We met Karina’s sister today. She traveled three hours by bus from where she attends university. I don’t know how to pronounce or spell the town she lives in. Up until August of last year she lived at another orphanage. She said she cried when she had to leave because she had gotten used to it and it had become home. She like her teacher and had friends there.

I guess the government offers financial aid to students. If you came from an orphanage you get more. To attend the university is free. Natashia said you have to pay to go so maybe it is free to orphans only. I’m not sure. Yana, Karina’s sister, is studying the Ukrainian and German languages. The university she attends specializes in literature and languages. She likes to study and from what Natashia said she is intelligent and has a good head on her shoulders.

Yana and Karina

Karina and Yana were separated six years ago and up until last fall Yana didn’t know where Karina was. Can you imagine being taken from your mom, separated from your sister and put into a strange orphanage? I’m sure Yana was worried about Karina but had no ability to do anything about it. And poor Karina, being only five, must’ve been terrified. It is obvious they both care a lot about each other.

When Yana finally found Karina she came and took her to her home for the fall vacation. I could tell it made Yana sad to let Karina go but she said it is better for her to go to the States. Yana was worried at first about agreeing to this but after talking to us she said she felt better.

The girls with the director, Nadia. She loves these kids and thankfully, is a very gracious host to those of us adopting.

We asked Yana about their home life. She said their mother was good and loved them. Yana lived with her Grandpa in the same town because it was too hard for her mother to care for both of them. We were told their mother lost custody but Yana didn’t say anything negative. It is apparent she loved her mother.

Yana stayed with us for the afternoon. Karina would not leave her side. She loves her very much. I’m sure Karina has mixed feelings and feels sad about leaving her sister. She didn’t want to let her go today. She insisted on walking her to the gate of the orphanage and kept hugging and kissing her. Ugh. It nearly breaks my heart.

We cannot adopt Yana although she is officially available until August when she turns eighteen. There has to be at least fifteen years between her age and ours; I am thirty-two, so there are only fourteen years difference. That and the fact that she wrote a letter granting her permission are favorable conditions for the judge to agree for them to be separated, even though they’ve already been separated for six years and Yana has not the means or intention of caring for Karina.

Anya, the very capable school attorney

Karina and Yana couldn’t look more different. They have different fathers. I tried to find even one similar attribute but couldn’t, although they are both beautiful. Yana is tall with light hair, brown eyes and a square face. Karina is very petite with nearly black hair, blue eyes and a thin face. Yana said she looks like her mother and Karina looks like her father. Yana was sad that Karina’s hair is shorn. She says when she was taken she had long, curly hair.

Our court date is tentatively planned for next Tuesday. We were hoping for Monday. Yana will be coming back for that. We had to choose names today for the girls. Oh dear. In my sleep this morning, I’m pretty sure I was asleep although my thoughts were clear, I was trying to choose a name for Liuba. I was hoping to keep her name the same but she is insistent. She keeps asking if we’ve chosen a name. Anyway, in my sleep I was trying to think of a name. I think it’s more difficult to choose a name for someone you already know than for a baby. Liuba has a very distinct personality and I wanted a name to fit that, as well as a meaningful name. I wanted the name of a person she could look up to, or a family name. I remember feeling that I was close to the right name when I thought of Louisa. Then Lucy came to me and I knew I had it. Dave’s great-grandmother was Lucy Ballard Madsen and I also regard Lucy Mack Smith as a hero. Also, and this is really silly, but Liuba’s personality reminds me of Lucille Ball.

Ocsana, our brilliant facilitator

So this was all in my sleep this morning. I didn’t think about it when I woke up. Then Ocsana came in the room when we were talking to Yana handed us a sticky note and told us she needed the girls’ names right then. “Are you serious?” I asked. Dave and I hadn’t even really talked about it. “Yes.” She said and stood there waiting. Speechless, I looked at Dave. Karina was easy. We planned on keeping her name the same. So all we had to come up with was a middle name. Dave’s mother and grandmother are named Mary. Karina Mary Bunch. Karina was in the room at the time. We asked her if she liked that name. She grinned and said yes.

We tossed out few names for Liuba then I remembered my “dream.” I said “What about Lucy?” Dave said that was old fashioned. I agreed. He thought for a minute and said that was his great-grandmother’s name and felt that should be her name. We also wanted to keep Liuba as a middle name. Lucy Liuba Bunch. Later when Liuba came in we asked her if she liked that name. “Lucy Liuba Bunch,” she repeated, then said, “Da. Lucy Liuba Bunch”

Natashia, Ocsana, and Yana

As promised we made a trip to the store. Dave was hoping they wouldn’t remember. Ha, there was no chance of that. It was much smoother today. After only a small haggle with Karina about choosing the individual size of chips over the full size, we were done. As we were walking back to the orphanage, Liuba was looking at pictures on Dave’s phone. She saw one of Luke and said, “bring Luke here to me in Ukraine.” I told her I was taking her to America instead. She said again she wants to see Emi, Luke and Preston as soon as possible. She also keeps asking us when our court date is. She is so excited and says she wants to live with us during the ten-day waiting period, not at the orphanage. We had explain that’s not allowed.

That’s all for today. Thanks for all your comments. It’s good to hear from you all.