Happy 2008!

Happy 2008 everyone! 2007 was a great year, full of wonderful changes and milestones! A new daughter, celebration of 25 years of marriage, an engagement, and a new employer for Fred and me. 2008 is sure to be full of fun and adventure, so stay tuned for all the details. I will continue to post as long as you continue to read!

Below are a few things that I read, heard, observed or experienced that made me stop, ponder, and say, "What???!!"

-Our local Baptist church has a sign in the courtyard that reads, "An English speaking church."

-The "S" in our local Shell station sign has been burned out for two months. They seem in no hurry to replace the bulb.

-A local church advertised "holiday trees" for sale. I would think a CHURCH could get away with calling them CHRISTMAS trees!

-Our local TV station claims to be "on our side." Are the other stations our enemies?

-After learning that we adopted a child, Fred and I have had to listen to people tell us about their successful pet adoptions. I fail to see the similarity.

-After asking a waitress three times what she was saying to me she blurted out that I needed to learn Spanish!

-I wanted to send some money to Russia with a pastor who was traveling there last week. I went to church and requested a check from the funds we raised at the auction. When I took it to my church's bank to cash, they charged me $10 to cash the check, because I didn't have an account there! Since when did it start costing money to cash a check from the bank from which the funds are drawn? Ten dollars!!

I could go on and on and on, but these are just a few of the things in life that really make you say, WHAT!!"

Happy New Year and GO GATORS!!

Christmas Vacation

Katya is ready to go back to school! She is so accustomed to a rigid schedule and no free time that she is restless and needing diversions! We have seen a few movies, visited friends and watched some TV. She misses her school friends and is very ready to return to a predictable schedule. When she lived at the orphanage, school was in the same building as the orphanage so she never actually left school, or her friends! She never had to occupy her own time or play independently so it is difficult for her to sit quietly and read or play. The weather has not been conducive to playing outside so I will have to get really inventive these last four days of vacation! Any ideas anyone?

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

My Solo Pajama Party

The gifts are purchased, wrapped, mailed or under the tree. The cookies won't be baked this year (too tempting) and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care. So what does that mean? A whole day spent in my pajamas! Yep, I didn't venture outside today and I had the most wonderful Saturday! No malls, no traffic, no crowds and most importantly, no more decisions! If it isn't bought, it isn't going to be under the tree this year! Fred and Katya did go shopping, and I stood by the window waving goodbye wishing them Godspeed as they ventured out to the madness of the holiday season! I watched two movies, scrapbooked a little and made an excellent pot of tortilla chili. Now that's the way to spend your Christmas holiday!
I hope all of you get an opportunity to relax and little and have a pajama day!

Now and Then...

Twenty-five years ago today I vowed to "have and to hold, from this day forward". Wow, what a ride it has been! Eleven different houses, four states, two countries, nine six-month deployments and now three children! Who would have thought...

I hope the next twenty-five years is as fun and fulfilling as the last! I'll keep you posted!

The Most Valuable Player!

Katya scored the winning basket today in overtime! The score was 14 - 14 and there was 36 seconds left on the clock. Katya made a basket bringing the final score to 16 - 14! She was named most valuable player! It was very exciting and she was THRILLED! She is quite a little basketball player and really enjoys competition! I think she now understands the rules and regulations of basketball and she practices everyday, even when it is cold outside. I am always bugging her to wear a heavier jacket, and she says, "Me no cold Mama, no cold in America, cold in Russia!" Granted it hasn't been very cold here yet, but tomorrow morning it will be about 22 degrees. I wonder if she'll think that's cold!

Home for a little over 3 months, and so much progress!

I am astounded at the progress Katya has made in the little over three months she's been in the USA. She is speaking in complete sentences, most of the time. They may not be grammatically correct sentences, but they are sentences! Tonight at the store the sales clerk had two piercings on her lip. Katya said, "Excuse, me, does lip ouch?" The sales girl said no. Then Katya replied, "It's beautiful, me love." As soon as we left the store, I said, "Mama does not love the piercings! You may not get your face pierced, ever!" Katya replied, "OK, OK, Mama! Wow, you angry!" I wasn't angry, I was just trying to drive the point home!! There is no "gray area" when it comes to my feelings about piercings and tattoos. Perhaps when Katya is an adult they will be out of style. One can only hope.

A Wonderful Christmas Concert

Last night Fred, Katya and I attended the Randolph-Macon College Winter Choral Concert. It was a wonderful concert and a wonderful evening! Katya loves hearing Steven sing and enjoys seeing Sabrina, the love of Steven's life. Sabrina also sings beautifully and Fred and I jump at any opportunity to hear them perform! We went to dinner after the concert and I was able to get a few ideas about what to stuff Steven's stocking with which was helpful. (See yesterday's blog.) Shave soap? At the mall? It's new to me but at least it's something! Boxer briefs was another. Now that I can handle!! Fred asked me if I wanted a roof rack for my car for Christmas. Ok, it's not exactly romantic but it's practical! Beats a vacuum cleaner I suppose.

This morning at church Katya walked up to the pastor and asked, "Whatcha doin' sweety?" Her English is really progressing, but we have to work on tact!

The pressure is on...

I love this time of year, yet I loathe it at the same time. The pressure to get "just the right gift", and stay within a reasonable budget is difficult. I hate meandering through the stores without the slightest idea of what to purchase for my family. I am blessed with children who aren't materialistic and really don't have a Christmas wish list. Name brands have never been important to them (with the exception of anything Mac!) so I lie in bed at night trying to come up with ideas. Katya came up with a few things she wants, mainly a pink cell phone! Who she will call I have no idea, but unfortunately most of her classmates bring their telephones to school everyday. This is the result of 9/11, when the kids were forced to stay at school all day with no way to contact their family. Up to that point cell phones were banned at school, but no longer. Fred and I feel a cell phone would be a colossal waste of money, but she now thinks because she told Santa Claus she wants one, she'll get one. Ugh. I was watching a morning news show the other day and the hosts were giving suggestions on how to remain calm and stress free over the holidays. The segment was followed by a commercial of a store that was opening at 5 AM the next day for "your shopping convenience." I had to laugh! Getting to a store at 5 AM is sure to induce stress, but I suppose there would be no traffic at that time of morning! It occurred to me recently why I love Thanksgiving so much. It has so much of what Christmas has, such as family togetherness, time off from work, good food, and time to just rest and be together. Yet it doesn't have the whole commercial aspect of buy, buy, buy!! I applaud my neighbors who decided they would exchange no gifts this year, instead they are going downtown on Christmas morning to work in a soup kitchen. Good for them!! Maybe next year my family will do the same.

Making Contacts at the Russian Embassy

I would like to become more proactive in my pursuit to help orphans in Russia. Last night I attended a reception at the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC with the Russian Ambassador to the United States and Representative Chris Smith (R- New Jersey). Also in attendance was Princess Alexis Obolensky, a member of a Russian emigre family. My goal is to meet others who are helping Russian orphans in creative ways and learn from their experiences. I met an incredibly brave physician, Dr. Juliette Ingel, who after visiting Russia in the early nineties, came home, sold her lucrative medical practice and moved to Russia to help children abandoned or orphaned at birth. Her organization, MiraMed, provides humanitarian aid to orphanages in the Moscow region. When Dr. Ingel learned of the recruitment of young girls from the orphanages into prostitution rings operating in Eastern Europe, she began a program of education directed at at-risk adolescent girls in orphanages. In 1998, she became aware of the growing and widespread practice of trafficking orphanage girls into sexual slavery overseas, so she developed a proposal to begin an anti-sexual trafficking education campaign for highest risk girls in the rural regions of the Russian Federation. WOW! She is my shero. I also met the founder of Firefly, an international organization working to close orphanages in Russia by helping local governments develop programs that will keep children in their birth families. Getting one child out of an orphanage is easy to imagine, but getting one million out and ending the use of institutions is far more complex. Many countries in the world, including the United States, have moved from institutions to community care, and hopefully Russia will promote foster care and eventually close their over-crowded and under-funded orphanages throughout the country. In Russia, there are up to 300 children of various ages living under the same roof. The result of such circumstances can be horrific. The suicide rates of orphans released at 18 is shocking, and the rate of prostitution is also very disturbing. This year, orphanages receive only 22 rubles per child a day, only eight rubles of which is used to buy food. There are about 25 rubles to the dollar. Surely there is more we can do as caring, concerned human beings. As I heard over and over again last night, all children smile in the same language. Hopefully the Russian Orphanage Project can bring more smiles to the faces of the beautiful children of Russia in 2008.

Basketball Fever!

Katya LOVES basketball! She is on a girl's team at her elementary school and they just started practicing. She came home Monday night so excited. Apparently she made seven out of ten shots so the coach was very encouraged. We were worried she wouldn't understand offense, defense, traveling, etc. but the coach said she'll figure it out quickly. It is so wonderful to see her happy and excited about her new life here!

Back to the grind...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in North Carolina with our family. Katya ate two turkey legs but little else from the buffet line! I thought for sure she would like the mashed potatoes but she grimaced when she tried a bite! Oh well, she eats constantly so I don't have to worry about her nutrition.

Katya's English continues to get better by the day. We rarely use the translator, and we can usually find a way to convey our thoughts and feelings. Take for instance the photo above. She was quite tired of me photographing her, hence the dirty look! Those teenage looks are universal, aren't they! She can roll her eyes with the best of em'! She is a master at shrugging and sighing too! Whining is a universal language, so no problems there! She's a joy though, and we are so blessed to have her in our family.

Over the river and through the woods to Auntie's house we go...

We are off in a little while to conquer the first half of our journey to Pinehurst, North Carolina. We are waiting for the traffic to subside a little, which might be a foolish notion! We shall see...

We are so excited for Katya to experience her first Thanksgiving, and to meet her grandmother and grandfather for the first time. Katya can't wait to meet her Babushka and Dadushka, or Granny and Pop as they like to be called! My parents drove up from Florida to Pinehurst so we could have a mini-family reunion at my Aunt Sheila's house. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone and being together. Katya already told me she doesn't like "big chicken" or turkey as we know it! I'm sure there will be enough side dishes to keep her happy for days!

Be safe and well and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Navy Ball 1982 - Navy Ball 2007

We received a photo from my sister tonight of her daughter Suzanne attending the 2007 Navy Ball. She was escorted by her friend who is Navy ROTC at The University of Southern California. Twenty five years ago Fred and I attended a Navy Ball when he was ROTC at the University of Florida. I showed Katya the photo of her Papa and me at the Navy Ball and I thought she was going to lose her dinner due to her fits of laughter! She thought we were the funniest looking people she has ever seen! Granted my make-up is a little much, but really, are we so ridiculous looking? Evidently she thinks so!

How sweet she is...

Katya continues to florish! School is going well, or I should say Katya loves school. She is learning English, but that could just be assimilation or the tutor. It's difficult to say how much she is learning in sixth grade versus home, but she is learning. I have a feeling the school could be doing a better job, but the truth is there are two ESL teachers and 97 ESL students, most of whom are Korean. My sister mentioned hiring an educational advocate for Katya, because it is their job to know what services Katya is entitled to and are very effective in getting their clients these services quickly. Sounds like a great idea, but some of the advocates are attorneys who charge $300 - $350 an hour. Yikes! We supposedly live in an area with one of the finest school systems in the United States, but after 10 years of being in the area I am less than impressed. I will have to start being a better "squeaky wheel" so Katya will receive the finest education available to her.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig!

I came home today from my twice yearly scrapbooking escape. I was so anxious to see Katya, and Fred too of course! Katya had a great time with her Papa while I was gone seeing a movie, touring the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and several other fun adventures. She spent several hours with Katie on Saturday while Fred helped out some friends with a home repair project. It was fun to get away but I was constantly thinking of my family back home!

I miss Katya!

Twice a year, a group of seven friends and I rent a home on Lake Anna and scrapbook for four days. This is that weekend! I left Thursday morning and will return home Monday afternoon. I wondered how I would do being away from Katya for four days, and I confess it hasn't been easy so far! It didn't help that we started out watching Anne of Green Gables, a story about an orphan girl who was adopted by a wonderful brother and sister in Canada! I just called home and talked to Katya. She asked me if I was coming home tomorrow... and I said no....and she said YES! Fred and Katie have a weekend of wonderful activites planned and I know she is having a great time but I still want to jump in the car and go home! If I didn't have two scrapbooks that I've been promising to my aunt and sister I'd probably go home today!! THIS IS HARD!!

No School Blues

Today and tomorrow are teacher work/conference days, which means there is no school for Katya. I had a conference with Katya's teachers today and learned that she has some behavioral issues she needs to work on. Together with her teachers we came up with an action/consequence chart that worked at home, so let's hope it works at school! Because she doesn't have the language skills to get the attention she desires, she is using other methods such as tickling, poking and distracting the other children. Hopefully when she has command of the English language she will cease these behaviors in favor of actual words!
Let's hope!

Auction Results

We grossed $10,050 last night! It was a lot of work but great fun too. I could not have pulled it off without the help of my wonderful friends who were with me every step of the way!

We are driving down to Randolph-Macon College to hear Steven sing today. He is a member of the Randolph-Macon Chamber Singers and they are performing Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. We are really looking forward to the performance. I think I'll sleep the whole way down to Ashland today!

The Auction is tomorrow!

The auction is tomorrow! We have the social hall set up and we are ready to go! Some of the food is prepared and we will finish cooking everything tomorrow afternoon. I ended up with 104 items/services, down from last year but I fully expected that. I haven't had the time I invested in the auction last year but I will make up for it next year! I plan on starting on the 2008 auction/dinner in March so I anticipate the largest revenue ever! My goal for next year is $20,000! Whatever we make this year will help the orphanage so I can't worry about it.

Katya had a wonderful time at her new friend's house. She came home at 9 PM exhausted and wanted to go to bed almost immediately! Tomorrow will be difficult for her because we have a full day and evening at the church ahead of us. Hopefully we'll find enough jobs to keep her busy.

I won't post tomorrow but I'll let you know Sunday how we faired. Keep us in your prayers!

This photo says it all!

You can guess what I've been doing lately judging by the above photograph! The Russian Orphanage Project Auction and Dinner is Saturday night, so things at the Buoni household are a little....shall I say....stressed. Luckily Katya will be going home with a friend tomorrow from school so she doesn't have to suffer through the auction set up and food prep tomorrow! The next 48 hours are sure to be incredibly busy and hectic, but our goal is to raise enough money to help Podolsk Orphanage out in a big way this year, even though a team from my church is not traveling to Russia in December. If you are local and reading this, PLEASE COME to our auction and dinner!!

I am relieved Halloween is over!

Is it just me, or has Halloween gotten completely out of control? When Target has to sell orange and black 50 gallon containers to store the truckloads of decorations people are buying, haven't we gone a little too far? Halloween is a $5 billion dollar holiday! What? I don't get it. I went to the bank today and the manager was Dracula? Huh. It's just ONE day that your kids rummage through your extra closets, come up with a costume of sorts and then bug your neighbors for candy. Now, people are decorating their houses and yards beginning October 1st, complete with sound effects and mechanical creatures in the yard. Come on folks, Halloween doesn't symbolize anything, or at least anything most of us care about. Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the end of summer and the harvest. It also marked the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. So if any of you are celebrating the end of summer and your harvest, and you feel like the worlds between the living and the dead are blurred tonight, just forgive me now! I can understand decorating for Christmas, because it symbolizes something many of us actually celebrate. Like I said, I just don't get it. I'm putting my soap box away now...

So...Katya wouldn't wear a costume, but she did agree to a little face make-up and a wig, which to us constituted a costume. She practiced on our neighbors first, mixing up the "Trick or Treat" a few times, but she soon mastered the magic words and off they went to conquer the neighborhood! Katie and Katya had fun and it left me at home to give out candy. Whew...I'm glad that's over!

October 31

The photo above is Katya waiting for the tutor to arrive. She was so excited to show her that she had memorized all of her homework AND she could actually identify all of the words! She walked around the house pointing out floor, window, shelf, etc.

Olga tried to explain Halloween to Katya but she cannot understand why kids wear a costume! I took her to a costume store and she wasn't interested in any of them. I told her she had to wear a costume to go Trick-or-Treating and she wasn't happy about that! Katie is coming over tonight to take her around the neighborhood so perhaps Katie will have better luck than I did with convincing her to wear some sort of costume!

Life is Grand!

Things in our household continue to get better and better. Katya hasn't called Russia since September 28th. She hasn't asked to go over to our Russian neighbors house for at least two weeks. She hasn't said "no" or cried in recent memory. She actually hugs us now, instead of standing in a rigid stance with her arms to her side. She is smiling constantly and has random bursts of affection when we least expect it. When I was tucking her into bed tonight, I told her she was "my baby." She said, "No baby Mama, I big!" I told her that Katie and Steven were my babies too. She asked, "three babies", and I said yes. She then said, "Four babies Mama, Sasha in Russia your baby too." (The Sasha she is referring to is a 9-year old boy at Podolsk Orphanage.) I said, "NO Katya, no more babies!" She kept saying, "Please Mama, please, four babies!" Sasha is an adorable boy who is a true orphan and was so sad to see Katya go. What have I started!

Tomorrow the tutor will attempt to explain Halloween to her. I'm sure she'll want to Trick-or-treat. This should be interesting.
It will be more interesting to see what costume she decided to wear....I'll post photos.

Queen of the Remote!

Katya did so well today with Olga the tutor that I allowed her to watch one of her favorite movies tonight, Flicka! She loves anything and everything about horses! Katie keeps teasing me that she's going to come for a visit one day and find a horse grazing in our backyard! I always said that I would NEVER own a cat and within three days of arriving home with Katya we had a cat! (I say whatever works!)

Katya now has a boyfriend named Michael. She came home today with a glossy 5x7 photo of him that she put on the refrigerator! I have no idea how they communicated this fondness for one another but evidently they are a "couple" at school. I'm in so much trouble.....

Silent Auction Season!

I am up to my eyeballs in work for the silent auction which is a week from Saturday. I got a really late start this year with publicity, preparation and recruitment so I am terribly behind. The donations are trickling in, so I am praying for a last minute onslaught of items! I always worry, then at the end I ask myself why I worried so much.

Katya is wondering why there are tables set up in our living room with all kinds of interesting stuff on display! Trying to explain an auction in the 200 or so Russian words I know is difficult. I think I'll have the tutor explain the concept to her! She continues to blossom everyday. She's even learned the joy of hugging! When I hugged and kissed her goodnight this evening she wouldn't let me go! She is becoming more affectionate as the weeks go on. Her vocabulary is expanding quickly thanks to school and her tutor Olga. She hasn't called Russia or had a sad period in weeks! After just seven weeks she is settling in and feeling at home. Thank goodness!

Back from Sunny Florida

We had a great weekend celebrating the wedding of our friend Chick. The wedding was gorgeous and we are so thankful we could be part of their very happy occasion!

Katya had a great weekend as well, hanging out with my friends being waited on and catered to the entire time! She had a manicure and pedicure, and now I'm afraid she won't want to do her nails anymore! I can just hear it now..."Mama, I need to go to the nail salon, my nails are looking a little shabby!" She is such a girly girl; I now hide my make-up in my closet or she will put it on and not want to wash it off. I think 12 is a tad too young to wear eyeliner, mascara and lipstick! She wants to wear "dangly" earrings and anything that sparkles. Her leopard print shoes are wearing out and she is heartbroken. The thought of wearing plain shoes is just too much to bear! When I took her to the store to buy tennis shoes, she wouldn't even look at the New Balance or Adidas shoes. She selected a sleek pair of Guess black tennis shoes with gold laces! Of course they were the most expensive shoes in the store, but I knew if I insisted on the more athletic looking shoes she wouldn't wear them. I've learned the hard way on that front, if she doesn't absolutely love the item, she won't wear it once we bring it home. If I try to talk her into a particular item, forget it! She'll reluctantly agree to it in the store, then not wear it after purchase.
Patience, patience, patience...

A wedding in Florida

Fred and I are in Florida today at a wedding of our dear friend Chick Hollis, now Chick Russell! Actually she is Maryellen but we've always known her as Chick! It was a beautiful wedding and Chick was radiant.

Katya is home this weekend with two of my friends, being spoiled rotten I'm sure! I can't wait to hear about their adventures when I get home tomorrow! I'm sure she is having a wonderful time.

Auction to Benefit Russian Orphans

Katya has the best sister and brother ever!

Last Saturday Katie and Steven took Katya to Kings Dominion in Richmond. She had a WONDERFUL time riding the roller coasters and spending the day with her siblings! She ate unlimited quantities of french fries and ice cream so she was especially happy! She is fearless, and rode all the roller coasters except for the Hypersonic XLC, the only compressed-air launch coaster in the United States. It apparently goes 0 to 60 in a few seconds and I think it just looked too scary! Fred and I took advantage of our "day off" and drove down to Norfolk to visit our friends the Stampers and Herberts. We had a great time catching up on their lives and Fred enjoyed a game of golf with Wayne. We even played Beer Pong! Yes, even old people play Beer Pong! Fred was awesome! Living in a fraternity house for three years and having plenty of practice helps a lot!! Maybe it's like riding a bicycle, you never forget! It was great fun and we enjoyed our time with our friends very much.

My fashionista daughter!

Katya has a very keen sense of fashion! Where she learned this fashion sense I have no idea! She often points me back upstairs in the morning after getting dressed to "try again." She is very European in her belief that your clothes must be tight! She was in fits of laughter the other day when I put on my pajamas. She even thinks my pajamas should fit tightly and be beautiful. Granted my pajamas are big and ripped, but I love them. She stepped into my pajamas to illustrate just how large they are, and made the rip even larger! (I blurred it out). I don't think I will ever measure up to her idea of how I should dress, but at least she makes me pay a little more attention!

THE POWER OF PRAYER

Below is the latest report posted on their blog of my cousin's son's battle with Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT). It is such a miracle that I had to share it with you. We have all been praying for Ryan since February and truly believe in the power of prayer and in miracles! What a happy day!



CLEAR!!!!! The preliminary report came in all clear. Ryan's scan is being reviewed all over the world right now but the first report from Australia says "all clear". Dr. Buck has seen the scan and says he doesn't see any sign of disease. The seeding that remained when we began stem cell ( seeding - cancer deep in his pelvis that looked like sugar sprinkled down in there - too small to remove when he had is tumor removal operation and that we had to rely on chemo, stem cell and radiation to remove) is gone as well as the mass on his colon and his liver is completely healed. Reports will still be coming in but Dr. Buck was very excited. There is apparently one doctor in particular he wants his opinion on the scan. Ryan is suppose to start radiation early next week (he will call with a time) and he will have radiation for 4 weeks only and general radiation not any extra on sites that we thought cancer would still be in.
We are beyond happy! We have all been in tears of joy. We want to thank everyone who prayed for Ryan thru this awful ordeal.. Even though it is not over just yet he would not be here without your help and prayers!!! We are still trying to soak in the news so as I get more information we will let you know. Praise God and bless you all!
Melinda, Jeff, Tyler and Ryan

Back in the Saddle Again

Our weekend in North Carolina was wonderful! Our hosts, my Aunt Sheila (shown in photo) and Uncle Dick rolled out the red carpet and treated us like royalty. My Uncle Mike and Aunt Judy also wined and dined us in their beautiful home. It is so nice to have TWO sets of relatives in one town! Now it's time for my parents to move to Pinehurst/Southern Pines, then the Davis clan would all be together! Hint, hint!

We returned to seven Russian guests from the Russian Peace Foundation already settled in our home. Katya was certainly thrilled to have seven people to converse with, and I was thrilled to have seven interpreters! I have been quite busy this week cooking, transporting and entertaining these folks, but the Russians show us such warm hospitality when we visit their country, so it was only right that I return the favor. They go home tomorrow with sunburns and suitcases full of souvenirs, and I will come home from the airport and sleep for a week!

Katya's English is getting better by the day, which makes life and school easier for her. A tutor comes in twice a week for two hours each time so this extra help will speed the process along. We found the world's nicest person to tutor Katya, at the dog park! Olga is from Belarus, where she earned her law degree. She came to America in 2005-2006 and earned her Masters of Law at the University of Florida (GO GATORS!) She moved to Washington, DC with the dream of attending law school at either Georgetown, American, George Washington or George Mason University. Keep your fingers crossed she'll get in one of our local law schools. She's also applied to law school at UF, but she would prefer to live here because she has a family in DC who lets her live there rent free. Olga will not accept money for tutoring because she is 'paying it forward.' A nice person in Belarus taught her English and would not accept money so she says she must do the same for someone else. I have gotten quite creative with slipping gifts into her car, gift cards into her purse and I insist she eat dinner with us on her evenings here. I told Katya she would have to pay it forward when she grows up, and she's promised she will.

Escape to North Carolina

We escaped to North Carolina this weekend to see my Aunt Sheila and Uncle Dick, and my Aunt Judy and Uncle Mike! They live in the beautiful community of Pinehurst, which is golf central! Fred will be enjoying 18 holes tomorrow, and Katya, Katie and I will be staying in our pajamas and watching the first two episodes of this season's Gray's Anatomy, and just "chillin" as they say! It is beautiful here, and we are enjoying the time away and the company of our family! Katya is basking in the attention, and I am enjoying the break.

Life at the Buoni House

Katya received her US Citizenship Papers today! I blurred the numbers because I am posting the certificate on the blog, but you can double click on the image and it will enlarge.

We had a rough day yesterday, as my neighbors can attest! Katya didn't like what we were telling her (to sit at the table and eat) so she tore out of the house to run to a friend's house who speaks Russian. This friend lives about a half mile away. Fred was in hot pursuit and when it was over we brought her back to the house kicking and screaming! Not exactly poster parents for adoption!! It took her awhile to calm down she apologized today. She told a Russian speaking friend that she didn't realize there would be rules in America. I would love to crawl inside her mind and figure out what she thought family life would be like. I bought a book about adopting older children, and compared to the children in the book we have it easy. The frustration of not being able to communicate on top of not really understanding family life equals one confused child! It takes time and patience and we certainly have both so we will just take one day at a time. She is a precious, inquisitive, bright and bubbly child who brings so much joy to our family. We will look back at these struggles one day and laugh I'm sure.

Whirlwind Weekend!

This past weekend was great! My sister Anne and her husband John flew in on Saturday for Katya's baptism on Sunday. It was great to have family here for this special event. Steven and Katie came home on Saturday for the weekend too. Wes, Caroline and Adam drove in from James Madison University to attend the baptism as well. They have been to Podolsk Orphanage multiple times and Katya adores them. It was great to see everyone and I'm so grateful Wes, Caroline, Adam, Vicki, Chris, Ken, Jeff, Lisa, Randy and Judy could be a part of Kaya's baptism. Our friend Randy translated during the service so Katya could answer the questions asked by our pastor. We had a wonderful luncheon after church where many of our friends joined us.

Naturally Katya fell in love with Anne and John, so a trip to California is in our future. I want Katya to meet her cousins and see a different part of America such as Disneyland, Hollywood and the Pacific coast! There are so many trips I want to take, but there is only so much time and money!

6th Grade Rocks!!

Katya had a WONDERFUL first day of school! She was so excited this morning that she could barely eat her breakfast. When I picked her up this afternoon I asked her if school was good. Her response was, "Yes Mama, YES!" Fred and I went to 'Back to School Night' at her school tonight and met her teachers. I really like her ESOL teacher and I can tell Katya does too. Katya was eager to review her letters and sounds tonight which made me happy. She started to lose interest recently but school has jump-started her willingness to learn. When I picked her up today at school three girls were standing with her and they all said, "Bye, Katya!" One of the girls is in her Sunday School class so Katya already had friends at school. Being around children and having a routine is just what she needed. I am so happy that she is so happy!

P. S. Katya's chest x-ray was negative, no TB!

Making Progress

Today we registered Katya in school! She was hoping to start tomorrow but her TB skin test is positive so back to the doctor we go. We will get a chest x-ray taken and hopefully it will be clear so she can start school on Thursday morning! She is so anxious to start school and make new friends. The doctor in Russia warned me that her TB test may be positive because she was given the BCG vaccine for TB. It used in many countries (not the United States) with a high prevalence of TB to prevent childhood tuberculous meningitis. The vaccine commonly causes a false positive with tuberculin skin test reactivity.

I hired a tutor for Katya who starts tomorrow. Olga is a wonderful young woman from Belarus who has 9 years of experience teaching ESL. Katya is excited and so am I! We are making progress!

NO MORE DOCTORS!

Today Katya had a traumatic trip to the doctor. She had her first doctor visit last week that went pretty well. There were no shots and blood draws! Today was a different story. After examining her immunization record from Russia, the doctor determined Katya needed four immunizations plus a TB test. Katya fussed a little at the doctor but managed to get through the four injections without too many tears. The blood draw was the really hard part. She kept saying, "No Mama, No Mama," and I considered just taking her home but I knew I would never get her back into the laboratory if I didn't get it over with right then and there! She was really starting to get worked up so the four lab assistants (yes, it took four) quickly got to work and managed to take six vials of blood in record time. By the time they were finished Katya was hysterical and I was a nervous wreck! There was no room for me by Katya so I hovered in the corner praying it would be over quickly. Katya was screaming so loud the security guards came into the lab to see what was going on! She hyperventilated and had to "recover" in the lab for 30 minutes after it was over. The lab technician suggested we give her “relaxation medicine” before we come back and I said I would need some as well! The ride home from the doctor was interesting because Katya yelled at me in Russian the whole way but luckily I had no idea what she was saying! (Well, I got the gist of her feelings, and let's just say I'm glad I don't know more Russian than I do!) Next time I think I’ll have Fred take her to the doctor!!

My wonderful Friends

I have the best friends in the world. Jean, Vicki and Darcy hosted a beautiful shower today for Katya. She was showered with love, affection and loads of gifts! THANK YOU EVERYONE! The food was incredible and lovingly prepared by Jean Tobey! WOW! Look out Martha Stewart! The flowers were beautiful, the table elegant and the guests were beyond generous. I appreciate you all attending and showing Katya how many people love her! I am overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation. Katya will enjoy all of her goodies immensely and thanks you too.

Your love and support throughout the entire adoption process helped Fred and me so much, and your support now is invaluable and so appreciated! Thank you everyone, from the bottom of my heart.