Beach, school and goodbyes

We are finally home! Deonna loved the beach. No fear at all. She would have stayed all day everyday if we could have. She was such a good girl. She loved my mom's pool and she slept late every morning!! I was very happy about that. She was very excited about eating shark at Aunt Catfish. Yum Yum!! The plane ride went great. If only it would have been that easy from Ukraine!
She had her Kindergarten orientation and testing. Everything went great. She will only go one day next week then start on a regular schedule after that. She is very excited. I am not as worried as I thought I would be. I know all of the teachers very well and I know she is ready.
Last, but not least, my boys are gone!! One is in the National Guard and he left on Sunday for eleven weeks. The other joined the Army and he leaves on Sunday and he will not be home until Christmas. I am so sad!! They both had college paid for and decided to do this. Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of them. But my heart is breaking!! I will miss them both so much!! I know they are having a hard time. Being twins, they have a bond that is unreal. Please pray for them and all of the soldiers!! God bless!!

Changes

Tomorrow is an exciting day! Deonna is taking her first plane ride since leaving Ukraine and we are headed to the beach!!! She is so excited! She truly believes we will see a mermaid. She has been talking about the beach for over a month. I can't wait to see her face when she sees the ocean. We are going with two other couples who are dear friends to us and we are looking forward to it. On the flipside, my youngest "twin" has decided to join the Army. He is almost nineteen but he had a fully paid scholarship to a great college, dorm included and four hundred dollars a month living expenses but decided to join the Army instead. Go figure. Don't get me wrong. I am very proud of him. I really am. But I wish he would stay here with me. My heart is broken. He leaves on August 12th. My other twin son is in the National Guard and he leaves on August 3rd for 12 weeks. I am going to go crazy missing them so bad. They are still my babies too and I want them to be safe. Deonna isn't going to understand where they are going. She does start school on August 4th. Some big changes coming my way! Pray I make it!

First day we met

Ms. Bossy

It has been so long since I've posted!!! I can't believe it. My parents are home for the summer from Florida. I have been spending time with them. I also took one of my sons and three of his friends to Florida for graduation. I also took my best friend and we stayed for a week. It was great!! Deonna stayed at home with her Papa and Booshka. I did miss her but I needed some time with my son also. My other son wasn't able to go because of his job. Deonna has changed so much. She doesn't even look like the same child we adopted six months ago. Her english is great. She is an excellent swimmer. She has no fear of the water at all. We swim almost every day. We have a beach trip planned for the third week of July and she can't wait. She truly believes she will find a mermaid. She is still obsessed with anything princess. She turned six a few weeks ago and we had a birthday party for her with family at a local park. She was so happy. We had celebrated other birthday parties since she had been home and she was ready for hers. She is having some listening problems lately. She seems to think she knows everything and she also wants things done exactly when she wants them done. We have been working on this but it isn't improving too much. I guess I am going to have to be a little more strict with her for a while. Don't get me wrong, she is a very well behaved child. She doesn't throw temper tantrums or anything like that. She just doesn't seem to hear you when you tell her to not do something or to wait for a minute. We have to get this corrected before the school year or she will be in big trouble. I do enjoy every minute with her. She is a sweet and loving little girl. God bless!!!

Flashlights Rule!!

Deonna is now going to bed on her own. We read a couple of books and after that she has a princess flashlight that she uses to look at the books after we turn out the light. She is so cute. She is usually asleep in ten to fifteen minutes. I believe she feels safe now. Her english is amazing. She doesn't remember her first language. Only mishka, kookla and Booshka. She is taking speech once a week and is doing great. She also started swimming lessons a few weeks ago. She loves it. She did fall in yesterday but I didn't panic and neither did she. She just jumped in again when it was her turn. She loves to play Go Fish. We are trying to teach her that it is okay to lose. lol But, boy, when she wins she does a major happy dance. My mom and Dad finally met her a few weeks ago. She acted like she has known them forever. They think she's perfect, of course. I am excited for what the future holds. All I will say is that I find myself missing bits of Ukraine. A kind of yearning to return. My husband does too. Like I said, who knows?

First trip to the zoo

We made our first trip to the zoo today. It's about an hour and a half drive from our home. We went with Booshka and my sister and her kids. We had so much fun. Deonna loved the animals. She kept looking for Horton (elephant). She was happy when she saw them but she was a little disappointed that he didn't have his "speck." She love the butterfly garden. Butterflies would land on you and stay. It wasn't crowded and the weather was perfect. She was amazed at all of the animals. She is so curious about everything. I love watching her explore new things and loving every minute of it. We have been talking with her about laying down by herself at night but she cries and gets really upset. I feel that she is ready but she will not have any part of it. I told her we will start in a few days. I hope it works. God bless!!

Bittersweet

My!! Has it really been almost a month since I last posted?! Time gets away from me!! I wonder why? I am devastated to read the blogs from families in Ukraine who are not receiving good referrals. The children are there!! It seems so crazy and unfair. I will continue to pray for everyone and for the children who are being left without great families all in the name of money!!!!
Okay!! Enough of that. Everyone here at home is doing fine. Deonna continues to improve in her language and cognitive development daily. She is a master at the scissors and loves to draw now. Even things that are recognizable now. She loves school. We bought her a mini trampoline with the safety netting and she loves it. She needs some help in her gross motor skills and she is getting braver. Our next goal will be to pedal a bike and swing. She loves music and will sing her heart out with any song. Even if she doesnt know the words she pretends to. It is so sweet. Easter was great. Some friends of mine who have children her age went egg hunting with us. She actually went on three egg hunts that day. She had a blast.
Back to the adoptions again. I cant get it off my mind. I check the peoples blogs daily and hold my breath and pray. Please pray for these families and children. God bless!!!