Learning Russian...

Everyday when Kiara goes to school, the first thing I do is spend at least 30 minutes working on learning Russian. It is overwhelming to say the least. They don't even have the same alphabet as us. I also have a CD in the car that Kiara and I have been listening to with Russian phrases. Today was the first time Kiara had listened to any of it in a long time. We listened to it before she went to school. After she got home, out of the blue she says, 'mena zavut' (my spelling...Russian for 'My name is')! I was shocked! Then, tonight after I kissed her goodnight, she says, 'spakquoina nochee' (my spelling...Russian for 'goodnight')! Again, I couldn't believe it! She is a sponge!

This afternoon after she had said 'My name is' in Russian, she says, "I can say that to my sister." So sweet! Then, she adds, "But, when we are home, can I talk normal?" She is so funny! She cracks me up!

My BodyStep training is coming up this weekend, so if you think of me pray that I have plenty of energy. Also, I have been having some problems with my heels, so pray that my feet make it through the training, too. I am a little nervous, but I am really excited, too. It will feel great to accomplish something I have worked hard for.

Great Weekend...

We had a great family weekend together. Saturday afternoon we went to Build-A-Bear and made a bear that we will leave with our new daughter on our first trip to Russia. Kiara, of course, will be taking care of it until then. We did a 'Build-A-Sound'', where we recorded our voices telling her that we love and miss her and we will see her soon. It is a little weird to hear coming out of a bear! When it is closer to when we take our first trip, we will go back and make Kiara a bear that she can hold on to while we are away from her.

Today we walked, while Kiara rode her bike, to our local rootbeer stand and DQ and had lunch. It was nice to spend time together as a family and not feel rushed. I am trying to savor these moments because I know that life could get crazy at any time!

Back to School...

Kiara started school. She is in the Pre-K program through our school district. She loves it! She did the same program last year, but this year she is in the afternoon. She also gets to ride the bus, which she won't get to do once she goes to Kindergarden. She kind of had 2 first days of school. The first day we went to school together for an hour to meet her teachers and learn about what they do.

Today was her first day to ride the bus and be at school for the whole time. It was raining when we were waiting for the bus, but luckily it didn't stop us from getting some good pictures.

After school I had some surprises for my school girl. When I was at the store I bought her some yellow flowers that were marked down. Kiara loves flowers, so I knew she would love them. I also made her a brownie that looks like a pencil. I have to admit, I completely copied my friend Abby. I saw on her blog that she had made her daughter an adorable pencil cake. Since she has 4 times as many kids as me and had a sick kid at the time, I figured I could handle making one myself. Of course, I couldn't just wing it, so I Googled 'pencil cake' and I found the directions for a pencil brownie on the Family Fun website. The brownie broke into about 6 different pieces, but in the end I think it turned out pretty well.

We had a great summer, but I was ready for school to start. I like the structure that it gives our days. I hope everyone else had a great first day of school!

It keeps getting better...

Well we are getting closer to the top of the waiting list...another family got a referral today!! It is looking better and better that we will be going to Russia in October!!!

Moving in the right direction...

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. We have been keeping pretty busy and I have decided to go back to teaching aerobics. I taught before Kiara was born and while I was pregnant. I was probably in the best shape of my life! I have been attending a Bodystep class at my gym and they said there is a training coming up for anyone who wants to try teaching. So, I have decided to take on the challenge. Bodystep is at least twice as intense as the classes I use to teach, so I am a little scared! It sounds like they really break you down in training, too. Training is 2 nine hour days! So, I am trying hard to get my body ready for training so that it can keep up with everything. My body is now constantly sore, I can tell I am 5 years older!

On the adoption front...got an email from my agency director today. They are saying that we may travel in October! Before they were saying that we may travel in October or November, so things are moving in the right direction. I also found out today that I have to go back to the capital to get something apostilled. I know, I know, I wasn't suppose to have to do that again until after I took my first trip! Well, my doctor's medical license expired at the end of July, so I need to get a copy of the new one and then get it apostilled. Oh, well, it could be much, much worse. I am too happy about traveling in October to get upset about another trip to the capital. So, all in all, things are going well on the adoption front!

Singsations

Kiara dressed for "Crazy Hair Day".

Kiara participated in Singsations camp in July. I was the craft lady for the week. It was a lot of fun and we had a great group of kids. Here are a couple of pictures and a couple of short videos from the concert. Enjoy!


Kiara & K doing their solos.

Pottery...

Kiara and I have been wanting to go to a local "paint your own pottery" store all summer. Before we got there, my bible study went on the last night of our meeting. We studied the book, "Calm My Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow. It is probably the best bible study I have been in. A big thanks to J for organizing and leading it. It is a great lesson on being content and how to deal with all those what ifs, whys, if onlys, and other questions that we as women too often let bring us down. It was great for me to do this bible study while going through the adoption process. It gave some great practical ways to deal with these issues. I highly recommend this book and I have already ordered a couple other books by this author. So, back to the pottery...

The idea was to paint something and add a verse or a quote that would remind us what we learned from the study. I painted a mug. I cheated and had the owner write on the mug for me, "I accept my portion...Infuse me with your strength...".

So, then the next week, Kiara and I went to paint a couple of more pieces. Kiara chose a little heart box and I chose a bowl that I could use. Kiara loved painting and of course used at least 6 different colors on her little piece. Kiara likes to color everything "rainbowed", as she would say. I sponged my bowl with 2 different colors so that I didn't have to put 3 coats on. Then, on the inside we added Kiara's hand prints and her name and age. We had a lot of fun and we would love to go back. The other highlight for Kiara was the puppy that was there that belonged to the owner. He was so little and cute that I almost considered getting her a dog! But, I quickly came back to reality and realized who would be taking care of it! Mouw!!