Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Vitalik's received some presents from his grandparents and this airplane was one of them. What a great symbol of his new life and family.
Charles and I enjoying Christmas :)
Joshua 10th birthday
Lauren with her Piano teacher Laura Franks (my friend and prayer partner) along with some friends

This is the GT boys. They sang in our Christmas program at church. They were a big hit!
Joshua and Lauren being silly.
I think Vitalik liked the ping pong table.

Hello Everyone,

It was a lot of fun seeing Vitalik, Joshua and Lauren enjoy this Christmas. Vitalik really enjoyed getting the ping pong table and trampoline. He was so excited when he layed his eyes on the trampoline. He ran over to us and gave us a big hug. He helped put it together, it was a bit of a challenge for the boys, but they got the job done. They have a great time jumping and doing flips. Mom likes it to..... it's good exercise for me and them.

All of us have been ajusting to our new family. We have many laughs at the kitchen table. Vitalik loves making us laugh, he really gets Joshua and Lauren laughing. He's quit the entertainer. Of course, then Josh and Lauren start their comedy act. We have a house full on a regular basis. Vitalik had Yuri and Cole over this past weekend, if you don't know them, they are 2 boys that were adopted from the same internot in Odessa. They are Vitalik's age. He also, gets to spend time with his good friend Anastasia. She was adopted this past Spring. We have become friends with her parents Warren and Diana Nyffeler. They are really loving people.

We do have days where they are challenging. We have had to set limits on T.V. and video games. That hasn't been much fun, but very necessary. He really needs structure, as we all do, but more so I think for him. He is doing well in school. We is taking ESL at one of the local high

schools. He is learning how to study. He has never had to study like this. Every day studying his English. He complained at first, but now he knows what is expected of him. Vitalik is very smart and if he applies he himself will do real well. We see an improvement in his English on a weekly basis.
We are expecting God to do great things this year. We are excited in our spirits about what God is doing in us and through us. I will tell you more about this soon.

We send warm wishes to all our friends and family for a blessed 2008.


Blessings,

Jeri
Leslie... if you see this, I lost your blog address and email. Please give it to me. If you have my email, send it to me that way.








5 comments:

Jeri said...

Hi Jeri,

My name is Jeri Grothues and we adopted from Ukraine in 2000. Our son, Alexander, (original...huh?) is now 10 going on 37. Just out of curiosity, what is your middle name? I rarely find another Jeri...mine is Lynn. take care and congratulations on your son's arrival!

Unknown said...

Hi guys.
My name is Anastasia. I know Vitalik, because I was with him in the same school, and I know his sister she was with me in the same grade.

So, how are you doing Vitalik in America? Do you like your new family? I think so.

What a blessing for all of you.

Leslie said...

Hey! I'm ashamed to say I haven't been on the computer much and am just now checking in! Our blog is http://KristinasStory.blogspot.com Its so good to hear that everyone is adjusting well. Its a process, isn't it??? We're doing well. I hope our paths are able to cross again. Let me know if you guys ever make it down to DisneyWorld!

Unknown said...

Hey everybody. We need new pics from you guys...

Leslie said...

Hey, Jeri! I was just thinking about you and wondering how the family is doing. Drop me a line sometime!