365 People Pictures: Day 43--Just Happy, #2

Alexander, 14, at a recent wedding reception

When we saw the first picture of our son, Alexander, what struck us was this orphaned boy's smile. His grin reached all the way into his twinkling eyes. We wondered how could the then 10-year-old be so happy when he had already suffered so? We still don't have the answer to that profound question, even though he's been part of our family for 2-1/2 years now. His smile continues, and our wonder continues. We thank God for Alexander's happy outlook, no matter how mysterious. He's the former orphan with smile wrinkles. Go figure!

365 people Pictures: Day 33--An Unexpected Baby Lover

This is a favorite photo of our 14-year-old son, Alexander, and our granddaughter, Brielle, taken last week when we vacationed in Ohio.

We adopted Alexander from Russia when he was eleven. Until our daughter, Anna, and her husband, Aaron, had their daughter a year ago, Alexander hadn't had the opportunity to be around babies. And, boy, is he good with his niece! Of all the people in our large family, Alexander gets the quickest smile out of the one-year-old. She simply adores him, and the feeling is mutual. If God hadn't placed Alexander in a family, he never would have had nieces or nephews because he had no siblings in Russia. Now he has eleven, and that bodes of many, many nieces and nephews to love on as time goes by! God is so kind!

Project 366 -- Family & Flowers

Days 80 - 90

Our neighborhood's first tulip

Lissie playing with praise team on Easter Sunday

 

Daria (17)

Alexander (12)

Love the reflections of Daria and Amy in this water goblet

Noticed these "birds" of light created by my water goblet on our dining room table

Our beloved Aunt Jean calls these "Daffer-down-dillies"

Ready garage access for the many pairs of shoes used by the 12 in our family

Project 366 -- International Geographic

Days 69-71

After lunch clean-up is finished each school day, I read a chapter book to our four youngest, Alexander (12), Natasha (12), Amy (9), and Oksana (7). Today while I read a biography about British missionary William Carey, the youngest girls played with Play-Doh. Alexander dabbled happily at the Play-Doh, but his interest was truly sparked when I gave him a geography assignment.

The biography mentioned young Carey's fascination with William Cook's first-time exploration of the Western coast of Australia and the island of Tahiti. I asked Alexander to find Tahiti on our globe. I couldn't resist taking photos of his effort to find the elusive land form.

Even between the two of us we never did find Tahiti, but while I continued to read Alexander enjoyed exploring the globe further on his own. He is a dedicated, curious learner and a delight to our family.