Home one year - 10/28/2010

Arriving at O'Hare Airport on 10/28/2009.
At Dollinger Farms on October 3, 2010.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES..........

The kids and I returned home one year ago on 10/28/2010. That is when we became a family of five. So many things have changed over the year. The kids have grown so much! Keegan has become an awesome big brother and we have all learned so much about eachother and could not be happier!

Kristina's 9th Birthday Weekend

Kristina turned 9 on October 25th. She had a very fun filled weekend. She had a party for school friends on Saturday and a family party on Sunday. Then on Monday she had a treat delivered to her class for all of her classmates. Here are a few of the pictures. She had a blast and was so excited that she stood by the front door on Sunday waiting for people to come. We aren't sure who she was looking for but she had lots of fun watching and then would get really excited when someone was coming to the door. We finally told her that everyone was here - go have fun!

Kristina and all of her presents!

The extra yummy birthday cake!

Party at the Jump Zone with her school friends. We had about 13 kids show up and they all had a blast.

The birthday girl and some of her friends at the party.

Gotcha Day...

Yes the kids have been with us one year as of the 20th...It's hard to believe that a year has flown by this fast. Our bond and love for each other grows every day! Both Kristina and John have grown about 4 inches and put on a few pounds in the last year. They both enjoy school and right now they are looking forward to Halloween. It took a few weeks to work John into his mask as he does not like his face covered, his mom has done a great job in working on this and he now puts on his Skeleton mask and examines himself in the mirror - not sure how long it will last during Trick or treating next Sunday...we'll see. Kristina got new wings from her gramma and grammpa for her Tinkerbell costume and is excited about wearing it outside to show all her friends. Last night was parent teacher conferences at school and both teachers asked us to come...if they don't want to talk then things are OK...we were a little worried but things were fine. All of Kristina's teachers continue to rave on how far she has come in the last year and they agree that once John gets a little more used to his teachers he too will blossom. He is a very open and playful child at home but in school it seems it is a different story...teachers say he is shy and quiet at times. We are sure he will break out of this shell once he is a little more comfortable.

365 days ago...

We were a family of 3, Gloria and I were prepping for court, nervous, worried yet excited to be taking this next step in the adoption process. We visited with the kids the day before and told them that we would be asking the judge to make us their mom and dad. They seemed to understand and agreed that this would be ok. Court went so quick and I remember standing out in front of the courthouse in the bright sunlight in 40ish temperatures sweating profusely. We had done it! The judge had asked all the questions we had expected and prepared for and even joked about my birthday and our anniversary...What a relief to see that she was human and not some communist brut that was going to look at us and say "Americans NO!". We had stuggled emotionally for months trying to understand the process and it was pretty much over in an instant. Now here we are almost a year later...The kids are thriving physically and striving emotionally to understand all that has been coming at them. They are completely comfortable in their own home, rooms and beds. We have had no sleeping or eating problems in more that 6 months. School is a challenge that they are both taking to...letters, math, science we see them learning more each day and do all we can to help them to learn and adjust. We love them more and more each day! Thank god for putting us in the same place at the same time in a small town in the Russian far east.

A year ago....

I can't believe we left for Russia on trip two one year ago yesterday! Seems like it was just last week...all the excitement, concern, emotions...What a magical time it was then and has continued to be for us. Watching the kids grow, adjust, learn and bond with us. We know for sure now that our match was a moment in time that was just waiting to be made, Gloria, Keegan and I love the kids more and more each day and we feel they grow more attached to us and our family with each visit. Their speech and language skills have grown and improved many times over.


We took them yesterday for their first ever visit to the pumpkin farm to pick out their own pumpkins, ride a hay ride, ride a train and navigate a corn maze and we all had a blast!

Looking for the best pumpkin!

The train ride!

Coming out of the corn maze!

Kristina in her dark shades!

John with his "guess what I'm thinking about" look!

"Daddy, can I have one of these? Please!"

"Or maybe one of these?"

Look how tall he is!

Look at her!

"I don't want to put my head in this thing!"

"Hello Everyone!"

Just a cute picture...

A few weeks ago Keegan's football team opened the season with a game played in Soldier Field in Chicago (Home of the Bears). We took the camera and snapped a few shots. Here is a great one of John. Below is a shot of the kids playing at the hospital when we went to visit our Niece's new baby.

Last Year...

about this time we were celebrating getting our court date and beginning our travel plans for trip two. What an exciting time it was for us after waiting 5 months to get all the details worked out. Well the kids are all in school and doing very well. Kristina is working hard on getting caught up on math/counting and John seems to be fitting in with his peers in Kindergarden. Keegan is working hard at school and seems to be doing well with his grades. What a difference a year makes!