Brains of the Issue

While we are still collecting the information from the medical screening, we have moved onto the brains of the issue.

Christina has been evaluated by Dr Federici, a Russian-speaking American, who by the grace of god works about half-an-hour from our home (http://www.drfederici.com). He has been working with these kind of children for over twenty years and has been giving us some great advice on how to approach them in a consistent and effective manner.

Getting your head around the world these kids have come from is a bit challenging. I have taken to calling it, "doing time in kiddie prison." While other kids my have been watching Barney the singing dinosaur, Christina was suffering collective punishment in a class full of children the same age. She developed no skills of decision making, since she had no decisions to make. She would change her underwear and clothes once a week on wash day, the same day she would bathe and wash her clothes.

Then we had Sasha and Tanya evaluated by Dr Boris Gindis, an American-speaking Russian, at the BG Center (http://www.bgcenter.com) in Nanuet New York. Each evaluation is a very detailed assessment of each of the children, administered in their native language to give the best picture of their strengths and weaknesses before the switch to English makes this almost impossible to determine.

We havehad the good fortune to havethe University of Minnesota international adoption clinic take on Maxim for a visit next month. These visits are building the book we will use to chart their educational and treatment plans.

Now a funny one from the past:
During the poopka patrol in service of our medico's work ups. So Heidi had just gotten our smallest one to provide her first sample and was being very proud of her produced sample. But then, as Heidi was distracted for a moment, the sample waiting by the front door for an unguarded moment;

"Ajo! (The dog) get out of that!" ...and with a bark, a hustle by mom and a wail of dismay from the proud sample provider, the evening just got a little more exciting.

Well, when the dust settled and the sample viles where filled, all was mostly good with the world. But Tanya will not look at Ajo ever quite the same.

Now, with both Heidi and I on the sick list today, Masha herded the kids to the car this morning, but only after the cossacks extracted a blood promise to make the big jump tomorrow.

Drum roll please... 3 bikes from the thrift store - $30. Helmets, safety checks and training wheels - $300;  dora the explora Band aids and bactine, priceless. Our buddy Clinton is heading over ready to give the Lance Armstrong school of hard knocks to these little hard heads on the two wheel (plus two) training ground tomorrow.

Erik, the much harassed.... Papa