Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Today is another first of many firsts for Kayleigh and Michael in our family as we hit their first holiday season with our family.  Today we will get to enjoy our larger family and all the fun that goes with it, cooking up the Thanksgiving meal and eating way too much, watching some football and generally just hanging out.  This year we have chosen to just stay at home and spend the day as a family, the first time in our 11 years in Texas we have done so (every other year has been a group thing with other families). 

Today we shall stuff thyselves and give thanks for many things.  Thanks for our family.  For friends and people we in some cases barely know who have been so supportive of our family this year in our adoption journey and regular life.  For God's provision of our daily needs.  For the graciousness and generosity many have bestowed upon us.  For good health.  For our troops who serve and sacrifice so that we may enjoy the lives we live.  On and on the list goes!

While the year has certainly not been without challenge, it has also been a year of tremendous blessings as well, which is what we choose to focus on.  For our family, nothing is as important as, well, family!  Over the years we've celebrated having the three best kids in the world, and it's just that much better to be able to celebrate now having the FIVE best kids in the world :)  People tend to think we're out of our minds having 5 teenagers in the house, but when you've got the awesomest kids, it's really not a problem. 

There isn't a day that goes by that I am still not taken aback (in a great way!) by something one of them will say or do that is so loving or giving to another family member, friend, acquintance or complete stranger.  They are truly and uniquely awesome people.  I am beyond blessed with my wife and kids!  We have been blessed in many other ways materially but really don't put a lot of weight in those things as the worldly stuff comes and goes, but at the end of my run on this earth, whenever that will be (well, hopefully not too soon!) I will have what is truly important, and that is my family.  Nothing else comes close.

6

Today marks the six month anniversary of our arrival back in Texas with our two new kids!  Honestly, I would have forgotten to make note of the day if some of the other black belts at karate class weren't talking about birthdays last night at class.  For me this is a very good sign as having Kayleigh and Michael in our family is just normal.  I am amazed and blessed by (and will continue to be so....) by how easily they blended in with our existing family and became ours.  It seems totally normal to see them and hug and kiss them, goof around with them, tell people we have 5 kids (LOL, peoples reactions are funny....), watch them in their activities, etc etc.  If you're looking for one of those stories of extreme success with adoptive kids, our family would be it!

Grand Champion

This weekend was full of awesomeness.  Saturday Dylan and I ran in the Chosen For Adoption race (we ran the half marathon....).  Last year this was the catalyst for our financial support for our adoption of Kayleigh and Michael, this year we got to run to support another team running for their adoption.  The race continues to grow in big chunks each year as more and more people come out to run to support adoptions :)  Super D and I had a lot of fun running, especially at the finish line as we saw K & M there for high fives as we finished the race.  How awesome God is in that last year they were in an orphanage, this year they are in our family!  We are so excited for all the families who raised teams and support this year and are praying for all of them as they prepare to bring their kids to their new homes.

Right after the race us men hustled back home to shower up for our karate club's Clash of the Titans karate tournament, as Michael was one of of the kids teams.  His team won Grand Champion of the kids tournament and he fought great as always!  It was special to see him with his friends and how much confidence he has now.  I can still vividly remember him at the orphanage, where he really didn't have friends and spent most of his time alone out in the woods, and how small he looked.  Now he is so happy and really nice kid, has his pack of friends, and is full of confidence!  I've always been so very thankful for having a son in Dylan, and am doubly blessed now with two awesome boys :)

Jodi and the girls went with friends to a festival at their church in San Antonio and they took Yana with them, who was one of the girls Kayleigh knew at the orphanage in Ukraine, and adopted by another family in our area.  Amazing that they are both 6000 miles (10,000 km for you metric peeps....) and are both rescued and so close together geographically!  I got to watch Kayleigh at dance class on Friday and she was having so much fun.  She is a beautiful young lady and we get along really well.  It's still funny to me that she has my family's quirky sense of humor, our car rides to and from dance are usually full of goofiness :)

We continue to enjoy the ride we're on!

Chosen

This morning Dylan and I are running in the Chosen for Adoption half marathon.  We have gotten into running and enjoy it a lot.  We started running in preparation for going for our black belts in karate and it has stuck as a sport of interest on its own.  I always enjoyed it when I was younger and Dylan is a natural at it (and a lot faster than I....).  We like running in the races you find almost any weekend (we pace ourselves on how many we run....).  This morning up dark and early for the Chosen for Adoption race.  We'll be running the half marathon in support of Team Sims, some dear friends we met through adoption (they adopted one of Kayleigh's friends from the same orphanage in Zhytomr, Ukraine....).  Last year we raced to raise support for our adoption of Kayleigh and Michael.  This race and all the people who put it together, along with the support and association of Abba Fund, were the financial catalysts for us to be able to go to Ukraine and bring our two kids home.  Without it we would have taken a lot longer to financially prepare and be able to do it, and Kayleigh would have aged out of their adoption system and been on her own at the age of 15.  Having gotten to know her over the 5 months they've been here, I know she would have never made it.  So every day with her is a day of having love and life and a future that would have not been.  That's why every day with them is special.  That's why we run.

Translucency

LOL, I don't know if I spelled that correctly or inadvertently made a new word!  The past week was a good one as they all have seemed to be.  The kids are doing well and it feels like we continue to make steps forward in building closer relationships with Kayleigh and Michael.  Kayleigh continues to enjoy dance class very much and the girls there.  Michael loves karate class and has his own group of boys he runs with during and after class.  Saturday our other 3 had something to go to so Jodi did a date day with Kayleigh, going to a movie with one of her friends.  I continued Michaels' "Texification" as we hit the gun range and then some BBQ.  Kayleigh has said that she misses her friends back in Ukraine at times (we do too as we got to know them and it was sad to leave them behind, knowing what lies ahead for most of them....) so we try to be intentional in helping her develop new friendships here in America.  Michael still seems to have left nothing behind and seems to love being here.  We know both kids have made amazing strides for being here only five months so sometimes have to remind ourselves to be patient as we are way, way ahead of the curve.  We love both of these kids very much so being their parents now is truly a blessing.

Sometimes we are asked about our adoption experience as it has seemed to have gone so incredibly well.  I will tell you that with the kids that has totally been the case.  They have bonded seamlessly into our family and it really does feel totally normal for them to be in our family.  I will also tell you that life does throw its curveballs at families that take on adoption as Satan will try to steal the joy of rescuing these orphans.  Our family has been no exception to that, and that prayers for our family to continue to move forward in confidence in spite of lifes challenges are always welcome.  The social media world we live in here in the 21st century can be a double-edged sword at times, so we have intentially chosen to be "translucent" when it comes to online stuff such as Facebook and blogs, as sometimes there is just too much that can get misinterpreted or read into on things!  Rest assured our family is doing very well.  Rest assured that Satan will try to mess with that.  Rest assured your prayers are always appreciated :)

This coming Saturday will be an exceptionally cool day with the annual running of the Chosen Marathon for Adoption in New Braunfels.  Last year we had some awesome support for Team Tansey as we ran to raise support for our adoption of Kayleigh and Michael.  This year they will be here in person to see so many people take the time to make big things happen to bring orphans to their new homes.  Dylan and I are running for Team Sims, some good friends of ours who had adopted one of our daughter Kayleigh's friends from the same orphanage, and are now continuing their pursuit of an adoption of an orphan in Ethiopia.  The support we received through this race was crucial in being able to financially bring our kids home.  We pray that there will be many more to come!

Fab 5 for 5!

Life has gotten so normal and routine now with our five kids that our five month mark came and went this past week and I just pretty much forgot about it!  I take this as a good thing as it tells me our world seems so normal with Kayleigh & Michael here with us.  It does sound a little strange still when I say I have 5 kids :)

This past week has been good as always with them.  I watched Kayleigh at dance class on Friday as I picked her up on the way home from work.  She is doing very well and enjoys it, and loves the attention of being watched at class.  She'll get a huge smile on her face when she sees me watching her.  Michael is doing excellent in karate class and will get to participate in his first tournament in a couple weeks.  He's on a team of 3 with a couple friends, and has his own posse he runs with after class while Dylan and I have our black belt class and help with the adult class.

Bekah had a monumental week as she had her first date, went to homecoming and got her braces off!  She has blossomed into a truly incredible young lady :)  She is up in Dallas for the state volleyball tournament.  Alyssa is heading out the door for dance class, she has done extraordinarily well so far!  Dylan and I hit the fields for a bit of dove hunting this morning and are running in the Chosen For Adoption half marathon in a couple weeks.

Outside of those types of things, life has been running smoothly with our Fab 5.  K&M continue to learn the language quickly, are both wonderful kids and we are truly blessed to have them here!

Happy Sweet 16th Kayleigh!

Today is Kayleigh's sweet 16th birthday!  Not only is this a landmark age to hit, but it is her first birthday since coming home.  We love this girl and are so happy and blessed to have her as part of our Fab 5 and family :)

Someone Is Growing Up!

I haven't blogged in awhile but it's pretty much been the normal stuff.  Kids, house, dance, karate, running, driving, etc!  This week will be cool as Kayleigh's sweet 16th birthday is fast approaching (she will turn 16 this coming Saturday the 29th....).  Last year she was with us until the beginning of August before returning to Ukraine from the hosting trip, so we missed her birthday last year, but were obviously bound and determined not to miss this one! 

In our household, even before we had 5 teenagers, calendar days for events sometimes turn into guidelines rather than set in stone as often there is just too much going on to do it right, or the calendar is packed, it's a weekday, etc.  We started off "birthday week" yesterday with a day out at Canyon Lake with our aunt and uncle, and one of our cousins and her family.  It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for swimming and grilling.  Our aunt also picked up a birthday cake since their up from Corpus so after dinner we did a birthday cake complete with singing :)

Kayleigh is funny as she really loves the attention she gets here, but also gets embarrassed by it (but still likes it....).  I've been able to watch her at dance class and every time she catches me watching her from the lobby, she'll spring up a huge smile and stick her tongue out at me or something.  However, I can also tell she is loving being important and getting attention, even though often she will play it off.  Sometimes I'll be chasing and roughhousing with Michael, and she'll do something to try and get chased as well.  I am happy to oblige :)

I have no idea what the plan for the birthday party will be, but with Kayleigh having two loving sisters, I'm sure I won't have to worry about anything other than finding something for us boys to do to avoid the hysteria that comes with a bunch of teenage girls being in the same place at the same time!

Just A Fun Week

This week has just been one of those fun weeks where I really have just relished the joys and blessings of getting to be the dad of the Fab 5.  I still have to marvel at how well Kayleigh and Michael have blended into our family.  It's only been four months since they arrived in Texas and yet their being here seems so normal and doesn't feel at all like a new thing.  It's been a busy week just being us!

Going oldest to youngest ......

Bekah ~ Got to hang out with her a couple times this week which was nice.  Now that she's 18 and working and playing volleyball and plowing through senior year in high school work towards graduation, we don't always get to see her as much.  She and I drove down to her volleyball match in San Antonio so we had our alone time in the car to get to chat and kid around.  She is a very special young lady!  She had fun playing volleyball, at one point serving like 13 points in a row (she has this wicked underhand serve that barely clears the net and knuckleballs down....).  Afterwards she and I got a bite to eat at McDonalds (yes we still think the Ukranian Mickey D's was better....) and time in the car going home.  We also went to a movie together (Expendables 2....) to get a couple hours of gratuitous explosions out of our system!  Today she is off at a volleyball tournament, sounds like her team is doing very well!

Alyssa ~ She has been helping us drive the fall schedule as we have the chore cards all set up for the kids, including K & M.  She has been such an amazing big sister helping Kayleigh acclimate to our family.  It transcends normal communication between those two, they could pretty much communicate with each other before either knew the others language!  She continues to excel in dance class with an amazing combination of precision and gracefulness!  I took her out driving for the first time as she now has her learners permit, she did well for a first time (ala no crashes....).  Got to just hang out and snuggle with her last night, she is the perfect size where her head fits right under my chin :)  She is at dance class today, she has done so well with it and loves it and her instructor and school.

Kayleigh ~ I got to take her to dance class and watch her for the first time which was a lot of fun.  She is learning very fast and is so strong.  She will play off that she doesn't want you to watch her too much doing it, but every time she saw me looking, she would get that huge smile on her face, or we would make faces at each other.  I had a Snickers bar for a snack after dance, so when she looked I would dangle it or smell it and smile to tease her.  After dance we drove to McDonalds for ice cream and then back to the house.  She and I have a blast spending time together as she definitely has the Tansey family sense of humor, so we are making funnies pretty much nonstop!  Eating ice cream in the car, making jokes and she picks the mexican music station which we crank up as it's got some high speed accordian rock polka song playing (I start yelling yee ha at the top of my lungs when she puts the country station on and calling her Kayleigh Cowgirl....).  We really enjoy hanging out together, she plays it cool sometimes but loves to be pursued and given attention and smiles easily and often.  She is out with the girls today hanging out :)

Dylan ~ I love spending time talking with Dylan.  He has often been described as an "old soul", meaning that his maturity and insight are well beyond his chronological age.  We had the best time talking and joking around.  We both share the same "gifted" sense of humor so will undoubtedly find something funny that no one else seems to share our humor in!  We get to spend a lot of time with each other as we are in martial arts together (along with Michael....) and our journey through the colored belts, black belt candidicy, and now as fellow black belts has only brought us closer to each other.  We sparred together the other night and he has grown so much in skill and confidence, it is really amazing to see what an incredible man he is becoming!  I am so incredibly proud of the brother he has become to Michael, there is none better than he!  Today he ran in a 3 mile cross country race and finished in the 22 minutes area, about 2 minutes faster than his previous best! 

Michael ~ This kid is a blast.  He is warm and funny and easy to love, and at times really stubborn!  Jodi was on him for something this week and she was correcting him and it took some talking to get him to budge.  Such a guy!  He has taken up martial arts with Dylan and I and so far has excelled in the sport.  He is athletic and quick.  We did a mock tournament this week and he and his BFF Gabe were a team, and they rolled to 1st place!  It was so great to see him sparring and having a blast, with a bunch of kids cheering his name as he fought.  In Ukraine at the orphanage he really didnt have friends, no confidence as he spent his days staying out of the way of the older kids, no brother to love him and do all the cool things you do with a brother (they have two older biological brothers back in Ukraine, but they were not in the orphanage system and not much involved if any in their life).   It was one of those moments when you stop to appreciate he has a whole new life now :)

That's all for now :)

Four Months!

Today is the four month anniversary of Kayleigh and Michael's arrival in Texas.  It has been great!  We are truly enjoying our Fab 5 :)  God is great, we have been so blessed to have them as our family now :)

Not really anything else to say today, that pretty much covers it :)