He runs.....

and SCORES a touchdown and a goal!!!!!!!! Today Ethan and Logan had their first soccer and football games of the season. Dan took Ethan to his game and Christian and I went to the football stadium for Logan's football "pageant." I know what you are thinking "a pageant?" The teams just get introduced and every players name gets announced and they get to run out on the "big" high school field and play a short game. On the last play Logan scored his first touchdown ever! He was so excited and proud of himself! One of his goals this year was to get the chance to score a touchdown and HE DID IT! Ethan also won his soccer game and SCORED one of the goals winning his first travel game 4-1. It was a great sports day here! Unfortunately I will not be posting pictures of Logan's game because his school name is on his shirt. I am sure there is some way to edit it to remove it but I am not sure how to do it. A nice dad from Ethan's soccer team was kind enough to take 81 pictures of the game and there aren't any school names on his jersey I will share his pictures.

First day of school

Yesterday was the first day of school for the boys. Where has the summer gone? I really hate to have to get back into school mode. Homework, early mornings, early bedtimes, packing lunches etc. Christian was the first to rise and shine. He told me when he woke up that he was afraid he would miss the bus and he felt nervous. Ahhh I was nervous with him being gone all day but I tried not to let those emotions show. He has been a little extra clingy in the couple weeks leading up to school. I reassured him throughout the morning and by the time the bus came he was ready to go. I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast which they love but tends to be very rare around this house because I am not big on chocolate for breakfast no matter what form it comes in. I am sure their teachers will appreciate this rule!

So how was the first day of school? Well Christian did forget where his classroom was but one of the teachers helped him find it. He also only ate half a bag of Cheetos and fruit snacks for lunch. He came home with his entire sandwich, a friend's gogurt, his grapes, and half of his juice box. They all came home saying they made new friends, they liked their teachers, and there was no homework! I think it was a great start to what I hope is a great school year!

Yesterday was also my birthday so Dan and I went out to breakfast and lunch. We did a little shopping in between and had a great day together!

Cute picture and new haircut

"Cool" like Uncle Brian.....

Logan loves Under Armour gear! Anything Under Armour is cool to him! Uncle Brian also has alot of Under Armour gear so of course he is way cool in Logan's book! Last week we went to get school shoes and he found a pair of Nike tennis shoes that he really like so we bought them. Today we were at the mall and went into the Finish Line and he begged me to get him these Under Armour shoes. I told him I would get them for him but he had to agree to returning the Nike shoes. He agreed so we left the store with the "cool" Under Armour shoes. All the way home is was taking them out of the box and admiring them. He sat with them out of the box on his lap all the way home. Now is he cool like his Uncle Brian!

Middle name dilemma

We have been discussing choosing a middle name for Mia. I feel strongly about incorporating part of her Chinese name. To me her name will be one of the only thing she comes to us with and I really want to keep part of her Chinese name as her middle name. I like the name Grace for no specific reason other than I have always really liked it. Somedays I feel like it is only by God's "grace" that we have made it through this process and continue to have the strength to carry on. I like the name Faith because we have truly had to rely on our "faith" to make it through this process. My faith has grown so much in this process. I like Hope because "hope" is what has sustained us through the many obstacles we have faced and the long wait. We wait with "hope" because through our "faith" and by His "grace" we know we are following the path that He has laid out for us.

So where does "Bella" and "Christina" fit into all of this? My mom has suggested both of these names. Bella means "beautiful" and Mia Bella has a different sound to it that I really like. My mom suggested Christina to me last night because it is my middle name. She thinks it would be nice for Mia to have my middle name. I am not all that crazy about Mia Christina. I think she just feels guilty because my brother was named after my dad and my sister was named after her. So who was I named after? Noone and it has been a running joke for us. I also think that when we incorporate her Chinese name it could make for a really long name since our last name is long. Dan has pretty much left the decision up to me and while we will have to wait to see what sounds best with her given Chinese name it still remains a dilemma because there is no particular name that I really love more than the others. So what do you think?

Bullets~just because they are easy!

~School shopping is officially OVER! The supplies, book bags, clothes, and shoes are bought and sitting in the closets waiting to be used next week! This morning we got all the supplies out and marked their names on everything and loaded them into their book bags. I still cannot believe school begins in one week and one day but who's counting!

~Last week we went to Kennywood. We had never been there before. I grew up going to Kings Island and Cedar Point but not wanting to face the frustration of the boys not being able to ride the bigger rides and getting upset we settled on Kennywood. We had a great day and Logan and Christian were able to ride mostly everything. Christian rode his first rollercoaster which was quite big! In fact I was surprised he was tall enough to get on it! He LOVED it! I will have to say that as I get older I don't enjoy the rollercoasters. When I was younger and more of a thrill seeker I loved them but I guess my age is showing! Dan doesn't ride rollercoasters at all so we had to compromise that he would take the boys on the wet rides (I hate to get wet and walk around in wet clothes) and I would take them on the rollercoasters. It worked but my stomach and head did not like the compromise. Ethan on the other hand does not like amusement parks so I am sure it wasn't his most favorite way to spend the day.

~Logan will be making a trip to an orthopedic surgeon in a couple of weeks. A little background information, in May someone tackled him on the playground while playing what else~football and he fell on his arm. Since then he has had this bump over his elbow that has not gone away. Now that football practice has started it is starting to bother him. His pediatrician thinks it could be a ganglion cyst but will need an MRI to be able to tell.

~WAITING seems to be the story of my life right now. As I blog I am patiently waiting for my sister's wedding photos to be uploaded. First we were told it would be done over the weekend, then yesterday, and then by this morning. Well it is almost 1:00pm so the morning has past. Maybe when I am done here I will click on then link and they will be done. I am sure she is WAY more anxious to see them~all 1000+ of them.

~I am also finding the wait for our adoption more difficult these days. We turned on our MCC to our agency on 10-9-07 and the wait was 10-12 months for a referral. I e-mailed our agency last week and she said the timeline is still 10-12 months from when we submitted our checklist so we technically we could be receiving a referral any time now. I am trying to tell myself by the end of the year just so I don't get my hopes up but it is SO HARD! Knowing you are close and being at the end of the wait is the HARDEST! I keep trying to prepare myself for "the call" and have played it over and over in my head about how it will go. Which one of the ladies will call me? I feel particularly close with one of the ladies and have hoped it would be her that makes the "call". She has calmed my fears and frustrations on more than one occasion. At that point will I even care who calls~probably not. Will I ask the right questions or will I be a basketcase unable to talk? Only time will tell but I can't wait for that moment!

Swimming and rides

Our busy summer continues and we are enjoying every minute of it! We have been to one of our favorite places this past summer that has a pool, a few rides, batting cages, and a couple of playground areas. The weather has been HOT so swimming is a must and a perfect way to spend the day with three busy boys! Logan and Christian are my amusement park riders. Ethan does not ride any of the rides and says he hates the feeling of his stomach going up and down so he prefers the pool.

This year Logan started going off the diving boards~even the high dive! At first he climbed the high dive and decided it was too high and then got back down. Later in the day after he had built up his confidence by going off the low dive he was ready to try again. I watched him nervously (while holding my breath) walk to the end of the board and saw the scared look on his face. I yelled to him "You can get back down if you need to." He said with his voice cracking "No I am going to do it." Down he went and back up the high dive he climbed! He repeated this process all day. Unfortunately I did not have my camera on this particular day so I do not have any pictures of this milestone.

On another note my fearless six year old decided he wanted to go off the low dive. Against my own instinct I allowed him to climb the low dive and walk to the end. At the last minute I got this horrible feeling in my stomach and made him get off. Of course he was mad at me but I told him he could jump off the side of the pool into the deeper water and that satisfied him for most of the day. I think he would have been okay but I wasn't sure he was quite ready. Christian can do front flips and back flips off the side of the pool. I am not sure how he learned this so I think it was self taught. He wanted to try it off the diving boards but I am not ready for that! Maybe next year with another year under his belt and a few more swimming lessons!