Monday, December 15, 2008

Our First of MANY Christmas Celebrations







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I'm afraid I'm very behind on blogging, so be on the lookout for multiple posts per day over the next day or two.

On December 6th we had our first Christmas celebration. Ben's dad, Richard, and stepmom, Gladys, spent the weekend with us. Richard grows a killer garden and Gladys is an awesome cook, so we were thrilled that they brought an entire Christmas dinner with them. That was the best present of all! At least it was for me. The kids and grandparents had a great time visiting, we ate way too much, and we spent the evening opening presents. It felt like Christmas was already here!

The kids all hammed it up. All the little ones wanted a picture made with *each* present, so I would have to take one picture with a box of crayons, another with a coloring book, and a third with the crayons and coloring book together, on and on and on. Ephraim hammed it up more than anyone else. He got a book that makes noise when you push buttons and a stuffed creature that yells when you push his button. He thought they both were hilarious! He laughed and laughed more than he ever has before. It's so nice when a gift is a hit with the kids and they show genuine excitement!

Ben's mom is coming up on the 20th for the weekend, so we'll have our second Christmas celebration at that time. Three of our grown kids and my mom are going to be able to be here on Christmas Day, so that's our third and main celebration. In fact, my mom is going to spend ten days with us this year, which is the longest time she's ever stayed with us. She's 85 years old, and I'm an only child, so I hope she's up to the noise and chaos! Brooke, our oldest daughter, is an NICU nurse and has to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we'll be having Christmas #4 with her family on either December 30th or 31st. Whew! By the time 2009 arrives, Ben and I are going to be exhausted!

3 comments:

Beth said...

Merry Christmas pictures! Beautiful family and definitely has to be a blast!

Anonymous said...

looks like everyone had a nice time and got some nice clothes!!!

hugs,leslie

Mom 2 Four said...

What a beautiful family you have. On the Elfyourself, go to the embed portion and select Blogger, then it has you sign in to blogger and it does the rest for you.

Lilypie 2nd Birthday Ticker

Referral Picture

Referral Picture

Adoption Timeline

  • 2006
  • November 8 - Application Mailed
  • November 22 - Accepted
  • November 24 - I-600A Mailed
  • November 27 - Delivery Confirmed
  • November 28 - Receipt of I-600A
  • November 30 - Fingerprint Notice
  • December 15 - Home Study Update
  • December 21 - Stacey Fingerprinted
  • December 28 - Added to List (#116)
  • 2007
  • January 24 - Home Study Mailed
  • January 25 - Ben Fingerprinted
  • February 8 - Waiting List (#111)
  • February 20 - Waiting List (#109)
  • February 27 - Waiting List (#105)
  • March 8 - Waiting List (#101)
  • March 22 - Waiting List (#99)
  • April 19 - Waiting List (#98)
  • April 25 - Dossier Authentication
  • May 2 - Delivery Confirmed
  • May 2 - Added to SN Wait List
  • May 3 - Waiting List (#97)
  • June 7 - Waiting List (#86)
  • June 25 - Dossier Translated
  • June 28 - On Waiting List Six months
  • July 9 - Waiting List (#81)
  • August 6 - Waiting List (#4 SN)
  • August 8 - Waiting List (#76)
  • September 7 - Waiting List (#70)
  • October 8 - Waiting List (#67)
  • October 22 - Waiting child -- OURS!!
  • October 23 - Official Referral Date
  • October 25 - Letter #1 Submitted
  • October 29 - Referral Receipt - CHI
  • 2008
  • February 5 - Fingerprint Request
  • February 7 - Proof of Delivery
  • March 1 - All Fingerprinted
  • March 3 - I-600 Application Mailed
  • March 5 - I-600 Acknowledgement
  • April 17 - I-600 Approval!
  • May 2 - Original G & R Date
  • May 3 - Fly to Ho Chi Minh City
  • May 5 - MEET EPHRAIM!
  • May 6 - Drive to Kien Giang
  • May 7 - G & R Ceremony
  • May 8 - Medical, Apply for Passport
  • May 12 - Fly to Hanoi
  • May 13 - Visa appointment at USCIS
  • May 14 - Pick Up Visa, Fly Home
  • May 15 - Arrive in Nashville!
  • May 23 - Certificate of Citizenship
  • June 12 - Re-Adoption Filed by Court
  • July 3 - Tennessee Birth Certificate

G & R Day

G & R Day