Our year in numbers

1 car accident
3 trips to Russia
1 robbery
18 flights
$47,000 in adoption related expenses (which is pretty darned close to a years salary for Jory)
1 dead water heater
1 dead external hard drive
$28,000 in donations for our adoptions
4 kids (woo-hoo!)
4,000 kisses and hugs

How do you measure your year?

The future of Elissa Peterson Photography

For the last 15 months or so we have used photography as a means to fundraise for our adoption. Now that our adoption is complete, and the debt is mostly paid off the question becomes "now what?" Do we close the door on the project or go pro.

While a professional photographer salary would be really awesome right now (please don't look at my threadbare carpet and house that wasn't built for a family of 6) my role here is to put the needs of my children before my finances. So increasing my photographic workload isn't going to happen.

On the other other hand, there are a lot of people out there that we could help if I was making a little money. There are just too many starving people on this planet for me to hang up my camera strap and turn a blind eye.

So the short answer to the big question is "let it be what it is". We're hoping for more of a hobby job than a professional income. If you need photos, we will take them. We will continue to charge a fair professional price, with as much as half of it going to help support a local nonprofit that provides financial aid to orphanages in Max's home community in Russia, and other families in our community who are struggling to pay for their adoption. We will continue donating sessions to auctions and other good causes, and doing pro bono work when called for.

The bottom line is we have a lot of paying it forward to do, and we're hoping that you'll help us do just that.

Now. Who needs photos?

(nearly) wordless wednesday

St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

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got a great photo for (nearly) wordless Wednesday to to share with us? Post a link so we can all see it!

Forgotten Favorites

We had a hard drive crash this fall, and it's possible I've lost a few hundred photos. Nothing serious, but annoying none the less. So I'm currently busting my butt to make sure I have hard copies of all my current favorites, and while I am digging around in my old files I'm running into some real gems that I never shared with you. So here you go, a handful of shots of my crew. Most of these were taken right before we went to Russia in October when I didn't have time to post anything. There are more from our Russian adventures that I haven't gotten to, but one thing at a time, right?

Christmas love...

 

It didn't take Max long to figure out this thing we call Christmas. Nor did it take him long to learn how to say "presents" and teach us the Russian word for them (pe-dark-ia). This year he's a little too rough around the edges to understand how Jesus ties in to our celebration, but that'll be a joy to discuss next year.
It's safe to say that Max's first American Christmas was a success. Now we just need some snow so he can ride his new sled.

Happy month-aversery Max!

Today marks the 1 month anniversary of bringing Max home. Yippee!
I could marvel at how much he's changed in the last month, complain about his behavior (which I do way too often), or brag about how hard he's working in school.
Or he could sing you a cute song.

Since it's almost Christmas and I have way too much to do you get a song. Enjoy!

Book Review - Taken

Last week we talked about one of Brock Eastman's new books HowlSage, this week we're talking about his other new book Taken.
Taken is an exciting futuristic tale about the four Wikk children who are on a quest to find out the truth about their parents kidnapping, and get to the bottom of the archeological secrets they may have uncovered. Their journey is full of fast paced chase scenes, mysterious blue men, and futuristic technology.
Mom says: Exciting? You bet. Eastman has risen to the challenge, and delivered another page turner. I appreciate how he can deliver an exciting book that isn't too scary for me to read to my elementary school aged children. While there were underlying tones of faith and honesty, the strong faith based element that I've come to expect from this author was weak at best. Personally, I was hoping for a little more. But since this is only the first of a five book series, perhaps the next few will have a stronger faith undertones.
Alex (9 years old) says: It got right to the adventure, which was good in my opinion. It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on, the beginning was easier to understand than the beginning of HowlSage was.  I think you should read it. Watch out for the Ubel!

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg Russia

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got a great photo for (nearly) wordless Wednesday to share with us? Post a link so we can all see it!

First words...

I didn't hear the first words my son uttered, I probably wouldn't have recognized their meaning if I had. But as Max is constantly acquiring new words in English, I can't help but chuckle at his first words in his new language.
So what are they?
There are some that warm my heart, such as his famous "I love you Mama!" that he had down before we brought him home from Russia. He also quickly picked up on please, thank you and excuse me (which he has learned to use after his characteristic belches. Boy can that kid belch).
He learned his numbers quickly, thanks to the hotel elevator in Russia. While he still counts to himself in Russian doing his school work, he had his numbers to 10 before we brought him home.
Then there are the words that reflect the fact that he's the youngest child of a family with 4 kids. Don't touch it! and Wait! have both are both new additions.
I also have to chuckle at the songs he's picked up on. His current favorites are Jingle Bell Rock and the theme song for "Super Why" on PBS. I have to wonder if he really knows what he's singing.

HowlSage author interview - Brock Eastman

So on Friday we talked about HowlSage, one of Brock Eastman's new books. We were lucky enough to get a personal interview, and hear a little of the inside scoop behind the book.


EP: Hey again! So great to read more of your work! My son (Alex) and I both loved your recent book HowlSage. Can you tell us how you came up with the idea for this book and the Sage Hunter Series in general?

BE: It was totally a God thing. I was driving to work at Focus one morning when a word came to me, HowlSage. The word spun in my mind. A sage is a magician of some sort, and the howl is the call of the wolf. In my mind, at least for the purpose of this book, magic was to be bad. It was to be an evil power sourced to demons. It seems we learn at a young age that wolves always like to ‘howl’ at the moon. So originally the phases of the moon played a much larger role in the book, but that sort of slipped away with the more action I wrote in. Still though the definition of HowlSage is Magician of the Moon. The HowlSage grows according to the moon phase and as a demon can use magic. SPOILER ALERT: The true magic of a HowlSage was never seen in the first book in Sages of Darkness. This is partially because Taylor is able to dispose of it before it's too late and the HowlSage's full magical ability comes to be. But wait for BlizzardSage and CrimsonSage.

EP: That's so darned cool. So tell us what was your favorite part of this particular book?

BE: I enjoyed writing the hunt scenes, because I like action, but my favorite to write was about the dreams and spiritual warfare. While it didn't go into the depth of theology that exists, I wanted to hint at what's going on around us in our daily lives but we often ignore. 

EP: What was the hardest (or easiest) part of this book for you to write?

BE: Action was the easiest. I didn't write much slash and jab in The Quest for Truth, but I was amazed how quickly those scenes came together and how often they popped up. Hardest...well sometimes dialogue can be tough when trying to sound age appropriate from your characters voice and perspective, but it can also be difficult to find the right words for your characters to say when put in a situation.

EP:  What do you do when you aren't writing?

BE: Spend time with my wonderful wife and our two sweet daughters. One thing that I don’t like about writing, is the time it takes away from my family. While I do my best to write after everyone is in bed or during nap time, it still impacts us. I also enjoy reading or spending time outdoors.

EP: What can we look forward to in the future for Taylor and the other Sage Hunters?

BE: Well it’d be wrong to give anything away…I will say we’ll meet another, if not a few more HowlSages and some other nasty stuff might be coming Taylor’s way too. Check out the back of HowlSage to get an idea of what we might meet, Ike has done a great job of writing and sketching stuff for you.

 EP: Well Alex and I are both hooked, and can't wait for the next one to come out!  Thanks for talking with us :)

For more information about Brock and his books check out the following:

Quest for Truth Books 

facebook.com/eastmanbrock.

Twitter: @Bdeastman

Or read another chat we had about his last book Showdown with a Shepherd.

Book Review - Howl Sage

Today we're reviewing a children's book titled HowlSage by Brock Eastman. You may remember him, we met him a few weeks ago when we reviewed another of his books: AIO's Showdown with a Shepherd. 
In this book 14 year old Taylor and his team of sage hunters search for a werewolf like creature known as the HowlSage, in hopes of finding it before it reaches full maturity on October 31st. What the hunters quickly realize is that the finding the HowlSage is just the tip of the ice burg.
Mom says: I generally don't go for monster books so I wasn't really expect much from this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the engaging and fast paced plot line. This is a classic monster hunt story with an interesting faith based twist. Hunting demons while seeking God's guidance. Fantastic. Exciting, but not scary. I loved it.
Alex (9 years old) says:  It was fast paced. I thought the beginning of the book was a little confusing because I didn't know exactly what was going on, but the more I read, the more I understood. This book is not as scary as it looks based on the cover. I thought it was a good book.


Please Note: We received this book for review purposes. As always, our opinions are 100% our own

Getting to know him...

He's Max, the newest addition to the Peterson clan.
He likes just about everything - eating veggies, having school at home, chopping wood (eek!), etc... There's only one thing he doesn't really like - sitting still.
He's adjusting way better than we ever expected.
He has a gentle soul, and a heart for animals. 
He's stinkin cute, and knows how to work it.
He's part polar bear, and laughs at our "freezing" Ohio winters. I swear that kid has ice cubes in his blood. He's been known to wear t-shirts out in the snow when Mom's not looking.
He likes to pretend he doesn't understand English when I tell him not to pick on his sisters. He totally does. 
He's our little dude, and we're totally in love.

Wordless Wednesday

On any given corner in Russia... 
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got a great photo for (nearly) wordless Wednesday to share with us? Post a link so we can all see it!

Merry making...

Nothing is more fun than introducing a new family member to your family traditions. What's more, introducing them to a 7 year old, who has no concept of family traditions, and who loves to try everything.
So here's what we've been up to this month... 
Decorate our house for Christmas - Check. But only with nonbreakables, and items with little sentimental value. Little dude still has temperamental moments, and there's no reason to tempt fate with Granny's irreplaceable glass nativity set.
Bake Christmas cookies - I'd say check, but is this ever really finished? I mean you make them and they never makes it through the holidays so you have to make more. But little dude loved every second of the first round we made.
Trip to the tree farm to cut down a tree for Grandma's house - Check. Did I mention that little dude's biological father was a lumberjack? This kid knows how to use a saw. Yeah, even without the petting zoo and the snacks we purchased the barn, there was no doubt in my mind that this tradition was going to be a hit.

How it's going... this week

As with any addition to the family, it's important to continually redefine normal, to record how we are relating to each other, and the world around us, to recognize miniscule milestones, and celebrate them as they pass.
With that said, how did our family define normal this week?
As the Mama, I went through a colossal mental shift in relating to little Max and his tantrums. I talked a little bit about it here, but basically I went from "why is this kid pushing my buttons all the time" to "this really isn't about me, is it?" when I stopped taking my son's emotional breakdowns personally there was definitely a shift in my attitude, and how I addressed the situation. Why it took me three weeks to figure all this out is beyond me. All I can say is that Max is definitely responding to my emotional shift, and he's a happy little camper. We went from 5 tantrums on Tuesday, to none on Friday. That doesn't mean the meltdown days are over, but we're definitely making progress over here.
Another exciting development we had this week is that Max had a little hang out time at Grandma's house without his mom or sibs. Because of his social history we are constantly watching for signs of separation anxiety and attachment disorders. We were pretty sure we wouldn't be able to leave him with anyone for at least 6 months. But apparently he has enough of a relationship with Grandma to hang out with her for half an hour while Mom goes to get the others from their various classes. I imagine it helps that Grandma loves to plan fun activities, like cooking spaghetti. Good stuff.
Oh, and during his 4th time in his life ever entering a swimming pool my little man totally taught himself how to swim. My little guy who wouldn't go in water deeper than his knees on his first 3 visits to the pool not only worked up the nerve to completely submerge himself, but also had his arms and legs coordinated enough to swim 4 feet at a time. The lifeguard and I were both completely amazed. As is common with most children who've spent time in an orphanage, this kid is more athletic than all 5 of us put together.

On a completely different note

We appreciate all the feedback we've gotten about our struggles to adjust to our new family dynamics. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers as we redefine "normal" for our family.
But we're done soul searching for the week.
Time to have a little fun. .
I have a gazillion pics of my daughters together, and poor Alex has been waiting for a "brothers" shot for a really long time.

He finally got his chance. Here are my boys. 

 

  

It feels so good to say boys...

Anatomy of a meltdown

We were warned about the meltdowns well in advance. For the whole first month, we should see 3-4 a day, half an hour in length minimum. I had one friend who's daughter melted for 4 hours at a time. They seem to come out of no where and they get ugly.
But I'm a mom, and an educator. I've spent enough time around children who are out of control that the idea of the meltdowns didn't scare me. I was ready. Bring it.
The first few came and went without much problem. Though I realized quickly that my seven year old son, who is the size of a five year old, has the strength of a ten year old. Yikes. Yes, they got uglier than I ever expected.
But I learned how to cope, how to keep us both safe, and keep the damage to a minimum. But there's another element that I may never learn to cope with. The reasons behind these outbursts. The emotional trauma that is hiding behind those eyes. Knowing he is crying for help, and all I can do is soothe him with words he doesn't understand.
I recognize there's quite a quandary behind my feelings of inadequacy and the knowledge that I'm the best person for this job. The slim measure of confidence I glean from knowing I am the one he needs to be with during these raw moments, is far outweighed by the helplessness I feel at the time.
But I trudge forward leaning on what I know, versus what I feel. Bolstered by the knowledge that these meltdowns won't last much longer, nor will the gap in communication.
I also lean on the fact that each time I come through for him, his little heart heals a bit more. And my little man learns a bit more what it really feels like to be loved.
If the price for my son's heart is a few well fought battles then so be it. I will fight (and win) every single one with pride.
Because I am his mom. And that's what moms do.

(nearly) Wordless Wednesday

Red Square isn't red...

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This one counted

I wasn't there to hear your glee filled squeal the first time you went down a slide.
Someone else had the joy of pushing you on the swings for the first time.
On those first few trips to the park, you toddled after someone else's children.
I may have missed those first trips to the playground when you were just a little guy in Russia, but I didn't miss this one.

On this trip I heard every squeal and giggle.
I watched you chase your brother and sisters around, and wondered how they ever got along without you.
Your dad and I both marveled at your crazy upper body strength.

This time I was there to be your Mama.
This one counted.

How it's going...

I've been a mother of 4 for three weeks now and it's been interesting to watch and analyze what's going on with this new little life in our family, and how family dynamics shift in relation to this new family member. 

Max is transitioning nicely. When we had him with us in Russia we don't know if he was bored, anxious or what, but he sort of acted like a bull in a china shop, just into everything, making us crazy the entire week and a half we were together. The first few days he was home weren't that much better. But now he's settled down considerably and we're wondering if he doesn't feel safer now that Russia is clearly behind us.

He did well on his first twho Sundays at church. We  sort of expected him to pull out his tornado routine that generally comes with new environments, but he was calm and composed the entire time. He politely greeted our friends (in Russian, of course) and happily sat through most of a Sunday School class. Leaving him in a Sunday School class was a huge feat for this little guy who's displayed anxiety over both strangers and being separated from his family.

Max has started school. Since we're homeschooling him with the others it wasn't that huge of a transition. Until his vocabulary develops, there's not a lot of content we can work on, but they use the same numbers we use, so we're jumping right in with Math and some vocabulary / phonics games on the computer, along with some old fashioned whole language activities (aka playing with his sibs!) he's doing quite well.

The only real transition issue we're having is Jory being back at work full time. Poor little guy misses his dad. When Jory is here Max does super, when Jory is gone not so much. He'll play for an hour just fine then out of nowhere he just starts pounding on stuff for no clear reason.

Mostly the rest of us are all adjusting just fine. Jory and I are constantly watching the kids to make sure they aren't overwhelmed by this little boy who has a tendency to overwhelm. The kids have really stepped up to help out when they recognize they are needed. They realize the benefits of positive peer pressure, and rather enjoy teaching their new brother how to comply.

Current articles

I have some articles that I've written for an online news source that I haven't shared with you. Here are links to some of the recent ones I've written:


Celebrating Chinese culture in your adopted child - there are lots of cultural events going on in and around Ohio in 2012 you should check out

Celebrating your adopted child's African American heritage - keep your child's heritage alive with these  local cultural events

Local schools celebrate red ribbon week. - how do local schools celebrate such a noteworthy week?

Celebrating your adopted child's Russian heritage through local cultural events - we'll be at a few of these events... will you?

Adoption blogger spotlight - who are the best of the best adoption bloggers?

Happy reading!

Introducing...

There's someone here who wants to meet you.

I tried to get him to talk to you in Russian, but he gave me this instead.
He's kind of a flirt. 
I can't say I mind too much.