Cute Pics

These two are so cute together. They are best buddies, and Myles is a very good big brother to Max Rup. Max is at the stage where he copies everything Myles says and does. They just adore each other.

These two pictures were taken by Myles. He thinks it's hilarious that he caught me with my tongue out, and is very proud that we're putting it on the blog. (I'll truly do anything for my kids :) ).


Miss Maddie helping out with the Laundry

Delays

Myles the Rock Star

Maddie - Pretty in Pink

Max Rup - a rare serious moment

Rockin' out in his undies

He's got the greatest belly laugh

Little update on Mason. I haven't been blogging a lot about it, or doing much online adoption stuff because it seems to make things harder. It is easier if I just don't think about it.

The delay right now is that our homestudy needed significant changes. It did not meet Hague criteria and would not have met the I-800a guidelines. We are very happy that Dillon caught this before it was sent out. An email requesting the changes was sent the 13th of March. I was told by the homestudy provider that the changes would be made by the 26th at the latest. I have not heard anything since. I am frustrated since our homestudy provider is also hague accredited and had already approved our homestudy. I am frustrated that the changes have taken so long. As soon as our homestudy is approved I can have our Dossier sent out within two days.

One of the things we have felt with the homestudy agency is that we never really get the whole story. We get little bits of info, but you can tell there's more that they aren't saying. Maybe this is just my perception, but it is how we've felt. The fabulous thing about Dillon is that we always feel fully informed. If they know, we know, and if they don't know, but we want to know, they'll try to find out. The response time in communication is amazing with Dillon. Mom asked me the other day if I regretted starting our journey with the agency that we did. I'm frustrated with them, but I also think that we were led down this path for a reason. If we hadn't started with them, I'm almost positive that we would not have ended up with Mason, so I absolutely don't regret it. This is just part of our journey.

The euphoria of seeing our little guy for the first time is wearing off and the wait is starting to get to me. I'm nervous about the changes in the process - I like things to be predictable. Not exciting, but that is what is going on in a nutshell. We hurry up on our end, and then wait for everyone else (sigh).

Myles will be registering for Pre-K on Friday. I can't believe he's old enough for that! He's been quite the Mama's boy lately, so I hope he does ok. Max Rup's new thing is "I don't like. . . " The other night I came home from work, and he was WAY overtired and very cranky. I went to pick him up and he yelled, "Don't touch me! I don't like you!" Sad for a mom to hear, but really pretty funny. He also likes to show off, make sure people are watching and then ask, "Was that a good one?" He's a riot. Maddie is reading like crazy now! By the end of the schoolyear the kids are supposed to be at a level 4. She's reading at a level 8-9 right now! She's so smart, and it is so fun to have her read to me and the boys. We're very proud of her.

Spring has GOT to be close!

Pussy willows are a sure sign of spring. I learned this from my Nana. Nana taught us that it was very important to teacher to have pussy willows on their desk in spring. And Nana made sure that her grandkids were the first to bring them in to the teachers. I remember carrying a bunch of pussy willows to school with their bottoms wrapped in wet paper towels. I was always so proud to present such an important gift.

Now that Madeline is in school, we will carry on this tradition. We have two pussy willow trees in our yard that are pretty ragged-looking, but still produce enough buds for the teachers (I plan on trying to get a sprig of them to root and plant more this summer). So the other day we went out in the 5 degree weather and cut some pussy willows for Mrs. Poat. It didn't feel like spring, but we KNOW it is on it's way!

As far as an adoption update (for those that understand the lingo):

We have completed app 1 and 2 with Dillon. They will review and approve (we're assuming) our homestudy, and then we can finally send in our I-800a. We are also working on our Dossier, which should be completed within 2 weeks assuming other people cooperate with my timeline :). Once this is done we can sign the acceptance papers for Probol and then I can post his picture! We were given a short, very recent video of him by a friend whose husband traveled to get their daughter in February. He looks very strong and very happy! My friend's husband described him as quite the little ham, so he should fit in well!

For those unfamiliar with the lingo - we're knocking out the steps that we have control over pretty quickly, but after our paperwork is done on this end, we need a lot of things to happen in India. The central adoption agency needs to give us what's called NOC, then we need to apply for an I-800 which is new and a bit unpredictable, and then we have to be assigned guardianship by an unpredictable judge, then we need his passport. In short, it's still a long haul. We're doing well with the wait so far, but this is subject to change at any moment :)

Good Music, Good Family, Good Cause. . .

I have mentioned this family on my blog before. Pam and Joel adopted their son, Micah, from the same children's home that Max Rup is from. Pam spoke with me at length on the phone just before we travelled and allowed me to ask all the question I hadn't dared to ask anyone else.

They are now in the process of adopting domestically. Like a lot of us, they have been impacted by the lovely economy, but they feel that God is calling them to do this, and they are pushing forward as finances allow.

Pam has organized a wonderful benefit concert featuring the gentleman above. there will be a live feed on her website, http://theplacecalledhome.blogspot.com/.

Please join me on the 15th of March at 7pm to enjoy some great, family-friendly music, and an opportunity to support adoption as a way of building families.

Thank you!

Very important announcement

I know that ever since viewing the video clips of Madeline's production of "The King and I" everyone has been all a-buzz about what her next major role would involve :)

Madeline will be appearing in the Massoula Theater Company's production of "Robin Hood." Her major role: a skunk!

The Massoula Theater is a children's theater that comes to our school yearly. They have auditions and rehearse intensely all week (skunks only need to be there twice for 2 hours each, but some kids are there for 4 hours a night, and all day Saturday). Then they perform twice on Saturday.

There were a lot of kids auditioning this year so we made sure to remind Maddie that she is only in Kindergarten, and if she didn't get a role next year, she could try again next year. I wasn't really worried about her being upset - she's just not that kind of girl. BUT, we were thrilled when she got a part. She's a cutie, and she was so excited.

Also, the boys sat through almost two hours of auditions without fussing or crying at all. That is HUGE! Good job, Myles and Max Rup!

Why We Love Friday the 13th

Many people dread this superstiscious day, but not us. Over the past two years it's brought us two of the four biggest blessings we've ever recieved.

Things have changed pretty quickly around here. On Wednesday we were told that the little girl we had been pursuing was no longer available. We were disappointed, but knew that God had other plans for us. Well, we didn't think those plans would reveal themselves so quickly. . .

Friday our social worker from when we adopted Max Rup posted an email to our forum about a little boy that she really wanted to find a home for. We poured over his information all weekend. He's almost 8 months younger than Max Rup, and this guy's grin can light up a room! We met with our Doc on Monday, and despite some unknowns we called Tami (our social worker again - yay!) and told her we were in.

His name is Probal. We'll call him Mason and keep Probal as his middle name. We are unable to post his picture until we go through some paperwork steps (sorry). Trust me - he's to die for!

Tami spoke to the amazing woman who runs ISRC (the childrens home in Kolkata). Anju was so happy that Probal is being adopted by Max Rup's family. Anju told Tami that it was "God's Blessing." We completely agree.

So, we learned about Max Rup on Friday April 13, 2007, and Mason Probal on Friday, February 13, 2009. Pretty Good.

Alright - back to paperwork - there will be plenty of that in the next few weeks.

Random Fact

For those of you who know Maddie, she's full of random comments and odd facts that she learns from her nature shows and books. Yesterday's random fact, told to my sister at the breakfast table: "Aunt Moo Moo, did you know that when you eat honey, you're eating bee vomit?"

Fabulous! I love that girl!