It has been a FULL 365 days that Kevin, Cindy, Kristen, Rachel and Nana said hello to Aleks Zachary Tuttle! The journey to this point has been one that seems to WOW me each moment that I think about it...

There are many emotions that I have a hard time putting into words.

I have had to learn a lot through this year. Things about myself. Who am I as God's child? I think about how God picked me to be His child. I am adopted! I am not that much different than my Aleks. God has placed me into His family for a purpose. Just as I have said many times through this 365 days, there is a plan that God has mapped out for Aleks and us as Christians...we are on this walk together.

So what are some highlights of this year to Aleks? He has had a lot to take in...So, we asked him to put it on paper. We asked that he tell us just 10 of the best things that had happened to him in his first year with his forever family...Here is what he said. (I am going to type it as he wrote it-translation in quotes)

1. I got new friends.
2. I got to now (know) God.
3. I got bike.
4. I have krazy famaly (family).
5. I got to try new food.
6. I am going to church.
7. I got sisters and Mom and Dad.
8. I got to ride motosicle (motorcycle).
9. I have sin (seen) a waterfall.
10. I got to live in the woods.

I am thankful for his journey...and mine. I know that each little thing on his list was and is amazing! I am thankful to share in the 10 best things Aleks Zachary Tuttle experienced.

Wonder what the next year will look like for each of us. What will I put on my list of the best things that happened? What am I going to do to make a difference?

Christmas at the Tuttle house was new and different. New Year's was new and different. We had so many amazing moments. So many firsts...and will continue to have them each and every day.

Through the holidays we were able to host a wonderful person from Latvia. She was our Orphan Court Director, Taiga. She came to America to be a part of a hosting program and we had her stay with us for the four weeks she lived here in the states. She was able to see our family life, daily routines, Christmas break, church life and shopping...

I love that she was able to see first hand what she approved...She said "yes" to us being Aleks' forever family. And then she was able to live with us and watch what our life is like...though, sometimes a little crazy! Thank you Taiga!!!

I am looking forward to the new year's events and changes. There is so much to blog about...but, I will save it for another day.

Well, as I type Kevin, Kristen and Aleks are sleeping in Riga. They have been there for a few days and Aleks has been to the doctor, received a few shots, they have walked around part of the city...dealt with the challenge of renting a car...and paying for it twice...a story Kevin will have to share with details.

And today, Tuesday, was a free day to take a three hour drive to Liepaja. When they arrived they took a drive by the park where we played everyday for twenty days in August and even checked out the market.

It was at the market where they were greeted with a surprise that shocked everyone. I am confident that God places people in our path for a purpose...just wish I had been there to hold a hand, to give a hug and kiss that moms like to do. I really can't wait to see Aleks' face as he tells me about what he saw and felt today.

You see, for the twenty days we were in Liepaja, we saw his great aunt and uncle one time. I am amazed that the one day, Kevin drove for three hours...walked through the market of Liepaja and at that time she was there.

All I really know is that the visit was very quick and they were off to their next stop. But I am waiting to hear in person what he has to say about that surprise.

They drove over to the orphanage where Aleks was able to show his sister where he had lived for three and a half years. He was able to introduce her to his friends and show her around. Kristen was able to meet, my friend, Ginta. And they had a fun dinner together.

The day ended with a three hour drive back to Riga in the rain, fog and snow...

Tomorrow is another embassy visit...and the road home is a little closer.

Here is the program…really quite simple and we can modify it to any organization or fundraising event you need.

We have coffee bag samples for you to go with your order forms…

Each bag of coffee is Fresh Roasted each week so you will receive it within 48 hours of roasting.
The blend of coffee we are offering is a delicious blend of specialty grade coffee. It is a medium roast blend of Central and South American coffees with a touch of Ethiopian. This aromatic blend releases a wonderfully smooth cup of coffee with rich nutty and chocolate tones to please your palate. With every cup you drink you can know that you are making a difference in the life of an orphan and helping to change their life forever!
Each bag contains 12 ounces of Fresh Roasted coffee and costs only $10…the same as what you would pay at the grocery store or your favorite coffee shop.
Complete the order form…

Complete customer information
Choose whole bean (W) or ground coffee (G)
Choose Regular ( R ) or DECAF coffee ( D )
Total the number of bags the customer is ordering
Total the amount of the sale for the customer
Collect the amount due…
Each Monday by 12:00 noon…please fax or e-mail your order to Kevin so we can consolidate the orders.

FAX: 770-889-0337
E-Mail: Kevin@EverythingCoffee-Tea.com
· Your coffee will be roasted and packaged each Tuesday and delivered to you each Thursday…just 48 hours after roasting! Fresh Coffee!!

· We will collect your money each week when your coffee is delivered to you.

All profits from this fundraiser will go toward the adoption costs for Aleks and making him a part of our family forever. $5 of every bag sold is going to the adoption fund for Aleks. Our goal is 2500 bags of coffee. If we can get just 100 people to sell only 25 bags of coffee…we have reached our goal. Any extra funds raised over and above our adoption expenses will then be donated to One World Adoption to help others offset the costs associated with adoption.

If you are interested in participating in our fundraiser please e-mail or call Kevin or myself.

Okay, we are part owners in Everything Coffee and Tea...what does that have to do with anything???

Well, we are now on our second part of our adoption and are in great need of financial assistance...now, God provided for the first trip in amazing ways. And I still am "wow-ed" by how everything happened.

We have thought about ways to raise money along the way and most ideas seemed to not come together...but, this morning Kevin and I woke up to a little light bulb...COFFEE...and our connections with coffee...and we want to get everyone involved!!!! I know you are just wanting to know how...well, the details are being worked out now and we will get all the information to everyone.

We are asking everyone interested in helping to make our $7500 goal...to step up and bring hope to the orphans one cup at a time!!!

More to come....

Okay, we have been home for a week...

The bags were unpacked, clothes were washed, school books were ordered and life has kept moving. There are some things in this journey that I thought would feel so different and yet they are now things that I cannot imagine not being here. Life has moved into our new normal with three children. We have loud car rides with all three (sometimes five) talking at the same time...laughter at the dinner table constantly, wrestling matches in the bedrooms til someone is pinned to the floor and each night we have wonderful prayer times together.

Aleks has been together with us for two months but it was the past seven days that I feel he moved into a trust in us as his real forever family. And just a few days ago he chose to call me mom...several times in one day. So, now I have a new young voice that calls out to me...I am no longer, Cindy, but MOM!!!!

We are still working on our final paperwork for Aleks to be "officially" a Tuttle. There are two more trips back to Latvia and we still have lots of funds and expenses to cover. But God has supplied every step of the way and I know he will continue to supply every need we have.

Life is a lot different than two months ago...and it is a new turn in our journey. Pray for each of us as we learn how to be a "party of five."

God is Good!!!

On Thursday, we received our approval from the orphan court and now have what is called: temporary custody until our final paperwork is processed through the court. We then headed out to our three hour drive to Riga to the US Embassy to apply for Aleks’ visa. After the approval of the visa we picked it up on Friday afternoon. We were done!!!! YAY!

Kevin tried to change our flight to head out on Saturday…but, there was nothing available. So, for the next few days we will be site seeing and people watching…

Monday will arrive soon and we will be on a plane and heading to US soil!!!!

I have missed my girls so much. Aleks has missed his sisters and is ready to be HOME!!!

I am so thankful for my family and friends that have taken care of Kristen and Rachel and Chip while we have been away…and look forward to see each of you on Monday…

We land around 3:30!!!!

This journey has been very moving and life changing. I know there is more to come. God is not done…just wonder what is next along the way.

Don’t forget to follow Kevin’s blog too: lifeisbigger.blogspot.com

…and lots of pictures on Facebook.

Love and hugs!!!

I think my fears of the unknown were getting to me all day on Sunday. And I believe it was attacking Aleks too. He was in a really grumpy mood and didn’t really have much nice to say all day. We both were working through our emotions and I was not really looking forward to what the next day would be like. Later that evening, we had dinner with our new friends and Aleks was able to see one of his caregivers one last time. The dinner changed in the feelings of the day and I was very thankful for that. We laughed, the universal language, and Kevin and Aleks were invited to make cappuccinos behind the counter.

It was a joy to see each of us together having fun and chatting with friends.

On Monday morning, we headed out to get photos made for Aleks’ visa and to pick up a few things from the store, then headed back to the apartment to wait… It was late afternoon when we were picked up to journey to an apartment were Aleks remembers visiting a few years ago. He has been telling us about family he would visit and a woman he calls “babushka” – grandmother in Russian. As we arrived, I didn’t really know what to expect,  my stomach was in knots and I could not speak, for the fear of tears overflowing. As we walked up to the door of the apartment building, Aleks seemed excited and we stepped into an elevator the size of a shoebox…not fun!!! As we stepped off, he ran to the door and knocked. An short, older man, balding with glasses and a short round woman stood at the door. They give Aleks a hug and started chatting. I stood at the doorway for a second and the woman motioned us into her home to visit. We sat in a small narrow living area with a sports channel as our background noise. The man and woman chatted with each other and with Ginta and Aleks. We sat. Then Ginta asked us if we would like to know anything about Aleks or the family. I really didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know what to ask. The man started to talk to us and Ginta translated. He told us that he was Aleks’ great uncle and his sister was Aleks’ grandmother. Not what Aleks told us…he thinks they are grandparents. The man, Igar, explained that Aleks’ grandmother had died before he was born. He stood up and pulled out a few photos from a near by drawer…they were photos of Aleks’ dad with his grandparents. He pulled out a picture of Aleks’ dad, a wedding photo from a first marriage. Then there was one of Aleks around three years of age. They did not want to give it to me because it was the only picture they had of him, so I took a picture of it for us to keep.

The man explained that Aleks’ dad worked as a seaman. And worked on the boats. They explained that Aleks had a good life as a young boy, but when his dad lost his job they started drinking and things got really bad. I know there was a lot said, but not sure if it was all that easy to translate to us. We were told the man read about Aleks’ dad’s death (murder) in the paper and had to come and identify him. Not really easy to hear, for any of us.

The woman spoke too, and started to cry. She said it was hard…and I cried with her. But not for the same reasons…I cried, because my son, has family here in the same town just a few blocks away from where we are staying and they have not cared for him, loved him, hugged him…been a part of his life.

The woman, got up and asked if we wanted tea or coffee. And we headed into the kitchen area for Nestle instant coffee…yep! They asked us a few questions and why we wanted to adopt Aleks. We explained and Aleks told all about America…

The family has twin sons living at home. I think they are in their twenties. They managed to “look us up” on the internet and even did a Google earth search on where we live…They came out of a back room and asked us questions about Atlanta and Canton…that was a little strange for me…

But time was up for our visit and we took several photos of the family that Aleks knew here in Liepaja.

The man walked us outside and gave Aleks a kiss…then we were off…

Thankful for another move in the direction of a forever home!!!!

Saturday, August 15…

…after we moved to our next stop, the sea break wall, the expressions and feelings changed. Aleks again started talking really fast in Latvian and headed to the wall. We started walking along the wall to see the sea around us. The view was amazing, panoramic and wish I could have taken a photo of it all. It felt like I was in the center and everything was full circle around me. There was just this small, twenty foot path of cement that connected us with the land. The sea was calm on one side and really rough on the other. And in the distance at sea was a storm with rain and a water spout. It was truly an amazing view and moving to see.

It the distance Aleks pointed to an area along the land of a place where he said he had  lived before; before the shelter; before the orphanage…before a NEW beginning…

The next stop was again a place of strange yet unique architecture. We headed north up the beach line to a mound of broken cement slabs. Masses of rubbish fallen and destroyed through war and the wear of the sea. We climbed and explored for awhile and took some amazing pictures of just how massive the pieces were. 

Our last stop was just south, outside of the city. It was again much like Michigan and we stopped to have a nice lunch at a resort near by. The drive was down a dirt road and we ended at a trail. The trail headed into a wooded area and wound up a hillside. At the top was a lookout area where we gazed over tall tree tops to see another view of the Baltic Sea. It was a beautiful and majestic place. A place to escape from the everyday and just take in the power of our God. It was a different site than any of the others. A place where it felt untouched…a place to renew…

  Saturday, August 15, we headed to Karosta to see the Russian cathedral that Aleks has been talking about since we got here. He as told us it is “very, very big” and we have to see it. So, arrangements were made for us to take a drive and check it out. As we drove through the area there were sites everywhere that reflected the Russian army during WWII. During that time, no one was allowed in the area and it was closed off from everyone. There were tall apartment building everywhere and most were now empty (no doors and no windows) and the ones that did have occupants were very run down, broken and falling apart. There were ruins of red brick buildings everywhere and places that appeared to have houses at one time, maybe large military homes. The sites around us were sad and lonely. The roads were filled with potholes.

In the center of it all, stood and giant cathedral. Aleks was right it was huge. As we walked up to the gate, we read a sign that told us to leave our evil thoughts behind, instructing us on how we needed to be dressed and things we could not bring into the building. 

As we walked up the large steps and into the large doorway, there was the smell of old and a little musty. There were several women walking in with head coverings and stopping at the door. It was a really big and open with hundreds of pictures of different saints. Each one had a candle and a place to pray to each one. The building was amazing; but cold, empty and lost. 

As we were heading to the door to leave, a elderly woman stopped Aleks and spoke to him in Russian, I think. I could see she was telling him how he needed use all the specific hand motions for prayer (I know it is called something, but don’t know what it is). I thought she was possibly giving him some historical lesson. As Aleks walked away, he had a strange expression on his face. When it was translated what was said to him, there was an overwhelming sadness deep in my heart and brokenness for  this woman. But not just that, I wanted to grab Aleks and hug him and tell him everything was okay now. You see, she stopped him to tell him that Jesus did not love him because his hair was spiked up (and very cute, I might add) and that he needed to ask for forgiveness. (that was why she was showing him how to make the cross covering with his hand) Well, you can imagine what I was feeling… As we walked outside the building, I was reminded how those people just do not know Jesus and if they did, they would know that he is not a judge of our outward appearance, but he looks at our heart.

Kevin was able to take a few minutes to talk to Aleks on God’s love for us and confirm in him that God loves him passionately-every part of him…and so do we. There are many people that are blinded by the laws of religion in every corner, and we must share the true person of Jesus Christ as we live our daily lives. I want to be that example to everyone He puts in my path on this journey…

We hopped back into the car for a ride to our next site…a long water brake and an amazing rain cloud…. 

As Kevin has posted, it has rained the past few days and we have not been out much. We managed to eat at the Cili Pizza and the Rock Cafe again…and we ordered our “usual”…which are very good, by the way. And I only took a few pictures…I know you are surprised.

But yesterday, Wednesday, Ginta came over and she prepared dinner for us. We both were in the kitchen and I just watched as she prepared everything…we were having mashed potatoes with small diced pieces of ham seasoned with finely chopped onions and spices. The potatoes softened and milk was added while the ham heated up in the pan with the onions. To the ham, sour cream was added to make it really creamy. The room smelled wonderful. To serve the dish, the potatoes were placed on the plate with a dip in the center, to make it a bowl. Then the ham was served on top…I know you are saying, yummm….it was so good. And to top off the meal, we had sliced nectarines for dessert.

It was so nice to sit and chat with Ginta. I have found a friend here and she and I have a passion for many of the same things. She loves photography and children. She loves to help make things better than what they are right now. And looks for ways to do that in the lives she comes in contact with. God has put us together for a purpose. And for that I am so thankful.

And she cooks…simply…which is right up my ally!!! I can to that too.

Our day was relaxing as we got ready for our Monday activities. We sat around the apartment, watching television shows in Russian, eating breakfast late in the morning and put clothes on the clothes line. The three of us headed out and stopped to find lunch before our bus ride. As we left the cafe, we spotted the bus we were supposed to be on driving up to the bus stop. The three of us ran to catch it. Jumping on just in time. The ride was hot, no air conditioning.

As we arrived at the orphanage, Aleks pushed the button to let the driver know it was our stop. We jumped off and slowly walked down a bumpy side road to the back of what Aleks has known as his home for the past few years. It looked empty almost deserted. We headed to the front door and found a few faces waiting for us to arrive. Aleks walked in with confidence and as he walked in, he headed straight to his group room. Some of the kids following behind and beside him. We just joined them as we watched from a short distance. We walked through a door numbered “7” and into an open area with a dining room table, sofas and television. Aleks went straight to his old room to see if anything had changed. What I didn’t know was that his bed had been removed and was on the back porch area. But the boys were very excited to see him and off they ran to play outside.

Kevin and I sat at their dining room table and Ginta, Inara, the orphanage director, and another supervisor, which I can’t remember her name, sat with us. Inara asked us several questions about how Aleks was doing and if we had any problems. She wanted to know about schooling and how his behavior was. She wanted to know if he was still smoking in American…yes, that was one of the questions. After the questions were answered, Inara needed to leave for other business before her vacation time. Ginta headed out too to find Aleks case book for us to look through for any answers that we may need of his young life.

She returned with a 2-3 inch thick notebook filled with his records and a separate smaller binder with even more information, we think it was his schooling. As she opened the book and began to translate our little boy’s life on paper, I sat with tears filling my eyes and a hurt in my heart. This child has gone through more in his young lifetime than most of us will ever go through and may never go through. He as wandered the streets, begged for food and clothes, has taken on a role of an adult while the one that gave him life was in a drunken stupor. Each document was another piece to the puzzle, but so many pieces have been lost in the potholes of Liepaja.  

As I walk through this journey with my son, Aleks. I am being changed. The rescue is not for Aleks but for me. I am constantly reminded that we too are all adopted. We are given a new beginning as adopted children of God. God has freed us, we have an inheritance. (Gal. 4:1-7).

In the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lucy is looking for a place to hide and steps through the wardrobe doorway and into a new adventurous place called Narnia. It has so many parallels our life as believers and is one of my favorite stories. Well, it is one of Aleks’ too. So, we have been looking for our doorway to leave Liepaja and step into our new adventurous place called America.

A few days ago we were walking the many side streets of Liepaja. And we have found our door…two weeks from today, we will be in our own bed in our Narnia – America.

Our visit to the park on Friday.

The days are so nice here. The weather is in the 70s and there is a nice breeze. We had slept in and decided to head to the park for awhile to pass some time. As we arrived to the playground, three young boys ran up to us, well, really Aleks. The four of them started talking really fast and seemed to be lost in their own little world. Kevin and I stood watching as we were slowly figuring out who the little guys were. In a few seconds, Aleks stopped, looked at us and said, these are my friends. As we looked at each other, their eyes eagerly waited to be introduced to us. Aleks did just that and one by one they held out their hand to meet  Kevin and I. Then turned talking to each other again in Latvian. They were letting Aleks know that other friends were in the park too. And we headed out to find them.

Once they were together, Kevin took them to the race carts and they each received a car of their own to drive. I don’t think they have ever had that luxury. They have had to share everything. So off they raced all around the park….in and out of people, bikes, up and down the walkways and down a big hill. They played hard for an hour.

As I sat with Liga, the orphanage caregiver, we laughed and watched. She could not speak any English, so we did a lot of signing to each other and used my dictionary as much as possible. But I was able to ask her about her job. She said it was not a hard job when you love children. I told her I understood that and I too work with children and agreed with her. It was then she had a tears in her eyes. She only said, “Loca”, Aleks’ name in Russian. And we both cried together. She will miss him.

It was quiet again, and then Santa, a former caregiver at the orphanage walked up to us. (I know that God did that for me that day) She and Liga started talking and Santa became our translator. The three of us chatted about the boys, Aleks and how they would miss him. Kevin had been with the boys, but came up to meet Santa before she had to leave. The four of us talked a little about America and Latvia. The visit with them was moving to me. The job they have is something we are not exposed to. But the passion is the same. To reach the children.

We walked out of the park together and headed down the walkway. Aleks stopped at a corner store and bought everyone an ice cream with his money, said our good byes…they headed to the bus stop and we headed to the apartment. The day was a good one…

We settled in and headed out to find lunch at dinner time…we ate on the patio of the lavtijas Pirma restaurant. While we sat and “people watched”, Aleks played on a wooden play area in front of the place. After dinner, he wanted to take us to a park. We walked, and walked and walked…One thing, there is a lot of people everywhere…and most of them walk or bike throughout the city. The buildings are very, very old. It is an old port city…And most of them have a lot of age and weather damage. A lot of the streets are made of cobblestone and those that have cars drive crazy. We headed down one street and Aleks pointed to a building that he attended school, around the age of 8…it didn’t even look like a school.

Then we finally arrived at a big park with large trees, park benches everywhere, playground, bikes and bike ramps, tennis and soccer. People were everywhere. We rented what looked like a go-cart without the motor and he played on it for 30 minutes…a few hours later, we then walked along the beach, just behind the park…the water was so cold and headed back.

It was about 9:30 and the sun was still up…the days here are very long…so many people were still just out and about the streets. We ran to the corner grocery to get a few things…then bed…it was really hard to sleep. So many emotions started running through my mind and it was then that I cried…uncontrollably!!!

Today is a new day…

We arrived in Riga late afternoon on August 5. The flights were long and was an all day process to get here. Diana and her husband were waiting for us at the small modern designed airport. We were excited to finally arrive and were told a few days prior that Aleks would be able to stay with us the first night in Riga. So, as we walked through customs, we could see Diana and gave her a big hug and was introduced to her husband. She pointed to Aleks that was sound asleep on the chairs. He had arrived about 30 minutes earlier. We managed to get him up and walk to the car, load the luggage and head off…before we could get out of the parking lot, Aleks was asleep again on my shoulder. When we arrived at the hotel to check in, we found him asleep on a small sofa in the lobby. The hotel was nice, simple, and the rooms were small. Once in the room, we let Aleks nap for a few hours, he managed to tell us that he didn’t sleep on any of the planes…I struggled with that one too…only 2-3 hours at most for me…Once up, we walked around one block of Riga and found a restaurant called K | I | D and below the logo, it said “not referring to children”…but there was a Mickey Mouse painted on the window, the place was very vintage and eclectic and of course I loved it. We each got a pasta dish and enjoyed our first dinner together in Riga. It was an early night for bed…and we needed to get up and be ready for court on August 6, 10 a.m.

August 6, Happy Birthday to me…we were up and got ready for our big day. Kevin ran out to try out the coffee shop a few doors down and find breakfast. Aleks and I stayed to finish packing up our things. Aleks had a hard time with everything that was getting ready to take place. His emotions surfaced in not wanting to dress up for court. He just didn’t want to wear the black dress pants and button up shirt. With tears and frustration we sat in silence waiting for Kevin to get back with breakfast and coffee. We negotiated with him to wear blue jeans for the three hour drive and if Diana said he needed to change, then he would change before we walked in to the courtroom. Lucky for all of us, it was not a big deal to keep on the jeans and tennis shoes…The drive was really very similar to the countryside of Michigan. There were little patches of farmhouses and fields all along the way. As we drove closer to Liepajas, there was a very large area of windmills. It was amazing; they were gigantic. Aleks took lots of pictures to show the girls. As we arrive in town, Aleks started to talk about all the things we needed to see through our visit. We arrive a few minutes after 10 and walked into small building on the corner. We headed up a few flights of cement stairs and into a very hot room. The room, looked like an old school room from when I was a kid, but just had a long table in the center of it. Four ladies were there and Ginta from the orphanage. We said our hellos and sat in a few chairs facing the long table. The order was Ginta, Diana, me, Kevin and Aleks. They all started talking and Kevin and I just listened. As the court director spoke Diana translated to us. She asked us why we would want to adopt Aleks. Kevin spoke with compassion and love as he described what we feel and how we have connected with him over the past six weeks. It was everything in me not to cry right there in front of all of them. She then read us our rights…which I don’t remember…then it was Ginta’s turn to give her input on what is in the best interest of the child. She said they feel it would be good to have Aleks live in our loving home. The one thing, that was hard to hear, well, one of many, was the little bit of detail given on how he arrived at the orphanage…there are so many questions, that just don’t have answers…but again I am reminded of why Aleks will have the middle name – Zackary, the Lord knows. We were granted guardianship of Aleks to stay with us for two weeks in the apartment in town. There will be two visits from what we call social workers and Ginta. So, that is how it played out…pretty simple.

We then headed to the apartment. It is a very small apartment on the fifth floor of an really old building. It has one bedroom, a very small bathroom, the kitchen is what I would call a “one-butt” kitchen and a living room. It is the apartment of the former orphanage director. And it is perfect for the three of us. When we got everything into the place, they surprised us with a birthday celebration. They sang Happy Birthday to me, with a very thick Latvian accent…it was wonderful. They even gave me a bouquet of colorful Gerber daisies…daisies are my favorite flowers!!!

After all had gone, it was just the three of us…Kevin worked on sitting up our computers and Aleks and I found the connect four game…more details of the evening in next post.

As I sit in the living room, thinking about the past week and all that has happened…just little things along the way…

Aleks and I have our little talks together at night. One of the questions was about brothers and sisters. We talked about him having two sisters now. And how he really likes that and how fun it is. But then there was a long pause…he asked me why I didn’t have any more children. Here is what he said “just Kristen and Rachel, why not more?” Well, with a long pause, I said, “I was given you, God waited and put you in my life, now. God has given me three really cool children.” It was quiet….and we both were content.

Sunday, we were with friends for lunch after church. Talking and having fun…and Shari asked me about what feelings I was having. Well, it was at that moment, tears started flowing and I couldn’t make them stop. I was asked, “what am I feeling”…and my words were, “I am afraid, I feel heavy, I don’t like the unknown.” As I looked down the table at Aleks, he saw I was crying. He jumped up to check on me. He made sure I was okay and did not want me to be afraid of going to Latvia.

Today, two verses were given to me:

Deuteronomy 31:6-8
“Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.”Then Moses summoned Joshua. He said to him with all Israel watching, “Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he’d give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it. God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.”

Isaiah 41:10
Don’t panic. I’m with you.
There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.

HMMMMMM…….think God is telling me something?

Aleks and I were getting in the car after dinner with the Cavins girls and as he buckled up to go home, he looked at me and said, "I do not want to go back to Latvia. I want to stay in America. You and Kevin can go to Latvia and I stay here. Then you come back to America. I love America, I don't like Latvia." The asked me, "do you love Latvia?" I said, "yes, that is where you are from" and he quickly said, "uuggg, I don't like. I love America."

So soon, our little American will be!!

SWEET!!!!

I am excited as each step in this journey has been really emotional...some good and some not....but,

Last week, Wednesday, July 9, the girls were talking to Aleks and playing with their cell phones. Aleks had one of the girl's phones and made a phone call. Kristen asked him who he called? He just looked at her and said, "I just called dad"...then quickly changed it to "I mean, Kevin." To me, that was a small breakthrough!

On Sunday, July 12, my sister asked Aleks if he had seen my nephew, Ethan. Aleks looked at her and said, "I think he is with mom."

Tonight, at the dinner table, we were together with friends of Rachel's, Reghan and Avery. Aleks told them to watch a video he had made of me last night. He said to them, "watch mom, she is funny."

So, when he is talking to others, he is referring to Kevin and I as mom and dad...at least some of the time.

That is exciting to me...