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The delay is certainly understandable and completely forgiven! Afterall, the adoption process can be quite lengthy. ;)

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Nirmala is now seventeen, and her name has been changed to Bethari Nirmala. We gave the children the option of changing their names to ones more easily understood and pronounced in this culture, and they all jumped at the chance. Nirmala chose Bethari, an Indonesian name I suggested for her, and opted to keep Nirmala as her middle name as a way to stay connected to her past. She now goes by Beth among her friends. The devastating loss of her family coupled with her shy nature made it a bit hard for her to open up to anyone, especially at school. She had some difficulty at first, but after a while she became more talkative and now has quite a few friends, as well as a boyfriend. That came as no surprise to us - Bethari is a beautiful young woman with a lot going for her. :)
Liliya Oksana is now Clara Liliya Oksana. She expresed a desire for a new name, but was reluctant to fully give up her old one. She mostly goes by Clara, but Bethari affectionately calls her Lili. Clara has been seeing a psychiatrist for the past year, and it has greatly helped her nightmares, but she still has them sometimes. Her doctor is very optimistic, however. It was difficult to get her to open up about her past, but the ice was broken through art therapy, which Clara loves. She now says she plans to be an art therapist when she grows up.
Amadeo Filippo chose not to change his name. He's now ten years old and is doing well. We've had a few close calls with him and we're very lucky to still have him with us. We're pleased to tell you he got the transplant and it has done wonders for him, but we're still not sure what the future holds. It's been only a year but he's such an important part of our lives. We'll miss him terribly when he goes away to space camp for a few weeks this summer, but we're all very happy that he's getting the chance.
We chose Femi's new name, Finlay Benjamin. He's made many friends in school. He truly enjoys it; he loves learning new things and interacting with other children. We're very proud of him. Recently he asked for a puppy of his own and we saw no reason to say no. He's a very responsible child and has been taking good care of the family's newest addition, Pedro the white lab.
The twins, Ivana and Nevena, are now Laure Annabella Ivana and Sophie Evangeline Nevena. Laure enjoys practicing art with Clara; she's moved on from fingerpainting to crayons and colored pencils. She and Clara get along wonderfully, but her best friend is still her twin, Sophie, who spends most of her time dressing up in princess gowns and playing make-believe. We hope to start her in dance classes soon, as well. She definitely has the makings to become a famous actress or dancer!