Our Cate is 17 today...

She has been home 4 yrs Dec. 5. We helped her celebrate her 13th birthday in Ukraine 4 yrs ago and she reminded us of this tonite... "Do you remember 4 yrs ago at this time we were eating my birthday cake?" She is also one that others might say we took a chance on adopting... an older child, a teenager who grew up her whole life in the orphanage... but you know what we sure are glad we did.... because she is a beautiful , sincere, deeply loyal and caring young lady... who loves the Lord and wants to serve Him with her life.

She was born to a 13 yr old mom and given up at birth. She has a strong personality, a leader and giver and natural server. When we adopted her the teachers and director said to work her hard... that she loves to work in the garden, carpentry, cleaning . We thought that was an odd comment to say to us but that is how they treated her.... we picked her up in the am one day on our visits and she had taken the huge tapestry rug down from the wall that was in their room... they waited until we brought her back at nite for her to put it back up... now she can work and work hard but she is so much more than they gave her credit ... because they had her work all the time she was not very strong with her school work. She did not know her times tables or how to multiple simple math problems. She has a very loud voice when she wants to and is sort of bossy well lots bossy... but actually that has been one of her strengths...

Now she has come up to grade level in math and reads well too. She can write but still struggles in this area. When Mary Kate had Ava Cate learned about another part of herself... she is a huge nurturer... she loves babies and children and is very gentle and a natural mothering type to them. She is also my right hand person... I can always depend on her to make sure things are done at home if I am gone... she would make a great nurse... she anticipates before someone needs something... she is sensitive to others needs and wants to help others. She can be crazy and goofy but she is also the one who volunteers to take part in an activity... she is loved by the leaders in her youth group as well as her friends. This story shows alot about her personality... once on a retreat one of the leaders lost their cell phone... All the other girls sat in the car but Cate is the one who is doing... helping to find it. She will carry all the luggage and pack it and orgainize others... she loves music and is on the drama team at church. She is an out there personality but is happy also being a behind the scenes type too.

Her transition into the family was easy... she had a teacher whom she loved and she felt loved by her so we are grateful for her ability to attach. She is deeply attached to her family and will help other siblings with their needs or behavior much like Joseph does.. Actually they are from the same orphanage and adopted at the same time with Leah and Joseph... but not bio. siblings.

Sure she was a teenager with a past and even the director did not want us to adopt her with Joseph because they did not get along well in the orphanage setting... but now you would never know that... they are fiercely attached to each other and would defend each other to anyone who hurt or challenged their sibling... they are a team on many positive activities... it was them who came up with the idea and put most of our adoption shower together... they are also going with us when we pick up Gracie and Andrew. It should be a meaningful trip for both of them. She has shared in church and at a conference I spoke at about her desire for others to adopt older, teens. She knows what it is like for them back in Ukraine. So if you are considering adoption and want to speak to her or us about older or teens email us... we would love to encourage anyone to at least open their heart to this as a possibility...

In the picture of her hugging me... that was tonite after she opened her presents and we were going to eat her cheesecake.. she came over to me and thanked me and just wanted to hug... then her tears flowed... she is such a sensitive one... I just love her!