We had heard from Natalie on Thursday that she and the Dodges would be arriving from Kiev at about 1 am Friday morning because we both had an appointment with The Inspector (some local government official who must approve our application for a court date) at 8 am Friday. We did not sleep well anticipating their arrival so we would hear to unlock the doors for them. They did show up at that time. We slept little the remainder of the night anticipating arising early and trying to get all of the showers in. Dodges began showring at 5 am and we awaited what might be our turns. Anyway, we were picked up at 7:40 and driven to the school where we were ushered to the office of the school's director (Viktor Ivanovich). He had been very cordial with us at our two previous meetings. So we had no real concerns with him.

On the side, first let me tell you a little of the Dodge family for a moment. Paul and Patty are probably a few years older than we. They have seven children, five girls and two boys, the youngest of whom is a 10-year old with Down Syndrome named Jeffrey. He of necessity has traveled here with them. He is adorable but needs constant attention.

Joining us in the director's office was Natalie, our interpreter, and the Inspector who would interview us. There were pleasant introductions, some friendly chatting. Of particular interest was the director's interest and concern to make Jeffrey comfortable. This was fascinating as Down Syndrome children are usually institutionalized early on and not encountered in society. However, the director tried to get Jeffrey's attention by sketching with the touch of an experienced artist , his own profile with his bushy black mustache and all. When that didn't quite work he sketched a running horse, which he handed to Jeffrey. Viktor did not seem alarmed at all that Dodges had brought Jeffrey with them and clearly involve him in all aspects of normal life. That was touching.

Then the questions began. First the Dodges. What was his occupation; what was the nature of his business (at this point I was beginning to get nervous about where this line of questioning would go with what I do and how I would respond); what specific services did they provide; did Patty work outside the home; etc. When it came to our turn I intended to downplay the engineering for an aerospace company a bit and couch it delicately, especially as I was instructed beforehand by the company to be careful about discussing it. Well, when I responded to the Inspector's questions, Viktor was pleasantly fascinated with it because much of the Soviet rocketry of the past was built in the Ukraine republic, and had I seen the picture of the cosmonaut in the hallway- which I had. He seemed proud of Ukraine's involvement in space, but not in an antagonistic manner. I was grateful when the subject moved to Susan's occupation at home. Suddenly we learned the interview was over because the Inspector was satisfied and Viktor had to speak at an assembly of the children downstairs. We can tell that he genuinely cares about the welfare of the children.

We spent most of the rest of the day with the children. We first took them to McDonalds for lunch and then to our apartment where they watched some cartoons while we waited to meet up with the McGintys later to visit the local art museum. When we discovered the museum was closed on Fridays we walked to the large shopping center and let the children do some window shopping. Today is Stan's 15th birthday. We found it would be possible to have party with his group at the school this evening. So we bought his choice of a cake and some other treats for them.

Returning to the school we anticipated our first meeting with Toli. We soon found him there. He was shy about the meeting but was willing to be hugged. Any ball that happened to be around seemed to be distraction to him. Nevertheless, we gradually managed to interact with him more over the nex hour or so, and by the time we were leaving the school he was riding his bike past, calling out to Susan for her to watch his skids, bike-hopping and other tricks. He's going to be all right.

We had a nice party with Stan's group, of which Dasha is also a member. Then it was time to go - another sad parting, but knowing that we would of a certainty reunite the next day.

In retrospect on the day Susan and I thought back on the what we had learned paricularly about Dasha and Stan that day. Dasha again loved to cling onto Susan and whispered to her a couple of times in English, "I love you, Mama." We also witnessed her take an interest in caring for Jeffrey. He was certainly a handful and she had been keeping track of him for a long time. After his mother told her she didn't have to keep taking care of him, Dasha insisted, "Nyet, nyet", and watched him for the duration. What a gem! Stan and I stuck together most of the day and had bonded pretty well by the end of the day. I observed some surprisingly mature behaviors on his part and responsibilities with which he is entrusted at the school, and have a newfound respect for him. It is good that we have had this time to spend with Dasha and Stan. Now we must give some attention to Toli. It is good that our relationship is fairly well established with the older two. Trying to do so with all three at the beginning might have been a challenge.

These children will be wonderful addition to our other six wonderful children.

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