A Surprise from Nikolas (Nikita)

Again, today was a great day!!!

As we were wrapping up the day with the girls, we received a call from Alla letting us know Nikolas older brother had just learned of his upcoming adoption and wanted to meet us. This was a surprise, as Nikolas had told us he had not seen his brother in a long time. His brother, Arthur is almost 18 and he too, has 'graduated' from the system. I had mixed emotions about meeting him because I was not sure if he was a proponent of Nikolas being adopted. In the end, I knew it was the right thing to do...

Arthur explained he had spent time with Nikolas and asked him about us. I gathered Arthur's initial thoughts were along the lines of indifference, both towards us and the process. He indicated he changed his mind when Nikolas said " I love Momma and Poppa and want to be with them". As Arthur relayed this intimate conversation with Nikolas to us, he had to choke back his emotions. It was truly a heart wrenching moment. I gave Arthur a firm hug and told him that he (meaning Arthur) would be permanently tied to our family, too. We wanted Nikolas to keep this relationship with his brother.

Arthur plays basketball for the local college and is studying to be chef. This explains where Nikolas's interests in basketball and cooking originate...he admires his older brother.

By the way, another unexpected Ukrainian experience- We have been going down the street to a little cafe called "Coffee In" (perhaps it meant to be Coffee Inn for an English translation) to blog. The preferred music is Spanish. Not Tejano, but more like Mexican Rivera Resort style...the words in the songs are all in Spanish. It is nice to feel like you are drinking a margarita...at least some things feel like home!