Anchors Away!!!!

On Sunday Dart and I went for a training walk for the Komen 3 Day. We walked about 11 miles so we had a little time to talk. Somehow we got on the topic of boating and by the time we got back from the walk we had decided to buy a boat! It only took about 2 hours from the time we first talked about a boat until the time we bought one-what can I say that's how we roll (or float)!! We picked up our little lake boat (and ropes, wake boards, tubes etc.) today. We think it will be a blast for the boys who are, (not surprisingly), thrilled at the thought of being dragged at 50 miles per hour across the water. It is not the sailboat I've been wanting (afterall I am a Rhode Island girl) but truth is this will fit our family a whole lot better. Sailing although amazing does require work. This boat is all fun!


....so does it sound bad that I can't wait to tie my kids to a rope and drag them through the lake ? Maybe best to keep that out of the home study-might not translate well to Russian!

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Longest Drive

So let me just say right away, I'm not a good golfer. I love it. I am getting better. But, by no stretch of the imagination am I good. You know what they say though, it's better to be lucky than good!!! Yesterday I played in a golf outing for Geauga County EMS,(picture 80 medics, firefighters and physicians-77 of them male) and I won the "longest drive" contest! You should have seen the look on some of those brawny boys when they called my name. I am so ridiculously pleased with myself....is it too late for a 42 year old mom of 3 (soon to be 5) to join the LPGA????

NRFD Chief Kevin Sur & Dr Bob Coleman stealing our hole sponsorship sign!

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Inch by Inch

Ministry of Education

We are getting closer to our dear daughter. Today we learned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has approved our dossier. We now are off to the Ministry of Education. Our next milestone is assignment of a region and then the much coveted Letter of Invitation (to travel).

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Countdown to K Town

I probably shouldn't do this but what the heck. I've added a countdown clock to my blog (upper right corner). It is set for 6 months from the time our dossier was sent to Kazakhstan. When we were approved by the Embassy my agency told me they thought we would be able to travel to Kazakhstan sometime in the next 6 months. That would be amazing but based on what I've been reading lately on the Kaz list serves it seems like the wait for a girl 6-12 months old is more like 12 months. Of course I want to believe my agency so a 6 month countdown clock it is!

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Fathers Day 2008

Dear Daughter,

You don't know it yet but you have the best Daddy ever.

He is big and tall and very strong, a former football player in his college days. You will always feel protected. He looks a bit menacing with his shaved head and beard but that's just for show (especially for the boys you will someday bring home ) you will know that behind the tough exterior is a sweet, somewhat goofy and entirely lovable Dad. A big softy if ever there was one.

Your Dad is a hard worker and a "guy's guy". He the kind of dad that builds additions to the house and pulls the sink apart when its clogged. He knows how to fix stuff and how to put stuff together, he has a store of batteries in every imaginable size. He rides a motorcycle and listens only to classic rock and roll. He loves all sports as player or fan but mostly he loves to coach. When your brothers started playing hockey your dad said "I never thought thought I'd be the kind of Dad that sat on the sidelines". So at thirty years old he not only learned to skate but earned his certification to coach hockey. He's a good dad and a good man. You can be proud of him.

Your Dad isn't all brawn though he is smart-really smart. After nearly 20 years I can honestly say I have never met a man who is smarter than your Dad. He went to an Ivy League school called Brown- he will want you to go too. He went to graduate school-he will want you to go too. He will work hard to make sure you do well in school and since he is a teacher he will be very very good at that.

Your Daddy is the kind of daddy who will; read "just one more page" before he tucks you into bed, lift you onto his shoulders so you can "see", throw you high in the air and catch you every time, tickle you with raspberry kisses on your tummy and your cheeks and your toes. You are very lucky to have this wonderful man for your father. He is the Dad every girl wants for her own. He is our family's rock, our strength and foundation. He will make certain you are safe and cared for and loved.

He will be a great dad to you because he IS a great Dad already.

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LIDversary

Nine months paper pregnant for China....well at least my ankles aren't swollen.

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Woke up this morning...

I woke up this morning thinking about my baby in Kazakhstan. It was one of those weird half dreaming, half awake things. Anyway I had this strong sense or realization that she is already born. I don't know why this had not occurred to me before. Maybe it is a sign that I am starting to believe this is all really going to happen. But how strange to think that MY child is half way around the globe, unaware that I am here and missing her already.

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Two Daughters

I've had a couple of people ask if we are still planning to adopt from China so I think I need to clarify. Yes, absolutely, probably. We originally planned to adopt one child from China. At the time we were told that the timeline would be about 18 months start to finish. Which would have brought us to right about now. But soon after we submitted our paperwork to our agency we got a very different projection. We were told it would be more like 2.5 or 3 years. Given the timeline we started talking about age differences and after some more discussion decided it would be good if our daughter had a sibling closer to her age. Next we searched for a IA program that was relatively quick, had baby girls and was another asian country. This led us to Kaz. We were told that the timeline for adoption in Kaz was only about 12-18 months. This meant we could complete our Kaz adoption and have at least a year with her home before we travelled to China. Well as it turns out China is much slower than ever imagined. It is possible it could be more than 4 years before we have a referral, (which makes me even more glad we opted for Kaz when we did). But it does make things interesting. We may well be over 45 before we have a Chinese referral which means we would no longer be able to adopt the youngest of babies. This is not a huge concern. I am much wore concerned with how we will feel (in terms of energy) by that time. Also we did not imagine 4 years between sisters. So for now we are keeping all options open. We are planning for two girls but understand it may not come to be. We just have to trust that everything will happen the way it is supposed to.

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Catching Up

It's been a crazy couple of weeks and I am just starting to feel like I can relax a bit. I've been checking some of the blogs I follow and I've found a few more to add to my blogroll. I am so excited to see families from my agency are heading to Kaz and they are just 3-4 months ahead of us. Lately I've been trying to gear up for travel this winter. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment. But wow they are so close to us. Imagine if we too were able to travel less than 6 months from now!!!



My niece Courtney who has been living with us since April was a senior in highschool and as you might imagine had lots and lots of things happening those last couple of months in school. Consequently we had lots and lots of things happening too. Last weekend was her graduation from Glen Oak high School. My Mom (Courtney's Nana) came up from South Carolina to see her graduate. It was nice to see my mother but her visit was brief and hectic with all the graduation activity. Graduation day came and Courtney did great (no tripping on stage like she feared) but man, I'm glad its over.



Also we had lots of activites for the boys as they wrapped up another year of school. This week they FINALLY had thier last days of school. They staggered into summer with Kiefer finishing on Wednesday, Aidan on Thursday and Nolan on Friday. Good timing though-just in time for the first heat wave of the summer.



Nolan was especially adorable on his last day. He came in the door crying. The tears were rolling down his puffy red cheeks because.... he didn't want to leave 2nd grade...he didn't want a new teacher...he loves Miss Cotrell! OMG it was the sweetest thing imaginable. How could I tell my heartbroken 8 year old baby boy the truth-I didn't want him to leave 2nd grade either! If only I could keep him this sweet and innocent.



But no time for emotional mommy blather I have to yell at Aidan and Kiefer to turn down the TV which is currently blasting Guitar Hero II's version of "Schools Out for Summer".

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