What Tomorrow Holds

No one knows for certain what tomorrow holds and yet there is peace in knowing Who holds tomorrow. Today Natalie had an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist. I am happy to write that she got a good report. Every day I am grateful that she is in my life and I never want to take any aspect for granted. I know from reading other blogs, chat groups and talking to people that with adopted children there can be many issues and difficulties. At this point Natalie continues to amaze me with how well she is doing. I really love this little girl and her personality just keeps shining through. I also know that anything can change in an instant.

A short while ago I got off the phone with my good friend Lisa who I also work with. She has been with me every step of the way and a wonderful support. When I hit my lowest point in the adoption journey, she was there encouraging me and reminding me of God's plan and timing. Later that day was when I got the call to go back to Russia. For all of you who read this blog, I would ask that you pray for my friend Lisa and her family. Several months ago, she found out that her SIL had breast cancer. She has been through treatments and seems to be doing fairly well. Recently she found out that her FIL has lung cancer and today she found out that her father has prostate cancer and her sister most likely will need open heart surgery. Perhaps some of the most powerful and comforting words to say are, I will pray for you and your family. I asked her if I could share these requests with my readers and she most definitely wants your prayer!! Thank you all for taking the time to pray for this family.

Friday Eve

Believe it or not I did try to post about a week ago, but it won't save my post and I lost every thing. It has been such a busy time for me both at work and at home. I love working outside, but my yard is such a huge undertaking. Two times a year I trim all the bushes. The original owners planted tons of stuff and even though it all looks great, it still takes me about a week to two to get it all done. This year is a lot slower as I have just finished all the landscaping for my mom' s addition and am now just beginning my yard. Having Natalie here slows down what I am able to accomplish in a day. At one point she was helping pick up all the leaves but that lasted about 10 minutes:) Seriously, I continue to learn lessons and one of the big ones I have learned this past week is that I really need to just limit the time I spend on trying to "get it all done" and to focus that time on Natalie. The result has been even more bonding. I continue to see her language skills just take off. When I pick her up at Day Care, she is always saying good-bye and all the children are telling her good bye. It is really sweet. The teachers have also commented on how much she is talking. This week I believe she is up to about 120 English words and I am also hearing more consistent Russian instead of just the jargon speech that she was using. This weekend I have a good friend who is coming to visit who is fluent in Russian. I plan to ask Natalie a bunch of questions and have my friend translate. I want to videotape these for her when she is older. I am also working on about 5 photo albums. One is from my first trip, pictures of Natalie with other children in the orphanage at various activities and pictures that the staff took with my disposable camera between trips. In one of the very first pictures I took of her, she looks really scared. I asked her the other day if she was afraid when she met me and she very seriously nodded yes. Oh, it broke my heart to hear that. Of course now if you ask her if she is happy that I am her mama, she always yells yes!!! She is more spontaneous with her affection with me and has really been playing with her dolls this week since I brought down a toy double stroller out of the attic that was given to me. Today she asked me to hold her one doll. Since I needed to use my hands, I stuffed the doll's head in my shirt so she was upside down with her head in the shirt and the rest of her hanging out against the back of my head. She asked for her and so I gave her back the doll. I heard Natalie say to the doll, "it's okay" just like I do when I am comforting her.

We have several Cd's that we listen to "all the time" and now when we are in the car, I hear her singing along with them.

I continue to be humbled by the fact that God has entrusted this child to me. She is really such a sweet child and I am just amazed at her ability to adapt and press on. I can tell that she is maturing by the fact that she has grown an inch and a half since coming home and her coordination also seems so much better. Today marks 2 months since I picked her up at the orphanage. In some ways it still seems surreal that she is here and that I don't have to give her back. She has brought such joy to my life!!

This weekend I plan to pump up her pool and I can't wait to see her "go swimming." :)

Tornadoes

Perhaps those of you who live further away heard about tornadoes that came through North Carolina on Thursday night. Today I heard that there were 4 tornadoes that touched down. One was about 5 miles from my house. It was a pretty scary night and at one point I took Natalie down stairs as the worse went through. We came back upstairs and got a recorded phone call telling us that there was tornado activity in our area expected in the next 30 minutes. So I took Natalie back downstairs and managed to gather up all the cats and head to the bathroom with a flashlight and radio. Thankfully the second storm was not serious by the time it reached us, but did major damage about 20 miles away. Needless to say I didn't sleep much that night. I am grateful that we did not have any damage. Natalie did fine and she did cry only because she had to go back to bed. She thought it was pretty cool to be up in the middle of the night. We both were quite tired by time we got up the next morning. But I do think some of that was due in part to the fact that I just finished my first full week back to work and she finished her first full week at day care.
She continues to do well there and I believe she is now up to about 90 words that she is using. Tonight we celebrated Mother's Day with my sister, her husband and my mom. Thank you to all of you who sent me Mother's Day cards. It was so sweet and I was really touched. Natalie made a flower in day care for me. I am so grateful to be celebrating it this year.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and those soon to be mothers!!

I Love You!

Today I was about 45 minutes late getting to the Day Care. Work has been really busy and I am finding it hard to get everything done in just 8 hours. Usually when I get to the Day Care, I have to track Natalie down to find out if she is outside, in another room or at a different playground. Today I actually found her in her classroom with about 4 other children. When I come to get her, she is usually busy playing, but comes to me when I call her. Today when I walked into the room, she came running over to me to be picked up and the first thing she said was, "I love you." Wow! It seems since she started Day Care full time, she wants to be held more and is more affectionate and seems to really cherish the time we have together. The teacher told me that she is talking more and more. I also noticed on her daily progess sheets that she is also eating better at the Day Care. I have started keeping track of all the new words I hear her say. Not repeat after me, but spontaneously say them. As of today she is up to 69 words and that includes about 8 phrases such as "Be Careful, Mom."

After we got in the car, she showed me on her knee where she has apparently fell and scrapped it up pretty bad. As I was driving, I told her we would put medicine on it after she had her bath. She said, no mom, pray for it to get better (all in Russian.) We pray every night before she goes to bed and she is now reminding me throughout the day to remember to pray. I was so touched. Every day people ask me at work how she is doing. And I just have to say that she is doing great and that she is such a delight. I know that things can and most likely will change as she gets older and continues to adjust to the culture. But I am enjoying every moment now and every day I truly thank God for the gift He has given me in her. She is such a pleasant, happy go lucky girl and loves to help. I tell people that when I began this adoption process, I prayed 3 things specifically. 1) that there would be no attachment issues. 2) that she would have a gentle and loving spirit and 3) that she would love animals (I was worried how it would go with the cats.) I can honestly say that God has answered those requests.

Last night she had her first taste of peanut butter on a spoon. For some reason I cannot get her to eat bread. It is a Russian staple and I thought if she ate nothing else she would eat bread. Wrong! But she loved the peanut butter!! Strawberries are in season and I hope to go on Saturday and let her pick some!! We have also been working in the yard and she is great at spreading mulch and watering the garden. I can't wait until it is hot enough for her to go swimming. I just know she is going to love it!!

God Bless America

As much as I want to write every day, the reality is that it is getting harder and harder to find the time. So I will try to update in detail when I do have the chance. This week Natalie started Day Care. On Monday and Wednesday she attended for 2 and 1/2 hours in the morning and on Tuesday she went for 2 hours in the afternoon. So by yesterday, she knew part of the routine and the staff and children. I dropped her off at 6:40 AM. She did great getting up at 5:50 AM and we were able to get there bright and early. I didn't cry, though it made me feel sad that she would spend the majority of her day with people who were complete strangers to me and to her at this point.
I headed off to work certain that I would think about her all day. And I did to a certain point because everyone kept asking about her and how she was doing. It really was wonderful to go back to work and hear so many people not only ask about her, but to hear so many people tell me how much I was missed and how glad they were to have me back. I thought the day would drag, but it was far from it. I guess word had gotten around that I was back and I was busy nonstop. I didn't even get a chance to call and check on her until mid afternoon. Of course she was just fine. When I picked her up I was just so happy to see her. She had been playing outside and had sand everywhere. When she got in the car, she told me she really enjoyed herself and sang the whole way home. I knew it was in Russian and when we got home, I asked her to sing it again. Not only did she sing, but she also danced to the song. I am happy to report, I was able to capture it on video. On Tuesday night I had made a little pillow for her to have at Day Care. I took it Wednesday morning and left it in her cubbie. She has talked nonstop about the "padushka" and could not understand why she couldn't bring it home with her. Today we brought it home and she slept with it.
This morning when I took her she was singing when we arrived and immediately went to a play area. She is doing well. I had another busy day at work and had to rush home to take my cat Selah for a follow up appointment. She is doing well and the incision has healed without a problem. She has gained 1/2 pound which is pretty good considering she just has the tooth taken out a week ago and couldn't eat for several day.
Every day I realize more and more just how special and wonderful this child is. We have a great time together once I pick her up and even though we aren't spending as much time together, it is still very special and I know this child has bonded with me. I really can"t imagine my life without her.
Yesterday she got mail, but I didn"t open it until this evening. It was her certificate of citizenship. What a wonderful document. I need it in order to apply for her social security card. Along with her certificate, she also got a letter from the President of the United States on official White House letterhead. I know it is a form letter and perhaps some people would not think much of it, but I love the fact that I am an American citizen and I love this country. It also touches my heart to know that Natalie is an American citizen with all the opportunities that everyone has, not to mention the freedoms. I would like to share a little of the letter with you.

"Dear Fellow American,

I am pleased to congratulate you on becoming a United States citizen. You are now a part of a great and blessed Nation. I know your family and friends are proud of you on this special day.

Americans are united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals. The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, and that no insignificant person was ever born."

I love the part that no insignificant person was ever born. Who knows who the next George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, Madam Curie or the person that finds a cure for cancer will be. No one is insignificant and I am curious to see what God has in store for Natalie or anyone of us. May we never take for granted our American citizenship and the people who have fought for those ideals. God bless America!!