Here is my cute puppy dog and my little Thomas the Train and their Wendy's chicken nuggets. We were really rushed tonight because I worked today, so Jeremy went by Wendys to get the kids some supper. We tried to take the nuggets out of their hands to take the pictures but Emma threw a fit. They still look cute.  The kids had fun tonight. We went to several houses of people that we know and then we went to church for Trunk or Treat. We then went to Jeremy's parents for a few minutes. Emma was not too sure of the whole thing. She kept getting mad because she wanted to eat every piece of candy that was put in her basket. So we had a few fits but not too bad. 

Well I think I am still in shock to think that Chloe will be home in 3 days. It still does not feel real. I also feel like I am not prepared because there really is not much to prepare. I have to work tomorrow for a few hours but I am planning on getting the house cleaned and get groceries for the next few weeks. I also need to get a few bottles and a small canister of formula. I keep forgetting that she will probably still be taking a bottle. It also hit me yesterday that I will have two one year olds for a week. That is pretty crazy. Well I am going to get to bed. 

TRAVEL CALL!!!

Well we are just beside ourselves with excitement. We got the call today that Chloe is coming home on MONDAY!! Yes, she is coming home in 4 days. Chloe will be arriving in Detroit at 12:10 and we will be arriving in Nashville at 4:12. Our plane leaves at 8:30 on Monday morning. I will now be having my dental work done in a few weeks and Emma's birthday party has been moved to November 15th. Well I will try to post some pictures of the kids in their Halloween outfits but I probably will not be posting over the next few days. I have so much do to for some reason:) So, I ask you will pray for a few things. Pray for Chloe and our family to have a safe trip on Monday. Pray for Chloe's foster mother. I know her heart is breaking. Pray that Chloe will have a easy adjustment to our family. Pray that Emma will also have an easy adjustment to a new sister. Thanks so much for praying for us and for following this amazing journey. Check out our family website, www.riggstribe.com on Monday for pictures. 

We had a very busy day yesterday. Jeremy had a dentist appointment yesterday afternoon and thankfully he did not have any problems. After he was done the dentist wanted to go over everything with me concerning what to expect on the day of my appointment. I was in his office for about 30 minutes. As soon as I entered the office I was feeling bummed again.  After the dentist we went to eat lunch and the I had to see the eye doctor again to make sure my contacts were still working for me. We finally got home at about 4:30. I got the house cleaned up and we watched the Titans game. The kids slept good last night. They actually have been sleeping good the past few nights. We got up this morning and went to Wal-Mart for groceries. I do not understand why Wal-Mart only keeps 2 check out lanes open? We waited in line to check out for 25 minutes. We were one person away from it being our turn and Sam informs me that he has to go potty. I told him he would have to wait because I was not getting out of line. I was worried because the person in front of me had two baskets full of stuff. Thankfully our friend Lisa came up to say "hi" and she took Sam to the bathroom for me. We came home and Emma took a long nap. When Jeremy got home I went to exercise. About 3 o'clock my phone rang and I saw that it was our social worker and my heart started to race. I answered the phone all excited but she was just calling to see how our court date went. What horrible timing to call! Anyway, I still have not heard anything about Chloe but I will let you know when I do.

Here is Sam singing the Thomas the Train song. He does not get all the words right but he has the tune right. He sings this song ALL the time. 

We had a great morning. Emma is officially a Riggs. The kids did such a great job. We did have a crazy morning and we were late getting to the courthouse. We were supposed to be there at 8:45 but we were about to leave and none of Sam's back dress shoes fit. We ended up changing his clothes and that put us behind on time. We got to the courthouse and there was not anywhere to park so we had to park kinda far away. We got into the courthouse and found where we were supposed to be and we found out that we were first. So we went over a few things with our laywer and then we went before the judge. Emma laid her head down the whole time. Our friends the Lewis' have a son from Korea and their daughter, Rory, came home two weeks after Emma so we did our court date the same day. After the hearing we went outside and took some pictures. Emma was not very happy about taking the pictures. It was also very cold outside. We then took the kids by McDonalds for a biscuit and we had to get the tags on van renewed. We came home for a few hours and we are headed out again for more appointments.

Emma and Rory were not happy to get their picture taken.

I thought I would go ahead and post some pictures from tonight. The kids had so much fun. They got nice and sweaty and are now in the bath and they should sleep good tonight. Emma took a late nap yesterday afternoon so she was still up at 10:45 last night wanting to play. I am going to get up and go to Curves in the morning and then we are going to the courthouse for Emma's finalization. Well I need to get the kids out of the tub. Enjoy the pictures!

I am feeling a little better today about all the events of Thursday. It is weird though how my teeth are now hurting since I know that they should be. I also think they are hurting from the dentist digging around in my mouth. Jeremy had a lock-in at the church last night and I was planning on going so we made plans for the kids to stay the night at Gran and Papa's house. Well we then decided that it would be a really crabby weekend if we both stayed up all night so I decided not to go to the lock-in but I still had the kids stay the night at the grandparent's house. I got a couple of things done around the house and then went to bed and enjoyed a full nights sleep. I slept until about 8:30 and then got up and got ready. I went to get the kids and then we went to the store so Jeremy could get some sleep at the house. We went to a few stores and just looked around. I did get pretty annoyed at a lady in one of the stores. I know I have mentioned before how annoying it gets for people to always make a big deal about how young I look. I was at the check out and this complete stranger came up to me and asked if Sam and Emma were my kids. She then proceeded to make a big deal about how I looked like a little kid. I was really embarrassed. I just do not see why people think that it is acceptable to say things like that to someone they do not know! Anyway, I know I will hear it a few more thousand times but I am getting a little bolder at responding to their rudeness. We got home after 1:00 and then we have just rested. I found these really cute gloves at Wal-Mart for the kids. They were only $1.00 for 2 pair of gloves. Every winter we go through this big ordeal of finding gloves that fit. They are so cute. Well tomorrow night we have our Hallelujah Night at church so the kids will have so much fun. On Monday we have our court date for Emma to become officially a Riggs and an American citizen. After the court appointment Jeremy is going to the dentist and we are hoping he does not have any problems but the last night he went to the dentist was the last time I had been, so who knows. Well we are all getting settled down for bed. I will post pictures from tomorrow night and Monday sometime this week. 

Sam and Emma wearing their new gloves

 

I have had several people call wondering about my dental appointment so I thought I would write the bad news and maybe I will feel better. I have several issues going on in my mouth that will require 3 root canals and a couple of other things. I have a little infection in a couple of my teeth and if I do not get it taken care of it could become very serious. I was OK with the diagnosis but I lost it when I found out how much it was going to cost me. I am very frustrated with money right now! I called Jeremy and was obviously upset and he reminded me that it is not the end of the world, it is my teeth. Anyway, I am scheduled to go in on November 5th to fix everything at once. I need to have everything done before Chloe comes home. I called the visa center today and nothing else has been happening with Chloe's paperwork so I do not think she will be home before the 5th.  Please say a prayer for my spirit. I am pretty upset. 

We have a busy day today. I am going back to the dentist to find out what I am going to need done. I am a little nervous and I am hoping that I do not start crying when he tells me how much I am going to have to pay. On Tuesday when he said he would find out how much I would have to pay out of pocket I choked tears back as I explained that we have paid for two adoptions in one year and our budget is pretty stretched. I am also a little more emotional these days. I am only going to talk to him so I should only be there 10 minutes or so. After the dentist we are going to the grocery store. Our family goes through milk, cereal, and juice like crazy. I also need to get some things for the kids lunches. I struggle almost every day what to feed them for lunch. I want to do somewhat healthy meals but it is so hard and I do not want to feed them mac and cheese every day either. Well I know I mentioned that I was a little worried about how Emma was going to react to Chloe. The other night in the nursery at church I picked up Eli to hold him for a few minutes and Emma shot me a look like "I cannot believe you just did that". She marched over to me and stomped her foot and said "Down. down" as she was pointing to the floor. She did not like me holding him. I gave him back to his mom and she immediately wanted me to pick her up. So I am thinking we might have some issues. Some people have also asked me about her going potty. She is actually doing OK. She goes potty in the toilet 2 or 3 times a day and I have caught her going number two almost every time before she goes in her diaper. She would probably do even better if I was really working with her. 

The kids being silly

Emma is pushing Sam out of her picture

We had an interesting night. After church we came home and the kids were so wound up. They were running around like crazy. We got them in the pj's hoping that would settle them down but Sam wanted to wear one of Jeremy's shirts from school. Jeremy let him wear it and he thought it was so funny how big it was. Sam was saying he was a scarecrow. He came running by me and I said he looked like he was in a choir. He then broke out in song singing, "Hallelujah, Hallelujah." The child is really cracking me up these days. He says the funniest things. We all got in our bed for story time and then the kids started crawling around on the bed and being goofy. It was all in fun until Emma fell off the bed. I had a pictures frame by the bed that I have been planning on hanging and she smacked right into it. I was really scared because her lip was bleeding pretty bad. It finally stopped bleeding and thankfully it was not as bad as it looked. I gave her some Tylenol and she slept good. She has a fat lip this morning but it could have been worse. Well the plan for today is to go through a bunch of stuff and try to get rid of some things. When we bought this house a few years ago we were not planning on having a family of 5. We are definitely out growing this house but we are not going anywhere for at least another year. I also need to finish putting all the Summer things away and get our Fall/Winter things out. Well I better get to work.

The pictures came a few hours ago so I decided to make a run to Wal-Mart. I cannot believe how old and big she looks in the pictures! She also got a haircut. Jeremy and I both agreed she needs a bow or something. She still looks really sweet. It is weird when you get new pictures and you realize that you forget while you are waiting that your child is growing. It is kinda a shock when you get pictures every few months and you see how much they change. It looks like she will have the same complex I had when I was growing up, looking older than my big sister. Oh well. Hurry home my sweet Chloe.

Well I just wanted to let you know that the pictures of Chloe will probably not be posted until late tonight. I was hoping to go to the store and get them scanned and put on a disk after I got back from the dentist but they have not been delivered yet. We have revival tonight so we will go before church to get the scanned. Well about the dentist, it was worse than I expected. They were super nice but I have a couple of issues. I am actually going back on Thursday just to talk to the doctor about what I need done. He was kinda weird about just telling me what the issues were that I was getting kinda nervous. So I asked him if I was going to loose my teeth or die or something. That is how weird he was acting. He said he wanted to look at all the X-rays and pictures again and get a plan for me before he just started saying what needs to be done. Sam also had a few cavities so they referred me to another dentist. I guess that is what I get for not going to the dentist in so many years. There was one good thing about going. They checked my blood pressure and it was great. I have had a headache the past few days and I was afraid it was because my blood pressure was high. I guess I have been stressed or something:) Sam also did really good. They actually put him in a different room then me but he was OK because they had cartoons on. He did not like laying down in the chair so one of the nurses held him on her lap. Well Emma is taking a much needed nap and I am going to what by the window for the DHL truck, just kidding. 

We had a good weekend. We went to eat at Logan's for Jeremy's birthday supper on Friday night. After we ate we went to the store. I wanted to find an outfit for Chloe to wear on the day we get her. I found a really cute outfit but I am not sure what size she is right now. I guess I will bring a couple outfits in different sizes. We all slept in on Saturday and then I went to Curves to exercise. Jeremy took the kids out for lunch so I could get the house cleaned and then they all came home and took a nap. We then had 6 teens from church come over for a Bible study. I took the kids to a friends house so I could actually participate in the Bible study. I picked up the kids about 9:00 and I thought they would be fast asleep by the time we got home but they were wired. So they did not get to sleep until after 10. I woke up Sunday with a massive headache. I was also sick to my stomach. I do not know if it was sinus stuff or what. After church we ate lunch and then came home and took a nap. The nap helped my headache a little. After church Sunday night we had a fellowship at church. Emma was playing and she came up to me and grabbed her diaper and said "potty". I took her in the bathroom and sat her on the toilet and she actually went! I was so surprised. When we got home last night she was standing in the living room doing her "number two" stance and I took her in the bathroom and she went in the toilet. I am not going to push her but I am going to try to start working with her.

Well we got an e-mail from our agency today and they received the pictures of Chloe. They sent them to us today and we should get them tomorrow. We were also told that the time frame is about 4 weeks or so. The e-mail makes me a little nervous but Jeremy said I was just reading into it too much. I did not like "or so" part of her e-mail. Our social worker said something about the director going to Korea the week of Nov. 17th so if Chloe was not home by then she would bring back pictures and new measurements. So it makes me kinda sick to my stomach to think if she is not home by then.  We are not sure if the time reflects the quick turn around at the visa center. So we are hoping maybe three weeks. I really am trying to stay calm but it is getting harder.

We did get a receipt from the Visa Center today to verify that it was the correct form sent this time so that was encouraging. They did not send anything like that with Emma which would have been helpful. Well I will post the new pictures of Chloe tomorrow night. Sam and I are going to the dentist in the morning and then I am going to go vote. I am hoping the dentist is not as bad as I am expecting. I have not been in a long time. 

More Good News!!!

Ok so I know I said I was going to call the National Visa Center on Monday to see if we were logged in, but I could not wait. I knew it was a long shot that we would already be logged in at the Visa Center but I was going to give it a shot. I called this morning but the wait time to talk to someone was 20 minutes so I decided to call back. I just got off the phone with them and we were logged in on October 15th and they actually processed our paperwork and it was sent to the Embassy in Korea TODAY!!! Can you tell I am excited! Once the paperwork is received in at the Embassy our agency in Korea will go to the Embassy and give whatever paperwork in necessary and then they will set up her visa interview and then she will be home. I am still not sure of the exact time frame but WOW this is going better than I had expected. Continue to pray. 

We just got home a few minutes ago. I went to the eye doctor this morning. I took the kids to Gran and Papa's house. I went to a new eye doctor and he was really nice. I ordered some new glasses and I switched the kind of contacts that I wear. The new ones fit my eyes so much better than my old ones. The doctor did do something new and it was really weird. When you go to the eye doctor they usually have that machine that blows a puff of air in your eye to measure it or something. Well this guy actually put some drops in my eye to numb them and then actually put some kind of tool directly on my eyeball. It was strange. It did not hurt but I did not exactly like the feeling of someone poking my eye. After the eye doctor I was going to go vote because I thought early voting started on Oct. 15th. Well it started in Nashville but Pleasant View does not open for early voting until the 20th. I was hoping to vote while I had some time and when I did not have the kids. Right now Emma is taking a nap and Sam is playing with his trains. I need to get the house cleaned. We are having a Bible study at our house tomorrow night. We are going out to eat tonight for Jeremy's birthday (which is tomorrow). 

Well I did not sleep good last night. Memories are amazing things but have you ever had a night where memories run through your mind like a movie? Yesterday I had the song "He's Been Faithful" running through my mind. The words to the chorus go like this:

"He's been faithful, faithful to me. Looking back his love and mercy I see. Though in my heart I have questioned even failed to believe, still He's been faithful to me."

It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was only 5 years ago since my world was turned upside down. My mind was just going through the events over the past 5 years that have led my on the amazing journey to my beautiful children. I was reflecting on the great heartache that I had to go through to bring me to this point in my life. I would of never dreamed my life would of been filled with this much joy and happiness. 

I600 APPROVAL HAS ARRIVED!!!!!

Well my very uneventful day has become a very exciting day. I checked the mail box like 5 times this morning hoping the mail had finally been delivered. I had a weird feeling but that would not of been the first time I felt that way and nothing came of it. I went back to check it at about 12:30 and I saw that we had mailed. I pulled the letters out and I saw that we had an envelope from Immigration. I was hoping that it was not another receipt or a letter saying we needed something else for the approval. I opened it up and saw that it was indeed the approval for Chloe to get her visa and finally be home. I obviously started crying. Most of you know what a relief it was to get the approval. I came back inside and got myself and the kids ready as fast as I could and headed out to fax the approval to our adoption agencies. We got back a few minutes ago and the reality of the situation is setting in. I am not sure how long it will take for her travel call but maybe I will find out more at the beginning of the week. I am going to call the National Visa Center next week to make sure we are logged in and make sure that the correct papers were sent to their office. Well I now realize how much I need to do before Chloe gets home so I guess I better get a game plan. I just want to say "thanks" to everyone who is praying for my family. In the next few days I ask that you will pray that everything will continue to move along quickly and smoothly. I also ask that you will pray for Chloe. Ask God to help her feel our love. Pray that God will prepare Chloe to leave all that she knows to come to our family. Pray that God will give comfort to the precious foster mother who has loved and taken such good care of our little one. One more, please pray for Sam and Emma to also adjust to our new addition. 

Well once again we have a very uneventful day planned. I need to get out and go to the bank but I am not sure I want to load the kids up for one errand. I am going to try to exercise when Jeremy gets home but it depends on when he gets home. He has report cards due tomorrow and it is taking him forever to fill them out. He might stay after school to work on them. The kids are doing good. Emma is still saying new words every day. Samuel is just growing up so fast. I know they have their moments but I am very blessed to have such sweet children. Well not much more to say. I am going to work on the laundry a little today. I am also going to attempt to get the kids summer clothes packed away and see what I have for them for Fall. It is raining today but thankfully it has cooled down here. It has been so warm the past few days. Still no word on our I600 approval or when our new pictures of Chloe will be arriving. Hopefully soon! Well Emma just spilt her Cheerios all over the floor so I better get it cleaned up.

Well there is not a lot of excitement around here. I worked all day yesterday and the kids went to some friend's house. My in-laws are out of town so I have had to find babysitters this week. Jeremy had parent teacher conferences yesterday and did not have to be at school until noon. One of our friends was able to watch them yesterday afternoon. I actually am working tomorrow instead of Friday because the family I work for will be out of town. Another dear friend will be watching the kids tomorrow and she is actually gracious enough to come to our house to keep them. It makes it so much easier not getting them up and out of the house. After tomorrow I will have a nice four day weekend. I got an eye doctor's appointment Friday and Jeremy's birthday is Saturday so I am sure we will do something for him this weekend. Well I got back from Curves a little bit ago and now I need to get supper going. 

Oh, we got an e-mail from our State Senators office today. They got an e-mail from Memphis saying we will have our approval in the next two weeks. I am trying not to get overly excited yet, but it is encouraging. I know the next question is "how long after the approval before Chloe comes home?" The answer is that I am not sure. Every case is so different it is hard to figure out the time frame based on other people's situation. Well I better go. Sorry no pictures today.

Today was pretty good. I woke up this morning and was going to take about a 45 minute walk before I had to get ready for work. I got up and started my walk but I did not get far and two dogs started chasing after me. They were nice dogs but it was kinda annoying. It was also very smoky outside. We have several tobacco barns near our house and it is the season for the farmers to smoke the barns to dry out the tobacco. The smoke is horrible. I could not stay outside very long because I could not even breath. I only stayed out about 20 minutes. It was also a weird walk because one of my cats followed me out on the road and walked along side of me like a dog. Anyway, I went on to work and it was pretty boring. I got home about 3:00 and for a minute a thought I had received very good news. I checked the mail and I saw an envelope in there from Immigration. My heart was racing because I thought it was our I600 approval for Chloe. I opened it up quickly and I realized it was just another receipt saying they had our papers. It stated it was an official receipt that our papers were filed on August 28th. I remember getting that receipt with the Sam and Emma but we got it like a week after we filed. I was so disappointed. I do not know why they were just sending to us now. It only makes me realize how much I need to stay on them to do the job correctly. Well we just got home a few minutes ago. We went to eat at Old Chicago pizza with a couple of girls in the youth group. Here are some pictures of the kids from this afternoon. 

It is hard to believe but my little Emma will be 2 years old in one month. She is doing so good and is very sweet. We have our court date scheduled on October 27th to finalize her adoption. I am hoping that she does not mind a new baby sister. I think she is going to have a rough time sharing us with Chloe. 

Well it was a pretty tiring day. I was pretty much out of it today. This morning the lady I work for sent me on a few errands. I went to Whole Foods which is about 20 minutes from their house and I have been there a dozen times. Well on the way back to the house I was in my own thoughts and I looked up and realized that I did not know where I was. I had totally missed my turn and I was not sure where I had missed it. I was kinda nervous because I was driving in this rich neighborhood and everything looked the same. I just kept driving and turning down streets that I thought sounded familiar. Well thankfully I came out on a road that I knew but I was about 20 miles from where I needed to be. I went on to my next errand and got myself some Starbucks and it seemed to perk me up a little.  The rest of the day just kinda dragged on. After work I went to Target to get some milk and apple juice and then came home and made supper. The kids are playing and Jeremy is about to head out to the PVCS football game. I have decided to just stay in tonight. I have to work tomorrow so I am going to try to get to bed early. Well here are a few pictures of the kids at the library on Saturday. I did not think I could get away with not posting pictures again.

The kids at the library.

What are cafe au lait spots?

Here is a simple explanation of the spots that I found in case you are wondering exactly what I am talking about. Chloe now has three spots that are 0.5 cm. The spots are located on the right side of her chin, her right forearm, and now on her right flank (between her ribs and hip). We have pictures of the ones on her arm and chin and they are very tiny. They just look like birthmarks.


cafe-au-lait spots
Cafe au lait spots are flat, sharply demarcated, evenly pigmented flat spots that are more or less oval, with the long axis situated along a cutaneous (skin) nerve tract. They are light to medium brown, as reflected by the name - which of course means "coffee with milk" in French. They are usually present at birth, but may arise later in the first few years of life. They are much more common in black infants.
To have a few such spots is totally normal. However, more than six such spots of greater than 1.5 mm in diameter prepubertal or greater than 5 mm in diameter postpubertal children will get the doctor's attention, because they are then essentially diagnostic of neurofibromatosis (although other features are required to make the diagnosis and some individuals may have multiple spots without having the disease - a trait that is itself inherited).

Another cafe au lait spot

We just got an e-mail from our social worker at AIAA and she sent a new Class B waiver for us to sign. A new cafe au lait spot has been found on Chloe's right side. She said that we have to sign a new waiver including the new spot. She also said that Korea is sending new pictures and she is hoping to get them next week and then will send them to us. It is just a weird feeling to know that she has another spot. I read on line that it is common for babies to develop a few more spots before they turn two years old. Based on the size it does not seem to be much of a concern. Korea is so particular about every thing that they make it seem worse than it usually is. I just wish I had her in my arms and could let our doctor look at her to confirm if there may be some kind of problem. It does not matter how big or small the issue I just would like to know exactly what to expect. I am however excited to get more pictures. Maybe they will give me the extra boost for the next few weeks.

There is not much going on around here today. I am going to get the house cleaned and try to get caught up on the laundry. Sam and Emma love just staying home and playing. I am feeling much better this morning, physically and emotionally. The chiropractor could not believe how knotted up ALL my muscles were last night when I went to get adjusted. I think he cracked every bone in my body. I am still a little sore but nothing like I had been feeling. I am also more at ease about Chloe's paperwork. I feel better that higher up people will also be making sure that everything in done properly. I also feel better because at least this time we know exactly what to do if we have a problem. I forgot to mention that I talked to the doctor yesterday about those cafe au lait spots on Chloe. I also brought in the pictures of the spots so he could see them. He was very confident that based on the size and that she only had two spots there should not be any problems. He said it is very common for babies to have these. Well Emma is now into Dora the Explorer. She points to the TV all the time and says "Dora, Dora". Sam is also into a new show. He loves the show "Imagination Movers" on Playhouse Disney. He dances and sings with their songs. It is so cute. Last night on the way home from church Sam was singing this song about Thomas the Train and he was obviously making it up as he went along. Jeremy said, "Sam is that song on your movie or are you making it up?" Sam responded, "No dad I am making it DOWN." It was so funny. Well I better get to work. The day just seem to get away from me on the days I am home.

Sorry I have a lot of posts today but I just wanted to tell you that Jeremy got an e-mail from one of our Representatives office and they are going to contact Memphis to try to get some information on our case. So that is encouraging. I guess it helps in an election year when you need something done:) Hey they will get my vote.

Well the doctor's visit went good. I went to Wal-Mart before the visit and bought them a Color Wonder's book. Emma just sat in the chair and colored. Sam was a little crazy. I think Sam was trying to show out for the doctor. He also had to wear a little gown and he thought it was funny to twirl around and let the gown go up. He is very healthy and is growing at a good rate. He is 38 inches tall and finally weighs over 30 pounds (but only by a half a pound). He grew three inches from last year and has gained 4 1/2 pounds. He was current on all shots but I did go ahead and get him a flu shot. He was not very happy with me. We got home about 30 minutes ago. Emma is taking her nap and Sam is watching a movie. I am going to the chiropractor tonight before church and I am hoping it will make me feel better. Well Jeremy went ahead and e-mailed our state representatives about our situation with Memphis. We thought we would go ahead and give them a heads up incase we do have issues in a few weeks. They might be able to get more information from Memphis about where our case is exactly in the process. Here are some pictures taken of Emma from the past few days. 

Well Memphis e-mailed me this morning with a very generic message. All they said was they could only give me an approximate time frame based on their work load. They said our paperwork would be reviewed in the next two to three weeks and then we would be notified if any additional information is needed or that a decision has been made. Which only means that nobody at that office looked up our case to see the status. They just gave me an answer based on the 8 weeks time frame. Oh well, I guess I will e-mail them at the beginning of next week and make sure they give me the one to two week time frame. At least they e-mailed me something. Well we all just got up a few minutes ago. It is raining so I am not looking forward to getting out with the kids today. Sam's appointment is not until 1:30 so maybe the rain will stop by then. I am going to call the chiropractor to see if he can get me in today. My back and neck have really been hurting this week. I think that is part of the reason I have been feeling so bad. Well I will post more today after the doctor

 

I also need to mention that Chloe is 15 months old today. That does not seem possible! I guess some of my nervousness about the paperwork taking so long is Chloe is as old as Emma was when Emma came home. I am starting to really panic about how old she will be when she finally comes home. It is just so much harder for them to adjust the older they are. Well thanks so much for your prayers for this bundle of worries. I appreciate everyone that is keeping me focused on the end of the journey. You would think I would have this whole adoption/waiting thing down, but I guess when it is your baby across the world it never gets easier. 

Still no response

Well it is getting harder to keep my cool. Memphis did not e-mail us back today. Jeremy and I both e-mailed them throughout the day but we still did not hear anything. They are really starting to annoy me. So please just pray that there is not some kind of problem. Well we stayed in today. It was kinda raining and gloomy so we just stayed home and relaxed. The kids took a 2 hour nap and I got the living room and kitchen cleaned and then just watched TV. Tomorrow I am taking Sam to the doctor for his 4 year old check up. I have to take Emma with me so I am hoping that it is not too crazy. Well that's all I got for today. I have a few pictures from the weekend but have not uploaded them. I have been feeling pretty lazy today. Actually I think the word it bummed but I hope to feel better tomorrow.

I am very disappointed. Memphis did not bother to respond to my e-mail today. I decided not to e-mail them again tonight but I will e-mail them back if I do not hear something in the morning. I guess it is pretty busy on Mondays in their office. We have decided that we are going to contact our state representatives if we do not hear anything back from Memphis. I guess I am just frustrated about the e-mail they sent me on Friday. They sure were quick to send me an annoying e-mail. I am still pretty calm because at least the time frame given is not over yet I am just trying to make sure that does not happen. Well not much more to write tonight. We all are pretty tired from an early morning and a long day so I guess I will write more tomorrow.

We have had a good day. After church we came home and had lunch at home today. The kids took a short nap and I just rested on the couch. The first Sunday night of the month we take the youth group to the Ronald Mc Donald House to make supper for the families that are staying there. We took about 20 kids. Sam and Emma spent the evening with Jeremy's sister Janna and her boyfriend Brandon. It was nice to be kid free for the night (at least kid free from my kids). It is really difficult going on youth outings and worrying about my little ones too. We had a good time. Some of our kids are really hurting right now and it breaks my heart when I think about the things they have to deal with at this time in their life. Well I am going to get ready for bed. We have an early start tomorrow. Please pray for me tomorrow as I anticipate a response from Immigration. I am so nervous about what they will say. I do not want to go through the hassle I went through with Emma's paperwork. I am not sure how much fight I have left. Well I took this picture of the kids this morning before church and I think it is one of my favorites. I am constantly amazed at the blessings in my life!

We had a good day. I did not get to Curves this morning but we did get out and went to the library and to Target. Emma woke up at about 5 this morning but thankfully she went back to sleep in our bed. Samuel woke up a few minutes after she did so I got up and went to lay done with him. We all slept until about 7:30. Well last night I wore a long sleeve nightgown to bed. I do not usually wear nightgowns but this one is really warm, well this morning when I got up Sam looked at me and said, "Mom, just look at yourself." I asked him why he said that and so he said, "Mom, just look at yourself, what are you wearing, where is your pants?" I got so tickled. I do not know where he heard the phrase "just look at yourself". He sounded like a grown up. After we woke up we went to the library for about an hour and then on to Target. We were not gone very long. We came home and we all took a nap. We just ate supper and I am hoping to get the laundry done and maybe get the house cleaned up. We still have not recovered from the party last week. Well here are a few pictures of Sam and Emma brushing their teeth. They are just so cute!

The kids brushing their teeth this morning

We had a pretty good day. I am a little frustrated with the Memphis Adoption Unit. They sent me a very annoying e-mail because I am not sure what they meant. I got an e-mail this morning and all it said was this "When did you file the I600?" My first reaction was freaking out because I interrupted it to mean they were not sure what I was talking about. I e-mailed them back giving them the date that is on our receipt but they did not e-mail me back today. I am trying not to panic because it is probably a thing were they will not check on it if it has not been adequate time since it was filed. It may also be someone answering the e-mail that just does not what to do their job. I learned from the experience with Emma that you get all kinds of different responses and answers when you e-mail them. When I got home from work I sent another e-mail to them stating everything that was on our receipt from their office. I also made it very clear that I am not going to sit back and let the same nightmare happen this time around. I am definitely going to be more proactive on the front end of this process. So I say I am trying to stay calm but this is feeling all too familiar from last year at this time. Well we just got back from a high school football game. The kids are fast asleep on the couch so I guess I better get them to bed. We are probably going to stay home tomorrow. I am going to go to Curves but I am hoping to rest some tomorrow. I mentioned yesterday about the young man diagnosed with Leukemia, well his name is Christian Wilson and they got some more bad news today so please pray for him and his family. We were at the PVCS football game and it was really sad. Christian had been the quarterback for the team and they are all feeling the pain for this family. 

We all slept great last night. Sam and I slept in the kids bed and Jeremy and Emma slept in our bed. We just started out there so we could all (mostly Jeremy and I) get a goods night sleep. My headache is better today. Last night I put Vicks all over my face to relieve the major sinus headache I have been having and I think it helped. Well we all slept until 8 and then we had an exciting situation. Jeremy opened the back door to put Maggie out and one of the kittens, which is not much of a kitten anymore, ran into the house. Have I also mentioned that the kittens are completly wild. Well the cat ran into Sam's room and was going CRAZY. It kept jumping all over the room knocking things down. I kept trying to corner it but I was afraid it would attack me. We all just kept chasing it around trying to get it back to the door. It was making the weirdest sound. I guess it was meowing, but I never heard a cat sound like that. Well we finally got it back to the back door but instead of going out the door it started climbing up my curtains! We knocked it off and it finally went out the door. It is so strange because the kittens usually run as soon as we open a door. Jeremy went to the Dollar Store yesterday to get them some cat food and he bought the generic kind and the cats do not want to eat it. Who would of guessed that they would be so picky. They will just have to get over it and eat it. It was also very cold in out house this morning. Jeremy turned the heat on just to break the chill and Sam and Emma went and sat on the heat vent. They were cold and they thought it was funny. I remember my sister and I doing that when we were little. Well they were sitting on the vent and Sam said, "Hey mom take a picture of us being so cute." So that is what I did. I made pancakes for breakfast and then I went to exercise. Jeremy left a few minutes ago to go up to Pleasant View Christian School. A junior at the school was diagnosed with cancer yesterday. We have about 8 juniors in our youth group that go to PVCS and Jeremy went up there in case anyone needed to talk. It is very sad. Well I am going to get Sam down for a nap. Emma fell asleep about 20 minutes ago. Oh, I e-mailed Memphis Immigration office today. I am trying not to expect anything exciting from them but I had to see if they would give me some kind of timeframe. I searched online today to see if anyone has posted anything about the timeframe but I could not find anything. I was reading the blog of another adoptive parent that was expecting her daughter home already and they found out that their paperwork (along with several other families) has been misplaced in the Korean government. Please pray for them and please pray that all will go smoothly with Chloe's paperwork. I will let you know if Memphis responds to my e-mail.

We had a pretty good day. Emma fell out of the bed last night so she ended up in our bed and I slept with Sam. I actually slept pretty good once I got settled. The kids slept until 8 AM. I still have a major headache but I am feeling better than I have been the last few days. The kids and I stayed in today until church time. We went to church and then we got home just in time to see the Cubs lose the game. It is a little tense around our house since Jeremy's baseball team the Dodgers is playing the Cubs in the first round of the playoffs. We are trying not to be mean about it :) Jeremy took the day off tomorrow so I am going to try to get to Curves in the morning. Well I guess you can tell that it is pretty boring around here. I have posted some pictures of the kids playing today. I love the last picture of Emma. She is so sweet.