Finally an Update!

Hi everyone!!! Well it’s been awhile since I blogged and I figured I should give an update on how life is going since we’ve been home. We have been home for almost 3 months and it honestly feels like forever...I guess the best way to describe it is a lot like having a baby.....you know when you leave for the hospital with just one child and come home having two kids...life didn’t stop it just keeps going and the new baby just fits right in...well that’s how it’s been for us...although I didn’t give birth to Misha it feel like he’s been with us forever. Some days have been tougher then others but that’s mostly because this mama doesn’t really ever stop and take a break. I think if I did stop, I’d end up sleeping for six months!! Haha.. Overall life has been great and busy for us.

Since Misha has been home he’s experienced many “firsts”....his first ride in a car seat, his first (of a million) trips to Target, his first baseball game, his first swim in a swimming pool (yeah, didn’t go as smooth as I had envisioned in my mind..haha), his first over night trip to Grandma’s, his first McDonald’s chicken nugget (which he LOVED and ate 6 of!!!), his first time feeding himself, and of course TONS of many firsts with foods.... I don’t think everything is new to him but I do believe that he was not exposed to much more then soup, bread, veggies, and fruit....he’s also has his first bedroom that is his and only his and of course he has toys that are just for him and only him for the first time in his 3 years of life. So as you can see we have been busy experiencing many “firsts” and we have been enjoying every minute of it!!

We have started the process for getting Misha into therapy and when school starts in just a few weeks he’ll be headed to the special education preschool that is provided through our school district. We have watched him blossom like crazy since he’s been home and I can’t wait to see what he will do once therapy and school starts!!:) So that’s about it...we have been taking full advantage of summer and enjoying every minute of it and trying to give Misha the “all American summer”!:) 

We hope you all are having a wonderful summer and thanks for sticking around even though I haven’t been so great at updating since we’ve been home!!:) 

Before I go I’ll leave you with some pictures!! Enjoy!!:)

Misha’s first baseball game...

Giving the camera smile while watching Ryan’s baseball practice...

Ryan loves being a big brother!!

Relaxing with dad in Grandmas backyard after a BBQ!:)

Three orphans no more....so lucky to be able to watch these three grow up together!!

I could watch him sleep forever!

His very FIRST trip to Target!!!

He’s one cool kid!

Happy 4th of July from the Chellson Boys!!

Feeding himself his favorite food... Mac & Cheese!!!!!

P.S. I'm still working on the welcome home video...hopefully I can get done this weekend!!!:)

1 week of freedom!

HI everyone!! I just wanted to check in real quick and let you all know we made it home safely!!! A week ago I took Misha out of the orphanage forever, we flew home Sunday and have been enjoying our first week at home. Our travel home went much better then I had expected and Misha did amazingly well....he only had a little meltdown right before our last flight home and honestly I was expecting it to happen way before that point and it wouldn’t have taken much to send me into meltdown mode at that point either. Overall travel was great and the flight staff on all three flights were AMAZING!!! We were met at the airport but our family and a small group of friends and it was the perfect homecoming for us. On Sunday it will be one week that we have been home and it all seems unreal still. We are all adjusting well and still getting caught up on sleep and the time change. I am working on collecting homecoming photos and will post them all soon. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and will post pictures soon!!:)

GOTCHA.....

HERE IT IS.......ENJOY!!:)

 Thank to everyone who said a prayer, donated and supported us emotionally! Without all of you we would have never been able to make it through this journey. And thank you to my amazing husband...you are my best friend and I am so lucky to have you walk next to me on this journey. Our kids are so blessed to have you as their dad...I love you forever and always!!! Thank you again to everyone....Misha and I are headed home on Sunday and I am so excited to share the next chapter of our lives with you!! 

Love,

    Melissa

TWO.....

TWO....only two more nights that our little boy will sleep in an orphanage alone without the love of his family!!! And only 4 more nights of being here in Ukraine!!! I can’t believe this journey has come to an end...my feelings are so bittersweet about our going home...I will have lived in this country for exactly 6 weeks once I get on that plane headed back home and, although there is a MAJOR language barrier I can say this has become home for me and it will always hold a very special place in my heart. I have also had the privilege of spending these last (almost) 6 weeks with two people I am so happy to call my family now. Beth and Lee, I am so honored and grateful that we have been able to walk this journey together. We are forever bonded from this journey and I couldn’t ask for better friends for life!!:) Thank you for showing me the picture of our sweet boy almost a year ago and getting me in touch with the Ray family. God truly placed all three of our families together for a reason and I know these ties will never be broken!! There is a special place in my heart for the Herrington and Ray family and for the country that has named us the parents of our beautiful boy! And as this chapter of our journey is coming to end and I am so very thankful for all of you who have clicked on the links and followed our journey. Without that support and encouragement we wouldn’t be where we are today. So thank you again for reading our blog and following our story, it means a lot to us!! 

Before I go and share pictures....on friday keep your eyes out for a special video about our gotcha day!!:)

Looking at where he should start with the removal of the toys...

Still looking...

He loves to make the curtains move....and this mama already has an idea for how to create this safely in his room!:)

Trying to get into the cubby hole....

Still trying!:)

On the move...I'm going to be in trouble at home!

Having a staring contest with the horse!:)

The count down is happening!!

The count down is on!!!! After today we have been we have the go ahead to by tickets home and buy tickets I have done!!!:) This means that our liite boy has only 3 (maybe 4) nights left in the orphanage and only 6 days until we come home!!!!! What a wonderful Mother’s Day present for me!!:) I can’t wait to be reunited with my boys at home along with our family and friends!! I have had so much fun while here in Ukraine and I am a little sad to be leaving in 6 days. But I do have to say I am so excited get home and back to my life. It seems like forever since I left and I'm excited to get our little guy home and being our life as a family of 4!!

Last Friday started the beginning of the end as we started our “paper job” as our driver Nicko refers to it. Friday we got a TON done which put us ahead of what we thought our timeline for coming home would be. And I can honest say that on Friday someone was looking out for us. Everywhere we went things went faster then expected and the biggest thing was we arrived at the tax id office after the scheduled hours and a amazingly someone was still working and willing to do our paperwork!!!!! So today we (Myself and the Herrington’s) only had to take the kids to the passport office. At first I was a little nervous....I’ve heard many different stories about kids getting sick in the car or being stuck sitting in Nicko’s van for hours and many other different stories. We stopped by the office to hand them our paperwork, so they could get working on the paperwork they needed to fill out...while they did that Nicko took us over to the orphanage where we waited for the kids to be handed to us. And let me tell you it was the cutest thing ever....Olivia, Beth and Lee’s daughter, was dressed up in what I would call her Sunday best...they put her in a sweet little dress and tights and the cutest little scarf hat thing...and then Mykhaylo came down stairs in the cutest little outfit (none of which matched but I really didn’t mind) he had a blue shirt and shorts on with purple socks and sandals that were clearly to big for him...but for the first time in all our visits he wasn’t wearing tights and he was so happy and content it didn’t matter to me!!:) Once we got in the car he clung to me like crazy and was clearly very nervous! (The only time he’s ever been in a moving vehicle was when he was being taken to the hospital for cardiology check-ups and he rode in a ambulance for that...so his experiences may not have always been the best in the car). After a few minutes he warmed up and I put him in the seat next to me with the belt across his lap (no, they aren’t really big on carseats here) and he LOVED it!!!!! As soon as he was sitting on his own he was playing with his toys I brought and looking around like crazy! The passport office was a totally different experience..he was not digging the set up they had...they had him sitting on a stack of books in a chair so he would be tall enough for the camera but the second I set him down on the chair he lost it and wanted nothing to do with it. Thankfully Beth and Nicko made LOTS of noise to distract him and we got his picture!!:) After that we returned the kids back to orphanage and I called it a day. I have forgotten how tiring waking up early is since I haven’t really had to over the last few weeks!! I guess I should get use to it since I’m headed home in a few short days and it means early wake ups again!

So that has been my last few days here in Ukraine! I am hoping the next few go by just as fast. Wednesday is Victory day here and I am excited to see all the going ons of the city! We have been told there will be concerts and parades and shows of all kinds! Sounds fun and a great way to head into the last few days of being in this amazing country!!:)

Now for what you’ve been waiting for......Pictures!!!!:) 

  

Love this face... 

trying to see from under one of the many hats they have put on him!

Trying to get some food from the footless spoon...

Holding tight to me in the beginning of the car ride.

Playing in the car.... 

Such a big boy in the seat with a seat belt!:)

Here is a little Video I took on my phone on ride in the van...

P.S. he LOVED seeing himself in the camera!:)

15....

15 Days.......in 15 days I will be surrounded by the loves of my life, my husband and sons......in 15 days I will be sleeping in my own bed....in 15 days I can take a shower in the comfort of my own bathroom.......in 15 days I will be able drive my car to Target (or wherever I would like to go).....in 15 days I will have a closet full of clothes to choose from and not just 3 shirts and a pair a of jeans to rotate through.....in 15 days I will be making Ryan’s lunch for school and loving it.....in 15 days I can go to Starbucks and order the biggest black ice tea possible.....in 15 days I will be able to drink water from the tap again.....in 15 days I will be back in a country where I can understand the language...in 15 days lives will be changed forever....... All of these statements are so true and I could be sitting here dwelling on them for the next 15 days, but I’m not...... You see in 15 days I will board a plane to American with our son and he will become an American citizen and his life will be changed forever (and so will ours).... So even though there are many comforts of home I am looking forward to upon our return...the biggest and most grand thing I am excited about is our son Mykhaylo Aaron Chellson will finally know the true meaning of a family....he learn just how many people are at home patiently waiting to meet him....he will finally know what love from a mommy and daddy feels like....and he will know what its like to have a mommy sing him to sleep...he will know what it’s like to have mommy’s magic kiss for making his boo-boo’s to feel better....he will know what it means to have a daddy who kisses him good morning/night everyday....he will learn how to wrestle with tough guys in the house......he will know what it’s like to have a big brother look out for him and love him unconditionally...he will learn how to play baseball from one of the best big brothers around(according to Ryan)...in just 15 short days a door will close on the life Mykhaylo has known for the last 3 years and we will say goodbye to his wonderful orphanage and this beautiful country that has allowed us to be named his parents....so you see in 15 days we will be beginning a whole new adventure in this adoption journey.....The road to get here has been long and filled with surprises but I wouldn’t change a thing about any of it....So even though I miss my comforts of home I am so truly humbled by this journey and so very excited about the journey we are about to travel on once we arrive home!!:) 

Ok now that I have rambled on about the next 15 days....please enjoy some pictures of our beautiful boy from the last few days!:)

They went from winter hats and coats to fishing hats and shorts...all within a day!!

Couldn’t help but take a self picture of us while I was visiting!!:)

His smile lights up the room...ok we were really outside but you know what I mean!!;)

Sitting on the bench like the big boys do!!:)

He LOVES this A.L.F stuffed animal....

PLaying with A.L.F.....I think this is one of my favorite pictures!!:)

Again..he LOVES A.L.F....

Having a quiet moment with another stuffed animal!

No shelf in our house will be safe..he LOVES to empty eveything off of it....hhhhmmmm...kind of sound like another son of mine!!:)

Love and homesickness....

Hi everyone, I hope you all are having a wonderful week. I’m going to keep this post short and sweet so you all can get to the best part...the pictures!!!:) We are 3 days into our 10 day wait and it’s been 2 days since david left. Things around here are going well but I can feel homesickness creeping back in.....my heart aches for my husband and son back home, and I am also missing my friends and home like crazy too but I know soon enough I will be home with our sweet little boy and life with be crazy busy once again. Each passing day gets me closer to coming home and at the end of everyday I truly feel blessed by having this special time with our little boy who I am so crazy in love with! Each day he does something new and his little personality shines through more and more and I am LOVING every second of it!!

So nothing new has really been going on just the daily grind and counting down the days to breaking our little guy out!!:) Hope you all are having a great week and enjoy some new pictures...

Always full of smiles when I visit!

This is a face of a boy who is going to be keeping me VERY busy when we get home..

This is his proud face.....he was so excited to walk up the little ramp thingy (of course he was holding my fingers but I made him work for it!!!)

Blossoming right before my eyes...

Standing all by himself!!:)

Simply beautiful......

I love this boy like crazy!!!:)