Landscaping

Here are some pics of our new landscaping! We are finally done..at least in the front of the house which is all we are doing this year. It took several weekends to do but the overall consensus seems to be that it's great! I think Jeff did a fantastic job with it and the girls and I love it:) The pics aren't that great. I may try to take more and see how they come out but once again I am still learning the camera!

Mackenzie's First Day of 1st Grade

I should have posted this on Monday but we got a new camera to take with us to China and I have been trying to figure out how to use it. Hopefully I will figure out how to post some pics today! Mackenzie started 1st grade on Monday and has been adjusting ever since. She seems to like it. We got to meet her teacher last week and she likes her a lot. Her teacher's name is Ms. Quinlan and she is new and recently graduated from college. I think Mackenzie will have a fun year. She has lots of new kids in her class. So far her favorite subjects are lunch and recess..hmmm. She did have one meltdown when I came in to volunteer at lunch. Apparently the lunch I packed her wasn't quite as good as what the school was offering for hot lunch. I am sure she will outgrow this love for cafeteria food but for now I am indulging it. I equate cafeteria food to hospital food...and the only food I used to order when I worked at the hospital was french fries. They were pretty good. But I guess at 2:30 in the morning anything would be good. Anyway, she seems to like school and for now is riding the bus both to and from school. Not sure how long that will last as she is on the bus for a while in the morning and could sleep in a whole 40 minutes longer if I took her. We'll see what she ends up wanting to do as the weeks and months move along. Here are some pics of her 1st day of 1st grade!

LOA!!!!!!!

We wanted to let you all know that after 112 days of waiting for our LOA (Letter of Acceptance from China), it is finally here! I was beginning to think this day would never happen though of course I knew it would. It was especially long and we were starting to get concerned. I know that it is all a matter of God's timing and I have found being angry at Him just isn't the best bet so I tried to relax and just pray a lot. So I was so excited when Meg from our agency called this morning to let us know that they have received it. They signed it for us and sent it on back so we are anticipating receiving our TA or travel approval in 30 days. That would put it around Sept 22 and then hope to travel late Oct or early Nov. We are so excited that we are getting closer to finally bringing Ellie home!!! So thank you for all your prayers and please continue to pray for us as we get ready to go and for Ellie as she will be making a lot of adjustments in the months ahead. It is exciting but also nerve wracking as there are so many unexpecteds regarding how she will adjust and adapt to her new family. We will all need a lot of patience over the next few months but glad that the moment is getting closer each day!!