“They were very excited and did not really pay attention enough to answer directly any questions I asked them. I brought gifts for them  —  puzzles, picture books, they loved the bubbles, cars for Kuzma, a doll for Anastasia  —  which they were very interested in, but nothing held their attention very long. These traits they still have today, and I’m very happy they do.”

Challenges Back Home

“I only knew a few words of Russian that a friend of mine helped me with before my trip. When we got home, I was afraid they would lose their Russian, so I signed them up for classes at FRUA (Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption). However, since no one close to them (family, peers, teachers) speaks it on a daily basis, they lost it.

“When I made the trip to bring them home, we had to stop over in Moscow for paperwork for a few days. I started teaching them a few words at a time  —  lots of hand motions at first. Anastasia started kindergarten after she was in the United States only a few months. Her English was very poor. Fortunately she had a good teacher who helped in literacy as well as all sorts of social skills. Kuzma went to a day care right down the street  —  he also had a great day care provider who helped him socialize, learn English, and mature. He had an easier time, since he was younger.”