Valentine Give Away!

Check out my friend Lisa's blog for a fun Valentine's give away!

http://abidingthere.blogspot.com/2009/01/valentine-giveaway.html

Who couldn't use something pretty to cheer up the winter blues? Good luck!

Play Dough Advice...

Okay, so sometimes taking the easy way doesn't pay. The one recipe didn't work at all! If it sounds too simple it is. This one worked much better:

http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/playdough-recipe.html

Mine didn't look as nice as the pictures, but hey it is the fun factor that counts and not the appearance, right? The above recipe made the right amount for 6 kids (my oldest wasn't interested in playing) and provided some quiet entertainment and I still got away without cooking it! I would suggest putting it on wax paper as it does contain olive oil. Maybe it will help those of us with dry skin?

Some fun with play dough!

Snow Day

No, not the fun kind with the white fluffy snow you can play with and make snow balls, but the wet mushy stuff that gets you soaking wet. So...we are stuck inside trying to find quiet activities for 7 kids while my poor hubby tries to sleep. I am going to attempt some home made play dough, only I am being super lazy and am trying a non-cooking recipe. We did have a productive morning...bedrooms cleaned (well, I haven't checked them yet, so this is according to child standards that they are supposedly "clean"), 2 loads of laundry done, 2 meals made/eaten, lasagna cooking in the crockpot for dinner(I heart my crockpot!), bread baking in the bread machine (okay, I could never survive the pioneer days! I love my appliances.), and multiple calls back and forth about refinancing....I think I could get more done with the phone unplugged right now. If I ever become a millionaire I won't hire a maid, but rather a secretary! I would so enjoy someone to take care of those busywork calls and paper finding!

Paper work!

Yuck! Okay, I know I've complained before, but I truly do not like the paper chase of adoption. I would prefer morning sickness, at least I would be losing weight and not gaining it! I know it is just part of the process, but it makes me crazy. Of course, choosing to get our dossier together at the same time as completing grant applications and trying to refinance doesn't help..and then there is the tax stuff to get together in a few weeks. I have a headache just typing this. I guess accounting and book keeping are not professions that I will ever aspire to.

It is getting done though, so that is the good news. Now just pray that all of it is done correctly and without errors. We already found out that we need to do another set of fingerprints because the form that went to our home study agency is not acceptable to the country we are adopting from, and we need one that is sent directly to us already notarized. I didn't know there was such a thing, so thank you to Jaime a fellow paper pregnant mommy who has been helping me along! Okay, enough complaining for one night. Headed to the notary tomorrow, after an eye appointment, a trip to have B's glasses repaired, and to pick up I's hearing aid which was broken. It is a month of paper work and breakage apparently (we've already replaced the printer last week and the DVD player went kaput last night).

Good news day!

Today our youngest sons I and B had their annual cardiology appointments. Both I and B were born in Hong Kong and have Down Syndrome and surgically corrected heart defects. The Doctor felt there were no significant changes, so she doesn't need to see them again for two years! Yippee! This is great news because they are doing well, and it also cuts down on the number of specialists we see every year. Good news considering we don't really know anything about Luke and Irina's health, so we don't know how many specialists appointments we will be adding once they are home.

I am working hard at getting the rest of our dossier together while we wait for our I 171H. Ugh. Did I mention I don't like paperwork? Of course, our printer decided to bite the dust a few weeks ago. After running to the library to make multiple copies, we decided that a new printer/scanner/copier was a necessity with the adoption paperwork (and the library isn't open when I seem to have the free time to actually get to the paperwork, usually around 11pm). So, now I have no excuse...well, except the notary isn't available at midnight!

One Step Closer!!

We had our immigration fingerprinting appointments today, so we are a smidgen closer to our I 171H!(This is the form that will give us our official immigration approval so that we can send our dossier and get officially started with the process in Luke and Irina's country) I remember our first international adoption how puzzling all the form names and numbers were, and although they are now quite familiar, I am still a total wreck filling them out and mailing them for fear of making a mistake or forgetting to include some important document! Now we wait and pray that it does not take the 10 weeks that is estimated. We had always been blessed to have our approval come much quicker than anticipated, so hoping it is the same this time. We also mailed our Home Study and medicals to our US coordinator to be checked for errors or problems. Please pray that everything is in order so we can move on to the other needed documents.

I want to thank all of you for your kind comments and good wishes! I am so new at this blogging thing that I'm trying to figure out how to respond other than posting. Please continue to keep us in your prayers! I also appreciate those who have grabbed out button, and I am more than happy to grab yours...just let me know your blog address!

Mommy and Daddy are coming, Luke and Irina!!:)

Thank you, Lu!

A very lovely lady from my Reece's Rainbow site gave me my blog makeover and made the button for Luke and Irina! Please stop by Lu's blog: http://thepoppiesblog.blogspot.com Thank you so much Lu, for helping this technology-challenged mom out!

Eight is NOT Enough!

So, I figure you might have guessed from the previous post with our blog button....we are expecting "twins"!! We are so excited! The country where Luke(this will be his new name!) is from, allows the adoption of two unrelated children if they reside in the same orphanage. Luke and Irina are not biological siblings, but they have been together since they were babies. Irina is just 2 months younger than Luke. As we prayed for direction, both my husband and I felt certain that the Lord was asking us to also bring home this precious little girl. We are so thrilled (okay, and honestly a little fearful at the thought of the challenge of having preschool aged twins).

Things are moving along with our process, although never as fast as one would like. Our home study is complete, and we are waiting for our immigration preapproval. We are working at gathering all the paperwork for our dossier (groan...I do NOT like paperwork) and we have to get some grant applications done ASAP. We knew stepping out on this journey that the Lord was going to have provide the funds in some miraculous ways, and now we need some additional funds for our sweet daughter. I promise I'm going to try to be much better at updating this blog than in the past!

Coming soon...

a blog makeover! Can't wait to reveal the new look as well as some exciting news! Now if only someone would offer to give me a personal makeover.....

Grab the Button!

Help us bring home Luke and Irina! Please grab our button and put it on your blog!




<a href="http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorboroughs.htm"><img src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/irinslukeproof.jpg" alt=" Irina & Luke " width="160" /></a><br/> <a href="http://justamomofseven.blogspot.com/2009/01/grab-button.html ">Grab This Button</a>