A Merry Christmas Update.

So since I am generally too lazy to write a Christmas letter you can consider this your letter and update.  (I did just print some cards, tho.  Yes, at 6pm on Christmas eve.  I'm right on top of it this year.)

The kids are very excited for Christmas.  By excited, I mean wound up.  There's so much energy all up in here I just can't believe it.

Except for the part where they all decided to get a fever today.  So... less energy today than before.  But more whining.  They're lucky they're so cute. :) 

Right now they look like this.  Veggin' in front of a movie.

For Thanksgiving we went to The Homeland.  It was a pretty quick trip, but we were able to see everyone who lives out that direction, and we ate lots of delicious food.  The kids really loved playing with the kitties and they keep asking when we can go back.

Raya turned 3 at the end of November.  It was a very Frozen birthday.  :)  She was all kinds of excited.

And donned much bling for the occasion.

In November, our new cousin Lyla finally got to come home!  She's Nathaniel and Emily's 5 year old daughter, home by way of international adoption.  Hooray and Welcome Home, Lyla!  We're very excited to meet her, but thought we'd give her a little time to adjust to all the new first.

This is not Lyla.  This is Raya. 

And these are my boys.

We are currently waiting on TA (Travel Approval) in which China says it's ok for us to hop on a plane and come get Ephraim.  Once we have TA, we choose a visa appointment at the Consulate and book tickets.  Within a couple weeks of TA, we'll be on our way.  It's getting close!!

And we got new pictures and measurements of Ephraim.  So he's 21m old by now, and roughly the size of a 9m old.   Overall, doing well.  And cute, of course.  But I can't post pics just yet.

So here's Mr. Potato Head instead. 

LOA~

Last week we were notified that our status was listed as Match Reviewed, and today our agency received our official  Letter of Acceptance!  

Next comes the I800 (a US Immigration form) and... then some other stuff... and some other stuff, and all this stuff usually takes around 2-3 months.  So it's looking like we'll travel sometime in January!  Holy Cow!  

Fun Fact:  We left on January 1, 2010 and had Isaac in our arms on January 3.  

5 years.  4 kids.  We be outta our minds, yo.  

It's gettin' real all up in here!  :)  

And I unfortunately do not have any updates on Ephraim.  China is allergic to that, apparently.  But here's an old picture of his tiny little baby hand.  :)  

Time Flies

Man, it's been so long.  I used to be such an avid blogger and blog-stalker, but lately I just don't keep up.  Life has been busy.  School started, Isaac's in first grade, and loves it.  He's getting so much better at reading!  This kid, he eats an unbelievable amount of food.  I cannot imagine the grocery bill when he's a teenager.  I guess he needs a lot of energy, tho.  His favorite thing is recess, where he generally entertains himself by running races with his friends, or playing soccer.

Eli and Isaac are both playing soccer this fall, which is so much fun, and hilarious!  4 year old soccer is my favorite, because it can only be described as total chaos. Kids running every which way, kicking haphazardly at the ball.  Eli runs on and off the field willy nilly, when he feels like he needs a drink, or to tell me he scored a goal, or because he doesn't feel like sitting on the bench anymore, or he needs a break to go grab a stick off a tree and play ninja for a few minutes. Seriously.  It's the best.

Watching Isaac's game while he's waiting for his turn.

This was after his 6th goal of the game.  Notably, they were playing without goalies, but still, I was impressed.  It was so cute, tho, after the first few goals he scored, he did this muscle pose.  Of course, I never had my camera ready for that.  But I still think he's the cutest.  :) 

So. Much. Fun.

Cheerleader!

 

Raya is talking and singing up a storm.  She loves to tell long stories, and while most often I can understand her, when she's on a fast streak, I'm totally lost.  She loves all things Frozen, and we frequently hear stories about Elsa and Anna and Snowman.  When she gets to wear her Elsa shirt, it requires rejoicing with jumping up and down and screaming in joy.  Raya still believes she is the boss of the world, and does not like to be told No.  I suppose that's typical of any 2 year old.

Such a big girl riding her bike!

No updates on Ephraim.  Still waiting for the "reviewed" status, which could be anytime in the next few weeks I suppose.  We're still probably looking at January or February for travel.  I don't have any new pictures or updates or anything on him, which is kind of a bummer.  His orphanage seems to be really not into sending those out.

OOT!

So, are we loving all these acronyms?!  :)
I got an email yesterday that we are Out Of Translation!

One more step, albeit a small one.  Next step is Reviewed, and that is apparently taking about 6-8 weeks.  Still several steps yet, but so far we are on track yet for that original plan of traveling in late January or early February.

Seriously, one of these days I'll get to some pictures...  :)

LID!

As of yesterday, we are LID!

This means we are officially logged in with the CCCWA and they are processing our papers.  The next updates will come when we are OOT (Out of Translation), Reviewed, Matched, and Match Reviewed, and then our LOA (Letter of Approval).  LOA is the next "big step."  They say this takes approximately 3 months.

I'm actually not sure what happens after that, because my brain can only handle so many acronyms at a time.  They say 6 months to travel, whatever it is, it apparently takes another 3 months or so.  But lest my brain become overwhelmed, let's go one step at a time, shall we?  :)

For today, I'm celebrating LID!

And one of these days I'll get around to blogging some summer things, the first day of school, and other various and sundry activities around the 'hood.
Maybe...

DTC!

We are DTC!  

That means, for those of you not into the adoption lingo, that our dossier is all done-

notarized

certified

authenticated

and China-bound!  

So now what?

Well, there are many steps on the China side that I am not that clear on presently, but the moral of the story is that in approximately 6 months, give or take, we should be traveling to pick up Ephraim!!  

Woohoo!

I haven't gotten any updates on his handsome little self, tho I've asked a few times now.  Apparently sometimes updates are slow (or nonexistant) coming out of the various orphanages. (Boo!)

I am relieved, tho, to have the papers all done and on to the next stage of waiting!  :) 

New Family Pictures!

Love these!  

Thank you, Thank you,  Emily Photography!

These Kids. They are comedians, and they don't know it.

Mostly for the sake of my memory, here are some recent(ish) conversations at our house.


Me: Goodnight guys. I'm going for a run.
Isaac: Then you'll be sweating LIKE A FREAK when you come in and hug us!


Eli: Ababa, tell me the truth. Were you sleeping with your shirt off?
John: Yes, I did.
Eli: Are you lying?! You're in trouble! You need your shirt on!


Me: (in an overly excited and encouraging voice) Raya, shall we go sit on the potty?!
Raya: (non-chalantly) No, I go in my pants.


Raya: (very excited but mostly unintelligible toddler-jabber)
Eli: That's a really good story, baby!


Me: Why is there a hose in the tree?
Isaac: We were trying to get the frisbee down.
Me: With a hose?
Isaac. No, with a rock.
Me: So... Why is there a hose in the tree?
Isaac: I don't know. Cuz we swinged a rock in the bag- very carefully and did not hit Raya- and we threw it up in the tree to get the frisbee out, and then the rock fell out and the bag got stuck.
Me: So you tried to get the bag out with the hose?
Isaac: Yeah.


Isaac: (wearing a shirt that says "I'm gonna change the world.") Mom, who's going to change the world?
Me: Well, God is. But if you ask him, maybe He'll use you to do it.
Isaac: That would be awesome. I'm going to change the back yard into a swimming pool!


Me: Oh, did I say Isaac? Sorry Isaac. I meant Eli.
Isaac: It's ok mom. I still love you even if you can't say my name.


Isaac: I smelled those flowers. They smell super good.
Eli: They smell like ham?


Isaac: God made the sun.
Eli: Yeah. And grass! And trampolines!
Me: What day of creation included trampolines?
Eli: Next week!


Isaac: Mom, do ears have earwax?
Me: Yes.
Isaac: So the bugs will get stuck in the earwax.
Me: Bugs?
Isaac: Yeah. If bugs fly in there, they'll get stuck, and you can just smoosh them with your ears.

Eli: For my birthday I want to be The Hulk, and Iron Man, and Captain America, and Superman... (pause) Hulk has purple underwears.
Isaac: Yeah. He wears girl pants!

In Which We Can Prove that We are Citizens!

So I finally got around to applying for the "new" kids' certificates of citizenship a few months ago.

So... introducing:  America's Cutest Newly-Officialized Citizens!  Woohoo!  

And since now we're working on adoption #4, it's good to be finished with adoptions #2 and 3.  

Too bad they spelled Raya's name wrong... not quite sure yet how to remedy that situation...

So maybe not quiiiiiiiite finished yet.  Sigh. 

In Which it Has Turned to Summer.

This one graduated kindergarten.  So now it's officially summer! 

(And it's true that he's the cutest graduate ever.) 

We got a very huge first strawberry harvest, and couldn't wait to eat them.

Grandma Barb took us for a golf lesson.

This one, he has impeccable form!

And after golf, we went for a swim! 

Swimming is the best.

We're off to a great start!  I love summer.  :) 

2 Years.

So Blessed to be their Mama.  

There just aren't words. 

Random Things We've been Doing.

Isaac plays soccer.  

 

And baseball. 

 

(He usually plays third base, but his moment of catching glory was too cute to pass up!) 

It keeps us busy.  I'm not sure why we decided it was a good idea to do both simultaneously, but he sure has a good time anyway. 

And we are getting good at watching and cheering.  (Or not watching and eating a lot of snacks.  Depending on who we are referring to.)   And actually it's been really fun to watch.  Isaac has really gotten better this year in soccer.  Something really clicked, and he's much better about being aware of where the ball is, and that he should be kicking it down the field to make a goal.  Last game he scored 4 goals!  (The team's total score was 5, and the 5th was scored by the goalie of the opposing team, and even that was after stopping one of Isaac's kicks.  Yeah... little Mama Brag Moment there.)  ;)  

Eli is sad he's not quite old enough to play, having missed the age cutoff by about 6 weeks.  He can play in the fall.  He can't wait! (However, I can.  They start much too late in the fall for my preference, and by the end, it's much too cold for enjoyable soccer!)  And this one.  He is hilarious.  Which surprises no one whose ever met him, I'm sure. 

Raya is talking up a storm, but I only catch about 20% of what she says.  But boy does she have a lot to say.  Heaven help us when those are actual words!  We're about to get an earful, I think.

 

This weekend we did Ribs.  For those who don't know, "Ribs" is when John and his dad and brother in law grill 100 or so pounds of ribs and then people come over and eat and have a little get together.  This happens about twice per year, and is generally a good time. 

And for the record, it's looking like a no-go on homeschooling for this year at least.  I was game, but John wasn't feelin' it.  So... we'll give it another year and see what we think. 

That One Time When Some Things Happened.

Maybe one day I shall be so productive as to catch up on all the many wondrous and delightful things that have been going on here in the 'hood.  But maybe not.  I am far behind.  For today let's cut our losses and move on.  

The Big One is finishing up kindergarten, and still loves school.  The Littles aren't so little compared to their former selves, and finally it is semi-consistently feeling like spring.  And if April showers can bring May flowers, then Semi-Spring can bring Big Changes to our Family!  

Checking on the seeds we planted

Revelation #1:  

At the end of May, I am going to be working only 2 days per week.  (And the villagers rejoice!!)  It's something I've been tossing around for a while (like 2 years at least) and had talked The Powers that Be (ie hospital administration) and they were always saying No-Go on the Semi-Retirement.  But somewhere amongst the blizzards and Christmas break and more blizzards I had almost 2 full weeks off, and on the eve of my return I found myself dreading going back.  I finally decided that for this season I belong here, with my short people.  (And for those of you who know me and my Legendary Indecision, this is nothing short of miraculous for me to make a decision, not analyze it to death and then change my mind again 10 minutes later.  Which now that I think about it basically sums up the last 2 years.) After said 2 week break, I announced something of an ultimatum:  Starting when school lets out, I'll work 2 days and no more.  Take me or leave me.  And they took it!  So... Quasi-Stay-At-Home-Mom, here I come!  

The remaining 2 days per week are the plan for now.  We'll see how this works.  I want to not be out of medicine completely because it changes so fast, and if you don't stay current, you become obsolete.  And of course you have to keep your license and certification and education credits and skills and all that.  I am not ready to become obsolete yet, but for now 2 days a week still leaves me at home most of the time, and we'll take it as it comes.  I'm excited to be home more! 

 

Revelation #2: 

I'm seriously considering homeschooling Isaac in the fall.  Y'all can be scratching your heads right now, and thinking I must have been struck in the head by some kind of meteorite, and you may not be wrong.  I don't actually remember being struck, but such is the nature of traumatic brain injury.  Currently I am looking into childcare options for those 2 days I will still be working, and researching curricula, and talking to basically every homeschool parent that I know (and there are many!)  and I'm really excited about it!  So we'll see what happens there too.  

Revelation #3:  

We are going to China!  And I don't mean on vacation... Raya's going to be a big sister!  :)  We're already matched with a little boy in China, who just turned 1 in March.  He has some heart issues which appear to have been corrected surgically already, although every child- adopted or not- is an actual person and always full of surprises.  He's as cute a as a button (and about the size of a button, last we heard), and I can't wait to show you his picture if you see me out and about, although I am not going to post his picture here (or anywhere online) for security reasons.  He won't be home for a while yet... no exact timeline, but maybe early next year.  Ish.  Oh, and his name is (will be) Ephraim!  (Or "Eppem," in Raya-speak.)

There are some other things percolating, but nothing official, so I'll leave it at this for now.

And maybe if I have more time on my hands, I'll keep on this blog a little better!  

My (singular) devoted follower will be so relieved!  Ha.