Some one really loves this cow!

Ok, so the technical term should be "steer"... Miss O so very much loves "Bambi" our almost three year old steer. Bambi is so super gentle with her! Poor cow better find some amazing skill to impress us with soon - he is slated (sadly) to become burger next year!

One of those weeks....

Trying to think of something to post... not much has happened since last week.. the weather has quite frankly stunk... below freezing, foggy and blah... no sun - what-so-ever!
Saturday afternoon we headed to Seattle...
The kiddos were watching fishing in Puget Sound while we waited for the ferry - how convenient that we were 3 minutes late and missed the ferry.. so we were 2nd in line to get on the next one!

Saturday night we spent at the Best Western where the hubby has been spending all his working nights away... Big Al is enjoying watching tv in bed!

Miss O likes having alot of mirrors in the bathroom so she can watch herself brush her teeth and make cute faces at herself...

Saturday we spent about 2 hours at the Fun Center in Tukwila.. we spent the $25 so we could all ride the bumper boats (yep - in the cold!) Miss O and I had fun whipping around in circles..

The hubby was a bit too tall for the boat - but had fun as well chasing the kids across the little pool.

Big Al was in his element racing around harassing other drivers... he does that well!

Little J liked the speed and the fact that he was able to smash the boat into his brother... no surprise there!

We had dinner Saturday night with my brother, Uncle Steve... the kids enjoy a good night with their uncle... we had a good - albeit expensive dinner at Jimmy Macs, one of the hubbys favorite places to eat!

And Sunday - we spent a few hours on Bainbridge Island, working on our adoption homestudy. We decided to go ahead and have Miss O readopted here in the US, so that she is able to get a US birth certificate. Not that the readoption is necessary or required, it will make things a bit easier for her (paperwork wise) when she is older - or heaven forbid, anything were to happen to both my hubby and I and someone had to try and figure out her Ukrainian paperwork! So basically, we have to do everything that we did in order to bring Miss O home... alot of the same paperwork, back ground checks, medical exams, etc etc etc... It is a time intensive project - but hopefully we can get it done by March!

On Sunday - our way home - we stopped at our friends Shaun and Kerri's new house - which was awesome! They raise those adorable Alpacas.. and I am so hoping that the hubby will let me get one! So super cute!!!

Not much excitement - and now on to a new week!!

An award....???? For me??????

Things have been beyond crazy around here! Then come to find out that my pal Christine has given me an award... of course it was days ago... I am so out of it... more on that later!

Thanks Christine!
I'll get after passing it on once life starts to sloooooooowwwww down!!!! UGH!


Amy

Helping other adoptive families......

Being around this crazy world of Ukrainian adoptions for so long, you tend to get addicted to things like adoption blogs, following Embassy rule changes and following the stories of those children who have found their forever families!
Every so often there are certain stories that come along that just amaze me. Here are a few that have been at the top of my list for awhile!

The first is Michelle. I got to know Michelle back in 2004 when she was a member of our Ukrainian Angels group. Though she ended up adopting with a different group and bringing home her daughter, Yana... I still followed her story and watched how Yana grew and blossomed with her new family. Michelle and her family are again in the process of adopting from Ukraine yet again, and again, and again! They are looking to bring home three more angels! Two of these children are older, and one little one with special needs! Michelle has given countless hours of advice on FRUA boards, advocated for hosting programs and adopting older children even after she was diagnosed with cancer and recovering from her surgery! She is truly an inspiration! If you have never met or read anything about her story - you can click http://findingrdaughter.blogspot.com/ and read more about her journey.

The second person who holds a special place in my heart is Christine. Christine and her family JUST got home with their newest family member - little Dennis! I still don't know HOW she does it... but she does everything with grace and a huge heart! She has a very large and blessed family filled with amazing kiddos! Christine and her family will be facing a bit of a bumpy road in the next few months while they all help and support little Dennis with his adjustment to a new family and whole new outlook on life!
You can follow their story here.... http://theukrainetrain.blogspot.com/

If you feel moved by their stories - as I have been... let them know! They both are appreciative of your thoughts and prayers for their families! Both families have links on their blogs if you would like to support them in other ways as well!