Taite- We are all done with our homestudy and on Wednesday we are going to go do our fingerprints down at USCIS. Hopefully a few weeks later we will have our approval, send our dossier the embassy for authentification, and then off to China it goes. Our deadline to get our dossier into China is October 12th so I feel that we should be able to make that deadline for sure with how fast USCIS approvals are taking.
Vacation- Well we started off at Massanutten resort in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. This resort has become one of our favorite spots because they have so much for the kids to do. The kids had a blast and I was pleased that the big kids even enjoyed touring Monticello. They got a lot out of that tour and learned a lot about Thomas Jefferson that they never knew. We also spent a lot of time at the pool, watching the wildlife, doing go-karts, and hitting up the waterpark. Although we had a great time the end of our stay in Virginia was not very good. On Thursday night my mom fell down the stairs and broke her ankle. You could say that put a damper on the trip. She was supposed to go with me to NY after VA so I had to go with the kids alone and my dad and Keith all headed back to GAwith my mom. She is doing fine know but you know that has to ruin your trip. From VA I was brave an took the kids to my friends house in NJ and also was able to visit NY. We had an awesome time. The kids loved seeing our friends and their kids and were totally enthralled by visiting Manhattan. We also visited the beaches in NJ so it was an all around do all trip.
Our family at Monticello
Learning to write with quill pens
Delylah working on her tan
Mommy and Lennah on the go-karts
Logan on the bungy jump
Waterpark fun with Lennah and Delylah
Zach working the ropes
Arcade fun with Heather
My best friend and Jaime and her daughter Victoria
Pile up at the Jersey Shore
Enjoying Ralph's Ices
About to hit up the Staten Island Ferry
Logan and Heather in the subway
Zach and Heather on the Ferry
Burying Logan in the sand
Adoption/ Gotcha Day celebrations- Saturday was Lennah's Gotch Day. It is hard to believe that 5 years ago we were in Vietnam becoming parents for the first time and here we are only 5 years later with 5 kids and about to be 6. She is such an amazing little girl and I have to thank God every day for allowing us to be her parents. She is still the wild, fiesty, smart little girl we met 5 years ago. Lennah is such a joy and we just love watching her grow. Today was also both Lennah and Delylah's adoption days. Even though Saturday is Lennah's gotcha day her adoption did not formally take place until July 23rd. Delylah's adoption day actually took place before we even met her and were notified via phone that the courts in Ethiopia granted her adoption and we were offically her parents. So we were doublely blessed on July 23rd. We had some cupcakes for the girls and got them a little gift each to celebrate their special day. I can't even imagine our lives without these amazing, beautiful, smart little girls who we love more than anything else. We are one blessed family.
