It is hard to imagine that we have reached the 3-month point already. But then, of course, it is even harder to imagine our family without Vitalik and Lera!
This month has included:
- Vitalik's first ever birthday party
- Eugene's first Father's Day as a Dad-of-Five
- Lots of Swim Team Activities for Vitalik
- L&V Doing a Presentation on Ukraine and Russian Language for Spencer and Heath's Classes at School
- Getting registered for middle school (which was a lot harder than it sounded, but did finally get them into 7th and 8th grades as we had hoped to!)
- Lots of social time with friends
- The 4th of July (Happy Birthday America!)
Things continue to get easier, and little-by-little, we are all regenerating from all of the stresses of the past year. The kids's English and general confidence and comfort levels continue to improve. I remember when we first met Lera and Vitalik, the language barrier seemed like the scariest part of adopting them. We were assured by everyone who knew about these things that within three months they would be able to function pretty well with broken English, and now that we have reached the three-month mark, I definiltey think this is a fair assessment. Of course, they don't understand everything we could possibly say to them, but we are all able to communicate quite well with the language that they have picked up, and they continue to learn more each day.
We are enjoying a lovely summer with a relaxed schedule. The kids continue to do some schoolwork at home with me each day, and while they would rather be vegging, they are very good sports and barely complain at all. All-in-all, we are all feeling very satisfied, thankful, and eager to see what month four has in store for our family!
Vitalik's Birthday!
![]() |
| Dad got Vitalik a volleyball net for his birthday, which, with a little music, made for an instant party atmosphere! We have left it up all month and have enjoyed lots of fun in the back yard with family and friends. |
![]() |
| The birthday boy greeting special friend Amanda, the missionary whose idea it was to bring these great kids to Raleigh last summer for the adventure that changed all of our lives forever! Her team will be bringing another group of fabulous kids to Raleigh this month. |
![]() |
| Vitalik was like a little boy on Christmas! He could not have been more excited about his presents! What a joy! |
![]() |
| Amanda with sweet Nastya, another friend from L&V's school in Ukraine. Nastya is now home with her new family too, and she and Lera enjoy chatting on the phone when their busy social schedules permit it! |
![]() |
| Very special photo of Grandmother Laura with all five of our children. What a priceless moment this was! |
![]() |
| Vitalik taking it all in. A really special moment in his life! |
![]() |
| Breaking out the new toys, his heart's deepest desire was a remote control car. He got three! |
![]() |
| Trying out his new weight set from cousin Chilton and his pals Jamal and Tierell. |
![]() |
| Playing nerf and water guns with cousin Chilton and sweet neighbor Drew. |
![]() |
| Lera with neighbors Jeni and Rachel. More fun with Vitalik's new birthday toys! |
Fun at Home
![]() |
| Good pal David, Mason, and Vitalik playing with remote control cars. Note blue mustang in Vitalik's lap. This gift from Adam and Eleni was his favorite, and the only thing he decided not to share with the little brothers unless they are very closely supervised! |
![]() |
| Silly Lera pretending to be a little girl in the baby swing. :-) |
![]() |
| Lera with our very sweet neighbor Leah. |
![]() |
| Goofy girl modeling Daddy's shorts. |
![]() |
| Brothers playing angry birds on Dad's I-Pad. |
![]() |
| Father's Day Morning - Gifts for Dad. |
![]() |
| Vitalik master-minded this creative water slide. All siblings thought he was pretty smart and they happily played for a LONG time! Spencer did end up with a few bruises, but overall it was good fun! |
![]() |
| Vitalik working on a poster for the Ukraine/Russian prezo he and Lera did for Spencer and Heath's classes. |
![]() |
| Talking to Spencer's class about life in Ukraine. |
![]() |
| Mom and Dad got to go out for our 19th wedding anniversary (thanks to Adam and Eleni for hanging with the kids!) Lera and Vitalik insisted that we needed to look really good for our big date, and helped us select our outfits. |
Boating!
![]() |
| Lera chilling on our neighbor's boat. In the background is Tyler and Ali's dad Eric, who made this day of fun possible! |
![]() |
| Vitalik and neighbor Tyler trying out some tubing tricks. |
4th of July!
![]() |
| The kids enjoying lunch by the pool as we waited for the fun neighborhood pool party to begin. There were so many fun games, including a men's water rugby game with a greased watermelon -- after the game Eugene actually came out of the pool with a bloody lip! |
![]() |
| Lera stacking cups as the clock races! |
![]() |
| Vitalik jumping off the lifeguard stand for the "Big Splash" contest! |
Eat More Chicken!
![]() |
| Vitalik all dressed up for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. He and his pals from swim team enjoyed free breakfast AND lunch! :-) |
