Sandboxes and Tennis Balls, Oh what a blessing!

These are some pics around the castle of both of the Holcombe boys playing. But the big thing today was the sand box and the tennis balls. We went in a Shell station to buy them some icecream and at the counter was a bag of sandbox toys. We bought them and took them to the orphanage for the boys. They loved them. Almost as much as Penny. Ha Ha. When we were getting close to leaving I pulled out some tennis balls and started bouncing them off the wall and before I knew it Luke and Micah got into it and were having so much fun they didnt want to let us leave at all. We love them sooooooo very much. We always hate to leave them. But tomorrow comes and where back for another round. (from James aka Papa Bear)


There are some pictures of Micah of him pouting after he got in trouble. We don't even remember the reason he got in trouble. After he sits and pouts for a few minutes he is allowed to get back up and play and he forgets all about it.

The past few days have really been testing our faith. A committee had to come to the orphanage today and they are trying to get all the paperwork straightened out so we can go through with the adoption process and get a court date. Everyone is in our favor it's just a lot of red tape you have to go thru. They did bring gifts for the boys and they loved the chocolate.

I can say one thing, if we thought our faith was strong before it has more than doubled since we have been here. The constant waiting and no concrete answers really test not only your faith but your also your patience. Both of us continue to rely on God and know that He is our strength.

Linda Maddox- Thank you for your encouraging words in your email yesterday. It really helped both of us get thru the day.

There is another couple here from Texas and in their blog they write about another Groundhog Day. That exactly what it is like. The movie "Groundhog Day". Our routine does not seem to change very much. We get up, get ready, eat, go visit with the boys (our favorite thing), come back to hotel, eat, take a nap or blog, go back to orphanage, come back to hotel, eat, read or play rummy, go to bed and then do it all over again.

They are a lot like their Poppy. They love ice cream. I didn't get to eat much of mine after they ate theirs and took bites from mine.

There is another group of kids that came to stay at our hotel yesterday. We are having to listen to the same songs every night. All kids here love to do the chicken dance and a song called chocalatte. Oh and the Hokey Pokey. We sing these songs in our sleep.

We bought the boys some new sand toys and they had fun playing in the sand. We also took 2 tennis balls and James showed them how to bounce them against the wall. Luke looks like he will be a pitcher. He has a strong arm. Micah needs a little more coordination. We would clap and say "Yeah!". He would get so excited and giggle. He was so proud. (from Penny aka Mama Bear)

Until tomorrow, keep praying and thanking God for all He has done and will do.

Micah Loves Praise Music

Good Afternoon in Alabama and Good Evening in Ukraine,

Today we spent 3 hours with Micah because Luke's group had gone on an excursion. We are not sure where. We took advantage of the time to spend with Micah. He rode his tricycle and ran and played but as the old saying goes "Music will soothe the savage beast".

I got out my MP3 player and put the earphones in Micah's ears. It was amazing how calm he got. He did not want to stop listening. His favorite song is "It's all about You" from the Lakewood CD. He also likes Friend of God. He would dance and sing. He would take the earphones out to hear me and James singing and then he would laugh and pretend to sing. He loved getting on Papa's shoulders and walking around listening to the music. That is the calmest we have ever seen him. It looks like we will be playing praise music in the house all the time.

Not only does he like music but he likes to streak. Like all little boys they will go pee-pee outside and when he is done he likes to run with his britches down. He is a character just like his Uncle Chris. He loves attention and will do anything to get it.

We walked around the orphanage and when we got back around to the playgrounds Luke's group had gotten back. He came walking up and had the saddest look on his face. You could see the disappointment from not getting to spend time with us. There are 2 pictures above of me trying to console him and Micah trying to help me. We had to call Natalia and get her to explain that we had to leave but we would return in the afternoon to play. We gave him some juice and his favorite, Teddy Grahams. He seemed to feel a little better after that.

We returned this afternoon and were planning on spending the afternoon with Luke but when we got outside Micah's group was out playing. Micah spotted us and ran to us. We took the boys over to the new playground we found yesterday. After a few minutes a little boy kept coming over and before you new it there were lots of children and families.

We met 2 families that are here from Italy adopting. One family is adopting 3 children and the other is adopting 1. The kids all played and we had to keep Luke from getting his feelings hurt from kids taking his toys. We had to keep Micah from hurting kids feelings. haha

Micah requested musica so we got the MP3 player out again. This time we brought some headphones. He shared with Luke. His favorite thing to do was walk around the track and listen to the music and he was singing his own song. Luke likes the music also but likes to play more than listen to music.

We had a good day. Please be in prayer that tomorrow all our paperwork gets completed. Our facilitator has to go back to the other city and pick up the paperwork then come here to the inspector. After all that is completed it will go to the SDA for a court date. We ar praying everything is completed tomorrow so not to delay things.

We are really home sick but we know that God has a plan and has put some wonderful people in our path.

Happy Labor Day!

Play, Play and more Play (What a Blessing!)

Sorry we did not post yesterday but I fell asleep last night while watching a movie on our laptop. Yesterday it turned pretty cold. The high was around 61 and rainy. The clouds stayed out all day and it was very windy. We were able to go outside an play the 1st visit but the 2nd visit we had to stay inside.

I tried something for lunch that I've never had before "Sardines!". They were smoked and believe it or not I actually liked them. I'm starting to get real tired of the meat they serve here. It has the same taste and smells. If we had some ketchup it might not be so bad. James has started liking buttermilk. They serve it at just about every meal and hot chai (tea). The tea is good, but there have been times I really wanted some ice and lemon in it.

The boys have started giving us kisses when we point to our lips. It is so sweet. I can't tell you the feeling we get when they give us a hug and a kiss. Everyday when we come to visit they run out smiling and change their clothes to go out and play. They dress themselves and hang their clothes up every time. Can you imagine, I still can't get James trained that well. ha ha

Yesterday was tough staying inside. Micah is so full of energy and needs to express it! We stayed in and watched Lion King on the computer. Luke was really into it and the best part was he sat in our laps and we really got to love on him. Micah on the other hand cannot be still for one minute. James had to really get on to him and for the 1st time he cried. As tough as it was I think it was a turning point of him learning he does not run the show and he has to listen to us. Even his caretakers communicated he will need a switch. Before we left he was back to hugging and playing with Papa.

Today was a beautiful day. It was sunny and in the mid to upper 60's. Perfect football weather (War Eagle!). We went to the orphanage and we played at a new playground. It has a walking track so the boys could ride their tricycles around it. As you can see in the pictures there is a big castle with a slide. They would climb up the stairs and James would pretend to be asleep then just as they get to him he would grab and tickle them. They loved it!! They also like to grab each others hats and throw them out the windows of the castle then slide down to get them. It was a perfect and blessed day. We seldom had to get on to Micah unless it was to keep him from getting hurt.

We found out they love cheerios. Today was the 1st time we took them cheerios for a treat and they ate all that we brought. They look forward to their juice. We brought the packets of crystal lite and mix it up in water. So far grape seems to be their favorite. We brought pears yesterday and Micah ate all of it and when I say all I mean all.

There are 3 dogs that live at the orphanage. The picture of the puppy is one of them. He came walking up yesterday with a ball and wanted to play until Micah pulled his tail. He has one eye that looks like it has been damaged.

We played for about 3 hours. They were absolutely wore out. We did not go back this afternoon so we could get some rest and wash clothes.

Pastor and FWC family- We really miss church. We need to hear the Word and praise. James read out of the book of James today for our Sunday service. We are sitting here now listen to the Lakewood CD. James was laughing at me earlier as I had on my earphones and was dancing around the room. Wasn't it David that said "Dance unto the Lord".

Please keep praying we will get a court date soon. Everything is working out with our glitch which we knew God would take care of it but sometimes you get tested to see how strong your faith really is.

Love and Paaka (bye)