More Summer Fun

My family had their summer swim championships a few weeks ago and as you can see from the pictures they all did very well. We were very proud of them and they were thrilled with their medals. As you can see Olivia got a gold and a silver medal, we were watching the Olympics and she was saying her medals looked just like the ones Michael Phelps won and of course Steve and I agreed. We are so proud of her, swimming is very early on Saturday mornings and Olivia doesn't always like to get up but she does despite some of the moaning and groaning
We are in full gear for back to school and looking forward to the first day. We just have a few more things on the supply list and she will be ready. I interviewed for a position within my company and found out last week that I got the job. I will now be working a three day workweek and this position is in the office as a coordinator. I am looking forward to the change and the new challenge. Olivia will have to got to aftercare at school for those three days which will be an adjustment for her as she is used to me being home to get her off the bus, but I am sure she will be fine.
As far as the adoption goes we have received the contract and will be signing this week we were much more cautious this time and went through it with a fine tooth comb. I guess we are a little nervous, as most of the monies we had paid for the Vietnam adoption were lost. We still are moving ahead, once the contract is signed will receive the packet with the actual paperwork requirements and off we will go. That is all for now. Hope all is well with everyone.Enjoy the last days of summer

Summer Family Fun

We spent the day yesterday at John and Alice's house for a family bbque complete with a recipe smackdown. The food was great as was the company.The kids (alot of them( had a great time in the pool and were only out for  long enough to quickly eat. Olivia had a wonderful time playing with her cousin Connor as well as swimming with all her cousins. Our family from California were in town and it is always great to see them. Their oldest son James begins NYU in the fall he is a credit to his parents and I know they are very proud of him. For the recipe contest I made Grammie's famous crumbcake and we were in a  three way tie for third place. This was the first time I had I had seen many of my family members since the most recent adoption news. It is always wonderful to feel their love and support for us. I am always reminded how many people are also invested in our journey, and how much we appreciate everyone's encouragement. I'll end with some pictures of the day. Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Homestudy Update Done--Step One

Well our homestudy update is done.  Our social worker from New Beginnings was here today and it will be available by Thursday for the new agency. Maureen has done three homestudies for our family so she is like family at this point. It is so funny to me to remember how nervous I was when she came to do Olivia's homestudy. My house was never so clean and will never be that clean again. We did clean this morning but nothing like the first time. Olivia was excited to show her the "Fashion Designs" she has been doing and Maureen ver kindly and patiently looked at ALL of them. Our next step is to begin the paperwork collection for the dossier. We are waiting to get the requirements from the agency then we will move ahead. We keep moving forward I am getting more confident that this will happen with each step. I really wish I had that crystal ball to tell me when. Does anyone know where I can find one?

A New Month--- A New Beginning

Steve and I found out a few weeks ago that an adoption from Vietnam was not going to be possible. In essence the Vietnamese Government had stopped issuing referrals despite verbal assurances that they would continue over the summer. Needless to say this has been a difficult time for us as we struggled with the decision to continue or not.  After much soul searching we have decided to continue and are now pursuing adoption from Kyrgyzstan. Unfortunately all of the paperwork we completed will need to be redone in the interest of time because all of our original documentation is still in Vietnam it will all be returned but who knows when.  So with renewed energy we begin again as we pursue this dream of child number two for our family.

Please keep us in your thoughts and we will update as we move along the process.