2 years...2 YEARS!

Crazy isn't it?  Crazy what time reveals, teaches and grows. Crazy to think 2 years ago we got home with Anya.  Crazy to think where our lives are now...2 years later.

Some things are perfect...other things are not...and many are a work in progress.

Regardless of the curve balls life throws you, the fact remains that Anya is more than a blessing to our lives.  She has a charm about her than forces people to love her. She is a charmer - and will be easily swoon if you play basketball with her or offer to eat ice cream with her (yes, typical 9 year old)

 We are fortunate to have a smart, healthy 9 year old.  A 9 year old who loves all things sports and repels all things girly (um, yes - to those that know me...this is proof that God has a sense of humor).  The only time she likes to put on a dress is when we are playing dress up (with my samples from work).  I will admit, that is a ton of fun! 

She has natural ability playing basketball - and loves it. She is very tall for her age, more like the height of a 12 year old.  I hear that comes in handy in basketball (wink!).

Anya promised me that she will always be my little baby no matter how big she gets...even when she is taller than me (which will probably be any day now!)...but is getting to the age where she does not want to be "babied" when we are in public.  You know THAT age...when kids become way too cool to hold your hand at the mall, or sit close at a restaurant?

I keep trying to teach her how to smile nice when we get our picture taken...we're still working on that.

If you didn't know she has only been in this country for 2 years...well, you wouldn't know. I wonder, however, when I will stop prefacing my comments about her (to teachers etc.) with saying "she has only been in American and speaking English for 2 years". I also wonder when I will stop wondering if every behavior is somehow associated with living in an orphanage for the first 7 years of her life.

...maybe at year 3. 

I'm awake, I'm awake!

I am awake...I think.  Sometimes these days I need a little more caffeine than I did a year ago, but I am here, alive and well.  Just thought you would want to know.

I know I missed a post about our first Got 'Cha Day (it will come, someday).

Until then, I will leave you with some fun Anya stories:

Anya has decided she doesn't like her middle name (Helene).  Who knows why, but she DOES NOT like it.  If I call her by her full name, she gets mad!  She wants me to change her name to Anya Stinky Pie Pookie Bear.

We're still working on her tolerance with boys at school.  Things are SO MUCH better than they were, she doesn't goon every boy who talks to her or tries to help her anymore.  A few weeks ago there was a situation with some boy.  I asked her why that happened and she said "Mommy, boys are just - well, they don't understand!".  Wow, she learned at 8 years old what most women take a lifetime to figure out!

Anya is a thumb sucker.  Initially, we were letting her do that - knowing all of the psychological things that go along with that.  Now, we're starting to see some health things that mean we need to start helping her find a way to stop.  We tried the bitter tasting stuff you paint on her fingers (didn't work), we tried checking on her every so often and pulling her fingers out of her mouth (didn't work).  Currently she is sleeping with weight lifting gloves on...it is working!  If this continues to work, this might be my million dollar idea!  Oh wait, I just published this online before I got a patented...DRAT!

Anya told me "Mom, I have to tell you something"
Me, "ok, what?"
Anya "um, you are not going to be happy"
Me (preparing myself) "it's OK, tell me"
Anya "I don't like clothes so much"
Me "say it isn't so! " [insert giant sign and over dramatic sobbing]

Her favorite dream is one where she lives in a chocolate world.  All of the trees are suckers and the bushes are cotton candy.  In this dream Sponge Bob and Snoopy get married.

the autobiography and the blue form

I'm sure at some point, this kind of thing won't bother me.  But today - it is bothering me.

I was going through Anya's mountains of paperwork from school tonight and see this blue form asking for some autobiographical information about her.  Apparently there is a class writing project that will require 5 important dates in her life.  The examples given are: first step, started Kindergarten.


Yes, I am sensitive to this kind of exercise.  No I don't expect the teacher to completely redo her lesson plans (that I am sure have worked for years) just because Anya is in her classroom.  And I am also quite sure that Anya won't think a thing about it - this is all me...and I know that.

But I don't know many of these things, these "important dates in my child's life".  I know she was walking, dressing herself and feeding herself at about 2.  I know that she had Chicken Pox when she was about 3-4.  I know that after the first time she met me, she knew who I was and that I was her Mommy...but that day-1 was when she was 2 years and 4 months.

I mean, there are a lot of important dates in her life, but not things I want to put on this blue form.  I don't want to say that at 6 months that lady (that is what we've taken to calling bio mother...Anya said she is not a Mamma) took her to a hospital and left her there.  At 8 months that lady's rights were revoked.  And then at 15 months she became a resident of Baby Home #2 - which is where we met her.

Is it age appropirate for me to put on the blue form to say that the most important days in her little life started in July 2004 when we received a photograph of her and committed to being her Mom and Dad? Or in October 2004 when we filed the official paperwork to be her Mom and Dad?  Probably not appropirate to mention the weekend of July 4th, 2005 with Peggy Hilt decided to kill her child causing Anya's life to be forever changed too. Or what about on February 17, 2010 when the Judge said the battle was over?

The important dates in her life (up until a year ago) haven't been developmental milestones.  The important dates have been in terms of her survival.; those dates that have shapes who she will be as an adult.

I don't know.  The blue form and I need to think about this all...

checking the calendar - God's plan

A year ago today, I posted THIS. 

It is hard to believe that was a year ago. But then, it seems like an eternity ago.

On Jan 15th last year, we held a concert to raise funds for the adoption.  The concert was great.  There were hundreds of people that came to Goshen, Indiana on a snowy winters day to support us. 

Since my hubby is a musician, it made sense to get some of his buddies together and hold a concert.  I had no idea how great the benefits were of having friends with talent!

Yes, we hoped that Anya's story would touch people.  We planned a truly entertaining night of great music...music that would bring you to tears, and rock the house!  We did everything we could to build a buzz, called in all of our friends in media to help us promote the event.  We sold tickets, passed out flyers, and talked about the concert to anyone who would listen. 

The best part...God showed up.


Our financial situation was bleak...we needed to come up with thousands and THOUSANDS of dollars to travel to Russia and live there for 2 months. Taking into account not working for that period of time, and the very real bottom line that was in our checking account...well, it wasn't good at all.

At the time, we laughed that OF COURSE we would get a court date NOW that we are broke.  NOW that the economy had  fallen apart and our income sliced in half.  I was debating between buying a plane ticket for one of us to go...or to pay the mortgage for Jan 2010. 

I had tried to micromanage every facet of the adoption to control it.  I did that for 6 years.  In January 2010, I was exhausted and spent (in more ways than one!).  Trying to keep our businesses going to bring some money into our home, trying to keep the adoption going (which of course required money) I felt completely pushed to the edge.

 And God knew all that.  He knew our financial situation.  He knew how we were going to get to Russia.  He knew how freaked out I would get.  He knew it would be taken care of.  ...but I didn't know it.  Now, a year later, I will admit that my Faith was tested.  I will admit there was a little part of my heart that was MAD at God.  Just really irritated that we had to go through ALL of this to bring Anya home.  It wasn't fair.  I didn't get it. I started questioning every single thing I had ever done in my life to be sure I had adequately asked for forgiveness and/or repented. I couldn't understand WHY HE would let Anya suffer another minute without us.  And why now?  Now that we have to be embarrassed to the entire community about needing money to bring her home. To say having Fund Raisers is humbling is an understatement. 

On January 18, 2010 we had the money to go to Russia.  We had airline tickets in the works and the mortgage got paid.  God had a plan.  As if I needed any further proof of God's hand in this adoption (apparently I did).






He had a plan, and He worked it out for HIS glory.

I had lost sight of what this was all about.  It wasn't about me, it never was.  It wasn't even about Anya.  It was always about God - about HIM...and giving others a glimpse into the true test of Faith. 



Thanks to Brittani Renee for being the BEST photographer EVER.  See the rest of the photos from this great concert here

a year ago today...

A year ago today, I posted THIS:

After 5 years, 4 months and 3 weeks…

After 5 trips to Russia,

After working with and through 2 agencies, 4 Judges, 3 lawyers, the Secretary of State, Embassy and DHL…

After unmentionable sums of money, energy, frustration, anger, humiliation, praise, glee and prayer

OUR DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE JUDGE IN RUSSIA…and we will have a court date the end of January.

The emotions are still raw.  The memories haven't yet faded (good and bad).  And some days I still wonder if reality has hit me yet. 

So many times people told me that soon after we get Anya home I won't remember the torturous wait.  I remember.  

People have said that I will have such fond memories of our 2 month stay in Russia. My memories are not fond.  Yes, I miss our friends - but thinking about the apartment, being asked time and time again for money, missing home and everything that was normal and familiar...I do not miss that. 

A year after the hardest chapter of our lives; after losing friends, respect and losing my sanity at times, I have never questioned if it was worth it.  

A year later I am amazed by Anya.  I look at her with awe and pure joy.  The gut level feelings I have to protect her is something I never NEVER knew I would have. 

There is so much I know about my daughter today that I didn't know a year ago.  That makes me sad.  I had no idea how funny she was.  How sensitive she would be.   I didn't know how much she would love gum, soccer pants, ice cream or music.  I had no idea that she would hate mushrooms, green beans and mustard.  

I prayed that God would protect her.  That HE would keep her in a little bubble and not let any harm come to her.  We prayed with callused knees that she would be safe, happy, healthy and feel peace. 

He heard our prayer.

Houston...we have a problem

Houston, we have a problem.

Child told Santa she wanted a ping pong table. She has been talking about how much fun ping pong is, and how good she is getting at the game.

So, Santa (and Mommy) had a conversation and decided that maybe a ping pong table would make a fun family gift this year.  Santa searched high and low for a good priced ping pong table, and just when he thought it would cost too much money to get a ping pong table this year, he found one for a very good price. 

Many preparations were made so that Santa could get the ping pong table in the car with out any children seeing it.  The coordinated effort was something that fairy tales are made of!

Then...it happened. The child was looking through a toy catalog that came in the mail.  She saw a picture and came running to Mommy saying, "Look!  It is a ping pong table, it is JUST what I want Santa to bring!  It will be SO MUCH fun!"  ...it was a picture of a Foosball table.

To Be Continued

Anya - aka Petunia

 

I love this picture.  It was taken at a political rally over the summer.  I just wanted to share...

Ahhhh memories

Our friend who is in Irkutsk was able to pick up her son from the orphanage today.  I think for the rest of my life, when I hear of someone bringing their child home from the orphanage - I will be flooded with memories.

3-2-1-0 (or March 2, 2010)...it was a big day. 

Like so much with the final stages of the adoption process, I didn't know what to expect - and what actually happened wasn't what I expected. I blogged about that day HERE.  Anya was so ready to leave the orphanage, we were expecting her to be a little hesitant; to be sad or hug her friends and caregivers goodbye.  I remember walking to the top of the stairs where her room was, and seeing her waiting at the door.  When she saw us, she got a huge smile on her face, and ran into her room to start to put her coat on.  We showed her that we brought a new coat for her to put on, well she just thought that was the greatest thing ever.

She sat in the car clutching Daddy's hand, very interested in everything outside, very quiet.  Wow, has THAT changed!

Those first few days I remember being in a fog.  So much of it felt like a dream...if I am honest, sometimes it was a good dream, and other times it felt like a bad dream. 

I remember one first walk to the grocery store together.  Anya was proclaiming "MAGAZINE" at every turn.  We could not understand why she was looking for magazines...there are news stands on corners, but when we would pass one, she would not be that interested in those kiosks.  We soon realized that the word 'magazine' in Russian means 'store'! 

Another funny language thing was the word 'spot'.  In Russian, that means sleep...well, don't say to your 7 year old at noon "sit on this spot please".  What your Russian speaking child will hear is "go to sleep"...and you will quickly see a very sad faced 7 year old!

I'm sure over the next few days I will be flooded with memories as our friend Lisa goes through her set of "firsts" with her son SV.

Mayberry + Halloween = costume parade

We're fortunate in that we live so close to a decent size city, but are in a very small town school district. The town where Anya goes to school is known because of the large Amish / Mennonite community. This makes for a very nice dynamic in the schools, and a very conservative environment in the town.

So when Halloween came around, I wondered what we would do, where we would go, if we would participate. When I heard about how our little town handles Halloween, I loved it - and we decided that was how we wanted Anya to be a part of Halloween!

There are a lot of schools of thought out there about this "holiday". To us, it isn't a holiday, we aren't celebrating anything. We simply are engaging in a seasonal tradition by carving pumpkins and allowing Anya to dress up in a costume. For us, it isn't anything scary, satanic or spooky...it is simply a little girl dressing up as Ice Cream and running from house to house with her friends. And that is how our little town thinks about it too - a celebration of the children.

Since the majority of the area is made up of farms and rural homes, everyone comes into town and collects treats (for please and thank-yous) up and down Main Street. There are several churches along the route, and they open their doors to the community by welcoming people and passing out candy to the kids. One church also offers a meal, free of charge, to anyone who wants it - don't you love that? Rather than condemning they have decided to embrace and take advantage of those who might be looking for a church, or seeking an answer. I actually saw one Pastor praying (off to the side of the line of kiddos in costumes) with one of the parents.

After an hour or so of getting to as many homes as possible, all the kids meet near the center of town, the street is closed and the parade starts. All of the kids march around and the town council (or maybe town Marshall...not sure) offer prizes for the best costumes. We saw a jelly fish, 3 little pigs, lots of princesses and Supermen, so many cats and dogs I lost count...but what I noticed was the absence of Snookie, Lady Gaga or anything scary.

For Anya, a child who complains about new things (until she does them of course) and is easily scared - this was the perfect way for her to start to learn about this American tradition.

The best part of our Halloween / Parade / Costume Festival were the lessons learned. We went around with 2 other families - between us we had 3 kids. At one house, one of the girls didn't get a piece of candy (for what ever reason). So Anya gave her one out of her bag.

Anya got 33 pieces of candy (don't you LOVE that? Not an overload of candy that you have to say "no" to a thousand times a day). When we got home, she was very excited to spread out the loot to see what she got. She divided up all the candy into 3 piles, and gave one to me, one to Marty and kept one for herself. She said, "not fair that Mommy and Daddy don't get candy too".

Now what kid do you know that does that?

The Love of your Life

Today we were in the car...a song came on WFRN, and part of the words are "be the Love of my Life". I am trying to teach Anya the REAL words to her favorite songs...so I was singing 'love of my life' very deliberately. This was a great launch into a "love of your life" conversation.

After explaining to her what that phrase means, the conversation went something like this:

"so, Anya - who is the Love of YOUR life"

fully expecting her to say Mommy and Daddy, she said...

A: "um, God and Jesus"

I might not be the best Mom in the world, and I know I fail more than I get gold stars for the day...I know her teacher doesn't think I work enough with her on reading, spelling and English...but I think we're doing the really important things right.

...and thanks, WFRN - for allowing these kinds of teachable moments.

going to the dentist

We had our first dentist appointment yesterday. When we have a doctor appointment, Anya always tells me about her adventures at that kind of doctor we're going to. It's no surprise that most of her experiences with the medical profession in Russia were less than good ones.

So we head to Dr. Julie Plagens' yesterday. Julie is a friend, so I totally trust her. She is also my dentist, and has her practice in the same building where I went to the dentist as a kid. Not that any of that matters, it's just fun trivia.
We found out that Anya has surprisingly good teeth. I was ready for cavities and all kinds of problems with her gums. Dr. Plagens said that she has great teeth! No cavities. nothing! And (get this) very little tarter! Guess the fact that they don't allow kids to eat sugar in Russia is a good idea for their teeth! The only things that we need to think about are some sealants on her back teeth, paying attention to the few baby teeth that she still has to loose, and making a consultation appointment at the orthodontist (she has a bit of an overbite).

She did very well at the dentist, and was overly excited about her new purple toothbrush!

I don't want to forget...

...these days. They seem to be going so fast - time just keeps going, no matter how badly I try to slow it down. I don't want to forget:

• the time I was watering plants on the deck, and Anya asked to help. I told her that was fine, and that it was OK to get the patio furniture wet. She was so excited! She told me at the Detski Dom she was not allowed to get anything outside wet. She spent the next hour drenching everything on the deck.

• Wildlife is such a big deal to Anya. We take for granted seeing animals outside - well, at least we do. At our house, I get annoyed when I see a raccoon on the deck, or a possum on our front steps. Not Anya...she gets very excited. She spends hours a day looking for groundhogs. She stands in the window with binoculars looking...just looking.

• What is real punishment? We've tried to find the thing that tips her into really considering her actions and words before she gets in trouble. Thankfully we have found what works - food. If she is bad, she isn't allowed to have candy, gum or popcorn. Funny how that one piece of gum a day can have so much power!

• I never want to forget how kind Anya's heart is. If someone is hurting, she gets sad. When someone she loves leaves, she says her heart hurts. She looks for ways to share, to connect with people.

• She tries so hard at everything. Her nature is to please people (just like all of us!), and she tries SO HARD. Some days she tells me that "today, it was hard to be a good girl! Everything she does with all of her energy and might.

• She is so talkative! She loves to tell stores. Every day she tells me a story about the Detski Dom. But what I love is when she is making up a story. The other day it was a story about Daddy - and how he stole her dreams because he woke her up, and then he was dancing like a monkey with girls hair.

• I giggle every time Marty and I are talking and she NEEDS to say something. She will raise her hand and jump around to get our attention. When we're done speaking I will ask her what she wants, and generally by then she has forgotten...
  
  

• I don't want to forget how she prays and what she prays for...

• She loves to surprise people. My birthday is this weekend. this morning she was very excited to tell me that she and Daddy....oops! She covers her mouth and said "never mind, it is a surprise!".

where does time go!?

Not being rhetorical here, being serious...where does time go?

It occurred to me a few weeks ago that we've been home as long as we were in Russia. How is that possible? I mean, the 2 months we were in Russia dragged on...every day seemed like 4 days - and every week felt like a month.

Since we've been home, I've lost track of weekends. What we did 3 weeks ago seems like it was yesterday.


IN GENERAL
We've settled into a nice routine - kinda (I am still working it out - and from what I understand, by the time Anya is 18 I might have it figured out). Anya is a very happy, very good girl. We have very VERY few issues with her at all. I know this sounds like I am painting a rosy picture, but it is true (I have nothing to hide). She is loving, considerate, well behaved. She knows boundaries, and understands consequences. When she does act up, she is quick to feel bad about what she did, and say that she is sorry.

Anya's birthday was this past week - and I tell ya, she has grown up so much in the past 7 days! Things she loved to do before don't seem to be that important; and those things I wish she cared about now are a big deal. Before - she liked to dress like a boy (for those who know me, this was killing me!). She loved sports - and wanted to play football...which I was OK with, as long as she did so with a pink ribbon in her hair and a pink helmet.

Now, she wakes up and wants to wear skirts or dresses. Still loves soccer and plying ball...but understands that she needs to change clothes to do that. She told me this morning that looking like a girl is very good! ...and my heart skipped a beat.

She loves puzzles and SpongeBob. She loves to swim in the pool and has mastered going under water. It took her all of about 15 minutes to be an expert on bike riding (without training wheels).

She told me one of her favorite things to do is to "help Mommy".

Anya loves church, loves to pray. She completely understands praying and we find her praying for things she thinks are hard or that she can't control. Many times during the day, she will come to us and ask to pray...generally this is about being a good girl. She has learned to feel her emotions rather than to act on them. I am so proud of her! She will also be the first to tell you that being a good girl is hard sometimes!

EDUCATION
Her school is exceptional - I was leery of the public school thing. I was a private (elementary) school kid at first, and truly believed that the small classes and special educational experience that can be offered at a private school what was what Anya needed.

I was wrong. Yes - I WAS WRONG.

Her teacher (Miss Williams) was not only answer to prayer, but has been gifted to love children and really care about how and what they learn. In just 4 weeks, Anya's language skills quadrupled. She got perfect scores on spelling tests and homework.

Miss Williams understood that I was "that mom"...that I needed to talk through things. That I would probably email her every day and ask a question - that I didn't get it, and that I needed more hand holding than Anya did.

Anya also had a helper named Mrs. Lambert - who is as equally amazing as Miss Williams.

Both of her teachers told me things like:

• she is such a joy to have in the classroom, I will miss her
• she is such a smart girl, she has picked up on things in just 4 weeks that the other children have been working on all year

...and I agree, she is a complete joy and incredibly smart!


FRIENDS
Because I am "that mom" and we are "those parents", we are picky about who Anya hangs out with. Anya also plays rough - many girls her age don't play like that, and I don't want anyone to get hurt. But, Anya has had some really fun play dates with my friends kids.

There are things God blesses you with that you don't pray for - it just happens. Let me just tell you how blessed I am to have such incredible friends with kids all Anya's age!

One of her favorite play buddies is Dasha (who is also from Irkutsk). She asks to play with Sam ( our friend's little girl who lives close to us), and wonders when we will see Matthew again (another friend's son). She tells funny stories about her friends Belle, Maddie and Whitney...and what I think is the funniest thing is that she can never remember anyone's name - so trying to figure out who she is talking about is kinda like a game of charades.

Some of our friends was here over the weekend (the Ninmanns)with her boys, Nathan (from Irkutsk too) and JJ. Anya loves LOVES JJ! I kinda felt sorry for JJ - Anya was smothering him. We had to talk to her about how it really isn't OK for her to hug and kiss JJ all. the. time.

ON FAMILY
I can't put into words what it is like for our family to have Anya as an active part of our every day. I also can't put into words what happens to my heart when I look at her, or see her 'getting it'. Likewise, there is that "thing" that happens when I don't think she is being treated fairly or not being given enough attention to "get it" (hence the nickname...'that mom').

let the birthday parties begin

So, Anya got invited to her first birthday party. The invitation was in her school bag, with her name (kinda) on the envelope - so I know it was intended for her.

But, I don't know who this child is who is having this party...and neither does Anya (not so surprising, she still can't remember most of the kids names in her class). I want her to have friends, and get invited to parties, but for some reason I don't feel OK about this. I am not at the point yet where I would just drop her off at a party and leave her there. Um, NO!

I hope something comes up so that we can't go...does that make me a horrible mother?

Speaking of school - you've asked me a few q's about school, I'll try to answer them here:

• No, we are not homeschooling.
• She started school on May 5th - 9 weeks after we "got" her
• She is in a public school - but I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised by how attentive they are and how well she is doing. We are fortunate in that we are in a small school system.
  
• Proof that I should not homeschool is in how well Anya is doing in school...in the 9 weeks she was with us, she learned English; but in the 12 days she's been in school - her vocabulary and communication has grown and flourished in ways that astound me!
• Summer school is till up in the air - in this school system, you apply and then are accepted into summer school. We are still waiting to see if she is accepted into summer school. We're looking into a language program that one of the local colleges has for kids her age, as well as a day-camp at our church and some other day-camp type things.

Hope that answers your questions...if you have more - ask away!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day. I still don't even know what to say about this first Mother's Day. Like so many "firsts", I don't know what I expected.

The best part of Mother's Day was picking up Anya from school on Friday. She was SO EXCITED to show me the present she had made for me.

It came gift wrapped in this bag:


Basically, it says:
Mommy, I love you so much
You help my ouchies
Mommy I love you so much so much so much so much
(sounds so much better when she reads it to me)

I love how she wrote this in what appears to be Russian, but it actually phonetic Russian characters (in English)...I think.

Inside this jewel of a gift bag was this flower:

I don't know if you can see in this picture, but she painted grass, butterflies and flowers all around the pot, and wrote ANYA on it. It is precious, and will always sit in my office window.

I had to work on Saturday, and was NOT looking forward to coming home from work and cleaning the house. We hosted Mother's Day at our house this year. When I got home, my hubby was cleaning the house, there were cards and flowers waiting for me in the kitchen.

HUSBAND OF THE YEAR!!! The award goes to my hubby!!

On Mother's Day, everyone came over to our house for a cookout.

...this is where the "first Mother's Day" story gets juicy.

So that morning, I was taking my own sweet time getting ready. Darling husband has gone to the grocery store, planned out what we were going to eat, cleaned the house. Everything seemed to be ready for company. He even decided to mow the lawn that morning. As I stood at the kitchen sink, I realized he probably hadn't thought about where the 10ish people (that were going to be at our home to eat) were going to sit.

I decided to pull out the linens, dishes, silverware - set the big table...get the little table up from the basement. Made both tables look pretty...

I decided to start getting ready - again, taking my own sweet time. I was finishing my hair, when I heard my mother-in-law come in..then everyone else showed up. We were all in the Kitchen when I noticed that the oven wasn't on. I knew one of the things we were going to eat was mac-n-cheese (which takes an hour to bake). Then I took note that none of the snacks were out on the table. Oops!

This is where communication in a marriage is key. Now, Marty and I are really good at this communication thing. We don't put unrealistic expectations on one another, therefore we don't have disappointments in our marriage.

Unless it was Mother's Day.

I guess I thought since he went to the store and everything, that he was going to cook. I saw the chicken thawing in the sink, and assumed that everything else was in-process too.

He assumed I would handle the food...since I always do...and given the fact I had set the tables, got out the serving dishes and so on - why would he think any different?

Oi!

After I asked him about the Mac-n-cheese, and had a moment of freak out when he said "oh, I thought you were cooking" followed by my comment "um, no - I thought YOU were cooking"..it all came together and had a very nice Mother's Day dinner.

My sincere apologies to my family who saw my freak out.

Hoping your Mother's Day was as memorable as mine!

What did we do on Friday?

There are things that I think are funny. One being "what do you do all day, since Anya isn't in school yet?"

Here is what we did yesterday:

First, we "played" on the computer. Anya is learning how to sound out words to spell.





Then we had a picnic lunch. It was really windy outside - so the picnic came inside. Meet the giant "Anya doll". She had to eat too.



Then we went outside to plant some seeds.




Then we had a snack, played on the scooter, hunted groundhogs, tried to read a book to the kitties, and did a lot of other really fun things that weren't so photo worthy!

At Home...

Thanks Cathy Dietz for the great pics!

Anya's broadcasting career

My brother took Anya to WSBT on Friday while I was getting my hair cut. He used to be a producer at WSBT, and this is the station where I have been doing segments for about 3 years. Good people. Looks like Anya fit right in, and took her position at the anchor desk!

when an airplane blows an engine

I can't say it was easy getting out of Irkutsk. Why would it be?

I won't admit that I almost boo-hooed in a horrible nasty cafe next door to the Irkutsk airport.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 12:30 (ish) on Easter Sunday. We got to the airport around 10:30. Flights out of Irkutsk have been known to leave early...or late, VERY late!

There always seems to be some drama with the luggage in Irkutsk. Who knows why - who cares.

We got on the plane, started the taxi down the runway - turned around, felt the "hunker down" for the big thrust to take off...and then it happened. POW! BOOM!

Marty looked at me and said, "oh no, that can't be good!"

It wasn't.

We then taxied back to the terminal, got off the plane and were told to wait. The terminal in Irkutsk is new - but with the new terminal also came the omission of English announcements.

We are smart enough to know what happened, so we knew we were to wait. OK, maybe not smart enough - but observant enough of everyone else who was on our flight.

So time passed; hours and hours and hours. Lunch time came and went. Then someone from the airline came up to where we were all sitting, said something, and a big group of people left.

Um, OK.

There was one English speaking guy on the flight. He was kind enough to let us know that the airline would pay for a meal at the hotel across the street. We were to go there, get something to eat (it was dinner time) and come back in an hour or so. The airline would have more information in about an hour and 1/2.

Not that we didn't believe him, but we went to the ticket desk to confirm.

So - we went to this "restaurant" at the hotel. The restaurant was full and they were not allowing anyone else to eat.

Well, OK then.

We decided to go to this "Coca Cola" cafe next to the airport. Not bad, not good. Very smokey - but they had an English menu (bonus). The food was ick, but it was food.

We were gone form the airport about 45 minutes - TOPS. Went back to the airport, went through the initial security station, and were told to 'hurry'.

Yep! They were boarding the flight. 45minutes after they told everyone to leave the airport and go get something to eat.

At the end of the day - we got to Moscow. It was all fine. Anya was such a little trooper! We were all grumpy, but she did so well on the flight!

We made a list of what she was going to do on the flight, so she methodically went through every item on her list (a few times!)...and then we got to Moscow.

4 weeks ago today...

I can’t believe it’s been 4 weeks. 4 weeks ago today, we walked into that horrible orphanage in Sholokhov for the last time, and opened a new door to the rest of our lives.

I can’t say it’s been exactly as I thought it would be – but then again, I didn’t know what it would be like. It’s hasn’t been easy; and it hasn’t been as hard as I thought it might be.

Today, Anya speaks almost entirely English. Even with her Russian teacher, she is using English words to communicate.

She knows the Alphabet, and can count to 100 (with help) in English.

She can be a picky eater. Might like beans the first time around, but not the second (this goes for any bean apparently; green, black – doesn’t matter).

She has gained a few pounds – we think about 5.

Anya has a lot of strength; both physically and with her Will.

She is learning how to be in a family, and what that means. For her, we think the hardest part has been what she knew of us before she came home. She knew us as people who would come and play with her, every ounce of attention was placed on her. We always came bearing gifts, candy, gum, water or juice. The reality of things is a little different, and it’s been an adjustment for her to understand that.

She is a good girl, well behaved and understands boundaries and rules. She doesn’t always remember the rules, but when reminded she exclaims “Oi!” and then complies.

Anya is a very loving little girl. Very affectionate. Definitely a Daddy’s girl.

We talk a lot about home in America. She watches movies showing pictures of home. We talk about the people at home, who her friends will be. We practice her name “ANYA FRIEND”.

She mimics the silliest things. Her latest word string is “okey dokey smokey”.

We certainly have been blessed with an amazing little one. Sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball so I could see what the future holds for her – but then again, I want her to stay just the way she is…at least for a little bit longer.