Annual Update

I can't believe how time flies. I looked back at this Blog and realized it has been over a year since I have posted anything. It could mean that the quest for Poppy Picklebottom has stalled or that we have just been very busy. Well, honestly it has been a lot of both.

To catch you up on news from the past year, we have sold the old house on Jefferson Street to a really nice young couple. We went on 2 great vacations this summer. We went to Estes Park, Colorado for a week of fly fishing, hiking and time at the Dude Ranch (see photo). We also went on a 5 day excursion down the Wolf River on a house boat with Matt's family! Both were so fun. I will try to load photos for you to see. We are trying to get some of our adventure travel out of our system as we know when Poppy comes we will be spending more quiet time around the house. Our beloved dog Bohdi died on September 9, which made us all very sad. He is buried under a beautiful tree in our backyard where lanterns are hung. We each lit a candle for several nights in his honor and continue to miss him terribly.

Kierik is now in second grade but in a combined second/third grade classroom. He is doing a terrific job in school and continues to amaze us with his maturity and sweetness. He has joined a gymnastics team that competes in Illinois. In his very first meet he placed second overall! We were so proud of him. He has come along way in overcoming his fear of being in front of people...from dashing off the stage in his kindergarten winter program to competeing in a major gymnastics meet. Wow! Next weekend is the State Competition. It is a much bigger meet so we will see how he handles the next challenge.

Kaden has said goodby to all of his preschool friends and has made the adjustment to kindergarten look remarkably easy. He has gotten nothing but positive remarks from his teacher who adores him and has done really well academically. He is one of the top three readers in his class and amazes us every day at how well he can read. He continues to be really "into Pokemon" and has mastered the fine art of bargaining and trading for cards. His personality contiunes to shine. he was selected by the gifted and talented teachers for an activity called Destination Imagination. Unfortunately, the facilitator did a less than steller job of helping the kids get to know one another and Kaden never really found his comfort zone. He was, however, given the lead part in his kindergarten play and did a beautiful job! He has also discoved a love to cook. He has always been my little foodie (loves to eat sushi and make gyozas:0) and likes to help me or Matt in the kitchen. This has become a really wonderful past time for us. We spent a lot of time this winter trying out different soup recipes.

Finally, as for our adoption process, we are continuing to wait. It wavers between patiently and frenetically. We have learned that the wait time contiues to be extended so our anticipated 9 month wait is now looking like 18-24 months. Each time I open my email from our agency I hold my breath and pray that they have not extended it again. They have also tightened the criteria for who can adopt from China. Luckily, the new criteria does not impact us. In the mean time we are reading a lot about China, both historically and by Chinese authors. Someday I will list all of the books I have read since starting this adoption process. They are too numerous to list in this already lengthy post. For now that is all we can do. We talk about her, think about her, dream about her and ask continually for the forces that be to keep her safe until we can pick her up.