Merry Christmas...a bit late!

Ethiopia Adoption Update

How are things going with our Ethiopia adoption?  Our home study is complete, and our dossier is almost finished.  We are just waiting for the USCIS (citizenship & immigration) to send us a  fingerprinting appointment and then grant us pre-approval to adopt a child that has probably not been born yet.  That's basically the last step in the "paperchase" part of the process.  I'm guesstimating that we will send our dossier to Ethiopia before Christmas.  Although it's exciting to be almost done with all the paperchasing, we know that there is still a long wait once our papers are submitted to Ethiopia.  Currently, families that sent their dossier to Ethiopia in November of 2010, are "on deck" waiting for a referral.  We are so familiar with slow downs and long waits for a referral.  That doesn't worry me, but it does causes me to approach this adoption with a guarded heart.  I'll get excited when we are "on deck".  Unlike our previous adoptions, I'm also much more peaceful about the timeline, the delays, and the unexpected things that occur during the paper chase.  Having two energetic kiddos here with me this time around helps a lot too!

All in all, we are happy to be pursuing Cayleigh.  We think about her and talk about her frequently.  Kieran actually talks about her the most.  It's who he is, and I love that he is excited that we are adopting again.  Even Marisa is comprehending some of it.  She talks about sharing her dolly with her new sister, and comments on the items that are hers that will someday be Cayleigh's (like the high chair).  I'm very thankful to know what direction we are supposed to be going, and grateful that we can  actively take steps to bring our daughter home.  I do wish the the wait time for a referral would decrease, but I've never seen that happen in the years that I've been keeping a keen eye on international adoption.  Mike and I are definitely glad to be veteran adopters as it is making this journey simpler in some ways.  Also, as always, God is supplying the funds when we need them.  We are humbled and grateful that the Lord has chosen us to be Cayleigh's parents through the miracle of adoption.

Thanks for thinking of us, and for praying about our adoption process.  We'll post again once we have any updates to share.

Thanksgiving Trees

We have been busy painting today.  I've posted all the details on my Mom Thoughts blog.  So, if you'd like to know more about our project and what we plan to do with our Thanksgiving Trees, head on over to my other blog for more details.  Otherwise, enjoy a few pics of our cuties.  :)

Kieran Turns Five!

Happy Birthday, sweet Kieran!  He got to open five presents from us in celebration of his fifth birthday.

For Kieran's birthday, we went to the pumpkin patch again.  It's sort of become a family tradition.

Marisa rides a "horse" at the pumpkin patch while Daddy keeps her steady.

Always a favorite with the kids...the tractor ride.

Finally, Kieran is big enough to ride on his own now.  He was eager to have this new adventure. :)

Our family... we often think about how we will someday be a family of five!

Uncle Jon, Aunt Katie, and cousins Haley & new baby Skyler
 were also there to celebrate Kieran's birthday with us.

Auntie Kendra joined us as well for the big celebration.  Here she's giving a ride to two cute cousins: Haley & Marisa.

Pumpkin patch silliness. 

Wow, our boy is FIVE now!

Marisa & Kieran (our cat, Piglet, in background) with pumpkins that we actually grew in our own backyard.  

End of Summer Photos

An update is long overdue... We've been busy "paper chasing" for our third adoption.  We are close to being done with our home study.  While that's been in the works, I've also been compiling documents for our official dossier that will be sending to Ethiopia.  So, I haven't had much time to do any blogging.  We have been enjoying the wonderful weather lately.  Here are a few photos of fun times at home and camping.

Mommy & Marisa, who loves to "sweend"

Mommy & Kieran, who is a very photogenic boy

The kids were having a blast spinning around in Daddy's office chair.  It's hard to capture Marisa's smiles on camera; this is a really good one.

Every day we look at these two cuties and know that we're so blessed.

Our adventure in the great outdoors... We took the kids for their first camping trip.  

Here's our little home away from home!  Not the shady spot by a stream that we had envisioned, but it turned out well in spite of the parched terrain.  The kids loved their little tent and sleeping bags.  

Daddy did all the hard work of setting up and tearing down the camp site.  He is a camping pro!

Marisa did not want to smile because the scratchy grass was annoying her.

Of course, Kieran was most fascinated by the windmills.  

Kieran took this picture.  I decided to include it to show that Mom really was there too.  

We watched the moon rise that night.  It was so incredibly huge and looked orange because of forest fires.  We couldn't get a good photo of it without a tripod, so this was our best effort.  

Mike & I thought the best part of taking the kids camping was star gazing with the kids and watching the moon rise.  We did an astronomy lesson with Kieran.  He learned about the Big Dipper and how to locate the North Star.  It was one of those awesome home school moments; totally worth the effort of planning, packing, and carting half the house to the great outdoors!