Leaps and Bounds

We have been home 6 months months with our sweet little Russian. Honestly, it has been tougher than I expected. I read so many stories throughout our process of trouble bonding or adjusting and just kind of thought "...not us, not our family". Well, needless to say I ate everyone of those "not me" thoughts. Adjusting to life with Lex has been an adventure. He is a walking tornado. He is full of energy and life. It has been quite an eye-opener to see how excited he is every day and in every new place and situation. I make it sound so sweet and fun, but the reality of his energy level is challenging. He requires our complete supervision at all times. He will climb on or in anything, eat anything, and makes it his daily mission to escape the house get to the street as quickly as possible. And he is a fast little thing. He loves to play in the toilet, get in the bathtub with is newly put-on pajamas, and throw as much of his meals as he can across the kitchen. Basically anything a normal 18 month old does, he does to the 1,000,000th degree. He definitely keeps us all on our toes. Even the other little ones have learned to watch out for Lex. Levi loves to yell "Look, mama. Look what Lex is doing!!" It's so cute (and helpful!)

We are so blessed to have such a healthy, lively little boy. Despite the challenges that come with it. I have fallen head over heels in love with him. After having 4 biologicals I wasn't sure if adoption would feel different. It does..only in that I recognize my love for him growing all the time. I see a beginning to my love and I see it getting deeper and stronger every day. I look at pictures of us in the orphanage and even at the hotel in Russia and think about how new he felt. I didn't know what each cry meant or that he had a tickle spot right under his chin. I loved him then so much because he needed me, now I love him because he truly is my son. God has given us such a perfect son to love and raise. People tell us all the time that Lex is such a "lucky little boy". Daniel and I are the lucky ones. We were chosen to be his parents.

3 months later....

I know it's been a while since I've last posted an update, but we've been just a teensy bit busy.

Lex has been home for 3 months now. We arrived in Atlanta on Oct 18th to see the one of the sweetest sights in the world...the American flag. I know we were only gone for 24 days, but coming up that escalator in the airport and seeing the flag almost brought me to tears. I have never appreciated my country, my freedom, my family, my friends so much.  Every single blessing God has given me ran through my mind during that trip. I learned a lot about just how very much I take things for granted. Learn appreciation.....check!

The only thing better than seeing the flag was seeing my babies again. When we got to the top and Mayson, Micah, Colby, and Levi came running to meet us it was absolutely the most overwhelming moment I have ever experienced. It gave me a new perspective on our troops that stay gone for a year at a time. Mayson and Colby being the "live out loud" children that they are just ran immediately to us. My little obedient Micah stayed right behind the tape holding her sign until she was told she could join them, and Levi followed his sisters as usual. It was beautiful.

Our first week home with Lex was filled with lots of different emotions. We were so happy to be with our other children that part of me wanted to spend every minute with them....making up for the time I was away. At the same time, I knew I had to spend a great deal of time with Lex trying to get him adjusted to this crazy place that is our home. The kids loved him from the very beginning. They were so happy to see him at the airport and have doted on him every day since then. At first, he kept them at a distance. He wasn't quite sure what to make of all of these people that all of a sudden wanted to hug him and kiss him every second of the day. To see them now though is amazing. He gives them kisses, hugs them, and sits in their laps. He is beginning to share and play "with" them and not just "around" them. Beginning to share is a big deal. At first, he would never have willingly given anything to anyone, now he will at times hand a toy or a snack to Levi or one of the girls. I know it seems small, but it shows that he is learning that we can be trusted. We have truly become a family in just a short amount of time.

Adjusting to the time change was a little challenging for Lex. The first week he was awake every night from 1 to 4. Not lay on your shoulder and eat awake, but get up and run around and play with everything awake. I honestly didn't think I was going to survive, but exactly 1 week after coming home, he slept completely through the night and has ever since.

I guess if there's one plus to spending a year in an orphanage it's that you learn to sleep like a rock. Lex can go to sleep anywhere at anytime and will sleep through a hurricane. As long as he has his 2 middle fingers and a blanket...he's out! Eating is also NOT a problem. At 15 months, he weighs almost 28lbs and his height is off the charts. He has learned to sign about 5 words and can already speak about 8 words in English. In Russia he understood Russian completely, but seems to have lost that now. I do still say "thank you" and "bye-bye" to him in Russian, but if I play Russian for him on the computer he doesn't seem to recognize it anymore. Babies brains are so amazing!

Overall, he is going great. We still have a few behavior things to work on. He does everything any other 15 month old would do, he just does it to the millionth degree. He has no boundaries, NO fear (of anything or anyone), no real concern for the word "no", and on occasion will still bite, but he knows without a doubt that he has parents, sisters, and a brother. He does understand that we are a family...different from other people. It's hard to describe but I can see it in his behavior. I am learning who he is and what makes him tick. It is taking some time, but we are getting there. Keep praying for us, but God has already been so faithful. I know He will see us through.

Last Full Day Here

When we decided to adopt from Russia I told Abby that since we are going to Russia then we better get to see some snow.  This morning we were Skyping with the kids and looked up and what do you know...it was snowing!  It only lasted 5 or 10 minutes and hasn't snowed again since then.  But I got to see Russian snow.

Today we start packing and have our last night in the good ol' Vlad Inn.  We will start our journey home about 10:00 pm Phenix City time tomorrow night.  We are wondering how Lex will do on the plane rides home, but to be honest, at this point it don't matter!  Because we are coming home.  The kids have been marking off days on the calendar since we left, which then seemed like it would never get here, but today they had us down to one day until he day they get to see us.

It has been awesome to see God at work through this journey.  It has also made us thankful for our friends and family back home, the small things we take for granted, and the great USA!  I can't wait to get back and have church, t-ball, soccer, gymnastics, work, yard work, football games, ESPN (of course), hanging with friends, and most of all the small times I get with my kids.  Hearing Levi scream for me every time I walk in the house, saying War Eagle to Colby ever night, helping Micah with her home work, and taking Mayson to soccer practice.  It will all get started back in a day.

Tomorrow also starts a day of firsts for Lex.  The first time on a plane, the first time in a car seat, the first time with his brother and sisters, the first time he walks barefooted in grass, his first Central football game, his first day at church, his first night in his own bed...in his room with his brother, the first time being held by grandparents...aunts...cousins, and the list will go on and on.  So this may be the last post from Russia, but it will back home to the Cook House to start our lives with our completed, perfect (as much as we can be) family of 7.

Lex is a Cook for good!!

Today marked the end of our 10 day waiting period since court. Our court decree is final today and Lex is officially a Cook forever. As it turns out, not only was the 10 day wait a time when his family could've taken him back, it was a time when we could've changed our minds and given him back. I thought of that today when Irina said that to us. She said, "Well it's official today. Your 10 day wait is over and he is yours no matter what! You've had your time to think it over and now he is yours!" She was saying it jokingly of course, but it got me thinking. God has shown me time and time again that He chose this little boy to he our son long before we every laid eyes on him. Today was just a reminder that this all was just a formality....a means to an end...a journey to pick up our son that for whatever reason needed to be born in Russia. All of the hoops and obstacles that we ("we" meaning us and Lex) faced along the way was just a journey of faith. A lesson that sometimes we are not as strong as we think we are. We need God and family and friends to ultimately help us get to God's planned destination. For Lex, for now, that Phenix City and a family. For us, it's children we could never imagine and loved ones who never cease to amaze us. We don't know what the future holds for this family, but through this I have learned that God truly is in control of all of the tangled webs that are our lives, as long as I trust in Him with all my heart, I will never be lost. My prayer is that all of the people this adoption has touched will see God's mighty hand at work and recognize how truly amazing and faithful our Lord is!

The Countdown Has Started

Well it really started the day we left, but now it seems to be working.  After chasing 4 kids around and getting them to different places different days our lives pretty much has come to a halt.  We are at a hotel that is a good 20 minute drive from town and we are here all day.  Our routine is get up, eat breakfast, Skype the kids, eat lunch, rest, walk around the hotel a few times, eat dinner, chill out, and then go to sleep.    So we are taking every small victory we can in our countdown to get home.

We are now under two weeks until we start our journey home.  With each day that passes we say...One more Wednesday and we will be home.  Micah has one more day at gymnastics or its one more t-ball game.   Since our 10 day waiting period is almost over we will have more things to do to get ready to go home.  So those times out will also help.  Micah is also at home checking off days on the calendar and the kids are getting excited too.  This has been an awesome experience but we are ready to be home.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement during this time.  A big thanks goes out to the ones taking care of our kids!  GABC oh how I miss thee!  Thanks to all of you who stepping in while I am away.

I know we still have a good bit of time left, but small victories each day are building moral.  So the countdown is on!

ALMOST

Right around a year ago Abby and I began thinking and praying about the idea of adoption.  It was totally a God thing, but we knew we wanted a large family from the time we got married.  We obviously have a thing for kids, being we both have jobs that deal with kids.  But our love for kids is more than just our job it is what has driven us to have a large family.  As you have read time and time again we love our kids to no end and family is a big thing to us.  Not just with our kids but our extended families mean a lot to us also.  

One thing that drew us to adoption was the chance to give a child a home and family that had a life where no one wanted him and he had never meet his mom or dad.  From the moment we saw his picture we thought of him as one of ours.  There was no doubt in our mind that he was the one God had for us.  From that moment the relationship started and only got stronger when we met him.  Then we waited 2.5 months until we could come back and finish the process.  God has been good to us through this entire process and now he is ours.   

We had a feeling while we were away from Lex that our family was not complete.  Our family may be complete legally but won't be completely back together until we get home.  We miss our kids and family and are counting down the days until we can be together again.  We knew we wanted a large family and God open the door to adoption and we are almost done.  ALMOST means two weeks away from friends and family.  I miss the small things like pushing Levi's nose and telling him goodnight (strange but it makes him laugh), watching Micah hit in the t-ball game when I pitch it to her, sitting in the long car rider line to pick up Mayson and Micah to hear how their day was, and hearing Colby say she wants the same thing I get when you pick up food.  Soon I will be able to do those things again and the time away is a littler easier knowing our kids are completely taken care of by our family.  But it is still hard on us both.

God and prayer has got us this far, so please continue to pray for us while we are away from our family.  We are closer today to being done than yesterday and soon this too will pass and we will be home again.  And before I go I have to say......WAR EAGLE!

Another big blessing

After court, God provided us with another HUGE blessing. I can't really go into detail on this blog, but I will say that something we thought we would have to wait a week for came early. If you talk to any of our family they can fill you in. After getting back to the hotel, we realized that now it's another waiting game. There is not much to do here except sit around and wait. Daniel of course is handling this much better than I am. Every time I talk to the kids I want to cry. I guess knowing that I have 17 more days until I see them again, makes it worse. I just miss them so much. I have had time to think about all of the people who loved us through this process and provided so much in the way of prayers and money and other things to help us bring Lex home. I want so badly to tell you all how much you mean to us. We are so truly blessed to have such a family, set of friends, and church family that love us so much. So on top of missing my children, I now miss all of you. I know my emotions are high, and that's hard for me. I 'm not usually the emotional type. It's been such a long road. I told Daniel after court on Thursday that I feel like I've been holding my breath for a year. Hoping no one found anything that would affect our adoption. Praying that God would provide the money we didn't have. Worrying about Lex while we weren't there. Worrying about our kids while we are gone. Now I feel like I can finally breathe. I can take a deep breath and know that Lex is ours and soon our family will be together again. I guess that is where these emotions are coming from. A place of relief....a place of love.