Team Malia/ Sunday Update

Well zero news this last weekon EP, which was expected but not what was hoped for. My darling daughter will soon be 11 months old which is actually painful to think about. I have to get over the fact that she may not be home before her 1st birthday. And I will, I will have so many other firsts with her like so many friends have told me.
I did actually get new medicals on her which is always exciting! She is now 20 lbs! Which actually is how much Maddie weighed at 1 year so not to much bigger than big sis and WAY smaller than Kaden was, I think he was closer to 30! She is 27 inches tall and is meeting all of her mile stones that she should. She says Omma (momma) and is very VERY shy with strangers (YIKES) she has 4 teeth on top on 3 on the bottom. Her papers said she is taking 7 oz of formula every 4 hours but Im hoping she is getting something more than just that at this point. So she is growing and is with wonderful caregivers that are loving her for us while we cant, and for that I am so greatful.
OK so we have talked about getting shirts for everyone who wanted to go to the airport with us when Malia gets home. Well I think we have finally come up with something cute to go on the shirts and so I will be taking orders if anyone wants to have one. They will say TEAM MALIA! Isnt that fun!! We originally thought about doing them as a fund raiser but we dont need to do that so the charge would only be the cost of the shirt. My dear friend Tirsa will be making them for us, her family has a business and I will try to get a link or phone # on here for any of you that may like it if you want to make your own shirts for special occasions! So if you want one they would be grey with black trim I guess you would say. They are just like the ones you can see in my post about the Breaking Dawn party earlier this month. Ours would be grey with black binding on the collar and cuffs though, they will be $12, they have women sizes S, M, L, XL, and 2X and mens in the same sizes... with adults I would recommend ordering a size bigger than you usually get because they run a little small. In kids they have S, M, L, XL, 2X, 3X, I believe the S for kids was a 5-6. And then if you had a baby we could get a onesie.
So if you want to be a part of Team Malia, let me know! Please dont feel like you have to buy a shirt in order to come to the airport though, we have had quite a few people express excitement in doing this and I think it would be great to have a great big support surrounding us when Malia gets off that elevator! I have always pictured a huge welcoming when we got home with Malia and even now that she will be escorted home I still would love to have friends and family be part of the exciting moment... and heck I need people filming and taking pics for us too... we will be a little busy lol!!
So please leave a comment on here or call or email me your order! I think if we all get very prepared maybe she will realize just how ready we are and finally come home!!!! Lets pray that we get EP submitted this week, this is my hope and my prayer!

First game of the season!

Kaden had his first game of the season today! They did great! They did end up loosing 20-13, so just by 1 touchdown. They actually had almost made it to the end zone 1 more time but lost the ball.

Kaden did really great and had the wonderful honor of being a team captain! So he got to go up and be part of the coin toss. His # is 8 in the photos. He plays full back this season which he is really excited about! He either carries the ball or helps block for a different runner! He also fills in on defense and loves to be able to really get out there and tackle.

We are very proud of him and have been very greatful that he hasnt been hurt.... he does have some nasty bruises on his arms but he doesnt even complain about them, they must not hurt, but when I catch a glance at them I kinda freak out! I hate seeing him hurt, but he loves playing football and he gets better every season.

We are hoping to have a winning season this year, we have some great boys on the team, boys he plays every other sport with so lets hope the trend continues with some wins, like basketball and baseball did!

Heres some video... you only see Kaden for a sec because hes doing some blocking!

Finally Done FINALLY!!

Seriously finally done! What a long dang process getting the basement done has been. The bathroom was the WORST because there were SO many problems that were left from our guy that had "done" our basement to begin with. So this is going to be somewhat of a venting blog! hehehe
1st we WAY over payed someone who had no idea what he was doing, and this was someone we know and thought we could trust. We have had to since re-hire and repay for things to be fixed GRRR!
The electricity was so messed up that things like lights in the hallway dont work because there is no power going to the lights! But now that the wires are covered with drywall its a little to late and we arent wanting to cut more holes in the walls.
The plumbing OOO the plumbing... the bathroom has been such a chore for Rich and has sat for pretty much 6 months because it was a little to intimidating for Rich or I to try to fix. So we finally said OK we will yet again hire someone else to do what we already paid for. It was a good thing we didnt attempt it because I guess things were so messed up and backwards that even the plumber had a hard time! YIKES!
So after a couple days of having the plumber here and the electricians here YET AGAIN fixing more issues I think the bathroom is finally done!
I went and bought towels and rails and hangy thingies and a mirror and rugs for it and I think it looks pretty good! Kaden was super excited to be the first one to use the bathroom! lol
Now I just need to find something to decorate and then I think I can finally turn it over to Kaden... and guests (Becki)!!!
So here it is WOOHOO!!

A thoughtful Sunday Update

So I have complained, been angry, frustrated, un-understanding, and just plain upset. WELL I allowed myself that for a couple days. But thankfully I had church today which always brings me back down to reality where life isnt bad its actually wonderful, my life is full of blessings and just because we have hit this block in the road doesnt mean Malia wont make it home.
In church as I sit and was in my own zone I was fervent in prayer asking for help in understanding and patience, I asked for my faith to return and help to not ask why. My conversation with God went on to admit I knew my anger wasnt ok and that all along I knew that things would be right and Gods will would be done. And when Malia gets home I will only feel the joy in that and not sit back and remember the hard times and the long wait.
What helped me reach this point today was remembering what the date is today and realizing that all the families still trying to adopt through Vietnam right now are just a few days away from reaching the cut off date to where if they do not have a referral they will not be getting one. My heart instantly broke for these families and I was reminded how blessed we are that we found our Malia and will without a doubt at least get to bring her home. So what if it is in 2 more or 3 more months and so what if she is already 1 years old, we are blessed to have her in our lives and are blessed to have gotten her referral.
As all these thoughts swirled around my head we had a lesson just on that, to let Gods will be done and to be accepting of that. I knew my prayers had been answered and that without a doubt God was speaking to me and letting me know that he knows how we feel but we need to remember he knows best for not only us but for our sweet Malia. So I will be patient and kind and I will remember my blessings. Im not promising to not have hard days, because they come but right now with this specific struggle I have moved past it and I have my eye on the prize!
At the end of church we closed with a song... only further proof that the Lord was by my side and comforting me and when it was over all I could think was O man! I was so disappointed in my own attitude. But I wanted to share the words of the song which happens to also be a scripture I guess, in hopes that it might help me to be reminded but maybe also find comfort for someone else who might also be in our shoes. So of course no new news to report on Malia, just scan through the last couple blogs to read what happened this week if you hadnt read already! Thanks for you continued support!

"When Faith Endures"

I will not doubt, I will not fear;

God's love and strength are always near.

His promised gift helps me to find

An inner strength and peace of mind.

I give the Father willingly

My trust, my prayers, humility.

His Spirit guides; his love assures

That fear departs when faith endures.

Olympics

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You know what ASSuming does...

Yep it sure made me one. Im completely at a loss right now and just so frustrated and upset. I found out today that not only do we NOT have EP (emigration permit) but that it hasnt even been submitted and could still be a couple weeks away from being submitted. UGH!
So I went from being on cloud 9 thinking Malia could possibly be home in a couple weeks to being at an all new low realizing it could still be 2 months or so.
So ya I had a bit of crying and some cursing and pleading with the big man upstairs. When I told Rich he kindly reminded me it will happen in Gods time but I was upset and let him know I didnt want to hear that right now!! But then felt bad. I know it will happen when its supposed to BUT to feel so close and then have the rug pulled from underneath me was a blow I was not prepared for. Though in all honesty I have known this would be a hang up for us. I have had a feeling we would not have EP and so I have been praying and fasting for it, but knew when I went looking for answers this week that they would not be the ones I wanted.
I was told EP usually gets submitted a couple weeks after your paper work gets to Korea WELL ours was sent almost 6 weeks ago so what the hold up is I have no idea. Im praying that a new group is submitted soon. The thought of again not having her home before her Birthday knocked the wind out of me. The roller coaster ride is not over and Im so ready for it to stop and let me collect my self again with my baby in hand!
So some more fasting and praying will be happening and I can only hope the Lord hears my pleas (and Maddies!) and we hear soon that EP has been submitted and hopefully wont take the 4 or so weeks it can to be approved.

Its very important!

Well my dear sweet Maddie said our morning prayer today and I about laughed and cried all at the same time! Heres how it went..
Dear Heavenly Father, please bless us to bring Malia home, its VERY important! We love her so much its very important so we can hold her and kiss her. We love her so much. Thank you for the Gospel its very important thank you Jesus and Christ. We just really want to bring her home because its really important. Please let her feel love. Amen.

K I just sat there biting my lip every time she said IMPORTANT, she said it with such vigor, like maybe he didnt quite understand just how dang important this is! Me and Kaden just stared at each other after then I gave her the biggest hug and told her what a great prayer that was!
Well I think he must have been listening because I called DC today and found out that P3 has been sent off to the agency and we will call a week from today to see if VI has been scheduled!!!
Thanks Maddie for your sweet prayers!

School is Cool!

YAAA School started! The kids were SOO ready and so was I! We had been practicing being up and ready for over a week so the first day of school went so smooth! Of course they woke up super early and then sat around for over an hour asking is it time yet is it time yet? A million times!

Kaden is now my 5th grade all growed up boy and it makes me so so sad! He is just looking so much older and acting a bit more mature, its exciting but at the same time I hate that he is to old to kiss mom for sure in public I tried to get a kiss on the cheek and I got the look that every mother dreads .... MOM no! So now on only kisses at home and those are pretty limited, heck I can barely get a photo of him without a grimace! I think he'll do great this year and he has a great teacher! He loves school so it makes life pretty easy, hes even pretty good about knowing that he comes home reads and does homework before any play... well then theres football YIKES!

My little miss Maddie is a Kindergartner! BOOHOO! SO SO hard to let go on that first day, and even harder on the second! She is so excited about school and so independent that we truly barely got a backwards glance and that was because we kept calling her name! She got up very early and didnt even want to eat she just wanted to get dressed and GO!! And every day since she has said is it time yet, come on mom lets just go! She loves her teacher and all of her new friends! Its very nice that there are so many church friends in her class! On the second day when they let them out the door she came running for me and yelled MOM and jumped into my arms.. it was right out of a made for tv movie! And I loved every second of it!

So now that the kiddos are in school and have abandoned me to be by my lonesome it really is high time that little Miss Malia finds her way home or else Rich is going to start expecting things to really be super clean and projects done that Im just not into doing!

Sunday Update on attachment and bonding

Well this post will be a biggie. It is very important to me to have everyone understand exactly what will happen after Malia gets home. I know it will be very hard for friends and family who will want to hold and touch and play for this much anticipated princess! I know I cant wait and I know how much so many of you love her too. So let me take a minute and explain exactly why and how this all will go down.
Not only will this be the hardest thing we have ever done it will be a complete nightmare for Malia. She is going to be ripped away from everyone and everything she has ever known. She doesnt know that she isnt with her family, she loves her caretakers, she doesnt know we love her and have been working so hard to bring her home, she knows what she knows and sees and smells. Coming here and being in cars and car seats (YIKES) will be traumatizing. The different smells and sounds will be very scary. All these white people will be very scary, we look and smell and SOUND very different and she will be close to 1 years old and will notice all of these things. She will be in mourning over her caregivers and her home and all that she knows. It breaks my heart knowing this but this is why we will take the following steps to help her feel secure as soon as possible.
First of all Rich and I will be her primary caregivers in the home, we will allow the kids to also bond and play with her but we will or really I (since Rich works) will really try to keep her focused on me and Rich when hes home, I dont think this will be to hard since the kids will be at school so when they get home Im sure she will be excited to have some playmates. We will NOT be allowing anyone ANYONE NO EXCEPTIONS from outside our home to hold or play with her. She needs to see that we are the ones who feeds her picks up her toys and plays with her. This is essential for the bonding process to work. Remember we are strangers to her, we know her but she will be completely freaked out by us and scared and mourning.
I ask that if she drops a toy or a binky or whatever if you happen to pick it up please hand it to me and I will give it to her.
Second, even though she seems very on track for her age we wont know that exactly until she gets home. So though she may be 1 we may still treat her like a 6 month old, we will hold and carry her as much as we can. You may see things that seem odd as we treat her maybe not her age but this is important for the bonding to happen. Feeding her and swaddling her like a baby will put her in a place of calmness and give us that one on one time that will be so very important. We also will hideout more than usual, and if we attempt an outing and have to leave please understand that we are following her lead and if we feel that she is stressed we arent worried about anyone elses feelings but hers!
I dont want anyone to feel like they cant come take a peak or even talk to us or her. Please do, she has been waited for for so long I know how excited everyone is to see her. You can play peak a boo or smile or say hi just keep it limited please. We are hoping the bonding will go smoothly but if it takes 2 weeks or 6 months we are prepared to keep at it for as long as we need to. I believe it will be obvious when we are feeling like it is ok for her to start interacting with other people.
First we will need to see all the normal stress a baby gets when her mommy walks away. It will be important for us to see that she trusts us and loves us and wants us around. It will be good to see that she is scared of strangers when they come talk to us. She will especially be scared of men Im told and especially hairy men... yes Rich has to start shaving!!!!
Bonding and attachment is essential with adopted children. There will be exceptions to almost every rule for the rest of her life. When she cries we wont be sure if its because shes upset or if it is adopted related. If she throws a tantrum it may be adopted related. We will be more understanding of toddler behavior than we were with our other kiddos. So if she is acting bratty and we seemingly dont care or are allowing something that you wouldnt, please dont judge.... we have to parent her differently than other children.
Please dont ever EVER say your adopted daughter when talking about Malia... she is simply our daughter. (I think it will be quite obvious she is adopted) Also please dont ever say how lucky she is, especially in front of her. I never want her to feel like she owes us something for us being so kind to adopt her. We are adopting because we knew we had a daughter waiting for us not because we were feeling like we needed to do some worthy deed.
I know this is a long post and a lot to take in. Please be understanding and patient with us and feel free to ask any questions. If its a dumb one I might let you know though!! LOL
Thank you so much for your support and understanding! This is going to be tough but Im hoping it wont take to long before we can pass her around and hug and snuggle and kiss her! Also I know everyone doesnt read my blog so if you happen to hear or see something you know we wouldnt like please be kind enough to spread the word. We dont want to offend anyone so feel free to be chatty about this post and share it!
I would like to leave you with a thought. Imagine your 1 year old being kidnapped by a stranger in the middle of the night. How would your baby react? Would she be just fine going with this stranger? Or would she be frightened and miss you terribly.. I know that she would not feel safe and that even though babies recover very quickly I believe that feeling can stick with them for a very long time. This adoption will be constant work, my hope is that we are open enough and smart enough to give her what she needs to feel as normal as she can and just one of us. Because she is. She is my daughter who I love so so very much.
Thanks for reading!

Fashion show/ We got L O!!

We did our annual back to school fashion show today!! It was a blast and of course the kids love trying on all their new stuff!! Maddie I think has a little more fun than Kaden (hes not so much into the posing and pictures) but you give Maddie clothes and a camera and WATCH OUT!! The photos dont even show close to all her poses but she had us cracking up! I think they are both adorable and they look great in all the new stuff!

**K so some way exciting news on the adoption, I called the NVC and found out we were logged out yesterday!! So the next steps are getting emigration permit (EP) from Korea so Malia can leave the country and come home! Then we will be watching for P3 which I cant explain but papers get moved from here to there and so on THEN she will get her visa interview, and should get her Visa the same day THEN we will await Travel call (TC) and she gets to come home!!!

Im so so excited that things are moving along!!

O I love it!

Doesnt look like she loves it in that photo! LOL
YAA We got Malias new high chair today and I love it! Its going to be so so easy to clean I cant wait!! I think its fun and funky and I love that there arent legs that Im going to be tripping over! We can have her up to the table with us too! The tray is small and not a one hander to release but other than that I think its gonna be a great find! I sure hope my baby girl loves it too!

SOO sick of the kid droppers!!!

Ok we just got home from the rec center and OMG I am SOO over the kid droppers! Im mean seriously who are these parents that dont think twice about dropping their kids anywhere with anyone! I just cant do it!! Maybe Im to much of a control freak with my kids safety but I kinda feel like I value their lives and their feelings a little to much just to drop them all the dang time.
During this summer Maddie has 2 classes a week at the rec and Ive seen so many of the same kids WITHOUT parents there each week. The rec center or mall or whatever is not a baby sitter people. I just dont get why parents think kids even 10 and younger are capable of taking care of their selves. I saw what looked like 6 and 7 year olds on their own today. And then even the teenagers in their huge groups acting like complete idiots also. I felt horrible for the people who work there today while they had to keep running around acting like baby sitters. Me and another mom there were a little outraged how some of these kids where acting and how so many of them were so young.
I have become one of those older ladies that looks at the dumb teeners and rolls my eyes... I always hated those ladies.. how dare they judge me... guess what you act like a irresponsible kid and you gonna have people rollin their eyes!!
I have never been one to let my kids just ride their bikes wherever... it took me forever to let them play outside alone and even now a door has to be open and I check on them constantly! I guess maybe I grew up in more of a real world then other parents did. Do you not hear the kidnapping stories or other horrible stories? I mean these are precious children you dont just let them run amuck with no supervision. ARRRGHHH!! I have friends that I trust that I let watch my kids but rarely do I do that either. I just hate the advantage taking and dont understand why mothers dont want to spend more time with their kids. Do I love always having to be at sports or at the pool or the park or taking them shopping NO but I do love knowing that my kids are safe and I hope it shows them how much I love them and dont just want to get rid of them and let them be someone elses problem!
*OK I ranted long enough sorry!!

And so it begins!

Today started the end of my easy going days.... the few I had this summer! Football started today for Kaden. Im actually pretty excited though I wish the practice field was a little closer to home. I think (with the help of some dads) that this season will be their best yet. It seems that with every sport the boys just keep getting better and better which is so exciting! Kaden had a good first practice and is already feeling it in his legs he said. He was pretty quick on his feet and we are looking forward to seeing where they put him this year!
So another sport and another super busy season begins...... YIKES!!

Sunday Update

So if you read my last post you know that this week ended up being very productive! USCIS came through for us and got our I600 approval done in less than 2 weeks! There are only a few more steps left and each one typically takes about a week or 2 for those steps!
My little girl turned 10 months this last week too. Makes me sad knowing that she is passing milestones without us but I am so excited at the thought of bringing home this mobile little thing, she will be all ready for tons of fun! I know she is standing on her own and crawls and has teeth. Im not sure if she has more than formula in her diet yet but Im betting that she does. She is truely our little Korean Dream and the anticipation of finally getting her home is so high right now its amazing the joy I feel when I have those moments of reality realizing that she soon will be home!
We got a new medical update on Malia on Friday it was just a photo of her chubby little thighs though and the update was in Korean so I have no idea what it said. But she is looking so so healthy and has the most gorgeous little chub rolls! Maddie saw the photo and said oooo cute I cant wait to squeeze her!! LOL It was to funny!!
Im feeling so so blessed. This journey has been a long one but Im already feeling less affected by the ups and downs and just looking forward to getting my baby girl home. Im able to for see what it will be like to have her home and I just cant wait! Every time we go on a family outing I just cant help but picture what it will soon be like.
When we were at Red Robin for Maddies b-day we were talking about how its not going to be that easy pretty soon and how Malia will be there throwing her food and screaming at us! CANT WAIT!
Stay tuned for next weeks update. I will be talking about bonding and the process that we will be going through in order to help Malia bond with us and us with her. It will be a struggle for sure. I am prepared for her to grieve the loss of her home and her family. It is going to be hard and having to keep everyone at a distance for awhile Im sure will be hard on friends and family but Im hoping that everyone will be understanding!

I600 approval baby!

Well HOLY COW!! I just can contain my excitement!! I had Kaden go check the mail awhile ago and I just knew he would have that O so wanted approval in his hand and guess what... he did!!! It took just under 2 weeks to get the approval! I couldnt be more pleased!

Now time line wise nothing is ever a for sure thing. Ive been looking at other AP's timelines and Ive seen anywhere from 3 weeks to 4 months still for the baby to get home. So Im gonna try not to get my hopes to high but Im feeling like there is a chance that she could get home by her birthday! Which would be simply the best!!

So everytime I get good news with Malia I do something for her ususally its some naughty shopping but today I lowered her crib matress because the girl is standing so having it on the highest level isnt going to be safe, and I also hung up her lanterns that Ive had sitting in her room! I love them I think they just add a little something!

Party Time

Maddie had her late night/faux sleepover birthday party last night! It started out by the girls chasing Kaden around the house and then we had them sit down for a little craftiness. They made adorable little necklaces. Then they were able to decorate pillowcases with their names flowers and princess type decals. They all had their own personalities so it was fun seeing how they decorated. So while I did the iron ons on their pillowcases they headed upstairs to watch a movie, eat popcorn and be silly. I headed up there to join them after ironing and started painting and decorating their fingernails and toenails. They started giving each other foot massages... it was pretty cute. It was a lot of fun and we added little flowers and jewels on there nails too!

Then it was time for root beer floats and cupcakes (which everyone just licked icing) and then we finally opened presents! Everyone was excited for that! Then we had about 15 minutes of playtime left so they headed to the "club" We had given them glow bracelets so they wanted the lights out and they turned on some Hannah Montana and started busting out some moves. These girls got pretty silly and I caught some fun photos of them dancing in the dark. We played freeze so they would dance and have to freeze when I paused the music. It was really cute!

Maddie had a blast and felt very special. The girls all seemed to have a good time so we are considering it a hit especially since Kinley kept telling everyone wasnt this the best birthday party everyone... it was so funny! It got pretty loud so Rich is holding me to my promise that next year the kids arent having a party! I think Im agreeing!!!

Maddie turned 5!

It was Maddies 5th birthday today!! I absolutely can NOT believe she is 5 already. I get very teary thinking about it actually. Im just not sure Im ready for her to be such a big girl yet. But she is and she is absolutely beautiful and strong and caring and such a funny girl to be around. I really feel so very blessed to have been chosen to be her mother. We are told so ofter what a good and sweet girl she is and how adorable she is and that she should be in movies because of her fun personality and boy can she put on the drama just for fun!
We had a great day today. We let her choose what she wanted to do and she chose the zoo. We hadnt been there for a very long time and it was in the 70's so it was a PERFECT day to go! The 2 things she wanted to do there was see the penguins and ride the train. So we road the train and of course found the penguins. She stared and stared at them for so long. It was funny because she is a mover just like me she doesnt like to sit and stare at the animals forever she looks and then moves on BUT with the penguins I think she watched them for about 5 minutes until one of them pooped on its friend and she was done after that!! It was funny when she looked at me and said "did you see that" (in a whisper) like the penguin should have been embarrassed!
She requested scones for breakfast hot dogs for lunch (which we had at the zoo) and Red Robin for dinner and cupcakes for desert. So her wish was our command though with her cupcake she only licked off the icing! At 8:30 she was asking to go to bed so Im thinking she had a pretty good day because she was so wore out! So So love this girl so much and I just know she will turn in to a very beautiful, smart, caring, young women but Im glad weve still got time for her to be our sweet little bundle of fire!

She has been begging for a Nintendo DS forever so we finally got her one! It is pink!!

She really wasnt to impressed until she found this present last!
After getting dressed she was right on it
Right after waking us up at SIX this morning she was yelling Im 5 Im 5!!
YAAA PRESENTS!
Hanna Antana... aka Hannah Montana
open open open

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! We love you so so much! Your just the best and we love you and are always so proud of you!
*Also she was very excited to get her letters in the mail from grandparents phone calls from family and friends and even a couple text messages telling her Happy Birthday so thank you everyone who helped make her feel special today!

Saying goodbye

Today was the end of a good thing for Maddie. She had a favorite little jammie dress that she has had for almost 3 years. YES a little bit sad. We bought her a Aurora princess jammie dress at Disney Land 3 years ago and she has loved wearing it. When we first bought it it was the smallest size they had but was HUGE on her she had to hold it up in order to walk but I think that was part of the appeal for her.
Well 3 years later it is torn and the Aurora has been washed off the front. Ive been telling her for awhile that it was time to throw it away but she always says no mom it still works. So Ive never fought with her about it because I kinda thought it was cute. But last night when she put it on I told her Maddie thats the last time your wearing that and tomorrow we will throw it away... she said ok! Kinda funny then when I tucked her in she realized one of her legs was stuck in one of the holes lol! Yes it was time. So here are some photos of Maddie wearing it this morning. And after she gets dressed we will say good bye!

Looks more like Cinderella borrowed it hu!!

So exciting! Sunday Update

So isnt she precious! We were so excited to get another email from Myra Friday night sending us 3 more videos! I was especially excited to see that we would be able to edit it down to where we could share. To bad that most of you wont get to see her sweetest HUGE smile or her cute little giggle yet but here she is so sweet and in her crib!
So for Sunday update this last week has mostly just been waiting, we are thinking it could be possible to have our I600 approval this week though! Lets hope and pray! We also got a letter from Holt on Thursday letting us know that our paper work was complete and that they had send it all to Korea and wherever else it needs to go and that the next process could take 3-5 months... we are hoping that is the general timeline they give and Im still hoping 2-3 months! Preferably before baby girls b-day.
I had an awesome experience in church today which I am hesitant to share but I want it written down so I can remember it always. I am fasting today of course for my sweet Malia and hopes that we will get our paper work and approvals done quickly. During sacrament I continued to pray and during the closing prayer I was saying my own and thinking of her when I felt the weight of her on my lap and on my chest. It lasted just a few seconds but long enough for me to realize what it was. I believe it was an answer to my prayers and to my constant worry that she will not be home soon, I know my Heavenly Father was letting me know that she will be home soon and let me feel the love of her for those few seconds. I was able to picture her face as if she was really there and feel the love completely that I have for her in those few seconds. I was a little to stunned and in aww to even cry though I am now thinking about it. I am constantly amazed at what my Heavenly Father does for me and the blessings he gives me. And now that I have felt her on my lap I just can NOT wait until it is a constant feeling and not just the 3 seconds of joy that I had.

Now rewatch that video people isnt she a beauty! The toys on the crib where the ones we sent and the one she is holding I believe is what Myra gave her. Now come on approvals!!! ** Also in one of the videos Myra asked them to say her name and now we finally know how to pronounce her name! San-hui... say it like San... he. We had been guessing it was San hi like hi how are you. So now when I practice saying Malia Linh San-hui.... I will be saying it right!

OO the saga...

Well Im dying that Im not reading my book right now but I needed to take a break. Last night we went to the release party for Breaking Dawn! It was a lot of fun and I had a good time getting into "character" and being a little cheesy! We had quite a large group of us that were there together and a lot of us (the cool ones... just kidding Erica) had shirts that had a fun saying about Edward on them! Well I had gone early to Borders yesterday to get our tickets so we wouldnt have to wait in line to long... so when they did raffles last night guess whos # got called O ya baby MINE! So I went from being 44th in line to getting to jump to #3!! WOO HOO and Jane then got called and she was #1 How awesome is that! THOUGH when I went up to get my new wrist band with my number some annoying teenager said OO its a Twilight mom! LOL she was sooo annoyed with us "older ladies" I guess lol I thought it was hilarious but extremely dumb that she was hatin on me! O'well I got my book before her nener nener neeeener!!! Any ways we had a lot of fun and other that getting a talking to a few times by the manager that was trying to keep our big group away from the doors and making sure we followed rules (Joette) LOL it ended up a fun night! I even put bite marks on my neck hehehehe or rather Edward did DUH!

Waiting to line up and watching all the crazies around us!

YAAA I GOT IT!!! 3rd one baby!

The first of us to get our books

Jane and I with our new #'s!! We were pretty excited
Our whole dang group... poor lady taking this photo was not pleased with us!
So I got home at 12:30 and read until 3:15 went to bed and woke at 6:30 and read pretty much all day except when the kids needed food or entertainment! I have 150 pages to go and I dont think I will go to bed until Im done. So far this book has been a roller coaster for me Ive loved it and then hated it and then loved it etc so well see how it ends if I feel like Stefanie and I will have words! LOL JK

*Becki for real hurry and get reading I need to talk to someone about this book!!!

A-Z all about ME

Ok my sis did this and I told her I would do it too! So here it goes..

A Age 28 which I love getting closer to thirty.. I know Im crazy!
B Birthday March 29, 1980 barely missed those crazy 70's hehehe
C Cake or Candy Umm Cake and like Becki I love German chocolate!
D Desert you love.. really any chocolate almost I looove chocolate but NOT dark YUCK!
E Easiest person to talk to.. I have 3 Becki Tami and Rich so I am blessed I can completely be myself with them no fakey fakey!
F Favorite song.. hmmm Finally by Fergie Im waiting to use it for a video!
G Gold or Silver Gold ewwww Silver good!
H Habit I have to be up and showered pretty early in the morning or I go a little crazy
I Instruments I play.. I taught myself to play the flute! Not very good at it anymore though but I was 1st chair in high school... thats right baby Im musical
J Job title... O hello BEST MOM EVER!!
K Kids Kaden, Madison, and my little Malia
L Love or Lust.. definitely Love THOUGH I am anxious about reading about my Edward tonight which is definitely lust! hehehehe
M Married Or Single Married for over 10 years
N Next to you.. always a kid usually Maddie especially in the summer
O One wish.. well I love Beckis but I would love my baby girl to hurry and get here!
P Person you called last Becki.. or did she call me? hmmm
Q Quotes Slower than Molasses.. also a parent quote that I never understood until high school AND NO I WASNT LOL
R Reasons to Smile.. I have no reasons not to smile my life is really lovely right now.. imagine my grin in a couple months!! CANT WAIT
S Steak or Pork O I love a good steak but rarely eat them and rarely get one that I love
T Turns you on Rich doing something very manly
U Unique talent.. I think Im known for getting people to laugh Ive been told its a talent!
V Vegetable.. A fresh tomato right from the garden cut with salt and pepper yummm
W Woke up at what time GRRR really Rich has had a stuffed up nose and was snoring a ton so the last 2 nights Ive been up around 5.. makes for a cranky mom and wife!
X X-rays Ive had Teeth, arm when I broke it, and colon/stomach.. think thats it
Y Your favorite color... Im still loving red
Z Zodiac O Im an Aries.....Adventurous and energetic, Pioneering and courageous, Enthusiastic and confident, Dynamic and quick-witted. Sure thats me!!

Well thats me from A-Z and Id love to have anyone do it that wants too but let me know so I can check it out!