If we can get through one year...

....we can get through forever! This time last year, the girls were coming "home" for the first time. Wow, what a year! Jessica has reminded me several times over the past few weeks that we were coming up on the year mark, and that she could hardly believe it! Ken and I never dreamed of having 3 kids, but this is what we were lead to, and it has all been so worth it. It has been a tough year in many ways, but all our experiences have made us stronger as a family and closer than ever. I know several families that have adopted, mentioned that it takes a good year to work out the kinks, and then the family mold feels like it has always been there. I concur with this...every experience throughout this year has brought us closer with each other and it is really hard to imagine our lives without the kiddos! I love to look at all the photos that we have taken as it is amazing to see the changes in the girls. The picture above is the only picture we had of the girls for the year that we worked on our dossier to adopt them, and I love it! Here is a picture of the girls taken over the last couple months...what a difference!

Trouble

Does he look like trouble?? I love this boy to pieces, but boy does he have us on our toes already. First day of school, not so good. Second day of school, not so good. He is having a tough time listening and following directions, and yesterday even hit a kid over the head with a book. Okay, so this is kind of funny but, yikes! I have already had phone calls from his teacher both days.

Here's hoping to a GOOD third day of school...

1st day of School...

...and no tears!! Jessica started High School (9th grade), Erika started 6th, and Kyle started Kindergarten. What a difference today was, compared to when the girls started last October. They are more confident and comfortable, and today was confirmation of that. Jessica jumped right out of the car when I pulled up to the high school and had a big smile on her face. She woke herself up this morning before I did, which is a huge shock. She told me she woke up really excited for the day ahead of her.

Erika is at the same school as last year, so it wasn't much of a change for her. One of her good friends ended up in the same class as her, so I think that helps! And Kyle, well, he has been so use to daycare/preschool this last year that it wasn't any bid deal for him. He was so excited and kept telling me he wanted to go to his "new school" with his cool spider man backpack. He marched right into his classroom, and went straight for his seat (which he remembered from meet the teacher night). I started to walk out of the class, and he yelled for me to give him a hug and a kiss, which I did...then he proceeded to show the girl across from him his backpack and all his goodies inside! No tears, no dragging kids into their classrooms, no pouty faces...all smiles! It was a good day! :)

UPDATE:

Here is what they looked like after their first day of school....a little tired. :)

Playin' in the rain!

I love Arizona monsoon storms! They are a nice break from the oh-so-hot sun, and the water is much needed. We had our first "real" storm of the season a few nights ago, and Jessica and Erika had a fun time experiencing it! I had to get a few photos as this was a "first" for them.

4th of July Vacation!

Ken was attending a conference in Orlando the first week of July, so we decided to tag along and spend a few days at Disney World! I am a huge Disney fan, and LOVE Disneyland so this has always been a dream of mine to head to the bigger place. It is beyond huge and consists of maybe five different parks. You cannot just park-hop like you would at Disneyland, you have to take a taxi/shuttle and usually takes about 15 minutes to get from one to another. It was really hot and humid which made the kids a little irritable at times, but I was having a blast and could have kept going! Ken was able to spend the first day with us at Magic Kingdom, and then we were on our own! My friend, Sarah, came with which was a lot of fun!

We had only 3 days of theme parks so we had to pick which ones to visit; we chose Magic Kingdom (basically Disneyland), Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. Let me just say that 3 days is not nearly enough time to get everything done! Animal Kingdom was by far my favorite, and I wish I had 3 days to just spend there! Here are a bunch of pics from our vacation.

Magic Kingdom:

We enjoyed many of the classic Disney rides, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and Thunder Mountain. This park was missing some of my favorite's that Disneyland has, so while I really enjoyed being there, I can say that Disneyland still holds the top spot for being my favorite.

Hollywood Studios:

This park is comparable to California Adventure. The day we went here, was probably the hottest and most humid day so we didn't stay too long! But it was fun and enjoyable nonetheless. I loved the entrance! You walk down this street that has the old Hollywood buildings which leads to the main courtyard where Mickey's huge magical hat sits!

Animal Kingdom:

This park is really fun! It is basically a very large zoo with some of the most fun rides mixed in as well as all the Disney characters. The African Safari Adventure was by far my favorite. The kids had a blast, and the weather was actually cool this day! This was the only day that it poured rain. The first major down pour we fled to the nearest cover which was this little nook that was basically only tree cover. I stood there with the kids, and they were just laughing at how wet we were getting! It looked like a flood running down at our feet so our shoes were soaked. Jessica said this was the day she would never forget! We toughed it out, and put our poncho's on and went for it!

Little Pool Fun!

We got Kyle's pool out the other night (around 110 degrees outside), and the girls insisted on getting in with him to cool off. They all fit! Here is a video of them being silly! From the video you can also get an idea of Kyle's energy level....this is everyday for us! ;)

Another successful court hearing!!

Let me first start off by saying that I REALLY prefer the US court system over Ukraine's. Today was our court hearing to finalize Jessica's adoption. Because of my age difference I was not able to legally adopt Jessica in Ukraine (according to Ukraine law). However because of our unique situation in that we had already adopted Erika's and Jessica's brother, the Ukraine system allowed Ken to fully adopt Jessica with the condition that I would adopt her here in the US. It is now done!

I could tell Jessica was a little nervous, but it was the most laid back court hearing I have ever been to (I have only experienced Ukraine). We were allowed to speak (without first being spoken to), we could sit down while answering their questions. At the very end, the attorney called Kyle up to the stand, and the Judge declared the adoption final. So they gave Kyle the gavel, and told him to hit it on the desk twice and declare the case closed. It was the cutest thing ever! We all had a good laugh, and he did such a good job....hmmm, possible career I think. Then the judge allowed us on the stand to take a picture with him, and stood out of his chair so Jessica could take the big seat! Love this judge!

He knew from reading the home study that Jessica loves art, so he asked her to draw and/or paint something and send it to him. I know that Jessica will do just that! She was already asking on the way home what she could draw for him. With as particular attention to detail that she has, I know it will take her some time to decide but I can't wait to see what she ends up with. I will have to post a picture of the final outcome....she is very creative.