Labor Day weekend

We generally spend Labor Day weekend at the lake.  Mom and dad had an after rehearsal dinner and wedding to go to so they were there for one day but then it was just us.  Ted's family was supposed to come down on Sunday for the day, but the forecast called for rain, rain and then a little more rain.  And the weatherman was actually right - it rained and rained and rained and rained.  So we locked up and came home.  We all went to Bryan and Lynn's house and the cousins had a blast.  Sam may have been the biggest hit of the night though.  He has gotten so funny and does the funniest things.  And, of course, he loves the reaction of laughs he gets.

kids at the lake before the rain began

Shannon and Matt Fagan (for those who don't know, Shannon is the oldest of the Holt cousins and she is like 3 year younger than me.  She and her husband love to call me Aunt Shannon!)

Katelynn (8) and Ann Park

Sam saying "cheese" while eating an apple

Carson  - Shannon and Matt's oldest

Ward and Wilson

Sam has taken to wearing his rainboots EVERYHERE.  Fashion statement.

all the cousins - well this isn't all of them, but most of them under the age of 9

Ward and Ann Margaret

Katelynn with her birthday cupcake/cone.  We celebrated the September birthdays and the kids LOVED the cupckaes inside the cake cones.

Sam showing his "big eyes."  He has been squinting whenever we say "cheese" so we told hi to give us big eyes.  This is what we get now.  It was a hit and you can see from the pictures below that he ate it up!

Ann Park loved her cupcake . . . well maybe just the icing!

Chugging along

Sorry that I haven't written anything in a bit.  It is not that there isn't a lot going on - there is - but I just don't really have anything to say.  We are still anxiously awaiting hearing about finally being registered in Russia.  Still no news, but I am not going to get upset about it as our agency said it would happen by the end of this month.  Now, if Labor Day comes around and we are still not registered, I would stay away from me if I were you.

The kids had their first full week of school last week and Sam started preschool.  Sam is adjusting, although he is till crying when he is dropped off.  The teacher assures me that as soon as I am out of sight he is fine though and I believe her.  He is all about manipulation.  For instance, we gave up the pacifier two weeks ago and were doing great and all of a sudden while we were down at the lake last weekend he started the crying when we put him to bed.  Last night it was for 45 minues.  And crying is probably not the term for it - more like screaming at the top of his lungs.  Fun times.

Ward and Ann Park are loving school.  We are getting used to our new routine and after school activities are starting up.  Homework is such a chore with Ward and I hate always having to be the bad guy but I guess that will be it until he gets a little older.  Ann Park, on the other hand, can't wait to start her homework and tell me all about her day.  It is a nice change from the attitude that Ward can pull when I mention getting our homework done.  As far as after-school activities, Ann Park is doing soccer and gymnastics and Ward decided to do soccer and tennis (no karate this year, which I am sad about becuase he was really very good).  He is also going to do Cub Scouts which is right up his alley.  Anything that has to do with being outside is, really. 

So that's it.  Like I said, no real news - just getting back to our school routine.  I am coming down with a bad summer cold which really stinks.  Eating zinc losenges and trying to get good sleep.  I don't want it to interfere with my tennis on Thursday.  That is one thing that I quickly got addicited to and I haven't even played a match yet!  Really loving it. 

I600A Approval!

Everything with this adoption seems to be going slow and has been held up for reasons beyond our control.  I should say everything except for our I600A Petition!  This is the form that is a pre-clearance from Homeland Security which allows us to bring our little girl back home without as much red tape.   It was so nice to get this in the mail yesterday, as I had heard from some people that it could take a couple of months after we got our fingerprinting to receive final approval.  IT ONLY TOOK ONE WEEK!!  The approval is now sent to Moscow and also to the National Visa Center, where we will file all the documents from Russia (once we have court approval) and make our little girl a US citizen.  I am thrilled.

And hopefully we will find out that we are registered in the next week or two.  I will keep you posted!

One down, lots to go

Yesterday both Ann Park and Ward had wonderful first days of school.  I knew that they would, but it is always nice to have that confirmation.  They were both so excited to see me when I picked them up, and we headed over to Sonic with a few friends for a first day ice cream treat.  Mine were bouncing off the walls without the sugar from the ice cream, but when I finally stuffed them back in my car they were besides themselves.  They were fighting to each tell me about their days, and I had to just slow them down and get them one-on-one.

Ann Park gave me more of a play-by-play - just like a girl.  She said that her morning "work" consisted of writing her name and working on writing her letters.  Then they took a tour of the school which she loved and got to see the gym, art room, computer room, library (which she especially likes because they have new iPads!) and, her favorite, the playground!  She liked "ordering" her lunch from school (chicken dinosaurs, green beans and rice), but outside play was the best since she got to see her best friend, Paul Vincent, who is in the other kindergarten class.

Ward was a little less specific (typical) but said that although there is a lot more work in 1st grade, he still thinks that he is going to like it.  He really liked that his teacher has a lot of books on animals and thought that it was very funny that he brought homework home for mommy!  (Just a little contact sheet, volunteer sheet, and "get to know your child" sheet).  He also liked recess the best, but can't wait to go to P.E.  They didn't get to go yesterday since they got out at 1:00.  Full days don't start until next week (and Sam starts preschool!!!!).

But I think that the best part about hearing about their days came from Ward's teacher.  I had e-mailed her about Ward's puppet that we made during the summer as our summer reading project because Ward was unsure if she had gotten it out of his backpack or not.  Of course, she had, but she also gave met his image of my sweet son:

What a blessing it is to have Ward in my class. I wish you could have seen him say his prayers in class - so precious and sincere (with eyes closed & hands folded, all without being asked). What an incredible young man! It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about his sweet prayers today!

We are going to have a great year!

First day of school pics

Just sent Ward and Ann Park off to their first day of school with daddy.  I had a little tear in my eye, but know that we are going to have a great year.  They were bouncing off the walls with excitement.  Here they are in their precious uniforms.  Ward was not excited about the pictures, but we got some good ones anyway!

Ann Park was so excited to wear her uniform!

Ward had to pick his place to pose!

backpacks on!

in daddy's car, ready to go!

A good side effect to having them both leave at 7:30?  I actually got to get ready without anyone distirbing me and then got to spend some time with Sam one-on-one.  

Open Classrooms

Today was "Open Classrooms" at Saint Francis for Ward and Ann Park.  They both got to go to their classrooms, meet their teachers, see where their desk is, and see old (and new) friends.  Ward was so excited to see some friends he had not seen all summer. He didn't want to leave his classroom and told me that I could leave him for a while and go back to Kindergarten with Ann Park!  It was hysterical.

Ann Park was a little apprehensive about today.  Yesterday Ann Park went to the kindergarten rooms and had a little evaluation - nothing big - just a few questions so the teachers could see where she is.  She had to do some sorting, make some patterns, identify letters and give sounds for letters. She nailed it and got every question correct.  (She didn't know that I was listening.)  She was VERY nervous and acted extrememly shy.  I am talking head down, hand close to her mouth, and grabbing on to the back of my leg.  Basically, nothing like her real personality but I know that it had to be very overwhelming for her.  We still didn't know who her teacher was, however, until today.

And, we got the BEST BEST BEST news - she has Miss Noto - the SAME teacher that Ward had last year!  I really bonded with her and Ward grew so much academically, spiritually, and emotionally in her class.  I know that she will help mold Ann Park in the same way.  It is truly an answered prayer.  I am sad, however, that most of her friends from the preschool are in the other class.  But I think in the long run that this may be better.  She still gets to see them at lunch, P.E., outside play, etc. and the classrooms are connected.  She is just not learning with them every day.

Ward's teacher is also incredible.  Every single parent who has had her has told me that she is their child's very favorite teacher.  Period.  And 1st grade is a tough year - lots of learning.  They make HUGE strides in reading and writing and most kids are reading chapter books by the end of the year.  That is a very big step for Ward (or should I say lots of big steps) but I know that he will get there with the guidance of this teacher.  She is also so strong in her faith and constantly remind the children of the presence of God and Jesus in everything that they do.  Can't wait to see Ward grow this year.

With all that said, I actually think that the best part of the Open Classrooms was when we were leaving.  Ward and Ann Park were skipping to the car and I could tell they were so excited.  Ward gave a big "woo hoo" and said that he could not wait to get to school tomorrow.  Ann Park was similarly excited and said that she was "so glad that she had Miss Noto."  The whole scene made me so happy and know that we have the kids in the right place (a decision that many of you know I struggled with).  Their excitement was infectious and I found myself smiling the rest of the afternoon.

What I needed to see

It is amazing to me how God can use the strangest things to put exactly the things you need to see/hear right before you.  I just got back from taking Ann Park to meet her kindergarten teacher (she starts on Wednesday!  Where did summer go?) and I thought that I would check out Pinterest, my latest and preferred method of procrastination (so sorry Facebook).  Here is what I saw when I pulled up the site:

Pretty perfect for what I said in my last post, huh?  I thought so.  Now I just need to put that into practice.  Maybe I should print it out and put it somewhere I look each and every day as a little reminder!

Frustrated

The adoption process can be very cruel.  You gather every piece of information about yourself, write a biography, have medical exams, etc., and have a social worker examine your lives to make sure that you are good enough.  (Can you imagine if people had to do this just to have children?  I think that there would be a lot less children!)  The social worker then writes a report on you/your family and all that paperwork then as to be notarized, only to then have a super-notary (apostille) from the state before going to Russia.  Oh and in the meantime, you have to get your fingerprints taken like a million times.  Apparently once is not gonna cut it.  You have to do it for the state for their background check, and then for the federal government for their background check.  But of course the feds need more than one copy and they need fancy copies.  So Ted and I had to go out to a not-so-nice area of town this morning and have biometric fingerprints taken (they are done on a computer so no nasty ink this time) for Immigration (i.e. the Department of Homeland Security).  But at least that is done and now we just have to wait (more on that in a bit) for Immigration to pre-clear us and our little girl. 
But on to the waiting. I know that in my last update I was all upbeat about getting some good news.  Well, the news wasn't as good as I thought.  Yes, we are through the last step with Immigration which is great, but it looks like it won't be until the end of this month (as opposed to the beginning) until we are officially registered in the Russian adoption system and find out what region in Russia our little girl will be coming from (and where we will be travelling to meet her and bring her home).  The translation process is taking longer than usual, for some unknown reason.  Ted wonders why they don't just use Google Translater, but in all seriousness, it seems like it could be a little faster.  I guess that is just a common theme with adoption.  Once you are registered, the usual wait time is 6-9 months until you are matched with a child.  And then we have the two trips over there (generally around 2 months apart) before we can bring her home.  So if we are lucky, we may be matched by March, let's say.  Then we have the first trip in April and the second in June.  Then we will probably come home in July.  But it could be later.  And that is a very hard reality that is starting to sink in - especially when I had been thinking that it was going to be in the April time-frame of bringing her home. 

So, the short of it is that it will just be LONGER and more WAITING until we get our daughter.  I am trying to hold on to the thought and knowledge that it is all in God's hands and He has the perfect little girl for our family and the waiting is necessary.  Patience is a virtue, I know, and one that I really need to work on.  But it is so frustrating when I look at all the time nad effort we have put into it.  I am trying to look at the bright side of our reality, but when I had my mind on something sooner, it is hard to change without feeling disappointed and frustrated. 

Lake Swimming

As I said in my last post, the kids have really taken to swimming in the lake.  No real water sports yet (although Ward was skiing last summer he is scared this summer), but I am just happy that they are getting the lake memories like the ones I have with my sisters.  Here are some pictures of them all having fun at the lake from the past couple of weekends.

Ready, set . . .

JUMP!

the "step off" style of jumping

playing with some throws from Mardi Gras!

sweet Ward!

Last week of summer

I can't believe that this is the last full week of summer.  Ward and Ann Park start school one week from tomorrow (albeit they only go until 1 those first three days).  Ward is heading off to first grade . . . and my baby girl to kindergarten.  My how time flies.  They are both excited for all the fun a new school year brings.  I know that there will be many challenges down the road, but I too get excited for a new school year.  My OCD leanings love all the new supplies, organization, clothes (esp. the precious girl uniform jumpers!), and clean tennis shoes. 

I also love getting back into a routine.  Summer time is fun since the rules are more relaxed (i.e. the kids can watch TV during the week) and bedtimes are more flexible.  But I am ready to start back on the school schedule and get back into our routine.  My kids are just happier when they know what is coming.  I can probably blame myself for the fact that they are not those "go-with-the-flow" type of kids since I started them on schedules before they could even hold their heads up.  Of course, they are always willing to break the routine and have a fun day "without mommy's rules"!

On another note, I have some really cute lake pictures to post from a couple weekends back.  All the kids have taken to the lake - even Sam.  The first thing he wants to do when we get there is get in his life jacket and swim in the lake!  I have been amazed at how he will just swim around.  I think that he likes having the freedom and knowing that he can trust his life jacket to keep him up.  It also really tired him out which leads to a nice long nap in the afternoons!