Happy Birthday Slava & Anna!

On Sunday we celebrated Slava's 6th & Anna's 12th birthdays. For Slava it was like his very first birthday ever since birthdays go by pretty much unnoticed in an orphanage. He was so excited!

Here he opened his present from Missy, slippers! He was thrilled. He loves slippers. Missy commented how cool it was that he'd worn them to church this morning...something I hadn't noticed until she pointed it out!
Here Anna is surrounded by her friends relishing the special day. We got her a portable dvd player which she'd asked for. She loves movies!
Uncle Aaron & Aunt Becky got Slava this power tool. He loves tools. I wish I'd gotten a pic of him with the Thor hammer that Curtis got him. It's a giant foam-rubber hammer, exactly what this little guy loves. He went to bed that night with his new flash light. hammer, and drill. He's one happy little guy.
Slava with his first ever birthday cake. I made 2 ice cream cakes, one for him and one for Anna. He loved it when we sang "Happy Birthday" which he yelled at the top of his lungs. Surrounded by friends and family, both Anna & Slava had a very good day.

I'm feeling a bit sentimental since exactly 1 year to the day (Oct 23rd) we had just arrived in Ukraine for Slava's adoption. The 24th marks our appointment day and very first visit with him in the orphanage. That very difficult little boy has grown into a very loving, cuddly, and much loved little boy. God is so good!

I've got so much more to post, but yet again I've got to break it up into 2 or even 3 posts. The days and weeks are so busy that I just can't always get to it, but I'm committed to keeping you all updated on our shenanigans.