Thanks Jenna for introducing Love Thursday to adoptionblogs.com. It was an awesome idea.

Recently Natasha and I finished carving our pumpkin. We put it on the front porch with a candle to take a look. And then we played outside in the dark.

I had forgotten how much fun... how free it feels...... more

The Jack-o-lantern above is from last weekend. Natasha enjoyed the "slimy" feel of pulling out the seeds and scrapping the inside of the pumpkin. Then she drew the face. It is a happy face in case you are wondering... It is yelling with joy.

This weekend, Natasha had her BFF (Best Friends Forever) for a sleepover. They are... more

Jenks is a 1 year old neutered male. He is pictured to the right. Short story is that I rescued Jenks. I got him at 3 days old and bottle fed him. He is very close and loving to me.

My darling daughter Natasha over a 6 month period convinced me that she could take care of a rat. After some research, I agreed to a Hamster.

One of my biggest objections to adding a rodent to the household.... I thought our cats (Jenks... more

I have been busy (diabetic coma.. not mine, doing favor for single dad, work politics). But I haven't posted because I am just wasn't sure what to say. I am not depressed exactly... maybe more emotionally tired.

I want to adopt a second child but nothing is moving forward. I am registered as an adoptive family with foster care. However I am not accepting an risk placements. And the fact that I want to adopt a single child seems to be the problem.

I adopted my darling Natasha from Ukraine back... more

Continuing from part 1 and part 2.... Here is an old journal entry. I was looking back at the first 4 months home with Natasha.

=========================

We practiced emotions in front of the mirror. OK, the reality is that we made faces at each other in the mirror and giggled. It was very educational and a fun way to develop Natasha's emotional palette.

I modeled behavior. I talked... more

Continuing from part 1.... Here is an old journal entry. I was looking back at the first 4 months home with Natasha.

=========================

She had very poor language skills even in Russian. My translator had a very hard time understanding her. Part of the problem is that Natasha actually used a strange mish mosh of Ukrainian and Russian together.

And based on what I found out in her language screening (done after being home 6 months), Natasha... more

I recently served ant pancakes to my daughter and her friend. I really wish that I had taken a photo, but I was too busy cleaning up. In other words I wasn’t in the moment enjoying the strangeness of ant pancakes.

I was living in the future of

My daughter had GW her BFFFFFFF* sleep over. And the following morning I was serving a full breakfast with pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast. I served the food and forgot the syrup. So I went to the pantry and got the syrup bottle. I handed it... more

I found an old journal entry about my darling Natasha. She had been home for 5 months when I wrote the following. The pictures is from the same time frame. Natasha was trying to catch bubbles with her mouth. :)

---------------

When Natasha first arrived in the United States she was 3.5 years old. She was 3 feet, 1 inch tall and 31 pounds.

Five months later she is 3 feet, 3 inches tall and 32 pounds. Her skin looks much healthier and she is very active. She is a joy.

She doesn't use many Russian or Ukrainian words anymore.... more

In part one I shared part of an old email. Natasha had been home for 13 months.

The picture above is from that timeframe. Natasha had a buzz haircut when I adopted her. Her hair had finally grown in. And then a few days before this picture, she found scissors and cut her bangs off.

This was the first tme she did it. She did it at least once a year. Somehow she managed to find scissors no matter how "out of reach" they were. But with her ADHD diagnoses and the medication,... more

I was reading old emails and found one about my darling and food. In this email, Natasha had been home for 13 months after being adopted from a specialized (think handicapped) Ukrainian orphanage. I had forgotten how she used to beg food off strangers.

The above picture is of Natasha in front of her "food cabinet".

*************************

Natasha has food issues. She has been home for 13 months and still has some problems walking away from food. If we are at a restaurant she feels a strong urge to see what other people are eating.... more