100

This is our 100th entry in our adoption blog!  Virtual cake for everyone!  It has been an amazing journey so far, with the blog beginning several months ago when we were first starting all the preparation to adopt Kayleigh & Michael, to now where the adoption has been completed (Michael's US citizenship paper arrived in today's mail, Kayleigh will have to go say a thing to get hers as she's over 14...) and the kids have been on American soil for 20 days as part of the Tansey family.  I continue to be amazed at God's work in the whole thing, and enjoy hearing so many people tell us how much they enjoy following our adventure.  Last time I checked we have people in 8 countries following the blog!

Now that we're home, the adventure begins in earnest as we begin to get to know and raise two new teenage family members mid-stream in teenagerdom.  So far this has gone so very well, far beyond any expectations we would have had.  The language gap continues to not be much of an issue (we can use google translate on more complicated stuff, but some things will just have to wait for now.....), they pitch in and help around the house, both have jumped on learning english and some other basic schoolwork (Kayleigh was using translate to figure out directions on math today and working with Alyssa....).  Michael tried out karate class last night and seemed to really enjoy it, and is already asking when the next class is....).   Both kids still get along amazingly well with our original three.  Both K & M sleep and eat a lot, seems like they are unwinding from 4 years in the orphanage system.  Michael still won't touch mushrooms.  I like Pop Tarts (just threw that in for fun....  but it's true!).  Michael follows Dylan around pretty much all the time and we can tell he is totally digging have a cool older brother.  Dylan is totally digging having a brother.  They get along great.  Kayleigh and Alyssa are still pretty much inseparable, they have bunk beds but share the larger bed on the bottom.  Kayleigh spent the day in a large t-shirt, when we asked Alyssa why she hadn't changed today, she explained that she had told her about getting to wear "Daddy" shirts (Alyssa likes to sleep in my t-shirts), so Kayleigh wore it all day (that was cool...).  Michael likes wearing sporty clothes, he is very, very active and athletically talented.

We still have the privilege of parenting our original three kids as well through all of this, and they have been nothing short of stellarly awesomeness :)  Not only did our new kids get a Mom and DAd, they got the bestest brother and sisters on the planet!  Our lives keep pluggin along as well, with   Dylan and I completing our candidacy for black belt in Tae Kwon Do (show is on June 16th in San Marcos, come and watch us get our belts :), Alyssa had her first dance recital and did awesome.  Bekah is getting ready for the start of volleyball season, and started her first job working for a family doing all sorts of stuff.  She is going to buy me Starbucks which is good :) 

OK, that's enough for today!  Thank you again and again to all who have prayed for and supported our adoption, we are so thankful for your partnership in this great adventure.  There is still plenty to pray for as 1) we're still at the relative beginning of our journey and 2) prayers for the rest of their classmates back in Ukraine.  The orphanage we adopted them from has closed and the kids were moved today to two other orphanages in the area.  This will be very difficult for them as they work into their new environments, contacts from past adoptions are lost, and another hard day for kids who are already living in a terrible situation to begin with: no family!