"Batman" According to Dzintars

Peter took Dzintars to see "The Dark Knight Rises" tonight. This is the second super hero movie they've seen together, the first being "Spiderman". Both times he's come to the living room and attempted to re-tell the story in his broken English.

In case you haven't seen it yet, here's his recap (don't worry, I promise it won't spoil the movie for you).

Don't ya feel like you were there?? LOL!! I just saved you $11!! You're welcome!!

A "Raging" Day

I'm thoroughly enjoying reliving my teen years with Dzintars. Today we picked up the Ellis boys and headed to "Raging Waters". It's been YEARS since I've been on a water slide and I like them quite a bit so I was pretty stoked! I hoped that Dzintars would like them as much as he liked the roller coasters, turns out, I was wrong:( And oddly enough, his fears had nothing to do with his swimming abilities...he had a huge fear of the enclosed slides. He sleeps in utter darkness at night, he even made me unplug a nightlight that was in his room, so it's not a fear of the dark. Perhaps a bit of claustrophobia??? Luckily, there were enough "open" slides to keep him entertained and he still had a great day.

I'd also like to state, for the record, that it might not have been wise to take a non-English speaker to a water park if you depend on a phone for translation and phones can't get wet. Ooops! I woke in a panic at 5 am when I realized I would not be able to communicate with him or talk him through things if he was afraid. Major host mama fail! Oh well...we survived!

I took this one while we waited in line for our first "enclosed" slide. Just before we discovered his fear. Even though the inner tube would fit 4 people he still refused to try. It was the first time he's ever refused to try ANYTHING!

He liked the wave pool:)

I was thrilled he got to experience the power of the waves. He found the ocean too cold for his Latvian blood so he never got more than his feet wet.

He is one cold-blooded kid! He had his arms crossed and full on goosebumps and shivers going most of the day!!

A little fun on the "lazy river". My favorite photo of the day.

The "lazy river" was just his speed:)

This slide was a hit! Too bad the line took forever or we would have done it again!

This one was a lot of fun. Mostly because 8 people go at a time so the line was fairly quick. We went 3 times:)

Trust

Today held yet another swim lesson for our boy! Swim lessons have been a BIG lesson in trust for him. When you think about it, this whole experience has been an exercise in trust for him. We picked him up at the airport and he had to drive off with perfect strangers who didn't even speak the same language as him! That's pretty terrifying! Thankfully, Stephany excels at helping kids push past their fears. She has this knack for getting them to do exactly what they DO NOT want to do:) He's getting there! He actually can swim fairly well now, but every once in awhile his fears creep in and he starts to sink. So thankful for you Stephany and for your heart for Dzintars!!!

With Dzintars departure date just slightly over a week away I'm finding hosting to be a BIG lesson in trust for me as well. His future is uncertain, the odds and his age are not in his favor but I have no choice but to trust that the Lord has plans for this boy! I cannot believe our time with him is already coming to a close. I'm forcing myself NOT to think about it, so I won't waste our remaining days being sad, but it's getting harder by the day. He knows the end is near too and he's starting to say things like "I no like Latvia. I love you! Please I would like to stay here for life!" or "This is Brennan's homa, Kaelyn's homa and mine homa!" and tonight we got "Peter you mine papa and Stacey you mine mama! Yes?" My heart breaks each time he says things like this, and I find myself at a loss for words. I do not want to answer in a way that would give him false hope or empty promises. Truth is I love this kid and it's quite possible I might be the only mama he ever really knows:(

On a happier note...this week Brennan and Kaelyn are enjoying VBS at church each evening so that means Dzintars gets us all to himself for a few hours! Tonight we headed over to Dave and Buster's for some big kid arcade style fun!

This kid LOVES cars!!!

Enjoying the roller coaster simulator!

Then we decided to re-enact the way we rode the actual coasters at Knott's. Him with his eyes squeezed tight, white knuckling the handle bars and me screaming joyfully with my hands in the air. 

The biggest claw machine I've ever seen. He tried twice, no prize for Dz:( 

New Horizons for Children asks each family to select a Bible verse for their child. A promise from God just for them and write it on a piece of cardboard! They compile them all into a super powerful video at the end of hosting. We have selected "life verses" for both Brennan and Kaelyn, and I see this project as the same type of thing. I spent quite a bit of time pouring over my Bible before he arrived, jotting down verses I thought might be fitting. Then this Sunday I found it, or rather it found me! Our pastor reads a Psalm every Sunday, and this week he read Psalm 23. As I listened the words "he restores my soul" washed over me and caused me to reflect on our boy! His soul has been restored! He came to us a quiet, frightened boy, who rarely smiled or spoke! Now he's laughing, joking and teasing us at every opportunity! He gives us hugs frequently and says "I love you" just as often! He is a new kid! That's what a few weeks with a loving family can do for a child! Here is Dzintars with his sign! When the video project is complete I'll post the link, it is incredibly moving to see hundreds of orphans holding words of hope and truth that were chosen just for them!!

Tomorrow the Ellis boys and I are taking Dzintars to Raging Waters for some super wet fun!! Should be a blast!!

Aquarium of the Pacific

Today after church we loaded up the kids, sans nap (two days in a row eeeek) and headed to the Aquarium of the Pacific. They had so graciously donated two tickets to our family so that Dzintars could experience all they have to offer! It's safe to say that he loved it. Never before has he been able to touch or see the creatures he saw today! Prepare yourself for an onslaught of pictures as he was asking for photos left and right!

As you can see, Kaelyn has a new camera smile:)

Sea lions.

 The kids were excited to learn there is a new penguin exhibit!

He was in awe of the penguins and kept trying to touch them through the glass. 

"Penguinos" (as she calls them, thanks Dora) are Kaelyn's current favorite animal.

He got to touch everything from stingrays, to starfish to sharks.

Sea otter.

Octopus.

 The shark tank was a big hit.

This guy was ferocious even from behind the glass. Yikes!

We ended our day with dinner at "Bubba Gumps". The build your own sundae dessert was a big hit with Dzintars! Ice Cream is definitely one of his loves!

Even though our day ended with Brennan in a huge screaming mess (remember, no naps two days in a row, the dude does not do "tired" well), it was so worth it! It was a day Dzintars will remember forever! I'm so thankful that he is as excited for these new experiences as we are! Prior to his arrival we were told that many of the kids become overly stimulated by things like museums, amusement parks and big department stores (I was seriously worried I'd have to go five weeks without Target-ha!) but fortunately that isn't the case with Dzintars. He just takes it all in and then asks for more:) Today I heard a lot of "Stacey! Homa (that's how he pronounces home) no!" We did in fact have to leave, the littles were so overly tired they were ticking time bombs! But luckily for him, we have a few more adventures up our sleeves this week:)

Dzintars has become more and more affectionate with us lately. This past week he's started telling us that he loves us. At first he'd call my name and then just mouth the words without any sound, but after a few times of me saying "I love you too" he started saying it aloud as well. Now he tells us both multiple times a day that he loves us and gives us tight hugs before going to bed. He's completely let his guard down and tonight he asked me via Google translate if we would allow him to come stay with us again. My heart broke as I saw that question as typcially kids can only be re-hosted by the same family more than once if the family is in the process of adopting that child. I love this kid and I'd jump at the chance to host him again, but I had to explain to him (without mentioning adoption) that the program he came here with usually only allows kids to stay with a family one time, but that he'd likely be able to come to America again and stay with another family. I took special care to make sure he knew how much we loved having him with us, and that we'd LOVE to have him stay with us again, but that it might not be possible. Questions like this just break my heart. He's told me multiple times that he does not want to go back to Latvia but wants to stay in America with us. His departure date is just over a week away and I'm already dreading it:( I don't want to let him go....