Wow, does it feel good to be home. We have been home for a month now and every day I am thankful for it. I am thankful for the little amenities we have here...things like our own room, washing machines, my own car, and long hot showers. I missed my friends and family while I was gone so it's good to see them again.
So far the boys are adjusting really, really well. They are actually doing much better here than they were in Uganda. A lot of the behavior problems have disappeared and been replaced by fun, happy boys. Don't get me wrong they are still 3 and 6 and sinful but they are much less angry and much more obedient.
After a month we have finally settled into our routine. I think this has helped them tremendously to know each day what to expect. Every morning Nathaniel comes into our room and runs through a play by play of our day ahead. Sometimes he runs through the week...he especialy did this the week leading up to Labor Day because he was so excited about grandparents, uncles and cousins coming to see him. He is a very social person...an extrovert and the only one in the family :-)
Their English comprehension and vocabulary has exploded in the last couple of weeks. Nathaniel is even correcting his own sentences. While I am very happy for them I am a little sad that the cute phrases they have been saying such as "I love you three" are slowly disappearing. I have been trying to document all the cute things they say on facebook so I can later write them down somewhere but I haven't captured them all.
Right now my favorite quotes are:
from Elijah who loves Green Eggs and Ham "I do not Sam I am...eggs!" He will shout this at random times throughout the day. This weekend while we were watching a FSU game when he wasn't saying "Seminole Shirt!" he would shout "I do not Sam I am eggs!" I mean, the rest of us were shouting at the tv why shouldn't he? ;-)
from Nathaniel who sometimes is so surprised by something he can't help but exclaim what first comes to mind. Last week we were driving and he saw a convertible and he said "Mommy! Car no have helmet! Rain go in!" It was so very cute and I got to explain that they can put the roof back on when it rains. We also introduced him to Mario Cart on the Wii. The first time he played any time another car would hit him he exclaimed "Whoa, accident!" Then when his car was run over he said, "Mommy, car beat me!"
Besides saying cute things they are developing gross and fine motor skills quickly. Nathaniel figured out how to ride a bike without training wheels in under two weeks. Elijah took about 2 weeks to figure out how to pedal but now he rides around and around on his little bike exclaiming, "Mommy, me pedal!" Nathaniel is starting to read words more and more and uses his imagination when playing. He has made traffic lights and stop signs on our driveway with chalk for when he and Elijah are riding bikes. They love doing chores (I'm sure that phase will pass quickly) and helping me cook/bake.I think the hardest part has been bed/nap time. They both hate going to bed. All day long Elijah says, "No bed!" However, they both are improving. Elijah no longer screams, kicks and takes off all his clothes when we put him down for a nap. The last few days he has slightly objected but we have had him calmly asleep within 5 minutes. Last night we gave him hugs, kisses, tucked the covers around him and he said "Bye, see you in the morning!" I hope it continues down this path. Nathaniel doesn't pitch fits like his brother but he gets whiny and drags his feet when we make him go to bed. I actually think I prefer the fits to the whine.
So, as you can see everything is going well. Much better than I had expected. Not that I'm a pessimist but I have read enough books and had enough friends adopt to know that it doesn't always go this smoothly. Now, I can get back to working on the things I had started before we left, like unpacking boxes and organizing this house. We also didn't raise all the money we needed plus had extra expenses not budgeted for so I'm going back to fundraising. My goal is to get rid of all our credit card debt (mostly flight expenses) by next summer. We also need to pay post placement fees, court fees, fees to the US govt, and possibly lawyer fees to get these boys adopted here and made US citizens. I'm still trying to figure out this part of the process. Thankfully the boys go to preschool two mornings a week so that gives me a little time to try to get it all done. Although, my to do list is a mile long and 6 hours a week isn't enough time to get it all done. Oh well, it'll all get done sometime and if it doesn't then I guess it didn't really need to be done in the first place.To my praying friends, you can keep praying that the boys will continue to progress the way they have been and continue to adjust well and attach to us.
Pray for their little bodies to heal. They both have had coughs since the day we got them and antibiotics have made them improve but haven't gotten rid of the cough all together. :-(
Pray for the adoption process here. It's a bit confusing and is looking to be more expensive than we originally thought.
Also, pray for the last bit of our fundraising and/or for me to be able to find a way to bring in more income from home without taking away from bonding time with the boys.
Thanks for all the prayers and for loving our boys.
