Waiting

Well, I'd love to say we have our Article 5 and awaiting
TA, but I can't.  Somewhere in Lee's Summit, MO our
paperwork sits.  Our caseworker assures us she is looking
for it....but it's been well over the 14 days that it normally takes
to process.  We rec'd the Notice of Action, so we know that
they have it, it's just not where it should be.

So, while we wait, we prepare to send off our friends from
church who will leave in a few weeks to meet and bring home
their beautiful daughter, G.  Can't wait to follow their travels!

In the meantime, my heart aches. I ache to hold and love on this
little girl.  God has done a great job of knitting our sweet daughter
into my heart already. :-) It's amazing how quickly that has happened. 
So while we wait, I look at her picture and dream of the day we
finally meet. Her smile makes me smile. :-)

Wild Thing Kart Series Banquet for 2010

Yes, it's the  middle of January and we are talking go-kart racing.  The banquet for the 2010  CERIC Wild Thing Kart Series at Stafford Motor Speedway took place on Sunday, Jan. 16th.  Here is a run-down of the awards that J and D received and a few pics of the event.

D finished 2nd in the Hoosier Triple Crown Series in the Tiger 'B' class.  Recall the Hoosier Triple Crown Series is a three-race series with each race held at a different track - Stafford Motor Speedway, Rt. 106 Racepark, Concord, NH and Twin State Speedway, Claremont, NH.  D got a cup trophy and a purple Hoosier t-shirt.  D also got a trophy for finishing 2nd in the CERIC Wild Thing Kart Series Tiger 'B' class.  D had a very good year and will move up to the Tiger Sprint 'A' class in 2011.

J ran in both the Jr. Outlaw and the Tiger Sprint 'A' classes.  In the Jr. Outlaw class, J finished 8th overall in the CERIC Wild Thing Kart Series and received a plaque with a picture of him racing his kart.  J also finished 3rd in the Hoosier Triple Crown Series and got a cup trophy and a purple Hoosier t-shirt.

In the Tiger Sprint 'A' division, J finished 5th in the Hoosier Triple Crown series.  J got a framed 8x10 picture of him racing his kart.  Last but not least, J was the champion for the CERIC Wild Thing Kart Series Tiger Sprint 'A' class.  For finishing first overall, J received the championship trophy, a monogrammed CERIC championship jacket, a monogrammed Hoosier championship jacket, a Hoosier baseball cap and t-shirt, a 30"x24" championship poster of J racing his kart, a 1 year free subscription to iRacing.com (an on-line racing simulator site), an iRacing t-shirt and keychain lanyard, $75 cash and a certificate for a set four Hoosier go-kart tires; not bad for winning the championship.  He also gave a short speech thanking many for their support (see the video below).  We are really happy for J and glad he got to experience what it was like to win a championship.  It only gets tougher from here.  This year J will be racing the Jr Outlaw class only.

D on-stage getting his 2nd place CERIC Wild Thing Kart Series Tiger 'B' trophy.

 

J's Championship speech.

 

The 2010 CERIC Wild Thing Kart Series Champions sporting their Championship jackets.

J and the Tiger 'A' on display.

J and D with their trophies.

J and his loot.



D and his loot.

J and D with their trophies.

The 2011 schedule was published for the CERIC Wild Thing Kart Series at Stafford Motor Speed.  All races are on Mondays unless otherwise stated.

May 8th (Sunday practice), 16th, 23rd

June 6th, 13th, 20th

July 11th (Family Fun Night), 18th, 25th

August 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th

September 11th (Sunday, Triple Crown)

Hope to see you at the track this summer.

Snow Day!

Okay so I know we're a homeschooling family and there is no such thing
as a snow day, but I think today is different.  We had at least 21 inches of
snowfall during the night and early this morning.  WOW!  We learned from the
news broadcasters that this is a record for our area. The kids don't care about
the record.  They are excited about the hills of snow on our street and the
great fun they've had sledding down them! :-)  We'll get back to lessons later
this afternoon.  In the meantime, we're enjoying the beauty that has blanketed
our neighborhood.

We won't talk about the 3 + hours that it took us to clean it all up.......

 

Merry Christmas To All!

Merry Christmas to you!  Hope your Christmas was a blessed and peaceful one.  Here are some pictures and a video of our activities over the past month leading up to and including Christmas.

J, D and the dog in front the tree we picked out at the tree farm (11/30/10).

D with fellow shepherds at the church Live Nativity (12/12/10)

J sporting the latest in traditional shepherd fashion. YO!! (12/12/10).

J playing "Away In A Manger" on the guitar for Pre-service on Christmas Eve. (Turn up your volume to hear)

J (upper left) and kids singing "Silent Night" in Spanish on Christmas Eve.

D (upper right) as part of the German contingent singing "Silent Night" in German on Christmas Eve.

B, her sister and here mom on Christmas Eve.

S,J, D and B on Christmas Eve.



The Christmas tree on Christmas Day.

Again Merry Christmas and may God richly bless you and yours in 2011!!

A Pleasant Surprise

Today we received a new picture of our sweet little peanut.
We also got a little info about her current health and
development.  We also found out that she received the
care package that we sent her a couple of months ago.

What a wonderful early Christmas gift! 

We're still hoping for our LOA before Christmas, but for
now, we'll take what we can get!

She looks good and happy. LOVE her smile. :-)
We're thankful for the love and care she's received and
for God keeping her in His care.

DTC and Hip Mom

We got news on Friday evening that our dossier is on it's
way to China!  Yeah!!  Another step completed and one
more step closer to our little sweetie!   We're waiting for the
next e-mail (anyday...hopefully!) saying that our dossier has been
delivered to the CCAA and logged in. 

We also look forward to getting updated information on her and
maybe some pics.  That should happen sometime this month.
It seems like forever since we've been matched....

Don't forget about Hip Mom!  Now's the perfect time to get
some Christmas shopping done for ladies in your life.
Remember to use our family code gay1110 when you check out
so that we can get credit for your purchase.  Please spread the
word to family and friends.  Thank you again for helping us to
bring this little one home!

30 Day Holiday Giveaway!

Stefanie over at Ni Hao Y'all is at it again with a cool giveaway.
She's calling it 30 Days of Giveaways.  The gift giving starts on
Thursday, so click on the button below or on her web site above
get in on fun!

While you're there, take some time to read her blog.  She and her
husband are amazing!