American Andrii

Andrii's Breakfast

This is what happens after 5:30am Karate class!

Andrii & friends heading out for a camp-out in the woods.

Andrii is my Ukrainian 13 year old who prefers to be very American, except at breakfast. He has not liked breakfast cereal since day 1. He is an everything-bagel kind of guy. Lately though he's taken up eating a cup of dry raisin bran crunch with a cup of milk - he does not like them mixed together in the same bowl. This morning I discovered him with his cup of raisin bran with chocolate syrup drizzled over top and his cup of milk on the side...ooookaayyy Andrii. He loves pizza, potatoes, bread, bagels, soup, and chicken tenders with french fries. The other day he leaned back, folded his hands behind his head, and proudly declared, "I have red arm pit hair." TMI, Andrii. He is very pleased at being a red-head. He is a hard working, smart boy. His siblings all enjoy being around him and he's very good with the little kids. We are over-joyed that he is in our family.

My Sierra

My precious first-born daughter certainly keeps things lively around here. She is bursting with energy and creativity. I try to harness some of that energy and unleash it upon household chores; she is a huge help to me around here. If your clothes are washed, dried, folded, and on your bed - thank Sierra. If the floor is clean - thank her. If the kitchen is clean - thank her. And the list goes on. She even makes my bed (I do not ask her to do this, she just gets to it before I do!). She is well compensated for it monetarily along with the perks of weekly piano lessons and Karate for Christ lessons. She's also a writer. I had to sign her up for online writing classes for school because she writes so much. She writes 35 page long (typed, not double spaced) stories, hands them to me and wants me to read them, like right now! My prayer is that God will take all that energy and creativity that He gave her and use it for His glory! This morning as I was headed to the porch for my coffee/quiet time at 7am, I was greeted by Sierra arriving home from a 5:30am Karate class. The neighbor who normally brings her had slept in, so she called her grandfather who was also awake at that hour and he happily took her and Andrii. They knew better than to wake up Mommy at 5:30am!!! I'll make up for it later today with piano lessons and writing class at the library. Yesterday she had a pool party with 7 girl friends from church. As you can see they had a blast! I am an abundantly blessed Mama!

Dirty Curty

This is my boy, Curtis, arriving home from work today. He's not quite as dirty as he sometimes is, but the name "Dirty Curty" actually started when he was around 3 years old. He did not like swimming in the pool and on hot summer days he could be found in sweat pants, a t-shirt, and socks, in the sand pile....all day long! These days he coaxes Jordan to the sand pile to give him "lessons" on how to build a retaining wall or dig for a water-main break. Curt is attending Hudson Valley Community College for Construction and works for his dad in the family construction business. He plans to graduate in the spring and become "Captain of Industry" so his dad can retire!

The Latest

It's been a crazy-busy week. Monday I enjoyed a day at our pool with my beautiful cousin Tracy and her twin boys. Three of the kids are doing a Young Writer's Workshop at the local library and we had the Matthew Project. Last night we had special guests for dinner, the Williams Family & the Whittam Family. What a blessing to enjoy their company, but the visit was way too short! Thursday I finished up the documents I had to redo for the adoption and Fed Ex'd them off to Ukraine. Please join us in praying that all goes well and we will get accepted shortly after our dossier is submitted in September.

Today was the only day this week I actually got to be home all day. We had the neighbor kids over along with the kids Sierra baby-sits for, and of course they all ended up in the pool. I spent part of the day sorting through and organizing our school room. Our August calendar is packed full and it'll be September before we know it. I'm looking forward to starting school and getting everyone into a good routine before we head off to Ukraine for Slava.

Adoption Paperwork Status

I had so much fun posting our family stuff that I almost forgot to give a Slava update. All of our dossier is in Ukraine being translated, but I just got the word that I must redo a document entitled "Letter of Obligation." Apparently I used an old form or something. And the SDA (State Dept. for Adoption) is requesting another "Petition to Adopt Sibling" letter which we've already sent recently but they want it again. In this document we specifically request to adopt Slava. Again! Hopefully this is all that I'll need to redo. Once it's all translated our facilitators will submit it to the SDA in September. Then we just wait for approval and a date for an appointment at the SDA in Kiev. Our facilitator said we won't have to "wait in the regular line" for an appointment since we are adopting a known sibling. I pray he is right. If all goes well we should be traveling in October! And I just learned that Slava's birthday is October 16th...he will turn 5 years old! And for his birthday he will get a family!

Please pray that our dossier will be accepted in September and that we will bring Slava home for his birthday!

May I have a side of pickles please?

At dinner last night Anna ordered her usual: anything with a side of pickles! This child eats 2 jars of polish dill pickles each week. And it's only 2 because that's all I'll buy for her! Food is very important to Anna and she has very Ukrainian taste buds. Her favorite is boiled hot dogs. I do not allow too many hot dogs in the house, but grandma is happy to be her supplier. She once ate 3 boiled hot dogs for breakfast at grandma's! Oh, and saurkraut is a must. She also loves pepperoni, salami, sausage, ham, almost any meat. She loves tomatoes and cucumbers, onions, and salad as well. Her favorite request for her birthday meal is Borsht. Food is definitely her love language. Oh, and candy and ice cream are on top of her list too.

My Parent's Anniversary

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Curtis & Bethany

The Newlyweds: Kerri & Wayne

Missy, Sierra & Andrii

My brother & Sister-in-law.

We've had another fun and busy weekend. Saturday we ALL went out to dinner to celebrate my parents' anniversary. All of our kids were there including the newlyweds and my brother and sister-in-law. We had a great time at a local restaurant right out on the Hudson River.