One step closer

Today we got the (corrected) version of our home study. You may recall.....my last update, we had received our notarized copies of the home study, but there we a couple mistakes that had to be corrected. I read through it today....and everything is correct this time!!! YEAH! So on to the next step! I have mailed our home study and an I-800A form to the USCIS. Hopefully sometime in the next 8 weeks we will be getting an approval from them. The I-797 form (USCIS approval form) has to be included in our dossier. (Dossier is a fancy word for all the paperwork that goes to China that proves that we can provide a good home for a little China girl)

Not a huge step....but definitely a step forward!

Happy Friday everyone.....hope y'all have a great Memorial weekend!

Katie

A very brief update of the last 4 months

So I don't have the time nor the motivation to actually catch up this blog with all the kids activities in the last 4 or 5 months so....here is a very brief photo montage of what has gone on here.

Here is Ethan showing off his fort that he and Daddy built. Daddy is so cool...he even put Ethan's name on it in spray paint!

This girl got new glasses....not really Mommy's favorite, but she wanted these. (I figured she is the one that has to wear them....so I let her choose) Whether they were my favorite or not....I think she would look cute in about anything. (Yes, I know I am biased)

This guy had his 2nd birthday! For those of you wondering why he isn't dressed and why he has such a messy face.....We let the kids paint some art project and then took pictures of him opening presents.




This girl had her 2nd grade music concert. (While doing this I realized....this is the only picture we have of her all dressed up and the only one that isn't a huge group shot of the kids singing.....wow isn't that such a cute outfit HA!)

Next concert (hopefully) I will remember to get a full length picture.


This cutie turned 8. (I still can't believe....I HAVE AN 8 YEAR OLD!)

Grace's birthday fell on the last day of spring break....which also happened to be a pretty nice day. So we spent some time at the zoo.

Owen enjoying the last snowfall of the season. It was completely melted by noon.

This guy started T-ball. This is Ethan's first year to play! He loves it!

This girl also started playing softball. She isn't as thrilled about it as Ethan. She doesn't like it that the ball comes so close to her when she is up to bat. Not sure if we will ever make an athlete out of her.

This is a picture of Owen and TJ (freezing) at one of Grace's games. Whatever happened to baseball and softball starting in late May? These April games are ridiculously cold!

This guy graduated from preschool and this was a picture of him before kindergarten roundup. We have 3 days of round up at our school. Day 1 and day 3 of round up went great....day 2 could be a whole separate post. Let just summarize it....On day 2 he really didn't want to go, and I really wanted him to go...... after some struggling, I won.

Well, there you have it. I have left tons out....but that is the brief version. I also realized why I don't sit down to do this very often.....Owen has totally coated his hair with sunscreen while I was downloading the pictures for this post (he was literally 3 feet away from me, sneaky boy).....NICE.
Love,

Katie

Adoption update:

We were so excited when the final notarized copies of our home study arrived last week. I got all the I-800A paperwork filled out and put together to send to USCIS....then before we sent it all off, we actually read through the home study and found a couple errors.....Now we are again waiting for new corrected, notarized copies to arrive. Apparently I have prayed for patience enough that God decided to teach it to me.

Blogging slacker

So I am a total slacker when it comes to blogging....oh well. We have had many happenings since January (which was my last post.) So instead of actually writing posts for all the "happenings," I thought I would just make a list of highlights. Here are a few things off the top of my head:

• 1- We officially applied to Holt International to adopt a little one from China in mid January. They tell us the whole process from application to placement will be 12- 18 months.( We are SO SO excited!)


• 2- Owen turned 2. (My baby is 2....how did that happen?)


• 3- We have had many visits to both sets of Grandparents' houses. We are so blessed that our children have 2 sets of wonderful grandparents that love them dearly and that they live close enough that we get to see them often.)


• 4- The kids have had several opportunities to play with cousins. And have had several play dates with friends.


• 5- We have started our home study for the adoption (2 more visits left)


• 6- We visited the science center.


• 7- We have started daydreaming about names for our China girl.


• 8- I had a bladder infection that turned into a kidney infection and was feeling pretty miserable for several days. Of course it was during the kids spring break....total bummer!


• 9- We have started talking to our kids about them having a new sibling and the basic concepts of adoption. They are very excited about getting a new sibling.


• 10- Grace turned 8. (I don't know how she got to be 8 so quickly!)


• 11- We visited the zoo and got rained on and then hailed on....thank goodness for the shelter that they have by the lion exhibit!


• 12- I am going to start working full time nights instead of just part time nights (boo hoo.) But we can't afford this adoption any other way....so hopefully the increase in hours will only be temporary until we get out little China girl home.


• 13- Grace has started soccer practice already. (I am trying to figure out how I am going to work full time, get the kids to soccer practice and softball and baseball practice and to all the games that go along with it....aaahhhh! Thank goodness for my fabulously helpful husband who is also the greatest dad!)


• I am sure there are tons of things that I have skipped over....but like I said, this was just off the top of my head without to much thought put into it. In all honesty...if I had to put to much thought into it...there would still not be a new post. ;-) Hope everyone has had a great start to their week.... Katie

For the unbelievers

So this little story is for the people who don't believe me when I tell them how ornery and naughty my sweet little Owen can be. Also for the mothers out there that only have girls....this is what you are missing.....

So the boys ate lunch today while I was unpacking groceries, and when they were done they ran to go play together in the basement playroom....So I decided to sit down and eat my lunch in peace. They had been playing nicely in the basement for about 10 minutes when I heard Ethan laughing hysterically and Owen squealing at the top of his lungs. These were the sounds that when heard, you know they are up to no good. I head down to the basement to discover water all over the carpet, and Owen is chasing Ethan with a cup from their kitchen set. Upon further investigation and interrogation....I find out that Owen has been filling this cup with water from the toilet and then chasing Ethan with it trying to dump it on him. It took about 10 minutes, several towels, and many squirts of hand sanitizer to get the carpet and Owen's hands all cleaned up. I will never stop being amazed at how fast they can make a mess, and how long it takes to clean up the mess that they made in a flash. I guess that is what I get for the quiet lunch that I enjoyed.

Oh and another note about Owen's naughty streak....When I discovered what was going on, I sternly told him "NO, NO, We do NOT play with the toilet water!" I took the cup away from him, and he chased after me trying to take it back and then hit the back of my leg when he discovered he wasn't going to get it back. Needless to say....Owen took his nap shortly after that! I think the terrible 2's have arrived just a little early.

I just love my kiddos to pieces even though they are naughty sometimes. I guess someday when they have their own kids who act naughty....I can laugh and tell them that they deserve it!

Love,

Katie

Leap of faith

I have been reading a few things lately about how God talks to us and recognizing how and when he talks to us. So I thought I would share an experience of mine on that subject.


As most of you reading this probably know, TJ and I have been talking seriously about adoption for a little over a year now. We felt tugged/led/called (however you want to say it) by God that we were meant to adopt our next child. We both felt like we needed to have the money saved first....But we also kept hearing from multiple sources not to let money be an obstacle to adopting. We heard multiple times that if this is God's plan for your family...he will make sure that the money is there. This money issue in hindsight was really just us not trusting God's plan for our family.

Well, 9 months after we decided we needed to buckle down and save money for our adoption....we didn't really have that much saved. (We have 3 kids, I work part time....and things just come up that cost money) So one night while saying my prayers, I asked God to just make it known to us how we should proceed....do we continue trying to save money, or do we just go for it?
The next morning I was reading e-mails. I always get a daily devotional sent to me from "The purpose driven life." The one for that morning was titled "God smiles when we obey wholeheartedly." Read the whole post here. Basically it said, whatever God asks you to do...you should obey and do without hesitation, because delayed obedience is really the same as disobedience. God doesn't have to give you an explanation for what he asks you to do, you may not feel qualified for what he is calling you to, it may be expensive and very demanding of your finances or demanding or your time, but your understanding of what he has called you to do can wait. However, obedience to god and what he is calling you to do can't wait. Hmmmm..........

So, no I didn't hear God whispering the answer directly into my ear....but does it get any clearer than this? I shared all this with TJ, and he agreed that was a pretty clear answer to my prayer. So with my prayer answered, we took a leap of faith that God will help us figure out the financial part of this and.....we "officially" applied to Holt International (our adoption agency.)





A little update on our adoption progress so far:

We are currently in the "paper chase" process. We have our last visit on Monday with the social worker to review the rough draft of our home study. Then we just have to finish up the last few documents for our dossier (paperwork that gets sent to China.) After we get the dossier sent to China, then we just wait for a referral. We are praying for our sweet China angel daily. Whether or not he/she has been born yet....we don't know, but we are praying that God puts someone in this baby's life to love and care for them until we can get there to bring him/her home.


Love,

Katie

P.S.- Hopefully I will get a post up soon with some pictures of the cute kiddies that are already living here at our house ;-)

Lights on....lights off

Owen discovered the other day that he could drag the kitchen chairs around and use them to reach things he otherwise wouldn't be able to reach. I caught some pictures of him finding the light switch and how much fun he had with it.





This is him when he first climbed on the chair and got his hands on the light switch for the first time....

Lights off!

Lights on!

Can you tell he was having lots of fun with this new discovery? He is to funny! Oh....and as you can see....pants are optional at our house (at least for the kids that is.)

Love,

Katie

melt my heart

Ethan's prayer tonight....

Dear God, thank you for my family. Thank you for my Mom and the sunshine, thank you for presents today, and thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
Amen

(Seriously, melt my heart! And...in my opinion, a pretty grown up prayer for a 5 year old. I love that boy!)