Countdown is on

8 days until the Big Guy's arrival, excitement is brewing! We are in full Christmas mode here!

I finally feel like I have a handle on everything, only two gifts left to buy. Alek has been barraging me with questions about Santa, why the santas in his pictures all look different, how does he get all the way around the world on the same night, does he go to Russia too? Magic, that is my answer, it seems to suffice for now.

He also has been full of questions regarding the baby Jesus, where on the map is Bethleham, do you think the hay he had to lay in was itchy, was he adopted?

So it has been an interesting week, I love how his mind works!!

Friday is their holiday play at school. Alek's class is singing First Noel, so he has been practicing alot. Maks is singing Jingle Bells, it is so funny watching him sing and try to get the words out. I am placing bets though, that once he sees us in the audience he won't stay up with his group.

Alek also has a line in the play he is working on. Can't wait to see the performance, it should be so cute!

Both tress are up and decorated. I take care of trimming the living room tree, due to the fragile nature of many decorations. I love remembering all the gifts we got for our wedding shower xmas tree, can't believe it will be 11 years! Alek was a big helper and cut the tree wires so it all opened and he did the honors of placing the star up top, what a great job he did!

Next up was the basement tree and trains. Kevin pulled himself away from his dry wall project and got the tree (definitely a Charlie Brown tree this year!) and the trains all set up. The boys did the tree trimming and Maks had the honor of placing the angel up top. He did great!

So we are ready, well sort of, still don't have any exterior illumination, not sure if I will, I just can't get it together this year! But the inside looks nice.

Sunday, we are having a cookie baking party, I am looking forward to that, although my baking skills consist of slice and bake. I am thinking of expanding into melting chocolate and dipping, we will see how that goes.

The kids are looking forward to it, they love baking with their friends and of course decorating the cookies. Hopefully the weather will be decent and we can head over to the Live Nativity that night at Merrymead. Alek and I have gone the past couple years and it is really neat. He loves the sing a long.

I do love this time of year, I wish I could just get it to slow down a bit!

Relaxed, just in time for xmas chaos!

I am back from my 4 night trip to Mexico. It was absolutely amazing. I cannot believe how relaxing it was. I have never been so lazy in my life!! It was fabulous. We stayed at El Cid Marina and Spa, Riviera Maya.

What a great resort, exactly what we were looking for, smaller, great beach, all inclusive and good spa. The spa turned out to be amazing, we were treated like royalty. Pampered every night! I am going through withdrawal, not having a massage tonight!!

We did nothing but lay on the beach, read, eat, drink and go to the spa. We did rally enough energy to rent a car and drive one morning to Playa del Carmen and shop. It was fun, great shopping and a great lunch. We were back to our resort and on the beach by 1pm.

The boys did great with daddy, I talked to them a couple times a day, they sounded like they were having fun with friends too. Alek filled me in each night of the days activities, he is so funny on the phone, like a little adult!

It was definitely the most relaxing vacation I have ever had. I am glad we did this! The resort was fabulous and we are already talking about taking the kids back there. While it was great for adults, it had so much for kids too. I don't think you could every be bored.

Flight home was a little rough, well mainly the descent into Philly, it was pretty windy. My stomach was flip flopping and I was very happy to reach the ground! I was filled with emotions after going through customs, it was the first time I have been down that hall since coming home with Maks. I remember seeing Alek and our families through the glass door waiting for us. I was definitely teary eyed. I couldn't wait to get home to see my boys. The shock of the cold and the wind was rough! That morning we were sitting on the beach in 88 degrees and sunshine, it was freezing and windy and my windows on my car were frozen! Quiet the difference.

It was great to relax, now it is onto Christmas chaos!! I already feel behind. While I was away, Kevin and the boys went with friends to get our Christmas trees. I was pretty bummed I wasn't there for that, but I know they had a great time. Our friend's daughter sent me pictures and kept us posted on the tree hunt. This is definitely the earliest we have ever had our trees. They did great, the trees are gorgeous!

Our living room was set up tonight and the lights are on. We will trim it tomorrow. The basement tree will also go up tomorrow and hopefully Kevin will get started on the trains too. The boys are getting excited for Santa's arrival. The countdown has begun!

Thanksgiving and Hello December!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We celebrated at our house with parts of both of our families. It was a very nice evening and a pretty darn good turkey if I do say so myself!

Just polished off the last of the leftovers tonight.

Next up, haircut and flu shot for Alek, he had a busy Friday morning. I also saw the doc and got the all clear on my pneumonia, so now I am ready for Mexico! I am packing my inhaler just in case.

The hot tub is in and is working. It is wonderful. We have enjoyed being out there late at night under the stars. I love it!

Christmas cards were ordered and arrived and I already have them addressed! I am so on top of things I can't stand it! Their xmas card photo turned out well only two takes needed!

Saturday it was off to the Picture People, I was ready for the usual chaos, but I was so surprised. What a difference a year makes. The boys did great, they were so cooperative, the pictures turned out great,I was very pleased. I tried to avoid Santa and we usually do that with daddy, but the boys saw him and were begging, so we had to stop. Maks did great this year, no crying, he was hestitant, but did tell the Big Guy he wanted a Big truck. Alek rattled off his list of robots, dinosaurs, and bikes.

I leave on Wednesday for a 4 day girls trip to Mexico, my mother's day/surgery present. I am really looking forward to it, but also have my normal anxiety over leaving the kids. I know they will have a good time with daddy and their boys weekend!

We ended the long weekend with Grammom's 60th bday brunch. It was alot of fun and it was great to see Grammom with all the grandkids, it is very rare that everyone is all together, so I know she really enjoyed herself!

Happy 60th Birthday Mom-we love you and you don't look a day over 30!

Thankful

Hard to believe that two years ago we were having our Thanksgiving dinner in Moscow with our little red headed wonder! It was exciting and bittersweet Thanksgiving, we had our newest love in our arms, but our other love was back home.

So much has happened in two years and it has been so amazing to watch Maks grow and explore and find new ways to get into trouble daily!

I look back on that rough few months home with no sleep and sickness and working hard on attaching and it is amazing to see how far we all have come.

His smile lights up a room and his volume does as well! He is so bright and curious and loves to figure things out and take toys apart and put them back together. He loves to build blocks, play with Rescue heros, swing, color, swim, play in the sand, ride bikes and most of all...EAT.

Maks was an eater from the moment we met him. He polished off a big bowl of stew in the baby home and was looking for more. I remember being amazed at his thighs. We had a string bean at home, so this was a whole new world for us!

Maks will pretty much try any food, aside from green things, though he does love broccholi. He loves spices and foods with alot of flavor. We crack up watching him polish off wings or shrimp cocktail, with the dip. He can hear the russling of a chip bag a mile away, but can't hear me ask him to pick up his toys, 1 foot away!

he is stubborn and willful, but funny and sweet all wrapped up into this cute little red headed package.

We are so thankful we were given the opportunity to be his parents and watch this amazing life unfold before our eyes.

So Happy Adoption Day, (11/20) Maks-Joseph Kirill!!! It has been a wonderful ride the past two years!

The photos at the top are from his registry picture at 6 weeks of age and his referral photo at 10 months.

Below: 1st trip (he was sick and had sores on his head), 2nd trip (visit and at hotel with mommy)

(Leaving the baby home in Murmansk), 1st picture as family of 4 at the airport!

While I am thankful for so many things I feel like I always keep going back to the fact I am thankful that life didn't go the way I had planned.

We have been giving this amazing blessing to watch these two beautiful boys grow and blossom and to help guide them through life. There is truly nothing more awesome than that!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

First snow and Maks gets a haircut, finally

We have definitely had a cold snap here recently, seems a little unusual for November. It really hasn't helped me much, I like going out in the fresh air for walks during the work day and to play with the kids, but the cold air really hurts my lungs! I think I am slowly feeling better, this pneumonia really threw me for a loop, I can't believe what little energy I have. But I am resting as much as I can, thankfully no signs of the boys or Kevin getting sick, though I believe they are the ones who gave this me!

I left work today to a moderate snow fall, I thought it was just supposed to be flurries, but it was very pretty! Alek had karate, so kevin stayed with him and I took Maks for his haircut. The key is giving him the lollipop first and then he cooperates, as always he is all about the food!

His cut is shorter then I want it, it is hard to see his curls drop to the floor. He has more of a feathered look now. This is only his second haircut since coming home!! The Irish fro he was sporting in his school pics is now gone, Kevin is very happy! Amazes me how much it changes their face!

In other news, the hot tub is finally in place and the electric is hooked up. So we will be filling it this weekend, cannot wait!! We are all very excited!

I am also looking forward to my trip to Mexico in two weeks with my friend. This was my Mother's Day present. We are going for 4 days and I can't wait to lay on the beach, sip some margaritas and sleep in. I will be a mess as usual leaving the boys, but I feel more at peace when Kevin and I are not traveling together. So this will be his first time handling it all, I am sure he will do great! He is an amazing dad and I know they will have lots of fun boy time.

Alek and the police officer

I have been working with Alek on learning how to dial 911 in case of emergency and also his own phone number. He has a play phone that talks to Firefighter Bob and Police officer Judy, so he really has gotten the hang of it. I had been stressing the importance of the only times you should use it.

Well last night we are sitting on the couch watching Diego, all in our jammies and Alek hands me the real phone and says, "look I did it". I looked down and saw 911, but I didn't think he hit the talk button, so I cleared it and reminded him again of the only time he should dial it on the real phone. several minutes later the phone rings and it is 911, so he really called. I told them what happened, they took my info and we hung up. 5 minutes later the door bell rings and there stands a cute young police officer, I had to answer the door in my flannel pj's looking so lovely with my pneumonia!

he came in to make sure everything was ok. Alek kept apologizing. The police officer talked to Alek and praised him for knowing the number but also told him it is only for emergency. The boys were all over this officer asking him questions about his taser, his gun, he let them play with his flashlight.

SO crazy night it was, but I think Alek understands it now.

Hopefully we won't have to go through this with Maks!

Sad and Angry

I feel compelled to say something about the ban on unmarried foster parents and adoptive parents (aka gays) in Arkansas.

I was watching this from the sidelines and hoping it would be defeated. The governer of Arkansas has stated that there is already too few foster homes in the state and obviously a ban would make it worse. According to statistics, in the past five years 1000 children in the foster care system in Arkansas made it to 18 years of age without ever having the opportunity to become a permanent member of a loving family. There are currently 300 children in the foster care system in the state today, limiting the pool of prospective parents puts these children at risk for aging out of the system and all the potential issues (drugs, homeslessness, prostitution, death) that can go along with that. So, how does this new law make it easier for these children to find permanent homes?

I really was surprised that this actually passed. I truly believed voters would take a step back and look at the whole picture. How does limiting the pool of prospective parents make it easier for children to find that permanancy and stability? I have also wondered how does the fact that someone is gay and married or parenting truly affect your personal life? If my next door neighbors were gay, really how does that affect me? I just don't get it?
I have always found it completely insane as well, that in Florida gays and lesbians are qualified enough to be foster parents but not good enough to be adoptive parents?

I am still trying to figure out how being straight and not single equals being the best kind of parent? There are obviously many two parent traditional families out there where children in living in a nightmarish situation (abuse, neglect, incest).
Shouldn't we focus on the person themselves, how the would care for a child, what they have to offer in terms of their love, time, commitment and safety, rather than if they are straight and in a certified/approved marriage?

I understand this was ultimately a ban against gay parents from fostering or adopting which still is ridiculous to me.
I have read how much money and time was spent lobbying for this to pass in the conservative christian community. James Dobson's ministry (Focus on Family Action) supported and backed this fight and also donated millions to help ban gay marriage in California. When I think of the amount of money spent on these fights, I can't help but wonder, why wouldn't they use the same zeal and persistance in finding additional funding and help for these children in the foster care systems? When I think of how many children they really could have helped with this money, it is hard to see how "christian like" these people really are.

While I can understand and respect people's beliefs that children should be in a two parent traditional home, I am wondering how many of those people who voted for this ban will now go out and become foster parents or adoptive parents? I guess As long as the children are not in umarried parent or gay homes, it really doesn't matter what happens to them?

I would really love to be able to speak to someone directly who believes that these bans are truly in the best of the children and what they are now going to do to help, how many children will they foster or adopt, how many children will sponsor financially, how much of their time and money will they volunteer to directly help the children find safe and permanent homes?
I have a feeling there wouldn't be many--it always seems to be the people who are the most critical are also the least likely to take true action, like adopting a child.

November is National Adoption Month-you would think the focus should be on finding good, stable, loving homes for children, but obviously alot of people in this country don't agree with that. Apparently It is much better for a child to languish in foster care and bounce around from home to home, then to be adopted by a gay couple.
Makes alot of sense to me, how about you?

Halloween

Little late on the pics, but we have been busy and I have been fighting off this crap chest cold, which I am now beating thankfully!

Halloween was crazy fun as usual. Extra special this year since the Phillies had their long awaited parade! Kevin was going to try and go, but after hearing how crazy it was crowd wise and how backed up the trains were, he bailed, was worried he wouldn't get home in time for kids parade.

Alek was Spidermand and Maks Buzzlightyear. Mommy got off cheap this year, Spidey costume was borrowed from Jakey and Buzz was Alek's from two years ago.

I remember putting Alek in it as we were between trips for Maks and now he is wearing it! Time flies!!

The kids had their party then parade at school. Alek lost his mask before the parade, thankfully we had found it before leaving. It was tucked in his party bag.

This year, several families on our street got together, the guys hung outside the one house handing out candy, the girls walked the kids around. It was fun, except for my cold and Maks, who was hitting my last nerve! He was out of control, he would push past the other kids and then past the homeowner and try to get into people's houses! When I would pull him out he would be screaming, "let go" at the top of his lungs. I was ready to send Buzz straight to the moon. After a few threats of going right home and to bed, he got himself together. Needless to say I was sweating by the time we were done. Afterwards we all hung out at our neighbors, great food, drinks, fire pit. It was fun, the kids had a blast. Hope we make this a tradition!

Alek was so exhausted, he fell asleep mid sentence! Maks passed out as well thankfully! It was a fun night!