Our angel is 11 years old today!

HAPPY BIRTHAY YULIYA!! 11 YEARS OLD!!

Our wonderful friend Elena, who is here from Ukraine with her husband while he attends BYU, helped us call Yuliya today to wish her a Happy Birthday. (Thank you Elena!!) We hadn't spoken to Yuliya since Dec. 22, so it was so nice to hear her voice again. The first thing that Yuliya asked was when we are coming for her. Nothing was harder than telling her that because of stupid paperwork and waiting periods, we would probably be there for her next birthday. She was thinking that we would be there in the next few months, but that was before we realized we had to start from scratch. However, we reassured her that the time is coming and we are doing everything possible to hurry it up. The emotions come flooding back as we talked. Hearing her voice was wonderful and heart-wrenching.

We have a few presents we were going to send, but decided to wait until we spoke to her. Good thing, because she told us she wants a Bratz doll with blonde hair. (yup, she's 11 alright!) Her friend Nadia also got on the phone and thanked us for sending her a gift in the last package and told us to write her letters too. And of course, we promised her a Bratz doll too.

Yuliya mentioned that her dad had stopped by and given her a gift. We're not yet exactly sure how will play out long-term. Should this be a concern?

We love you, Yuliya, and miss you so much. We are still coming for you! Not a minute goes by where we don't think about you. Love, Mama and Papa.