CHI Easter Open House

Greetings everyone! It has been so long since we have done a blog post. Time seems to be flying by as the days get warmer and longer. Things here at the Fritsche household are going extremely well. It is amazing how time and experiences knit a family together. Even though it has been only seven months since Slav and Sergei have joined us, Joel and I can hardly remember life without them.

Slav is doing so well in preschool. His teacher even stopped me as I dropped him off and mentioned how wonderful he was and how happy they were that Slav was there. I smiled that "Proud Mama" smile. My boy is just amazing! He is also dealing with losing some teeth and has had his first forays into the world of the "tooth fairy" (He LOVES the dollar store!)

Sergei is also growing and maturing right before our eyes. He is really working on following directions and being helpful. He and I have recently spent a lot of time reading "blooks" He knows all his ABC's and is very inquisitive about the things we discover in books. He is never far from my side and we have plenty of good laughs together. He is so unstoppable. Nothing gets him down.

Joel is done traveling for work for awhile, so we are very glad that our family will be together for a few months. A couple of weeks ago, Joel travelled to Seattle for work. He was able to see the Greens, the family we met in Vlad on our first trip. Rich, Helen and their son Roman took Joel on a whirlwind tour of Seattle. Roman lived in the same baby home as Sergei. What fun to keep in touch with all of the wonderful people we've met through the journey of international adoption!

Yesterday we went to Children's Hope International to join them in an Easter celebration. It was so wonderful to see how many children have found families through this agency! We know the families that we saw weren't even a small percentage of the people that Children's Hope International has helped. Praise God for CHI!

While we were at CHI the boys got to color some Easter pictures, hunt for Easter eggs, see the Easter bunny, marvel at a REAL fire truck, and play with a huge parachute. They had such a fantastic time! We also enjoyed talking with other people who have adopted children. It is so neat how everyone has their own story and every story is unique. This is one reason we have enjoyed looking at blogs so much.

Speaking of blogs and blog friends, we want to wish the Overstreets a happy and safe journey as they head to Vladivostok to pick up their son. He is in the baby home where Sergei lived. We are so happy for you! God be with you! Say Hi to Lana and Irina for us!

Being at CHI and reading other adoption stories has given us pangs of nostalgia that we aren't in the adoption process anymore. It was such a big part of our life for 2 and 1/2 years. We are looking forward to the day when we can adopt a sister for Slav and Sergei. My sister is pregnant and the other day Slav said " Mom, where' s your baby?" I said "You and Sergei are my babies." We know it takes planning and saving on our part for our family to grow. God's timing is perfect and we pray that should it be His will our family will grow once more in the not to distant future.

God's Blessings to you all as you ponder Jesus' passion this Holy Week. Here are some family pictures. Enjoy!

Love,

Joel, Clarion, Slav, and Sergei