Very Merry Christmas

I will never ever be able to catch up on posting pictures and writing about what the last couple of weeks have held. The chaos of Christmas was (and continues to be) in full swing with the Mocabees. However, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of presents and food and traveling, we've carved out some special moments, a few of them even peaceful and quiet.

Here's a slideshow and then few of my favorite pix.

Christmas Morning

Justin wanted to dress up like Santa

After the preschool Christmas program

With Great Grandpa Al

How different our lives are from a year ago. But there is a constant... the birth of a Savior. Good news that Justin, Natalie, and Lexi may have never heard behind those orphanage walls.

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem... Luke 2:11

Praying you've heard this good news as well. Merry Christmas all!

Ho Ho Hocus Pocus

I don't know about the kids, but I have been completely traumatized by their first visit with Santa Claus.

I've had it on the calendar for months... December 12, 4 pm, Visit With Santa at our local library. I'd been prepping them.

A couple weeks ago we started reading The Night Before Christmas. That turned out to be a bit traumatic for Natalie. She kept peering over her shoulder and looking out the bedroom door, worried Santa would be popping in at any moment. I'm so scared of Santa, Mom! We are mostly over that fear, but she did ask Justin to hold her hand as we were driving to the library. To which Justin replied, It's okay Natalie. I'm your big brother. And he reached over and took her hand. (I KNOW!)

But on with my prepping...
Santa will ask you your name and maybe how old you are.
He'll probably ask if you've been nice this year.
Then, he'll ask what special present you hope to receive on Christmas.

We role played it at the lunch table, in the bathtub, and before naps.

They were ready. It was like cramming for finals as we drove to the library.
Lexi, what will you say when Santa asks you your name?

I especially practiced with Miss Lexi, because, lately, her response to EVERY word spoken to her by a new person is, "Nothing!"

So we get to the library...early. The idea was to be first in line, so Scott could be there for the kids' first visit with Santa. He had a soccer game starting at 5 (Which, I'm sure he'd like me to note...they won.)

As far as I can tell, the kids don't have a Russian version of Santa that they are familiar with. Justin did tell me about lighting up a tree at his Big Blue Russia House (orphanage). So, this would be their FIRST Santa experience. Scott and I walked our little family into the library, camcorder in hand.

We were ushered into a room by, who I can only assume, was Mrs. Claus. No Santa yet. The kids were directed to sit on the floor, facing a little stage. A few words from Mrs. Joy, our favorite librarian. Still no Santa.

Then... someone must have hit play on the stereo... the festive music began... some bells started jingling... and Santa made his first appearance to my children.
And wouldn't you know....
Hocus Pocus!
Abracadabra!
Bippity Boppity!
He was a Magician Santa Claus!
What!!!!?

We were treated to about 30 minutes of a good, old fashioned (aka super cheesy) magic show for kids... complete with Merry Christmas! as the magic words for everything. Then we were told to line up for pictures with Santa. Turns out, our early arrival put us in the front for the Christmas Magic Extravaganza, but we were dead last when it came time to line up for the Sit on Santa's Knee portion of the show.

In the end, there was no conversing with Santa. No sharing of names or ages. No hopeful requests for toys (or in my kids' case, a race car watch, a Caillou book, and Barbie lipstick). Each child did get a turn on Santa's sort of dingy red knee. Then St. Nick gave us his best, albeit slightly yellowed, grin. The big guy showed a jolly thumbs up and I snapped a quick picture.

That was Justin, Natalie and Lexi's first Santa experience.
They actually haven't spoken about it since that day.
I, on the other hand, continue to have nightmares.

This Christmas Tree

This is our Christmas Tree.


When the time came to get our Christmas Tree, we loaded up the ol' four wheel sleigh... headed deep into the wilderness of the Home Depot parking lot...joined at least a hundred other families seeking the perfect tree...and walked away with the most gorgeous, that is to say acceptable, $39 Christmas tree money could buy.....

....you know, just like our forefathers used to do.

It wasn't exactly a beautiful family moment, but no one melted down, so let's call it a victory. Justin and Natalie were content to sweep up pine needles and play with the bits of discarded twine on the ground. Strapped to my back, Lexi hung out and just took it all in. Scott, of course, did his manly duty of hoisting up tree after sap-soaked tree for me to examine, then ultimately reject.

In the end, a decent tree was finally chosen. We loaded the winner to the top of the minivan and headed home. Perhaps this was our chance to build some lasting family memories? I had visions of sipping hot chocolate, listening to Christmas carols, and watching my children hang ornaments on their first Christmas Tree. I imagined them snuggling in my arms and we'd ooh and ahh over the lights. Hmmm. Not too many oohs or ahhs. Some ows! some heys! and a few stop its!

Turns out tree shopping and tree decorating aren't extremely peaceful activities with a 3, 4, and 5 year old. And although the memories we made weren't sugar coated and particulary snuggly... WE made memories. WE.

So now I can have my ooh ahh moment. I'm sitting on the couch, cat purring on my lap, everyone is tucked in bed and I'm looking at the tree. Besides a few ornaments I picked up in Russia, it basically looks exactly the same as it did last year... and the year before that.

But it's so not the same.
But, in a good way.
This Christmas Tree is so not the same... but in a very, very good way.

Orangies

The orangies date back to the mid-nineties. Back to when APU's colors were black and orange. Back to when Scott played soccer in college. The groomsmen even wore orangies at our wedding (not to mention periwinkle bowties).

Ever since Scott's been coaching, he always wears the orangies at the practice before a game. APU is in Florida right now competing in the NAIA national tournament. Tomorrow afternoon is their first game. Scott can't be there because it conflicts with his high school schedule.

But tonight he dons the orangies. Good luck Cougars.

Thankful....

Thankful for The Promise Kept






More pix of our Thanksgiving...










Can anyone relate???
"Ooh! Yum! Keep it coming!"



"Uuuugh. Make it stop.

Thanksgiving... Preschool Style

Today the kids had a "Share Feast" at preschool. Gotta love a Thanksgiving meal consisting primarily of dino nuggets and mac n cheese! :) One little boy in Natalie's class ate nothing but goldfish crackers!

Thankfully, we are blessed with good eaters. We rarely have battles at the dinner table. For the most part, veggies are consumed without much of a fuss (Scott's another story). Our biggest dilema is getting Natalie to stop talking long enough to eat a few bites. Of course, like most little ones, their favorite foods are pizza and hot dogs! (Although, after steak and lobster, pizza and hot dogs are high on my list too.)

Anyway, back to preschool Thanksgiving. After spending a short time in each of their classrooms, I was reminded why I stuck to teaching older kids. Yikes. That's a lot of wiggly bodies all in one place. I've got enough Romper Room going on in my own house right now, thank you.

A year ago, at this time, we knew there were 3 young children in Krasnoyarsk that would likely be "referred" to us. We knew there was a boy and two girls that were biological siblings. We were told they were somewhere between 1 and 5 years old, but had no idea who was oldest or youngest. We had redone mounds of paper work in hopes of finding out more about these children. That was one year ago.

And now, we're looking forward to our first Family Thanksgiving.

BFFs

Lexi LOVES Molly.

I'm not sure the feeling is completely mutual, but Molly definitely lets the kids have their way with her. Someone is constantly laying on her, waking her from a nap, stacking blocks around her, driving a car on her, or asking to feed her (Molly's favorite).

The other day Lexi was in tears over something I had reprimanded her for. Getting no sympathy from her sister or brother, she found Molly sleeping peacefully by the back door. Lexi laid her head down and wrapped her arms around her canine buddy, then continued to cry for the unjustice she was certainly suffering. And Molly stayed put. Occasionally, she looked up at me with bewildered brown eyes, but she stayed still until Lexi dried up and moved on. I didn't get a picture of that one, but here's a few other sweet moments between Lexi and her BFF.










"Molly's kissing me!"

"Let's think about it, Mama."

Justin and I have this little bedtime ritual. It started a few weeks ago. He'd been having a hard time. Just seemed so angry at everyone and everything. So, one night, as I lay down beside him, I said, "I feel happy when I hug my kids. What makes you feel happy?" And that was the start.

So now, every night, we read a book with the girls (or "the sisters" as he calls them), we say our prayers, and we sing our special songs. Then Justin will scoot down into his bed, pat the space on his pillow that he's left for me, and say, "Let's think about it, Mama." Which means he wants to take turns talking about what makes us happy.

Sometimes we're happy for little things like chocolate or new books. Sometimes we're happy for behaviors, like sharing toys or holding hands when we cross the street. That first night, one of the many things Justin said was, "I feel happy when Mama and Papa came to my "Big House" in Russia... and now we're a family."

Wow. I feel happy about that one too, buddy.

Post Placement Visit

It's so quiet in my house right now.
The kids are napping.
The dog is snoozing.
No cars rumbling by.
No neighbors buzzing about.
It's so calm.

Today, we had a visit from our social worker. Our 6th month post placement report is due to Russia in January... which means it must be at our adoption agency in December... which means the social worker must complete it in November.

Everything went well. She stayed for a couple of hours, played with the kids a bit and asked us all of the required questions. The kids did a great job playing on their own while Scott and I sat through the interview. No one melted down. No one (Justin) pushed his sister. No one (Lexi) rolled headfirst off the couch. When given a direction, no one (Natalie) crossed her arms and huffed, "I don't want it!" Good job kids! :)

Today did give Scott and I a chance to think about how far we've come since those crazy days in Russia. We're all learning our new roles. I realized that I spent so much time worrying about how the kids would adjust, I didn't realize it would take me some time to adjust as well. And if we've made it this far in only 4 months, what will life look like a year from now? I try not to think that far ahead though. Right now, I'm doing the one day at a time dance.

We were asked what we found rewarding about parenting. There are certainly rewards. Knowing that Justin, Natalie, and Lexi are together and safe is the biggest. Other special moments pop up throughout the day. Laying beside Justin at night, taking turns saying what makes us happy. Watching Lexi softly pat Justin on the back when we're reading a bedtime story.

You know what my biggest reward is though? Putting my head on Scott's shoulder and knowing we're in this together. I could never do this with anyone else. He is my perfect partner.

Happy Halloween 2008!

It was the kids' first Halloween..... and it was our first Halloween with kids!
I'm not sure who was more overwhelmed... them or me.
Actually, I'm sure... it was me!
A few things I learned:
Figure out the costume thing waaaay ahead of time! Turns out there are several events requiring costumes in the weeks leading up to the big day (library, preschool...)
Have more than 1 costume. Figuring out a costume that works in 90 degree heat and a cool rainy day is not so easy (we had both last week).
Stock up on bobby pins.
Kids are super bendy... see bounce house video below!

Halloween morning we headed downtown for some storefront trick or treating. We switched Lexi out from a pink princess to Minnie Mouse. Still quite adorable. This was their first trick or treating experience. They got into a pretty good rhythm, but before we were halfway done, Natalie asked to go back to the car because her bag was too heavy. Gee, poor thing. That brings me to the next thing I learned.... Don't buy any candy. Next year, I will be "regifting" their morning haul!



Later that evening we went to church for some more fun. Lots of games, pizza, music, more candy, and best of all... the bounce house! Lexi is an animal. I probably should have been worried about my baby bouncing around with kids 2 and 3 times her size... but she's a tiny monster! Even when she crashed (which was every time!), she jumped right back up, ready for more.



At preschool, Justin and Natalie had to dress up as community helpers.
Justin was a police officer and Natalie was a vet. All in all, our first Halloween was a success! Today, Natalie asked if we could carve another pumpkin. I told her we'd have to wait until next Halloween. Her response, "Tomorrow?" Definitely not tomorrow. I think I need to start Christmas shopping! :)