Cyndy's Perspective

Hello from Penza, Russia!

This is Cyndy! I know you are all surprised, but I thought especially my parents and sister would be glad to hear from me directly that the cold Russian winter has not swallowed me whole!

First I want to say how proud we are of Nathan. He has truly been a trooper through thick and thin. He is very much a creature of habit and needs to know well in advance exactly what is happening and when. This has not been possible most of the time! And the food has been another very interesting adventure for him ---- and us! But he has been gracious…..for the most part :) ….. and helped us tremendously. He has connected very well with his new brother and sister, even being the first to break the ice on the very first day at the orphanage!

Sam and Jessica did not study the Pimsler CDs, as we suspected would be the case. However, they are both eager learners. Amazingly, Sam remembered every flash card we learned in April – that’s far better than his mother!! We have had some really good laughs over each other’s attempts at certain English and Russian words!

Probably my proudest moment was decidedly trouncing Glen, Sam, and Jessica in Spoons last night! Sam was the most gracious in defeat. He also was the one who looked over at us after the decision was finished reading and smiled really big! Jessica was very nervous this morning and withdrawn. It turned out she was afraid she would cry in court. But she did just fine and presented herself very well. They both made their new parents proud!

We are going to do some paperwork and say goodbye at the orphanage tomorrow. Then on Saturday we will travel about 2 hours out to say goodbye to their cousins and Uncle (the same family they visited over the summer and their aunt passed away). Their uncle is concerned, so I hope to allay his fears.

Thank you all for praying for us. It snows all the time, but has been a delightful time for we southern Californians. We can’t wait to come home so you too can get to know these two precious additions to our family.

Blessings,

Cyndy