Taking Account....

I shouldn't be blogging right now. I should be cleaning the house, doing the adoption scrapbook, helping my daughter with her research paper, cooking, going to the grocery, preparing for art class, ______(fill in the blank). I could be on my feet easily 16 hours a day...or more! How many Moms couldn't?!?! I received some wise advise from some wise and dear friends this past week; Take time for yourself before you burn out. They were right. Sometimes it takes our girlfriends to tell us what our husbands already know, doesn't it? It's been a crazy school year in the Keyser house so far. Trips to Russia, Grandparents in and out, a new toddler, teaching at the Homeschool Co-op. I feel like I can barely keep my head above water. I'm tired, very, very, tired! I decided to take account of what did occur so far this year and the list was surprising.

(1) we completed an International Adoption (I think I ought to have a t-shirt that states this).

(2) Kari completed a Science Fair Project

(3) We hosted a weekly class on the Foundations of Western Civilization (OK, someone far more capable taught it...but, it was hosted in our basement!)

(4) many, many papers were written, edited and graded

(5) almost 100 math lessons per child have been completed

(6) my older 2 independently worked their way through a Greek & Latin Roots book

(7) MANY duck tape items were created by Luke....MANY

(8) at the behest of our neighbors, a porch project has been nearly completed

(9) I have made many batches of SuperBroth

(10) I have planned for and taught 80+ Art Classes

(11) Luke is working through another vision therapy session with daily exercises and bi-weekly appointments

(12) Ana is learning animal letter sounds and speaking more and more English each day

(13) we have attended and/or played in football games, basketball games, lacrosse games and gone skiing

(14) we cleaned and organized our upstairs office in which every flat surface was formerly covered with papers

(15) Matt completed our Tax Preparation (after said office was cleaned!)

Now I don't list these things as a list of MY or even OUR FAMILY'S "accomplishments". I list them as a reminder to myself that God, in His mercy and kindness, has allowed us to function and carry on amidst what has felt like endless chaos. We are in a season, a very busy season, but not a season to be forgotten in a blur of activities and a "let's just get through this" attitude. It's all good, all from God's hand...every last box that gets checked, every new word that Ana says, every meal that showed up in November, every encouraging word from friends and strangers. Thank you, Father.

Ski Princess

We had a few adventures taking Ana skiing this winter. With an awesome ski shop right in town, a fall ski swap (like a ski equipment yard sale) and free under 5 skiing at Wintergreen...why not? OK, well, Matt the optimist thought it would be a great idea....after Sven at the ski shop said his daughter skied at 18 months! So, onward we went, with tiny skis, boots (Ana is sporting in the photo) and a lot of patience. Something to note here is that Ana NEVER gets cold. So, to bundle her up and go flying down the mountain with temps under 20 degrees and snow blowers blowing was not so much an issue. But, the blowers were loud which scared her AND...she didn't always want to stand up. We tried the hula hoop, the harness, and then the plain old "carry", which, by my account, felt a little unsafe. I described it to friends as an exercise in skiing with a human puppet. Combined with 40 year old knees...well, it was a bit challenging! The good news is, her boots and skis will fit her for a couple of seasons. I began bravely taking the 4 kids solo and without Matt to trade off with on the puppeteering, Ana and I hung out in the ski lodge while Ethan, Kari & Luke skied in a threesome with a cell phone. Maybe Winter 2011 will be our best bet!

Ana Elisabeth....

Time For a New Post!

So I'm writing this post while standing at the half-wall in my kitchen, my family behind me watching a bit of the Olympics. I'm realizing that I just can't seem to find any time these days for blogging.....I'm barely checking email! Amazed at how other friend of mine, many with larger families, keep up with school, children, "household management" (my fancy term) and any other pursuits in life.

Ana is doing amazing. Her receptive language is so good. She understands EVERYTHING! She is saying about 20 english words- also incredible to us. Hearing nothing but Russian for almost 2 years and then after immersion in English- "getting it"! These days, when I say the few Russian phrases I know to her, they don't seem to phase her. Our first week with her, her attention turned immediately to anyone speaking Russian "in country" (of course). It is surprising how quickly she has adjusted here. We do sing the alphabet and phonics songs every day.....but, I hardly think that's been the secret to her success. We're just thankful, very thankful and know she is a little smarty pants!

Cities We "Saw".....

A few of you have asked what our route to Russia looked like. There are no direct flights to St Petersburg, Russia...even from Dulles. So we got to "see" lots of airports in Europe.

Where we flew through, in order:

Dulles to Franfurt to St Petersburg Russia (Lufstansa),

St Petersburg to Munich to Dulles,

Dulles to Paris to St Petersburg (Air France),

St Petersburg to Paris to Dulles,

Dulles to Copenhagen to St Petersburg (Swiss Air),

St Petersburg to Moscow (Aeroflat-yikes!),

Moscow to Dulles (our only direct flight!).

It was somewhat excruciating to be "so close yet so far away" to all these AMAZING places!

Thankfully, I had seen Paris a couple of times in my college and younger days. Sadly, we had dear friends just one hour from Frankfurt but our transfer there was so fast that we sprinted through the whole airport and nearly missed our connecting flight. Each trip we only had about a week's notice so we grabbed whatever flight we could get within reason. We travelled light every trip...never checking any luggage until the last leg with Ana.

The worst airport to travel through was Charles DeGualle in Paris...we had hours before our connection but the security set up was so poor that we almost missed a flight there too. Every airport required us to go through security again and again- even though we were getting off one international flight and onto another. Matt stopped wearing belts and we wore slip on shoes.

The cleanest and most "secure" feeling airport was Munich. It was sparkling. We had a 6 hour layover there which felt REALLY LONG with the time changes, etc. Too tired to read, too uncomfortable to sleep on the leather and steel chairs. Munich was rather hyper about security. Our passports must have been checked a dozen times each....even once we were in the gate. At one point I made the "mistake" of walking 50 feet to the restroom without mine. I explained to the guard that my husband had it and even pointed to him across the way, but I was "escorted" back to the gate to show it. You even had to show your passport to buy a cup of coffee both in Germany and in Moscow.

Because St Petersburg is up so high (60 degree latitude), Copenhagen was the most direct route...just 7 hours from Dulles and only 2 more to St Petersburg.

What a whirlwind!

A photo of Kirsten- taking a "nap" in Charles DeGualle Airport

First 48 Hours Home...

This photo was taken 48 hours after arriving home. The first few days were a mix of everything...exhaustion (jet lag had me up at 4:30AM the first morning), euphoria, and "ooohhhh, that's right" moments (as in; "oohhh, that's right, you can't put a 2 years olds' crib next to a window shade" and "ooohhh, that's right, safety gates"!). It's been a while since I had to have the safety radar on 24/7! And then there was the issue of the dog. We figured she would be a bit hesitant....and perhaps have never seen a dog. However, we were unprepared for her to be completely terrified of the dog. She did not want to even see the dog across the room and she especially did not want to be sniffed or have the dog actually look at her! Six weeks later, we can report that Sarah the Dog is one of her favorites. Every morning Ana wakes up with new enthusiasm for the dog, pointing her out and making "woof-woof" noises to communicate. Sarah, is, however, getting a little pudgy around the middle. The constant flow of Ritz crackers and other treats "falling" from the high chair is catching up to her.