As summer comes to a close....

I can't believe it's almost over. Daniel starts Kindergarten in 2 weeks!! We have really had a great summer. We've seen this little boy just blossom before our very eyes. His English is picking up in leaps and bounds. His confidence is increasing and we can see that he feels more and more secure in his new home. And what just really thrills my soul is when I can see that he is just overcome with happiness and he throws out his arms and says, 'Mom, Big Hug!' and then he says, 'I love you!' What a sweetie! God is so good and we just can't stop praising Him for blessing us so richly.

Last week we went with the neighbors and their 2 little boys to the zoo after work. They have late hours for members and free carousel rides! Check out this big boy:

Did I mention he has grown at least 2 inches in just 4 months? He is still a skinny little thing, but is shooting right up. We look back and those pictures that we have of him while we were in Ukraine and it doesn't even look like the same little boy. I guess the Love of a family, lots of playing outside and french fries will do that to you! (when we are trying to decide what to have for dinner, he will say, 'Mom - me like it cheeseburger, french fries and tea.')

This past Sunday was my Birthday and we rented a paddle boat and took him out on the lake. He had already been on the Belle of Louisville, but now we told him we were going on a mylinkey (little) boat. It was great because he sat in the middle and was the captain in charge of the steering wheel. It was cute seeing him learn how to steer. We would tell him to head towards the bridge and after awhile he would say, 'Oh no, me go that way!' (totally the wrong way) and we would show him again how to correct it. I think he was getting the hang of it by the end of 2 hours. And he also got his first 5 star terrain geocaches!! Congratulations Sergeant Squash!

Look at this cutie!

They are re-painting the children's department at our church. I found this great spot where the blue and yellow came together and it totally looks like the Ukraine flag. Isn't this a great shot?




It was another weekend of blown expectations. We had planned to take Daniel to a BIG swimming pool for the first time. He was finally going to graduate from the baby pool in our backyard. Wouldn't you know it? It's July in Kentucky and the high temp on Saturday was 69. Isn't that crazy? It just wasn't meant to be. I hate to complain about the beautiful weather. I know we will be dying for it in August but I was so looking forward to a pool day. I was so excited to see his reaction! Well, there is always next weekend!

Only 4 more weeks left and then school starts. What happened to summer? We had all of these big plans and have run out of time! It has really been a great summer though. Daniel's English is picking up so fast. He rarely ever speaks in Ukrainian anymore. It's only been 3 months - it's so hard to believe. He can really communicate and get his point across. His teacher at day care said that he knows all of the kids names in his class and is interacting well.

We are past the honeymoon period and he is really pushing his boundaries. We seem to be standing in the corner more and more lately. Our biggest issues are hitting, throwing toys and obeying. Even though he doesn't have a ton of English, he knows when he is doing wrong. He will throw something and then take off running because he knows it's wrong. Or, when he hears the stern, 'Daniel!' he will take off running. When we go after him, he laughs like it's a game. Of course, when he finds himself in the corner he really has a fit - crying and screaming. We know consistency is the most important thing, so we try to always have the same consequence every time. Every time he hits mom or pop - he goes in the corner, no matter where we are. We have done our share of standing in the corner in public restrooms. We are hopeful that once he realizes where the lines are, he will choose not to cross them. We keep praying for wisdom and discernment.

Becoming a parent has really opened my eyes to my relationship with my Heavenly Father. When we tell Daniel, No, it's to keep him from getting hurt. He can't see the big picture and just thinks we are trying to keep him from having fun when really we are trying to keep him from running into the street or grabbing something that's hot. It's the same with God. We just have our own small perspective whereas He sees the big picture and He loves us so much, he's just trying to keep us safe. His ways are higher, His ways are better. I need to get my ideas out of the way and trust Him. Thank you God, for loving me so much!

Indy Cache Run 2009

Once again, Jason and his good friend Robert planned to find 100 caches in one day in the Indianapolis area. Robert actually was pushing for 125, but Jason wasn't so sure they could get that done. After working for months on solving puzzle caches, the map was pretty well filled in. At about 5:15am on 27 Jun, they started on their quest in the Greenwood area and worked north to downtown then east with an arc going north, northwest, and southwest along the I465 corridor.

The day was going very well until they hit Fort Benjamin Harrison. Jason was stationed there with the army in 1993 so it was nice to revisit the area, but the caching went poorly - 3 DNF's and no finds in an hour.

They got back on track, though, with cleaning up the caches in the Crown Hill Cemetery (akin to Cave Hill in Louisville). By about 8:15p they found their 100th cache at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

There was still about 75 minutes of daylight left so they continued hunting until they reached 114 finds - the last several in the pitch dark. On the way back to Robert's home (where the wives and kids were fast asleep), they found one more cache that was directly on the route. Exhausted, the boys arrived at nearly 11pm with 115 yellow smilies for the books.

They are now giving some consideration to another run in the fall. The amount of daylight will be a lot less, but so will the underbrush and foilage. Who knows? Perhaps another 100 caches can be grabbed.

Congratulations Uncle Chuck and Aunt Brandi!!

For those long time readers of this blog, you will remember that right after we announced our adoption plans we also announced that Kelly's brother got engaged. Well, the main event was finally this weekend. Daniel's first wedding! I was worried about how he would do, but as always he wowed us. He was so well behaved and had a great time at the wedding. He didn't like wearing a tie, but looked adorable in his fancy duds.

Congratulations Uncle Chuck and Aunt Brandi - we love you!!

Happy 4th of July!

I was hoping to have a great post with cute pictures of our new American celebrating with his first fireworks. Well, things don't always go as planned. We had a RAINY Saturday and the fireworks in town are just too late for our little guy. He goes to bed at 8:00! 10:30 is just too late, maybe next year. He was also running a fever on and off last week. Poor thing. He is fine now, but he just wasn't himself. We went to see Ice Age - that's about all I have to report. He loved it! His coloring has really improved too. That's a recent development. He used to NEVER want to color. I guess he didn't think he could do it very good, so he didn't want to do it at all. Now all of a sudden he is coloring. I think maybe it's seeing the other kids at day care do it - he realizes he doesn't have to be perfect. Of course, he is still very careful and takes his time. He does a very good job and is proud to display his work. Between coloring, working with scissors, and working on our letters - our refrigerator is absolutely covered with masterpieces.

A friend from church read my last post and sent me this scripture reference:
Deuteronomy 11:18-19 NIV
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Thanks Ima! It is a 24/7 job to teach Daniel about God. Even though we are amazed at how quickly he is learning English, his vocabulary is still somewhat limited. I think I have been letting that hold me back. I need to talk to him about God MORE, read him MORE Bible stories - even if he doesn't understand now, it will come. There is no better time!

Another great week!

We are praising God every day for his continued blessings. We're having such fun with Daniel. Sure, he is pushing our buttons, we run out of patience at times (he heard Jason's alarm and got up at 4:30am the other day - yikes!), we have plenty of things to work on (throwing toys! throwing anything!), he does wear us out but as I type this I really have to stop and think about what tough things to list. For the most part, 99.9% of the time, we are counting our blessings. He is such a joy to us - so happy and fun! We feel so honored that God has chosen us to be the parents of this special child. He is very loving. We give (and receive) hugs and kisses all the time. Now that he has learned 'I Love you!' we get to hear it all of the time. What a treasure!

We went to Indy this weekend to visit friends. We attended church with them this morning and the pastor was talking about praying the same prayer every day for his little girl. Not that she would make good grades, or be healthy, or find the right mate, but that the love of Jesus would capture her heart. That really spoke to me. That just sums it all up. I have so many prayers for Daniel but that really covers it all. If he would be completely captured with love for Christ and all of his energy and excitement would be focused on God - what an amazing boy, kid, teenager, man he would be. He could accomplish so much for God. I am really excited to see what the Lord will do in Daniel's life. He has brought all of us together in such an amazing way and I know He has big plans for this little boy.

Hearing that pastor talk about his Godly mother also challenged me. I need to be that kind of mom for Daniel. We have been solely focused on surviving this transition and helping him learn English - he has so much to learn. But first and foremost - above his colors and numbers and his name - he needs to learn of Christ and how much He loves us. That is so much a part of Jason and me but it's a whole new concept for him. He knows we hold hands and pray, but I am sure he doesn't know what we're doing. It blows my mind to think about the big responsibility we have - not to be good parents but to introduce him to Christ. There is nothing more important. WOW! He has no idea! Lord, please help us! Give us the right words, the right moments, to help him understand and point him to you!

OK - let me step back from my BIG picture, overwhelming moment and share some cute photos...

More Father's Day pics:

First Boat Ride (Belle of Louisville):

Petting a shark! (Whoa! He was so brave!)

First Roller Coaster ride:

And - more singing......

Happy Fathers Day

Look at my boys! Aren't they the cutest? We had a very happy First Father's Day! Daniel is picking up English in leaps and bounds. We even got him to say, 'Hoppy Fozzer Day'! And do you remember that little boy that didn't want to have a birthday (didn't know what it was!), well - look at me now........

Routine

With Kelly returning to work, we have finally really settled into our routine. Daniel is at daycare Monday and Tuesday, at Omah and Foffee's Wednesday, Mamah and Papaw come over to Daniel's house Thursday, and the weekends are a free-for-all. It's obvious that Daniel really likes a consistent schedule and we try really hard to keep him on it. Every night we do the same thing - dinner, bath, half-hour or so of television, and then bed. Kelly made a poster with Daniel's activities so he can always know what's going on in the next days. It should also help him to learn the days of the week.

Kelly and I truly marvel at Daniel's communication skills. Just this week, he's started speaking regularly in complete sentences. Before it was just a collection of words to get his point across. For example, last week he would say, "Daniel hungry." Last night he said, "I am really hungry too." It is truly amazing. He still has a way to go, of course, with vocabulary but everyday brings new words. Having him in daycare has really accelerated things. We have a feeling he is going to breeze through his English-as-a-second-language classes this fall.

10000 hits!

When Kelly and I started this blog, we never really thought anyone would actually read the thing besides some family wanting to know what we were doing in Ukraine. Fast forward about a year and we are nearing 10000 hits! We know that number is representative of the overwhelming support, love, and prayers we have received during and after our adoption journey. God not only blessed us with an awesome little boy, but with fantastic friendships and family. Thanks to every one of you who offered support, gave gifts, and most of all prayed on our behalf. We know that, because of you and the love you've shown, this experience has not only been easy, but a delight.

We have learned (or re-learned) many lessons throughout the last year. Some of them are:

• God is ABSOLUTELY faithful when you follow His guidance
• When folks pray in earnest, great things can happen
• You are loved by many more people than you realize
• Even in tough times, people are amazingly considerate and generous
• When you misbehaved as a kid, it actually hurt your parents' feelings (that one was a shocker to both Kelly and me). Sorry mom and dad!
• You develop a strong bond with folks who have gone through the same experience - even if you haven't actually met. How weird is that? We still read the Czeropski, Turner, and Tucci blogs everyday and pray for them all of the time.
• Being a parent forces the father into a spiritual leadership role which isn't a bad thing

I'm sure Kelly would add several more things to the list.

Anyhow, we still love to get comments on our posts and truly appreciate all of your support! Now - I wonder who will be the 10000th visitor....

A great weekend!

What a special weekend with our little boy. Every weekend is fun, every weekend is special. We are just counting our blessings that the Lord brought us such a great kid. He contantly overwhelms us with how sweet he is, how perfect for us, how much we love him. Here is the rundown of another fun weekend in the life of Daniel.....

Saturday took us to Huber's Orchard for strawberry picking, or should I say strawberry eating? We picked for about 2 minutes and then he realized eating (and throwing the stems) was much more fun. I don't think I have ever seen him eat so many strawberries. We had a grand time!

Sunday morning was his very first school bus ride. We parked across the street from church and rode over on the bus. He didn't want to get on at first, but once he saw that mama and papa were coming too - he climbed right up. He kept smiling at me the entire time!

Then on Sunday afternoon we went out to Uncle Jon's place to visit the horses and do some fishing. It was his first time fishing. I got him a little Shrek fishing pole on clearance and he has been dying to try it out. It was the perfect spot for a 5 year old with a short attention span to fish. As soon as your line dropped in the water, you got a bite. They were small fish, but we pulled them out one right after the other. He kept yelling, 'Hooray!'

It feels like we are finally settling in to a routine with our weekly schedule. He always asks me what we are doing tomorrow - over and over. He will say, 'Mom - tomorrow?' and I will tell him and he'll say, 'and then? and then?' We go over the entire week. I don't know if that's just a little kid thing, or if he is wondering how long this will last. I forgot to learn how to say, 'You're here forever!' in Russian. Over time we are seeing that he is becoming more and more secure. He is able to play in his room by himself for short stretches, and go to the bathroom by himself. Not that I think he should be independent at 5, but it is good to see that he feels comfortable and not constantly looking for us to make sure we are still here.

We feel so fortunate that he has had such an easy transition. Preparing for an adoption, I did a lot of reading about possible 'issues' - behavior issues, attachment, etc. It's good to be informed and we certainly could have things come up in the future, but for now he seems like a well adjusted kid. He sleeps great at night - no fear of being by himself. He eats well, but we don't have any food issues. We feel like any issues we have had are just normal parenting things. He is pushing his boundaries to see what he can get away with. We have spent some time standing in the corner for hitting or not obeying, but that is just normal kid stuff. He seems to be attaching to us well. He is a lovable little guy and loves to give us hugs. He seeks us out when we are in public and comes to us for comfort. Whatever they did in the orphanage, they certainly brought up a well adjusted little boy. What a delight! Thank you Lord for giving us abundantly more than we could ask or imagine!!

I love you

Three simple words, but what an impact!

As is usual for us on Tuesdays, Kelly and Daniel met Pop for dinner before he headed off to his Discipleship Curriculum class at church. As we were going our separate ways, Daniel gave Pop a HUGE hug and said, "I love you, Pop". Honestly I was quite moved as that's the first time we've ever heard him use those words - in English or Ukrainian. It was a very touching moment and really overshadowed all of the other (not so good) moments of the day. Needless to say, I've had an extra spring in my step since then. Whoo-hoo!

To Catch you up!

OK - I know it's been awhile since I posted. I am getting used to being back to work and juggling my time. I am still taking lots of photos, but they are all stuck in my camera!

Today was Daniel's first day of day care. As with most other things, he did just great. We were so proud. I actually met a lady over the weekend that speaks Russian, so I had her tell me how to say school in his language. Once he heard he was going to school, he was pretty excited! He woke up and said to me first thing, 'Mama work, Daniel school'. They said he did really well, and even interacted with some of the other kids. He was very polite at lunch and kept saying, 'Thank you!' What a relief! Hopefully tomorrow will be an equal success.

Here are some other posts to catch you up.......

Indy Visit

We went to visit our friends in Indianapolis for the weekend. They have a little boy too and we had a great time visiting, catching up and enjoying their company. Here are some photos......

Daniel really enjoyed Robert's train:
Bonnie and I took the boys to the Children's Museum and they had a great time:

We played so hard, we wore those little boys out! After a quick nap, we saw 'Up!' in 3D:

He is settling right in to our lives just great! We didn't know how he would do, spending the night in a new place. This was the first time he hasn't slept in his own bed since he has been here and he was just perfect. He slept the night through. Of course, we were right across the hall so that helped. We were so proud of our little guy!

First Formal Photo

Isn't he just the cutest thing? JC Penney's did a pretty good job. Here is our big five year old:

A Daniel Shower

This post has been a long time coming, as I have been collecting pictures from others. Our Bible study group was so sweet and put on a wonderful shower for Daniel. It was so awesome and over the top. Marion's house was decorated perfectly to celebrate a little boy (as you can see from the photos) and the spread they had was amazing. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone that came, and everyone that sent us good wishes. Jason brought Daniel over and he had a BIG time! He is set up with toys and goodies for a long time to come. Your generosity was overwhelming and we just can't thank you enough!

Car Races

The First Car Race!!! What a big event for Daniel and Papa! We decided to start him out small, to see if he had the patience for an entire evening. We went to the Sportsdrome in Jeffersonville. He did pretty good. He was antsy between races and during the cautions, but while they were racing he was pretty enthralled. He kept asking about Mark Mark (this is what he calls Mark Martin) - any yellow car is Mark Mark. Then we had the ultimate redneck experience - they actually did figure 8 bus racing! I couldn't believe we were there, but I have to admit that Daniel seemed to enjoy that the most. Watch the video to see how excited he was:

Standing for the National Anthem. Look at our little American:

Splash Park

Mom went back to work this week. If I thought I didn't have time before, I reeeally don't have any time now. Yikes! It was an easy return to work because Jason was off this week so Daniel could spend the week bonding with Papa. It was good for them to have more time together. They had a great week!

We went to visit Klondike Elementary School this afternoon. That's where Daniel will be attending Kindergarten in the fall. They have a great English as a Second Language (ESL) program there and we met the principal and the ESL teacher. They were both great and we think he will be really happy there. The ESL teacher was amazed by the amount of English Daniel already has and how eager he was to learn. She was showing us some of their materials and he sat right down and started pointing out all of the things he knows. It was great!

We continue to be amazed by how quickly he is picking up English. His comprehension is really great. He knows what we are saying most of the time. And he is constantly asking me what things are, and repeating things. He will come over to me and say, 'Mom, what you doing?' It is so cute! He is learning not just words but phrases too. He will say: Let's Go!, Come on!, Just a minute, Daniel sleepy. He can sing the song from Mickey Mouse clubhouse, count to 20, spell his name (while mom writes it out), he knows about 30 different animals, the list just goes on and on. We are so proud!

This afternoon we went to the splash park at the zoo. It was his first time there and he had a GREAT time! He was a little timid at first, but with Papa's encouragement he found out how fun it could be. They had a fountain that the kids could pull a lever on to shoot out water. Every time you pulled the lever, the water came out in a different spot. He was so intrigued with it and spent lots of time there. He paid close attention and learned the pattern so he could run when it was going to squirt him. He knew where it was going to squirt next and tried to get Papa to stand there. It was so cute!

Race Cars and Treasure!

With Mama heading back to work today, Papa was given the opportunity to stay at home this week with Daniel. They had a very exciting day all planned out.

After stopping by Ford to wrap up some loose ends, they headed down to Elizabethtown to go geoaching. Little did Papa know that the trail he selected for today was roughly eight miles long. It wound through the woods and around Freeman Lake and they got 15 caches along the way. There were frequent stops, of course, to throw rocks into the lake and to check out the wildlife. They saw bluegill, turtles, tadpoles, frogs, woodpeckers, and some lizards. Papa got a workout as he carried Daniel on his shoulders for roughly seven of those miles.

Afterwards, they headed up to Clarksville to visit Frank Kimmel Racing (http://www.frankkimmel.com/) so Daniel could see some real-life race cars. He's been watching them on the weekends with Papa and is already a Mark Martin ("Mark Mark") fan. For those who don't know, Frank Kimmel is a 9-time ARCA Champion and has raced occassionally in the top tiers of NASCAR. The folks at FKR were awesome and allowed us to have free reign of their shop. Mr. Kimmel was there turning wrenches with the rest of his crew and went out of his way to show the boy around. He even let Daniel sit in one of his racecars and posted the picture on their website. Papa has never seen Daniel smile so big in all his life. With Mr. Kimmel's car being yellow like Mark Martin (and they both have gray hair), Daniel said, "Thank-you Mark-Mark" when Mr. Kimmel handed him an autographed fan card. He got a big kick out of that and said he's definitely been called a whole lot worse. All of the folks at the shop were exeptionally nice and it was a great visit!

Who knows what else is in store for the rest of the week!

Daniel and the Champ!