First Day of School

Today is Natasha's first day of school! She was excited and a little nervous but we praise God that she has a friend that she met before she went today. Sofie is our good friends daughter and has a little sister Emily who is close to Ariana. We have known Sofie for 5 years and she is such a sweet girl and will be able to help Natasha out through those first few hard weeks of school. The school that Natasha is going to has a "block" system and I'm not even really clear on how it all works yet since we are new at this middle school thing too! But basicaly she will have some classes on one day and other classes on other days. Today, she has an easy day where she will just be in her ESL (english second language) class. Tomorrow, she will have Math then Reading, then she will go to lunch and then have gym class and music. This day she will need to go to different classes so she will have someone help her with this until she feels comfortable doing so by herself. I am thankful that she has met Sofie and is familiar with her so she doesn't feel quit so overwhelmed. They will even share a locker too which is great since the combination thing may take a while to master. Natasha is so quick to pick up on things though that we know that in no time she will be a pro at this and this whole school thing. Which brings me to sharing on how she has been here these first few weeks in America.
She is doing great and is really, really happy. The first weeks here she has had phone calls, packages, well wishes and emails from friends and family all around the country welcoming her so warmly. This was so wonderful and she was just beaming with each call and letter. She has had a few tears as she is missing her family back home. Lena has told us that she has cried in the night for Nastia and we keep reassuring Natasha that we will continue to pray for Nastia every day and that God will take good care of Nastia and may someday find a family for her to be with. Natasha just loves her brothers and sisters and has fit in so well with her new siblings. She just really seems comfortable and doesn't hesitate to just jump right in and tease or hug her brothers and sisters. She helps out too and just is so observant that she doesn't even need to be asked to hang her coat up or make her bed or to help when she sees that there is something to be done. She just watches what the other children do and follows along so well.
She loves going to church and gets to see her friends there too and yesterday she told me that she even understood a little what the pastor was saying! She is such a smart girl and I know she is learning in leaps and bounds. We can't wait to see how much she will absorb at school in the remaining school year.
We also had a real treat for all of us when my sister Evy,who is from Chicago and who helped watched our other three children when we were in Ukraine, came back the weekend after we came home so she could meet Natasha. We were so excited about this and so thankful for all the wonderful things that she and our parents did for us while we were gone.
We also had a visit from Ted's brothers family (from Kansas City) this last weekend and had a wonderful visit with them as well. Natasha is slowly starting to realize the size of the family she has come into !("many, many"as she says) and we look forward to the "many, many" years that she will have to learn to get to know and grow close to them all.
Sorry, it's been a while since we updated you last on all our happenings and thanks for being so patient with us while we adjust to our new routine. Now that we will be getting into more of a routine with school having started I'll have some free time to sit down and type since it does take a while for me! : )
Pray requests would be for Natasha to have a smooth transition into schooling in America. That she won't feel so overwhelmed at such a big change but that she will adjust well and feel more comfortable each passing day.
I have posted some pictures of Evy and Natasha meeting at the airport, a picture of Natahsa and Miranda with newly pierced ears. (This was something Natasha was excited about doing when she first got here.) Natasha(with Tahner) in some new clothes from her Uncle Jeff and Aunt Val and cousins Ellen, Christian and Pete from Chicago, and Natasha starting a "BIG, BIG" (as she says) crossstitch from Dadrushka.

Having a problem posting the earring picture will try again later!