Jodi Speaks Her Mind

Purple Puppy Cuteness 10/31/2006

Does it get any cuter than this?

Fall Break 10/26/2006

Local school systems have started instituting a “fall break” here that lasts a whole week. They are gradually working towards a year-round schedule by starting school a little earlier each year (this year we started on August 9) and adding in more holidays during the regular school year. Anyhow, I didn’t take the whole week off to stay with Adelina, but she stayed with a neighbor and had a good time there.

We tried to at least do some special fun stuff during this week, though. One thing we did is go to a local “farm” for a trip to the pumpkin patch. Adelina got to select her own pumpkin (from a bunch just tossed on the ground - they don’t actually grow pumpkins there) and then decorate it. She enjoyed this. We also took a hayride and there were animals to pet and see. Her favorite was the huuuuuge cow they had who was happily chomping pumpkins like they were going out of style soon. She wasn’t afraid of it, either. This girl has no fear! They also had a hay maze and a bouncy room thing. We got snow cones and on our way out we bought a big pumpkin that we will carve and put a candle in for halloween. It will be a good experience. Plus, we have to show her the inside of a pumpkin and roast pumpkin seeds!

Tuesday they cancelled soccer practice, so we did an impromptu “Gotcha Day” (AKA “Adoption Day”) party, which was a surprise to Adelina, and she loved that she got a surprise party. We had just a few people over and we ate yummy ice cream cake from Maggie Moo’s. The cake was made up of blue ice cream - her favorite! The kids just romped around and played with balloons. Very simple but quite special!

Steve and I both took Friday off, and we borrowed some camping stuff and we left Friday late morning for Apache Lake (up near Roosevelt Dam) for a 1- or 2- day camping trip. We had a really good time, but after 24 hours, we decided it was enough. I hadn’t packed clothing for hot weather (we expected it to be colder, but it was somewhere in the 80’s), so after getting a bit too much sun while hiking at Tonto National Monument (to see the cliff dwellings) we decided to pack it in and head home. This was a good decision, and Adelina was also ready to come home. All in all, though, our first camping trip was a lot of fun - full of novelties, and she really enjoyed herself - especially the stars that were so bright and sleeping in a tent - way cool! Learning about campfires was also of great interest. She didn’t like it at first, but once she got used to it, she really enjoyed the fire.

We took some pictures of some of the above fall break activities that can be found here.

One year blues 10/14/2006

We had read about the one year mark being an often difficult time for adopted children, but we were certainly not expecting what happened this morning. Generally, Adelina is very happy and well adjusted. She is a very enthusiastic, fun, go-get-em kid. This morning, she was not. At first we thought it was just a whiny, I don’t-want-to-cooperate kind of thing. We sat down together with her and tried to figure out why she was so teary and having such a difficult time starting the day. We asked question after question after question - Did you have a bad dream? Did Mommy and Daddy sleep too long (we slept in longer than she did)? Do you miss someone? Are you sad? Are you scared? and so on. We got a whole range of yes’s and no’s on the questions, but mostly she just stared at us sadly and distantly and the tears rolled. She looked so vulnerable and lost. I know it really broke our hearts because we felt like we couldn’t quite reach the place in her that was aching. We ended up just holding her for a looooong time - first me, then Steve. Eventually, she seemed to be doing better so we suggested drawing (you know good ol’ art therapy) and she liked the idea but the next thing we knew she was tearing up again. We went back to asking her if she missed someone and she nodded. Do you miss Masha? Again a nod. Do you want to draw a picture for us to send to Masha? Nodding again. So we pulled out some paper and a variety of drawing tools and she made a picture for Masha.

Now I know most of you are thinking - Oh how sweet that she misses her friend from the orphanage! But folks, this is weird. She hasn’t mentioned Masha in at least 5 months and then was usually only if we brought her up. Even in the beginning she didn’t miss Masha in a way that would explain almost 2 hours of intense sadness. We really suspect this is a whole lot more than just missing an old friend from Ukraine. I reminded Steve what the books had said about kids going through strange emotions on the anniversary of their adoption, but I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t really put much stock into that. Well, I’m a believer now, because we are only 4 days away from her “Gotcha day”, and this was tough stuff.

The good news is that she did come out of it. And I’m so grateful we had no plans today and could just take the time to hug and hold and not be rushed off to a new activity. The drawing seemed to really help also, and she drew a second picture just for fun. It’s just an hour or so later, and she now seems fully back to her normal self. I’m glad we went through this, because it shows us how much of her past is still tucked inside and needing to be healed. We prayed over her as we snuggled her because really only God’s love is big enough for these kinds of hurts. God, help our precious little one to be healed and whole again!

One year ago Today… 10/4/2006

We were pronounced by a court in Kyiv, Ukraine, to be the legal parents of Adelina Joy Ivy! It was a Tuesday, and I remember it so well! My Mom had arrived the day before and was going with us immediately after court to meet Adelina for the first time. What a memorable day!

At the time, it wasn’t quite as exciting as it sounds now because it was only a fact on paper and they wouldn’t actually let us go and take her out of the orphanage for 13 more days after that. So for this year, we will celebrate her “Gotcha Day” on the 17th, the day we actually got to dress her, do her hair, and take her OUT of the orphanage and be her parents. But future years, we will use October 4 as her “Gotcha Day” celebration date. As she gets older and is able to read and understand dates, it will mean more to her to have a celebration associated with the date on the paperwork.

In any case, today is a day to be celebrated!