Our European Adventure May 30 - June 1

May 30 - My best friend from Germany and her family arrived to spend a few days with us.  Since I had not seen my friend in about a decade, this was a long overdue and wonderful reunion and the first time we met each others' children.  We spent a leisurely day by the pool and relished in catching up.  Later in the evening, my great-aunt also arrived from Germany to see us - what a treat.

New friends belonging to old friends

May 31 -  Ten of us piled into public transportation and headed to Donauinsel (the Danube Island).  We strolled through the park and then let the kids enjoy the water playground which was very relaxing and interesting.  After a lunch on the go - in Austria lunches on the go are delicious - we headed back to my sister's house for more swimming and playing.

Cousins

June 1 - My friend and her family returned home and we spent a day of relative rest.  I got some laundry done, packed for our next excursion, did some home school work with Ella, helped my sister out with a few things, and just enjoyed the lovely weather and surroundings.

This pretty much says it all for our attempt at a group photo

This Just Happened...

Can't wait to see where her hair adventures take her in her teens and twenties.

IAC 390 to 395 Results

The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 390 which was held on March 16, 2017:

1) Spanish dossier from June 2011 referred a male child aged 1 year and 8 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from September 2012 referred a male child aged 3 years with a family history

3) French dossier from November 2013 referred a female child aged 7 years and 11 months

4) Canadian dossier from November 2013 referred a male child aged 2 years with features in health status and a family history

5) Italian dossier from December 2013 referred a male child aged 7 years and 1 month with features in health status

6) US dossier from January 2017 referred a waiting child (#767) with a profile on the MOJ site

7) US dossier from March 2017 referred a waiting child (#3260) with a profile on the MOJ site

8) US dossier from March 2017 referred a waiting child (#3247) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 391 which was held on March 23, 2017:

1) Dutch dossier from September 2011 referred two sisters aged 4 years and 9 months & 2 years and 11 months

2) French dossier from January 2014 referred a female child aged 2 years and 6 months with features in health status and a family history

3) Italian dossier from April 2014 referred a male child aged 5 years with features in health status

4) US dossier from November 2015 referred a male child aged 1 year and 4 months with features in health status

5) US dossier from May 2016 referred three siblings, male and female, aged 3 years and 7 months & 6 years and 9 months & 4 years and 9 months with features in health status

6) US dossier from March 2017 referred a waiting child (#3253) with a profile on the MOJ site

7) US dossier from March 2017 referred two waiting children (#3061 & #3062) with profiles on the MOJ site
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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 392 which was held on March 28, 2017:

1) Italian dossier from September 2013 referred a female child aged 10 years and 1 month

2) US dossier from March 2017 referred five waiting children (#3183 & #3184 & #3185 & #3186 & #3187) with profiles on the MOJ site

3) US dossier from March 2017 referred a waiting child (#3337) with a profile on the MOJ site

4) US dossier from March 2017 referred three waiting children (#3305 & #3306 & #3307) with profiles on the MOJ site

5) US dossier from March 2017 referred two waiting children (#3175 & #3177) with profiles on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 393 which was held on April 7, 2017:

1) Spanish dossier from April 2011 referred a male child aged 3 years and 10 months

2) Dutch dossier from April 2011 referred a female child aged 4 years and 5 months

3) Irish dossier from November 2011 referred a male child aged 1 year and 8 months with a family history

4) US dossier from July 2013 referred a male child aged 1 year and 7 months with features in health status

5) Italian dossier from September 2013 referred a male child aged 8 years and 9 months

6) French dossier from December 2013 referred a male child aged 2 years with features in health status and a family history

7) US dossier from October 2016 referred three siblings, male and female, aged 5 years and 4 months, 7 years and 2 months and 3 years and 8 months with features in health status

8) US dossier from April 2017 referred a waiting child (#2664) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 394 which was held on April 20, 2017:

1) Dutch dossier from June 2011 referred a female child aged 1 year and 7 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from April 2016 referred three waiting siblings (#3351 & #3352 & #3353) with profiles on the MOJ site

3) US dossier from April 2017 referred a waiting child (#3225) with a profile on the MOJ site

4) US dossier from April 2017 referred a waiting child (#3264) with a profile on the MOJ site

5) US dossier from April 2017 referred a waiting child (#3131) with a profile on the MOJ site

6) US dossier from April 2017 referred a waiting child (#2927) with a profile on the MOJ site

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The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 395 which was held on April 26, 2017:

1) Spanish dossier from March 2011 referred a male child aged 2 years

2) Dutch dossier from November 2011 referred a sibling group aged 2 years & 5 years and 7 month & 4 years and 4 months

3) US dossier from July 2015 referred a female child aged 1 year and 7 months with features in health status

Summer Home School Week 1

While we read some books and did a few math works sheets every couple of days in Europe, our summer home school for the kids started in earnest last week.  I don't know if I will manage to update on it regularly here, but a glimpse at the first week will show you what we're working on.

Here's what Ella did last week:

1) Subtraction, addition, multiplication tables and fractions
2) Spelling - daily words with special attention to -ry and -ake words and any words misspelled the previous day
3) Daily reading 20 to 40 minutes
4) Root words, contractions and use of a dictionary
5) Daily Google search (including the questions Who was Elvis Presley and Who was Frida Kahlo which opened the door to the week's music and art exploration)

And Emilia:

1) Sounding out three letter words
2) Counting
3) Reading leveled books
4) Tracing in a dry erase book

And Rex whose work is with his ABA therapist:

1) Receptive ID of upper and lower case letters
2) Letter sounds
3) Tracing in a dry erase book (which he enjoys and does surprisingly well)

I feel quite good about what we accomplished in week 1 academically as well as the fact that the girls continue with their neurological re-organization.

Our European Adventure May 26 - May 29

May 26 - In the morning, Craig, Rex, Emilia and I boarded a plane to Varna, Bulgaria. From there, we drove a rental car to Emilia's birth town of Dobrich and visited the orphanage where we were warmly welcomed by an almost entirely new staff.  The head nurse who has been there for 30 years did remember Emilia immediately and was able to share some more information about her time there which helped us understand Emilia's challenges even better.  We got a tour of the orphanage - something that was not permitted to us in 2011 - and learned that only 20 children remain there as permanent residents while dozens more come in for daycare and support services, including therapies.  With such reduced numbers, the room in which Emilia lived has been renovated and converted into a therapy room.  We were shown an upstairs room which, while also newly renovated, we were told most closely resembles the room where Emilia would have lived from 2009 to 2011.

This room off the main living area is for children
who need a less stimulating environment
or must be isolated for health reasons.
We were told Emilia spent a good bit of time in medical isolation
due to being sick frequently.

May 27 - With our translators in tow, we set out for a small nearby village to meet Emilia's bio grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins.  This is the village where her bio mother grew up and where Emilia would likely have spent her childhood had it been possible for her to be raised in her Bulgarian family.  We had a very emotional few hours with the family, gathering as much information as possible, taking photos, sharing stories and, truthfully, doing a lot of crying, too.

First meeting

Emilia and her Bulgarian mom at about the same age -
they look so much alike

Walking hand in hand with her Bulgarian Baba and her forever Mama

May 28 - After a lazy, rainy morning in Dobrich, breakfast and skyping with Ella, the four of us headed to Varna.  We took the scenic route back through Albena and along the coast line past the Golden Sands and St. Konstantin and Elena Resorts.  Our Varna hotel was literally steps from the beach and we walked Sea Garden (aka Primorski Park) which runs 8 km parallel to the Black Sea shore after the skies had cleared and the sun was shining.  There are many play areas, street performers, restaurants, rides, etc. all over the park, so it was easy to spend three hours.  We even dipped our toes into the ocean - the water was freezing and the kids loved it.  They did not want to leave the beach.

May 29 - We flew back to Vienna to get some much needed rest.  Ella who had stayed behind with Oma & Co was happy to see us. We had a big family dinner - 16 of us gathered together.

Our European Adventure May 22- May 25

This spring, our family traveled to Europe for almost three weeks.  These are the chronicles of our adventure.

May 22 - we started our transatlantic journey at CVG.  Three airplanes, 24 hours, and thousands of miles later, we would reach Vienna, Austria, our Euro Adventure Headquarters.

May 23 - we arrived in Vienna around noon and headed to my sister and brother-in-law's house.  They moved in just last year, so this was our first visit to their new place, a beautiful and very spacious villa (or some say palais) built in 1884 which is under historical preservation in the city and which my sister and her husband restored at great effort.  We settled in for an afternoon and evening at home, relaxing and catching up.  We definitely felt the love.

Cousins reunite

Reunion and first meeting

May 24 - we got a full night's sleep - incredible after the trip with all the jetlag going on.  We took a stroll through the neighborhood in the morning and visited a nearby playground where we met a bunch of five and six year olds who all spoke impressively decent English.  After a nap, we headed to city center via a streetcar and just walked around for a bit, soaking up the old world charm.  By late afternoon, we were back to the house and settled in with family for a leisurely evening.

Stephansdom

May 25 - today was a holiday in Austria, so we got to hang out with family and just take it easy.  We were getting spoiled with homemade meals and good company.