Hi from the Marsh family! Things are getting better each day, and some of the struggles that made the first days so difficult are becoming distant memories. Yes, there are still a lot of whimpers and whines, but we actually got photo proof of the boys holding hands and looking angelic...

The boys are still eating everything we put in front of them. Here they are staring at the kitchen waiting for Mummy to bring out the vittles. We've learned to minimize the whining by preparing all the food that we can before the boys know it is time to eat. Conner entertains us each morning by proclaiming, "I like bananas!"

We are pleasantly surprised at some of the things the boys are not messing with in the house. The picture above shows the cat's food just to the right of their favorite pre-meal hangout. The first picture shows the antique gas fireplace and the indoor fishpond in the living room. These are all things we hope they continue to ignore!

Carson's first American birthday! He decided to invite only Conner and his parents to the party. Here he is licking the icing off his plate. The boys haven't had much supersuger in their diet, so they got a treat of a small cupcake with icing and sprinkles. The cupcakes were finger-licking good, so we were uncharacteristically messy. Loved it!

The boys are so grateful to friends and family for the fantastic gifts they've received since coming home. Here, Conner is sporting a custom made towel sent by Mandy Mancini, a long time friend from the Marsh's lake house. They use them at night when we do our new ritual of bath, book and bed. With the new ritual in place, the boys have been going to sleep at 8 p.m. and waking at around 7 a.m. with minimal or no late night interuptions.

The boys got dressed up last week to get a family portrait done. Believe us, we would not have attempted a family portrait so soon after returning home with the boys, but the church is doing pictures for their directory, so last week was it. The boys did quite well, but we still have to teach them to smile before the flash goes off, rather than after...

So, we're starting our fourth week home, and starting to get into the groove. The boys still take 120% of our energy, but they are beginning to enjoy their new parents and their new surroundings. All four of us are learning how to communicate with each other, and learning how to teach and respect boundries. We watched some of the video we took in Krasnoyarsk, and it is starting to feel like a long, long time ago. We hope it feels that way for the boys too!