End of January Update

It's been a very busy couple of weeks.  The boys have had lots of doctor and dental appointments, and they are finding their place in school.  Every day is a learning experience for us all.  Enjoy the photos.

Eli loves to help me cook

Backyard fun

Making friends with the neighbors

One Month Anniversary

Today marks one month since Elijah and Isaac first set foot on American soil.  It's been a beautiful, chaotic, sleepless month.  There are many parallels to having a new baby!  The boys are so grateful for all the little things that the rest of us take for granted.  They are showing us how fortunate we all are, and it's been wonderful to see our blessed lives through fresh eyes.

As the boys' English improves, they are starting to tell us about what life used to be like for them, and how happy they are here.  The smiles rarely fade.

Notes from a Quiet Monday Night

So the homework begins.  I find it interesting that after just a few days of getting to know Eli and Isaac at school, their teachers have picked up right where Anya left off.

The boys were having fun teasing Cassie tonight.  She picked up a Russian-English picture dictionary that a friend has sent us and sounded out some Russian words.  She's pretty good with the cyrillic alphabet, but Isaac thought her pronunciations were pretty funny and, of course, had to tell Eli all about it.  Cassie took it all in stride.  The four kids are getting along so well.

I think I've mentioned this before, but Isaac really craves positive reinforcement.  Today he brought home an origami frisbee he'd made at school.  Of course I made a big deal about it, but as we tossed the frisbee back and forth, he kept saying, "Good origami, Isaac?  Good job, Isaac?"  Even though Eli doesn't verbalize this need for validation nearly as often as Isaac does, he probably needs it too.  I'm glad that Isaac is reminding me so that I'll do it for both.

Want to hear the highlight of my day?  Isaac went back to the dentist to have some cavities filled.  These boys are tough and are not accustomed to seeking out comfort when they are hurt.  Isaac did not complain much about his mouth hurting, but soon after we got home I picked him up and held him.  He completely relaxed in my arms and let me hold him for a long, long time.  I'm hoping that these boys are really starting to trust us and know that we will always be their Mama and Papa.

Bedtime prayers are in English now.  Here's an example of what we might hear, on a day that Isaac had gone to the dentist and some of us are still getting over a virus:
"Thank you God for this vay.  Thank you Mama, thank you Papa, thank you Cassie, thank you Clay, thank you food, thank you sandwiches, thank you Isaac teeth, please Mama no cough, please Papa no cough, please Cassie no cough, please Clay no cough, please Isaac no cough, please Elijah no cough.  Please maybe bicycles tomorrow.  Thank you school tomorrow, thank you Cassie Clay Isaac Elijah swimming tomorrow.  (long pause)  Amen."

Thank you God for these boys!

Papa Day

Today has been a Papa Day.  Cassie and Clay were tied up most of the day at a swim meet here in town.  Instead of making Eli and Isaac sit in the hot, crowded stands all day, Curt took them out for some more firsts: first American haircut with a scalp massage that made Isaac giggle, and first trip to Subway (GOOD restaurant, Papa!).

It's been a great week.  These boys love their school.  They are making friends, using more and more English every day, and enjoying learning.  They love swim lessons, too.

So, that's all well and good, but what challenges are we dealing with?  The language barrier, mostly.  We can get basic information across, but more in depth conversations will just have to wait a while.  There are times when I wish I could explain something that doesn't seem fair, but it's just not possible right now.  Another challenge is keeping my energy level up and spirits high while the boys still need almost constant attention.  

Have I settled back in at home yet? is a question I hear often.  Not completely.  I'm still haunted by events, people, and places back in Ukraine.  I've only spent a total of ten weeks there.  Imagine what's going on in Eli and Isaac's heads.  I pray that they will be able to remember and cherish the good things about their lives in Ukraine and put the bad stuff behind them for good.  There is so much to try to forget.

The things I get excited about: their new haircuts!  And yes, I do think their hair is growing in thicker.

Lots of Firsts!

First day of school.  First swim lesson.  First guitar lesson.  All in two days.  Add in a trip to the dentist and you'd think a couple of Ukrainian boys would be overwhelmed and grumpy.  Not the case here.  "Tomorrow?"  they keep asking.  These guys are ready for ANYTHING.

1. First day of school.  As you probably know, I love our school.  It's a small private school that we've been a part of for eight years.  For reasons too numerous to list, I've thought from the beginning that it would be a great fit for Elijah and Isaac.  They've only been there one day, but what a wonderful day it was.  "Good school!" is what they said over and over when they got home.  This morning I stayed at the school for an hour or so until I was confident that both boys would be okay without me.  A couple of the teachers texted or emailed me with updates and photos during the day.  All indications are that the boys had a fantastic time and fit in beautifully.  Eli shadowed Clay in 4/5 grade and Isaac is in a 2/3 grade class.  I know, this is way above their current academic level, coming from Uglegorsk.  But, the primary concern for this first semester is age-appropriate language acquisition and peer interaction.  "Let's give them an opportunity to catch up.  They are obviously very bright," is what the principal told me.  This semester they will be treated as foreign exchange students, with loose grading and individualized curriculum.  At the end of the semester, the staff and I will huddle and decide where they should be placed for real in the fall.

2. First swim lesson.  If you know these boys' personalities at all, you can probably figure out how this went.  Eli was very cautious, with a tight grip on his kickboard, expressing concerns about how deep the water was.  Isaac was trying to wrestle free from the instructor's grip so he could GO.  They both had a great time, which is what always counts in the end.

3. First guitar lesson.  Just Eli.  :)  Eli is such a hard worker and has great attention to detail.  I have no doubt he will stick with it, practice regularly, and progress nicely.

So, what ARE we doing tomorrow?  School (yay!), then dinner at a friend's house, who's daughter is a classmate of Isaac's.

So far, so good.

Waiting for Eli and Clay at the music studio

First day of school!

Waiting to swim

Passed Level 1 on the first day!

My boys

...and Then There Were Six

After sixteen days and a parade of family members in and out, it is now down to the six of us.  We had our first family-of-six meal tonight at Logan's Roadhouse, throwing peanut shells on the floor, teaching the boys how to eat corn dogs, and listening to Eli talk about how much he likes American restaurants.  His English blows me away.  These boys are adjusting extremely well.

What have the boys been doing since I last posted?  Having lots of fun:
bonding with family
riding bikes
hanging out in the hot tub
playing with all the new toys and games
sleeping in
dazzling us all with their wits and charm
experimenting with new foods
reading
teasing their big sister
taking care of the dogs
going to church
making new American friends
and experiencing some of the best that America has to offer, like bowling and car washes.

These boys are in for a big shift.  It's Sunday night and Christmas break is over!  The next few days will mark Eli and Isaac's first day of school, first swim lesson, and first guitar lesson for Eli.  We're throwing in a dental appointment too for good measure.  These boys will be busy, but I'm confident they/we can handle it.  They continue to tackle every new experience with reckless joy, and their endless energy supply confounds me.  I know they are capable of great things, and I can't wait to see what those great things are.