Cruella on the highways of Ohio

We received our I-171H from the USCIS office!! I guess it's official; the United States thinks we're OK parents to adopt. Kinda overwhelming in all reality. I must say, the US government keeps surprising me. According to the USCIS office, the time for an I-1600A to be processed from the Dallas office was 8 months, the longest processing times from any regional office. We got ours in 6 months, including the extra month it took to submit additional paperwork to them. And both ours names are spelled correctly and has everything attached as it should be. Way to go US Gov and thank you!

Our "We're Adopting from Russia and Come Help Us Buy a Visa" garage sale went well for the amount of traffic we had--which was not a lot. We would like to thank all our friends who ventured out and perused our trinkets and supported us. We will hone in on our advertising skills and have another one, maybe this weekend because we have a TON of stuff left. (And we have rather good stuff if I may say so!) It's quite embarrassing to know that just our family could produce this overwhelming plethora of "junk" from the dark recesses of our house. As I've said before, never again.

We took a little road trip to Columbus, Ohio to attend a Christian conference, Provision 2010 at FaithLifeNow Church. It was awesome to say the least! Our girls had a great time as well. Annsley met a new friend, and her dad gave us their Skype info so the girls can keep in touch. Doug and I have been through Ohio a few times in our married lives, but we are always amazed at the dry land corn growing up there. Yes, dry land corn--not a typo for those of you from our part of the world. The farms are so pretty as well. In the midst of the corn field you will find a white 2 story house, a red or white barn, and a silo. A far cry from what you see around here! Our conference was in New Albany, OH, and it was like something set in the colonial days. EVERY business looked like it could have come straight from 1792. White clapboard fences lined the highway and streets. Burger King has no Burger King paraphernalia--just a white sign with Burger King on it. Kroger was just a white sign with Kroger on it. An absolutely beautiful little town!

Traveling with a 6 and 3 year old in the back of the car for 18 hours one way...what can I say? I have refused to buy a DVD player for the girls, but I will have to say that after this trip, I can see that it might have its merits. By St. Louis, I was mourning my decision I can assure you. It wasn't a leisurely drive as we were under time constraints both going and coming home. We couldn't leave until Wednesday afternoon because Doug was at a C-Scope training for his school district, and we had to get home before 11:00 this morning for the girls' swimming lessons--we did--at 4:30AM this morning. I firmly believe that the people who invented bullet and sound proof glass were parents. I shall not bore you with the "she's got my..." or "Mom, Kennedi is...." or the constant vying who was going to be sleeping with whom routine 12 hours in advance, but let your imagine run wild...I'm sure it will pale in comparison to our reality though. Really, both girls did an awesome job all things considered, but I really think Kennedi would have been happier if we had tied her to the roof of the car and provided her with a bug guard for her teeth. A car seat and seat belt and miles of road is not the most conducive thing for her personality.

Doug's and my driving skills were under scrutiny the entire trip. I got a ticket--my first in about 15 years--taking the girls to swimming lessons the morning we left. So, Annsley was constantly asking me on trip, "Are you speeding, Mom?" We are very selective with what we allow to girls to watch and they haven't seen very many Disney movies. They were introduced to 101 Dalmations a few weeks ago by their cousin, and of course, that whole thing had Annsley praying to get the evil out of Cruella de Vil that evening. Apparently the only thing that stuck out in Kennedi's mind was Cruella's driving because every time Doug would accelerate, our back seat 3 year old driver would say, "Daddy, you diving like Ca-illa!"

The Progression of Marriage

Wow! It's been a month of Sundays since I last posted! Things have been so busy around here lately. I've had my birthday--29 years but who's counting???; Annsley had her 6th birthday earlier this month and my grandmother passed away--the second one in 3 months. She had dementia; it and Alzheimer's are such horrible diseases. I know that she had no idea who I was the last couple of years, and of course, she never "knew" Annsely and Kennedi, but I will tell you that whenever my girls were around her, she would smile and perk up like nobody's business. The power of children!

Now I'm getting ready for our "We're Adopting from Russia--Come Spend Some Money and Help Us Buy a Visa or Two" garage sale this weekend. If I haven't been using it or needing it for the last year, it's got a price tag on it. Doug and I told ourselves last year when we moved all our "stuff" that was it. This poverty mindset and pack rat mentality had to go. We were still holding on to stuff we had accumulated from our first year of marriage 20 years ago--storing it in closets or the attic--and it has never been used! And I keep hauling it across country. Is there a lunacy scale rating for that? I had kitchen gadgets from my wedding that I have been packing and unpacking for 20 years, and have yet to use them--in 20 years, but I have kept them "ready" for that special dish that I'm gonna make one of these days that will require the use of that Swiss made potato slicer--the one I can't even figure out how to put together. So, it's going--it's all going. Come and get it!

Five years ago, I thoroughly cleaned out my closet, more or less. I actually had jeans from high school gathering dust in my closet. Yes, I had plans to get my hiney into those size 7 junior denims. Can you believe the audacity? Our closet is quite a bit smaller in this new house. Actually, we are having to share a closet for the FIRST time in 12 years. Do you remember the episode in the Brady Brunch where Carol and Mike are splitting the closet after they've gotten married? The shoe starts off in the middle of the closet, but every time Mike goes to open the door, Carol has moved the shoe to give herself more than her fair share of the closet space. Well, that's my husband. Granted, I don't need as much space as he does since my daily attire consists mainly of sweats and shorts (I keep looking over my shoulder when I go to Wal-Mart wrapped in fear that cameras are going to sweep in and catch me in my initial reaction when they tell me someone has nominated me for a Mommy Make-Over), but really People, how much room does a guy need? I donated a slew of clothes again with this move--most of these were my "professional" teaching attire that I hadn't worn since Annsley was born. My sister took a look at my closet, rolled her eyes, and told me I needed to get rid of my 90s jean skirts and clogs. So they went. Doug was a bit more clingy with his clothing, but I did convince him to get rid of those Rush Limbaugh ties and teal green Dockers with the matchy matchy shirt. Back to my story...(I'm tired, I'm hot, and I want to finish reading Ronald Reagan's autobiography tonight--a good read by the way--so you're just going to have to roll with me on this post.) We split the closet 50/50. I have WAY more room on my side because I've given away WAY more clothes. I kid you not, every time I go into that closet, his sport coats are taking up more and more of my area. It does no good to push them back. They are like hair stuck in the back of your throat. They will be back there tomorrow. So he wins. It is nothing like our early years of marriage. "Oh, you need more room for your 50 thousand dresses and skirts, Dear? Here, just cram my shirts tighter together, and I bet you can get 10 or 20 on my side of the closet. Don't worry about the wrinkles; love will iron them out." Those were the days...