I Love the Vacuum

So, our first day at home alone was very busy.  I forgot how curious Luke was when he arrived home and how much energy it takes to fulfill this curiosity phase.  We started with the vacuum and at first, Matthew was afraid of it.  He peeked his head around the corner and just screamed with laughter each time I turned it on.  He finally became brave enough to run in and actually touch it and then run away.  I think he thought that it would eat him!  After 30 minutes of this game, he finally was brave enough to pull on the cord.  It was love!  He pulled that cord in and out about 200 times before mommy was about crazy.  Carefully, I comforted him and tried my best with our sign language and few Russian words to let him know that he could see it tomorrow.  That wasn't good enough for him and he ended up crying for about 10 minutes.  I told you that it was love!

Brothers!

Luke is loving his new brother and they had a lot of bonding time over Memorial Day weekend.  He is learning that his brother doesn't like to be hugged...yet.  Luke is a great hugger and he will have to patient with this one.  I know that Matthew will come around when he sees how much his big brother loves him. For now, we play a lot of games together as a family and try to teach them both how to play fair and get along.  Most of the time they are great together!

Home

Scott and Matthew made it HOME!!  We couldn't be happier with the homecoming of Matthew.  He is such a blessing.  They arrived home early Saturday morning at 1:00am.  Luke made a cute sign to hold up  and we ended up running so fast at the airport that it was dropped.  It was fun to see the excitement of Luke when he saw his new brother.

Not in Russia anymore

Scott and Matthew made it safely out of Russia and now have a 20 hour layover in Korea.  As usual, Scott had a few things to deal with in the Vlad Airport.  It seems like we always have problems there.  It's a tiny airport for such a large city.  They are doing well and look forward to a little time to rest in the hotel.  Korea has a beautiful airport and it's one of our favorites!  They'll have lots to do there.  We're now counting the HOURS until they arrive!!

Matthew Explains His Travel Plans

Scott sent this video today and it is a hoot!  He asked Matthew how he would be getting home and this was his response...

Looks like we have a smart little man on our hands.  We didn't even think that he could talk and look at him now.  He is a little shy and Scott says that he hides behind his leg whenever a stranger is near.  That is such a great thing!  He is bonding so quickly to Scott and that melts my heart.  They get on the plane in 3 hours!!  The first step to coming home is getting closer!

Loves to Clean

Matthew continues to change each day and Scott is having a great time getting to know our little boy.  It amazes me how much he is just like Luke.  When Scott sent this video, it made me laugh!  Luke's favorite thing to do when we returned to the US was vacuum!  These precious little boys are hard workers.  They love to clean, put things away, and have order in their lives.  Life in the orphanage means following rules and helping out because there are so many kids  to take care of.  Luke is still pretty good at cleaning, but has lost a little bit of his love for doing it without being told. :)

We are only 3 days away from bringing our little man home!

Time at the Park

Scott is having a great time hanging out with Matthew and getting to know him.  We talk everyday with the wonderful use of Skype.  When we brought Luke home, we didn't have the ability to do this and it has been such a blessing to see them each day.

Here's what Scott wrote about Matthew. "Matthew was exhausted yesterday and he is still asleep 12 hours later as 7 am approaches.  7:30 am each day is an exciting time here, as the daily 8-hour communication freeze ends when the Vlad Motor Inn's restaurant reopens and they power up their Wi-Fi.  It is funny to see all the adoption couples move out in the hallway to obtain the signal. 

We spent an hour in the crowded hotel park yesterday.  It was a beautiful day and Matthew ran around with a five year old boy most of the time.  He hopped on a bike with training wheels and tried with limited success to get it moving, but he loved to have me push him around while he steered.  A crash or two did not curb his enthusiasm.  He just jumped back on the bike.

New Oufit!

Scott just sent a photo of Matthew in his new outfit! He took him from the orphanage today and he is doing good. Scott said that it took him over 2 hours to fall asleep!
Send lots of prayers his way!

Feeling Guilty

Well, yesterday I started to feel very guilty that I didn't travel with Scott to Russia.  I looked at all of the videos of Matthew and realized that I should have gone.  I stayed back to help save money and I think that it may have been the wrong decision.  I hope that Scott is doing well and taking many, many photos.  He tried to Skype yesterday and we could only talk a few minutes before it cut out on us.  Once he is in the hotel room in Vlad, he should get a better connection.
Luke and I can't wait to see Matthew and find out how Scott is doing at being the only parent right now.  It's such a huge job and I pray that Matthew has an easy transition.  He'll leave the orphanage today and that's always very tough.  It's been the only home that he's known for the past 2 years of his life.  Sweet dreams little boy.  Your mommy loves you dearly.

One final trip to Russia!

We took Scott to the airport early this morning for one final trip to Russia. It feels so good to know that we are on the last part of this journey to bring Matthew home. We pray for safe travels and that Scott will have an easy time with having all of the parenting duties in Russia. Skype is a wonderful thing and we will keep in touch with him each day. Luke is so excited and we started a new count down calendar for Matthew. Only 13 more days and he'll be home!