Expanded family

Mom used to hold my hand just like that... :)

(still does)

Day of Knowledge

1-st of September is the National Day of knowledge in Ukraine - a first day of school for all the children of our country. The three of the kids went to school that day.

All the flowers are from the garden. I picked them early

in the morning to create a somewhat bouques.

My beautiful Sofiya went to school for the very first time in her life. She was so happy! You should have seen her! No one was more joyful or beautiful that day. Mom found this exclusive special uniform for her that no one else has nowadays. They used to wear them in Soviet schools - a black or brown dress and white or black apron. Oh, and BIG whitw bows for girls. But big ones didn't look right on Sonya.
In all post-Soviet schools there is a set of very special and important traditions. One of them is the 'first bell'. Every year on the 1st of September all the pupils stand in perfect square (it's called 'Lineyka' - a line) to celebrate the first school day. After many greetings from different pupils, teachers, city and country administration, school principal... after a few songs or dances by pupils... after singing the national anthem... and greeting the first-graders... the symbol of the new school year beginning appears - a ringing bell (since a school year flows from bell to bell - from lesson to break time). One of the future graduates (a student of 11th grade) picks up a girl who is just entering the big world of knowledge and gives her a 'ride' round the whole Lineyka - a circle of honour. During this travel on his shoulder, a girl rings the bell - stating that a school year has officially begun.

Believe me, it's a HUGE honour to be that girl. You can only do it once. There is only one chance for every girl, because everybody has the very first 1st September once in a lifetime. I didn't have that honour (Mom said I was a little too heavy for the graduates - Grandma fed me well :) But Sonya was the chosen one!!! Whether she was the cutest or the most glowing one - I don't know... But we lost her out of sight when she stood with her new class and her beautiful first teacher. And only when Mom saw her near th principle we realised what was going on. We were SO proud of our girl... I think it should serve as a lesson for those who treat orphans as the lowest class. They are not worse, they are better than us...

The very same day Sony stayed for her first lesson. She was so excited she wanted to take the new book with her, so she could study at home. She was so eager to gain knowledge that even though they didn't get any homework she begged Mom to give her one. That is simply amazing.

The school that Mom and Dad just randomly found for Anton and Sofiya turned out to be a school of olympic reserve. It sounds like this is the place where future Shevchenko's and Shovkovsy's are trained and raised. The school specializes in... football!!! (for Americans - soccer)

This is just one of the five (!!!) football fields that they have!!! It's magnificent! Just perfect for our Anton who is in love with this sport.

So, the new schoolyear promises to be exciting for everybody...

My little favorite sweetest Sofiya graduated from kindergarten yesterday! It was a big day for her, he was so excited about it and made sure everybody knew so they wouldn't miss it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go because of my own last exam (basically the same thing - graduation). She was so beautiful, like a princess in her long white dress. I'm sure that soon we'll be able to see the pictures from this exciting event on Melanie's blog. Right, Mel?

By the way, Melanie.... For those of you who don't know who I'm talking about, visit Marianna Peipon's blog, look for the latest post called 'Melanie and Cheryl'. Welcome, Mel, I'm sure you'll have a great time in this home and will take back with you memories for life.

Summarising this year

The school year is over and the results of hard work are now visible. When Slavik joined the Donskoy family, Mom and Dad had a dillema of which school grade to put him into. The thing is that being 9 years old Slavik never went to school. He didn't know how to count, he didn't know how to behave with other kids, how to sit at the desk and he wasn't used to studying of course. The easiest would be for him to start from the very beginning, going to the 2nd or even 1st grade. Of course that would mean he would be a big guy with the little 6-year-olds. That would be awkward plus he would stay an 'overgrown' one for the rest of school.
No matter how hard it seemed to be Mom and Dad decided he had to try studying with the kids of the same age as himself. From nothing to 4th (!) grade is quite a jump! It was SO hard and challenging in the beginning, a little better after the first semester. And by the end of the school year Slavik didn't have a single fair mark, only 'A's and 'B's with the medium mark 'A-'. Not bad, huh?
The hardest turned out to be Ukrainian language and Math.
The best results in English and Music.

That's our boy... :)

On a Sunny Day...

Grandma is very experienced in keeping children busy. Throughout her life she raised Lena, Dima, Andrey, Nastya, two Dasha's (myself and my younger cousin), all of our friends along with ourselves, and now these five. She definitely knows how to deal with us... children :) The kids adore her, they spend a lot of time in her room drawing, reading, talking and just having a quality time with Babushka. They know they can't be wild and crazy in her bedroom, so they always behave politely with her and each other. When the house is quiet and peaceful though it isn't bedtime, it means they are definitely at Grandma's.

Anton is kind-hearted and soft. He became very mature. It is such a joy to see how they change within time. Mom and Dad work so hard to raise them being respectful, thoughtful and wise. Those who knew Anton, Sofiya and Yan in the very beginning can now see a huge difference in their personalities. It makes Mom and Dad so immesurabely happy to bear the fruit of their everyday non-stop hard work. Our blessed God is very generous.

(all the beautiful tulips grown by Grandma for Mom and myself for our birthdays :)

Who is missing???

a riddle for the attentive ones...

Exploring their talents...

While in the restaurant there is always one big question: how to keep the kids busy? As you can see they were able to entertain themselves...

Masha played along with the gypsies. Thet actually wanted to take her with them after this fascinating performance. By the way, great sense of rhythm!

Sofiya was chasing the local pet. She felt a real soul mate in that sweet piggie. She ADORES animals! All of them. She'll find them anywhere, too! (Remember, we're in the restaurant)

The guys were doing the 'men' thing. They all learned to play pool. Anton found a new way to hit the ball - doesn't look right, but works great! Creativity is more important than following the 'normal' ways.

Happy birthday to baby-Masha who turns 5 today!!

I told you it would be a busy spring :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUU

HAPPY BIRTHDA TO YOUUUUUUUU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR SLAVI-I-I-I-I-IK....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

The 'Genesis' kids are truly blessed to have a wonderful Christian family and caring church, who from now on are responsible for their spiritual growth. Slavik, Yan and Masha were baptized last Sunday. It was a very special day full of events, 'a parade of stars' as Pastor Ivan called it.
Read Marianna Peipon's blog ('Special Children') for her vision and thoughts on this matter.

Even Yan behaved this time (last time when Mom and Dad wanted

to baptize him it was impossible to calm him down)

Slavik seemed to have realised how responsible and important this step was.

How cute is that! This Angel, of course, didn't understand a thing. She was simply lovely.

Here's a long-promised 'Masha story'.
(not so much to tell about, really)

She was about 4 months old when left at a homeless shelter dining room. She was sent to an 'under 5' orphanage with diagnosis 'practically healthy', which is simply a miracle for a child born in who-knows-what conditions. That's where she had lived until 4 y.o. when Mom and Dad came to pick her up and welcome in the Genesis house family.

The picture taken by Mom Peipon in the orphanage on the day

Masha first met her new parents.

She does have histerics once in a while, but still much easier than Anton and Sofiya and much-much easier than Yan :)

Today Pat Harrison and Michael arrive to stay at the Genesis house for two weeks! How exciting! The kids are gonna be so happy to see them again. I don't think Pat has met Masha and Slavik yet. She will be thrilled, they are great kids. They are planning a fund-raising Donskoy family trip to England this year. The whole family staying at Andrey and Olesya's cozy home in little Kendal, what a treat.
Anyhow, I personally am really excited about their visit. Pat is a very close and dear friend and Jamie and myself are looking forward to seeing her. It will be fun, laughter and jokes always come along with Mrs. Harrison :)

The Genesis Faces

It's about time to introduce those people who make this beautiful ministry possible.
First of all, Lena and Sasha Donskoy, the Parents, who became everything for these kids.
Next, Andrey and Olesya Donskoy. Andrey is Sasha and Lena's son, my blood brother -the Vice-President of the fund 'New Beginnings' and his sweet wife, an active member of the ministry.

And finally, Tony and Pat Harrison. Pat is the founder and President of the 'New Beginnings' that she has started about 5 years ago in Great Britain. Pat's biggest calling has always been helping orphans and street children. She says she would rather help at least one child than pity all the poor homeless parentless children in the world and do nothing.

God bless you all. Through you our wonderful God does great miraculous things. 5 of the great miracles like that are a good proof of God's mercy and kindness.

All warmth stays inside

Last winter the temperature in Ukraine was all the way down to - 30 C (or - 20 F). Freeeeezing cold!! The Genesis house walls didn't manage keeping it warm inside. Everyone had to sleep in coats and hats for a couple of nights when the heating water pipes cracked because of the frost. It was obvious insulation was nessessary. The British Genesis family members' fund raising process took a while, but came through. The house is not only warm ans cozy, but even rather stylish and modern-looking. The pictures were taken a couple of months ago when it was still warm. It's snowy and cold now (-10 -15 C) and we're so thankful that the temperature is just perfect inside.

Be warm.

Yan's step of maturity

Yesterday I visited the Genesis house. Gramma didn't know I was coming. Mom and Dad had some errands to run. Gramma was out in the garden. So I unlocked the door, came in, got potatoes boiling for when parents come back and went upstairs to take a shower (we have no hot water at home, something broke down, they're fixing it). When I heard Gramma come in, asking whether anyone was home (she could hear me upstairs), I figured she was thinking it was Mom, so I chuckled and stayed quiet. I thought I'd surprise her with an effective 'show-up' shouting kookoo!! or da-da-da-dam! (she was asking me to come visit for a long time, but because of exams it was no option for me). Anyhow I'm walking on tip-tops with a stupid smile on my face... Pa-da... into the kitchen - I was GREATLY surprised when instead of Babushka I saw a BIG red-haired man in their kitchen cooking Sloppy Joe :))) Any guess? I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad Peipons know who I'm talking about. Dan is an American missionary going to our church who has a servant's heart. He comes to Genesis every Thursday with a big sack of food and cooks delicious dinner for all family, letting Gramma rest and my parents use some time for themselves. After dinner he takes the kids out for sports activities (yesterday he came with a basketball) or teaches English. The absolutely LOVE Dan! Gramma said to Anton when he came back from school that his best friend was there, right away he exclaimed 'Dan?!' and ran to shake his huuuuge hand. It was a great evening and good food.
Now, concerning the title of this post. I only used it to draw your attention and get you reading to the end, whicj I did, if you're reading this line...
Yesterday Yan decided to move from the 'baby-room' to the 'men's habitat'. When Slavik joined the family, Anton and he moved to a separate room, leaving the girls and Yan in the 'kindergarten' room. Mom tried to move Yan to the boy's room, but had to return him:
a. he behaved like a baby annoying the older boys and being silly while they were trying to sleep
b. at some point he started screaming and shouting wanting to go back to his little bed
Yesterday he politely asked Mom whether he could move again, you could tell she was proud of him. I operated the festive prosession of moving the beddings (everybody participated) and Yan had a new home. It seems more logical now, girls in one room, boys in the other one (the blue one :) We'll see whether Yan will manage the pressure of being the youngest and the only one in his room not going to school. He is growing...

My very own BLOG! How exciting :)))

http://dasha-shares-her.blogspot.com/

Merry belated Christmas and Happy 20th of the New Year!

I think I'm back. We'll see if I can be successful in keeping you all updated. Life is soooo busy.... But here are a few holiday pictures for you to enjoy. The girls were charming. The pictures were taken during the kindergarten celebration (Masha and Sofiya acting as little beads, Yan was a dwarf or something) and in church during the skit (you can probably tell, they looked like real angels! Slavik's part was very responsible, he was Joseph himself.)

HAPPY 5-th BIRTHDAY, YAN!!!

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since we celebrated Yan's 4-th birthday.... He is a BIG boy now. Join us in our joy of celebrating another year of his busy little life :)

Since it's his day, I think it's time for Yan's story.
One peaceful day a social worker Lyudmila called the Genesis house for a very special favor: A random married couple decided to foster a 3-year-old boy. Once Yan was brought to their pretty doll-house type apartment, a happy couple realised they were not as happy any more. We don't know the details, but in three days the "Mom" called in histerics promising she would commit a suicide unless the child would be taken away. No matter how the social workers talked her into trying harder, into believing in herself and a motherly feelings she will gain... she just screamed and cried not listening to any piece of advice. She wanted to get rid of this 'horrible child' immediately. In order to return Yan into a hospital where they once took him from, a lot of paperwork had to be done. But it was neccessary to leave this boy somewhere until this matter would be taken care of. Understanding the difficulty of situation, Mom and Dad Donskoys agreed to welcome the boy in their home for as long as it would be needed. When Yan entered the house he looked very scared and shy, of course not realising what was going on. Mom and Dad were amazed with the beauty of his face, he looked like an angel. They didn't know then that inside the angel lived a visious little devil :))
Yan did not talk at all, could walk only very slowly and with much effort, could hardly get up the stairs. In comparison with Anton and Sofiya he didn't look physically healthy because of how slow all of his reactions and movements were, how clumsy he was.
In a couple of days or so he started talking, but who knew he would talk like that! You could hardly understand a word! For example a phrase 'golovu myt' ne budem?' which means 'we won't wash my head, right?' sounded like 'gomynemuo?' Somehow Mom learned to understand him. Then he started swearing and fighting, breaking things around him, and because of his big fist he actually became a real threat for the other two. In case if anything went wrong for him he would say things like 'I'll kill you all!' or 'You won't break me, I'm iron-made!' when parents would discipline or punish him.
The social center was mad with its worker whose idea it was to place Yan in the Genesis house even temporarily, it was also mad with my parents, there were lots of documents to take care of... but in the end Yan became a part of the family. All we know about his background is that someone left him in an outdoor market in age of 1 - 1.5 y.o and he lived there in a box, sellers feeding and taking care of him. Nobody knows who his parents were, but he was brought to the market in a beautiful blanket and good expensive clothes. His family remains unknown.
As you have probably already read about Yan in earlier posts, he is improving. Every day is a new challenge, but Mom and Dad and everybody else are working on it. He is a good boy after all. He is the only one that I needed time to get used to and start loving. But I have to admit, he IS a sweet child and will make a wonderful person one day.

Slava (meaning "Glory")

This picture is taken while the family gathered around TV set to sing to karaoke.
Slavik loves to sing. In this picture he is waiting for his turn.


Here is his story, according to Slavik's own words. His mother worked at night and would often come home with different men. One night she did not come back. Slavik continued living at home with two other men whom once his Mom brought. Slavik called them 'stepfathers'. As far as we know they were quite good to him, took care, fed him and even taught how to read. Then they brought their own women (whom Slavik would call 'stepmothers') and came to a point when they couldn't be raising this child. After all, he wasn't related to them in any way. He did not belong there. That's when they brought him to the orphan shelter. All the social workers liked Slavik a lot. He was a very interesting, polite, curious boy, not like the others who behaved like frightened wild animals. He read a lot. Since there were not much books in this shelter, Slavik chose the geography atlas for 7th grade pupils as his favorite book. The women there cared for him a lot and realised that once he would reach 9 years old they would have to send him to an orphanage and that's a place with no hope for future. Kids become agressive, depressed and hopeless there, influencing each other negatively. Knowing that the women working there started looking for help contacting the social workers. Thankfully Mom and Dad were right in process of getting all the papers ready and looking for a child who needed them. That's when Slavik showed up. The Lord brought them together to make a happy family.

Slavik went to school for the very first time in his life last September (see Jamie's blog for pictures 'First Day of School'). To 4th grade instead of the 1st grade! Not knowing how to behave at school, not knowing what studying was all about, not knowing how to count, write, etc. It was incredibly hard for him, a great challenge, a lot of disappointment and hopefulness, a lot of bad marks. Mom and Dad doubted about the choice of sending him to 4th grade instead of the 3rd or even 2nd, and almost regreted it. But things got better. Because of their help and encouragement and Slavik's discipline and desire to succeed, he did it. He made a big step to an average/high success in studying. We are all so proud of him. He goes to choir and craft, studies additional English, has become a caring elder brother and well-behaving son. What a joy!

Before and After: A Visual Companion

This is post is the official visual accompaniment to the post below it.



Before:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

And after:

.

.

.

.

.

.

Before and after...

It’s about time to tell you the stories of each of our kids. They all came from terrible conditions, families who abused and abandoned them.

Anton and Sofiya Marmolenko are biological siblings. Sofiya wasn’t even registered anywhere before she got into the hospital. They lived with their alcoholic mother who once attacked their father with a kitchen knife and was sent to prison. No one would even know about existence of these kids if not for a terrible incident. When 1,5 y.o. Sofiya fell out of the window off the sixth floor of an old building with high ceilings. By Lord’s miracle she didn’t only survive, but ended up having only a couple scratches, bruises and unfortunately an inside bladder trauma. The neighbours called the ambulance and both kids were taken to hospital. That’s where Mom and Dad found them with the social worker’s help. Even after they lived in a normal home with good food they would still be hunting for food in the garbage bin or sucking water out of a sponge, begging for treats when outside. They were like wild animals trying to survive on their own even though there were parents to provide and take care of them. Anton, being 3 y.o. would always make sure Sofiya got some food before would eat his. It was impossible to understand their speech, enriched with hard swearing. Their bodies were thin and rachitic, even their scalps were of weird shapes, because the kids never had proper meals or necessary vitamins, sun or fresh air. They tried nearly everything for the first time in their lives, they finally saw snow. Sofiya cried when she first saw it because it was so unusual for her.
Now they are beautiful, healthy kids with kids’ thoughts, games and dreams. They now have loving parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, lots of siblings and many friends. They have God. They are now happy. Praise the Lord!!!

Another family member

Forgot to tell you about Chapa (I call her Chapidze - Slavik likes this variant better, too). She is a random guest in the Genesis house, independent and free, comes and goes whenever she likes, but the children are always happy to greet her. Dad always has a feast prepared for her and if you ask him, he'll tell you this dog is %100 theirs. I wonder what the dog thinks.
She is very sweet. LOVES playing with the children and has a special personality. When she first came we thought she was a male and kept calling her Chap intead of Chapa (Ukrainian female names end with a vowel, mostly "a"). Didn't take long to change the name, did take long to notice she was a lady :) She is indeed very graceful and aristocratic as you can see.

Kids are Funny

The other day, Mama Helen asked the kids to run upstairs and dress up quite nicely for an evening with the best manners and best toys the Genesis House has to offer.

So off they ran. Here are the kids coming back down. I'm sure the girls had help, but the boys are much more "I'll do it myself" types... It's always interesting to see what they might come up with.

Couple number one is Slavik and Masha Looking quite nicely:

Then we have couple number 2, biological brother and sister Anton and Sofia.

Then we have Yan by himself... He likes to break the mold:

I love how obviously thrilled he is to have come up with this by himself. The shirt goes about down to is knees so he tucked it all in to his tiny shorts that DON'T even get close to his knees. But Dasha gave him an A+ for being color-coordinated... even down to his sandals.

New Beginnings

If anyone is interested, here's a website about how everything had started : www.newbeginningscharity.org.uk

Welcome!!

That's something children do well...

Crying without tears. They are talented actors.

Specially for Andrey

Pasha is one of Andrey's closest friends in Kiev. Once Andrey left to England Pasha continued coming for visits, now to spend time with Donskoy family (mostly with me, as I naively thought). Now that parents live in a separate house out in the village with 5 more kids Pasha continues visiting them. I guess it's the 'Donskoy magnetism' that draws everybody to Alexandrovka village. Almost every day different people (random guests, neighbours, friends and family) come to visit the big renewed version of the Donskoys.

That sunny beautiful day Pasha came not even knowing Jamie, Vadim, Katya and myself were already there. He came to plant rose bushes he brought. Normally people come to help with something around the house or just to have rest and enjoy the company. Vadim and Jamie are responsible for flying the kite and making kids run as fast as possible, jump as high as possible, shout and laugh as loud as possible... so they sleep well at night (what a blessed time of a day). Anyhow, this was one of those days. In the picture are Katya, myself and Sofiya and Pasha.

They'll need a bigger parking lot soon! :))

Everyday Life

You can see Yan #5 in this picture. This is a game Mom made up to help him behave. His dynamic stereotype is very variable. He can be so sweet, then suddenly starts screaming and squeaking, drops down on the floor and starts hitting it hard, calling everybody 'stinkers and fools'. After Mom's long monologue about how mean Yan #3 is and how much she misses #5, he quietly stands up, smiles and becomes a nice boy again. You never know what to expect from this little 'angel' :))

It's been a whole month and a half since Anton and Slavik started going to school. Anton seems to be enjoying it a lot. Somehow school influenced his personality for better, a lot better. At once he became more mature and responsible, even smarter! (people started noticing) Go for it, Anton, we're so proud of you!


The girls still live in the world called 'Happy Childhood'. No school, no homework, no problem. Although childhood has a lot of problems to deal with. Sofiya seems to enjoy Masha's company now. Slavik and Masha have been in the family for approximately 2 months. It was interesting to watch them get used to an absolutely different lifestyle - living in a family. Sofiya used to be jealous since everybody would mention Masha's beauty and cuteness. And YES, she is so pretty! But now they seem to be good friends, always together, mostly playing and avoiding any work.

Slavik realises he has a lot to catch up with. Math is the hardest. Whenever guests come, they all end up explaining math to him. First it was hard and discouraging, but then it got easier. It's very challenging and hard to study in the 4th grade being in school for the very first time in his life, but he now believes in himself and spends much hours studying in his room. Probably wouldn't be if Mom wasn't there to motivate him all the time.