Yesterday was a great day with the kids. Michael had his first belt test in karate, testing for his yellow belt, and he did great scoring the 4th highest score of the night. We could tell he felt confident and he did very well! Jodi, Kayleigh and Bekah came to watch, and Dylan and I were sneaking peaks when we could of his testing :) After test he was out on the playground with his group of friends running around as usual. After testing was done for the night we hit Taco Bell for some munchies to unwind with a few other families. Michael was sitting with the group of guys again, and Kayleigh with the ladies.
I just had a great moment watching them. They both look so healthy and happy. Michael was all smiles, hanging with his friends and big brother, and had this look of happiness on him. It has been such a total transformation from the little boy we met at the orphanage who looked like he had no friends and was just trying to stay out of the way of the older boys and trouble. Now he's happy, active, outgoing, has a super duper big brother and group of friends, activities he is excelling at and loves to do (we can't leave early enough on karate nights...) and has really warmed up to our family like he's always been here. I always make a point of starting and ending each day with big hugs and kisses and I love you's for the kids, but last night was the first time that he was the one that came to me on his own for it, instead of the usual me going to them.
Kayleigh is like her sisters in that they just laugh at us with our karate stuff, but she seemed really interested in watching Michael test and very supportive. She has really blossomed since coming home with us and is such a beautiful girl, and very full of personality (her and Alyssa continue to seem like twins separated by geography...). She has gone from a quiet somewhat lanky girl with scraggly hair to being full of 15 year old teenage girl personality and energy, and has really transformed into a beautiful and healthy young lady. I have noticed that she has been warming up more in recent weeks as well, and loves to be chased around the house and goof around.
I love these kids :)
Welcome to our blog! We are so excited that you would take the time to follow our adoption journey! Thanks for coming along for the ride as our adoption of Kayleigh and Michael was completed in May 2012 and as we embrace our new world of parenting five teenagers!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Texification
OK, that's probably not a real word... Not only are we in the early stages of Kayleigh and Michael becoming a normal everyday part of our family, but adding that flair that you find only in Texas. Our family loves living in Texas, it has its own culture to it that we find to be the ideal fit for our family. BBQ, the gulf coast beach, shooting and hunting, sunscreen, driving 3 hours to get ANYWHERE! So, not only are we building a family life with our new kids in general, we are adding in those things that are Texas special as well to the experience!
Michael has been a busy boy. Last week Dylan and I took him to the gun range for the first time. In Ukraine we were told it's very difficult for a regular citizen to be able to get a firearm. We've been into shooting a couple years now as Dylan has a huge interest in shooting and hunting. We started him his first time on the small stuff (.22 pistol and rifle and the 9mm), and he took to it like a fish takes to water. Handled it all responsibly and safely and had a great time, not a bad shot at all. Saturday we went with the Kids Outdoor Zone group for some skeet shooting. He got off to a good start and hit a couple before tiring out in the Texas heat. Dylan of course shot great that day as we've done quite of bit of skeet shooting and dove hunting (yum...). More fun to come as Michael will have his first karate belt test tomorrow, testing for his yellow belt.
Yesterday we did a "make up" birthday party for Dylan and Michael and one of their friends, since Michael's birthday was just before we adopted and Dylan's birthday was while we were in Ukraine. It was a fun time for all! Kayleigh is keeping busy as well hanging out with the girls and getting into dance, she has progressed very well with it! Both kids are big fans of BBQ (that is a requirement here in Texas...).
Both kids went to the dentist earlier this week for a checkup and evaluation and the news was not unexpected that there is a fair amount of work needed for both. We have an awesome dentist so they'll be in good hands, but it probably won't be a ton of fun.... On the plus side though, both kids have put on weight since coming home in May and are looking very healthy! Both kids are continuing to progress very well with English and we seldom bounce back to Ukranian anymore except to keep ours in practice and have our secret language around other people :)
Michael has been a busy boy. Last week Dylan and I took him to the gun range for the first time. In Ukraine we were told it's very difficult for a regular citizen to be able to get a firearm. We've been into shooting a couple years now as Dylan has a huge interest in shooting and hunting. We started him his first time on the small stuff (.22 pistol and rifle and the 9mm), and he took to it like a fish takes to water. Handled it all responsibly and safely and had a great time, not a bad shot at all. Saturday we went with the Kids Outdoor Zone group for some skeet shooting. He got off to a good start and hit a couple before tiring out in the Texas heat. Dylan of course shot great that day as we've done quite of bit of skeet shooting and dove hunting (yum...). More fun to come as Michael will have his first karate belt test tomorrow, testing for his yellow belt.
Yesterday we did a "make up" birthday party for Dylan and Michael and one of their friends, since Michael's birthday was just before we adopted and Dylan's birthday was while we were in Ukraine. It was a fun time for all! Kayleigh is keeping busy as well hanging out with the girls and getting into dance, she has progressed very well with it! Both kids are big fans of BBQ (that is a requirement here in Texas...).
Both kids went to the dentist earlier this week for a checkup and evaluation and the news was not unexpected that there is a fair amount of work needed for both. We have an awesome dentist so they'll be in good hands, but it probably won't be a ton of fun.... On the plus side though, both kids have put on weight since coming home in May and are looking very healthy! Both kids are continuing to progress very well with English and we seldom bounce back to Ukranian anymore except to keep ours in practice and have our secret language around other people :)
Thursday, July 19, 2012
10K
We've now had over 10,000 reads on our adoption blog! Thanks for joining us on our journey, we appreciate the company, prayer and support :) It's been an amazing ride so far and we still feel like we've only just begun!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
English As A First Language
It's been interesting having two new kids who have had to learn English pretty much from scratch. We could tell that Kayleigh could understand a bit but speak little, and Michael seemed pretty much without any. Our lives together started with what they could scratch up in English and what we could scratch up in Ukranian from our time there. It's only been a bit over two months but also easy to see that both of these kids are pretty smart cookies. We've been using the Rosetta Stone product and that has been great, plus just being immersed in the language here has been a good teacher. After all, all of the rest of us here speak English, so if you want or need something, ya gotta tell people in English! It has been a lot of fun to chat with both Kayleigh and Michael this week in English. We still keep it simple (I call it chicken english where you use just the necessary words in a sentence...) but it has been working out pretty well. I think it will still take time to learn the language well, there is probably no other language that is so messed up as far as rules and exceptions to rules! I'll still chat or joke around with them in Ukranian, I think they appreciate us going outside of our norm to reach them as well :)
Monday, July 16, 2012
Surfs Up!
We went to Corpus Christi for the weekend. My aunt and uncle and two of my cousins and their families live down there. We've always enjoyed trips to the beach to see family and have fun on the gulf coast. We drove down Friday and spent some time with Jim & Glenda (aunt & uncle) which is always fun. They enjoy seeing all the kids and were super supportive of our adoption. Pizza party and sleepover for the girls with our cousin's 2 daughters. Early morning Saturday as we hit their pier for some morning fishing (caught a nice trout and Michael hauled in a nice big sheepshead!...). Then some good pool and suntanning time, then dinner by the pool with our family, extended family and a couple family friends that stopped by :) Topped it off with some night fishing and then to bed! Sunday we slept in a bit more, checked out of the hotel and hit the beach with the kids. The kids had a great time in the sand and playing in the surf a lot. Kayleigh told Alyssa that while she was in Ukraine she had prayed that someday she would get to go to the beach (she had never been...) so this was her first time to go to the beach :) Another visit with family on our way out of town (and showers....), and a nice drive home topped off with take out italian food from Carino's. Then ZZZ... zzz....
We're continuing to gel as a family, both Kayleigh and Michael have started to open up a bit and talk about their past. We are looking forward to getting to know more about where they came from but also hoping it wasn't too horrible either. We'll just keep loving on them and we'll see what comes about as they get more comfortable with us. Both kids seem very happy with our family and we're very happy that they are ours now.
We're continuing to gel as a family, both Kayleigh and Michael have started to open up a bit and talk about their past. We are looking forward to getting to know more about where they came from but also hoping it wasn't too horrible either. We'll just keep loving on them and we'll see what comes about as they get more comfortable with us. Both kids seem very happy with our family and we're very happy that they are ours now.
Friday, July 13, 2012
What Would You Do
Yesterday was a difficult day as we attended a funeral service for a family we know through Alyssa's dance class. One of her fellow dance class girls passed away unexpectedly last Saturday. The service for Madeleine was beautiful and the parents were incredible as Jesus lifted them up to make it through the service, they were so brave and inspirational in the face of such a devastating time for them. Throughout the service there was a slideshow playing with mountains of family pictures, it was so easy to see how important their children are to this family. 13 years old is just too early to be gone.
We've always told our kids how important they are to us. That I would kill to protect them. That I would die to save them. That I would be devastated to lose them. That we harp on being smart and safe not because we want to be the Fun Police (yes, I make the siren noise....) or to ruin the joys of the teenage experience (which from my experience usually involved something embarrassingly stupid....) but that we couldn't bear to lose them. For us as parents, there is nothing even close to this as being the worst thing we could imagine happening. Yesterday was a blunt reminder from life that every day with our kids is precious because it could indeed be the last one.
When we went through the adoption process, it was not hard at all to find kids that needed a home. In fact it was really shocking and sad to see the overwhelming number of kids in the world that are just plain unwanted. No one wants them or really cares. I mean we all see the commercials to feed an orphan for $25 a month, or hear the stories of children dying every day from starvation and disease, but that's usually the extent of the average persons interest. For our family we were called to do more, which is why there are two more kids who now have a family and a home, and a dad that would kill to protect them, die to save them, and be devastated to lose them.
There are still tens of millions of kids that need that all over the world. What will you do.
We've always told our kids how important they are to us. That I would kill to protect them. That I would die to save them. That I would be devastated to lose them. That we harp on being smart and safe not because we want to be the Fun Police (yes, I make the siren noise....) or to ruin the joys of the teenage experience (which from my experience usually involved something embarrassingly stupid....) but that we couldn't bear to lose them. For us as parents, there is nothing even close to this as being the worst thing we could imagine happening. Yesterday was a blunt reminder from life that every day with our kids is precious because it could indeed be the last one.
When we went through the adoption process, it was not hard at all to find kids that needed a home. In fact it was really shocking and sad to see the overwhelming number of kids in the world that are just plain unwanted. No one wants them or really cares. I mean we all see the commercials to feed an orphan for $25 a month, or hear the stories of children dying every day from starvation and disease, but that's usually the extent of the average persons interest. For our family we were called to do more, which is why there are two more kids who now have a family and a home, and a dad that would kill to protect them, die to save them, and be devastated to lose them.
There are still tens of millions of kids that need that all over the world. What will you do.
Monday, July 9, 2012
2 Months!
Today is the two month anniversary of our return to the US with Kayleigh and Michael! It has been amazing and exciting to see how well they've assimilated into our family, to see them happy and safe, and to begin and start to grow into their new lives here in Texas. We love them very much!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Why We Blog
I've been thinking about this one for awhile: why do we blog and continue to blog? When we started up the blog it was to 1) share our adoption journey on the way to adopting Kayleigh and Michael with our family, friends and supporters, and 2) to create a journal or diary of the experience so we would remember it long after it was done and have a record of our experience to share with the kids so they knew what it was like on our end of it.
However, most blogs on adoptions usually end when the adoption has been finalized and the kids are home. For us we view the finalization of the adoption as "the end of the beginning". I had likened this before to Dylan and I recently earning our black belts in martial arts. We've chugged along for 4+ years working through the colored belt ranks, did the year of candidacy for black belt and tested and earned our black belts. In that process as you're putting on that black belt, you realize that as much as you think you've learned over that 4+ years, that there is so much more to you that you have yet to learn, so much more to martial arts that you have yet to learn, and that you really have only begun the journey as a true student of martial arts and life.
The same is true of adoption. For us, our walk to adopt began a long time ago, we found the kids God intended for us, went through all the paperwork and preparation, had our 47 day Ukranian adventure. But for Kayleigh and Michael and our newly enlarged nuclear family, our journey has really only begun. Our family is different than it now was. We have a new son and daughter, brother and sister. This is a whole new family and world for them, a whole new life. For a family adopting this is really the beginning! We have always felt it would be important to share our journey so that other families who are considering adopting would get a look inside and that may help in their own adoption.
So far our time back in the states has gone great, this coming Monday will mark 2 months since our return. We know things will come up as each day passes but so far have been in awe of God's work in Kayleigh and Michaels life, and that of our family. We will continue to share all of the great days, and the problem ones that will undoubtedly come (as will happen with teenagers....). We love to hear all the comments and feedback from our readers, we glad you enjoy the blog and are excited to share!
However, most blogs on adoptions usually end when the adoption has been finalized and the kids are home. For us we view the finalization of the adoption as "the end of the beginning". I had likened this before to Dylan and I recently earning our black belts in martial arts. We've chugged along for 4+ years working through the colored belt ranks, did the year of candidacy for black belt and tested and earned our black belts. In that process as you're putting on that black belt, you realize that as much as you think you've learned over that 4+ years, that there is so much more to you that you have yet to learn, so much more to martial arts that you have yet to learn, and that you really have only begun the journey as a true student of martial arts and life.
The same is true of adoption. For us, our walk to adopt began a long time ago, we found the kids God intended for us, went through all the paperwork and preparation, had our 47 day Ukranian adventure. But for Kayleigh and Michael and our newly enlarged nuclear family, our journey has really only begun. Our family is different than it now was. We have a new son and daughter, brother and sister. This is a whole new family and world for them, a whole new life. For a family adopting this is really the beginning! We have always felt it would be important to share our journey so that other families who are considering adopting would get a look inside and that may help in their own adoption.
So far our time back in the states has gone great, this coming Monday will mark 2 months since our return. We know things will come up as each day passes but so far have been in awe of God's work in Kayleigh and Michaels life, and that of our family. We will continue to share all of the great days, and the problem ones that will undoubtedly come (as will happen with teenagers....). We love to hear all the comments and feedback from our readers, we glad you enjoy the blog and are excited to share!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Independence Day
Besides being one of my favorite movies, we have lots of independence days now in our family. Yesterday we celebrated America's Independence Day with the typical BBQ and fireworks. Both Kayleigh and Michael like food off the grill, so Texas is like nirvana. We have one of those grills that does both gas and charcoal, and since we were out of gas, charcoal it was! Dylan is only 14 but quite the grillmaster so cooked us up some brats and burgers. The Fab 5 then hit the driveway for fireworks and had a blast (no pun intended....). All 50 fingers made it through the night. After fireworks we pulled out the telescope my dad had bought our kids a few years back and got a great look at the full moon that had risen over the eastern horizon. Michael and I spent a good 30 minutes after the rest had gone indoors moon watching.
Both kids understood it was America's birthday but probably don't grasp the full impact of what it means for us. We had a great trip overseas when we adopted but we could see the definitive gap in real and perceived freedoms between over there and home, and it gave us an even greater appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy here in our home country. Regardless of anyone's opinions regarding politics or politicians, ObamaCare, et al, there is still no country I'd rather live in.
It's been two months now since our adoption was finalized in Ukraine and we're still having an amazing time with our two new teenagers. It's only been two months but honestly it seems like they're just one (well, two....) of us. We continue to learn them and them us, they're both progressing very well with english, have started activities (dance and martial arts....) and are making friends here. God's hand has definitely been on them and our family. They really are nice kids so it's been easy to love them. Both love to be chased around the house and hide under blankets from the tickle monster. Both are pickle fanatics, we open a jar and their gone! Both like bacon and eggs. Kayleigh likes bratwurst but not sausage on the grill. Michael likes the front seat of the Firebird because it's a very cool car, but mostly because he can't see out the windows in the back seat (all Firebird owners will understand this.... :)
Both kids understood it was America's birthday but probably don't grasp the full impact of what it means for us. We had a great trip overseas when we adopted but we could see the definitive gap in real and perceived freedoms between over there and home, and it gave us an even greater appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy here in our home country. Regardless of anyone's opinions regarding politics or politicians, ObamaCare, et al, there is still no country I'd rather live in.
It's been two months now since our adoption was finalized in Ukraine and we're still having an amazing time with our two new teenagers. It's only been two months but honestly it seems like they're just one (well, two....) of us. We continue to learn them and them us, they're both progressing very well with english, have started activities (dance and martial arts....) and are making friends here. God's hand has definitely been on them and our family. They really are nice kids so it's been easy to love them. Both love to be chased around the house and hide under blankets from the tickle monster. Both are pickle fanatics, we open a jar and their gone! Both like bacon and eggs. Kayleigh likes bratwurst but not sausage on the grill. Michael likes the front seat of the Firebird because it's a very cool car, but mostly because he can't see out the windows in the back seat (all Firebird owners will understand this.... :)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Which Which?
I've just had fun watching our five kids these past days. It's closing in on two months since our return to the US with Kayleigh and Michael, and I doubt the time could have gone any better than it has. Both kids have integrated into our family almost seamlessly. They are both happy and healthy, get along fantastically well with our 3 bio kids, hardly need prompting to do schoolwork (well, english and a touch of math at this point...), or help around the house. Both are open to getting hugs and smile a lot. Kayleigh has fit in very well with the girls friends and started dance class. Michael gets along great with Dylan's friends and is in karate with us now.
I was watching the kids after church this morning, and honestly if you didn't know they were adopted, you wouldn't know. Michael was with Dylan and their friend Reece, chasing each other around and kicking each other (playfully of course....), like boys being boys. Kayleigh was bouncing around doing the social thing with the girls (her and Alyssa dressed up and did their hair this morning, beautiful....). It amazes us each day at how fast and well they have become a normal part of our family. It is awesome!
I was watching the kids after church this morning, and honestly if you didn't know they were adopted, you wouldn't know. Michael was with Dylan and their friend Reece, chasing each other around and kicking each other (playfully of course....), like boys being boys. Kayleigh was bouncing around doing the social thing with the girls (her and Alyssa dressed up and did their hair this morning, beautiful....). It amazes us each day at how fast and well they have become a normal part of our family. It is awesome!
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