One weekend down...

Being severely sleep deprived, I must admit that while the first three days home as a family have been SO MUCH BETTER than I had anticipated, they have all passed in a blur. We chose not to take Harry out visiting at all, but opted instead to have grandparents & older siblings come to the house to meet Harry. It was a great decision since it really limited potential overload periods.

We did venture out to Bible classes & church services today, and Harry did really, really well. He joined Skip in the Bible Class and according to their teacher, he fit right in. He did great at fellowship, but got really shy since alot of friends were anxious to meet him. He sat with us during the beginning of services, and when the younger kids were dismissed to Jr. Church, I brought him down and put him in Nursery. The person in charge today, Bev, who is also his Bible Class Teacher, said he was very well behaved. There was a pot-luck lunch following services, but neither boy had any interest in eating and we figured it would be best to leave on a high note, knowing the 4:30 wake-up time would soon lead to crankiness.

When we pulled back into the driveway, Harry said proudly, in Russian "OUR house!" He certainly has a grasp on things! After a quick lunch that Grandma had made, the boys rested for a bit with a DVD but then Devin & Matt came, and that was the end of rest time. Both boys were cranky and wound up - a trend we've noticed whenever a visitor arrives - but after awhile they both settled down and eventually got to go sledding out back with Devin & Matt. Harry DID NOT want to come inside again, and had his little meltdown over it, but got over it quickly. We've noticed his meltdowns are fewer and shorter, so he is realizing who is in charge, and coping!

They had early baths, and Skip for some reason was done after 10 minutes, but Harry proceeded to play for about 40 minutes longer. I heard him tell Mike from the tub "Harry good boy banya (bath). He's really trying to put sentences together. Midway through dinner, Harry said "Harry spot" meaning he wanted to sleep. Mike carried up his to loft bed, he put his head down, and no kidding, was asleep within 30 seconds! That's the good part. Bad part is, it was only 6:30... Skip went at 7:15, and knowing it would likely be another messed up sleep night, I went at 7:45! Good thing. Skip woke at 3:30, came to our bed, tossed and turned for 45 minutes but then slept. Of course by then I was wide awake and go up and went on the couch. I never slept any more. Harry got up at 5:25 - not bad considering he got almost 11 hours! Skip was up by 6 and thus our day was in full swing way too early for my liking. We did wake to yet another snowstorm - just in time for Mike's commute to his first day at his new job! When he was leaving Mike told him he was going to work, and later when I asked him where Poppa was he pointed to the back door (where he left from) and then paused. I said "Working?" and he nodded yes, and and said "Wookin" Close enough.

By the time 8:45 rolled around I felt like it was noon time, but in fact, it was time for our first day back to home schooling. Since Grammy is still with us, she played with Harry while Skip and I resumed our usual routine; pledges to the Flag, Christian Flag & Bible, then Calendar math. Boy had I missed this routine! School in Russia was fine, but it's great to be home! At "recess" as Skip insists it must be called, we went back up stairs to where Harry was, and showed him his very own "REAL" thick workbook. He beamed! And after our snack, Harry joined us in class. Suddenly, Island Christian Academy has doubled it's enrollment! We had a good second 1/2 of the school day, then the boys set up the GeoTracks in the Living Room. Anybody who has GeoTracks knows that when they are being used, they take up ALOT of space, but its a great toy. Lots of imagination. Harry played for almost an hour and had to be convinced to stop long enough for lunch. When he did, he got up from the floor, walked past me and announced "Harry baffroon" Yet another word added to his rapidly growing vocabulary!

Yep, life is slowly getting back to normal. I still have most of the unpacking to do, I don't know where ANYTHING is around here, and I'm totally out of sync with "life" but we're getting there....slowly but oh so surely!