In Ukraine it is freezing!

We I am in Ukraine and am very cold. I traveled with Nancy Hathaway and we are coming representing Heart for Orphans. I'll be here until March 7 and so far we are very pleased with what we have accomplished. Even though our apartment looses power often, it is very nice. If you have too many things plugged in then it blows a fuse so you can dry your hair in teh dark if you want to be cold or you can be be warm and not be able to turn the lights on. Go figure! Will have to post picture when we get back since we can't get online very much and I forgot teh cable to download my pics. I can't send any email either because Cox doesn't work here for some reason. I can get email but I can't send any. :(
Overall we are fine and we are looking forward to all the things we might be able to accoplish on the balance of the trip.

The Joy of Christmas

Christmas was certainly a whirlwind of activity here at the Passanita Nut House. We had relatives from both sides of the family as well as boyfriends of our older girls and miscellaneous friends and neighbors over at different times. Our youngest boys were very much acclimated to what they THOUGHT Christmas was about. Yep, they have been Americanized and thought Santa had become boss of Jesus! Well we corrected that little misconception pretty quickly and now they know the reason for the season and were much less confused about how Santa fits in to the picture. The excitement level was still just as big but they enjoyed doing the secret Santa with their older siblings. Since the older kids were spending their own money they decided that it would better if they only bought for one person. We thought that would be a good idea as well since it is more about giving than receiving so we didn't mind having them give lots of little things (notes, pictures etc.)to each other all month as they prepared for celebrating Jesus's birthday.

So many little art projects came home with the boys that I had hard time "disbursing" them all. Yuri class did a month of giving where each child was to bring in something they had made for each child in the class. Mama was pretty smart about this little endeavor. We went to Target and I let him make his own Christmas card with the picture he liked best (one with his tongue sticking out of course) and then he put the words on it. I thought that was better than sending some additional art projects home with all the other kids. Great idea to get the giving part of the season but getting that much stuff all month was a little too much. Mama has now built 3 gingerbread houses with 2 classes of 5-7 year olds as well as iced cookies with the preschooler. What a site that was! I enjoy every minute of it though. I'm glad this is the second time around because I wasn't as concerned about how things turned out and had more fun watching and helping them do it any way they wanted it. One house had a canon in the front and only one side of the roof done and the other had a couple of blobs of icing with pretzels sticking out of it but it did have a door and a chimney. There were kids who did make patterns and put things on just so but mine were not among that group but mine had alot of fun in the process so that was all that mattered to me. We don't take too many things very seriously anymore and have discovered that simply enjoying all the little quirks that the kids have is much more fun that trying to make them fit into a mold. I think that would be an exhausting adventure with these guys who are very set on how they are going to do things. Some things we do insist on but we have to pick our battles or we would be having battles every day. Not doing that! They are healthy and happy and learning so I'm thrilled.

The Christmas Eve Service was very nice and and everyone had on their best outfits to sing to the Lord. We all loved the traditional songs and the solemn ones that remind us of what a great gift that baby in the manger was to all of us.

Christmas morning arrived quite early with Yuri coming in with big wide eyes to let us know that Santa had indeed come and had brought gifts. They had left some Reindeer food (dry oatmeal with glitter in it) outside and were pleased to see that the reindeer had left some candy for them. Once Yuri had woken up the house there was a flurry of squealing from all the little boys and a flurry of "Can we get up a little later" from the older kids and grandparents. The squeals won out and we were down stairs before we knew it. Yuri was the ring leader and went about segregating everyones presents and then the paper frenzy started and all the squealing continued for the next 45 minutes as they opened up their treasures. We intended to only get them 2-3 things per child but we forgot that the grandparents and uncles would be getting them things as well. Everyone had a ball and enjoyed being together. Rob made a great meal of turkey and the trimmings as well as homemade ravioli and meatballs. Everyone wanted to take a nap after the meal but the boys were ready to have us put things together and add batteries to things so they could play so we did that first. Needless to say, after a day of excitement, candy, and lots of stimulation, the boys were wired for sound and then melted at about 6pm. After a hot bath and some sit down time they each had reached their limit and bed time came early that night. The adults then proceeded to play cards and games and enjoyed grazing on the leftovers until about midnight when we all just dropped in to bed as well. Whew! what a day.

Mama mama mama

For all of us with strong willed kids you will appreciate this womens wisdom. I think we have all been there and done that. THanks for sending this to me Babushka!





The Mom Song from Northland Video on Vimeo.

Fall Happenings

Well it's been a while since I posted anything. I didn't realize how many people were actually reading this and interested in what is going on at our end of the world. The reason I blog is really to keep track of things I want to remember and because I don't have time to scrapbook anymore and don't foresee having time in the future to do that. I do enjoy sharing stories about the family with any and all who are interested though. The other reason is for awareness that there are kids out there who are great kids that need a family to help them be all they can be. We won't ever forget all the faces we left behind in Ukraine as I'm sure anyone who has adopted won't forget the other kids faces where they were too. I always remind myself that "but for the grace of God go I". Those kids didn't choose that life it was the hand they were dealt and it is up to the rest of us to do our part. While our family is "Officially closed" (unless there is a miracle by God to change that) we would gladly help anyone who wishes to pursue the blessing of adoption.

Yuri and Victor are finishing up their second soccer seasons and Vanya is just beside himself that he can't play yet. Spring T-ball will come soon enough! Just running 2 schedules of sports is a lot so I'm sure I'll be really frazzled by the time baseball comes and all 3 will play! The boys get great enjoyment out of playing on a team and interacting with the coaches and kids (mostly the coaches) Victor has really flourished this year in soccer and has scored a goal at almost every game and even scored 2 goals in the same game a couple of weeks ago. His gross and fine motor skills are right up there with his peers so he has caught up quickly just with a little extra time and exposure. His team is the tigers and they are orange this year. Yuri's team is the eagles and they are green. Yuri loves to play defense and has a good sense of position. He also likes the thrill of scoring though so often times he will just dribble the ball up and shoot even though he was on defense. He plays on a 1st/2nd grade team so some of the kids are closer to his age. He has scored many goals and has a great foot that can get the ball out of backfield and up to the offense. Both boys are now able to play American soccer and not Ukrainian soccer. Not as many kids are getting hurt by them this season. I don't think they have plowed over anyone this time so mama is happy about that. Papa is still wondering why that isn't legal because they almost always keep going with the ball after "getting some one out of the way". Periodically he has to be reminded that they are still little and this is soccer not football. Of course all the boys want to play football but mama isn't quite ready for my little guys to become bruisers. I also like all their parts where they are currently located. Vanya has excellent ball skills and will be a whiz when he gets to play next year. It will be fun to watch them all progress.

School this year is going very well and Victor is right about middle of the road in his kindergarten class. He has really made a lot of progress and we hope he will continue to go right along with the class and move to first grade next year. He is always the jokester and it will serve him well I'm sure. All the kids know him and he has an enormous following at school. He gets invited to birthday parties for kids who aren't even in his class; some aren't even in his grade! Yep, this might become a problem when he get older. Good thing mama has time to prepare before the girls start calling. He knows most of his letters and is working on his letter sounds now and can even read a few books on his own. His teacher is very pleased and says he is right on track. That makes mama pleased too! He still continues to connect himself to anyone and everyone though, particularly men. He hugs everyone right when he meets them and makes friends everywhere he goes. I have to watch him like a hawk. The whole stranger thing hasn't made too much sense yet. Mama got to go on the pumpkin patch trip with him this year and that was fun. It did make me realize that he still hasn't quite overcome some old habits and mannerisms though. He kept asking other people to help him with things even though I was right there. Whoever happened to be closer to him was asked. He didn't think anything of going to eat with some other kids and just leaving mama behind. I'm glad he isn't clingy but I had to explain that I come on these to spend time with him and if he doesn't want me to come then I would be happy to skip the school bus ride with 35 5 year olds. He hasn't really processed that sort of thing yet. The pumpkin patch was fun and he picked out a great pumpkin to paint and carve. I went for the carving at the school and helped a little group design their pumpkin and they weighed it and counted the seeds and made a face and then scooped it out and weighed it again. Since we don't celebrate Halloween I suggested that we make a silly face instead of a scary one and Victor was all about that! We had the silliest looking pumpkin ever. Of course I forgot the camera but it had about 10 eyes, a circle nose, two triangle ears and a boot for a mouth! I'll be going to do gingerbread houses next week so we'll see how that goes. It is my year to help in Victors class since I did Yuri's last year.

Yuri is doing well but is not progressing as fast as we would have expected for this year. We think it has a lot to do with his speech impediment. He is really having a hard time reading because he can't sound the words out very well and then gets frustrated so it isn't as much fun. He still likes school but not as much as last year. He has figured out that he is behind and that the kids are all older than him but not enough to make him want to work harder. He has trouble pronouncing certain sounds and so when he tries to sound something out it just doesn't sound like it should so he doesn't recognize it. We are currently tying to get him some speech help and have a meeting to see if we can get that included in his Student Action Plan. He is a whiz at math and has very good reasoning skills and also has a good vocabulary. He loves to do arts and crafts and is proud of himself when he can do things without help. He is very conscientious and most the time remembers all of his things. His stubbornness sometimes gets in the way of his fun and because he is very competitive about EVERYTHING he often gets upset if he perceives things to be unfair or if one of his brothers gets to do something or go somewhere that he doesn't. He is always a great worker at home and likes to help cook and clean and help papa in the yard. He does a good job telling his brothers how to do things too.

Vanya is having a good year as well but is by far our laziest. He has finally mastered the whole potty thing (thankfully) and knows he must stop and go to the bathroom regardless of how much fun he is having doing whatever he was doing. If he thinks something is going to take a long time then he doesn't want to do it even if it is something fun. And if it isn't something fun then look out. He still bosses his brothers around a little bit, but they have all gotten used to each other and now that they include him in a few things, he isn't as bossy as he used to be since he wants to play with them. He knows all of his letters and most of the sounds but words are still hard for him. He doesn't like to color in the lines because again "that takes longer". So most of his artwork from preschool is scribbles of one color on a page. He can draw things and make his letters neat but chooses not to when given a choice. The concept of excellence is foreign at this point and may elude him for quite some time. He is also very good with numbers and loves to be read to and can play games now. He likes to play with the hot wheel cars and anything you can ride on. Outside is where he would love to be at all times though. He goes outside and plays with whoever is out there no matter how old or what gender. If no one is outside he will go knock on his friends doors and see if they can play. His charm seems to attract all the little girls and some of the boys too. He is very sociable but is selective about who can be in his "circle". He is very athletic and never ceases to make us laugh with all his funny faces. I went to the pumpkin patch with his class as well and it was a hoot! His class is mostly 3 year olds and a few 4 year olds so they were just excited to ride the bus and go on the hayride. They got to pick out a gourd and a small pumpkin so it was all worth it in their eyes. He is my one who always wants to be with mama so no problem asking me to help not only him but all his friends too!

This Thanksgiving will be a little sad because we have one less family member this year. My grandmother died at the end of October and would have celebrated her 99th birthday this Thanksgiving. Fortunately my brother, Brian, and I, were able to go down and spend a few days with her before she rapidly went down hill and Jesus called her home. Vanya asked me to ask Ama if she would tell Jesus that He was doing a good job, since she would get to meet Him before he would. Out of the mouths of babes. My brother and I both got to play cards with her (she still beat us too) and Chinese checkers and she was alert and her normal self. We were both so thankful for that last bit of time we got to have with her. After we left to come home, it was only another 2 weeks before she was gone. She was a special lady and we will always treasure her. We all made the trip down to Florida for the funeral and the boys did a great job of knowing how to behave at the service. Fortunately, my cousins took the boys to the aquarium for the day when we were cleaning out her apartment. It was just a bit too tempting to touch everything and play with everything and be right in the way. It was nice to go out on the Gulf of Mexico to spread her ashes as she wished. We saw 2 dolphins swimming alongside the boat and the boys got a real kick out of seeing them so close. We got to say our goodbyes and will know her watchful eye will be on us until we join her. It was nice for my brother and his daughters to be with all of us as well. "Ama" was the last of her generation in our family so even though our matriarch is gone, the generation (my mother's) that follows will now have to be our family "glue".
Good boys Mischievous Boys
The holidays are almost upon us and I can't believe we are coming up to the end of 2008! We have had the boys now for a year and a half but sometimes it seems like yesterday and other times it seems like a lifetime. They have come so far and yet they still have a long way to go. We are just now able to tell others that it does become manageable, they do learn, and you do actually get to have some alone time (not much, but some). They all have such great personalities that are emerging and I love watching them discover more and more things and have opinions. God truly blesses those who care for his children!

Mama mama mama

Creativity is flourishing

The boys continue to amaze me with the things they do. I used to think they just hadn't ever have many things to play with so they just didn't play with things the way they were intended. While they still use things in different ways, I have come to realize that they are all just very creative. They are always wanting to build a "house" with blankets and whatever else they can find and they LOVE to dress up as super heroes, police, doctors, etc.. But this one really caught me by surprise......

Yuri and Victor went into the plastic bag collection and created an outfit from them! When they informed me what they had dressed up as I about fell over laughing. They dressed up as the lunch guys! They had the hats and everything. Take a look! Yuri had used the handles on his bag as suspenders and made 2 holes in the bottom to put his legs through. They both tied a bag around their head for a hat. Victor looked a little more like Aunt Jamima and Yuri like Mario on the video game Super Mario Brothers. What a pair! Meanwhile, little brother was creating a new kitchen floor. He thought it would be more colorful with some pink tiles and was highly offended that I made him clean it up.

(don't know why this picture won't load correctly so you will have to turn your head, sorry)

They have had a ball with the light sticks you can get from the dollar store too. Those light sticks held their attention for quite a long time and then they wanted to put them in the freezer to use again another time. After showing them how we could take a picture in the dark they came up with some different ways to move them. Here are a few.

Of course there was still the fussing over who created the coolest looking shape but they all had a blast and mama enjoyed watching them discover how they could use these for something other than light saber weapons. Yuri was not still long enough to get a flash picture of him creating a shape so I'll have to be quicker next time before he moves on to his next creation.

Even papa got a little creative and went out and got all of us Steeler jerseys to wear for the Pittsburgh Steelers season opener. We even wore them to church just to kid our pastor who is a Cowboys fan and has outfitted most of his 10 children (yep, that wasn't a typo, he has 10 kids and no we are not mormon or catholic) with Dallas apparel. The boys thought that was pretty cool and asked if we were going to get more shirts for the games that were on the next week! Papa made sure that he explained that this is a Steelers household and they could like other teams but that the Steelers would have to be their favorite and that is why they got to have a Steelers shirt. Nope, no democracy in the football front. I am still a Redskin fan AND have a jersey but I will let Papa have his fun with the boys and don my Steelers jersey proudly.

Another few things that I just hadn't written down in the past year are all the funny words the kids have come up with. I thought I had better do that before I forget so really the list is for me but thought others might enjoy seeing it too.

Waterlemons for watermelon

pink pinks for pancakes

puncuter for computer

white egg for hard boiled egg and yellow egg for scrambled

zero's for cherrios

"the sit down lady" for the aid on the school bus

mykraine for ukraine

I'll have to add to the list as I remember or hear other ones. At least have a spot to write them down now. I know babushka will be happy I have finally done that.

The boys have started soccer for the fall and Yuri's team is the Eagles and Victor's is the Tigers. Vanya is still just chomping at the bit to play on a team of his own but will have to wait one more season. Tball equipment for the spring will be under the tree this Christmas for him (shhhh, don't tell him). Since he can't read yet it's safe to put it here. Speaking of reading, here is Yuri reading one of his poems for school this year.