New Clothes From Old-a Cheap Mom!

I've always been cheap. So, now that I've discovered remaking clothes to fit Ana, I'm having lots of fun. What makes it great is that you're not spending any money, but still making some cute things. The grey skirt was from a t-shirt of Matt's. I didn't have instructions for this one, but saw something like it and gave it a try. The striped skirt was a stretched out polo of Matt's. I did this off a website. The dress was a shirt of mine that I haven't worn in a while. It turned out a little long, but I really like how the back looks!

So--all you out there with old t-shirts. Don't throw them away. Give them to me!!

A Shocker

The GOOD news is that we got our court date today.

The SHOCKING news is that it isn't until OCTOBER 7. The courts suddenly decided to close from August 21-October 6.

Like I said before... adoption is a lesson in patience.

We should be traveling around October 27 then!! We'll let you know Christmas travel dates soon. I'll put an e-mail into the travel agency tomorrow!

You Have to Smile When...

-your toddler claps and says and enthusiastic "Good Job" when YOU go potty!
-you have crisp waffles, cinnamon apples, and toasted pecans for supper.
-you get everything accomplished on your list.
-you remember to be THANKFUL for your MANY blessings!

A Book Recommendation

Raising Kids for True Greatness by Dr. Tim Kimmel

The first few chapters of this book were really challenging to me. It really helped me to take a look at what I view success as. We're not into money--obviously with the vocation we've chosen, BUT education is a high priority. This book encourages one to look at success as building strong character in your child--humility, grace, service, etc.

I think it's a great read and highly recommend it. I have a copy if you want to borrow it!

It's Been Filed

Our dossier has been filed and our case was officially opened in Addis Ababa. Too bad the judge wasn't there--but we should get our court date sometime this week. Now we're working on seeing if we can do the immigration stuff in Singapore--his visa is only good for three months.

Adoption is a lesson in patience.

The Picture Says It All

Yep, we've been potty training. I must say she's doing quite well. I should have done this a long time ago, but my big motivation is that I don't want to have two in diapers! Matt says she'll hate me for taking all these pictures!!

New Outfit, Beads, and Bahailu's Quilt

I've had this shirt done for quite a while, but put off making the skirt because I wanted to piece Bahailu's quilt. I've been having fun quilting it at night--takes no thought and is rather relaxing. Anyway, I just finished the skirt today. It was probably the hardest thing I've sewn so far, but turned our to be really cute. I already had this material, but can't wait to try it again with some nicer colors! I'm thinking about trying to make her baby a matching dress. This outfit should fit for a while--so why not??

Ana is really into beads. She uses these big ones as well as the smaller ones. I was very proud of her on this day because she got so many on in one sitting!

Bahailu's quilt is really simple, but I like how it turned out! I'm probably 1/3 of the way through quilting--so should be no problem to finish it before we go to pick him up.

Another Adoption Update

Our dossier arrived in Ethiopia yesterday. The caseworker immediately took it for translation, and the dossier should be ready by the weekend. There is one final paper for Bahailu so that the file can be opened in the court in Addis (but that is expected to be picked up on Saturday). Our caseworker plans to open the file early next week and will let us know the court date at that time! It looks like we could be traveling as soon as late September!

We also received his weight, height, and head circumference measurements. Suffice it to say that he needs some more food! Pray for weight gain!

We should be getting some more pictures from a family traveling in late July/early August soon.

In Our Neighborhood

In our neighborhood we have one mosque, five Buddhist temples, and two Hindu temples. Some of these are quite old and intricately painted. I didn't have my zoom lens with me or I would have taken more detail shots. There also some beautiful old shop houses. These are really the only traditional architecture left here. We also chanced upon a small playground that is only about a three minute walk from our flat. I bet Ana and I will take some trips there now. We went past one abalone noodle stall and the aunties gave Ana two suckers (or lollies here). She loves all the attention and is happy to give all the aunties hugs. Not bad for a 2 block walk!

Behind Daddy's Back

I THOUGHT Ana was sitting with daddy, but instead she was going through our travel bag. She got out the bottle of conditioner (thank goodness it was small!) and proceeded to rub it all over her face. The secretaries at school often give her lotion. I think that is what she thought she had--after all it's white and smells nice. You might also notice that she doesn't mind the taste either! I can't forget to mention that this was about 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave!

A Couple of FINISHED Projects

I finished the large quilt for our bed about a week ago. My grandma pieced it and I hand quilted it. It took a long time, but now that it is finished I'm pretty proud of it! We used wonderful batik material from Singapore. My grandma also pieced this pretty quilt block. I decided to go ahead and quilt while we were watching Stargate Atlantis (a China purchase.)

Now, I've started a quilt for Behailu. It uses some of the same material as Ana's--but in a much more manly pattern. Right now I'm appliqueing stars on--I long for my mom's sewing machine :) It has many fancy stitches. Mine has two--so I'm doing most of it by hand.

This is Behailu--I have no idea of how to pronounce his name. All of you that had trouble with Analia--watch out!! We don't know how old he is in this picture, but he is supposed to be around 14 months now. He has had a medical exam and officially been declared an orphan. We have decided to accept this referral. Our dossier will be sent to Ethiopia tomorrow. We should know our court date shortly. Once we know our court date we will have a better idea of when we can travel. It's happened much quicker than I expected, but God reminded me a few days ago that I had prayed to travel before Christmas. He answered!

Adoption Update

It's a good possibility that we could have a son--soon. We are still talking with the agency about a 14 month old boy. His age isn't definite, but he has already been declared an orphan. It does put him in the same year of school as Ana. We think we might just hold him back a year to separate them.
I really feel this is God answering prayers. Just a month ago it looked like we wouldn't be traveling until February or March. But, with the courts NOT closing and the almost immediate referral, a fall adoption is a real possibility. More updates to come...

A New Skill

Analia loves to cut. The first day I let her she sat there for 45 minutes. Now for our VERY active girl that is downright amazing. Of course, she has to be continually supervised, but it does give me a bit of a break and requires nothing but scrap paper or material scraps!

Dress Skirt Makeover

I've had this dressy skirt for a while. I love the material--so I couldn't bear to give it away. So....I cut it off, added elastic and a ruffle. It makes a cute little girl skirt!! I saved the extra material to make a matching top later. Fun and easy!

More Sewing and a Pirated Dress

I've finished a couple of projects. Don't worry. I AM working on my pictures and I'm binding the quilt too. I made a pillowcase dress out of an embroidered, linen hand towel and two dresses out of some of Matt's dress shirts. (He was giving them away!) It was fun and didn't cost much because all the material was free! I made them big because she has plenty of clothes for now! The last dress is a pirated Ralph Lauren--I love it. It's comfy and cool.

We've Been Pretty Busy...

Our expert bubble catcher had great success catching them in her mouth!

We've played with our camera, went "swimming" twice (It's really just playing in some splash areas, but don't tell Analia. She loves it!), and blew bubbles (but it was really windy and they kept hitting people walking from the MRT!) We're glad daddy is back to play with us!

Pictures From China 2

I LOVE all the detail that went into the old architecture. Matt didn't take many pictures--only about 60 in three weeks, but what I saw I liked!!

Pictures From China 1

Matt had a great time in China. He didn't find the coursework too difficult and seemed to have quite a bit of free time. He got to see the Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, many of the Olympic Sites, and the Pearl Market. He did some great shopping--good thing I wasn't with him or we would have bought more!!