I JUST CANT BELIEVE ITS BEEN 2 YEARS. AVA HAS GROWN SO FAST NEEDLESS TO SAY SO HAVE OUR BOYS. ALLEN TURNED 11 YEARS OLD ON THE 11TH OF NOVEMBER, AND ZACHARY TURNED 9 YESTERDAY (BLACK FRIDAY) ... ALL MY KIDS ARE GETTING SO BIG. ALLEN IS SO GOOD WITH HIS SISTER. HE WAS UP ONE MORNING AND AVA GOT UP AND INSTEAD OF WAKING ME, HE FEED HER CLEANED HER UP AND SAT WITH HER ON THE COUCH TO WATCH DISNEY WITH HER. THAT MELTED MY HEART.
ZACHARY AND AVA HAVE THIS BOND... EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE 6 YEARS BETWEEN THEM THEY GET ALONG SO WELL.. I COULDNT ASK FOR A BETTER FAMILY.
DECEMBER 11 TH WILL BE 2 YEARS SINCE WE GOT HOME FROM MOSCOW.
I seems like just yesterday when we brought Ava home. Now she is 3... time flies so fast, in a blink of an eye they grow up right in front of you.
Ava had a Great Birthday and Halloween . She got the point of Trick or Treating fast. The funny thing is she would walk up to the other trick or treaters and YELL trick or treat thinking they were going to give her candy... I had to tell her... you have to go up to the house...too cute.
Allen's birthday is around the corner he will be 11 in 10 days, Zachary will be 9 the day after thanksgiving.
I wish time didnt pass so fast, it shows us that we all better make the best of Life.
On Saturday we spent the afternoon with Jeannie, Freddy, their kids (they adopted hope from Moscow City 6months ago) . There were 5 of us, and 6 of them... Needless to say there was never a dull moment. We went on the Boat and ate dinneron the Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale and just has a wonderful time. Hope and Ava dont know what to think of eachother, they are so use to be the only girls.
Well this week the boys went back to school. I now have a 5th grader and 3rd Grader. I have 3 more years until Ava enters kindergarten seems far but i know if will fly by. We went to Olivia's (Ava's Friend) 3 rd birthday party at the Beach last night and we had so much fun. Here are some pictures. 2 1/2 months and Ava will be 3.
It's almost time for the boys to return to school. This summer went by so fast. The start school Aug 17th. Then it will be just Ava and I during the day.
Ava is getting so big. I cannot even believe that next month Sept will be 2 years we met her at orphanage 21. I look at the pictures from her referral photo to now and she has changed so much.
Her new word to everything is "NO". She started that this week.
Today the boys and I went and say Jeannie & Hope ( adopted 6 months ago from Moscow City) down at their home about 40 mins south of us. It nice to have other families close that have gone through the same adoption process.
Next month we will be traveling to see Greg & Laura Hobbs which we met Sept 2007 on the airplane to Moscow , they met their little Boy also on that trip. I cant wait to see them again.
Ava's 2nd year post placement is also coming up. That is when the Social Worker has to come to our home and do a report for the Russian Goverment, that is due in November. Then we will have 1 more do a year from that.
We are so blessed and our family is complete.
This past week, Dan's mom Dotti came to palm beach to visit. We had the most wonderful time in Miami.
Yesterday was a BIG day for Ava Mckenzie. She stated pre school at Calvary Christian school 2 days a week which is perfect.
I took her because Dan doesnt have the will power to leave her if she cries so I had to be the bad guy and take her and drop her off. When I got home I told Dan I forgot her lunch, ooops so I had to go back. I peeked through the door and she was playing having fun, that made me feel better.
When I returned home Dan said well I will pick her up from school. I said I dont think so Buster ! Im not going to be the bad guy and make you the good guy. So I picked her up. She was playing outside on the slide when I got to the school, she didnt notice me watching her after a minute I said Ava she looked around then say me and said MOMMY ! That was awesome. That had to be the best moment with the big grin on her face. She ran over to me and gave me a big kiss and hug. Then went off to play again.
It was a Great Day.
Well today I got a call from Calvary Pre School where Ava will be attending starting May 4th two days a week. She has been home with us for 1 year and 4 months.
Boy oh Boy welcome to the terrible two's. She had her first real tantrum at the soccer field last week and I was ready to pull my hair out.
Kicking, throwing, crying...... etc... nipped that in the butt.
Dan and I are so blessed to have such a great little girl and two amazing boys that think nothing less of their sister. Zachary and Ava play all the time it is so cute. You would never know that she was adopted. Allen holds her while watching a movie and she just loves the cuddling.
"Daddy's Home! " she yells when she hears daddys truck pull up. She is a full Daddy's girl. He cant say NO!
He makes me the bad guy when it comes to saying No. I guess that comes with the territory.
Here are some pictures of us last week.
It's amazing to think that one selfish woman can determine many people's lives because of poor judgement.
This month a Tennessee woman sent her 7 year old son she adopted 6 months prior back to Moscow with a note she couldnt handle him anymore. Now through all this good loving homes and childrens lives are jepordized.
What was this woman thinking, she wasn't. Only about herself and now people have to pay for her actions.
This is a sad time and I wish everyone the best.
Ava is getting so big. She has been talking more but is still doing Speech thearpy becuase she is still having a little trouble. She loves when Daddy gets home and you hear Dan's truck and all of a sudden she yells "Daddy's Home"!. Its adorable. She is 2.5 now and is potty training very well.
I had to have shoulder surgery in Feb... but doing good now. Trying to use my arm again. Ava's cousin Amanda (my Niece) came out and helped me allot. We went to California this month and Ava got spoiled rotten by Aunt Angel and Aunt Krissy. My dad finally got to meet Ava it was an awesome trip..
I hope to post more soon.
The Israel Family.
Foreign adoptions down in Russia as foster care grows
Foreign adoptions down in Russia as foster care grows
Fewer Russian children are being adopted abroad, although the number of total adoptions in Russia is declining, figures show. The statistics point to a complex future for the country's orphans as the government struggles to implement additional means of foster care even as it tries to encourage more Russians to adopt.
According to the U.S. State Department, which released figures for the 2008 fiscal year, the number of foreign children adopted by Americans fell by 12 percent.
In 2008, there were 17,438 adoptions for abroad, while there were 19,613 in 2007. Much of this decline is due to fewer adoptees from Russia and China. Although Russia has not yet released statistics for 2008, the numbers from previous years confirm the trend.
There were 6,689 foreign adoptions in 2006, and only 4,536 in 2007 - a decline of over 30 percent - according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Education and Science, which is responsible for developing adoption programs and legislation in the country.
The United States is the chief destination for Russia's foreign adoptees - in 2006, American parents adopted 3,468 children, making up well over half of the total number of foreign adoptions.
But these numbers do not indicate that Russians are adopting more children. Of the adoptees, the share of those who remain in Russia has increased - from 7,767 in 2006 to 9,537 in 2007. But overall adoptions decreased in 2007 by about 3 percent. Indeed, the number of adopted children peaked in 2004 at 16,434, and has been declining ever since.
This is explainable by foster care programs. While adoptions declined, there has been a rise in the number of children in new, alternative foster care initiatives. While not adoptions formally, these included various kinds of foster care in which a child lives with a guardian or a family that is paid by the government. There are at least three kinds of foster categories apart from adoption. Although the government officially considers adoptions the best option for orphans, it has opted to develop these programs to bring down the number of children without parents.
Since 2006, more stringent laws regulating foreign adoptions have gone into effect. According to Yekaterina Bridge of the World Association for Children and Parents, that has meant more paperwork.
"In 2007, adoption agencies were getting accreditation based on new rules, and that has led to fewer adoptions," she told The Moscow News.
"The first accreditations were received only in June, 2007, and this caused a delay."
Explaining the decline in the number of adoptions, Bridge cited alternative forms of foster care, but noted that these forms had their drawbacks.
"Local officials in the provinces are wary of developing foster care because of the money issue. They fear children could be taken advantage of for the government subsidies."
While she said her agency was supportive of the government efforts to develop newer forms of foster care, she cited the latest figures for children without parents as "staggering."
As of December 31, 2007, 171,044 children were listed in the official adoption data base.
Officials acknowledge the need to encourage more Russians to adopt.
"Adoption is the top priority in placing children with families," says Alexandra Ochirova, who chairs the Public Chamber's Commission on Social and Demographic Policy.
"But the statistics do not show that the problem is being solved. Since not enough children are being adopted, other forms of foster care are being offered."
Ochirova does not believe that foreign adoptions will solve the problem, however.
"There are various points of view, and the interests of the child should be put first," she told The Moscow News. "But I believe that this problem should be solved inside the country. This doesn't mean we should have a ban on international adoptions, but considering the demographic situation, it would be good to make the population better prepared to adopt Russian children."
Ochirova says that raising awareness, advertising, and easing bureaucracy would lead to more adoptions. There are many Russians willing to adopt, she says, but they are daunted by the bureaucratic process.
LOVE
Love... bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. - 1 Corinthians 13:7
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
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