The One That Was Written While We Were Mostly Awake...

Dave sez,

Hi! We are Cathy and Dave; and this is our ongoing adventure with our son Justin, and the journey we re on during National Adoption Month 2012 to bring our other son, Ethan (nee Shani) home. Thanks for taking the time to get to know us and follow our journey!

"...How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned about me, but you didn't have the chance to help me. Not that i was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything, I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me the strength." (Paul, the apostle in his letter to the Philippians; NLT, Phil 4: 10 - 13)

As we wait for our court date, and make our daily journey back and forth to see our boy during National Adoption Month, just a week before Thanksgiving, both Cathy and I take comfort in Paul's words. He strikes me as a patient individual. Neither Cathy or I are. For years our motto has been, "Lord grant me the patie - I'm still waiting!"

We've been talking about the things we miss here in Kiev. We've been enjoying the culture and history of Kyiv, Ukraine. They have three McDonald's within walking distance of each other. This morning we shared an egg McMuffin and a couple of hash browns. Cathy is wondering if she'll find a Popeye's at O'Hare on her flight back home. She even confessed that she could eat a Subway sandwich. Cathy worked at Subway during high school and college and a few years after we first got married. She won the Subjammers contest a few months after our wedding. Her prize was an all expense paid trip for one to the finals in Hawaii and one thousand dollars. We used the prize money to get me on a flight with a two-hour layover in Oakland - yeah, Oakland! - we were mostly dirt poor newlyweds at the time, so there wasn't a lot of disposable cash for extras on the flight. I remember buying William Shatner's TekWar novel in the gift shop before our flights - a nineteen hour flight with a two-hour stop in Oakland - Oakland! I spent the first five minutes of the flight struggling to follow Shatner's prose. Believe it or not he writes exactly the way he delivers dialogue! I spent the rest of the flight trying to nap. I wasn't successful at either. There was an in-flight movie that was playing, Pretty Woman. Cathy told me all about how much she liked it when we got home.

We laugh at that story now. To this day, I have never been able to finish any of those novels.

There is so much to enjoy here, in addition to bonding with Shani. We found some nice things to take back home with us. We take pictures at every opportunity. We're trying cuisine we can't find back home. Cathy is making a list of meals that will be added to the menu when we are all home. she's made Borsch a couple of times since Justin came home. We found a salmon soup that is very good; and, I still keep asking when she will make Russian salad.

We've agreed that my first Sunday back with Ethan, she's going to cook my favorite breakfast: biscuits and gravy.

The other night our host shared some ice cream with us. There is nothing like ice cream to make me long for next March, when the three Dairy Queens in town re-open for the season.

Today, we walked down toward the SDA, where we had our appointment on the 29th. Today has been rainy, cold and windy, so not many of the street venders had their kiosks open. Maybe it's the change of seasons, but there seem to be fewer of them, this year. Across the street from the SDA, the sidewalk is lined for a block on either side by the grey, metal kiosks. Heading back toward the police and fire station, are the vendors selling paintings. Directly behind the SDA is a Church. Last year, there was renovation going on and fresh sod was being laid. The street down the hill behind it was under construction. Now, the brick road and sidewalk is finished, the street lined with amazing street lamps and venders that sell their wares on small square wood tables. We found a Ukrainian scarf for Shani, and a couple leather wristbands. We're debating over getting him a Ukrainian soccer ball, because this is where Justin started his soccer ball collection.

The most important thing for Cathy and I right now, is that this is the first time since Justin came home that she and I have had any time just the two of us. Amazingly enough, after the years of being a couple, and twelve months of being new parents, we haven't had much couple time. We've been enjoying each others company, and talking on our walks, subway and bus rides out to visit Shani. It's been nice rediscovering one another all over again.

We still wait to hear word on our court date...

"...And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about these things that are excellent and worthy of praise...Then the God of peace will be with you." (Phil 4:8)

The One That Was Written On A Friday...

Dave sez,

Hi! We're Cathy and Dave. Thanks for helping us celebrate National Adoption Month 2012! And, thanks for letting us share our adventures with Justin and our journey to bring Ethan Shani home. We are actively participating in celebrating national Adoption Month!

We are near the end of the second week of our process. Monday begins the third week that we've been here; it is also what could be the halfway point of our trip. Last year we were here six weeks bringing Justin home. We are hoping that sometime early next week we will hear word on our court date for Ethan.

While we are here, we are learning a lot about the culture and customs of Ukraine. Just as we did last year. When we got on the Number Eighteen bus this morning, I paid the fare with my usual, "Dva," in handing it to the conductor. She handed me the bus passes for Cathy and me. She continued talking, and I wasn't sure what she was saying as I had stuck the passes in my pocket. She waved me to hand our passes back to her. She took a step over to one of the handrails, where there was a ticket punch. She put both of our bus passes in it and punch them. She handed them back to me with a smile. There were two open seats near where she was sitting and she invited us to take them. She walked from there to the back of the bus and returned, sitting down, still smiling at me. At the corner near the police and fire station, she announced the next stop as Maidan station in Independence Square. A few minutes later, when reached the stop, she said to us as we were getting off, "Goodbye! have a nice day!"

Last night, on our way back to the apartment from seeing our boy, we stopped at a neighborhood grocery store. I put the backpack I lug back and forth to the orphanage in a locker, put the numbered locker key in my pocket and caught up to Cathy. We only bought a couple of things, so I was back over to the locker for the backpack pretty quick. There were a couple of employees standing there. A customer had come up to one of them, and she asked him for help. She had put something in a locker and taken the key, but it didn't have a numbered tag, and she couldn't remember which locker it was - because, y'know, when they're all closed and locked they all look pretty much the same! So, here's this poor store employee, trying the key is about eight different locks. Another customer comes up alongside me, and we both wait patiently, until the key was fit to the right lock. The other young store employee shrugged and rolled her eyes at the whole incident. I nearly ROTFLMBO!

I saw a farmer's market set up in the parking lot of a strip mall on our ride out to the orphanage today. It was pretty cool to see something like what we have back home. There are street vendors every where around the city, selling everything from cosmonaut and military uniforms, flags, Christmas tree ornaments, paintings, jeans, sweat shirts, fruit, pig heads - this is on top of what you will find on grocery store shelves.

We've been able to find comfort food in a couple of local restaurants. Steak fries are awesome! What's nice is that Kiev is an international city, and English is the second language after the native tongue. So, most menus come with subtitles; and the subway stops are announced in Ukrainian first, then English.

Our visits with Ethan are becoming pretty routine. We try to vary what we do. Always English first for an hour. He knows certain words, but does not recognize them yet. The alphabet and the words and sentences he's working on are all symbols to him, just as much as the Ukrainian alphabet and language is to us. He's doing well with his new full name, who we all are, but he is still struggling with the sentence, "All four of us are a family". I'm sure that will come with time, in understanding and concept. It is amazing to see what concepts are attached to English words. We use our index finger to indicate "brother", and closing a "v" of the index and next finger over to indicate "brothers" for both Ethan and Justin. We make a circle between us to indicate "family". We've been connecting the most important words into basic sentences so he can identify himself and who we all are.

After an hour of English, we either watch a family movie, play Uno or war; or, like today, we go outside for some soccer. I'm learning from last year: the object is to make HIM do ALL the running and wear HIM out. We played soccer for a half hour and he was ready to go back inside. This year, Popi did not break a sweat. I'm sure once my boys put their heads together, that will change. But, I plan to pit them against one another as much as they plan to gang up on me.

As hard as it is to imagine our visits seem to fly by as much as the last two weeks has. If this trip is anything like last year's, we are nearly a third of the way through it. It just feels like the time is flying by. Even though we are enjoying a little bit of down time, there are a number of things that will happen quickly, and nearly all at once, once we've had our day in court.

Our adventure is just beginning!

The One That's Just About Another Day...

Dave sez,

So, today was another day. Completely different from yesterday. Maybe you're feeling the same way for one reason or another. Yesterday, there was rain in the morning on our way to see Shani. Today has been sunny and clear, but cooler and windier. We caught the Number Eighteen bus up the street from the apartment to Independence Square and the subway station. The bus had no conductor, but a lady driver who exchanged fares for bus passes. There was a little slide tray for the fare. Away went the fare and in return came the passes. The driver is in an enclosed compartment from the passengers. We made the complete ride to the Square. I was kidding Cathy that apparently it takes a lady driver not to have an accident in the rain. I have no idea if the driver yesterday was man or woman, but the difference today from yesterday was noticeable. Most of the bus drivers we've seen on the 507 bus from Holosiivska station have been men. 

Yesterday, we were able to "mall walk" our way through the closed underground shopping mall below Independence Square, but not today. I would imagine that the mall opens at nine in the morning and we were passing through at about eight. Young Gandalf, the security guard, said in Ukrainian, You shall not pass. That is not intended as s slur, more as a point of reference. On our ride around to the Square, we pass the police and fire station. We must have passed right after roll call, because all of the officers were rolling out onto their beat. We saw them walk across from the station house passed the Hyatt and the apartment we stayed in last year. We've seen a lot of police officers while here on our journey. Mostly on the weekends when there are families out and about; on the street, on the subway platform and waiting to get on the bus. It doesn't matter where, the hardest working people we know where blue; police, fire or security. The only people that we've seen work harder, work in public transportation.

We Skype with Justin three times a week. Last night was one of those nights. Eight hours ahead, his seven o'clock is our oh-dark-what-were-thinking-we're-going-to-be-so-dead-in-the-morning-when-we-HAVE-to-get-up-ay-yi-yi! It is a credit to twenty-some-odd years of marriage that we can keep the irritability to a minimum. If you've been married as long as we have, you know that means Cathy tells me to shut the **** up and not bother her until she's had a chance to wake up - and, I do it. That's why God invented the iPod. Of all the things that I have on mine, from Country to cool movie soundtracks, what I'm listening to is actually Justin's favorite albums by Big Time Rush. Nothing else works for me right now, not even Brad Paisley, Little Big Town or The Band Perry. I've actually tried listening to my collection of Bond songs and only Paul McCartney and Wings, Shirley Bassey and Tina Turner are the least bit tolerable. Every thing else is like fingernails on a chalk board. I'm not sure why. Our gracious host recorded an album, but I'm not sure our machines are set up to download them to our iPods. I think we're a different zone. We've seen a video that is pretty awesome!

Today was another day working with Shani on his English. But, today, I decided to change it up and have him start with some basic sentences, to incorporate the basic words he's learning, like his new name; who Cathy, Justin and I are and what we are becoming. The sentence that he finds most challenging is: "All four of us are a family." But he is writing his words out three times each, so the repetition is helping him. Hopefully in a couple of days he'll have those sentences down.

Right now, we're just counting down the days until we are all together again. Today puts us one day closer than we were yesterday. Which is why I didn't mind the cold or the wind as long as there was both the sun and our son.

The One With All The Latest

Dave sez,

Happy Adoption Month!
We are Cathy and Dave; and this is our ongoing adventure with our son Justin and the journey of bringing our second son Ethan home...

Hopefully you are enjoying the humor and the lighter side of our adventures...

Did I mention that we do a lot of walking here? Cathy and I have been looking forward to the walking...forced exercise...as if Justin weren't enough of a work-out, we've decided to expand our defense to man-on-man; and start our day with some vigorous exercise. It's a good hike to the subway, and the walk is highlighted by the weather. a couple days we've had rain. Like today. But we are near enough to a bus stop, where we can catch the Number Eighteen Trolley Bus to Independence Square, where we catch the subway to another connecting bus ride out to the orphanage. It was pouring this morning, so we decided to do just that. The bus ride is $1.50, local currency. We've hesitated in riding, because there is not always a bus conductor to take the fare and issue a bus pass. This is a different bus entirely from the one we catch off the subway to the orphanage. On THAT bus, the fare is $2.50, local currency, $5 for two, and every passenger is responsible for paying the driver the fare. You can either pay the driver - by placing your fare on the engine hump, front and center of the bus - or, by passing it forward. If you need change that will be passed back to you - count on it. We were fortunate that the bus we got on this morning had a lady conductor, taking fares and handing out passes, as well as the driver. We'd forgotten since our last trip here what the fare was. I handed the lady a dollar bill, Cathy handed her a two dollar bill and she took our bus passes. We found a seat.

A couple blocks from where we got on the bus came to an abrupt stop with a loud crashing sound. The doors opened and every one got off and started walking. What Cathy and I saw was a red compact car stopped in front of the bus, with the back window shattered. The back fender may have been bent. The front fender of the bus was warped slightly from the impact.

None of us passengers felt the shock of the impact, which is a good thing. Except for the loud noise, I would have thought we had stopped at a red light, or to take on passengers. The other passengers didn't seem the least bit fazed. The doors opened, they all exited and made their way by foot. It was morning rush hour, after all.

We've seen a couple of accidents - fender-blenders, the big "how-do!" - there was a two-car accident at the top of the cloverleaf, at the middle point of our ride out to the orphanage; and a truck (semi) versus car collision as we got closer into the neighborhood. Truck 1, car 0.

We're getting to know Shani's personality. He is a bright and happy boy. He is a very typical kid. We spend our time with him working on his English. So far we've gone easy on him. We give him a page of words to write three times and then we spend our time playing Uno, or war or we let him play Angry Birds. Today, we expanded his English writing. Every few minutes he would sigh, "Oh my gosh!" and then, "Come on Shani!" When he finishes it's always with a "Shani good?" Yes, Shani good!

We brought a few movies over to watch during our stay. The last trip we brought the Karate Kid remake with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. Justin wore the DVD out, we had to get another copy, he enjoyed it so much. I "forgot" to bring that movie. I wish I had brought it. I think Shani would have worn it out, too. I think I'm actually glad I forgot it. I've seen it so many times, I could probably recite it. He'll probably watch it enough when we get home to make up for not watching it on this trip. I did bring a few other movies I thought he would like just as much. This trip is going to seem much longer than it is if he doesn't.

It isn't going to be hard to keep him as active as Justin. With all the rain we've had, the playground is a soggy, muddy mess, but we did find a dry spot to play some "enclosed" soccer. There is a shelter on one side of the playground opposite the front door to the orphanage. We played one-on-one soccer for about a half-hour. The only way I can keep up with either of my boys is to cheat every opportunity I get; so there were a lot of potential penalties for holding and carrying, as I scooped Shani up in a bear hug, while I kicked three goals in a row. He would have the ball headed to my side, when I would spin him around, scoop him up again and kick another three goals in a row on his side. Justin would have been livid, and screaming "Penalty! Penalty! Penalty!" But Shani just giggled and squealed until he couldn't breathe any more.

Honorable Number One Son is very competitive; and I appreciate that. He's already figured out that it's not that hard to beat Popi. Honorable Number Two Son, Shani is learning how to "cahoot"...as in, he is learning the BEST place to be is in cahoots with Mom playing Uno to beat Popi. Of course Mom is "cahooting" like there is no tomorrow! I have a feeling when we get home, I'm going to be ganged up on!

Looks like it's going to be a pile up on Dad!

The One That's Not Really About Any ONE Thing...

Dave sez,

Friday. The end of the five day work week. We'll be entering our second full week on Monday. What is weighing heavily on my mind is Thanksgiving.

Something else that comes to mind is Genesis 11: 1 (NLT) "At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words."

It funny how very little talking goes on when Skyping with Justin. You know what Skype is: it is basically video-phone. He makes faces at us, we - and when I say "we" I mean "me" - make faces at him. And neither he or Cathy and I want to hang up. So, we make faces and point and act silly with each other for a half an hour.

We found out why the bus changed its route. The road that is the normal route is under construction. Not that I am paranoid or anything, but I am starting to see orange in my sleep! It is exasperating enough to try to figure out how to get across Rochester through construction, and now it is here too. Oh, and apparently Mother Nature can't make up her mind here either; it rained Monday and Tuesday, was kinda cloudy on Wednesday, really nice yesterday, then back to rain with a cold wind today. I bet there were saints somehow involved in that...

We just realized today that Shani is not just one of the last of the children we got to know last year; he is one of the few boys here anymore. The boys are seriously becoming outnumbered by girls. Shani referred to one of the girls as his sister. Something tells me this journey will not end with just two. Cathy and I have no desire to become "Jon And Kate Plus Eight" - a family with an outrageously large number of children - we do want to provide what is in our children's best interest. We're trying to navigate what Justin needs, what Ethan needs, what they both need, and what Cathy and I need both individually and as a couple. It's nice to think about what happens next. It is important to plan a head and look at the larger picture. I think right now, both boys need our time and attention. Cathy and I will probably be talking about this from time to time over the next few months as we watch our boys' progress. It is interesting to see how he interacts with the other children here.

A rainy day like today was nice to spend quiet time with him working on his English and spelling and watch him play "Angry Birds", bowl and drive a race car. I kept looking out at the empty playground and the soccer field, where Justin, Sasha, Andre, Ruslan, Vlad and Kolia all played last fall. Ethan played with them, too. They're all home now. Ethan will be home soon. I keep telling myself that these are his last few weeks here. The quiet is a big difference this time. Justin has a lot of energy. He was - and is - very active. I may have mentioned this before but as active as Ethan is, he does have his quiet moments. Both boys have a laser focus, where they can shut out the rest of the world when they are concentrating on something. It was nice to see Ethan keep trying until he figured things out, both with his English and spelling and the games.

We are still praying that our court date comes up sometime during the week of November 12th through the 16th.

Don't forget we fall back - in the states - this weekend and get and extra hour of sleep. That's a refund on that hour we lost in the Spring. Don't forget to set all the clocks back, you don't want to go into a time warp walking from room to room in the house.

...So George Lucas REALLY sold Lucasfilm (Star Wars) to Disney? Well, Lucas is a lot like Walt Disney. Both innovative and inventors. Disney's Song of the South will never be seen on DVD or Blu-Ray because it is so politically incorrect, and unless Disney reverses Lucas' passionate hatred for the Star Wars Holiday Special - which was surprisingly a lot like an episode of The Muppet Show! - that will never be seen, except for on YouTube. Carrie Fisher and Natalie Portman can now be considered Disney Princesses. Expect straight-to-DVD films on those concepts. If I remember right, the adoption theme is so heavy in Star Wars, because Lucas himself adopted, and "wrote what he knew".

I remember my brother Tim taking me to see Star Wars when it first came out. We saw it at the theater at the River Oaks shopping mall. I think that was back when a theater was a single theater, and not yet a googleplex. You might wonder why it was my brother, Tim, who took me to the movie, and not my dad or mom. As a dad myself, I am learning that presence is the most important thing.

Watching Ethan play video games today, I can not wait to take both him and Justin to the arcade at the theater back home. If Justin becomes absolutely "twitterpated" by the games, Ethan will need an oxygen mask!

I wonder what great things I will see my boys accomplish...

I wonder how much proof-reading and editing Cathy will do in the morning when she wakes up and reads this - it is 11:49pm here...

 

The One That's Full Of Anecdotes...

Dave sez,

Cathy and I have been noticing things that are different about this trip. Some things change, some things are the same...

The SDA is in the same place. Our appointment there was pretty much what we expected, pretty similar to last year. Where we are staying is a little farther away; but, not by much and not in any bad way. We've been looking forward to walking Kiev again. Tuesday we walked from the apartment to the SDA for our referral documents, getting familiar with the neighborhood we're in now, seeing the same street vendors that were out when we were here last. At the SDA office we met a couple from Florida that were picking up their documents and then heading down to Crimea to adopt a sibling couple near the end of their orphanage time. There was another couple with them adopting a sibling group of four. Didn't catch where they were from. There was maybe another couple after us, we got our paperwork and were on our way.

Our driver and our facilitator picked us up Wednesday for the trip to the notary. Traffic is always an enjoyable spectator sport. It is almost like every cliched scene you've ever seen in a movie, including Dustin Hoffman's classic street-crossing - "I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin'!" That may be a slight exaggeration, but only a little. Cathy and I laughed just a little when our facilitator said rather casually of another driver that cut across us, "Ooh la la, you're nuts." Other families that have shared our same experiences might appreciate that. (Note from Cathy: I like that phrase so much it just may one that I start using)

I am still impressed by how old fashioned and old school this process is. Although every thing is done by computer and printer; our facilitator makes copies, and rather than staple the copies, he sews each one of the five packets of copies. I think there were three or four pages in each packet that he sewed very briskly in three places and tied the thread off.

After the notary we were on our way out to the orphanage to see Shani again after ten months.

What is different a year later at the orphanage, is, that not only are almost all of the older children gone to new homes and families, but the behavior of the children is different now, too. Last year, every day at four in the afternoon, we lost Justin and most of the kids to Avatar: The Last Airbender. A little bit to Spongebob, too. But Avatar was "it". There was no talking, no moving, no breathing during Avatar. Snacks were at four-thirty, then free time until the music lesson, then dinner.

Yesterday, the television was not on at all. Halloween is a uniquely American custom. Children do not dress up and go trick-or-treating door to door here. So, while Justin was getting, "Many, many candy!" We were getting better acquainted with his brother and teaching him English.

We had a little surprise yesterday, when we left and got on the bus back to the apartment. The bus route had changed! We used to make our way through a number of street vendors in kiosks along the road back to the subway station. Now, we hit the highway on the opposite side away from the kiosks and mall on our way back. It was a little unnerving to be headed in the opposite direction, before heading the way we needed to go...

What doesn't change is that each and every one of these children desperately want to be wanted. There are still the same number of children. New children have come here to take the place of the ones that found forever families. I feel like I am wearing Velcro. It is hard to ignore a child; but I am here for my child, and I see my child's slight frustration over having to share me with the other children in the room. This isn't any one's fault. I don't blame or fault any one - especially the little ones themselves. These are children that want to be wanted, they are desperate and hungry for attention. Cathy and I are the new toys in the room. These boys and girls want to play, they want someone to listen, they want someone to be there. Just like there is nothing better than relaxing with Honorable Number One Son in the back yard on his birthday trampoline.

Right now we are just waiting on our court date. Then ten days after that, we can start the process of bringing Shani home as Ethan. If our timetable is accurate, I should be home with Honorable Number Two Son by mid-December. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year, since it is all about spending time with family. But what a Christmas gift we have this year: as we celebrate the coming of our Savior, we add a new number to our family. The even number, "four"

Over the last few days, I've been telling Cathy why I think we are the Fantastic Four. She thinks I'm pretty good at embellishing and stretching the truth, by telling me that's not something to brag about :) ...Honorable Number One Son is our little hothead; he's impulsive...Honorable Number Two Son is our heart of gold; our diamond in the rough...Honorable Mother...well, now she is the most powerful one of our little group. She makes all of OUR problems (wait for it) invisible, just like any mother...

I can't wait to see all of our "Incredibles" together.

There's more to come, but right now we have tea, with apples and watermelon slices courtesy of our hosts. How awesome is that?!!

 

The One About What's Going On...

Dave sez,

"...And, we're BACK!"

We've had a few technical challenges the first few days here. We used WiFi at MSP, where were charging stations without USING the charging stations; in Dulles and Munich, there weren't any charging stations...wait for it...then when we finally got settled in, the adapter that we brought from home...well let's just say it didn't. Adapt. ;)

Between Dulles and Munich, our layovers added up to an eight hour day. We both tried to nap when we could on the plane, rather than sleep when we got here. That's doesn't really help adjust to the time difference.

Believe it or not we are in the future. We are eight hours ahead of home. Don't forget this weekend we fall back one hour as Daylight Saving Time ends Saturday night. I have a clock that keeps time for here in Kiev and for at home. Plus we haven't adjusted the time on our electronics yet...

We have a very gracious host that has very generously let us stay while we are here bringing Shani home as Ethan. Where we are staying is not too far from where we were last year, but a little closer to the US Embassy. We are close to two very nice grocery stores, which comes in very handy.

Monday was our appointment at the SDA. This was our first request to adopt a male child in Ukraine named Shani.

Tuesday we went back to the SDA for the referral on Shani, this is permission to visit him at the orphanage while we file paperwork, and wait for the court date to get the court's permission to adopt him, legally change his name and bring him home.

Today, we filed our request, and were able to see him for the first time since we hosted him last December. The excitement that greeted us was incredible. He missed us almost as much as we missed him.

But what a difference it has been over the last year! Nearly all of the children that we met on last year's visit are no gone - either to good homes and loving families in the states or here in Ukraine. Shani could very well be the last man standing, so to speak as far as the children we met and got to know last year.

It is so different to be here when it is colder, and more rainy - with the prospect of snow on the way - and only TWO boys on the soccer field. One of them Shani, in his last five and a half weeks here, and another boy. The other boy a little older and taller than when we last saw him. All of the other soccer players are now in the states.

We've pretty much figured out our challenges with Honorable Number Two Son. We will start working on his English and reading skills more over the next few weeks.

Where Justin is more athletic, it appears that Ethan (nee Shani) is more creative. He likes to sing. We will have to see where this creative streak runs. He is different, and so are his talents, from Justin. It would be easy to paint them with the same brush and say they will be two peas in a pod; I don't know that they will even be two sides of the same coin. I wonder if they will be the same kind of currency. Justin has been quite the star. It should be interesting to see this new light shine.

Tonight at dinner, I looked at my Team Georgiy bracelet. I have not taken it off since I got it in the Spring of 2011. Ethan was looking at it and my blue wristband that says, "Adoption Is An Act Of God" and "Never Give Up". He asked if one was for Justin and if one was for him. We've done things differently to bring Shani home than we did for Justin. I realized it was time to take off my Team Georgiy band. There might not be any thing to replace it. I still wear the other one, though.

It will be a new adventure to see what we learn from Ethan, and from the boys as a pair.

Our court date is due sometime around nineteen days after the SDA appointment we had on Monday. Cathy's math places that sometime around November 16th. We have come this far on the strength and power of prayer.

Thank you very much for taking the time to get to know us, and follow our adventures with Justin and this exciting new journey to bring Ethan (nee Shani) home. Cathy will tell you her life has been changed by these boys. I know I'm different than I used to be. Hopefully for the better.

We're Cathy and Dave, and this is our adoption journey.