Two Years Later

Two years have passed now, since that fateful day in November when our lives changed for good. I don't know where the time went...and yet it feels like the boys have always been with us. Maybe in some cosmic way they have. They are so different now, so comfortable, so American. They both have so much more self-confidence that comes from having a family and knowing they are loved. And yet they retain just a trace of innocence that their peers do not have. And as much as they have changed, I think we have changed even more. I have both strengths and weaknesses that I never guessed at before.

When each boy hugged and kissed me goodbye this morning as I dropped them off at their respective schools, I held on tight for just an extra few seconds, and thanked the Good Lord for the blessing they have been in my life. And they responded so sweetly, each of them, telling me they love me. These are the days I want to remember when life gets rough.

Trick or Treat

This year's choice for Halloween was not very hard...they've been pirates on and off for months. Also, this year the trick or treating expanded to include a well-decorated and highly frequented residential neighborhood of Ellensburg. The boys got the thrill of going up the walkway and ringing the doorbell and saying "Trick or Treat!" to the often-costumed residents of the homes. Lonya tried to tell me all he got were rocks (I told him I've seen that movie). Sergey was a little concerned by the ghoulishly appointed gentleman who showed him a jar full of eyeballs and asked if he would donate one of his. Both boys were impressed by the remote-control bats on one porch and the pulley-operated 2-foot spiders on another. I just love this small town.

Once Sergey got his mustache on, they were the cutest little pirates around. But there were enough pirates in town to make you think a ship must have docked here somehow. They sure had a treasure chest full of goodies in the end. We had to make multiple trips to the car to fit all that candy in.