Dossier moving along nicely

After a couple hours of running around town the other day, I dropped off a FedEx package that arrived in Illinois today. The package contains 11 parts of our dossier. Our dossier will be composed of 13 parts. Which means that we have a good portion done. Yeah!! The most major portion right now is the approval from Immigration and Naturalization. It has been received and we hope to get our all important "invitations" to come to Kansas City to have our fingerprints taken. After that we should get our "golden ticket" from them! I have heard rumors that this portion of the process has gained speed. This is wonderful news!

We sent a care package to Linzi Rose MingShan this week from China. It included photos of us and our house. We also sent her a couple of summer dresses, pair of shoes, stuffed doll, camera to take photos of her friends, candy for the nannies. We hope she is shown our photos and they explain to her that she has a family. We have been told that her orphanage is really good about preparing the kids. We are so grateful for this!

With 6 you get eggroll

I know that we don't have very many followers anymore, but for those of you who have hung in there...we have wonderful news!! We are going to be parents again!! All the girls are going to be big sisters! This precious face spoke to us..it said "Come get me, I am yours!!"



For those of you who are my age, you will remember the Doris Day movie, "With six you get eggroll." I love Doris Day movies and that has always been one of my favorite. However, I digress...Daddy and I had talked about adding our caboose, and this IS the LAST ONE!! We will have our sixpack of eggrolls!!



Our home study was completed this week and we sent our I-800A into the USINS. At this point we are praying that we will be able to have her home before the end of the year. However, we are well aware that He is in charge with any adoption and we will just have to be patient.



Her name will be Linzi Rose MingShan. Her DOB is 9/29/2006..she will be our baby! We don't have any really clear, newer photos of her. We are getting ready to send her a care package and hope to get some updated photos too. We know that she is in a very special foster home and we feel blessed to have her being so well cared for until we can travel to get her.



As for her special need...she needs us! She was diagnosed with atelencephalia which is a very big term that we really can't find out what it is! They said that when she was found at 3 months of age her limbs were "inferior"?? They did a plain scan of her head when she was two years old and it did not show any abnormalities. She is meeting her milestones...sings, dances and attends school. She had been available for adoption for more than a year...people were overlooking her. That is because she was waiting for our family!! She is OURS!!

WE are so happy!!

The wind won this one :(

We are very lucky that this is all that the wind got last night. I think we are done with trampolines for now...at least until we can figure out a way to keep it from blowing around. I think that we probably got our $250.00 out of the trampoline and fortunately...NO BROKEN BONES!!

~~Happy Easter~~

And our beautiful Easter Bunny/Chicks are ready for the day!! How did we ever get so lucky to have beautiful Bunnies like these??!!

A new chapter.....

The girls have been interested in Taekwondo for a while now. Some more than others. The girls get their hair trimmed just next door to a Martial Arts studio. We had watched through the window one night and most of the girls were excited to try it. Zora was our only hold out. And why we have never figured out.




Tessa received a Valentine from a classmate during the school exchange. Tessa's was for a free week of Taekwondo classes. Dad called Master Lee (one of the trainers) and visited with him. He explained that we have 5 daughters and we would like them all to give it a try. It took us a few weeks to find a week that everyone was available and the first class it was just the littles who wanted to try it. So Tessa, Kendalan and Jordis participated. The next night the other two older girls decided to try it. It was a HIT! Now they are all signed up...we get a discount family rate which could include Mom, Dad and big Brother if we would like to also join.



We are thrilled with the trainers and the classes they have had so far. Can't wait to see them work their way through the different colored belts.

Hi Ho Silver!!

Silver D@llar City that is!! The day started was dark and gloomy, the people many and the options even greater. Then we took off to see how many rides we could do in one day! First up...the roller coaster "The Thunderation". Oh yeah, someone forgot to tell everyone that I am afraid of rollercoasters!! YIKES!! Well, since I was on it already and Tessa was my partner I HAD to put on my game face and hold my bladder so I wouldn't pee all over myself!! As it turned out, I was the one comforting Tessa...who was ready to break into tears halfway through the ride. But then we all started laughing at our selves for screaming like crazy and it really was a fun ride! Thanks to the makers of fitted "bucket" seats too. I had to squeeze my large tushy into the seat and once it was squished in...I wasn't going anywhere until someone pried me back out of it! Gave me all the securities that I needed to make it!!



Then it was off to the swings. Only a few were ready for those. My height restrictions kept me from enjoying that one :( Jennifer was more than happy to ride it with Tessa.



We then were at the "little kiddy" rides as our "big" kids told us. But we did make them ride a couple of the rides just to make their Mama's proud and for a very short period of time we were whisked back a year to when our babies were just that...our babies!! Oh well, a Mama can always dream...right?!




Then back to the hard core rides. Another albeit somewhat smaller roller coaster and then the teacups! Those saucers were spinning let me tell you! I was dizzy just trying to watch them and figure out who was in which!! Mark loves to make his girlies ditzy....I mean dizzy!



Next up the Elephant ride...strange how much it looks like Dumbo! Then the hard core riders took the pirate ships for a whirl!! We all had an appetite worked up after that! A quick meal and back off for more.




Next up was the maze at the Half Dollar Holler for the kids to wear their lunch off in and us parents to rest our backsides on some rocks for a while. Then we thought a nice relaxing train ride would fit the bill. Unfortunately, it was going to be an hour wait for the train. Not one of our kiddos was going to standby for an hour wait...no way!



So off to the log water. Hmmmmm....I don't remember what I went looking for, but by the time I returned they were halfway through the wait to get on the ride. Shucks! I had to just wait for them. So I kept Mark and Tessa company. We also watched all the folks come off super soaked! Our group did not let us down and just wait until I scan the photos of them coming down the last hill. What scared looking faces they all had and they got wet to boot!!

While they were all wet, why not head over to the Lost river ride?! Long, long, long wait, but so worth the ride down the rapids. Wet, wet and wetter we were after that one! Time to stand in the sun and dry our clothes and expecially our soaking wet shoes out!!



Good fun, lots of laughs, screams and the pricelessness of good friends...a whopping great day!! Can't wait for next year!!

~~Branson~~

Spring break time! We are all jazzed to be out of town and in Branson, Missouri! Arrived in town Saturday afternoon, met up with our friends and off to the Dixie Stampede. The girls report they L*O*V*E*D the show! I could tell by their faces and the little voices saying "Look at that Mom!" that it was a hit! Mom really liked the comedian that put on the preshow for us. I was just a little ticked off that we were not seated with our friends as we were told on the phone we were, but it all worked out. And a BIG thanks to Daren that I did not have to do CPR on him! (He is allergic to horses!)




Today we were at Silver D@llar City for the day. And what a great day was had by all! Looked like we were in for some showers, but thanks to Mother Nature we had beautiful weather all day. Which we really needed after riding the rides that tend to soak everyone! After walking around for several hours with soggy socks and shoes we decided it was time to hit the strip and eat. After a tummy filling dinner we have been back at our hotel chill-axing. Four of the girls are in our room watching Mermaidia II and the older kiddos are in our friends room on their I-Pod Touches doing whatever they do.



I would like to upload some photos from the last couple of days, but Att is not cooperating with me...to the point that I am going to have to get off this for now or I will throw the computer across the room!!! Argh! Come back in a couple of days...we will be home by then and I will get the photos on here to go along with the post.

Off tomorrow to shop the Outlet store way. Our friends will leave us tomorrow after that and we will muddle on without them for a day then back home we will go...jiggity jig!!