Check! Fingerprints done!

Last Friday, Andy and I had an appointment in Milwaukee to have our fingerprints with US Dept. of Homeland Security! It was a whole day event to travel there and back, but we did get to have lunch at P.F. Chang's, yummy. It is a step forward in the adoption process to have this complete. We are certain nothing other than a few speeding tickets will come up! This is all apart of the process of helping our future daughter enter the country. We have only been officially waiting a couple weeks....we likely have some time ahead of us being #235 out of 245 families waiting!

Kindergarten Circus!

Last night Judson had his debut as an "acrobat" in the Kindergarten circus. What a show they put on!!! It was beyond adorable to see all the kindergarteners all decked out. Juddy had a great time and we (Mommy, Daddy, Pops, Omie & Opie) all felt very proud of him! This was a wonderful night and a milestone in the life of a kindergartener here in Monroe!

Bubbles....

Don't we all just love bubbles! This weekend Drew created some beautiful bubbles!

Boys will be boys!

I have to share these photos of Drew and his best buddy, Charlie from last Friday. I was inside checking on them and noticed they weren't by the play area or babsketball hoop...oh,oh, I had a feeling.
I went to look down by the stream and saw them- so I ran back in for my camera! They were pretty much having a ball in the mudd. Their feet and shoes suctioned into it. After I got a round of pictures I helped them out. They did ask to go back in for another shot...why not!

3 boys in a tub!

Here we have 3 boys in a tub! I love this shot where I am standing on the top of the tub and inticing them to look at the camera by pouring water on them. They all love bath time!

Message from our Sweet Girl

Today is the Big day that my Mommy sent off the dossier to the adoption placement agency, CHSFS, in Minnesota! All of the paper chasing for Mommy and Daddy is complete and the dossier will be reviewed by the social worker at CHSFS. CHSFS will need to add some of their documents and then within a week the dossier is off to the Ethiopian Embassy to be approved. Then the dossier is off to the capital city of Ehtiopia, Addis Ababa, to be translated and prepared for court. Then my Mommy and Daddy will receive a referral for me!!!! It could be a wait of up to 9 months before the referral for me comes... once the the referral for me is accepted by Mommy and Daddy they will travel to me about 2 months later!!!

Please think and pray for my birth parents and all the people that will be caring for me before I am in their arms.

Love,

Sweet Girl from Ethiopia

Escape to San Diego!!

Jack and I just arrived home last night from a 4 day trip to San Diego to visit our dear friends, Angie, Art & Parker (12 months) Behnke! What a wonderful time we had. The Behnke family will soon say good-bye to beautiful San Diego for a new adventure in Newport, Rhode Island and so this trip was about witnessing their wonderful life and embracing all San Diego has to offer! Having the "insiders" tour of San Diego was wonderful and experiencing it with my dear friend made it even better! Angie and I also had girl time (thanks to Kemia, their babysitter and Art) to have delicious fruitty curry, shop in Mesa (where I left with a new outfit on!), tour the city, hike the bluff overlooking the pacific (amazing view!) and have a margarita mid-day and mojitos with Angie's friends in the evening. San Diego is a wonderful mix of sun, beach, canyons, beach towns and sophistication. I loved it and hope one day that we can meet the Behnkes there for a vacation and make it back there as a family! It was the perfect mix of girl time and time with our boys!

Jack was a great traveler and played well with sweet, jovial Parker, who is 5 months younger. Jack has never been with a baby younger than he, so I think he quickly realized he was the big boy. He would hug Parker and sometimes sit on him if he was crawling...just like his big brother Drew did to him! They had fun being together (like their Mommies) and Angie and I just relished in seeing our boys together. As you can see in the photos they both loved bath and play time.

With life as it is today...it is a small wonder that I was able to jet off to San Diego and didn't happen without a supporting crew! First, Thank you Andy for supporting me in getting this weekend in. I love you for it and so many other things!! Omie and Opie...couldn't have done it without you taking my place at home with the kids during the week. Thank you! Andy and the boys so enjoyed their weekend with you! Thank you to Art for watching the kids so Ang and I could have such amazing time together. Also, for being a great Dada figure, which Jack clearly needed. And my love to Angie for embracing every minute together. I just loved seeing you and Art in action as loving parents to your sweet boy and feel so fortunate to have witnessed this very special place in your lives. Love to you..miss you already!

A few of my favorite things...

I love this photo of Jack...so sweet! Look at those cheeks...one of my favorite things is to kiss and snuggle into those cheeks.

Here is our dog, Blue. I love him- even if he does drive me crazy sometimes...He is the physical embodiement of the chaos that is our lives these days!

And this is Margo's orchid...which I am babysitting while she is in Spain. I gladly enjoy its beauty...it is truly one of my favorite things in the world.

Today, April 8th

It has been a busy week....Jack has recovered very well from his ear tube surgery and is like a new kid! He is so cheerful again and is sleeping great! YEH!!! Now we really realize how fussy he was and uncomfortable for so long. Jack loved playing outside in the gorgeous weather this weekend. These photos show him getting into the play-area and yard clean-up, which was a family affair!

This week has also been very full for me with pulling our adoption dossier together. Lots of document to be notarized, certified by the state, passport photos taken for the dossier (not for our passport), medicals completed...the list goes on. I have one more document to recieve from the state and then the dossier will go to the adoption agency, CHSFS! Then the dossier is completed with their paperwork process and then goes to Ethiopia! It is quite a process that takes a lot of determination! Juddy has been asking alot of questions lately about our baby girl, like "Where will she sleep?", "Where will she sit in the car?". I think he is starting to imagine her being apart of our family more and more. Drew is interested in where she is coming from and likes to look at the map. Of course, Baby Jack is clueless and has no idea how this little girl is going to rock his world! It will feel so real once we can show all of the boys a picture of their sister...then their heads will wrap around the concept even more!

I am working hard on the fundraising event for AIDS Walk Africa and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. I am checking into permits, port-a-pottys, food, painting signs and gathering items for the silent auction. Lots and lots to do!! I hope people come, have fun and that we raise $$$ for the children!

Ear tubes for Jack on April Fools Day

Early this morning Jack went into the clinic and got ear tubes put in. Boy, this all happened fast..we saw the ENT yesterday! Much faster than when Juddy got his. It is a good thing to know a Dr. sometimes. Jack seems fine after the procedure. He has a little drainage coming from one of his ears. That is good to get that icky stuff out and now he will feel so much better. I am tired. It was a very early morning. Our neighbors, the Leuzingers, took Jud and Drew at 6:30 for us and brought them to their schools. That was sooo helpful as Andy had his surgery day today. Although, Andy was able to be around a little bit before and after at the hospital. Jack especially liked that.
I can hear Jack is getting into the dog bowl again....all is back to normal here and on April Fools Day! Ha!