Physical

Tyler & both had our physicals today. We're now pretty close to having our dossier completely done. We're still waiting on the I171H...hopefully anyday now it will decide to show up in the mail. While we're waiting through this process, it's been entertaining to read this blog which chronicles some friends who are actually in Ukraine right now adopting their son, Dennis. I've been drinking in all the details of the trip and trying to imagine myself there. Very exciting that it could be soon! We can't wait!!! :o)

The Lord's Prayer

Today I sang "The Lord's Prayer" in Sacrament meeting. I was nervous, to say the least. Partly because I got the arrangement on thursday and didn't practice it all that much and also because it's a song that is well-known, and if I messed it up big time - people would know. However, I think it went well, so my nerves can calm down until I sing again in a few months. :o) I had some thoughts about singing today, as I sat in church. I thought that when someone sings in church - they have the responsibility to pray for the Spirit to be with them so that they can convey the Spirit to those in the congregation. They are allowing themselves to be an instrument (pun intended) in the hands of God to bless those in attendance. Growing up, I was interested in singing "pretty" not thinking about singing with the Spirit. And where I am not perfect, I feel that I have grown to realize that having the Spirit and feeling the Spirit is much more important than singing "pretty." Just thought I'd share.

Another thought that I had today was about Visiting Teaching: it seems that we are given jurisdiction to teach our children about the gospel - they are in our care and it's our responsibility to teach them the gospel and guide them towards eternal life. It occurred to me that I have the same responsibility to help the ladies that I visit teach. Even if I visit my sisters each month and share the wonderful Ensign messages with them - if they are not feeling the Spirit or moving forward in their spiritual progression, then am I truly doing my calling as a visiting teacher? What are your thoughts?

We had a new family over this evening - Ben & Sarah, plus their two kids. They are truly wonderful and I'm happy to become friends with them. We even played a lively game of QUELF. Being a member of this church has truly blessed my life - aside from the wonderful blessings of the gospel and learning more about my Savior, I have never wanted for good and kind friends. I know that no matter where I live - I will make friends. It's a beautiful thing. :o)

More friends leaving

Next week these friends are leaving. We had them over last night for some major game-playing of dr. mario and wii - it was way fun. Here are some photos:

Don't worry - with my nintendo wii tennis elbow - I didn't play wii. However, our friends developed both "wii back" and "wii butt" while they played - it's quite the workout! I like making friends, but it's always sad when you can't be near them. :o(

Today (saturday) we were supposed to have a full day, beginning with Anna's first t-ball game of the season. Well, we played games last night up until about 1am, then Tyler & I watched not 1, not 2, but 3 episodes of MONK, putting us in bed around 4am. So Tyler, being the wonderful man that he is, got up at 8am to take Anna to her first t-ball game. At 8:30am, the coach called and said the game was cancelled due to the rainy weather. I was supposed to have a badly needed haircut today, but cancelled it due to the t-ball game, and then we were SUPPOSED to have our family portraits taken - but since I hadn't had the haircut, we didn't do that either. So, we're making a new day which has thus far involved homemade waffles, some family dr. mario, and Tyler taking Anna on a date to go golfing on-base. I plan to begin working on more dossier documents and meet up to practice "The Lord's Prayer" which I'll be singing in church tomorrow. :o)

If you haven't noticed yet - I posted some pictures of our newly painted home on the left sidebar. It's beautiful - we absolutely love the difference that the painting has made. Compliments are welcome (read: encouraged, desired, needed). ;o)

Singing, Dancing, Walking in the rain

This is the first musical that Tyler ever saw and he LOVED it! Well today in our healthy lifestyle support group we met at a local park to go on a walk. It was sprinkling a little bit - but we decided to walk anyhow. Halfway through it began to POUR! It's been a while since I've been out in the rain, it was fun. :o) I remember hearing Jerry Seinfeld once talk about how we love to swim, get in the hot tub, go water skiing, etc, but then - when it starts to rain - we freak out and have to get dry as soon as possible. It's a funny thing.

I's da sweed

O sweet mystery of life, at last I've found you! Today, Shannon & I went to have an hour-long swedish massage. We made a goal of losing 10 pounds and the reward was the massage. It was my first massage ever and I really liked it. A lot. I already want another one. I don't deal with stress very well and I can feel how relaxed I am from the massage. Then we went out for lunch afterwards - it was so nice to get to chat. She's an awesome friend - thanks, Shannon!

I went over to Sarah's house to hang out and watch a movie, then brought her daughter over for a sleepover with Anna. It's 11:30pm and I think they just fell asleep after some wii-playing and story-reading. :o) I guess that the Biggest Loser TV Show is looking for contestants for their 7th season...and my sister, Heather, wants to get my brother, Evan, and I to team up to lose weight on the show. I figure that any help is appreciated. Could you handle it if I suddenly became a famous tv star?

Thanks, Nicole!

Here's a look back:

20 years ago: I was 9 years old, living in Mustang, OK. My mom was pregnant with my baby sister, Rachel. I think I was in 4th or 5th grade?

10 years ago: I was 19 years old - in my sophmore year of college, had changed my major from music education to spanish with a brief interest in diatetics, but realized that science wasn't my forte. I took up racquetball and lost 40 pounds in 5 months! I was the president of LDS (lambda delta sigma) and an officer in LDCC (latin dancing cultural club). During this year I developed gallstones and sleep apnea at the same time. I had to withdraw from college and go home to recuperate. It turned out to be a blessing because I was able to spend the last two months with my step-dad before he passed away from complications of a heart transplant operation, in January 1999.

5 years ago: I was 24 years old. My daughter, Anna was 18 months old and we began doing sign language with her because her communication skills were delayed. We lived in Stillwater, OK. Tyler was in his next to last year of his chemical engineering degree. I took 2 semesters of mandarin chinese that year and now wo keyi shuo hanyu! :o)

3 years ago: I was 26 years old. I was in school full-time to finish my degree in liberal studies. Tyler was waiting to go to Air Force training and kept Anna for me while I was busy in school. I began doing AEOCM (An Evening of Christmas Music) and musical performance designed to bring together many church denominations to celebrate Christmas together through music.

1 year ago: I was 28 years old. We moved to OH - our first station in the Air Force. Anna was in pre-k. Tyler was in his MBA program (still is). We began infertility treatments to try to grow our family. I was the choir director at church and we were preparing to perform FROM CUMORAH'S HILL, a wonderful cantata. I didn't know it - but I was about to begin a new undergraduate degree in Music Performance at WSU, where I earned my very first 4.0 in college. Woo-hoo!

So far this year: Oh my goodness - we're in the process of adopting two sweet children, 4 year-old twins, Keith & Katya. Tyler is still in his MBA program and will graduate this december (can't be soon enough!) Anna just finished kindergarten and is reading up a storm! I've begun taking voice lessons again from a very accomplished voice instructor and I feel like I'm really making progress in my singing. I'm taking an online Russian language learning program plus learning how to sing a song in Russian! I recently began a Healthy Lifestyle Support Group and have been striving to be healthier.

Yesterday: We stayed home because both Tyler & I didn't feel well. :o( However, we finally got pictures put up on the walls, so that means I will be posting some pictures of our painted house soon...I hope.

Today: We attacked the C4 room to get it more organized, it's still not done - but close. I listed some items on craigslist, mailed some items I sold on half.com, and went grocery shopping at ALDI. Then we had our friends over for a cookout (see previous post).

Tomorrow: I am going visiting teaching with Sarah, then going to have my first swedish massage EVER - courtesy of Shannon, because we both lost 10 pounds! Hooray! And then in the evening, I'm going to watch this movie at Sarah's house. (busy day, eh?)

In the next year: I am going to bring my sweet twins home from Ukraine and adjust to life with 3 kids versus 1! Tyler will finish up his MBA and so he'll be home more (can't wait, honey!) and we'll continue following the commandments and trying to be worthy of all of the blessings that God has given us. :o)

I tag Liz, Melisa, and Steph! :o)

Sayin' goodbye is hard to do

We had our friends come over for a cookout tonight and it was really bittersweet, because they're leaving for CA on thursday. Here are some pictures:


We'll miss you guys!

Obama for president?

The tone of this video is what in the political world they call "fearmongering", which is used to promote fear. There are some important issues in it - however, the tone and certain facts that are presented aren't necessarily done in a professional way. Watch at your own risk.

Issues

I've never thought of myself as someone to lose their temper. I normally take great pride in that I don't raise my voice or yell AT ALL. This evening, however, I found myself not in the best mood and really had no excuse to accomodate it. Yet there I was, quite upset over something that at the time seemed REALLY important...and...somehow all those "calming down" exercises don't seem to be appealing when you're blowing steam out of your ears! How do YOU calm down when you're about to blow up?

I woke up with a fever blister today. My favorite. And I scheduled my family pictures for this coming Saturday...probably not going to happen now...whenever I get a fever blister, it means that I have a virus. Or I'm getting over a virus. Joy. Not my favorite thing - but then, who loves to have an open sore on their lips? Aside from all that - Tyler wasn't feeling well either, due to a lack of sleeping and an increase in manual labor (no doubt) and he stayed home to rest all morning. We then hung up some pictures on the walls (now I can post some pictures from our paint job!) and it's amazing what a difference that makes! :o)

Shannon gave me two little cross stitching kits and I started teaching Anna how to cross stitch today. It was going pretty slow, but she was interested in it - so she kept at it. I think she did about 12 x's and I was happy with that. I loved to cross stitch as a kid - but I can't remember what age I began? (help me out here, Mom) Anyhow, it's a very patient pasttime, as it takes hours upon HOURS to finish up the project. I thought it might be a great activity to teach Anna some patience. Let's hope it works! Here are some pictures of my past works:

Christmas-themed, of course. I'm thinking of selling them to raise money for our adoption. Do you think these would sell?

I ♥ Sundays!

I ♥ Sundays, because when I was little I didn't ♥ Sundays. Then I decided to tell myself that it was my favorite day, until it became my favorite. And now it is. For several reasons. As I've become older - the reasons have changed. It used to be because everyone was home on Sundays with no school/work/etc. And while that is nice - it's now my favorite day because I can go to church and feel the Spirit and prioritize my life. I can focus on my spiritual progression. It's wonderful! And then I can go home and share it with my family because there's no school/work/etc...it's a beautiful thing. ♥

Today we took some tomato plants to Daniel & Barbie. It was nice to get out and see them - they haven't been to church in a while. We saw (read: interrupted) Kacey there faithfully doing his home teaching. Seriously - he's moving on thursday and has plenty to do - but he was doing his HT. That's awesome. Then we visited Pilar - she's not doing so well. I'm trying to come up with some ways to bring her back to church. Then we had the Duncan's over for dinner. They're such nice people. I made some homemade tapioca pudding for my honey bunny - who's completely exhausted from the past 2 days. He's so good to me - it feels wonderful to do something nice for him. ♥ ♥ ♥

The laundry is taking over

The laundry is taking over...I have at least 4, maybe 5, loads of clean laundry on my couches. (guess what I'll be doing on this fine saturday night?) It's difficult to let the household chores go when I have dossier stuff to work on - but the dossier definitely comes first.

Tyler went to Indiana to help with some flooding relief efforts that our church is heading up over there. He is so selfless to do that. I can think of many other things I need to be doing (read: laundry) and yet, Tyler sees it as an opportunity to serve others. He's such a remarkable man.

These friends and these friends are leaving town within the next week. We have been fortunate to have known them both and are trying to fit in some quality last-minute game playing before they head off to their next adventure. We'll miss you guys!!!

A little late...but

Happy Father's Day to my sweet hubby! Tyler is an excellent dad and continues to amaze me at his dedication to caring for our sweet girl. He has a daddy/daughter date every week with Anna and makes it a priority. He snuggles with Anna and loves to play games with her and take her outside to play/ride bikes/swim - whatever they can find to do! He is a wonderful dad and I'm so blessed to have him in my life! We love you!!!

Who are you voting for?

Be sure to pause the music before playing...

Get 'er done

Summer vacation is here and I'm still not completely organized from the whole painting/garage sale projects, but I made progress today and it feels GREAT! First of all, I lost one pound last week - putting me at losing 30 pounds! Hooray! And I decided it was time to change my monthly donation to the YMCA to actually paying to exercise there again, so I hit the fitness room today and did the elliptical machine which felt great. Then I took Anna to my PT (physical therapy) appointment, then to the bank to deposit the garage sale money, then came home and have been doing laundry, did 2 loads of dishes and cleaned the kitchen, took Maggie to get her "nails done" (read: trimmed), sorted mail, cleaned out the car, played games with Anna, Anna's bedtime routine, had a surprise gift on my doorstep, and am beginning now to work on dossier stuff. Tyler started back to school today - only 2 quarters left and he's DONE! (it can't happen soon enough) So, I feel quite productive today and it's GREAT. :o)

Question: how do you deal with negative behavior from your child concerning religious things? Anna will say things like she never feels the Spirit, the magazine The Friend is stupid, and that she wants to be the ONLY person to return to Heavenly Father (forget the rest of the world and her family), etc. It's hard to hear these things from my little girl - any thoughts on how to react in a more positive way and on how to kindly guide her back to the truth?

Fundraising update

As difficult as fundraising is for this adoption - we've had our share of surprises. Today I went to deposit the $700 we made from our most recent garage sale. When I asked what our balance was, the bank teller informed me that we had $1200 split between our two bank accounts - and we thought we only had $600!! So, we have enough money to pay for our dossier application! And 2 weeks ago, a family in my church gave us a car to sell! Can you imagine that? They say it will fetch $1,000! I was overwhelmed when I heard it. They are so kind. And then tonight, I found a jar on my front porch which had $500 in it with a note saying it was for the twins. When I think of these kinds of things happening to us, I am full of gratitude to God for blessing us and for his angels who are making this miracle come true. I love you all - THANK YOU!!!

Speechless

I have been stretching my faith recently. Like really asking God to help me with a specific thing (that's out of my control) and having faith that He will answer that prayer. And He did. Twice. Yesterday. We began our 3 day garage sale yesterday (our fourth one) and it was HOT HOT HOT - in the 90s. I spent my time from 8am to 1:40pm arranging all the extra donations we'd received since our previous garage sale. I am now so sunburned, it hurts to move! Around 3pm it started to sprinkle. I hurriedly put two long blankets over some of the clothes (not nearly covering half of them) and then I thought, No, I'm not going to do this - we need to pray that it won't rain until the garage sale ends at 4pm plus I couldn't put away it all without Tyler being home, which would be 4pm. I shared my plan with Anna and we said a prayer together. After the prayer - it was time to show my (our) faith. It was thundering LOUDLY and there were rainclouds in the sky, but I went and pulled off those blankets. Every time it thundered, I just looked at the sky and in my heart I proclaimed my faith and asked God to answer my prayer. It did not rain. Not another drop until 4:30pm and even then it was minimal. God truly, truly heard my prayer and answered it. I had customers come by who said it was raining nearby - He prevented the rain, something I couldn't do, because I prayed for it. I KNOW that. It wasn't a coincidence.

Second answer to prayer unfolded differently. When Tyler came home, I told him that I thought we'd made about $130 that day (a previous count from earlier). We had stayed up until 1am the night before and were up early that day getting everything ready - we worked HARD and only earned $130. We were discouraged, naturally, because we were looking to make $800 in three days and the first day (the best of all, weather-wise) had only brought in $130. I was sunburnt and dehydrated and we lacked the energy to pack up everything (again) into our garage and then to get it all back out again today and start again - especially with the forecast to rain today. So, we packed up everything (except for large items that could sell on craigslist) and took it down to the thrift store. I was heartbroken. I had asked God to bless us to earn $800 so we could begin our dossier, and we'd only earned a hundred and now we were taking everything else away. I just sat on the couch and cried - feeling like I had somehow messed up and prevented God from blessing me.

Fast forward to this morning, when I actually counted ALL the money we earned. It wasn't $100 - it was $400. And then I remembered a check from my friend for our adoption that I hadn't cashed yet - for $200, then I found some more checks which brought more money. By the time I had counted it all, we had $700+ to deposit into our adoption bank account. PLUS we have a bed, entertainment center and other items to sell on craigslist which will DEFINITELY bring in another $100. I don't know what to say. We earned that money with only one day of our garage sale - and it's a good thing, because I didn't have it in me to do another day outside. I am so sore from the sunburn and deprived from a lack of sleep - I don't think I could have done it again. And I'm grateful that God knew that and for the blessings that he gives me. In addition to all of this - we've been wanting a rocking chair for Keith's room. I have LONGED to rock a baby again. The Snyder family brought us a rocking chair this morning - they didn't know that we wanted one. I feel so blessed through this adoption - I cannot even express it to you. I never sought this trial/blessing rollercoaster that I'm on, but God has certainly NOT forgotten me. I am so grateful to Him. I just wanted to share that.

I am amazed

We have raised $700 from the garage sale and have a few items to sell on craigslist, which will raise another $100. I feel so blessed. God has blessed me. I prayed to earn $800 and He is making that happen. Thanks for your prayers and support! We can now begin our dossier and a few months from now - we'll be in Ukraine! :o)

Bollywood fix

I need some bollywood...here's a fun love song from the movie LAGAAN, complete with english subtitles. Enjoy:

I believe in miracles

I have faith that God can do miracles. Here is one miracle that I'm praying for right now.

Today was BUSY! And it's not even over yet. I had my voice lesson - which went really well. I'm pleased with the progress that I'm making. Then I had physical therapy - only 2 more months left! YAY! Then I went to the garden store on-base, then the commissary, then wal-mart and THEN home, sweet home. I still have groceries in my kitchen that need to be put away...I made dinner, put Anna in the bath, read her stories and fixed her hair, now I need to make a bazillion rice krispy treats for the garage sale tomorrow and wrap them all up, chill the powerade, plus get all the signs ready and clean up my kitchen so it won't be the wreck it currently is tomorrow. I'm worried about doing the garage sale all by myself, I wish that Tyler could be home to help. At least Anna will be happily busy at school, at least on thursday - it's her last day of school! My baby will be in 1st grade! It's hard to believe. Tyler has been cleaning up the woodchips leftover from the trees being cut down and the stumps ground up, then he has been mowing the yard and he's also planning to go get some more tables for the garage sale tomorrow. And then tomorrow night I have the HLSG meeting at my house to prepare for...it's a salad potluck - which should be fun. Anyhow, I'd better get busy so I can get to bed at a decent hour...

Pray for us

We're having a 3 day garage sale beginning tomorrow. This is our 4th garage sale to raise funds for our adoption. In previous garage sales I have not had a certain amount of money in mind that I needed to earn - that is not the case this time. We have to come up with $1500 to begin the dossier and we only have $700. That means that we need to earn $800 during this garage sale (or by other means) to be able to begin the dossier. We've raised other money but it has been used for the home study and some is on our donation website but we cannot access that money until we leave for Ukraine. So, please pray for us. I have faith that within these 3 days we can raise $800. Lend me your faith, every bit helps!

A story by Anna

A log time ago a big gerl ate a choclit. Then she ate a nuther one. Then she gerode one. Then it gerod. Then the sun came awt. Then I plant a nuther choclit. Then sold the wind blowe me. Then I sold choclit on the choclit chue to ete. Then ate moere choclit. Then I got sic. Then I got buder. Then I ate one choclit in a day. Then went to bed. Then wate up and ate bepis then ate lunch.

Isn't that precious? Anna's kindergarten teacher has her use "her own spelling" when she writes and it's so fun to see how she thinks that words are spelled. Here's the translation, some of the words are quite different from when you read them versus hearing her read the story:

A long time ago, a big girl ate a chocolate. Then she ate another one. Then she growed one. Then it growed. Then the sun came out. Then I planted another chocolate. Then sawed the wind blow me. Then I sawed chocolate on the chocolate tree to eat. Then ate more chocolate. Then I got sick. Then I got better. Then I ate one chocolate in a day. Then went to bed. Then waked up and ate breakfast then ate lunch.

My favorite word in her story is "bepis" for breakfast. hee hee. It's so stinkin' cute! :o) I plan to post more of her stories on here - in her spelling, so I can remember it.

Today we finished the painting. Can you believe it? In one & a half weeks we painted our entire house! It's done! Well, the painting is done, at least. Now we need to organize everything that's left. Plus we're doing another garage sale this weekend, actually from thursday through saturday. My town is having a town-wide garage sale and it just seems like the time to have another adoption garage sale! It just doesn't help me get my house organized...but there's always next week! (I hope) We're now beginning our dossier which is the set of paperwork which will be translated and sent to Ukraine. Assembling those documents is another thing I need to be doing - if I weren't so busy, I'd probably be crying over my list of to-dos, but I'm trying to take it one step at a time. Oh, I also lost another 2 pounds last week and 1/2 an inch. :o) Progress...onward, ever onward.

Painting & Trees

Today we continued our painting trend - and we accomplished a LOT. The only room left in our house is the C4 room - we used to have a C2 room (craft + computer) but it has merged with the customer (what Anna calls guests) & council (like family councils = family room) therefore it is now the C4 room and it's a really big room. Tyler took off work today and tomorrow and we're planning to finish the C4 room tomorrow - and then our WHOLE HOUSE WILL BE PAINTED!!! And that's pretty good for just over a week of painting. Yeah. Of course, we'll need to organize afterwards - we're using this painting project to help us go through everything in the house and determine if we're ever going to need/use it. It feels good to be getting rid of unwanted items. Plus, I found out that our town is having a town-wide garage sale day - so I can sell our unwanted items in that. It will be our 4th garage sale to raise money for our adoptions. :o)

I'm so grateful for friends. This friend's husband came to help us paint today (Thanks again!) and my friend, Maria, came over so her daughter, Elizabeth could play/swim/hang out with Anna while Tyler & I painted. Then Maria helped move lots of items out of the C4 room so we could paint easier tomorrow PLUS she did my dishes. I don't think they make friends like her very often - she's the kind of person who can't be still for any amount of time and doesn't mind rolling up her sleeves to help out in any way. I don't know what I'd do without her - she's a kindred spirit. :o) While Anna was swimming, she did some kind of flip and landed on her face on the bottom of our 3 foot deep pool - not good. Her nose is swollen now and looks like it will bruise. I took her to see a friend who's a pediatrician and he said her nose wasn't broken. (thank goodness!)

While we were having our painting party - we had a tree company come and cut down 3 big trees in our ward and grind up 5 tree stumps - our yard looks COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! It's much more open and I love it. The only thing our yard lacks is a fence and I hope to somehow swing that before the twins come. My mind will be at ease if I have a fence - it just seems like the right thing to do. What do you think?

Presenting: Mr. & Mrs. Teran!

My baby sister, Rachel, is now Mrs. Teran! She & Alex were married on friday, June 6th, in the Logan Temple in UT. I was super sad to miss it - but here are some pictures that Alex's sister-in-law, April took. Aren't they adorable? After the sealing outside - it began to rain!
At the reception...isn't that a sweet moment?
The Logan Temple in Utah. To learn more about LDS Temples, click here.

Strawberry Festival

It's becoming more warm by the day here in OH. I am happy to see the sun, I waited all winter for it. We had an AF picnic on-base. It was really nice - I enjoy the military life. The people are so kind and friendly and they go out of their way to get to know you - which is nice. Tyler played some ultimate frisbee and I played with Maggie and got to know another military wife, Lizet. :o)

I had my physical therapy today - only 2 more months until I'm done. I enjoy it - but some days I don't feel like driving 15 minutes away for it. The good news is that I can take Anna with me when school is out - she'll be done next thursday. Her school had to make up some snow days, that's why she's still in school. I don't mind it - mainly because she loves school so much. I'm hoping to schedule some fun summer activities once she's out of school - and after the house is painted/organized/etc.

So there's a Strawberry Festival this weekend. I've been hearing about the SF since I moved here and until today I have had a kind of romantic idea of what it was - straight out of a Jane Austen novel, a huge field of strawberries...and my family carrying quaint little baskets which we would fill with strawberries...yes, a lovely mental image. Then we would bring those strawberries home and make jams and jellies and freeze the rest for later...what a beautiful thing. But that romantic dream was shattered today when my friend, Marie, told me that there is, indeed, no strawberry field at the Strawberry Festival. Therefore, no quaint little baskets, no jams, nada. It's a festival where people sell things with strawberries in them: strawberry ice cream, pancakes, etc. No fields of strawberries...a sad thing, indeed.

"A big tomato!"

Anna wasn't feeling well today, so she stayed home from school. Today was supposed to be her last day of school - but the school found out that they had to make up a certain amount of snow days, so she has until next week to go. I don't mind too much - Anna absolutely LOVES school and they're doing some really fun activities for the end of school, plus I have TONS of work to do at home with the painting/organizing right now.

Today we finished the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom. So, that's 5 rooms in all that are DONE! Rooms that we have left to do are our bedroom, the living room, the tv room, and the stairway/hallway. I'm eager to have it all done, but it will take a while since Tyler is going back to work tomorrow. However, he has a goal to have it all done before he starts the next quarter of school - which is in 1 1/2 weeks. So, it's nice to know that at least by then, it'll be all done.

We had some stormy weather here today, as Anna said: "A big tomato!" - meaning "a big tornado" watch here in the area. I don't mind the rain - our square foot garden is growing quite nicely and all the rain is certainly helping it along. :o) Tonight, Tyler & I are going to watch some MONK. We desperately need some downtime tonight...

Home Study - FINISHED!

We have finished the home study! Hooray! The home agency is going to send a copy of our home study to our placement agency to have them look it over, which means that it's time to begin the dossier, or досье (russian spelling). The dossier is another collection of papers that will be filled out, translated, and sent over to Ukraine. Then we wait for the government to issue us a date to come over and begin the process there. Our placement agency said we should have the dossier done by the end of June. :o) Progress!!!

3 down...several to go

We had hoped to accomplish more painting today - but managed to only finish one room, the smallest room in the whole house: the downstairs bathroom. It's certainly taking much longer than we ever thought it would take. However, the rooms that we have done look really nice. Anna's room is completely done and decorated and looks beautiful! I'll post pictures soon. :o)

I enjoyed this article about John McCain.

Painting fools

First of all, I lost 6 pounds last week and 3.5 inches! Hooray! I've been exercising 20-30 minutes a day (walks with my honey bunny in the morning), drinking protein shakes, eating fresh fruits/veggies everyday and trying to watch my portions. It's obviously working! I'm so happy about it! Can you tell?!?! :o) I feel like this is a plan that I can keep going - which is very encouraging!

On saturday Tyler & I began painting - we painted Keith's light blue. Tyler insisted that a boy's room HAS to be blue. ;o) Today we're painting Anna/Katya's room purple (light lavendar) which is Anna's favorite color and hopefully Katya will love purple like Anna does. I didn't realize how long and tedious it is to paint. You have to take everything out of the room, take down all the pictures, fill in the holes from the nails on the walls, tape the edges of the walls, remove the outlet covers and THEN you can paint. Plus, since we're creating a room for Keith - we had to dissolve our C2 room (craft + computer) and combine it with the family/guest room upstairs. So, we are planning to go through EVERYTHING and take anything we don't want (read: need) and add it to our ever growing garage sale items which are currently taking over our garage. I am happy to go through things - because I thrive on being organized, but it's a lot of work! Tyler took off 3 days this week (2 of them were from a free 2 day pass that Tyler won on his PT test - he got 100%, woohoo!) to work on the house. In the beginning we thought we'd have the whole house painted...now I'm hoping to have half of the house painted by wednesday! :o) If you like to paint - come on over! We won't turn down any help!