Interesting day yesterday. I was on the playground with my class, and A’s class came out during that time too. She was off to play with her friends after coming to get a “kissy” and explaining to me that after she ate lunch, it would be time for me to come pick her up and go in the car. ;o) Anyway…she was playing with one little girl in particular who happens to be the child of another teacher here at our school. They were so cute running around and I was enjoying the scene. They are both about the same height and same build, which threw me into a moment of Dawning…For the last two years, I have taught 2nd grade, and so was on the same hall as this teacher. In the afternoons her little one would come to school and hang out with her while she finished grading and whatnot. During that time I just fell in love with her and loved to see her running down the hallway and her brothers not too far behind. She came to be called the hall mascot. There were times I would look at her and wonder how old our little one would be, would she be this size, would she be as giggly as her, as full of personality…and well you get the picture…I was in a sense dreaming of my child through this little one…and as the Lord would orchestrate it…our little one was right on target with this little one here at home that I was watching…only the Lord could prepare our hearts so perfectly…

In His Watchcare,

Joy

We are all doing fine, just into the groove of school and whatnot…Our school just had homecoming, and we dressed up for Crazy Hair/Red, White, and Blue day. I wasn’t sure if she would go for crazy hair, but when she saw the boys’ she had to get in on the action! I am also putting a pic in of little miss helping in the kitchen.

Enjoy…

So we have been home for almost 3 months…and it feels like we have always had a little bundle of “sugar and spice”.  She has melded into our family in such an amazing way. I continuously go back to the fact that God had prepared her little heart as well as ours for her homecoming. She in the last week has been feeling the waters…asking or reassuring…”this is my house”…”this is H’s, C’s, mommy’s, daddy’s and A’s house?”  She will double check about grandma/pa, and nana/papa’s house situation, as well as the boys across the street. I’m not sure what has prompted this, except for perhaps that she spent about 3 mos. in the last orphanage she was in, and it has been about 3 mos. she has been with us, so my natural tendency would be to think she is checking to see if there will be another change. But no my precious girl…no more changes…you are home…and we are so very happy to keep you here with us forever.

In His Watchcare,

Joy

So A and I went to an America World Seminar to share with some couples our story. The lady who shared AWAA with us is the one who was holding the seminar. She had also asked my good friend Natalie who has just come back from China about 3 1/2 weeks ago. We had a good time, and A enjoyed dressing up in traditional Russian clothing. I was sad to realize that this outfit will probably not fit after this year. ;o( If anyone knows of any websites like Chinasprout who offer reasonable prices on authentic clothing, I would love to have the resource. ;o)

So anyway…here are the sweet pics.

I’ve also included some pics from Winston from Christmas with the snow.

Ever in His Watchcare,

Joy

So yesterday…too cute! Annalise and I were having a rest time after school, and she always likes to chit chat to begin with. So, she had grabbed my arm and put it over her when she noticed a freckle on my arm. She asked what it was, and I told her a freckle. Well she set to looking all over for one on her! She found a little red mark on her arm and asked if that was one. I just went along with it and said, yes, since I was understanding her need to be like mommy. Well she wasn’t terribly satisfied, so she kept looking around, and finally did find one.  She was so excited, and said, Annalise freckle, mommy freckle. Then she asked about the boys and daddy. I informed her that yes they all had one too. She was very pleased about it. When the boys came home from school she questioned them regarding this novelty, and was pleased to find that yes, indeed they did have one just like her!!

It is so fun to see the process of her learning to trust us and to love us. She has yet to say the words “I love you”, however, she says in so many ways. Typically she will grab our arm and just squeeze really hard, and make the sound you might make when you kiss someone, MMMmmm. She will also run up to us just to touch us and then off to play again, or she might run up and ask for a kissy. We have been amazed at the increase in her vocab. There are many phrases she is saying very clearly, such as “I want this”, or “what you doin?” as well as a few others. Other things are a little harder to understand, but if you know the subject she is referring to, and what happened just previously, then you can follow along in her stories. She seems to love to tell us all about everything that happens.

Well, that is all for now…

In His Watchcare,

Joy

I hope everyone had a great New Year!! We enjoyed ours in Winston-Salem with B’s parents. We stayed up very late, but everyone had a great time. We came home on Saturday. I will say our traveling went wonderfully! She is a trouper!

Just recently I have been asked to share our story with some families that are coming to a seminar about America World Adoption with Kris Keegan (which is who introduced us to this agency). Another friend of mine who just adopted from China as well as myself are supposed to share on Saturday a little with the families regarding our journey. To top it off, she also asked me to be interviewed by our local Christian radio station to help promote the seminar. I did that today, and hopefully it was fine…we’ll see! It is supposed to air on 90.5 (for those of you who live close by) on Thursday morning at 7:15/8:15/lunch. So if you think of it, tune in. I am also including below the information regarding the seminar so that anyone who is close by and interested could stop by and get some information.

Adoption Seminar
America World Adoption Association
is hosting an adoption seminar at Northside Baptist Church
Where: their fellowship hall
When: Saturday January 9th
Time: 10am- noon
This is for anyone that has ever thought about adoption or if a family member has thought about adopting and you want to get informed, this is for you.

In His Watchcare,

Joy

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. We have had a wonderful Christmas, and feel so incredibly blessed that the Lord has put our family together in such an amazing way. I told B, if God can bring us together with our child all the way across the sea, I know He can do anything. This journey has been such an eye opener to this fact…and I’m blessed beyond words to have the opportunity that God has given us.

Our little one has enjoyed opening presents, but was a little unsure at 7:00 this morning about looking at presents! The boys’ antics woke her, so she was a bit unsettled to begin with. She warmed right up though, and has loved celebrating Christ’s Birthday. I made Russian potato pie in honor of her heritage. My plan is to incorporate this into our celebrations as a way of reminding us from whence she came. Though it is not exactly like they make in Russia, it is a nifty rendition of it, if I do say so myself. ;o) Our little princess was asleep very early and very quickly tonight after all the celebrating!!

Merry CHRISTmas,

Joy

Ok so there is a pic that I have been wanting to share, and many of you will say…???what in the world??? But let me explain. (B thought I was silly, so you may too)  The kids had just finished eating breakfast, and I was coming in to rinse my bowl. When I looked down, sitting in the sink was a significant sight…three bowls. Three bowls you ask? Yes, three bowls…my three children’s bowls. At this point, after having been home for a week, it hit me…my three children are all here, being taken care of by me!! Yes, I was a little emotional at the sink, and A LOT thankful to know my children are where they should be, snug in their home, being loved by their mommy. So…enjoy this “silly” picture, and know it holds great significance in my heart!! The other pics range from the time we got home, to now, so enjoy. ;o)

In His Watchcare,

Joy

Here are a few of our first videos with Annalise.  It is so hard to believe we have been home with her for nearly 7 weeks!  She is learning very quickly.  Already, there is very little she doesn’t understand in English.  I actually miss hearing the Russian words, but it is nice to hear her speak English, or try many times. 

See video page

Well, first of all, we are still here. ;o) Just been very busy! CHRISTmas season does that to all of us I’m sure. We just finished up some of our post-adoption paper work, which is nice. We had to register her with the Russian consulate, and turn in a few forms to our agency. We do still need to finish paper work for her social security, and then look into readopting here in our state. So though we thought paper work was over for a while…alas…it is not. We do have a post placement at 6 mos., 1 yr, 2 yrs, and 3yrs. Then it will feel as though it is complete.
We are so enjoying our little one, her sweet nature and enthusiasm for life is certainly catchy. The boys are still as enamored as ever…impressive…it has not worn off yet!! We of course are loving hearing her version of English, too fun. She is so very smart, and picking up so much so very quickly. I think that has helped tremendously in her attachment as well, she understands the connections with others around her.
I have some pics that are near and dear to my heart, that I will try to post soon…I can’t seem to stay awake long enough to post them. When she crashes, I crash!!
I will try to post more often, to keep you updated…no promises though. ;o)
In His Watchcare,
Joy