4th of July Weekend

Spencer (Oleg) just came in the door and said Babenko no, Hinkson, yes. This was sweet to me because we haven't made a big deal about them giving up their old family names but he is saying that he is happy to be a Hinkson. He has become very good at giving us hugs and even kisses especially when he is really happy.

Vitaly is loving it here too. I think that sometimes he is worried that we will change our minds and send him back or something because if he does something that he thinks will get him in trouble he tries to pass the buck or look extra cute so we won't be upset. Yesterday he was playing baseball with Daniel in the front yard and you guessed it, hit the ball and broke a window. Luckily it was a double paned window and it only broke the outside glass but he immediately handed the bat to Daniel so it would look like it was his hit that broke the window. We heard the crash and came running and Dave made them clean up the glass. A few minutes later he brought up all the play money from the soccor monopoly game we bought him in Ukraine and gave it to us to pay for the window. It was cute. They all took the window to the glass store today and they understand that they will have to do some work to pay the bill. Dave told them that we play baseball at the park now :)

The boys loved Lagoon and Vitaly wants to go back on his birthday in a few weeks. When we asked what he wanted for his birthday he said "a car" we kind of laughed and said "no car" then he said "4-wheeler" I tried to pantomime what would happen if we had two 4-wheelers and he got another negative response. Then he wanted so badly to tell us something but couldn't find the words (I actually like when this happens because it is a built in incentive to learn English and we like it when it is their idea the best) He waited as patiently as possible (he even layed on the garage stairs) until Tyler came home to tell him to tell us that he wanted surprises for his birthday and maybe an Ipod. Ok that is more like it.

We are getting ready for a family BBQ today and a chance to celebrate the 4th tomorrow. I am going to leave the patriotic decorations up for a good long time. My kids keep asking why I am wearing red, white and blue everyday. I just tell them that I Love America so much. I made a cake for the BBQ and let Spencer and Vitaly lick the beaters. I don't think they have ever done this because I never saw beaters in Ukraine and certainly no cake mixes. They went on and on about how delicious the beaters were. They said it was like ice cream. It is delightful to see these boys finding joy in the simplest of things. It is bringing a whole new dimension of appreciation to our family. I wouldn't say that adopting these boys was a smooth move, but certainly a good one in many ways.

I know that there are many children all over the world who long for a solid, good home. I pray that they will realize this blessing in some way in their life, even if it is in their own families someday. I know without a doubt that our Heavenly Father gave us families to help us to return Home to Him someday. In fact you can almost count on when something in life promotes strong families, it is of God and when something tries to destroy families it is from the other place. I have heard that a nation is only as strong as it's families and I believe it. God Bless America and the families that make her great.