Just when you think you have a plan....

So, I've been talking to our adoption agency (who never knew I had cancer during the Russia visits last time) and things have been going along smoothly until someone mentions the in-country medical exam. Seems that with the new regs in Russia, they want 8 (yes, 8) doctors in Russia to exam the adoptive PARENTS. Oh, going to be kinda hard to hide the big scars on my chest. So I've deliberated for a while what to do until the massive I'm-not-Catholic-but-I-have-Catholic-guilt guilt won. I knew I had to tell now, having only paid $200 and not fallen in love with a kid than wait and hope they didn't do a thorough exam in Russia. I called it my "voice mail confessional." Kinda spewed "I'm so sorry but I just wanted another child and I'm sorry I wasn't honest and I knew this messes things up" and on and on..... So what it boils down to is Russia prefers to wait 5 years before a couple with cancer adopts a child. Mine has been barely 3 years since diagnosis. So where we are right now is waiting for my oncologist to write a really positive letter including my life expectancy! That should be interesting to read. Maybe, just maybe, Russia will let us adopt. Another adoptive friend said today even if they allow us, the judge in-country may give us a hard time. So, leaning toward domestic adoption right now. Kinda waiting to see what we are supposed to do! I really just need a goal and I'll be happy working on the plan.

Life Update

Mike and I have had our house on the market since early April after finding the "perfect" house that was only 2 streets over from Mike's parents house in Pine Ridge. We were not planning to move at that time, but it seemed the right thing to do since we wanted to move to Pine Ridge anyway. So, we tried For Sale By Owner first and didn't sell it. Then we listed with an old prom date of Mike's brother. She is awesome but the market in Lexington went stagnant. We have spent the last 4 months looking at houses, adjusting budgets, playing with numbers, tweaking sale prices, and keeping this house clean. It wasn't until we decided to take this house off the market that I realized how stressful this entire process has been. So, with the new addition of a 2000 Suburban and the goal of another child adopted from Russia, we are staying in our Lexington house and waiting, at least until the child is home and settled.

Daddy's Birthday

Talia sings and signs Happy Birthday to Daddy...

Then blows out Daddy's candles! (Then, of course, we had to relight the candles and sing again-two more times).

After she was done, she licked all the candles and instructed her dad to hold the candles for her. So funny!

Julie's Birthday Fondue Fest

Julie dances while the fondue experts slave in the kitchen...


Elias borrows some hair....

Then gives it back...

Paris Hilton has nothing on Princess TaTa

So I get to daycare to pick up Talia today and this is what she is wearing. She went to school this morning in a pink polo shirt with an overall denim dress and her cowboy boots (her choice). Sometime in the day she decided that wasn't quite enough. She added shorts under the dress and another shirt over the whole ensemble. She is quite proud of then entire outfit. I am having visions of her going to middle school and changing clothes in the bathroom because she doesn't like what I allow her to wear...

Labor Day Fun

A typical morning...I finally wake up after I can hear the mayhem through my earplugs...











Isabella loves her Tia Cara











Zucchini Bread!!!!


















Isabella and I chase after granddaddy.

Great News!

Mike and I have been discussing how to get a second child. It came from a suprise "we need an adoptive family" request that didn't pan out. So we then decided to try domestic adoption. The first time we didn't try domestic (American) adoption because it made me a little angry that I had to cater to the woman that got herself pregnant (my problem-I know). But that led us to our fantastic daughter, Talia. So we we were thinking domestic, when the agency we used previously asked us to come show off Talia to other prospective adoptive parents. Show off my daughter? Why, of course! That night I got a coke, a bag of chips and a new desire to return to Russia! Luckily Mike is in agreement with us. Now to figure out how to get some money!
I have talked to EAC (our former agency) and we'll use them again. Russia has closed the adoption process twice (I think) since we adopted Talia and lots has changed. Mike wanted to return to the same area where we adopted Talia, but that region is closed. That probably means the judges were not being nice to foreign adopting families. Thursday, Sept 6, 2007- I talked to EAC and she said girls were near impossible to get. Mike wants a girl. We would start on the waiting list, then start the application, dossier, and the offical wait. Maybe 2 years. Friday they called and said that some families had backed out for whatever reasons and we were moving to the top of the list! Whoooee! At least the vague first wait is gone. I sent the application on Friday night so we are "in the hopper" as the EAC rep says. We will know more when our EAC rep calls us. How exciting!!!