Reading

Our little girl is READING IN ENGLISH and she is thrilled!

We've been working through the Explode the Code Series (starting with "Get Ready," "Get Set," "Go for the Code.") We started the fourth book on Monday. She had learned all the consonants and we began adding in the vowels. When we turned to this page in the book, I was not sure what would happen.

Before I could do much of anything, she began reading every sentence on the page! She just kept going. I couldn't believe it. Ethan and Aaron (who were in the school room at the time) gathered around her desk in disbelief. After each sentence she read, they cheered and clapped. I wish I had captured a picture of her happy face. Each time they clapped, Irina said, "Good job, Irina!" 

 I had only intended for her to do 2 pages in the book, but she wanted to keep going. After completing 20 pages I had to convince her to stop. She is still learning the vocabulary, so she needs me to sit beside her and say what some of the pictures are. As soon as I say the word, she is able to spell it easily. I needed to stop working with her so I could get to the boys school work.

She packed her workbook and worked for another 30 minutes at Aaron's gymnastics class that afternoon. I love her enthusiasm. If only she was this enthusiastic about everything I ask her to do. :) For now, I'll delight in this exciting milestone. 

Doctor, Doctor

We have a play doctor kit that was a gift for Ethan when he was a toddler. He loved it. I can't believe we still have it. Along the way, some pieces got broken and we added to it a pretend play veterinarian doctor kit.

Ethan - 17 months

Irina found it on Wednesday and decided I needed a check up. I think with her recent visit to the pediatrician and knowledge of an upcoming dental procedure, it was great for her to pretend. Dr. Irina checked my eyes and ears. My reflexes were checked and my temperature taken. I received 2 pretend shots and several teeth extractions. She listened to my heart and took my blood pressure. It was a lengthy exam. She was very serious about her important job. (And yes, we are working on her hair. It is like a mop and growing like crazy! She wants to grow out her bangs and grow her hair down to her knees. She is not very eager to brush it or to have me brush it. We shall see!)

When the boys realized what she was up to, they quickly joined in her imaginary world. Before I knew it, my bedroom was set up like a doctors office. They had created a receptionist area, waiting room and examining room. This kept them busy for over an hour as long as I was the willing patient. Oh how that laundry waiting to be folded called my name as I sat on the examining table and had my blood pressure checked for the 10th time!

the instruments

another patient in the waiting room

 the nurse who takes all the stats (height, weight, eye exam)

another doctor looking very chipper

 Is there such a thing as too much pretend play? When I got tired of being the patient, they switched gears and began examining all our stuffed animals. We had people, horses and dogs in the waiting room all at the same time. What a versatile doctors office!

Murky Waters, Chocolate, Cotton balls and Teeth

The past three days have not been our best. We're trudging through some murky waters all around. As a result, I've been a bit gloomy and stuck in a rut. Even after such a great weekend of celebration and truly being showered with love, I am quick to let my circumstances dictate my mood. I find myself longing for order, ease, and few complications or difficulties. 

I am figuring out how to snap out of it. Chocolate doesn't work. ha! Wallowing is for the birds. Here is where the Holy Spirit is leading me as I take the cotton balls out of my ears and truly listen:

1) God will never leave me and He will always listen. Nothing can separate me from his love. I don't need to figure it all out to come to Him. I can come to Him in the broken, sad, painful places and He will give me peace and strength. He wants to carry my burdens. I don't need to shoulder them on my own.  Do you ever find yourself holding onto those burdens like a badge of honor rather then laying them at your Father's feet? I might hand Him the burdens one day only to grab them back the next. He longs to be my comfort and support. He is worthy of my trust.

2) This hymn popped into my head tonight. True hope and joy does not come from our circumstances.

My hope is built on nothing less then Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.
When darkness seems to veil his face, I rest in His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath His covenant and blood support me in the 'whelming flood:
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
On Christ the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.

3) It's time to keep a praise and thanks journal. I've done this before, but I haven't been doing it lately. Starting tonight, I am committed to writing down 3 things to praise and thank God for in my personal journal. I won't be sharing them here every day. This is between me and the Lord.

UPDATE on Irina's dental surgery:
Due to a variety of reasons, Irina's dental surgery was postponed until the end of March. I'm not going to go into the reasons on the blog. I have mixed emotions. On one hand, God led Darin and I to this decision and we have peace and unity. On the other hand, I want to just get this over with and move Irina onto the path of recovery and freedom from pain. It is still possible that the surgery will be moved up, but we are switching pediatric surgeons. In the meantime, we will treat Irina's pain as necessary. She has not complained about any pain for the past few days. Please pray for continued pain management and good communication as we explain the change in plans to her.
*Note: this is not at all related to our regular dentist whom we love.

Repercussions

It did not occur to me until today that there would be repercussions from my time away this weekend. It was the longest I have been away from Irina since November and it was very confusing to her. I do not feel guilty one bit, but I do feel the need to be more compassionate as she has struggled with some "ugly weeds" both on Sunday and Monday. She is vacillating between smothering me with affection and testing my love with very combative behavior.

Now, there is a lot more going on besides me being away from her, but I do believe my absence is one piece of the puzzle. She also had an emotional response to watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics that we recorded. Seeing the Ukrainians march in and hearing the Russian language has set her off with some homesickness and lots of tears. Then you add in that she had her first physical at the pediatrician today AND is anticipating her teeth getting "fixed" on Friday. My sweet girl is struggling and anxious.

Irina did pretty well at the doctor's office. We are using a new pediatrician who has experience with adopted children and she was fantastic. Irina has grown quite a bit in height and weight since arriving in America. Hooray! She falls only in the 10-25% for weight, but that is not a concern at all. Her height is in the 25 percentile. Very proportional. Our pediatrician recommended we have all her routine blood work completed while she is sedated for her dental surgery so we don't also have to put her through more trauma. I think that's a great idea.

Please pray:
1) That I would have extra compassion and patience for our sweet butterfly this week. After all my spoiling this weekend, it was hard for me to be delighted about being back in mom mode today. :)
2) That the Lord will give Irina peace in the face of uncertainty and fear.
3) For good communication before the surgery. We are scheduling a translator to talk her through some of what is expected pre-surgery and post surgery.
4) That the dental surgery will bring great relief from her pain. Pray for quick healing post surgery!

39

There has been quite a bit of celebrating over here and I'm a blessed girl.  

I have had a pretty spectacular 39th birthday weekend! It all started with a delicious birthday 

lunch with my parents after school on Friday. Then a mini joint birthday celebration with 

a special 10 & 8 year old girl on Friday afternoon. What a way to start the weekend!

Irina is not only excited about her own birthday, which is in April. She was equally 

excited for Mommy's birthday. So excited that she didn't go to sleep until almost 

10:00pm on Friday night. Every five minutes she would open her eyes and say 

again and again, "Mommy Happy Birthday zavtra (tomorrow)." "Mommy prize zavtra." 

"Mommy 39." It was cute at first, but oh my... by 9:30pm I was wishing we'd never 

told her about my birthday! She still needs me to sit in her room with her until 

she is asleep because of very real night fears, but my presence was just a 

reminder of the big day on Saturday. Oh my! 

Our excited girl has been preparing for my birthday for the past month. She went out shopping with Daddy and don't forget the birthday card she bought in April. She found a Valentine advertisement in the mailbox this week and disappeared only to return with these "pretty flowers" for Mommy. When she woke up Saturday morning she put on her prettiest dress for the special day. 

 Luke had reminded Daddy of this birthday sign he made a couple years ago and 

then Luke set the table for breakfast. Isn't that sign amazing!! Darin brought 

home bunches of tulips to add to the bunch from my parents. They are beautiful. 

All the kids were very pleased to present me with the gifts they bought with Daddy's help. 

Irina picked out this Willow Tree figurine. Lovely! I enjoyed a long 

reenergizing run and then brought the boys to gymnastics where I 

sat in the car ALONE! Ahh... what a wonderful 50 minutes 

of quiet in God's word. It was only noon and already 

I had had such a terrific day. 

It just kept getting better. My mom picked me up for lunch and shopping. 

I dislike shopping (I know I'm strange that way!), but it was so much fun to 

have adult conversation and a break from the demands of motherhood. 

I think this was my favorite gift from Darin... the gift of an afternoon 

away from the house. Such a treat!

 Then dinner and a huge chocolate chip cookie cake 

made by Darin while I was away for the afternoon. 

I am looking forward to dinner with two dear friends tonight. Wow! 

It has been a weekend to remember; cards in the mail, Facebook messages, 

phone calls, singing messages, special gifts, time alone, time with friends, 

and celebrating with my family. Thank you Lord for blessing me so much!

* After I posted this, I was surprised tonight by three additional friends 

joining our dinner party. I could not have been more thrilled to have this

time with 5 sweet ladies!! Thank you Jessica for coordinating the surprise, 

and thank you to my friends for carving out time away from your 

families to celebrate with me. My heart is overflowing! *

100th Day

We celebrated our 100th day of school today. For Irina, it was actually only her 

41st day of school with us but the boys were ready to celebrate! They enjoyed their breakfast.

 We did all our core school work first. (Math, Reading, Phonics, Grammar and Spelling) 

Then we got busy celebrating. There are so many cool ideas on the internet, 

but I just couldn't get all that together. I ended up scrapping the craft I had 

planned because I was too tired. Maybe we'll do it another day.

 I have to say that there was one boy in particular who did NOT think doing 

100 jumping jacks was any way to celebrate. ;) Oh my... the grumbling and grumbling. 

Don't let these happy photos fool you. Most of us had a good time, but not everyone. 

 100 jumps on the trampoline

 We went out in the garage and dribbled a basketball 100 times. 

 Hopping on one foot 100 times. Irina was HOT! 

I think she may think we are crazy. How in the world is this school? :)

 They each put together a 100 piece puzzle. Aaron gets the prize for being the most 

joyful and independent puzzler. Irina gets the prize for saying "Momma" the most. 

 Ethan finished first and happily helped everyone else. 

 Then they were told to work together as a team to build something with 100 lego duplos. 

 The photo above is after one boy pounded on another boys back for not agreeing with his idea. 

Oh boy... we need to work on our team work. After some tears, apologies and 

forgiveness, they got busy building together. 

 They were so excited by their lunch, but Irina was so confused. "This is lunch?" 

10 pretzels, 10 pieces of cheese, 10 carob chips, 10 almonds, 10 pieces of bread, 

10 pieces of cereal, 10 carrots, 10 frozen blueberries, 10 apple pieces, 10 raisins. 

I had grand plans of getting to the store and buying special treats for our lunch platter, 

but I forgot to take into consideration Darin's work dinner last night. I made the best with 

what we already had in the house. All in all, I'm glad we celebrated this little milestone. 

Only 80 more school days until summer break!!

Grouchiness and Sunshine

Last night I was mad, disappointed and completely bummed out. Just plain grouchy! I realized that we wouldn't be able to go to Community Bible Study (CBS) AGAIN today. After being snowed out two weeks, I was so ready for fellowship with other women and so ready to get a little break from the kiddos. Not to mention that the boys were super excited to go to their homeschool class too.

Until Irina is ready to join her 4th grade class, Darin has been willing to have her tag along to his office. I pack up a backpack full of schoolwork and she keeps busy (sort of!), while the boys and I go to CBS. When I saw Darin ironing a shirt last night, I realized that his all day sales meeting was going to interfere with our Wednesday plan.

As I was stewing over our unexpected change in plans, I realized some things. First of all, it occurred to me that the reason we're waiting to have Irina participate in CBS is no longer because of attachment. I know it will continue to be a process, but I am quite confident that our little butterfly is attaching to US. I think she most definitely recognizes us as her family and has moved past the indiscriminate affection with strangers. Praise the Lord.

The boys were also disappointed when I told them we weren't going to CBS, but despite that they rallied and we had a really good school day together. One boy in particular was so unexpectedly agreeable and cooperative that it warmed my heart. We covered a lot of material and we even had fun!

After raining all morning we were all pleasantly surprised to see sunshine after rest time. When Irina asked to go to the park, I said "sure!" We quickly loaded the car with water bottles, helmets and scooters and were on our way. The temperature had only warmed to 47 degrees, but we were not chilly as we raced along the trails. As I was jogging to catch up to the speedy scooters, I found myself emotional. No, it wasn't because I couldn't keep up. ;)  I was so struck by the gift of these four kids and their developing friendship. The Lord filled me with a peace I can't explain. I'm serious. I know you're probably tired of me saying how hard this journey has been, but for the first time in a while I actually couldn't stop thinking about all the ways the Lord has been at work and all the great joy He has brought our family. Thank you to my sweet friend for praying "that my heart would be peaceful" today.  He answered your prayer.   

I might have been just a little bit thrilled when Irina asked me to braid her hair like she was a queen tonight. I am learning more and more every day how beautiful my daughter is not only on the outside, but on the inside too. God knew just how our day was going to turn out as I grumbled and grumbled last night. I certainly missed Community Bible Study today, but I'm thankful for how our day unfolded.