A BIG step closer!

Isn't she lovely? Our precious paper baby started on her journey to Eastern Europe today! Please pray for her safe arrival. The stack of papers probably doesn't look like much to many people, but to us it represents months of time, effort, money, prayers, and even a few tears. It was with mixed emotions I handed her off at Fed Ex today. Yes, I am relieved to (hopefully!) be done with the paperchase, I am excited to be nearing the end of our "pregnancy", but it is a little nerve-wracking to hand off precious documents that mean so much to us and so little to those who will be responsible for their safe delivery! It is hard to believe that we are really, finally getting closer to the day we will see our Sam and tell him that his mommy and daddy have come to bring him home.

Anyone want an iPad?

We are thinking of doing an iPad giveaway to help raise some funds for Sam's adoption. We should be mailing our dossier to his country the end of this week, and travel is coming up and we are short of funds! Anyone interested?

We got the golden ticket & something else

Yippee!! It came! It came! Our approval notice from immigration! This was the last document needed to complete our dossier, which we hope will be on it's way to Sam's country this week.

So, what else came this week? Oh, nothing good I'm sorry to say! A nasty, awful, yucky, horrible stomach bug that has ripped through the house at lightening speed. Thanks to Irina who brought the lovely "gift" home from school this week. All but two of us have had the misfortune of experiencing this illness so far (yes, i had my fun turn, thank you). Yeah, you might not want to stop by for a visit for a few days. Some serious spring cleaning is on the agenda this week!

Super Bowl Sunday!

How to make your Sunday SUPER: Start with scones for breakfast! Yum!



After church, have some outdoor playtime (I am so thankful it warmed up enough for the kids to play on my in-laws porch this afternoon! They really needed some outdoor playtime and it is so muddy and wet with melting snow.)



After some yummy snacks for the game, you have to end with a scrumptious smores desset! Mmm mmm good!

What did you do today?

We slept in till 7 (well, some of us didn't actually sleep until 7, but mom has a hard and fast rule about not coming out of bedrooms before 7 on Saturdays). We picked up the new bedding for the boys' room, and now it is an all sports theme (Ivan was helping to model the new bedding as well as the new bunk beds-he is sitting on Sam's bed)! We had yummy homemade wheat-crust vegie pizza for lunch, we played, and we had a "freeze dance" party (note Luke's expression in his picture!). We(well, actually mommy) did a little laundry, we played, watched a movie, played and did some more laundry, and then it was time for dinner, bathtime and bed! Irina seems to love her big girl bed. (The reason her picture looks like it does is she has netting around her bed to keep her IN the bed and out of trouble. Unlike Luke, just seeing a boundary provides enough security for her to leave it alone and sleep peacefully. Luke is another story...)

Now, mommy and daddy are going to get some take-out sushi (yummy!) and go hide in our room and watch a movie-just the 2 of us!:)I hope your day was as fun as ours!

Where did the week go?

Seriously, between the weather and the crazy busyness of life, I can't keep the days straight! It's kind of embarrassing to wish someone a good weekend and then ask "it is Friday, right?". Oh my! So a brief rundown on some happenings in our life this week:

* We have a precious new niece named Ava! She is so beautiful and we are so thrilled for her mommy,daddy, and big sis Morgan! They don't live locally, so I haven't gotten to meet her yet, but two of my big kids got to travel with grandparents and claim her as the cutest baby girl EVER!
*Completed our (hopefully) last step toward immigration approval! Yippee! Our oldest daughter got her fingerprints done Thursday, so now we wait on that "Golden Ticket" (as we adoptive parents lovingly refer to immigration approval!).
*Irina transitioned from a crib to a big girl bed! She really seems to like it and is sleeping well. She looks so small on a twin-size bed. I will have to post a picture of her.
*Blair transitioned with no problems from his toddler bed to the jr.loft bed (but then again, he ended up there most nights when it was Ivan's bed).
*Ivan transitioned to the top bunk! This was more challenging than I thought. He was excited about getting a new bed, but I was surprised when he expressed fear at sleeping on the top bunk. Big sis Caroline volunteered to sleep up on top with him one (uncomfortable) night, and that did the trick! He has slept up there no problems since then! Thank you, Caroline!:)
*Irina wore big girl pants ALL day Saturday with no accidents (I am not brave enough to try underwear at school/while out yet)!
*Irina actually got to go to swim therapy this week! We have only made it twice so far as it has been cancelled every other time due to winter weather! She loves it(mommy honestly could do without putting on a bathing suit in the middle of winter, but I tell her each time it is a testament to how much I truly love her, because I know how much joy the pool gives her).
*For some reason, Blair and Luke decided 4 am was the perfect time to awaken this morning. This very tired mama did not agree, but now they are both back in bed and I am not. Life is definitely not fair:)