Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Last Week of Summer Vacation!

The house is quiet. Jared and Anna are at school; Lilly is napping; even the dog is out cold somewhere in the house. The computer is humming and I should be cleaning a bathroom or two. But instead, here I sit, uploading some photos so you all can enjoy the back-t0-school moments from this week!

We filled our last week home from school with fun things like a beach day, a day to visit daddy at work and play at the splash pad on base, and just fun stuff at home. Here are some shots from our last week of summer vacation:


Here is Anna getting nice and hot on the swings just before heading over to the splash pad with Lilly:



Here is Lilly with Anna and some of her friends having an impromptu back to school tea party (drank the last of our Turkish Apple Chai--yikes, help!) on a rainy day.


Here are Anna and Lilly enjoying the water park on base. Lilly has gotten so much braver in the water! Even the water splashing her in the face (as below!) doesn't phase her much!





Lilly tried the big kids' swing...she usually swings in my lap, but it makes me seasick quickly...so she gave this a try when mama said I had to stop! She is growing up!


On Wednesday last week, we surprised Tom at work with some brownies on a Wednesday in the middle of a VERY busy work week. He was happy to have us there...I felt bad keeping him from his work, but he kept saying "don't go!" All his coworkers are so sweet and gracious and welcoming to the kids and me...it is easy to hang around there! We decided to keep a stash of playdough in daddy's office so when we visit, Lilly has something to play with.

On Saturday, Tom had to go to work to prepare a briefing for the AF Surgeon General, so the kids and I headed to the beach with some friends for one last before-school beach day (it was a BEAUTIFUL day!) Here, Jared, Anna, and friend Sophie are admiring the 20+ small fish and one hermit crab that they caught in the surf. The water was beautiful and clear and lots of sealife was visible.

Big brother and Lilly hanging together and enjoying some junk food (gotta' live a little, no?)



Lilly couldn't decide which sunglasses matched her hat the best:



And finally, the Sunday night before school started, Tom and the kids did an impromptu swim night after dinner, before final baths and school-night bedtimes!







And so, summer vacation 2009 is a wrap!

PS: Like my new glasses?



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1 comment:

Nili said...

Looking beautiful Amy! Lilly looks like a sweet delight and Jared and Anna are growing so fast. So awesome to "see" you all!

August 26, 2009 at 4:56 PM

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Why Adoption? Why China?

I'm sure that many of you, when you learned that Tom and I were pursuing adoption of a little girl from China, wondered "why?!" We may have taken some of you by surprise, and we thought it might be nice to share some of our thinking about this journey we are undertaking.

Adoption is something that, even from the earliest years of our marriage, we talked about as "maybe someday." The idea of adoption is appealing to us for many reasons. As Christians, we are adopted by God as his children through faith in Jesus. Adoption allows us to provide a child with the needed love, warmth, and financial resources we have been blessed with as a family. Finally, adoption allows us to add to our family at a time when our biological children are old enough to be more self-sufficient, and we are in a position financially to be able to welcome a child into our family in this way. What we hope to gain is an additional family member to love and learn from, and an opportunity to share the joy and love of our family.

We recognize that an adoption will bring unique parenting challenges to our family--especially since we are considering a child with special needs--and it is likely to put unique stresses on our family in a variety of ways. We are grateful for Tom's medical knowledge and for the great medical coverage we get through Tom's Air Force career, and we look forward to providing a forever family for a child whose medical needs might make it more difficult for another family to take on.

Finally, why China? My love for China, the Chinese language, and the Chinese people made China the natural choice. It was never really even a consideration whether to go with a domestic adoption or international; China was simply the natural choice that we immediately pursued, especially since there are so many children in China that need a forever family.

Chinese Word of the Day

The Time in China

When Love Takes You In

Our Adoption Timeline

  • Travel Dates--11-26 March
  • Swearing In Ceremony at Consulate--25 March (Lilly's 3rd Birthday!)
  • Consulate Appointment (CA)--24 March
  • Travel Approval (TA)--19 February 2009
  • Received Letter of Approval (LOA)--22 January 2009
  • Received Pre-Approval (PA)--25 November
  • Submitted Letter of Intent (LOI) to adopt An Xiao Xue, soon to be named Lillian Joy Xiao Xue, 1 November (logged in at CCAA 21 November)
  • Referral Call from CCAI asking us to consider An Xiao Xue's profile--31 October
  • Dossier Log-in-Date (LID) 3 July 2008
  • Dossier to China (DTC)--June 27 2008
  • Dossier Submitted to CCAI--June 2008
  • Fingerprinted at USCIS Jacksonville--April 2008
  • Application Approval ("We're Pregnant!") January 2008
  • Submitted Adoption Application and 3 References--December 2007
  • Requested Application from Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI) --November 2007
  • Decided to Investigate Agencies--October 2007