Evan...

Tonight while I was doing my ab workout, Evan was on a stool doing pull ups on the pull up bar...I told him to come do abs with me and he said, "I'll get my 6 pack later, right now, I'm gonna rip my arms up." LOL He cracks me up!

An Evan-ism...

Last weekend we were eating at El Charros...the Mexican music was playing loudly and the babies were really enjoying it. Elijah was lounged back in his chair with one arm propped up, with his normal...very sly grin on his face, and was bobbing his head from side to side. Clay said, "Look at Mr. Cool" and Evan said, "Who IS Mr. Cool, anyway? Y'all always talk about him."

Homecoming

Evan was escorted by Skylar Cason...Evan and Skylar used to go to school together at SCCS. Skylar was one of our cheerleaders. They were so cute together!

I can only imagine the conversation here... "Evan's got a girlfriend, Evan's got a girlfriend!"

Here's a cute Evan story... A couple of games ago, Evan asked his Daddy if he could take a break from the game. Clay said, sure. Then he looked over to find Evan, not resting on the bench as he thought he would be, but in the middle of the cheerleaders talking to Skylar. His stance was so cute! He had one foot turned out and his helmet on his hip with his arm draped over it...Mr. Cool...Ladies' Man for sure!!

Evan's trophy for participating in Homecoming (translation...selling raffle tickets). He was so proud! As soon as we got home, he couldn't wait to put it on his trophy shelf in his room.

The Babies were thrilled to out on a cold October morning! They were wearing their first coats...Thanks Amma! Amma and Ampa took them home just before the second half because it was so cold.

Wesley...at his homecoming game. Escorted by my niece, Emily!

"The REAL Trophy!" Team Party Night. "Mom, it's HUGE!"

Evan the Rock Star

Okay... Before you think about rolling your eyes, or saying that you can't believe that Clay and Brandi let Evan listen to that garage, we know we probably shouldn't but it's hard not to when that's what he really enjoys. I'm tellin' ya...he's a Rock Star!! JUDGE ME IF YOU MUST...COME ON, SEE IT BOTHERS ME! You might not agree with our choice of music but you have to admit, this is pretty dang cute. :-)

First of all...a little background...Evan has been singing Def Leopard in the Explorer on his way to school probably since he was three. He loves it and if you read our blog, you've probably read posts about that, Nickleback, and even Kid Rock. If you missed it, you can read one of several here. The fascination with Kid Rock began while we were at the beach and kept the TV on the video channel. (What else do you do when you don't have TIVO?) Kid Rock's new song, All Summer Long, (yes, one of our favorites) seemed to be playing all the time. Here's a lesson for those who often forget how much your little one picks up what's happening around him or her. Before we knew it, Evan was walking around singing parts of it.

Here's an Evanism for ya...

When we got home from the beach, we downloaded it onto my i-pod and onto a CD for the car for Evan. He quickly mastered the song and Clay and I both thought OH NO, He's going to sing this at school, etc. So Clay told him that we didn't need to listen to it anymore because it talked about some bad things. Of course, Evan asked what things. So Clay said, "Smoking and Drinking" Evan replied...Dad, you have to drink or YOU'LL DIE!!! Yes, maybe sad that he knows the words but... he doesn't know what he's singing about...and he does know that smoking is bad.

So go ahead and judge us...but you have to admit...it's pretty cute. In the video, he was a little shy, so he doesn't use the expression that he normally does. We caught him singing it in the mirror the other night...priceless.

An Evan-ism...

Here's two...

Last night Evan was telling me how much he loved football and baseball but didn't like soccer. He was explaining to me that after football season, he will play baseball again, and then it would be soccer season. (Not knowing that soccer season comes at the same time as football ball season, he thought that since he wouldn't play soccer that he would have a long break) He said, "That's when I will retire."



Evan was so excited when we showed him the left over Rubles that we have from Russia. With his great fascination with money, I don't know why we've never thought about giving them to him before now. Anyway, he was so excited when we gave it to him that he pretend "fainted" something that he often does. When we recovered he said, "I could cry!" I said, "Do you mean a happy cry?" He said, "Yeah, like you do."

Flashback Friday

St. Simmons 2007...Just after we found out that we were expecting twins!

One of my favorite Evan-isms of all time....

During that trip we were out on the beach and Clay asked Evan what he thought about the twins (meaning the babies, of course)

and Evan said, "I like all teams, the Cubs, the Braves."

Evan...The Rock Star (An Evanism)

For well over a year now, Evan has said that he wants to be a Rock Star when he grows up. Maybe it's the long hair, (since he never wants his cut) or perhaps it's because his Daddy used to blast the Def Leopard CD that he runs to on the way to school, who knows?! Evan has always been so funny singing, "Step in side, walk this way, you and me babe, hey hey hey" and "Pour some sugar on me in the name of God (instead of Love). It cracks me up! One of his favorite songs is Rock Star by Nickelback...Yes, I know...not exactly age appropriate. However, in my defence when it comes to the line... the girls come easy and the drugs come cheap I immediately hit mute on the car stereo and hope that everything else will remain over his head. When Evan was about 3 1/2 or maybe had just turned 4, while Clay was taking him to school he told his Daddy that he wanted to be a Rock Star when he grew up. After the conversation ended and school was nearing, Evan said, "Daddy, Don't forget to sign me up." LOL!

Yesterday, Evan and I had a conversation about the topic and it went something like this...

Evan: Mom, you know when I grow up I want to be a Rock Star.

Mom: Yeah, I know and I think you'll make a great one.

Evan: I don't want to be a normal singer 'cause that's borrin'. (two r's in the way that Evan pronounces boring)

Mom: Really, why is that boring?

Evan: Because they don't sing loud stuff.

So who knows...do we see guitar lessons in his near future?

An Evan-ism

A couple of weeks ago, Evan asked Momi, his great-grandmother, if she was alive when the dinosaurs were.

Evan-isms...

A goal that I have is to make short posts more often about funny things that happen with the kiddos, like something funny that Evan says. So often things happen and we think, "We'll never forget that" and then we do until someone reminds us of them.

Anyway, here are a few recent Evan-isms...

1. Several weeks ago, Evan was being especially whiny and Clay walked out of the room and mumbled to me, "Man, he's being such a freaking baby!" Okay, bad choice of words but Clay had no idea that Evan had followed him into the next room and heard him. Evan came running to me, yelling, "Daddy called me a baby freak, Mommy! Daddy called me a baby freak!" It was hilarious.

2. A few weeks ago, it hit Evan that Mommy and Daddy sleep together and Ella and Elijah sleep together and that he sleeps all alone. He was complaining about that and said that it wasn't fair that the babies slept together. Clay reminded him that when he was a baby like them that he slept with about 15 other babies. Evan reply was, "I know, then Y'ALL brought me to America and now I sleep ALL by myself!" Poor Baby, right?!! ha ha

3. Evan and his Daddy were teasing each other and Evan was begging him to do something and Clay wasn't doing it and Evan said, "You know you love me, you went to Russia to get me, member?"

4. Instead of asking what time Ampa was coming to get him, he said, "What 30?"

5. When practicing baseball in our front yard, Evan told Clay it was his turn to bat. Clay, being funny hit the ball all the way to the driveway and Evan was amazed. He yelled, "Daddy! Why don't you do that when you play for Passion?"

The Chimney...

Well, our trees are up and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care! Evan is so cute about Christmas. We've had pictures made with Santa...What FUN! Evan is so excited about Santa and so curious about the whole chimney thing. We must read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" at least 100 times a week. Every time we read it, he pauses to ask about Santa landing on the roof and to fuss about Santa smoking a pipe.

He often goes outside just to inspect our chimney. He'll say, "Mama...I'll be right back, I want to see our chimney." Then he'll come inside and look in deep thought at our fireplace. He sometimes worries that Santa might "get on fire." We assure him that we won't turn on the fire the night that Santa comes and that Santa is magic anyway.

Whenever we are riding in the car, he will point out houses that have a big chimney and ask about the houses that don't appear to have one. His curiosity is so funny.

Can't wait for Santa to come down our chimney!

Where has the time gone...

I never thought I would say that while we waited. Wow! So much has happened since our last update that I don’t even know where to begin. I’ll try to do a short update to get everyone up to speed.

Evan got very sick in January with pneumonia. We were doing 8 breathing treatments a day. He was on very strong antibiotics and had to have two very painful shots of Rochephron shots. The nurse said that those are the most painful shots for anyone to receive because it is a powder that is mixed up with saline. Ouch! After the first shot, Evan started yelling at the Nurse, “No! No! Lady!” It is so hard to see your baby struggle for every single breath. It was so scary. We ended up taking him to Egleston...maybe a bit over the top but I am still glad that we went. The doctor there recommended we have Evan seen by an ENT doctor; we finally have an appointment for that on May 1. Hopefully, they can help. His breathing is always very labored so when he gets sick it gets much worse.

In February, we were like a bunch of crazy people. We took Evan and Wes to see the Monster Trucks and the very next weekend took them to the Motorcross bike races. Evan is all about trains, trucks and motorcycles…anything ALL BOY!! He gets so excited when we see a motorcycle while driving down the road. He calls it "A Mo" but it is so funny to hear him say it. He uses this very deep growly voice to yell, "A Mo!" and he drags out the word. It is so funny! If it weren't for the deep voice you might think it was Elmo or Am-Ma (Grandma).

God laid it heavily on my heart to be baptized again. I was baptized as a young child but felt called to publicly state my belief as an adult. It was a wonderful experience and one that I am very proud of. Evan thought it was funny that “got wet” at church. One day shortly after his clothes got wet while we were in the bathroom and he said, “Hey, my like Mommy at church.”

Clay left Newton Federal which has been hard for everyone to believe…even us. He was at Newton Federal for 7 years and loved his job but God had different plans for our family and he was called to Community Capital Bank. He is currently working mostly from home and drives to Jonesboro once a week for loan committee meetings. He still basically has the same job, Commercial and Construction lending but no longer will do home loans. He is getting used to working from home and so are we. He gets up early before we do and heads upstairs and I tell Evan that Daddy is at work just like normal.

Evan is so intuitive. He once saw Clay’s keys lying on the kitchen counter and said, “Daddy, no go work…Daddy’s keys right dare.” One day Clay came down stairs and opened and closed the front door as to “trick” Evan into thinking he had just come inside. Evan said, “Daddy no go work like dat”…because Clay had on his pajama pants. Yesterday, we drove past Newton Federal and Evan said, “Daddy work gone gone dare, no work dare anymore…Daddy work upstairs!” Boy, did we really have him fooled. Ha ha

March....On March 4th Evan said bye-bye to his baby bed and is now sleeping in his big boy twin bed. He was so excited to get to sleep in a "big boy bed" and still loves it. He also loves he step stool which he calls "his ladder" which makes him feel even bigger becuase he can use a ladder. He loves the fact that he has said bye bye to both his bed and his high chair and is very quick to tell you that he is a big boy now. In also went back to the aquarium again. What fun! Evan loves it. We have been twice now. We also celebrated my birthday. I used to tease Clay about “pushing 30” and now he is getting me back. It was so wonderful to finally celebrate my birthday as a Mommy with my child home with me! The last two birthdays that I have had I was a Mommy but my child was in Russia. Thank you Lord for the most precious gift ever!

My baby boy is getting so big! The little bit of baby that we had when we first got home is now gone. He is a busy, busy boy! He loves to run and play outside and would swing for hours. He loves to play baseball with his Daddy. Thanks to our dear friends, Ken and Cindi Malcolm he has his own baseball tee and is pretty good for a 2 ½ year old.

Here are some of my latest favorite Evan Moments…
I was getting him dressed to go to church one day in February. I was putting the cutest little Bailey Boys jumper on him, when he said, “Arrrrrr, My not wear dis, my wear my Man shirt.” I was determined that he was going to wear it so he did and was fine with it. After church we came home and put him down fro his nap, when he woke up we asked him if he wanted to go see Grandpa…Evan’s reply was, “My not wear dis!” as he tugged on his jumper.

We were shopping a Stride Rite when he told me that the shoes that I was trying on him were girls shoes…he wanted man shoes. By the way, they weren’t girl shoes…they were navy leather sandals…which we did buy. J

Evan is beginning to talk about God a lot which is the sweetest thing in the world. One day we were driving down the road listening to one of his kid cds. The song said, “There’s a little dog a barkin’ in heart, in my heart, woof woof.” And out of the blue Evan said, “There not a dog in my heart, God in my heart.” Of course, you know me…I started to cry. He tells me every night as we says his prayers that God keeps him safe. In fact tonight as Clay was putting him down, they noticed that the bulb in his airplane lamp had blown, Evan said “God keep me safe” like he was saying that’s okay…I’m not scared. He talks about God being “high in the sky” and watching him. He knows that God made everything and sometimes out the blue will say, “God made Eden (Evan), Mommy, Daddy, dogs, trees, light, tractor, etc.” Naming whatever he can think of at the time. Sometimes he will name our whole family.

We rejoiced on his “Forever Day” on April 7th…The day that God forever reunited us together. As I sit here now it is now his Adoption day! I can’t sleep and it is 4 am so it is 5 pm in Irkutsk. This time last year we were celebrating our victory at the German Restaurant with our facilitators and with the director of the baby home. We could not wait to get back to the apartment to see Evan…he was now officially Evan Denis Hodges. Hearing the judge say those words in her thick Russian accent was priceless. We finally made it back to the apartment around 6pm and we started calling our family to tell them the good news. I have to stop typing now to cry a bit and to think God for what he has down for us. We know that it wasn’t the judge who granted the adoption of Evan but it was our precious father above. Thank you Lord!

We have a special weekend ahead of us as we hunt eggs, celebrate Easter and celebrate Evan’s adoption. I will post about it next week so please check back

Thanks for reading…we would love to hear from you.
Brandi

What a Very MERRY Christmas it was!

We are so blessed to have had such a wonderful Christmas and to have Evan home with us. We are truly thankful for each and every moment of it.

Evan was unlike a lot of children his age; he gladly sat with Santa Claus. It just so happened that we saw Santa Claus a few times in town too, twice at El Charros, once in Wal-Mart and at church with Am Ma and Am Pa. (Yes, Santa is watching…he seems to be everywhere). When it came time to sit in Santa’s lap we had to hold Evan back to wait his turn in line. He was very excited to sit in his lap, which he did on two different occasions. The first was when we went to have his picture made with Santa and the second was on our trip to ride the train at Stone Mountain.

We had a ball at Stone Mountain riding the train and seeing Santa. We took Wesley with us and we all had so much fun!

Evan loves to tell people Merry Christmas, which sounds a little more like
“Mere Kima” as he says it with a huge smile on his face!

Evan has been so excited about Christmas coming and in fact was beginning to grow quite impatient with Santa Claus. When asked what Santa was going to bring him, he would quickly reply “A choo-choo” and when asked what else he was going to bring, it would be… “A tractor and a truck.” We made sure Santa knew that was on his list. Just a few days before Christmas he told us that Santa was going to bring him “Some new Scrub-Scrub” (soap). How funny, is that!?! He wanted soap for Christmas. Santa Claus had to make up for the last two Christmases and boy did he ever. What Fun! One of his favorite gifts from Santa is “A Shave” (shaving kit). Evan now loves to shave with his Daddy using the play kit that Santa brought him. He thinks he is so big now. Christmas Eve he climbed up in his Uncle Brent’s lap and touched his face. Evan said “Owe, Go Shave”. What a mess, he is!

Another favorite toy is his choo-choo that he got…or I guess I should say, choo-chooS. He got a Thomas the Train set and train table from Mimi and Pops, another train set from Aunt Carman and Uncle Billy, one from Santa and a Thomas the Train Aqua Doodle from Momi. Needless, to say he got his Choo-Choo, but the neatest thing is that he knows who gave him which train. Yesterday, Clay pointed to the train set in his room and said, “Did Santa bring you your choo-choo?” He looked at Clay like he was crazy and said, “No Daddy, dat Mimi choo-choo, Ana Claus choo-choo in dare!” And he was exactly right the train that Santa brought him was in the other room. He also enjoys his John Deere Buck that Am Ma and Am Pa bought him though yesterday was really the only pretty day that we have had for him to be outside. When it is warmer he will really enjoy it. Evan already had a motorized Ford F150 that some friends gave him right when we got home. Yesterday, he rode in circles…one circle on his new Buck and one circle in his truck taking turns as not to upset the other one. Ha ha

Several people have asked us if he was overwhelmed at all (as many children who were adopted and new to home would be) but he was not at all. He loved every minute of it and had a ball. The funny thing is, I guess I should have been concerned about him possibly being overwhelmed but since he has adjusted so well it never even crossed our minds. Evan is a typical 2 ½ year old little boy, though he has been home for less than 8 months it is as if he has lived here all of his life. Everything about him is that way; his speech is even on target with other 2 year olds which seems to really please our pediatrician (and us too of course).

Of course, we know the true meaning of Christmas is not about Santa Claus and the gifts. Evan will quickly tell you that it is Jesus’ birthday. We bought a cookie cake and had Happy Birthday Jesus put on it and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Evan loved singing Happy Birthday and still sings it each day. As he sings… “to you” it sounds like “choo-choo”. It is so sweet and cute. Yesterday, when I put him down for his nap he started singing it when I walked out of the room, almost as if he was thinking… “Come on Mommy, how can you resist this?”

With Christmas being on a Sunday this year Clay was off Monday and his normall day on Tuesday. It was so nice to get to spend so many days together as a family. We began taking down the trees and other decorations...what a job that is. Evan had a thin 6 ½ foot tree with colored lights in his room with lots of ornaments that we made together and that he made at school. He loved his tree and I was a bit worried about how he might handle taking it down but like always he just moved with the flow. He was happy to help take the ornaments off for a few minutes, but then he sat down and started reading books while Clay and I finished. He can be very good at entertaining himself at times. Whenever he reads a book instead of saying The End, he says “Amen.” We enjoyed listening to him read and watching him so much as we took down the tree.

We had a wonderful Christmas and are so thankful to God for blessing us with it and for the birth of his son Jesus Christ. We continue to pray for all of the children and families waiting who weren't together during Christmas. We pray for you and we never forget about you.

Love,
Brandi

Evan should be taking a nap right now but....

Evan is supposed to be taking a nap and I am upstairs checking email. I can’t seem to check email for laughing at him so I just had to post. Evan started a steroid medicine today for his cough and congestion which seems to have wired him and he doesn’t want to take a nap. I can hear him shouting…. “Mooooooommy, I waaaaaaaant ouuuuuuut!” And then he says, “Yeah Baby” “Yeah Baby” Yeah Baby” so I went to peak in at him and he is throwing his Woody doll up in the air and trying to catch it. Oh boy is he so funny. What a joy! He normally takes a wonderful nap and goes down easily both for naptime and bedtime....which is why this is so funny to me.

One more thing to add…Evan is growing impatient with Santa Claus. Yesterday, we were watching Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus gave a train to a little boy. Evan jumped off of the sofa onto the floor and ran close to the TV; he hit himself in the chest and shouted, “No, Ana Claus dat mmmmyyyy choo-choo!” Too funny!

Such a joy...

We have now been home with Evan for 133 days. The scared little boy that we picked up at the orphanage that day has transformed into a tireless two year old, with limitless energy and enthusiasm that begins every day when he wakes up and doesn't subside until bedtime. No longer do we get the little baby cry when he wakes up in the morning. Instead, we get "mama...tu mere", or "daddy...I want out". His tantrums are extremly rare now and lead him to "time out" where he sits (as if his behind is glued to the floor) until we let him up. He wipes his eyes and says "no cwy", and then we get back to our activity as if nothing happened. He enjoys Thomas the Train, and he also understands that with TiVo, Mama and Daddy can never give the excuse that "it's not on right now". He loves to swim, ride in the golf cart, and go on walks with his mom. He explodes with excitement every time they go by a construction site. He loves anything that makes noise. He is almost completely potty trained now, with only the occasional accident, and even though it is an occurence that happens several times daily, he never hesitates to give himself a round of applause after a successful trip to the potty. We were warned throughout this process of the rough adjustments that many families face while the child becomes acclimated to his new surroundings, and while Evan is a two year old boy with a strong will and a hard head, he is such a joy to have home, and is completely adjusted.

My new favorite Evan story happened just a few days ago. He is recently recovering from a bout with strep throat. He woke us up crying late last Saturday night. Brandi and I got up and gave him medicine, sprayed his throat, and then put him in bed with us for a while. He cried and coughed pitifully until his medicine kicked in, at which time he became playful. Then, without any coaxing from us, put his hand on each of our faces and said "thank you mama, thank you daddy." as if to say...you fixed it.

He is begining to put words together to form sentences. His newest sentence is "I want____" not at all in a demanding way, just a sweet little boy telling you what he wants. He is loving school and looks so cute in his new school uniform.

Brandi completed her master's degree this month in Reading and Literacy Instruction but still has no desire to go back to teaching school. Right now she has the most important student she could ever have and is loving every minute of it.

On August 19th we went to the airport to welcome home the Groff family. Thank you all for praying for them. We met Anicka, and Evan was reunited with her. Evan instantly remembered her, they used to eat, play and sleep next to each other everyday. Evan began jabbering to her so fast...it was like he was saying "Welcome home, You are going to love it here....it is awesome." We have plans to visit them next week and can't wait.

Irkutsk Update: Our Judge, Judge Kotkina has retired and a new judge has been appointed. Her name is Mrs. Stepanova. Please continue to pray for families of Irkutsk and for the new judge also. With the new judge in office, we are hoping to hear of court dates soon.

Please leave us a comment, we enjoy reading them. Your comments will be part of this wonderful treasure for Evan one day.

The Hodges...family of 3!