Fundraiser Picture Video

Just uploaded the fundraiser picture video that I created. I think it turned out great! Take a peek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Npb8BXBTA&feature=share

The Fundraiser Event

What a wonderful night! I have known that we have some wonderful friends in our lives, but last night was truly an evening to be remembered and thankful for the friends in our lives.  Michele Schriber, Amy Gais, Andrea McRorie, Christy Manahan and Anna Rubin, not only planned an amazing evening, but pulled off a beautiful evening to help us raise money to bring home Ivan and Toliy.  The Ranson House was decorated beautifully. The food was wonderful. And we had a house full of amazing and generous friends. I can't wait to post pictures!! We had so many people offer their help to us in the future, one friend has collected clothing for Ivan, who will need fun, hip in style teenage clothing! Another friend, has a friend who teaches Russian and offered to tutor our boys in English for free!!  My loving husband made a wonderfully heartfelt speech, and through the tears managed to get the point across, that although we never planned on adopting 2 Ukrainian brothers, these 2 boys are our sons and are meant to be in our lives forever! For those people that missed this great toast/speech - whatever you want to call it - I am posting it here!

Matt's Speech:

I assume most of you know our story from reading our blog (or technically, its Lisa’s blog).  And how we hosted Ivan and Toliy for a month this summer.  But I’m not sure if you all know how unexpected of an event it was for us to even host these boys.   Before I tell the story I’ll give some background….

Lisa has a good friend from Richmond that has donated a lot of her time to help orphans in Eastern Europe.  With members of her church, she’s traveled there a couple times and did things like putting on camps for the kids, or passing out food to orphans that had aged out and were now living out on their own.  So over the last few years Lisa has spoken at lengths with Amy about her trips there, and Lisa and I were always in awe of Amy for how much she’s given to those kids. 

So then fast forward to this past May, while I was on a golf trip in Myrtle with some friends.  Lisa is at home and sees a post on facebook from Amy about how she was going to host a child from an orphanage this summer.  The post of course had a link out to the handful of children remaining that needed host families.

 So something drew Lisa to open up the link and look at the pictures of the remaining kids, and of course saw a picture of our beautiful boys.  She immediately realized that we needed to offer a chance for them to come and have a vacation in the US.   But since the deadline for choosing a child was in 5 days, Lisa wanted to commit that day so that we could use the time to try and raise some of the airfare to bring them here.  Thus, she needed to call me in Myrtle and have a little chat. 

Since I had temporarily lost my cell phone for the day (she knew this since we had talked the night before), she called Michelle Schriber and asked her to call her husband Brendan (who was on the trip too).  Shortly after Michelle calls him, I hear Brendan yelling to me from another hole saying I needed to call Lisa.  Immediately I say to my foursome.…”Hopefully it isn’t an emergency and my kids are OK; but if they are fine, then I bet I’m in trouble for something”. 

So I called her with Matt Miller’s phone, where she immediately apologizes for making me call her on the course, but then quickly explains her story.  She tells me about seeing Amy’s post, and how she thinks it would be an amazing thing for us to host these 2 boys in July and wanted to know my thoughts.  Now yes I had had a few beers on the golf course already, but I did quickly realize this was an amazing opportunity for our whole family to do something really special.  I was just really intrigued for this unique opportunity to teach our kids about giving to others.  So I told her to sign us up, and that I loved her, and hung up; it was my turn to hit. 

So why am I telling this story?  I just wanted to explain that the last thing on my mind when we hosted these boys was the thought of adoption.  I just never thought Ivan and Anatoly would have had such an impression on our whole family.    During the last week of their stay was when I really started to see and feel the bond that had been established.  I know Lisa explains the scene at the airport in our blog, and how I literally had to carry my son Alex out of the airport because he was crying uncontrollably into my shoulder.  But I know she doesn’t explain what I saw in their eyes when saying goodbye, which was a look of total loneliness and fear (a look that said please take me home with you, don’t let me get on that plane). 

So I had initially made up my mind that day leaving the airport, telling Lisa in the car that I wanted to get the information on the process for adopting them.  But thankfully that night, my friend George McRorie gave me some good advice on trying to wait a couple weeks; and try to just go on with life for that time period, and then see if the emotions die down some before making a decision.  So that was really good for me.  I honestly thought I had convinced myself in that period that we were not going to adopt them.  It was really though that I had blocked them out of my thoughts.  I have always liked to make logical decisions, and there were many logical reasons why we shouldn’t adopt them (money, stress on marriage, not shorting the needs of my 3 biological kids first, etc).  But this was different.  Deciding not to adopt them would be something I’d regret for the rest of my life.    This was a chance to save these boys lives.  

As you can see, it was written from his heart and I had no idea what he was going to say until he stood on the stairs to give his "talk."

There were many pictures taken and I will post all of those in a separate blog entry.

Thank you again to everyone that attended the event, to everyone who donated through the website who couldn't attend or just simply wanted to help us on our journey! Our grand total at this point is $12,500!! Is that not amazing!! Matt and I are simply overwhelmed with everyone's generosity! Thank you all!

The Money....

So many people have asked us this question: Why on earth is it about $30,000 to adopt from the Ukraine? Let me say that I truly don't think it is this expensive just for Ukraine, but for most international adoptions. With that being said, as much as you hate to say it, adoptions are a business! Everyone along the way wants to get paid. For many people in Ukraine, they are employed because of the orphan statistics in their country. So just in case you are interested, here's the breakdown:

The biggest cost you can see is the In Country expenses which relate to court costs, visas, new birth certificates, facilitators, translators, donation to the orphanage, etc.

Our I600 form has been filed, which is the US form that qualifies us to adopt an international orphan.  While we wait for approval, we are working on the mountains of paperwork that will be sent to Ukraine, all of these papers are called the dossier and are the most crucial in the whole process.

We have not spoken to the boys in about 2 weeks, so that has been tough. We are putting together a package and letters to send them, just so they know we are thinking about them.

This weekend is our Adoption Fundraiser, happening here in Huntersville. It is a Silent Auction/Raffle dinner being held at a historic home (The Ranson House). Matt and I are very excited about the event and have been overwhelmed by people's generosity! We are so grateful for all of the work that our friends have done to make this event possible. Thankful to all of the friends that are attending the event. And thankful to the many generous businesses that donated their goods and services. Numerous restaurants, mini golf, wine baskets, etc. will be raffled off. A luxurious night in Buckhead, massages, Autobell, Renaissance Festival, Golf lessons, Teeth Whitening, Gourmet bottles of wine and many more will be included in the Silent Auction. If your plans have changed and you would like to attend the event, please visit the website: www.giftof2.org, we would love to see you there!

Where are we in the process?

Many people have been asking us "where are you in the process of adopting the boys?" Well let me just say that adopting is not made to be an easy streamline process! The amount of paperwork, fingerprinting, "runs" to the courthouse, calls and Fed exs to VA (all of my legal documents are in VA), calls and Fed exs to NJ - (all of Matt's legal paperwork), it is totally overwhelming and mind boggling. Then you add in all of the doctor appts. for Matt and I, proving that we are healthy - do not have AIDS or syphilis (yes, those are the only 2 blood tests req'd for Ukraine)! Doctors' letters for our boys, etc. Soooo, with all of that being said - great news is that our Homestudy was approved this week! The main US document the I-600 is being filed tomorrow - the bummer about this document is that they are running at 60 days to approve them, so early Dec. will be our approval notice at which time our dossier will then be shipped to Ukraine. So still looking like late January or early Feb. before we get to Ukraine and that is if there are no "bumps" in the road.
I have been able to Skype with the boys on a few different occasions and it is so wonderful to see their smiling faces. Anatoliy is working hard on his English. He said recently, Me, Ivan, You - Family! So sweet. I can not imagine the feeling that they have, knowing that they are truly wanted for the first time, in a very long time. They have had no contact with their parents for about 5-6 years, when the parental rights were severed due to alcohol abuse, child neglect and some physical abuse of the boys.
Currently Matt and I are trying to figure out where will be "put" the boys once they are home. The debate of their bedroom seems like another overwhelming decision to be made, and yet it should be very simple! I'll keep you posted on that one:)
In other news, we have some wonderful friends (Andrea McRorie, Michele Schriber, Anna Rubin, Christy Manahan, Amy Gais) that are putting together a Fundraiser to help us raise money for the adoption - in all once everything is said and done we will have spent approximately $30,000 to adopt both boys. The fundraiser is a Silent Auction/Raffle and Dinner being held at the Ranson House here in Huntersville, and we have already received such a wonderful response for people attending. Everyone has put so much work into this event and we are so thankful for our wonderful friends. The fundraiser is open to anyone. I will include the link here. RSVP today, we would love to see you.

Also this week, I met with the photographer, Snookysmiles Photography, who took portraits of the boys over the summer (we were advocating to get them adopted and had professional portraits taken to make them look "better") and bought two 8x10's of them to hang on our entry hall wall with the other boys' portraits - can't wait to have them up and on display. Also can't wait to Skype with the boys and show them that they too have been added to the "wall."

It's Official!

Ivan and Anatoliy know that we want to adopt them and they are very excited!! Yesterday we were able to Skype with them through an American family that is there adopting their daughter. We didn't have the best connection, but we were able to communicate and use the computer to translate exactly what I was saying. Anatoliy said, "Lisa, you mama. Matt-Papa. Yes, Yes!" He had tears and lots of smiles. Ivan said, "Yes, I come to America. I love you!" Ivan was very smiley at the news and that is so great to see b/c he is definitely more reserved with us than his brother.  I also told them that our house is going to be crazy with 5 boys. Can't wait for that to happen!

I have such peace just knowing that they know they are wanted! We have had to wait to ask them about adoption, b/c we have been waiting on confirmation that they are on the Ukraine Orphan registry. Orphans have to be on this registry for one full year before foreign families can adopt them. We had no concerns that they weren't on the registry, but it took 5 weeks to get the final confirmation. It was so hard to wait, Skype with the boys and not be able to tell them. They asked us every which way they could - without coming right out and asking - if we were adopting them. Anatoliy said last week, "Lisa, I pray each night that you fly on an airplane to Ukraine." Love that boy!

Lots of Changes........

So where to begin with this new blog? Should I start with that first week that the boys left (August) and how empty our home felt? How I looked at pictures of them everyday, just so that I would  not forget their faces? Maybe I should start with Alex asking us to please not speak Ivan and Anatoliy's name, b/c it upset him to much to hear their names?  Fast forward a couple of weeks, Ryan says "we should just adopt them, "Mom, it would be nice to have someone looking after me for once, instead of me always looking after my younger brothers." Matt expresses, that he would be so "sad, when he is sitting there watching Ryan graduate one day, and knowing that Ivan and Anatoliy would never have that chance." August 1st when the boys flew back to Ukraine seems like it was a lifetime ago, yet some days feel like yesterday. In that time frame, Matt and I have had numerous discussions about Ivan and Anatoliy and how they impacted our lives and how we can impact their lives. We have also talked with our boys alot about them too. Matt and I agreed to give ourselves some "emotional distance" from talking about Ivan and Anatoliy. Let the sadness settle before making any "rash decisions." Afterall, we have 3 healthy boys. This is our first year with all kids in school, finally giving me a chance to really get my business (The Snazzy Stitch) going.......

Well, I think in life you always have "forks in the road." And sometimes those "forks" are easy to decide upon and other times they are difficult and life changing. Needless to say this was a family "fork" in our road and we all agreed on the same direction unanimously! Ivan and Anatoliy need us and they yearn for a stable and loving family life. They deserve to be loved for the amazing boys that they are and are yet to become. We love them and want them in our family forever!

So, our blog will be taking a little change......going from "Hosting Ivan and Anatoliy" to "Adopting Ivan and Anatoliy." We have started the adoption process and it is very daunting with all of the paperwork, but seeing their smiling faces on Skype makes  me work even harder to get, this paper notarized and this form filed, so that I can share and experience their smiles in person and not over a computer screen!

The ups and downs of this journey will be tedious, long and yet, so wonderful. I hope you will follow along with us on this journey to become a family of 7!

Airport Departure

Monday morning started out at 5:40am for our family! Matt and I were felt it really important that the boys have a big breakfast before starting their journey. So the night before I made my french toast casserole that I usually make for Christmas morning, and that way we just had to put it in the oven at 5:40. So as the boys got up and got ready for their flight, Matt and I were busy getting food on the plates and getting Ryan and Alex ready to go, (William is at my parents house in Raleigh) so there really was not much time to stop and think about this being their last morning with us. You are so wrapped up in the moment and time frame of making sure you get out the door in time! Arrival at the airport was fine, we met up with the group and waited in line while the coordinator argued with US Air that we were not paying a baggage fee for all of the kids b/c international flights are allowed one bag for free. Since they were flying into New York first, US Air technically did have an argument - needless to say we did not have to pay.

Once they got into the security line, Matt and I were both crying and I was simply not able to pull it together. Anatoliy was crying so much and my heart was just broken for both of them! The one thing that we were not prepared for was our son Alex crying. Alex was so upset when we had to walk away from them, and he is still having a hard time today with them being gone.  Alex started a skateboard camp yesterday and the first thing he said when he walked in was, "Ivan would have loved this place!" Alex has such a big heart! So back to the airport, I was able to sneak into the security line one last time before they went through and give them both one last kiss and even though Anatoliy was still crying, he tried to give me one of his smiles - his smile could melt anyone's heart. Ivan gave me and Matt a big hug and had two single tears coming down and I knew then that we had definitely made an impact on his life - he never let his guard down  much while here, but when he did you could see what an amazing person there is under that hard outer shell.

Our blog is not over, we promised the boys that we would call them and I will keep you posted of any updates.

Last Weekend

Ivan and Anatoliy enjoyed a wonderful last weekend! They enjoyed one last day at the pool on Saturday and Matt taught them Marco/Polo! They loved the fact that I was actually in the pool with them (I have a had a cast on the entire time that they have been here).

Saturday night was super fun b/c the boys got to experience a typical weekend backyard BBQ. We were with friends that actually have a teenage boy who is Ivan's age. Ivan was in heaven! Running around playing soccer, basketball - honestly he was just enjoying being a teenager! It was wonderful to see. Anatoliy enjoyed water balloons, corn hole and playing in the water hose. By 10 o'clock he said "Lisa, I tired." They both got to enjoy for just one night what my boys have been enjoying their whole lives - and that makes me so happy and sad at the same time - very bittersweet!

Today we drove to Greensboro to  meet my parents for lunch and let the boys meet them. Everyone got along great and we got lots of photos for their scrapbook. After getting more items into their suitcase - honestly Anatoliy's suitcase is bigger than him - we went out to get Chinese for dinner! They of course loved it! They were very excited about trying Chinese and funny enough ate more than my boys have ever ate of Chinese food!

Tonight was hard, we all know what tomorrow brings - Ivan is being strong and very focused on getting things packed and what he will wear on the plane, etc. Anatoliy is having a harder time, lots more hugs, not wanting to let go when we kissed him goodnight, now saying "I no want airplane."

When we left my parents today in Greensboro, our son William went with them to spend the night and we were explaining that he would miss the airport and saying goodbye to the boys - he said, "It's OK Mom, b/c all I was going to do was cry." Then tonight, Matt was saying good night to Ryan (our oldest son) and Matt was explaining that tomorrow is going to be an early morning and that it is going to be sad for everyone, etc. Ryan says, "Dad, we should just adopt them." Matt says, "Really? b/c you know know that means that they would be here everyday, all the time." Ryan says, "Yeah, well they do well for our family!"

These boys have done great things for our family and my hope is that when they board that plane tomorrow - they know that their is a family out there in the US that truly loves them!

Winding Down - Part 2

So we all survived NASCAR Speedpark and even Chuck E Cheese! The boys loved driving the cars!

Thursday we enjoyed another day of bowling. The boys wanted to bowl one last time before they left, so we fit that in and all had another good time. We finally found MP3 players for them to go back to the Ukraine with - that was quite a shopping experience b/c you can't just buy any MP3 b/c plug in chargers won't work in the Ukraine. We are slowly getting music uploaded for them, but let's just say that this "Apple Family" does not like the non-user friendly MP3!! Not one button or direction makes sense to us! They have Alvin and the Chipmunks loaded on their MP3's so that was the most  important thing to them!

Yesterday was amazing day for the boys because our friend Michele rallied together some of her friends and family to gather donations for the boys to take back to the Ukraine. The boys were overwhelmed with such generosity and came home with 4 full bags of everything from toothbrushes to winter clothing. They promptly divided it up and put it right in their suitcases! They are a little unsure why they were given 30 toothbrushes a piece, but with their teeth problems they need to be brushing for years to come:)

Today I think was one of their favorite days - we went to Bounce U. They all laughed and played and had a great time. They had no idea what to do in the bounce house, but a little "kid speak" and they caught on very quickly. Then we were off to our eye appt. (part of hosting is to have their eyes checked) and they both checked out just fine!! They were both worried about needing glasses and happy to not have them.

The boys have slowly started to get their things packed and with each new item that gets packed, Anatoliy consistently says "Lisa, I no want Ukraine." Monday is going to be a hard day for all!

Winding Down..

We enjoyed another fun weekend with the boys! Saturday we enjoyed a great backyard BBQ with friends. There was wonderful woman at this BBQ who actually came over from Ukraine with her mother when she was 14. She still speaks perfect Ukrainian and the boys loved having someone to speak their language with!! I have never heard them both talk so much as they did Saturday night. It was wonderful to see and hear. This was the first night that Anatoly had translated for us that he loves America and does not want to go back to Ukraine! He says it is dirty and that they are always hungry! In one sentence he broke my heart! Yet at the end of the night, he is all smiles, gives great big hugs before bed and my heart is "lightened" just a little! How can one child hold so much "power."

Sunday was supposed to be a fun day at the Nascar Speedpark, letting the kids race the go karts, but the weather was not cooperating with us. So they waited in line just to get to the front and have it closed for lightning. Then we go to buy winter coats for the boys to take back to the  Ukraine and head back to the Speedpark. They wait to ride again and actually get into the go karts, go around ONE time and it starts to rain! So they close for another 45 minutes. At this point Matt has had enough of Concord Mills for one day and we head home with some disappointed boys! But no need to worry they will be back there tomorrow - hopefully racing go-karts! My boys really want to show them Chuck E Cheese (not sure why, b/c they know I loathe the place), so I may be "brave" enough and take 6 boys (Alex will have a friend) to the Speedpark and then Chuck E Cheese - we'll see!

Ivan had his dental appt. today and it was long for him. He came home in pain and I felt really bad for him, but he was trying so hard to be brave and stoic. 3 baby teeth pulled, 7 cavities filled, 4 sealants applied to the back molars! We happen to have a wonderful pediatric dentist that informed us today that she was not going to even charge us the Medicaid rate that we had discussed, but instead perform all of the work for FREE! LOVE our kids' dentist - Dr. Sharon Holly!!

So as the days wind day of hosting these two amazing boys, Ivan continues to open up and trust us. Anatoly has gotten much more vocal about his parents and the abuse the boys went through with their parents in their early years. He now says each morning, "Lisa, I not want Ukraine." " I want America." Tonight he came down with a drawing from himself, gave it to Matt and I and said that it was from Ivan and himself. We opened it and he had drawn a boy crying and under the boy were the words - his spelling - "Wi want a famili!" with hearts and flowers drawn all around the boy! So tonight my heart is heavy again!

Lisa 

Last couple of days....

The last two days have been so much fun with the boys! Ryan had camp all week, yes - outdoor camp in the horrible heat!! The other 4 and myself enjoyed a morning of Laser Tag on Wed. It was so tough to translate how to charge the shooters and actually get started. So we get through all of that explaining and the lady says she is ready to start, so I wait with them to make sure they understand, only to stand there for 5 min. with nothing happening. So I am thinking it has started, b/c music is playing, and that we missed the charging station time! Keep in mind that Alex is saying we missed it, so of course I believe the 7yr old who has played before. I am trying to charge all of these shooters for 4 kids who think that they are missing some "great event" only to have the lady come back and say, "Oh sorry, the computer had a glitch, so I' need to reboot!" Anyway, they all 4 loved it. You could hear them laughing and screaming the whole time! Super fun! The boys then enjoyed the arcade and realized real quick that it is all about the tickets, which then get you the prizes!! Ivan had the most tickets and chose 8 sugar sticks - remember those when we were kids - pixie sticks - and 5 tootsie rolls. All of which he ate in a 20 minute car ride - and he wonders why he has 19 cavities!! Ivan is truly a sugar addict! Even as I try to parent and say no, not now or maybe later, he still finds a way to add sugar to things! Sugar on strawberries, sneaking chocolate chips from the baking/spice cabinet. Today he had rice krispy treats (that we had made for dessert for after dinner) wrapped in his shirt at breakfast! That shirt would have made it's way up to his room and into a drawer for later. The last week I have definitely kept a much closer eye on Ivan when he is in the kitchen for any meal. I stay with him at all times during meals in hopes of stopping the food hoarding, or at least to limit it from happening so much.

Yesterday we enjoyed a wonderful morning on the lake with our friend Michele and her two kids. I have to say that Michele and I truly enjoyed watching Ivan show off for a group of girls in the water. Then also enjoying the girls trying to get his attention, which they had his attention the minute they hit the water, and little did they know he can speak extremely limited English! It was truly enjoyable! The other 3 enjoyed a $2 blow up whale that you can ride on, and we all realized why it was $2 - b/c the minute a kid would try to sit on it, it would flip over! But the boys could care less! Lots of fun and laughs were had by all.

Today brought a temporary end to the fun b/c Anatoliy had his dentist appt. for three teeth to be pulled! I will not name the oral surgeon here, but would love to briefly explain how we were treated: Main Scenario is that our dentist, Dr. Holly had referred us to this doctor b/c he could extract the teeth with IV sedation, which Dr. Holly felt was necessary b/c of the one tooth being a molar and severely decayed. We show up today and are presented with 9 papers to fill out, with which I give my same, rehearsed answer,"I will fill out as much as I can b/c I might not know all of the answers that pertain to his medical history." The nurse looks at me strangely and I say, "you do know our situation, right"? She says, "Um, no, why don't you enlighten us about YOUR situation." Needless to say it was pretty much downhill from there, and for the next hour and ten minutes, I had to try and find people and paperwork to confirm that Anatoliy is truly an orphan and "not my neighbor's kid" - yes they truly said this to me! Finally they agree that he is an orphan, maybe the language barrier clued them in, or maybe his name Anatoly was a clue, and they brought him back to the room. They then explain that the IV won't be necessary for this procedure and another doctor will be doing the procedure since I am now late by 1 hr for the appt! Um yeah, I am late b/c it took me an hour to convince you that Anatoly is an orphan! The no IV thing ticked me off b/c he was told not to eat or drink for 5 hrs. before the procedure b/c of the IV, so now that was all a waste of time and poor Anatoly was hungry! So three teeth pulled, he did great! Right when he got home, he typed into the translator,"You told the truth, no pain with the teeth, thank you." Love that boy!

We have another fun filled weekend ahead and believe it or not, next week is our last week with them. They fly out on Monday the 1st. This next week we will be busy fitting in last minute things that we have yet to see, slowly filling up their suitcases (thank you greatly Manahan family for the suitcases) with clothes and fun things to take back with them

Anatoly and William were a team against Ivan and Alex for laser tag.

All 5 at church one Sunday

 Lisa

Camping

On Saturday morning Lisa headed out to Nashville for her cousin Jeff's wedding.  We gave our kids the option of going camping with me (it's Matt writing here), Ivan, and Toly; or with L to the wedding,  Ryan and Will choose the wedding, and so Alex joined the 3 of us in a one night camping trip to Stone Mountain State Park (the one in NC about 80 miles north of Charlotte, not the one in Atlanta). 
We got to the park at about 1:00pm.  After setting up camp, we were off hiking at 2:00.  We hiked up to the summit and back (about 3.5 miles).  Its a pretty easy hike, although it gets pretty steep up near the top.  The cool thing on the hike was that there were at least 3-4 large viewing areas (almost like mini summits) scattered throughout the hike up.  At each of these mini summits, its a large opening of Granite rock with no trees impeding your view at all of the surrounding valley (see picture below for context).

   
We then spent about an hour in the late afternoon at the main waterfall at the park.  We all got wet at the falls and had fun, but it was a little chilly (perfect for hiking, cloudy in the mid 70s, but not playing in a waterfall).  We were back at the camp site by 6.
We had meat for dinner.  Hot dogs, bacon, and sausage.  Very manly. 

We then got the camp fire going pretty good.  Ivan was addicted to finding fuel in the woods, and cutting with the saw I brought.  About every 10 minutes he'd come back from the woods with a load of new wood, and we'd dry it by the fire before throwing it in.  You can see some of the wood drying by the fire below, but the pile was much higher later in the night.   We of course introduced smores to the boys, and they were addicted. 

At bed time Alex and Toly wanted to sleep together on the double mattress we brought (we were lucky to borrow a super big tent from the Westbrooks, which was the biggest 4 person tent I've ever been in); you can see a picture of them having way too much fun before bed.

 
In the morning we again had meat for breakfast, although we did toast a few slices of bread to go with it.  We were on the road by 10.  It was such a fun time camping with Alex, I, and A.  It was a short trip, but one that I know we will always remember.    

WW2 Plane

Anatoly giving us the thumbs up!



Ivan with the pilot.



Matt was as excited as the kids about today!



Yes, even I got in the plane!

 Today we were "treated" by one of the owners of Matt's company, Ironworks Consulting, to view and get in a WW2 plane that he owns and had flown down to Charlotte for the day. We arrived at Concord Regional Airport, just as the plane was making a pass by. We were all allowed out on the tarmac while it landed. Each boy got the pleasure of getting in the pilot's seat with the helmet on. They got to play with the controls, etc. The airport put together a bag of goodies for all 5 boys, that had a wooden airplane in it, am/fm radio, lots of cool things - it was very nice of them to give something to each boy to take home.

Last night was the photo shoot for the boys and it turned out amazing! Melody Serrano, owner of SnookySmiles Photography, took the photos and put all of the info on her blog so that even more people can see these boys and hope to help them find a "forever family." The link with pictures is at: http://snookysmilesphotography.blogspot.com/2011/07/adoption-photography-seeking-family-for.html
Here is my favorite of the both of them. They are such handsome boys!

Lisa

5 Children is Hard Work!

I never went into hosting Ivan and Anatoly with "blinders on" - I knew it was going to be a lot for me during the day to have 5 kids in the house for a month. But let me just say that at night, I literally fall asleep the minute my head hits the pillow. I can't think of the last time I read my book at night - and for me - that is extremely rare! So what do I "get" for all of this exhaustion: I get to see a bright smile on an orphan's face when I tell him that "yes, we can buy cherries, grapes and bananas all in the same grocery trip." We get to see 5 children trying to learn colors in a different language while playing UNO. I get to clean up, not just three boys pee around a toilet, but 5 boys pee that seems to never quite make it into the toilet - obviously this is not a US thing, but a male trait regardless of nationality!! I also get to help an orphan try and understand that if he wants/needs food that he can ask us, he does not need to wrap a half eaten sandwich in his shorts and put it in the dresser, the half eaten banana wrapped in a shirt and put in a dresser will not be as good tomorrow. I get to see my three sons help these boys figure out a toy or game with such patience, patience that I truly did not realize existed with my boys. And the biggest thing that we have all gotten is that when you slow down, clear the family calendar a little, you truly get some valuable family time!

OK, so with that said, I have also learned that with 5 children you need a schedule for each day!! So this week we have a plan for each day - nothing too exciting, but it's a plan! Today we spent the morning with my friend Michele at her pool in Birkdale and the boys loved the change of scenery. Then sadly, I had to take Ivan and Anatoly to their dental appt. Anatoly was very nervous, and at one point was shaking in his chair. I went back with them both and sat and reassured Anatoly and he left with a good feeling about the dentist.  Now, when I have to explain that he has to go back and have 3 teeth pulled b/c they are so rotten and 2 cavities filled, I don't think he will still have that good feeling. Ivan handle the dentist very stoically as I would have expected. He would never let on to any fear. He will get the pleasure of going back and having 9 cavities filled! Thankfully we have a dentist that is greatly, greatly reducing the fees for this extra work that the boys will need.

One of the best parts of the day, was having Melody Serrano, owner of SnookySmiles Photography, come and take pictures of the boys. These pictures will be used to advocate for them to try and find a "forever family" that is interested in adopting them. These professional photos turned out so wonderful and truly caught their personalities! Can't wait to share them with you all. New Horizons for Children, the group that we are hosting the boys through, will post these pictures and the bios that we wrote for them on their website, in hopes that someone will want to meet them while they are here.

On the horizon this week - visiting and possibly flying in an old WW2 plane and camping and fishing!

Lisa

Finally - Pictures!

Today we enjoyed a wonderful day of hiking at Stone Mountain State Park, NC. The boys loved seeing the waterfalls and all 5 boys enjoyed swimming in the water. Pictures below are from July 4th, our day of bowling, Discovery Place and today's hike. Tomorrow we have nothing too exciting on the agenda except church and some pool time! Should be a nice relaxing day.



Anatoly riding the ponies at Birkdale Village.



Anatoly bowling





The crew at Discovery Place!



Anatoly and Ryan getting ready to slide into the water.

Ivan bowling



Anatoly petting the iguana. He loves animals!



Testing Boundaries

This has been a big week for testing boundaries, which is totally normal, but still frustrating. Ivan has been going around the house and "collecting" batteries that he has been keeping in a bag hidden in his room. Along with the batteries we found other game pieces, etc. So we confronted Ivan about the bag and he denied ever seeing it. Honestly, the bag wasn't the issue - for the orphans these batteries give them status and allow them to trade - it was the lie that frustrated Matt and I.
So today started a new day  and we enjoyed a fun day at Discovery Place. Anatoliy was nervous at first but is always willing to give new things a try. He pet an iguana today! Saw a 3D movie about Bugs. They had their first McDonalds drive-thru experience and LOVED every bite. I think Anatoly may have enjoyed the kids meal toy as much as the food! Anatoly shared some fun facts with us about himself - he writes poetry and plays a Ukrainian instrument called a Bandura. He is so adorable! Tonight we had family game night and played Uno. Who knew Uno could go on so long with 7 people playing!! The boys loved it and they are quite the little competitors!!
I promise to post pictures tomorrow of the last few days and also I really want to scan some of Anatoly's drawings into the computer, so that you can all see how creative he is.
Matt & Lisa

Difficult Start - Good Ending

Quick note before I start on my day today - yesterday I took the boys to Target to pick out 2 pairs of clothes each ( we have already bought things for them that they wear). I really wanted them to be able to pick out something that they liked. It was so much fun. They were so grateful and loved the experience and I loved sharing it with them. They couldn't believe how many socks and underwear come in one pack. Anatoliy kept asking to taking the packs apart and just pick one underwear and one pair of socks, but with a huge smile understood that the whole pack of 4 was all for him!!

Today started out tough b/c Ivan woke up with a 102 fever. He rolled out of bed and came down to the couch. He looked terrible and I felt even worse for him. So a phone call later for translation - thank you Marina - and a visit to the Dr. - we found out it is strep. I was relieved b/c I know that an antibiotic can kick strep pretty quickly. I have to also say that we have always loved Dr. Wendy Talley at Growing Up Pediatrics, but today she truly shined. She took  such care with Ivan, who was nervous to be at a doctor's office, truly checked him out and then gave us the antibiotic from her office so that we weren't charged at CVS. She charged us absolutely nothing for today!
Then later this afternoon I had to step in to true "mom mode" and take away computer time from Ivan who was viewing very inappropriate internet content! I don't think I have ever typed so fast as I did (into the translate program on our computer) to let Ivan know that the sites he had chosen were not appropriate and that there was no more computer for the day.
So after all of of the drama of the day we ended with Anatoliy and Ivan both helping to cook dinner and Anatoliy reciting all of the English that he has learned - I was so impressed! He is starting to speak in very simple sentences! He tries so hard and I am so proud of him. Anatoliy is also a fantastic artist and has drawn pictures for each of our boys that he wakes up early to hang on their doors before they wake up! So tonight Anatoliy was in his room drawing and secretly went down the hall and hung one of his pictures on our bedroom door - it is a picture of me!! Perfect ending to a LONG day. I will scan some of the drawings and post them tomorrow.

Lisa & Matt

July 4th

Celebrating the holiday with I & A was lots of fun! Our neighborhood does a firework display each year, so we spent the afternoon at the pool and then headed to the club for dinner and the fireworks. These two boys love to eat!! As long as it isn't spicy, they will try it and usually eat it and then ask for more! They both enjoyed the fireworks and once we got home we had another breakthrough - - they both changed out of their dirty clothes and brought them to the laundry room to be washed, instead of hiding them under their pillows - HUGE accomplishment!

The boys brought a recipe with them from Ukraine that they had been wanting to make us - homemade ice cream. Anatoliy got up early, got Ryan to help him find paper and pencil, then translated the whole recipe from Russian to English using his dictionary - he (and I) were very proud! So with the translation we headed to the grocery store. The grocery store was a super fun experience! It didn't take them long to realize that if they said "yes, I like" that it went into the cart. They picked up so many things, smelled them, wondered what they were - it was fun for all of us.
Once back home, they made us ice cream and a friend stopped by with her two girls, so we all sampled the ice cream and gave them lots of praise. It was actually very good, just not as thick and frozen as our ice cream.
The boys are slowly learning English, Anatoliy tries much harder than Ivan to learn the language. But yet Ivan has started to really participate with our family and help much more with meals and cleaning up. Honestly Ivan would be totally content to ride a bike or play soccer all day long:)

Lisa & Matt

Lazy 5 Ranch & The Kiss

Trying to get 5 kids to look at a camera is hard work:)

Anatoliy loved the animals!

Friday was our day to host the Ukrainian chaperon that traveled with the boys on their flights. Yana was such a joy to host, 23 years old and truly trying to learn the English language.  We took everyone to Lazy 5 Ranch and really enjoyed seeing the boys smiles as they fed the animals. Yana was not nearly as excited about feeding the animals and kept her window rolled up the whole time, but she snapped pictures of every animal she saw! We learned that Anatoliy truly loves animals and touched and pet every animal he came in contact with - absolutely no fear! Ivan spent most of the time videoing the whole day on the Nano that we gave him to use while they are here. Once home he played the videos over and over. I treated Yana to a pedicure/manicure, and she felt like such a queen! Matt took Ivan to hit golf balls for the time at the range, and I think Ivan is really taking to Matt and enjoys the time alone with him. Best news of the day came last night at bedtime - we always go in and kiss the boys goodnight - Anatoliy always gives me a hug and kiss on my cheek with a "Good Night Lisa." Ivan usually turns his head away and accepts my kiss and says "Good Night." BUT last night Ivan turned and accepted my kiss and kissed my cheek back!! Great ending to our day!

First two days!

So this morning Anatoliy was wide awake at 6:15! I was surprised since none of us got to sleep before 1am. But, I got up and went to his room to motion for him to come downstairs, and once we got downstairs he says, "Lisa" - yes, I say - he gives me a hug and says "Fantastic." So glad that I got up with him and heard this - it made my day! Anatoliy helped me make his breakfast of 2 eggs, bologna, bowl of yogurt, grapes, and strawberries! They both LOVE to eat! We took the morning to go to the park and play soccer. Ivan loves to play! Our boys introduced them to the Wii - and needless to say Mario Kart is a group favorite that needs no English explination! I & A have seen and tried every bike and scooter that we have, and love to ride bikes up and down the sidewalk. Alex has been very disappointed that they do not enjoy shooting the basketball as much as he does!
Today we attempted the pool and the boys are fabulous swimmers and love the pool! Ivan is a typical teenager that laid out on his chair and people watched while not in the pool! This afternoon we introduced them to TCBY!
I can not say enough about these two wonderful boys! They have adapted extremely well. Anatoliy's smile melts my heart every time I see it. They are so good with our boys, especially William who wants to be by their side every minute of the day. They help clean up, they love to help cook. Anytime Anatoliy sees me struggling with my broken wrist, he immediately comes to help me.
Have there been issues? Yes, but nothing major - today Matt and I were getting changed after the pool and came down to our 3 boys playing on the Wii, no I & A. We looked everywhere - no boys! Matt gets in the car to go look for them, b/c we saw that the bikes were missing, and there they are just riding bikes on the sidewalk! Needless to say they learned a house rule very quickly!! Tonight we put everyone to bed and at 9:30 realized that there were noises in I & A's room, only to see that Ivan had one of our boys iTouch's under the covers! So we are slowly establishing rules and they are very understanding.

Arrival

Tuesday night all 5 of us drove to the Charlotte airport to pick up the boys. Their flight was supposed to land at 8:30, but just our luck that Charlotte had a record rainfall night with almost 2 inches of rain and the flight was delayed till about 10:30. We finally met them at 11:30 with big hugs from us, and expected shyness and nervousness from Ivan and Anatoliy. Luckily we had a translator at the airport that could explain a few things to them and us. Once home at 12:15am, I & A ate bologna sandwiches - they love bologna -, showered and got dressed for bed. Matt showed them the shower and toilet, and they seem to have figured them both out. Now we just need to get them to understand to turn the shower OFF when they are done:)