Deniss and I had been planning to go visit in Latvia. Deniss kept talking about one of his best friends, Ruslans. So - we offered him a deal - for about the same cost as two of us going to Latvia for a week, we could have Ruslans come here for a month. Deniss took us up on the deal. So, now we are working on hosting Ruslans through the same hosting program as the one we used for Deniss. It might be slightly cheaper if we didn't use a program but the paperwork is a huge undertaking and - this way Ruslans wouldn't be traveling alone.
Ruslans is also 15 years old. We met him last summer when he was here being hosted by another family. For whatever reason, they couldn't adopt him. Ruslans has told the orphanage director that he doesn't want to leave Latvia anyway because he has an older brother there.
Bottom line - we think this is just a chance for Deniss and Ruslans to spend five weeks together. But.....you never know.
Robin
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Soccer rules!
Deniss got to play in the second JV game of the year. He played about half of the second half of the game. I didn't get to be there - it is tax season and the game was in Columbus.
Reports are that he did very well and impressed the coach and the other parents. By this time in the lives of our kids, you think that you have seen all of the players somewhere through the years. Parents were asking where Deniss came from because most had never seen him play before.
All of this makes us very proud of him. He has worked very hard to get in good shape for playing soccer. He knows that he has not had as many years to train and learn, so he tried to make up for it by getting in better shape physically. All he needed was a chance - and he is finally getting his chance to shine.
He has had so many issues to overcome at school, at home and in life in general. He has a great attitude and is showing what he can do when given the chance!
Robin
Reports are that he did very well and impressed the coach and the other parents. By this time in the lives of our kids, you think that you have seen all of the players somewhere through the years. Parents were asking where Deniss came from because most had never seen him play before.
All of this makes us very proud of him. He has worked very hard to get in good shape for playing soccer. He knows that he has not had as many years to train and learn, so he tried to make up for it by getting in better shape physically. All he needed was a chance - and he is finally getting his chance to shine.
He has had so many issues to overcome at school, at home and in life in general. He has a great attitude and is showing what he can do when given the chance!
Robin
Friday, February 15, 2008
Still alive and well
I have been neglecting the blog. January was eventful. Deniss and Aaron tried out for the high school soccer team. Deniss made the JV team. That is quite the accomplishment considering that he had never played organized soccer before coming to America.
Aaron was quite disappointed that he didn't make the team. We feel like his skills are good - he just need to work on fitness and attitude. We are very proud of him regardless.
The whole soccer situation set back the boys relationship a little bit. They are getting back on track now.
Deniss and I had planned to go to Latvia this summer to visit. Then we thought about hosting one of Deniss' best friends instead. Deniss liked that idea because he would get to spend five weeks with Ruslans instead of just a few days. We are working on making that happen. Deniss needs the chance to interact with other Latvia kids every now and then.
More later.
Robin
Aaron was quite disappointed that he didn't make the team. We feel like his skills are good - he just need to work on fitness and attitude. We are very proud of him regardless.
The whole soccer situation set back the boys relationship a little bit. They are getting back on track now.
Deniss and I had planned to go to Latvia this summer to visit. Then we thought about hosting one of Deniss' best friends instead. Deniss liked that idea because he would get to spend five weeks with Ruslans instead of just a few days. We are working on making that happen. Deniss needs the chance to interact with other Latvia kids every now and then.
More later.
Robin
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Wrap up - 2007
Christmas was wonderful this year. Having Deniss with us was a great blessing in many ways. Seeing Christmas through his eyes made us stop and think about the small stuff, the traditions, the memories, the family times. It was fun telling him about all of our family traditions. He would often say that he didn't have ornaments or memories like ours. I would simply tell him that he started now. He had a new start at life and he will get to build great memories from now on.
Our family is so blessed now. We have three wonderful sons, one biological, one adopted at birth, one adopted at 14 years. All different but the love is still the same! Sometimes we feel like Deniss has been with us forever, but then sometimes we hear his accent and get reminded of the wonderful journey we have had over the last year and half. It is hard to imagine that at Christmas time two years ago, we had no idea what was in store for us. God has an amazing way of guiding you down different paths.
Some people have been telling us that we are doing something wonderful. We can't take the credit. For once in our lives, we stepped back and really let God take control. It is amazing what can happen when you let go of control and let God take over!
Robin
Our family is so blessed now. We have three wonderful sons, one biological, one adopted at birth, one adopted at 14 years. All different but the love is still the same! Sometimes we feel like Deniss has been with us forever, but then sometimes we hear his accent and get reminded of the wonderful journey we have had over the last year and half. It is hard to imagine that at Christmas time two years ago, we had no idea what was in store for us. God has an amazing way of guiding you down different paths.
Some people have been telling us that we are doing something wonderful. We can't take the credit. For once in our lives, we stepped back and really let God take control. It is amazing what can happen when you let go of control and let God take over!
Robin
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