Still busy, but still good...

It's hard to believe Nastya has only been here for six days...it feels like we've known her much longer. She is completely loveable, persistent, yet compliant when told "no" about anything (which rarely has to happen), great with my two kids who absolutely adore her, and very responsible.



This girl has very clever fingers

Prior to her arrival, I did a lot of reading and preparation to help me understand how to help her to be more connected. Many kids who grow up in institutions don't bond well, don't have a well developed playfulness, are fearful or defiant. I'm not naive enough to believe we won't have some boundaries tested in the next three weeks, but Nastya is bunking all the stereotypes so far.

The unexpected reality I'm facing is that she is causing ME to be more connected...to my kids, to all of you, and especially to God. I have been praying more than ever now that she is here. Even though she is a fantastic kid, being a host parent is tough. Every day I run the gamut of emotions. And if I didn't completely have unconditional love nailed down with my own kids, I'm getting a good grip on it now.

I'm also being forced to be way more intentional in my parenting than I have in a while. I'm realizing how I have had the tendency to overload our schedule and I have been missing out on quality time with our kids. It has been so fun to see all three of the kids (and, let's be honest, the two adults) blossom with her here. The pace has been frantic, but look at all the fun we're having!

Here are the highlights for this past weekend:



Looking for goldbug

More Mail! Thanks M...











* The girls got dressed up to go to a musical/interactive media show about Christmas called Winter's Dream produced by Christ's Church of the Valley. It was a great show and the girls looked so cute. Prior to the show we were able to go to dinner at Souplantation with our friends the Beckers and their host kids Nataliya and Vitaly. This was great timing because Nastya had asked the night before to call her caregiver at the boarding school back home...she was feeling a little homesick. Talking to N and V seemed to really perk her up!



Posing



My little ballerinas 

 

Souplantation with the Beckers and their host kiddos

 

* Sunday we went to church with our friends, the Cash's, and got a pic of us all dressed up. Afterwards we went to their house for brunch. Nastya seemed to be feeling insecure with all the unfamiliar faces (understandably) and we were considering taking her home but then she said she wanted to go out and use their rope swing and that seemed to break the ice for her. She went on to try her hand a cookie decorating with the rest of the kids. Everyone was so nice and made her feel welcome. Hooray for good friends!

All dressed for church

 



Trying out the rope swing

Cookie Decorating





Goofing off with the family

*That night we had Greg's parents and Uncle Johnny over for dinner. She really warmed up to them and it was a fun night. 

Crazy bubble bath time!

* At bedtime I asked her if she'd like to take a bubble bath (she's only taken showers so far). She said yes, and the pic above pretty much says it all. Right after this shot she started splashing around and throwing bubbles all over the place. The floor was flooded, but it was worth it to see her having a blast. Next time she wants Samantha and Trevor to join her so we'll have to bust out the bathing suits and make that happen soon.

We've had many more adventures (and a couple of misadventures) in the past couple of days, but those will have to wait for my next blog entry. Stay tuned and I'll try to make that happen soon!