Today we went for dentist appointments. We have waited three months for this and knew it was probably going to be like opening another can of worms. Dasha went first. The hygentist emerged with the report of 13 cavaties!!! I honestly didn't expect nearly that many. Three or four maybe, but not 13!! Michael went next. His report wasn't quite as bad. He has "only" 8 cavaties, however his are deeper than Dasha's. We also have to take Michael back in two weeks to finish his cleaning because his gums were inflamed and they want them to settle down before they complete everything. I walked out with a deck of appointment cards! There will be multiple visits to get all these things taken care of.
All in all things are going well. We are really starting to "gel" as a family. The kids are struggling academically, but that is really not a big surprise to us. I'm sure the curriculum in Ukraine is not the same as it is here in America. It would be silly to assume otherwise. We are currently trying to evaluate exactly what they DO know and what they DON'T know. From there we can move forward. Primo has spent countless hours working with the kids on math. Every night after dinner the dining room becomes a classroom!
I don't know if anyone is still reading this, but I decided to blog just to see if anyone is paying attention!! Not only that, it is our way of remembering the experience too!!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
VBS & Drivers Ed.
This was a really busy week! Primo Jr. had drivers ed. every day from 8:30-2:30. Primo dropped him off in the morning and I picked him up in the afternoon. He had his final today and only missed one question, so now he is eligible to do the driving portion. He should be scheduled for his driving time in the next several weeks. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing!
I taught kindergarten Vacation Bible School again this year. I had a great class! I didn't know any of them prior to this week (there are kids from many other churches that attend), but by the end of the week we were all well aquainted. I will miss them! Nicholas was in a class for 3 year olds. It was an exhausting week for him.
Dasha and Michael attended the VBS for the kids from Belarus. They were reluctant the first day, but I think they ended up doing okay. Michael has made friends with one of the older boys and spent Wednesday afternoon swimming with him and his host family. Today he went home with David (a boy that was adopted from the same orphanage as Dasha) to swim and play. He's having a great time! What a change from where he was a few short months ago!!
I hadn't written in awhile, but now you know what we've been up to. Next week should be much less hectic...I hope!!!
I taught kindergarten Vacation Bible School again this year. I had a great class! I didn't know any of them prior to this week (there are kids from many other churches that attend), but by the end of the week we were all well aquainted. I will miss them! Nicholas was in a class for 3 year olds. It was an exhausting week for him.
Dasha and Michael attended the VBS for the kids from Belarus. They were reluctant the first day, but I think they ended up doing okay. Michael has made friends with one of the older boys and spent Wednesday afternoon swimming with him and his host family. Today he went home with David (a boy that was adopted from the same orphanage as Dasha) to swim and play. He's having a great time! What a change from where he was a few short months ago!!
I hadn't written in awhile, but now you know what we've been up to. Next week should be much less hectic...I hope!!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Ice Cream Sundaes and Wedding Dresses
The rest of last week ended up being really good. Friday we had invited guests for dinner and I was making lasagna. Dasha and Michael jumped right in and we had a great time in the kitchen together! It was "one of those moments". The Bouchard's joined us for dinner and then the Maddox family brought dessert...ice cream sundaes with every topping imaginable! We had fun creating our own special treats. It was so fun just to sit and fellowship...thank God for good friends!
Saturday was a "lazy day". We stayed home all day and late in the afternoon I finally allowed Dasha to do something she's been asking for....try on my wedding dress! Let me tell ya'll, I hadn't looked at that dress in 18 years. When I unzipped the bag and took the slip out I was overwhelmed by the reality of it all....I USED TO BE SKINNY!!! ;) The dress fit Dasha like it was made for her! So Primo said I had the body of a 14 year old when we got married...I'm not sure how I should take that!! Anyway, Dasha is going to make a beautiful bride (in about 20 years)!
Today we were invited to a friends house for lunch (pizza) and a movie. All four kids went with me. They enjoyed the movies while Rochelle and I caught up on life. (Well, Nic was running around, but I assume you would already know that!) Since the kids love to watch movies, they were in their element. When it came time to leave Dasha was involved in a movie and said she was going to stay there to finish it! Rochelle, being the kind person she is, allowed the kids to bring home FIVE movies to watch! What a blessing!
Because the kids are older they have to take an oath before they can become US citizens. Guess where they have to go to take this oath? CHARLOTTE!! Again! We received our appointment today for July 27th.
Primo will be off for the rest of the week for 4th of July. IBM was generous and gave them a couple extra days. Hopefully we will have some fun family time!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
And she's off...!
We're happy to report that Dasha has mastered bike riding! Michael worked with her and now she's lovin' it! And, I have a scratch on my van that will always remind us of the learning process. :( She got rolling on Monday and it was literally 98 degrees out, but she didn't seem to care. She just wanted to ride. Her face was the color of a tomato and her shirt was soaked with sweat. It looks like we're going to have to buy another bike!
The kids are attending a program at church this week. It's called Health Through the Bible and is put on by the Russian ministry for the Chernobyl kids. Each night they focus on a different aspect of health and nutrition...tonight is dentistry!! Last night they learned to wash their hands properly and even had a black light to show where they missed. Monday was about proper nutrition. We are blessed to have a Russian ministry right at our church.
That's the mid-week update on what we've had going on....
The kids are attending a program at church this week. It's called Health Through the Bible and is put on by the Russian ministry for the Chernobyl kids. Each night they focus on a different aspect of health and nutrition...tonight is dentistry!! Last night they learned to wash their hands properly and even had a black light to show where they missed. Monday was about proper nutrition. We are blessed to have a Russian ministry right at our church.
That's the mid-week update on what we've had going on....
Friday, June 22, 2007
Brighter Days
This week was much better than last week. We definitely had some bumps in the road, but nothing earth shattering. We completed the registration and course selection process for Dasha to start at Wakefield High School in August. We haven't decided yet where to place Michael.
The kids had two more English lessons this week. Neither are terribly motivated to spend free time doing their homework. Dasha does well when she tries. Michael is very reluctant. We purchased the Rosetta Stone English software for home schoolers. We are hoping that they will think it's more fun since it's on the computer. There are workbooks, answer sheets and speaking activities. I've heard good things about this program so we thought we'd give it a try. It is so very hard to communicate even the littlest thoughts to the kids so I often just "let it go".
We went to a couple second hand stores this week and got some clothing items. Since Dasha is so small she can wear just about anything and it will look cute. Surprisingly enough, Michael seems to go for the wild, Hawaiian type prints. Works for me!
Dasha's having her first sleepover tonight with Lena Huston. Rhondi and her kids came over to swim and for pizza today. Lena is spending the night here. I remember how much I enjoyed that as a kid.
That's the week in review!
The kids had two more English lessons this week. Neither are terribly motivated to spend free time doing their homework. Dasha does well when she tries. Michael is very reluctant. We purchased the Rosetta Stone English software for home schoolers. We are hoping that they will think it's more fun since it's on the computer. There are workbooks, answer sheets and speaking activities. I've heard good things about this program so we thought we'd give it a try. It is so very hard to communicate even the littlest thoughts to the kids so I often just "let it go".
We went to a couple second hand stores this week and got some clothing items. Since Dasha is so small she can wear just about anything and it will look cute. Surprisingly enough, Michael seems to go for the wild, Hawaiian type prints. Works for me!
Dasha's having her first sleepover tonight with Lena Huston. Rhondi and her kids came over to swim and for pizza today. Lena is spending the night here. I remember how much I enjoyed that as a kid.
That's the week in review!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Challenges
This was a rough week. ESL went better on Tuesday. Dasha and Lena had class together and Michael and Vitali had class together. The report was actually that Michael and Vitali were a little silly which was the complete opposite of what had taken place on Friday. At least he participated!
Wednesday Michael got his hair cut. It looks really good.
Dasha and I had a couple days this week that we really didn't get along. This escalated Thursday evening. When it was over we were both crying in each others arms. The language barrier makes these situations even more difficult. I think we BOTH learned a lot this week. Most importantly, I hope she learned that no matter what I love her. I tried to explain that even when I get mad, I still love her. I want her to feel secure in that thought.
Michael woke up with a temperature Friday morning so we stayed home all day except for when we had to run over to the church to pick up Primo Jr. (he was at camp all week). Yesterday (Saturday) we went to BJ's and the grocery store to stock up on supplies. The kids were much better about not throwing everything under the sun in the cart. I appreciated that!
Today (Sunday) we had the pleasure of meeting with Constantine Petrov who leads the Russian ministry at our church. We wanted to be able to express to the kids our expectations and have them hear the experiences of someone who has walked in their shoes (so to speak). Constantine and his family moved to America almost 10 years ago. He talked to the kids for FOUR hours!!!!! It was great. He talked to them from a Biblical sense and shared that without Christ we can do nothing. So true! The kids were attentive and spoke openly asking questions and responding. Both seemed to have a more positive outlook when we left. It was time well spent!
I think we all grew a little this week!
(Note: I started typing this post before midnight, but ran over. My brain still thinks it's Sunday so forgive the discrepancy in days/dates)
Wednesday Michael got his hair cut. It looks really good.
Dasha and I had a couple days this week that we really didn't get along. This escalated Thursday evening. When it was over we were both crying in each others arms. The language barrier makes these situations even more difficult. I think we BOTH learned a lot this week. Most importantly, I hope she learned that no matter what I love her. I tried to explain that even when I get mad, I still love her. I want her to feel secure in that thought.
Michael woke up with a temperature Friday morning so we stayed home all day except for when we had to run over to the church to pick up Primo Jr. (he was at camp all week). Yesterday (Saturday) we went to BJ's and the grocery store to stock up on supplies. The kids were much better about not throwing everything under the sun in the cart. I appreciated that!
Today (Sunday) we had the pleasure of meeting with Constantine Petrov who leads the Russian ministry at our church. We wanted to be able to express to the kids our expectations and have them hear the experiences of someone who has walked in their shoes (so to speak). Constantine and his family moved to America almost 10 years ago. He talked to the kids for FOUR hours!!!!! It was great. He talked to them from a Biblical sense and shared that without Christ we can do nothing. So true! The kids were attentive and spoke openly asking questions and responding. Both seemed to have a more positive outlook when we left. It was time well spent!
I think we all grew a little this week!
(Note: I started typing this post before midnight, but ran over. My brain still thinks it's Sunday so forgive the discrepancy in days/dates)
Monday, June 11, 2007
General Update
The kids had their first ESL class on Friday (we had to change the day). Dasha flew through the lesson with flying colors. Michael, however, withdrew and would not speak or make eye contact. This is not the first time this has happened, but we're still trying to figure out what triggers it. So far we have not seen a specific pattern. In this case I was wondering if he felt uncomfortable because Dasha was doing so much better than him. The point is that she had English lessons in Ukraine and he didn't. We realize that, but maybe he doesn't think we do? I spoke later with the tutor and we've decided to separate Dasha and Michael for the next lesson to see if he does better. Not only that, Rhondi's children need ESL also and we are considering letting the girls go together and having the boys go together. The next lesson is tomorrow.
We had a nice visit with Dick Hilliard and his grandson last night. Dick was the Raleigh coordinator for the hosting program in 2005 when Dasha came. He has remained a tremendous support to us and a good friend. He considers all these kids his grandchildren! He has 4 adopted grandchildren from Ukraine and Andry was with him last night. He has been in the US for about 3 years. He's 17 now. He and Dasha talked for awhile, but Michael slipped back upstairs soon after meeting them. It didn't seem to matter that he had someone else that could speak Russian. I enjoyed hearing Andry speak because he has a really cool accent!! I bet the girls love it!! I hugged him when he got here and when they left. He said that American's like to hug. He commented that he doesn't mind hugging the girls!!! No doubt!
Primo Jr. left this morning for camp with his youth group. He will be back on Friday. Primo Sr. went back to work today so I guess it's another transitional day. One step closer to "normal".
We had a nice visit with Dick Hilliard and his grandson last night. Dick was the Raleigh coordinator for the hosting program in 2005 when Dasha came. He has remained a tremendous support to us and a good friend. He considers all these kids his grandchildren! He has 4 adopted grandchildren from Ukraine and Andry was with him last night. He has been in the US for about 3 years. He's 17 now. He and Dasha talked for awhile, but Michael slipped back upstairs soon after meeting them. It didn't seem to matter that he had someone else that could speak Russian. I enjoyed hearing Andry speak because he has a really cool accent!! I bet the girls love it!! I hugged him when he got here and when they left. He said that American's like to hug. He commented that he doesn't mind hugging the girls!!! No doubt!
Primo Jr. left this morning for camp with his youth group. He will be back on Friday. Primo Sr. went back to work today so I guess it's another transitional day. One step closer to "normal".
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