My true moment of happiness and total relief was December 17 - the day I walked through those immigration doors at the Detroit airport. That is the day that I knew we were going to be ok. We were safe, and we were home! We were finally going to start living like a family.
Anyhow, we did not celebrate in any way. Just a normal ole' day with the exception that daddy stayed home from work and spent the day with Olena. We have been doing to winter cleaning around the house, which has been great. I have been able to get my pack rat of a husband to actually get rid of some things, and I must say it is looking good. We have a lot of storage space in our basement and we seem to have taken advantage of that and have managed to collect way too much junk. I was also able to reorganize many of the boxes I had. The Christmas stuff was all a mess. I guess last year in January I was pretty tired, because I just crammed everything into a bunch of boxes and bags. It was pretty scary, but I went through it all and was able to condense everything into 2 big totes. (When I pulled it out, there were the 2 big totes, 2 regular size totes, and 4 cardboard boxes and a garbage bag full of garland.) and I did not get rid of anything!! I feel very accomplished.
To bring you up to date with Olena, she is doing remarkable!! You all know I praise Tonya for all of her wise wisdom and because of that we have been enjoying a marvelous, happy toddler around here lately. No fits, the whining has improved greatly, she comes on the first call, she goes to bed without issue, she says please and thank you regularly, "may I" is standard practice, and she is just all around silly and happy! I couldn't be happier myself. Don't get me wrong, I still have to be on the ball every day. I am constantly reminding her to pick up her toys, be nice to the dogs and cats, don't swing from mommy's ceiling fan...lol! no, but honestly, every day we are still teaching her, but she listens and acts without complaint (98% of the time), and that is what I love! She is content with doing as I say and she takes pride in herself and the stuff that she does. Jason and I went through our home videos today and get ready for the holidays and I watched one tape with Olena throwing one of her infamous fits. I laughed because I had forgotten about those, believe it or not. She would throw herself on the floor, scream her head off, and scoot herself across the floor with her feet - just plain ridiculous! I cannot believe how bad she was. I laugh now, because I know she would NEVER consider doing that again! Her behavior and emotional state of mind is definitely something that has made a huge improvement since bringing her home.
Jason and I have been very blessed this past year and we are going into the Holiday season with a new love and warmth in our hearts. We have a lot to be thankful for, and I hope you all do as well.
Enjoy some new picture from this week.
Olena and her peeps! We all had to decorate the xmas tree!look at her eyes in this pic. I am still amazed to this day just how big and beautiful they are!
2 comments:
What a great set of pictures! And whose cute little girl is that in the blue dress:):):).
I do so remember the floor scooting fits. Lyra would slide all over the place. Once she even jammed herself into a tight spot between the chair legs under the dining room table. We all laughed. Noah said "I will never forget this for as long as I live" after I had to pull her out by her feet. LOL! They are growing up too quickly. Olena sounds like she is better behaved than Lyra. I am going to have to get on the ball or you will be fussing at me when you see her this spring. Her tantrums now consist of running in a circle through the kitchen, dining room, living room, foyer and hall and poking out her bottom lip. No scooting around on the floor, but she's still in need of a little training I'm afraid:):):).
Hugs! And I invited the Whites to meet up with us in Kentucky if they can manage it. Wouldn't that be fun!
She's a beauty! It's so good to hear about the great improvements she's made her first year at home. Congratulations.
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