The End

I am so grateful to have had the priviledge to share our adoption journey on this blog. Thank you to our wonderful friend Heidi who created it for us & kept the backgrounds appropriate to the seasons :) It's been almost 2 years since we brought Andrey home. I find myself ready to put some kind of end to the story at least in the written word in this venue. I do not write anymore which tells me that life is just life now...my days come & go & i care for thomas & andrey & i enjoy the highs & am frustrated by the lows. The journey hasn't ended by any means, but my desire to write has. When we first started out there was so much to say, so much to share & so much fear of the unknown. I've written from the start & it's helped me so much...it was such an effective way to share with anyone who was interested in what we were doing. It started out with the birth of Thomas & how my heart hurt so much for orphans. I wanted to do something about it & we did. We did it by the love of so many who came along side us & sent us checks, bought our garage sale items, came to our fundraisers, prayed, hoped & had faith for us, that is why Andrey has a family & i will tell him the story of how he came to be with us over & over. Just as i had desired, there is one less orphan in the world now....he has a mom & dad, grandparents, a brother, cousins, uncles, great- grandparents, a warm cozy house with a backyard & front yard to run & jump & play in. My desire to give a child the kind of joyful childhood i had has happened. That was the dream & how grateful i am to say, it's been accomplished.

What was confirmed for me going thru this journey is that we human beings are powerful...when we come along side one another to get something good done, it gets done. When we've decided that something isn't right, we have the power to correct it. We have the ability to make good things happen. I like to think we're in a partnership with God...both working together to do His work.

The goal for myself now is to bring my best mothering forward. I have a biological son who came from my body & comfortably stayed at my breast for a couple of years. I have a son who didn't join our family until he was 2 years old & his eyes are the same as the picture i saw of his biological mother. I am learning how to be a mother to Andrey which has required that i learn new skills. There are ways i need to be with him that do not come as natural and easy as with our first child. I have 2 different little souls to deal with & there are many lessons in that alone.

Like i always say, if i can go to Siberia twice & survive that, i can do anything!

I will never forget the generosity of strangers & friends - i look forward now to being able to bless someone else's journey.

My e-mail is treesjd@yahoo.com...i will send pics & updates to anyone who may be interested in seeing our growing family.

With a heart of thanks,
love, Jeanette (& greg of course but it's my blog) :)

It's been too long!

Wow....has it really been since March that i wrote!! Sorry to drop off like that. Here's the latest. Because of the economy & home prices falling drastically, we were able to purchase our 1st home in the spring this year! The home was going into forclosure & it was a reasonable price. The owners were original & had raised 6 kids here...i could feel the warmth in the home. Also, the neighborhood is like out of a page from an older time...you know your neighbors & when you walk out the front door there are kids on either side to play with during the day. I love it & it makes my job of taking care of the boys so much easier because they have their own rooms & a back & front yard to play in. Sometimes while i'm walking around in the house i stop & cannot believe that Greg & I were given another gift. To have a home on 1 income in a nice neighborhood just 15 minutes away from my family, is miracle status. We were patient and waited and it finally happened for us. Wow.

However, We took a risk in purchasing the home because we still had adoption debt that we were actively paying off. But then another amazing thing happened...we finally got to cash in on the adoption tax credit from the government & we got a tax credit for being 1st time homeowners...i couldn't believe it! So although we still have some adoption debt, it's coming down & it's manageable.

Andrey turned 3 years old in April this year, i turned 39 in August. I took thomas out of preschool awhile back because he was bringing home so many colds & then i'd get my sinus infections which have been a bummer. I had the sinus surgery last November & that didn't seem to help all that much. Summertime has been great - we've seen Lyle Lovett & Huey Lewis in concert & visited with friends & have gone to some fun amusement parks with the boys. Greg suprised me this week by secretly having my piano moved into our new home from my parents home. I got the piano when i was a young girl & have waited my whole life to have my very own home to put my piano in. Greg got his head shaved from a cancer fundraiser...not my favorite look but a good cause.

OH yah...we bought a mini van - never thought it'd happen to me but i'm totally over it now..i have no problem driving around a van.. Problem was that our other car only had 4 seats so thomas & andrey would fight & hit each other in the back & it was becoming a driving hazard for me.

PS - andrey continues to do well...he's developed a little stutter. He seems to still be in the terrible two's even though he's 3. He's a happy little soul & continues to enjoy exploring & being like curious george.

brotherly fun

Lots of celebrations

I realize as i look at the calendar that we were in Siberia last Feb/March preparing to bring Andrey home. Now, i know time goes by fast & i've tried to slow down time for certain events in my life...like my wedding day..i savored every moment, like each day i spent with thomas pre-Andrey. But after bringing Andrey home i truly cannot believe it's almost been 1 year since we've had him. I realize that i have much less to say about the adoption, about our daily activities, about my relationship with Andrey. I guess it's just every day life now & it's no longer new. That's a relief in a sense..we're just going about our daily life. I just accept moments of each day as they come, some good, some great, some challenging. I continue to love watching the little boys play...oh, they come up with the greatest stuff & it makes me flash back to my childhood when i made forts & dug holes & rode big wheels.
I'm fully aware to that being a mom is about serving..i attend to their little & big needs all day long. Sometimes i laugh because i feel like a waitress! I realize how important motherhood is.. raising up these 2 little monkeys..caring for them, being there for them & fixing their forts & finding toys for them. It's a privilege really. I would say that the relationship between thomas & andrey has become a precious one...they are best buddies. It's great to see.
Recent events - celebrated Greg's 35 birthday & Thomas's 4th birthday.

Merry Christmas

A few pics

1st Christmas season

Well... i cannot find the pics of our tree trimming experience...i dropped the camera that night..who knows. It's a good thing i didn't have grand expectations because while it was fun to get a tree from our local Home Depot, it was a chaotic night... i had to laugh...the boys were trying to hang ornaments, into all the decoration boxes, going kinda nuts. & now there are no pictures to prove it! Andrey was crying, then thomas was going nuts...i'm beginning to think we're kind of a whacky family. It just seems that this is a season of life with 2 small boys who are small animals sometimes.
Ok, so here's so good pics of everyone looking happy at greg's work kids party.

An average day in our front driveway

Andrey's 1st Thanksgiving (he's on left side)

Andrey really gets how to party & eat & enjoy a big family. We ate out with Greg's side first - andrey got to sit at the head of the table! He loves the attention & gets many laughs. He fits right in. After we go to my side of the family. Andrey hugs & kisses everyone & is genuinely excited to see everyone. We've had him for 7 months now & he's gotten to know & develop relationships with others. I no longer worry that he'll get confused as to who everyone is... some kids from orphanages think everyone's a care giver. At this point, it's in his head for sure that we are his mom & dad & everything comes from us. Thomas & Andrey have been playing very well lately. My stressed has been somewhat reduced. I did have sinus surgery & my deviated septum straightened. I'm still recovering. Being down when you have small children is a minor nightmare as they need you & it's so hard to care take when you need caretaking!

KIDS PLAY

One of the greatest little joys i experience throughout the day are these moments where i watch thomas & andrey play & i start laughing... i was in the kitchen working & when i came out i saw that the boys had taken all the toys & chairs & baricaded (spelling?) their bedroom door. I don't know where they come up these things. They come up with these real funny things....we have 2 little outside cars that they push with their feet in the driveway...they take trucks & cars & pile them on the roof of their cars & they wear funny things on their heads...i really love watching them. It's just the kind of fun i want for my children & i get the gift of a little chuckle here & there.
Also, here's some pics of andrey at Dorothy's son's 2 year b-day party & a family birthday party sitting with his cousin gennean ..he absolutely has the hang of the birthday song..he sings it loud with his deep Siberian voice!