Christopher is Growing So Fast!

Christopher is crawling all over. He has been rocking for awhile. But he is now moving all around. The dogs are not too happy because he can follow them now. He loves his new freedom. His favorite thing to try to get is the TV remote. We lay it and a toy down and he always crawls to the remote. He is growing so fast. He is 22 lbs and 30 inches. He is also trying to pull himself to a standing position. Yes, I had to lower his crib. He has changed so much in the last week.

All of the extra floor time has caused extra bath time. Christopher loves the water - he doesn't seem to care about the water he is sitting in - but loves the water as it comes out of the faucet. Even as we brush our teeth- he tries to jump at the running water. Or should I say Tooth! - He also has 1 tooth and a second that is pushing through.

Christopher was sick earlier this week. He had a skin rash around his eye. When we took him to the doctor I was expecting them to roll their eyes at the first time parents bringing their kid in for a rash. But, he was admitted into the hospital, required a CAT scan and had to spend the night. He had to have IV antibiotics. It is called Optical cellulitus. It seems to be common but pretty serious especially since it was around his eye. He is on an oral antibiotic now and is OK. He did get a black eye from the swelling. You can see a little of it in his picture.

This week was my birthday. I am 34. I went out to dinner at the winery with my 2 favorite boys. They both looked so handsome. Christopher bought me a cute card and even signed it with some scribbles.

News from Ukraine

A few people have asked me if I still sponsor kids through L2O (life2orphans.org). The answer is yes. I have 4 kids. Three sisters (16,17,18) at one orphanage and 1 boy (14) at another. I wanted to share photos of the gifts the kids have sent me. The youngest girl, Alla, sent me a beautifully handmade broom. It is meant to bring happiness and good luck to our home. If you look closely you can see - the decorations are made of seeds and rocks that she painted.

The boy, Oleg, sent me a picture he drew with a 2 page English written letter. This is amazing since most kids in Ukraine do not know English.

Here is a exert from his letter "I always remember about you in my prayers with gratitude.... I am in 8th grade. I like algebra and physics. I am so well at playing soccer.....I like to sing and listen to Christian songs. I would like our God bless me with ability to sing, worshiping Him. I pray God to bless me with wisdom and good knowledges. I love you and kiss you many times" About celebrating Christmas in Ukraine "It was so great, We prayed a lot, had joy, wishing good to one another."

Our new house - well not so new.

We bought a house a this summer on Broadway street, here in Greensburg. We originally looked at it as an investment property, but I really liked it. So our plan is to move into it when it is completed and keep the North street house as an investment. Well our new house is definitely a "fixer upper". We spent a lot of time at the house cleaning and demolishing. The Broadway house has a big yard with a huge tree, a 2 car garage, 5 bedrooms and I will finally have a room for a kitchen table. But it will take a lot of work - and I am very little help - because I am spending all of my time with Christopher. I am posting a few pictures before we did any work. It already looks so much better and it will look great soon.