Lena Lena Lena

Sara burst into the house crying, "Lena ruined my tomatoes."

"What did she do" I asked

"Go see" she said, storming off to her room.

I walked out to Sara's garden box. All of her once green tomatoes were now red. Lena was standing next to the garden box laughing.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I painted them red."

"With what?"

She held up a paint brush and a bottle of red paint. "I wanted her to think they were ready, funny huh." And she started laughing again.

How could I not laugh?

Another night I came home to this flower bouquet and card on my counter. They were from Lena. The card said she loved me and she was sorry for not being nice to me. I laughed but even harder when I noticed the bouquet was made up of my bushes and the neighbors flowers. Despite all the trouble she causes, she is exasperatingly lovable.

Our skydiving Grandma

Jeff's mom has always wanted to go skydiving. For Mother's Day we all chipped in and paid for her to go.

The kids watched in amazement as their grandma prepared and then jumped out of an airplane. They thought she was crazy.

All the grandkids ran to meet her when she landed. They were glad to see she was still alive.

We sure love our grandma!

Our adoption Friends

I love all the awesome people we have met on our adoption journey. This is our great friend Wendy and her family. She was in the play Peter Pan with her kids and we had so much fun watching them. I even got Jeff to go.

They took our kids back stage and showed them all the props. The girls had the best time and talked about it for days. That is Alex on the right who was in the same orphanage as the girls. Isn't he cute?

Lagoon with the Kellers

The boys started a water fight and were picking on the girls, but the girls got them back. Don't mess with four Ukranian girls.

Lena and Tanya

Ethan, Victor and Parker

Chandler's Birthday

The kids wanted Lagoon passes this year and so they all worked together and earned the money they needed. It was cute to watch Lena showing her brothers how to make bread and watch them output loaf after loaf and sale them to the neighbors. It took them a month of hard work, but much to my surprise they all managed to earn enough money.

We celebrated Chandler's 12th Birthday at Lagoon. This is the cake the girls made for him.

Jeff's mom is awesome and loves to go on all of the scariest rides. Lena wanted to go on the Sky Coaster and Grandma was only too willing to join her. Jeff and I were not surprised about his mom, but we couldn't believe Lena wanted to do it. She loved it! She melts down in tears at the Dentist and won't open her mouth but then has no qualms about doing this.

Memorial Day

Our Memorial Day picnic with Jeff's Family.

Chandler desperately trying to finish his book before school on Tuesday.

Sara making a flower wreath out of dandelions.

The cousins were all very impressed with her skills.

Lena wondered why I was taking her picture. I told her, "Honey not very many American kids would be sweeping the picnic area with a broom they made from branches. I don't want you ever to forget that cute Ukrainian girl in you." She laughed and posed for me.

Parker and Lena helping their little cousins build a waterfall.

The Garden

The girls asked me a few months ago for a garden. I told them we would, but they had to help. I thought they would be excited for a few days and then leave all the work for me. I was wrong. They moved the sod, helped me build garden boxes, hauled three truck loads of dirt and one truck load of gravel all without a word of complaint.

They both wanted their own box and insisted on doing the work themselves. I showed them U-tube videos on building garden boxes and we went to work. They sawed the wood for their boxes and drilled all the holes. I was very impressed. At the nursery, they insisted on buying their own plants and seeds, I tried to pay for it but they wouldn't let me. I am constantly surprised and amazed by these two girls. We had the best time building our garden. When they would get tired of working and needed a rest they would ask me to read to them and we would lay in the shade with our latest book. I really do love being their mom.

English- Who is winning the war?

Yesterday, I went to the store to buy something for my sprinklers. When the guy asked if I needed help I said, "Yes, can you show me where I can find a plastic thing to cap my Sprinkles."

The man pointed me in the right direction and my friend who was with me started laughing really hard.

I asked her what she was laughing at and she said, "You want a cap for your Sprinkles?" I was so embarrassed I had used my girl's word for Sprinklers. Everyone is constantly correcting the funny things I say in English. The scary thing is that it is subconscious and I don't even notice. I am supposed to be teaching them English but instead they are messing up mine.