Playing in the Snow with Sarah

Sarah and I had a great time playing in the snow today. We tried our hardest to find a sled and there isn't one sled left in this town! We ordered one and we hope it gets here tomorrow before the snow melts. It's so fun to see how excited Sarah gets about the snow! We'll be praying for lots of snow to come while she's visiting.

14 inches of snow and still coming down!

I had a little boy wake me up this morning screaming, SNOW, SNOW, and more SNOW mommy!
It's been snowing since last night and it's still coming down. We've had another great day of
playing in the snow and it looks like Sarah will get to have a white Christmas too. Scott is stuck
on a plane somewhere and we sure miss him. It seems like he's been gone for most of the month.
Shoveling all of this snow without his help was a bit challenging. Luke and I managed to get it done
in 3 hours and we were playing most of the time. It reminded me of all of my own childhood snow days!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Luke had his first experience with snow and he loved it! In the orphanage, he must not have been able to touch it or play with it. It was as if he had never seen it before. From the minute he woke up, we were all out playing in it and watching it come down. The snowman we built was so heavy that we had to get Scott out of the warm, cozy house to help us. All of us enjoyed a little snowball fight too! It's always such a joy to see how happy Luke is. Hopefully we can have some more snow when Sarah comes!

Thankful

We are blessed this year for so many reasons. We finally have Luke home and that feels so good to have a son. We also have great jobs, good health, and are surrounded by a loving family and friends.


Here's Luke's list of things he's thankful for...
Poppy
Mommy
Candy
Popsicles
Books
And soda

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

October Happenings

We had a busy October and I can't believe that it's already November. Scott was gone for half of the month, we had Sarah visit for a long weekend, Luke had his first Trick o' Treating experience and we all had some kind of illness. Halloween was such a great time in our neighborhood and Luke was so funny! He woke up the next day with a huge smile and asked if he could have Halloween again. He didn't even like the candy, he just liked visiting all of the houses and getting to peek inside. One person had a huge fish tank and I didn't think he would ever leave his house. Luke is doing really well in school with his academics. He has learned the entire alphabet and is beginning to sound out words. He is an amazing little boy! We keep working on his ability to listen and follow directions. With maturity, we're hoping that he'll do better and better in school with following the rules. He has a fantastic teacher and he is well loved at our school. Sarah had a great time when she visited and was able to have one last marshmallow roast before we had to put the fire pit away for the winter. We're looking forward to having my parents come for Thanksgiving and having Scott at home a little bit more.

October Fun

September came and went, where in the world did it go? School has started for everyone and is finally running smoothly for all. Luke did well the first week and has been learning so much. He hadn't been in an American classroom at all and he has a long way to go before he's able to do most of the things his fellow kindergarten friends can do. I have a very supportive school and they are all working very hard to get Luke the help that he needs. I've had lots of support from my adoptive parents group and they helped us through the beginning of the year. Now, we just have our prayers going strong for Luke and his teacher. She has her hands full with him and it will take a village to raise him. It's a blessing to have so many people praying for us.

During this kickoff to school, we also got more news on Rylie. We found out that we would have to take 2 trips to bring her home and had to made a very difficult decision. Scott and I spent many hours thinking this through and came to the decision that we can't financially afford this right now. Luke would love to have another sister and it's just not the right time. It breaks our hearts to think that we can't bring her home. We'll see what the future holds for a brother or sister for Luke.

Luke has been having a lot of fun with the sights and sounds of October. He had no idea what a pumpkin was and he tried to take a big bite out of one. It's so funny because we take so much for granted. I had to cut a pumpkin open so he could see what was inside. Luke didn't like the slimy seeds one bit. Next, we cut it in half, added brown sugar and baked them. Luke did love this!! He couldn't get enough of the baked pumpkin. This is going to be an exciting Halloween for our family!

The Next Tiger Woods

Scott introduced the Tiger Woods golf game on the Wii to Luke and he loves it! The two of them are down in the basement for hours playing. It sounds as if we have an entire golf crowd down there with all of the cheering. This is a great way for the two of them to bond and have a little father/son time. Luke is pretty good and can actually get a hole-in-one!

Because he likes golf so much, we decided to use his gift certificate from Nana and PawPaw to get him a golf set. Thanks so much! He loves to drag his clubs to the side of the house and set up his golf course. I may have to buy few extra golf balls because he has a mighty swing and they get lost in the forest behind our house.




We sent off another letter to the Department of Education in Russia. They will be on vacation for the next month and we had to get it to them quickly. We're still waiting to hear any additional news on Rylie. We'll let you know when we hear something and hopefully it will be soon!