Michael

Because Michael's adoption was granted, we were able to get Michael's passport just in time for him to participate in the European cruise this summer with Grandma Sue and several of the boys. Michael was excited about the trip. He was especially enthusiastic about seeing Russia. Michael says that he would like to live in Russia one day. Michael is also scheduled to go on the Mexican cruise this December. Michael really enjoys traveling and is looking forward to his upcoming trip.

November 2008
Although we haven't finalized Michael's adoption yet, we are getting closer. We are now just waiting for a court date! I don't think we will be able to complete Michael's adoption in time for Michael to get a passport for the New Years cruise with grandma Sue but we should have no problem getting everything in order for his Caribbean cruise during spring break! Michael is excited about the prospect of completing his adoption as we have all been waiting for this far too long.

Michael continues to do well in school. He knows that he must get a "B" average to be able to drive so he is highly motivated to keep his grades up. If he continues on the positive academic path that he is on now, Michael should be able to start studying for his learners permit by the new year. I continue to watch in amazement as Michael changes from a gangly noncompliant preteen to a increasingly respectful and helpful teenager! The turnaround has been awesome!

September 2008
Michael has had an awesome attitude lately. What a wonderful turn-around from last school year. Michael has made a commitment to do well in school this year and so he is doing great! The wonderful attitude has even showed-up at home. Many people have noticed this obvious change, In fact I received a very nice call the other evening from Michael's math teacher who told me that Michael had a great attitude and that he wished some of his other students were more like Michael!

We are also getting close to finalizing Michael's adoption We are only waiting for a few forms to be completed by Michael's doctors. Michael is very excited about his upcoming adoption, most especially because he wants to get a passport so he can go cruising with Grandma Sue! We hope the adoption will go through before the end of the year!

May 2008
Michael is looking forward to finalizing his adoption. Although we are in weekly contact with our attorney no date has been set for his adoption. Once Michael is officially adopted he will be able to get a passport and go on cruises with Grandma Sue. More than anything Michael want to be able to travel so getting his passport is a huge goal.

In the meantime Michael continues to struggle to keep up in high school. While his test scores show Michael has an above average intelligence quite often his moods affect his production level. Once Michael gets behind in a particular class it is very difficult from him to get motivated to catch-up. Currently we are in close contact with Michael's special education team at school to try to get him caught up enough to pass all of his classes this year. With LOTS of encouragement and support we are hopeful Michael will get all of his credits this semester!

February 2008
Michael has been rehearsing with the Shane's Club choir for two upcoming events where the group will be performing. Michael enjoys singing and was quite involved with singing and performing while living in a Kazakhstan orphanage. Michael has not shown much interest in taking voice lessons or joining any other choir groups. Michael continues to take guitar lessons weekly however. Michael has also returned to the Young Marines and is now participating on a regular basis. Michael took a 6-month break but with lots of encouragement he has agreed to return to the program. It takes a lot of prompting from us for Michael to stick with anything extra curricular. Generally he is very gung-ho in the beginning but quickly loses his enthusiasm. Michael seems to sabotage himself whenever he is starting to be successful in any project or activity, school included. We are hopeful that with encouragement and some pushing we can get Michael past his inclination to sabotage himself. Michael is a bright and talented teenager and we would like to see him stick with something long enough to develop his talents.

November 2007
Michael is really maturing. He has gone from greasy middle school student to well-dressed and well-groomed freshman! It seems like the change just happened over night! It used to be days in between a shower, even with lots of prompting and encouragement but now Michael is up every morning and in the shower. Michael is looking so handsome, check out the black dress shirt and red tie, no wonder he has a few girls at school asking for hugs! Academically Michael continues to best when pushed and encouraged by Ivan! Michael enjoyed his 15th birthday by celebrating with a dinner of Chinese food then going to Universal Studios "Fright Night" with Nikolai, Javier, Ivan, George, and Phillip. He had a great time!

September 2007
Michael had an interesting summer vacation. He attended a number of summer camps. Michael seemed to enjoy the Catalina Sea Camp the most. Michael spent three weeks in Catalina learning how to snorkel, fish, sail, and surf. Camp near the ocean seemed to suit Michael just fine. He was quite tan and looked like he grew a foot when we picked-up the boys after three weeks! Michael also went to Camp Bravo and Sports Camp. Michael said he liked each camp for a different reason and says he looks forward to returning next summer. Michael recently started high school and loves it. Michael has already met A LOT of girls and attended two dances! Michael says "high school is way better than middle school!" I swear something magical changed over summer, Michael went from a greasy unkempt eighth grader to a well-groomed girl-crazy freshman in high school! Hmmmm, this year should be interesting...

April 2007
Michael is starting to really enjoy the Young Marines. He was made a squad leader and takes this role very seriously. After two new recruit encampments and participating in several regular day activities with the Young Marines program Michael is excited to graduate! If Michael gets to graduate, the graduation will take place on May 19, 2007. We have already seen an increased maturity level with Michael, as well as, an overall increase in his general politeness and compliance. The Saddleback Young Marine program just might be the ticket to help Michael transition from middle school to high school smoothly!

February 2007
Michael is enjoying his guitar lessons and practicing with his ice skating team. He has been very successful with these activities. Michael is losing some of his enthusiasm for basketball though. Michael has not felt as capable playing basketball as the other boys on his team. It is very hard to convince Michael to attend practice or participate in the games. Luckily the season will be over next month. Michael is typically like that, he needs to be pushed to continue with a an activity where he feels less competent then the others. At first Michael is very enthusiastic about trying a new activity or sport. He is eager to participate until the activity starts to get increasing difficult or competitive. Then Michael avoids the activity at any cost. It seems that guitar lessons are going well because Michael is not competing with anyone and the lessons are moving exactly at Michael's pace. Ice skating is successful because Michael is very skilled on the ice from years of experience in Kazakhstan. We continue to find non-threatening and non-competitive activities while encouraging Michael to stick with an activity, even when the activity becomes difficult.

October 2006
Michael enjoyed two birthday parties this month. He went out to dinner with mom and several of his brothers. Michael also went to Knott's Berry Farm's Halloween Haunt with a few more brothers later in the week. Michael loves a party, especially when it is his own! Hard to believe that Michael is already 14-years-old. He has grown so much both physically and emotionally since he joined our family almost two years old. During a recent IEP meeting Michael's teachers reported that Michael was doing very well academically and had shown much more mature and age-appropriate behavior at school this year. We were excited to hear all of the positive comments from school staff and to learn that Michael was requiring less special education support this school year.

July 2006
Michael is enjoying his summer. He is rotating between relaxing at home, going to our local water parks and going to summer camps. While Michael still enjoys having his space, he has improved his ability to "keep his cool" in stressful situations. When Michael joined our family he was very aggressive and had a very short fuse. He was easily bothered by other people especially his peers and his brothers. After a year and a half, Michael has made huge strides. Michael is much better able to use his words to communicate his frustration. Michael has also developed his own strategies of dealing with his anxiety and short temper including going for long bike rides by himself. We are proud of Michael's growth and look forward to watching him continue to mature.

March 2006
Michael (13) is growing like crazy, both physically and emotionally! Today, Grandma Sue and Michael had to go shopping to replace all of Michael's pants. Michael has grown almost two sizes since he first joined the family. We were once worried about Michael's small size and almost frail stature. Not having any background or information about Michael's biological family we had no idea if Michael's small frame was caused by genetics or a medical condition.

After almost a year and a half Michael is physically making changes. Although he continues to be very thin, Michael is starting to shoot up in height. Michael's health continues to need monitoring but so far this year he has remained healthy. We are happy to Michael grow a little and, of course, Michael was delighted. Michael still to need lots of encouragement to be kind to his brothers. Michael, however, is starting to share his personal possessions with the other boys more freely. Michael is also much more able to walk away from a situation that might annoy him rather than get into a fight. We are excited that Michael is able to make some better choices about his behavior and is beginning to develop more positive relationships with other family members.

January 2006