'I Do Ma_wee' (Do as in Go!)

I was just having a quick glance back over the posts so far and realised that the girls have been hogging every post and Alex is only mentioned in passing..... So it's time that I commented on the little guy in our house who may be last but is certainly not least!!!! It is almost two years since we met Alex for the first time and it seems like he has always been with us... Darrelle oftens comments how she spent over half her life (so far!) as an only child and how she can't even remember now not having Elena and Alex.



For Elena's adoption it was all systems go from the moment we put our name down for assessment... well I should say all systems go on our part, the adoption process moves very slowly. As soon as we had a form to fill or a meeting to attend we were there or had it back in the post - we could not get to Kaz fast enough!! I even offered my services to the social worker as a typist to help her speed up on typing our home study... I'm sure she thought I was gone a little overboard on the enthusiasm front but was too nice to say so.... anyway we learned that it all happens in its own time, not when we want it to happen..... And thankfully it did and Elena is five years with us since September 24th...



With our second adoption things were different... things did not appear as straightforward... Although we came home from Kazakhstan in 2003 wanting to go right back again and add another wonderful Kazakh child to our family thankfully our adoption laws here stipulate that you must be nine months home before you can put your names down again... Again am sure our social worker thought me a little overenthusiastic... Reality also brought me back down to earth and it became obvious that a very scared little baby girl needed a lot of time to help her settle in with a new family, a new home, a new country, a new language and a new Life. I have no doubt but that being able to spend the entire year at home with Elena helped hugely with her attachment.... She has come a long way to being the super little girl that she is now....



Anyway I dare not digress from Alex again.... Much 'n all as we wanted to add to our family again by adoption we had many things to consider this time... Should we? Could we? Would we? How could we leave Elena? Darrelle we felt would handle the separation ok but what about a three year old? Could we afford to travel again, pay translators, coordinators, flights, accomodation etc etc? Had we enough energy left?!!! I just could not see a way around it some days, when other days it all seemed possible. Eventually, being hightly frustrated and with answers no clearer I just came to a decision that we should (maybe that should read I) stop trying to always be in control of every situation and hand it over to a Being more powerful than us.... We would do all the necessary steps here re paperwork, dossier etc and if we were meant to go we would go. If not that would become clear also.



Thankfully it was laid out for us to travel again to Kazakhstan and so we were led to Ust-Kamenogorsk, to meet with wonderful travelling companions destined to be part of our lives from then on, and to ultimately meet with a little boy who would become our son and who has in his own quiet little way taken over a piece of our hearts just for himself....

This is Alex & Evan getting ready to go to the school with Marie to pick up Elena & Fionn.. They use these umbrella's a lot!!!!!

Alex is one happy little boy, uncomplicated and undemanding. He moves from situation to situation with ease, and while able to hold his own (it's sink or swim here sometimes guys!) has been blessed with a very placid easygoing personality.... He loves everybody and anybody. He has two childminders when I am working - Nancy (and John) who minded the girls and whom he loves and also he goes to Marie, who minds Elena before and after school also. Every morning when I ask him where is he going today he answers without fail 'I Do Ma-wee' . Except for this morning when he answered 'I Do Mickey Mouse'!! So Disney Fever has finally spread to Alex (3 days to go!!)See Mickey Mouse is even on the umbrella!!!!

The little ones, and big ones love Marie's. We have been so lucky to have her minding the kids .. for many reasons. Firstly she speaks Irish to them, she lives round the corner from the school so can pick them up without too much difficulty. And she even helps me to keep fit, as she is my walking partner most evenings!!!!!! Darrelle and a few of her friends used to come here last year before school and play cards until it was time to go to school..

Anything they can do I can do better!!