Per Request!

A blog update!

I realize it has been quite some time since I last blogged. I have began a couple of new posts and haven't finished them. For some reason I just haven't felt like writing, even just a newsy update on the boys!

We have been extremely busy! Since I last updated....
-We celebrated Rance's 7th birthday with a kite theme! Unfortunately it was rainy and we had to move the party indoors, which was a bummer. It was Rance's first birthday party, he loved his cake and of course, actually getting presents!
-We also celebrated Easter!
-Rance graduated from preschool! We will be homeschooling him, starting in earnest the first part of July. A post on our reasons for homeschooling may follow at some point.
-We have had family at our house a lot! Our boys love when their cousins come to play!
-The boys went to my parents house for the first time by themselves with their cousins! We were worried how Rance would do being away from us for the first time overnight. Boy, were we silly to worry! We called everyday and he barely wanted to talk to us! They had so much fun on the farm with their cousins, Papa and Grandma!
-We traveled to Oklahoma City to watch our niece, Cat, graduate from high school! Due to tornado's though, the graduation got cancelled so we were bummed about that. But it was good to spend time with family! It was Rance's first time meeting his Aunt Mary and cousins, Catherine and Christin.
-We have been to the pool! At first Rance was really scared, but after the first couple of times he has overcome his fear for the most part, and is actually swimming! On a side note, we have puddle jumpers, which are life jackets, for both of our boys, and we absolutely love them! Unlike most life jackets they actually allow the boys to lay on their stomachs, keeping their head out of the water, allowing them to learn how to float and swim!
-Cavin has had 2 febrile seizures. Scary stuff. The first one he had while we were eating Sunday lunch, so he choked as well. It really scared us. The second was at the pool. Had no idea he was even sick, and the seizure lasted almost 5 minutes. The scariest part of the second seizure was that it took Cavin over 45 minutes to come to and be responsive. Definitely praying to be done with those!
-We have made a couple of trips to the zoo. Both of our boys love the zoo! One time we even petted sting rays, which Rance loved!
-We had VBS! Rance did okay with it, he's still not a fan of huge groups of people and loud noises, both of which were in full effect each night of VBS! But, he still had fun! I helped out with the fourth grade group this year, which was much easier than being in charge! It was a great and exhausting week. Over $3,000 was raised for a feeding program in Haiti!

In our downtime we have had a lot of fun hanging out as a family, playing games, Wii, playing oustide, going for walks, watching movies, wrestling, cooking, and taking it easy! I love the relaxed, easy going atmosphere summer brings for our family!

Rance is thriving! While he still has a lot of English to learn, his vocabulary is impressive! He speaks only in English now, sometimes without even an accent! The other day he had to actually think about counting in Ukrainian. We have had a lot of conversations here and there about his life in Ukraine in which we have learned a lot about. We have also been really pleased with the progress he has made with his social skills as well. He still loves music. We sing a lot at our house, and its fun to watch both of our boys learn about Jesus through music! He is an amazing big brother. He plays really well with Cavin and has really begun to take on the big brother role in helping and protecting his little brother as well. He is growing, changing, and maturing more everyday!

Cavin continues to be Cavin, trouble! When we are home I am normally trying to get things done around the house and I typically have to take a break to from my cleaning to clean up a mess he has created. He is just into everything! He is obsessed, still, with balls! Baseball is currently his favorite thanks to an animated baseball movie both of our boys love! But golf, soccer, and basketball are still well loved! His only requirement to getting dressed is that there is a ball somewhere on his outfit. Sometimes I get lucky and can get away with an outfit without a ball! Cavin loves his big brother. It is a common occurrence when the boys have been separated for Cavin to run to his big brother and give him a hug. When Rance is not around Cavin will constantly be asking for him, and when he is around, he is constantly trying to keep up!