With school starting tomorrow for Vincent and Gabriella, I honestly think that Julianna will be sad when they leave. It is true that Francesca and Dominic do not start until Tuesday, which will be helpful for her and for Angelo, but they will miss their siblings a great deal when they are at school. As for Julianna attending school,...based upon my observations for the last two weeks, she is definitely a girl who will benefit greatly from attending school sooner rather than later. She is like a sponge and will soak up everything that is given to her. I will be contacting the school district this week to establish a time to develop a plan for her assessment. Then, we will go from there.
Kenny and I are amazed at how well she has just blended into our family and continues to pick up the language every day! Kenny was away for three days and when he returned, he said he noticed a difference in the amount of verbalizing she was attempting and how relaxed she seemed.
Today, we spent the afternoon at the pool. The two younger kids had a blast. Vincent and Gabby decided that they were tired of the pool, while Francesca and Dominic both lifeguarded at some point during the day today. While in the pool this afternoon, Chechie reported that Julianna said, "Angelo, stop," when Ang splashed her with water. Julianna also told Gabby today that she would get "help" from "Momma" when Gabby was fake crying over something trivial.
Julianna's diet is...well...improving...I think. Her favorite food is bread with butter...lots of butter. She needs to eat nearly every 90 minutes or less. Julianna also consumes a great deal of liquid each day. Today, she ate fish, rice, ...even homemade macaroni and cheese. I haven't seen her hoarding any food...just a new level of comfort with going to the cupboard or refrigerator to get what she wants....usually bread and butter!
Her wild time continues to be right before bed...it is usually an indication that she is tired and needs to go to sleep. She and Mom have had a few disagreements, and of course, Mommy won. Julianna calls for Poppa when she's not happy with Momma, i.e. when Mommy made her brush her teeth and she refused....Mommy helped her to brush...She then asked for Daddy to intervene...needless to say, he tucked her in after I kissed her.
Julianna is an extremely affectionate child. She hugs and kisses us all the time. She tells us "I love you," a phrase that I taught her early. I think she knows what I love you means now.
Kenny and I have had tears of happiness for Julianna each day since we have brought her home. She is such a delightful little person with a great personality and so much potential. God certainly knew that she belonged with us...! We can't imagine how her life would have been had she remained in the institution. What a difference for this darling little girl.
I'm still getting used to having 6 kids and the family dynamics as they have changed with the addition of Julianna. I think it takes time for everyone to adjust...but probably more so for the adults than the kids...its that whole resiliency thing again.
All in all...a good day...and a good start for Julianna. She was concerned today wit little Angelo fell on the asphalt in the driveway. The blood had her concerned...but we were able to help Ang feel better...sure glad Kenny was home to add a sense of calmness for all.
Tomorrow's a big day...it will be here soon...for now it is...ciao!
Annie
1 Comment
I've come to the shocking conclusion that I am more overwhelmed than Julianna. For me, it's not adding another child or a child with a disability that overwhelms me...it's the week before school starts for four of our children who all need at least two items and...oh yeah, I'm a school principal who is feeling the guilt of not being at work. Julianna...I hope, doesn't feel my uneasiness about the timing of her arrival...She continues to amaze us everyday! Since this is Ken, I will cheat. Pictures are "worth" a thousand words.
So, this will save me on the typing. (Click on a picture to enlarge it.) For those of you who know me well either through our blog or personally, you are quite aware of the fact that I am not a person who is often speechless, or in blogland, one would say wordless. Today, August 21, our second day home from Russia, I have found great diffculty in finding the exact words to express my multitude of feelings and emotions during these last few days. Our God...is truly and awesome God! How He opened doors for us and carried us throughout this entire journey has truly left me in awe of how magnificent our God truly is! It was through divine guidance and wisdom that Kenny and I were able to do what we have done! Only God...only God could have made all of this happen!
Julianna, a beautiful sweet soul, who has a personality that is non-stop and love enough for everyone she meets, has finally come home to us. From the many people whom Dominic and I met along our travels home, they could not believe that Julianna was "newly adopted." They remarked at how amazingly comfortable she was with us and responded to my English as though she really understood. (Maybe she did/does) Our daughter has charmed her Grandma and Grandpa Carr and her Aunt Rita and cousins, Gabe and Maddie. She makes friends quickly, shares readily, and continuously hugs and kisses all of us. She has had a few more bouts of tears for "Momma" if I get too far away. As Kenny noted, having only remembered the dreary life of the institution and now to this...she must be somewhat overwhelmed and insecure. This will change... There is much to share from our journey that did not make the blog page for a number of reasons. At a later date, the information regarding the embasssy experience and our beautiful stay at the Pilgrimmage connected to the Cathedral in Moscow will be shared with all of you. For now...we are enjoying our six children...all here, safe and sound. I have found myself a bit weepy today...just pinching myself ... trying to take all of this in and comprehend the great love that God must have for us...He has made all of this happen...and I praise and thank Him for giving us the courage, wisdom, and guidance to persevere... God is good all the time. All the time, God is good. Amen Annie P.S. Kenny will be posting some pictures and video later. Once upon a time a little girl was born in the country of Russia. After she was born, she was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Her mother raised her best she could, until she died when this little girl was only 1 ½ years old. Her Aunt brought her into her home to raise her until she found out about her diagnosis. The Aunt placed this little girl in an orphanage to live. This little girl lived in the orphanage until the age of 5 when she was transferred to a mental institution. She was to stay in this institution for the remainder of her life. One may think this was the end of the story. However, this was not God’s plan. God reached out and touched the hearts of a special man and woman to welcome this beautiful young girl into their family.
Today is that special day! Today is that day when this wonderful young girl has escaped the misery and dismal existence of the institution and has joined her forever family. Today was a special day for her as she has met her three brothers and two sisters. Most people would say she is a very lucky girl. But as her dad, I would say “WE are the lucky ones!”. This is Ken
Their airplane has landed in the good old USA. They will be going through immigration now. More to come soon! Hello it is Ken.
I have received limited information from the “Moscow Trio”. I was able to get some text messages from Dominic this afternoon, their night time. Seems like they have received Julianna’s visa. I asked Dominic if all the paper work was done and he said “I think so”. Well, so much for complete information from a teenager. Also sounds like they may have run into some bed bug issues. GREAT!!! Keep the prayers coming for a quick and safe trip back to the United States. Our last morning here...we actually slept well with only one trip to the potty in the middle of the night and then back to sleep!
Breakfast was normal - talked to the other daughters on skype for awhile before they went to bed. We packed a lot of our stuff this morning and I took Julianna on a quick trip to the grocery store for bottled water and juice boxes. It was interesting to watch Julianna show everyone that she passed her white rosary beads that were prominently displayed around her neck. In particular, she would hold up the crucifix and say "Jesus" to them. One older lady at the corner spoke with her very nicely. Most of the people ignored her. I couldn't help but think, "Here she is evangelizing already and she doesn't even know she's doing it." I also assured her that when she gets home she will be around people who will love her and talk to her, just like at the church. By 11:15am, we had decided to head out to get a little bit more $ in rubels and then to the old grocery store where Kenny and I used to shop. To our dismay, they must have had a run on people wanting to exchange USD for Rubels b/c our usual bank was out of change when we arrived there today. That is crazy! The grocery store ended up being a hike for Julianna's little legs and she yawned a great deal. Dom had to carry her up the hill back to the main street...and then to our home away from home. Julianna feasted on fresh cherry tomatoes - loved them. She had some boiled parsley potatoes...and they were "ok"and she liked the peaches and pineapples that we picked up ...but the big surprise, she loved my green salad. This is good, as I think she was fed a lot of starch in the institution. She loves her sweets too! We tried a nap but now are both up since we had a little tiff you could say. She pulled down the light and power cord that were hanging and Mommy scolded her. Then, Julianna began to cry. This is the first time that I saw tears from her. I apologized for my stupidity and assured her that Mommy wasn't mad. She finally stopped crying and I distracted her by showing her pictures of Poppa. (I figured if she were home she would have run to daddy anyway). This helped. She demonstrated that she knows when and how to blow her own nose if she needs to. We then got up out the bed and found Dom. What did I learn from this event...I must remember that she doesn't know...She will need lots of patience...and that she is a little, little girl...one of God's children. Dominic is trying his best now to distract her while I write this, but she is really being an imp. Dom tips her upside down and shakes her. She laughs and then he tickles her. Needless to say, this fooling around only encourages her to do something else for my attention...or Dom's. They are trying to take the garbage out to the street, but someone remembers how Dominic showed her how to play lightsabers with the 2liter bottles. Ending this blog at 2:45pm our time...and 6:45am yours. We leave at 7:00pm for Moscow. Hope to post while we are there. If not, we'll be home on Thursday night. Hello Ken here.
I just wanted to post some pictures from the special celebration mass Annie, Dominic, and Julianna attended on 08/15/2010. Today I told Dominic and Julianna that I would actually consider returning here someday. I'm sure Kenny is in shock with that statement, but in some strange way, it might be healthy to come back in the future when our little Julianna is older so that she can visit some of the friends that she has made here in the parish.
Dom and I vowed to go to the steps today to get pictures with Julianna. With the cooler weather in the morning, we opted to head out first thing, forgetting that the smoke/fog would cover the view to the river. Oh well...it was a great outing anyway and I got some awesome pictures of the two kids together. I"m sure Dom will have to go see Dr. Tierney (our chiropractor) when he returns b/c he hauled Julianna around in the fireman's carry a couple of times during our outing. She was good at first....but after she got tired, she started to run from us...so between not fully being able to communicate with her and our fear of the street traffic and crazy drivers...and poor little Julianna who had never experienced anything like this before, we agreed that the fireman's carry was probably the best! It was cute! The walk to the steps was at least 1/4 mile...actually closer to 1/2. We stopped at numerous places on the return, i.e. the bank, the pharmacy, the school street vendors, and best of all the bakery. The bakery has a huge cake in the window and a fancy cake clown of sorts. Kenny and I only went there one time and that was to use the bathroom. So in honor of Kenny, we felt it only right to go and sample some of the treats. Two hours after we started out for the day, we finished with these luscious, and I mean scrumptious bakery items. Julianna picked the largest item that was dipped in chocolate on both ends. The three of us had a great time at this place. We even picked up another treat, just like Julianna's, and took it back to the church to give to Sister Virginia. Returning to the church, we met an older woman who cleaned the floor on Mondays only. She and Julianna hit it off. Julianna called her baboushka...grandmother in Russian. The older lady even gave Julianna some candy. They talked together in Russian. When we got to the upstairs and delivered Sister's treat to her, Julianna headed straight to the kitchen and started getting food out. It was almost noon, so I guess that meant she was hungry....she nearly fell asleep eating. Poor thing, she desperately needed a nap. After a nap and a juice only snack, little Julianna and Mommy played a combination of soccer/kickball with a soft-filled softball sized ball. After 30 minutes, Julianna was exhausted! Meeting Dom at Subway, she had what they call a "snack" with turkey and cheese, skyped Angelo and Grandma at home, and had a drink. Julianna was content to practice her J's in the little notebook that I bought her and listen to my ipod or watch the video clips Kenny loaded. (Yes, she knows how to run the ipod already). There was one moment during the day that I felt really bad for Julianna. I noticed that her right foot turns outward slightly when she walks and runs...probably b/c she didn't get the benefit of early intervention. I felt bad for her...I mentioned to Dom that if I were to consider adopting another child with a disability in the future, it would be a younger child due to the early intervention that the child cold receive and improve more fully his/her life. Dom said, "Well, Doc, I disagree with you 100%. Children like that will have a greater chance of getting adopted...not the older kids like the ones in the children's home where our little cutie is from. The older kids need us the most." So, Dom had observed and listened and watched Kenny and I all along this journey...Amen. We finished our night inside because of a very heavy rain here in NN. Julianna was a little upset and made me get away from the outside door to the church...she shut it and went to our room. For dinner, Julianna brought the following items to the table as we watched in amazement...carrot and tomato juice for me...cheese, apples, bread, and apple juice for her...and a package of soup for Dom. These were our favorite items that we had had a couple of times. She got the bowls, the cups, the spoons, ... we knew then that she was going to have a great time in our home and Dom and i agree that Gabby will have another helper when it comes to cleaning, as she is methodically neat with her things and wants them a certain way. Oh...and she didn't care for the peanut butter that I brought. I assured her that once she had one of Mommy's Mall Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, she would change her mind. Her last couple of hours before bed, we have termed the "wild time" and she needs one on one help to get calmed down and refocused. Mom gave her another shower (oh no...I'm sure she's not had this many showers in the last six months) and we did the nightly things....teeth, brushing hair, she likes to color right before bed...and then to bed with prayers. So, as I close this entry, both the kids are sleeping here in NN while my others, whom I am homesick to see, are finding things with which to entertain themselves when Grandma is with them. The girls have voice lessons, Angelo had therapy, and Vinnie is hoping to go to his friend's house. All in all, a good last full day in Nizhniy Novgorod. Until tomorrow....Annie PS...We leave NN at 7:00pm tomorrow and I will work diligently to get a blog posted before we leave. Since we are staying at the pilgrimmage connected to the cathedral in Moscow, I don't know if we will have internet access. We will try...but we may have to wait until Thursday morning our time/Wednesday PM yours to get something posted at the airport! PSS...Tonight during Julianna's wild time, she had to go to the bathroom three different times while we were in the kitchen. So... this one time when I went with her she unrolled 50 sheets of toilet paper, dropped the bar of the soap in the toilet, opened the door on me while i was peeing, and then as she left the hallway, to go back upstairs, she turned out the light, shut the door, and held it tight on the other side as if not to let me out. When I opened the door she giggled, covered her mouth and ran to the alter to show reverence in a multitude of ways and then up the stairs. What an imp!!! But definitely a living saint! |