I think one post a month is...enough!?

Well, Easter is over (Yay!) and now life can return to normal (I don't even have a clue what that is anymore...)
My intuition was correct - the other foot DID fall - about 2 days after I wrote that. The boys both told us about some things in their past that is very hard to hear and know they have gone through. Just to give you the tip of the iceberg, I was telling Zach that he better love his brother (he had said he didn't) and I said "You better love him, he is the ONLY brother you will ever have." Both of them said "No, momma...we have other brothers and a sister..." To make a long story short, we spent the next hour or so discussing this (their official paperwork says there are NO other siblings). What we can gather, they had two older half-brothers and a half sister (somewhere around 15 to 17 years old). I don't think they lived with them and they may or may not have been related - their birth mother's life is pretty sketchy...and apparently somewhat promiscuous). Okay -so they had other siblings...but that wasn't the bad thing. Then they told us about a younger brother. He was a little baby. But - their pappa got drunk and fell asleep on him and he is dead. Yeah. DEAD. We tried to clarify that. He IS dead. So, by reading through the paperwork we have - we are GUESSING that is what got them permanently removed from home and their mother's rights terminated. He was about 2 years old and he would have been their half-brother because the man that they referred to as "pappa" was not their birth father. The really sad thing is that Tyler said to me (in Russian) "Oh, momma...we have MUCH bad history. I will tell you more when I learn more English." So, we tucked them in to bed, walked out of the room, let our jaws drop and drag on the ground and wondered HOW on earth you deal with this kind of stuff. We told them they were safe now and that no one can hurt them now. They seem to understand that - but I am AMAZED at how well theses kids are doing. They have WAY too much history. Ty has filled us in on various things when he sees something that reminds him of his past. NONE of the things he remembers are good. Oh wait - he remembers that they had a pear tree - and in the summer they had lots of pears and they were good but Zach ate them when they were green...that was the way he liked them!

Other than the stuff that comes out pretty regularly (we aren't too easy to shock anymore), we have had a LOT more firsts. We went to the Indianapolis Zoo and spent the night in a hotel with a two-person jacuzzi in the room. The boys LOVED the dolphins and the Walrus. They also loved the jacuzzi - they played in it for about 2 hours. Of course after the zoo, we finished the day up with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese (always a favorite).
Grandma had her knee replacement surgery. She has been over at Marg's since so the boys have seen a lot less of her. I know with Tom traveling...I am ready for her return! She is a huge help to us. Dad is picking up where she left off, but sometimes I JUST WANT MY MOMMY! Dad has been doing us a huge favor watching them too. He had Zach out planting and said he seems to know what to do.
Tom (er, I mean Zach and Ty) had their first ROCK Collection turned in at school...Tom was actually in the backyard CHISELING a rock so it would be square (one of the 12 or so requirements for the collection). Tom got A's on both collections! The boys also got their first report cards and we had our first parent/teacher conferences. At this point, it looks like Tyler will be in 4th grade next year and Zach will be in the 2nd. Better than we expected for Ty and about what we expected for Zach. Tyler AND Zach are both doing great. Tyler excels in Math. Zach is getting better to not get sent to the "director" nearly as often. It seems as if anyone ASKS me how the boys are and if they have been to the principal lately, I can honestly respond "No, not in the last couple of weeks..." And then inevitably, the phone rings within 20 minutes or so of that comment and guess who it is...Yup - the principal. He has figured out that Zach fears ME more than he fears him...so he calls and has ME talk to Zach. It seems to work!

We had our first BIRTHDAY!
Tyler turned 10! I have a kid in the double digits! For his birthday weekend, we went to Chicago and visited the Museum of Science and Industry that had a vide game exhibit (hands-on of course!) We were in that exhibit for over 2 HOURS!!!! I was SO ready to leave! They also got to make their own space toys and got the little plastic injection-molded toy and we went to the OmniMax theater. We also went to Check E. Cheese on THAT trip. They were exhausted and slept most the way home. Tyler also made his first purchase with his own money. His Aunt in PA sent him a $20 check and pappa cashed it. Tyler decided to buy a Razor scooter with it. He also got his first BIKE from Uncle Steve and Aunt Janet. He LOVES the bike - he loves being outside!
We had out first Easter!
And...our first Easter egg coloring and hunt. We did it on Saturday with lots of family involved in the hunt. The boys love the hunt because mom and dad always fill plastic eggs with MONEY. Tyler came away with a bucket full of candy and $11.00 - he cares more for the money than the candy!
We left the Easter service and went to Indy to an indoor water park. It was a BLAST for the boys. They took off and I didn't see Zach for over an hour (he went on the waterslide about 50 times!) Their were lifeguards every 10 feet so it was safe for them to go. We floated along the lazy river and watched the boys climb the stairs over and over to go down the slide again and again!


FIRST WATER PARK!!!
Well, May is right around the corner. We will have a combo birthday party for the boys and their friends and then we will have Zach's birthday weekend. We think we are going to go to St. Louis. MORE FIRSTS!