It is Mother's Day here. Actually, as I tell my kids, every day is Mother's Day. I don't expect gifts every day. I don’t even expect them on the official Mother's Day, although they did each make me some lovely cards and pictures. But just as I say that we respect the earth every day, we make sure to respect mom 365 days of the year.

It isn't Mother's Day in Russia today. Russia celebrates something that, in a way, I like more: International Women's Day. Yes, before you jump all over me, I know that the Soviet holiday has... more

I found the mother lode of information on Russia last night.

It's called "Sher's Russian Index", and it is a portal to all things Russian--art, culture, sports, science, language and much, much more. Well, there's not a section on adoption, but I can forgive its creator that because of all the other material that's here.

A word on the site's creator. He is one Benjamin Sher, and after a bit of sleuthing, I learned that he is a Russian translator by profession. His main Web site contains... more

Every day is Earth Day in our house.

It's not just because I brought my kids out of the country that has the fourth-largest impact on global warming and moved them to the country that is the biggest culprit. Taking care of the Earth simply makes sense because it is our one and only planet. And since my kids, by virtue of their adoption, are already global citizens, I'm hoping they can be in the vanguard of the global citizens trying to turn the world's pollution... more

Since I was prepping for an Earth Day presentation at church, I decided to spend a few minutes looking at the state of the environment in Russia, too. Today, I'm going to turn what I learned into two posts: Russia's eco-profile and my thoughts on raising environmentally responsible kids who were born there, but now live here.

Some of Russia's current ecological state is the legacy of the Soviet Union: Its economy, like many others in the developed world,... more

I know many of you are frustrated with Russia right now because of the adoption accreditation delay. But you have to love a country that gives you two (or more) cracks at a birthday-style celebration every year.

In Russia, as in many countries of Western and Eastern Europe, people get to celebrate not only their own birthday, but something known as a name day. That is the day set aside on a church calendar for remembering the saint whose name they share.

I was... more

I've been catching up on Naomi's posts over at the Jewish Adoption blog about preparing for Passover, particularly her last-minute Passover prep tips. And so I'd like to return the favor with a few thoughts on Passover and Russia, where it hasn't always been easy being Jewish.

Thankfully those days are, largely, history. A religious news service reported this week that members of the Chabad Lubavich movement have been... more

I like to sneak in a bit of Russian culture whenever I can, especially things that give my kids some bragging rights. And so it is that this Friday, March 9, we will be celebrating Yuri Gagarin's birthday. My kids love learning about space, and have been planning (plotting?) for a trip to the Kennedy Space Center for the last six months.

Gagarin, who would have been 73 this Friday, became the world's first astronaut on April 12, 1961. That was one month ahead... more

Mark your calendars for February 11. That date is the kick-off for a key tradition in the Russian Orthodox Church's celebration of Lent: Butter Week.

Now in our cholesterol-obsessed country, it may smack of treason to have a whole week dedicated to butter. But if you ever needed a reason to love Russian cooking, Maslenitsa, or Butter Week, is it.

Some sources do call Maslenitsa Pancake Week, because pancakes--blini--are the centerpiece of its meals. But in Russian Orthodox Church traditions, it is the... more

So with the birthday of one son behind me, I though I'd take a minute to talk about birthdays in Russia. They are a big deal in Russian society at large, although obviously constrained in the orphanages.

First, some ground rules. Russian tradition holds that a birthday is celebrated on or after the honoree's big day, not before. And family presents should be left by the birthday child's bed, so they may wake up to them on birthday day. I started doing that with my older son as soon as he was old enough to understand birthdays, and he always gets a big kick from... more

This write-up is from the FRUA board and is sponsored by the FRUA-DC chapter:

Winterfest is our biggest event of the year, and we finally have the plans all ready. The purpose of Winterfest is to get adoptive families together to celebrate our children, and offering some cultural exposure for the kids. For Parents-In-Progress this is a wonderful encouragement to see the children home with their families, and we would love to have you join us!

So here is the lowdown:

Saturday, February... more