Pictures for the kids

Hi Jude! I thought of you when I saw this giant dinosaur in the Chicago airport. It reminded me of the book we like to read together, "Danny and the Dinosaur".


Simeon, Flat Stanley has been in Chicago, Frankfurt, Munich, and now Kiev. Look it up on the map and you will see how far he's traveled. He found his long lost cousin at the Chicago airport, but we'll tell you about that later.


Hope and Sebastian, I wish you could have played at this playground outside of our apartment. It looks quite dangerous, so maybe it's a good thing you didn't!


Liesel, I know if you would have been here when we saw this dog you would have become instant friends with her. Isn't she cute? Someday when you are a vet, you will take care of dogs just like this


Evi, isn't this dog cute? I know you and Liesel would have fun playing with them.

Our quest to find internet

McDonalds....coffee, but no internet


Does this sign say "internet" anywhere on it?


Locked. No answer at the door.


How do you say "internet" in russian?


Ah....Internet. High speed internet. The Opera Hotel downtown Kiev. Not only did they not charge us, but they said they would expect us back tomorrow. Ukraine has the nicest people!

It's been an interesting day. Spent much of the day looking for internet access for a way to contact home. We had a wonderful lunch. I wish I knew what it was, some kind of soup and a kind of pasta. The diet Coke here tastes way better. I am glad we didn't try to learn Russian. Most people seem to know at least a little english, and if not, they ask someone else to help us. The people have been very nice and accomodating.

We found out our SDA appointment is tomorrow at 3:00pm, that would be around 7am at home. We should be here in Kiev for a couple more days, and hope to take a train out by Wednesday to meet our daughter. It has been neat to experience a little bit of her culture, although truthfully and sadly, even she has not experienced her culture being stuck in a crib in an orphanage for her entire life. As I was eating my delicious soup today, thinking I'd like to find a recipe for her when I get back, I was reminded that even she has never tried anything so delicious.

We have been in phone contact with Meredith and Mike, but turns out we are opposite ends of the city. Once we can get some money exchanged and figure out how to summon a taxi, we would like to try to meet up with them tomorrow. And Kelly should be here tomorrow too. Kelly call me as soon as you get here.

Speaking of calling, my dad reminded me that I should mention the time difference. Our phone number is 011-32-044-234-8874. That will only be for tonight and tomorrow night. The Ukrainian clock is to the right side of the blog so don't be calling us at 2am!! We will probably be up till 10 or 11 our time.

I was trying to post more pictures but something weird happened. I'll try again tomorrow. We miss the kids but it sounds like they are doing well without us for now, and Opa and Oma will be coming tomorrow. How fun!

Our temporary abode

This is what we see when we step outside of our apartment


This is the outside of our flat in Kiev. Not sure why it's called a "flat" because it is anything but flat.



This is the reason why they tell you to bring your own toilet paper. It looks normal, but it the texture of the paper towels in the public school bathrooms.


The bed was much more comfortable than it looks. We slept 10 1/2 hrs!


A cute little kitchen that we haven't had a chance to use yet. We've been warned, Don't drink the water!

We're here!!!

It took 28 hours to get from Tulsa to Kiev, but we arrived safe and sound....and tired. I thought to myself, "That was the longest 28 hours of my life", but then I remembered my first childbirth was 28 hours long!

We skipped the jet lag altogether by arriving to our apartment at midnight after very few hours of sleep the last two nights. We realized it was 10:30 am when we woke up! We had quite a time finding internet access, but we do have a phone in our apartment if anybody wants to call us. 38-044-2348874. We love to hear english! The people are very friendly, but we stick out like a sore thumb. Maybe it's my hot pink snow boots, or the camera around my neck. Or the fact that we don't smoke.

We'll update more later, but we are hungry!! We hear the food is good, so we are going to go experience it RIGHT NOW. We'll post pictures soon.

Read John's Blog

click here

Procrastinators

I am laughing at the sounds I am hearing coming from behind me. It is past midnight, we haven't finished packing, and John is listening to a CD for learning russian. What did we think, we were going to learn russian 9 hours before we leave for Ukraine? I can hardly contain my laughter right now. Maybe I have the sleepy sillies. We are so bad!!

I do have to say it was pretty sweet hearing him rewind and rewind on the part that said, "I am your papa." "I am your papa". "I am your papa."...."Ya vseg-da boo-doo tvoy papa".

OK now I am seriously going to get to work packing. The kids are asleep, the house is clean, the laundry is done, all the instructions are written out, the power of attorney signed. Now all we have to do is finish packing and learn russian.

Making progress!

-Sheets are washed
-Bathrooms are cleaned
-Jeans problem solved...Thanks to my good friend Kirsten who heard me griping about it over coffee yesterday and brought me a pair her old Gap jeans....yes the $59 kind, but they weren't working for her, and they fit perfectly and are oh-so-comfortable. Thank the Lord and thank you Kirsten!
-Flat Stanley....well, turns out laminating machines melt crayon-who knew! So we went for Plan B: Packing tape. Worked pretty well, and much cheaper I'm sure
-Had Mazzio's pizza with Jude and Hope. What delightful children I have!:)
-Still got a big messy house to clean up, and I decided to enjoy my children tonight and leave the cooking for our wonderful babysitters (I know they won't mind).

If you remember to pray for us, John has some deadlines that he is trying to meet before we leave. There's a chance he may be able to take some work with us, but it all depends on what kind of internet connection we have access to. And of course the obvious, travel, Ava's health and adjusting to her new parents, the siblings at home who are very excited about having a new sister but may not yet know the extent of her special needs and demands. And for me as I miss my babies! The thing is, I know I will be missing them more than they are missing me, and in a weird kind of way, that makes me feel better.

My to-do list for today...Leaving in 24 hours!!

-Wash sheets for babysitters
-Clean bathrooms
-Try to solve my jeans-problem
-Make up some quick weekend meals for the babysitters
-Take Jude out of school for lunch
-Pack
-Laminate the Flat Stanley- A 4th grade writing project. A story about a boy who is flattened by a bulletin board, but he uses his flatness to his advantage by being able to slide under doors, and be mailed in an envelope. In our case, he (a paper doll) is traveling in our suitcase to Ukraine to be a part of our adoption. I'm particularly excited about the timing of this, as we SO wanted to take our kids with us. And I think Simeon will feel more a part of it, getting to write about Stanley's adventures in an orphanage in Ukraine. :)
-Tonight is family sleepover night-we'll stay up late, and pile on the floor for popcorn and a movie.
-Stay up very very late...finishing details, packing, charging batteries, etc. The later we stay up the better, the more we'll sleep tomorrow, the better we'll adjust to jetlag.....I think? I hope.

What I did today

-Had coffee with my good friend Kirsten
-Picked up the last of the photos for the photo album to show the judges and orphanage staff
-Went shopping for JEANS, and failed. When I started packing I realized the 10 pounds I gained over the holidays narrowed my
jeans selection to TWO pairs. Factor in the long johns I'd be wearing underneath, and the 10 extra pounds that I'm supposed
to gain once I'm there (I'm told the food is incredible and fattening, and there is chocolate everywhere!), and I decided I had to
buy some jeans....Like I said though, I failed. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. Who spends their last day shopping for jeans!? And
WHO spends $59 on Gap jeans!!!
-Ate lunch with Liesel
-Took video footage of my kids to download for the quiet moments when I'm missing them terribly. They weren't very
cooperative. All I got was, "Mom, I don't want you to video me!" "Mom, I want to go finish the movie." "I don't know what to say."
-Vaccuumed the house
-Cut Liesel's hair

P.S. The link to the upper right is my dad's blog. My parents are in Ohio, along with my 92 yr. old grandma (spunk runs in our family)... watching and home schooling my brother's 4 kids while my brother and his wife are in Morocco for their 10 yr. anniversary vacation. As soon as they are finished there they are coming here to watch our kids for the next three weeks. Watching his blog about my nieces and nephews makes me realize my kids will NOT be missing out here. I am so grateful for them, doing this with no break in between. Meanwhile, hopefully I can talk him into keeping up with his blog while we are overseas so we can get a glimpse into their daily activities!

48 hours to go.....

The plan:
-Leave Saturday Jan 19th morning 10:30, Tulsa -Chicago-Frankfurt-Kiev....19 hrs in all
-Arrive Kiev Jan 20th 1pm (8 hrs ahead)-I'm not looking forward to experiencing jet lag for the first time!
-Passport clearance, luggage, meet facilitator, go to hotel.
-Monday-recover from jet lag, sight see maybe-hopefully meet up with Meredith, whose SDA appointment is the day before ours.
-Jan 22nd, 9:30 am SDA appointment: Our adoption will be different than most people adopting from Ukraine. Most people go over for a "blind referral", meaning they arrive at their appointment, not knowing who their child will be. They request a gender and age range, and are given several files of orphans to review. Then they have the option to visit one or more of those kids to potentially adopt. We are able to request a specific child 1. because she has significant health issues 2. Because we know someone who has been there and seen her, and we could request her specifically. Please pray for us on our SDA date. I'm not sure why I'm nervous about it. I'm sure they are very nice people. We will be required to explain to them why we would travel half way across the world to adopt a child who is considered in most countries to be without value. I don't know what I will say or how I will say it. I'll ask the Lord to give me just the right words. I have put together a photo album to show them our home, our family, our neighborhood, her future school The Little Lighthouse, and her future friends at DSAT (Thanks Molly) to "prove" to them that she will be loved and cared for here.
-Next day we get the official referral, at which point we hop on the first train to her little city, about 12 hours I think? I will meet Kelly here!
-Meet with the local inspector (the U.S. equivalent of a social worker) who gives us permission to visit the orphanage.
-Have tea with the orphanage director, lawyer, and doctor (sounds fun but I am going to be thinking about somebody else I want to see at the orphanage), we'll show our photo album and learn all about our daughter.
-Meet her!
-Begin court paperwork, and wait for our court day. From this point on, we will visit Ava twice a day and bond with her, until our court date (could be around two weeks).
-Court hearing
-10 day appeals period (waiting period)- We will come home.
-Fly back, obtain permission to bring her home, finish the paperwork, medical exam, Visa, Embassy approval
-Finally bring her home (I am guessing this will be in early to mid March)...So close, yet so far away!

Our adoption journey

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Loved already

It seems this little girl of ours, who we haven't even met yet, is already loved. When Aunt Sharon came to visit she brought a coat and an outfit for Ava. My sister stopped by the house today, with a sweater for Ava. Oma knitted her a hat and a sweet little blanket for her bed. A couple of times I have been at the GoodWill, and I found a couple of toys that I thought..."I bet Ava would love that." I have heard that children with Down Syndrome love music, so I have picked up a couple of musical toys here and there.



Today there was a little package in my mailbox with these little socks and mittens. My friend Jill (my old college roommate) HAND knitted them! I am so impressed. Some people get all the talent! Thank you Jill!

I am so thankful for friends and family members who have demonstrated their love and support through this adoption process in so many different ways. It means so much when people ask, "How is the adoption coming along?" We just received an email from the church we have only been attending for a few months, asking how they can support us, and wanting to help the orphanage by supplying some of their basic needs.Another friend, Tina, is helping us find good deals on airfare for our second trip. We feel so blessed to be a part of a community like this.

I've also had the privilege of being a part of a WONDERFUL special-needs adoption yahoo group. My husband wonders why I have been spending so much time on the computer. It's because I'm hanging out with my friends in cyberspace. I am so thankful for the technology that has the ability to connect all these mothers with so much in common; i.e. We love kids with disabilities, and we are passionate about finding or being families to them! How lost I would feel if it were not for these fellow adoptive mothers who have paved the way before me, prayed with me, encouraged me, shared stories about their adopted children...And there are SIX of us special-needs mamas who will all be traveling to Ukraine within a week or so of each other. I received a case of DVD's from one of my special-needs-adoption cyberfriend, for entertainment while in Ukraine, and there is a box on its way from Ohio tonight containing power converters, hairdryer, money belts, and a couple of gifts for Ava and some of her "roommates".

We are so blessed. And we are SO SO excited!

5 days until we leave for the trip of a lifetime...

And I am still blogging about rodents!! Oh my, have we had fun with these little critters this weekend. But boy am I glad they are going back home tomorrow! Note to self....If I ever buy guinea pigs, buy one per child. John almost got the chainsaw out this afternoon to do an object lesson similar to King Solomon's from the Bible.

We have a rodent problem

Four kids and only two guinea pigs. Now THAT is a problem.
This is Shiloh and Guinea, the 4th grade class pets that we get to keep for the weekend. They are very cute and very sweet but they make the funniest noises..all night long. (And there are not enough of them to go around.) I'm glad they are just "weekend pets".

Hope's special photo album

On the night of August 15, 2001, I went into labor with my third child. I remember when the contractions started, I went into Liesel's bedroom and picked her up from her sleep, and I just rocked her and rocked her. And I cried and cried. She was only 16 months old. Still such a baby, and surely not ready to be the "big sister", I thought. Would she feel like she missed out? Will I be able to give her all the love and attention she needed with all the demands of a newborn too?

Liesel and Jude are 6 and 7 now. I laugh now when I think back to the emotions of that night. Right now as I type they are playing catch with stuffed animals. They are more like friends than brother and sister. She was fine. She didn't suffer a bit. We survived.

Once again, I am having those feelings, this time about Hope. Will she miss us terribly while we're gone? Will she wonder if we abandoned her? Will she feel jealous that she won't be the "baby" anymore, and how will she feel when we get off the airplane with this strange little girl who now gets ALL the attention?

Hope and I spent some time making a photo album last week. I put in pictures from her birth, infancy, pictures of mom and dad, brothers and sisters, including Ava, cousins, grandparents, fun times we've had. When we finished, she got very upset that there were some blank sleeves and not enough pictures to fill them. So we got creative and made our own photos.


Here is daddy and his famous towel swing. Ava is looking over his shoulder waiting for her turn.


We all got a big laugh out of this one: Daddy with long painted fingernails. She also showed me how daddy danced the ballet in her dream. I'll save that one for another blog post. (And look how sweet Ava is. Soon she'll be riding in daddy's back pack carrier and not laying in that crib all day).


And no laughing at my drawings!!

One week and counting down

Someone asked me if I was nervous about traveling so soon, and how I'm handling the anticipation of the fact that our lives may change drastically. If I was to be honest, Yes. I am nervous. I am nervous about how much I will miss my kids, I'm nervous about how will I stay warm in below zero temperatures, about how will we communicate? What if I inadvertantly say a russian curse word, or do something that is completely culturely inappropriate?

And of course...just how drastically will our content little lives change one month from now?

At the very beginning of our adoption journey, after God confirmed in our hearts what we were to do, we were on top of the world, and excited to share our news with everyone, the first two responses we got were: "Oh, my goodness, do you realize what kind of a commitment you are making?" And, "Are you sure you heard from God?"

We have been so thankful for the support we HAVE had from so many friends and family members who truly are DELIGHTED with us in our step of faith to care for one of His little sheep. It means so much to know others are behind us. Yes, we know it is a big commitment, but nothing compared to His commitment to us. Yes, there will be some sacrifices, but how much did HE sacrifice for ME? And yes, we heard from God. It is evident throughout the Scripture that He requires us to lay down our lives for our brothers, lay up treasures in heaven and not on earth, rejoice in our sufferings, give thanks in all things, be obedient to His calling, and care for the helpless and suffering. No offense to the person who asked the question, but I imagine all the prayers going up every night from the orphans crying out to God for a family to love them. And here we are... one family, eager to share the abundant love God has given us, eager to share our lives and our home, willing to be the answer to just ONE of those little prayers. WHY would God say 'no' to that?

The Lord gave this scripture to us at the beginning of our adoption journey, and this is what we have held fast to: I Pet 3:13-15 "Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give and answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

So in answer to my friend's question. Yes, we are a little nervous. I wish I could take a survey of parents who are one week away from adopting their child. I would imagine we all have our share of the jitters. But we believe with all of our hearts that God is with us, He hears our prayers, He will supply our needs, He is pleased with our obedience, and He will get us through hard times that may come. We also believe that having a little girl with Down Syndrome will be more of a joy than a burden, and that our love won't be divided, it will be multiplied. We are ALL very, very excited!

Ava's suitcase

Won't she look adorable in this hat, handmade by her Oma!


Here is a little orphan girl's first possessions...a book, a pink coat (Thanks Aunt Sharon!), pink socks, 3 pink and white outfits,a pink handknit hat (thanks Oma) and a pink and white teddy bear that sings (with her family's voices singing). I hope she likes pink!

We know she weighs 18 pounds, so I guessed her size to be about 18mo. I have been thinking how strange it will feel to be carrying a 4 year old girl who is half the size of Hope, and actually the size of a one-year old. As far as Hope is concerned, she is getting a baby sister, and for now I'm not going to tell her otherwise. Eventually Hope will understand that she gets to be the big sister and the little sister all at the same time.

Fun Morning Routine

Once again, a great idea stolen from somebody else: The kids' morning routine set to music. I got this idea from Family Fun Magazine, and to be honest, I probably never would have taken the time to do it had it not been for the fact that we will be away for several weeks, and we wanted to make the children's routine as easy and consistent as possible for our children's caretakers.

John starts the music CD at 7:40am. It starts with Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" (If you've ever seen Groundhog Day, you'll understand why we picked this for the wake-up song). Each song represents a morning activity. Here's how it goes:

I Got You Babe- wake up, use bathroom
Good Morning Beautiful- make bed, straighten room
Changes- change clothes and put away PJs
Move It Move It (Madagascar)- "move it" to the breakfast table
Jesus What a Saviour You Are- Breakfast and family devotions
How Great is Our God- Breakfast and family devotions
Saint Behind the Glass- Morning chores- trash, table, feed dog
Brushin' Your teeth (found it on itunes)- teeth, face and hair
Walkin' on Sunshine- grab backpacks and lunchboxes and to the bus

I can't believe how well this is working! No more yelling and repeating myself again, and again, and again, and again, day after day...after day. We all love it and I highly recommend anybody with kids try it!

Father's Kids

My Dad, my Mom, and my mom's best friend from college, Sharon. They just reunited after 40 years thanks again to the wonders of internet technology


Mom and Dad have been missionaries since before I was born. They have lived in Guatemala, Mexico, and have recently returned from a several month trip ministering in several countries. These are AIDS orphans in Kenya, Africa. I was recently moved to tears as my mother shared the experiences she encountered with the African women and children. There are so many false ideas from past generations that have kept women and children suffering and in bondage.

One of the stories she told, and I am already in tears again as I write this, is about a group home for orphaned girls. The mission there feeds the girls every day, and meets their basic needs. My parents took the orphans to a zoo, or african wildlife park, I guess it would be called there. They had never seen anything like this, of course, and they were overjoyed! They had many opportunities to love on and minister to these children, even teaching them on issues such as AIDS prevention, and guarding their bodies and their hearts for God and their husbands.

My mom said that the workers at the group home would call the children for their meals, "Orphans! Come eat!" Mom had an opportunity to talk to the kids and their workers. She said, "From now on, you are not orphans. You are 'Father's Children'. You all may not have earthly mothers or fathers, but you do have a Father in heaven and He loves you dearly." These little girls just lit up. They LOVED their new name...Father's Child.



Look at the necklace Liesel is wearing. Oma, as we call her, who had taken the time in Africa to find out and write down the names of each girl in the orphanage, along with her favorite color, came for Christmas, and she and the girl cousins made these necklaces. Each bead (each child's favorite color) represents a child, a "Father's Child". The girls wear these to remember these little girls and we pray for them.

I was reminded of the song by Avalon, There are No Orphans of God.

And a bear for Ava too!

We also decided we needed to make a bear for Ava with our voices on it. I got smarter the second time, and went to Hobby Lobby for the cheaper version, saved about $15! We couldn't decide what to say, but Jude thought Ava would really love to hear our family singing. When we couldn't decide on a song, Jude made one up for us. It's something like "Jesus Loves Me" to the tune of "Rock A Bye Baby". It turned out very sweet, and I'm sure she will love it. I wish I would have bought the smaller one, though, since our suitcase space is limited. Again, I didn't think it all through. Story of my life!

P.S. Simeon is not grumpy about making a Build A Bear for his sister-to-be, he is grumpy because he was up past 1 a.m. the night before at a friend's house.

Last Trip to the Zoo as a Family of Six

From John's cell phone camera, I LOVE THIS PHOTO! He titled it "Zoo Alien" with Hope on his shoulders


Hope's favorite..the elephants


Aztec princess


Boys...being boys


Look! Somebody is missing! Won't Ava look cute there?

Singing Mommy Bunny

My friend Shelley, who I met through the amazing world of online technology, had this great idea. In an effort to help their 2 yr. old daughter cope with their absence while they were overseas adopting their son, Shelley took her child to Build A Bear and made a "mommy bear" containing Shelley's voice. Shelley and her husband adopted Xander (who also has Down Syndrome) from the same orphanage where we will be in just a little over two weeks. Xander and Ava were best friends, in fact, so that makes Shelley pretty special to me. So I stole Shelley's idea and took Hope to Build a Bear on Friday.



I am not sure what Shelley's mommy bear said exactly, but for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to record myself singing Hope's nightly bedtime lullaby. I pictured her laying in her bed at night as she misses me, pressing the bunny's paw and hearing her mother's awful, yet familiar singing voice. I pictured her being comforted by this, and repeating it night after night in the privacy of her bedroom.

What I didn't think about, was the fact that Hope would be walking around the house with Mommy bunny, taking her on car rides, public places, and friends' houses, pressing the paw again and again and again...and again...for everyone in earshot to hear MY terrible singing! I now know why I never attempted to make a career out of singing, and I now know that if I ever attempt Build A Bear again I will leave my voice out of it altogether! (I still love the idea Shelley, I'm just a little embarrassed as that thing is now sewn in there permanantly).

And by the way she named her bunny Tika (I don't have a clue why). She didn't want to call her Mommy Bunny like I suggested, because she said, "Mommy, she's NOT your bunny, she's MY bunny!")

Afterwards, we ate lunch with Dad. Tika sat in a booster chair and the waitress brought Tika her very own meal. (In case anyone is wondering, NO we did order a salad for a stuffed rabbit, although I found it very cute, and we got a lot of chuckles from our neighbors).

The big question

Will you be able to bring your daughter home after the first trip?

I have been surprised at the number of my friends who were surprised to find out that our adoption will require two trips. I was surprised because I thought I had done a lot of moaning and groaning about it over the past several months. Evidently my groaning was more inward than outward.

Yes, we have to make two trips, and yes, that does make it expensive! Our first SDA appointment is on Jan 22nd, and we expect to be there for three weeks. We return to the U.S. for a mandatory 10 day waiting period (or we could stay there for that time), then return to pick up our daughter. We expect to have her home for good by the end of February. The 10 day wait, or the appeals period, gives birth relatives a last chance to contest the adoption and resume custody of the child. It kind of stinks to think that this might be an option, after we have fallen head over heels in love with this little girl, and cannot imagine our lives without her, but this is just how it works, although we have been told it seldom happens.

I can certainly appreciate any efforts to reunite orphaned children with their birth families, but in our case, for very selfish reasons, we hope that is not how it plays out.

My husband has a blog!

John tells me I blog too many insignificant details while leaving out the REAL important stuff that people want to know about our adoption. Like what the weather is like, and what kind of aircraft we'll be flying. (Boring!)

He started a blog for his guy friends, I guess I'm too mushy: urbansworldjohn.blogspot.com

For those who care about those details, HERE are the airplanes we will be flying. We have booked our tickets. I have no clue where we are connecting, or what airline we will be flying, but John will be happy to provide those details for my faithful blog readers who feel they are missing out.

Our next romantic getaway

Our last romantic getaway...

We never got to really celebrate our 10th anniversary in the big way that I would have wanted to, since at the time we had a nursing infant, and what is romantic about a little leach tagging along on your anniversary celebration.

So here are some photos of our 2 year anniversary of our 10th anniversary (that would be our 12th anniversary). We celebrated last May in Jamaica. This is where our adoption plans began. Before this trip, adoption was something in the distant future that we would do to ease our loneliness after Empty Nest Syndrome set in. Little did we know, on this trip, that we won't have to experience Empty Nest Syndrome. We get to experience Down Syndrome instead! Hooray!

Maybe we went through a period of insanity, maybe we were so relaxed we just forgot how busy it really is at our house, or maybe God was using this quiet time to speak to our hearts about His plan to use our family to answer the little prayers of a little orphan girl in Eastern Europe. It was here at this resort that we began to get excited about adding another child into our lives.

How would I look....

Wearing these boots?

Or this hat?

Anyone have any better ideas?