Winter Formal

Nothing new on either adoption... Other than the fact that we got our I800 receipt on Friday, yet it is still supposedly not even at the right office. (You send it to one and it gets forwarded to another. I will never understand why you don't just send it to the one it eventually is forwarded to!) Someone with our same LOA was already approved, so I don't know how ours isn't even there yet! Hopefully sometime this week, it will get to the right office and be approved! Praying...

So since there's nothing really new, here's a few pictures from our dance this weekend! It was supposed to be last Saturday, but with the snow, it was postponed. It was a very fun night, chocolate fondue fountain and all :)

I think I have mentioned this before, but Grace was on another agency's list before making her way on our agency's list in Nov. We were very blessed to receive this video that the last agency with her file had... I just love it. Her smile is contagious. In every report we've gotten, it has been said that she NEVER stops smiling. In all 10 videos (9 of them are from the camp she was at and are pretty short, which is why there are so many!) that we have of her, that has been so very evident. It's so fun to be able to see her "live." She's in the yellow shirt, by the way!

And also... do you see the girl in the blue shirt? She, too, needs a family. She is 11 years old and has repaired cleft lip and palate. She is "Brianna" on our agency's list (MAA- just request to join their yahoo group and you can see her!!) She is completely beautiful and her "greatest wish is to have parents." She is incredibly smart and like Grace, has been in foster care for 9 years. I have a few more videos of her, too, all of them with Grace by her side. I am pretty sure that they are best friends. The way they hold on to eachother in one of the videos.... I just need to see that she has a family. Could it be you??? Do you know someone who might be interested in this beautiul 11 year old?! Please spread the word... I know somewhere out there are the parents that she dreams about...

Happy Birthday, Mom!

(this picture was taken last week when our LOA came)

Happy birthday to the greatest mom out there... we love you!!

And just because. It was last year on Mom's birthday that we took that picture... you know, the one I refer to as "the picture that started it all?" Little did we know, one year ago, that we had 2 more sweeties waiting for us in China. Crazy how our God works!

While at the Cheese*cake Fact*ory...

So tonight, we went out to dinner to celebrate Mom's birthday (so everyone wish her a happy birthday... it's tomorrow!) We got to our table and I immediately noticed a family sitting at a table near ours. The Mom was sitting next to her two boys, who looked like they were 3 and 5. The dad was sitting on the other side, on his computer. After a bit of being on his computer, he sets the computer aside... I was thinking, thank goodness. Then I realized that the boys were WATCHING A MOVIE on the computer. At the Cheese*cake Fact*ory. I wish I was joking, but I am not. That just seemed RIDICULOUS to me. Maybe we are old fashioned... but... can people really not go out to dinner for one hour without bringing entertainment for the kids? Can families really not engage in eachother rather than relying on a t.v. show? Can people really not train their kids to sit still at restaurants without something always ON? Is THIS what our world is coming to?! Oh my goodness. I just thought that was the most ridiculous thing. The boys ate their entire dinner to the movie, and it didn't go off until as the were leaving.

More sledding~

Despite the fact that I went to get AC this morning and she was crying while saying, "the sun is out! All the snow is melting," it did stick around for another day... the first time we have had TWO snow days in a row in YEARS. Church was cancelled, so we had a late breakfast of coffeecake muffins and egg casserole and then the girlies begged to go "fledding" (as Kate calls it) again! All of the kids on our street were out and about making it a very fun afternoon... with lots of excitment on the big hills :) The girlies and I went up and down, up and down, as Dad talked to the nieghbors and rated the girlies sledding runs... which was a total hit to them! (and to his credit, he did go down a few times!) The girlies enjoyed sledding today just as much as yesterday and we got up to some big speeds after all of the snow froze over last night and we were left with a LOT of ice! There was more hot cocoa and cookies for snacks, and AnnaClaire played out in the backyard by herself for over an hour! Both girls are just LOVING this white stuff! I'm just happy because even though a LOT melted, there's still enough on the streets (and a high of 13 tonight to refreeze the wet roads!) so school was cancelled! WOO!

Thank goodness for snow... and the excitment it brings each and every time it comes... and a very fun, snow filled weekend! (and of course, that despite the fact that we HAD to have our 2 snow days over a weekend, that I'm getting me day off after all!

Not many pictures today... figured I had enough from yesterday and today was kind of the same... plus, sometimes it's just nice to enjoy things without always taking pictures!

Snow day!

We had such a fun snow day! We didn't get quite as much as we were expecting, but we did get some good sledding snow!!! And for once, it didn't melt and I am still holding out hope that enough will be around on Monday to cancel school! Anyway, the girls were soooo excited. We made snowman shaped pancakes for breakfast, Booie and I played her snowman board game, and then Dad, the girlies, and I headed out. The snow wouldn't pack enough to make a snowman or a snow fort, as AnnaClaire had wanted to do, but we did go sledding for a longggggg time and both girls LOVED that. LOVED it. I have never heard either girl squeal or giggle as loudly as they were as we sledded up and down the hill. We live on a pretty big hill, so it made for some fun sledding! I was surprised at how much Kate loved it to, as she cried last year. Kate was out for about an hour and a half and then her mittens had completely soaked through, so she went in and helped Mom make cookies and some hot cocoa. AnnaClaire's friend, Summer (she's in the pink shirt in the second collage), from across the street had come out, so they played for awhile, and then went to warm up inside at Summer's house with hot cocoa and cookies, too! They had a blast! They are only a week apart in age and have very similar personalities, so they always have fun together, and today was no different. I went over awhile later to pick her up and my friend and I took AC and Kate to another big hill for more sledding. They were so worn out after their big time and took great naps! Of course, by the time they woke up, the streets had completely turned into ice and we couldn't even walk without slipping, so much to their disappointment, we had no more sledding.

Oh, the joys of snow. :) Enjoy the pictures!! It was hard to choose out of all of the good ones that I got!!! I have to say- the perfectly white background makes my girlies look all the more beautiful!! (you can click to enlarge the collages and see all the pictures better!!)

First Snow of Season!!

We got our first snow this afternoon! The flakes came down fast for a while, but it just stopped... It's supposed to snow more tonight and tomorrow and we are supposedly getting close to 4 inches! (A lot for us southerners...) I have to say, the little girls are a bit more exicted than I am. First of all, I'm not even going to miss any school out of this! And second of all, our sweet friends who I blogged about adopting Aliana and Sarah Mei were supposed to fly home tonight, and their flight has been cancelled :(. But the girlies are so so so excited. We went to get AC up from her nap, and she was sitting on her window seat (with the biggest smile EVER) yelling, "IT'S SNOWWWWWWWWING!" Kate was still sleeping and I got her up and brought her to the window and she said, "It SNOW!" They were excited to get in their snow gear and catch some flakes on their tongues~ even if it was just for a bit. Maybe there will be enough to sled tomorrow :)

Oh and... I know our "first snow of the season" looks really pitiful... the pictures are from the beginning stages :) and remember... we live in the south!

And completely random, but here's some pictures of sending our LOA out on Wendesday:


Me and girlies... one holding the package with our LOA and one form, going to our agency... and the other with a bunch of documents that have arrived at USCIS!

AnnaClaire with her dossier to "send" off!

Oh and in other big news, our agency seems to think that our TA could come in 6 weeks!!!! I feel like that's a bit optimistic, but 7-8 is seeming more and more doable... which means that I *could* celebrate my 17th birthday in CHINA!!!! Please, Lord!!