July Fun

Well, we don't have any news to report at this time. I mailed our info to the immigration office in KC on July 3rd and still have not heard back, I was hoping it would not take very long since we have been approved and only need a country change, hopefully we will hear very soon. Kris and I went canoeing a few weeks ago in south Missouri on the Current River with a large group of people and had a wonderful time, it's always nice to go away and always nice to come home. I will have to post some pics when we get them developed. Kris and I spent last week working on our basement he scraped the popcorn off the walls of our stairwell and painted while I was on clean up duty, of course we still have more work to do.

We have both been very busy at work this summer and can't believe it is almost time for school to start again. I have to say that I am ready for fall and which will put us closer to our baby girl.

4th of July fun!

This 4th of July was pretty typical for us, we spent time with family and friends barbequing, golfing and watching the fire works. It also gave me a long weekend away from work. This has always been one of my favorite holidays and can't wait to share it with our daughter next summer. Kris spent the last weekend of June at Beaver lake with some friends and had a great time, while I spent time with Brenda and Jenna and went to the pool. Update on the adoption front, we were very excited for our home study to get updated and done again. I was able to mail it to the immigration office in KC on July 3rd so we can be approved to adopt in Ethiopia instead of Vietnam. It could take us up to three months to hear but it only took one month the first time around so I am hoping for a quick turnaround. I also sent copies of our dossier to our social worker in St. Louis to be reviewed for any mistakes, she thought everything looked good so once we get our approval from immigration we will take it all to KC to be state certified. Next week we will be going to south Missouri with a large group of people canoeing for a long weekend, we have done this for several different summers and I am very exited to be able to say that we will probably not be attending next year due to having our daughter.

I started cleaning out the babies room last weekend, it has kind of been a catch-all room and I was excited to start. We are slowly trying to get our house ready for her.

Beaver lake from the boat

Jenna "driving" the tractor

Jenna and her first sparkler

Take Me Out To the Ball Game

We actually had some excitement this past weekend (for a change). We decided to take in a Royals game with Brenda, David and Jenna. We've been wanting to go for a while, just never gotten around to it. I think the last time we were at a Royals game was 3 years ago against our cross-state rivals, the Cardinals. This was Jenna's very first time at the ball park. She seemed to be having more fun climbing from seat to seat, watching birds fly, and pulling my nose off and throwing it out on the field :) It was a really good game. For once we actually got to see the Royals win in person. It seems in the past we've always been more of a jinx than anything. The new upgrades at Kauffman Stadium are looking good so far but there is still a lot of construction going on. The huge High-Def scoreboard is insane! Although the Royals are in last place they are currently one of the hottest teams in the bigs. They've got lots of promising, young talent, not to mention an awesome closer named Joakim Soria. This guy is lights-out. He actually made a batter fall down swinging at a pitch! It was great! On the adoption front, we're still waiting on paper work to get back to us and for our home study to be completed. Here's some shots from Saturday night:

David, Brenda, Jenna, & Staci: This High-Def Screen is Cool!!!
The inevitable self-portrait:

Happy Father's Day!

We had a pretty busy Father's Day weekend that included lots of quality family time. Saturday night, we hosted a BBQ for my side of the family. It was sort of a cross-celebration for my mom's b-day and Father's Day. Those attending were Mom, Dad, Grandma, Aunt Sonya, Uncle Hal, Brent, Tory, and last but certainly not least, Ms. Abby.

Here's Abby doing what she does best:

Of course, Staci had to get her Abby time:

Sonya, Grandma, and Mom (Happy B-Day)

Happy Father's Day:

Sunday we spent the afternoon with Staci's side. Everyone was there including Neil & Sharon, Staci & I, Jason & Kim, Brenda, David, & Jenna. Poor Neil had to grill in the wind & rain and dodge lightening.

Our niece Jenna, a beautician in the making???

Jenna treating poor Uncle Kris like a jungle gym:

All-in-all we had a great weekend. Pretty pumped about my "guy trip" down to Beaver Lake, Arkansas next weekend. Ought to be a really good time.

On the Adoption Front: We're still in the tedious process of collecting documents for our Dossier. Fun, Fun, Stuff :)

We can see the light!

Well these past two weeks we continued to process our paperwork, we have a lot of it done and notarized and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We still continue to wait on our background checks from the state police to be able to finish the updated home study. Albany had it's yearly Frontier Holidays this past weekend we were able to enjoy some of the events. Sorry we don't have much to report at this time, we've had a pretty boring couple of weeks.

Baby Kisses & Birthday Wishes

Nothing new to report on the adoption front this week. We are continuing to process mounds & mounds of paperwork. Kris spent most of Memorial Day weekend at the river for River Camp and had a great time as always. I spent the weekend hanging out with friends and family. My sister Brenda turned 30 this past week so we put together a little surprise BBQ for a few local friends and family at her house Friday evening, she was surprised and a good time was had by all. We also spent time with Abby this week, she is such a sweet baby and a wonderful addition to our family.

Here's Abby at 5 days old:

Our little niece, Jenna having some fun at the BBQ:

Looks like somebody had a little TOO much fun at the cookout:

Our New Baby Cousin

Last Friday evening we welcomed the newest member into the family, Ms. Abrielle Jean. Congratulations to Brent & Tory!!!

Here she is with Cousin Kris:

And again with Cousin Staci:

Paperwork & More Paperwork

Well, this week we were able to put a considerable dent in our mound of paperwork. The biggest accomplishment came last night when we finished our 10 hours of Hague Parent Ed. classwork. Now, if only we are able to pass our last test. The first 3 tests were all multiple choice but this last one was the dreaded short-answer test. We submitted it last night and should find out within a week if we passed. It takes 7 days to get the test back because it IS short answer and it has to be hand graded. I swear, I've had college classes that were easier than this stuff!!! Oh well, it's done and that's one more thing checked off the paperwork list.
Other things accomplished this week: Saturday we sent off for our passports which we were told have been taking 2-3 weeks to get back. Not that bad, it's checked off our list. Hmmm, what else??? Oh yes, got certified copies of our birth certificates in, completed a financial report, finished our Letter of Introduction, got a notorized copy of our Marriage License, sent off for our Criminal Background Records, got our employer letters back from our supervisors (awaiting notorization), and received our medical-clearance letters (also awaiting notorization). I think that pretty much sums up our week. I believe the plan for next week is to get as much notorization of our documents done as possible and hopefully get our reference letters back [no pressure guys :) ].
River Camp is this weekend!!! I know what I'll be doing!!! I think Staci is planning on hanging out at the cabin Saturday night with Kim while I'm doing the River Camp thing. Hopefully the River Camp thing doesn't include a trip to Heartland and a huge medical bill like it did a few years ago hehe. Hope everyone has a good weekend!