God knows us individually

and he surrounds us with the friends that we need to have to help us throughout life. Valerie and her amazing family came over tonight for dinner and LOTS of talking while the kids played. Valerie has biological triplets and then adopted 2 special needs children - one from Uzbekistan and the other from Ukraine. In fact, her son, Evan, was in the same orphanage and in the same room as my Nikita. Their cribs were right next to each other. Valerie is the one who helped us find our son and I'll be forever grateful to her. In addition to this - she has helped me prepare for this trip to Ukraine with long phone calls and visits and I'm so grateful to her for helping me through this foreign (pun intended) journey. How amazing that there is a friend right here in OH who can help me through this adoption. God certainly knows us. I am grateful for all the blessings he gives me as I proceed to follow the path that he has laid out before me.

Maggie girl

Here is our Maggie girl...barking away. Enjoy!

Book on Motherhood

My cousin, Karin, is compiling a book of stories from Mothers. If you have any stories that you'd like to share, I know she would be grateful. Thanks!

Would you or anyone you know like to contribute to a volume of stories on motherhood? I am continually collecting stories for a book on which I am working. The book has seven sections as follows:

1. Awaiting (which would include any anticipation of getting pregnant or adopting, of longing to get pregnant, finding out you were pregnant (or adopting), and any remembrances, hopes, helps, or strength you felt or now feel while awaiting the event of birth (placement); stories of pregnancy or adoption)

2. New Life (any stories of birth or receiving your child)

3. Building (life lessons for you or your child as you have built a family together; also moments where you have helped to build self-esteem or confidence)

4. Growing (stories of growth or development—physically, spiritually, emotionally)

5. Learning (moments where you and your child really communicated or felt—at a deeper level—something that they and/or you needed to learn)

6. Letting Go (stories of times when you let them go to grow on their own—first day of kindergarten, middle school, high school or college, leaving home, etc.)

7. Mothering Moments (times when you have been a nurturer to nieces, nephews, piano students, anyone else that is important to you in your life that you mother).

I thought of you as one who would be happy to contribute to this collection of stories. Will you please take a moment to record at least one experience to share on why you do what you do? Will you please pass along my information to anyone who comes to your mind? The email account I am using for the book is motherhood123456@gmail.com. I would greatly appreciate any help you could give me while I continue to work on this project. Thank you! Sincerely, Karin.

R.S. Broadcast

I joined many of you sisters in watching the R.S. Broadcast this evening (for more information click here) and I was inspired by the words that I heard. I felt like President Uchtdorf's talk was meant just for me. There are times that I feel less important and that no matter what I do, I can't get things done right. I have fears and worries that seem to consume my mind at times, and yet, I am trying my best (or close to it) and I should be happier with what I do accomplish. After all, this morning in two hours I did dishes, swept/mopped the kitchen & bathroom, and vacuumed the entire house. Oh yeah. That's worth something, isn't it? I think so. I need to remember to read President Uchtdorf's talk whenever I'm feeling down.

Tyler came home today - he had been gone ALL WEEK LONG. Now I can finally sleep soundly. I don't sleep well when Tyler isn't home. Tyler brought Anna a mermaid barbie doll (she was ecstatic) and he brought me a lovely necklace and this:

It's a lovely wall-plug-in-night-light-mosaic-scent-burner (not real name) and he bought some scent chips to melt in the top. It's pretty neat - you can make your own concoction of scents. He went with maple, cinnamon, cloves, pie crust, & gingerbread. It's really lovely! Come over and see (read: smell) for yourself!

Mulan

Anna's favorite princess is Mulan. Although she is not as popular as other princesses, Anna adores her because she saved her country. Isn't that neat?

Here is Mulan singing "Reflection":




Here is my Mulan all decked out in Mulan attire (bought on ebay for an early Halloween gift/costume) singing her own version of "Reflection". Enjoy:

Photobook for the kids!

A friend of my sweet sister-in-law, Tisha's, made this photobook for us to take on our trip for the kids! Isn't is lovely?

Chew on this

Several of you have mentioned to bring snacks with us to Ukraine. What kinds of snacks did you bring? Which snacks did you wish that you had brought with you? Which snacks weren't good for the trip? I like to bake, so I've toyed with the idea of baking something and then using our food saver. Did anyone try this? Was it successful or unsuccessful? Also, which food items would you avoid once in-country? I know that the tap water is bad, but are all the bottled waters created equally? Should I bring water flavors to put in the bottled water?

Let's talk about clothing now

Okay, so I've heard to pack LIGHT. What exactly does that mean? 1 suitcase? 2 suitcases? 1 big one? 2 small ones? 2 BIG ones? And how many outfits did you take with you? Since the area I am going to has NO washer and NO dryer - it doesn't seem like blue jeans would be the best pants to bring along, since they take so long to dry. Am I right? Am I wrong? Help me out here! And what about shoes? I bought some new running shoes - since we'll be walking a lot. But if it rains a lot there (or snows a lot) perhaps some sturdy boots would be better? Your thoughts? I know I'm going to be bringing some nicer shoes for the SDA appointment and the court date - but I'd rather not have 2 pairs of shoes that I'm lugging around. Also - should I take a jacket? Umbrella? I look forward to reading your wisdom.

Runway model

Tonight I helped out at the Young Women's activity (a program at my church for young ladies ages 12-18, click here for more information): Project Runway. The goal of the evening was to focus on modest clothing. The girls dressed up in modest clothes (both casual and formal) and strutted their stuff down the runway. Do you recognize this model:




Yes, that's my daughter. She was there with me and wanted to show her moves on the catwalk. You should see this girl swing her hips - she's a natural! And that is terrifying, naturally.

How do you say that in Russian?

I am in search of a Russian/English English/Russian dictionary. I've heard to find one that has the Russian in cyrillic - but I've also heard that there are dictionaries that actually help you sound out the Russian - so you can read it to them instead of pointing out the word/phrase to them. Does anyone know of a dictionary like that?

Orphanage Needs

I have been informed that Nikita's orphanage in Ukraine needs the following items. If you are able to donate some to be taken, we will carry them with us to the orphanage. There's no need for name brands - the cheap brands are better quality than the ones sold in Ukraine and are much less expensive. Thanks in advance!

• diaper rash cream
• baby wash
• baby shampoo
• baby lotion
• neosporin
• anti-itch cream
• socks for toddler age

It only makes sense that

with being so busy with preparing to go to Ukraine that I should plan a latin dance 2 days before we fly out. Doesn't that seem appropriate? I love to dance, especially to latin dance. On Saturday, Tyler & I went to the temple with Nicole & her hubby. It's so wonderful to go to the Temple with friends. We had a great time!

And so, on the drive home Nicole & I were talking about latin dance clubs nearby. They all have bars in them, which isn't the kind of atmosphere that we want to be around. So the idea of going to the church in the gym and having our own dance came about...and before you know it - I'm planning a dance and inviting anyone in the ward/area who wants to come! I think it will be a lot of fun and will force me to be ready for the trip (if that's possible) at an earlier time than 3am the day of departure. Speaking of our departure, we finally bought our plane tickets!

Tonight we had a nice FHE on the song "To Think About Jesus". We went through both of the versus and talked about how important it is to think about Jesus Christ everyday - not just on Sundays. I think it went really well. We sang through the song a couple of times and then later on in the evening I heard Anna humming the song to herself. She is so musical and I hope that she will be able to strengthen her testimony of the gospel through music as I have done.

$1300 later...

we have our plane tickets to Ukraine! I hear that Ukraine is lovely this time of year...

So I'm trying to get EVERYTHING ready for this trip and to mentally prepare myself for the costs that we will incur once in the country. Please advise me on how much you spent, what you spent it on, how much money you took, and if it was enough/too much. Any advice on good souvenirs is also welcomed.

I think we're ready

to be farmers. Look at ALL the food we grew this whole summer!

5 Red cabbages, 4 funky-shaped cucumbers, 3 beets, 1 green pepper, and a bazillion carrots. Tyler had to arrange them according to size - can you tell he's an engineer? Yeah, I think we have more to learn before we can survive "living off the land". Until then - carrot, anyone?

Oh yeah, we grew a TON of basil. If you're closeby and want to make some pesto - by all means, come on over before it dries up!

Tyler & I had a big talk about making weekly dates more of a priority. Tyler isn't much of a "dater" per se, he prefers to just hang out. I enjoy hanging out - but I welcome the opportunity to dress up and GO OUT! We decided that we will try having a lunch date every week. Today we went to a local mexican restaurant - tasty! Here's a picture to show how nice looking (and HUNGRY) we were before we left.

Technology in Ukraine

I've been told to bring dvds with me to Ukraine. Will there be a tv/dvd player in the apartments/hotels? I've also heard that the facilitator will provide me with a laptop and a cell phone while I am there. So perhaps the dvd watching will be in Ukraine? We're currently signed up for netflix videos and they have some that you can play on the computer...so I'm wondering if that would be an option in Ukraine. Is the internet dial-up, dsl? Anyone know? I've also thought about bringing books with me to read during all the free time I am told I will have - but what about books on tape/cd? Any thoughts on these subjects will be appreciated! :o)

Snugglebug time

This is how everyday should end...with snugglebug time with Mama. Once I got home from my girl's night out (it was SO fun!) Anna was so tuckered out, that she fell asleep during scripture reading time. Soon she won't fit on my lap...so I am enjoying it while I can. :o) Look how BIG she's getting!

I am a Christian

So we're getting things together for the adoption and finances are looking bleak. Even with all of the wonderful help and donations that we've received - we still need at least $20,000 to take with us (that's JUST for in Ukraine - doesn't include airfare) and we're only approved for a $15,000 loan. There are several adoption grants that you can apply for - most of them are Christian-based, however they don't view lds (mormons) as Christians. Of course I am a Christian - the name of my church is The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints. My friend, Valerie, who is also LDS, applied for every single grant and was denied. She believes it is because they didn't feel she was "Christian" because she's Mormon. I think that someday I'd like to begin my own Adoption Loan/Grant company and have it be open to all who believe in Christ. I know that I do. He is my Savior and I love Him. I pray that He will guide me through this adoption process and help me find the funds that we need to make this happen. I have faith that He will help us. I recently posted a summary of our adoption story up to date, to read it click here!

Pierce Family Adoption Update

Family, Friends, Associates, etc.,

Greetings. We hope that this message finds all of you doing well. As many of you have heard, Jill and I have decided to expand our family through adoption. We have felt God’s influence guiding us down a path which we had never anticipated to travel. When we began this adventure, we were not quite sure where it was leading us. Yet, with each step that we have made, the way before us has been illuminated just enough to allow us to take the next step or two. God has given us the peaceful reassurance that we have indeed been following His will. I will describe a few of the highlights of our adventure thus far.

First, Jill and I have been blessed with a beautiful daughter. We brought her home the night before our first wedding anniversary. She has been a joy in our lives for almost seven years now. Jill and I have both wanted a large family, so we have tried to have another baby for about six years. The secondary infertility that we have experienced has been a tremendous drain on our emotions. Everything from natural remedies, vitamins, and supplements to months of working with an infertility specialist have left us empty handed. Then, a kindly stranger approached me and somewhat aggressively expounded the virtues of adoption. I presented the idea to Jill. We discussed the topic and felt very good about looking into it further. A variety of experiences led us to pursuing international adoption. We researched the adoption programs of different countries and both felt drawn to Ukraine . We were somewhat overwhelmed by the prevalence of orphans throughout the world who have a variety of special needs. We were very touched by their plight. As a missionary, I had provided service at a couple of different schools for special needs children. Jill has always had a natural affection for and talent with special needs individuals. Our discussions led us to concluding that we could and should adopt one of these special children of God. Actually, we hoped to adopt two children. A few days later, we met Valerie, whose family adopted a special needs son from Ukraine the previous year. One evening while I was in school, she introduced Jill to an organization that helps facilitate the adoption of special needs children from around the world. She saw pictures of several children from around the world, including Ukraine . When Jill said that we were looking for two children, Valerie felt inspired to recommend a set of twins (one boy, one girl) which were listed with this organization. The boy was born with cerebral palsy, while the girl did not have any significant special needs. As soon as she saw them, Jill felt that these were the children for our family. On my drive home from school, Jill called to tell me about these children. When she finished telling me about them, I was completely overcome with a flood of emotion. Tears streamed down my face as I realized that God was answering our prayers for more children in a unique and wonderful way. We made an adoption commitment to them through the organization and began calling them Keith and Katya. We began the long adoption process in earnest. We finally finished all of the paperwork (months of work) and sent our application package to Ukraine . It would only be a few more months before we would travel to get our children. We then received a heart-breaking phone call. Our adoption agent was informed that despite Ukrainian law forbidding it, our twins had been separated and Katya was in the process of being adopted by another family. A few days later, her adoption was finalized. Although we never met her, the sorrow in our hearts is that of parents who have lost a child. Despite this tragic news, our commitment to Keith has remained firm. Realizing their mistake, the Ukrainian government has agreed to let us adopt a second, unrelated child; a practice that they do not normally allow. We would never have traded Katya for another child. However, given the circumstances, we will try to find a little girl to adopt while we are in Ukraine . We have just recently been informed of our appointment date with the government agency in charge of adoptions. We will be traveling to Ukraine to meet with them on October 15. This appointment will be the first step of a month long process in Ukraine . Barring any problems, we will be home by Thanksgiving with two more miracles to be thankful for. Your assistance in the final leg of our adoption would be most appreciated.

First and foremost, your prayers on our behalf will help bring down the powers of heaven to bless us on our journey. As we seek to find a little daughter and bring her and Keith home, we will need all of the prayers that we can get. Second, your emotional support is a tremendous boon to us. Jill has been and will continue to keep a blog (http://www.foreverfamilyadoption.blogspot.com/) chronicling our adoption journey. Leaving comments on her blog posts are appreciated more than you may know. Emails, letters, and phone calls are also great ways to provide a sustaining influence. Finally, if you have the means and desire, a financial contribution is welcomed. International adoptions are very expensive (between $20,000 and $30,000). We will also need to upgrade to a larger vehicle after we return home. Loans will allow us to make everything happen. However, a smaller debt burden would make it easier to provide for the needs of our larger family. Tax deductible donations to our adoption fund are available through Jill’s blog. Contact us if you have any questions. Well, thank you for your time in reading this. We are glad to share our happy news with you. Feel free to pass this email on to others that may be interested in our story. We hope that you will continue to follow us on our journey and share the joy with us in our growing family. With love,

The Pierce Family

Help us adopt our kids with your donation!
www.reecesrainbow.com/sponsorpierce.htm

Book on MOTHERHOOD

My cousin, Karin, is compiling a book of stories from Mothers. If you have any stories that you'd like to share, I know she would be grateful. Thanks!

Would you or anyone you know like to contribute to a volume of stories on motherhood? I am continually collecting stories for a book on which I am working. The book has seven sections as follows:

1. Awaiting (which would include any anticipation of getting pregnant or adopting, of longing to get pregnant, finding out you were pregnant, and any remembrances, hopes, helps, or strength you felt or now feel while awaiting the event of birth; stories of pregnancy)

2. New Life (any stories of birth or receiving your child)

3. Building (life lessons for you or your child as you have built a family together; also moments where you have helped to build self-esteem or confidence)

4. Growing (stories of growth or development—physically, spiritually, emotionally)

5. Learning (moments where you and your child really communicated or felt—at a deeper level—something that they and/or you needed to learn)

6. Letting Go (stories of times when you let them go to grow on their own—first day of kindergarten, middle school, high school or college, leaving home, etc.)

7. Mothering Moments (times when you have been a nurturer to nieces, nephews, piano students, anyone else that is important to you in your life that you mother).

I thought of you as one who would be happy to contribute to this collection of stories. Will you please take a moment to record at least one experience to share on why you do what you do? Will you please pass along my information to anyone who comes to your mind? The email account I am using for the book is motherhood123456@gmail.com. I would greatly appreciate any help you could give me while I continue to work on this project. Thank you!
Sincerely, Karin.

Computers

Today we spent almost the entire day helping my friend, Maria, set up her computer. This is her first computer and she has had no training or any classes in it whatsoever. Teaching her made me realize how much I know about computers. For example, I know that you need to push down the SHIFT button plus a letter to capitalize it. I didn't realize that this wasn't just second nature to people. And I couldn't remember how to say "push it down and hold it" in spanish, so I had to say something like, "Watch this. Now - do that!" How confusing. Poor girl. We bought everything on this website which is a great place to buy computer parts.

I bought some new solo music for church. I bought "Consider the Lilies," "How will they know," and "O Holy Night." I think I should mention that up until this point in my life - I have loathed the idea of singing "O Holy Night." As for the song itself - I think it's lovely. That's not the problem with it - I think it's because EVERYONE wants to sing it and because it seems that everyone (or perhaps just me) is waiting to hear that high note at the end. I decided I was going to overcome this dislike of a song, and what better way to do this than to sing it myself this year. Yes, so you can all suffer through it with me and wait to see how the high note is at the end. I know that's what I'll be doing.

So now what?

So we know we're going to need to be in Ukraine on Oct 15th! This is great news - but now we are facing how to prepare for this trip. I need all the advice I can get! What should we bring with us? I've heard several people recommend ziploc bags...but I'm not sure why? Also, how many sets of clothes should I bring for myself? I've heard that in some places there aren't any dryers...so I can imagine it'd be better to pack things that dry quickly and are perhaps wrinkle-free? Should I only bring walking shoes? I want to go to church while I'm there - so that would mean church appropriate shoes. Hmmm. I've heard that packing VERY light is best. This is our first adoption. I've been overseas before to Taiwan - but something tells me that Ukraine isn't at all like Taiwan. Or maybe I'm wrong? Share your wisdom! I'm ready to receive it!

BIG NEWS

Check out my Ukrainian Adoption Blog for BIG NEWS!

We have our date!

Our date with the SDA in Ukraine is set for October 15th! Hooray! I can't believe we know the date already - and it's only a month away! Celebrate with us on this exciting news that we've been waiting for! :o)

Cabin fever

I've got Cabin fever. Bad. It feels like this...



More of Anna's artwork - she's so cute!

Translation:
One night my dad caught a firefly and he showed it to me and my friends were there and showed it to them too. And we swam in the pool and we had a firepit and we had smores and it was fun and we swung in the swings.

I love Anna's stories - they are so fun to read. She has quite the imaginative mind and is always creating stories or pictures. I liked to draw quite a bit when I was young - free-hand, mostly. I think that I had a natural ability in it - but I didn't ever take a class to improve. I sometimes wonder if I could have done anything with it. Naturally, I want for Anna to have that opportunity - we know someone who actually owns an art school nearby...if only it didn't cost so much. *sigh*

Tonight Tyler & I watched this movie. It was entertaining - I recommend it! :o)

Any day now

It's any day now that we could learn our appointment date from the SDA in Ukraine. I talked with someone who submitted their dossier the week before we did and their date is Nov 11th. *sigh* That seems so far away...but when I spoke with the placement agency, they said they are still hoping for an October date. We shall see.

You see? I wasn't just imagining myself ill!

After a week of being sick, I figured I'd go see the doctor. The diagnosis? Bronchitis. And you all thought I was just being lazy...well, I probably was, but it was all in the name of bronchitis. So now I'm set with all sorts of fun pills - which promise me to be feeling fantastic before too long! :o)

Annaism of the day: "Mama, I'm goin' to town on this cantaloupe!"

Prayers needed

Prayers are needed for my friend, Sarah. Her dear dad passed away yesterday. She recently moved to CO and now she's planning to fly to England to be with her Mum and family. Please remember her & her family during this trying time. Thank you.

It's all about the bling, baby

So I weighed in this morning and lost another 3 pounds - that makes 11 pounds in 3 weeks. I'm so excited about it! (go me!) So, as I was getting ready for the day - I put my wedding rings on. And would you believe it? They fell right off my hand. I was like, "huh?!?" Apparently, I lost 11 pounds in my wedding finger...so I headed down to wal-mart (where all good jewelry is sold - everyone knows that, right?) and bought this $10 beauty:

Do you think it's big enough? The "diamond" is about the size of my thumbnail. Before I shopped for a nice (read: gawdy) ring, I checked my ring size. My real wedding ring is a size 8 - big, I know, but I have big hands - and today? I measured at 6 1/2. I guess I've lost 11 pounds and 1 1/2 ring sizes...who can say that, huh?

I took Maggie to the vet to have her sutures removed. Poor thing - she completely remembed that doctor's office and was trying to get out every chance she had. :o( I took Anna out of school early for an eye exam on-base. 2 hours later (I wish I was joking...) we learned that she has one slightly lazy eye - but that she's able to use it, which is good. Also - her eyesight is better than most kids her age. Bizarre. I was expecting to hear that she was needing glasses (with Tyler & I both needing them - I've just prepared myself for its eventual occurrence) so when he said her eyes were fine, no - above average, it was a surprise. Not that I'm complaining - I hope she never needs glasses! :o)

We had an exceptional FHE tonight on testimonies. (We've been slacking on our FHE's - mainly because Tyler has been at school for the past 1 1/2 years on monday nights...it's no excuse - I should have been doing them on my own...) We talked about five basic parts of a testimony: faith in God, Jesus Christ is our Savior, the scriptures are the word of God, Joseph Smith restored Christ's church on the earth, and President Thomas S. Monson is the prophet upon the earth today. Tyler went over these one-by-one with Anna and then we each took turns bearing our testimonies. Anna's testimony was beautiful - she remembered every single thing we talked about during our lesson and bore testimony of it. I am amazed at her ability to soak up what we teach her. I am blessed to be her Mama.

Reflections

I'm still not up to par - so I stayed home from church today. I don't like missing church. I tried to do things at home to feel the Spirit and strengthen my testimony. It occurred to me that the church is set up to help us feel the Spirit - all we have to do is attend with an open heart and we'll feel the Spirit. How easy is it just to go to church? It's more difficult to actively find activities to feel the Spirit (in my opinion) and yet, every Sunday an opportunity to do so awaits us at church. As a family we're reading in the New Testament now and I've wondered what life must have been like throughout the centuries without Christ's church here upon the earth. How lost I would be without this church. I am blessed to have the gospel in my life and to know others who follow it faithfully. I have so many wonderful examples of how to follow Christ in day-to-day life. I appreciate you.

I got the idea from this blog to have more than one music player. You are now empowered to CHOOSE what kind of music to listen to while reading my blog. (if you choose to listen to anything at all) You have 3 choices: Anytime, Religious, or Christmas - because it's always fun!

Today I'm making a fabulous fajita recipe that I'd like to share with you, it's perfect for Sundays:

Slow Cooker Fajitas
SERVINGS: 8
METHOD: Slow Cooker
TIME: Prep: 25 min. Cook: 8 hours
Ingredients:
1 each medium green, sweet red and yellow pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 pounds boneless beef sirloin steaks, cut into thin strips
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
8 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro

Directions: Place peppers and onion in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Top with beef. Combine the water, vinegar, lime juice and seasonings; pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until tender. Using a slotted spoon, place about 3/4 cup meat mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top with 1 tablespoon salsa, 1 tablespoon cheese and 1 teaspoon cilantro; roll up. Yield: 8 servings.

Daddy/daughter golf!

Tyler bought Anna some golfing clubs a while back ($30 - great deal!) and has been taking Anna golfing 2-3x a month! He's such an awesome dad! Here's a photo before they went out this afternoon:


I'm still sick & I'm sure you're sick of hearing about it. I'm sick of being sick! I just hope I can get all this sickness out of my system so I won't be sick while I'm in Ukraine. :o) I did some organization of photos on the computer. It's amazing how many pictures I had stashed in different locations - several pictures were duplicates, it's no wonder my computer has been running slower than usual! I also did some church music shopping. I found this website which had some nice pieces on it that you can download after you pay. It's nice to not have to wait for it to arrive in the mail like on this website - although, they have a bigger selection and it's a great resourse for choral music whereas the previous website had more solo selections. By the way, have you heard this piece before:




It's a song that I just love - the melody is wonderful. I know it's early for Christmas - but what do you think? (Actually, I don't EVER think it's too early for Christmas - I've been known to break out the Christmas music in september...)

...sore...throat...

The sore throat is still here. *sigh* I had a very low key day - the cloudy/rainy weather helped me to relax. I did the dishes, practiced the piano, read my scrippys, worked on my Rusalka aria, and worked on my photobook (digital scrapbook on Shutterfly). I'm AMAZED at how quickly I can scrapbook online. I'm already up to my December 2007 pictures! I'm almost to 2008! Woo-hoo! My goal is to catch up to where we are now before we go to Ukraine. I'm amazed at how easy it is to scrapbook online. I like Shutterfly - but with the next book I think I'll look for a website that has more variety on backgrounds. Any suggestions?

This evening Tyler & I went on a date. We were going to check out some different vans at some dealerships - not that we can afford them, just to see which brand of vehicle we prefer in case we find a good deal on it somewhere. Right now we're prefering the Honda Odyssey. Please vote on my van poll or leave me a comment with your preference of van.

I have a

And it doesn't feel good. :o( (Tyler had a sore throat last week) It's strange, because it's only my throat that hurts - no sinus pressure or anything, but my lymph nodes HURT! Weird, eh? I think so. I'm hoping it goes away fast.

This is worse than a sore throat: hairbands made in China

I met my good friend for brunch at Bob Evans today - had a tasty omelet. Then I went to Fashion Bug to buy some tank tops to go under some of my shirts that I haven't been able to wear because they're too low...seriously - I think that designers think that us plus size girls want to bear all, but I sure don't. If people would just design shirts the way they SHOULD be made, then I wouldn't have to spend $27 to buy tank tops to go UNDER them. Vent over.

Here are some papers that Anna did at school!
Spelling test:

Cute story:
"Mrs. Goose's Baby- The baby did not look like Mrs. Goose. The baby was a chicken." Makes perfect sense! The other day we were talking about Maggie being spayed and Anna asked to know what that meant. We said it meant that Maggie couldn't have any puppies. A very concerned look came over Anna as she pleaded: "Please don't spay me, Mama! I want babies!" Poor little thing!

Birthday summary

Well, I'm 30 years old now. It finally happened. I think it was a surprise because I never actually imagined myself in my 30s...that always seemed so OLD. And now I'm 30 - so it can't be too old, right? That's what I'm telling myself - so run with it. ;o) Here are some photos from yesterday:

My sweet family let me sleep in and then we had whole wheat crepes with strawberries and cool whip (south beach worthy...) and I weighed also - lost 5 pounds this past week, which is 8 total in the past 2 weeks! (Woo-hoo!) Then it was present time! My family gave me a happy birthday balloon, some flowers, a vegetable brush, a shoe rack, a new cd player (both of ours were on the fritz) and a tomtom! Then we spent time as a family playing dr. mario until we went out with our friends to Chili's for dinner, followed by some Graeter's, then we played my favorite game of all time with our previously mentioned friends - it was a GREAT day! It almost made turning 30 completely painless! ;o)

Today I had my voice lessons - which went really well. There is a talent show on-base this month and I'd like to sing "Song to the Moon" from the opera Rusalka. The song is in czech which is more difficult to memorize than I'd thought - I'm sure after I practice it more often (which I'm planning to do) that I'll get it. However, finding an accompanist is more difficult since it has 6 flats. Glittersmama - where are you? If you're not busy on september 24th...I wouldn't mind if you came back to ohio. Really, I wouldn't mind that. Really.

Dossier is submitted

So the dossier was submitted today - and I've been told to expect an appointment date in about 2 weeks from now! Can you believe it? We're almost there, kiddos! Get ready for a very affectionate mama and loving daddy! God be praised - we should be in Ukraine in a month from now or so!!!