It was a mini-Khmelnytskyi reunion last weekend, when we hooked up with Gregory and his brother Eric at the Duffy School playground. Gregory was adopted from Ukraine around the same time as Matthew and Thomas. In fact, our paths just about crossed as their family arrived in Khmelnytskyi as we were leaving. In fact, Gregory was living in the same orphanage as they were, in Matthew's same group. They had gone through the same adoption agency we used and actually live practically in our neighborhood. All the boys enjoyed their playdate, but no Ukrainian was spoken among them.We've actually gotten acquainted with 4 or 5 different families from various parts of the U.S. who have adopted children from the same orphanage either before or after we did. Through this blog and email, we've been able to share stories and experiences with some great people. We've been able to see pictures of Matthew and Thomas from before we knew them. We've also seen some of our pictures show up on other families' blogs (no, not the ones with the boots and fur coats!).
The boys are thoroughly enjoying their Summer. Both go to Joni's Preschool and Childcare the three days a week Mama goes to work. This week, they started swimming lessons at a nearby indoor pool. Thomas clearly has no fear of the water and was not satisfied to sit on the edge of the pool kicking his feet. After the first time he jumped in, Mama spent the rest of the lesson hovering next to the pool in street clothes, in case any additional life-saving assistance was needed. Matthew did great and is very much looking forward to next week's lesson. We will probably be exploring other options for Thomas ...
