A Spring Poem...

"Flowers" by Hannah Cormier
Flowers are pretty.
Roses are red like apples.
Daisies are white like clouds.
Sunflowers are yellow like the sun.
Violets are blue like blue jays.
Flowers are pretty.

Sister Love!

I brought the girls in for portraits recently - this one is my favorite! When they give each other big group hugs like this, they say, "Sister love!" Who would guess that 10 minutes later, they were in the car bickering about which CD to listen to! I guess that's what "sister love" is all about! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

Our little Rachel celebrated her fourth birthday today at a princess dress-up party with her preschool friends. She chose a lovely ensemble in yellow (her absolute favorite color), but wasn't enamored with the high heels, so she just kicked them off! She had a delightful time playing with her friends!

It looks like our little Rachel partied 'til she dropped! The Pooh Bear was a birthday gift, and she refused to let go of the balloon, even in her sleep!

Busy, busy time!

April was incredibly busy, and it doesn't look like things will let up any time soon! Here's a quick rundown of the events of the last couple of weeks...

4/18 - We celebrated Hannah's 7th birthday
4/19 - We celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary
4/22 - Big Gotcha Day party with Hannah's travel group
4/22 - Hannah's (and Al's) first Daddy/Daughter Dance
4/24 - Digging began to move septic system
4/25 - Septic system moved
4/26 - Digging began for basement
4/28 - Began pouring basement concrete
4/28 - Had fingerprints taken for Sarah's dossier
4/29 - Hannah's birthday party at Joann Fabrics
5/2 - Celebrating Rachel's 4th birthday

And on and on it will go for the next month or so! I will post about these events in more detail as time allows (and as I am able to upload photos). All I can say is that my head is in a spin, but in the very best way! All these things are happy (well, maybe not moving the septic!), my family is well, and we are blessed! That's what counts!

Stay tuned...

Fingerprinting Day!

Today we went to the local US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office to have our fingerprints taken for our background checks. This is actually not the fourth, but the fifth time we've been here for fingerprints, since Rachel's referral was so long in coming and our prints would expire before the adoption was completed. (How do fingerprints "expire", I wonder?) For some reason, they always have trouble getting clear prints from Al (perhaps his prints have, indeed, "expired"?)

Friends Forever!

We celebrated our six-year Gotcha Day with Hannah's travel group today! These girls have grown up together and are the dearest of friends. Our families have grow close, too, and even the little sisters are great friends. Who knew that when we adopted Hannah, we'd also be gaining an extended family! (That's Hannah, front row, center.)

Daddy Daughter Dance

What a special memory this evening was for both Hannah and Al! Our little girl is so grown up now! Needless to say, I was a bit weepy while taking photos and video as they were leaving! They both had a wonderful time!

Yet another step...

Today we received the letter from US Citizenship and Immigration Services that we can go ahead and have our fingerprints done! We're hoping to do that early next week. Then we wait several weeks for the fingerprints to clear, and we will receive the final document for our dossier. We're a little closer...