Happy Birthday Natalie!!

It has been awhile since I posted, but there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to write. Yesterday was Natalie's 4th birthday. I had a little party for her at Day Care and at home it was just the two of us, Babushka and a friend who stopped by on her way home from work. Initially I was going to have a party for her and invite a lot of people. But my mom has had some health issues and I just felt this was not the time to do a party. I'm glad it was low key since by time we got around to lighting the candles she was already worn out from being excited all day. Next year I will plan a party when she is more settled in and everything is not so overwhelming.
She seems to be enjoying the new day care and everyone there is very kind to her. Her English continues to improve and she has changed so much in the 3 months that she has been home.
We have "found" a new church that is local that I really like and we have been there for 3 weeks now.
Work has been really busy but has slowed down this past week. I have also managed to finally get all the bushes trimmed in the yard and am slowly plowing through months of papers that need to be filed in the square or circular file.
My mom is going to have heart surgery on the 24th of this month so I ask all of you to be in prayer that everything goes well and that she recovers quickly!!
Enjoy some updated pictures of Natalie!!

Dossier Dance

Ever since returning from Russia, my two main goals have been to trim all the bushes in my yard and to go through all my paperwork and get rid of the things that I don't need. I wish I could say that I have accomplished both, but (sigh) I still have about 10 more bushes to trim. I started going through my briefcase (one of those messenger bags that expands and it is expanded to the fullest) of all the paperwork and dossier papers I have kept over the last 4 years (2005-2008.) Perhaps it is the sentimental aspect, perhaps it is all those multiple trips to various offices, notaries and UPS but I am not quite ready to get rid of the copies of the dossier. I have shredded a bunch of documents (like my 4 USCIS approvals) that have absolutely no value and I kid you not, if I stacked what I have shredded so far, it would measure about 6 inches. I am still not done sorting and will re-sort and get rid of duplicates (my home study agency would make me up to 4 original copies notarized.) I look at all the time and money spent to do the various documents and then I look at Natalie and beyond a shadow of doubt, I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Natalie never ceases to amaze me. The last two weeks her language skills have really taken off. I am surprised not only by the words and sentences she is using but also by concepts that she has gained through Day Care. It seems lately that so much of my time has been spent taking Natalie, my mom or myself to the doctor and on those days I have to leave work early and then on the other days, work late to make up the time. The result has been that Natalie is spending more time in Day Care than I want her to. I am also missing out on so many things that she is doing because of being 45 minutes away (day care is near home not work.) So several weeks ago I made the decision to move her to a day care that is 5 minutes away from my job. This day care has an excellent reputation and there is always a waiting list to get in. Well, there was an opening this summer, but not in the fall. But the director was great and told me about a program that is geared towards children whose primary language is not English. This program runs in the fall and is designed to help children catch up to their age group. I am happy to report that Natalie was accepted into this program. It is held at the day care and will start in the fall. By making this change, I will now have an hour round trip commute instead of 1 1/2 to 2 hours (time to take and pick up Natalie from day care and to go back and forth to work) and we will have the time in the car. I will also be able to run over and have lunch with her or attend special events, including her birthday which is coming up soon. I am grateful for the care and all that she has learned at her current day care, but I am excited that my commute will be less and and the additional time we will have together not only in riding together, but being able to get home earlier. It is truly amazing when I see how God orchestrated the timing of every thing. God is good!

Doctor, Doctor

I can't believe it has been almost 2 weeks since I last posted. I am happy to report that Natalie is doing well and I am almost back to normal. My mom has been sick and is slowly getting better. Last weekend we traveled to my sister's home in Virginia. We had a great time and Natalie loved swimming in the "big pool." My sister blessed us with toys and clothes. Natalie had a great time with her cousin Heather and everyone was sad when it was time to go. I keep saying that Natalie is going to be a pediatrician and here are some pictures of her starting her practice early. My niece gave Natalie her old doctor's kit which Natalie had a blast with.

Tomorrow some very good friends of mine Kristl and Matt will be passing through with their daughter and son. They are missionaries in England so it will be great to see them

It will get easier!!

That is what everyone tells me!! Being Natalie's mama is not hard. She is an easy going child and is very helpful. What is hard is trying to cram everything into one day. Natalie started getting sick on Monday afternoon (last week) and it was the croup. We went to the doctor's and she was put on medication. She is doing much better and we had a follow up appointment today and she got a good report. Meanwhile, I caught something from her which has turned into a sinus infection. My mom stayed with her for two days since she as too sick to go to school. Now my mom is sick. We had planned to go to visit my sister and her family in VA this past weekend but we were both not up to the 4 hour drive. So we hope to go this weekend. Work is still just crazy and stressful. The weather has been consistently in the mid to high 90's so I haven't been able to get all the yard stuff that I wanted to. But the weather stations claim it will go down to the high 80's by the end of the week. It actually was nice to stay home this weekend and rest and feel some sense of order back in the house. Natalie and I also go to spend a lot of one on one time. Today she just looked so grown up. I can't believe that she has been my daughter less than 3 months. It has been amazing to see all the changes. New words continue to come out of her mouth not to mention a bunch of things I can't understand. As one friend mentioned, there is just so much going on in her life and she just can't find all the words to express those things.

Here are some recent photos!!

More summer fun!!

Summer Fun

It has been a really busy week. Over Memorial Day weekend, my friend Tess came to visit from Boston. We all went to a park where we rode a train, a Merry-go-Round, played golf and mined for gems! We also broke out the swimming pool. On Memorial Day we also went to Build a Bear thanks to the generosity of my friend Tina. Natalie built a dog, which was interesting since she is still uncertain about dogs!! This past week at work has been really busy and I have had projects at home to work on for the job. Hopefully this week will be a little less stressful. Natalie continue to do well and though she is using more English words, I sometimes wonder what "language" she is speaking as a lot of it is not English or Russian. I think she is just trying to transition to English and can't always "find" the word she is searching for. I know all mothers must think they have the most wonderful child, but honestly I am just often amazed at the sweetness of Natalie. Today for instance, she wanted to help me put away all of my clean laundry, then we went outside and she asked if she could put fresh water in the cat dish. Then she asked if she could water the garden and then she was cleaning out her pool with the strainer. She just loves to help. Yesterday she spent the day with my friend Lisa and all of boys. She had a great time!! Also she wants to pray before the meals and when she goes to bed now. I can't always understand what she is saying, but I do hear the words school and Babushka. Tomorrow marks 2 months since we returned to the states. In some ways it seems she has been here always and in other ways, it seems like she just got here. I have been updating my photo albums and it is amazing the difference in her from just 2 1/2 months ago.

I've posted some pictures of our activities this week!!