Walking and Picture day at music class!

I haven't been able to catch it on video yet by my baby girl,who just turned 10 months on Saturday, took her FIRST step the week before!  TWO!!  She has taken a few more since then, but they are hard to catch on video.....stay tuned....
We put Hannah in a babies music class this last January and she (we) love it!  My mom got to take her a when I was working and my friend Sara went with a few times.  It was so much fun watching her learn different rhythm's and beats and interacting with other babies.  The last class we were allowed to take pics.  She loves loves the guitar!  Can't wait for summer session!  We'll be joining a friend of mine with her precious baby girl.

Waiting to go in....

Loves the drum!

Shake shake!

But my fave is the guitar!

Happy Easter!!!

Hannah Faye had a great First Easter!  We attended the early service at our church and spent the day at Caleb's parents.  They just got a new playground set and the kiddos loved it.  Hannah even took part in the egg hunt....Enjoy the pics!!

Texas Bluebonnets 2011

So, ever since I had Hannah, I would dream of all the fun stuff we would do and traditions we would have.  One being the activity of parking off the side of some country back road and placing her in the sea of beautiful Texas bluebonnets to take the traditional yearly pics.   Oh that time has come!  One thing about Hannah...she's so much like me.  When you put her in a new environment, she gets quiet and takes it all in.  She didn't know what to think, but I think she enjoyed it! Not many smiles but pretty pics, nonetheless.   So enjoy!!

Could she be any prettier??

I must say that Caleb and I are so blessed to have such laid back, gorgeous, healthy baby girl!  I wake up everyday in love with her more than yesterday.  Poor thing has been under the weather for a couple weeks now and I'm ready for her to start feeling better soon.  She had her 9 month appt today and weighed a whopping 17 pounds, 10 ounces and was 28 inches long.  Long and lean (She did not get that from her mother!)  She also had to get some blood drawn and didn't cry a bit! The shot...different story. So these days she is crawling all over the place and is FAST!  She loves pushing her baby carriage around the house and daddy hung a swing on our front porch.  She LOVES it.  The girl loves to swing at the park, now she can do it on her front porch. The other day my friend and I took Hannah to the Botanical Gardens to take pics of her in the TUTU's that she makes.  So much fun!  FYI  Here is her facebook website. Sara Bell Designs (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Sara-Bell-Designs/129232077143084)
On the adoption front, we're still looking in to agency's.  Ya ya I  said we were 99% positive on the agency, but I can't stop researching agency's!  I know the ones we don't want, but there are a few that I keep going back and forth between.  For those that are in the process, how did you choose? Do you mind sharing what agency you went through?  You can email me if you want.  Any advice will help!! So once we are 100% sure of the agency, we'll start the process (mid-April sometime).  It so important to pick the right agency, we don't want to pick one and have a hard time.  We know that adoption's can have their ups and downs, but we would like to go with an agency that can help minimize them.
The other big news is my career.  As most know I have completed my master's and past my boards, so I am officially a PNP!  I start my new job the week of April 10th at the same children's hospital I've worked at for almost 10 years now.  I'm so excited about it!  The hours are great!  But leaving the NICU is bitter sweet.  I'll miss working with so many great nurses that I've gotten to know over the years...and the babies...oh I'll miss my babies, but God had another plan for me and I'll just be down the hall.  I'll be dropping in to say Hi often! Enjoy the pics!!

 

Waiting is not my strongest suit...

Oh waiting...waiting...to apply!  I have a feeling one of the other reasons God sent us down this path is to teach me a little dose of patience!  Caleb and I are still waiting to put our application in.  It's looking like we'll send it in and start THE PROCESS(!!) in mid-April sometime.  We are 99% positive of the agency we are going to use.  We took these last couple months to really research and make sure Russia is the country for us (we didn't detour for that long, but we did make sure we are 100% sure Russia is for us!) and making sure of the agency we'll use.  I've also been blog-stalking MANY families that have or are adopting from Russia (see the plethora blogs that I follow to the side).  I have been learning invaluable information regarding the entire process.  It's so exciting to see so many families united with their son or daughter.  Russia sure makes some cute babies!!  A BLOG I'm reading of another family adopting from Russia, had a fundraiser for one of Russia's baby homes.  She was selling these SHIRTS that states "I believe" in Russian on the front and on the back is Psalms 68: 5-6 which reads: "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families"  in Russian and English set in the shape of Russia.  We loved them and bought each of us one.  We got them yesterday and I'm sporting mine today : )
Sooo these days, our little Hannah is just keeping us busy crawling all over the place and getting into everything!  She's growing up too fast!  I need a pause button to slow her down!  Poor thing caught my cold, but she's doing alright....doesn't slow down her play time any!  She's not been the best baby food eater lately, she'd rather have puffs and table food, and yogurt...Oh my she loves the yogurt!  Here are some recent pics of our princess... Enjoy!

HAHA this was taken yesterday.  Poor thing was not feeling good!

   

From our Texas 'Blizzard'..She was less than thrilled to be sitting in the middle of the yard with this cold, White stuff!

  

On the move with her first pigtails!




The girl LOVES to swing!



From Valentine's Day.  LOVE that smile!



Slowing the process...

So after researching a little more and talking to our prospective agency, we are going to hold off on starting the process for a couple months or else our son and Hannah will have the same birthday!  That's right...referrals for boys are so fast right now.  We don't mind them being close in age, but not that close!  Some families are even getting referrals before all thier paperwork is done!  SO, I'll let you all know as soon as we submit our application!!!

FAQ's

1. When did you start this process? We have barely put our toe in the water!   We have just now started this process.  We are deciding between agencies right now. 
2. Do you want a specific gender? Yes!  We want a boy.  Luckily, boys have a lesser wait time.
3. When will you get him? The timeline of the adoption process varies.  From the time we submit the application, it's be between 20 -29 months until he is home with us.
4. How old will he be? Children in Russia do not become available for adoption until 9 months of age.  We'll bring him home when he's about 12-15 months old.
5. Why Russia? Because that's where God has led us.  Here are some heart wrenching statistics about Russian orphans I have found:  There are more than 750,000 orphans are living in Russian institutions (about 2,000 of them).  Among another estimated 2 million to 4 million homeless orphans living on the streets.  The annual number of children left without parental care has more than doubled over the last 10 years despite falling birth rates.  Some 10,000 young people graduate from the state-run orphanages every year.  And at least 40% of these graduates eventually end up in prisons or in prostitution while one in ten will commit suicide, not to mention the 40% that become addicted to drugs/alcohol. And then this statistic I read on another Russian adoption blog...13 out of every 100 children adopted by Russians are eventually returned to the orphanage.  How awful is that ???
6. Where in Russia? We're not sure yet.  There are many regions in Russia.
7. How long will you be there? We have to take two trips.  The first trip is about a week long (we'll go within a month of accepting our referral), and the second trip (2-4 months later) is about 3-4 weeks.  We could split the second trip into two, but most likely we will take one long trip. 
8. How far apart in age will the kiddos be?  Depending on how long it takes, probably a minimum of 9 months.

The Beginning of our Journey.....

Hi and welcome to our blog!!  Caleb, Hannah and I are so excited to announce that we are adding a new addition to our family!!  After much prayer, research, thought, and consideration, we have decided to to adopt our second child. 

Why, you ask?  Short story....Because Caleb and I have always wanted to adopt a child who needs a warm, happy home. God has blessed us with the most beautiful baby girl on earth ; ) and we now want to add a little brother for Hannah!  When thinking about having a second child, our thoughts immediately went to adoption.

Where, you ask?  RUSSIA!  After researching domestic and international adoption, we decided to on international and somehow we ended up in Russia!  We feel that God has led us to this point, and will continue to guide us throughout the rest of our adventure that will lead us to the son he had made for us! We are so excited about this journey we are about to embark on and all we ask from you are prayers for an easy, smooth process!

I will update this blog every time we have a change in the process...the first 6-8 months is mostly paperwork and all the red tape we have to get through....I'll explain more on the next post of FAQ's...

Enjoy reading about our journey and keep us in your prayers!