[momraine]

Lets hear your updates, how are your kids doing if they are home, if not where are you in the process and how are you holding up? Lets hear from everyone.

[lastpaige]

As of June 4th we’ve accepted a referral and wait to hear our scheduled court date. The minute it comes in we start planning travel to meet and bring home our sons. (Wroclaw here we come!)

Because we are not leaving the boys, (and my husband has decided against leaving his wife, and four children in a foreign country unprotected), we are all staying in Poland for the entire period. It will be a logistical challenge, but we’re ready. Four of us fly to Orlando where we drop our girls off with Babcia and Dziadek. Piotr and I continue on to Poland and settle into a rental house. 10 days or so later, Babcia and Dziadek deliver the girls to us in Poland and then head off for their own travels. We hunker down, or travel, or a bit of each as dictated by what we’re allowed to do, and what the boys can and can not handle. Once we’re free and clear, the six of us will together head back home.

Right now all that holds us up is the court date and the girls’ passports. The passports should be here tomorrow. As for court dates . . . who really knows?

[Kama]

We have been home for 8+ months (8 on 26 July), and we have doing great. Our 4 yr old daughter has finally potty trained (this was the main challenge for us and some moodiness related to this) and is a delightful little girl, I have a strong bond with her already and my husband too although in some ways she favors mama. She was going to pre-school and was much loved there and very much enjoyed it.

Our son is also a delightful, handsome and bright 9 yr old. He has done very well socially, at school and at soccer. He is driven, competitive and curious about things. He has formed several friendships already. He is very sensitive and was difficult in the first few months because of his strong emotional reactions to things that did not "go his way." He is still emotional and reacts strongly to some situations, wants to be in the center of attention all the time (it is always "tata look at me, mama look at me!"), we think it is somehow anxiety related. He is affectionate and attaching well, but is just a bit more difficult than she is. We love both to pieces though. We are currently moving to Alaska (as I am writing this!), so we expect that the new transition may be difficult on them (we see some of this on the trip!).

[momraine]

It's good to hear how people are doing. I came home close to when Kama did. My son is seven. This summer he has learned to swim, and in the process finally learned to trust me, and bond with me. He had bonded with dad and siblings, but resisted bonding with me. I think he felt it would be disloyal to the nun who raised him and to whom he was very close. She treated him like her own son, so leaving her was painful for both of them. However in the pool he really wanted to learn to swim. An 11 year we met at convention who also has no legs and one arm taught him how she swims. He needed to practice but realized that dad and brothers all got bored just following him around the pool and picking him up when he got tired or out of air. (he was swimming under water and for a while could not figure out how to come up for air) So he trusted only me to be with him in the pool and it really helped us to bond. He finally figured out a way to get air while swimming. (he turns over and floats on his back). He can swim well now.
Like Kama's son he loves to be the center of attention, and was used to getting that. The sisters who raised him told me that they had spoiled him because he was the favorite. He had learned several ways to get that attention and we are trying to break him of that habit. He is also a very good little actor and was able to trick his teachers a lot last year. He had them convinced he could do almost nothing by himself, which is totally not true. He can dress himself faster than my other kids and he goes to the bathroom at home by himself and takes no longer than the other kids. However he convinced the teacher that he could not do it by himself. When I told them he could, they let him try and he was so slow, they gave up and helped him. He also kept pretending to fall off the toilet. He also convinced them he was tired all the time and needed a nap. I know he was not taking naps in Poland, they gave me his schedule and he does not take one at home, not all summer. He finally admitted to me that he was bored in school and by convincing them he was tired he got taken to a quiet room by the adult and got time alone with her. He also convinced them he could not get in and out of his own wheelchair and that his back hurt him all the time so he needed to be moved from chair to chair all the time. We had his back checked by three doctors and it's fine and he told the last one that it only hurts when he is bored. He also informed me that it was fun when his back hurt because the teachers picked him up and hugged him. I love him dearly, but he is very good at manipulating. I am hoping that this year since he gets a new teacher and aid I can meet with them ahead of time and let them know what he can and can't do. He is very smart and has figured out that since most people have never been around a kid with no legs and one arm, they don't know what he can and can't do. When we went to convention and there five others, he actually was depressed. He said, here everyone is like me and I am not special and those moms know what I can do. He got over it in an hour or two and was thrilled to find they could teach him some new things. He is eating better, he has grown three inches, but I would still like to see him gain a little weight. He told me yesterday, "thank you for adopting me" He and his sister were discussing how sad they are that other kids still don't have a family. We have been praying as a family for a child in Haiti to find a family, because he was born in July, and is very much like M, but we really can't afford another adoption right now. He has he new chair, and loves it, and we have the wheelchair van. We got involved with an organization that does activiteis for the disabled and he and dad went camping last weekend and did Kyaking and archery and other stuff. He has also done water skiiing and jet skiing and stuff through them. He loves trying all this stuff. Well, geuss that's enough update from me!