Fudge

We have added to our family once again. I named him "Fudge." He is the cutest bear ever. Greg insists that Fudge was quite intimidating when he was still alive. Greg encountered Fudge on a hunting trip in Alaska. He may have looked mean when he was still alive but he is simply adorable as a rug. He rests comfortably on the floor in Greg's office. Elsa just LOVES him. She alternates between sitting where his shoulders once were like she is riding him and kissing his snout. She will cry to get into Greg's office just to give Fudge love. He really is a sweet looking bear.

Elsa just started swim lessons. Since she loves the water so much we decided to do a "mommy and me" swim class at the YMCA. Only Greg does it with Elsa instead of Mommy. Elsa wasn't too happy at first. That was a big surprise to us as we thought she would be thrilled. Her complaint wasn't with the water, though. It was just that it was loud and scary. I went along to the class and it wasn't the best thing. Elsa cried for me and didn't want to participate. Fortunately, there is a workout room over the pool so I was able to hide up there and watch through the glass. She warmed up and enjoyed herself once Mom wasn't around. I'm sure that the next class will be a lot more fun for her.

Elsa is really enjoying the Baby Einstein videos. We just started watching the one about neighborhood animals. They sing "Old MacDonald" on the video and Elsa loves the chorus, "e-i-e-i-o." She sings along and but never gets to the "o" part. She just sings "eee-iiii-eeee-iiii-ee-iiii."

I've mentioned before that Elsa loves phones. If she can't find one of her toy phones then she will use plastic bread from her kitchen. She has started to texting on her bread.

We got great news from our friends, Christine and Darius. They are adopting a darling little girl from Elsa's orphanage. Her name is Oksana and she is 4 years old. The region had imposed a moratorium just a month after we got home and it put our friend's adoption in limbo. Fortunately, the region reopened and Christine and Darius should be traveling next month for their court dates. Greg and I had the privilege of meeting Oksana when we were at the orphanage. She touched our hearts in a profound way. We are thrilled that she will be home with her family soon. It would be wonderful if you would join us in prayer for this beautiful family.