For Anna

Anna,

Sveta wanted you to see these pictures. We changed her name to Sara when we adopted her.

This is Sara with her Grandma.

Sara with my best friends Mary and Dona

Sara riding a small car at a race track.

Sara's pet Chinchilla she calls him "Chili"

Sara with her best friend Elise. When Sara

is around Elise will not go to anyone else.

Sara learning to cross country ski.

Sara with her other Grandma

Sara on her birthday with her fairy cake.

Cake Decorating

On Lena's birthday in September my mom, an expert cake decorator, showed the girls the basics of the art.

The learning curve started- from smoke alarms, and cake covered ovens to soggy insides and drooping pieces of art, the girls, "who know everything," have finally started to get the hang of it. Here are just a few of their finished products. They wouldn't allow photos of the early ones. For my birthday I got a blue and yellow Ukranian cake, they were too embarrassed to allow a picture, maybe because I laughed when I saw it. Oops. It just slipped out.


Cupcake cake for Sara's Birthday

Fairy Cake

Basketball cake they made for their brother Parker's birthday.

Private Property

Is Jeff talking to himself in the bathroom I wonder.
I listen closer. I hear, "Oh no, no, not again they didn't."
I start laughing to myself. I know exactly what is going to happen next.
Just as I expect, he opens the bathroom door.
"Have you seen the toothpaste?"
I laugh, "You just opened a new one last night, and I haven't seen it."
"Those girls!" he says as he heads into their bathroom to retrieve his toothpaste.
He comes back two minutes later his new tube of toothpaste in hand, shaking his head.

From toothpaste to camp tables, everything is always missing at our house. It is hardest for poor Jeff who went from bachelor in a bachelor pad, to sharing a house with three girls - two of which still live in a world where everything is community property.

It feels like Amy and Jeff vs. Lena and Sara as we sit up late at night talking about our next plan of action. At our whits end, we finally decide to start taking stuff out of their room for a week, followed by a family talk. Maybe if they can see how frustrating it is they will have more understanding for their raving parents. We'll have to wait and see, meanwhile, I think Jeff is going to enjoy taking their stuff a little too much, he's been itching for a little revenge. :)

Lena is waiting for me as I enter the front door. "Mom I need to tell you a true,"

Oh no here it comes.

"I broke the thing on the front door."

"Hmm what thing on the front door?"

She points to the hook where I hang my wreaths and stuff for holidays.

"How did you break that? Do I even want to know?"

"Mom, you said I should tell true."

"O.k. what did you do?"

" I climbed on the roof."

"YOU CLIMBED ON THE ROOF!!, how did you get on the roof?"

"I put my foot on that thing on the door and got up."

I take several deep breaths.

"Lena that isn't o.k."

"Why"

"Well you might fall and get hurt."

"Oh.. I climbed trees in the orphanage."

"No more climbing o.k."

"So I can't climb the buildings at the park either?"

"What? You climb those?"

" Yes, and the high fence behind the baseball thing too?"

"You climb the fence behind where you bat?"

Sara pipes in. "Yes she sits at top and kids at park tell her jump."

"You don't jump do you?"

"No I too scared it hurt me."

"Well thank heavens you aren't that stupid"

"Mom!"

"What?, I can't believe you have been doing that."

"Mom, but I told you true, I knew God would want me to tell you true, so don't be mad."

After many long months, I have finally decided to update my blog. I am alive. I have been submerged into the world of motherhood and am finally coming up for air.

It has been a crazy ride; up - down, up - up, down- down- down. Just when I think they can't surprise me anymore they do.

Today the surprises were good. In our Sunday interview with Lena, when we asked her what her goals were for the week, she said read the scriptures by herself every night.

Later, the girls told me they wanted to talk to me. Together??? Unusual. .. They had developed a new job chart where they work with each other on the jobs and cleaning the house. They said they wanted to decide together how to clean and gave me a schedule for how they would be cleaning from now on.

Does this mean the war is over and the sisters have called a truce? Not likely, but progress. Small things like this everyday are what give me the strength to carry on. Some sign that they are listening, that my endless efforts are not in vain.

Here are a few pictures from the last few months.

Me and Sara on her birthday. I promised to wear a matching shirt with her that day.

The girls in their homemade costumes doing one of their dance performances.

I am sure you can imagine the rest. We are constantly entertained.

Lena thought driving a car at Boondocks was "Awesome."

I never know what will completely amaze and delight them.

Joining Mary and the sixty other people that jumped into an

an ice cold pool in the middle of winter for a prize at Ogden's

Winterfest. Notice I wasn't among the crazies.

Jeff trying to outdo the girls at human bowling.

Between Jeff and the girls I am always laughing.

The day we were sealed to the girls. Sara Sara!

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.