A Few Months :(

Let me just start off with the fact that I know this is not the end of the world.

We had been planning on receiving our referral around January or February, but earlier this month our agency said it would probably be more like February/March. That was due to the fact that the first two weeks of Jan. is Russia's holiday time and there were 2 couples that needed to wrap things up with their adoptions before us. We are next on our agency's list for a girl, so I've been consumed with organizing, planning and thinking about the adoption for the past month. I had it in my head that we would probably get our referral in February. I just found out that our agency doesn't think we will hear anything for a few months. That puts us at the end of April!!!!! My heart sank. When I say I've been consumed...I mean, I've been consumed!! I have been buying things off the "packing list", making notes for whoever watches the boys, researching international phones, buying luggage, cleaning things around the house I usually don't clean :) and many other things. I think about the adoption all. the. time. I feel like I spent the entire month both excited and anxious for no reason. I also feel horrible because Brad took the semester off thinking we would be taking 3 trips to Russia during this semester.

I know everything will work out and I do believe things happen for a reason. I really do! But now I have that little doubt that when April rolls around, what if the time grows again. We had this happen with China. Every month the wait time grew. It will be two years in March that we started the adoption journey and over four years since we started trying to expand our family. I am going to try to not think about it as much and not plan a darn thing! I know many of you are thinking, "yeah, right." I will keep praying, though. I know the perfect little girl is just waiting to come home to us.

Splish Splash!

Nate and his friend Tyler participated in their school's Lip Sync Show last year. The video is almost a year old, but it is sooooo cute I just had to share it!!! They were the best act...I'm allowed to say that being one of the proud mothers! It is amazing to me how brave all the kids were who participated. The event is held at night in the High School auditorium filled with hundreds of people. Enjoy the video and stay tuned for clips from this year's Lip Sync featuring both our talented boys.

P.S. The loud lady would be Nate's Mom mom!!! Her squeals are almost as entertaining as the act!!!

Winter Wonderland...Not Quite!

We got our biggest snowfall yet! A whopping 1/2 inch!!! Woohoo!! The grass is actually almost covered! There isn't a lot of it, but it is really pretty. The kids have really been deprived of a decent snowfall so far this winter. I shouldn't be complaining because I know the day we are to get on a plane for Russia, a blizzard will hit the northeast! Oh well, just glad they had school. We already have too many school days to make up due to the teacher strike.

Aidan loves to be out in the snow. No matter how little of it there is. He always asks to shovel the driveway. He's out there right now while I'm in here staying warm. Let's just hope it stays this way when he is a teenager.

I just checked on Aidan out front "shoveling". Yeah, He's not shoveling, he's attempting sledding! I guess there's no hope when he's a teenager!

Adoption Update

Everyone has been so supportive through this whole process so far. I can't thank everyone enough! I get asked a lot when we expect to get our referral. So I thought maybe I needed an update. We are looking (and hoping) to go in February or March! Hopefully February!!! We are the next ones on our agency's list for a girl. I can't believe how close it is! I'm starting to get anxious about all the unknowns. I've tried to get stuff done that can be done early. I've started shopping for items we need for the trip (electric converter, Pepto, things like that). I get very overwhelmed with where to stay, hotel vs. apartment. Hopefully we will use a good travel agent to help with all that. The difficult part is we will only get a couple weeks notice before we travel and then it will be crunch time. Thankfully there are lots of families that have gone before us and I plan on seeking out their help. Thanks again for everyone's support and thoughts. Wouldn't it be nice if my next post was to share good news?!?

The Wunderly Christmas

We went to Brad's parents' (Betty and Craig) house this weekend for the Wunderly Christmas. We weren't able to all be together until then, so we waited. It was a great day! Brad's sister, Amy was there. His brother Todd with Stephanie and the kids. Stephanie's mom, Susan, was there all the way from California. It was nice to see her, too. The kids got to open presents and we ate A LOT of good food. The kids love seeing each other and get along so well. I'll leave you with some pictures from the day.

Betty and Craig (Mimi and Poppie) and the grandchildren, Aidan, Nate, Emma and Ryan.

Nate and Ryan are only 3 months apart and every year since they were born, Betty takes pictures of the two of them in the same chair. She has them in a wall frame and it is so funny to see how they have grown. Pretty soon, they both won't fit on the chair together!

Aunt Amy and the boys!

Emma the movie star!

The boys got DS games from Mimi and Poppie. It started off a very peaceful day.

Aidan and Emma

By the end of the night, things were getting pretty silly! They aren't just cousins, they are great friends!

The Nursery - Take 2

The color of the wainscoting in the baby's room was driving me crazy! We painted it "linen" to match the doors and trim. It looked aged and yellow. So this week while Brad was home, we painted it plain old white and it looks 100 times better. We still aren't finished the details of the room. It needs things on the walls and more finishing touches, but I'll get to that soon. I put more photos up in the "Our Home" section. Can't wait to have little girl to put in there!

Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve with some good friends in our neighborhood. It was very last minute, but those are often the best parties! It's so nice to be able to walk right next door and not worry about the drive home! We had a great time! Brad won a little (very little) money in the game Left, Right, Center (dice game). We ate, drank, danced a little ;), and laughed! The kids had a great time and were thrilled to stay up so late. I know many of you are shocked I let my kids stay up until midnight, but they looked great and weren't even acting tired. The real miracle is that they are still sleeping and it's 8:30!!!!!!!!!! We started the New Year off right and look forward to 2009 being an amazing year with 3 kids! We are getting so close to meeting our baby girl and making 2009 a year to never forget! We wish you all a happy and healthy New Year!!!

Tyler, Nate and Aidan getting ready to ring in the New Year (and give all the adults headaches with their noise makers)!

Just before midnight and still kicking!