Our camping trip!

We started out our camping trip by exploring Wenatchee, a place I only remember through swim meets when I was little.  It's so beautiful here!  The rolling hills seem to go on forever...

 Our boys loved hiking up them!

 Jacob was determined to make it all the way to the top!

 Wait for me!!!

 Ahhh... brothers.  I love catching moments like this!

The next day, we made it to our traditional camping spot.  ;)

 My dad with Gav...

 Casey could have spent the entire time riding his tricycle through the grass.

Gavin wasn't quite solid enough on his bike to ride around camp with Jacob and Travis, but maybe next year!

 We went for a little family hike down to the river...

Maddie came with us too...  I could get use to this three boys and a girl thing.  ;)

 Then we went swimming in the pool.

 Casey was a little clingy at first, but daddy's kisses seemed to help. 

 Maddie was more than happy to have Casey cling to her.  ;)

 My sister surprised us by bringing a new puppy back to the campsite!

 Aww... such a sweet little guy!

 Waiting for dinner with their Zoopal plates

 Jacob has been super into crafts lately, so I helped him make this paper mache pinata.  He was thrilled to finish it in time for camping and even filled it with his own money, toys, and candy!

 Thank goodness each cousin got a turn before it broke!

 Cousin love!

 This was a new (and brilliant I might add) addition to the KOA this year.  I was surprised how well Jacob did right off the bat and how determined he was to make it to the top!

 Gavin tried too, but only made it a few feet.  ;)

 After two days of trying repeatedly, Jacob made it to the top!  I was so proud of him!

 All the cousins were cheering for each other.

 I promised my sister I wouldn't put a picture of her in her flannel pajamas on my blog... so I cut the pajamas out.  ;)

 Casey was in a pack-n-play last year, so he was ecstatic to sleep in the bunk beds with his brothers!  Night sweet boy!

  On our way to the ice cream cabin!

  The boys got to go on a hay ride and watch the movie Tangled on a giant screen under the stars.  At one point, all three of them were laying on their tummies, propped up on their elbows.  I could have stayed in that moment forever!

 Jacob and Gavin made tie-dye shirts, which they loved... did I mention how much they like crafts?!

 We love camping!!!

Peter Pan

My mom took me to plays on a regular basis when I was growing up, so I'm really excited that my boys are getting big enough to enjoy them too!  I remember watching the Sound of Music when I was a little girl and wanting so badly to be Leisel one day.  ;)

Here are my boys with their bestest girls!

Jacob went to the Sound of Music when we were camping at Leavenworth, but this was Gavin's first play.  His eyes were glued to the stage in awe the entire time.  I was so happy just sitting there and watching him soak it all in!  

They keep holding their arms up to show off their little sparkle tattoos.

At the end of the play, the characters came out to greet the children.

Gavin was too shy and star-struck to go on stage.  ;)

Peter Pan!

They were really excited to get their programs signed too.

Wendy was absolutely amazing.  Her acting, singing, and stage presence blew me away... not to mention she is only twelve!  I couldn't help but think of my niece the entire time.  She looks like her, sings like her, is animated like her... maybe she will be on stage someday too!

Tinkerbell was a huge hit, especially with all the little girls.  Some were dressed up like her or brought their Tinkerbell dolls along... adorable.

The lost boys... who were mostly girls. ;)

What a fun memory!  Can't wait to see the Sound of Music in Leavenworth next month!

Adoption lingo and some answered questions

I am so immersed in the world of adoption, that sometimes I speak the lingo and forget that I didn't even know what half of these words meant before we started this process!   In turn, I get many blank stares when I use words like referral, dossier, and apostille.  :)  So I just thought I would clarify some of them...

Home Study- As part of the adoption screening process a home study is required. It is a detailed written report of your family compiled and prepared by a social worker. This course usually takes around 3 months to complete. During your home study you have a designated social worker that you meet with.  The paperwork and interviews are all part of the process to insure that you are fit for parenting and that your home is ready for a child.


Dossier-(pronounced “dah see ay”) The dossier is a fancy way of referring to all of the required paperwork that you work on and acquire (such as your home study, original copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, police background checks, employment letters, tax returns, etc.) that will eventually be sent to the country you are looking to adopt from. These legal documents are used to process the adoption of a child so that the family may obtain legal custody of the child in foreign court and be brought by the adoptive parents to the United States.

Referral: this is the package of information that contains your child's photo, medical and personal information. 

Apostille:  Basically a "super notary".   Almost every piece of paperwork has to be notarized and then apostilled by the secretary of state.  Since ours is in Olympia, we are fortunate that I can just drive there one, two, or six times.  :)


I-600A:  Application For Advance Processing of Orphan Petition.  You need this approved before you can travel for your court date, but your home study has to be completed before you can mail in the application.

Gotcha Day!- This cute adoptive term refers to the day that an adoptive family brings their child home! After months and sometimes years of waiting the family celebrates their “gotcha day” as the start of their new family!

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Due to paperwork agreements we have signed with our agency, we aren't allowed to share some particular details of our adoption on this blog.  For example, we can't post any pictures of our referral, tell you her Russian name, talk about her specific location, or say exactly when we are traveling.  So all I can tell you is that we should be traveling soon.  Really really soon.  :)

And to answer some more questions...

How many times do you have to travel to Russia before bringing your daughter home?
In Russia, you usually have to travel three times when you are adopting.  (We are flying standby, which makes it a bit more tricky, but saves us thousands of dollars.  ;)  The first time you are going to meet your child and sign paperwork that you want to adopt him/her.  The second time, around 6-12 weeks later, you have a scheduled court date to officially adopt your child.  After that, there is a ten day mandatory waiting period, hence the third trip for us.  (You can stay in Russia during the waiting period, but that would be too long for us to leave our boys. :)  Then, on the third trip, you finally get to bring your sweet little one home.  Gotcha Day!

Are you going to name her or keep her Russian name?
We are in the process of coming up with a name for our little girl.  (More common than not, orphans are just casually named by someone who works in the orphanage.)  When I was pregnant with our three boys, we had nine months to think of a name.  As soon as I saw this sweet girl's face though, I wanted to name her immediately!  That's the other part that is sooooo different... we really want her name to match what she looks like to us.  When you give birth, they just kind of naturally grow into their name! 

How are your boys reacting to the adoption?
Ever since Jacob had a dream about having a baby sister, he pretty much thinks this entire thing was his idea!  He prays every night for God to keep his baby sister in Russia safe and healthy.  Lately, he has even been taking good care of Casey to prove what a great big brother he will be to her.  He holds Casey's hand when we are running errands, reads him books before bed, helps him build train tracks, pushes him on the swing...  it's the sweetest thing.  Gavin is our chill, laid back one so he is usually down with anything.  He had colored four bookmarks the other day though ~ one for Mommy, one for Daddy, one for Jacob, and one for baby sister.   He even said, "Oops, forgot Casey!"  Casey is so little that he doesn't really understand yet.  We talk about his baby sister a lot though so he will point to his old crib and say "Dat crib for baby shisher."  Inside the crib, there is a little pillow pet and a doll that he tells me are for baby shisher too.  :)

One of my friends has two little girls who are really excited to meet our little girl too.  She told me that when her youngest plays with dolls, she will now point out which ones came from her tummy and which ones she adopted.... which I think is so endearing!  :)  She has been giving me her girls' clothes and some other cute things so yesterday, Jacob said, "You've gotten a lot of things for my baby sister...  you're pretty friendly!"

Everything is happening so fast, but we are so excited!  God has been leading us every step of the way and we have complete confidence that He will be with us until our daughter in safe in our home and in our arms.  We might even have her home for Christmas.  ;)