Has it only been two years?

Fall has already arrived and the days are quickly becoming shorter. We're over half way through the first marking period and sprots activities are keeping us very busy.

Today, October 3rd, 2009, is a very significant date for us: Two years ago today, the four of us met for the very first time. That Wednesday morning, Bill, Cathe, Masha, Sasha and the "D.O.G. Lady" packed into Sasha's Lada and headed to the Petropavlovsk Regional Boarding School.

The scarriest part for us was that we were going into this visit 100% "blind." After arriving in Kazakhstan and meeting with the Department of Guardianship representatives in Petropavlovsk, we had traveled 250 km cross-country to the small town of Saumalkol to visit the Airtau Orphanage. Circumstances didn't work out so we headed back to Petropavlovsk for a fresh start. All we had at that moment was the confidence that God had a child or children waiting for us "out there somewhere" and we just had to find him, her, or them.

Talk about trust: There we were in a stranger's car with a lot of cash in our pockets, out in the middle of absolutely nowhere, and having no idea where we were actually going. We would challenge anyone in that situation to tell us with all certainty that they didn't have all their trust in God, that He was leading them where they should go!


Meanwhile, David and Kate were getting started with their school day and were completely unaware that a significant change was about to take place.

What came together that day is nothing short of a miricle. We will forever hold a debt of gratitude for what Masha, our translator, Tatiana Tokareva, the RBS Social Worker, and RBS Director Kokpenov did in matching David and Kate with us. On the home front, Scott our house sitter and Anne our Social Worker also pulled off an amazing feat by providing us with a Homestudy Amendment, increasing the recommended adoption age range so that there would be no questions regarding our court application.

We find it nearly impossible to comprehend that it has now been only two years since the day we came together for the first time as a family. So much has taken place and we have done so much catching up that it seems to be now as it has always been. There have been challenges, but nothing extraordinary. And we're sure there will continue to be challenges. That's part of any child's process of growing up.


There comes a point in time when a blog changes from the topic of adoption to recording life's events. Like many families whose blogs we followed during our preparations and travels, we have decided that this is a good point in time to wrap up our adoption blog since our family has now transitioned from Adoption-mode to Facing Life's Challenges-mode. Although we plan to fill in a few details, and perhaps an occasional anniversary note, this will be our last regular entry.


We want to thank our family and friends who encouraged us through the peaks and valleys of the adoption process, sharing the joys and giving us the leg-up when we needed it the most.



For those considering adoption: Do your homework and DO consider adopting an older child or children. We had the opportunity to go through all the early reader books and quickly progress to higher level books as we helped the chrildren thrugh the early stages of learning English. We also were able to do a lot of activities right away and enjoy each others company. Perhaps this is a big part of what makes it hard for us to believe that only two years have passed since we worked our way through the age levels at an accelerated pace. We don't feel that we missed out on anything, rather that we have experienced much more since the children could share their experiences with us as well.

We found tremendous support and a wealth of information through several Yahoo Groups such as Kazakhstan_Adoption, PAKK (Parents Adopting Kids from Kazakhstan), and our regional group, PVPK. There are also groups set up for each state. The first place we found and started reading was Kazakh Adoptive Families (http://www.kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/).

Groundhogs and Daffodils

Here we are, just posting our February update and it's almost time to begin working on our March entry.

Before starting this draft, we looked back to last year's February entries to see how they compared. It would be very easy to cut and paste those entries with only a few minor changes in the details. Funny enough, some things change and others don't!

One change which we were happy to see was a non-repeat of last years Night of the Tornados. During the anniversary week of that event, we did experience unusually warm weather and a few minor thunderstorms, but thankfully nothing like last year. Being from more northern climates, we're still not used to that sort of weather in mid-February. We're still on the temperature roller-coaster though: yesterday hit 72, today's high will barely hit the 60's and we're expecting snow flurries in the morning... Daffodils began popping right on schedule around the 14th and this week we are seeing the start of flowers on the bradford pear trees. Although Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter (or to quote Bill Murray, "I'm predicting Spring on March 21st"), the signs of spring are beginning to show in Memphis.

A little side project Bill has been working on for the past six months has been to check weather readings and sunrise/sunset times and compile the list in an excel file. The last daytime high temperature in Petropavlovsk above freezing was on December 7th and the shortest day, December 21st, only offered 7 hours and 12 minutes of daylight. Of course, the big trade off comes in summer when the days in Petropavlovsk can be over 17 hours long!

In honor of Groundhog Day, "День сурка," which also happens to be Kate's "Half-Birthday," our friend and Cake Man Extraordinaire presented us with yet another masterpiece. Kate got into the spirit of things while helping bake a big batch of cupcakes to take to school for her celebration. The Groundhog cake was greatly enjoyed during Super Bowl Halftime at a neighbor's party. (David and Kate thought the 3-D commercial was pretty neat!"

Academics have been a challenge which David and Kate have taken on and continue to amaze us. Granted, there is a lot of parental pride in this statement, but also much humor. Kate is still a bit confused, but David is quickly grasping the absurdities of the English language. Recently, David has been dealing with synonyms and homonyms and we had a good laugh when he simply stated, "English is crazy! How can "pound" be how much something weighs at the same time as hitting something?" Welcome to our part of the world!

Despite all the challenges, David scored another academic success this month: His Science Fair project was selected as one of a few to represent his school at the county level. We are extremely proud because the project was truly David's work with only a little parental assistance. Drawing on Wikipedia and his Большая книга экспериментов (Big Book of Experiments), he put together an excellent Water Wheel project.

Sports and Scouts continue to keep us busy. David just earned the rank of Tenderfoot and is well on his way to Second Class Scout. His basketball team wrapped their season with a 12-1 record as the league champions for their age/category. The following Tuesday David started tennis and Kate's basketball season began. Tomorrow, we'll be back in the swing of shuttling between games, practices, etc. They're also looking forward to the lengthening days so they will have more time to enjoy scooters, bicycles, and a new Rip-Stick skateboard.

In addition to school and sports, both are also learning about charity and service to the community. Tonight is the first of this year's Lenten Fish Frys and they will be earning service hours by helping set up and run the event. Last weekend, we trekked downtown to the FedEx Forum to enjoy the annual "Soup Sunday" fundraiser for Youth Villages. We had a very interesting discussion one afternoon last summer when the kids wanted to know why we went all the way to Kazakhstan instead of just going to the Detsky Dom not far from our home. Since they had been placed at the Priute Shelter Home before going to the Regional Boarding School, they quickly understood the difference.

While at the FedEx Forum, both took a few minutes to pose for photos, Kate with the "HAPIBUG," and David trying to get an early start on the soccer season... 8-D

Be sure to periodically check the Antares Orphans blog, http://antaresorphans.blogspot.com/, and last, but not least, we want to put in a plug for Kazapalooza (http://kazapalooza.blogspot.com/) which will be held at the Opryland Resort in Nashville, TN this year (June 5th-7th, 2009). Although geared mostly toward younger children, Cathe REALLY wants to see the Grand Ole Opry. Anyway, do check out their web site for more information.

Happy New Year and Merry (Orthodox) Christmas!

Happy New Year and a Very Merry Orthodox Christmas to everyone!

Although this is "technically" David and Kate's second Christmas at home, they both said that it seems like their fist since last year was just a blur and they had been home such a short time.

With many takes and some help from a neighbor, we got some great Christmas photos, and even "Bob the "Rein-dog"got into the spirit of things. (doesn't he look happy?!?!?)

Our ambitious travel plan was waylaid by wintry weather. Due to winter storms, we had to delay departure by a day and cut out the DC portion of our trip. Instead, we visited the St. Louis Arch en-route to Michigan. They both thought that the Arch had to be something out of a sci-fi movie instead of being something they could actually visit. We even made the trip to the top and enjoyed the view!

Although we had planned to visit the Smithsonian since "Night in the Museum II" was filmed there (expected release May 2009) and Ночь в Музее (Night at the Museum) is one of their favorite films, we'll have to save that for another trip... Instead, we enjoyed wandering through the Museum of Westward Expansion. David did his best Grizzly impression, but Kate wasn't thrilled with Lewis and Clark's 19th century "Laptop Computer."

By the time we reached Ft. Wayne, Indiana it had started to snow and the roads were getting slick. David and Kate got to witness firsthand what happens when someone is driving too fast and hits their brakes... While stopped at a traffic light, we watched a car slide through sideways then overturn when it hit the snowbank. A true testimate to the effectiveness of seat belts, the driver climbed out unscratched, despite his car being a total loss. After a short delay while waiting for the police to arrive, we were back on the road and arrived safely.

Both enjoyed playing in the snow and building snowmen, but David was disappointed that the snow wasn't deep enough for him to do the back flips he loved to do in Petropavlovsk. Kate's snowman looked great Christmas Eve when grandpa's little tree was lighted up, but even better at sunrise on Christmas morning.

Christmas morning was an exciting event, and both could hardly wait to empty their stockings to see what Santa left. They didn't quite understand the "Lump of Coal" (chocolate of course!) that they each got, but all the adults had a good laugh!

In addition to the gifts and all the great meals (Cathe's mom loves to cook and puts out an incredible Christmas spread!), we brought along a gingerbread house kit. We all had fun decorating it, but Kate could hardly wait for the most important part: Eating it!

Sadly, it was time to head south all too soon. Fortunately, vacation wasn't over yet... We still had New Years to look forward to and a visit by Cathe's brother and his family. We didn't go to visit Elvis, but did have fun feeding the local ducks (an armada arrives as soon as they hear the rustling of bread wrappers). As you can guess by Kate's lighter attire, it is MUCH warmer in Memphis than Michigan!

We also wandered down Beale Street and took in the sights.

Meanwhile, Bill has been checking the weather daily in Petropavlovsk (enter "Petropavl, KZ" in the MSN weather page for current readings) and has gathered a few interesting factoids:

• On December 21st, sunrise in Petropavlovsk was at 9:47 am, sunset at 5:03pm (7 hrs, 16 min)... Memphis was 7:05 am and 4:52 pm respectively (9 hrs 47 min)
• First day in KZ with readings below freezing: Sep 28th (Oct 28th in Memphis)
• There has not been a temperature reading above freezing since Dec 7th when the high was 34F. (Dec 27th reached 71F in Memphis)

As they would say in Petropavlovsk, "что за холода!" (it's cold outside!). No wonder they keep the buildings so warm as a defense against the winter cold. 8-)

Our 2008 Christmas Card

Christmas, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas, Greetings and Salutations from Memphis, Tennessee! 2008 was year of big adjustments all around! Our BIG NEWS this year to report is that Bill retired from the United States Navy in May and returned to civilian life.

Cathe is now in her fifth year teaching at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School and enjoys her role as the Computer Resources Teacher. She was also recently asked to be part of a Leadership Team, under the Catholic Schools Office, for Computer/ Technology teachers. Although she hasn’t had much time for quilting, she has been keeping up with the neighborhood Book Club.

Stephen returned safely from Iraq and finished his Army enlistment in June. He likes the Fort Lewis Washington area so he decided to stay and found employment at the base motor pool. It’s a long way from Memphis, but we hear from him often!

David and Kate have been a true blessing to our family. Their energy and spirit have transformed our formerly quiet house into a busy home. Throughout the year we experienced many humorous moments as we sorted out differences between English and Russian and when one or the other was at a loss for words but creatively got the point across (such as buying new shoes for mama’s car)! Every day we see something new in what they understand of our complicated English language. Kate and David have quickly adapted to the changes and challenges their new environment and school brings with enthusiasm and good humor. Academically and socially they are doing great. In January Kate was the first to start after school activities with Basketball. Who knew this “soon to be not shy” girl could be a powerhouse on the basketball court? David, not to be outdone by his little sister, picked up his first baseball in March. Everyone took notice when David was at bat, and we all laughed when he momentarily stood at home plate after a good hit before he realizing that he needed to run to first base. Kate followed with softball and she caught on quickly, hitting several homeruns and even a Grand Slam! Then came soccer season. Wow! They both are talented athletes and every soccer game was very enthusiastic and incredible experience.

Meanwhile, Bob has enjoyed the increased activity levels in our home and loves to help wake up David and Kate each morning with puppy kisses. He tries his best to time-share with everyone, and now has puppy beds throughout the house.

With the warmest wishes for this Christmas Season, С Рождеством всех!

Bill, Cathe, David, Kate, & Bob

Lemonade Stew, Green Beans, and Happy Anniversary!

Ok, we're said it many times before, but we have to say again just how fast time is flying and how well Kate and David are doing. They continue growing like weeds and have changed a bit since we first met just a little over a year ago.

This week we celebrate our first year together at home, but we will still consider Thanksgiving Day as our anniversary since it was on the eve of that day last year we finally made our way home. National Adoption Day also happens to fall on November 17th, just a few days before our anniversary. But before that, we do have a few funny anecdotes to share.

Last weekend was David's first camp out with the Boy Scouts. Bill went along too, dusting off (and squeezing into) his old Assistant Scoutmaster uniform from when our older son Stephen was working on his Eagle Scout requirements. It was a bit colder than usual and there was even some light rain Friday night when they were setting up, but overall things went well. At least until Saturday night's dinner... It was already dark when dinner was being cooked, so David didn't notice that the "water" he was adding to the stew had a slight color to it. Fortunately, the stew was still edible, and one scout said that it reminded him of German Potato Salad since it had a slight sweet/tangy flavor. It won't be added to our outdoor cookbook though...

While Bill and David were roughing it, Cathe and Kate were back home appreciating the warm and dry conditions while discussing a little about impressions of a first year at home. Cathe asked about things the children might have heard since we had heard about all the rumors kids shared about people coming to adopt them just for body parts (sounded like one too many slasher movie plots...) and all that. Kate didn't miss a beat when she told Cathe that she never believed those stories since we were too nice, but she was worried that we might be trying to poison her and David with green beans... You really have to wonder what was going through their minds as they embarked on their great adventure with a couple strangers from a far off land.

Another really neat item to note is that one of our favorite programs, The Amazing Race, visited Kazakhstan. Although they didn't go all the way to Petropalvlosk , the stopover was Almaty. We recognized several sights and enjoyed some of the Kazakh heritage displayed with the horsemen, eagle, and apple orchards. Every time they showed signs or someone was speaking, David and Kate strained to recognize or understand anything. What's "neat" about that? Well, we happened to have been in the exact spot where the pitstop scene occurred and had also seen many of the snapshots they show in the opening sequence. After Almaty, the cast headed off to Moscow. No familiar sights there, but they listened intently for familiar Russian phrases, getting a few laughs at non-translated comments...

Here are a few Almaty sights also shown in the program. The Russian Orthodox church was in a couple views, and the statue was where the Pit Stop welcome took place.:

We saw this statue on one of our walk-abouts, which served as the pitstop marker for the race.

Our Almaty apartment was in the small building in front of the new building, which also was shown in a few panoramic shots of Almaty during the episode...

Soon it was time for our family celebration. Our cake man came through once again with a real winner! He is absolutely amazing and goes into great detail to make sure things are exactly right. He even counted the rays coming from the sun in the Kazakhstan flag, no detail too small!

Our first year has been a good one, with its interesting times. We also asked David and Kate to share what they find most interesting: Build-a-Bear Workshop (Kate), Costco (David), and both really like Toys-R-Us, especially since the "R" is reversed into a Russian "Ya," meaning "Me." Applying the Russian meaning, David and Kate have re-named the chain to "Toys-For-Us!" Gotta love their logic!

Happy Republic Day, Anniversary, and Halloween!

October? Where did it go?

There wasn't one weekend where we didn't have something going on.

Since we traveled up to Michigan for Cathe's HS reunion over Columbus Day weekend, soccer season was cut short. Both David and Kate had great season's and they're already looking forward to next year. To make up for missing the last two games, we loaded up Bob and the kids and headed to Sheridan's for frozen custard. Bob LOVES Sheridan's because they make vanilla "Puppy Cones" which he now consumes in a single bite! He couldn't wait to show us just how happy he was!










We had a great trip, although it was much too short. On the way north we notices the leaves changing from green in Memphis to brightly colored as we ventured into Kentucky, Indiana, then Michigan. Although we have passed close to Mammoth Cave, we had never stopped. Since the kids had never been in a cave, we got an early start so we could stop on the way up, this time visiting Diamond Caverns. Kate had been covering the topic in her science class and both had seen pictures in their science books in Kazakhstan, so they were pretty excited.







It was a steep descent into the cavern. Thank goodness for strong hand-rails!










The view was spectacular and we're looking forward to our next spelunking adventure!


As we continued our journey north, we decided to make a quick pit stop and noticed a Russell Stover candy shop. Our chocolate connoisseur could not resist the opportunity to pose with a sign sporting what is now her favorite slogan!







When we finally arrived in Michigan, we packed a lot of activity into a very short time. Between visiting an apple orchard and pumpkin patch, we also ventured through a corn maze. While Kate relaxed with cousin Elizabeth, David dug worms and demonstrated his angling prowess, catching several sunfish and a northern pike.


Although Fall has oficially arrived and we have seen some heavy frost, we have not seen early snow flurries as we did in early October last year in Kazakhstan. There was no snow, but driving through the mid-south countryside, we did see snow-white fields of cotton waiting to be harvested. Kathe thought it was pretty neat, but David was not impressed. "We saw that in Kazakhstan, " he said.


Kazakhstan Republic Day arrived quietly as we celebrated our one year anniversay of becoming a family with a pizza feast. Was it really just a year ago that we were sitting in the courtroom telling the judge just how much we wanted to be a family with these children? On the other hand, the memory of the judge puting the children through the questioning process and David being absolutely at a loss for words seems like just yesterday. Not once since have we seen our children at a loss for words!

And how could you wrap up October without mentioning Halloween? Both David and Kate knew about Halloween, although it isn't celebrated in Kazakhstan. David also wanted to tell us about all the scarry movies they had watched before coming to America. We told them we would watch scarry movies, but nothing like what they had watched before (we often preface the statement, "In Kazakhstan..." so anyone overhearing us doesn't think we sit our kids down to watch the Saw series). We'll go with more "thill" and a lot less "gore." Early on, they picked their outfits for Halloween: Kate would be the Easter Bunny (does she know that the Easter Bunny doesn't do the Fish Face?!?!?), and David would be a doctor, "Trick-or-Treat Specialist" to be more specific (and asked to have that specialty embroidered on his scrubs too, just in case it would help him get more candy and make up for lost time in the Trick-or-Treat department... It did!).

Another part of Halloween which they had not participated in before was Pumpkin Carving. Both were very proud of their artistic results! They looked awesome sitting outside the front door , greeting all comers. Lastly, David, being the good brother, constantly reinforced with Kate that they had to look both ways before crossing the street so they didn't get squashed like a ghoulish display in a neighbor's yard depicted. (Kate took several looks to be sure that the foot sticking out from under the tire wasn't real!).

Since our first measurements last October, both children have filled out and put on several inches in height. David is now 4 1/2 inches taller and Kate has grown a full 3 inches. It's funny to see them sporting original sets of pajamas which are now "high waters." They continue to amaze us with how much they have learned in such a short time and how well they are doing in school. We are VERY proud of them and hope that we can keep up!

They Picked Us

Yes, it’s true. We traveled half way around the world to find the children who would pick us to be their parents. As Bill’s colleague Sam said: “You have to be absolutely out of your minds to do this.” In retrospect, Sam was right. But we would do it again without hesitation.

One year ago today, October 3rd, 2007 at 9am Petro time neither they nor we knew anything about one another. After arriving in Kazakhstan on Friday September 28th, we spent the weekend in Petropavlovsk seeing the sights with Masha before traveling to Volodarskoye in search of our children, but they were not at the Airtauskiy orphanage so we returned to Petropavlovsk knowing that the two children God intended us to find were there somewhere. We just had to keep looking.

It’s absolutely amazing that we ended up where we did since it was such a long way from where we started. We first considered adopting an infant from China several years ago, but put that on hold due to an upcoming move from Illinois to Tennessee. Things were quiet for a little bit, then Cathe brought the subject up again and we started the process all over. Since Russia and Ukraine had suspended adoptions while they did complete process reviews, those countries were off the possibilities list. While we were waiting for them to re-open their adoption process, our former agency told us about Kazakhstan (Kaza-where?). After a little research and decided to press ahead with Kazakhstan. During the Home Study process we thought about adopting an infant, but decided that it would be better for us to adopt one (ONE) toddler in the 3-5 year range. As the process dragged out, that became two, a 3 and a 5. Then a 6 and an 8. Then 10 year old twins. Then we actually brought home a 10 and a 12. God walked us through many small steps in preparation for where we would end up. Had someone told us point blank that, no matter what we thought we wanted, we were going to bring home two older children, we would have pulled the plug on the entire process, especially after all the headaches and speed bumps we encountered along the way. Without a doubt, God’s intervention ensured that we found the two children we were supposed to bring home. Had we traveled as soon as our former agency led us to believe, we would have never met them.

Several years ago one of us read a quote (though we don’t remember which one of us) which essentially boiled down to something about an advantage that adopted children have in getting to pick their new parents instead of the pure luck (and in their case, misfortune) associated with birth parents. Although we went to Kazakhstan for the one and only purpose of adopting a child or children, it was more important to us that they a) wanted to be adopted, and b) wanted to be adopted by us. We would know when it was right.

After our flase start in Volodarskoye, we couldn’t sleep, so we stayed up all night talking. On the way to the RBS that Wednesday morning, Bill talked with Masha (in German so they could talk freely) about what we had stayed up all night long discussing. Sasha was driving, and the D.o.G. Lady (we still get a chuckle from that abbreviation for Dept. of Guardianship) was in the front passenger seat, while the two of us along with Masha were sandwiched in the back seat of Sasha’s Lada.

Soon we were in the Director’s office, starting over. Masha went into high gear and explained what we had discussed to the Director, Assistant Director, and RBS Social Worker. Without hesitation, the Director pulled his Big Book from the shelf and went to work to help us find our children. We only looked at one set of information cards and decided they were the ones we wanted to meet. A quick call from the Director brought the children to the office. Kate had come from Gym class and obviously had a little help getting a bow in her hair before coming. David, on the other hand, was in English class (how prophetic!), so he was ready to come running (although we learned later that he hoped our initial meeting wouldn’t take too long because it was almost time for his gym class).

We have since learned that David and Kate also had a false start once before we came. They met another American family who had come to Kazakhstan, but it wasn’t meant to be. That family ended up adopting another boy named Igor (congratulations and best wishes, wherever you are!). David tells us that it was hard for him since he wanted a family so much. They had both waited and wished for a family for so long that they thought it would never happen for them. At first Kate would often ask David if we were really their American family and had come to take them home. David wasn’t 100% sure, but told her not to ruin it because we seemed to be nice people.

So, here we are, one year later. In some ways it seems like yesterday, but in other ways it seems like another lifetime ago.

Happy Meeting Anniversary David and Kate! We love you and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Мы любим вас. Любовь, мама и папа.


Family Portrait #1.................Family Portrait #2