New Furniture

We really needed it. And soon the sw will be here.

 I saw it in CostCo a few weeks ago. . .

 and we really needed a smaller sectional than the leather monstrosity that was mooing in our living room . . .

 and the guys at CostCo were wonderful about loading it onto the flat beds (3 big boxes) and then. . .

 onto the truck we had to rent from Home Depot, which was just next door.

 My daughters thought it was neat -- they've ever been in a truck before.

So they wanted to pose in the back to remember this momentous occasion :)

We Have a Great Life!!

God has been really good to us. We live an amazing life filled with love and I am so grateful for it! Sometimes -- and I wish I stopped more often to think about, enjoy and give thanks for moments like this --it hits me, how miraculously God is working in my life. THANK YOU LORD!!

Need I Say S'More

Play Day

 Jumping with joy. . .and maybe to splash Mama a little:)

Mama and her girls.

 Burying Nana's feet--a beach tradition.

 Ice cream.

 Of course, no day is complete without a few of these. . .

Little Things

These are my first purchases for Noelle. I got them in size 3T, because she'll be 2 1/2 by the time we get her, but now realize that she's so tiny it'll take a while for her to grow into them:) 

My Little Dancers

The Home Study Packet Arrives

My Aunt Joanne

is in the hospital today. She and my cousin Kelly and her children were supposed to arrive this evening for a visit. They live on the east coast, so there is an entire country between us. We are lifting her up in prayer.

Blood Draw

I had my labs done today in preparation for my physical, which is scheduled for August 8th. Yippeeeee! One step closer:)

Standing Atop the Mountain

I spent the morning getting dossier paperwork completed. I have everything I need for notarizing ready to go in a file. I'm waiting on appointments right now. And then the home study will begin:) But there's a break in the clouds and I can see forever.

A Name. . .

Noelle ZhenZhen-Ju.

My Christmas in July :)

The orphanage gave her the name Chun Ju, which means Spring Chrysanthmum. ZhenZhen-Ju means precious chrysanthum.

The Remodel 4 Doors Down

We've been watching it go up for about two months now. Last week, on my way back from my jog, I stopped and talked to the builder. He showed me the floor plans, before and after. I really like it.

We need two more bedrooms and a family room, which is what they've added on. We have a similar floor plan prior to their addition. Maybe next year. . .

Gymnastics

Ava is a natural:)

Passports!!

I took the girls down to the post office and submitted their applications for passports. Ms needs to be renewed. A needs a US passport. I am hoping everything goes smoothly! When I applied for Ms passport the first time, I got a letter stating that I had to bring her to Los Angeles and SHOW her to passport personnel. If it happens again, we'll make a day of it and do something LA-ish while we're there.

I am determined to keep every part of this process positive:)

Introducing My Daughter. . .

She is two years old and waiting for us in the Guangdong Province of China. Isn't she lovely!?!

We received PA today from China. Now it's time to collect and prepare all the documents that will go into my dossier. I'm hoping the process will go incredibly fast:)

Ummmmm. . .a Name?

Elyssa ZhenZhen-Ju

LOI to China

It went off today. The agency waited to receive my completed packet of pre-approval info before sending it. It arrived in their office this morning and they immediately submitted my Letter of Intent.

Back to waiting. . .

Upside Down, Everywhere!

 For the past two weeks I've seen way too much of this. . .

 And this. . .

 This, too (and that's Mama's bed, which was once covered in lovely bedding )

Gymnastics camp starts in a few weeks. It's 1/2 day. Hopefully that's enough to keep the cartwheels and headstands and splits and vaulting out of the house:)

The Name Game

A first name. Here are the possibilities:

Aubrey -- fairy
Elyssa --consecrated to God
Erynn --peace
Kelley -- brave warrior; and a family name


I like keeping the girls' names individual. If I go by this, that knocks Aubrey and Elyssa out of consideration (we have a name that starts with A and ends with A). I love E names and the meaning of Erynn. I even love the spelling I chose, but know it will be a lifelong battle for her to have it spelled correctly. Also, we already have a name ending with the "n" sound. Kelley is part of my mom's maiden name, and I love it for that reason and for the meaning of the name--my daughter has a complex heart condition requiring surgery and she is already a brave warrior. So really, my choices are narrowed down to:

Kelley

But do I love it enough?

Ava's First Day of Gymnastics!

We took a Mommy and Me tumbling class a couple of years ago, but today was her first day of gymnastics with the big girls. She loved it!

 Waiting on the mats.

Afterward, with big sis.

LOI Packet to Agency!!

And now it's back to waiting...this time for formal pre-approval from China.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Noelle turns 2 today.
I am plowing through the list of documents that need to be completed and submitted to my agency in order to formally seek PA. They've already translated my LOI. Still, it'll probably be 6 months or more before our Family Day.

Sea World

We went to Sea World with our cousins yesterday. They are a wonderful family and we really enjoyed our time with them!

 Cassidy, Kayla and Maddie on the spinning star fish.

 Kayla, Maddie and Ava in the bounce house (I was worried about letting Ava in because she's so tiny, but Maddie and Kayla took good care of her).

 Nana and Aunt Janet at the dolphin show.

 The stars of the show.

Maddie, Ava and Kayla getting up close to the dolphins.

Adoption Update: Pre-Approval Paperwork

I e-mailed my LOI to the agency yesterday but still have a lot of paperwork to get through and snail mail on Monday. Today I will have passport-size photos taken as part of the documents that need to be submitted in order to receive pre-approval (PA). I've also chosen the 6 photos to submit. I have to get the girls' passport applications sent in. (Maddie's has expired and Ava needs a US passport). I had their photos taken for this a couple of weeks ago and have all the paperwork gathered for that.

After I receive formal PA from China, I will begin my homestudy. By then I will have chosen between two agencies--the one I used for my first two adoptions and a new agency referred by a friend. I like the agency I've used in the past, but they tend to be a little slow. The new agency says they can get the report done in 3 weeks.

In the next week I will request my birth certificate, which will need to be state certified and then authenticated at the Chinese Consulate in NY, and I will make my Drs.appointment for the physical I'll need.

Our Cousins Come for a Visit

 In downtown San Diego, with Maddie and Aunt Janet.

Maddie and Kayla haven't seen each other since our family reunion in Montana 3 years ago, but they quickly warmed up to each other!

 And enjoyed a little swimming later in the evening.

Today we are going to Sea World and will stay to watch the fire works tonight. We are so grateful for this visit with family. They are very easy crowd to be with:)

Happy Birthday, Uncle Eric!

Give Me a M. . .!

Maddie has been in cheer camp all week--from 9am until 3pm--and today the girls presented a routine for parents and other guests. They were fabulous! Maddie was a flyer, which means she was lifted by the other girls during their routine. I could see she loved that part:) She also got to do a cartwheel and, of course, synchronized moves with the other girls. I was really impressed. I wish I could share pictures, but after taking a few before shots, my camera died :O I was able to film the whole thing with my video camera (but have no clue how to get that on here). So some cute Ava pics as we waited for the show to start:

 She really wanted to go on the trampoline ---

 and loved it so much (as she did at her sister's gymnastics birthday party several weeks

 ago and at the Mommy and me tumbling class we took last year --so afterwards I signed her up for the beginning gymnastics class for 4/5 year olds.

Mommy and Ava under the fans --it was HOT in the gym!