Alex Update

While trimming Alex's hair (well, just trying to make his sideburns not look similar to Elvis Presley's) before school on Friday he told me:

 "I hope you don't make me look durfee." 

"What????......Do you mean dorky?"

"Oh. Yes. Dorky."
I teasingly replied:

"Well, I assure you you will not look "durfee" but I can't promise my fabulous hair cutting skills will not make you look dorky!"

Teeheehee!

(They are a little uneven but I think they look less "durfee" than the "chops" he seems to grow in a months time! I think this boy will be one of those seniors with a 5'oclock shadow - James will have to come home and straighten out his sideburns - as he has the clippers with him and I had to do this hair trim with a pair of scissors and my pink "Ladies Choice"razor!)

Alex came home from church and told me about his lesson on gratitude. About being thankful for things that people do for you. Later he wrote in his journal a sweet entry about being grateful for his mom and that I am always nice. (Which is so not true-but hey! Who am I to argue? That wouldn't be nice!) I joked with him about if he would feel that way after I checked his spelling errors and sentence structure and he had to write more sentences and he insisted that he would.

 Minutes ago he came up as I was checking emails and waiting to get dinner out of the oven and leaned his head on my shoulder and softly said:

"Mom, I have something I am shy to say you.  Thank you for getting me out of orphanage. For bringing me here and adopting me."  

I was sort of stunned. It sort of came from no where. In the past he's expressed his hatred for the orphanage, and most things Ukrainian, he's said very sweet things about me, James and our family and I know he loves us and is glad he's here but he has never just come up and said "thanks" like that.  

I hugged him tight and asked him why he was "shy" to tell me this? And he just shrugged and buried into my hug.

I hugged him tighter and told him that I am glad he chose to come home with this crazy mama and how brave I thought he was and how much I love him.

Payday. 

That's what that was. 

Two years of work to get to this point but sweeter "shy" words have never been uttered.