more questions answered

I'd love to hear about her bedroom!
Lots of photos of her bedroom are out there. It’s all light pink and lime green. Stripes, polka dots and flowers. Her room has been done for about 5 years now!




How often did Anya get out of the orphanage, if ever?
When she was in the Detski Dom (Children’s Home), she rarely left. Generally only for specialized doctor appointments. The children went to camp for a week in the summer, and there was some kind of singing / poetry competition once a year that was held in the city. That was about it.

The orphanage she was most recently at was a little different. She went to a traditional school, so every day – she was in school with other kids in the city. On Wednesday nights, she went to Luda’s home for a Bible Study…all this in addition to doctor appointments and so on. Her time out of the orphanage wasn’t great, but she did know there was more to the world than the walls of the orphanage.


How long will you be able to take off work?
Well, we both are essentially self employed, so we can kinda do whatever we want to! Technically we both are still working while we are here. We both take an hour or so a day to keep in touch with clients, try to get appointments set etc. for when we get back. I have a pretty big project (giant fashion show) on April 22 – so I am working on that while I am here.

How do you/how soon do you - hope to integrate Anya into socializing with American kiddos? Gymnastics? Soccer? Sunday School?
We go to a big church, with lots (and I mean LOTS) of friends with kids her age. So as soon as we’re able to get up and around after we get home, we’ll be at church. Depending on when we get home, we may put her in school yet this semester. She is already signed up for a day camp the end of June (through our church).

Anya has already been playing with our friend’s kids here. We’ve been to their house 2 times over the past week to play.


What was Anya's reaction and what did she say when you told her that everything had gone thru and you were really and truly "Mama and Pappa", and she was finally going to leave the orphanage with the both of you forever?
We didn’t tell her. The director of the orphanage did. When we got to the orphanage to pick her up, she knew she was going with us, and was more than ready to go with us!

She is old enough, that I think she understood what was going on – one of the benefits of adopting an older child! Younger children can’t understand, and can be terribly scared of this big change. Anya has known us her whole life, so going with us (and trusting us) wasn’t an issue. We truly are blessed with her transition!