The First Week Home

Alona's first week home flew by. In some ways, it seems like it hardly even happened, and then in other ways, it seems like she has been here forever! Having 4 little girls at home that I had been away from for 4 weeks left us little time to relax and get over our jet lag. We had to dive right in to all of the weekly activities that having 4 little girls bring!

Our first day home, we hung around the house for most of the day. We went on a little drive to show her around our side of town, and the main places we frequent. During the girls nap time/quiet time, Alona and I snuck out, and headed to 2 of my favorite stores...Target and Hobby Lobby:) We stocked Alona up on exercise clothes and pajamas. The rest of the day was spent at home, working on puzzles, and just hanging out. 

 Alona getting the grand tour of her new home 

Aislynn reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to her big sister our first night home

Showing Alona all of the things in her room

Room full of sisters!!

Working a puzzle...with a few helpers:)

The next few days we introduced Alona to something new each day. Sunday, we went to church. She was a bit overwhelmed because we attend a large church, and so many wonderful people have been praying for her for so long that they feel like they already know her. Conversely, Alona doesn't know any of them!! So, you can imagine how that would feel overwhelming to a teenager. She seemed to enjoy the service though, and was able to talk to our sweet friend Natalya in Ukraine that afternoon for a long while. 

Monday brought a fun day of shopping for clothes and eating lunch with Aislynn at school. Tuesday, we spent a quiet day at home after taking Ryan to work (his car was in the shop). Wednesday we ventured to storytime at the Children's Library....a favorite of my girls. Thursday, we spent the day with Avalea's preschool class at the pumpkin patch. That was a cultural experience for Alona. She had never visited a pumpkin patch, much less gone on a hayride. Friday, we went to the zoo. This past week-end brought 3 birthday parties, church, and a fabulous fundraiser dinner for the adoption agency that conducted our home study. 

Alona and Avalea on the hay ride

My girls get measured at the pumpkin patch each year, so I made Alona do it as well:)

Photographer in action!

Sweet sisters at the zoo

Taking pictures at the zoo

Love my girls!!

Avalea and Alona snuggled up watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory during quiet time

Special group of friends and family at the Bethany fundraiser dinner

Working hard on her English lessons!

Daddy teaching her about chores

Many people are interested in hearing about how Alona and the girls are adjusting to our new family dynamic. I can honestly say that it is going wonderfully! My little ones ADORE their big sister, and the only issue we are having, is teaching them about privacy:) We are having to teach them that when a bedroom or bathroom door are closed, you can't just barge in....like they do with me!! Alona is wonderful with the girls as well, and has jumped right in with helping me tuck them in and give them good night hugs and kisses. She helps me load them in the car, and buckles their seat belts for me. 

Alona has been extremely willing and eager to tag along with Ryan and me on all of our errands. She has enjoyed grocery shopping with Ryan and helping him pick out some of the items on our list. She is picking up English at a very quick pace, and is even taking a few bites of vegetables...here and there:) Ryan taught her how to vacuum her room yesterday, and she even went on a walk with him last night. Now that is HUGE because my girl does not like exercise!! Alona is really making this house her home, and has re-arranged some things in her room to her liking. I love that she feels comfortable enough to do that. 

Alona expressed interest in photography while we were in Ukraine, so we have given our camera to her to explore an take pictures as she likes. She enjoyed taking pictures on the pumpkin patch field trip, and when I told her we were going to the zoo, she grabbed the camera without any prompting. I know I am biased, but she really has a great eye! For someone who has never used a camera before, she has captured some truly great shots. I can't wait to see how her talent develops and grows as she is able to learn more. Here are a few pics that she has snapped this past week:

Aren't they awesome?!?

We officially started school today. We have not set a rigid schedule or routine, because we are just at that stage where the girls are not all on the same schedule. They are in MDO 2 days a week (other than my kindergartner, who is in a fabulous public school 5 days a week)  which are my days to actually get things done. Monday is a MDO day, so today I had a doctors appointment scheduled. Alona spent some time with my mom while I was at the doctor, and went to a local boutique to have her make up done and to do a little shopping. I wanted her to  have her make up done by a professional so that she would know what to do with certain products. She is 16 after all, and most teenage girls like to play around with make up. Alona left with some neutral eye shadow and good face moisturizer....age appropriate I think;) 

Trying on some shades

How pretty is our girl??

After shopping and lunch,we came home for Alona to do her bible study while the house was quiet. I decided last week that I wanted to start out her bible studies by learning about some of the strong women of the Bible.  I thought Ruth would be an excellent place to start. Ruth left her home country and everything she knew to start a new life with her mother in law in a foreign land. She knew no one other than her mother in law and yet went because she felt as though that was what the Lord wanted her to do. I can't help but think of the similarities of Ruth and Alona. Alona left her home country and all that she knew to live in a foreign land with her new family. 

After reading the assigned chapters in her Bible each day, I am having Alona underline 3 verses that stood out to her in each chapter. I am then having her look those verse up in my English language Bible, and having her write them down in her journal. After completing her assignment, I went back to look at the verses she has chosen. Here are a couple from each chapter, " But Ruth replied, Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people. Your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me" Ruth 1:16-17. "Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother in law since the death of your husband-how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge"' Ruth 2:11-12.

How truly wonderful are those verses, for Alona to have read and written down? I have to pray and hope that those verses are comforting to her as she continues to adjust to her new family, life, and country. 

After her Bible lesson, Alona sat down at the computer for her English lessons. We chose to go with the Rosetta Stone English home school curriculum for her, and so far, we are very pleased. She has already done one week's worth, and is doing a fantastic job! We are about to go over the food pyramid with her for health/nutrition, and our math guru Ryan has printed off a ton of math worksheets for her to start to assess where she is on her math skills. 

Each and every day is presenting a ton of learning experiences for her, and we are trying to go with the flow and find that balance of not overwhelming her, but challenging her to learn and grow. 

We cannot express enough how grateful we are to be home under one roof and finally embarking on this leg of our journey. I will continue to blog as much as time allows, and plan to post sometime this week about 3 special young ladies that are weighing heavily on my heart as they wait for their forever families. 

Thank you to each of you who continue to shower us with support, love, and prayers. It is our hope that we can be an encouragement to at least one other family that thinks that adoption might just be in their future:) Thank you for being a part of this adventure, and please continue to follow along and lift our not so little family up in prayer!