Snow for Thanksgiving

Well, we are still waiting to get travel approval to go to China.  Until we have that, we won't know when we are going to get Marisa.  We're doing our best to get ready to go at a moment's notice.

While we wait, we're keeping busy.  Thanksgiving was so wonderful this year.  We had twelve people at our house to join in the celebration, most of them stayed for several days.  Everyone pitched in to make a delicious Thanksgiving dinner; there was plenty to eat.  We're still eating turkey and ham!  Also, we got our first snow of the year, enough to go sledding.  Kieran loved it!  We managed to squeeze in some shopping too, and now Marisa's got a bunch of cute and cozy clothes for winter.  We have been very blessed this year.

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately...

First snow of the year!  We took turns pulling Kieran around the back yard.
He tried pulling us too; what a sweet kid!

The next morning, we had a ton of new snow and sunshine!  Doesn't Kieran look cool?

Mommy & Kieran went sledding on a big hill while Daddy shoveled the driveway.
Just as we were getting cold, Dad arrived with a thermos of hot chocolate!  What a guy!

Later that day, family arrived to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Above: Grandpa with Haley Joy (Kieran's cousin).

Thanksgiving morning, Auntie Kendra took Kieran sledding again!
Kieran loved having a house full of company.

The whole gang was here to celebrate Thanksgiving.  I love my family!
Our aunt, cousin, and second cousin were also here but missed the photo shoot.

Grandma & Grandpa with their grand babies.
Next Thanksgiving they'll have Marisa to hold too!

Our tree is up and we finished decorating it tonight.
Seems like we were just celebrating Kieran's first Christmas.  Time is flying by!

Thanks for dropping by.  When we get information about our travel dates for China, I'll share the news here on Far Green Country.  Meanwhile, I'll be posting something Christmas related every day December 1 through 12th on my Mom Thoughts blog so go check it out.   

Livin' the good life.

Kieran decided to try out daddy's cowboy boots.

Walking in them proved to be a bit challenging....

So he decided to just sit and look adorable for the camera.

Yesterday, we made pumpkin cranberry muffins to share with friends.

Kieran and his buddies, Mia & Jett, enjoying the muffins we made.

On Monday, Kieran had his three year check up.  He weighed in at the 89th percentile for his age.  That's a huge turn around from when he came home 18 months ago and was in the 6th percentile!  He's also gotten taller, and is now at the 56th percentile.  Kieran is such a happy, healthy boy.  We are so blessed that he is our son.

Still waiting...

We found out today that we should be getting travel approval in 2-4 weeks.  That means we could travel as early as 4 weeks from Thursday, or as late as 8 weeks.  Either way, we are headed to China sometime in the next two months.  Of course, I'm hopeful for earlier so we can be with Marisa at Christmas.  We'll share more news when we get an update.  Thanks for your prayers!

I am thankful for dirty windows!

Before Kieran, Piglet was the star of our photos.  We still love her.
Notice the dirty window in the background?  Kieran is the culprit.

Now we have a new star in our pictures.  He shines so brightly whenever he smiles!
We adore him, even though he has sullied all of our windows.  

Our lives have been so greatly enriched by the addition of our son.
We have so much to give thanks for this year!

A special thanks to our neighbors, Tony & China, for taking pictures of our family.  You are so kind!

Making Progress!

We received our passports with visas!  One step closer to China!!

Yesterday we got several important items for our China adoption: our passports with travel visas, and our approval letter from the NVC.  Next, our adoption agency is contacting China to set up appointments and get travel approval for us!  We may be traveling in 6-8 weeks!!  

Some other families are traveling to China in a couple of weeks to meet their daughters.  One family has offered to take a care package to Marisa for us.  So yesterday I packed up a few items and sent them to our new friends.   My heart was cheered by the thought of her receiving something from her family while she waits for us.  We sent a small photo album, pjs with pandas on them, a toy, and a disposable camera for the care givers to take photos of the orphanage for us.  

Items we sent in a care package for Marisa.

In preparation for the care package, I learned how to write some Chinese characters.  There's a great website that teaches how to do this, and it gives the English translation for Chinese words. Check it out at MDBG Chinese - English Dictionary  I would love to have some lessons to learn how to write Chinese characters.  I'm putting that on my wish list of things to do in China.