Our Armenian Adoption Adventure

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

2012-01-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

Last summer Ryan's bike was stolen from the pool parking lot when he left it there overnight by accident. We were able to find the same exact bike for his birthday present!!

Annalea discovers Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T09:15:00.001-05:00

Annalea Plays a cat in Shoemaker and the Elves

2011-12-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

Annalea the little Christmas Elf

2011-12-15T15:59:00.000-05:00

When Reggie throws a party, expect the unexpected

2011-11-27T11:43:00.002-05:00

Last night Kevin and I were guests at the wedding of Reggie Van Lee and Corie McCathern. Kevin works with Reggie at Booz Allen. The wedding was held at the National Building Museum, a spectacular space. There were 700 plus guests at this event, which was also streamed live for those who could not attend. There were people attending from around the globe...many from Italy, where Corrie is from.

Reggie does not disappoint when he throws a party, and his wedding was certainly no exception!!

The ceremony was first, which was very emotional and touching. At the end of the ceremony confetti fell from the sky....lots of it!! Imagine 700 people covered in confetti!!

As the crowd proceeded into the cocktail reception space, a curtain opened and a huge choir started singing from the balcony.

A delicious sit down dinner was served. After dinner the entertainment began.

First a group of professional dancers performed. Reggie was a professional dancer in his younger days, so this was not a total surprise.

After the dance performance, there was a huge surprise...Diana Ross, yes Diana appeared on stage and sang some of her classics.

The space was just beautiful...here is a spectator's view...after I had done plenty of dancing and needed to rest my sore ankle.

Here is a link to the photographers website which has some great photos.

This is Interesting

2011-11-16T19:02:00.012-05:00

For those who have followed the unfortunate ordeal that Vanessa has put many adoptive and prospective adoptive parents through as well as our adoption agency, we now have information that she has another past time and even more aliases than we thought. This story is apparently still unfolding...

From: http://goosenetwork.tumblr.com/

Vanessa the Loyal Goose Network Member

I am very proud to announce the new addition to Goose Network gang. This newest addition will probably complete the final missing part of the big puzzle, the Goose Network, who has been eagerly busy with hatching their eggs everywhere in the Cyber World. Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the final missing piece of the Goose Network puzzle: Vanessa Kachadurian.
(I am not going to put her picture here for privacy reasons. As for her full name, I think it is a fair treatment for her considering that she has by far published a number of people’s full names in her numerous blogs. Besides, I do not have the intention to make her a target in the eyes of other people. This shameless tactic belongs to Goose Network members, not me.)
When I first launched this blog more than a year ago, I published a list of Goose Network members. That list included Vanessa’s name as well. Yet since that time, her name has totally slipped out of my mind. Recently, I have decided to make a quick search after seeing her name on that list again. To my astonishment, the things I found out were really huge. I soon realized that I was encountering arguably the most enthusiastic member of the Goose Network. So much so that, many of my claims have proved me wrong on some issues. Now, I am both hoping to clarify my previous claims and add new stuff here. But one thing is clear: Vanessa Kachadurian is one of the most active members of the Goose Network and she is definitely on someone else’s payroll, because as you will see below, thanks to countless evidence, nobody would allocate such amount of time for something that is irrelevant (or not directly relevant) to one’s life.
Initially I took searching her name very lightly, but as I found new things, I got the motivation to continue and decipher more, because new information was in rapid succession.
The Crucial Information
For this, I decided to Google her name. Writing Vanessa Kachadurian Gulen (becuase she is one of the inventors of so-called Gulen Charter Schools concept , I came up with this comment. In case, the link is removed, you can see the picture below.

She (perhaps accidentally) wrote her name (Vanessa Kachadurian) at the bottom of her own comment, because in order to claim otherwise (that is the deliberate writing of her name) one has to be idiot to inscribe UtahMom on top of the page and then Fresno, California, along with the real name at the bottom. In that comment, I randomly took a sentence and made a quick copy-paste of it and came up with the same exact comment on different blogs and websites but this time under various nicknames such as MD Parent (!) and EducationTruth. It looks like she was becoming UtahMom, Maryland (or medical doctor) Parent or EducationTruth depending on the blog, news or the school she commented about.
She exactly writes the same comment and sometimes changes her nickname. I saw that she wrote the same comment on her Facebook page where she uses her real name in a slightly different way.
I also found out that she was using countless nicknames when attacking what she calls Gulen Charter Schools. She is also constantly giving links to many admiral ship websites, particularly “Charter School Watchdog” website and to her blogs whose link I am planning to provide below.
Her Facebook Adventures
On Facebook (as mentioned above), she has pages of comments along with… guess who? Bill Thacker of Arizona! Surprise surprise, right? Using a slightly different name (Vanoush Khatchaturyan) there, Vanessa has been using this discussion page for more than a year only to give links and write responses to another paid member of Goose Network, Mr. Thacker. Together, they filled like seven pages to defame charter schools. write unfounded things about them but if you actually copy and paste what they have written to a single Word page, it will take more than a hundred pages (actually 113 pages). In their comments they just support each other’s claims but they are not afraid to show their teeth to any “would-be intruders”. It is like this is their backyard to play in. I can’t help but admire their dedication. On another occasion, Vanessa comments on one of Bill Thacker’s posts by thanking him and acting as if she was the first time visitor and did not know much about the info Thacker provided.
Even on Facebook India she writes defamatory things about Erdogan, Gulen etc. She uses other Facebook websites in various languages again in order to represent her true Goose Network spirit. She actively uses ANCA (The Armenian National Committee of America) Grassroots. Such determination!
That is it? Just started! She utilizes her real Twitter account to inform people about some radio programs where Donna Garner was invited as a guest. There, hardliner Garner gives complete misinformation about so-called Gulen Charter Schools. Through her Twitter account, she also helps the Goose Network team defame American charter schools 24/7. Even in the midst of a hot genocide debate among fellow Armenians, she joins the debate with the sole purpose of writing only about Gulen and American charter schools. She sometimes goes too far to use the same aggressive rhetoric to the politicians in Hawaii. Like I said, she is so busy with the comments and other activism she puts on the web that even when there is no comment under any news of a not-so-much-visited webpage, she takes this opportunity to write the same things by employing the artifacts of her copy-paste mindset.
Lawsuits Against Vanessa
I will write more about this comment issue, but let’s turn to another significant detail about Vanessa. Making more search with her real name, I found out that some lawsuits were filed against Vanessa. For example, in one of them, she was harassing adoptive parents who have adopted through Hopscotch Adoptions, an adoption company, as well as other companies and individuals. She reportedly could not pass a home study and wasn’t able to adopt due to her serious mental illness. She is vindictive against anyone who has or wants to adopt. This info was given to me by a friend who got this information from another Armenian (Sonia Vigilante) whom Vanessa hates. However, ironically, Vannessa is not shy to use Sonia’s name (by making slight changes in her name) to write defamatory things about so-called Gulen Charter Schools. But she uses it only in Soda Head pages like this one. She even illegally uses Sonia’s name when writing a petition to the authorities in Hawaii in order to prevent the opening of a charter school there or she likes something on Facebook on behalf of Sonia. As mentioned above, there are also similar comments under very different-looking nicknames and aliases. Below are the some excerpts from the lawsuit document, which can be easily found on the Internet:
“On information and belief Kachadurian uses a number of online aliases and email addresses including, inter alia, AdoptNews@aol.com; AdoptResearch@aol.com; Armenlaw@aol.com; AttyEsq@advocate.com; DancerA1@aol.com; Eveonthego@aol.com; jrussell_jeffruss@yahoo.com; Laura Garabadian; LAWP@aol.com; limovaM@aol.com; Lisa; MRey@sbcglobal.net; Ruzanne; Salesa1@aol.com; and Wittyhye@yahoo.com.”
(I am not surprised that she has so many nicknames and e-mails. You will agree with me below)
“Plaintiffs Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc. (Hopscotch) and Robin Sizemore (Sizemore) bring this action to enjoin and seek damages from Defendant Vanessa Kachadurian (Kachadurian) for her continuing acts of harassment and cyber-smearing of both Hopscotch and Sizemore. These acts are part of an ongoing pattern of conduct against several international adoption service providers that dates back to at least 2005.”
“On information and belief, since at least 2004, Kachadurian unsuccessfully has sought to adopt a child through various international adoption agencies. This included a 2005 application to Across the World Adoptions (ATWA) in Pleasant Hill, California to adopt an Armenian child.”
“On information and belief, Kachadurian retaliated against ATWA after her application was declined by
a. Sending a series of harassing and/or annoying emails and packages to ATWA ;
b. vandalizing and defacing ATWA’s office by spray painting the Star of David on it;
c. vandalizing the home of ATWA’s Executive Director by flooding a portion of her property;
d. vandalizing the car of an ATWA employee by putting nails into her tires on at least two occasions; and
e. cyber-smearing ATWA with claims that it was a “virtual baby broker” and calling its Executive Director a “criminal,” “retard” and a “Jewish Princess [who] love[s] to take your money then lie to you.”

“On information and belief, Kachadurian is of Armenian ancestry, and she disapproves of Armenian children being adopted by “odar’s” (a derogatory Armenian language term used by Kachadurian to refer to non-Armenians).”

Also, take a look at this presentation about Cyber Harassment. Interestingly, when we check out the tags of this page, we come across these words:

Isn’t it funny? This presentation by the law firm alone describes all the characteristics of Vanessa and this is of course no coincidence. Anyway, you can read more about the lawsuit in the file.
WHO IS TURGAY (TUR-GAY)?

Although I did publish something about the person operating behind this weird-looking picture, now I must confess that I was wrong. I thought this person who are posting all these defamatory blogs was a male and Turk, because it was what was said in that profile. It turned out that it was a female and an Armenian! Yes, it was nobody other than Vanessa. How did I arrive such a conclusion? I have plenty of evidence to prove it. Let’s first start with the profiles in both blogs. She says “journalist” in both blogs even though she does nothing more than “Watchdog” style journalism. Besides, her main job is with Smith Kline Beecham. Also, on the profile of Turgay, she considers herself a spy and when we read the above lawsuit, we see that this is a title that befits Vanessa. Yet, considering that she runs almost 15 blogs, a Twitter page, two Facebook pages and countless comments, I doubt she has an office-job. She probably works at home. You will also remember that when I first tried to save the above-picture to my computer, the words “Turkey Gay 3” appeared. Who would call Turkey a “gay”? Considering the historical relations, I assume that an Armenian like Vanessa is a perfect match for this. She was also referring Istanbul as “Istanbulsh*t”. Of course, this is not the only evidence. More to come below…
gulenfraud@gmail.com
This is the e-mail Vanessa provides on Turgay’s profile page. In case she deletes it, I took a screenshot. When you bring your mouse to the “email” on that profile page, an e-mail pops-up at the bottom of the page on the left side. This is the e-mail she gets information from her Goose Network friends. You can find many comments made by this e-mail under a number of different nicknames. Turan Akcam is one of them. On the other hand, Lauren Alexander uses Gulensfraud as her user name on Twitter and I know that Lauren is Vanessa herself.
More importantly, she uses this e-mail address along with fake Dr. titles such as Dr. Kaz Kaz (detailed info is given below about the magical word “Kaz”). Or she prefers Gerry Kanavan and Turkish News website to hatch her eggs.

Anyway, my main point to prove my case will be about the fact that Turgay and Vanessa are the same people and the comments that Vanessa puts everywhere on the web are almost facsimile of one other.
Vanessa’s Comments
My research about her comments can be grouped under two categories: comment-based and nickname-based. When I go with the former, it is the same comments under different aliases and nicknames, but if it is about the latter, it is different comments that come from the very same nickname. Of course, there are also few comments in which she (accidentally) used her real name! Now let’s see a few of her countless fake names.
RobJaro is one of her favorite names. For example, on a forum, she first talks about the movie Waiting for Superman and then as a second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth item she only talks about “Gulen Charter Schools” with various links.
On PBS website, with the same nickname, she writes a very long comment that bombs Severson, the author of the documentary. By the way, the comment section of this PBS documentary helps me a lot to prove my case, because it turned out that Vanessa actively operated on that page with various nicknames.
On Huffington Post she uses the same nickname again (RobJaro) only to repeat her same old story. There, I also found another nickname (AdoptTruth) who responds to Robjaro, but as you will see later, AdoptTruth is nobody else but Vanessa. Remember, she is very keen on Adoption Issues and adoptresearch@aol.com and adopttruth@aol.com are only two of the e-mails she uses when dealing with the adoption issues (see above for other e-mails). By the way, under her adoptTRUTH nickname, she has pages of comments here about the Armenian Genocide fervently debating with other readers. In short, you can see all adoptTRUTH comments on Huffington Post. She either defames (gulen) charter schools or Turkey and she explicitly supports Armenia. But beware, that user name might turn into AdoptionTruth as well at any time just like the one about Harmony Schools on Houston Chronicle article.
RRF1966 is another one I found on PBS website. At times, the very same comment is made by two different nicknames and this proves that she accidentally copied and pasted the same comment under different nicknames. For example, Marcus DiFilippio and Dr. Sacha Goldberg made the exact same comments on the same page (just write these two nicknames one by one and you will see that they both belong the same person. I guess she was in a hurry to write her lies). Anyway, when you copy a sentence from this comment and paste it on Google, you will see that the very same long comment on PBS was made in other websites in a verbatim manner as well such as on AJC under the nickname of Ex Charter Parent and on Texas Insider with the fake name of ProudAmerican. Of course, all these names are nobody other than Vanessa.
Looks like she has some ready-made comments and if the discussion goes very long, she uses those comments, but thanks to Google, same exact comments on various websites can easily be found. This proves that Vanessa has some ready-made comments/patterns that are ready to be published when things go wrong.
RRF1966 opened the doors of new findings to me. For example, in Doni Rodrik’s blog, she openly supports Mr. Rodrik, the son-in-law of Cetin Dogan, a former general that was arrested as a result of Ergenekon investigation. On “Colorado Springs Independent”, where she got subscribed only to make two comments (and never used it again), she mentions similar things, but she bites on granite there, because I had already deciphered the ignorance of her colleague! On “Democratic Underground”, she copies and pastes (literally dumps) pages of comments. Even if the news is about something else, she is brave enough to visit there, too. Recently, she has revived this nickname again only to regurgitate the same old story.
Ergenekon Connections
Another interesting alias she prefers is Ergen Kon, a clear allusion to Ergenekon Terrorist Organization. She is not shy of displaying her sympathy to this underground organization, openly praising the members of this underground network. Ergen Kon can surely be found on the PBS documentary. too. On “Republic Mainstreet”, she has the only comment (like in many instances) under an irrelevant piece of news. On “Red County”, she attacks other people with the same rhetoric. She is so in a hurry that she makes a number of spelling mistakes along with repeated words. There she says “Sweet Group” about that terrorist Ergenekon organization.
Katherine Mortelli is anothet pseudonym she uses, but I do not want to give extra links here. since you have already learned how to find out her comments through Uncle Google.
My second technique to prove that those comments are made by Vanessa Kachadurian is using some keywords, phrases or even sentences to come up with the same comments.
Comment-Based Research
For example, if you write this sentence on Google, you will find out very similar patterns: “Do your research Ex-FBI Turkish Translator Sibel Edmonds.” She sometimes uses different prepositions between the words “research” and “Ex-FBI”. Anyway, in her comments, after writing this sentence, she adds one or two more sentences in which you can find the names of Aland Mizell or Joshua Hendrick and then she puts three or four links that belong to their own Goose Network.
Now, in this pattern, you will see almost same exact comments under different nicknames and aliases. For example, using a nickname AmericanTeacher, she comments on News-Record.com. With the name Ergenekon, she has the only comment on “Unconfirmed Sources”. On Youtube, she uses her oft-used nickname Americathebrave100, while on City Data she becomes EducationTruth. By the way, AmericatheBrave is a very popular nickname Vanessa uses and as can be seen here, she almost reveals her Armenian identity in the discussion within the Paul Williams’ blog.
Sometimes she just gets rid of those amateurish nicknames and “adopts” a fancy-looking one with a “Dr.” title. Dr. Ira Goldbloom (notice the similarity with Dr. Sacha Goldberg above) is one of them. She really likes male names. On the same famous PBS website, she uses the nickname John Carson. Then she transforms into Mark Magill when she complains a would-be charter school to Hawaii government on the Rip-off Report page. Mark Stanton is another name on the Algemeiner comment page. She also occasionally utilizes female names such as Debbie Franzler (also on PBS as well) and Gaia Gul (although I am not 100% sure about the this one).
Same Comment, Different Name
Her repertoire is really immense. She enjoys using Italian names such as Vince DiAlieto and Marco DeFlippio. Notice that the former name was used on an Armenian newspaper’s webpage (What does an Italian “guy” have to do with a charter school on an Armenian newspaper? Three irrelevant things…), while the latter was used under a piece of news about a teacher who previously worked with the Harmony Charter Schools. (There was also Marcus DeFlippio under PBS news as stated above.) Interestingly, within the news where DeFlippio comments, Harmony was shown as if it was the guilty party for the misconduct of the teacher even though that teacher was not working for Harmony when he displayed that misconduct. But when your real aim becomes to defame the charter schools, you do use every means to illegitimately attack them. For example, when an accident happens in front of a charter school, she brings it to the spotlight as if that charter school is responsible for that traffic accident. By the way, those two Italian names are very identical with the first names consisting of five letters and the last names start with D and ends with O (not every Italian last name is like this).
The Magical Word: “Kaz”
Finally comes her “interrelated” nicknames that prove the connection between so-called TURGAY and Vanessa. Since in some of her comments, she directly logged in by using Turgay’s blogs, you can clearly see the link between the comments she made as a blog owner and as an individual. I will continue to use the same magical keywords (Do your research Ex-FBI Turkish Translator Sibel Edmonds).
First, let me write those related nicknames and blogs all together: KazFriend, GulenKaz, Maria Kaz, Dr. Kaz, Kazzy Kaz, Dr. Kaz Kaz, Frank Kaz, Dr. Frank Moore, Frank Morton, GooseNetworkUSA, Gulen is a Fraud… (BTW, I found out that “kaz” means GOOSE in Turkish. Bingo!)
GulenKaz was used by Turgay in this comment. Turgay’s e-mail (gulenfraud@gmail.com) appears here. At the end of the comment, like the others above, she gives the list of her blogs. Maria Kaz appears here with the same comment. Kazzy Kaz and Frank Morton (and even American Teacher and CarolineSF) can be seen on the same page. Dr. Kaz looks at us exactly here. It is noteworthy that most of the time Vanessa is the person commenting under the same news, but poor innocent readers don’t know anything about this simple trick and they probably think that they read different comments from different looking people. Even when she becomes Dr. Frank Moore…
Anyway, she transforms into Frank Kaz here and here and we see Turgay’s profile under this comment. Her Twitter account with a Turkish-looking name Ozgur Cengiz along with the picture (a goose biting someone’s back) can be seen in this profile. Interestingly, she feels the need in her Twitter profile to state that she lives in Turkey and she says that “I am a Kemalist and Turkey is my home”. But she can’t speak Turkish at all. Just check those successive comments. She starts with Turkish-looking name Ozgur Cengiz. Then someone replies Ozgur Cengiz highly probably in Turkish. Suddenly she changes her nickname and becomes Marie Lewis. Throughout the conversation Ozgur Cengiz disappears and never appears again and Marie Lewis is the one who provides all the responses. Later in that discussion she accuses other people of adopting American names despite being Turkish. Isn’t it actually what Vanessa doing? Disguising herself in a Turkish name and never speaking Turkish and then accusing those English-speaking people of being Turks and telling them that they need to leave America as soon as possible… Just ridiculous…
(She shamelessly follows my Twitter account, too.)
The comment under the nickname of GooseNetworkUSA is here. Interestingly, one of the people Ozgur Cengiz (a.k.a. Vanessa) follows on Twitter is Genise Harrison, a serious activist about human trafficiking, a subject Vanessa is fond of.
Laurene Peymand
This name belongs to Vanessa and there is even a Facebook page with this name. Her friends are Bill Thacker, West Texas Patriots, Tim Stellar and Robert Spencer, who was cited a couple of hundred times by the Norwegian terrorist Breivik. By the way, this link clearly proves that Lauren is Vanessa just like “Lauren Alexander” (see above). On a Facebook page, she writes something Turkish. I really wondered if she got any help from Google Translate and I came up with this English translation:
Lie, Clinton, smiling Lie. Smiling is worth $ 25000000000 and the owner of all things, even if you watch the news. Smiling fake, just a 5 There are in-class instruction. No college education. Smiling from Ezereum is Kurdish. Gülen hides in Amercia.
Probably she used Google Translate to write in Turkish (just like I did) and her broken (actually non-existent Turkish) can be seen in this English translation.
SalesA1@aol.com
This is one of Vanessa’s frequently used e-mails (also mentioned in the lawsuit file above) although she does only use it for Armenia and adoption-related issues. But humans err, so Vanessa errs as well. For example on this link, she used SalesA1@aol.com as a user name and she gives her favorite Charter Schools Watchdog website as a link at the bottom of her very long comment.
I also have to admit that in my previous article, borrowed from another website, the nicknames that were attributed to Mary of Ohio mostly belong to Vanessa Kachadurian. I think Ohio parents are wrong about the source of some nicknames.
DancerA1@aol.com
She uses this e-mail to insult some Turks on the web.
Meanwhile I sent an e-mail to the officials of some schools Vanessa attacks if any negative comments came to them from Fresno, California. They said they cannot disclose any user name or IP number. But if any negative comment exists, I believe some of them must belong to Vanessa.
Why Does She Attack?
So, here is the final question: Why does she attack those successful schools then? Why does she write so many comments, operate a lot of blogs and attacks people and schools that have nothing to do with Vanessa? Here are my answers:
1) She is from Armenia. She probably can’t stand seeing any Turks in America let alone seeing them working in public schools. She lives in California, where there is a considerable Armenian population and I have found out that recently Turks have organized a cultural festival in California. Some Armenians protested this event, while some of them visited and cried there, because reportedly some elderly Armenians remembered their childhood when they saw the Turkish artifacts and the sound of the call to prayer. I don’t know much about this genocide issue, but an Armenian’s resentment towards Turkish-Americans is no weird.
2) She is probably in contact with someone else (probably from Turkey) who has deep grudge and hatred towards some Turks. Being part of Ergenekon terrorist network, those people are targeting some Muslim Turks outside Turkey and their relationship with some Armenians or certain xenophobic Americans are in good terms. You may wonder if the targeting Turks are Muslim or not and I don’t know the answer of this question, but it has been revealed that some members of the Ergenekon terrorist organization belong to Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate which is an unrecognized Orthodox Christian denomination. Since 99% of the Armenians are Orthodox Christians (at least in Armenia), it is natural for Vanessa to explicitly support the members of Ergenekon terrorist organization.
3) Vanessa, as seen on her Facebook page, during an Armenian Genocide commemoration event, gives a book to Daron McDaniel, assistant for Congressman Jeff Denham, about Gulen Movement written by Aland Mizell. Remember this name? It was one of the key words that I used when searching for Vanessa. What is the relevance between an event about the Armenian Genocide and a book about the Gulen Movement? If there is Vanessa there, we can always talk about some relationship.
4) Vanessa, as stated above, is dealing with a lawsuit right now. She desperately needs money just like Paul Williams who founded a defense fund in his name after making ridiculous claims about McMaster University. This cyber-smearing of charter schools is a good opportunity for her to get extra funding. Maybe she gets her funding from the taxpayers. Remember, I deciphered the financial connections of Goose Network members last year and Vanessa could be one of the beneficiaries.
Conclusion
Vanessa. in the light of all evidence, is working for someone else. But she is just a cat’s paw, because there must be a bigger group or entity operating behind her to provide the much-needed money. This group could either be Ergenekon or those whose names have recently been exposed by Center for American Progress to national media in this report. Since she does not have an office work, she spends all her time on her 15 blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as comments she makes under different nicknames. She hates Turks and therefore she hates some charter schools (which she calls Gulen Charter Schools) where there are some Turks. Now that the truth behind the funny picture above has been revealed, you will remember my article when you see this funny picture.
What to expect next from Vanessa? Of course, after revealing so much evidence and making the things crystal clear, I don’t expect her to deny this. It would be like denying the law of gravity. But, she might make a counter-attack. But I really wonder whom she will be attacking, because I am not attacking and defaming innocent people or top-performing charter schools. She might attempt to delete some of her blogs and comments, if possible.
She will also have to generate a series of brand-new nicknames, aliases and pseudonyms now that I have already deciphered most of them. Or, she will take this as a matter of pride and continue to use the same false names. We will see. Of course, one thing is clear: She will probably label me as a Turk, because this is what she does on the internet as if those charter schools do not have thousands of proud American parents. Meanwhile, if you have more information about Vanessa, feel free to share with me.
From now on, I will closely Vanessa’s activities, comments and her other actions. Now, I am relieved to fulfill my promise to decipher the Goose Network members.
If you happen to see an article written about those schools (infamously called Gulen Charter Schools), take a look at the comments under that article. There, you will see the usual suspect ready to hatch her Goose eggs: Vanessa Kachadurian.
Please, beware of her.

Great News!!! Thank you Bennet!!

2011-11-15T07:57:00.001-05:00

http://ilccyberreport.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/internet-law-center-announces-victory-against-serial-cyber-defamer-calls-for-legislative-action/

Internet Law Center Announces Victory against Serial Cyber Defamer;

Calls for Legislative Action

SANTA MONICA, CA–Nov. 15, 2011—The Internet Law Center, a law firm based in Santa Monica, California, announced today it had achieved a significant victory for its client Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc. (www.hopscotchadoptions.org) of High Point, North Carolina in a federal defamation action against Vanessa Kachadurian of Fresno, California, with an $85,000 settlement.
Hopscotch and its founder Robin Sizemore, filed suit against Kachadurian in federal court in Fresno in December 2009 in response to a vicious cyber-smear campaign that began in 2006. The plaintiffs were merely one of several adoption and educational institutions to be targeted for abuse by Kachadurian under multiple identities.

“It is a gutsy move for a small non-profit like Hopscotch to say ‘enough’ and take on someone like Kachadurian who can devastate a small business,” said Internet Law Center founder Bennet Kelley. This is especially true when, Kelley added, “cyber abuse often escalates online and leads to offline threats of violence in over one in four cases according to data compiled by WHO@ (www.haltabuse.org).”

“Small victories like these collectively send an important message that the internet is no longer the ‘Wild, Wild West’ and that you can and will be held accountable for your actions.”
Kelley noted, however, that “Kachadurian is part of a growing class of internet serial defamers who cause substantial economic and emotional harm to their victims and who have forced companies to spend millions on online reputation management to block and/or respond to such attacks.”
Kelley, who helped draft a primer on internet law for California policymakers, argued that lawmakers across the country should seriously assess whether their state’s defamation laws need to be updated to address these worst offenders.

Kelley added that, this may be a topic he explores in more depth in a future edition of Cyber Law and Business Report, a radio show he hosts that airs weekly on WebmasterRadio.fm.

About The Internet Law Center
The Internet Law Center (www.internetlawcenter.net) helps clients navigate and influence the evolving legal standards for the changing digital economy. The firm publishes the newsletter, Cyber Report, which won top prize at the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2011 Southern California Journalism Awards.
The firm was founded by Bennet Kelley, the former co-chair of the California Bar Cyberspace Committee, where he led the effort to publish Cyberspace Law and Policy: A Primer for State Policymakers.
Kelley is also Of Counsel to San Diego-based Hull McGuire PC (www.hullmcguire.com) and host of Cyber Law and Business Report which airs every Wednesday at 10AM Pacific/ 1PM Eastern on WebmasterRadio.fm. (www2.webmasterradio.fm/cyberlaw-and-business-report/).
Contact:
Bennet Kelley, (310) 452-0401
bkelley@internetlawcenter.net

Annalea Watching the Scary Part in the Scooby Doo Movie

2011-11-05T12:17:00.000-04:00

Kevin's Promotion Party Photos

2011-11-04T15:47:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-04T15:45:00.000-04:00

This Halloween was probably the scariest in the Vigilante household. Ryan dressed up as a "War Demon," you can see him pictured here. His stunt was to stand perfectly still outside our front door holding a basket of candy which had a sign that said, "Only take two." Once someone came to take the candy from what appeared to be a statue, he blurted out, "Boo!" sending the trick or treaters screaming down our driveway. Wish I could have captured it on video.

And here is our Beauty and the Beast:

Happy Birthday Ryan

2011-07-30T20:16:00.001-04:00

The Orioles cake was a mistake!! I ordered a "baseball theme" cake and that is what they gave me!! Many unhappy Red Sox fans at the party!!

Annalea at the Doctor's

2011-07-27T13:42:00.000-04:00

Annalea is sick

2011-07-25T18:44:00.000-04:00

I am so proud of Ryan's Achievements in Swimming this Year

2011-07-17T15:03:00.000-04:00

Ryan has made amazing strides this year in swimming as you can see from the previous videos. We are so proud of him and look forward to an even better year next year.

Relay carnival

2011-07-17T12:23:00.000-04:00

Ryan in relay carnival

2011-07-17T12:20:00.000-04:00

Annalea's First Swim Trophy!!

2011-07-16T13:15:00.000-04:00

Meghan and Annalea are the best of friends. I am proud to share with you their first kickboard exhibition which happened yesterday at the pool. Congratulations Annalea and Meghan!!

Fashion must not suffer even during times of recovery

2011-07-15T07:31:00.000-04:00

Love this cast. The colors work with everything and I can go in the pool with it.

A New Level of Bonding for me and Kevin

2011-07-09T13:07:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago, Kevin had arthroscopic hip surgery. Recovery is 3 weeks on crutches. I played the role of helping nurse him back to health...until 3 days ago. While walking Annalea through the parking lot to her first ever ballet class, I stepped off the curb into a hole and lost my footing. It was a scene!! Poor Annalea crying, "my Mommy fell down, my Mommy fell down!!!" A crowd formed and several people called 911. I was rolling around on the ground in pain. Luckily, my friend was walking in his daughter (who is Annalea's best friend) and saw me on the ground. He helped me sit up on the ledge of my minivan while I waited for the ambulance to arrive and he walked Annalea in to her class.

A quick ride to the hospital and virtually no wait in the ER, I soon found out I had broken my fibula (ankle section) on my right foot and sprained my left ankle. Hmmm, I thought. Do I get to ride around in one of the chairs in the house with the cup holder? Well, not exactly, because after splinting my left foot, I was able to put weight on it and use the crutches.

So, now we have two parents on crutches, a very helpful ten year old, and an amazing nanny who is working extra hours. Life is actually not that bad really, other than the fact I can't go to yoga, pilates, or spinning. Monday I will get my cast and get a better idea of what kind of recovery I can expect. In the meantime, I will enjoy the pampering from my friends and family.

No doubt that Ryan is a Very Bright Kid!!!

2011-06-25T08:31:00.000-04:00

Annalea Cares for Daddy

2011-06-22T20:29:00.000-04:00

Kevin had hip surgery today and is enjoying the attention of Annalea and Ryan. Ryan will be featured in our next video :)

Father's Day -- An opportunity to preserve a fond memory for Kevin

2011-06-19T09:01:00.000-04:00

Until about a year ago, Kevin drove a 1994 Ford Explorer. I finally convinced him (after the car literally started to fall apart) that it was time to get a new car. In order to do this, I had to have the salesman drive the demo car (an Acura RDX) 15 miles to our home so that Kevin would test drive it. He liked the car and we purchased it. About a month ago, I finally convinced Kevin to donate the old car to the Veterans. They came and towed it away...it was a sad day for Kevin.

Kevin's present this year (well one of them) is a micro sized version of his old car.

And his reaction to receiving the present:

Photos from our day at the Polo Match

2011-06-19T05:54:00.003-04:00

At the Entrance to the Tent

Me with John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" (also a polo player!!)

Annalea Loves any reason to pose

As does Ryan

Love this

The horses were beautiful!

Ryan had his ball signed by both John Walsh and Salvatore Ferragamo

Annalea posing with the famous Salvatore Ferragamo

Ryan waits as Salvatore Ferragamo signs his ball

Annalea has a cocktail with the ladies

Ryan's first A Meet

2011-06-18T12:05:00.000-04:00

He improved his time by 4 seconds!!!!

Ryan is now a Safety Patrol

2011-06-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

Ryans First Swim Meet of the Season

2011-06-16T09:01:00.001-04:00

50 Meter Freestyle

25 Meter Backstroke

First time Annalea puts her face in the water!!

2011-06-10T22:25:00.000-04:00

YEAH!!!!

Ryan's Fourth Grade Concert

2011-06-08T08:06:00.000-04:00

That's my boy!!!

For the record...

2011-06-02T21:43:00.000-04:00

Taboo Breakers: Turkish human rights champion defies denial of Armenian Genocide - Features | ArmeniaNow.com

2011-05-29T04:28:00.000-04:00

A great man

Taboo Breakers: Turkish human rights champion defies denial of Armenian Genocide - Features | ArmeniaNow.com

Egg Smash

2011-05-28T05:57:00.000-04:00

Listen carefully to Nancy's comment at the end and my reaction...

Double Zapper -- Everyone Needs One

2011-05-28T05:46:00.001-04:00

Ryan had a school project this spring where he had to write and create a persuasive advertisement. It was a great team effort.

Producers: Ryan and Sonia

Director: Sonia

Writers: Ryan and Sonia

Cast:

Ryan: Ryan

Mom: Mom

Rock Concert -- Preschool Style

2011-05-26T13:29:00.001-04:00

So today was the end of school party for Annalea's preschool. It was kicked off with a concert for the tots. This guy is good...I may have to get his info for a future birthday party.

Nothing to Hide

2011-05-25T19:49:00.000-04:00

This blog went off line for a while because there are some bad people snooping around trying to say my adoption was illegal. Can you believe this? Well I have nothing to hide and want to continue to share the wonderful news about my family with everyone. I will not let some two bit journalist prevent me from telling my story.

So for my readers who have wondered where I was, I am back. Much has happened as you can see from the preceding posts...my husband was promoted to partner, we had a visit from my niece Katie. We joined a new country club, and Ryan is learning tennis now. I am also taking tennis lessons and will be taking up golf as well. Life is good...and there are people out there who are jealous of this and want to try to destroy this. Don't let anyone scare you away from your dream of adopting. Hopscotch is a wonderful and ethical agency that will do you good and do good for the children.

God Bless.

Katie's Visit -- Precious Moments

2011-05-25T19:33:00.000-04:00

Kevin is a Partner

2011-05-25T19:30:00.000-04:00

I know this really doesn't have much to do with the kids or the adoption, but I had to share the wonderful news that my husband, Kevin, is now a Senior VP at Booz Allen Hamilton. Internally, the term is "partner," although now that the firm is public, the term is not as accurate. But he does own a larger share of the company than he did before :).

Last week we attended the official party to celebrate this great accomplishment, which everyone keeps telling me is a "big deal." I guess it is, but Kevin is still the same guy I met way back in RI...a very humble, generous, and funny guy that I feel so fortunate to be married to. There will be photos to share soon, but these were taken in our front yard prior to our departure to the venue, which was a rooftop restaurant in Arlington. It really was a fun time, and I can't wait to share all the photos.

Easter Sunday 2011

2011-05-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

Annalea's Big Girl Bed!!

2011-04-23T21:45:00.000-04:00

Annalea Ballerina

2011-04-17T11:49:00.000-04:00

Bakum is back!!!!!!

2011-03-06T08:11:00.003-05:00

Annalea lost her Bakum for a few months, but as you can see, she is thrilled to have him back. We don't know why she decided to call him "Bakum," but it is interesting that she started using this word very early and actually uses the back of her throat to say the k. If you don't say it correctly, she will correct you.

Bakum has aged over the years as we all have. In this video you can see him when he had a lot more fur.

Ryan Practicing Amazing Grace

2011-02-23T21:29:00.000-05:00

A Man Truly Fulfilled

2011-02-13T08:59:00.001-05:00

Last night Kevin and I attended the jubilee banquet honoring Rev. Fr. Vertanes Kalayjian. Fr. Kalayjian was the pastor of St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church for over 30 years. His biography is remarkable and I would like to share that perhaps in another post. But at the moment, I really want to share how our lives touched each other.

We met Der Kalayjian in 2006, when we approached him about helping us with our adoption. One of the requirements of our dossier was a letter from an Armenian Apostolic priest affirming that the adoptive couple (or at least one of the prospective parents) is indeed an Armenian in good standing. Der Kalayjian helped us with our request and we were very grateful to him.

Fast Forward to 2010. Kevin is at a job recruiting event for Booz Allen, interviewing prospective employees. A gentleman sits down with him, and Kevin noticed his name tag had an Armenian name. Kevin told him our story of adopting Annalea and asked if he knew Der Hye. The gentleman whose name is Zaven, chuckled and said, "I sure do. He is my father." Zaven is an accomplished guy (PhD in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins), which doesn't surprise me considering who his dad is. After about an hour or two of interviewing, Zaven left that event as a newly hired employee of Booz Allen.

Last night we had the honor to sit at one of the head tables with Der Kalayjian's brothers and sisters, who are just as impressive as their brother. We were not expecting this at all and to be honest we didn't even think we would get a seat based on what we had heard about the event being completely booked. But Fr. Kalayjian really wanted to show his appreciation to us, and we were truly honored.

Toward the end of the program Archbishop Barsamian gave his remarks. He spoke about a study that was done in Chicago about what careers were the most fulfilling, and we learned 85% of those who were most fulfilled were in clergy work. But Archbishop Barsamian remarked that you don't need a study to find this out. Just look in the eyes of Fr. Kalayjian and you can see the joy just shining through them. And that is so true.

Thomas choo choo!

2011-02-04T16:18:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T18:57:00.000-05:00

10/10/10 -- a Perfect 10

2010-10-10T17:20:00.004-04:00

This was taken outside St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in Washington, DC.

Annalea is three

2010-09-19T19:03:00.001-04:00

Kokor turns 83

2010-09-13T18:17:00.001-04:00

My "Kokor" turned 83 last week. I call her Kokor because as a child I wasn't able to pronounce "Morkor" and this name stuck with all of us. She is visiting with my mom for about 10 days, and we are really enjoying their company.

Back to School!!

2010-08-30T12:19:00.001-04:00

Annalea learns to pedal

2010-08-29T17:10:00.000-04:00

Interview with Annalea

2010-08-22T10:16:00.000-04:00

"Home Hospitality"

2010-08-12T16:12:00.006-04:00

Last month, a gentleman from the Armenian Ministry of Justice, visited our home with his son and a State Department escort.

About a month before the visit I received an email asking if I would meet with Mr. Argam Stepanyan, who is in charge of international adoptions at the Ministry of Justice in Armenia. I felt honored to be able to do this. When the State Dept. realized his schedule could only accommodate a visit around dinner time, they officially called it a "Home Hospitality Visit."

We served grilled lamb and risotto. My friend Nancy and her daughter Serine (also adopted from Armenia) joined us.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Mr. Stepanyan and his son. And I have been told that they enjoyed spending time with the adoptive family a child from their homeland. Said Mr. Stepanyan, "I do have very pleasant impressions from my visit and especially from your family's hospitality. I greatly appreciate your kindness and the way you treat your children. You can be a very good example for many other families. "

Today I received some photos from them and I am thrilled to share them here.

Carolina Beach

2010-07-04T10:17:00.000-04:00

Annalea wouldn't even go near the water the day before. That's Serine's mom holding Annalea's and Serine's hands.

Wilmington Outdoor Concert

2010-07-04T10:11:00.000-04:00

The Armenian Americans | WLIW21 Productions

2010-06-16T14:37:00.000-04:00

The Armenian Americans | WLIW21 Productions

Ryan's Piano Recital

2010-06-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

Annalea's School Portrait

2010-05-18T16:32:00.002-04:00

Ryan's 9th Birthday Party

2010-05-11T00:23:00.000-04:00

Silly Annalea and Serine

2010-05-10T23:53:00.000-04:00

Annalea and Serine both came from Nork Marash orphanage in Armenia...

Keep Your Promise Obama

2010-04-23T18:05:00.001-04:00

Today we had a tour of the White House. The timing was unintentional...but today was also the day that demonstrators from the DC Armenian community protested Obama's broken promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Is it wrong to seek a healthy child?

2010-04-15T10:05:00.008-04:00

Every now and then, there is some discussion on the adoption boards about adopting a "healthy" vs. a "special needs" child. The advantage of seeking a special needs child is that your wait is significantly shorter because these are waiting children. The current wait in Armenia is 3 years for a healthy child whereas you could bring home a waiting child in less than a year.

My husband and I decided that we wanted a healthy child and did not even consider minor correctable needs. We were very nervous about even accepting a healthy child to tell you the truth. You just never know when you accept a referral of a 3 month old. It is risky no matter how you look at it. But we wanted to minimize the risk. We started building our family very late in life, and considering our advanced ages at the time of our adoption (me 48 and my husband 53), we were not prepared to parent a child that required more than we were able to give.

So as we were working on the adoption agency application, the question of what special needs we would be willing to accept came up. A few examples from the application:

club foot
cleft palate
allergies or asthma
diabetes
impaired sight/blindness
delayed emotional/mental development
seizure disorder
orthopedic disorders

...and on and on...

And one after another we checked no, no, no, no...

Does this make us bad people???

It is a question that comes up in my mind when I read some of the posts from people who have brought home special needs children. Their children where the ones who were passed over time and time again by we people seeking "healthy" children.

I applaud those who embrace those left behind. The world is a much better place because of them. They are the heroes of the adoption world in my eyes.

But we didn't set out to save a child. We wanted to build our family and did not want to put any additional pressure in our lives by taking in a SN child.

Do I feel guilty about this?

Not in the least.

Because I can't imagine life without the beautiful girl who was meant to be our daughter.

Thank God for the Nannies at Nork

2010-04-11T08:50:00.003-04:00

The situation on the Russsian adoption front is becoming ugly. Why and how did this happen? Are Americans really that irresponsible as parents? Are we 100% to blame? Or should the Russian government bear some of the responsibility? I think the latter is the bigger problem.

All I can say is thank goodness the culture in Armenia is nothing like that in Russia. Women in Armenia do not drink and do drugs. The orphanages have loving nannies that provide the love and nurturing children need. Even the older children that go home to their adoptive families adapt very well and rarely do I hear of RAD (reactive attachment disorder). The nannies are to be given ALL the credit for this...and these are severely underpaid servants who work 2-3 day shifts.

Here is a blog post from another blog which boldly states the truth. It was lifted from All My Beans.

Catalyst for TRUTH

There is great discussion going on about a little 8 year old boy that was adopted, from Russia, by a single Mom. The Mom, in desperation (and illegally) put the boy on a plane and sent him back to Russia with a note stating he was mentally sick, dangerous and the Russian authorities needed to assume responsibility for their lies. She asserted he now belonged to Russia again.

Naturally, the Russian authorities are angered by this move. They have nothing but degrading things to say about it (us).

I understand that.

Unfortunately, I also understand the devastation when you adopt a child that is damaged...deeply damaged...and dangerous.

I understand what it feels like to be conned and bamboozled out of your life's savings only to have your dream smashed with the sledgehammer of reality.

I understand how heart wrenching it is to long for and strive to be a parent to a child that has no capacity to receive your love, no capability to trust your nurturing, and no conscience to cherish a connection with you.

Love can't cure some of these kids because the damage began at conception. It began with the untimely yet inevitable combination of two destitute wanna-be survivors. It began in the presence of a desperation most of us can never understand..

Russia has the highest rate of alcoholism in the world. Young girls, many orphanage raised, hit the streets in anguished poverty, lacking any skills to survive. They are forced to resort to the fundamental and primitive art of prostitution. Amidst prostitution, to deflect the misery, they bathe their mind in drugs and alcohol . It is a means to sustain their tortured existence. Then the cycle repeats, alcohol effected baby dumped in an orphanage to grow up without the essential needs, compromised already with alcohol soaked brains and then pawned off on unsuspecting pie-in-the-sky Americans for huge dollars. Adoption is a business and Russians feel no shame reaping their portion of the harvest.

Some of these babies aren't adopted as infants, so they get to spend their formative years in orphanages that are not equipped to deal with their needs, even on the lowest hierarchy of needs. Many are sold during the night to pedophiles and returned in the day to look and think like normal kids. The reality is, there is nothing normal about a childhood in a Russian orphanage.

There is no shortage of stories about kids being sold for prostitution while the orphanage director looks away with a greased palm. There are countless stories of kids being tied to beds and whipped for small misdeeds. It is a dog eat dog world and it is ingrained, on a cellular level, to survive, at all costs. But any abuse perpetrated by Russian officials or citizens is excused because you can do unto your own with a perverted legitimacy that wreaks of hypocrisy.

The ones who perish might be the lucky ones...

To be a Russian orphan is a way of life that courses through your veins and is ejected with veracity through your heart. It wreaks of deep seated fear that cannot be undone by love. yet, we Americans, with hearts on our sleeves, try and try again. We pay huge amounts of money to save this forsaken child because we have this primal need to parent.

And when we fail...???

Well, one Mom in desperation sent the child back to the gutters of hell from which he rose.

Russian officials didn't like that much

They claim it was outrageously abusive.

Perhaps they fear exposure and shame?

Admittedly, I don't think it was the best thing to do, but maybe it was the ONLY thing to do.

Ideally, it will draw attention to the plight of deceit and profit that the adoption world seems to breed.

Hypothetically, it could expose the Russian system for what it is...a contradiction in everything it professes to stand for.

Painfully, it will force Russia to clean up their own back yard before they point the finger of blame on us.

Regretfully, it will keep their sickest children in the same old sick hell hole without any hope.

Legally, it will shut down adoptions and stifle the flow of deeply damaged children unleashed on a culture and society that has no means or resources to deal with children with brains who've been saturated in alcohol, children whose emotions are disconnected in the cortex and children who have no concept or desire to belong because they are too busy surviving.

Russia...before you point one single communist finger at the USA, who repeatedly is willing to take your most damaged future, clean up your own back yard.
Respect woman and orphans.
Allow human dignity
Invest in your families--your citizens..your TRUE future.
Support your programs instead of your military
Create a prohibition, if a country ever needed it..YOURS DOES.
Clean up your hypocrisy and be transparent about the demise of your culture.
Don't you dare sell us your most desperate and damaged and then point the finger at us when we fail.

Annalea's Second Easter Bunny

2010-04-06T10:32:00.002-04:00

This is Annalea's second Easter at home. You might recall our video of her first Easter Bunny which I show right below this one.

Too Cute for Words

2010-04-05T20:03:00.001-04:00

Bubbles!!!

2010-04-05T14:25:00.001-04:00

Eye rest my case...

2010-04-05T14:07:00.005-04:00

This is Annalea last Christmas, one month before her eye surgery.

And this is her today.

I don't think there is any argument that the surgery was successful!!!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T14:04:00.001-04:00

She's growing up!

2010-03-22T01:54:00.000-04:00

Annalea's Pre-Op Interview

2010-01-30T16:57:00.002-05:00

If you followed this blog from the very beginning, you may have seen some posts about our concern that Annalea may have stabismus. After many visits to the eye doctor, attempts at wearing glasses and patching, we went forward with the eye muscle surgery.

Here is her pre-op interview:

and here is her post-op interview:

Jingle Bells

2009-12-14T18:03:00.001-05:00

Fun in the Snow

2009-12-05T17:58:00.002-05:00

No Special Treatment

2009-12-01T21:13:00.005-05:00

When we adopted Annalea in 2008, Armenian requirements for adoption stated that the adoptive family have some Armenian heritage on at least one side of the family. This was fair, I thought, considering how few children are available for adoption in this small country.

About a year ago, this rule went by the wayside. The claim is that Hague rules require this to prevent discrimination. Now anyone of any ethnicity can adopt here. I think that is a good change, with one exception. Armenians do not get preference.

I have some questions about this.

China is a Hague country. They give preference to people with Chinese heritage. Why can't Armenia?

Why is one agency requiring Armenian heritage and the other not?

Why was something that was so important before 2008, suddenly become not important at all?

I am sure this will anger some. It is already a heated discussion on the Armenian Adoption Yahoo list serve.

But darn it!!!! This is a very small country where the wait for a referral was already 1 to 1.5 years. Now you can expect to wait 3 years or more. And, yes, if you are Armenian, go to the end of the line.

Annalea's Sharpie Artwork

2009-10-13T22:40:00.001-04:00

Annalea Dances

2009-10-09T21:14:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday Annalea

2009-09-19T18:12:00.001-04:00

Annalea had her 2nd birthday celebration this weekend. Should we be amazed that she blew the candles out herself?

Tomato Hog Meets His Match

2009-09-04T07:53:00.001-04:00

Kevin chases an unwelcome visitor in our tomato garden.

Ryan Performs for Blue Belt Graduation

2009-08-30T23:35:00.001-04:00

Ryan performs purple belt form during his graduation to blue belt.

Rocking Out

2009-08-02T18:46:00.001-04:00

Annalea obviously likes this activity.

Kabob Delight

2009-07-19T14:00:00.002-04:00

Annalea's taste of shish kabob!!

Ryan's First Piano Recital

2009-06-15T18:44:00.004-04:00

Yesterday Ryan performed in front of an audience of about 50 people during his first recital. Thought you might enjoy his performance...as Ryan said, "I messed up on Chimes," but I think he handled it very well.

Cute Clips

2009-05-28T22:38:00.004-04:00

Deck Update

2009-05-28T22:33:00.001-04:00

Work has Begun

2009-05-23T12:39:00.004-04:00

on our new deck!!! This a project that we have been thinking about for a while, and we waited until our old deck was literally coming apart. Our plans include a large stone planter and an arbor with ceiling fans and low voltage lighting. Some might think of this as going overboard....but Kevin insisted on the fans (as a way of keeping cool and keeping bugs away). So it mushroomed from there.

So let me share with you some visuals of our progress to date.

There used to be a rickety old deck here:

James digs the first hole for the footings:

The lumber for the framing arrives:

Framing is almost complete:

A large stone planter will be built in the foreground (where the wood scraps are laying):

Annalea and Katie Moments

2009-05-03T08:49:00.005-04:00

Ryan's Big Day

2009-05-02T18:08:00.002-04:00

Today Ryan made his First Communion. It was a wonderful day. Uncles and aunts traveled many miles to witness this momentous event.

Ryan sitting in his seat after mass:

A rare family photo:

Our handsome boy:

Ryan with his Godparents, Aunt Mary and Uncle Al:

A great outting with a great friend

2009-05-02T17:31:00.000-04:00

My friend and neighbor Tammi and I took the girls for a walk along the Potomac River the other day. It was a beautiful day! Some photos from the day:

Photos Worth Sharing

2009-04-30T14:15:00.002-04:00

During a walk on the tow path along the Potomac River, Annalea and I spotted this family of geese:

Ryan and Annalea enjoy swinging together at our neighborhood playground:

Bubble Bath

2009-04-28T20:27:00.002-04:00

This has to be a good sign...

2009-04-28T15:49:00.005-04:00

And I thought I was the multi-tasker in the family

2009-04-28T15:32:00.005-04:00

Kevin manages to get alot accomplished while I go to my Saturday morning pilates reformer class...babysitting, exercise, and mind enrichment.

I just love this

2009-04-28T13:18:00.001-04:00

Ryan's spring school photo....

Now Turkey wants sympathy...How dare they!!!

2009-04-26T08:34:00.005-04:00

April 24 was the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. Armenians around the world gather to remember their forebears who suffered and died or who survivied the planned and systematic attempt of the Turkish Government to exterminate the Armenians in 1915.

Obama made a statement as all presidents do. Obama probably did the best he could. He said his views have not changed from his previous statements in which he said it was "genocide." However he did not utter that word as most had expected. I am sure all of his advisors told him not to, but we all know it is in his heart.

I guess the Turks know that too, because they are ANGRY!!! That makes me feel somewhat vindicated because they know that Obama considers what the Ottamans did GENOCIDE. He just can't say the word because we can't lose our bases there.

Below is an excerpt of Obama's statement:

"Ninety four years ago, one of the great atrocities of the 20th century began. Each year, we pause to remember the 1.5 million Armenians who were subsequently massacred or marched to their death in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories, just as it lives on in the hearts of the Armenian people.

"History, unresolved, can be a heavy weight. Just as the terrible events of 1915 remind us of the dark prospect of man’s inhumanity to man, reckoning with the past holds out the powerful promise of reconciliation. I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed. My interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts"

BUT, now the Turks are demanding that THEY be recognized too. An excerpt from an AP article on Turkey's reaction:

Turkey's president said Saturday that President Barack Obama failed to honor Turks slain by Armenians in a message remembering the dead in massacres nearly a century ago.

Obama on Friday refrained from branding the WWI-era massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey a "genocide," and instead referred to the killings that began in 1915 as "one of the great atrocities of the 20th century."

The phrasing of Obama's statement attracted heightened scrutiny, as using the "genocide" label could have angered U.S. ally Turkey and possibly disturbed reconciliation talks between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said, however, that Obama should also have expressed sympathy toward the "hundreds of thousands of Turks and Muslims" killed around the same period, according to comments reported by the state-run Anatolia news agency.

"Everyone's pain must be shared," Gul reportedly said outside a meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria. "It is not possible for politicians, for statesmen to make decisions on historic events."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that, while Obama tried to be "balanced," the statement was "not satisfactory' for Turkey.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry also complained that certain points in Obama's statement had been "unacceptable."

"It should not be forgotten that several hundreds of thousands of Turks have lost their lives as well," the ministry said in a statement. "Common history of the Turkish and Armenian nations has to be assessed solely through impartial and scientific data, and historians must base their evaluations only on such material."

What nerve!!! Not only do they DENY what they did, now they want sympathy? Oh...poor Turkey. The slaughtered 1.5 million Armenians and in the process the Armenians tried to defend themselves and a few of them got killed. Turkey, if you want sympathy you are not going to get it from this or any other country. The world is with Armenia, if you haven't noticed. Just about every European country and most states in the US have officially recognized the events of 1915 as GENOCIDE. Get with the picture Turkey...if you want admission to the EU, you have got to stop this nonsense.

Sargsyan: Recognition of the Armenian Genocide is not a Precondition

2009-04-24T07:28:00.005-04:00

This morning the president of Armenia made a statement to commemorate the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. One of his comments concern me, and I am sure it probably has to do with the most recent agreement made with Turkey. It is a sad day today for many reasons...historically and politically.

His remarks (lifted from A1+):

Serzh Sargsyan issued as message on Commemoration Day of the Armenian Genocide victims.

"Today we bow down before the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide.

94 years ago the Ottoman Empire organized and perpetrated the Armenian Genocide on the state level. A huge part of our people was coolly annihilated. Today, the Genocide in not only a past reality, but also an indispensible part of the present and the destiny of the Genocide survivors, their heirs and all Armenians.

The crimes against humanity have no period of limitation either in people's memory or before the court of history. The international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is an issue of restoration of the historical justice for the Armenian people and the Republic of Armenia.

The Armenian nation is not lonely in pursuing the condemnation of the crime of genocide. At this moment of commemoration we extend our sincere gratitude to the states, organizations and individuals who support us in condemning and preventing the crimes against humanity. We support to the Turkish intellectuals struggling for the sake of historical justice who share our pain. We have mentioned many times that the process of international recognition of the Genocide is not directed against the Turkish people and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is not a precondition for the establishment of bilateral relations.

No lessons have been drawn form the Armenian Genocide. Effective mechanisms of denial and negation of genocide have been worked out over the past decades. Denying genocide means consigning to oblivion the crime against humanity and paving the way for similar crimes in the future. As President of the Republic of Armenia, I wish that no other nation survives such a tragedy.

Any of the innocent victims has his name, his family and history, while the crime has its organizers and perpetrators. Not all the stories of that crime have been told yet. Despite the huge work done, we still have to present many facts of the Armenian Genocide to the world.

There have been many heroic pages in the centuries-old Armenian history, some of which full of blood and losses. Today, when we are shaping the biography of our contemporary statehood, we thus demonstrate that we can be the guarantors of our people's security and exclude the reoccurrence of such crimes."

Obama: As President I will Recognize the Armenian Genocide

2009-04-23T06:49:00.000-04:00

Why Isn't Turkey's Holocaust-Denying Condemned Like Iran's?

2009-04-22T20:39:00.004-04:00

Lifted from Pierre's Middle East Issues Blog
By Pierre Tristam, About.com Guide to Middle East Issues
Wednesday April 22, 2009

Still in denial: Turkey not only ignores Armenian pleas to recognize the Turkish genocide of some 1.5 million Armenians, it bullies other governments into denying that holocaust while prosecuting anyone in Turkey who refers to it as a genocide (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images).

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is justly condemned for his rants and raves about "the conspiracies of some powers and Zionist circles" and his (and his regime's) toxic mix of Holocaust denying or denigration.

When Turkey peddles similar poisons, regarding Armenians, as it did the very day Ahmadinejad was lecturing the Geneva conference on racism, not a word was said by Official Washington or the European Union. This, on the heels of Barack Obama reverentially addressing the Turkish Parliament on its own floor.

Last night in Canada, representative from across the spectrum of the Canadian government--conservatives, liberals and in betweeners--commemorated the Armenian genocide (1915-1923), in which some 1.5 million Armenians were murdered by Ottoman Turks and Kurds in the dying days of the Ottoman empire and before the emergence of the Turkish republic. In 2004, the Canadian Parliament passed a bill that read: ""That this house acknowledge the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and condemn this act as a crime against humanity." The then-government of Paul Martin refused to endorse the bill, but subsequently Prime Minister Stephen Harper did (a lesson to the U.S. Congress, which has yet to pass a similar bill).

Get this: Turkey "warned" Canadian officials, including Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, not to talk genocide (where Turkey gets the presumption to dictate what other countries' ministers may or may not say is beyond me. Then again, it isn't: Ottoman imperiousness dies hard.) Kenney did anyway, and Harper sent his written affirmation: "I am honoured," he wrote, "to have this opportunity to extend my warmest greetings to all those attending the Congress of Canadian Armenians event to mark the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the resolution by the House of Commons recognizing the Armenian Genocide." He also, apparently, attended a vigil marking the genocide.
Turkey's response? It recalled its ambassador to Canada "for consultation." How different, exactly, is that from Ahmadinejad's shenanigans? Not very, in my book.

But European and American governments continue to dance around Turkey's denials because Turkey and Armenia, who may be normalizing relations, may be the West's new gate to the oil-rich Caucasus.

The Globe & Mail is reporting that Obama may be addressing the Armenian genocide issue later this week. He's on record supporting the bill declaring the genocide as such. But he's backpedaled since becoming president.

It's easy to demolish Ahmadinejad. He's duplicity's clown. But it's also meaningless if the same standard doesn't apply to other holocaust deniers. Turkey bullies those who don't submit to its false history. Canada refuses to go along. The United States officially still does. Time to end that charade.

Some Moments from the Weekend

2009-04-22T13:42:00.004-04:00

My friend Nancy visited last weekend with her daughter Serine and son George. Serine was adopted from Armenia a year before Annalea. She and Annalea were in the same orphanage in the same room with the same nannies, but a different times. George and Ryan are the same age and are great buddies.

It doesn't get much better in spinning country

2009-04-22T13:22:00.002-04:00

I may have mentioned how much I love my new health club. It is the ultimate in luxury in a fitness club setting. I especially love the locker room with its natural stone surfaces, dark mahogany lockers, and plentiful towels. It is SOOOOO clean...probably cleaner than my own bathroom...there are women in there replenishing towels and cleaning all the time. And all of this while Annalea is socializing in the fabulous child care center. All I can say is that I am usually a happy camper when I am at Lifetime Fitness.

But today there was a bit of excess in my spinning class. I like the spinning instructors at this club for the most part. They play good music and are very enthusiastic. Today the spinning room was a tad warmer than usual. The spinning instructor opened the door and that seemed to solve the problem...but when the general manager got wind that people were sweating just a little too much, he went a bit overboard. Within 5 minutes there were staff members coming in with towels soacked in ice water and iced bottled water for all class participants. I have to say it was mighty nice to have an ice cold towel handed to me during a spinning class.

This is not good...I will never go back to the Rocky Balboa style of working out again. Call me a workout snob, that's ok. It's worth it.

Obama in Ankara...a step in the right direction

2009-04-17T09:34:00.005-04:00

Obama's remarks fell short of mentioning the word "genocide," but in his very diplomatic style attempted to move the issue forward. President Gul's remarks, on the other hand, confirmed my suspicions that Turkey is still eons away from admitting the genocide was committed by their ancestors. It is infuriating.

Be sure to listen to Obama's final remarks following President Gul...these were the most promising comments he made.

Armenian Golgotha

2009-04-17T08:55:00.007-04:00

Last night I went to the Barnes and Noble in Bethesda with Kevin and my friend Nancy to see Peter Balakian speak about his new book Armenian Golgotha. I am looking forward to reading this book, which was written by his Great Uncle Grigoris Balakian about his experience and escape from the horrendous genocide committed by the Turks in 1915. Peter translated this book into English for the first time. It was originally published in Armenian in the 1920s. The release of this book is very timely as April 24 is right around the corner. This is the date that is recognized as the anniversary of the start of the elimination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. To this day, the Turkish government denies that there was a genocide.

My husband marveled at my willingness to stand in line for an hour to get my books autographed. I also have read Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian and recommend it highly.

So with that, I present the fruits of my labor:

Peter Balakian

Coloring Eggs with Ryan

2009-04-13T09:35:00.005-04:00

Annalea's First Chocolate Bunny

2009-04-13T09:35:00.003-04:00