How busy can a week get?

Where do I begin when there are a million things on my list to accomplish! Last summer when we submitted our Dossier for Kyrgyzstan I was so thrilled to be done with the paper chase.I was so exited that I was done done done !! Well, I spoke too soon. We are back in the full blown paper chase for Russia.I am not complaining for it is much more motivating to do this again when you have a cute little face looking back at you and know the sooner you get it done the sooner you go meet him! It IS however an overwhelmimg task to do another 2 dossiers! Russia requires 2- one for MOE and the other for court!
The amazing thing is we have been able to get sooo much done in a very short time! In one week we switched home study agencies, new fingerprints,had a new home study update including a home and safety visit,and had it written up! I mean this new home study agency ROCKS! Plus we have already had our Psych testing that is required for Russia! Much of the other stuff is repeates of Kyrgz so I can do them quicker.I do believe that we can get this first dossier done within two more weeks!On the other hand some things have gone by the wayside.OH Well !

On another note that saddens me greatly is that things in Kyrgysztan seem more uncertain then ever! My heart breaks for the families waiting for the children they hold so deep in their hearts.I do not know what will happen but,my faith and prayers are with all those involved.We too have come soo close to a referral with Kyrgz and yet are soo far with all the changes and uncertainty! What I do know is that God is in charge and he Will lead us in the right course for our family! To my adoption friends Keep the faith!

Adoption Detour ! !

This past week has been very intense with much prayer and thought. Sometimes God leads us to things we do not understand and need to feel his guidance without a shadow of a doubt.Last week out of the blue we recieved a referral of a 1 year old adorable little boy from Russia! We were very surprised to say the least! ! ! We have no paperwork done for Russia!This was not the plan we had but, we know Gods plan is not always ours or at least in the way we think it will happen. We prayed and prayed and prayed and could not think of anything else this whole week! Our minds were so focused on what God wants us to do.We came to the decision that this little boy would be our son.We also came to the decision to remain in the Kyrgz program and do a concurrant adoption if things work out . If two children is Gods plan we will obey.Right now our focus is to get our first Russian dossier in to our Agency with Record time! We are having our homestudy updated to Russia this week and I am working quickly to get documents done. It will be my full time job the next couple weeks.It seems easier this time around since we already did this stuff once!It is however an overwhelming feeling to get this done fast! We ask for your prayers that we will be guided and directed in this journey to our little Siberian prince ! We feel a bit overloaded with this sudden change but, do believe we will also bring home our little one from Kyrgz too. God knows the plan and we will follow it as he presents it to us.

Highs and Lows

The highs for the week are ...
1. I found a good specialty doctor for one of my kids.
2. I get a free day on Saturday when hubby takes the kids skiing to Big Bear.
3. Two different people actually thought my oldest daughter and I were sisters ! Brianna was not too happy about it but, I was. Maybe it was the boots but, I will take it!
4. The kids all did fabulous on their grades this semester.

The lows for the week are ...
1. Nothing new on the adoption front except that 17 high ranking officials in the Kyrgz government have been released from their positions.
2. My dad had a serious fall while walking into the church and broke his pelvis in three places.It is expected to take several months for his recovery and will need to be in a rehab center for up to 8 weeks. Looks like I will be doing some traveling.
3. A not so fun Kidney infection for me.
4. Everything in the house seems to break all at once like the refrigerator,toilet,back door, and gate outside due to our lovely winds.What is up with that?

We will see what next week brings!

Universal Studio Hollywood Fun.

Bryce and Victoria waiting to get into their favorite Jurrasic Park ride at Universal studio in Hollywood.It is a very wet ride so they were covered with their raincoats.V is so exited she is finally tall enough to do the big rides!

Looks like Dad got a shoulder rub from one of the Mummies on the way into the Mummy ride.

Looks like the Shark got Victoria. She is just enjoying exploring the inside of the Sharks mouth.They had a great time and all were tired at the end of the day.

Emergency Preparedness

This time of year it is our family tradition to prepare for earthquakes and other emergencies! On January 17th 1994 our family was living in Northridge ,California when at 4:30 am we were literally jolted out of our beds.The noise and shaking is something I will never forget!! Outside we could hear and see the fire from gas lines in our neighboorhood exploding.Some how we all got out of the house without a scratch! About an hour before the quake hit I woke up and felt an very urgent prompting to get Brianna out of her crib(she was 1 at the time) I had no idea why but,the feeling was so intense that I did it and brought her into our bedroom.Little did I realize a huge heavy bookcase would land right in the middle of the crib where she was sleeping !I will never forget since then to ALWAYS listen to the spirit.Our home suffered such damage we were no longer able to live in it.The bookcases were thrown to the ground, glass was everywhere around us,windows broken, walls severely cracked and nerves shattered! We found out later that we were less then a mile away from the epicenter of the Northridge Quake.

From this experience we always try to be as best prepared as we possibly can.Each year we check our 72 hour kits, our water storage, food storage, flashlights, batteries, matches, first aid kits,radios, etc. We also check and make sure anything heavy is bolted to the walls or ground .We can NEVER be too prepared! We never know when our preparation will pay off.

Watching,Waiting,Wondering and Warm Weather

The last few days have been beautiful here in southern California with the temps being over 80 degrees.The kids had pool fever so I heated up the pool and they had a blast swimming away and warming up in the jacuzzi.

As I am watching kids swim I am wondering what this next year will bring our family.How fun it will be to get out all those baby pool toys and teach another little one to swim and enjoy the water.In regards to our adoption we are watching the developments,waiting patiently (sort of ) for things to get moving again after all the lengthy delays and wondering when all this waiting will end! We have always felt on the right path. Like many other families we will wait it out and see what happens in the next few weeks .Not having specific time frames or expectations does seem to help in this process now so we are not always dissapointed.We have certainly learned the meaning of "rolling with the punches". Let us pray most of the punches are over and the referrals start rolling!

Sweet Caroline is 13 !

It is hard to believe my sweet Caroline is an official teenager! We started out our birthday celebration earlier in the day when Mom made her famous homemade ham,potato and leek soup.It simmers all day and by evening it is so good that I ALWAYS catch someone doing

THIS ! Brianna got caught this time.

After the healthy stuff we went to the sweet stuff.Caroline has always been anxious to have a celebration even before it was her time to be born.Despite doctors efforts she took charge and made an early debut in this world. She had many physical hurdles to overcome but has grown into a beautiful , talented , smart , daughter ofGod. I am now realizing we have 3 teenagers !
It is not an easy task to raise teens these days and feel very blessed that they are really good kids!

Happy Birthday Sweet Caroline!