Merry Christmas

All that can be said is that we are extremely blessed

to have been given the greatest gifts of all in the birth of Jesus and the birth of a new life for our sons! Merry Christmas to all our family and friends who have showered your prayers on us throughout this year. We wish you all a happy and prosperous new year!

Santas Helpers

Well this Christmas will definitely be busy at the Passanita household. My little Christmas elves have been hard at work making all kinds of gifts for everyone and have gotten the ho ho ho down pat. It warms my heart to hear the laughter and joy that comes form each of them as they discover the wonder of the holidays. None of them have ever had a Christmas before and when asked what it meant to them the only recognizable answer we got was from Yuri who said that it was the day you get candy in your socks. It almost made me cry. And then to ask Victor what he wanted for Christmas and to have him reply, "A banana, an apple, and a big glass of milk" that just completely humbled me. They are so excited just about some of the simply things we take for granted. When putting up the tree Victor went out and gathered up all the neighborhood kids and paraded them through our living room to see the tree. The other kids were going "Yea, its a Christmas tree" but to Victor it was the best one he had ever seen and he got to help put the ornaments on so he was soooo proud. Vanya, of course, is just happy about everything but doesn't really understand most of what is going on other than he gets to wear a Santa suit that he just loves! The other boys got shirts and a Santa hat to wear as well since they don't make the full suit in their size. If it had come in their size they would have worn it. Other kids their age might not have wanted to be caught dead in a Santa suit but these guys would have gladly donned it and had grand time. It truly reminds me that they are really the best gifts (after the Christ child of course) I could ever have been given. Jut watching their expressions and seeing that they have a spirit of giving already when they haven't really ever experienced the receiving side until recently is quite impressive. Victor has tried to give his gifts to other people for about a week now. Anyone who comes over he wants to give something to and he is the one who probably experienced the poorest treatment of the three. Mama and papa took each of the boys out to get a present for their brothers and it was neat to see what they picked out. They really put thought into what they thought the other ones would like. My heart is just overflowing with joy to watch them run around (and around and around) the house laughing and playing and being happy. The hugs and kisses are a bonus too. Victor is really warming up and and now loves to be held and asked for extra kisses and gives them out a little more liberally as well. Yuri still reserves his for just mama and papa but one day he might get there as well. Vanya loves everyone and you will be able to tell what mood he is in by how many hugs and kisses you get. The lights on the houses are still an amazement to all of them and the ooohs and aghhhs are tremendous and the smiles are just as precious. They have done artwork, baked cookies, dressed up, gotten their picture with Santa, and bought presents for the first time in their lives. What a privilege it is to have been given these precious gifts from above. They remind us continuously of the wonders of the Christmas season and how absolutely blessed we are.

We wish all our friends and family the merriest of Christmas's and a new year full of God's blessings. Be ready to look for them in the most unexpected of places. Just as Christ gave us his one and only son on that Holy night so must we give to those whom He puts in our path.

One very overjoyed mama mama mama

Victors surgery

Before, After, and in the car on the way home

Today we had Victors herniated belly button operated on and he came through like a champ. What a great kid. He was all smiles beforehand and very cooperative. Not a nervous bone in his body. The blood pressure had to be done twice since it wasn't used to registering one so low. It took a while before the "lala land" juice kicked in but they waited until he was out to do his IV and such so he was fine. The surgery went well and there was nothing protruding through that needed to be fixed so they tightened up the skin after removing a little tissue that was in the way. It was really great to be able to pray with the doctor prior to the surgery. The doctor that did the operation helped with the Shoemaker performance at one of the churches this past weekend and is a close friend of one of the couples in our Heart for Orphans group so we knew Victor was in good hands. Coming out of the anesthesia was a little difficult since mama couldn't go back right away because Vanya was with me. When they let us go back he was crying and obviously in pain but he said it was the IV that hurt and not his belly. Understandably so since his arm is so little and they were giving him some pain medicine through it. I guess that feeling scared him a little but after the medicine got through he calmed down a little and was even smiling before we got him up and ready to get dressed. Overall he did a great job and we are very proud of how brave he is. Way to go Veech! The nurses were wonderful and so kid friendly it was great. They gave Vanya a ride in the wagon and one of the nurses even held him a while while I was holding Victor. They both got to go to the hospital in their PJ's and slippers so they thought that was just really cool! They both got coloring books and surgery hats and and ankle bracelet. They even sent one of each home for Yuri so he wouldn't feel left out.
Yuri still has some fairly significant separation anxiety when mama goes somewhere without him. We really pray that he is able to overcome this fear of being left somewhere. We explain it to him every time and sometimes he is OK with it and other times he has what amounts to a panic attack and it is pretty scary for all who are involved. Thank goodness for our neighbors the Morrows who watched Yuri this morning before school. Once he got settled in they called and said he was fine so I felt better then and was able to focus on Victor.
SO far the recovery is going well but Victor hasn't even slept a little since getting home. They expected that he would sleep the rest of the day but he is already asking to go outside even though his incision hurts a little. What a trooper. Even though I can't let him go outside he is enjoying getting to watch movies and have whatever he wants to eat and drink. He has come such a long way from the little boy we met in Molachansk. Always trying to please and behave and such a joy to watch play and smile.
Tired but loving all my boys (even the big one),
mama mama mama

Thanksgiving, Dedication, and Shoemaker

Well we certainly had a lot to be thankful for this year. Our 3 little guys are just coming along wonderfully every day. Challenges still abound but they are happy and full of life. Yuri's class made pilgrim outfits and Victors class made indian outfits with a turkey made out of a hand print on their shirts. Their friend, Ryland (2nd grade), was a settler. Vanya's preschool class made turkeys hats and they paraded quietly around the whole school as if they were a group of turkeys. It was sooo cute to see them all with their floppy ears (feet) of the turkeys.

When we asked them at the dinner table what they were thankful for it was pretty interesting. First we had to explain what "thankful" meant and that it was similar to "happy about". Yuri said "the swimming pool" and Veecha followed that up with "the car to get to the swimming pool" and last but not least my little one gave the thumbs up to, yep, you guessed it, "the swimming pool". I think we got the point that we should sign up again for pool membership again this summer. Mayra was thankful that it was her last year in college and Travis said he was thankful for good food to eat. Evidently college food is not to his liking. Brian, my brother, came to join us for the feast as well and was thankful for his daughters and family. Rob did a wonderful job, as always, with the bird and all the trimmings and we were both thankful for all of our children. We all had our fill and I even made a pumpkin pie! Not as good as Babushka does but at least we had some. Altogether a wonderful thanksgiving day!

DEDICATION DAY

We had the boys dedicated at church on Nov 25th. We thought since November was National Adoption Month that it would be cool to have them dedicated then. It was particularly nice that Mayra and Travis were here as well. Another special treat was that Yuri Safonov was here with us from Ukraine and was able to be with us and interpret everything. Even thought the boys understand english pretty well and have lost a bit of their native language it was great for the Ukrainian kids that were in the audience who were here for the Old Russian Shoemaker play. The boys received a special Children's bible and I got 3 roses, one for each son. It was a special day and we know the Lord will continue to give us the strength and wisdom to raise these boys the best way we can.

OLD RUSSIAN SHOEMAKER

The play that inspired our whole adoption journey once again came to Williamsburg. This time I was able to pitch in and help as our Heart for Orphans group sponsored the trip along with Emmanuel (CBN's Operation Blessing in Kyiv). It was great to see this group of kids who came from the Kherson region of Ukraine to perform with the Shoemaker play as well as do some individual songs and they even had a bell choir. There were 17 kids who came and we hope that this round of performances will be as inspiring as the last time which produced about 26 new adoptions. Many host families really enjoyed the kids and would love to have them as part of their families. Obviously they still have to go through the long tedious process if they truly wish to actually adopt. Many people have asked questions about the process and we hope to be able to be a resource for those folks and and encouragement that orphans are really at the heart of God and it is a commandment that we care for them. Not everyone is called to adopt but for those who are we hope to help them along. Yuri was here to answer some of those questions as well and now it is up to the Lord to speak to those who He has called to follow through with the process. We pray for all the kids we had to leave behind from our trip and can see the faces of those kids that were here that they too want to have family. I don't think it is too much to ask for kids to have someone who cares about them forever. These kids will not be forgotten.

Mama Mama Mama