Reverting Back...

Despite all the progress and mildstones we have seen the kids fly by, these past two weeks have been a little challenging to say the least. Nothing too bad excluding one of those terrible tantrums we saw in Ukraine from our son. I guess we really need to look at these moments as progress (often harder to do in reality :) Despite the fusses we have had, we know that the kids are feeling very comfortable with us, able to reflect their true personalities. At the end of the day, they go to bed with their hugs and kisses and "I luuv you's" and with the promise of a better day tomorrow.

We have been making strides in homework despite the "ugly" behaviors. We actually had a week of homework with NO TEARS!! That is one of the worst things, seeing the kids get frustrated and begin crying while doing their schoolwork. Aizley was the worst with her math. She despised subtraction. She would actually hit the paper when it came time to do subtraction problems. I tried all the methods I could think of to help her through her fear (or laziness, haven't totally decided at that point). Finally, using the term "going to Nana's to borrow apples" was the ground breaker. She did two complete sheets of problems and got all of them correct! She was so proud of herself! She now knows she can do these problems and eventhough it takes a little longer, she doesn't have to continue to redo them in the end.

Colton has become so affectionate during the past week. After his little "tirad" with me (we were both in tears), he seems good to go. He is ever so ready to learn to read. He can spell some of the biggest words like research, but he doesn't think he can read totally. His favorite book right now is Dr. Seuss' "Oh, the thinks you can think". Great book for a kid tring to learn the language, right?!

He is beginning to freely express his emotions. He will walk by and say "I luuuv you" under his breath to me, Papa, the dogs, even the lizard on the front porch. We get hugs from him without prompting.

We have just been laying low, enjoying the quiet of the rainy afternoons we have been having. We are trying to avoid any unnecessary changes/overexcitement until we get back on track. We did, however, enjoy the fair on Saturday and we even missed the downpour during our 2 hour stint at the fair. Cotton candy is sooooo amuzing to the kids. They had a great time but we just stayed long enough to make a complete round, ride a couple of rides, and get our candy. We had fun though and the kids behaved wonderfully.




We have all made an effort for the next week to be wonderful and so far everyone has held up to their end of the bargin. Sunday was relaxed, we got a wonderful head start on our homework for the week and we had an awesome dinner as a family. Lord, help us through the rest of the week, may we grow and learn and return safely home as a family at night. Also, remember there are several families that are in the process of traveling/about to travel to embark on their adoption journeys. Several of their links are posted to the right. Remember them in your prayers as this is a wonderful/scarry/life changing journey and they need all the support we can throw their way.

Praying for a better week for all...