Week Four report

I left off the last post with the boys heading out to school after the second of two two-hour delays.  Wednesday Sergey went to the dentist - one cavity and one almost cavity, which we will wait to fill until he comes and is on our insurance (the dentist said they are super small and he should be fine to wait a few months).  He did NOT want to go - the look he gave me when I told him we were going was the most negative I've ever seen from him, but it still had that little smile behind it, and he still went willingly.  The amazing thing was this - we took him to the dentist when he was here LAST YEAR.  We recently had to change insurance companies and our old dentist was not on our plan, so we switched dentists. When I took a turn towards the new office, he pointed straight ahead, which is the direction you would take to our old dentist office.  I told you - the kid is crazy smart.

I won't elaborate here about something that happened on Wednesday, but I will say that we ended up having a deeper talk with Sergey than we ever have had before, on Thursday morning, due to what happened. I had asked several close friends to pray for us because of how nervous I was about how it would go, and God was SOOOO gracious and faithful.  It was a great conversation, that I feel really helped us get to know our boy better, to see who he really is, and to connect to him in a new way. I literally felt like a new person on Thursday after the conversation (we went to see Emmanuel so he could help translate), and was just beyond grateful for the mercy of our God.  In response to my email request for prayer, one of my friends responded with these words that God had brought to her while praying with some other friends that night, and they spoke right to my heart. I feel like they would be helpful for anyone in a position of fear/doubt/uncertainty, so I will share them with you :-):

God hears your groaning

He remembers the covenant and his promises to you

You (and me!) ask questions "who am I to handle this"...God says, "I will be with you". 

God softens the oppressors

God sees his children and is concerned

God is the one who leads heart to repent

Just when the Israelites thought they were trapped, God moved, God rescued, parted the @&$:+# waters and swallowed evil whole. You have all this and more in Christ....sheeze, I need to believe this too tonight!! 

Wednesday was my dad's birthday, so we all went to Charlottesville to watch UVA play Wake Forest. We had been inspired by the great WFU victory over UNC earlier that week, but unfortunately a different team showed up and we were trounced - at the time we left we were down by 30 points!!!  Thankfully, it was still a really fun night - got to have dinner with Mimi and Poppy and enjoy time with them.  We also got to ride in Poppy's enormous new car - it seats 12 people, so we are already planning lots of family trips together :-).

Thursday was a great day. The weather was gorgeous, and after our talk with Emmanuel we came home and had lunch and just enjoyed being here until it was time to do our rounds and pick up all the other kids :-).  We did Rosetta Stone that afternoon since we wouldn't be home that night, and he is really getting so good.  He is just so smart and I know he is going to pick it up so quickly. That evening some dear friends came over for dinner and it was truly perfect. I would like to share some of the words that she sent me in an email later that night, so that you can see that we are not the only ones in love with this boy (plus I just think she really gets him :-).

You can just tell (even with the language barrier) that he's humble, compassionate, and that he loves people...loves to be around them, interact, play with kids, animals, etc.  He is respectful, and not in a way that feels fake or like he's putting on a front.  He truly CARES about what others think and how they feel.  Just the way he looks at people...you can see in his eyes that he's kind and receptive. It was so sweet how he hung around all evening and kept coming back to sit at the table to be with us.  Even when we really didn't talk to him and the rest of the kids had left.  I was SO sad that I couldn't just talk to him...and my heart broke a little because i longed for him to be able to join in conversation and not feel left out.  but he genuinely seemed to just love being there with us and that just made me smile on the inside.  he is truly your son...in every way.

After dinner, Clint and Sam headed down to basketball practice and Liv, Sergey, Harry and I went to see the Hobbit.  Some very kind friends had given us movie passes for Christmas, so we took those and went for a fun evening.  At the time we had planned to go it was only in 3-D, so I saw my first 3-D movie ever.  It was pretty awesome - I think Sergey really liked it.  It was fun to see him move in his seat in response to things coming at him - especially in the Spiderman preview.  And then when we got home he had me take a picture of him in his glasses - they were a big hit :-).

Friday, after staying out super late at the movies, Sergey slept until almost 11:00!!!  When he came down, I said "You slept really late!!" and he looked at the clock. His eyes got really big and he said "Oiy!"  It made me laugh :-).  It rained ALL day, and we ran lots of errands and got stuff done (bagging shoes, dropping off/picking up a car for brake work, picking up shoes from various locations, etc.).  Friday early evening we all went up to Burkwood to blow off a little steam from being inside all day.  We had ALL SIX of us lined up in a row on the treadmills - I wish I could have gotten a picture of it :-). He is getting the hang of the treadmill, and ran a pretty quick 3 miles.  Then he did a bunch of weights and machines - I think when he is here for good we will be spending lots of time up there! We finished the evening off with a swim (let me clarify - everyone else swam and I watched ;-), and then had some pizza and headed home.  When we got home Harry and Sam worked on homework while Sergey and I did Rosetta Stone, and then I headed to bed to get ready for what was going to be a big weekend!!!

This weekend was the long-awaited 2nd Annual Jensen-Schmidt Tennis Academy, a tennis camp for folks with disabilities, down at VCU.  I brought them here for the first time last year, and it was truly a major highlight of the year for me (and, I think, for all the volunteers and athletes). Vince Schmidt, the man who volunteers his time to run these camps ever since he had a son with Down syndrome, is absolutely amazing.  I will include a few pictures here, but I have hundreds and every one of them is better than the last.  If you would like to join us next year as a volunteer buddy, please let me know - you will NOT regret it.  Sergey came with me last year on Sunday, but this year he came both days.  He was smiling the whole time and really seemed to enjoy himself.  I am not sure if he has had any exposure to anyone with special needs where he lives, so I am looking forward to being able to talk to him about it one day, once we have the ability to communicate about such things :-).  (Yesterday he saw a picture of a young man with Down syndrome and smiled big and pointed it out to me, so I think he gets it :-). For now, I can tell that he really enjoyed himself, and I absolutely loved having him there.

Saturday we went right from camp to Harry's basketball game, and then came home for a bit. We met some dear friends for dinner at Bass Pro Shop (pic below), which was super fun (and yummy :-).

Saturday night when we left Bass Pro we went to some friends' house and had the perfect evening of fun.  They have a ping pong table, on which we played many games of around-the-world ping pong, almost ALL of which Sergey won (despite each of us trying SO hard to beat him!!!).  Afterwards we headed inside and played Mexican train dominos.  I absolutely LOVE watching him learn new things, and I also always love watching him compete. And finally, I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching some of the people in my life who I love the most starting to fall in love with him too :-).  We stayed so long that Sam passed out on the floor watching football, and probably would have stayed even longer if Clint didn't have to get up and preach the next morning :-).  As an only child, I am so very VERY grateful to God that He continues to place people in my life who are like sisters/brothers to me.

Sunday we left for camp right from church, and then to Harry's basketball game right from camp. When we got home, Sergey headed immediately outside and started playing basketball.  He was still out there long after it got dark. At different times various folks went out to play with him (Clint, Harry, Sam), but he stayed out there for a really long time. I am hoping that he is catching the basketball bug and will want to play himself when he is here :-).  He was out until after dark again last night, and then actually got to play in a scrimmage at Harry's practice last night, so we hope to get him on a team this summer :-).

Yesterday we sent everyone back to school, and then had a day at home.  We went to the store to start to pull together the things he will be taking back with him.  I am thankful that I know better what he wants/needs in his backpack and suitcase.  He only gets 50 pounds in the suitcase, and then whatever we can shove into the backpack.  It was so fun walking around Target desperately trying to get him to tell me what he wanted. He is SO hesitant to share what he wants (he actually told us when we were with Emmanuel last week that he just doesn't like to ask for things. It wasn't something that was a result of the folks at his orphanage - it's just his personality.  I love getting to know more and more about him - it's like continuing to open a wonderful present :-).  We spent a bunch of money and left with lots of goodies for him to take back to his friends and teachers.  He did tell me about wanting a magnet of Virginia for his chaperone - it is the ONLY thing he has ever told me that he wants. I was so excited - Google translate even worked (!!) from Ukranian to English, and so I came home and posted on Facebook for suggestions of where to get one.  Social media kicked in - within hours I had 20 posts :-).  So today we will be heading back out to do some more shopping - he still needs to buy a present for his girlfriend as well :-).

After Target we went to Trader Joe's for some groceries, and then went to Liv's school for lunch.  At her new school, they have almost an hour for lunch every day, and are allowed to go outside to enjoy the beautiful grounds.  We waited for a day with nice weather, and then Sergey went and joined Liv and her friends for lunch.  As you might have guessed, they played soccer :-).  I know Liv loved having him there, and I could tell he enjoyed it too.  Can't imagine he won't look back on this picture and smile ;-).

Last night after getting home from the boys basketball practice (I had bible study so I got home after them) we put the other kids in bed and played one more game with just the three of us.  It was really fun to see how much more comfortable he has become with Clint, and to see them talking trash and mocking each other while playing - the way that males in this house show affection :-).  He even used some new English words that I have not heard him say before, like "chicken" :-).  We will probably spend some time today/tonight working on the photo album for him to take home.  The past two hosting trips I have done it for him - the first time as a surprise that we gave him in the hotel the night before, and then last time I gave it to him the night before he left.  This time we went and bought the album itself together, and when I asked him if he wanted one I could tell he really did.  I am so curious - does he still have those ones from past years? Does he look at them when he is in Ukraine? Does he miss us, or does he just live day to day?  So many questions - not sure how many of them will be answered, but grateful for the little discoveries we make every day.

I am not sure when the next time I will blog.  We will be taking him to the airport on Thursday - leaving here around mid-day for Dulles.  We don't have any big plans between now and then - just trying to squeeze every last second we have together as tightly as we can.  I think, as usual, I will be a wreck after he leaves, but knowing that we will hopefully be seeing him again in March on our first of three trips to Ukraine will be very comforting.  I am hoping to fill February with preparations for our trip, so that it will fly by.  The fact that nothing is really known for certain - when we will travel, how long we will be there, whether this will really happen, what will happen when we are there - tempts me very strongly to worry/doubt/be anxious/try to control things/get more to eat. However, last night's Bible study was a perfect message for me.  We are studying Matthew, and we had read the passage about Jesus walking out on the water to meet the disciples.  The thing that really struck me from the teaching was that Jesus had SENT them out into that storm.  They were being obedient to him, right in the middle of his will, right where he wanted them to be.  God does NOT promise us that there will not be storms, but he does promise that He will be with us in the midst of them.  We are not certain what will happen as we head out on this boat, but we are completely certain that he has sent us out, and so we go.  If (when?) storms come, I just pray that we will be willing, like Peter, to walk out towards Jesus, that my inclination will not be to desperately try to bail water/row harder/paddle faster, but to look to my Savior, my creator, the ONLY one who can rescue me, or Sergey, or any of us, in the middle of the storm.  He is the King of creation - so grateful He is my King.