1 week later...

A very tired mom, dad and Yuliya, reunited with the rest of our family. We were met by so many of our wonderful friends and family at the airport (thank you!!). Yuliya got to see her friends Troy (Dima) and Jake (Pasha), who were adopted a few months ago from the same orphanage.

The sign on the garage of our home. Our kind neighbor (Thank you, Julie Pfunder!) put up this poster and hung pink balloons all over our neighborhood to welcome Yuliya home.

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One week ago we came back to Utah with Alicia Yuliya! The common thread of many other blogs is that things are so much better once home. Well, we are no exception...things have been so good. She is such a young lady, and her sweet personality and bright smile make us wonder every day how anyone could have turned their backs on such an amazing girl. Looking back at the wild ride we had in Ukraine, we are thankful that we were able to see Yuliya in the orphanage, in her domain. That experience and the side of Yuliya we saw during that time really helped paint the complete picture of her life for the past 6 years. Yuliya is old enough to never forget that life, and someday, we hope that she opens up and talks about it. If we have one bit of advice for parents that are getting ready to adopt, it is that the adoption process can be just as stressful for the child as it is for the adoptive parents. If your child seems out-of-sorts at times, seems to withdraw, or otherwise behaves oddly, this is most likely the way they are dealing with that stress and anxiety and does not necessarily mean they are having second thoughts. These kids bottle up so many emotions and learn to swallow so much, and often never learn to articulate their emotions. So until the day comes when they can communicate with you about what they were feeling, the one immediate remedy is to hop on that plane and bring them home. Just remember the child(ren) you hosted in your home. It was then when you fell in love with them, and it is there where they will once again return to the way they were.

Yuliya, Eliza and Caleb. The first thing Yuliya wanted to do was to go swimming at the Lehi Family Legacy Center. We're pretty sure that Yuliya is 1/2 fish. She LOVES to swim and would have stayed there all day and night.

Yuliya and Eliza

Yuliya shooting out of the water slide.

Yuliya (aka: the pink fish!)

Yuliya has decided to maintain her Ukraine name rather than going by Alicia. She went back and forth, thinking that we might be disappointed, but we told her it is her choice. Once school starts, she may rethink that if she chooses. Yuliya is not only a name to us. It's the girl we fell in love with in '07 and the name we have used for 18 months before this point. So When Yuliya told us she wanted to keep her name, we were relieved. Even though she has the first name of Alicia, she will always be Yuliya to us. She just looks like a Yuliya!

Yuliya, Eliza and Bailey roasting hot dogs at a neighborhood get-together in American Fork Canyon.

With her extremely shy personality, our first goal has been to make Yuliya comfortable with her new family. Goal number #1 has been to build up trust. Carrie has amazing talent in this area. Today, it paid on in a huge way when Carrie finally heard the one word that every adoptive mother wants to here. That word was 'mom'. This is the first time Yuliya has called Carrie by that name. Needless to say, that one word was also Yuliya's way of telling Carrie that she has accepted her as her mother, which is the only thing Carrie has wanted since this all started. That one word made the past 18 months worth it all. Later on, I took all 3 of my girls to get their nails done. Carrie got a pedicure while Yuliya and Eliza got manicures. After they were done and I was paying, Carrie whispered something to Yuliya. On the way out, Yuliya walked up to me and said 'Thanks, dad!' with a shy smile. Even if it was coaxed out by Carrie, I know Yuliya enough to know that she wouldn't have said that if she didn't mean it.

Yuliya saw our wedding picture hanging on our wall, then managed to find Carrie's wedding dress in the closet.


Riding her bike. She bragged to us that she was the only girl in her class in Ukraine that knew how to ride a bike. Her orphanage did not own bikes.

Yuliya's week has not gone all that well for her. She developed a fever on Wednesday, and the language barrier prevented her from conveying what was wrong. On Friday, when she was still running a temp, we took her to Dr. Grasulis (thanks Carlin and Wendy) to find out what was going on. The exam revealed dual ear infections. On the flight over here, Yuliya was complaining on the plane, and we assumed it was simply air pressure change. It was most likely the altitude changes causing ear pain. Poor kid. She is finally feeling a little better, thanks to Advil, Tylenol, and bubble gum-flavored antibiotic.

Getting her nails done.

One week down...so far, so good. We're so happy to be home with our Ukraine Angel, and are getting back to normal, as normal as things can get in our family. :-) We're thankful to everyone who has supported us in one way or another throughout this process. The calls, emails, letters, and kind words mean so much to us. We are forever indebted to Natasha and Vladimir for their relentless efforts in getting us to this point. Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU all!!