Carrie's engaged!!!

Friday night my litte sister Carrie (26) got engaged! She and Lcas met in Omaha, and are planning to get married in June. This is my first sibling to get married, so I'm really excited!! Of course, we did think my cousin's wedding on New Year's Eve was going to be our last for awhile, but alas, I guess we can handle one more. And, oh yes, Jesse will be ringbearer. From May 08 to June 09, we will have gone to 6 weddings, with one or more of us involved in the wedding for 5 out of the 6. Busy year!

Carrie, I'm so happy for you, and I pray you and Lcas will have not only a beautiful wedding, but a beautiful life together. I love you.

On December 12th, my students had a piano recital with an Animal theme. I think it's the most fun we've ever had at a recital! Each student played pieces with an animal in the title. They chose pictures of their animals, and I made them into a slideshow, which was shown while the students played. A few of them even dressed up like their animal. It was really fun! My plan is to have a different theme each year for the fall recital, so if anyone has any ideas for themes, send them my way!

Adoption Update

Tuesday we went to Baltimore to get our fingerprints done for USCIS. Our "appointment" was at 9:00, and we only had to wait until 10:00 for our turn. They were able to get all 10 of Heath's fingerprints, which he said was the first time for that. His fingers are always worn down from his work. We have everything ready for our dossier, and we just need to wait for USCIS approval before we can send the dossier to China. Meanwhile our agency said we could start looking at referrals (ie choosing a child) in January or February. We were hoping to be travelling to get her this spring, but it's looking like it'll probably be mid- to late summer, at least. (I wonder if the "adoption ticker" on this web page will reset when it gets to a year...it's quickly approaching the end of the chart!)

Quote of the Day

From the book cover flap of "Fields of the Fatherless" by C. Thomas Davis:

In this word you are an orphan--
eagerly anticipating your adoption as God's child.

In this world you are a widow--
longing for reunion with your Bridegroom.

In this world you are a stranger--
a pilgrim waiting to become a citizen of Heaven.

And in this world, God has called you to care for the orphan, the stranger, and the widow.

Wedding #3

On November 22nd, Heath's friend since high school, Kris Roberson, married Kristin Shields. Heath was a groomsman, and Ethan was ring bearer. This was Ethan's first time to wear a tux, and boy was he cute!!! (Heath was cute too, of course.) :) This was an adult-only wedding, so Ethan was one of 2 or 3 kids there, and we had a really special time with him at the rehearsal dinner and formal reception. He was such a little gentleman! Jesse enjoyed his first time having a babysitter and then Mommom and Granddad all to himself! Kris and Kristin are in the Bahamas for their honeymoon, and I'm trying not to be jealous as we sit under cloudy, gray skies and cold rain. It was a very nice celebration, and I'm very happy for you two! =) So, that's 3 weddings for us since October . . .only one more to go!

I-800A (adoption update)

We have submitted our I-800A to USCIS (immigration) for approval. This is what gives us permission to bring a foreign-born orphan into our country as our child. Unfortunately, this step of the process is supposed to take 3-4 months! Good ol' government at work. But, anyway, it's good to know that our part of it is done. According to USPS delivery confirmation, USCIS received our application on Wednesday. Within a few weeks they'll process it, and we should receive instructions for getting fingerprinted (yes, AGAIN). And then we continue to wait.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could have the virtue of patience without actually having to use it? =)

Jesse turns 3!

Jesse turned 3 on the 7th, and we had his party on the 8th. We just had a small group of friends and family over to our house. He had a great time! (Here he is playing with "Mater", his gift from Ethan.) He wants everyone to be sure to understand that he is now a BIG BOY, NOT a baby. The morning before his party he woke up crying, and I went to comfort him and made the mistake of singing "Hush, Little Baby." He got all upset and started crying, "I'm NOT a baby!!!" So I guess he's too grown up for lullabies now. He's growing fast in so many ways, and it's exciting to see all that he's learning. He's very expressive, so we get to hear his thoughts on things, which is lots of fun at this age. I'm sure this year will be full of excitement as he continues to grow.