We Have An Appointment!

We finally have an appointment to be fingerprinted for our I-800A. It is not until the end of March, so I'm not sure if we're going to wait, or walk in early. We're really anxious to make our first trip, and the sooner we get approval, the sooner we travel. I guess we'll decide what to do sometime this week.

We've had some pretty warm weather this past week, and the children have had fun playing outside.

Miracles In Motion

First, a quick update - - We are waiting for a fingerprint appointment at USCIS. We thought about going in early to speed things up, but my husband called USCIS twice and they told him NOT to come in early. We aren't sure if they really won't fingerprint us as a walk-in, or if they are just trying to discourage us from coming in before our appointment -- which we have not received yet. We can't decide whether to make the trip, and maybe wait half the day just to be sent home, or wait for our appointment. 

It's Sunday afternoon, and this is the day that Sarah and Caroline start talking about their dance class. They belong to a dance group called Miracles In Motion and going to their class is the highlight of their week. All day Sunday, they talk about Monday and dance. It has been such a fun class for both of them. It has been especially good for Sarah who has a little trouble socializing and going to new places. Their teacher, Kim Moncrief, is so calm and so very encouraging - - even when Sarah is a little hard headed. They take a half hour of tap, and then an hour of creative movement - - I think that's what it's called. They absolutely love it.

They were in their first recital in December and I was very impressed. As the time drew near for their recital, I was actually kind of wishing that we had not committed, but Sarah and Caroline wanted to do the recital so much. So, we went - - oh my goodness, it was beautiful! I was amazed at what Kim had taught the children and how well it was performed. It was a beautiful program, and it was so wonderful watching my girls and all of the other children on stage performing for us. I am so glad I found this program. Here are a few pictures from the recital:

1st Fund Raiser

I'm not very good at this fund raising thing. I read other adoption blogs to see how they are raising money, and sometimes feel like I'm just inadequate in this area. I was talking to a friend the other day about this, and she had a few suggestions. The first one was for my daughter to play the harp somewhere, and have pictures of Bella and Allysen displayed with a small note telling a little about them. She thought maybe we would get a few donations doing this. So, my daughter, Abigail, called Libbie Market here in Richmond and asked if she and a couple of friends could play the harp there. The manager was so nice and suggested Valentine's Day. So, yesterday Abigail and two friends, Emma and Steffi, played their harps at Libbie Market in the cafe´. 

We talked to quite a few people about Bella and Allysen and adoption. Everyone was so encouraging and the manager even asked them back to play on Mother's Day. At the end of the afternoon, they had raised $145.00 and had fun doing it.

Thanks so much to Libbie Market for making this possible and for being so accommodating. Also, thanks to Linda for the idea --- and of course Abigail, Emma and Steffi.

Homestudy Finished!

Our homestudy is done and we received our copies of it Friday by FedEx. Now all we have to wait for is our cover letter and then we can file with immigration. I'm sure I drove the workers at both agencies crazy trying to expedite this. It is starting to feel like it won't be so long before we see our girls. I can't wait to meet them. To see how big they are, or small they are. To see if they're healthy and just how they are doing in general. It's funny how a child you've never met can seem so much like yours, that they belong in your family, and all you have is a picture of them. We talk about the girls, we pray for them, and our youngest tells everyone she meets she's going to get two new sisters soon. They are already so much a part of our family. We only have an older photo of Allysen when she was very young, but we have fairly recent photos of Bella.

Bella