lot. The court order was ready, we secured the birth certificate and are well on our way to getting the passport. We’ve even been told that we may get the passport tomorrow morning (but… alas we’ve been told many things over the past 3+ months that seem to change). If all goes well, we’ll go to the orphanage tomorrow to get Kate and be on our way to Kyiv where we will have to overcome the final hurdle - Canadian Citizenship. At least with the Canadian Government we know we can apply a bit of pressure ourselves.
Yesterday’s delay in getting the court order was so avoidable that ultimately it sent me into a complete melt down. And although I am not proud of it I hate to say that we are seeing results - money changing hands, commitments made to have documents produced on time. It is amazing how a little hellfire can light a fire under some people’s butts. After 95 days I finally figured out how things work here.
Posted 2 years ago
Another Bureaucratic Delay!
Wendy and Carol went to the court house to get Kate’s custody documents this morning so they could travel to Kate’s home town to get her birth certificate but they were hit with another in a long string of what seem like arbitrary bureaucratic decisions. The court clerk told them that even though the court decision was printed and waiting that the clerk wouldn’t release the papers because yesterday was a holiday and therefore the full court ordered wait time hadn’t elapsed. This of course completely contradicts everything we’d been told previously!
Even though this delay is only one day we can only hold our breath as to what further challenges we’ll encounter trying to get the birth certificate and passport. Tomorrow Wendy and Carol are back to the court house and then onto Kate’s hometown so we can get Kate’s birth certificate.
Posted 2 years ago
You’d cry too if it happened to you.
The other day, before Peter left, we arrived at the Orphanage and could hear a cacophony of weeping children from outside Kate’s classroom. Further investigation revealed it was haircut day and each of the children were being systematically shorn like sheep. The weeping was coming from several of the children still awaiting their turn under the clippers. The rest of the kids just seemed shocked to have no more hair. Fortunately for us, they spared Kate the worst of it and simply gave her a trim. Peter thinks they must have used a dull butcher’s knife to cut her hair because there were chunks taken out here and there but at least they didn’t shave her right down like so many of the other kids.
Posted 2 years ago
Map of Kate's hometown. 4,882 miles from Oakville
Today now that the holiday is over the process begins. Natasha arrives this morning and we will pick up the court decision that says we are her parents which we need for her birth certificate, then travel to Kate’s hometown to get her birth certificate which we need for her passport. Velyka Pysarivka, the town where Kate was born is a small town of about 5,000 people five miles from the Russian border. It is an agricultural town offering basic government services to the farmers in the area (schools, rudimentary hospital, filing offices, police outpost etc.). The town sits in the middle of a broad expanse of prairie land with a long-low ridge always visible in the northern distance. The ridge reminds me of a smaller version of the escarpment in Ontario. The town is about 2 hours drive from Sumy. The one feature of note in this otherwise unexceptional town is the statue of Lenin that remains standing in the town square. I guess the people here don’t detest the Soviet Union enough to have pulled it down as they have in almost every other city in Ukraine.
Posted 2 years ago
Thank you Mom
On Mother’s Day I want to thank my mother for coming halfway around the world to help Peter and me. She is away from my Dad for what may be the longest period in their 49 years of marriage, not to mention her other grandchildren. Life in Ukraine is not easy, only bottled drinking water, crumbling streets and sidewalks none of the comforts of home. So I hope that I am in as good shape at her age if my daughter calls on me for assistance. In my adult life, I have always lived in a different province so cannot remember spending Mothers Day with her so this is a special treat. In honor of the Day we went to the salon for a massage and blow dry. Note our matching shirts.
Posted 2 years ago
Today I am a Mother
Today the 10 day wait period is over and I can officially call Kate my daughter and celebrate Mother’s Day. For most women it takes 91/2 months to have a child. For me it has taken 12 years. This journey to motherhood has been filled with brief moments of hope then a lot of heart break along the way. I was able to get pregnant but have never been able to carry to term. It was through one of the many fertility doctors that I learned that I was a type 1 diabetic and this was the major problem that we had to overcome. We went to fertility specialists for diabetes and endured multiple IVF procedures, with no success. My lovely sister even endured the procedure to act as my surrogate, the most beautiful gesture anyone could make which I can never repay or thank her enough for. So it is with great relief and happiness that I welcome this much anticipated role. While my best wishes for the day go to all mothers, my thoughts are with all the women whose ranks I leave and know how hard this day can be on them. I will be hopeful for you when you cannot.
Posted 2 years ago
Kate’s Favorite Indoor activities
It rained this afternoon so we spent our afternoon visit indoors
Hi. In 2010 we traveled to Ukraine to adopt a child. This blog was a chronicle intended for our families and friends but I've left it on-line for anyone else who may find our experiences useful.
"Ivan" was the "working title" we started using for our prospective child. Our adoption process took twice the time we were told it would so we were trying to free Katerina from the isolation of an institutional orphanage to our family. And we were trying to get ourselves back home too.
