We have not made any progress since our last posting, so there is not much to report. It looks as though Doug and I will be returning to the US for a couple of weeks to wait for our second appointment with the SDA. Evidently, there was a period last summer for a couple of months when registration of children in orphanages was suspended. And since according to Ukrainian law, all children must be registered with the SDA for one year prior to becoming available for international adoption, there are currently very few healthy children ages 18 months to three years old in the registry. We understand that there are 10 families ahead of us who are also waiting for children. Our facilitator told us that one family from Canada who has been waiting in the Ukraine for six weeks, finally received a placement for a healthy child. It also appears that placements for families wishing to adopt boys are moving more quickly as there are more boys available in the Ukraine than girls.

We had hoped to have a much more positive news report after two weeks of waiting, but this is our situation as it stands now! We hope to have much better news in September.

Our transition to Kyiv has worked out very well. Our apartment is centrally located in the historic district so we can walk to most destinations. Masha, our Ukrainian host, has been very helpful in getting us acclimated to the city, as well.

We met with the federal adoption agency yesterday. Things did not go as well as we had hoped. We saw the dossiers for three children all girls under the age of four, but none of them met our criteria for adoption.

As it turns out, the adoption system in the Ukraine has changed a great deal in the last year and this appears to be having an effect on the number of available children. The Ukrainian government has instituted a foster care system, similar to the US in which Ukrainian orphans are given to families who are paid to take care of the kids. While this provides a handsome income for many foster care families, it also means that children who are in foster care are not available for adoption. These problems are new, the result of recent changes in the federal orphanage/foster care system, according to Masha.

We we are now waiting for a second appointment, which we hope will be scheduled this week. Evidently, the agency will not grant us an immediate appointment until more files of elligible children arrive from the orphanages. We are hopeful that a second meeting will result in a better outcome. More soon!

Oh my goodness, we are counting down now. We leave on the 3rd at 2:00 PM EST. I won't bore you with the details, but let me just say that things are BUSY. In between finishing the work on the 307 Agate Street house, working at Finlandia and Michigan Tech, and managing the day-to-day activities of Noah and Jack, we're taking golf lessons. Jack and I are two lessons ahead of Doug and Noah. So far we've learned chipping, pitching, putting and swinging (I think that's the last stroke we learned, you know the kind you hit full on like you would a baseball). We know the difference between the rough, fairway and green and can identify the starter on the course. Our wonderful golf pro/instructor has doggedly watched and corrected our nascent grips, so we're avoiding learning bad habits, I guess. At any rate, it's been extremely fun and funny. . . A good diversion from the challenges of getting ready to travel.

My next note will be from the Ukraine, so please keep us and our little girl in your thoughts. We're nervous, mostly, and very excited to meet her. Judy

We will fly to Kyev, Ukraine in three weeks to finalize the adoption of our daughter. Meanwhile Doug is working nonstop at the 307 Agate Street house restoring the yellow pine woodwork to its original splendor. A friend of ours, Byrd Kramer, is working to repair (smooth) the plaster walls, and also paint the interior of the house. I've been cleaning closets and clearing out the basement. We are hoping to sell or rent the house prior to leaving for Kyev.

As an aside, I asked Jack to help us gather cans and bottles from the basement, with the agreement that he could have the $0.10/bottle or can. He was completely delighted with the prospect of making some money, and wanted to know how much money we thought he'd make, which I estimated to be about 20 bucks. At the end of the day, we pulled $97.40 out of that basement, 1/2 of which Jack put in the bank!

Otherwise, Doug estimates that he'll be done with the woodwork in the next day or two, so he'll get back to work at Tech. I am preparing for classes and adjusting to my new role as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Finlandia. Noah and Jack are with their Dad and will return home on the 20th of July. Noah is off to Boy Scout camp on the 22nd and Jack and I are planning to take a few golf lessons. My folks are coming in prior to our departure on the 3rd of August and will be with Noah and Jack while we are in the Ukraine.

While there is lots going on in the day to day, Doug and I are excited about the prospect of welcoming our daughter to the family in the next couple of weeks. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.