An Extra Special Day

What a great looking group!!!

Yes, we are still here. It has been a busy, eventful year, or more, since the last post, but as the title says, today was a very special day. Today, Yulia, Masha and Igor all graduated from Millard South High School. We are so proud of them. They have all worked very hard and are really great young adults. It was a great experience to see them receive their diplomas at the 10:00 am ceremony. Then there was the party from 2:00 - 6:00 pm. At least seven of the other friends from Odessa were at the party and four of the others also graduated this year.

The last two-and-a-half years have been amazing. We wouldn't trade them for anything. That is not to say there weren't some bumps along the road, but what family doesn't have them. We view next fall with mixed emotions. We are so happy and proud that they will all be attending college, but we will really miss having them at home with us. Igor will attend Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, where he will play soccer and major in sports management and business. Masha and Yulia will attend Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Yulia will major in criminal justice and Masha will start out in business. They will all live on campus, but will be within 50 miles of home, so we can visit and can attend Igor's games. The last two years have been fun and the future will be exciting. We are looking forward to it.

Merry Christmas

Back row: Weston, Masha, MaKenzie, Yulia, Geoff

Front row: Igor, Alysson, Wyatt, Amy

Time To Catch-up

It really seems like it was only a few days ago that I last updated this blog, when in reality it was a few months ago. We have had many new experiences, some trying, but mostly good. It continues to be an interesting journey. The spring semester ended in May and the following week we took a week long vacation. We traveled to Niagara Falls and Cedar Point Amusement Park, Ohio. (More details in a later post.) The kids experienced American football, rodeo and other new things. We continue to grow together as a family. Now we are in the middle of a new school year. I have done enough homework lately, that I should be able to graduate from high school soon. We are nearly done painting the outside of the house. (Photos later.) We are also planning more re-modeling on the interior. The kids were off from school yesterday and today and I am in Nashville,TN for meetings until Sunday morning. I will submit a new post when I get home. (With photos.) I will try to be more faithful in posting from now on.

Latest Update

Here are more photos as I promised. First we have photos of Masha's room. As you can see, she likes bright colors. It is even brighter in real life. We are still working on Igor's room. It will have a multi-color paint scheme, so it will take a little longer to complete.

All three went to prom. Igor decided to stay home and sleep during the post-prom party, since we were going to watch the Creighton University - Wake Forest soccer game the next day. Masha and Yulia went to the party and Gail and I were there to help. Gail assisted with the "bank" where the play money was converted to chances for the prize drawings. I helped with the sumo wrestling. The kids were lined up all evening to wriggle (that probably isn't even a word, but it describes the process) into these bulky sumo suits complete with gloves and helmet. They then proceeded to bump and push each other around the mat. It was never a problem to keep the line moving, because after 3-4 minutes, they were so tired that they were ready to quit. It took 4-6 men just to help get the kids in and out of the suits.

Now here is a photo of the three best looking kids at the prom. It was a new experience for them, but they had a good time.

God bless and have a good day. The Haugs

PS. The soccer game was good. We may have to get season tickets for the Creighton games next fall.

Many Activities

We have had a lot going on the last few weeks. We finished painting Yulia’s and Masha’s rooms. We have the paint for Igor’s room and have bedding and window treatments ordered. Here are a couple photos of Yulia’s room.

About two weeks ago we realized that prom was coming up. It has been about 13 years since we last did this. Things have changed. This past weekend, we rented a tux and bought prom dresses. (Photos next week.) The girl’s have hair appointments for Saturday. The prom is Saturday night, but the day begins with Igor having a soccer tournament. Then 8-11 pm is prom at the Qwest Center followed by the post-prom event at the high school from midnight – 5 am. Gail and I will help with this event, so the entire family will be up all night.

Igor has been having at least 2 games a week. Last week games were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday and a tournament Thursday through Saturday. The tournament was cancelled because of cold rainy weather. On Wednesday, Millard South won 1-0, Igor got the assist on the only goal with a no-look pass back over his head to a teammate who kicked the goal. He said that it was luck, but it also took a lot of skill. Of course it all happened so fast that I did not get a photo. I think that I will videotape a game to capture some of the action. #15 white and #15 red

For Easter, we went to Steve's sister and brother-in-law's at the lake. The kids enjoyed driving the golf cart. They need a little more practice before they actually drive on the road.

Yulia and Masha have talked to their friends in Ukraine, Vera and Oksana, by web cam a couple of times. Yulia has also talked to her aunt on the web cam twice. It is a great way to keep in touch.

Well, I'll close for now. It is 12:15 am and my shift in the prayer room at church is 2:00 to 3:00 am. We are trying to fill 168 1-hour slots each week to have prayer in the prayer room 24/7/365. It will be a blessing to have prayer there every hour of the year. Hopefully in a month or so, the schedule will be filled.

God bless.

We Are Still Here

I bet that you thought that we had disappeared from the face of the earth. Some days, I wonder about that. We have been home (and I use the term loosely) for about six weeks. The first weekend we went to Oklahoma to introduce everyone to our other daughters, their husbands and kids. The next weekend the girls went to visit Alona and Nina Ruwe. Alona (Aly) was their classmate at Orphanage#4. That same weekend, Igor had the flu and Steve had to go to Illinois to conduct training for the Chrysalis group there. The following weekend he conducted Chrysalis training for the group in Columbus, IN. Then it was home for a weekend or was it two? Then there was a birthday party for Vitalik Roberson and an out of town funeral for Steve's aunt. The kids met about 40 new relatives there. At Easter we went to Steve's sister' place on the lake near Alma, NE. The kids enjoyed driving the golf cart more than anything else. Oh yes, there are also Igor's soccer games twice a week. Millard South High School has a very good soccer program and had to cut quite a few players who tried out. Igor made the JV team. They are 3-0 with wins of 2-0, 4-0 and 1-0. The 1-0 game was the most exciting for us, because Igor scored the only goal. They have games most weeks on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Then they have two tournaments that each cover an entire week.

The kids all like school and are doing well. There were a few rough spots, but things are settling down. They all like to ride bicycles around the neighborhood. Masha wants to play some tennis, so we will get some rackets and head for the neighborhood park a couple of blocks from the house.

Late in February, we went furniture shopping and bought three beds. Since the bedrooms are not large, we got day beds with trundle units. Igor's was in stock, so we brought it home and assembled it. Masha and Yulia's beds were on back order and were delivered last Friday. They set up Yulia's for us, but we were in the middle of painting Masha's room, so her bed is still in the garage. This weekend the painting is to be finished and the bed set up. Yulia and Igor's rooms still need to be painted, so we will keep busy for a while. We also bought Masha and Yulia dressing tables for their rooms that will double as desks and a desk is on order for Igor. The girls have new bed linens and Igor's are on order.

Gail has been been busy getting a home based business going and Steve has a series of Chrysalis meetings in Nashville from April 23-27.

Well I better close. I am getting tired just typing this. Next time I will add some photos. I promise that it won't be six weeks until the next post.

Road Trip

We arrived in Omaha at 2:00 am, Monday, February 4. The next couple of days consisted of shopping and introducing the kids to their brother Geoff, Gail's mom and some people that Gail and Steve work with. Thursday, after Steve got off work, we piled into the van and drove three hours to Cozad, NE to introduce them to their other Grandma, Steve's mom, Gen. After lunch Friday, it was back into the van for a six hour drive to Alva, OK to see their niece MaKenzie (age 6), take part in the Miss Northwestern Pageant in a dance routine and as an escort for one of the contestants. They also met big sisters Amy and Alysson and nephews Weston (age 3) and Wyatt (age 1) and brothers-in -law Corey and Matt. Another three hours of driving to Woodward, OK and back to Alva to see Corey, Amy and MaKenzie's home came on Saturday.

I am posting this from the motel in Alva, OK as we are getting ready to go to church with Matt, Alysson, Weston and Wyatt. After church, we will have lunch and make the six and one half hour drive back to Omaha. The kids haven't even been in the US for a week, and they have been in four states, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. They go to school tomorrow for some placement testing and then start on Tuesday. I think that they are ready, but a little nervous. Masha said that she is ready to meet new friends.

I will post some photos of this road trip when we get back to Omaha.