An early Mother's Day present!

Like mother, like daughter! Kiara came home from school today with a Mother's Day present she had made. My mom got her off of the bus, so she couldn't give it to me then. But, as soon as I got home she got it out of its hiding place and couldn't wait to give it to me. I am the same way, once I have a present for someone, I can barely stand not to give it to them. I think I got this from my mother, too.

We always have to close our eyes when we are getting a present. :)

I received a beautiful coaster made just for me by the proud girl above. I am very blessed to have such a sweet and loving daughter. I love you Kiara!

This is a horrible picture, but I just had to share our matching double chins!

Changes...

Sorry I have been absent for awhile. After much thought, prayer and tears, we have made a big decision to change countries. We will now be adopting from RUSSIA!! It is so hard to walk away from Uzbekistan, but I think it is the best decision for our family. It makes me wonder why God led us to Uzbek first, we never even considered Russia at the beginning of this process. But, if I remember right, a year ago Russia was going through the whole re accreditation process. So, it wasn't a great time to start an adoption in Russia. And really, the earliest we could have started a Russian adoption with our agency was the beginning of March. That is when the agency they use got re accredited. So, maybe that is how God led us to our agency, AAC, if we hadn't been drawn to Uzbek, we probably wouldn't have come across AAC. And, I can't imagine being with any other agency. V has been amazing handling the ups and downs the country of Uzbekistan has brought. She is a great woman and I trust her completely! Until I wrote that all out, I hadn't really realized how it is pretty easy to see how God had us in His hands the whole time, even though it was emotionally exhausting a lot of the time. I guess the moral of the story is, just because there are bumps in the road it doesn't mean that God has left you to figure it all out on your own. You still might be right where He wants you even though it got a little bumpy! Plus, I wouldn't have met my Uzbek blog pals and I can't imagine not having their support during this process! You guys are the best!

So then, what is the plan with Russia? Well, guess what? More paperwork! Surprise! I get the privilege of putting together my second dossier. I can't tell you how unenthusiastic I am about that, but I am slowly starting to get the motivation again. It is my hope to have our home study updated and sent into immigration for our change in country by June 1st. I know I can easily have my part of the dossier done by July 1. (Shouldn't it be easier the second time?) So, I am planning on sending our dossier over to Russia at the beginning of July or whenever we get our new 171. I have been told that in the region we will be adopting from, you usually receive your referral in about a month!! Yes, a month!! But, of course, no one does any work the months of July and August, so I won't be expecting to get ours until Sept. Which, if the paperwork takes longer than expected, at least I won't feel like I am losing time. With giving ourselves a bit of padding, we should have our daughter home by Feb 2009! It would be incredible to have her home by my sister's wedding on New Year's Eve, but I am not going to get my hopes up.

I have so much to learn about Russia and the adoption process in this new country!

All Better (Almost)

Thanks to all of you who were worried about Kiara. Luckily, we didn't have to get her blood taken because her temperature went back down and hasn't gone back up. Her nose is still runny and she has a bit of a cought, but she is so much better. She went back to school on Thursday. (thank goodness!) She hadn't been to school in 2 weeks!

My sweet sick girl...

Kiara has been sick since we got back from Phoenix. She has a horrible cough, runny nose, and a temperature. I took her to the doctor on Thursday and he thought it was allergies and he put her on 2 allergy medications in addition to the one she is already on. She doesn't seem much better and her fever has gotten higher, so we are going back into the doctor tomorrow, Tuesday, morning. I feel bad for her because there is only so much TV you can watch! She loves school and she hasn't been there in over a week.

This all worries me a bit because 1 1/2 years ago Kiara had 'fevers of unknown origin', code for the doctors have no idea what is going on. They lasted for 6 months and they thought she was developing systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. But, they eventually went away! Those months brought me closer to my Heavenly Father and taught me a lot. I also view life a lot differently since then and don't sweat the small stuff as much. I have also been proud of myself since then to not freak out every time she seemed to be sick. This is the first time, I am a bit worried that we are going to go back into the world of the unknown! But, I know my Heavenly Father is watching over my sweet girl and will take care of her. (and her mother, too!)

The pictures above are from my sister-in-law's baby shower this weekend. Obviously, Kiara doesn't look too sick! She acts pretty normal when she has Ibuprofen in her. But, she probably had a little too much fun with her cousins because I had to take her home to get her cough medication because she couldn't stop coughing!

Monday Weigh In - SUCCESS!!

I am happy to report that I lost 0.8 pounds this week! I am so happy that I have been able to stick with it and get my weight to go in the right direction! It feels great to succeed in something. Sometimes as a stay at home mom, I don't feel like I really succeed or accomplish much. As soon as the laundry is done, there is more to do, as soon as dinner is prepared, there are dishes to do, etc... It is hard to stick with a eating and exercise program when my time isn't always my time. Kiara has been sick this entire week, so it felt great that in spite of that I was still able to get my exercise in and have a weight loss!

A taste of Uzbekistan...

So, before we left for Phoenix, Kiara and I got to visit with a family that has adopted from Uzbekistan!! It was so nice to talk to someone who has completed the process and see that it actually can happen!! They have also adopted two children from Russia. Katie, thanks again for taking the time out of your busy day. We had a great time!

The boy in the stroller is the one adopted from Uzbekistan.

Phoenix...

Kiara and I took a short trip to Phoenix to spend some time with my sister, her fiance', his two girls and my parents. We got to see where they will be having the wedding and subsequent activities. We might have even found my matron of honor dress. (Doesn't maid of honor sound so much better?) The weather was perfect and Phoenix is beautiful this time of year. Kiara did a great job traveling, too! Unfortunately, my sister came home really sick and Kiara is home from school today, too, with a cough! :(
You can see the crazy family to be above.