Details, Details, Details!

The past couple of weeks have been all about the details. We began our new home study for our adoption one week ago. Our social worker is well aware of our time constraint with this adoption and is committed. She came again on Monday to conduct the parent interviews, child interviews, and home safety inspection. Then she came back and we had our final interview on Friday. The neat thing is this interview was really a chance for Jeremy and I to look over the home study and make sure it was accurate and that it met our approval. She had the whole thing done! This is a record!!! We know a family that has been waiting just shy of a year to have their home study completed.

We will have our home study completed soon then Jeremy and I need to have yet another set of fingerprints taken by USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). After that our dossier (paperwork) heads around the world to Ch*na. The wait for approvals begins then.

We had a week of some fun too. We reserve late evenings for adoption paperwork. Of course, we do take many unnecessary breaks too. Who can say no to this? We want our kids to know they are equally important. Here was what they all did one evening/night!

These "night swims" are so much fun. We bought a light for our pool a couple of years ago. This single light has provided hours of fun and entertainment to our family. 

I think the days of her playing in this pool are over.

 She seems to prefer the likes of this one.....

See........

She actually pushes Jeremy and me away from her. She is independent! Honestly, she has no fear. That is scary. She needs a healthy respect for the water. Thankfully, our pool area is inside a privacy fence with a self-closing latched gate that she cannot reach for many years.

We seem to be chased inside by threatening weather these days.

After a busy week of social worker visits, speech therapy, and very hot, humid weather, we did this today.

Her first real haircut.

I admit, it was difficult trying to encourage her to look at her toes and take a picture. This was the end result. Notice how bored Jeremy is in the background in the red shirt? He was a trooper!

Giggles and all!

Her happiness went down hill quickly! We then took the kids into a shoe store to find new tennis shoes for Rebecca. Mariah was a mess! 

Even these did not help much.

Then it dawned on me.......she was due for her medicine. Sometimes it affects her more than others. Today, it affected her. Four hours later she is loving these new Hello Kitty sparkly silver shoes.

Rebecca has started to take piano lessons. I have to say she absolutely loves them! I wish I had just started her sooner. She showed no interest before. Really, until I made the first lesson for her she still had no interest. Now she loves to practice.

A few more pictures of the Kaminski kids having fun. My Ben!!!

When we questioned what he was doing he answered that he was throwing water in the air and trying to catch it in the bucket. Hmmmm, ok.

And whose pool is this?

 The Diva!

More fun! Notice that Mariah is no where to be found either.

What is so interesting over there?

Just contemplating, I guess.

We hope to have a bit more of an update on things here this week. We have arranged for a care package to be sent to our new daughter. We also hope to be able to announce her name. Seems as though we cannot agree on a middle name.

Until our next update we ask that you pray for our family. We are beginning the process of a minor renovation. Our older boys will be moving to the basement after we move the theater room upstairs and make the former theater room their new bedroom. At least we think that is what we will do. 

Pray for our daughter in Ch*na. She is probably just learning that she has a family waiting for her. She has to be so scared. We pray for her health and her heart to be ready for us.

I never thought I would be mom to six kids! God has so many surprises and blessings for us if we only open our hearts and listen to Him speak. We are blessed to know that many strangers have been praying for our family. 

Our daughter's picture had been out on some advocating websites (we were unaware). Once it was announced that "Halle" had a family, I have had several families contact us to let us know they have been praying for our family. "Halle" is the name our agency gave her just to advocate for her. There have been countless people praying for "Halle" and her future family. I am humbled to know that many we have never met or even know have been praying for us and our sweet daughter.