Noah

October already???

Well, we are settled in for the school year and it's been a great year so far for all of the kids....and David and Me! Vita has recovered from the travesty of not getting the "right" lunch time, Yana is like a new kid-social butterfly and doing great, Jakob is having a wonderful year with a male teacher and good bus driver, Noah is doing great as well...enjoying physics and reading us out of house and home, and Mr. Levi is doing great with kindergarten and his new independence! Levi adjusted to k-garten better than Mom did...much to Mom's dismay!

The girls continue to adjust and adapt. Yana finally figured out why we are strict and have rules...in her words: we don't want the kids to be losers and strippers. Yup...that sums it up!

Vita is doing art club and has enjoyed football games and dances.
Yana is doing art club, spirit club, and like the football games and dances too.
Jakob does what he does best....play ...he has also enjoyed riding his scooter in the neighborhood next door and visiting his friends.
Noah is our busy guy: Scouts, choir, piano, and wrestling
Levi is gaining on Noah: choir and wrestling...not to mention his steady stream of phone calls and friends coming over!

We will be staying in Springfield for the holidays this year....so if you get out our way, stop in and see us!!

Our Summer Summed up!

Big. That describes our family, dreams, goals, and vacation! We started out on Saturday June 27 by car with the kids…with Virginia Beach as our first destination! That’s about 18 hours by car. Don’t give us too much credit yet…David’s parents went also and took 3 of the kids with them! We made it as far as Huntington, WV for our first hotel stay…uneventful..nice sunset behind a bridge was our view from our room. Yay. Off the next day to our final destination in VA Beach! There we stayed at the Sheraton right on the beach…for 3 nights. Our first night there we went to the Holiday Inn for dinner…my long lost sister, KT, has a son who works there. So we had a good dinner and the kids played in the pool there before we walked back to our hotel…observing the street peformers along the way. The boys and I split off from David and the girls…and we got to see some amazing fireworks while we walked the boardwalk!
Day 2: David and Yana celebrated birthdays!!! A day at the beach and cookout at KT’s made it a great way to celebrate! I think Yana had a good first birthday in America….with a beach themed birthday cake and getting to hang out with Oksana, you can’t go wrong!
Tuesday was shopping and more beach time. The girls were going to try surfing…but the surf did not accommodate our plans! We ended our night by gorging on seafood at a buffet…yum yum!! Let me just say that Levi has proven himself to be quite the ladies’ man!! He had two little girlfriends from Ukraine that were all over him….and he them! Mira and Yara! I have never seen so much snugglin’ and kissin’ in all my days!! These little twin 8 yr olds were the most affectionate kiddos I’ve ever laid eyes on! On our last night there Mira cried because we had to say goodbye….did that make me cry? Why yes it did! So hard to see them cry….knowing they have so little joy. They were calling us Momma and Poppa, and David’s parents dirdooshka and babooshka (grama/grampa) by the end of our trip. Nadyia was another Ukie cutie who was there…the most beautiful eyes!! I can say that our adventure to go so far to see someone we had never met was a great way to start our vacation!
From there, we went to Washington, DC to do DC in a day….we also got to see my friend Stephanie who now lives/works in the area…been 7 years since we saw her, so that was a nice bonus to our trip! We did the Mall and went to the museum of natural history before heading out on our trip to PA…Frackville, PA actually! Here we met up with David’s brother and his family at Grammy’s house…a nice low key couple of days with a visit to elderly great great aunts, a block party held by the Ukrainian church, shopping, and some went to see Transformers 2. Sunday David’s two cousins, Holly and Jenny, came up with their families and the kids go along famously!
Oh…forgot to mention our stop at Mt Vernon to visit the original GW’s homestead! Great photo ops and fun history for me and the kids! David makes a great tour guide…never missing a beat with either good information or b.s. made up on the fly! Either way, he’s talented!
(finishing this blog in late august….)
We spent two days at Hershey Park…and the girls got to hang out with a friend from NJ who had been adopted a few years ago. From there we met up with my Dad and Step Mom to give the girls to them for a few weeks…the girls had a lot of fun fishing, camping, Cedar Point, and hanging out with cousins. We enjoyed time with the boys for a few weeks…but were ready for our girls to come home and add some drama to our lives!!
A few days after the girls got home, my grandmother passed away. I drove to Michigan and spent a few days with my dad and celebrated my grama’s life. I learned a lot on that trip…I learned how little I knew about my grandmother. I think that’s another blog though.

Time Flies....sorta

Summer break has just started and school starts back in 10 weeks! Our summer is jammed packed with stuff...David/Girls on a mission trip, David/Noah Scout camp, my awesome niece-Caitlin coming for her annual visit, VA Beach, Hershey Park, Mackinac Island, baseball games, going to see new friends and old friends. My life is pretty freaking amazing! Without my fantastic husband and 5 unique kids, I would nothing.

Vita has been gone alot to her friends house...when she is home, I hear: I'm bored. I mention summer school and the boredom vanishes. Pretty cool trick, huh??? Yana is having a good summer so far...she has been more interested in friends and socializing. This has been quite a process, but she is definitely a child who needs to come to things in her own time. Stubborn? yes. Strong? yes. The day will come when those characteristics serve her well...today is not that day!! lol The easiest to please are the boys. Give them a water hose, some balloons, and a bucket and they are good for hours! The downside to this plan...we get an 80 pound wet puppy!

Jakob turned 10 a few weeks ago...amazing that we have had him for almost eight years! David and I have also been married 10 years! It has really flown by...for me anyway!! David may feel different, but he would never tell me! 23 days until Yana turns 15...she wants to have a party and I am all for that!! The benefits outweigh the torture! She changes her mind about 10 times/day as to what she wants for a gift. Her inability to commit comforts me...maybe she will not have serious boyfriends!! Noah and Levi tried out for the Children's Choir of SWMO and made it...I can hardly wait for them to start performing! Noah takes it all very seriously...Levi takes very little seriously and is a natural born performer!

Our life is crazy, and we wouldn't have it any other way! Sitting still and being bored have never really been my or David's thing...so we have taken care of any opportunity for boredom!

To quote David: The years fly by so quickly, but days drag on forever! (Amen!)

WE ARE NOT DEAD!!!

So, I realized that I have not blogged in forever! (or two months)

School is out....yay (that's from the kids) I leave for Vegas this Thursday...yay ( I think everyone in my family is saying that!!!) David and I celebrate our 10th anniversary this Thursday and Jakob turns 10 this Thursday!

We have a busy summer planned and school will start back before we know it! The girls are going on a mission trip with David to inner city St Louis. Vita is excited...Yana, not so much. I hope they have a good experience. David then goes to Boy Scout camp with Noah for a weekend. That should be fun for them....wonder how Noah will do being camping without a DS, Internet, and wii! My niece Caitlin is coming for a week...her time with us keeps getting shorter as she gets older and has more obligations...but we are grateful that our almost 20 yr old niece still wants to come hang out with us!

Late June we take off on our road trip: VA Beach--------Pennsylvania--------Hershey Park-----head home and drop the girls off with my Dad and Step Mom for a few weeks. Some time in July, me and boys road trip to Michigan to spend a few days and get our girls. Hoping not to total my car on the way home this time....Jakob will sit up front and that will help ALOT!! Also hope my long lost cousin Jill will come visit this summer with her daughter. Open invitation late July thru early august to whoever wants to come out!

School starts back August 18!! And I will be crying when Levi starts kindergarten this year....my stink bug is growing up and I will miss our lunch dates and hanging out together. But don't think for one minute I am getting a real job.....David has spoiled me far to long for that to happen! Hopefully I will be able to commit more to real estate with not having my day split up! Hopefully I can start doing more at church and volunteering more at school.

The girls did GREAT at school this year! Yana had 3-a's, 3-b's, and one c+ (in English...not sure non ESL kids did much better!!) Vita's grades were about the same as Yana's we haven't gotten hers back officially. She was not thrilled with the final exams. I think they are excited for next year with being at the same school and moving into a new high school during Christmas break.

It's going to be a great summer for the Kelletts!

Current Events!

If I had to pick one word to describe our life....chaos. But a good chaos...not the burning stuff, police, blood shedding, 911 calls kind of chaos. But the "I need a bigger planner" type of chaos!

It seems that all the kids' dentist appointments hit at once..followed by appointments for fillings, of course! Factor in field trips, practices, meetings, other appointments, shopping for summer clothes (even tho it's not really warm yet...but how else do you get Yana off your hind end about needing summer clothes????)

I am in the process of going thru orientation/processing for a new job. I have tallied it up and have 33 hours of "stuff" to do before I can do training in the clinic where I will work....8 hours/week. Seems like a lot of "stuff" to work just one day/week. Oh well, I will be well "orientated" (I hate that word, by the way...it's not a real word!)

Vita is going to start job hunting soon...trips to the mall remind her that she needs more money than we provide. Good thing to learn early on! She wanted to work at the movie rental place....but I had to explain to her that you have to be 18 to work there. That wasn't good enough, she wanted to know why. She still isn't clear on why she can't work some place, legally, that rents porn, until she's 18. We'll try the movie theater instead....

I was tucking Jakob into bed last night and he was very serious and said: "Mom, I don't know what I would do without you, or Dad. I guess I would still be in the orphanage or dead. If I were in the orphanage at school, it would be bad because I wouldn't understand anything they say because I don't know Russian." Bless his little heart.....

Noah has been stressed out lately....he's having a hard time figuring out if he wants to:

a) not get married/not have kids
b) get married/not have kids
c) get married/have kids

I wish he would relax and think about less grown up stuff...but that's Noah, a planner and a worrier. Not sure where he gets that....

Yana is on a wild rollercoaster ride of moods like all 14 yr old girls...unfortunately, we are all along for the ride! Some times we just cock our heads and look at her...not really sure what to do!

Levi has been on a birthday party frenzy of late! His own and some for his buddies. I am least looking forward to the pool party. Of course it's a single dad who is hosting this for his kid....I have to wonder a little bit about ulterior motives on this one! The party does encourage me to lose a few pounds. It's a tough decision....let Levi get in the pool without me and pray I don't have to jump in fully clothed to save him OR take one for the team, yet again, and don a bathing suit, scaring all the children and providing gossip material for all the young moms, to protect my non swimming child from drowning. Should I wear the one with the skirt????

Through the grace of God and medication I will get through the mom gig!

MIA

Life here has been full of activity and busyness!

We have celebrated some birthdays since my last blog! Noah turned 7...he had a little sleep over with a buddy. Vita turned 16..WOW!!! She had a party with about 6 girls. We went for Chinese food, bowling, and a sleep over. She was so happy and said it was her best birthday ever. I can tell you there wasn't much left of the heart shaped strawberry cake and nothing left of the chocolate covered strawberries! I think the girls were up until 5am...didn't keep me awake and no one went outside!! Now to get that girl a job!! We went to the mall to spend her birthday money and she realizes that our income can not afford her taste! Today was our baby's birthday...and Levi is 5. When I look at him, I still see a little baby-but he reminds me often of the fact that he's a big boy!

Vita starts running track next week...she's excited and we are excited for her. It's great to see her getting so involved in stuff like art club and culture club. We hope on day Yana will decided to have friends and get involved in more stuff..she just doesn't have the desire right now. Jakob is getting so tall...and still stick thin! I think he burns more calories than he can take in in a day! He still loves Transformers and is counting down the days 'til the new movie comes out in June!

Zoie the dog is getting HUGE...45 pounds at 5 months. As Noah put it, we had her "womanlihood removed"...so life should be better in the long run. The kids all want puppies....I don't think so. And BC our kitty had to have surgery on his backside. He is declawed, but thinks he's an outside cat. Likes to fight...loses, had bites on backside...abcess....rupture....surgery...stitches. After seeing our vet's sewing skills, David commented on how he understands why she chose to be a vet and not a plastic surgeon!

Life is good at Camp Kellett. God continues to bless us and provide for our big family! We look forward to the summer and getting out and doing some outdoor stuff and getting away from the wii and ds!

Where does the time go???

I sort of dropped off the face of the earth so it seems!

Life has been pretty normal, for us anyway! The kids are all back to school and doing GREAT!! Jakob has not had quality time with the principal this year....as opposed to at least weekly in 2008....I guess all the meds he was on really didn't help (I should have been a doctor......) He is having a much better time in school and I don't dread answering the phone. Noah (who is going to be 7 this week) is under the radar as always...still loves his gifted day of school each week and jumps out of bed on fire on that day! Levi is just growing up too fast...my soon to be five year old spent the night with a buddy for the first time last night. I missed him so much. He missed me too, I think....and ended up in the bed of the buddy's 16 year old sister. That's our boy! Vita has evicted Yana from their bedroom, so Yana is now in her own room...this is a big step for a kid who is use to sharing a room with 5 other people. She seems to like it and I think the time is right. Of all the kids, I fear Yana will be the one to bankrupt us on groceries. She has gone from a tiny little girl body to a 14 year old body...that is liked by a boy named Riley! Thankfully, she is shy at school....not at home though! Vita is enjoying school more and more as she makes more friends. I think she is nervous about the father/daughter dance....she should have asked to see David's alleged "moves" before asking him to be her date!

The girls went bowling for the first time this weekend...and loved it. I think if they hadn't had bumpers, the love would not have been there! Tomorrow is MLK day, so no school. They have no idea who he is, and don't care....all they care about is that he scored them a day off school.

After Noah hits the big 07 this week, we will start figuring out Vita's sweet 16. One thing I can promise with 100% certainty.....there will be no driving/car component to her birthday...but maybe a part-time job is in her future!

The Firsts

I have heard many people say, "when you adopt older kids, you miss out on their firsts". You do miss some of the firsts....but not all firsts are good! (i.e...the first time they pass gas in public and people think it's you, the first time they say a bad word in public, the first time they _________ on your comforter, etc...)

With the girls, we get other firsts that are pretty cool. This past week I had many firsts with my girls. It was the first time Yana said "I love you" and it felt like she meant it. We got to shop for a dress and accessories for Vita's first real dance...and I had my first time to worry about her being out with friends. I love those firsts! An odd, but cool first was Yana letting me cut her nails. I know she can do it herself, but it's a mom job and she let me do that job....that was huge for me...and her, whether she knows it or not!

Some other firsts with the boys: Jakob was suspended for the first time from school. Levi washed a car for the first time...with a large rock. Noah had his first piano recital.

This week we look forward to more firsts at our house....Yana's first Christmas with us, Vita's first Christmas as a Kellett, the boys' first Christmas to share with big sisters, and the first time the girls leave home to visit somewhere else (going to Dallas with family to see family!), and Zoie's first Christmas at our house...in heaven with new toys to chew on and get yelled at about!

Merry Christmas to all...

Do You Hear What I Hear??????

It's my fault. I should have known better. I have started putting gifts under the tree. Noah is picking up movie and cd cases and sizing them up against the gifts under the tree to see what is what. Yana is shaking and smelling boxes, followed with, "Momma, what is it? I-Pod? Camera? WHAT IS IT???" She doesn't do well with surprises, secrets, or waiting. Noah is just nosy...he has to know EVERYTHING! Vita has been her and done Christmas a few times with us, so she just hangs back and knows that she won't be disappointed on December 25th. Jakob and Levi aren't concerned about WHAT it is...they want to be socialists and are worried about who has how many and we all need the same or it's not fair. Remembering Christmas when I was a child, I was alot like the anxious ones...unwrapping and rewrapping gifts. Nosing around in the closets, under beds (sorry David...I found the box...you need to be more creative to hide stuff from me!!), and every place else I could imagine! I love being on the Mom end of Christmas. The excitement that's building, the smell of Christmas, the Christmas songs, and the reminder of what Christmas is about....not gifts, but THE gift. The big One! I am thankful for family and friends and for the good fortune that God has given to our family. With news every day of people losing their jobs, the economy sucking, and so on....I am grateful for what we have and the awesomeness of my family and God.

Do you hear what I hear??? SSShhhhhh.....listen........

And then there were 9.....

This is the newest addition to the Kellett clan!! The girls were promised a dog, by their father, in Ukraine. I put it off and put it off by saying: no fence, no dog. The girls NAGGED David to put up a fence....and he finally did. Then the excuse of, "we are going to KC for a weekend....a dog is something that needs to wait until after that". That was a month ago. We have since been in negotiations about the type of dog to get. True to my flakiness, I INSISTED it would NOT be a big dog....yet I was the one who mentioned the St Bernard. (I knew I wouldn't win on the Schnauzer...) I vetoed German Shepard, Lab, Golden, Pug, Chihuahua. So, we have settled on this gorgeous "little" pup and named her Zoie! She is 7.5 weeks old....and by the looks of her paws....she's going to be quite a big girl! Our cat, BC, seems okay with her so far. Our last pet attempt was a cat who lasted less than 24 hours. We realized fast that she could not live on top of the refrigerator...and BC was giving her no other options!

Oh, we also figured it would kill two birds with one stone....David also promised the girls a horse!!

The Curb...

One of the things I never really thought much about is curbing. I guess I just thought you can take the kids out of the orphanage AND the orpahanage out of the kids! But not really. So now, we are trying to curb some institutional behavior.

Sharing: Sharing is good...sharing EVERYTHING is not good.

Every man for himself: Well, it's hard for the girls to conceptualize that when you have a friend over or take a friend somewhere...you are somewhat responsible for entertaining them. Our girls seem to think once you introduce them around....they are on their own. From their history...that makes perfect sense to me. However, it leaves American girls a little confused, hurt, and offended.

Table manners: OK....I will be the first to admit that I am a stickler for table manners. No legs hiked up at the table. Cut your meat...don't stab a pork chop and gnaw at it. Wipe food off your face...preferably with a napkin. Chew with your mouth CLOSED. Don't talk with a cud in your mouth. And now that their English is good...speaking it at the table is a good thing!

Bad habits: gum stuck to the headboard...several pieces. Candy wrappers/sucker sticks on the carpet/beds/where ever. Handwashing underclothes.....enough on that topic.

So....there are the things I would like to kick to the curb! I only thought of big, obvious issues before we adopted this time...language, dating, makeup, driving, allowances, chores, etc....

(this is by no means a criticism of the girls, just an observation and things for p.a.p.s to consider when adopting older kiddos!! I'll take this stuff over potty training and diapers ANY day of the week..well, most days....)

Story of the Week...

Well...we had a pretty quiet week...for us, anyway!

Even our low-light for the week is funny. It started with a call from the assistant principal at Jakob's school (at least it wasn't THE principal!). The a.p. had to go to Jakob's classroom and retrieve him, as Jakob wouldn't go on his own to the a.p. office. Seems that Jakob threw his pencil (at the teacher or at the floor..depends on who you ask...) and was refusing to do work. He then disertated (if that's a word) about how he doesn't get enough respect (questioning if Rodney Dangerfield ever traveled to Eastern Ukraine in late 1998) from anyone. Jakob then spent about 45 minutes, disertating, in the a.p's office..about respect and other things that were not positive (no reason to live, no friends, etc). The a.p. had not seen this side of Jakob and was concerned so he called to see if we had seen these behaviors before. Um, yes...for about 5 years now. We have to find the humor, or all else is lost! This fell on the heels of Jakob giving David 10 days to show more respect or he was leaving home. The process was expedited due to the fact that the level of respect is not changing any time soon. I was unaware of the exchange...I thought Jakob was showering for bed! Imagine my surprise when Jakob comes thru with a suitcase wearing boxers, a hoodie, and sandals!! After some time on the porch in 40' weather, Jakob came in and proclaimed, "I've changed my mind, I'm staying, can I have a milkshake?"

I'll leave you to ponder whether Jakob got his milkshake....

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly......

Well, there's a lot to blog, but not sure where to stop and start!

The girls seem to be going through a cycle that I'm sure is common with adoption. The honeymoon phase.....done. Vacation clothes: put away. Tan:gone. Shiny: worn off. Reality: here.


There seems to be an expectation of adoptees that they are issued certain things when they land in America. i-Pod, cell phone, Internet in bedroom, cable in bedroom, the school should look as pristine as the one in High School Musical, music coming from the loud speakers, and Troy dancing down the hall with all of his hot friends in tow. Don't get me wrong, the kids NEED alot when they get here....but there is a blurry line between need/want (I think this is true of all teens....?) I would like to take this time to thank Hollywood for sending out a very skewed idea of what life as a teen is like in most of America. Perhaps if Senator Obama gets elected, he can take these items from the Willis, Pitt, Cruise, and Madonna's children and give to my children...as it would only be fair! I digress......

Vita is struggling making friends....as I think is normal for anyone starting a new high school...the language barrier can only hurt. We are trying to get her involved in stuff and try to be more outgoing...but I'm sure a small town school is not so in to opening their cliques. Her sparkle has faded since the first of the year...but we hope it will come back soon. The struggle is Vita's confidence and expressive English confuse the teachers....they think she is more capable than she lets on, so they have higher expectations than she can meet. And she gets frustrated. Hopes: parent teacher conferences this week....

Yana has made alot of friends...but none she sees/talks to outside of school. Oddly, she thinks she needs a cell phone so she can text them at school. That's a different blog!! Her teachers are more willing to be flexible and understanding of her limitations...so her school year is going quite well! Yana struggles with authority at times and I think she also has a hard time figuring out how to be a part of a family. Families are tough enough...but to not be a part of one, try fit into an existing one, and maintain sanity...we are asking alot of Yana!! Vita had visited us 3 times and pretty much had an idea of what to expect and how things work...I think she has tried to tell Yana....but sometimes you have to learn things on your own!

OH...we have some boys too!!

Levi...our little 4 year old is doing great! He loves preschool and is such a big boy. His Grammy and I already are getting teary eyed over his going to kindergarten next fall....he is the last of the last and we need him. I hope he is sad too!!!

Noah...borders on the perfect child....with exception to his sneakiness and mean streak! He loves to learn and is full of questions! (I never thought I would hope my kid wasn't so smart!!!) He has become bored with 1st grade and his favorite day is the day of the week when he goes to his gifted classroom. We are now advocating for him to skip a grade...no one in the district has ever done this, so we are not hopeful. However, I can be assertive when it comes to my kids!

Jakob....is getting ready to have an interesting week!! We are going to try to do a gluten/casein/soy free diet for a one week trial to see if it helps with his autism. Half of me hopes it doesn't work....so he can eat all the things he loves (chocolate...pop tarts...cereal with REAL milk....ice cream...cheese...yogurt) The other half hopes it does work so he can get off all the meds, do better in school, be happy, feel like he fits in, make friends, and just be able to have the same advantages as other kids.

Last Friday we went to the Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for the girls to take their oaths, sign their citizenship papers, and confuse the federal employee. I felt sorry for him....but more sorry for us!! It may have been his first day. He may not be accustomed to English speaking customers. IDK. But we mustered through and only have a few more things to do to wrap up the adoption process!! We will get the girls registered with the Ukrainian Embassy and then get US passports and change their status with social security so they can get jobs!! hahahaha!!!!!

I think our adoption days are over for awhile. Five is overwhelming...for me. David is not a type A person like me.....I hope to mellow soon or at least reach a level of insanity where it doesn't matter any more!!

Been a crazy long time!!

WOW!! It's almost October!!


All kids are doing good in school...the girls are learning English with great speed and impress us all the time! Not all of it is good stuff...but that will make them well-rounded!

Yana and Vita have spent quite a bit of time at the dentist's office. Jennifer has been a little more lucky on then end of things!! All the girls are excited about their first Halloween! I would have never thought about that....but boy are they stoked!

The girls are getting extra reading in school....which I think will help immensely! Yana just recently added a reading component to her class schedule. It took much pushing on my part to get her OUT of US History and into something she can understand, learn from, and succeed at. Sometimes it's hard for authority types to think outside the box and use common sense over policy and procedure!! Especially in a small, rural district where non English speakers are few and far between.....and more so that the English is the primary language in the home! We love to challenge our school district, help then broaden their horizons, and take advantage all the tax dollars we have invested!

Vita had an incident with a closed minded person.....he said to her and her Japanese friend, "go back where you came from bitches!" Her idea to respond was punch him in the face....and she didn't care about 3 days off from school! We talked about diversity and discussed the meaning of the words "redneck" and "fear of something new". I think she gets it and dismissed him. I also told her she can tell him, " if you think I'm a bitch, you should meet my mom". I think she faced enough stuff in UA that she understands that some people are just that way and we can't all like/be liked by everyone.

This Friday is homecoming and Vita is excited! Not sure if she will go to the dance since her friends are not going, but she will enjoy the game and atmosphere!

Yana has been catching on at home a little better with regard to respect, rules, and cute doesn't cut it. She has lost privileges and learned the hard way that we mean business...and David and I are on the same team....always. Our team is also known as the winning team, the best team, the only team, and always having the home team advantage!

Life here is interesting...and fun...and exciting! We recently had David gone for 3 weeks. He had to do his duty after the hurricanes hit LA/TX. They gave him a chance to stay on for 60 days or 6 months more. Where as we would have enjoyed getting a pool with the money....it's better to have my sanity and no loss of life. I also don't think the 'Farm would pay for his divorce attorney!!

Will try to do better at blogging....in all my free time!!

School has Started!!

Well... the first day of school went well...I didn't have to physically take anyone in, no one followed me out, and no one cried. Yana didn't eat lunch...I guess her "buddy" failed her on that. So when she got home: Momma, I hungry!! Three pork chops, pasta, and veggies later....she was happy...other than the part where I made her drink milk not coke. She tried school lunch today...and referred to it as "foo". Vita tried bbq rib sandwich...and she foo-ed it as well! Maybe carrying lunch is good!

They also went back to school today willingly!! Vita had words with a boy on the bus....I think he won't be mouthing her any more! The district has little experience with ESL...so it's an opportunity for them to learn and me to teach them....hahahaha!!!

The boys are doing great with school and happy to be back in the swing of things...they are in portable classrooms and both of their teachers are pregnant....should make for an interesting year!!

Levi starts school monday...and he's stoked! We went to open house tonite and he cried when we had to leave.

This time of year is draining on me...the paperwork, getting everyone organized, and getting our new schedule figured out. But I love every minute of it from the time I drag myself out of bed to the time I collapse from exhaustion at night......

Time Flies!

The kids are all getting ready to start school this week...and boy am I excited!!!!

The boys are ready...no complaints. Vita....go with the flow. Yana....scared, defiant, but will be fine. I think the girls will be surprised at how many people WANT to help them and will take an interest in them. Just in case...I'll be close by on the first day and our friend Oksana has offered to go with Yana on her second day. Jennifer is also ready to go to school...she is a little anxious, but knows that it will be fine once she starts. Anxiety is a horrible thing and no amount of talking will convince the girls that it really is going to be ok...and they will not die from school!!

It amazes me at how Yana has just made herself at home. I think Vita having been here and being so comfortable has helped. I am pleasantly surprised at how well things are going!!

More later.....after the first day of school!!

Wild first week!!

Well...our welcome home dinner was interupted by me, Jakob, and PopPop going to the urgent care for Jakob to get stitches. I think I took it worse than Jakob...no tears were shed and he complained little about the pain..mostly about having to be still!

The girls have shopped...and shopped....and shopped. Vita and Yana got their cartilage pierced. All girls got their haircut....they asked for a cut they found in a book...but then told her to not cut their bangs or take off any length! The hairdresser did a great job and the girls complaints were shortlived.

Yana has been insistant that she is in the 9th grade....until we went to the high school and she saw how BIG it is. Then she was near tears telling us how she wants to be in 8th grade! We think 8th grade will be best for her...so she figured it out on her own! Vita and Jennifer were put off by the chipping paint on the lockers at the high school....I think they were expecting to see the school from High School Musical and Troy walking down the hall dancing and singing to the music being pumped out thru the stereo system installed in the school! Vita said she wants to go to a different high school. Our response: not an option. This is your high school. We told her that the more people there are, the more friends you will have. They will be fine after a week when the shock wears off. Just visiting the schools helped tremendously.

Monday Jennifer is going to New Jersey to stay with her former host family. She seems super excited and very anxious to be going. She has Ukrainian friends out there who have been adopted and will hopefully have a good time.

Today we are all going to White Water and taking Vita's bffl Jessica. Should be a good time....they girls will need tons of sunscreen on their faces...they got a little pink yesterday!

So long from our busy home!!!!

Wild first week!!

They are HOME!!

Everyone is home....safe and sound and tucked in bed.

So a funny story....Lucas Grabeel (Ryan from High School Musical) is from Springfield...and he came in on a flight right after the girls. No one was willing to go talk to him....but I took our 6 yr old over to him. We were going to get a picture....but he thought the crowd of 50+ was for HIM!!! I didn't realize that at first....but he said, "can we do the picture outside after I get my bags? I see there's a crowd gathering"

I wonder if he's still standing outside waiting at the airport....

Good times ahead...hope to keep blogging in all my free time!