Sunday, December 30, 2007

Our boys...

We are home for a brief holiday and the chance to prepare the home a little more specifically for our three new sons. Sons! That's right! December 26th made us the official parents of Max, Misha and Vitali, our little Ukrainian Angels. Once they were orphans; now they have joined our family! Praise God!

If you haven't been watching our adoption site then this is your first opportunity to meet our little guys! Let me give you a proper introduction to the newest Eimers':

Max, whose full name is Maximus Stephen Eimers, is eight years old. He is only about two weeks younger than our oldest girl, Hannah. He loves to draw and paint and play cars and kick around a soccer ball. I am sure he has many more interests too; we still have much to discover!

This picture was taken the day we had court. He was freshly "ours" but we couldn't tell him! As far as he knows, he's been ours right along anyway.

Misha. His full name is Mikhail James Eimers. Misha is 6 years old and quite a little ham. He loves to have his picture taken. He is also most likely to sit on our laps and color and is always very excited to see us and disappointed when we leave! He is happy, happy, happy and my bet is that he will make friends very quickly here in America.

He loved sledding and playing outdoors. I am glad that we have a big yard for all these boys! He also likes trains and cars--especially trains.
Vitali Luke Eimers. Ahhhh...Vitali! So much personality. He is a very busy little three-year-old who is constantly on the move. Consequently, I have taken many pictures of him but most are blurry or he isn't looking at the camera! He is very possessive of new toys and especially likes to have a bag to put them in. He loves things like purses for this reason. Ha ha! I surely hope he outgrows the purse thing! I am hoping we get to hold him more as we get settled as a family. For now, we have to be content with lifting him over our heads and catching him when he jumps. I am becoming well-acquainted with the Russian for "Pick me up to the ceiling!", "I'll do it myself!" and "I want to get down!"

I can't begin to tell you all the ways this whole experience has affected us. Beginning last November when we made the decision to pursue our plans to adopt till now when we are so overjoyed to have finally met the objects of our pursuit! The work of preparation, the waiting, the anxiety of financial pressures, the stress of the final decisions and the overwhelming joy when we saw the boys that first day and knew they would be ours. All this has been a package deal. Can't have the final prize without the work to attain it. And the story isn't over!

We praise God for His mighty hand all the way so far, and we pray that He will continue to make our paths straight. He has not only answered our prayers but also the unspoken prayers (we call them 'dreams') of three little boys on the other side of the ocean. And we will get the opportunity of introducing them to the One who has made their dreams come true. A blessing and an honor.

We will be leaving again for the final leg of this journey on January 7th. When we come home, amid the craziness of adjusting to family life, you can bet I'll be posting our new family picture!
Even if we aren't all smiling! Oh, boy, this is going to be an adventure!

6 comments:

Tami said...

YEA!!! Congratulations (again - I've been reading the other blog and I'm pretty sure I commented there too, but just wanted to be sure! :) We're heading back on the 6th or 7th as well...still trying to finalize the tickets...and the babysitter. Sigh.

Nataliya said...

Can't wait for the new family picture! Happy New Year to your lovely family - I hope all your wishes will come true in 2008!

Dawn said...

Be assured of our prayers for you as you bring the boys home...and the transition begins.
Blessings upon you all for 2008!
Dawn xo

Hannah said...

boy oh boy you haven't posted anything since last year!

Jenn said...

Wow, what a blessing for you guys. How exciting!

John Stange said...

My wife Andrea has been keeping me posted on the adoption progress. You guys have done a wonderful thing. We have been praying for you and will continue to.

I'm really curious about how long it will take for the boys to become proficient in speaking English. I bet it won't take them anywhere near as long as it would take an adult.