Real Farmers?

I had to laugh at an email I received this weekend. A friend from Reece's Rainbow made a comment that she thought it was so neat that we are potato farmers. ;) In her defense she had not yet seen this blog and why it is just a play on words. It did however get me thinking about our very small family garden. We not only have a ton of fun playing outside we also benefit from some wonderful produce (whatever is left after the bunnies eat their share anyway).



We have strawberries, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, watermelon, corn, radishes, purple and green cabbage, artichokes, soybeans, lemon basil, spearmint, cilantro, parsley, oregano and lavender. We also have some wonderful trees- avocado, lemon, lime, tangerine, naval orange, valencia orange, grapefruit, citrus salad, nectarine, white peach, yellow preach, fuji apple, fig, guava, and apricot. Oh yea, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries too.
Now I'm hungry :).

Pray for Emma

Tomorrow is a big day for little 5 year old, Emma Cornish (adopted from Ukraine earlier this year). Emma will undergo open heart surgery to heal her broken heart. We are specifically praying that Emma comes through the surgery, off the bypass machine, off the ventilator and home from the hospital with a new heart. Please join us also in praying for her mom and dad as well as the doctors and the nurses that will work on Emma.

Cause for Celebration

Today we received a missing puzzle piece, our I-171H (Immigration approval). Our WONDERFUL traveling Notary just left (it's 10:25pm). Tomorrow morning I will stop at the County Recorders office on my way to Los Angeles. After our document is Apostilled I will make my final trip to FED EX! We hope to have our Dossier submitted within the next two weeks!

Memories

Thanks to our special friend, Mr. Thomas and his extremely pregnant wife, we have wonderful family pictures. Baby M will finally have his picture up on our walls at home...4th child!

Conversations with the Kids

The following is a compilation of conversations that happened throughout our day today. Although they are very typical I wanted to write them down so that I will remember the sweetness and innocence of my children.

In the car on our way to visit friends:
Brooklyn: Mommy, can we talk about my birthday?
Mom: Sure, what do you think you want to do?
Brooklyn: Maybe a fairy party so that my hair can be pink with glitter.
Buddy: I coming to your party Brooklyn?
Brooklyn: Maybe, Buddy, ask Mama.
Buddy: I coming to Brooklyn's party, mama?
Mom: We'll see, Buddy.
Buddy: fake crying
Brooklyn: It's okay Buddy you can come if you dress like a fairy.
Buddy: Ok, Brooklyn.

In the car on our way home:
Buddy: Motorcycles are bad and scary.
Brooklyn: Buddy, they are so bad that you will die in a forest if you sit on them.
Buddy: Yea
Brooklyn: Mama, maybe I will have a motorcycle.
Mom: Do you want to die in a forest?
Brooklyn: I don't think I will get a motorcycle.
Mom: Good choice, Brooklyn.

A few minutes later:
Brooklyn: Mama do you think I could use Annie's Dora purse in my wedding?
Mom: Maybe, you could ask her. Are you planning on getting married soon?
Brooklyn: (laughing) Mom, I have to get my ring first.
Buddy: I want a ring. I want a big ring. I want a ring like Daddy.
Brooklyn: Who are you going to marry, Buddy?
Buddy: myself
Brooklyn: You have to marry somebody. But, you can't marry me or Mama or Bailey or Daddy or Tate or baby M or Papa.
Buddy: No Brooklyn, I marry myself.
Brooklyn: Okay Buddy but I don't know if it will work out.

Tonight at dinner:
Bailey: Dad, did you know that Mommy got to hold Baby Micah all day.
Daddy: Really?
Bailey: Yes!!! Baby Micah is the most sugary baby in the whole world.
Daddy: He's not more sugary than sweet baby M.
Bailey: Oh he is...I want to adopt him he is so sugary.

Bailey's comments from last week:
After standing at the Fed Ex counter for 30 minutes.
Bailey: Can you believe that the lady in here does that all day. If that was my job I would have to leave at 12:00. I would be so bored.
A few hours later.
Bailey: I know what my favorite job would be.
Mom: What?
Bailey: I would kiss baby M all day long.
Mom: Good luck finding someone who will pay you to do it! :)

Mike and Bailey talking during basketball:
Mike: Bailey, you are half Mom and half Dad.
Bailey: No, I'm all Mom and a crumb you.

Paper Baby

Our 'paper baby' was successfully delivered!

Ice Cream for Lunch

To be completely honest summer is not my favorite time of the year. Now don't get me wrong; let me explain. I love the weather, although we always have fabulous weather in Ventura. I love the carefree feeling of summer. I love summer clothes and summer type foods. What I don't like is the busy feeling that summer brings to our home. During the school year we enjoy sleeping in and reading books in bed. We love going to the library or the zoo without the summer crowds. Summer for us is filled with camps!!! The little ones and I have really missed Bailey during her camp days. She has missed us too!

To keep things interesting and fun we decide to make ice cream for lunch today. Brooklyn and Buddy did nearly all of it on their own. I was a very proud mama. When the ice cream was finished we ate it for lunch. Yes, FOR lunch!


Here is the recipe if you want to be known as the coolest mom in town.
To try it, you will need:

- milk
- sugar
- vanilla extract
- one quart plastic bags
- a one gallon plastic bag
- ice
- salt

Start with the quart sized bag. Pour in one cup of milk, one tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (we added chocolate syrup). Close the bag and shake it a bit to mix the ingredients. Put the sealed bag with the mixture into a larger plastic bag. Add enough ice to fill the larger bag about half full and then sprinkle about half a cup of salt onto the ice. Seal the large bag. Shake the bag for about 3 minutes. If you hands get cold, you can wrap the bag in a towel, or you can play "cold potato" by tossing it back and forth. Buddy and Brooklyn liked kicking the bags to each other.

After it is well frozen, open the large bag and pour out the ice and saltwater.
ENJOY!

Barefoot Sunday

Today was a really special day at church. During the summer our services at church are family friendly. For the past several family friendly services we have been giving to ministries throughout the community. Today's ministry collected new shoes for needy individuals. Mike took the kids shopping this week to get shoes for us to donate.

Here we are before church-


During worship, through music, we were instructed to bring our shoes up to the front. The kids had been anxiously awaiting this moment all week. The girls had even discussed who would eventually wear their shoes.

This is what we looked like once at home after leaving church barefoot-

PARIS

Our sweet little 'paper baby' just arrived safely in Paris, France!

No more papers!!!!

Many of you have been asking where we are at with Tate's adoption. So, since you have asked here is a little glimpse into the past week or so. Last week we put the final touches on our Dossier. A dossier is the pile of papers that gets sent to the foreign government with your official application to adopt (financial, background clearances, medicals, house info...). Once they were completed we had to have everything Notarized. The Notary's signature is not acceptable until it has been Authenticated. Which of course means I had to take all of our documents to both the Santa Barbara and Ventura County Recorders offices. Not done yet! Yesterday I drove all of our documents down to Los Angeles to the Secretary of State office. Each document needed to be Apostilled. This is a fancy term for your state government to certify everything which has already been certified. WHEW!!!

A very special thank you to the many individuals who took care of the kids while I ran this way and that.

Read the next post!

FED EX

Tonight the girls and I went on a celebratory date. Of course we had to start out our night with a little pampering, so we hit the nail salon for pedicures. The girls love getting their toes done. What girl doesn't, right? Brooklyn loves to get her toes painted black just like mommies. To add a little twist, and without my knowledge, she had little candy canes applied to her big toes. I thought it was quite odd until I saw Bailey's toes. She chose Christmas trees. When I asked her why she decided on the Christmas theme she said, "Mom, Christmas is only 5 months away". HMMMM, not sure what exactly she meant by that.?.

After our toes we went to the most important part of our evening.
FED EX
The girls and I were taking our 'paper baby' to it's next destination. Just the thought of allowing these papers out of my sight makes me emotional. The girls and I prayed over the papers before we got out of the car. Their prayers are always so heart felt. They asked the Lord to watch over the papers as they fly over the ocean. They also prayed that Tate would enjoy seeing the papers. -I don't think he is going to see them but it is thought that counts!



I think the girls sensed that I was having a hard time parting with the papers. Bailey started rubbing my back and Brooklyn kissed my check. Then, almost in unison, they both said they miss Tate. :( I miss him too girls!
They kissed the packaged and sent out their love...all the way across the world!



Mama had to kiss the 'paper baby' too.

Bragging just a little...

But this time it is not about my children. I have to take a moment to brag about my Aunt Karen. For as long as I can remember my sister and I have made fun of our mom for bragging about Aunt Karen. Mom is always saying something like...Karen makes the best cookies, Karen grows the most beautiful flowers, and (my favorite) my sister, Karen, picks the best fruit. Well, it's my turn to brag...my Aunt Karen makes the sweetest dresses! Case in point-this fabulous little number she made for Bailey to wear to History Class.


We love you Aunt Karen!

Dance Camp

It is official! Bailey is now DANCE GIRL. For a little background, Bailey has loved each camp that she is currently in more than the previous one. But while she is in camp she can't imagine anything comparing. Brooklyn had a wonderful time at camp too. She attending with two of her special friends Annie and Athina.

This video is Brooklyn's Dance. She is in the very front next to Athina. Annie is behind Brooklyn and to the left. I had a hard time filming all three girls because the woman in front of me kept moving her head.
(I guess Brooklyn's dance is too long for me to post. I need to figure out how to edit it- Justin???)

Bailey and Andonia are next to each other in this video. They had such a fun time together at camp.


And finally- this is the girls doing sign language to a song. I couldn't get Brooklyn on the video, she was too far away. Note: Athina is the cutie on the 3rd row that can't keep from dancing. :)

New Picture

Our Adoption Facilitator sent us a batch of pictures that he took of Tate back in March. Most of the pictures we had seen before but there were also a few new ones. This pictures is one of my favorites. His smile melts my heart :)

Mama

Could this be any sweeter? I never get tired of Baby M calling for me :).

Date Night

Brie and I took the girls out for a mother daughter date night. We started off with dinner at CPK. The four girls had their usual table- by themselves. :) Then we took them to see the new American Girl movie.


We are so blessed by their friendship!

Basketball Girl

Bailey easily and quickly switches from one passion to the next. This past week she was "Basketball Girl". Prior to this phase she was into running, horses, and sled dogs. This week she and Brooklyn are attending Dance Camp. I'll keep you updated if she changes from Basketball Girl to Dance girl.


Mike and the kids playing basketball in the front yard.



Bailey and her cheering squad at Basketball Camp.

Sponsor a Family

Check out our Family Sponsor Page!
www.reecesrainbow.com/sponsor_a_family.htm

We are located under- Our Adopting Families.

So Long Slide

These pictures were taken just before the water slide was returned due to several large holes. We used it for less than 10 hours but they were 10 WONDERFUL hours of fun and memories.

Brooklyn our Sweet Pot Pea

Brooklyn has a magnetic personality that EVERYONE loves to be around. She is affectionately named Pot Pea. We got the name after we started calling Bailey, Chicken Nugget. When Brooklyn was born we had a new 'chicken' who needed a name. We started off calling her 'Chicken Pot Pie' but it later changed to 'Sweet Pot Pea'. Brooklyn is such a sweetie I thought I would share a little bit of her personality. The picture above was taken yesterday after she spent the day taking care of her babies (two adopted and the others biological :)) Before I took the pictures she rattled of the names of each of them. In order from left to right (just the babies) WHATEVER, EMMA, EMMA, EMILY, TAYLOR and NELLIE O'MALLEY (twins) and BRIDGETTE.


This is a dance that Brooklyn performed for us tonight. She is wearing her most favorite skirt. She is a little sketchy on the wording except for one line that is supposed to say 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth'. Brooklyn's confident line says 'the FAMILIES and the earth'. Totally something that I would say :)

Success

Thanks to all who came to our lemonade stand the kids raise over $115.00 towards Tate's adoption. A few attendees (Pastor Dave and Papa) made such large donations that they were given 'all you can drink' lemonade! After it was all said and done Bailey asked if she had raised enough money that Tate would be able to finally come home :(. We miss him more than words can express and can't wait to complete our family. Thanks to each of you for your love and support.

Bailey's Feelings

Over the past few days Bailey has been talking about how much she misses Connor and Camille. We all miss them very much. I found the following picture under her pillow this morning. She must have made it before going to bed last night. Bailey has a very sweet and tender spirit.



(editors note: it seems she forgot to add a slip to my skirt in the picture!)

Prayer Warriors Outreach Project

James 5:16 "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

The Reece's Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry was created on the principles of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. His command to "defend the cause of the weak and fatherless" is our primary purpose and foundation. He also teaches us that prayer is a key part of our faith, that it is powerful and effective, and that our prayers are HEARD.

John 14:13-14 "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

Matthew 17:20 "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Through our Waiting Child and Family Sponsorship Grant Programs, Reece's Rainbow provides a very personal and meaningful way to change the course of a child's life. Individuals can watch the progress of that child as their family goes through each stage of the adoption process, and finally, through the family blog after they are home. But many people who love these orphaned children and passionately support this ministry are not in a position to adopt a child at this time. Some are not even in a position to sponsor them financially. But prayer is FREE and can be even more powerful than an adoption grant in finding an adoptive family, helping with fundraising, and seeking God's favor in the health and well-being of each child as they wait "at the end of Reece's Rainbow" for their forever family.

The Reece's Rainbow Prayer Warrior Ministry was created with three goals in mind:

1.To lift the daily needs of each waiting child up in prayer
2.To lift the ministry of Reece's Rainbow up in prayer
3.To lift the families whom God is preparing for each waiting child up in prayer


Prayer is a fabulous way to invest in the life of a child and in the ministry of Reece's Rainbow. Contact me if you have questions or for more information checkout www.reecesrainbow.com

Are bubbles really soap?

Buddy was playing investigator this afternoon. He wanted to see if bubbles were made out of soap. How did he figure it out? He had a little taste of them, silly.


I love playing with bubbles.

Hmm, I wonder what they taste like?





Yep, like I suspected. They taste just like Daddy's deodorant soap.

Happy 4th of July

We celebrated Independence Day with a BANG!
(video may take a minute to load completely)

Daddy's interview with Buddy

We wanted to make sure that we captured Buddy's sweet little voice. Now if only we could keep him this size forever. :)

Why we love GRANDPARENTS!

I couldn't come up with a more fitting title than 'Why we love grandparents'. The video speaks for itself but I will give you a little background anyway.

Papa came over this afternoon to see the new waterslide (that we got for him!). The kids were having so much fun that he decide to join them with his CLOTHES ON. The one thing that you may not be able to see in the video is just how wet the slide really is. There is a hose sprinkling from the top that gets everything soaked. The kids thought it was great! While Papa was in the garage getting something Grandma walked into the yard. She didn't hesitate for a second when Buddy asked her "Grandma, do you want to go swimming with me?". She handed me her watch and then walked right into the pool-jeans and all. This video was taken after both grandparents had been down the slide several times. So, what's the verdict? Does the title fit the subject matter?

Lemonade Info

Come prepared to enjoy this beautiful weather that we have had over the past few days.

We will probably have some water toys set up if you want to bring bathing suits for the kids. If you would like to hangout for a while we would love to visit. We will also be cooking hotdogs on the bbq if you want to stay for lunch. Please let me know if you think you will make it so that we can plan on having enough food for everyone.

Saturday, July 5
10am-1pm
McKay Backyard

Missing our Friends

I was avoiding even the thought of writing this post. Our close friends, Sean and Carlie, moved to Colorado this past weekend. The entire week was rather heart wrenching for me. From watching the movers pack their home into a large orange truck to our final goodbye on Saturday morning as they left for the airport. We experienced every possible LAST (at least for now). Our last family dinner at the park, our last 'girls night in', our last meal at Snapper Jacks together, our last really good margarita and there are so many more. Carlie and Sean, along with Connor and Camille, have been irreplaceable friends to us. We will miss them more than we can even imagine.

Here are a few of my all time favorite Leach photos.


Connor and Brooklyn have a very sweet relationship. Could there be something in their future???



Note: Yes, Brooklyn is on the cellphone!



Bailey and her boys; Connor and Liam.



Carlie and I enjoyed going through our pregnancies together. This picture was taken a week before Buddy was born (Camille arrived one month later).



Special friends from the very beginning :)



Some things are just more comfortable with a friend.



One sweet face!

Lemonade Crunchy Ice

Lemonade Crunchy Ice
Sip it once, Sip it twice
Turn around, touch the ground.




Schoolyard songs with hand jives have changed in the past few years. The Lemonade diddy is something that I am only familiar with because I have a seven year old who LOVES to sing! Do you remember MISS SUE? Well, now the song says that her real name is Susanna. I was not aware of that when I was singing the song in Second grade. We just called her Miss Sue- go figure. I digress!!!!! The reason for the post was to announce that we are having a lemonade stand in our backyard this Saturday from 10-1. The kids are helping to earn money towards Tate's adoption. We would love to have EVERYONE stop by. I will post more information as the date gets closer.

Get well soon Stace!

This post is meant as a shout out to my cousin Stacy. She was sick all weekend. Hope this video makes you feel a little better, Stace.

We miss you.
We are praying for you.
We love you!



I took this video on Friday morning. After Dad took the kids to get donuts they went for a walk around the neighborhood (yes, he is brave). He called me outside so I could see Maddie pulling Buddy home. SUPER CUTE!

New Video Camera

Ok, so we got a new video camera.

Here is the story...
At first I was a little skeptical about Mike's purchase. You see, we already have a video camera. Although it is several years old now it still seems fairly small to me. I have a very vivid mental picture of my dad filming my birthday parties with the '10 gallon' camera on his shoulder. Our camera is rather miniature in comparison. Besides that fact we REALLY need a new digital camera. We lost ours (along with some incredible photos) at the beach on Father's Day. :( Anyway, the new video camera arrived in the mail on Tuesday and I'm hooked to say the least! It is smaller than my cellphone!!! This will be my first attempt at adding video to the blog. I hope it works.

Turn the volume down so your ears won't hurt listening to me sing to Emmett - I'm SERIOUS!

YAHOO!

We received our final fingerprinting appointment in the mail last Friday afternoon. The kids and I could not have been more excited. We were doing the 'happy dance' all around the kitchen. Bailey was singing "We're bringing Tate home, Yahoo, we're bringing Tate home". Brooklyn, with her usual dry sense of humor, points out that even our dog Maddie is excited. I look over the edge of the table at Maddie expecting in the very least her tail (stub) to be wagging. There is Maddie completely asleep oblivious to the noise around her! Brooklyn must have thought she was celebrating in her head. :)

Orphan Facts and Statistics

Many of you have asked us recently why we are adopting from Eastern Europe. Here are a few reasons why...

There are over 4 million orphans and homeless children in Russia and Ukraine. Officially, there are 700,000 orphans living in 2,000 state-run orphanages in Russia alone. That means that Russia has more orphans today than after World War II! Statistics show that only one out of ten Russian orphans becomes a functional member of society. The others are lost to drugs, crime and suicide. Millions of Russian children are on the run living on the streets or in underground sewers desperately needing basic food, medicine and clothes.

Russia's abandoned HIV children, 2006
Russia has one of the fastest growing Aids epidemics in the world, with 100 new infections every day. Increasingly, women and their infants are being affected.

IBIS report on Birth Defects, 2006
10% of children in orphanages have birth defects indicative of pre-natal exposure to alcohol. According to standards of Modern Developmental Pediatrics children in Ukrainian orphanages are receiving care that is far from ideal.

Unicef Report on Poverty and Abandonment of Children in Ukraine 2005
More than 100,000 children are thought to have been surrendered to orphanages due to poverty. - The number of children living on the streets has risen steadily over the past decade, creating urgent problems in human trafficking for forced prostitution, forced labour and sexual exploitation.

Report on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine, 2004
Mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Ukraine increased from 2% of total infections in 1997 to 13% in 2001. Many of these children are surrendered to the orphanage system.

“On the state of the children in the Russian Federation”, 2003
4 million Russian children were born out of wedlock in the last 10 years. 400,000 illegitimate children were born in 2002, a 40 thousand annual increase.

Committee on the Rights of The Child in Ukraine, 2002
Children in orphanages lack food, medical care, and suitable facilities. Mortality in orphanages is dramatically high. They have been called "death houses". At the beginning of 2000 it was determined that the financial situation of institutions for children with special needs had worsened and most of these children would be denied education.

The CoMission for Children at Risk, 2002
About 15,000 Russian orphans leave orphanages each year, once they are 16 to 18 years old. Of these, 5,000 are unemployed, some 6,000 are homeless, around 3,000 resort to crime, approximately 1,500 commit suicide, and roughly half the girls are forced into prostitution.

Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, 2000
After leaving their orphanages:
# 50% - fall into a high-risk category
# 40% - become drug users
# 40% - commit crimes
# 10% - commit suicide

European Children's Trust, 2000
Over forty million children in the former Soviet Union are living in "genuine poverty".

Human Rights Watch, 1998.
Orphans in Russia - of whom 95 percent still have a living parent - are exposed to shocking levels of cruelty and neglect. Infants classified as disabled are segregated into "lying-down" rooms, where they are changed and fed but are bereft of stimulation and lacking in medical care.

Of a total of more than 600,000 children classified as being "without parental care", as many as one-third reside in institutions, while the rest are placed with a variety of guardians. Thousands more are temporarily quartered in various public shelters and institutions under police jurisdiction simply waiting for an available space in an orphanage.

Thousands of children are abandoned to the state at a rate of 113,000 a year for the past two years, up dramatically from 67,286 in 1992. The evidence gathered reveals several systematic disadvantages imposed on young Russian orphans, which violate their fundamental rights to survival and development, and place them in a underclass.

Congratulations Kailey

Mike and I had the privilege of watching our cousin, Kailey, graduate from Buena High School last night. Kailey will be attending Point Loma in the Fall. We are excited to see what the Lord has planned for her future.

Funny Story

I thought I would write a post about one of the funniest things Bailey has ever said. This happened a few weeks ago but Brooklyn made a piggyback remark that reminded me of the original story.

Bailey and I were at Trader Joe's purchasing some fresh flowers (for our open house). As we opened the back to Mike's truck Bailey asked, "what is that packing box for”. I explained that the box she was referring to was the box that Daddy brings the fruit and veggies home from work in (Santa Barbara produce). She looked totally confused. After a moment thinking about it she said "Veggies? I thought you said Daddy brings home the BACON". She couldn't figure out why I thought it was so funny. We have repeated that story so many times that now Bailey knows what 'bringing home the bacon' means. Brooklyn on the other hand has no clue. Last night while driving home from Target she said "Mommy, do think Daddy is going to bring home chicken or bacon". :)

Fingerprints

Our fingerprints and background checks came back today. We are one step closer to bringing our sweet baby home. This Saturday will be our final social worker visit.

Home for Sale?

Contrary to what many of you may believe after driving by our home; we have NOT sold our house! We took our house off of the market last week, hence no signs in the yard. We realized that a change of address would hurt our chances of bringing Tate home as soon as possible. Therefore, we are putting our move on hold until we bring him home.

Home from the Hospital

We are home from the Hospital. Bailey's surgery went really well. It was probably harder on us than it was on her. We both started to cry as they wheeled her away. It was a very helpless feeling.

Wendy, Carlie and Camille met us in the waiting room and brought breakfast. They were a nice distraction for us. The surgery only took a little over 30 minutes. We were just finishing our food when the doctor called with the news that Bailey was doing wonderful. We were able to meet her in the recovery room a few minutes later. The first thing she said when I walked in was "when are they going to start?". The nurse and I smiled at each other. All of the staff commented that Bailey was such a perfect patient. They said she was talking to everyone about her 3 brothers and 1 sister. The nurse also mentioned that they asked Bailey if she liked school. She proudly announced that she loves school and that her mom is her favorite teacher! ;)

Cheryl and Sarah came over this afternoon with BLENDERS and a special homemade bouquet. Bailey enjoyed having visitors. She was especially excited to show Sarah her hospital band, stickers, band-aids, hair net and stitches. She is now comfortably sleeping on the couch. She will probably stay there for the rest of the day.

My cousin, Bret, is flying in this evening from Idaho. He will be staying through the night and DRIVING home in the morning. We are anxious to catch up with him. We have not seen him in several years. Has has been attending school in Dallas.

Paperwork Complete

After three grueling days and even longer nights we have completed ALL of our Homestudy paperwork. This might be some sort of record. We could not have finished it without the help of some very special friends. Thank you to Mom, Sheryl, Alyssa, Dave, Dr. G, Marcia, Pat, Brent, Jill, and Tony. We took the kids to Wendy's for dinner to celebrate! Now we are waiting to complete our final two social worker visits.

Dr. Garrison

If I haven't told you personally before then you need to know that our family Doctor ROCKS! Bailey and I sat in his office on Wednesday for over an hour as he signed documents and wrote out our medical histories (mine is lengthy but he knows it well). Each document then had to be notarized and photocopied. By the way he was was the person actually making the photocopies ;) Did I mention it was also his DAY OFF! We love you Dr. Garrison.

Bailey

Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow. We are heading to the hospital at 6:45am for Bailey's umbilical hernia surgery. The procedure is scheduled to take place at 8:30am.

A very LONG day

We spent all Saturday down in Pasadena at Heartsent. Stacy came on Friday night so that we could leave early in the morning. The kids were thrilled to have her at the house when they woke up. However, they were very disappointed that Jeff was not visiting too (they are kind of a package deal these days). :)

Our first meeting was with Jill, the director of the Pasadena office. She is very understanding of our situation and helped to plan out as many activities as she could for the day. After meeting with her we had a two hour Orientation class. It was followed by a two hour class regarding the adoption of an 'older child'. Any child over 18 months is considered 'older'. We were slightly burnt out on cold metal chairs at the point! We left the classroom for our first social worker meeting. Not knowing what to expect we were apprehensive. Claire quickly put us at ease and before long our meeting was complete. WHEW- not done yet- We finished the day with a Live Scan background check (fingerprinting).

We arrived home to a driveway filled with chalk drawings and messages. The kids were sound asleep obviously exhausted from a fun day with Stacy. Our bed felt good that night!

The BIRTHDAY celebrations continued

We are finally finished celebrating family birthdays. Buddy turned 3 and Dad turned 60. It was one BUSY week. We combined their birthdays and celebrated with one small family party at our house. I rented a jumper for DAD- Buddy enjoyed it too!