The Computer Translator

My girls have had a hard time obeying and while they have been getting better Lena pushed me over the edge tonight with her emphatic and rude "NO." I have tried to be really patient and encouraging but tonight I had, had enough of the NO business and decided that some consequences were in order. So I told Lena I wanted to talk. We sat down at the computer translator and I explained to her how it made me feel when she disobeyed. I told her in a family it is rude to say NO to your mom and that it made me feel sad. I then asked her why she was being mean and telling me NO so rudely. I asked if it was because she was mad?

She started to sob and sob and I wondered what in the world I had said. She pointed at the word mad in Russian on the computer and said, "me no mad" I said o.k. but was still confused by the onslaught of tears. She then sobbed out that she was not crazy and made the universal sign for crazy. I then realized that she was crying because she thought I said she was not being nice because she was mad crazy.

The poor thing, I felt so bad and tried to take it back and in the end she understood that it was the very stupid computer and not what I meant. How sad though it broke my heart, she was devastated that I thought she was crazy. That is the first time I have used the computer translator and what a mess it turned out to be.

We did settle on the consequence for disobedience as no bike for the day. Oh boy, that was a rough one.

Later I asked her to do something, she said no and then quickly gasped and covered her mouth. It was so funny I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Sara either compensating for Lena or wanting to avoid Lena's pain was quick with a yes mama the rest of the night. It is funny how I can feel so exasperated with them one minute and then love them more than ever the next.

We are home

I was feeling a little homesick for my Ukrainian friends and so I finally looked at my blog and Wendy's tonight for the first time since I have been home.

It is hard to believe I have been home for over two weeks. They have flown by. I think I am finally starting to feel a little normal.

I honestly expected the worst when I came home and have been pleasantly surprised by how happy I have been. I have moments when I feel a joy I have never felt before. Jeff and I are so happy and we often laugh at the girls and say how lucky we are. Our house is full especially when the boys are here and we just love being parents full time.

Amidst the joy, we have had plenty of girl drama, crying and slamming doors. Thankfully it is always followed by a sorry mama and a sweet hug and I love you.

My favorites so far:
Bra shopping with Lena and Sara. Sara always wore a jacket even in 90 degree weather. When I told her to take it off she said no mama and covered her chest with her hands. She was embarrassed of her little bumps, so a few Hannah Montana bras later and no more jacket. We laughed and giggled in the bra aisle and they came home proud owners of their first bras. Sunday was awesome with the pink sports bra strap showing under the dress. Too bad I didn't notice until it was too late.

We have done lots of swimming and the girls have become fearless. They even do front flips off the diving board. It is hard to imagine that these same girls were squeezing my neck scared to death just two months ago in the pool in Dnipro. They love to copy me swimming laps and copy just about everything else I do. Scary!

The little English they know is laced with my favorite expressions. Oh my word! Oh brother! It is so funny to hear them repeat them in their cute accents.

It is has been interesting to realize all the funny little things I take for granted. Like how to work a garbage disposal. I love how they both jumped when I first turned it on and now it is their favorite thing to do. They are fascinated with how the food disappears.

I asked them if they wanted to go to school and they pleaded not to have to go, so I told them they would have to do school with me instead. So everyday we spend time together studying and playing all sorts of things. This is the favorite part of my day. We have so much fun and laugh endlessly. It is so funny when they get their English words messed up and call my hair a spoon then we all get laughing till we can't stop.

They love to help clean and cook and do whatever makes mama happy. They always ask if I am happy and when I say yes they hug me and get the biggest smiles on their faces.

I tell my friends all the time I got the better deal here as they do everything for me. They are so sweet and loving and I feel so blessed and happy.

They finally are letting me have some input on their clothes, well at least that they match and are modest. They absolutely will not wear anything they don't want to. I assume this is normal as I remember being the exact same way. Sara will never let me do her hair, which I guess serves me right since I did the same thing to my mom.

On important occasions she will wear a barrett, but it will only last until church or whatever it is is over and she asks every five minutes if it is time to take it out yet. I ask myself is it even worth it?


Sara also got her ears pierced and then after several days complained they were crooked and would not rest until I took her back to get them both pierced again to her satisfaction. She is happy with them now. Oh boy! Who would have thought.

I consider it a successful day when I get more "yes mama's than emphatic "No's." All in all we are all doing very well. The girls have warmed up to Jeff and are constantly playing practical jokes on him. It has been fun to watch them go from being shy around him to the laughing, joking, hugging and kissing that goes on now.








Lena did her hair to look like Oxana. She said me Oxana and we laughed and laughed. Those of you who know her will know why this is so funny.