I will do my best to update the blog periodically as we adjust to life as a family. If it might be helpful to any families who choose this path, then I will try to make it a priority. The first thing I will say is that the airport can be an overwhelming experience before you even hit the baggage claim. We only had my husbands parents there and still the first sentence they said was, "Let's go." From the 9 1/2 hour flight to the longggg wait at passport control, they were exhausted. (not to mention their flight to London the night before and their exploration of the city) Then, to make the day longer, we had a 3 hour drive home to Ada. Still, I think it was better that we came directly home. They were glad to be done with travel all together. A night in a hotel would've just lengthened their trip.
I am grateful that meeting the dogs went well. Ruslan is not crazy about Brimley, but seems to have grown to like him. They both love Rocky. Pets can be a problem for some adopted children. I am grateful that our boys seem to like them. Andrey is especially attached to them. It's nice to see him interact with them. When English gets to be too much, he can speak to them in Russian and they don't look at him funny.
Our boys are unique because they did not spend all of their time in an orphanage. They lived in a transitional facility for some time and learned about chores and other responsibilities. Every time I begin to prepare a meal, they are both in the kitchen, eager to help. I understand from other adoptive families that this can be problematic. I am grateful that it's not for us. I have a chart with specific responsibilities for all four of our boys during the week. I showed it to them and they understood almost immediately.
We did manage to make it to church our first Sunday as a family of 6! We explained to the boys that they needed to be polite and say hello when people greeted them. You have to understand, it's not that they're rude, but it's very overwhelming being greeted by strangers in a language that you don't speak. They were very gracious to those who said hello. Worship was a bit much, though (imagine sitting for an hour, listening to singing and speaking that you cannot understand). So, it was fine that they decided to say hello to the youth group and then leave. Our youth minister told the boys that the youth group would play soccer that night. They were excited about that. Ruslan said, "I don't need translator. Soccer my translator!" And although I was hesitant to leave them, I wanted to follow their lead. They were okay being left, so we left them and went on to our home team. (small group) Two hours later, we show up, worried that maybe it's been too long, and they're having the time of their lives, playing soccer, showing off their skills. Two happy boys came home, laughing and joking all the way. I'm so thankful that they have begun the process of making American friends. It will help make their transition more smooth, for sure and it was good for our younger boys to have a break from the translation game we play all day long.
Because we home school, I gave our bio boys the day off of school Thursday and Friday. We will start back to school for them as usual tomorrow. And I have a five day plan for ESL this week for Ruslan and Andrey. We're going to start simple and see where they're at. When I told them we would start school tomorrow, Andrey said, "No school! No!" But I explained that learning English is important to communicate with the kids at church. They both agreed. We'll see how it goes.
So that's the update for now. We appreciate your continued prayers for the boys (all four of them) and us.
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