I can't believe it's been five months since I last posted here. For those few of you who have diligently checked back every so often, I apologize for the lack of updates. Here's the whirlwind recap...

First and foremost, Suzanne is doing wonderfully well. As reported previously, Suzanne started chemotherapy this past August, while I was still in UKR finishing up our adoption of Cory. Chemo, which lasted four months, was very tough for Suz. Some people just get hard by it, and Suz is one of them. Of the 18 weeks of therapy, I think it's safe to say that she was either in bed or on the couch for 14 of them. For those of you who have been through chemo, or who know friends or family who have gone through it (unfortunatley, far too many of us), you know of what I speak. Suzanne finished chemo one week before Christmas, and just 12 days ago, underwent a double mastectomy. She came through the surgery with flying colors, and the best of all: The doctors found absolutely no cancer, and her pathology report came back completely clean! This is huge, and her surgeon told her it is not commonplace--typically, some cancer cells are detected after chemo and during or right after surgery, but Suzanne was a "complete responder," which is a medical way of saying God completely healed her. Suzanne will rest for a few more weeks, and then go through a bit of precautionary radiation. After another stint to recoup, she will have reconstructive surgery.

Cory is a different person than when I last posted, for many reasons....

First, he speaks near-fluent English now! Also, he has grown more than two inches and his health has improved significantly (we had to treat two different parasites in his system, as well as deal with anemia). You can see in the attached photo what a difference a few months of good food and medical attention can do for a little boy!

Cory is truly thriving in his new life. School has been a real journey, as he started K just two weeks after coming from Ukraine, which means he only knew a few English words on the first day of school. His teacher, Laura Halloran, is awesome, and from day one was very reassuring, letting us know that every year she has at least 2-3 kids who start the year not knowing English, and by the end of the school year they are all fluent. After just four short months (by Christmas) Cory had basically mastered the basics of English. He's still learning to conjugate his verbs, navigate vowels, and master the verb tenses (now I sound like a book editor!), but he's getting there. He is a sharp kid, very intelligent, and extremely athletic and coordinated. The kid can do things naturally that I could only dream of doing as a kid. Standing flips, hand springs into handstands, etc.). This Spring he will run Rec track followed by soccer, and nearly every day he asks me if he can start riding his bike again (it's currently 2 degrees outside, with snow and ice all over the roads, so you already know my answer).

More perhaps next week. Thanks for your prayers and love.

Kyle

New Life in Eden Prairie

I'm not really sure who named our city, but it fits. Eden Prairie truly is a beautiful place. Rolling hills, verdant dells and valleys, ponds, streams, lakes. Lovely. Especially now. This is my favorite time of year in Minnesota. There's an old joke that says Minnesota has two seasons: 10 months of Winter and 2 months of Misquito. However, a well-kept secret is that Minnesota is a mild, comfortable place to live from mid April until about late October. The spring is in the 60s and 70s with low humidity, the summer days rarely exceed 90, and the fall....Well, the fall... it's gorgeous. Even the first snow, leading up to and through the major holidays, is a wonderful time.

That's why it's been such a joy to bring Cory home to Minnesota when we have. Arriving in mid August allowed him a couple weeks at our local pool enjoying summer days, and now, with school a week off, you can catch a slight hint of fall in the morning air. Not cold, just a little cooler than what July and August mornings bring.

And he is loving it all.

With all that's been going on in our home, it's been a huge relief and joy to see Cory acclimating so well to his new environment and home. As many of you may not know, recently Suzanne was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, it has not metastisized beyond the breast and the two nodes directly next to it, and the prognosis is good (i.e. only a 15% chance of recurrence within three years). However, she started chemo and will follow that with surgery right after the New Year. Yes, a lot is going on in the Duncan home.

It would be impossible for me to relay even the major news in the confines of this blog, but I'll try to hit the key points.

Cory is such an energetic, naturally passionate and joyful boy--he has been a real light of wonder and happiness to us in just the short 2.5 weeks we have had him home in the states. Other than an occasional crying episode (once a day at the most), he is getting along smashingly with his siblings and with the neighborhood kids. And most of the time, when he does get upset, it's because of a language breakdown or misunderstanding. Even there, he is learning English at a very rapid pace. When I took him to the medical clinic in Kiev, the doctor could only get him to count to four in Russian. Two days ago, he walked up to me and counted to 10 in English, unprompted! Wow, flash cards really do work, folks. Our family is a walking testimony to the usefulness of picture books, flash cards, and a lot of repetition and explanataion of things in the house, at the store, in the yard. Etc.

Yesterday I took him to Hannah's junior high school open house and he had his first glimpse of a drinking fountain. What an amazing invention! He just could not stop oohing and ahhing over this beautiful little machine that dispenses crisp, clean water--whenever you like! Thankfully, the junior high halls only had four drinking fountains, otherwise we would have been shutting the place down along with the night janitor.

Kylie and Hannah have had a lot of fun "showing Cory off" to the neighborhood kids--and I mean a lot of kids. On our street and the street next to us, we have around 20 kids ages 10 and under. You walk outside and it looks like a summer camp, with kids running everywhere, kicking balls, riding bikes, etc. For the first few days upon arriving in the states, Cory was just completely overwhelmed by it all, and ran from one bike to the next, from one ball to the next. i just think his circuits were blown. He particularly took a liking to anything to do with trucks or motorcycles, and got a hold of a neighbors toy "monster truck" that makes a loud revving noise and plays Queen's "We Will Rock You" at one volume level--loud. Fun for him, but after about two hours of him pushing the button, I'm ready to tell Freddy Mercury (God rest his soul) and the Boys to take a break. (I actually had to wait til he fell asleep to return the truck, otherwise he would have wrestled me for it.)

Overall, I think all three girls are adjusting well. Naturally, Zoe and Cory, being the same size and closest in age, do tend to bicker on occasion. So far, though, we've only had to referee a couple of arguments over toys and food, and we've had no major hitting or kicking conflagrations. I've been spending a lot of time just hanging out with Zoe, and I think she is making the adjustment. Last night she told me she loved having a big brother and that he is "a lot of fun to play with--most of the time."

With Suz going through chemo, a new adopted boy in the house, and the girls (and Cory) getting ready for school, you could say that we've all been a bit overwhelmed. Thankfully, our families have really stepped up to the plate, and for the past three weeks, we've had a relative with us helping out with the kids, meals, etc. My sisters even made a public calendar where folks in our families can go to sign up to come stay with us. Right now, we will have a "family helper" staying with us almost continuously through early November. A HUGE relief and help. Also, one of my best friends has set up a meals calendar for local folks to cook and deliver meals, which is both humbling and wonderful. And for those who live long-distance, he had the excellent idea of having people send certificates for us to pick up food at a place called Let's Dish (you can pick up a week's worth of meals in just 15 minutes).

Even though it's a difficult time for us as a family, the "adoption part" of our lives is going better than what expected. It will be very interesting to see how Cory takes to kindergarten, which he will begin a week from today. The great news is that there is a Russian community in our town, and consequently his elementary school employs a Russian-language ESL teacher. So, even though he's going "full immersion" with English, he will be working with the ESL teacher as well.

Okay - sorry if this post is sort of "all over the map" - I am just grabbing time when I can get my hands on it. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate them very much!

The Duncans

Home again

We made it home. What a journey, from start to finish. I believe the last time I posted was a week and a half ago, when I had about four days left in the waiting period. A world and eternity seems like it's passed since then. Where to begin?

On the final day of the waiting period Igor and I went clothes shopping for Jenya, as we knew that when we picked him up at the orphange he would not even own the clothes on his back. So, a cabbie steered us to an excellence little children's clothing store. What an experience shopping for a

boy. At that point, since Jenya wasn't with us, I had to use a tape measure that I'd marked the day before with his dimensions: foot, waist, inseam, etc. That was an interesting experience, but in the end, we were able to get him about 2.5 full sets of clothes.

Off to the orphanage we went. And sure enough, when we arrived for the big occassion of taking him away, he was wearing the sandles I'd bought him a few days before, and some underwear. Seeing him there, waiting to see the clothes I'd bought for him, reminded me of the value of human life in God's eyes. Here's this little guy who literally did not own the clothes on his back (when I dressed him in his new underwear and clothes, the old underwear stayed behind at the orphanage), standing before us just the way the good Lord made him. Literally owning nothing in the world. Not a toy, a shirt, or a pair of pants. Nothing. Yet, here my family and I had travelled half way round the world, spent tens of thousands of dollars, and more than a month of time away from home and hearth, to find, adopt, and bring into our family this little 40-pound, 6-year-old guy who, back to back, is just an inch taller than my 4 year old daughter. But it's not the money, time or travel that marks his worth. His is a value beyond human estimation or demarcation. Naked we enter this world, and naked we leave it. The value comes with us as we enter, and leaves as we depart--everything inanimate accumulated in the middle means nothing really.

Once Cory joined me, things moved very fast--suffice to say we had about four whirlwind days, starting in Mariupol with a two-hour plane flight on a 50s-era Soviet double-prop plane (and I do mean plane, not jet). It was Cory's first flight--which he'll probably never forget because he threw up three times. Did I mention we only had 2.5 sets of clothes? Did I also mention the fact that the cabin was not equipped with any airsick bags? That's right, do the math....

After that inauspicious introduction to the world of commercial flight, Cory and I arrived in Kiev and hit the ground running, to and from the U.S. embassy to secure his final travel visa to the States. During those few days, Cory had his first experience with an elevator, escalator, washing machine (he sat in front of the washing machine in the apartment where we were staying and used my flashlight to watch the wash go round and round. He sat through three loads like that!) It was amazing to witness those--and other--such experiences with my new son. Finally, on Saturday last (the 11th) we boarded our KLM flight from Kiev to Amsterdam, with a two-hour layover before our Northwest flight to Minneapolis.

One problem: They "postponed" our AMS-MSP flight for 16 hours for "technical difficulties" (read: pilot decides not to show up), which meant we'd have to either find another way to get to the States, or spend the night in Amsterdam. I'll skip the part where I basically blew up at the KLM official who wouldn't give us boarding passes on a 3/4-full flight to Boston--because he said we didn't have a reservation. (I think I actually used the word "heartless" when I was arguing with him.) We had boarding passes for a delayed flight, but he basically refused to acknowledge that little fact. Okay, so I didn't skp this part. It's good you weren't there (whoever you are) as I would have embarrassed you. I was "that guy" at the gate who basically makes a scene. In any event, we ended up spending a cozy night at a very new, very nice Holiday Inn near the AMS airport.

Sunday we headed out early to the airport to make sure we made it through customs without a hitch. On the plane we go, me completely exhuasted and Cory excited and nervous to be heading to America. I said to myself as I walked down the aisle to our seats in 24A and 24B, This will be nice as Cory can color, play with his toys, and watch 2-3 kids movies on the on-demand video system. So we sit down and a lovely voice comes over the intercom: "Due to technical difficulties, the video system is out of service for our 9.5-hour flight to Minneapolis today...." That's pretty much all I heard, even though she chattered on for a few more minutes about the duty free options, I think. More "technical difficulties"? Did the pilot who failed to show up the day before also decide to sabotage the video system? I know, it sounds so whiny , to get that panicked about no videos for 9.5 hours. But I tell you what, when you are flying internationally with a 6-year-old with the energy of Kathy Lee (is her name still Gifford?) and the stamina of Lance Armstrong, you'll take every diversion you can get. In the end, even though the video system was kaput, Cory and I managed to have a fairly nice, uneventful flight home.

That's when the real excitement started, but I'll save that for my next post....

Some boys during play time at orphanage

Waiting

I'm down to four days until the 10-day waiting period finishes. It looks like I will be able to pick up Cory from the orphanage next Tuesday morning, August 7, and hopefully be back in Kiev by the eve of August 8, with last paperwork items to do there, finishing by Friday eve. We have our flights booked for Saturday morning, August 11, departing Kiev at 1150am. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we have very little room for error in gathering the proper paperwork starting Tuesday. If we can't get things done at the U.S. embassy by Friday afternoon, it means waiting another "working day" and having to move the flight back to Tuesday August 14.

Cory is doing great, and is learning some English words. He really likes grabbing leaves off the trees when I give him piggy back rides, so that was the first word he learned: LEAF! He's a sharp little guy. I missed visiting on Wednesday and when I showed up on Thursday he literally sprinted from about 30 yards away and jumped into my arms saying Papa, Papa, over and over. The English-speaking helper told me that he thought I wasn't going to adopt him, and he was scared. I was able to have a pretty cool moment with him with the lady translating, and told him I was his Papa, that I would always be his Dad, and he wouldn't have to worry about not having a Mom and Dad. The orphanage worker got teary. It was a great moment. he said to me through the translator, "Papa, you have a beautiful heart." Wow.

Hope to post again this weekend.

Thanks!

Kyle

Photos of Jhenya

Judge Makes It Official!

Hello from Mariupol, Ukraine. It's been a bit difficult to get on line here, and trying to log on through our apartment or a hotel is sort of a laugh. So, I walk 20 minutes to the only internet cafe within 50 miles, where the prompts and Windows text is in Cyrillic. Makes for interesting "guessing" on commands that one normally takes for granted, such as "reply," spell check," etc.! So, forgive me if my spelling is off--funny how much we all depend on the spell checker...

We are officially the proud parents of 6-year-old Cory Yevgen Duncan. Here in eastern Europe, folks have shortened, familiar names based on their birth names. Cory's "nickname" is Jhenya, as I have mentioned, pronounced with a soft J sound like Gigi. He's awesome - we are already in love. He's our son! We have had about 8 visits to the orphanage over the past 8 days, and he has really grown on us, including the three girls. Yesterday, Friday, we went before the judge who officially ruled that we were fit parents and that Jhenya was now our son. A powerful moment.

This morning the girls boarded an early flight back to Kiev on an old Soviet Aeroflot craft, which made me a tad nervous, but I then was able to speak to them at mid-day from their new apartment in downtown Kiev. All is well, thankfully. They fly home Tues, and other than a couple of hours of official paperwork on Monday for Suz, their time is their own. They are hoping to actually see a little bit of the beautiful sites of Kiev.

I have about 11-12 more days here in Mariupol, most of which is simply cooling my jets waiting out the mandatory 10-day waiting period before international adoptions can be approved. This period is no more than a formality, as yesterday, by the judge's decree, Cory became our son. It was a great day. The courthouse was interesting. Actually there was a 1,000 square-foot room with broken tiles, a few benches, and a table and chairs for the judge and his assistant. He asked Suzanne and me a few questions, and seemed genuinely interested in Cory and in our desire to make him our own. It was a simple, fairly quick, yet profound process. There were smiles and hugs all around afterward. Cory was not present in the court, so later we went for our daily visit to the orphanage. Unfortunately, he could not come out and play with the girls as he was struggling with a bit of a fever. So, it made the girls visit more difficult as this was the last time they were to see him until he and I arrive back in the States sometime in mid August. My time is basically my own now, and between visits with Cory, I may visit the Crimean Penninsula for a couple of days. It's called the Greece of the Black Sea.

In retrospect, it's nothing short of amazing to think of how fast the process of finding and adopting Cory has been. We began the process on Wednesday 7/18 with our appointment with the adoption center, and finalized the adoption on Friday, 7/27 - just nine days. Both Igor (our translator) and Yuri (our Ukrainian adoption coordinator) say they've never seen a more stream-lined, fast process. And we KNOW it is a credit to your prayers and the skill of our team here in Ukraine.

Please pray:

- After two intense weeks of paper chasing, etc., please pray that Suzanne and the girls (Emily, Hannah, Kylie and Zoe) have a relaxing, enjoyable time in Kiev and a safe return to U.S.

- health Cory has he recovers from a fever

- health and safety for me as I remain here to wait out the 10 days, and then quick processing of birth certificate here in Mariupol for Jhenya, transportation back to Kiev with Jhenya, and final paperwork "smoothness" with the U.S. embassy

- Bonding time across the language barrier between Jhenya and me as I continue to visit him at the orphanage and travel home with him in a couple weeks.

You have no idea what your prayers and love have meant to us. This has been an amazing journey, and we have seen God's love and guidance so clearly throughout.

And finally: I just learned online that in the late 90s, the National Geographic Society named Mariupol the second most polluted city on the planet. I'm not surprised :)

Love and blessings from the Duncan family.

More Good News

I am needing to write these dispatches on email, send them to my friend Tim, who then posts them, as I have yet to be able to figure out the Cyrillic translations. It's a beautiful alphabet containing 31 characters, but the trouble is, once you translate the letters to Latin, you then have to also translate the word from Russian to English. Those of you who have been to a Cyrrilic-driven culture know of what I speak.

I just was on the blog re-reading my post from four days ago, and it seems like a lifetime ago. First of all, just to let you know the good news that both Hannah and Suzanne are feeling much better. Emily and I have been trying to give Suz as much sleep as possible while we attend to the kids late at night (when they are too squirrely to go to bed at times!) and in the mornings. Suzanne is regaining strength and doing much better.

Yesterday Emily and H were able to join the rest of us for their first visit to the orphanage to visit Jhenya. It was moving to watch Hannah's expression when she first saw Jhenya, and how she quickly gravitated toward him and proceeded to play with him, Kylie and Zoe for over an hour. Jhenya was his typical jovial, energetic self. It was a great visit.

On the paper chase... we continue to break all sorts of Ukrainian adoption speed records. The big news is that we have our court date with the judge this Friday at 1030 in the morning, which will then allow Suzanne and the girls to return with Igor to Kiev on Saturday, while I stay back to finish up affairs here. Suzanne will then go to government offices on Monday to sign over power of attorney to me. BIG NEWS: Suz and the girls have been confirmed to fly home Tues 7/31, which means they will have been in UKR for just two weeks and a day--truly amazing.

Tomorrow morning Igor will meet privately with the judge to see if he can get the 10-day waiting period waived. If it is waived, it means I will be able to pick up Jhenya from the orphanage and take him back to Kiev next Tuesday (the same day the girls go home). I will need to do the medical exam in Kiev and get a passport for Jhenya, visit the U.S. Embassy, etc. This means that he and I might be able to fly home around Aug 2. If the judge does NOT waive the 10-day waiting period, I will need to stay in Mariupol until the 10 days are up (until Aug 7), and then an additional 3 days or so in Kiev until flying home with Cory Yevgen Duncan (official name on adoption papers) around Aug 11 or 12.

Yesterday we were able to escape to the sea for a day at the beach. Very Long Island looking - saw grass, small dunes, tilting picket fences, interesting sea shells, and green water. It was a very welcome respite from the heat of the city.

Finally, something bizarre and different: A little bat decided to visit us last night, and Igor and I jerry-rigged a plastic jug to catch the little friend and release him outside. It definitely enlived the evening.

Some general observations:

Ukrainians are friendly and honest and straightfoward. We've appreciated that.

Extreme poverty and beauty hold hands comfortably. Fifteen-story Soviet-era block apartments dot the streets like concrete beehives, and everyone emerges in the cool of dusk to buzz and chat, men often stripped to the waist, young women dressed to the nines in mini skirts and high heels, stepping carefully over man-hole sized potholes and empty beer bottles. It's a country of startling contrasts. Beautiful, well-stocked grocery stores equal to those we know. Stroll air-conditioned aisles, grab gelatti on your way out. Walk outside and in the distance loom the smoke stacks of the largest metallurgical plant in Ukraine spewing out tons of waste in the form of ginger-colored smoke. Trash everywhere, cars careening between pedestrians oblivious to the shouts of the drivers. There's a middle class just bursting to emerge from the hive, but still, as with much of the poorer nations of the former Soviet bloc, two classes dominate, lower and upper. Fifty-year-old Lada's putter along next to $100K Lexus SUVs and Land Rovers.

We appreciate your continued prayers for:

- Continued health and safety for the girls

- continued favor with the judges and adoption officials

- waiving of the 10-day waiting period

Thanks much. We appreciate you all.

Kyle