A day at the park

Today, it was such a nice day, so after church we decided to go to the park. They loved it. It was good for them to get rid of some excess energy.

Doctor's visits for Michael

This was a week of doctor's visits for Michael.

On Monday 9/24 he went to the ENT because he keeps snorting. Luba had her adnoids removed while in the orphanage so they must have been very large. Everytime Michael snorts Luba explains to him about her surgery saying if he has surgery he won't snort. They doctor wanted to give him a nasal spray for a month, take X-rays and then see how he was doing. I asked if we could take the x-rays right then and have him look at them to determine soon what needed to be done. We had to go to the hospital to have the x-rays done and made it back to the doctors office in under 2 hours. Once the doctor looked at the films he said Michael could use the nasal spray but, he needed to have his adnoids out. We hope to have this done next month.



On Tuesday, 9/25 he went to the dentist. He was so excited. He had seen the girls get their teeth cleaned and had wanted to have his done too. The girls at the office kept saying he was such a good patient and he just kept smiling.


Friday, 9/28, he went to see a general surgeon. He needs to be circumcised. At least this surgery can be done the same time as the adnoidectomy. Poor boy, but he will be much happier later once the pain is gone.

Thanks for your prayers,
John, Cindy, Kristina, Luba, and Michael

First UVA game 9/22/07

Well, we decided to be brave and take the kids to their first UVA game. They were so excited. They have watched the football games on TV. Of course they didn't realize how long the game would be or how long it would take to get to Charlottesville. We wanted them to have the full experience so we decided to tailgate. We had to leave the house around 7 AM since the game was at noon. Once we set up the DVD player in the car they were good to go. The latter half of the trip they enjoyed just looking out the windows trying to determine if other people were going to the game also. Many cars had UVA flags or magnets and the kids would get all excited to see someone else going to the football game too.

The game was very hot, about 90 degrees, so it was uncomfortable to say the least. After the first quarter we had to go to some shade and have sno-cones, which was a first for them. During most of the game Kristina had the camera so about 200 hundred pictures were taken.

UVA beat Georgia Tech!

One the way home they were all tired and they spent most of their time talking among each other. Boy, I wish we knew what they were saying! At one point we they kept saying the same thing over and over and we realized they were playing rock, paper, sissors. The last hour of the trip they did fall asleep.

More and more English

After three weeks in school the girls are speaking more and more English. Michael is picking up English from them and from the TV. They will be talking to each other in Russian and in the middle you will hear, 'Don't do that,' or 'Stop.' I guess you can tell which phrases they hear the most! Luba loves to ask, 'What is that?' although it sounds like, 'Wha-zis-at?' When we explain to her what it is I'm not sure she understands.

The other night when we were trying to put the girls to bed Luba kept saying, 'Guys, guys, come on guys.' That must be said around the house a lot. Shopping in Walmart one day I was tickling Michael's back and he said, "Don't do that." I just looked at him and laughed. Also last week while we were in the bathroom at church a lady was talking about the clouds and Luba turned around and said, "What did she say?" I felt like saying, "What did you say?" In a way it is sad, we will miss trying to figure out what they are trying to say. They have gotten very good at doing hand motions.

Even Hazel is adjusting to the girl more, she still isn't sure about Michael, though. Last weekend at 2 AM John woke up and heard the girls talking. He walked in to find them standing in the bathroom saying, 'Pootie, Pootie!!' (which is what we call Hazel a lot). Hazel was just lying in the middle of their bed and wouldn't get up. Luba had rolled over and her arm landed on Hazel which scared her so she jumped out of bed. John had to pick Hazel up and bring her into our room. Since that night, Kristina has mentioned she woke up and Hazel was on their bed again. One time Hazel even jumped up in Kristina's lap while she was watching TV.

The girls each have Latch Hook Rugs and like to work in them while watching TV. They are excited about doing a craft since they see Mama cross-stitching in the evening at times.

Thanks for your prayers,
John, Cindy, Kristina, Luba, and Michael

Two weeks of school done

Well, the kids have now finished two weeks of school. That is so hard to believe. They seem to be adjusting well. They are both excited to be riding the bus to and from school. I was even told today Kristina is one of the best cursive writers in the class, which is amazing since she didn't even know cursive two weeks ago.

Last Tuesday we had our follow-up doctor's visit. All labs were good! They did all have to get shots, though. Unfortunately I had told Kristina and Luba they would get one each, their second Hep B, and Michael wasn't going to get any. Well, they all also had to get flu also! They did very well, this time Michael didn't even cry. He even pulled up his shorts to show the nurse where he wanted the shot.

Wednesday Kristina had her first laser treatment to her face. She did very well. We had to be at the hospital by 6:45 AM. Cindy's mom came over to watch Luba and Michael and get them ready. Of course, even though it was so early they were both up and dressed before we left. We think they didn't want to miss anything. They do enjoy spending time with their Grandma, (Bah-bush-ka in Russian). Although, from what we understand they took advantage of a different person, just trying to see what they could get away with. Kristina's procedure only took 15 minutes, she was given gas which smelled like bananas to put her out. She didn't even need an IV. Kristina's birth mark is called a Port Wine Stain, this is blood vessels which are very close to the surface which cause the discoloration, as she gets older, without treatment, it will get darker and possibly thicker. The procedure is using a laser to break up the blood vessels so they absorb into the skin. She will have one treatment a month for about 15-18 months.

Friday, it started to get a little cooler and we suddenly realized we had minimal clothes for cold weather. I was able to find some outfits for Michael and jackets. He also got a Tigger costume for Halloween. When the girls came home I then had to explain Halloween, of course, it's not in the Russian dictionary and neither is Thanksgiving. I pulled out all the Halloween beanie babies and Kristina arranged them on the front staircase. They keep asking when we are going to get pumpkins for outside. Then we watched all three Charlie Brown DVD's, 'The Great Pumpkin,' 'Thanksgiving', and 'Christmas'. They holidays are going to be so exciting!

Thanks for all your prayers, we are doing very well!!

How we knew

I know many people who were following this blog aren't anymore, simply because I went six weeks without writing. That's ok, I will try to update when possible, if for no other reasone but so our children can read it in the future.

Many people probably wonder how we could know these were the right children. Believe me, you really have to trust the Lord, knowing He knows what is best for you. Even if you ask Him for signs you may not get them for years down the road if at all.

Sometimes as a devotional I read the Daily Light. I tend to read it more often when I'm not at home because it's a small book and easy to carry. Back in March of 2004 we had to spend six weeks at John's brother's condo before we could move into our house. At that time we were trying to pregnant. On March 24th the last verses were Luke 1:37,45, 'With God nothing will be impossible. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.' That became my verse because I knew we were going to have children. I even knew we were going to have three. (Although, I thought they would be 2 boys and one girl, oh well.) Well needless to say I never got pregnant.

In March 2005, of course the same verse came around. This time we had just received all the medicine for in-vitro. Of course, then I just assumed this meant that in-vitro would work and we would possibly have triplets. Well it didn't, but I still knew we were going to have children.

On our trip to Ukraine I read the Daily Light every day. We were feeling so down on June 18th after we had looked at many referrals and still had to go back the next day. I read the section on depression in the back of the Daily Light. The last verse was Psalms 30:5 'Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.' This was so true. I cried myself to sleep that night, but the next day once we had decided which children we were going to see we felt such relief and excitement.

June 20th we saw Luba for the first time. For that day in the Daily Light the very first verse was Exodus 2:9, 'Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.' Also Matt 25:40, '...Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." I really felt this was a sign too, that these were the right children.

One of the biggest signs was on July 5th, which was our court date, the day the children became officially ours. The last verse for the morning section was Luke 1:45, 'Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.' When I read that I just started crying, what a huge confirmation!

Does this mean everything will be easy? NO, it does not. Raising children is not easy. Most days are very good and some days, not so good. Every day has a new set of challenges, but we know with a lot of prayer and patience we will make it.

Thanks for your prayers,

John, Cindy, Kristina, Luba, and Michael

First 6 weeks

Well, it has now been six weeks since we've been back. The children are adapting very well. Hazel not so well, she spends most of her time hiding or hissing at the kids.

They love their bedrooms. Kristina and Luba have Barbie's and stuffed animals aranged around the room. We are constantly having to tell them to pick up clothes off the floor. Michael has a rug which has roads on it and he plays with his cars. They also have multiple toys in the room over the garage and coloring books. Our back porch, which is now a sunroom with A/C is the 'Play Doh' room. They love creating different items.

They also like to play outside. All three got new bikes, thanks to our Sunday School Class, and they love riding them. None of them had ever been on a bike before. Kristina learned to ride a two wheeler in about 10 minutes. We also have a swing set in the back yard with three swings so no one is left out.

All three had their intial Doctor's visit. Each one received multiple shots and had eight tubes of blood drawn. Needless to say they weren't very excited. We have the follow up visit next week. So far they seem to be very healthy, Michael may have some allergies, though. We think Kristina had chicken pox the day after we got home, but it wasn't a very bad case. Also, Kristina will start laser treatments to her face next week. They will be once a month for a total of 15-20 treatments. The doctor seemed very positive about the outcome. Both girls have also been to the Dentist and they did very well. Although there were some tears from Luba, but they she said it didn't hurt.

We have gone to the Norfolk Zoo, there the kids just stared at all the animals. One day a few days before we went Michael had been climbing all over the place and John called him a monkey. When we saw the monkeys he pointed at them and they to himself and smiled saying it was him. We have also gone to the Aquarium. The kids enjoyed the fish, but most of all they loved pushing different buttons on different displays. At the ocean they enjoyed standing in ankle deep water as the waves came in. Of course they ended up soaked from the waist down. They have been swimming in a pool a few times with a life jacket, they aren't ready for the ocean yet.

They love running errands. I can put them in the car and go to multiple different stores and they won't complain, at least I don't think they are complaining. They don't realize they can complain. The first few times I took my mom to have a second pair of eyes, but that was almost more difficult because if she walked around the corner I never knew if the children were with me or with her. If it is just me the girls stay by the cart and Michael rides in the cart. Of course, they want everything they see and the first few trips we had to buy them almost everything they were picking up. But, if you say NO, they will put the item down and forget about it by the next aisle. We have to realize that every different store is a new experience. The first time we went into Home Depot they just laughed and laughed at the toilets. They are still amazed at all the fruit at Wal-Mart. They do not recognize candybars in the bag or cookies unless there are pictures on the package, so I can walk down those aisles and they have no idea what they are passing.

They are able to eat most of the foods we cook. We found that usually by the third or fourth try they liked it. If one says it is good the others assume it is good. They love pizza. John and I would always have a Tombstone Pizza for dinner on Friday's, now we are cooking two! They aren't really big on sweets yet, but they love ice cream cones.

School started this past Tuesday. They are going to the local public school which has a great ESL program. Luba who is starting Kindergarten, look terrified walking in the door. Kristina, who is starting third grade, was excited. Both of their teachers have said they seem to be doing very well. They even started riding the bus yesterday, which they were so excited about. Michael will be at home for a year and start Kindergarten next year.

First day of school.

We are starting to hear some English. 'Don't do that!', 'Are you ok?', 'Wash your hands and brush your teeth', are popular.

Thanks for all your prayers, we can really feel God's leading though the whole process.

John, Cindy, Kristina, Luba, and Michael