A September Update...

Greetings from the Keys! We spent a nice long weekend with the kids and our parents at a resort in the Keys a few weekends ago. We had a fantastic weekend relaxing. Well, at least Chris and I relaxed. We managed to get the chance do go on some solo runs together (ie. not pushing the double jogger). We even got out to do some SCUBA diving. It was so wonderful spending some quality time with our families together.

We had Jordan somewhat convinced there was a mermaid in the isolated pond the resort owned and she was certain that it was Ariel. She spent the weekend pretending that she was prince Eric and "Coach" and "Pop Pop" were gracious enough to play the role of Ariel when needed.

We have been preparing for the Halloween holiday. This is one of Jordan's favorite days. She has been trying on her costume daily. She is going to be Batman and Garrett is to be Robin. Decorations are going up all around the neighborhood and this lengthens our evening bike rides considerably. Jordan and Garrett have made friends with several creepy characters hanging in doorways and such. We have even gone as far as naming a few. "Rupert" lives across the street. It is so fun watching their faces... They believe everything is so real... Even when you remove the batteries.

Jordan is starting to play soccer this season. She is elated. She asks to play as soon as she gets home from school. She is turning 4 this December and it will be interesting watching her out on the fields. We have been working on not stopping the ball with our hands when playing. A hard concept for her. It was helpful buying her a pair of "magic" cleats and shin guards for the big season starter in a few weeks. It is amazing how much better things become to kids when you put "magic" or "special" in front of it. It still hasn't worked yet with vegetables.

We are heading north to meet Shamu. It will be nice to see their faces when they see the show and Shamu's size. Garrett is doing fantastic. He has no fear with water and is able to swim across the width of the pool. As mentioned before, he is our dare devil. He isn't afraid to jump from any height into the pool and loves the novelty of going swimming in the buff.

We made the decision to head back to Russia for a third (and last). We should be in over our heads by next summer or late next year. We are very excited to return to Russia and spend some time hopefully in a region that we have not yet visited. As you may know, Russia is a very special place to our family. We enjoy spending time in getting to experience the culture where our children came from.

On September 18th, we celebrated Jordan's third Gotcha day. I wish I could say that we celebrated the holiday with some Russian cuisine... But the fog has yet to lift for me in the kitchen and we stuck with some take out Chinese. Close enough.

Love to you all...

Gotcha Day ... 3 years!!!

I can't believe that 3 years ago today we were in Pskov, Russia finalizing the adoption of our daughter. Today is "Gotcha Day." I said to Jordan this morning, "Happy Gotcha Day!" She said, "Happy I got you day!" Do you think she has a clue?

I asked her the other day if she knew where we got her brother from. Suprisingly, she had a very quick and matter of fact response. "We got him at the McDonalds at the airport!"

Today is far more meaningful for Chris and I. We still remember the long plane and train rides, the vodka taste testing with the nice Russians on the train and our experiences being hosted by a Russian family while in region. Today around 10am, the judge smiled at us and said in Russian, "Congratulations!" We were finally parents.

As I put her on the bus this morning, I realized that wanted to just keep her home and hold her all day. When I told her this she quickly responded that she was going to miss Ms. P. The letter of the week and snack time! How can I compete with Ms. P and goldfish?
Today is a very special day for us... but it is no different then any other day that we celebrate just how lucky we truly are.

We have been home almost 6 months... Can't believe it.

Jordan is loving school! I thought it was suppose to get easier for the mother putting your child on the bus. It hasn't, but I can say that she smiles when she leaves and she is smiling when I get her off the bus so hopefully in time the process with get easier. This photo was taken as she got off the bus last week. It was a hat she made that she carefully pasted sparkles and sequence on.

The topic of conversation most mornings center around Halloween and costumes. It is only the beginning of September and this has been going on since the end of August!!! Jordan is absolutely certain that she will be Batman and she wants Garrett to be Robin. I have never seen a kid so sure of something. She has expressed an interest in decorating the house this year for the holiday. Martha Stewart, I am not. I couldn't even make playdoh. We both decided on creating a large web with a HUGE spider in it. We thought we would include Chris in our project as he seems to be the best on a ladder. He thinks we need to draw the web out to scale first... I guess that is what it is like being married to an engineer.

Garrett is doing fantastic. It has been so much fun watching his personality take shape. He wakes up happy and goes to bed each night saying, "nigh night, thank you and bye." He is very energetic and has become very focused on music and dancing. If I don't have music playing on the stereo, he waits for the commercials. He can truly light up a room.

This past week Jordan and I purchased our first item on eBay. There was some concern that I had bid too many times and for awhile there we weren't totally certain how many were going to arrive. I have had to promise Chris that I will not make the "shopping" a habit. He keeps repeating to me, "shopping and wine don't mix." I am not sure I totally agree with him. Anyway, we love our purchase and use it often. Jordan laughs the entire time we are riding and it is so nice spending some one on one time with her. She is at a fun age and shares our passion for athletics.


People often tell us how lucky Jordan and Garrett are to have had such a wonderful chance at life. I often walk away and smile to myself knowing that we are the lucky ones that were given a chance in life to love in such a way that we never thought possible.

Keeping fingers crossed for a continued quiet hurricane season!