Gym Rat

Mia has been taking non-competitive gymnastics classes for about two years.  She really loves it.  It has helped her coordination, balance and strength quite a bit.  This week, there was a photographer in the gym during her session.  She got to be a star, which is a great treat to every child her age.

Check out The Little Gym online.  Mia really enjoys it.

SK8 NITE

Tonight, Mia's school hosted skate night at the local roller rink.  We went up for about an hour.  I usually skate with her, but tonight she wanted to hang with her school friends.  The  last few skate nights, I've been able to skate with Mia for a little while, but she eventually lets me know that I can go sit down if I want to.  Tonight, there was no pretension.  She was not going to have dad cramping her style.  Oh well.  She'll need me when she wants gas money someday...

Pool Shark

Not that kind of pool...she's only five.

Mia absolutely loves the neighborhood pool.  We went at least once just about every weekend this summer.  Last weekend was the final go-round for the season, so we went both days.  This time, Mia was swimming and I was watching.  Number one...it's really cold in the water...if you're a sissyboy.  Number two, she can swim now.  She was happy to swim with friends while I hung out on the side.

Anyway, because I didn't swim, I could bring the camera.  And you know what that means.



Lord of the Ring!



SO COLD!

We've been practicing our diving.  Can you tell?

Hangin' With My Girlfiends...

Those of you who know Mia, realize that she is not a big fan of imaginary play.  She loves board games, card games, sports, playing at the park, and whatever else, but she has never picked up the art of making up stories in her head and playing them out with her toys.

Last weekend, she decided to put on a concert for her Barbie friends.  Of course, the star singer was...Barbie.  It was really cute and kind of a big milestone for her playing skills.  She provided the voice for Barbie and it was very entertaining for the other Barbies in the room and for us.



One Step Closer to Kennedy!

Last week on Thursday, I called to check on the status of our I-800 approval.  It was on the case manager's desk, but he could not tell me when he would get to it.  I prayed that day, and every day since then that God would move his heart and have him approve us either that very day or Friday.  Well...he approved it last Friday!!!  The day after I called!  WOO HOO!!

The form was received on September 13th, approved September 24th and in our mailbox on September 29th!!  That means it has been forwarded to the NVC. (National Visa Center)  The next step is that since our I-800 was approved, the NVC will "cable" or "wire" to China to issue Kennedy's Visa!!!  After they do that, we will receive a letter in the mail, known as the NVC letter, telling us that step has been taken.  We will immediately scan and email it to our adoption agency and Josh will forward it to China with some other key documents.  When that group of documents is signed off on, they comprise our "Article 5".  After we have that, the next step is TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!!  ("TA")  Within a few days of receiving TA, we will have our counsulate appointment set in China which determines our departure date...and we purchase tickets and GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE keep praying for this kind of speed with our paperwork!  It has been and will continue to be our prayer that we will travel to bring Kennedy home sooner than anyone thinks it is possible!!!!  We feel the prayers!  keep 'em coming!!!

We are coming, sweet Kennedy!  Hang on a little longer, girl!! 

Kennedy's Room...so far

OK, my last post, including an actual picture, was successful!  It was so much fun, that I am going to try and post pics of Kennedy's room now!  Look at me becoming almost a little techie!!  (Uhhh...not so much!)

We have Kennedy's room nearly completed.  We are leaving lots of wall space open for her.  She IS a teen-ager, and we figure she will want to have a say in HER room!!  We put up a large bulletin board over her bed so she can easily put up and take things down in that spot, as well as two photo boards over her desk so she can easily switch things up at will.  (I am on the look-out for some colorful beads or something to frame the bulletin board and make it more fun, as well as some funky accessories for the room.  If anyone has ideas, let me know!)  We tried to go with a quilt that could be for a teen-ager with the right accessories, or for a more mature young lady since she is at an in-between age.

The Care Package

I am about to attempt to post text AND a picture ALL BY MYSELF!!  Remember, I always leave this to Charles...so cross your fingers!

I received a picture this morning of the completed care package that will be delivered to Kennedy this week in China.  The amazing ladies at Gifts to China With Love added extra treats and some body lotion to the package as a gift from them.  I HIGHLY recommend their service! 

You will see her small, blue Chinese/English translator, the stuffed panda, the lotion and PLENTY of yummy treats for Kennedy to eat and/or share with her friends and care-givers!  It will also come with a letter we sent that they have translated for us!  We are hoping to recieve an email with a picture or two of Kennedy WITH her care package!  If we do, we will post it for sure! 

They already called the orphanage for us, and we received 2 recent pictures of Kennedy with her friend, Erin.  I think I need to get permission before posting those, though.  Ok, now I will try to add the picture:

Things that make you say, "Aww!"

This is the last weekend that our beloved neighborhood pool and splash pad will be open for the year.  Mia has spent MANY hours there since the summer, and finally learned to swim without her floaties!!  Go, Mia!  Anyway, she had a GREAT plan for her and her Daddy this morning the moment she jumped out of bed.  She decided that they should pack a picnic lunch, leave an hour or so before the pool opened at noon, play at the park and then eat lunch there.  That way, they could be the FIRST ones at the pool.  A tired, Saruday morning Dad agreed to the plan. 

I packed them sandwiches, chips and drinks...and off they went.   Aww!  How SWEET is that??!!  (Lucky me, I got to stay home and clean the house!  FUN times!)  But...the complete peace and quiet WAS rather nice!

After a couple hours of swimming, Mia had a good bath and I made her go take a short nap.  (That's where she is now.  More blissful silence!)  Tonight is date night after church!  We live for these rare occasions!  After the service, you can leave your kiddos there for pizza, lots of play and a Christian movie while you and your spouse go out for dinner at a place that actually might NOT have a kids menu!  We have never had a babysitter in the nearly 4 years that Mia has been our daughter.  Our family members are always busy, so we almost NEVER go out or have time for just the two of us.  The funny thing is that by the end of our date, we can't wait to get back to Mia and hear about all the fun she had!  We were really blessed with our amazing girl!  (... and soon...girlS!)

Sending a package!

Well, Charles is off playing softball tonight, like he does every Friday.  I must admit that I am NOT the technology-type.  Seriously.  I usually have Charles handle all things computer.  BUT, I recently found out about an awesome care package service called Gifts to China With Love.  I was poking around the website, and I was overcome by the need to send Kennedy some STUFF!! 

Knowing that she might not get to keep much, I did not order much.  However, I ordered a basic care package that comes with a translated letter to Kennedy, a small, stuffed panda, a small bag of candy, a call to the orphanage requesting an update and a current photo or two and a translation of a letter back from Kennedy if she is allowed to write one!!  I added an inexpensive "pocket-translator" to help her begin learning some English, and a "teen-treat" package with some good ole' chips, m&m's and the like!  I was sure to address the director in the letter, along with the letter to Kennedy.  I explained to the director that we would REALLY like for Kennedy to keep the translator to help her practice English words, and that we would like to use it WITH her when we arrive in China.  HOPEFULLY, that will up the odds that she will still have it when we arrive.

We have ordered Kennedy and Mia both cute, inexpensive name bracelets.  (I could not get one for Kennedy and NOT for Mia!!)  The next thing on our list in a few weeks will be to send the bracelet, a small photo album of her family, home, school, etc., along with another letter to Kennedy in China.  It will be cool for her to get ANOTHER package anyway!!!  The bracelet was a great suggestion from another mom of teens from China.  What a fun way for her to learn how to spell and write her American name!  (I wish it would hurry up and arrive!  :)

And BTW...I did the care package order and payment..as well as composing and emailing a letter and a family picture to attach ALL BY MYSELF!  Sounds funny to most of you, but I am OH SO proud of my little self! 

...and I can't wait for her to get her STUFF!

And just then, it hit me...

So...I'm walking into the FedEx office near where I work this afternoon.  I am making my way to the door when I feel a fleshy smack on the cheek.  At first I thought that a fly had bounced off of my face, but I could tell that it was still there.  So I wiped it off.  Still there.  Wipe again.  Still there.  Wipe again.  Ahhh.  That's better.

I looked down to see what it was.  To my surprise, I realized that it was a ladybug.  I've never been attacked by one before so I didn't know what it felt like.  That sucker hit me pretty hard.  I'm glad that I didn't squish it on my face.

So...is it good luck or not???  It's my second sighting in about two months.  And both were at a FedEx office.  It could be nothing more than free advertising for FedEx.  But it seems like a cool coincidence.  Hmmmmmm.......

The Accidental Comedian

Today, Mia and I were out driving around and running errands while Charles was working at home. The old Queen song, "Another One Bites the Dust" came on the radio. I turned it up and told Mia the story about that song being her very first favorite! Absurd, I know!! But, shortly after we returned from China with Mia, that silly song came on the radio. I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed Mia bobbing her head up and down to the beat with a HUGE smile on her face! (This was before she knew a single word of English, mind you!) I laughed out loud and called Charles to tell him the story. That night, Mia was toddling around in the office, and Charles put the same song on the computer to see what she would do. Same results...a dancing, head bobbing riot! For the longest time, we would randomly hum that tune and she would break out into dance mode!


Nearly 4 years later...today in the car, Mia says, "Oh, I remember this!" Then she starts "singing" HER version: "Dun, dun, dun...another one busts a gut!" I nearly busted MY gut laughing! She could NOT figure out what was so funny!


I needed a good laugh, so thanks, Mia!

Pinball Wizard

Mia and I are having our usual weekend play time this morning. Today she decided that pinball is her new favorite game. Old school!



About Kennedy Faith...

In the last 2 days, 3 different people at school have asked me what I know about Kennedy so far.  I realized today that I probably sent most of what I know in email form, not blog form.  For those of you who do not know, here goes!

We found about about our daughter by following the blog of the Kennedy family who adopted our daughter's best friend back in December.  When choosing an American name with meaning for Niu Niu, (her Chinese name) we decided to name her after that precious family that God used to lead us to her!  (Nice perk...I have always LOVED that name!)  We chose the middle name Faith because the road to Kennedy has truly been a journey of Faith for our family.

What I know about my oldest daughter is that she is beautiful!  Maybe stunning is a better word!  See posts from last week for proof!  She has a shy smile and LONG, thick, gorgeous hair!  Her file says, "She is a very smart girl.  She is open minded and very active.  (fits in at OUR house!) She loves literature and music.  She loves arts and crafts, dancing, playing piano and performing sign language.  She is an "A" student and has great self control.  She respects all her teachers.  (YES!!!) She is easy to get along with and easily fits herself in to new environments.  She is very curious and interested in advanced and new things.  She is a kind girl who loves to help younger kids.  (Great news for Mia!)  She is a team worker and loves group activities.  She is optimistic and talented.  She gets along well with her classmates.  She is an excellent student in the classroom and concentrates all the time which is why she always gets good grades.  She helps with chores, is neat and tidy and is a helpful hand to all the teachers."

What I also know is that we love her already.  We know that God placed her in our hearts and that we were chosen to be her forever family long before WE were even born.  I know that we CAN HARDLY WAIT to meet Kennedy and bring her HOME!  We know that God's plan is for US to build a family through adoption, specifically from China.  We know we are blessed beyond measure to parent two such amazing, loving, smart, beautiful and talented girls!

So...for now...that is what I know about Kennedy!  :)  Charles may add more later, but truth be told, he has been passed out on the couch for 30 minutes now, and it is only 9:30!!

Dinner and a concert

While eating dinner last night, Mia decided to release her new single.  It's called "My Beautiful Momma" and you have to hear it to believe it.  You'll notice that she doesn't have all of her facts quite right, but the song is sweet anyway.

A gift for her sister

Annie read a blog post with a great idea that we just had to steal.  We went shopping over the weekend and Mia and Annie found some cool matching necklaces.  Mia wants to save hers for China and present her sister with the other one when we meet in Guiyang.

Did you ever wonder why Hitchcock's "The Birds" was so scary?

I wrote a few days ago about having about twenty hummingbirds in the backyard.  Ummm...yeah...that's not a big deal anymore.  We have at least doubled that number over the last several days.  We are feeding once or twice a day and they are not afraid of us if we sit down on the back porch swing.  One buzzed Annie and Mia yesterday and they panicked.   I thought that I was going to have to break out the flyswatter.  Fortunately, it wised up and moved on.  But it showed how hungry they are now.

All we need now is some creepy Hitchcock music in the background.

WE HAVE L.O.A!!!!!!

I know that Charles will do a much better job if he posts today too, but I could NOT wait! 

Last night, when I was planning to go to bed extra early...I got a wild hair to work on the paperwork we will need once we receive the next big document...L.O.A.  I made a list of questions I came up with to help me finish up the last of the paperwork, and I emailed a list of the questions to Josh, our adoption agency contact.  (Instead of going to bed early!)

This afternoon, I went to my classroom to prepare for afternoon dismissal at 3:05 when I noticed an email from Josh that had just popped up a few minutes before that.  I read it quickly, then printed it to read later.

As I walked out to dismissal, I re-read the first answer that Josh had sent to my questions, because it didn't seem to make sense.  I looked back to see what question I had asked.  I asked if he knew when we might expect to receive L.O.A.  It hit me right then what I had read!!!  He had written that he was out of the office all morning, and that it was waiting for him when he arrived.  "IT" was the L.O.A.!!!!!  I literally screamed and ran back to my classroom to call him and confirm.  I asked if he was saying that our L.O.A. had arrived, and he said it was in his hand!!!!!!  I screamed in the poor guy's ear!  He was trying to tell me some important stuff...but I was not processing information!  I told him I would have to call him back when I could formulate sentences!!!

I tried to call Charles, and he did not answer!!  Mia was walking down the hall to my room from her kindergarten class and I ran to her, picked her up, spun her around and told her we might actually be HOME with Kennedy for Christmas!  I then ran out to my amazing co-worker and right-hand lady, Vianne, and started hugging her, jumping up and down and spinning her around! (Then I told her why...!!!)

I continued to try and call Charles several times as I ran through the school telling my teacher friends the news as I passed them in the hall!  I finally reached Charles, and the screaming started again!  I think I was hyperventilating or something because I could not feel my hands or my face!  I told Charles to call Josh, since I knew he could remain calm and rational enough to get details. 

We will receive the actual L.O.A. via FedEx tomorrow to sign and send right back.  We will also have to send all the paperwork I got the wild hair to work on last night!  Now I know that wild hair was God because He knew I would be needing it all tomorrow!!!!

Josh said the current estimate from L.O.A. to travel is 89 days.  That would put us leaving in early December.  We received our L.O.A. much earlier than the estimate, so we are now praying that trend continues and maybe we can go in November!!  All I know is that I could not ask for anything greater than being HOME with BOTH of our daughters for Christmas!  What a blessing that would be for our entire family!  It would also give us an extra 2 weeks of Christmas break with Kennedy before we have to send her to school.  That would help her SO much, so let's all pray that we will get that time with her!

We KNOW this mountain moved and this miracle was received due to PRAYER!  Thanks to ALL of you praying for us, and PLEASE continue!  Our specific prayer continues to be that we will be able to bring Kennedy home earlier than anyone believes we can!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!

A Thousand Pieces of Gold

There is an old Chinese proverb that refers to written words being worth a thousand pieces of gold.

For us, two emails (three, really) that we received this week are worth far more that that.  We got an email from Julie in Australia that showed us several pictures of Kennedy and her friends from a few years ago.  She was (is) so very cute.  We wish that we could post them...

We also got some new pictures of Kennedy with her friend in Guiyang from Monday.  We got a couple of pictures of her receiving the package we sent with Sue and her family, plus some others that are very meaningful.  We were pleasantly surprised about how long her hair was, and how ornately it was held back.  Mia will totally love having Kennedy do her hair done if it looks that cool.


THANK YOU BOTH for bringing us lots of joy this week.  We needed it.

Isn't she beautiful?

Hope she likes it...

Mia saw the pictures tonight and was inspired to draw a picture of her big sis with super long hair:

Gotta love it!

Worth More Than A Thousand Words

We got a huge surprise and a massive morale boost this morning.  While I was posting about yesterday's swim, we saw a blog post pop up about Kennedy's friend in Guiyang.  One of the pictures had her in it!!!

This is the best gift we've gotten in a while

Those of you who have been paying attention will notice that Kennedy is sporting some new bangs.  Of course, we love them.  If she had a mohawk, it would be cool with us right about now.  Sort of.  You know what I mean...

We also got to see a picture of a picture that is incredible.  We don't know any of the details, but there is a 2008 vintage poster of Kennedy up in her room.  It's super cool!

We hear that we'll get to see a close up photo of the poster later.  We can't wait!

Extra special, long distance thanks to Sue and family for taking and posting great pictures, and for delivering our care package to Kennedy earlier today.  We are praying for you guys to have a safe and happy trip.

We also found out that another friend of Kennedy's has some pictures of Kennedy from a couple of years ago.  We may get to see some of those in a few days.  How cool is that?

We have been struggling with the wait for the past few weeks.  Almost all of the milestones in the process have come and gone, so now we're at the waiting stage and it's getting harder and harder as the days pass.  The same thing happened with Mia, but we only had a few referral photos to hold us over.  Having pictures from friends has helped us tremendously.  The info we got today will sustain us while we wait.  At this point we are praying for our own LOA, so that we can get a step closer to travel approval.  We have considered this a step of faith since the first day we discussed her picture and now we are definitely in crunch time.  We have faith that this adoption can come together quickly.  We'll take any timing that we're given, but we are most certainly praying for sooner, rather than later.

Not Even E. Coli could spoil this lunch

Mia has been dying to eat Chinese food for about a month.  You'd think that's par for the course, but the irony is that she eats sweet and sour chicken, egg drop soup and shrimp.  She won't touch the rice, noodles, kung pao, general tso's chicken or any of the other standards.  Yet.  She admits to liking chicken feet (sweet!), but she won't eat them because mommy won't get near them.

Anyway, with the good news we got today and Mia's craving (mine too), we hopped over to Beijing for a lunch buffet.  It's a little out of the way, but we hadn't been there for a while and we wanted to see what was up.  We had a great lunch.  The food was good.  The service was good.  Most importantly, the occasion was great.

On the way out, Mia decided to ham it up.  You never know when it's going to strike.  It's like Top Gun.  She's only in the mood for a few seconds, so you have to take the shot when you can.  For some reason, she goes crazy for restaurant statues.  I guess it's harmless, until somebody builds a Jonas Brothers statue.....

Merry Christmas!!

Oh, wait a minute...it's the first week of September.  Of course, you'd never know it if you were walking around Garden Ridge this afternoon.

Ironically, this is all about fifty feet away from the Halloween aisle. 

That's just wrong...

Swimming with Papa

Some of you may remember the video of Mia swimming from a few years ago.  Back then it was a big struggle,  and without the floaties, she would drop straight to the bottom. 

Mia and I have been swimming a lot this summer.  We started with floaties and constant assistance.  She took swimming lessons earlier this summer and we have now graduated from the floaties.  She won't use her arms, but she can scoot from one side of the pool to the other pretty quickly.  We joke about her swimming like Aquaman, but she's gotten pretty good.

We took her to Papa's house yesterday and she showed Papa her skills.  He had not seen her swim in quite a while, and he was impressed.  Even though she cheated at water volleyball...  :  )

I'll go get it

Breaching

Race ya

Cannonball?

Where did she go?

Gratuitous Mia Photo

We get feedback occasionally indicating that there aren't enough photos on the blog lately.  So, here's a pic of Mia at Market Street.  We were looking for Sweet & Sassy this morning and I stopped her to take a picture while the weather was nice.

Thank you, mr. cell phone camera!

Bird Watching

We are having a pretty good hummingbird year this year.  We are one feeder away from our record of six, set in 2005.  Right before Rita hit the Gulf Coast we had six feeders going and Annie was adding food once or twice every day.

We have about twenty birds this year, based upon the activity level and the fact that they will feed while we are outside.  In 2005, we had distinct tribes that would occupy specific feeders and would attack rival birds at "their" feeder.  This time, it's kind of a love fest and everybody is mingling.  And so far, nobody has crashed into the living room window this year!

Is it weird to have so much fun watching birds eat?  For us, it's very peaceful or very entertaining, depending on who's doing what. 

Have you ever...

Have you ever missed someone you have never met?  More than ever, my heart is just ACHING for Kennedy today.  I fell asleep last night praying for and about her, then drifted off into an actual dream about her!  I woke up just missing her like crazy!  Does that make sense...or am I actually crazy?


Please pray extra hard that a series of miracles occur with paperwork and that we can bring her home earlier than anyone can imagine!!  She needs her family NOW!