1st post placement report done

We just completed and sent in our first post-placement report. The paperwork really never stops in an international adoption. However, on this end of an adoption, the paperwork is much more enjoyable. The first post placement was a breeze. It was really more of a questionair. The next few will require home visits, but we adore our social worker so we are not concerned with that. As I sent out our post placement, it occured to me that we have been home for over a month. On one hand it seems like and eternity yet on the other hand it seems like only yesterday. I stand in amazement at how wonderfully the boys are doing. I almost cried when I put a pair of jeans on D yesterday and they were nearly too short. This pair of jeans swallowed him just a few weeks ago. I want him to grow...but not this soon. He is pretty short for his age, which makes him look younger than he really is...which I love but he wont love it in a few years. I was looking at N's passport picture and he looks like a different child already. His hair is finally starting to grow out. Benji and I decided we need to measure them but I don't want to see how much they have already grown. I do want to say a big congrats to our dear friends Jonathan and Tara. They just accepted a referral for a precious baby girl in Russia. Their referral has brought about the same feelings as when we got our referral. I am so excited for them. Our experience in Russia will always be very precious to me. There is something that I miss very badly about Russia. Our time there was undescribable, and I will carry those precious memories with me forever. For now, I have two incredible little boys to remind me of that amazing experience...that leap of faith that brought our little boys home!

I am a proud mama!

I know that often Russian adoptions get a bad rep. But ours has been almost a fairy tale. Our adoption process was much slower than most and we experienced more "glitches" than usual. In the process it was very frustrating, however, I know that the Lord allowed those "glitches" because he had these boys just for us. Had things not stalled our process then our boys wouldn't have been in the system sooner. The Lord prepared these two precious boys to become our sons and he led us to them and gave us all that we needed to get them home.



I am so proud of how well they have done and are doing. Each and every day they amaze me. D is picking up English so fast that it blows my mind....even things that he shouldn't be picking up on. My daddy has taought him to say "shake your booty" and he says it all the time. It is so darn cute that I just can't tell him to stop. He is singing most of his nursery rhymes. The other day I heard him daying "Oh my goodess" over and over. Yes....I say that phrase a little too much. Each day he uses Russian less and less. D is doing incredible with his manners. He is gotten ssoooo much better with his little brother. He is not in constant competition with him everyday. He shares with brother really good and I even heard him telling his little brother "I love you" the other day....can you say melt a mama's heart?
N is a sweetie. He loves to hug and smooch. He keeps us laughing. The boy loves him some music. Anytime he hears music, he immediately stops what he is doing and starts moving his little hands. It is so cute! He is my clumsy one. He got his first busted lip the other day. Poor little guy looked like a duck for the afternoon, his little top lip was so swollen. He is tough as nails though.

We went out to dinner last night and two seperate couples complimented the boys on how well behaved that they are. I must say that we are blessed and I am one proud mama!!

I have been horrible at downloading pictures. Here are a couple that I took with my cell phone.

Thank you Lord for our family

This has been a very busy weekend, but it made me realize more than ever just how much that family means to me. Friday night my aunt and cousin came up for the night to spend some time with us. My parents live next door so we see them almost daily. Saturday, one of our neices came to spend the night and Benji's parents, sister and her family, one of his brothers, and his cousin and his family came up for dinner. The weather was beautiful and as we sat in the yard and watched all the kids running, playing and having a great time, I began to think of how lucky we are to have the family that we have. The past few years Benji and I have been so work oriented that we have not let ourselves just sit back and enjoy life as we should. It was so wonderful to sit in the yard and watch all the cousins running playing and having a good time with each other. We are so blessed to have family that love our boys. We are ever so thankful that our boys will grow up with such an awesome support system. Our boys love their family. They are getting so close to their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

There is nothing in life more important than family. I have to admit that I have for a few years put work ahead of family time. I have missed out on so much. There were so many get-togethers and holidays that we had to miss because of work. I am ever so thankful today that our lives are now at a point to sit back and enjoy our families a little more, because at the end of the day...family is what matters.

We've already come a long way

We are two days over our one month Gotcha Day anniversary. Time has flown by. The boys are doing fantastic. I was rocking each one to sleep yesterday for nap and was ever so thankful for all the progress that has been made...and it wasn't bad from the beginning. N has always allowed us to snuggle him and rock him to sleep. D would not allow us to rock him to sleep. If we tried he would cry. He wanted to be in his bed and be left alone to go to sleep. Now, and for about 1-2 weeks, he has sat quietly in his bed and waited patiently for whoever is doing bed/nap time to get N to sleep. Once N rocked to sleep and in his bed, D comes to us and wants to be rocked to sleep. I was a little afraid that I he would never allow us to rock him, now he insists that he get rocked...praise God! They are getting so good about Benji and I leaving. At first they would panic if one of us walked out the door to take the trash out. They are a little more at ease with us leaving now.

Last week was their first doctor's appointment. They each had to get several shots. They were such troopers. I was so proud of them. I think that it hurt Benji and I to watch them get their shots more than it hurt them (they may argue this point). We also had to do some blood work, which was worse than the shots. It was horrible to have to hold my sons while they took blood. D would look at me with a panicked look like "mama get me out of this". It was heart crushing, but they really are such troopers. I was one proud mama!

I got my first "I druv you" aka "I love you" that was unprompted from D the other day. My heart melted! He says it when we say it to him but I really think he thinks it is a game to him. He has a stuffed dog that says all kinds of things, one of which is "I love you". I saw him playing with the dog and when it said "I love you", he would hug the dog and say "I druv you". Then he mashed the button on the dog, turned around looked and me, crawled in my lap, put his arms around my neck and said "I druv you". I was putty in his hands in that moment:)

We are home (and have been for a week..I'm just a blogging slacker:)

I know I have been a very bad blogger. I don't have internet at home so it has been a little harder to blog. I have a weeks worth catching up to do.
Our trip home was pretty good. The boys did great with the flights considering. They were a little cranky at times....but so were we. Spending an entire day traveling is no fun for anyone. When we landed in the US, we had to go through all sorts of stuff to get to baggage claim. The boys were melting down fast. Then on our way up to baggage claim, we got off an escalator to some of the best faces ever!! Our families were there waiting for us. It was one of the best sights ever! I thought the boys wouldreally meltdown with everyone hugging and kissing on them, but they went to everyone and loved on everyone like they already knew them. They did fantastic. It was like they knew that was their family. To see all of our family who took time out of their busy schedules to meet us at the airport meant the world to us.
Once we got home we had blue ribbons on the mailbox and a big sign on the front porch to welcome us home (thank you so much Renee and Jewel). Then when we walked in the door we had another huge sign in our living room and my fridge and pantry was stocked....really stocked! (Renee S and Laura...I can't tell you what that meant to us and how helpful it has been!) The boys were fast asleep from the car ride home. We were a little worried about putting them in their beds and them waking up in a strange place the next morning. But D woke up as we werer putting his P.J's on and when he saw his room (we have been showing him pics of it) he lit up like he knew that was his room. He grabbed his stuffed dog that was waiting on him on his dresser, crawled in his bed like he owned it and went fast to sleep.
The transition home has been nothing short of amazing. I really worried about that part of this experience, but the boys have not seemed to miss a beat. Here we are a week into being home and aside from a few minor meltdowns (nothing out of the ordinary for a 1 yr old and a 3 yr old) they have just simply done amazing. We have taken them to a couple family functions and they have done great. D does great with family (we have been showing him pictures of family members for a while now) but he is very reserved with strangers. N just loves people. He is such a ladies man that it is ridiculous. I am going to have to watch him with the ladies:)
The first couple days at home were a little rough. I hate to even say that. We just had a few meltdowns. Each day has gotten better and better.
Benji and I have prayed since we met our precious boys back in October that the Lord beging to prepare their hearts for us. We have sat down together and prayed every single day since we met them that the Lord help us in the transition period and help the boys adjust with ease. He has indeed answered those prayers. I know that there are times in everyone's life to where you may wonder "Where are you God?" and "Why are we going through this?" I just want to encourage you to sit back and lay all your trust and faith in him. Benji and I have wanted a family for going on 7 years now. I have questioned him over and over again. But once I decided to be still and really listen..he answered all my prayers and then some. He allows us to go through things at times not to harms us, but rather to mold us into what he needs us to be and where he needs us to be.

"For this child I have prayed" 1 Samuel 1:27...or rather in our case "For these children we have prayed".
This was moments after their feet hit US soil and they officially became American citizens. My cup runneth over!!