Colors

Every so often the boys really surprise me. I cleaned out their bedroom yesterday afternoon, packed away summer clothes and sorted through all the winter stuff we had. I filled their drawers with stuff that was “new” to them. I was really excited out my “cleanup” job but what surprised me was how excited they were when they saw all the new stuff! They were screaming and yelling “Papa, come here, come here!” They were running from room to room opening their drawers and showing Papa all the new stuff they had.

We’ve been SO blessed with clothes from friends. Their drawers are stuffed full and I had two bags of stuff we didn’t need.

Matt’s been at school for two weeks now and Tim had his first week. They both LOVE it.

We've all getting more comfortable with each other and sometimes the boys will talk Russian and we won't even realize it. It's weird, but sometimes I feel like I can read their minds. Matt is going through two weeks of "colors". Each day starting last Monday his class concentrates on a color. Last week Thursday was green. Wednesday night we were looking for a green toy that he could bring in for Show & Tell and he looked at me said "Mom, small green toy!" and somehow I know he was talking about the toy he got in his Burger King lunch last Sunday. I responded with "I think it's in the car" and he said "YES!". We just saw it earlier that day because I cleaned out my car.

Back to School

I can't believe it but the boys are going to school this year. Matt is going to all day kindergarten and started on Tuesday. Tim is signed up for Kindergarten Readiness and will start next week Tuesday. They're at two different schools but the start times are staggered so dropping them off won't be a problem.

What an awesome summer. Things started out a bit rough but we settled into a routine, got to know each other and everyone adjusted really well. We've been amazed at how Matt's picked up the english. I expected a word here and there but one day he just popped out with "Oh my Gosh!". It blew me away. After that the phrases kept coming.

Look at That
Just Wait
Come here please

I just love listening to the boys talk. Tim still speaks mostly Russian but we're hoping the Kindergarten Readiness will help him with that.

Below is a story from early June written by Brian:

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The funniest part of today was getting them into the house with fishing poles held sideways and every other direction … they couldn’t get in the door.

So, Lola is sitting there watching this confusion and I tell the boys Come On … So, Lola “Comes On” …and so do the boys. I turn to Lola and say STOP … and the boys stop too. The dog and the boys don’t speak English, but they all understand “Come On” and “Stop” …

I was looking at a train collision at the doorstep as they all met confused.

First few days home

It's been a few days and I think the jet lag is finally behind us. We're all settling into somewhat of a schedule. The first couple days were a bit rough. Fri and Sat mornings the boys woke up at 3am. We tried to put them down for a nap and we had a really hard time waking them up. Saturday night they surprised us by putting themselves to bed at 7pm. We were worried but they slept until 5:30. Yeah! We got enough sleep for once.

Today we took the boys to Chuck E Cheese's. They loved it! At first we lost them in the tunnels but they knew what they were doing. After that we went and bought them some new tennies. I wanted them to have shoes with velcro rather than laces. That will be a lot easier for ALL of us.

We're Home!

Wow; what a trip! It sure felt nice to be back home in our own beds. We were able to catch an earlier flight home from Atlanta, so we got home around 8:15 last night. We were able to give the boys a quick tour of the house, let them play a little with some of their toys and had them ready for bed by 9:30. It took them a while to settle down, but eventually we ALL got some sleep. The boys were awake for most of the trip. We were ALL walking zombies by the time we got home.

This morning we were all up by 6:30am and were outside playing at the park by 8. The boys got to meet both of their grandmas, Aunt Kate and Kyndra. They're REALLY doing great. Matt's not hanging out in front of the TV like we were worried about. Timmy's not bouncing off the walls. Lola's not sure what just happened to her, but seems to be handling it well. I think just watching the boys wears her out!

We came home to a real nice yard display. I've posted the picture.

Thank YOU !!!

This is a thanks to all of you for your prayers, support, and love! A special thanks goes to the Cradle Society who made today possible. I could write a book about what they have done, so seamlessly, so thoroughly, and with back-breaking hours of work. The Cradle Society has truly impressed me with Judy, Shane, Ruslan, Oleg, Natasha, Michael, and all the people behind the scenes. You can't imagine what we've been through and how they have jumped in front of us to assist!

We completed the work at the American Embassy and will leave around 9 AM tomorrow for the airport. It will be about 20 hours before we are back to Milwaukee and I know this will be tough on the boys. I actually hope they stay awake so they can sleep when we get home ... NOT ... they will want to investigate the house, meet Lola, etc. and go nuts for a few hours starting at 11 PM tomorrow - and then we all adjust to the time change again.

More to come, but when we hit the Embassy today I heard other family war stories. A child getting Chickenpox while a family was enroute - and now the child is quarantined for 8 days - and several more stories. I put so much into God's hands, your prayers are so much appreciated, and we have been blessed on this journey.

Not sure if we will have time to post again. It seems like getting a family ready is about 30 minutes/person in the family. I can get ready in 15 minutes and Linda in 15 after that ... and because she took 15, I take another 15. OK, is this funny enough as adults? That it takes 45 mins for 2?

The 1st day we got the kids going with us in 45 mins ... the next day it took 60. Today, it is taking 2 hours. What's cool is that these kids never had a "choice" in life ... no favorite color, no favorite soda, no favorite clothes. It's hard to fathom, but they lack a preference. They are learning options and consequences - and this is so awesome to observe these kids getting this new lease on life.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow !!! Sing it with me, I know, that you know the rest of the praise! And for those that don't, look it up ... we hope to be home by the time everyone has responded.

All our love,

Brian and Linda and Matthew/Vladislav/Vladik/Vlad, and Timothy/Alexander/Sasha/Sash

The Last Push ...

Well, here we are on our last day of paperwork in Moscow. We have a 2 PM appt. at the American Embassy to get the boys Visas and we will be given their adoption papers, birth certificates, medical, vaccination documents, etc. This then goes into a sealed envelope that we present to Customs/Immigration for processing when we arrive in Atlanta tomorrow (at least that's our understanding).

Child's laughter - is there anything else like it? They can get into so much trouble and burst into such innocent laughter. I'll say turn it "OFF" ... and they start repeating the word OFF like it's the funniest word they've ever heard. So, then I put my fingers to my lips and say SHHHHH - oh my gosh, that's even funnier as they look at each other with a serious face, mimic me with their fingers and go SHHHH at each other and then bust out, rolling on the floor laughing !!! If they continue to be this cute, I'm never going to be able to discipline them!

Two days ago they were chasing birds, yesterday we took some bread and they loved feeding them. I found it interesting how we fight for the under-privileged by nature ... there was one white pigeon that they wanted to feed more than the rest. We feel an honor to be helping these special boys.

1 Samuel 1:27 (paraphrased)
We prayed for these children, and the LORD has granted us what we asked of him.

Linda, how are bath time and bedtime routines going?

Well, every day is different. We know they need to put the PJs on, go to the bathroom, get a drink and brush their teeth. We usually miss one of them each night. They always remind us of the "papeete" (drink). Sometimes we put them to bed, sit down on the couch and say "Did you take them to the bathroom? No, did you? No. Boys! Time to go to the toolyet! (Toilet)." They jump out of bed, take care of business and we start all over trying to get them to sleep. We've had to empty the bedroom of EVERYTHING! The boys are REALLY good, though. Brian's gotten to the point where we can walk into the bedroom, put out his hands and toys get delivered. Timmy even opened his night table drawer and gave brian what he had stashed in there! If they get too loud giggling, jumping on the bed, etc, then we take one of them out of the room into the family room with us and hold him while the other settles down. They know they've been misbehaving and whoever was out here with us jumps into bed, pulls up the quilt and goes right to sleep. It'll be nice to get home so that the surroundings stop changing and they begin to understand "sleep" time.

Time to get on with the day!

The Pouter, The Follower, & The Scavengers

We are definitely starting to see their personalities coming out. Vlad is big brother, watches over Sash and guides him - and I'm probably a bit of a threat to the way of life that he is used to. This morning they both had juice and I set out some blueberries. It sounded like Vlad said to Sash that he had to finish his juice before he could have blueberries, and he swiped at Sash as he went for the blueberries and spilled the juice. I gave Sash a blueberry, and Vlad was NOT happy about that. He's had to play big brother and father for so long, that I'm sure this will be an adjustment that will take a lot of time and consistency for him to understand the new family order.

Sasha is the follower. He reminds me of Lola, so innocent, in awe of everything, and wanting to please. Vlad wants everything, and if he doesn't get it, he pouts and withdraws. That doesn't last real long, but as the "previous" father, he is used to making decisions for his brother all day long - and when they aren't the same as what Linda or I feel is best, he pouts and doesn't participate.

Lola and the boys have one thing in common - if they see food on the floor, they go for it!!! We went to TGI Friday's yesterday and there was food on the floor, and before you could blink an eye, both boys were on their belly's, and had the food in their mouths chewing before we even knew where they went. They've found potato chips in the carpet that they started eating ... you name it, if they see food anywhere BUT on their plate, they eat it. We are very tempted to just throw their meals on the floor. They are absolutely incredible at sharing with each other ... if there is a last piece, they will split it. If one gets water, before he gives it back, he will take it to his brother and offer it to him too.

Battery running low - so I gotta send the post for now.