Andre also known as AJ

AJ has the cutest smile. When we went to Ukraine to get Ben, a little boy with no front teeth, carrying a purse, and had drool running down his chin tugged the back of my shirt. I turned around and he smiled up at me. He was adorable. Little did I know, less than a year later he would not be a cute little boy in Ukraine but MY OWN cute little boy, right here at home. He was like a feral cat when he came home. He has come a LONG LONG WAY since then. When he walked in the door at home, finally, after a long travel, he saw Ben and went right to him and hugged him. He remembered him and called him by his Ukrainian name. They were long lost brothers at heart. To this day they share a room, wear same clothes, and love to match like twins. Their birthdays are exactly one month apart so except for that one month of the year they are twins. He is 10. He was 5 the first time I met him. He is a snuggling little boy. He LOVES nothing more than working with dad outside. He loves to garden. He loves shelling beans. He does not love spaghetti. or squash. but he has gone from throwing up at the sight of squash to eating it with a wrinkled up nose. That's progress. He is in third grade this year. He struggles with academics but he works hard and LOVES going to school. He rarely has behavior trouble at school. He thrives on routine, and vacations and late arrival days are very confusing to him. He loves his doll and hugs her when he is sad. He likes to help me care for the chickens. Even after the rooster attacked him and scared the daylights out of him, he lobbied for us to keep the rooster and not butcher him for the freezer. He knows the chickens are for food, and he was ok with the others going, but not with killing this one because he had been mean. He tries hard to be a good boy. sometimes he forgets his manners but he does try to be sweet and loving little guy.