Bittersweet

School is getting better. Deonna is doing so well. Her teacher says she is so sweet and very eager to please. She is supposed to be able to recognize the entire alphabet by now but we are working at our own pace and she can recognize most and I am very pleased with the school and the teachers. She is taking speech and working with an ESL teacher four days a week. She has learned so much in the short time she has been home. She is one of the most loving children. Her sense of humor cracks me up. As for the boys, it seems as if they have been gone forever. Corey will be home on October 24 and Chris graduates from basic training on October 30th but leaves immediatley for Arizona until Christmas. It is so hard when you have to let your children go. I want them to be little again. I am very proud of them. Please pray for them and every soldier and also for every child to find their forever family.

School, Scissors and Soldiers

Can you say panic attack?! I have been close to one all week. School is hard!! She is expected to recognize the letters ABCDE in upper and lowercase and know the words I,am,dog and cat. All of this in three days! Might not sound like much but to her it is. Good grief. What happened to learning your colors and shapes in Kindergarten. It has been a while. My boys are almost nineteen but things have really changed. I am trying to keep a positive attitude but it's hard. I feel bad for her. She gets so frustrated. And to top it all off, she is having her pictures taken by a great photographer here in town tomorrow and what does she go and do? She cut her hair!! Right in the front! I couldn't believe it. She has had scissors for seven months and knew the rules and decides to cut it the day before her pictures. I can't reschedule or I lose my deposit and it was quite a bit. I called my hairdresser and she tried to cut her some longer bangs to hide the short ones. Help!!!
As for the boys, they are both gone now and I hate it. I haven't talked to Chris but once in a week. Corey is able to call about every three days. It's still not the same. I know it's hard for them too. I am proud of them but I miss them so much.
Please pray for all of the soldiers and for all of the parents who have children in Kindergarten!!

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?