Trip to the Zoo

Progress

The past week or so, we have had glimpses into the children's past. Polina has told us some things about her past and Dima, through his reactions to certain situations, has given us an idea about his past. All very sad and I am sure we will learn more in the future. We were told this would happen in time, but it still caught me a little off guard.

They are making amazing progress since we have been home. Dima honestly seems to have grown two inches! He is strong as an ox and is all boy. Each morning he is the first to get up out of bed and he first to greet us. He will come and give me a great big hug and say "dohbray ootra Papa" (good morning Papa). He has a habit of taking things that don't belong to him and hopefully we are slowly breaking him of that. He has gotten much better in that he will reluctantly tell me where something is if I know he has taken it. However, the whereabouts of my college ring are still in question. You should see him when he accomplishes a task! He smiles so big and we make a point to tell him how proud we are of him.

Nastya loves playing with her baby dolls and with Dima. She is very independent and can cut a look that is amazingly similar to my mom. Mom would have enjoyed Nastya because she is all girl and loves to hold and cuddle her baby dolls. Dad let each of the girls pick a necklace from mom's jewelry collection. I have tried to explain to them that mom died, but I am not quite sure they understand.

Polina is trusting us more and more and, as I said earlier, has told us a little of her past. I hope she will open up and share more as time goes on. She loves playing with Sarah and watching old Russian cartoons on You Tube. She can get moody and be a bit aggravating at times, but I guess we all are to an extent. The school she will attend a couple of days a week had open house Friday. She was not happy with all the talk about school! This is a great place started by some friends and it is specifically for Russian speaking children.

We went to the Zoo Saturday with my dad. The kids had a ball. I don't think Polina, Dima and Nastya had ever been to a zoo from all the squeals! My poor dad was about worn out at the end of the day and Nastya ran to him wanting him to carry her - he's 79. He ate it all up though and carried her a short ways until he could not do it any longer. It also made me very proud to watch Jeremy interacting with the younger three. He would pick them up and point to different animals that were hiding behind bushes and such. Teenage boys can be very "distant" at family activities, but he enjoyed the time together as well. Christina was sweet and helped take the girls to the rest room and helped point out animals. She enjoyed taking pictures of the animals.

New Hair Styles

The pictures above are from a round of water balloon fights this afternoon.

Well, for second or so time, Nastya and Dima have found the scissors and given themselves new hair cuts. Dima ended up getting a buzz and Nastya just looks like she has a fade on top. Otherwise, all are doing well! Below are answers to the most common questions we are asked daily:

• Do they speak English? Very little, but more each day.
• Do they speak Russian? Yes (I must say I am puzzled by this question)!
  
• Do you speak Russian? Yes, sort of. I refer to it as redneck Russian (every other word or so Russian). Correct gender - nope. Correct verb form - probably not. They understand it and that is all that matters.
  
• What do they eat? Food
• Are you going to enroll them in public school? No. We homeschool. Polina and maybe even Dima will attend a special school a couple of days per week for Russian speaking children. The rest of the week, they will be homeschooled with the rest of the children.
• Do the Russians know you homeschool? Yes. When you adopt, there are NO secrets. We were asked in court about this and it is in our homestudy.
  
• How are they adjusting? Quite well - better each day. We have our moments of drama, but things are going well. They have come soooo far since we picked them up on May 20. I'll go over some of the changes in another post.

That's all for now, God bless -

4th of July

This past Friday, we went to the local fireworks display and I wasn't sure how the three youngest would react - terrified or excited. They loved it! The noise did not bother them at all.

The kids are doing great and settling in to the routine(?). We still have our moments of drama, frustration and some residual institutional behavior. Nothing we did not expect and nothing bad. The important thing is everyone is healthy and everyone appears to be happy! They seem to have gotten used to Papa being gone for work one night per week. This past Wednesday, I made certain to explain to them that I would not be home tonight that I had to work (all in Russian naturally) - and they said they understood. Dawn told me that come bed time, the kids wanted to know when I was going to read to them. She explained that I was working away from home and would return the next afternoon. She said they did not get upset, just appeared a little disappointed. I read Winnie the Pooh stories to the little ones and books from the Narnia collection to Sarah and Polina. The three older kid know what I do for work, but the three younger kids don't quite understand it yet. They know that a couple of days a week, I am working from home on the computer and a couple of days I am not home.

Below is an update by child:

• Jeremy: Took his college entrance exams the weekend after we returned from Russia and did far better than I did some 28 years ago! He is going to retake the exam later in the year to see if he can bump his score up a point or two. He has gotten used to having little brother and sisters coming into his room uninvited. He has taken time with the the two youngest and I am very proud of him.
  
• Christina: Still busy with her horses, writing, drawing and photography. The photo at the top of the blog is one she took this past Friday. She is amazing with her graphics capability. She has taken the three younger children with her to the pasture and let them ride Kando. This week she took Kando jumping in the pasture.
• Sarah: Sarah has the Alabama State 4-H competition this week she is participating in (photography, art and modeling). She is growing out her hair so it can be cut and used for wigs for kids with cancer. I am very proud of her! She and Polina have become pretty close sisters and play together most of the time.
• Polina: She is learning a lot of English and will speak it around us, but not in public. In fact, non of the kids will speak English in public. Like all my children, she is a sweetheart. She is learning about living in a family and having a mom and dad. She will step in at times and tell the little ones something if she sees Dawn and I struggling with the Russian. I would love to see her gain 5 pounds! She eats pretty good, she is just a little picky about what she will eat.
• Dima: He is an eating machine! If it resembles food, he will eat it! He is all muscle with not a lick of fat and is incredibly strong for his age. He will follow me wherever I go like a puppy dog. He is a very good boy, but can be mishevious. We are learning things about his personality that give little hints to his past. The grin he has on his face when he accomplishes something or completes a difficult task/assignment is amazing!
• Nastya: Miss Priss is almost as mischeveous as her brother. She is strong willed like her momma and pappa. She loves to be held and loves her babby dolls. She and Dima play together a lot and are typical brother and sister. One will do something and the other will get mad - and haul off and punch the other one.

Note to other families: You can't bring a 'sick' child into the US. I promise they don't have kooties...

Blessings

The past 4 weeks with the kids have been amazing. The first couple of weeks, they were getting used to us and the last couple of weeks, they are getting used to their new home and the older kids are getting used to a larger family.

Some one at church asked me how things were going, my reply was "Every day is a blessing, but there are moments each day when there are problems." These are minor, text book, problems that we were told institutionalized children would go through. As I look at the kids, and what they have been through, I think to myself, wow! I grew up in a lower income bracket family in Alabama and we always had food on the table. Maybe not much, but I always had something to eat at meal time. My younger children were not that fortunate early in their life. Then, when put in the government home, it was a environment that was cleaner and better, but they were still in a survival mode. This behavior pops its head up in small situations each day. Dima will eat any food, or anything that resembles food, in sight. He is getting much, much better, but we have to be careful.

Polina is afraid to sleep alone(?). Mind you, she shares a room with Sarah, but she does not like to sleep alone. She has slept a couple of nights with Nastya, but that is disruptive. Nastya will not settle down if Polina is in bed with her. She has slept with Dawn and has asked me to "spaht" with her as well. It troubles me because she will cry if she can't sleep with someone else. Last night after I read them a chapter in one of the Narnia books, I laid down with her and she wrapped both arms around one of my arms and locked them tight. It was if she was afraid someone would take her away. Other than this, she is doing well. She is a typical nine year old! Dawn was being stern with her the other day and trying to get her to go do something and I saw Polina (she had her back to Dawn) start mocking Dawn by moving her mouth and making faces. I called out and told her I saw her, she looked embarrassed that she had been caught. I laughed and told her to obey momma. She grinned and complied.

I look at all the children each day and think what a blessing! Every day, they teach me something! I am sure there will be difficult moments in the future, but I also know there will be moments of joy and happiness. As I write this, Nastya is besides me singing to one of the dogs in Russian. I have no clue what she is saying other than a word here and there. But it sounds sweet.

Well, that is the weekly update. I'll try and post some photos later.

Family Photo - Father's Day

Today we took the kids to Sunday School and church - their first time. Dawn and I went into Sunday School with Nastya and Dima. They speak little to no English at this time and I did not want to turn Dima loose on a poor unsuspecting teacher. He did very good though! He told the teacher (in Russian) hello and thank you! I was really proud of him because he can really be a handle if thinks he can get away with it. Polina went into a class with Sarah and also did well. I think at times, she got a little overwhelmed because at any given moment, there were about 4-5 little girls surrounding her. When we got to the sanctuary after Sunday School, she huddled close to me and wrapped her arm around mine. Then, during announcements, our whole family was called to the front for a special gift. One by one ALL the kids were handed a gift. You should have seen their eyes! Our new additions were each given large baskets with toys and new clothes. Jeremy, Christina and Sarah were each given a gift card to Target. Our church family has been such an amazing blessing throughout this process! We will never be able to thank them enough. Dozens came by to tell us that they had been praying for us, not only through the process, but during our recent travel. That alone is such a blessing to know that so many cared to include us in their prayers. That is something Dawn and I truly cherish and value!

The kids are really doing well. Dima has learned that he must obey, although like any five year old, he will often choose not to listen. This afternoon, Nastya tattled on him and told me Dima had put the kitten and it's food in my car. I opened the door, got the kitten out and told him he had to clean up the food. He almost started to cry, but he cleaned it up. He found some change in the seat and showed it to me. I told him he could have it and to put it in his pocket. That seemed to make it all better in his eyes. Nastya is doing well and is very attached to Dawn. Thursday she found the scissors and trimmed her own hair. Dawn had to try and even it out and had a hard time. Her hair is now a short shag. Polina has started to let her guard down more and is not as guarded as she was just a week ago. I have to admit I cut her a lot of slack and at times I get pretty frustrated with her. Yesterday she was climbing the magnolia tree in the in the front yard. It started lightening and I told her to get down and she did not want to. I had to get stern with her and she knew I was aggravated. Right now she is very upset we will not let her call her aunt in Russia. At $5 a minute we just can't afford it ( I checked at&t as well as my mobile service - same price). I did let her call her friend that lives in California. Masha was adopted at the same time. They talked for about 30 minutes and everything was fine until we tried to explain she could not call her aunt. Polina e-mailed the aunt last week, but the aunt has not responded. I don't know why and I can't "fix" that problem. We told her we could write her a letter and send her pictures, but she is still upset.

Today was Father's Day and what a special moment to be at church celebrating this day with my six wonderful children! Children are a special blessing from God and whether you have one or ten, it is a wonderful feeling! So to my family and extended internet family, Happy Father's Day!

More Baby Steps

Monday and Tuesday morning, the kids were up at 3-4AM and would crash about 6PM. Our body clocks were not much better, but we were forced to get up when the kids woke up. Yesterday morning, they slept until 5:50AM! At 6:15 in the morning, Nastya was outside on the swing yelling, "Papa, push me"! Yep, I know the neighbors were wondering what in the world the child was yelling.

I went back to work yesterday (all day instead of half day like Monday and Tuesday). Dawn said Polina missed me while I was gone. I spoke to her on the phone on the way home (I was in Birmingham). I told them before I left that Papa had to go to work and they had to obey Mama. So, they knew I went to work, they just didn't realize it was 90 miles away.

We sent in our paperwork for registering the kids with the Russian Consulate yesterday holding up to one of many commitments. They are still considered Russian citizens and are required to be registered.

The language barrier has really become a non-issue. We can understand most of what they and there have been fewer problems. Sarah is adjusting well and spent Tuesday fixing Nastya's hair.

Before I go, I wanted to comment about a Slip-n-Slide some families bought for the kids. We got it out Monday and my sister purchased new swim suits for them. They got outside and Sarah showed them what to do. Well, they had never had swim suits and wanted to take them off to keep frm getting them wet! Dima and Nastya started strip right in the front yard and I started yelling nyet, nyet, nyet! It was funny and they had a ball. We got it back out on Tuesday and it was a good way to eat up a lot of energy!

I'll post some family photos this weekend. God Bless -