Good news.....

Amy (the Starbucks Loving Mommy) had her a SDA appointment is today. It was a brief (4 minutes) appointment. Blog is here.

This family adopted a son in 2003. He recently had his 5th birthday party. They are returning to adopt their son's bio sister. Their registration number is 156xx.

Amy will pick up the referral letter tommorow and they are off to Kramatorsk.

. . . Ukrainian international adoption is starting up again on September 4, 2006. Great news. I decided to try and find blogs for families who are waiting for appointments. And I found a few families who are deep into their plans to submit a dossier when the SDA starts accepting new dossiers after Jan 1, 2007.

Amy Starbucks... more

I mentioned Robert Klose's new book in More Ukrainian Adoption Books. It is titled Small Worlds: Adopted Sons, Pet Piranhas, And Other Mortal Concerns and comes out September 30.

I recently found a little more information about the book.

The cream of Klose’s columns has now been gathered in this delightful book culled largely from the more than 250 pieces written... more

When I am looking for information or updates on Ukrainian adoption I normally look at these web sites first. These are official sources of information… I prefer them to the rumor mill.

Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago

There are 4 Ukrainian consulates in the United States. They all have pages on... more

I adopted my darling daughter Natasha from Kharkiv (Kharkov is the Russian spelling.

is the second largest city in Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kharkiv Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Kharkivsky Raion (district) within the oblast. The city is located in the northeast of the country at around 49°54′60″N, 36°18′60″E.

The current estimated population is 1.4 million (as of 2005).

From:... more

All behavior has meaning. Everyone on this blue planet is seeking to have their needs met and avoid pain. And when a child or teenager or adult is frustrated... has poor impulse control they may become aggressive.

But not all frustration leds to aggression.

And not all aggression leds to violence.

In other words aggression isn't something to be feared. It can be a rich opportunity to help your child or teenager.

ag·gres·sion (-grshn) noun.

..........Hostile or destructive behavior or actions.

From: The... more

Picture: Chernyshova Yevheniya Rodionivna, director of the Centre

The old NAC web site (down now) had photos that several people are looking for. This blog entry is for them. These are government photos and from what I can tell aren't copyrighted.

About the NAC in the Ukrainian government's own words.

In support of UNO Convention on children's rights that was ratified by Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on February 27, 1991, our state recognized importance and necessity to give priority to the placement of orphaned children and children... more

The LA Times published a funny, snarky, obnoxious, nasty [fill in your own adjective] article titled How to Shop for Kids the Brangelina Way. It is suppose to be a sarcastic article aimed at Jolie. She made a comment that that she and Pitt are "looking at different countries" for their next adopted child. Of course, she just gave birth. And Brad hasn't adopted her 2 children yet. Jolie is getting way ahead of herself.

This ... more

I saw an article last week, which flashed me back to November 2004 when my daughter was diagnosed with Dyslexia. Blogs on my flashback are found here and here.

I started looking for symptoms lists for Language Based Learning Disabilities. It impacts verbal communication more then most people realize. So I went back to my favorite book on the subject; Overcoming... more

Picture: Natasha (my darling daughter) June 2006. Her eyes are grey. You may be thinking they are blue, but trust me. They really are grey.

I recently traveled back in time with an article titled Discovering Language Disorder in our daughter. It discuss the signs of a language based learning disorder. The author, Carolyn, mentions one of my favorite books; Overcoming... more