Land of Hope and Dreams

Happy Birthday V!!!

2009-08-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

We finally got through and were able to talk to the girls today! It was really nice to hear their voices...it had been awhile. "V" answered the phone, and we got to wish her a Happy Birthday right away! We spoke to her for several minutes before she asked, "when are you coming to get us?" Its going to take a financial miracle, yet we told her we would try to do everything we possibly could do to get there soon. "V" seemed in good spirits, laughing and giggling at our attempts to speak Russian, and her own attempts to speak English. "V" told us that they are all doing well, that they won several more dance competitions, and that they recently returned from a three week summer camp in the mountains. We told "V" that we couldn't wait to see them dance someday!

In a slight commotion, the phone passed to "T," and we finally got to wish her a belated Happy Birthday! We couldn't get through to her on several occasions due to a "phone issue." I told "T" that on her next birthday, she will be old enough to drive a "machina!" Yikes. We explained our "status" to "T" and she asked if we'd be there in 2009 or 2010. We let the translator explain to her (again) that it is a long process, and that we are all hopeful for them to be home as soon as possible. I asked "T" if she had any good stories to tell from their trip to the mountains, but she only indicated that they had fun. She said the weather was nice (unlike last summer when it rained heavily), and that they did not see any animals. The background noise grew louder, and "I" took her turn on the phone.

"I" was very cute in telling us that she got to go to the mountains with her sisters for the first time! She, too, did not have any stories to tell but did mention that they saw a squirrel! We all laughed and recalled that "Squirrel" is "V's" nickname. I asked "I" what her nickname is, and she said she did not have one. So we called her "babatchka" (butterfly). "I" laughed and then told us that "T's" nickname is "Micky Mouse," which had us all laughing. I asked "I" if she had learned anymore English, and she replied (in English), "I am eleven."

We learned that our latest package did arrive, however (for some strange reason) they would not be getting the contents until September 1st. I'm still confused why that is, but we will call then to see how they like what we got them.

As I sit here tonight, I can only hope and dream that we can somehow figure out how to get them home. I really like those kids...they are good kids who really deserve a family. I know it is going to take an absolute miracle to get them here, but I really think now's the time to kick up our efforts and go for it.

I will post more later. Thank you all for reading :)

Happy Birthday "V"!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday T!

2009-06-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday T! We miss you and hope to talk to you soon! :)

"Santa Claus, Santa Claus."

2009-01-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

I just spoke to the Girls! :)

Jen is traveling to Boston for work this week, but we felt it was important to call them asap to let them know we got their message. It was really nice to hear their voices, and on this call "I" stole the thunder and was quite the chatterbox!

T answered, and right away I asked how in the world she managed to call us the other night. She giggled and said she "just called from my phone." How thoughtful...i told her "Happy Holidays," and that she can call us anytime. When I asked how school is going, T replied she is doing well and that they are on vacation right now. School starts again on Monday. We asked T if she was learning English, and she said not too much, but that "I" is! The phone passed to "I."

"I" got on the phone and immediately said (in English), "Happy New Year!" We said 'hello,' "Happy New Year," and then "I" began telling us that it is snowy and cold where they are. She said she is doing well in school, even learning some English! "Dog, Cat, Fox, Boy, Girl, Dog." "I" continued to talk, and then she said that "her sisters" want to know "when are they coming?" The interpreter began to explain to her that we are in the process of completing paperwork and that we will be there ASAP. I told "I" than we will do everything we can to get there soon....hopefully by "Spring."

"I" continued to talk and laugh and demonstrate her "command" of her English vocabulary. I overheard "V" in the background "correcting" "I's" pronunciation of "boy," so "V" got on the phone and giggled when I told her not to worry too much about that word.

"V" sounded happy, and I told her that I saw photos of her from the other family that recently visited for their adoption. She remembered and said that "I" was in a few of the photos as well. We'll have to go back and take a closer look. "V" said she is doing well in school, but sometimes not so well studying after school. I told her to do her best. "V" told us they had a party for the holiday, and then they had another one "on their own." I asked if they danced and she said, "of course." "V" reminded us that they took first-place in a dance contest....i think that's the competition we already knew about, but we'll have to clarify that next week when we call.

The background noise then got loud, and "V" told me that "I" remembered what she wanted to tell me in English......"I" got back on the phone and began to sing (somewhat); "Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus is going to our town." It was pretty dang cute, especially the third or fourth rendition! :) Then, "I" said (in English): "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, 11. I can count to eleven." She "loosened up," and the English words continued to fly...."dog, cat. fox, girl, boy....." She was quite the character!

Finally, "T" got back on the phone and we explained our "paperwork status" to her, and that we will call again next week when Jen is home. I also mentioned that some "jeanseez" were on the way, and she giggled and said, "dah, dah dah!" I told "T" that we missed them and that we love them. I then passed along Jen's message to them, "ya teebeeahh loublu," and "T" said, "We love you too."

It was a very nice call, and I can't wait to "get the ball rolling."

The New Year Brings New Hope!

2009-01-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to All!

With so many uncertainties surrounding this adoption, I sat up late on New Year's day wondering how to proceed. Questions such as: How will we ever afford this adoption?, and: Would a Ukraine judge approve this adoption? ran through my head.

I asked GOD how we should proceed, knowing it is going to be an incredible financial challenge...among other things. I know it is going to take a miracle to bring the girls home, and it is going to be challenging once they finally get here, but I am confident they are worth all the effort! But how can we possibly even get the initial funding to do this? How can we even get the ball rolling? How can we get this done, especially in these difficult economic times? And at what point should we consider stopping....or could we ever stop?

I asked GOD for some guidance... for some sort of "sign."

"Give me a sign, Lord. What do we do? Guide us in the right direction," I asked outloud.

Nothing. I waited.

Nothing. I went to sleep.

The next morning I awoke and went to work. A few hours later, Jen called me and told me we got a phone message from last night. I recall, while I was asleep in "my chair" in front of the TV last night, the phone did ring and the answering machine pick up, but no one was there. I went to sleep for the night, but the next day Jen told me there was a message on the answering machine....and it was from the girls in Ukraine!!!!

When I got home from work, I immediately played the message. It was from either T or V (it was hard to tell). The cutest little voice on the other end said, "Hello Mama e Poppy, eta I..., V...., e T...." There was more greeting, a short message, and a cute "Bye" (in English).

The girls had called us!

We are so thrilled that they actually called us! How on earth they were able to manage an international call "home" I don't know, but getting that phone call and hearing that message was enough of a sign for me to never give up!

That evening we also went out for Chinese food...and as if we needed any more incentive, Jen's fortune cookie said something like "You Will Help Children In Need" and mine said something about soon taking "A Long Journey To A Distant Land."

New Year, New Hope, Same Dream.

We Called the Girls!

2008-10-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

After trying all Saturday morning to contact the girls, we decided to try a call at 10:00 pm (our time). It worked!

We waited awhile for the orphanage caretaker to find the girls, and she even returned to the phone to say T was on her cell phone! T is very unique…not everyone there has a cell phone!

V answered our call and immediately said “hello” and “when are you coming here?” That question is always the most difficult one to answer, and I responded, “As soon as we possibly can, we’ll be there.” She understood and then we asked her how she was doing. V said she was “good” and then she passed the phone to "I" (whom we haven’t spoken to since spring, since she was at a different camp than her sisters). "I" was excited, and she was quite giggly as we asked her about camp and school. "I" said she is now in 3rd grade and is doing well. She had fun at camp and missed her sisters while they were apart. We asked if they received the huge box of stuff we sent, and she said they did! I’s favorite item was the Barbie we sent. When we asked if she wanted anything else, she said she would like a pair of jeans. And more gum!

T made it to the phone and we congratulated her on her FIRST PLACE finish in a flower arrangement competition in Kiev. She explained there were many flowers included in the arrangement, not just in a vase. When I told her “Maladietz” (good job!) she laughed and said “Spaseeba Papa” (thank you). T said she will send us a photo of the flowers. T’s favorite item in the box was the gum, of course, and she also asked for jeans. T explained that school was going well, but it is “too early for grades.” We spoke more about the timing of the adoption and explained it will likely be sometime in the Spring. T sounded a bit disappointed, but she said she understands. When I told her someday we’d visit Chicago, she seemed to cheer up and said she would like that. Me too!

As we finished speaking with T, I started to get disappointed that V only spoke to us for a minute. But, all of a sudden T said V wanted to talk and she passed the phone over to her. I was thrilled when an excited V got on the line and began to talk! She sounded very happy to hear from us, and when I said I miss her, she said she misses us too! We got to talk to V for quite awhile, and she told us that her favorite item in the box was the GUM! We all shared a good laugh. V said school was going well, and her favorite subjects are Music and Art. I told her my sister is an Art teacher, and that we’d go visit her in Chicago someday. V liked that idea, and we heard a lot of laughter in the background. We all agreed, V is “a character.” She was very cute and funny on the phone!

We will call again in a few weeks. We miss them.

Please Help Us Bring the Girls Home!

2008-10-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

October is here, and today is the deadline to get all the paperwork and dossier completed and turned in. Unfortunately, we will be unable to have our paperwork completed, and we will likely have to wait for January 2009 before we can submit our dossier.

Now is when we need your help! the Girls need your help. With your assistance, we can quickly finish our paperwork and be first in line! Ideally, we will need to travel one time to Ukraine...and hopefully that will be as early as February! Nothing like Ukraine in February...but we'll take it!

We are going to call the Girls on Monday, so keep your eyes open for the post summarizing the conversation. We did also get good news from the orphanage that the girls received the HUGE box full of "stuff" that we sent a few weeks ago! We have another smaller box ready to send!

Also, for those of you who are uncomfortable donating online (via PayPal), please feel free to donate via check or money order to:

Tierney Ukraine Adoption
c/o Michael Tierney
PO BOX 903
Wildomar, California 92595

(Please make checks payable to Michael Tierney).

Also, we hopefully will be setting up a 501(c) tax receipt donation link for those who wish to donate that way. More details to follow.

We know times are tough these days, but please make an effort to help the Girls finally come home. Every loose penny will certainly assist!!!! AND, AGAIN, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

Running for "the Girls" - The Temecula 10k

2008-09-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

While I'm not completely ready to run any races just yet, we will be giving it a try this weekend by participating in the Temecula 10k. This will be the first of several "races" we hope to run, in order to get some pledges/donations to apply towards our adoption fees.

We are doing everything we can to get some funds together to at least get the ball rolling, but we need your help!

I will be pledging to myself $10.00 per K, and we would be humbled and appreciative if you could pledge as well. The Credit Union and PayPal accounts are working (see my earlier post), but if you are more comfortable donating by check, please email me at METierney2@gmail.com for more information.

It is still rather awkward for us to ask for donations, however, we feel "the girls" are worth every bit of sacrifice and effort. It is going to take a miracle to bring them home, but we are determined to give it our best try.

Thank you all again for your kindness and support!

Please Donate to Help Bring "the Girls" Home!

2008-09-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone!

We have an account now set up specifically for adoption donations! It should be a simple online process using www.paypal.com. Now is the time for us to give this everything we've got, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness and assistance!

To donate online, please visit www.paypal.com and select the "send money" tab. Please send to metierney2@gmail.com. Words alone can not express our gratitude to you...but we all thank you very much for you support and prayers.

M, J, I, V, and T!

Phone Call - Happy Birthday V!

2008-08-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

We got to speak to "the girls" in Ukraine today! It was wonderful to hear their voices...I really miss them. They returned from the Black Sea "camp" today, and they begin school Monday. We got to wish "V" a happy 13th birthday.

This was the first time I can recall that they asked, "when are you coming here?" That is the toughest question to answer. We are so hopeful that we can come up with some funding to get the ball rolling. And while we are hopeful to still be able to bring them home by the end of this year, I have no idea how we will be able to afford it. Those of you who know us can understand why...but we are going to give it our best try. The girls are good-natured kids, worthy of our best efforts. Financially, it will be nearly impossible to get them home, but today when we were ending our phone call, "T" said (in English), "I love you!" If that wasn't enough to motivate us, we then heard "I" say (also in English), "I luff you too!" and they all giggled.

I will be setting up two accounts this weekend to accept donations, which I will certainly post. One will hopefully be a simple online click, and the other will hopefully be set up to provide a tax "gift donation" receipt. Again, thanks to everyone for even considering to help!!!

The Ghost of Tom Joad

2008-08-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

Just in case you haven't seen this, Pat and I were at this Springsteen show when Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine came out and jammed with Bruce. It was pretty awesome.

Check it out at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-oDAxx8So

Putin accuses U.S. of orchestrating Georgian war

2008-08-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

From CNN's Matthew Chance

SOCHI, Russia (CNN) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to benefit one of its presidential election candidates.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Matthew Chance in the Black Sea city of Sochi Thursday, Putin said the U.S. had encouraged Georgia to attack the autonomous region of South Ossetia.
Putin told CNN his defense officials had told him it was done to benefit a presidential candidate -- Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are competing to succeed George W. Bush -- although he presented no evidence to back it up.

"U.S. citizens were indeed in the area in conflict," Putin said. "They were acting in implementing those orders doing as they were ordered, and the only one who can give such orders is their leader." Watch Putin accuse the United States »

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino blasted Putin's statements, saying they were "patently false." "To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate just sounds not rational," she said. U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood concurred, and labeled Putin's statements as "ludicrous."

"Russia is responsible for the crisis," Wood said in an off-camera meeting with reporters in Washington on Thursday. "For the Russians to say they are not responsible for what happened in Georgia is ludicrous. ... Russia is to blame for this crisis and the world is responding to what Russia has done."

When told that many diplomats in the United States and Europe blame Russia for provoking the conflict and for invading Georgia, Putin said Russia had no choice but to invade Georgia after dozens of its peacekeepers in South Ossetia were killed. He told Chance it was to avert a human calamity. iReport.com: First-person accounts from the center of the conflict

The former Russian president, still considered the most powerful man in the country, said he was disappointed the U.S. had not done more to stop Georgia's attack. Putin recalled he was watching the situation in Georgia and South Ossetia unfold when he was at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on August 8. He said he spoke to U.S. President George W. Bush, also attending, who told the Russian prime minister he didn't want war -- but Putin spoke to CNN of his disappointment that the U.S. administration didn't do more to stop Georgia early in the conflict.

Also Thursday Putin announced economic measures which he said were unrelated to the fighting with Georgia. Nineteen U.S. poultry meat companies would be banned from exporting their products to Russia because they had failed health and safety tests, and 29 other companies had been warned to improve their standards or face the same ban, Putin said. Putin said Russia's health and agricultural ministries had randomly tested the poultry products and found them to be full of antibiotics and arsenic. While Putin repeated that the bans were not related to the Georgian conflict, they indicate the measures some Western countries -- particularly in Europe -- fear if Russia goes on a diplomatic offensive. Watch analysis of Russia's relationship with the West. »

Russia is trying to counterbalance mounting pressure from the West over its military action in Georgia and its recognition of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But Russia's hopes of winning international support for its actions in Georgia were dashed Thursday, when China and other Asian nations expressed concern about tension in the region. The joint declaration from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which includes China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, said the countries hoped any further conflict could be resolved peacefully. Watch more on rising tensions between Russia and the West. »

"The presidents reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of respect for historic and cultural traditions of every country and efforts aimed at preserving the unity of a state and its territorial integrity," the declaration said, The Associated Press reported. "Placing the emphasis exclusively on the use of force has no prospects and hinders a comprehensive settlement of local conflicts," AP reported the group as saying. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had appealed to the SCO at a summit in Tajikistan Thursday to support its actions, saying it would serve as a "serious signal for those who are trying to justify the aggression."

On Wednesday a U.S. ship carrying aid docked in Georgia, while Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband traveled to the Ukraine, which is worried about Russia's intentions in the region, to offer the UK's support.

Miliband equated Moscow's offensive in Georgia with the Soviet tanks that invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring democratic reforms in 1968, and demanded Russia "change course," AP reported.

My Very First Blog....Ever

2008-08-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog!

The name of my blog is "Land of Hope and Dreams," taken from the title of a Bruce Springsteen song and will "hopefully" be an underlying theme. Although I may (will) scatter from topic to topic, this blog will hopefully reflect the dreams many of us share.

From the hope for change that a Presidential candidate may bring, or the hope and dreams of a Chicago Cubs team actually making it to the World Series, to the hope and dreams of some special people who wish to become a family through international adoption...that's what this blog is about. And, I'm sure there will also be some random thoughts as well...just to keep everyone on their toes.

Let me start by telling you that there are three amazing sisters, ages 10, 13, and 14, in an orphanage in Ukraine. My wife and I would love to adopt them, and this process will likely be the focus of the blog. We hosted "the girls" last summer, and fell in love with them. It's quite strange how the whole situation came about, but I am convinced that God sent them to us! Their story may be viewed by many as unfortunate, but they have persevered and are hopefully facing a bright future. They are wonderful kids; smart and happy. They hope and dream to return to the USA, to be our daughters, and we hope and dream that we can somehow complete this adoption soon!

We may need your help. Actually, we are going to need quite a bit of help. We are doing everything we can to get together the money necessary to cover all the adoption expenses, but it seems that we and the girls are going to require assistance. It appears that we will need donations to complete this dream, and we hope you can help.

I have never asked for donations, contributions, or charity before...so I find this a bit awkward. However, when I think of our "daughters" sitting in a Ukraine orphanage, waiting patiently, it motivates me to do whatever I can. So, I will simply ask for help.

Any donation you could kindly provide will be greatly appreciated. I will provide donation information soon. And, whether it is a cash donation or a simple prayer, we appreciate it and thank you in advance for all your outpouring of support!