Great way to start the weekend...

Great way to start any weekend is with a call from your adoption specialist...

Our specialist called yesterday, we scheduled our first interview together.  This will be one of three...we will have one together as a couple, Ryan and I will have individual interviews, and then we will have a home visit for Cindy to meet our kiddos and to evaluate our home....We hope we can accomplish all of these interviews before we leave for vacation at the end of the month....

AND....our timeline for everything has been made a little shorter.....so you ask....."what does that mean?"  That means, (if all goes as planned, which we know there will be a few hiccups) our babe will be here sooner than we were told......

SOOOOOO EXCITED!

Adoption Update...

Good Morning.....

Just thought I would dial in and report an Adoption Update....

On Wednesday, Ryan and I had a hour long call with our agency, explaining what we will need to do next and talking us thoroughly through the timeline.

We received the name of our adoption specialist and learn of all the people who will be walking our journey with us....

We also received more paper work (medical, financial, references, etc.) Most importantly,we learned of the documents needed for our Dossier.

Our goal is that our Dossier will be in Ethiopia 5 months from today.... We will be depending on a lot of people to make this happen....

This time next year....we are praying we have a baby in our arms....

**Please continue to pray for patience for us while we continue to work on ALL of our paperwork....**

Green Tip...

Tonight I am a proud Momma.....

Garyn earned a Green tip on his belt tonight for displaying strong, direct kicks.

When I asked him tonight what his favorite part of Tae Kwon Do was...he said " I love ALL of it."

I am confident he picked the PERFECT "activity."

** He will need to earn 3 additional tips to earn a yellow striped belt.

Ballerina Girl....

Today, my pretty pink princess had her first dance class.

She woke up so excited...she gave me NO grief on getting dress this morning.

She looked precious in her pink leotard and pink tights.

As the kids were eating breakfast, Garyn said he really wanted to watch Gigi be a ballerina. It was so sweet....I told him we would tape it while he was at school and he was satisfied. Right before he got out of the car for school, he kissed her and told her to have fun....

(some days Garyn makes me feel like I am doing a really good job as a Mom)

On the way we go to the dance studio......

I honestly think Gigi asked me about 15 or more times " Momma, are we there yet? Momma, does it take a long time like GaGa's?

When we pulled in the parking lot she squealed so loud....

Her excitement was quickly quieted by the large dance studio, the unfamiliar faces...

After she noticed little princess' like her, she began to feel more comfortable and followed the 'leader' right into her dance room.

It was so fun to watch....these little pink feet slide and hop across the floor....at times, they all looked like ducklings following their Momma around the dance floor.

She experienced 30 mins of ballet and 15 mins of tap.....

She loved it......YAY for Gigi!!!!

signed up...

Really....it's kinda crazy....

We started thinking about the next school year basically as soon as this year began....

Ryan and I began our school discussion...this is important because unbelievably, Garyn is going to Kindergarten in the fall.

So we researched many schools, both private and public. We are blessed to have many options....with that said...Ryan and I decided the best option for Garyn (and Gianna) would be Catholic school, more specifically, Our Lady of Grace.

So....today was registration day.....for both Garyn and Gianna. Gianna will be attending the preschool at Our Lady, while Garyn will be down the hall in Kindergarten.

To make sure each of them had the BEST chance to "get in," I had to be there this morning at 6 am. Meanwhile, registration didn't begin until 7:30am.

(I got there at 6:02 and was 19th in line......)

Well, it's completed.....I hope that each receive their spot at Our Lady of Grace....now we just wait....

Everyone was Kung Fu Fighting....

The New Year brings new fun activities.....

While on winter break, we let Garyn and Gianna watch The Karate Kid (the new version) and they both LOVED the movie. (Gianna swears that The Karate Kid is a girl because of his braided hair)

And ever since...Garyn and Gianna have taken turns practicing their karate moves...

So.....Ryan and I want to get them involved in an activity for winter....but we couldn't decide what we should introduce to them....well, thank you Karate Kid...you just helped Ryan and I with Garyn's winter activity (Gigi is still too little, bummer....)

Today, we signed Garyn up to begin Tae Kwon Do...He received his uniform and had his first private lesson.

He amazed me....

It was so much fun to watch him have fun, to learn "moves" like kicks and punches, and to listen to him follow instructions....

It quickly reminded me how big my little man really is....

He had a blast and is now signed up for the following year...

So Gigi is too little to be a 'real' karate kid, so...

Gigi will begin ballet on Wednesday morning....she is so so very excited. She has been dancing all around the house letting us know she is ready for her "dance party."

I can't wait to see her in her leotard and tights....

I am absolutely in LOVE with this time of my life....

My children are making my "job" so very special and I honestly can not thank them enough....

Mommy loves you guys sooooo much!!!!

Final Christmas Celebration...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year....

We celebrated the New Year with more Christmas...

On New Year's Day we had family Christmas with Ryan's family. The kids were spoiled again with so many fun presents...

their Aunts and Uncles picked the most thought gifts for them.

Mamaw and Papaw's gift were never ending...

It was a great time....

The kids loved their gifts, but I honestly have to say, they loved being with each other more...

As they continue to grow, they are learning to pretend play together, explore together, and really enjoy each other....the once love/hate relationship Gigi and Ashlyn had is definitely more love, and Garyn loves watching Carter play around....(he is going to be such an awesome BIG brother...he already is....but he is going to love having a baby around...)

They love being together...and it's so fun to watch them together.

We are truly blessed with such wonderful families....