Sasha

I want to share some of the sweet, funny, and sad things we have seen with Sasha so far.  He is a very  thoughtful, kind, quiet, and silly boy.  When he and Scott and Vitalik would go get something to eat when we were in Kyiv, sometimes I would stay in the room to do some other things.  Scott said Sasha was always concerned that I was not eating.  If at a meal, I did not have a drink, he would point it out and try to get me one.  It was very thoughtful.  He would share any food he did have with me or Scott very willingly.  Yesterday, a friend of Vitalik's brought his snack out to him so Sasha ran inside to get his.  He came back out, not having taken a bite of it, and offered the first bite to me.  How do you say no to that?!  Grimy hands and all.  :)  He is clearly very conscious of others having food.  When he sees a dog, he always stops to pet it for a moment.  He was very interested in our pictures of our dogs and wanted to know if they were trained.  I have no idea what he means exactly but he has every intention of training them for us once we get home!  He does not always say much but when he does it is so funny.  He loves rubbing Scott's hair and says he looks like a hedgehog.  When I was doing picture flashcards with him, we came to a picture of a monkey.  Sasha's ears stand out a little so I teasingly pointed to the monkey and said, "Sasha!"  He laughed and pulled his ears out even further and pooched his cheeks out.  One day, he and Scott were playfully arguing about something and Scott would say no and Sasha would say yes, back and forth.  And on one response, Scott switched to 'nyet' (Russian for no) and Sasha said, 'dah' (Russian for yes).  So Scott would switch back and forth and Sasha never missed a beat matching him language for language, smiling all the while.  He also will say, "Sasha Selmon, April Selmon, Scott Selmon, Vanya Selmon" (our facilitator) :).  It is too precious!  When we first met him, we gave him a photo album with pictures of our life.  We went through each of our 6 children at home and told him their names and ages once.  He has not told us their names again but he will point at their pictures and tell us each of their ages!  I can't always remember that and they are my kids!!  On our trip to Kyiv, we were crammed into this tiny car.  So he was usually in my lap.  At one point, he had one hand on Scott's shoulder (Scott was driving) and was holding my hand with his other.  He wanted a hand on each of us.  When the other children at the orphanage are crowding around, he is quick to intercede and tell them, "My mama, my papa."  Here and there he will look at me with his precious eyes and ask, "Sasha America?"  I think we can not come home quickly enough.  When Vanya asked him if any of his friends are pressuring him to stay in Ukraine, he responded, "I have no friends here."  Oh my heart.  We stayed in an apartment building in Kyiv that had an elevator, and he refused to go in it.  Every time, he and Scott would take the stairs.  And when we would venture out for walks, you could see him pull inwards, unwilling to talk to us or anyone.  He would just shut down.  I think there was just too much stimulation.  We will be staying home for quite a while once we get back to the U.S. and let him ease into our life.  He seems to have no fear at all of becoming our son and moving to the U.S., giving up his life here, his language, his culture.  What a brave little man he is.

When we started this process, I really felt and still feel, that God has two boys for us.  For now we will enjoy this guy as we wait for further direction.  Yesterday and today, this verse has come to me, through an email and then in a book I am reading.

Yet those who wait for The Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
     Isaiah 40:31

I am content to wait...