Thoughts from me

We are one step closer to our little girl.  We now have our Art. 5 which is the last approval before the last.  Yep, that is right.  We are now in line waiting on the long awaited and desired Travel Approval.  This is the 5th time we have been here and it hasn't gotten a bit easier.  There are days that we just want to hop on a plane and then we realize all the preparation that still needs to be done......like getting our travel Visas.  Ok, that is top priority  for tomorrow.  The days are zooming by full of activities.  I have moments when I wonder how we could possibly fit one more thing into our day and then there are times when I think I could do so much more.  As I wait I reflect on comments that come quite regularly now a days.  The #1 is.... are all of these children yours.  Hmmm.  I usually just smile proudly and say yes but sometimes later I start to get a bit, ummm, upset that someone would say this in not such a nice way.  #2 is.... you must be a saint.  No, quite the opposite really.  If it really had been left up to just me I would have said no to this whole crazy thing.  That is because I am very human and sinful and fairly selfish, but praise God that He isn't.  He has molded me and made me capable of things that I could never really do myself.  That leads me to # 3 which is.... you must be sooo organized.  Ha!  That one just sounds so funny to me.  You see I know people who are really organized and that wouldn't be me AT ALL.  My answer is simply no I am not but there must be something that resemble a form of organization or we would never be able to leave our house.  I also add that where I am very weak and ungifted, God is very strong.  The beautiful thing is that God covers me.  He gives me what I need when I need it and no more so I can't brag about how wonderful, loving, selfless or organized that I am because it simply isn't true.  What is true though is that He has blessed us with some amazing kids and me with the most super, duper husband and father in this whole wide world.  So there are the top 3 questions with some rough but honest answers.  There are more that I can share with you at another time but I have to say we have a family that has had some fun days together lately.  You may think that having an iPad fly off the hood of your car and being run over by the car behind you might cause lots of stress and frustration.  Nope.  It built a wonderful, fun story that we will all remember.  We were all there except Josh who thinks this family is nuts anyway.  We all saw it fly and then we all screamed at Joel to stop the car and RUN!  The iPad screen was shattered but amazing still works.  It isn't about the iPads it is about the wonderful memories made.  I love this life, my great big God and my family.

We received some sweet new photos of our short haired princess who won't be waiting too much longer to be surrounded with love like she has never known before.  There is more to come......way more.

Happy New Year to everyone!   We are off to a good start so far.  School is starting back on Wed. and everyone is worried about how they will wake up that early.  I am the most worried.  I have taken full advantage of my time to sleep.  Josh is back in Fl. and we are all missing him so much.  Now we look forward to getting everything ready to bring Katy home.  We received our immigration approval on the 16th and now wait for the next couple of approvals before we travel.  It is looking like some time in March.  We received some new photos of Katy today from my friend, Beth.  She traveled before Christmas to bring home her son.  We were able to send a gift with her for Katy.  The photos have her getting her gift.  Beth said that when the children asked her if it was from her mama....she said no, her mama and baba(daddy).  That made Scott a very happy daddy.  Since we last saw pictures of her they have cut her hair very short.  The girls and I can't wait to introduce her into the world of girly things.  It should be fun.  I'll let you know how that goes.  If there is something we have learned especially with the older child adoption is they come with their personality pretty set.  They can be very set in some of their ways.  It has taken me many arguments with Samuel to convince him to at least try something that he thinks he doesn't like.  Whether it be food or an activity.  This is an area that I can be very patient and understanding or just flat out no patience what so ever.  Samuel thinks he is going to teach her everything she needs to know and then some so I can't wait to see how this will work out for her.  If she is easy going then great.  If she is the least bit stubborn....well not so much.  I bet you can't wait to watch this drama unfold?

These boys still need families.  Evan(in orange) was adopted and is returning to say goodbye.  He is the only one who looks happy.