The end of week #2 in the USA

Josh had his cavaties filled at Dr. Holmes' office.  Josh did great and Dr. Holmes was really super with him. 

We have been so busy doing so many great things.  Josh & Cate are going to play Upwards Soccer at The Chapel so they had evaluations with their friend, Cory.  They had seen Cory at Pastor Hawks' pool so they knew he was their friend and felt comfortable at the evaluations.

The kids have really taken to the water and swimming is in our daily routine.  They will be in for a shock when school starts and they have to stop swimming each day.  They sure love the water.

When we got home from swimming one day we had a package at our door.  It was from some of our favorite people, John & Kim Porter.  They sent the kids some new clothes and paint books.  They always make the package special by putting their names on the front and writing them a personal letter.  Thanks Kim & John! 

Our friends, Josh & Leah, came over for the day on Friday.  We spent some time at the house and then went to a movie.  It is nice to have friends to hang out with. 

And then at night we have a celebration party with our friends, the Pearsons, because they just got matched with their new daughter, Lienne, from China.  We wanted to show them how excited we were about their big news and swim with Lauryne & Landon.  We had fun at the Hawks' pool.  Thanks Pator Rick and Miss Cathy.

On Saturday we decided to try kids' church at The Chapel instead of going into the big church and it worked out great.  Miss Becca and Mr. Fred sure do a nice job!  Plus Cate saw her friend Lauryn Pearson there and that made her feel right at ease.  Thanks Lauryne for being a good friend to Cate.

Of course we have to have some silly pictures with Mom & Dad!

And to end our week today on Sunday we had our bible study group up at the lake to meet the kids and enjoy some social time on the water.  It was so much fun and the kids did really good getting along with everyone.  Thanks for coming guys!  We are so thankful for your support and prayers through our journey with Josh & Cate.

Tomorrow starts week #3 in the USA for us.  We have had a great start to life in America.

Thanks for reading our blog and being a blessing to us.

Still having fun in week #2

Eventually I will start to update the blog weekly instead of daily but so many of you are such faithful prayer warriors that I wanted to keep you in the loop.  Things are still going amazingly well.  We still continue to swim alot and get introduced to new & old friends. 

We spent Tuesday at the lake cottage getting re-acquainted with Uncle Kirk.  We were sad Aunt Jenni wasn't there too.  We hope to meet up with her soon. 

After being at the lake we then met friends at the Hawks' pool.  What nice folks Rick and Cathy are to loan out their pool on these hot summer days.  We met up with new friends, Josh & Leah whose mother I volunteer with at Fostering Hope, Melissa Wolfe.

Today, Wednesday morning, we just had an easy morning at home and the kids learned how to "play" and have "free time".  Their life in the orphanage was very structured and we never saw toys just sitting around.  Relaxing and choosing your own toy to play with and just chilling out with your imagination is new to them.  They actually did great with this today.  The first few times I've tried it they have touched every electronic device in our house and pushed buttons I couldn't fix plus lock themselves in the bathroom, etc.  They went crazy and about drove their new Mommy crazy so we are learning what this "free time" thing looks like and what are good choices .  So below you will see that Josh got out some Tonka trucks that our boys had and Cate pulled out Courtney's barbies and they spent quite awhile just playing.  It was great.  Mommy was actually able to check email and do laundry.  It was a huge blessing for me to see that window of normalacy (as I view it) to be happening.  These kids really are doing a great job of adapting to life in the USA. 

 Oh and we tried a trip to the grocery store.  It was a little hectic and he only ran into her 3 times on her heels but overall we did good plus we got out without buying anything unneccessary.  Of course Dora and Scooby Doo fruit snacks were neccessary and Mommy had to have a coke!

These kiddos are very helpful.  They are used to taking charge and making adult decisions so sometimes we have to undo the decisions but for the most part it is great to have them be so helpful.

Oh and one more exciting piece of news....we want to say "Congratulations to our friends Dave & Dawne Pearson on their match with an adorable little girl from China.  Yay! Pearson family. "

Monday of week 2.

What a fun day today.  Swimming is always at the top of our list and since the weather is cooperating so nicely we just plan on swimming most days.  We started off at the Splash Pad on Bass Rd. for a picnic lunch, park time and of course water time with some friends we met last year, the Shoppell family.  Then we headed to the Hawks' pool for some real swimming time and ended up at the YMCA pool to check out their facility.  The big purple slide was closed so we will have to check it out later.

Week #2 in the USA

 We sure have had an exciting jam packed first week and are now moving onto the 2nd week. Yesterday on Sunday we spent the day in Brook getting reaquainted with our Lola (Grandma) Clark. 

Cate also discovered what a water fountain was.  New experiences everyday that you wouldn't think were a big deal.  Magic how the water comes out of this box.

 We always love to eat at our favorite local restaurant, The Good Table.

   The highlight of the afternoon was playing in Grandpa Clark's electric chair.

More Big Days

Friday was fun. We got invited to the Hawks's pool and that was a blast. These kids have really surprised me with their swimming skills. No lessons as far as I know but great survival skills so they dive right in and take off. Several other families were there so it was a good time to learn some social skills too.

When Daddy Jeff got home we drove to Zach & Courtney's church in Lakeville (Olive Branch Church) . They were hosting the final evening of their VBS and we thought the kids would enjoy being there. They love church and anytime is a good time to work on social skills. They are pretty shy at first but then finally warm up and just about the time we leave they are just feeling comfortable. Then when we leave they always ask if we are going back tomorrow? They really are doing a great job of adjusting to new situations. Nice Job Courtney & Zach on the VBS program. It was great