Norway vs Sweden
When I worked at First Lutheran Church in Waco, Texas, there was a mix of Swedes and Norwegians in the congregation. They would often tease each other in a friendly way about the differences between the two nationalities. A favorite story was that the church was founded in the late 19th century by Norwegians, but many young Swedish housemaids attended worship there. When the congregation laid the cornerstone for their building, they decided to be ecumenical and carved into the stone, "First Scandinavian Lutheran Church."
Today I saw an article that reflects some of that good-natured rivalry. A Swedish artist group from the border area between Sweden and Norway doctored a road sign just across the border. The new image references a Monty Python scene, where a man in a bowler hat skips in front of a building titled "Ministry of Silly Walks."
The Norwegian road authorities expressed grave concern.
Source: http://www.aol.com/article/2014/03/27/silly-walk-sign-outrages-swedish-road-agency/20858335/
This clip also gives a video of the Monty Python sketch upon which the road sign is based.
FYI
In Texas, the plural of y'all is "all y'all."
Blue And Gold
Last Friday evening, at the Blue and Gold Banquet, Peter walked over the bridge to move from Cub Scouting to Boy Scouting.
My Quiet WAR on Incivility
I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!
Our Visit with the Consul
The consul came bearing gifts--several books and lots of chocolate. And he brought dark chocolate--so European! He also removed his shoes upon entering our home. That's also from the Old Country, as a courtesy to avoid dirtying our floors.
He is a young man, probably 30-35, and most recently posted in Kazakhstan before Chicago. Since he grew up in Russia, his native language worked well in his last posting. His English, though accented, was excellent, and he was very intent on engaging the children in conversation. We served tea and cookies, including some that Adam himself had baked.
The number of adopted Ukrainian children in his ten-state region is about 1,600, and every month, he visits two families. Probably because we just submitted four post-adoption reports last week, he decided that our turn for a visit had come.
But his office is also working hard with other means to improve the participation rates of American adoptive parents in submitting post-adoption reports. It is very important to Ukraine to know the status of adopted children in the U.S. Every year the Ukrainian consulate in Chicago sends out letters urging the submission of the reports. For the first three years after adoption, the reports are required on a yearly basis. After that, they should be sent every three years. Once the child turns 18, the requirement is finished. The closing of adoptions in Ukraine, which has occurred off and on over the years, is sometimes due to the lack of these documents from American parents.
We've gone from six reports last time to four reports this year. Next time, we'll be down to only two.
A Response to Our Post-Adoption Reports
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Stahlke!
My name is Serhiy Koledov, I am a consul of the the Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago.
I am very appreciate for your information about live and growth of your children.
Now our office working on updating of information about Ukrainian children adopted by US citizens in Midwest.
I would be appreciate if it will be possible to meet with you and your children in your home in this week or in any time comfort for you.
It will be a small meeting (10-15 minutes) that I can to get acquainted with you and give you some information about our working in USA.
Thank you for time and understanding.
Sincerely yours,
Serhiy _____
consul of Ukraine in Chicago
Interesting Photo
Ukrainian women are very stylish. Our two daughters are true to their birth country in this regard. See an interesting image from Crimea that was published in last Thursday's
Chicago Tribune. (Give the website a moment to find the photo--it will pop up for you after a short wait.)
http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-20140123-violent-protests-in-ukraine-pictures/#chi-20140123-violent-protests-in-ukraine-pictu-117
I'll add--The three soldiers could be Paul, Adam, and David, all of whom like to play soldier. Altogether, this photo looks like our original group of five kids adopted in 2005, just grown up now.
Snow!
This photo accompanied an interesting article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday titled "In 24 Days: Play Ball."
The web version includes the subtitle "Snow no problem for White Sox groundskeeper, but thawing 30-inch frost to bring turf out of dormancy will be enormous endeavor."
And this morning, it was snowing again when we woke up!
source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/ct-white-sox-grass-sullivan-spt-0307-20140307,0,4935453.story
Post-Adoption Reports
At the time of our childrens' adoptions, we promised to send Ukraine yearly reports about them. These documents are very important, because without them, the Ukrainian authorities sometimes assume the children are not doing well. The fact that many U.S. adoptive parents do not submit these reports is often cited as a primary reason that foreign adoptions have been closed in Ukraine off and on over the years. I also know that U.S. adoptive parents have been told similar things in Russia.
Jonathan wrote up reports this week for our four younger children. (Paul and Adam are over 17 years old, and have therefore aged out of the system.) Each report requires two pages of single-spaced information about the children's biography, medical condition, personality development, achievements, daily routine, likes/dislikes, interaction with immediate family, and acceptance by extended family. In addition, two photos from within the last year must be attached. (Until 2009, these reports required TEN recent photos of each child. That meant 60 photos for our family!)
Jonathan provided a little humor in his descriptions of the children. My favorites:
This child can be heard "laughing and shrieking at the top of his/her voice, enjoying some delicious piece of information."
Another kid "spends much of his free time taking things apart and trying to put them back together again."
One of the children is a "tactile learner, touching things constantly, much to the displeasure of his five other siblings."
And one of our teenagers "spends a great deal of time on personal grooming."
Acclimatization
Halle, eastern Germany
December 1993
"Make sure to open the window while the stove is warming up." We groaned, remembering our landlady's advice.
Jonathan and I were already cold, since the coal stove had been out for hours, meaning the indoor temperature was in the 40s. Then we opened wide the windows to our apartment so the sub-freezing air could stream in. Coal stoves had a risk of carbon monoxide emissions, and everyone made sure to have plenty of fresh air as a safety measure. Besides, the Germans have an affinity for "frische Luft," practically as a health measure.
We shivered in every coat we owned for the thirty minutes it took to get the stove going.
Chicago
March 2014
The temperature this morning was in the 20s, with a forecast slightly above freezing. It felt so mild that I opened the windows in the car. I must be part-German now, enjoying the fresh air so much!
More On Ukraine
I googled Kirovohrad, the city in central Ukraine where our children lived in orphanages before we adopted them. This part of Ukraine lies halfway between Kyiv and the Crimean peninsula, so it's a long way from either of the political hotspots. But as you can see from the following excerpt of an article published two days ago, soldiers in Kirovhad are also affected:
A Ukrainian Special Forces company dispatched in Ukraine’s centermost major city of Kirovograd has disobeyed an order to march on to Crimea, according to one of the officers in the company who spoke to Itar-Tass.
“Today we have been ordered to move toward the Crimean peninsula and disrupt the activity of the Crimean ‘defense forces.’ We have refused to carry out the order,” he told the agency of the order that came Sunday from Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.
The officer added that part of the reason to go against Kiev’s orders was a lack of understanding by the special forces as to whose plans they had to thwart there, and why.
“Many of [our] guys have relatives there. I myself spend summer in Evpatoria,” he said. “Many among us don’t understand whom we are fighting for and against in Crimea.”
source: http://rt.com/news/crimea-russian-special-forces-560/
Events in Ukraine
Several of you have asked how our children are reacting to the news from Ukraine. I'm following events very closely, giving an update to the family at our evening meals. The children, however, are not talking about it very much. We don't have a working TV in the house, so the only images they see come from the newspaper.
Peter attends a Ukrainian dance class every Monday night. A week ago, a young dance student in Peter's group described how his grandfather had attended the Kyiv protests on Independence Square. In the February 20 crackdown, snipers shot the grandpa in the leg. He is badly injured but expected to recover.
Just when you think events are far away, they move closer to home.
444
Number of consecutive hours in February that Chicago's temperatures stayed below freezing. That's 18-1/2 days.
We're still getting winter weather now--several inches of snow and single-digit temperatures today alone--but the weather is looking up compared to February.
Mom's Birthday
My sister's family went all out to help Mom celebrate her birthday on Feb. 22. And Dad's health care aide dressed him well and got him all spiffed up for the occasion. She used the Hoyer lift to put him in the jerry chair, so he could join in the festivities in the living room. That was special, since he's only been out of bed a few times since November. Here's some photos from the occasion:
