Baseball and Snakes

If you asked him, maybe two of his favorite things to do and see in America. There is no baseball in Latvia and he enjoys swinging a bat at furious speeds in order to send the little ball soaring into the air or at your head if you aren't careful and paying attention. And, I've been informed that the snakes here are much bigger and more plentiful! Like I've said before, 200% boy. This week, he saw some snakes at Fernbank, thus the large snake picture! He also got invited to a batting cage in Cartersville where the owner teaches with Jon. He really liked that and we escaped without any injuries but minor ones, a success in my book. We also took him to see the new Harry Potter Movie. Please don't send me Harry Potter hate email... I know! But, considering the kid recognizes very few things in this country and since it was in English, we went. Everywhere there was a Harry Potter sign, he would point it out to us. I think he ate more movie popcorn than Jon. So, I'd say he liked the experience. I don't know if he's ever done a theater like that before. Let's see, what else... he went to school for football practice twice with Jon this week. Jon said he was like a kid in a candy store in the weight room. The kicking coach taught him how to kick field goals. Yesterday, he and Jon went through the car wash, he was crazy about that! Today, we went bowling and he was surprised at how many lanes there were. I think he had gone bowling before; he had a crazy throw, but it worked from him. He had a meltdown Wednesday and his behavior was pretty rough for both Jon and I, but we all survived. He is showing improvement in giving and receiving affection and trusting us, both are good signs that his carefully guarded "wall" is coming down a little at a time. Continue praying as we close out these last days with him. We pray we've taught him, disciplined him, loved him and pampered him in all the ways God led in order to demonstrate what his heart and life needed during this time.