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!

News on Rylie

So, I was curious one night and decided to research the Russian adoption site with photo listings. I'm not really sure why I was doing it, maybe looking for the little girl we didn't get to bring home. I lay awake many nights picturing all of those beautiful children and honestly wish that I could bring just one precious little girl home.

After looking for a short while, I was shocked to see Rylie's face appear before me. I sat there for a moment wondering why she was there and if I was only dreaming (I did say it was late, right?). I had to show Scott and he was also a bit dumbfounded. We didn't know what to do and we decided to write off to Russia and ask Valentina if she knew anything.

A few days later, we were thinking that we'd hear nothing or that she still wasn't available, maybe her picture was a mistake or something. We truly didn't feel that we would hear any good news. The news we did hear was shocking, Rylie WAS available and did we want to pursue bringing her home. Now, we really had to do some soul searching. How could we possibly afford another adoption? How could we get the time off of work? What would it do the children we have now? Scott and I both had a lot to think about. We finally decided that we would take the first step, sending off the petition to search for Rylie.

So, the letter is off to Russia and now we wait-yet again. I'm not sure why we're on this path right now. I would love to have Rylie if it is a possibility. She is such a precious little girl and I really hate to think that she would grow up in the orphanage. Luke is so happy now and that makes it harder. I look at him and know that bringing home another child is the right answer. We'll have to wait and see what happens. We're pretty good at waiting...

Luke has his first birthday celebration

What an exciting day July 23rd was in our house. Luke turned 5 and he had no idea what a birthday was or what was in store for him. I started the day before by playing him the birthday song and he told me that he knew it from school. We sang it a couple of times and he loved it! His version is a little different because he says, "Happy Durchday." He's still working on his speech pronunciation. It was very cute hearing him ask me if tomorrow was his durchday.

We decided to start the day with ice cream cake because it got a little smashed when Luke carried it into the house the night before. I highly recommend having ice cream for breakfast. We were all in a great mood after that! I also decided to let Luke make his own cake and see what cooking was all about. He loves to help out and he was great about following all of the steps on the box.







When it was time to light the candles, and sing, he could barely contain his enthusiasm. He kept saying Luke is 5, Luke is 5! We gave him some of the trick candles because he loves to blow them out and we thought that this would give him the opportunity to do it a couple of times.





It was so much fun being able to be a part of this very first birthday for one special little boy.

4th of July FUN

After getting settled into our new home, it was time to pick up my nephew, Caleb! He's staying with us for a few weeks before he starts his adventure in college. Luke and Sarah LOVE having him here and it gives me a nice break. He's been a blessing to have around.

For the big holiday, we had the opportunity to watch the DC fireworks from the parade grounds of the Pentagon-very cool. We didn't have to deal with all of the traffic and we were close enough to have a great view. Luke is crazy about fireworks! He screams out the color after each blast and it makes everyone around us smile. I know that is his gift right now, he makes everyone happy. Well...maybe his sister wouldn't completely agree with that statement. They are getting along really well and it's nice to see them play together.











We have our next homestudy coming up in a few weeks and the case worker will come to check out our new house and how Luke is progressing. We can't wait to see what she thinks!

Road Trip to Florida and Alabama

Yes, summer is officially here and the Dierlam Crew has finished school, moved into a new house and taken a road trip to Florida AND Alabama. Phew...I'm tired just typing all of that. What a wonderful journey we're on!

Sarah arrived 2 weeks ago and my father came for a week to help take care of Sarah and more importantly, do what he does best, fix up our new house. We purchased a foreclosed house and it needed a lot of TLC. My father is great for projects like this. We had a long list and he managed to complete most of the list! What a blessing. He doesn't know that we've already started a new list for his next visit-ha!


After moving the big stuff in and cleaning up our old house, we shoved the rest of our "stuff" into the garage and loaded up the car for a road trip! We wanted to visit Scott's brother and family in Florida and also take a trip to Alabama to visit his parents. What fun this was! The brother and sister team in the backseat got along just like siblings do on a 14 hour car ride. Ahhh! Actually, I'm proud of them because they managed to play nicely and Sarah has really been a big help with Luke. She loves him more than she knows. :)





The Florida weather was almost unbearable and both kids were troopers while we spent the ENTIRE day at Sea World. It was fun to sit back and watch Luke as he took in this amazing place. I think that he had a permanent smile all day. Sarah loved riding the coasters and she's tall enough now for all of them. She'll be taller than me in no time. She even went on one of the coasters by herself-wow!

Our next stop was Alabama and time to relax at Nana and Papa's house. We took in a Biscuits ball game and Luke was given a bat from one of the players. He loved the game! On this visit, Sarah fell in love with fishing. She even caught 20 fish in one day. Luke's favorite part of the trip was riding in the convertible Corvette with his Papa. Each day Luke takes in more things and becomes closer to his family.

Watermelon and Swimming

We managed to find time to have a little fun this weekend in the middle of all of the packing to the new house. Luke was great with helping me pack and loved carrying small things up and down the stairs. He was a bit confused about which house is really his and would scream whenever I took something off of the wall. It will all sink in when we're finally moved at the new house. We still have 3 more weeks to go!

Luke had his first taste of watermelon and fell in LOVE! I think he would eat it until he was sick if I'd let him. He didn't care too much for eating it with a fork and loved smashing his face right in and getting every last bite. You can't help but laugh when he came up for air and his entire face was bright pink.



I also took him to the pool at Fort Belvoir for a much needed break. The sun was out and it was too hot to keep moving things. Luke has never been to a pool before and it was such a joy to sit back and watch him. He ran when he saw how big the pool was and loved watching the lifeguard clean out all of the yucky bugs. He is a bit of a daredevil and I had to watch him closely because he wanted to jump right in. The water was a little cold for mommy but, Luke loved every moment of it. He even slid down a cool polar bear slide they have and tried his best to doggy paddle. What fun we're going to have this summer when Sarah arrives!