Busy!

I've started to post a few times in the past week but never manage to finish. So here is a quick note to at least say, "Yes, we're still here, just busy with life!"

William attended his friend Zachary's birthday party on Saturday, and had a blast. Zachary has a new sister, Madelyn, who was adopted from Ukraine a month before William and is two months younger than he is. It was nice to finally meet Madelyn and to catch up with Kelly & Amanda "post-adoption".

William also went on his first field trip last week - to the Fire Station. He loved it and still talks about it. Everyone was asked to bring treats to put in a basket to take to the firemen. So William and I made a pound cake. He had fun helping and was very proud of the finished product.

I was reading over the posts we've written since coming home, and I am afraid I've made it sound like everything is perfect with our family & adjustment. I know there are those out there that read adoption blogs to learn as much as possible. While we were preparing to travel, I was appreciative of honesty and openness that was shared by adoptive families that went before us, and I want to be honest, too.

I will say that things are going VERY well with our transition. But we do have our minor hurdles here and there. So I'll try to put something together and post it soon about the difficult aspects of adjusting as a family of three!

Twice in one week - this can't be Georgia!

We were happy to see a little snow on Wednesday night, even though it was all gone by noon the next day.

We were really excited to get even more on Saturday, and to have the day to play in it. Hope you enjoy the pics of our fun day!

Snow in Georgia!!

We tried to make sure William understood that when he got to America he shouldn't expect to see snow. But we got some last night!

For our northern friends and those in Ukraine this wouldn't even be worth writing about, but we were very happy to get it! William was very excited to get to play in the snow for a few minutes after dinner. It was a great motivator to get him to eat a big meal!

I'm sure there was a huge rush on milk and bread at all the grocery stores around metro Atlanta last night. Several school systems even closed today. But the streets were fine this morning in our area and everything was business as usual for us... which is good, because our boy would have been disappointed to miss a day of school.


Also, here is a new video of William, saying his full name, age, and the COMPLETE version of his memory verse including the scripture reference.

I Love You Five... and Roll Call for Blog Lurkers

Some of the things we’ve been hearing the past few weeks…

I love you three... I love you four... I love you five... (It’s a game now, ever since I first told him “I love you too”)

William he like church. Really, really, really big.

Mama look.

Daddy look.

I’m REALLY strong.

Adie sweet baby.

William big boy.

Everything God made was very good. Genesis 1:31

(After eating a big dinner) William tummy big. Daddy tummy big. Mama tummy little. Teeny tiny. (He’s quickly learning the art of flattery!)

William I like spaghetti – more please.

Dear God, thank you for Jesus. Amen.

He is an amazing kid and we're convinced he’s a genius!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, I’m taking my friend Deanna’s lead and calling this “De-Lurking Week”. I know there are A LOT of people who come on here and read but never say 'hi'. Everyday I have someone different tell me that they've been following the blog... typically someone who has never commented. Well here’s your chance... click on Comments and leave a short message so we’ll know you stopped by! At some point we'll turn this blog into a book and it will be nice for William to see all the people throughout the country (and the world!) that wanted to be a part of his journey to America.

Trip Photos

Be sure to look at the very bottom of our blog for some photos from our trip...

And thanks to our very special new friends for sending us pics of William from 2 years ago - what a precious little 3 year old!

What a Difference a Month Makes!

We've offically been a family for just over a month now

(Gotcha Day December 3rd)

This is our first family picture (Nov. 9, 2007) - the day we met our boy, 2 months ago today...

And here is our first official family portrait, taken this past weekend by my friend Billy...
I first met Billy when I was going through chemotherapy at Egleston. He and one of the art therapists there put together an art show based on some of the kids and teens that were dealing with cancer, and I was invited to participate. Several years ago, the art show was turned into a book (click HERE to check out the book). Thanks for your kindness and friendship, Billy - this is one portrait that will be treasured for many years to come!!

William has made incredible progress in the past month. His vocabulary increases everyday. He is extremely helpful around the house and enjoys playing with the neighborhood kids. He likes to say his own prayer before bed each night. He loves church and school and always wants to know what's coming up the next day. He is learning to write his name and knows at least 10 colors in English.

Each day is another chance for William to grow and for us to love him. Each day is further realization of how much God loves us. He has given us an amazing gift in this wonderful, precious little man. And yet, as great as our son is to us, God gave us the greatest gift of all when He sent His Son to earth to die for our sins. Having a son really drives home the huge sacrifice that this had to be for God. So each day we pray that William will begin to understand the amazing love that God has for us, and that he will one day accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

And in this new year, we also pray this for all our friends and family. May God bless you richly in 2008 and beyond!

First day of preschool

I know some of you were probably wanting to know how William's first day of preschool went. Well... he loved it!

Zack took him and he was all smiles until he realized Zack wasn't staying. He looked a little sad, but no tears. When Zack picked him up, his teachers said he did great. He talked the rest of the day about it, and is anxious to go back on Monday (he goes Monday - Thursday for 4 hours each day). We're relieved that it went so well.

I asked him if he has friends at school and he said yes. I named a few of the kids that I remembered, and he came back with 3 or 4 more names... ALL GIRLS. Plus, 2 of the girls had made things for him to take home. I know Zack is beaming with pride!

So his first day was a success. Mom's first day back to work was okay too - I was a little teary-eyed on the drive in yesterday morning, but I managed to make it and even came back for another day today! It's actually kind of nice for all of us to get into a routine.

William has a memory verse for the month of January. We worked on it for about 5 minutes today and he is doing GREAT with it already...

Everything God made was very good.
Genesis 1:31