The Fujan's Adoption Journey To The Ukraine

Saturday, June 4th, 2005
Well after 18 hours of traveling and a 7 hour time difference, we made it. Our translator showed us to the internet. The internet cafe close to our apartment is nice and not smokey so we will probably be here today and tomorrow. On Monday we will meet with the Adoption Center, so depending on the outcome, we may be traveling to a region or we may still be here.

We are going to go to a market now to try to buy some food for supper tonight. The apartment has a stove and a refrigerator...but that's about it. TV as well, but most is in Ukrainian or Russian.

Sunday June 5th:
We got our cell phone today...the number is 38 050 282 1304. We are not charged for incoming calls so if you want to call us, feel free (international calling cards usually charge $.25-.30 per minute from the US to Ukraine cell phone (cheaper to Ukraine apartment phone 38 044 412 87 86). Calling out however, won't happen very often for us. The charge is $3-5 dollars per minute from Ukraine to USOur translators name is Lyuba. She is in her mid 20's with long blonde hair and she is quite stylish. Her sister Elena was supposed to be our translator but she is still working with another family. Elena was able to take us on a tour of Kyiv today so we saw about a half dozen large, very ornate churches and saw a wedding and a baptism (both good luck) and some government buildings, parks and a mall. It was very fun, but also very tiring.We called another US family that just arrived in Kyiv and had supper with them. It was really nice to have a conversation in english. They adopted a child in December and they are back adopting her sister now. It was good to hear their stories and know what we could be expecting.While at supper, we got a call from our translator and our appointment time was set for 3:00 on Monday afternoon. We will leave our apartment at 2:00, but we don't have our hopes too high...because many things can change...and especially that late in the day. We will post more tomorrow.Diana and Todd

Monday, June 6th
Well, we had our appointment date today at the Adoption Center and even though we prepared for it as much as we could, it was still a very difficult and emotionally draining experience. We looked through books and books of children that all needed a home and there were very few that were considered a "good" referral...and none under 5 years old like we had hoped. During the 2.5 hour meeting at the adoption center, we identified several children we wanted to get a referral for and due to health conditions or siblings that weren't listed on their form, they were not available after all.Finally, we asked for a referral to see a 7 year old boy named Dmitriy in the Vinnitsa orphanage which is about 150 miles away. We will travel there by car tomorrow afternoon, but we probably won't meet him until Wednesday morning. The adoption center is not organized or honest about the condition of some of the children, so we are not sure yet that this will be our child, so we are trying not to get our hopes up too high. We will email again tomorrow if anything changes, otherwise it will probably be on Wednesday after our meeting.Thank you to everyone for your emails and prayers. It has helped us greatly to stay connected in a very unconnected process...Diana and Todd Fujan

Tuesday, June 7th:

Well, today was a whole lot of hurry up and wait...so we won't travel today like we originally thought. The director needed to sign our referral letter before we could go and we were supposed to pick it up at 2:00 this afternoon. She didn't even come to the building until after 6:30 tonight so around 7:00 we got our referral letter. We will probably leave really early in the morning tomorrow to be in the region by about 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning. We will travel by car so hopefully it will be a little more comfortable and quicker than the train.

While we were waiting at the adoption center today, we were able to meet several couples from the United States that were also there adopting. It was great to visit with them and hear their stories about how their process has been going. One couple has been here since Saturday, like us. Another for 2 weeks and another for 4 weeks. All of us got referrals today so we will all be going to different regions of Ukraine.

The region we are going to is a fairly large city, so we should be able to email from there tomorrow...Todd and Diana Fujan

 

Pictures of Us - The Fujans
Todd, Diana & Andrew

Thursday, June 9th:

Sorry to miss yesterday...it was a very full day in a new city, so we just found the internet cafe today.

We took a referral on a boy named Dmitriy in the city of Vinnitsa and met him for the first time yesterday. We took a doctor from Ukraine with us to evaluate him yesterday and today we went back to play with him and his groupa (orphanage classmates). Both days have been very emotional with highs and lows and our decision is not yet made. We have asked for some medical tests to be run before we do so and we will decide by tomorrow (you talk about a major decision!) We wish we could take them all!

We have to run back to the hotel right now, so we will send more tomorrow. Until then, pray for guidance in making our decision.

Thank you all for your support...Diana and Todd Fujan

Saturday, June 11

Sorry for the delay in posting. We've had a couple trying days. It is now Saturday the 11th. We have been here a week and we are pretty amazed in what has happened in a week's time.

To start off, we have decided not to adopt the first child we got the referral on for health concerns. It was the hardest decision of our lives. We left the Vinnitsa region then on Friday afternoon by train (we barely made it) and we are now back in Kyiv. We have a new apartment which is smaller than the first, but cleaner, with a more comfortable bed, and so far...hot water (hot water is an option here). We filled out paperwork today to request another appointment with the Adoption Center and we will know next week sometime when the appointment will be (probably next week sometime, but could be up to 10 days). So we have now done a bunch of hurrying...and now it's time to wait again.

We will be trying to explore more of Kyiv this weekend and until our appointment. So we will update again when we know more...Diana and Todd Fujan

Sunday, June 12th

Well, we have totally lost track of time. I had to check our cell phone to see what day it was. Tomorrow would be the earliest that we could hear of our next appointment, although it may take all week. Today has been chilly and rainy so we spent most of the day in our apartment reading and watching movies. I think we are going to get really tired of the movies we have by the time this trip is over. We had a clearing in the weather so we thought we'd check in to see what's new at home. Thanks for the emails.

We have to wash our clothes in the kitchen sink since there isn't such a thing as a laundrymat (and very few apartments with facilities)...and the cold wet weather means it takes 3 days to dry a pair of jeans! Other things we have found out...many foods are served with sour cream. Sour cream is sold in containers very much like milk containers. Just because there is a cow on the bottle doesn't mean it is milk. Sour cream doesn't taste good on cereal. Another observation...road markings are just a suggestion. Really, you can drive wherever you want and at almost whatever speed you want. Just because most of the cars going your direction are in the two right hand lanes, and the trolleys are in the two middle lanes...doesn't mean you can't jump in front of a trolley, then into the left hand lanes...to get around them if you are in a hurry. But our driver said not to worry!

If you are so inclined...prayers, thoughts and/or positive energy for a speedy appointment are most welcome.

Thanks...Diana and Todd Fujan

Tuesday, June 14:

Well, we had no internet service due to upgrades, so sorry we missed yesterday.

Yesterday was a waiting day. We waited until after noon and then called our translator to see if she thought anything would happen. She didn't think so, so we told her we were going to go to the zoo. She told us the Ukrainian word for zoo and we went out to get a taxi. The trip to the zoopark is now the number one scariest trip we have made so far (#2 is still traveling with my brother-in-law James to Texas Stadium a few years ago). And of course, none of the taxi's come equipped with seatbelts. But we made it there and walked around for a few hours. The funny thing is they have deer, bison, and longhorn steer in the zoo.

We talked to our translator again today and she said that some couples that turned in their request last week, got an appointment date for Thursday...so we are hoping for Thursday or Friday now. There is talk of reorganization of the system here, but it probably won't help until after we are gone.

We visited Independence Square today (the main location of the Orange Revolution last December). There are just a bunch of vendors selling everything from souveniers to hotdogs. We found a vendor selling English DVDs, so we bought one. We'll find out if it was a waste of money later on tonight. By the way, thanks for the offers to send more...it's pretty expensive to ship stuff, so we'll wait until we are really, really desperate.

We will keep filling the days with walking around the city and exploring and the nights are mostly learning how to cook without all the comforts of home (it's like cooking while camping). I think we finally figured out what was causing all the smoke in the oven, so we might have some better luck tonight.

Take care and we'll email again soon...Diana and Todd Fujan

Wednesday, June 15

We have just come from a long day of trekking the city. We walked to the Presidential Administration building, the Mariinsky Palace (and Mariinsky Park). We saw a bunch of people still camping in the park that have been there since the revolution in December. We continued our journey to the monument of Friendship of Nations (big metal arch) which overlooks the Dnipro River. Then we decided to walk down to the river, so we went down a very steep hill that left us off at McDonalds. They have several McDonalds here and they are basically the same as in the US, but we are not very skilled in ordering anything other than a Big Mac (and french fries here are served with mayo instead of ketchup). We then went down by the river and went by several ships and down to the Chapel by the Water (St. Svyatitelya Chudotvortsa Nikolaya--easier to say chapel by the water!). Then due to how many steps and hills it took to get down there...we decided to take a taxi back to the city center where we indulged in some American food at TGIFridays. It's more expensive to eat there than the local places...but every once in a while, we need identifiable food (the other day I ate liver by mistake--not much!) So now it's back to our apartment again to do some laundry, and read a little. Hopefully we will hear tomorrow when our appointment will be. Thanks for all the emails...we look forward to them greatly...Diana and Todd Fujan

Thursday, June 16

Well...bad news today. No appointment yet. We heard earlier today that the National Adoption Center is closed on Monday and that we won't know when our appointment is until Tuesday at the earliest and the post today said it would be on or after next Wednesday (AARGH!) so it looks like another weekend in Kiev. Unfortunately this and many other hoops that we have had to jump through along the way show why it is so important that President Yuschenko was finally elected. Hopefully the plans he and his wife have for reorganization of the system will help these kids and the families wanting to adopt them in the near future. Until then, we'll just keep looking around the city and keeping ourselves busy.

Today we went to St. Michael's Monestery and St. Sophia's Cathedral to explore some more. We went by them last week when we first got to Kyiv, but we took some more time today to look around and take photos. It was a bit of a hike from our apartment, but we stopped at a few places along the way to eat and rest and then we continued on. The clouds were threatening rain, so we made a quick stop at the market on our way back to the apartment but made it there just as it started sprinkling. It cleared off again rather quickly so we headed back to the internet cafe. We really miss home (and the US in general). This trip has certainly shown us how good we have it at home. Thanks again for your support...Diana and Todd Fujan

June 17th, 2005

Well, it's been a day of rain, rain and more rain...so it's kept us rather confined to our apartment. There were times we couldn't even see the apartment across the street because it was coming down so hard. We had a break, so we decided to escape to the internet cafe. What can I say, but it's rather boring here right now...just waiting.

We did finally watch the movie we bought on the streets here. It was a bust. It was English/Russian, which means that the movie was in English, but they put a Russian track right over it. The subtitles were still in English, so we ended up reading the whole movie. About the only thing we understood from the Russian track was the swear words. Oh well...it was only a $5 lesson.

This weekend we hope to visit with Kevin, who will return to Kyiv with his new daughter. If the weather gets drier, we also hope to go to the hydropark (not sure what to expect there).

Thanks for the emails and staying connected...Diana and Todd Fujan

June 19th, 2005

Greetings from the rainforest! They say it's not supposed to rain this much, but we've had rain the last 3 days!..and yet somehow it really isn't washing away the stench of the city. It's amazing that so many beautiful churches and landmarks can be so quickly surrounded by the run-down buildings of the old Soviet Republic.

Sorry for no post yesterday...we got caught in yet another rain storm, so we chose to head home instead of to the internet cafe. Yesterday was a fun day. We met up with Kevin and Olivia Hite for lunch. Kevin and his wife Wendy just adopted Olivia and they are finishing up the paperwork before returning to the states next week. Wendy returned earlier and through a stroke of good luck, didn't have to return for court...so good things do happen over here. After lunch and some more rain, we met up with another family going through the same group. Matthew and Karen are here from Seattle with their 5 year old son, Casey, trying to adopt a sibling (he wants a brother). They are also waiting for their second appointment. They have been here for about a week so far. It's great to meet with everyone and develop these new friendships.

Today we were originally planning on going to the hydropark...however the hydro rainclouds kept us away from that. It cleared off this afternoon, so we thought we would check out the World War II monument/museum. It was interesting, but probably would have been better if we could have read the information signs that described the exhibits. We took a bunch of pictures of the tanks, planes and etc. We will probably post them once we return as it is hard to transfer pictures at most internet cafes here. We got caught in another rainstorm on our way back to the apartment, so we hid out until it blew over.

Tomorrow is a religious holiday here, so many offices will be closed including the adoption center. If the information was correct, there should be some sort of posting on Tuesday that will say if we will indeed get an appointment on Wednesday. So, if it stays drier...we might try the water park on Monday or Tuesday instead. We had best be off to our apartment now before we get soaked yet again.

Regards...Diana and Todd Fujan

June 20th, 2005

Well they day started off looking like rain again, but after only one brief shower, it turned into a great day. We met up with Kevin and his daughter Olivia again today and went shopping for souvenirs. We didn't buy much yet since we still have quite a few days/weeks of lugging everything around...but we saw a wide range of items some wonderful...some not so much. We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant called the "Potato House"...luckily, they had a menu in English, or we probably would have gone back to McDonalds. It was good and we enjoyed the company. Kevin and Olivia are almost on their way back to the States. They have a medical exam, the meeting with the Embassy and then they fly home later in the week(providing they can get a flight). Kevin has graciously offered to leave his DVD's behind for us, so we don't go crazy during the waiting. This was Kevin and Wendy's second adoption here in Ukraine...so they knew what to bring! It's been great getting to know them and they've really helped us feel more at ease with the uneasy experiences. We got emails from two other couples that are here from America...so we will probably call them tonight and possibly meet them tomorrow.

I guess that does it for today...Diana and Todd Fujan

June 21, 2005

Well...let's start off with the highlight of today of doing our laundry...in an actual washing machine! Kevin has a washing machine in his apartment and offered to let us use it...so today we took a load over (about a 30 minute walk...and an even heavier walk back with wet clothes) and spent the afternoon talking with him while our clothes were getting a much needed soaking. Not that Todd hasn't been doing a good job handwashing stuff in the tub, but there's nothing like getting everything really clean. We really enjoyed hearing more about he and Wendy's adoptions and getting to know them better. They have truly been a Godsend.

To back up a bit, our translators stopped by today and there was no actual time or date yet for our second appointment, but they seemed quite confident that it would be tomorrow or Thursday. So we will keep you posted. Monday was a holiday, so all the appointments that were scheduled for Monday got moved to Friday, so we are hoping we won't get pushed back any further.

That's about all our day consisted of today. Slow day, but hopefully tomorrow or the next day will pick up speed...Diana and Todd Fujan

June 23, 2005

Well unfortunately we don't have great news today either. No appointment today and we are not on the list for tomorrow either. It's been a pretty big let down all week. On top of that, there is another Ukrainian holiday next Tuesday and they have decided to make a long weekend of it, so the Adoption Center will be closed both Monday and Tuesday. Our only hope is that they might be open on Saturday to make up for Monday. So we are really hoping to get in (however, we're not holding our breath).

Today did bring some good news for Kevin and his daughter Olivia. He has been waiting on standby to get out of Ukraine and back to his wife Wendy and their other daughter Aleeza (adopted 6 months ago). Olivia had a confirmed ticket...but he was still waiting until just a few hours before he had to go. But by now...they should be getting pretty close to home (they should at least be in the US). We will miss their company but are very happy that everything worked out so well for them...it renews our hope.

This is the same Kevin that let us do our laundry at his apartment...so with him leaving, we took the opportunity to upgrade our living quarters. So we spend the afternoon moving from one place to another. We got settled in and started a load of laundry right away. It's sad to be reduced to laundry as such a major highlight in a day...but that's life in Ukraine. We were able to get connected to the internet from our apartment today (thanks for the help Phil)...so no more internet cafe for now. We have a new apartment number 38-044-234-4543 and our cell phone is still 38-050-282-1304. It's been tough for most people to get through as the phone system here is just slightly better than the adoption system.

So for now we are making plans with the other couples that we've met that are waiting too...and hoping something will change for the better for all of us very soon.

June 24, 2005

Mark one up for the good guys, we just got a phone call telling us that our 2nd appointment is tomorrow at 11am after two weeks of waiting and seeing every possible landmark in Kiev. We are very excited.

Just a couple of quick side notes: Our friends Phil and Kendra from Michigan had their first appointment today and they are going to see a 6 year old girl hopefully tomorrow once they get their referral letter...so we wish them good luck.

By now, our friend Kevin and his daughter Olivia should be home in Indiana. I'm sure Wendy and Aleeza will be glad to have them home.

For any who are so inclined...please send a prayer, positive thoughts, well wishes, etc. to a couple we meet three weeks ago, Rick and Sheila Baker from Alabama they are over here adopting a 14 year old boy. While in country Rick ended up in an army hospital with kidney problems and is being flown back to the United States. They are a super couple and we pray things turn out OK for them.

Thanks for all the emails and prayers. We'll let you know how it goes tomorrow...Todd and Diana Fujan

June 25, 2005

Positive results...at last.

We had our appointment this morning at 11:00. We were shown the profile of a 6 yr old boy, named Andrew that we will be going to visit next week. We got our referral letter late today, but all the inspectors offices are closed until Wednesday now...so we won't be able to travel until Tuesday we believe, meet with the inspector Wednesday morning and to the orphanage Wednesday afternoon. So we'll be here in Kyiv for another few days.

The region he is in is a hard region to adopt from. They don't waive the 30-day waiting period, so we would have to go through court and everything and then come back a month later to finish up. Not our idea of fun...but if it's right...it will be worth it.

We celebrated the event with a lovely dinner with Matthew and Karen and their son Casey from Seattle at a nice outdoor restaurant by St. Andrew's Cathedral. This weekend and into next we will be enjoying more time with our friends from the States and seeing yet more if Kyiv...Diana and Todd Fujan

June 27th, 2005

It's been pretty slow yesterday and today. We are just waiting until we can go to the orphanage on Wednesday.

We went to the festival on Independence Square yesterday with Phil and Kendra (another couple waiting to go to visit a child in a different city, but also on Wednesday). We watched street performers doing magic, various music groups and walked by many, many street vendors (selling everything from clothing, jewelry and souvenirs, to food, soda and beer). It is legal here to walk around the streets with beer...so it was really like a 20-block beer garden crossed with a neverending flea market. We ate at an Italian restaurant, which was a really nice change of pace. Then back out to the Square where we got our pictures taken with some sort of creatures that I'm sure were supposed to be a Teletubby and a dalmation...but I'm quite sure they weren't the licensed versions of the characters...and then more looking around. We saw a few more bands today on our way back from the MegaMall and it will be going tomorrow as well since its a holiday, so we'll probably take it in some more tomorrow.

We attempted to visit the Chernobyl museum today, but it was closed due to it being the last Monday of the month...so hopefully it will be open tomorrow...but with the holiday in there, we aren't holding our breath. We've heard it is really worth the admission so now that we know where it is, we will try to see it either tomorrow, or when we come back to Kyiv. We took the metro twice today and even ended up where we wanted to be both times! This was a big step since we we got off at the wrong stop the first time we used the metro, had no idea where we were and ended up hailing a taxi to take us back to our apartment. Today we shopped at the MegaMall. The highlight was the toy store and the huge grocery store. We usually have to buy groceries at little market where everything is behind the counter so we have to try to point out what we want or butcher the language trying to tell them what we want. So to be able to have a cart and pick up what we wanted was quite a luxury.

So that's it until tomorrow. Thanks for all the emails about regular life at home...Diana and Todd Fujan

Pictures of the Festival from Phil Green

June 28th, 2005

Well it's been a pretty slow day here again. We ventured out to the Chernobyl Museum today and it was open. However they only had one English-speaking person and she was already out on a tour. So we're not too sure what we paid for, but we gained admission to the exhibits and a woman kept on turning on TVs and playing short snipits of historical footage (in Russian of course). But it was still worth the $2 it cost each of us. We kept on trying to get close to the other tour, but she kept telling us to go to a different TV screen. But even without words, the pictures and the old artifacts were amazing to see. Even though the disaster happened in 1986, the equipment they used looked like it was left over from WWII. The footage of all these military men going in to shovel the contaminated material with nothing more than a thin suit to protect them was very moving. There were pictures of all the military men that died as well as all the children...again, very moving, but pretty depressing. At the entrance they also had a pretty recent exhibition of photos of the Trade Center attack that were taken by a Ukrainian photographer. They were some of the best photos we've seen. So that kind of wiped us out for the day and since we have a very early day tomorrow, we went back to our apartment to relax and pack.

Tomorrow will start very early. We will travel to Kryvy Rih by car starting at 2:30 AM. We should be at the inspectors office before 8:00 and our interpreter will find out all the hoops we get to jump through. Then, probably in the afternoon, we will be allowed to visit the orphanage. If we decide to stay, we will then need to find lodging and of course an internet cafe or connection of some sort. So hopefully we should be able to send something tomorrow...but we're not sure depending on the facilities available. Some of this is bittersweet since we will be leaving our major support system of friends from the US (not to mention the washing machine). So we wish Phil and Kendra, Matthew and Karen (and Casey), and Maggie and Mark well on their journeys this week and we will keep in contact with them via phone and email as we travel.

Thanks again for all the emails and support...Diana and Todd Fujan

Pictures from Tom Green at the Chernobyl Museum

June 29th - WE HAVE A SON!!!

Great news...we met Andrew today at the orphanage by Kryvy Rih and we are starting the paperwork to make him our son. All the waiting and wondering all went away today as we met and played with and got to know this little boy (as much as you can get to know someone without speaking the same language).

To back up a bit...we left Kyiv at 2:30 AM with our interpreter and a driver in a car that probably lost its shocks and/or struts a few years ago. It was a bumpy road (for about 5 hours), and there were a few more times that we held our breath as cars, people and animals were avoided...but we made it without incident. The inspector was not available, so we went directly to the orphanage. This is usually not allowed, but they made an exception. We met with the orphanage director who seemed to be a very nice man and he asked us some questions about why we wanted to adopt, etc. and then he called to have Andrew come visit with us.

He is just your average 6 year old boy with a buzz cut and skinned knee. He has sandy light brown hair and eyes that change color from a gray-blue to hazel, depending on the light. He was a bit shy at first, but a piece of candy helped out a bit. Then the director asked him to take us outside so we could see where he plays and we had a bit of time alone with him. We brought out some puzzles and blocks and the dinosaur coloring book our neighbors gave us (huge hit!) He put the puzzles together, stacked the blocks from 1-9 and showed us how he can draw and write his name (in Cryillic). He then took us to his classroom where he had breakfast and then we met with the Psychologist (who knows some English, thank goodness) and she brought out some books so he could show off his reading skills (in Russian...but it sounded great!) and he counted the dinosaur stickers (up to 60). Then the whole class went outside to play and Todd got a workout! He had all the kids around him playing ball, climbing the playground equipment and being led around to see everything. I stayed with the Psychologist and talked to her about his background and how he is doing in school and some of the kids took turns coloring with me (thank goodness the markers were washable!)

The orphanage has children from 3-18 years of age and the older kids were weeding the garden and sweeping up the sidewalks. Some of the teachers and older children were painting the trim on the building and some of the playground equipment. The kids and the orphanage seem to be very well cared for here. We will go back every day until all the paperwork and court are finished (probably about 2 weeks or so). Then unfortunately, since this region won't waive the 30-day waiting period...we will have to come home without him and return a month later to finish everything up and bring him home. Not the best news...but after playing with him today and starting a relationship, it all made sense...and this is why we've had to wait this long. So well just wait another 30 days and then we'll have him back probably just in time for school this fall. Wow...we've covered everything from new parents to the first day of school all in one day!

We will keep you up to date as to how things are going, but we won't have internet access at our apartment anymore. So far we've only found the market and the internet cafe in this new town (of about 700,000 people)...so we will have a lot more exploring to do when we aren't at the orphanage.

Thanks again for your emails and support...Diana and Todd Fujan

June 30th, 2005

Well...hopefully this will work. We are attempting to attach two photos...Meet Andrew Martin Fujan.

We were able to spend the morning playing with him. The rest of his group went about their normal routine so they don't get attached to us. We will be able to spend the morning with him for the next two weeks and then we will go back to our apartment. We stopped at a toy store today to get some additional games because he conquered the first puzzles we gave him as if they were too easy...so on to the next level.

More later...Diana and Todd Fujan

July 2, 2004

We have had a couple great days of playing with our son so far. Yesterday we spend the morning doing paperwork so we saw him in the afternoon for a couple hours and today we went there from 9 - noon. They have a pretty set schedule at the orphanage, so we are trying to just go every morning so we don't upset things. We were able to spend some alone time with just Andrew both yesterday and this morning...then after his snack this morning we played with the whole group. They don't want us to play with the whole group all the time or it will be very hard on all of them when we leave (and us too!) If we could take the whole group, we would.

The city we are in is mostly a mining city, so there are a lot of people (about 700,000) and it is about 5 KM wide and 100 KM long. It does not appear to be very advanced, like Kyiv was, as there are many 1960-1970s vehicles around. The buses look like old army buses and the housing is very run down. We haven't explored much yet and we will probably keep pretty close to our apartment as our translator has asked us not to. We have a taxi driver that picks us up every day and drives us the 50 KM each way to the orphanage and waits for us and then takes us back. He doesn't speak any English, but as long as we stick to the schedule, we should be fine.

We have found a good home-cooked meal cafe a couple blocks from our apartment, so we should be set for the next couple weeks. Next week we should know more about all the documents we have to file. The judge in this area is on vacation, so our translator will try to get another judge to set a court date once we get the documents back from the adoption center. Hopefully the adoption center will be quicker with the documents than they were with appointments.

That's it for today...our internet service has been a little tough in this city, so we may not reply to all the emails individually, but we really appreciate reading them. We will try to attach more pictures next week if we can get the "good" computer. Thanks for the support...Diana and Todd Fujan

July 4, 2005

Well we certainly hope you are all having a wonderful holiday. It's very different here. No fireworks except all the kids playing video games all around us at the internet cafe. It's another rainy day here this afternoon, but the morning was very nice so we were able to play with Andrew and his group earlier today. Then it was off to the notary to do another document that was added and then to McDonalds for some comfort food. Then a little shopping for some more challenging toys for Andrew and back to the apartment.

Take care...Diana and Todd Fujan

July 6, 2005

Here are a few more pictures of our play time today. It's the fastest moving time of all day. The rest is just waiting until the next day so we can play some more.

All of our documents were turned into the adoption center in Kyiv yesterday and they should take up to 5 days to process them. Then we will have a court date which will likely be next Friday (15th I believe) and then we can hopefully come home for a month. I say hopefully because we are not sure we can get return airline tickets yet.

The airline we flew on to get here won't let us change our original tickets, so we will likely have to purchase all new tickets to get home (ouch!)...providing they have any left. If they do, we hope to fly home on the 16th to NYC and home on the 17th (God willing!)

Then we will start making plans to come back a month later to pick up Andrew. We're not sure yet whether he knows we are taking him to America and that we will have to leave for a month and come back. We will try to explain more next week when our translator comes back to Kryvy Rih. It's hard when we only know about 20 words of Russian.

Our best to everyone...Diana and Todd Fujan (and Andrew of course)

July 9, 2005

Sorry we haven't written, but the internet service has been sketchy at best the past few days. Nothing much new. Just the routine of visiting Andrew in the morning and then waiting until we can play with him the next day.

We will try to send more pictures in the next couple days. We will hopefully have news about our paperwork on Tuesday and then hopefully it will all go as planned from there and we will be back on the 17th (for the first trip).

Thanks for all the support...Diana and Todd Fujan

July 13. 2005 (posted July 15 due to internet problems)

Well, some interesting things have been happening for a change...

Our interpreter called us and got our documents done on Monday, so she was able to set court for Tuesday...we got our hopes up that things were going to go quick...but found out when we got there that it was pre-trial, not court...but they did move court up to Thursday now, so that is good.

With our interpreter with us, we asked the director if we could take Andrew out today and tomorrow for some one-on-one time and so we took him to McDonald's today. It was a blast! He hasn't really been out of the orphanage much at all...so just to see the size of his eyes when he saw all the cars, trucks, buses, businesses and people was priceless.

Then after a 45 minute drive to McDonalds, we took him inside and got him his first Happy Meal! It was the first time he tasted french fries and hamburgers...and he was very pleased with both. Then he got a prize in his sack and a balloon. He was on top of the world.

Then the fun continued to the playland outside. He was a bit hesitant of the slide at first...so Mommy got to try it out first. After a few trips up and around in the giant hamster maze...he got the hang of it and other kids joined in, so I was able to take a break.

I'm going to break the day here to try to send this with some photos...I'll continue with the story more if the internet holds out. So until later...Diana and Todd Fujan

Fieldtrip to McDonalds continued....
After a couple hours at McDonalds, Vasa, our taxi driver (who has a 6-year-old granddaughter) suggested we take him on the subway for a ride (about a 1950's era train we guess). We bought 3 tokens for Todd, myself and our translator...but Andrew didn't need one. But I thought he would have fun putting the tokens in the slot, so he put one in for me and I walked through...he put one in for Todd and he walked through...then he put the last one in and walked through, leaving our translator without one. The guard saw this oops, so she let Lyuba through the guard gate instead. Then we waited for the train to get there and I had to hold Andrew back so he wasn't too close to the tracks. Once on board, he didn't want Mommy's help holding on, he grasped the rail and away we went.

The train was underground for 2 stops and above ground for one, not much scenery as the above ground stop must have been a mining area...but Andrew enjoyed it all. Then our driver met us at the stop and we headed back to the orphanage. When we were almost there, Andrew motioned to us that he wanted some water for his new Tarzan sippy cup (the toy at McDonalds) so we stopped at a roadside vendor close to the orphanage and got some. While we were stopped, Vasa asked if Andrew wanted to drive us the rest of the way. He got a huge grin and started climbing up front. We got the water and then Andrew drove us the half a block back to the orphanage on Vasa's lap (with a little help from Vasa so we didn't hit the curb or gate).

Then we gave him a quick snack since he missed his lunchtime and took him back to his group. We asked him if he needed to use the bathroom and he said yes, but as soon as he saw his group and caregivers, he quickly forgot about the bathroom and started telling them of the events of the day. I wish we could have understood all that he was saying, but the hand gestures and the tone of his voice were all about the excitement of the day. Todd finally reminded Andrew that he needed to use the bathroom and after a quick trip, he continued with more of the story. I would imagine he had trouble with naptime after that...but it was a wonderful day.

Thursday before court, we can take Andrew out again, so we will try the circus or the amusement park. Attached are a few more pictures of the day...Diana and Todd Fujan

July 14, 2005

Well, it has finally come true. The moment we have been waiting for, for so long. At 5:15 Thursday afternoon, the judge granted our petition to adopt Andrew. As we suspected...he didn't waive the 30-day waiting period, so we will still have to return to Ukraine again in a month to pick him up...but other than a few paperwork details when we return...he is ours (and we are his).

To back up a little bit. We originally had court set up for Friday because we thought we would get the documents from the adoption center on Thursday (today). They actually did something early for us and had the documents ready on Monday (they only do them on Mondays and Thursdays)...so our translator came out to the region and we thought we were going to have court on Tuesday. As it turned out, we had pre-trial on Tuesday and they set the court date for Thursday (this afternoon) at 4:00. It actually started at about 4:15, the judge asked us both a bunch of questions, then more to the inspector, then more to the orphanage director. Then the prosecutor asked questions of us, of the inspector and the orphanage director. None of the questions were really very hard, but considering that in some regions, court is more of a formality, only lasting 10 minutes--we were a bit anxious over all the questions. Finally at 5:00 the judge excused himself to his chambers to review the documents and make his decision and he came back in at 5:15 and granted our petition.

A few minutes later we were on our way back to the orphanage to see our son. We stopped to pick up a cake and some lemonade for a farewell party for his group. It was certainly a bittersweet visit. We were able to give him the good news...that we are now his parents and he is now our son, but we also had to tell him that we were leaving for 30 days and we had to fly home to our house to get it ready for him and try to reassure him that we won't be back every day like we have been for the past 2 weeks, but we will be back to get him in 30 days. We left him a calendar for him to tear off the days until we return, with a picture of us on the last day. At 6 years old, we're not sure if he will totally understand it, but we hope so.

Then we took a car back to Kyiv and we will fly to New York on Saturday (home on Sunday unless we can get an earlier flight). We haven't had much luck with the internet the past couple days...so now that we are back in Kyiv, I will post a few more stories and pictures of the last few days...but that will be tomorrow.

Thank you once again for all your support during our journey to find our son...Diana and Todd Fujan

 

 

July 18th, 2005
Hi all,

We are back home in the good old USA. We got back to New York (JFK) on Saturday switched planes to Minneapolis and sat on the runway for over two hours. We finally made it to Minneapolis, and of course missed our connecting flight. We tried to find a hotel room, but no luck (due to an international soccer competition--go figure!) So we spent the night in the airport in a couple chairs (about the same comfort level as the beds we had in Ukraine) and left on Sunday back to Lincoln. Now we start the count down until we go back and get Andrew and bring him home.

Thanks for all the emails while we were gone....Todd and Diana Fujan

July 22nd, 2005
First of all, thank you to everyone for your support, thoughts, prayers, emails and phone calls while we were gone. It was very hard to be that far from the comforts of home for so long and through such wild process. During our 6-weeks in Ukraine, we came to depend on emails and phone calls from home to help us through all the waiting and the roller coaster of emotions that we were going through.

Second, thank you so much for such a warm welcome home. Thanks to our friends, neighbors and coworkers who took care of our house, pets and other responsibilities for 6 weeks and for the surprise party/shower at NET Television as well. We are so very grateful for your generosity and can’t wait until Andrew can see everything...we are so blessed.

And finally, the rest of the journey… Since the region we were in wouldn’t waive the post-adoption 30-day waiting period, we will go back to Ukraine to pick up Andrew a month after the court date. We plan to leave on August 13th (arriving August 14th) and we will take the overnight train to Krvyv Rig. We have to sign one document at the courts on the 15th, so I’m not sure if we will go to the orphanage first, or the court, but either way; Andrew will be with us from August 15th on. From there, we will go back to Kyiv (and Chernihiv, where he was born) and do the rest of the paperwork. We have to get him a new birth certificate, passport, a couple other documents and a medical exam. Then we take everything to the US Embassy and they will process the documentation, get him a visa, and that should be it. All in all, we should be there less than a week (but after the last trip, we know anything can change).

Many people have asked about his English skills and what happens when we get back? He has been taught to speak Russian and read and write Russian and Ukrainian, so he has blended language skills. He only knows about as much English as we know Russian (about 20 words) so that will be our top priority. So far, I have contacted Lincoln Public Schools, and they have a Russian interpreter on staff, so Andrew will be tested when he comes back and start in English Language Learning (ELL) classes. He will most likely be on track to go into the first grade (because of course, he is the brightest little boy) and we can start him in school right away or whenever we think he is ready for it. We also have a friend from Ukraine that attends UNL that will be able to help us with translation and teaching English when he is back. So we feel very fortunate to have so many resources available to us. We understand that most children in similar circumstances will learn the language very quickly (within a few months) and so we expect he will learn English way before we learn much more Russian and/or Ukrainian.

We will post more from Ukraine in August, but I just had to share our thanks to everyone for everything. With our gratitude…Diana and Todd Fujan

 

THE SECOND TRIP TO UKRAINE

August 13-16--Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Sorry it took us so long to update...we have been on a whirlwind of traveling, more traveling and yet more traveling. When we finally stopped, we still had a 6-year old to feed and get ready for bed. Wow! We're really parents...and tired ones at that.

To start off, we left Lincoln at about 10AM Saturday morning, August 13th. Drove to Omaha to catch our first flight...3 planes, 2 layovers (Detroit and Amsterdam), 21 hours of actual travel and 8 time zones later...we finally made it back to Ukraine Sunday afternoon at 3:00. In the Kiev airport, we met Alex for the VIP service to shuffle us through customs in about 10 minutes. Then he sent us out the airport lobby where hundreds of people were waiting for family and friends and myriad taxi drivers. After saying no to a dozen or so taxi drivers, we finally found our translator, Lyuba, and she took us to our driver...and we were off in a flash to the train station.

She got us to a place at the train station that we could meet later and we ordered some food. She left to go pack and run some errands and we sat around the station for 5 hours. It was all we could do to stay awake as neither of us got much sleep on any of the planes. Then we took the overnight train to Kryvy Rih. We had a sleeper car (Thank goodness), we arrived with a few hours of rest at 6:30AM and our region driver, Vasa, picked us up from the station. He and his wife, Katya, offered to leave our luggage at their apartment and invited us for "breakfast" since the courts and notary offices didn't open until 8AM. This began a wonderful day in Kryvy Rih.

Katya greeted us with a warm welcome that many before us have talked about...and Ukrainian hospitality. They don't eat what we typically think of as breakfast foods, so she started with tea, then served us some borscht (beet soup with vegetables, chicken and sour cream), then some stuffed peppers and finally cookies, sweet breads and chocolate...and all this before 8AM.

We left to be at the notary at 8AM. It's much more of a process than US notaries, so within a couple hours, we had the last two documents we needed, and we were off to the court. Again, a couple hours later, we finally had the judge's signature on everything and we could now finally go to the orphanage. We didn't get there until after noon and we had to do some more paperwork with the director of the orphanage (if I had a dollar for every time I've signed my name in this process, I think this whole process would have been close to free).

Finally, shortly after 1:00 on Monday we got to see Andrew. He came running in and gave us both a big hug and he told us (through Lyuba) that he couldn't wait until we got there. After a few things in the office, including changing his old clothes to ones we brought, so the old stuff could stay for the other kids, and saying goodbyes to the staff (most of the other kids were away at camp).

Then we were off and running again, after lunch at our cafe (the one we ate at for 2 weeks straight the first time we were here), Lyuba needed to do some more things, so they dropped us off at the park and we played with Andrew there for a couple hours. On the first slide, Andrew slid right into the mud, so his new clothes have already been broken in.

Then we went back to Vasa and Katya's apartment to get our luggage and Katya wanted to throw a party for us, so while she set up a spread of wine, fish, cabbage rolls, watermelon and chocolate cookie bars, we got Andrew in the tub and cleaned up. We ate and drank several toasts to everyones health and wellfare and of course to Andrew and his future with us. Then they packed us up with tomatoes and pears from their garden (enough to feed and army...or so we thought) and all our luggage and we went back to the train station.

We took the overnight train back to Kiev and got in shortly before 6 AM. A different driver picked us up to drive us to Chernihov (where Andrew was born), so we could get a new birth certificate and legalization paperwork. We got passport photos while we were there and then a nice leisurely lunch while we waited for the authenication person to become available. She of course was on vacation, so we had to "encourage" her to show up.

Then we turned around and drove back to Kiev (about 2 hours each way) and finally got into our apartment here at about 6PM...just in time for Andrew's bottomless pit to start up. So Todd entertained him in the apartment, while I went out for groceries and then made supper. We got him fed, showered, and off to bed around 9PM, so now we have about an hour before we do the same. Wow! What a crazy few days! We're beat...I guess that means we are offically parents.

Our best to you all...Diana, Todd and Andrew Fujan

 

August 17--we wore him out!

Hi all,

We had another busy day today...we started the day with Andrew's medical exam at 9:00 AM. He checked out just fine and all of his immunizations are current. He didn't need any bloodwork, so he didn't even need to be poked (we'll save that fun for next week in the US) We will probably still need a couple boosters and any other required by the school next week when we get back, but another hurdle was cleared. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the US Embassy at 11:00 and then we are back to the KLM office to beg for a ticket.

We wish we knew for sure when we were going to be home...but right now, we are without a ticket for Andrew. We are supposed to fly home on Friday, but the only ticket we can get for him is $2700 (that's a child fare, one-way)! Ouch! So we are looking into other options, but right now it doesn't seem like there are any better. We will hope and pray that a cheaper class ticket will open up between now and tomorrow afternoon. The ticket was the only not so fun thing for today...but it's a biggie.

We took Andrew for a Metro ride to Independence Square and went past more people than he has probably ever seen in his life, not to mention some wildlife (monkeys, owls and a pony you can get your picture taken with). We walked up to St. Andrew's cathedral and the souvenir booths down the street and he had a grand time. Other than trying to keep both his hands busy or in sight so he didn't break anything, we had fun picking up a few more things. In addition, while shopping, we met a woman from the US that has been living in Ukraine for 7 years and while chatting with her, found out she has a friend that is related to my dentist...small world. We may catch up with her for lunch or something tomorrow to continue visiting.

Then we took Andrew through the mall under Independence Square and out for pizza for supper. He enjoyed what we assume was his first pizza and I don't think it will be his last. He enjoyed several pieces and the breadsticks and then I think all the walking and new experiences finally wore him out. As he was sitting at the table in the restaurant he put his hands to his ears and tipped his head and motioned to us that he wanted to go to sleep. It was so adorable. So we packed up everything and headed back to the apartment for a quick bath and off to bed.

So until tomorrow...that's our adventure for today...Diana, Todd and Andrew Fujan

 

August 18--we're almost there

Well...we're almost on our way home.

Today we picked up our packet from the medical center from our appointment yesterday and we went to the Embassy. We filled out yet more paperwork and paid our fees to process it and had a quick interview with a very kind and helpful Embassy employee (something we heard was a conflict in terms)...but it went well for us. By the way...it's amazing how bad the signage is at the Embassy for everything except the cash desk...just an observation.

After the Embassy it was back to the apartment for lunch and nap time. Then I left Todd and Andrew at the apartment and went back to the Embassy to get Andrew's passport with his visa and I was in and out in about 5 minutes. After that I went back to KLM, where I got Andrew his First-class ticket to the United States (the only seat available)...so he'll be a spoiled rotten American kid by the time we get home. So we're almost there! Just a little playing, some supper and back to the apartment to pack and perhaps get a little sleep (although I'm a bit wound up for that). If all goes smooth tomorrow, we should be back home by 10PM.

See ya soon...Diana, Todd and Andrew Fujan

 

August 19--on our way home

Just a quick note because I only have 13 minutes on the Internet. We are in Amsterdam and on our way home. We should be in Omaha at 10pm tonight if it all works out. So far Andrew has loved the airplane ride and airplane food.

Take care will email more when I can......Todd Fujan

August 23--Back in the USA...home at last!

I know our last update was rather brief and then nothing for a few days...so the short version is we're home and doing great...if you have more time here you go.

We arrived back into the United States on Friday, August 19th. Fairly uneventful flights most of the way (except one lightning strike 30 minutes from Omaha). We had one long layover in Amsterdam (6 hours) and one really long flight from Amsterdam to Memphis (about 10 hours)...but all in all, Andrew did great for a 6-year old confined to 2 feet of space.

The only ticket left on the plane was in first class, so Andrew should have flown in style to his new home in the States, but they won't let a child sit in first class alone, so Todd got to. But Andrew thought he was in first class when he tasted the strawberry shortcake dessert we were served. His eyes lit up and they were bigger than when we took off in the plane, and the grin on his face was priceless. I know he was trying to tell me that it was the best thing he had ever tasted. It was a darling expression.

We arrived back in Omaha a little before 9PM and drove back to Lincoln by about 10PM. Then Andrew got to meet our friend Deb and all the kitties and got his first glimpse of his new room (and all his new toys). Needless to say, he was pretty excited...but by about 11 or so, we got him in bed. He took his new best friend Ethel to sleep with him (our Russian-Blue cat...of course...they speak the same language--Russian!) But at 5AM...it was time to play again! And so our next day began.

Saturday we had our friend/translator, Olga come over to our house to meet Andrew and find out how everything was going. She confirmed that Ethel was his favorite cat, and then Missy...and he didn't much like Fez (since she scratched him--I think he tried to pick her up and squeezed her tummy too hard). Also he didn't like that we took so many pictures of the boy in the orphanage that he didn't like, and he didn't understand anything we said. She helped introduce him to the neighbors and their kids and we had several play dates over the weekend with them...including a swimming pool party (talk about some big eyed expressions!)

Sunday he got to meet Grandma and Grandpa Fujan for a picnic and he tried out his new bike (didn't even scrape any body parts the first time). He doesn't quite have the gist of how it works, but he sure doesn't want mommy or daddy's help either. He's all 6-year-old! He tried again today, and wasn't quite as successful...still wants to pedal backwards...and that puts on the breaks, and then he falls (and skinned an elbow Sunday). We may need to have Olga over to help explain how to pedal forward (the Jensens got him a helmet and knee and elbow pads when they came to visit, so we should be protected from future falls now).

Monday we caught up a bit around the house, had a play date with Kim and James and took one of the kitties to the vet. It seems like we did more than that, but that's all that comes to mind right now.

Today is the first day that I haven't taken a nap at the same time he did...and I don't feel quite like a walking zombie. I think the jet-lag/new parent sleep-deprivation is finally starting to level off. I took Andrew to Lincoln Public Schools to test him and enroll him in the ELL program this morning and the rest of the week we have several doctor's appointments and errands doing more paperwork for insurance, Social Security and the like. School will start on Monday, so I'd better find some time to shop in there as well.

Please feel free to stop by and visit if you're in the neighborhood. Andrew seems to be adjusting very well, and although we are still not quite ready to take him out to large crowded environments, he seems to do pretty well meeting new people in his own home.

All our best, Diana Todd and Andrew

 

September 9--settling in and getting into a new routine

So far so good!

We feel very blessed that things are going very well so far. No major melt-downs and the new routine is going good so far. We came back a week before school started, so we got Andrew adjusted to his new home and new surroundings and got him through a few doctor and dentist appointments, and then he was off to school.

So far the doctors appointments have gone very well. He needed a couple shots to bring him to current by US standards and he'll need a little dental work (but not too bad considering this was probably his first dental visit ever). Other than that, he's a healthy, well-adjusted 6 year old...yippee!

School has been going pretty well. He is in ELL classes for most of the day, then has art and science with the rest of the first graders and then he goes to CLC (Community Learning Center) after school until Todd picks him up after work. He seems to like school, although of course he doesn't like it that no one speaks his language...but he's picking up English very quickly. Besides the one-two word sentences he has learned to get by, last Friday he told me "no thank you mommy" and last night he asked us (and even the cats) "what is your name?" It was so cute. I'm sure by Christmas he will know a lot more English and we won't be able to keep him quiet.

Last week he went to watch the Huskers play football at a sports bar that was showing it and he learned very quickly to say "go Huskers" (or something close) and learned that it was ok to yell and scream when everyone else did too. He still doesn't understant that football here isn't soccer like it is in Ukraine, but he had fun. On Labor day, we took him to Champions fun center and he got to "drive" the go-carts. Let's just say that it's a really good thing that his wheel didn't control the car...and that we have 10 more years before he can drive.

Next week Uncle David and cousin Cory will be here to visit, so he'll get to meet some more family members. We will hopefully meet some more of the family by Christmas (it's hard since we are scattered all across the US). This will likely be his first Christmas celebration ever (as well as first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, etc.) And then in January he will turn 7 and we can give him his first birthday party ever. Even though we didn't get to see his first steps, etc. we still have so many "firsts" with him. We are able to see so many things through his eyes that we take for granted every day...it's truly the greatest blessing of our lives.

Thanks for following along on our journey.