A bowl full of lemons.: Silhouette GIVEAWAY!!!!

A bowl full of lemons.: Silhouette GIVEAWAY!!!!: "My new Silhouette SD machine finally arrived and I'm dedicating this week to my Silhouette creations. I'm also giving away a Silhouett..."

The Things I love (part 2)

This guy:

He's my all-star. JD L-O-V-E-S baseball, no really loves it. I think he would play it in his sleep if he could figure out how. He loves anything baseball--on TV, on the computer, at the park. It doesn't matter as long as there is a ball and a bat and a glove involved. He plays travel ball exclusivly this season. In the past, we've done both league and travel ball, but this year, we are focusing on just the travel. Plus, there are about 15 tournaments he's set to play in. This week has been great. I've got to spend a couple days with just him since sis is spending the week with Mimi. we've had some pretty sweet mom and son time. Some things about him:

• baseball!!!
• He's just started liking UK basketball; He used to be a big orange fan, but lately, he's turned to the big blue.
• He hates spelling
• He loves math and science and social studies and art
• He's a helper. He'll help anyone with anything.
• He likes to make stuff (paint, wood, fabric, doesn't matter as long as he's making something)
• He loves outside
• He likes to hunt (mostly with the airsoft, but will occasionally pick up a real gun).
• His best friends are Parker, Hank, Caden, and Maddux
• He's very shy
• Steak and ribs are his favorites
• He likes the movies
• His favorite TV shows are wipeout, billy the exterminator, and anything to do with hunting
• He just got a new email address and spams me and his dad
• He secretly loves Jules (but only when no one is looking)
• He is the sweetest, kindest eight year old I know

I hate that he's growing up so fast. I want him to stay little forever, but that is quickly not happening. I'm glad he still likes to snuggle and love on me, even if we have to do it in secret because he thinks he's too big. Occasionally, he'll grab my hand when we're walking in a store and my heart skips a beat. I love my #3!!!

The things I love (part 1)

This girl:

Jules is the princess in the house. She's our hip-hop dancer. She's the one who whines the most. She loves to have her nails painted and do "girly" things. She has finally mastered her "r"s, and can now say those words without problem. She can read almost anything she wants. She loves her big brother's piggy back rides. She loves homework and begs to do more than the one assignment a night. She sleeps as late as possible on school days. She loves Selena Gomez. Tangled is a new favorite movie of hers and it made her cry when we saw it in the theatre. Movies do make her cry (like Babie which she watches over and over and over again). She loves icing and would rather have it than the cake. Her favorite color is anything with sparkles. She wants to be a "little kid" teacher when she grows up. Chloe T. and Emma R.are her best friends, and she talks about them constantly.

Jules and Emma hiding in the TV cabinet in Gatlinburg (summer 09)

She is going to be such a great big sister. I can't wait to see all she teaches her little sister.

A glimmer...

There's a little glimmer of hope that we may get our I-171h soon. Eric and both have called and emailed all the political people we could think of. Our friends the Leebricks have connections with someone who has made some phone calls on our behalf, and I had an email and voicemail from a staffer at Congresswoman Black's office wanting some more information to work on our case. maybe I'll get that golden ticket for my birthday. What an awesome gift that would be.

And we wait...

We're ready to go back and get our sweet angel, but our US government isn't quite in the hurry we are. We were fingerprinted back in February (the 11th to be exact). we have all of our documents ready to be notarized and state sealed as soon as we get the wonderful golden ticket, the I-171h that gives us permission to bring our Lyubov Jane home. We've tried calling the USCIS many times; we've emailed numerous times and finally yesterday got the response from our officer that if she didn't have so many phone calls and emails to answer our case would move much faster. Really??? We have a few friends who went after us for their fingerprints and have already received their ticket. What gives? We've contacted congresswoman Black and our two senators to see if there is any way they can help get our case expidited. maybe we'll have that approval soon. The average wait is 75 days; we're about 30 or so in. I can not wait another 45 days to see our girl.

On the other hand, we found out we don't need a physical here since we had one done at the US clinic in EE when we were there. Of course that could change the week we go back. One thing is for sure, adoption is not predictable.

What can you do? Pray that we get the I-171h soon, That our court date is scheduled as soon as the approval gets to them, that Lyubov Jane still remembers us when we return.

Sister's Name

If you remember, we've had a time trying to come up with a name for Sister. For the past couple of months, she's been just that "sister," "little sister," and even "baby sister." Never a name of her own. The other two kids have family names and "J" names, and we wanted that for her too. We just couldn't decide. We both had our favorites, but Eric wanted to wait and meet her before we committed to anything. And, I'm glad we did. She was nothing that we picked out previously. She was her own person.

We talked about how she's been in the orphanage her entire life. She only knows those four walls. We are taking EVERYTHING away from her. So, we decided to keep her name (at least some of it). We want her to know that we love her, and that we didn't adopt her to change who she is/was. We want her to keep at least something that she knows. We know that when we take her home, she brings with her nothing that she's know for the past two and a half years. Except for her name. As soon as she becomes ours, she will become:

LYUBOV JANE ELLIOTT

pronounced: Louba

Lyubov is her given name. As soon as we met her, I knew I wanted to keep her name. It just fit her better than any name we had come up with. She was so cute and sweet when she would say it. It means "Love" and this child will be loved beyond words. Jane is a family name on my side. I search Ancestory.com for names with a "J" from both sides of our family. I kept coming across Jane and have always loved it. I remember my great aunt Janie when I was little. She was a firey red-head, and I couldn't help but love her. She passed away when I was little, but I always thought of her. Jane is such a strong name too. I want our daughter to know that she can be a strong woman when she grows up.

I'm sure she'll have her own nickname when she gets here; Papa has already decided to call her LouLou. And that's fine with me. She'll be loved no matter her name on her birth certificate. I leave you with a quick video of our day one meeting with our forever daughter. Enjoy!!!

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Short break

Jet lag is killer. I promise to finish our story this weekend. The short of it...it was the best and worst trip ever. She's beautiful and amazing. And I'll share her new name as soon as I tell my momma.