LOA

Exactly 2 months from Log In Date we have an LOA for Taite. We are one step closer to bringing home our little girl. Yeahhhh!

Officially Logged In

Last week we found out that we were officially logged into China on September 26. Apparently now we wait for a letter of approval from China. I have heard that these can take 30 days to 90 days. Actually due to timing with work we will be freaking if it comes soon since I cannot imagine traveling right after the 1st of the year. I guess everything is in God's hands. But we did get a little update on her today no photo :( though. She is doing very well and still going right along developmentally with peers. Her problems with her arm are not holding this little girl back at all.

Fall Fun

 

I just love this time of year the leaves are changing, sometimes the air is crisp, and we take a trip to a pumpkin patch. This weekend we headed up to North Georgia to visit a patch and have some family fun. This patch had several activities for the kids and we thought this year we would find something to do that we typically don't do and that was a corn maze. I will say that the little ones did not find it fun to wonder around; nor did big sister find it fun to let the little brother take the lead and have us keep wandering in cirlces. Of course mommy and daddy thought it was hilarious that Zach kept saying we haven't gone this way before knowing good and well we just came from that area. This place also had a very small petting zoo (at least they did give the kids food to feed the animals), a pony ride, a hayride, and a giant inflatable slide for the kids. The kids will always have fun playing on slides and playing with animals so that is where we spent most of our time.

New Photo of Taite

While we were away we got a quick update on baby girl. She is definitely growing fast by looking at her picture. We are still waiting to hear that our dossier was officially logged in so hopefully we will hear something soon.

Vacation

Living in Georgia does have some perks one being that a lot of counties have a break in September and we get to take another vacation when the crowds aren't bad in places. Last week we hit the beach and just spent time with the kids. We had a great condo that fit all of us, plus had a washer/ dryer, and a full kitchen. When you have a large family these things become a must. We just have too many people to get hotel rooms especially since we would definitely need two, then have to eat out because of the lack of a kitchen, and come home with mounds of laundry. Anyway it was nice just spending time with the kids with nothing on the schedule to run to.
Most of the time we stayed at the beach or in the pool but we did take the time to visit some cool local places. One day we hit Gumbo Limbo which is a nature center. It was pretty cool and the kids got to see some really little turtles, huge lobsters, stingrays, lots of gross spiders, etc. Another day we also hit up a local children's science museum. The kids had a great time here and we couldn't get them to leave. It had a lot of hands on activities and was perfect for the little ones. The big kids even got in there and played to their hearts content. The only other major activity we did was head to Lion Country Safari. The kids all loved this park since for the first part you drive through a safari and get to see a ton of animals. Then you visit a small amusement park section. There were a few kiddie rides, boat rides, paddle boats, a petting zoo, and just some other animals to see. The kids had a great time here and it was worth the trip. They even got to feed giraffes which they thought was the most awesome thing ever. Overall it was a great trip with some much needed family time. This time next year we will be chasing the 6 of them around on vacation.

Officially DTC

Yep that's right today our agency express mailed our Dossier to China. We are one step closer to baby Taite. Wow it has been a long journey so far but one hurdle is now crossed.

Quick Update and Happy Birthday

Today is Zach's 11th birthday. Time is flying. I think the one hard thing when you adopt older children is that you miss out on so many years. Hopefully we all have very long lives to make up for those missed years. Zach had a small low key birthday at home. We did gifts and an angry birds cake which apparently is the hot new kid cake. We also did the class cupcakes today since it is his last year in elementary school. I am so glad that he had a great day.

Our dossier also reached our agency today!!!! Yep after months of waiting our dossier is in their hands and they are about to send it off to China. I guess now everything is becoming real.

Hopefully I will find more time to blog about the wait but with the kids keeping me busy between school, dance, gymnastics, cub scouts, etc. I barely have time anymore. Speaking of activities Lennah got moved up to division 3 gymnastics 2 weeks ago. This is the step before she starts out on a team. Yep only 5 years old and her next step is team gymnastics. We couldn't be prouder.

We did get a quick update on Taite this month but no picture :(. She is doing so well and we are so happy that nothing is holding her back. Apparently she is a good little helper and she has a great vocabulary since she is speaking in full sentences and is not even two yet.

Princess Camp and School Days

I know I am a terrible blogger lately even in the midst of another adoption. The girls ended their summer with hitting up princess camp again. The girls love getting to do this camp every year and had an even better year this time around because their friends Jamilah and Mallorie joined them in for the fun. It was an awesome week that the girls really enjoyed.

We also started school two weeks ago. The older kids were of course excited but Lennah was super excited to start big girl school. I cannot believe that our little girl started kindergarten. Our kids grow up too fast. Next year we will have a kid in high school, two in middle, two in elementary, and Taite should be home and in daycare. Wow! I will be busy.
In addition to Lennah starting Kindergarten several days later Delylah started Pre-K. We were very lucky that she got the same Pre-K teacher Lennah had. She was excited to start Pre-K and we hope that her desire to learn continues.
I was also very worried about Heather and Logan's new school year because they were going off without me. I did get a transfer to a new school and Heather's programs was not offered where I was going so in district they wound up. I think it is working out great for them and hopefully this will help them socially.

 Heather, Logan, Zach, & Lennah first day of school 8/1/12

 Delylah's first day of Pre-K

Lastly, we did get a picture of Taite recently and a quick update on her. She is doing so well and chatting up a storm in China. I guess if she likes to talk a lot she is definitely going to be with the right family. I was amazed at how fast she is growing and I wish we could be there to witness it first hand. We are still waiting on our I-800a approval and hopefully that should be here within the next 2-3 weeks. 

Bad Blogger and Happy Adoption Day Girls

I have been  terrible blogger. We have been super busy this summer with finishing up paperwork for Taite, going on vacation for 2 weeks, and just getting stuff done around the house. To catch up I will just go topic by topic on what I need to catch up on.

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.