Jan trip to Miami

Slava's 3rd Gotcha Day!

Well, Slava's Gotcha Day didn't exactly go as planned. We drove 30 minutes to this awesome Russian restaurant (same one we went to the year before) only to find out it is closed for renovations! We ended up having some really great pizza and Slava loved it... so that's all that matters. The next day we celebrated with family and cake - what a great weekend!

life is good : 0

Pics from my phone...

Russia and Taiwan

My primary reason for creating a blog was so that my boys could look back and experience the journey we took to bring them home. With Slava, I kept the blog going for several months after he came home and then it became harder and harder to find the time to sit... let alone blog. However, upon William's arrival, I have tried to make a concerted effort to keep it updated... selfishly... for me. I am AWFUL at taking pictures and the rare occurrence that I actually do take pictures, they sit in my camera forever!  I am becoming very aware of how quickly time goes by... and I want to remember these times forever.  However, not everything recently has been rainbows and butterflies but I still think it's important to remember... and keep hope that things can change.

That being said, there have been a couple recent events that I haven't posted about...

I found out recently that the organization we went through to bring William home... New Hope... is no longer facilitating international adoptions. This news was extremely hard to hear. Knowing we were one of the last families to bring their baby home and knowing there were so many other families still waiting for their babies... it's such a strange feeling. I feel so blessed, lucky, grateful to have my sweet William home. At the same time, imagining the disappointment the other families must feel truly tugs at my heart. I contacted our caseworker and apparently, New Hope must focus on domestic adoptions to gain accredidation. Hopefully, things will change in the future... fingers crossed,  prayers being said...

Russia!!! Truly, I haven't posted about this because it's been too hard to even think about. Obviously, I am speaking about Russia no longer allowing Americans to adopt Russian children. I literally cried for 2 days straight when I heard the news. I could go on and on about how I feel but that's not what's important. I pray each night that God (and my mother) takes care of all those children who will never know the love of a family. I pray that Mr Putin will reconsider... and decide to put politics aside and do what is best for the children of his country.
We will celebrate Slava's 3rd Gotcha day this Saturday, the 12th.  This year will be a little bittersweet for me. I look at my sweet boy and I can't help but think of all those babies that never made it out of the orphanage and some that never will. Slava is too little to understand the magnitude of what has happened and so we will keep the day light and happy. We will have a yummy Russian dinner and tell stories about our time in Russia. Daddy even bought him a special gift (a new Tom Brady jersey since the one he has is worn to shreds!). Each year he understands a little more... which I am sure will get a little trickier the older he gets but for now... we will just celebrate the amazing country that allowed us to be parents to this perfect little boy.

LIFE IS GOOD

Long time...

It's been a busy, busy couple of weeks! We had an incredible Holiday celebrating with family and friends... they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here you go...
I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday and I wish you a happy, healthy 2013!!

Life is Good :)

Yet another haircut!!!

Connecticut

Tonight, I will hug my boys a little longer... and tell them a couple more times how very much I love them. My heart is breaking for all the lives lost today and the families that are now left to deal with such unimaginable grief. May the memories of these children and adults be ETERNAL.
"Where pain and sorrow are no more."