Coming to America!

December 13th is the day we left Ukraine ... with our two precious daughters ... and headed for home!!!
The flights were really not that bad. Ok, maybe there were a few moments! :o) Like the last 1/2 hour of our flight into Amsterdam ... ... plug your ears people ... she isn't going to quit screaming ... until she gets out of this seatbelt!!! Or the meltdown we (ok, she) had on the Amsterdam to Chicago flight ... but that too came to an end.
What I remember more ... is that I was the proud Mommy of two adorable girls. I was prepared for them to cry all the way ... so the few eruptions we had ... were really brief in comparison to the amount of time we spent in the air (or sitting at the gate!).
The girls had faced SO MUCH change in the previous 5 days ... I couldn't even imagine how they were processing it.
God gave us an amazing gift on our flight from Amsterdam to Chicago ... his name is Chuck. He sat next to Juliya and was sooooooooooooooooooo sweet to her ... it still brings tears to my eyes thinking of it! Chuck is a very successful business man from Chicago. He could have buried his head in a paper or his work ... but he chose to befriend a little girl and her family ... and we will always be forever grateful for his friendliness during that flight!!
Nataliya took to cleaning the airplane with baby wipes ... who knew that could be such fun!!
After arriving in Chicago we were met at the airport by Chris' parents and two of my brothers (Don & Jon). It was wonderful to see loved ones again. Juliya ran right up to her new Bushka ... which of course we all found amazing ... and precious!!
We stayed that night at a hotel in Chicago. The girls had the chance to meet some of their "extended" family. Paul & Chris and Elsa Bickett, Jeff & Janna and Zach & Seth Mudlin, and Auntie Janelle. It was a sweet time to all be together. Even though we were totally exhausted and hadn't slept in about 28 hours!
Here are some pictures of the journey!
1) Daddy, Juliya and Mr. Chuck!!!


2) Nataliya cleaning the seats on the KLM 747 ... we could have kept her busy doing this for a very long time!!!
3) Uncle Jon (from San Diego, CA), Uncle Don (from Madison, WI), Mommy (their sister) and the girls.

4. Nataliya and Zach Mudlin ... have a blast together!!!
Our first day ended in America with the girls falling asleep right in the middle of all the commotion ... while everyone was still there! They were tired! Unfortunately, Juliya was awake at 2:00 am ... and NOT too happy about where she was or what was going on. It was loud and ugly for about 2 hours. :o) But that too passed ... and I would have been screaming and crying if I were her too ... just ask my mom ... :o)

Baking, Ballet and Balance Beams!

Our morning started out very early ... with little ones waking us up at 5:30 am. We tried getting them to go back to sleep ... it was a no go. But they were acting so cute and funny ... we really didn't mind. (of course, later ... when the whining kicked it ... it wasn't so cute!) So ... because our day started so early ... we had lots of time to do things before heading out for dance and gymnastics.

The girls love to help me cook and/or bake ... so they took their spots up on the island in the kitchen and we baked up some bars to give away tomorrow. Of course they licked every bowl, spoon, spatula, etc. ... which is the fun part!!

We headed off for dance (Juliya) and gymnastics (Nataliya). They are at the same facility and overlap a little so it works really well. Here are some pictures ... but I'm not sure how to rotate them ... so you'll have to tip your head back and forth!






It is so fun to watch them in their classes. They are both doing really well in their areas and they enjoy going.

After the gym ... we picked up Daddy and went to lunch. That's always a fun treat for all of us!!

Afternoon naps were not as long as I had hoped ... but the girls did play well this afternoon (as was evidenced by the house being a complete disaster area when Chris came home from work!). I was just trying to survive! :o) We had a fun evening at home with Daddy (he was gone over the weekend) ... so the day ended well.

It really is amazing how far we've come in the past year! We are so blessed!!

Hillsongs Kyiv

A year ago today ... Chris and I took the girls to Hillsong Kyiv ... an AWESOME church in Ukraine. We were so warmly welcomed by the people there. A beautiful lady named Natasha (pictured in the middle) spoke both English and Russian ... and she became a wonderful part of our experience. She took such an interest in the girls and our story and she literally escorted us all over the place showing us the ropes.

Juliya LOVED the worship time in the children's ministry. We stayed with the girls through the worship time ... then they went into a little Sunday school class and we went to service.

Below is a video of Juliya clapping and dancing as they sing. It was a thrilling moment for us to watch her. As you may recall ... we hadn't seen much joy from her in the weeks previous ... but her little heart of worship was shining through.

This is the story of these pictures ... I will write more on a different entry.

Our First Day as a Family!!

Our hands were quite full on our first full day as a family. We arrived in Kyiv around 9:00 am and were met by an awesome driver (Sasha) who took wonderful care of us and our stuff. We went back to the same apartment where we had stayed at the beginning of this journey and tried to get settled in with the girls.
Kostya was also on the train with us ... but in a different car. At the train station we met his beautiful wife and son ... then connected with them later in the day.
We bought one stroller in Kherson ... and both girls fit in it. Usually we were pushing one and carrying the other ... but it did come in handy getting us around Kyiv and then from Ukraine home to the USA.
As Chris and I were walking down the street in Kyiv on that Saturday afternoon ... I said to him "I spy a family! And it's us!!" I had been waiting many long years to enjoy that feeling of being a family!!
We walked to meet Kostya and his family at a favorite Ukrainian restaurant of theirs and it was wonderful to have his wife help me know what things the girls would enjoy eating. Kostya and Olga are still very dear to us and the girls. We have two dolls in our house named Olga! :o)
Later in the evening we attempted a bath with the girls. Juliya did not think this was such a great idea ... it wasn't pretty. But after she got out and had the remote control back in her hot little hands ... she was just fine!!
Getting the girls to sleep was another major undertaking! :o) Chris recalls singing "Jesus Loves Me" to Juliya until he almost didn't have a voice.
Fast forward a year. Tonight I have the girls a bath and while they were in the tub I was putting away laundry. During that time they managed to empty the contents of the shampoo and two bottles of conditioner into the bath water! Oh yes, they have gotten over their fear of taking a bath!!! Little stinkers!!!
These were some beautiful and equally really tough days a year ago ... but we made it through!!
Celebrating our life together ...

Life as a Family!

These pictures are from this week. The frist two were taken Thursday evening while we were decorating for Christmas. The other two are just the girls at home. They LOVE each other and LOVE playing with each other ... their relationship really is so sweet to watch and experience.

Train Ride to Kyiv, Ukraine

1. Train in Ukraine
2. girls eating "dinner" on the train (we bought yogurt, bananas and bread at the convenience store at the train station).

3. we only had one change of clothes for nataliya ... so she ate dinner with her shirt off! it was hot on the train!

4. juliya looking adorable at the little table in our train compartment.

One Year Ago!!

Wow ... who knew that 365 days could fly by so quickly.

One year ago tonight we finally had our daughters in our arms ... a forever family ... at last!!!

Tonight we are all sleeping in the comfort of our cozy beds in our home. A year ago tonight we "slept" in a train car ... traveling between Kherson and Kyiv, Ukraine.
Because of a speaking engagement Chris has tomorrow ... we are actually celebrating our big day with the girls next Saturday. That will make one year since we have been home together.

The next post will have some pictures from the train ride last year and some pictures of the girls this week.

Have I mentioned how much we absolutely love and adore our girls?!?!?!?! They are both beyond wonderful ... we are so grateful.

Finally Official :o)

One year ago today ... this is what I wrote on our blog:

"We had court at 9:00 a.m. today and the judge declared us the parents of our precious girls. I'm glad the judge agreed ... since we already know God has ordained for them to be ours!! The hearing went well ... we were asked several questions individually but nothing too difficult. Now that we have had our hearing ... we will wait the mandatory 10 days (today is not counted) until we pick up the final decree from the court (next Thursday at the end of the business day).

Wow! What a year it has been. A year ago I was in court in Ukraine ... today I was at the Fire Station with Nataliya and her preschool class! I'll take this year over last year! :o) Here is Nataliya a year ago ... in another one of her designer outfits!! :o)

World Hope in Ukraine

A year ago we spent the weekend in Odessa Ukraine ... with missionaries serving with World Hope Canada ... in Ukraine. It was a wonderful experience. Kerry and Carole are precious people with a huge gift of hospitality ... what a treat it was.

Here is the website for World Hope ... they have an ongoing ministry in Odessa Ukraine ... which is about 2 1/2 hours from where Juliya and Nataliya are from.

http://www.worldhope.ca/ukraine/index.htm

These are some members of the foster family from Hope House ... and a picture of Hope House.

Two of My Favorite Pictures!

Here are two of my favorite pictures from last year!!
Nataliya enjoying a chewy caramel candy one of the caregivers gave to her during our visit!! :o)
And Juliya having a happy moment!

Oh I love these little darlings!!

Juliya looking at a photo album and pointing to me that Mama is in the picture.
Juliya looking at the
photo album again ... one of her favorite activities!!






Bubbles!! We also took this picture to get an idea of how tall she was compared to me.





Juliya sorting out flash cards with photos on them. She loved this game too ... especially when Kostya was there to tell her about the words on the cards!

ok ... I'm back!

Juliya pointing out pictures of Mama!

Juliya giggling ... with Kostya!


Juliya and Mommy playing with bubbles!




Off to the "social workers" office AGAIN!! :o)







Today was a wonderful Thanksgiving! Of course we have so much to give thanks for ... WE ALWAYS HAVE ... but it does seem with our two little ones filling every square inch of our lives that our thankfulness list is even longer!!

We had a great weekend in Madison. Our apologies to anyone who lives there that we didn't see. It was a work/play trip ... so we did what we could to see people ... but of course you always miss someone(s). On Monday I spent a few hours at Urgent Care with Juliya (waiting to see a Dr.) ... in the end ... she had a really bad ear infection ... but she is on the mend!!

Thinking back on our journey last year ...

We had Thanksgiving Dinner with Kevin and Angie at the John Howard Pub in Kherson last year. A Thanksgiving we will never forget!!

Above are a few photos from last year's journey!! I'll put more in another post. I LOVE looking at our pictures from last year ... I'm so glad God knew what He was doing and lead the way for us to go to Ukraine to adopt our girls.

More later ...

More Excuses!

Well here it is Sunday afternoon and I'm just now posting again!

We are actually in Wisconsin for the weekend ... and it has been great seeing old friends. (We lived here for 6 years ... for those who don't know.)

I'm using my friend's computer right now ... so I can't even post any pictures. But ... I didn't want to discourage any of you who keep checking in for new updates ... so I promise ... I'll be back with more reflecting later!! I have so many awesome pictures to post of Nataliya's Famous Bows and of course some of our special moments with Juliya!!

With a grateful heart!

Mary :o)

I'm Trying!

Well ... I can't go two days without updating the blog! :o) But my excuse is very valid ... sick little ones. They are on the mend and the house clearly smells like Lysol ... which is better than *****-up. Who wants to think about that ... BLAUKEY!!

When we went to visit Nataliya a year ago yesterday (it was a Monday) ... she was out for a walk with some of the other kiddos in her groupa. I remember her caregiver picked a flower from a bush and gave it to Nataliya ... asking her to give it to "Mama" (me) ... but she wanted to keep it for herself and wouldn't give it to me! :o( Little stinker! Finally the caregiver gave her two ... so then she decided she could share with me! That is shown on the video clip below.

I also remember being amazed that these little two-year-olds could just cruise up the cement steps to the second floor ... where they lived. Some crawled, others held the railing ... but they all got up there without incident!

Our first several days in Kherson were packed full of running around town trying to get the legalities taken care of, get a court date, etc.

We only snapped one photo of Juliya on Monday ... with no flash ... because we were trying so hard not to scare her or anything.

Oh, I sure love these little peanuts!! And I cherish the memories of getting to know them!

I'm going to post a really cute video of Juliya tomorrow ... so check back!

I'd better get some sleep now ... there hasn't been much of that for Mommy (or Daddy) these past few nights.

Thanking God for my beautiful family!!

Mary :o)

Our Little Reindeer!!

In Ukraine (or at least the orphanage where Nataliya lived) they will typically begin dressing children up a bit ... once they have adoptive parents on the scene. So on this day (Sunday) it was the first time they had Nataliya all dressed up for us! Thus the bows in her hair!! So many people asked (after seeing pictures of these bows in her hair) ... what were they made of. Were they shower scrubby things? No ... they were actually brown ribbon ... knotted to her head and then made into a bow.

As I'm writing this ... the girls are jumping off of our ottoman into their Daddy's arms ... toooooo precious!!! Now Daddy is making up silly songs and they are doing somersaults all over our family room floor.

Just tonight Chris said to me "wow ... they are alot of work ... but SUCH a BLESSING!!"

Much love from the Conrad family!!

Mary :o)

P.S. I guess they went from reindeer to rabbits ... furry rabbits! :o)

Are You My Daddy??

A year ago today we were getting settled in our apartment in Kherson. We went to visit Nataliya in the morning and again in the afternoon. We also took care of having some paper work notarized (this is actually dealing with a local lawyer there ... more involved than our notary process) and had our first pizza lunch!

When we went to see Nataliya in the morning ... she was outside with her groupa. She was quite bundled up ... as you can see! She also had a scarf on before I started unbundling her!

Nataliya sat on Chris' lap for most of our visit. She was having so much fun stacking and unstacking little cups and playing with a Winnie the Pooh Mega Block toy. I remember we just kept doing the same thing over and over ... but she was happy and we were loving every moment of it!

What we didn't know is that Nataliya apparently needed to go potty. This was her way of initiating Chris into fatherhood!!