Scouts move up in rank!

It was a thrilling week in the world of scouting. Nate and Drew were both promoted to the next rank in the boy scouts and cub scouts. The boys are having a great time with scouting and Nate is getting ready for summer camp on Guam. Drew is preparing for a trip to the rock climbing wall and a summer of planned activity. We are proud of all the hard work they have both put into the program.

On the adoption front we have received some travel plan coordination, but are still waiting on our Travel Approval (TA). We are probably still looking at going to pick up Lilymei sometime in September. The Olympics can't come quick enough for us!

And So It Begins!

It all started 2 weeks ago when the boys and I were shopping at the Gift Shop on base. Nate came over to me carrying a little silk purse that he wanted to purchase for Lilymei. He felt strongly that she would "need" a purse to put all her "things" in to. Drew didn't want to be outdone so while we were grocery shopping he begged me to buy the 2 pack Snuggle fabric softener that had a Snuggle bear packaged with it. Now the Snuggle bear is living inside the purse waiting for Lilymei to come home. Last week I was in the BX, browsing the book section like I always do, when I came across a few board books for baby with the soft, thick covers. I picked out the "Happy Baby Words" book and thought, what a perfect item to bring along with us to China. I mentioned to Scott that he was the only one in the family who hadn't picked out something for Lilymei yet. Not to be outdone, yesterday Scott came home with the cutest little pink OshKosh onesie and floral jumper. As you will see below, this shopping frenzy has gained momentum (even for Guam!). Look at what found it's way home from the mall today....

5 More Days....But Who's Counting?

I am! Well, so are the boys. 5 more days until the school year is officially over. I KNOW we are all ready for a break. The past month has seen the boys frantically working to plow through Easy Grammar, time test their way out of Saxon Math, and memorize those state capitals and South American countries. We still have 9 more chapters to read in History (that's only 9 days worth of reading) and Nate has a little more Science and Geography work to cover but.....school is almost over! I know some moms are dreading to think of school being let out for the summer but many homeschooling moms I know are just as thrilled as the kids for summer break to arrive. Funny how that works!

I have so many plans for the summer:
#1) Get ready to bring Lilymei home. I can't even fathom how much that will entail with getting travel visas, packing and repacking those few suitcases that we are allowed to bring, making sure we have all the paperwork packed and ready to travel; let alone purchasing all those necessary items toddlers need while baby proofing the house again.
#2) Figure out what curriculum I want to purchase for next year. Nate has asked for a few changes in some of his subjects and I am in agreement, for the most part. There are so many great programs to choose from it might take me all summer to get a few new things picked out, ordered, and have it shipped on time for school to resume.
#3) Tackle the photo albums. I haven't put photos in albums since arriving on Guam. I haven't ordered ANY pictures in over a year! I need a better system and I think Scott and I have come up with a plan. I'll let you know if that turns out.
#4) Read all those adoption books I've been meaning to. First I have to find them. I keep forgetting to check and see what the library here has available. Then I will have to ask for inter-library loans, if available. Also, I will have to check with the few bookstores on island and see what is available for purchase. So many books, so little time!
#5) Relax! I almost forgot that one. Does a mom ever really relax? I'm going to give it my best shot this summer and then hang up that idea for the next, oh 17 years or so!

Well, I know there are 101 more things I want to do this summer but for right now I think I'll go start reading a new book!

We would like to introduce Lilymei Liying!

At 2:27 a.m. on Tuesday, May 20th we received THE phone call from our agency (see our post below) stating our referral for Lilymei had arrived from China! We were told our packet of information and forms that we needed to sign would be overnighted to us from St. Louis.
A few days later (darn international dateline) the DHL driver made Jean very happy. Our referral packet arrived just before noon on the 22nd. We had to sign the documents, but most importantly we had to name our new daughter. We didn't know we were going to have to name her immediately on the spot yesterday. Fortunately we had a pretty good idea of what we were going to name her: Lilymei Liying. We have always loved the name Lily and that is what we have been calling her since the beginning of this journey. Mei is the Chinese version of Mae, which is Jean's maternal grandmother's middle name. Liying is a combination of Li and Ying, both of Lilymei's Chinese names given to her by the orphanage.
Lilymei is currently 16.5 months old and is living with a foster family in the city of Hohhot, Peoples Republic of China, Inner Mongolia. We are hoping for updated photos and medical information from the agency as soon as possible. Unfortunately we will not be traveling until after the Olympic Games, which are, of course, beginning on 8/8/2008!
Here is Scott signing the official document that we FedExd back to Beijing today, on his Birthday!

The whole family is very excited and we would like to thank everyone for their continued prayers and thoughts. We will keep everyone up to date as we get more information on our newest little one.