Well, we have just said Good Night to Masha’s first full day in the US….and ALL are exhausted! Masha arrived in Fort Wayne at about midnight last night with her group from Ukraine. Seven children, aged 6-12, travelled nearly 40 hours with their escorts, Natalia and Max, to stay in Fort Wayne for the next three weeks. The group began their journey with an overnight train trip to Kiev, where they boarded a Delta flight to JFK. After clearing immigration and customs in New York, the group boarded a final Delta flight to Indianapolis, where they were met by the […]

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Masha’s first day began on no more than 6 hours of sleep, having hit the hay at about 2:00 AM. She was up and playing quietly in her room when we woke up at 8:00 this morning! Masha and I went downstairs to make coffee and get some breakfast together. A quick response to “Chai eelee Sok” and the first juicebox made its exit from the stockpile! I boiled some water, made a double batch of instant oatmeal, and Mark emerged just in time to offer Masha a choice of white or brown sugar (she went with white). Once Mark […]

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We have learned that Masha is a very quiet riser…We awoke at about 7:30 and listened, expecting to hear her when she got up and around. We finally began making a little noise at 8:00. A little noise came back from behind her door…she had been awake for quite some time. In fact, she had already made her bed, tidied her already tidy room, and was quietly coloring. Breakfast of apple juice, double oatmeal, and a banana disappeared in short order, and Masha disappeared upstairs for a few minutes. Before I finished putting her bowl in the diswasher, she reappeared […]

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Wow….this full-time-parenting thing is really catching up with us! It’s 11:51, and I’m finally getting to posting today’s update. I’ve been tidying and catching up on work since Masha went to bed around 9, and I now understand why all you parents are always exhausted…..but I wouldn’t change this experience for the world! Today began with Masha up, dressed, and bed made before Mark and I heard her again! After oatmeal and an apple juice, Masha disappeared back upstairs to finish coloring. Mark and I took care of a few grown-up details, and then it was BIKE TIME! Mark and […]

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Day camp began today! Following a breakfast of oatmeal with raisins, we departed on time for camp. Imagine it….the Niles family on time for something? The only problem was that I forgot both her sunglasses and her sack lunch! Oooops! Once everyone arrived, Anna got everyone together to get to know each other. As a combination ESL and introduction, all the kids sat in a semicircle and introduced themselves. The Ukranian kids had to say “Hi. My name is…. What is your name?” and then the other kid replied “My name is …” and then go introduce themselves to the […]

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