I have been reading about the Ukrainian Constitutional Court.

They are going to settle the current dispute between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Both sides have agreed to accept the court's decision on the following question.

Does President Viktor Yushchenko have the constitutional authority to... more

My daughter Natasha was adopted from Ukraine when she was 3.5 years old. And for some reason today.... I asked her what she thought was an important topic concerning Ukrainian adoption.

Her answer:

You have to do lots of paperwork... the process... the procedures.

And then you have to travel on a plane.

And then you do more paperwork to complete the adoption.

But then.... after a while... that is when love grows. That is the important part.

My darling is a smart cookie.... more

I miss FRUA. It is a great support group for families adopting from Eastern Europe. Their chat board is down while they are upgrading the software. My fingers are crossed that it will be back up Wednesday.

I have been reading blogs again. I am so HAPPPPPPPPPPY for the Schnitzel family. They have been trying to adopt from Ukraine since early 2005. They traveled to Ukraine and turned down their referral in... more

I love the Building a family article. It renews my faith that good people outnumber the bad behaving people. The Stahlke adopted 5 bio-siblings in 2005 from Ukraine.

I have known families who adopted 3 or 4 children from Ukraine before. Asking to adopt 5 children... Wow!

And their costs to adopt the 5 children were very reasonable; $35,000.

And now they are fund raising for their 6th adoption. There is another... more

The SDA, a Ukrainian government office, isn't directly impacted by the political conflict between the President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. They are the centralized adoption authority. And they have been processing adoption paperwork. But my pet theory is that the SDA's staff turnover... more

I started listing some of the Ukrainian Adoption Reunion/Heritage events. And then I mentioned reasons why I attend these events.

Now I want to complete listing Ukrainian adoption reunions/heritage events. If you know of any others please post a comment or email me at adoptukraineblog@adoptionmail.com.

... more

I have received several comments about the phrase Ukrainian Adoption Reunion over the years. The quibble was that it couldn't be a reunion since you are meeting total strangers for a picnic.

Six years ago, I adopted my darling daughter Natasha from Ukraine. Natasha is almost 10 years old and was adopted at 3.5 years of age. I try to attend a reunion per year. While some of the other families are strangers to me, we share many common experiences.... more

The Ukrainian Adoption Reunion/Heritage Season has begun. Most of these events happen in the Summer months.

There are typically 3 goals with these types of events.

Normalize adoption for your child. Parents socialize and relax. They are good places to trade parenting tips or attachment stories. Many families will share their adoption photos and stories. Let preadoptive families mingle and hear adoption stories face-to-face.

They are organized... more

I really hate this story. I have been sitting on it since it came out on April 4, 2007.

I haven't blogged about it because it makes me sad. I knew John Krueger via email. I thought he was one of the good guys.

The reality... John is a convicted child molester. He hurt at least 4 children.

John is a 53 year old single man who lives in California. His first Ukrainian adoption was in 2001. I think his second Ukrainian adoption was in 2003.

John... more

This blog only applies to Americans adopting from Ukraine.

Very recently the I-604 immigration form was modified. It is now called Determination on Child for Adoption. This impacts all Americans who are adopting internationally. And it makes things a little bit harder for Americans adopting from Ukraine.

The I-604 form is filled out... more