Alex came up for breakfast today and said, "hey, my dreams last night were in the English language!" It's May 24th which means he's been here exactly five months. Alex's English has drastically improved over the last week or so. His reading and writing have also improved substantially. Alex gave an oral report (with props and exhibits) on Denmark a few days ago. He reported that his teacher was very impressed and asked the other children what it would be like to go to Ukraine and give a report in Ukrainian in only five months.

Don't get me wrong, there's still challenges, but all in all he's doing really well. He seems to be getting along better with his peers, doesn't complain much about what we feed him, and fights very little when it's time for reading and homework.

Alex was baptized a couple weeks ago and was ordained a deacon yesterday. He seems as if he's taking it very seriously. He's excited to pass the sacrament this Sunday.

We spoke to Eric Saturday evening. He is scheduled to fly to Bagdad Tuesday morning for a couple of weeks. He says the heat there is tough to handle, 112 degrees for a few days. He said it's cooled a little. They have a swimming pool, but his group works such long hours that he never gets a chance to enjoy it.

We're gearing up for Gage's wedding in two weeks (June 5). It snowed today, and not just a little. But, the nice thing about spring snowfalls is the snow's gone in an hour or less and the grass is all nice and green. We just hope the cold weather does not damage our flowers and vegetables we planted a few days ago.