The Last Few Years

For those of you who have wondered if we are still around....yes, yes we are. As with most things life gets in the way and we have failed to update this blog. Alena is now a beautiful, smart, wonderful eighteen year old, who unfortunately has the flu today! School's are a breading ground I tell you...sorry just a rant.

The past few years have been an amazing adventure. As they say some good and some bad, but for us some great and some really bad. We lost my youngest brother to cancer and with Alena only being in our family for two years it was a hard loss. You see, loss is a very common equation with adoption. For whatever reason your amazing child ends up in your life, it is by loss. Either the physical loss of a parent or loss of love. Whatever the reason, even if your child is adopted when small, there is loss. For Alena, loss is something she really has not dealt with. Like most amazing kids she plows right through, and to be honest that is not such a bad thing.

Loss is inevitable in this world and knowing that it is a part of the world is a much easier way to deal with it, then wallow in it. Even so, it will always come up so as I tell Alena be proactive and journal about it, talk about it. If you can write about it, or talk to someone then I really believe that you can deal with it. We all have to mourn. Mourning really isn't the issue, it is whether you come out of that period that is.

Kevin's passing was a time for us to talk about loss. Unfortunately our daughter is headstrong and thinks some things we talk about are weird, hence the cultural difference and the short time she is with us, so two years later we talked about it again. This time it is different. The holidays are a hard period for anyone who has loss in their life so Alena knows that she has to come to grips with the loss of her mom, and is mature enough this year to do so.

It is really wonderful how this beautiful girl, still little in some ways, is so much a part of us. Adoption is such a wild ride. I am not sure if it is the same with a younger child, but with a teen it really is crazy sometimes. Crazy, yet the most amazing gift. For those of you who think of adopting a teen, go for it. I cannot promise it is easy, nothing of substance is, but it is really special and important. In our case we knew we may not affect her future as much as we would like, but we could try and in the meantime love the "crap out of her"!

Since coming to us as a 72 pound fourteen year old, Alena has blossomed. Having a beautiful eighteen year old is no small feet for a dad, ha-ha! Watch out boys, Joe is around!!! Seriously, she is so smart, and thinking beyond the next moment to a real life. One that she may never have had back in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is a great country, just so different than the US. For Alena she has a real chance at an amazing life and she is starting to understand that now.

As I said in an earlier post, she wishes to write. As soon as she is up and running, she will update this blog. Also in the meantime if you wish to see what is going on with us all, check out our website-www.thesantaclub.net. Just before Alena came home I wrote a Christmas book that answers the question, Is Santa Real? It is a truthful and amazing little story for parents to share the wonder of Christmas and the tradition of Santa. Along with that you can follow her brothers Jonathan and Jameson on www.imdb.com

The guys are continuing their adventures in Hollywood and can be seen and heard all over the entertainment world, Internet and traditional. They are older now, 21 and very soon to be 20. Not kids like when we spent the month in Kazakhstan. They are men and really great guys. They still give their sister advice, much to her displeasure, but they love her and she really is their sister in every way.

Until then please feel free to contact us through this blog or at office@thesantaclub.net. We pray this holiday season is a true blessing. May God Bless You and Keep You always,

Kelly Moss