Easter Blessings

It was quite a weekend for the Kelly's. After much anticipation, Matthew and Thomas were Baptized at the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday night. Considering the service was about 2 hours long, and started at the boys' normal bedtime, they did pretty good. Thomas, of course, was his usual talkative self. His ramblings started early. Before the service began, all the lights were turned off and the entire Church was quite and still. From the back of the Church, one believer rose to his feet and in a voice full of conviction cried out "I got to go pee-pee!". He never really quieted down for the rest of the service. Since we know that he was calling out to the Holy Spirit, though, we can't get upset about it. Matthew did great, even when the water was poured over his head. By the end of the Mass, though, he was flat on his back and fast asleep on the seat. Thomas was still running around talking.



Breakfast of Champions - despite the late night Saturday, the boys were up early and Mama and Papa found them in the kitchen, rifling through what the Easter Bunny had brought in their baskets.

Easter Sunday was a day to spend with family. The boys enjoyed the playground at Papa's elementary school in East Lyme with Aunt Barbara, Jessica and Babuschka. What a bonus ... we even make a quick trip to the beach. Matthew and Jessica take in the sea air and sunshine.
Papa explains to Thomas that it was clear enough to see Long Island.

March Madness

Hard to believe another week is ending. We've been keeping pretty busy around here. Last weekend, we had a great visit from the boys' Aunt Barbara and cousins Ryan and Jessica. We went to a birthday party for Kaitlin (the boys love those!) and played on our neighbor Kelly's swing-set. St. Patrick's Day is always a major holiday for our families and the boys are just as into it. Matthew made a couple of art projects in school, in keeping with the theme, and they both enjoyed several meals of corned beef and cabbage. Mama even got to go out with the girls that night. Thank goodness for my Book Club. You ladies are the best!!!

This Saturday, Matthew and Thomas will be baptized at the Easter Vigil. Our pastor approached us with the idea and, the more we thought about it, we decided it would be a very special way to celebrate all the new beginnings in the boys' lives. They both got haircuts yesterday, to be sure they are looking their best.

Otherwise, it's been a pretty typical week around here. Matthew loves school and begins going full time next week. Thomas keeps busy with the library, gym, etc. Papa bought him a pair of sneakers, so he can really cover a lot of ground now.

Our warmest wishes to all for a very Happy Easter!

Matthew, the Ukrainian Leprechaun.

We had a great time with the Starks last weekend. From left, Ryan, Barbara, Jessica and Matthew.
Richard, Thomas' sylist, did a great job with "snip-snip" yesterday. He gives good candy, too.

C'mon, let's go!

Off to School!

Matthew started Pre-K yesterday and had a great day! The kids in his class are very friendly and have gone out of their way to make Matthew feel welcome. His teacher, Mrs. Dunn, was out sick on Tuesday, but Mrs. H. and Mrs. Petit did a great job with the class. Matthew attends on gym days, so that is a lot of fun. Although Mama stayed at school the whole day, (gradually distancing herself), Matthew seemed to be handling things just fine. It helps a lot that he sees familiar faces there, like Aunt Susan and cousin Kaitlin. We even ran into our neighbor, Kelly Guberman, at lunch. Tomorrow we go back for day 2, and Matthew is looking forward to it. He and Thomas were noticing all the school buses going up our street this afternoon, and that seems to have a lot of appeal. Not cool hanging out with Mama too much, I guess.

Today being an off day from school, we took the opportunity to go to one of the labs at Hartford Hospital for blood work that the pediatrician requested. You can't put these things off forever. Anyone who has ever had to hold a toddler while having blood drawn, I'm sure will appreciate my procrastination. Matthew was a real soldier and uttered only a single "ugh!" when the needle went in. Thomas on the other hand? Picture the scene when they feed the tigers at the zoo. We could not have done it without Uncle Brian coming along to help navigate the place and be there for the massacre. Papa claimed he had an early meeting, so would not be able to go along for the lab work. If anyone happened to see him strolling around in the vicinity of his West Hartford Center office this morning, please come forward.

Boys 'R Us

Matthew with cousins Karen, David and Andrew.

First snowman.

Well, we've been back home almost as long as we were in Khmelnytskyi, going back and forth to the orphanage. When we put things in that perspective, we realize how quickly the boys are adjusting to their new lives in America. We are still exhausted and overwhelmed, but, in between screaming fits and threats of "No cookies for you!", we find a lot to laugh about. True, the boys take up just about all of our time, but we ask ourselves what was so important that we are no longer doing? During the week, the boys and Mama generally get out every day. There is a whole world out there we are discovering - Gym Kids, Tots & Tunes, Story Time. A highlight this week was a wonderful play date with our neighbors, Connor and Tyler. We had a great time at their house! Today, Babushka (aka "Grandma") came to visit and babysat while Mama went out for a bit. We can't wait for her to come back!

Big doings are in store for next week. Matthew starts Pre-K on Tuesday. He will be going to St. Brigid School in West Hartford and is very excited. We are counting down the days on the calendar, and Matthew wears his uniform shirt all the time (unless Mama is soaking it to get the spaghetti sauce out). The school has been very accomodating and even suggested that Matthew start off attending just two days a week. Matthew is working hard on his ABC's, to help get up to speed with the other kids.

As for Thomas, he is dealing with a little head cold. Other than a lot of really disgusting gunk coming out of his nose, it doesn't seem to be affecting him. He's singing away.

We had an interesting visit with an acquaitance of our neighbor's, a young woman from Ukraine, who chatted with Matthew and Thomas in Ukrainian. After asking each of the boys a few questions, she shared with us that Matthew and Thomas are happy to be in America. They do miss Ukraine (more so Matthew), but are pleased with their new home, Mama & Papa, and America in general. It's all good.

Have a great weekend!