We have a LID!!!!!

After my mom nagging the agency all day (I believe it was like 4 phone calls, 3 emails, and 2 comments on the yahoo group) we have finally found out our log-in-date (LID). So, yep, now we that we have a LID we have some ground to go on as to when we mite travel. Awesome! :-)

p.s. Our LID is

Myspace Layouts

New Karli Pics!!!!!

Let's Blow Bubbles!!!!

Future Shopper...following family tradition ;-)

Here's Our Pics From Yesterday! :-)

A Perfect Day

Hey everyone! Yesterday we had a fun family day! We woke up early and headed out to the Space Center Houston, where the kids played around and we looked at some exhibits for a few hours. Then we grabbed a quick lunch at McDonald's and drove down to Galveston Island (which was about an hour from the Space Center). Once we got there we went to Moody Gardens. At Moody Gardens we saw an interesting show called The Wild Ocean (no joke; it was about sardines! LOL.) and we explored around the Aquarium pyramid (Kenzie's favorite; she loves fish and penguins and seals and pretty much anything with water). Afterwards, we went walking down the beach for about 20 minutes. Kylie and Keaton enjoyed collecting sea shells and "accidentally" falling in the water. (Mom had gone against bringing swimsuits because it was pretty stormy when we left the house and on our way there.) It was Kenzie's 1st trip to the beach and she had a blast trying to run from the waves coming onto the beach, playing around in the sand and picking up sea shells. Since it was getting kinda boring standing on the "beach" (I don't really know if I would consider Galveston a beach because the water and sand is pretty disgusting) for a while with the water right in front of you (no matter how gross) and not being able to go in it or really do anything, we decided to leave and go and pick up Dad. (Where was Dad, you might ask? Well, remember earlier I told you that he was at our church's staff retreat since he's on the staff there now and so they had taken the church van down there and we decided to go pick him up at the beach house where he was staying.) The house was really cool and it looked like a boat. We ended up having dinner with everyone else ("everyone else" concluded with our Pastor, his wife, our Co-Pastor, his wife, his 2 sons, our youth pastor, our music minister, and his wife, his son, our friendship pastor, his wife, Mrs. Paula, her son Roy, and then our family of 6. Whoa....) So it was all one big party; the perfect end to a perfect day!

WOW

Hey, check out the new Elmo toy coming out in October!

Guess what? Our agency is getting us updates on Karli. They're going to start getting them for each child this week, but it depends where we are in line, as to when we get them. My dad is out of town for a few days (he's on our church's staff retreat, now that he's on the "staff"), so this week will just be mom, Kenzie, Kylie, Keaton, and me. (Till Friday, except tonight Kylie/Keaton are sleeping over at a friend's house.) Kenzie has learned some new words in the recent days; like apple, lock, house, and China. If you don't already know (which is basically impossible with all of the comercials and advertisements) but the Beijing Olympics have been going on in China, and this is a really awesome year. Michael Phelps has just done phenomenal, he's broken so many records and boundaries, it's really cool that he has all of America supporting him. (Although, honestly, the girls' gymnastics was my favorite.) The opening ceremony (which my mom's ordering on DVD) was also something to talk about. Even though the Olympics are always fun, I'm kinda ready for them to be over. I mean, besides the fact that we've been lacking sleep because we've been staying up really late watching them, after they're over, the CCAA might pick up the pace on our approval and stuff. Turns out along with my sister (who in a few days will have $1120), and my mom, my Grandma (Vicki, the one who was in the hospital earlier this year) might go, too. :-) Cool! Let me tell you, that right there is one trip you'll never forget. Well, I'm gonna go ahead and go, I just thought I"d give ya'all some updates. Bye!

Hey everyone!

Today our social worker came for our 12 months post placement thing, and it went really well. She talked to us and asked simple questions (such as "Has she gained more weight?" or "How many words can she say now?"). That lasted for about 15 minutes, and then she left. I think it was the easiest social worker visit we've had so far...the only ones here were mom, Keaton, Kenzie (of course) and me. I can't believe the next time we see her, we'll have Karli...wow :-)

And Just A Reminder....

Hey, just a reminder for everyone: Please don't forget to check out Kylie's blog (http://www.thensidescoop.blogspot.com/). (We also have a link for it on the sidebar on the left hand side). But anyway, she really likes having one and it's about Karli/Kenzie/life at home, too, and she'd really appreciate it if more people would read and comment on it, so if you could, please show some encouragement and visit her site. Thanks! :-D

A Summer Sunflower Sunday

Hey, how's everyone? I don't know about you, but we're doing pretty good. On Thursday afternoon we have our social worker coming for our 12 months post placement visit (although technically it hasn't even been eleven months yet [Saturday will mark eleven months] so she's a little early). Unfortunately, though, that means we'll be busy this week cleaning our house. *Long, loud groan* Tomorrow (Tuesday) is my dad's birthday. He'll be 36...wow!!!! (Lol, he's not old at all though and he doesn't act like it.) But I don't think we're really doing anything to celebrate, so it'll just be another Tuesday (except for the fact that the new Jonas Brothers' CD comes out! Yeah!) These pictures up here are just some that mom took of Kenzie yesterday, modeling her new Gymboree dress and a big yellow hairbow. :-) And also of Kylie and her new haircut...(I personally think it looks adorable.) So, there you have it, just another Summer day...

A Collage Of Summer Pics

Shhh! I'm stealing mom's money...


let's have a laugh!


enjoying herself in the ball pit...


playin' around


watching fireworks on the 4th of July


partners in crime


Kylie, Keaton, and me


Yummy ice cream!


moonbounce madness!


Keaton


Kylie


keeping cool on a hot summer day


(now we know why disco died...)

Our Trip To Moody Gardens (in Galveston)

chasing a lizard


the tip of the ice berg


ooh!


look!


somehow mom's always missing from the "family pics"...hmm...

Karli!!!

Here's a picture of Karli...you finally get to see one!!! :-) 

A few steps closer...yet so many further away

Wow, can you believe that August 2nd marked one year since we got Kenzie's referral? Part of it seems like just yesterday we were boarding our plane to head off to Beijing and another part of it feels like she's been here forever. It's really amazing when you look back on it all, the past year and everything, and you see all the changes and transitions and how much more she's developed and how different she is. Her personality definitely shines through a lot more, and she's growing up so fast! She's very open now, compared to back then, and she's just recently started playing with other kids more.  (She's going to have to learn to share a little bit more when Karli gets here).  She's talking a lot more, and is saying a bunch of sentences (and stuff we can actually understand); such as "I'm done" or "Where are you going?". She also says Karli's name (pronounced "tar-lee"), and recognizes Karli's picture. She understands a lot and stuff, too. (For example, Kenzie said "rain" [or something that sounded like that] and [we've kinda been in the middle of a tropical storm today] my mom goes "Where's the rain?" and Kenzie goes "outside" [or however she pronounced it; I'm not sure, but she meant outside]). Keaton also got a drum set recently from some friends of ours, and let me tell you, he's not the only one who's showing promise on them. Kenzie enjoys making music on them. (Note that I said "making music" not "banging" on them, because it actually sounds like music, not annoying racket). 

Another day of August (the 4th) marked her turning 20 months...one step closer to the big 2!!!! :-)  She's a big girl now, and it shows!  (Lol.)  She likes to pick out her own outfits, hair-bows, and shoes.  We're close...well, okay not "close-close" but a few steps closer to having her potty-trained.  (She knows what it means, but if only she would do it more...)  I'm also noticing that she has a longer attention span.  Used to, she couldn't really sit still for a movie or TV show (with the exception of Sing Yourself Silly! and Elmo's World/Sesame Street) but now she can sit through things like Seventh Heaven, Hannah Montana, iRobot, and even the news sometimes.  

August 12th is Dad's birthday, and September 16th (coming up in a little over a month) will be the 1 year anniversary of "Gotcha Day!" so we'll probably go out to eat and celebrate.  The 3rd week of August (also coming up) Dad is going to quit his job as a lawyer and go full-time at our church as one of the pastors on staff there (as well as switching to a different law firm as a part-time attorney).  It's something he's been wanting to do for a while, and I haven't seen him as happy in a while...at least as far as work goes.  September 24th, it will be Karli's 3rd birthday.  Unfortunately, unlike mom had hoped, we won't be able to have Karli home or even be in China.  We're thinking that maybe we--by "we" I mean Kylie/Mom--will travel around November or sometime.  We're just crossing our fingers and praying, because it's all in God's timing.  I honestly don't know where we are in the process, I think we're still waiting.  Waiting.  I really am beginning to NOT like that word at all.  Kylie and her dog-sitting business is going extremely well.  We have 2 dogs at our house currently, and once they leave she'll have $1,030.33!  Wow!  I think she'll definitely have enough money to go when it's actually time.  We're all ready for Karli.

p.s. tomorrow on Good Morning America, Stephen Curtis Chapman and his family will be on there.  (If you recall, a few weeks--months--ago, his older son accidentally ran over their daughter with the car.  She was adopted from China, and a lot of other adopting families have given him a lot of support, so I think I'm going to watch it, just out of curiosity of what they'll talk about or say.)

p.p.s. I think my sister (Kylie) is in the other room working on updating her blog (http://www.thensidescoop.blogspot.com/) so go ahead and check it out, too! Bye!