o.k., we're ready

So...we're ready to get Grace now. We got our LOA, David finished making her little bed, she's got a rocking chair, a basket of toys, a basket of books, a bunch of cute little clothes hanging in the closet (thanks to cousin Selah and little Elayne for most of these hand-me-downs) and six very enthusiastic family members waiting for her..what else could a little girl need?!

Hmmm...I guess that we do need TA and a consulate appointment. We've known for awhile that it is unlikely that we will be able to get a consulate appointment before November, but we also know that our God is all about working miracles on a regular basis. We'd love to have her by October 15th (Grace's 4th birthday).


Thank you so much to all of you who left messages after we received our LOA. I cannot tell you how encouraging it is to me that there are people who care about our little girl and who are praying for her. I have truly been blessed by your kind words!

Soon...very soon!

Our LOA came today!!!! It won't be long now until we can hold our precious little Grace in our arms. I tell you, there is a very excited crew of kids (and adults) at our house right now!

This is the first picture that we ever saw of Grace. It was on AAC's website. My mom was visiting us for Thanksgiving, at the time, and I showed her this picture. I jokingly said, "This could be your next grandchild."

Now, by the grace of God, this offhand comment is being realized! I am so grateful! Isn't she a doll?! I can't wait to kiss those sweet little cheeks.

A very special day

August 30th is a very special day in our home. It is Yana's birthday (she turned 11 today), my birthday (I turned 38!) and Lily's adoption day! This year, Lily opted to celebrate her adoption day on the 31st, as it was actually the 31st when we got her in China (it was the 30th in the U.S. and we have always said that she was my birthday gift). This is our 3rd year with Yana, and I really wanted to focus on her birthday this year. She is 11 years old and hasn't had that many birthdays celebrated, so we wanted to make it special.

We went to The Butterfly Pavilion first. It was so much fun. None of the kids, except Adam, had been there. And Adam was only two when he had gone, so he didn't really remember it. We had free passes from the summer library program, so it worked out really well.

Then, we went to Cinzettis for lunch. Oh my, that was good! On the way home, we got Yana's friend, Naomi, from her house. Then David and the kids swam (at our neighborhood pool that's just a block from our house), we had dinner and some friends came over for ice cream cake. It sounds like a busy day, but it actually wasn't too crazy. Yana had a good time and I am so glad for her. She is a precious, wonderful girl. She has a servant's heart and truly cares about others. Happy Birthday, beautiful Yana!


Tomorrow we are making Chinese food and playing Chinese games, as well as singing "Happy Adoption Day" quite boisterously! We'll probably swim in the afternoon since this is the last weekend for the pool to be open. Happy Adoption Day, sweet and precious Lily! I am so grateful to have you as a daughter! What a gift you are to us!

Still Waiting

Our LOA is supposed to be in the mail, and we will hopefully receive it by the end of the week. Apparently, we are being grouped together with some other folks from our agency. These families are also adopting special needs children from Grace's orphanage. This is probably why we did not receive our LOA sooner. But, we are really happy that we will be traveling as a group. It will be wonderful to get to know some of the families who are adopting children from the same orphanage. Since Grace is almost 4 years old, I know that it will be meaningful for her to be able to continue relationships with children from her orphanage. We would just really like to get Grace before her 4th birthday. Please pray with us that God would make a way for her to join our family before October 15th.

What happened?!

Hey! What happened to that super-clean drawer? The boys got a new dresser and Jadon's organizational skills seem to be going downhill! LOL!

puppy love

These two are so alike. They are super affectionate and are completely and totally attached to me (I love it!). They are also both absolutely mischievous and love to get away with things. Aren't I blessed (especially with the dark-haired beauty with the cute little smile)?!

First day of school

We had our first day of school today and it went really well. We are using My Father's World, Exploring Countries and Cultures for our main curriculum this year. Adam has always loved geography so he did fairly well on the "pre-test" where the kids named the continents and countries. I am looking forward to having the other children learn more about the world. After all, we really are an international bunch! Besides my two from China and one from Ukraine, I am also tutoring our friend's daughter, who is from Kazakhstan.

We filled out "passport applications" and the kids were really excited, as they just got their real passports in the mail recently. Of course, Yana, wrote "Russia" as her birthplace. Am I ever going to be able to convince this girl that she is from Ukraine?!

Tomorrow will be fun. We will try to flatten a mandarin orange to show how it is difficult to depict a round earth on a flat map. We'll also start learning the continents (I really have taught the continents to all of my kids in the past, but hmmm....they just don't seem to remember all of them!). My friend, Lisa, will be here tomorrow to do science with all of the kids. We will be constructing various environments.

We started spelling and handwriting today and I'm doing math with the young ones. David will be doing math in the evenings with Yana and Adam, but he is at a Randy Clarke conference tonight (can't wait to hear about it when he gets home!). We didn't get our language arts books that I ordered yet, but that was just as well. Our day was pretty full. Yana had piano lessons and Lily and Adam had violin lessons. And, of course, we had our afternoon "quiet time" (an absolute must for mom, even if the kids don't need it!).

I am enjoying the order and structure of school (of course, this is only the first day!). We had a great summer, but I'm glad that we're back into more of a routine now.