Dossier II is almost complete

Well, I returned from Hawaii and am back at work full time. I feel like I have been gone for ages. The good part is that we received our FBI clearance on Thursday. This is the last piece needed in order for us to send all the Dossier II paperwork in. I scanned all the forms and sent them to the agency for review. Hopefully tomorrow, they will give me the green light go-ahead, and I can truck up to Austin to get it apostilled. Once that is done, I will send it overnight to the agency and it will be translated and sent to the courts. Once it is in the courts' hands, we must sit and wait. I have been told that we are working on our paperwork and getting it done quickly, so maybe we won't have a long wait, but the reality is that the wait time for a court date could be 8 weeks - 3 months. Please say a quick prayer that our court date is soon.

I returned home from Hawaii to another surprise. Bryan had rearranged the room, borrowed an iron bed from Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Bill (that matches the other bed perfectly), and began building a "fort" playhouse for the boys. Bryan's mother, older sister, and nephew came down and helped me put in closet shelving and helped Bryan with the fort (OK - Who am I kidding? They did the work and I handed them a hammer now and then - I am not talented in the construction area!). Anyway, the room looks wonderful and I am awaiting my first shower on Thursday. This shower is being put on by school friends and was sent out to many of my friends, co-workers, and teachers. I am hoping that many of them are able to come because I want to show off pictures of the boys. We had such a great time with them, and pray daily that we will be reunited soon. But until that time, I am working my tail off. Bryan is working and building a fort - and we both are trying to make sure that we get as much done as possible so that we can relax with the boys once we get them home. I know that we will never be totally prepared ahead of time, but we like to live in the fantasy world of make-believe - so don't burst our bubble yet. Reality will slam into us soon enough.

We went to Ingram for the 4th of July and spent the day with close family friends, the Turners. What a great time. Everyone was excited to hear about the boys and see pictures. It is so wonderful to be surrounded by so many people that are excited and touched by our journey. Brad put on another OUTSTANDING fireworks display - We celebrated Tori's birthday in style - and had great Mexican food to top it all off (not to mention Clete's yummy homemade icecream - although I believe it was Sheila's recipe???). I had been jonesing for some Mexican food since I did not have any in Russia or in Hawaii - Three weeks without Mexican food can really mess a person up for a long time - So, the Turners' party was just the medicine the doctor ordered!!!!

I hope to post some pictures of the boys' room after the baby shower on Thursday - although it may take a few days to get it all organized again. Thank you all for all of your prayers and kind thoughts. We know we are blessed - not only with the gift of the boys, but with friends and family that are such a huge part of this entire journey. God Bless!