Room makeovers in progress

Mike hung the valance I made in Marisa's room.  I love her cheery room!

I'm painting a mural in Kieran's room.  He has managed to stay out of the paint- so far.

Nothing new to report about our China adoption, other than we should be getting a referral in mid September!!  Knowing this, I'm motivated to get both kids' rooms ready.  I've been painting in Kieran's room the past two days.  I have a lot more to do before his walls will be done, but it's a good start.  You can find more pictures and "how to" details about the mural on my Mom Thoughts blog.

Reunion with old friends and new friends

Reunion picnic 2010.  Henry, Kieran, Trent, & Ben... all from Rwanda.
Welcome home Ben!!

Reunion picnic 2009.  Henry, Trent, & Kieran with their dads.  

Kieran last year.  He was 22 months old.

Kieran this year.  He is 34 months old now.  

We had so much fun at the picnic this year!  It was wonderful to see families who were waiting for their children last year, now have their kiddos home with them.   We also got to meet a lot of new people and hear their adoption stories.   (Cherri and Allison, it was so great to finally meet you in person!)   And of course, we had a great time reconnecting with others we already know and hadn't seen for a while.  God has blessed us with a whole network of families that have become our friends through this journey of adoption.  Awesome!

My "Mom Thoughts"

Hey all, I want to invite you to check out a new blog I've started called Mom Thoughts.   (http://amysmomthoughts.blogspot.com/) It's my place to share ideas, suggestions, recipes, games, etc... that I hope will be helpful to moms with young children.  Unlike this blog, I've opened up Mom Thoughts for comments so other moms can voice their ideas and share things that worked for them.   Especially for first time moms like me, it's so helpful to hear from other parents about what they've learned so we don't have to re-invent the wheel, so to speak.   I'm looking forward to hearing from other ladies as I know you all have a wealth of ideas to share.

A side note:  A Far Green Country will continue to be our family blog with updates on our growing family.

Friends are priceless

Fun at the park with good friends: Chase, Brody, Trent, Henry, & Kieran

We wait for September

Here's an update on our China adoption...

The CCAA has processed LIDs up to the 15th of May.  Our LID is May 16th.  That means we wait for September.  In another month we should be receiving a referral.  We began our process to adopt Marisa in October of 2005.  So, one more month to wait for news of her seems like a very short amount of time!

Since we've experienced one adoption, I have more of a concept of what to expect this time.  But it still blows my mind to think that our daughter is half a world away.  Someone else is taking care of her needs every day.  God bless them for their kindness and care.  My mother's heart aches knowing I can not be there for her right now.  This part of the waiting is the hardest.

So, we're keeping busy as we wait for September.  Last night I made a valance for the nursery.  Mike is planning to hang it up for me today.  I'm also thinking about redecorating Kieran's room since we will be moving his crib/toddler bed into Marisa's room.  I'm wanting to give him a gift of a big boy room with an airplane theme.  Now that I've posted it to the blog, I have to get it done!

This is the bedding (from Pottery Barn) that I'd like to get for Marisa.