Sending God's Blessings This Christmas

Today, we are enjoying a snow day at home.... To be honest, Trey's school is in session. However, we live 35 miles from school. With the roads being so icy and snowy...we opted to not make the commute today. Unfortunately, Trey is missing his class Christmas party. However, we chose to live on the safe side, rather than risking it out on the roadways today. Therefore, we are just hanging out...I'm working a little from home....and Trey wrote his letter to Santa this morning (see above.). I must note that Trey is really into exclamation points right now...so the letter might look a little demanding. He doesn't intend for his message to be interpreted this way. :o) He also really likes stickers, so the letter is covered in stickers.

The other pictures above are our 2008 Christmas Card and some photos from a trip to the photographer in November. We hope that you like them!

Regarding Shane's job situation, the job that we mentioned last week sort of fell through. I guess that the job offer is still there. However, they are waiting on "corporate approval" before he can start. Rather than waiting...and waiting...and waiting....we started looking into other options. Shane currently is in the midst of a variety of interviews (some which are outside of the car business, which would be super...). So, we'll keep you posted on any developments. However, Shane had one interview yesterday. He has one today and he has two on Monday...so we are optimistic in it all. We also truly feel God's presence in all of this and know that his angels are watching over us. We hope to report good news soon.

For now, we would just like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We hope that your holiday season is blessed, safe, and happy! From our house to yours....God's Blessings this Holiday Season!

Shane, Kathy, and Trey

Things are Looking Up

Just to update, it appears that Shane has a new job! He is scheduled to start on Monday at a new auto dealership! We really wish that it could be sooner to get a paycheck rolling in sooner. However, we are pleased that he will be employed soon and so thankful for your prayers and for God's presence throughout this time. The timing is strange because he will start the week before Christmas week. I'm not really sure how busy the dealership will be. However, at least by being at a job...he will have the opportunity to make some money. We have been extremely thrifty lately and will continue to be conservative for quite a while.

Nonetheless, our family time has been invaluable. We have really enjoyed our evenings of dinner, games, T.V., and great conversation. We know that everything happens for a reason and maybe, we just needed to slow down for a bit and have some of this terrific family time.

Tomorrow, Trey will be going to a classmate's birthday party. Therefore, Shane and I will begin our Christmas shopping. This will be some nice "couple time" as we don't usually have time by ourselves together. It will only be for a couple hours...but it will still be nice.

I hope that your Christmas season is blessed and happy. Ours is definitely perking up and we are so grateful.

God's Blessings,
Shane, Kathy, and Trey

Trying to Get Into the Christmas Spirit

It's been so long since I have posted. However, to be honest, I haven't really felt like writing. Thanksgiving was good. We went to my sister's house and spent the day with my entire family. However, on the day after Thanksgiving, Shane lost his job. Therefore, it's been such a weird time for us. We have been searching for a new job and nothing seems to be working out. Shane has never had a hard time finding a job. However, with the economy....it's totally different right now. (The economy is the reason that he lost his job....the dealership is having severe difficulties and has let go of many employees.) Anyway, we thought that this might be a good time for Shane to explore a new line of work. Therefore, he has his resume' at several different places, along with some auto dealerships. We are really hoping that something works out soon. He has now been out of work for a week and a half and Christmas is coming. I haven't done any Christmas shopping and to be perfectly honest, I haven't felt like it.

On a positive side, we have had some wonderful family time lately. Typically, Shane works two evenings per week. Therefore, we don't always have a lot of time together. However, we have really taken advantage of the opportunity to be together. Last night, Trey had a special program at school titled "Night School". They brought in several nocturnal animals and had a variety of "night-time" activities for the parents and kids. All three of us enjoyed the festivities and we got some great pictures of the night. Trey was able to see an alligator. He pet a chinchilla, two snakes (YIKES!), two ferrets, and a variety of other creatures. He also made some art projects as well.

We are definitely praying that a wonderful job for Shane comes about this week. We would appreciate your prayers as well.

We hope that your Christmas season is happy and blessed. We know that everything happens for a reason and the Lord is watching over us. We are just trying to wait patiently for His perfect timing in this situation. He certainly blessed us with our wonderful little boy. He will most certainly take care of us during this time as well.

The Tooth Fairy!

On Wednesday night, Trey lost his first tooth. His tooth had been loose for more than a week and was really wiggly the last few days. In fact, Trey's adult tooth was beginning to come up behind his baby tooth. (Coincidentally, Trey had his 6th month dentist appointment on Tuesday. The dentist didn't seem too concerned about the tooth coming in behind. She said that once the baby tooth came out, the adult tooth would move forward. Interesting.....). Anyway, back to the subject at hand....

On Wednesday night, we had our normal bedtime routine. I laid Trey down to sleep and he laid there wiggling his tooth. Shane offered to help him pull it (I couldn't even look!!!). However, Trey declined and chose to work on it himself. Then, it was time for sleep. I told Trey that he should leave it alone and it would probably come out "tomorrow". We said our "goodnights" and we left the room. About 10 minutes later, I was sitting in our computer room and Trey came flying into the room saying, "Mom, Mom, My tooth came out!" Sure enough....he had wiggled that tooth until it came out.

Therefore, (after a few photos!) we put his tooth into a ziplock bag, put it under his pillow, and then he laid back down in bed. We talked about the tooth fairy and Trey started asking about what she is like.

Trey: "Is she like a mouse?"
Mom: "No."
Trey: "Is she like a snowman?"
Mom: "No. She is kind of like an angel. Do you know what an angel is?"
Trey: "Yes. What kind of money will she give me? Round money or paper money or like Mama's money?" (referring to a debit card....YIKES!)
Mom: "Not like Mama's money....but let's go to sleep and see what she brings."
Trey: "When is going to come?"
Mom: "After you go to sleep. She won't come until you are sleeping."

Trey laid so still and basically made the decision that he was going to fall asleep quickly. I told him goodnight and he was literally asleep within a few minutes. (He has NEVER fallen asleep that fast before!)

Of course the tooth fairy arrived after Trey fell asleep. Then, in the middle of the night, Trey came running into our room, saying, "Mom! Mom! I got money!" He laid it on the night stand by our bed and then ran back to bed! (He knows that he is supposed to stay in his bed all night.) The next morning, we talked about his dollar that he received.

What a fun night! And...of course, it was all a very big deal when Trey went to school on Thursday too.

I am including some photos that we took immediately after Trey lost his tooth. I am also including a photo of Trey and his teacher. This picture was taken at his Thanksgiving program last night.

Enjoy!

Picture Update

As promised, I am updating with Halloween photos. Additionally, I am including some fall photos and "Chuck-E-Cheese" photos.

Enjoy!

Hello....Again....

**Updated....Just to let you know.... Trey was a fireman for Halloween. I'll try to post some pictures of him in his costume soon. :o) **

Ok. I'm a really bad blogger..... I can't believe that it's been so long since I last posted. I apologize. We have been very busy and time has literally gotten away from me. Since I last posted, Trey had his first Halloween. Unfortunately, I wasn't even around for it. I was sooooo sad about this. I had a volleyball tournament down in St. Louis on the 31st and 1st. Therefore, I packed up all of his things early in the morning, kissed him goodbye, and surrendered his first Halloween to someone else. Shane took Trey to school that day and, unfortunately, had to work in the evening as well. We had made arrangements for Trey to go trick-or-treating with a classmate and his family. As expected, they had a blast! It took a while for Trey to get into the routine of trick-or-treating. He had no idea of what to do. However, once he caught on...he loved it! When Shane went to pick him up, they were all back home and enjoying some pizza. And....Trey accumulated A LOT of candy! We still don't know what to do with all of it! YIKES! I'm so glad that Trey had fun. I was just REALLY sad to have missed this holiday.

The following week brought one of our blog friends to our campus. Joel came to our campus to do some recruiting. Therefore, he contacted us ahead of time to see if we would be around. Joel and Clarion recently adopted 2 boys from Russia and we have kept in touch through our blogs...however, we had never met in-person. On the day that Joel was here, Shane was able to make the trip in to campus as well. Therefore, all 3 of us were able to meet Joel. We were so sad that we couldn't meet their entire family (because the 3 boys would have had a blast!), but we are hoping to get together at some point again and introduce all of the kids. Nonetheless, we had a great visit with Joel and are so happy for their family!

My volleyball season ended last Thursday, so life is gradually beginning to slow down. I am definitely welcoming more free time and more quality time with Trey. I just LOVE picking him up after school and going home together. We have done so much juggling lately with babysitters, etc. I have really missed our little boy and have longed for some more "mommy/son" time. We are enjoying the less hectic routine and more time at home. :o)

I must say that Trey has been a real trooper throughout all of the juggling and has really gone with the flow. However, over the past 2 weeks, he has been a little more wound up. He has realized that he can make his friends laugh when he does silly things at school or in Sunday School. Therefore, we are working with trying to get him to listen better and act more appropriately. He is a very witty guy and could be labeled "the class clown". However, we are trying to explain that there are appropriate times to be funny and times to just sit quietly and listen. It doesn't help that his friends tend to urge him on with his silliness. Oh....the joy of parenthood.... He really isn't doing anything mean or hurtful. He's just getting a little goofy when he should be listening. I hope that this behavior settles down soon.

Otherwise, we are doing very well. We are getting very excited for the holidays and all of the festivities that go along with them. Trey and I have recently been noting all of the beautiful Christmas decorations in the stores. He wants to touch everything...so we are learning to just look and not touch so much. But, he definitely loves all of the colors and lights. :o)

God's Blessings,
Shane, Kathy, and Trey

Snow???

So, Trey and I came out of the flower shop today (bought flowers for Senior Night--VB Match) and it was snowing!!! Ok...it only snowed for about 10 minutes and then it stopped, but Trey was completely spazzing over the snow. He literally has been asking about when it will snow since July! He apparently loves winter and was figuring that anyday it should snow. Well, today he was satisfied.....for a few minutes. He said that we needed to go to the store and get some skis! (I'm not joking!!!) Of course, we didn't go pick any skis up....but it cracked me up that he even asked. He started talking about making snowmen and snowballs! He is going to be a hoot when we "actually" get some snow!

Trey is also learning so much at school. He has already started working with site-words. I can't believe that this little boy who didn't know a word of English in April is now beginning to read. Everyday people tell me that they would have never guessed that he was adopted. They say that he looks like us and sounds completely "American" with his English. It's been pretty amazing!

I am including some pictures from a week and a half ago. Some of our friends from Wisconsin came down and we went to eat at Harry Caray's Restaurant. They also brought their new puppy along. Trey LOVES dogs! He also has been wishing for a dog. I say that I would like a small dog and Shane says that he would like a big dog. To counter that....Trey just says that we should just get one big and one small dog! He's pretty smooth!!!

Have a GREAT Day!

New Photos!

I didn't mean to leave you hanging with my eye issue. I wore my glasses for about 8 days, then I attempted to put my contacts back in. My eye is completely healed and doing much better. :o) Thanks for all of your well-wishes regarding my eye.

I also wanted to include some new pictures of Trey. The top picture is Trey's first school picture (kindergarten). I thought that it turned out really cute. In fact, all of the kids' pictures that I saw were really great! The photographer did a really nice job.

The rest of these pictures were taken last Sunday. Trey and I ventured out on our bikes to the playground. I took my camera along to capture some of our fun moments. I have to admit....we took about a zillion pictures of Trey during our first couple months and now, the picture taking has definitely tapered off. I really need to keep my camera more handy to keep up with Trey's growth and his fun adventures!

Speaking of Trey's growth, last Sunday, we measured him and weighed him. Since we came home in April, Trey has grown 2 inches and gained 4 pounds! He is noticeably bigger! We try to pick him up and it's getting harder and harder. :o)

Trey is really doing well and has made such great strides in his language development. He is starting to sound and act like he has been here in America all along! It's crazy how he has adapted to all of these changes! Trey is also doing really well with the whole "my mom is a coach" thing. The first volleyball match that he ever attended...he sprinted out onto the court during a time-out because he wanted to be with mama. Fortunately, Shane was about a foot behind him...scooped him up and took him outside. Now, Trey can sit in the bleachers, watching the game, or playing with toys, or literally cheering "Go Cougars!". He has come to understand the routine of volleyball matches and seems to be enjoying the experience as the coach's son. It also doesn't hurt that he gets to talk to 20 college age girls after the match either. :o) My players have been really sweet to Trey and his reciprocates their affection.

Well, I better get back to work now. Today, is a fairly slow day. I have given the team the weekend off (for Homecoming). So, it should be a fun weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,
Kathy

Mama's Doctor Appointment

So...I have been having some issues with my left eye lately. It has been red and watery and it felt like I had a scratch (from my contacts). Therefore, I took my contacts out for a couple days, then it seemed to improve so I put my contacts back in again. Well, that was fine and dandy for a few days. However, yesterday morning (while in Wisconsin with my volleyball team), I woke up around 4:00 a.m. with a really watery eye. My eye just got worse and worse through the day. I could hardly keep it open at times and it was very sensitive to light. Therefore, I knew that I would have to see the doctor. So....this morning, after church, Trey and I went to the Convenient Care Medical Facility near our house. The reason that I bring this story up is because Trey was hilarious while we were there.

At first, I was just registering at the desk. The lady was getting my name, address, etc. Please follow some portions of the conversation below:

Lady: "Last Name?"
Kathy: "Gebhardt. G-E-B-H-A-R-D-T"
Lady: "First Name?"
Kathy: "Kathryn. K-A-T-H-R-Y-N"
Trey: "T-R-E-Y"

It was so funny! He is so excited about letters and numbers and spelling....he just shared his name as well!

Later in the registration process, the lady asked me to sign some documents. Trey watched me sign the papers and said:

Trey: "That's not your name. Your name is M-O-M."

Ah....he kills me! Can you tell that he is a smart boy?

After we hung out in the waiting room, looking at the fish in the tank and spending some time finding letters in magazines, they called my name. Trey and I went to the examination room....answered some questions by the nurse, and then waited for the doctor to come in. When the doctor came in, Trey was very interested in everything that she was doing with my eye. He kept watching me...thinking that I was crying because it watered with everything that she did (light in the eye....ouch!). Then, the doctor had me lie on my back. She was going to put some stuff in my eye to make it glow in the dark. She then put a black light on it to see if there was a scratch on my cornea. Well, in the process of all of this....I am on my back and Trey climbed right up on top of me. He was literally laying right on top of me getting a bird's eye view of everything that she was doing. The doctor said that I should be named, "Mother of the Year." I certainly didn't think that this was worthy of such an award....however, I do realize that Trey is a sensitive boy and he wanted to make sure that I was ok. He asked me several times throughout the appointment if I was ok and he kissed me a few times too. What a sweetie!

All in all, my eye will be fine. I have a corneal abrasion and a possible ulcer on my eye. Of course, it is due to my contact....I had a scratch at some point and it hasn't been able to heal. Therefore, I am in for a lot of eye drops. I have to put 2 drops in my eye every 15 minutes today. Then, tomorrow, I will put 2 drops in my eye every hour and then after Day 3, I will put 2 drops in my eye every 4 hours for up to 14 days. I also won't be able to wear my contacts for awhile. Oh well, it could be worse. I'm really glad that it isn't pink eye or something contagious. I really didn't want to pass anything along to Trey or to my volleyball team. Therefore, I'll just be sporting my specs for a while. :o)

Have a GREAT Day!

My Little Guy

I just need to post some pictures from this past Sunday. Our Sunday ritual is generally:
1.) Go to Church/Sunday School
2.) Order Pizza
3.) Watch the Vikings

You may wonder why we are Vikings fans when we live in Chicago. Well, Shane grew up in Minnesota and we actually met there (I lived there for 6 years.) Therefore, Trey is growing up as a Vikings fan as well, even though he might take some ribbing as he gets older for his team choice. Actually, right now, Trey doesn't even watch the game. Although, he is gradually starting to take more of an interest and is beginning to comment on the games.

Otherwise, life is busy as usual. Trey is doing really well in kindergarten. He loves letters and numbers! He actually tries to figure out the first letter of random words quite often. For example, he'll heard the word "bear" and he'll say, "Buh, buh, buh The first letter in Bear is B". He is quite good at this activity too! He continues to amaze us! He is also very creative! He loves art class at school and made a beautiful painting a few weeks ago. The art teacher was so impressed, she hung it on her office door and made a point to show it to me!

Trey still continues to love the computer (at school and at home). We have gotten a couple CD-roms that work with:
* Dot-to-Dots (letters and numbers)
* Reading basics
Trey is sort of a "gadget-guy" so these tools have been wonderful to assist with his learning.

It's amazing how Trey has changed in the past 6 months! (Yes...it's been 6 months! We just completed our first post-placement visit!) His vocabulary is wonderful. The only issue now is that he still has a little accent, so he can be hard to understand at times. Also, Trey is eating everything that we eat! He has had a really big appetite lately and seems to be in another growth spurt. I just remember when we came home....all that he would eat was mashed potatoes and cucumbers.... Now, he will eat just about anything that we put in front of him! Also, Trey's clothing choices have changed as well. At first, Trey wouldn't wear jeans at all. Now, he loves them! He also is much more tolerant of several outfits that he wouldn't even consider when we first came home.

It's hard to fathom all of the changes that have happened in a relatively short time. Trey has really fit in perfectly with our family. Trey cracks jokes all the time (he's really witty!). He also hugs tighter and kisses us more often than he ever did before. He's really bonding with us well and it all feels perfect. We feel so blessed to have this little guy in our life. He truly is a gift from God.

Time....Flying By

Wow! I can't believe that it has been 2 weeks since I last posted. I have been extremely busy with my volleyball season. Two weekends ago, we were in Oshkosh, WI for a tournament. I was gone for one night. (This was my first night away from Trey since "Gotcha Day".) This past weekend, I took my team to New York for a tournament. I was gone for two nights this time.

I am happy to report that we all survived and Trey did great, though! We had some terrific babysitters during this time. In addition, Shane and Trey had some good "male bonding" time. Trey has been so resilient with these wacky routines and has continued to enjoy every day to the fullest. Trey really has enjoyed each of his babysitters. In fact, some of the sitters tend to spoil him...so, of course, he is loving it!

It has all worked out well and I'm confident that things will continue to go well. Trey has such a postive personality and has taking everything in stride. I have really missed Trey lately, though. I talk to him on the phone (while I'm away) as much as possible. He's really funny to talk to because his conversations are all over the board. However, it's just great to hear his voice and learn about his day. Today, I am giving my team the day off (that's what happens when you go 4-0 over the weekend!!), so Trey and I will get a little "mommy/son" time after school today. I'm really looking forward to it. :o)

Doing Much Better

I wanted to update you on Trey's Kindergarten situation. As you know, he wasn't overjoyed to go into his kindergarten classroom on Friday. However, it appears that his day went much better. He seemed to have a good day and was in a GREAT mood when I picked him up at the end of the day. Hopefully, he will handle any adversity in a better way (such as: telling his teacher about any issues) the next time.

We had a great weekend. On Saturday, Trey and I attended our Junior Varsity Tournament. My assistant coach was coaching our J.V. team. Trey and I sat in the stands with the parents and varsity players throughout the day, cheering on our Cougars and enjoying some time together. I must say that I wasn't sure how Trey would do....but he was AWESOME! We had a bag full of toys, books, etc. and Trey kept busy all day. He as a really good boy and I was so impressed with him!

Today was also a fun day. After church, Trey went to his first Sunday School class. This was another "adjustment moment". Of course, when he heard the word "school", he thought that he was going to be there all day. He really wasn't too thrilled by that idea....but he soon found out that Sunday "school" is really pretty short. I'm sure that he'll learn to love Sunday School. After church, we ran to Old Navy to pick up some more pants for Trey. He really needed some pants for church and school. Lately, it has been a little cooler. The pants that we bought prior to trip 2 are still too big in the waist for Trey. Therefore, we went out and got some 6 slim jeans and khakis today. While we were there, Trey picked up a hat (while walking to the dressing room). It was so adorable...we had to get it. Please refer to the picture to see this hat.



The rest of our day was filled with pizza, football, riding bikes, reading stories, webkinz, and lots of fun family times. It was a really great day! Sometimes our schedule is soooo full. Today was really a relaxing, fun day!

Kindergarten... Ups and Downs

Kindergarten has had it's ups and downs already. On a positive note, one boy told Trey on the first day that he made his day much better and called Trey "his friend". And....to be honest, I think that most of the boys have really connected with Trey. However, there seems to be an issue with one of the girls.... Apparently, yesterday this girl was not very nice to Trey. She said some things at meal time that upset Trey. Rather than telling the teacher, Trey went up into the loft and hid. Well, the entire class was looking for him and couldn't seem to locate him. Eventually, they found him....and Trey was reprimanded for hiding and not telling the class where he was.

Trey and I had a long talk about this episode and I encouraged him to talk to the teacher about any issues with classmates, rather than hiding. He assured me that today he would tell his teacher if this particular girl was mean to him again.

However, I know that this is really eating at Trey. On most days, Trey just zips into the classroom and barely takes time to say, "Good-bye" to me. Today, he kept hugging me and didn't want to go into the classroom. I really hope that today goes better.... I talked to Trey's teacher about what really caused the problem yesterday and told her that Trey has been instructed to tell her if there is an issue. Hopefully, Trey will have the courage to say something to his teacher today if a problem arises. I hate to see him dreading walking into his classroom..... Please pray that today is a better day.

On a funny note, there is an older lady that helps out in the classroom. Trey has affectionately nicknamed her "Babushka". She loves the name and really adores Trey!

Just another side-note, Trey and I had a great conversation in the car today about Russian songs. He was singing a few songs in his native language. I definitely need to pick up some Russian CD's, so he can sing along with these songs and maintain his Russian. Trey also talked about what he ate in the orphanage. He spoke of getting in trouble and having to go to bed without dinner once. He mentioned a girl who ate a bug at the orphanage. Oh....these conversations are priceless because they are memories of his life before he met us. We just wish that we knew more of his history. It is wonderful to hear him reminisce about "the old days". I must also mention that it's becoming more apparent that Trey is losing his Russian. Yesterday, I said, "Dobre Ootro" (which means "Good Morning") and he said, "What's that?". Hmmmm.....just a few months ago, that was a regular phrase. He is definitely fluent in English....Now, we need to work on building his Russian back up.

Well, I better go.. Sorry for all of the random thoughts. I just wanted to get all of this information into a quick post.

Have a GREAT Day!

Updated Photos

Today was Trey's first day of Kindergarten. It seemed as though he had a great day! Fortunately, he knows several of his classmates from his pre-K class. Therefore, he didn't have any trouble settling in. Here are some pictures from his first day of school, along with a few more recent photos.

Playing Baseball on Labor Day!




Big Man On-Campus


Playing at the "Rice Table" at School

Busy, Busy, Busy

First of all, I must apologize for the lack of posts lately. Volleyball season is here and I'm just trying to keep up with the pace of everything. Volleyball season is always busy...however, now as a mom, I'm finding it much more complicated to fit everything into the day. Nonetheless, everything that needs to get done is getting done. However, blogging has definitely taken a backseat for now. I hope to resume more regular posts in the near future.

Last week was really crazy because I was running two practices a day, plus "team bonding" activities in the evening. Trey was able to be around for the team bonding events. He is really enjoying the Cougars and they also really love him! It should be a fun season as Trey is now truly becoming a "Cougar". :o) Trey and I ate lunch at the university cafeteria every evening last week and he LOVED IT! He loves pizza and he LOVES getting an ice cream cone at the end. If only the students loved the cafeteria as much as Trey does. :o)

Trey is really doing well lately. He is going with the flow on this crazy schedule and he is excited to begin kindergarten next week. We are also looking forward to getting him back into a regular routine. He will really thrive with formal schooling.

Trey is also becoming a real athlete lately. Some examples include:

* Playing volleyball (with a beach ball) in the gym. He can consistently keep the ball going back and forth over the net with a partner!

* He loves doing push-ups and showing off this skill to the Cougars!

* He can swim underwater without his swim vest now! He demonstrated that on Sunday when the three of us went to the pool in our neighborhood.


It has been a blast to see Trey growing and changing. In fact, he couldn't even throw a ball overhand when we met him. He has become much stronger and faster and definitely more athletic this summer.

Trey is also growing like a weed. He has grown more than an inch in the past 4 months and he has gone up 1 1/2 shoe sizes! YIKES! Trey's weight hasn't changed much. However, he is so active, I think he runs everything off.

Well, I better sign off and get back to work. I just want to give a glimpse of our past two weeks! God's Blessings to all of the families who are traveling and having their court dates this month!

Each Day is a Masterpiece

Ok...So I stole that title from a John Wooden quote. However, it really describes our life with Trey. Everyday, he surprises us with a new word or phrase or a new little piece of his personality shines through. Trey has been such a wonderful addition to our family. He fits right in and sometimes it doesn't seem as though he has only been with us for 4 months. In fact, he is turning into such an "American" already. It's unbelievable in how he has adapted to life here in the U.S. For example:

* This kid would not even take a bite of pizza four months ago. Now, he could eat it everyday! (Actually, he has the same love for ice cream!)

* Trey LOVES Spongebob Squarepants and he sings the theme song when it comes on. (Quite funny, I might add.)

* He is soooo funny! You would think that learning the language would be stressful and would keep his dialogue simple.... Not Trey! He is constantly cracking us up with his facial expressions, comments, and "tricks" that get us to laugh.

* Trey is constantly asking questions (i.e. "What's this?") He is truly a sponge and he remembers everything that we tell him. I can't even begin to estimate the number of English words that he uses.

* Trey has a sensitive side. He cries almost every time that he watches Brother Bear (the movie0. This is so endearing.....

* Trey had a great summer at pre-K. He learned so much, became very confident in his English, made lots of friends, and won over the hearts of his teachers. He probably gained the most through his school experiences and we are very grateful that Trey is able to attend such a great school.

Ok... I could go on and on...but it's just been so exciting to see him blossom and change. Sometimes, I honestly forget that Trey came from another country because he fits in so well and has done it so quickly.

Trey will start kindergarten right after Labor Day. I don't think he fully understands that he will be switching classrooms and teachers. Therefore, I hope that his transition goes smoothly. He had such a wonderful experience this summer. I hope that his education in a more "formal" setting goes just as well. (I'll keep you posted!)

I also want to say that we are so excited for our friends (Joel & Clarion...and David and Debbie). Each of these families just received court dates and will travel back to Vlad very soon. We are so happy for these families and wish them the best as they reunite with their little ones. We can't wait to read all about their journeys! God's Blessings to you all!

Also, we would like to ask that you keep Bernadette and Owen in your prayers as they wait for a court date. We met them at the Vlad Inn on our 2nd trip. We pray that they would be reunited with their 5 year old boy very soon as well.

Finally, I just want to say that Volleyball Season is almost here! The Cougars will move onto campus this weekend! Therefore, my life is going to be even nuttier very soon. However, I think that we are prepared and Trey is getting prepped as well. He loves volleyball and he has met the Cougars. He will be a wonderful fan on the sidelines this fall and we are looking forward to showing him more of what Mama does at her job. :o) Go Cougars!!

God's Blessings,
Shane, Kathy, and Trey

Just a Quick Post....

Just a quick post to say that we closed on our old house on Thursday! Yeah! I'll just say that it wasn't a pretty closing and things did not turn out as we hoped...but in the long run, we can say that we're ecstatic that our house sold and we won't be faced with 2 mortgages! Yahoo!

Ok...I'll write more later! Have a GREAT Day!

Weekend Fun

Lately, Trey has been doing really well. He still mentions Angelica often. However, he seems to be ok with everything. We actually emailed the orphanage over a week ago in the hopes that we would get a response and, possibly a photo of Angelica and the other kids. Unfortunately, we haven't heard back from them.... We may still consider talking to a man from Vlad that Melissa and Carey both recommended. (Thanks Ladies!) Apparently, he can translate documents and deliver items (for a small fee). We might go with this option if Trey continues to have these "homesick" feelings. At this point, we are unsure on what we'll do...but to date, he is doing pretty well.

We actually had a very fun weekend. We had no plans and really didn't do anything too exciting. However, we swam in our pool and enjoyed some great family time, which was awesome! Today, we also got the last of our things out of our old house. (We are set to close on Thursday!!) So, there was a little work involved today...but it was really fun too. Trey is always such a good helper. He chipped right in as well. He also is a GREAT helper when we get groceries. He always helps me carry everything in and usually helps with putting it away. What a sweet boy!

Anyway, as I was saying Trey is doing really well. He is very outgoing and enjoys talking to EVERYONE! At the pool, Trey is constantly talking to different people and saying, "Hey! Watch this!" He still swims with his life-vest, but he has no fear. He will jump in and completely go under water. His latest feat is swimming with his head under water. (This is the same boy who just entered a pool for the first time on Memorial Day Weekend! He actually thought it was a big bathtub and asked if he should take his shorts off!! Yikes!) Anyway, he is doing great in the pool and improving everyday. (I think that we will have formal swim lessons next summer!)

Trey also has some new phrases, which just crack us up. To be honest, his English is amazing and he sounds nothing like the little boy who first stepped onto U.S. soil in April. His newest phrases are:

* Let me show you something.
* It's not too bad.
* I LOVE (fill in the blank)! He currently loves everything!!

I also feel like a human dictionary lately. This kid asks, "What's this?" constantly. And...he remembers what I tell him. He is really taking it all in. He learned colors last week. Now, we are starting to work on shapes. Trey already knows the entire alphabet and can count to 15. He also knows the days of the week and we are continuing to work on the months of the year. We are really trying to speed up the academic stuff lately because kindergarten will be here soon and we want him to be prepared. Nonetheless, his teacher already knows his situation and I'm sure that he'll get along fine.

I'll leave you with a few photos from our recent family photo session.

Take Care and God Bless,
Shane, Kathy, and Trey

Missing Angelica....

I can't remember if I have ever mentioned Trey's caretaker from the orphanage. Therefore, let me give you a little insight on this wonderful woman...... Angelica cared for Trey for a very long time.... She may have been the only caretaker that he had at the orphanage. Some of the pictures that we got from the orphanage have Angelica holding him as a toddler.... So, nonetheless, Trey has known Angelica for a VERY LONG TIME. Anyway....Trey LOVES Angelica. Her name comes up almost daily. Many days, it's just brought up in the context like "Angelica dances like this!" or "Angelica plays music!". Trey speaks fondly of Angelica and has (on occasion) asked if we could go and see her. Well, we all know the answer to that question..... We can't go back to see her for many reasons (money, time, language barriers), etc. He has also asked if we can call her....again, this doesn't seem like it would be possible. We are soooo extremely grateful that Trey had a positive experience in his orphanage and that he bonded with his caretaker. This helps us to know that he was treated well. It also has sped up our bonding process because he knows how to love and to receive love. Therefore, we are incredibly grateful to Angelica and all of the wonderful ladies at Trey's orphanage.

The reason that I bring all of this up today...is because Trey was extremely sad this morning about the fact that he misses Angelica so much. He heard a song this morning that reminded him of Angelica (it's a song that I used on a slideshow of pictures from our 1st trip). He has seen this slideshow and remembers that Angelica was in some of those pictures. He started literally weeping (not bawling...not crying because he wasn't getting his way)....just weeping because of his heartache from missing Angelica. Now, don't get me wrong, he loves it here and he loves us. He also told me this morning that he loves us. He just really wants to see Angelica again or talk to her on the phone. It just broke my heart because all I want to do is give him everything....and this is something that we took away from him and cannot give back. We realize that all of this was good for him (for his health, his education, his opportunities, personally, emotionally, etc.). However, he is feeling such a loss right now...It really makes me sad. I just wish that there was something that I could do for him. He is such a sweet boy and he has endured sooo much change. Lana (our interpreter in Russia) warned me of when he would realize that this change was forever... She said that it would be very sad...and it is. We promise to see Trey through his grieving and to try and understand his feelings. We just wish that we could make this pain go away for him. It really hurt to see him hurting so much this morning.

Anyway, again...I want to say a huge "Thank You" to Angelica for all of the wonderful memories that she gave to Trey. I know that she may never read this or hear about this post....but I respect and value this woman because she took wonderful care of my son for over 4 years. She, obviously, did a great job and we are so grateful.

Fun Times!

The past week has been busy as usual....but it has also been fun. On Saturday, Trey and I went out to breakfast with one of my friends and her 5 year old son. We had a great time visiting. This was the first time that they had met Trey...and hopefully, we can get together more often, so the boys can play together. They really got along well. Then, on Saturday night, we all attended a cookout at another couple's house. I, actually, went to college with this couple. They have two kids (one of whom is a 5 year old girl), so Trey and this little girl had a lot of fun together.

On Sunday, we went to Six Flags as a family and had a blast. Trey and I had gone there earlier in the summer with a friend. However, this time, we took Papa and it was a really good time! (A few pictures are included).

Another funny thing about this week, is that Trey seems to be a little heart-throb in his pre-K class. Apparently, there is a little Chinese girl in his class who tells him that she loves him and that he is "beautiful". And.....apparently, the feelings are being reciprocated! Trey kissed this little girl at school! What's even funnier is that this little girl is actually from China. Her family is just here for the summer. They will be returning to China in a month. I just think that it's funny that his first girlfriend in the U.S. is from China.... (Trey's teacher finds this humorous too!). So, in addition to this little girl...as I was waiting to pick Trey up from school today, I met another mom who said that her daughter told her that she "loves" Trey. Yikes!!! I don't know what to think of all of this attention! We'll have to watch this guy as kindergarten rolls around. :o)

Life in the Fast Lane

Sorry for the lack of posts. It just seems like the summer is moving so fast. We are doing our best just to keep up. As you can see from the new photo (above), we recently had family photos taken. The athletic department at Concordia gave us a photo shoot as a gift when we returned home from Russia. We took all of our photos in downtown Chicago and they turned out really great! We are so excited to have these photos and it's awesome that they were in such a beautiful place (down by the Chicago River and in Millenium Park).

Trey is doing very well overall. He seems to be learning English extremely fast. Some people that we encounter don't even realize that he is newly adopted from Russia. He is communicating very well!

I have also spent some time reflecting on his adjustment compared to other adoptive children that we know. It seems that Trey is having no trouble with attachment. He is very "huggy" and "kissy" with us. He seems to have bonded with us....

I would say that his biggest issue is his curious behavior. He does things like: * pushing all of the buttons on the credit card machines in check-out lines, basically just pushing any buttons that he sees,
* just walking into my co-worker's offices and touching everything (even getting in their desk drawers)
* attempting to drive the golf carts that are parked around campus (of course, this would be a BIG "no-no". I am lucky that I can catch him before he gets to the carts.
* Etc., Etc.

It just seems as though his curiosity gets the best of him and it causes him to A.) have poor manners and B.) put himself into dangerous situations. I really hope that the excitement for these things wears off, so he will act more like a typical 6 year old. (Trey's lucky that I typically have running shoes on!) Yikes!

Other than that....Trey is really doing well! He is doing extremely well at school. He is making friends and seems to be fairly popular in his class. (At least, this is what his teacher says). In fact, his teacher calls him the "Mayor of Concordia". Whenever their class goes somewhere on-campus. Trey talks to people and knows many of their names. He is very out-going! :o)

All in all, we can't complain, though. He really is a joy and we are having a wonderful summer together.

Wow! What a Weekend!

Well, this past weekend, we experienced:

1.) Trey's first fireworks
2.) Trey's Birthday
3.) Trey's Baptism

The weekend was non-stop fun (and now...we are exhausted!). Trey had a really great weekend. On Friday night, we went to the a local fireworks show. Trey loved the fireworks and just started giggling when there was a series of loud booms all in a row.

On Saturday, we had 23 people (all family members) at our house for a cookout and cake. We also celebrated Grandpa Krohe's birthday (Trey and Grandpa share the same birthday).

And...today, Trey was baptized. Trey wore his new suit and was soooo excited for this occasion. It was really beautiful to see him baptized and to have most of our family present for this special event. After church, we went out to eat and then went back to our house for Trey's birthday party. Trey really enjoyed the party and of course, the presents. He got a little overwhelmed at times with the large group of people and he also had difficulty in sharing his new toys with his cousins. However, he made it through the day (and the weekend). We know that he is still in adjusting to many things (and my extremely huge family can be a little overwhelming, I'm sure...).

We have to say that we are so thankful for all who came to the birthday/baptism. We really enjoyed seeing everyone and being able to share these special occasions with you.

For those of you who missed these events.....here are some pictures from the weekend:

Happy 4th of July!

New Pictures

Riding the "horse" at Wal-Mart


With Grandma and Grandpa Krohe


With "Mongol Man"


With Grandma and Grandpa Gebhardt


With Baby Cousin

We've Come to a Decision

Sorry for the lack of posts lately....It's a been a crazy week! Nonetheless, I want to report that we have come to a decision on our fish names. First of all, we want to thank you all for your suggestions. We really liked all of the names and had a hard time deciding. However, we decided to name our fish: George and Dima (after the Russian and American presidents). We liked the idea of keeping the Russian connection in the fish names... We must admit that Boris and Natasha were tough names to pass on. :o)

This past week has been extremely busy. Last Friday (after Trey got out of school), we (Trey and I) drove to my parents' house. We stayed overnight at my parents' house and then got up early on Saturday for my grandma's estate sale. The sale went well and the weather was perfect (many prayers answered). The sale lasted all day (7+ hours). Overall, the day was good and we got to see many relatives. On Sunday, Shane drove down to meet us because we were taking family photos. The photos were a gift to my parents for their 40th wedding anniversary. Their anniversary was last November. However, we waited until Trey arrived...so our picture would be complete. Therefore, my entire family, plus spouses, kids, etc. posed for about 350 photos on Sunday afternoon. This was no easy feat because the group consisted of 27 people. YIKES!

From Monday until Thursday, Trey and I went to a summer camp for kids. I instructed 24 girls in the volleyball camp throughout the week. In our free time, Trey and I swam in the lake (or the dirty pool..as Trey affectionately called it). We fished with our cousins. We cooked hot dogs and smores over an open fire. Trey improved tremendously on his bike throughout the week. And....we saw two snakes (in the swimming area!!). Overall, we had a really good week and experienced many new things.

We hustled back home last night...so Trey could go to his school today. I really wanted to get back because Trey's class took a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium today! They have been learning all about the ocean and I'm sure that he is LOVING the Shedd Aquarium! I can't wait to hear all about his day!

To add to our excitement, we have company right now. Shane's parents, two sisters, and nephew all came to visit this weekend. So...now, Trey has met just about his entire family! So....the fun continues! We'll be entertaining all weekend! We definitely are not bored...and we are having lots of fun.

I'll post some new pictures soon. I just wanted to post a quick update on our latest adventures.

Thanks again for all of the suggestions! We truly loved all of them!

Looking for Suggestions

On Sunday evening, Trey and I got out an old fishtank that we had in the garage. We assembled everything and got it ready to make a home for Trey's first pet(s). Then, yesterday (after school), we headed to Wal-Mart to pick out the fish for his tank. We really didn't know what we would choose...but thought that we would just check it out. Well...after browsing the tanks....what did we end up with????? Two Goldfish!!! (I know...we really got crazy with our selection!!). Anyway, they are medium sized and look really healthy. We took these little guys home and showed Papa and then released them into their new home!! Yeah! The only problem that we have now, is that we don't know what to name them. Therefore, if you have any ideas...we would love your suggestions. Trey really has no idea of what to name them. (In fact, when we were at "Build-A-Bear" a few weeks ago, we had the same problem. We needed to name the bear and I am not very creative. I came up with the name "Bob"! Real original, huh?). Anyway, if you have ideas, we would love to hear them.

In addition to our new pets, we have just been extremely busy. School is a BIG part of Trey's days. By the time we get home from school, it's usually 4:30 p.m. Then, we typically ride our bikes, have dinner, take a bath, and then head to bed. The days go by VERY FAST lately.

Next week, Trey will get a break from school, though. I am running a volleyball camp at a Christian camp in Central Illinois. It's a summer camp, where the kids stay in cabins, have campfires, etc. Therefore, when Trey and I are not instructing the campers about volleyball, we will get a chance to swim at the lake, ride bikes, and sing camp songs. It should be a blast! I'll definitely post more later about our camp experience.

In the meantime, we'll work on naming our fish and enjoying our newest additions to the family!

God's Blessings,
Shane, Kathy, and Trey

Family Visit

The past few days have been pretty busy. Shane's brother's family came to visit and they met Trey for the first time! They live in Minnesota and have been anxiously awaiting their trip to meet their new nephew/cousin. We had a great time visiting over the past few days. Some of the highlights include: a trip to Navy Pier, going out for pizza, playing outside, and going to the "Build-A-Bear Workshop". After Dave, Cheryl, Josh, and Hannah left, we enjoyed a little time in our subdivision's pool! There are several pictures above that show some of our adventures!

Also, just a report on school. Trey is doing awesome! He loves school and has the best teacher. I try to get a report from her each day on how his day went. She has also gone so far as to email me details about his day. I have an excerpt below from one of her emails. It's so cute and I would love to share it.....


"Trey is honestly doing great! Yes, he's curious, but in a good way...I promise! He needs to check everything out and see how it works and then he's a happy guy! And he's really picking up on our routines too! This morning, when we lined up at the back door to go outside and play on the patio...he said/gestured to me...'Momma come?' and when I told him no, not yet...he immediately did the motions for eating, sleeping, and then he said 'And more computer, then Momma come!' He knew that when we line up at the back door, it's usually at the end of the day, so he thought that maybe it was time for you to come...I thought that was pretty good that he put that together that way. He's really just taking it all in and learning so much! Oh, another thing...I'm not sure if you have playdough at home, but he's been loving playing with that the last couple of days. We have letter and number cookie cutters and rolling pins....yesterday I spelled out his name, today he was showing us numbers...which, by the way, he was ahead of everyone today when I was reading this ocean book that had to do with counting. With each page the numbers went up and before I could even finish the one page he was shouting out what the next number would be...he got the other kids all excited too!"

It's so good to hear that Trey is doing well in school. In fact, we can already see some changes in him after just one week of school. It's amazing how fast he is picking up English and using it each day. He surprises us everyday with new phrases/words and his personality is really shining through. He's such a wonderful kid....we feel so blessed!

God's Blessings,
Shane, Kathy, and Trey

1st Day of School

Well......the first day of school went GREAT!!! Trey did so well! He absolutely LOVED school and was a good boy (from what I was told). In fact, Trey's teacher called me at 2:00 p.m. yesterday just to let me know how well he was doing. (What a great teacher!!!) She knew that I was probably worrying about him and just wanted to ease my mind that he was doing very well.

Apparently, he spent most of his free time at the computer. (Go figure.....Gadget Guy!) He also loved the playground! And.....he ate his lunch! I was a little worried about what he might do at meal time because he's fairly picky. However, he ate his ham, he didn't care for his beans, and he loved his fruit. In fact, he gave his teacher the thumbs up when they brought out the fruit!

Trey also spent much of his day making kissy faces at his teachers, which also melted their hearts. Apparently, the day was a success! At the end of the day, I met him on the playground with his backpack on and he was running toward me to tell me all about his day. How endearing! His teachers commented that his smile never left his face. I'm so relieved and happy that he loves his school.

Above, is a picture that we took right before I dropped Trey off for school. He looks so cool in his sunglasses, yet so sweet with his Teddy Bear (Mishka). He was definitely excited for school!

Trey will be going to pre-K every day for most of the summer....so I'm sure that he will change A LOT in the next 2 months. I imagine that his vocabulary and his personality will blossom even more as well. It will be so much fun to watch him grow!

God's Blessings,
Kathy