Art Co-Op

Nothing says Halloween like a mask.  The second installation of this year's Art Co-Op was a huge success.  We had a ton of fun and we are more than ready for Halloween!

Flash Back Friday

Dossier - Check!

Our Ethiopian Dossier is finished.  AAI makes it VERY easy, and with a little help from our friends and family in the states the paper chase took almost no time at all.  Everything is in the mail and should be in Washington in a week or two.  For the moment, it feels great to be finished with signature collecting.  I will say that dossier #3 did not produce the same amount of drama and crisis that dossier #1 created.  It was more along the lines of GITRDONE.

With the race to the paper finish line crossed, we can now begin the prepare for a new family member stage.  Oh how I LOVE this stage.   The best part is the opening of our hearts to another child, sister, brother, friend, son, daughter.   It is just fun to dream and long and wait for the one that is to come.  This stage was HARD with Noah but now we have learned to treasure it.  Bring on the wait!!!

So who are we waiting for?  We decided to switch agencies from CHSFS and AAI after many months of research and soul searching.  What a big decision.  So far we are happy with AAI and glad to be where we are.  AAI serves a different kind of children.  We think this is the way things should be more often. Back to who we are waiting for...we are waiting for a child or siblings ages 0 to 7 years old.  We are open to either a boy or a girl or both.  With both our children we knew their gender before we knew them.  It's been fun to not know and just wait and dream about both possibilities.

Waiting might be the wrong word to use because there really is no wait for us.  This whole thing has happened so fast.  We are certain that the bump in the road is just around the corner but so far no bumps.  Brian and I are like minded in our decisions.  Paper work, money, health care are all coming together.    So awesome to feel so together as we move forward.  I'm glad that adding children to our family looks so different each time.  I checked the CHSFS waiting children list for months until our home study was complete and then emailed Peg the same day for more information about Noah. 20 minutes later we had our referral.  With Myra the wait was long, ever changing and hard on my spirit.  So many time lines, check lists and unmet expectations (all created by me). But we needed that time to get our relationship with Christ, marriage, family, jobs in a better place.  Myra came home at the best time.  This time I'm letting go of the time lines, checklist and expectations, and having so much more fun.  Umut is the waiting name we've given this child (Noah's was Enoc, Myra's was Baby O).  Umut is Turkish for Hope.  Our child, Umut, is on AAI's waiting list waiting to belong to someone, some place, some how. We just can't wait to meet!

Home Study

Check!

Domestication

After spending my teens and twenties more concerned with improving the accuracy of my assault rifle, I find it widely amusing (as does my family) that I now take great pleasure in all things domestic.  I had my first lesson in sewing today and it was wonderful.  Almost as satifying as leading men into battle.

I finished the shell of this super cute dress and will put the finishing touches on next week during my lesson.  I might even get to start on my next project! I will admit the seams are not straight and the overall quality of the dress is not great... but whatever Myra is only one and no one really cares!  I mean it's not like I have to hit the bulls eye every time...

Wordless Wednesday

Flashback Friday

Peter The Great - King of Narnia

I love costumes and Halloween is such a fun holiday...I think we will wear costumes all month!

What can I say?

Three weeks in paradise is almost too much.  We had a great time and really enjoyed each other.  I didn't think we could live in a hotel room but the kids did great and it is always nice to have a daily maid service.  My top ten highlights from the trip -

*Undistracted family time.  We are now officially in love with Myra.  The falling in love stage is over and it's head over heals for all of us.  I think she is in love with us too.

*Sushi in the sand

*Myra's almost walking and crawling like a pro

*Daily Hawaiian Ice (Noah asked for latte flavor...meaning vanilla...soo cute)

*Family bed - nice for vacation but I'm glad to have my bed back

*Playing Pirate in the actual open sea

*Meeting my online friend Carmen in real life - forgot the camera so no pics but it was a true highlight to meet a like minded family that looks just like ours.

*5 to 8 hours a day poolside is a great way to live

*Myra's 5 new teeth in three weeks

*Noah learned how to swim underwater with confidence

San Diego was the last week of our trip.  It was a blessing to be with family after 8 months in Korea.  Brian's parents and my sister got to meet Myra for the first time and Noah was delighted to be the center of attention for a whole week.

Now it is back to "normal" life for a while.  Next month is birthday month at our house and I can't wait to celebrate both Noah's and Myra's births.  We are almost finished with our Home Study and Dossier - we might even finish next month!  Home schooling is going great and we really love it.  Noah is learning and growing in so many ways.