It's so hard to believe that it's been almost two years since little Galyna first came to visit us for Christmas in 2005. She was teeny-tiny, and looked like she was perhaps eight or nine years old. This weekend, we celebrated her 14th birthday! She is a beautiful girl who loves life and has embraced her new country. Before the party she asked me not to speak any Russian as she now wants her identity to be American. We've been home less than three months and this young lady is thriving.
I've never seen a child who loves animals more than Galyna. She's been asking for a dog since day one, but we let her know early on that adding a dog to the mix would just be too much for our family right now. So......
Hello rats!!! One of Galyna's teachers gave a hearty endorsement to pet rats and I was surprised to learn from pet store employees that rats make great pets. They are the most intelligent of all small pets and easy to take care of. Did you know that rats can learn tricks and even remember their names? Galyna was ecstatic! She named her new pets Ashley and Gabriella.
Seven of her classmates helped her celebrate her first American birthday and they had a blast!
Ellen kept us laughing all night long!
Jailene and Anna provided impromptu song and dance
Galyna won't forget this Birthday!
We are so grateful for the kind of young women who've befriended our daughters. Katrina and Margaret helped make this a very special weekend.
Cate is hilarious and quite talented as she writes and sings her own songs!
Galyna doing some High School Musical moves
Our 14 year old daughter with Chris and Deborah Winans.
Happy Birthday sweetheart...We love you!
Our sweet Anastasia is 17 years old! We've now celebrated all three of our children's October birthdays. Nastia's having some friends from school come over on Friday for a bigger party, but last night we had our family celebration.
Nastia sees the world through the eyes of an artist. Lately I've been teaching her the art of how to loiter in a bookstore, and recently she sat down at Barnes & Noble and leafed all the way through this big book about Leonardo da Vinci. 
She's also got a great eye for photography. I've encouraged her to start up her own blog now that she has a new digital camera! Happy Birthday Sweetheart....we love you!
Each year on his birthday, I always pray for and give thanks to God for the woman who chose to give him life. I wish I could let her know how grateful we are, and I pray that God will pour his love and mercy out on her.
Not only have we had the privilege of being Christian's parents, it was the gift of his adoption that has transformed the way we see our lives.
Today we know that we are an adoptive family because this is what God has intended for us all along. Christian knows he is a beloved child of God and he has a wonderful way of demonstrating that love to all the special people in his life, such as "Papa Herb."
