Thank you all for your prayers and support of my family over the past week. It is much appreciated.
I did go to Springfield for my grandmother's funeral, and because of a generous husband and a generous employer, I was able to stay for a few days to help out a little. The service was good and I was really joyful to know that my grandmother is no longer in pain but is restored and in a loving, eternal relationship with her Father--all due to the choice she made to trust in Jesus Christ.
I also had a good time with my extended family, most of whom I got to see two weekends in a row as we were in Springfield a couple of weeks ago for a work conference for Mark. It was fun to get to talk and enjoy the company of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandfather for a few days.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Watching the progress
The boys had a not-horrible day at school yesterday which was a definite step up from some of the days this week. Today they were able to play a good portion of the day, although Dima had a bunch of homework to do as he has decided not to do his work at school. So he doesn't get to play at home until he finishes the work he opted not to do at school. And they're not things he can't do--he's just being a little rebel.
I was able to have a wonderful talk with a friend from church this morning one-on-one, just chatting over coffee. Mark had a base ball meeting and then he picked the boys and me up and we went to the park. The guys played base ball and the boys and I hung out at the playground. I am so amazed at how much Dima's gross motor skills have improved. Both boys can now swing independently, which neither of them could do when we came home (or even 6 months ago). Dima can jump (from about 5 feet up) and land without falling (Zhenya can't even do that yet! ;)). He loves to climb and run--he can climb on the monkey bars and flip his legs up. When we were at the playground last January (2007), Dima could not even hold himself up on the bars--he didn't have the grip strength. It's really amazing how far he has come in the past year.
And that progress makes me super excited to get the girls home and get them the therapy (and possible surgeries) that they need. I'm anxious to watch them grow and progress and develop in their own ways, and to get to celebrate their successes along with the boys'.
I will be heading down to Springfield, MO, tomorrow for my grandmother's funeral. We decided it would be best not to have the boys there, so Mark and the boys are staying home. It will be an interesting time since this will be the first time either of us have been away from the boys overnight.
I was able to have a wonderful talk with a friend from church this morning one-on-one, just chatting over coffee. Mark had a base ball meeting and then he picked the boys and me up and we went to the park. The guys played base ball and the boys and I hung out at the playground. I am so amazed at how much Dima's gross motor skills have improved. Both boys can now swing independently, which neither of them could do when we came home (or even 6 months ago). Dima can jump (from about 5 feet up) and land without falling (Zhenya can't even do that yet! ;)). He loves to climb and run--he can climb on the monkey bars and flip his legs up. When we were at the playground last January (2007), Dima could not even hold himself up on the bars--he didn't have the grip strength. It's really amazing how far he has come in the past year.
And that progress makes me super excited to get the girls home and get them the therapy (and possible surgeries) that they need. I'm anxious to watch them grow and progress and develop in their own ways, and to get to celebrate their successes along with the boys'.
I will be heading down to Springfield, MO, tomorrow for my grandmother's funeral. We decided it would be best not to have the boys there, so Mark and the boys are staying home. It will be an interesting time since this will be the first time either of us have been away from the boys overnight.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Prayer request
I just received word that my maternal grandmother passed away this morning. I'm very happy that she is no longer in any pain, and that she is in the loving arms of her Father.
Please pray for my grandfather, my mom and her two sisters. We are all happy Grandmother is better, but there is still grief for those left behind who will miss her.
Please pray for my grandfather, my mom and her two sisters. We are all happy Grandmother is better, but there is still grief for those left behind who will miss her.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Scratch that
The bit about the dossier being done? Not so much.
We got word on Tuesday that our facilitator is changing some of her documents, which means we need to redo some of ours. Unfortunately, that also includes the medical form and the employment letter. I'm waiting to hear if the medical form we have is acceptable--there's a chance it might be and I really don't want to redo that if we don't need to. The employment letters have to be redone since the wording has significantly changed.
The dossier will NOT be sent out this week. Maybe the end of next week if everything falls into place.
Such is life as an international adopter.
But hey! It's more time to get moved in, more time to save money, and more time to get excited. Yep, for the first time I've started allowing myself to get excited about the girls. There are a number of reasons I haven't allowed myself much excitement yet--one of the main ones being that international adoption (especially from Ukraine) can be very uncertain. Things can change at a moment's notice (like paperwork!) and just when you think everything's moving right along you're back to square one. In this case, we're not back at square one, and we are making progress and should have the dossier sent out soon.
I am so very very grateful to the many people who help us along the way...doing documents, answering questions, praying for and with us, and giving to the girls. We're getting closer!
We got word on Tuesday that our facilitator is changing some of her documents, which means we need to redo some of ours. Unfortunately, that also includes the medical form and the employment letter. I'm waiting to hear if the medical form we have is acceptable--there's a chance it might be and I really don't want to redo that if we don't need to. The employment letters have to be redone since the wording has significantly changed.
The dossier will NOT be sent out this week. Maybe the end of next week if everything falls into place.
Such is life as an international adopter.
But hey! It's more time to get moved in, more time to save money, and more time to get excited. Yep, for the first time I've started allowing myself to get excited about the girls. There are a number of reasons I haven't allowed myself much excitement yet--one of the main ones being that international adoption (especially from Ukraine) can be very uncertain. Things can change at a moment's notice (like paperwork!) and just when you think everything's moving right along you're back to square one. In this case, we're not back at square one, and we are making progress and should have the dossier sent out soon.
I am so very very grateful to the many people who help us along the way...doing documents, answering questions, praying for and with us, and giving to the girls. We're getting closer!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Exuberance for life
Lately, Dima seems to have found a new lease on life. He has been happier than I have ever seen him, and more affectionate too. We're seeing more genuine laughter and less of the chaotic, high-piched giggling that just comes from being over-excited. In addition, he has started exhibiting "normal" little boy behaviors that were missing before--like talking to and playing with his teddy bear.
Dima's teddy bear is a large brown bear that came from school. It sleeps with him at night, and he always wants it there, but he's never paid much attention to it until lately. Recently he's started talking to his bear at night before he goes to sleep. He tucks the bear in with him, or plays hide-and-seek with it under the covers. I'm so glad to see him experiencing strong independent pretend play. He does do pretend play, but in the past it has been intitiated by Zhenya.
We do have to curb his enthusiasm a bit at times--I think he gets so overwhelmed with happiness sometimes it just spills over. He's started bear-hugging people (adults) at church and extended family members. We're not concerned about his attachment. He's pretty solidly attached to us and still displays good signs of attachment. He's only hugging people he knows well, and that he knows Mark and I know well and that he sees us interacting with. But I still had to have a talk with him at church about reserving hugs for family and sharing high-fives and handshakes with friends. Of course, then we promptly went into church and Mark and I were hugged by several people. :)
It's hard to know if we should curb Dima's enthusiasm for loving on people. It's almost like he wants to share his joy with the world. And it's not wrong for him to want to hug people, we just need to teach him the appropriate times and places.
Dima's teddy bear is a large brown bear that came from school. It sleeps with him at night, and he always wants it there, but he's never paid much attention to it until lately. Recently he's started talking to his bear at night before he goes to sleep. He tucks the bear in with him, or plays hide-and-seek with it under the covers. I'm so glad to see him experiencing strong independent pretend play. He does do pretend play, but in the past it has been intitiated by Zhenya.
We do have to curb his enthusiasm a bit at times--I think he gets so overwhelmed with happiness sometimes it just spills over. He's started bear-hugging people (adults) at church and extended family members. We're not concerned about his attachment. He's pretty solidly attached to us and still displays good signs of attachment. He's only hugging people he knows well, and that he knows Mark and I know well and that he sees us interacting with. But I still had to have a talk with him at church about reserving hugs for family and sharing high-fives and handshakes with friends. Of course, then we promptly went into church and Mark and I were hugged by several people. :)
It's hard to know if we should curb Dima's enthusiasm for loving on people. It's almost like he wants to share his joy with the world. And it's not wrong for him to want to hug people, we just need to teach him the appropriate times and places.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Over a week, huh?
Wow, throw in a few snow days and my schedule's as far gone as the boys'.
Quick updates...
We got a nice little snowstorm which dropped enough snow and ice to close school for 2 days. I was even sent home from work early one day! The boys were very excited to go back to school--they get away with a lot more at school than they do at home.
We spent the weekend with my family while Mark was attending a conference for PTs. It was a nice weekend and the boys had a great time playing with their cousins--although their one girl cousin (5 years old) is really missing out on having some girls to play with. We're hoping we can remedy that. :)
All of our dossier documents are in! Now we need to go get everything apostilled and send it off. For those who are curious, I have no idea for a timeframe. I'm hearing lots of rumors...submit in March and travel in May, etc....but we really don't know when our dossier will be submitted so it's anyone's guess. We'd like to travel after the boys are done with school, although if we leave them here it might be better for them to have the consistent schedule of school.
Quick updates...
We got a nice little snowstorm which dropped enough snow and ice to close school for 2 days. I was even sent home from work early one day! The boys were very excited to go back to school--they get away with a lot more at school than they do at home.
We spent the weekend with my family while Mark was attending a conference for PTs. It was a nice weekend and the boys had a great time playing with their cousins--although their one girl cousin (5 years old) is really missing out on having some girls to play with. We're hoping we can remedy that. :)
All of our dossier documents are in! Now we need to go get everything apostilled and send it off. For those who are curious, I have no idea for a timeframe. I'm hearing lots of rumors...submit in March and travel in May, etc....but we really don't know when our dossier will be submitted so it's anyone's guess. We'd like to travel after the boys are done with school, although if we leave them here it might be better for them to have the consistent schedule of school.
Serious.Life Magazine
Recently, I stumbled across a blog of a fellow adoptive family. Not only do they have adoption on their hearts, but their little girl Abby is also fighting leukemia. I've enjoyed getting to know the Riggs family through their blog, and I've also learned about a publication that they put out called Serious.Life Magazine. They just published the February issue today which highlights Abby's visit by a whole pile of fraternity boys. :) In addition to the featured stories, they also included a blog rollcall, and we're in it!
The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics. You can check it out through the link, and if you're interested you can subscribe and receive it free every month. I was pretty impressed with what I read today--particularly the ways to save money! LOL
The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics. You can check it out through the link, and if you're interested you can subscribe and receive it free every month. I was pretty impressed with what I read today--particularly the ways to save money! LOL
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