Activity Time

Today was such a fun time with the children! This morning after breakfast I gave Matthew an assortment of pots, pans, and fitting lids. We had so much fun stacking and banging them together! Matilyn even joined in the fun.

Next we each took two spoons and had a parade, all three of us marching around the house while tapping our spoons together and singing some of our favorite songs.

After the parade, Matthew was interested in spending more time with the pots and pans, so Matilyn and I sat at the table and played a game. We had a big bowl of Goldfish crackers, and each had our own empty bowl. We took turns rolling the die and then counting out that number of Goldfish into our bowl. At the end of the game (when the Goldfish had all been placed into our bowls) we each counted our crackers. She loved this game!

For our next activity we took cheerios and threaded them onto a long piece of dental floss. When we were done we tied floss together and Matilyn had an edible necklace. This was a BIG hit! While eating the Cheerios she looked at me with this HUGE smile on her face and said, "This is GREAT!" Matthew joined in and ate a ton of Cheerios himself. LOL!

For our final morning activity we took big diaper boxes and tied scarves through the side (handle area) and over the top to make a handle of sorts. We called them trains! We made invitations to a party for our stuffed animals, and delivered the invitations to them. Then we loaded the animals into the "trains" and off we went. The children pulled the animals around and around the house. It was so funny! Then we stopped near their play kitchen, where we prepared a feast for the party. We lined up all of the animals along the wall and set their party table. They even sang happy birthday to Matilyn's favorite bear, who was happy to wear his special birthday hat. The children couldn't wait to load up the trains again and pull the animals all around the house. Matilyn even took hers to the playroom, calling it the Children's Museum! Those stuffed animals had a ball! We had a snack and then it was nap time. Whew! Mommy was tired after all of that playing. :)

After nap time daddy was home! I spent some time reading the Bible with Matilyn while daddy played with Matthew in the play room. After reading it was time for some tweezer fun! Yes, you heard correctly. I gaveMatilyn a bowl of dry beans, a bowl of macaroni, a bowl of Cheerios, and an empty bowl. I showed her how to use the tweezers to transport the different items into her bowl. She loved this one and sat for quite a while transferring the various items. I read that this is a good game for improving a child's coordination and small muscles. I'll tell you, it was a big hit!

We noticed that the sun was shining and checked the temp outside. To our delight it was fairly warm. We all bundled up and had some family time outdoors. We chased each other in the yard and ran around with Andi for a while. I brought Matthew in early to allow for some daddy/daughter and mommy/son time. Matthew and I had a great time stacking large block and knocking them down. We also read his favorite book, Baby Boo!

After dinner it was bath time. Daddy had fun bathing Matthew while mommy allowed Matilyn to squirt shaving cream into a large tupperware bowl and mix a drop of food coloring into it. This makes great fingerpaint for the tub! Then it was bath time! The tub was foamy and the entire room smelled like a freshly shaven daddy! LOL! It was a great end to a fun filled day.

Wishing You All A Wonderful Christmas!

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating the true reason for the holiday. Matilyn is so excited about having a birthday party for Jesus. We are decorating the house with streamers and balloons. Tomorrow we are also baking and decorating birthday cake. This is our favorite time of the year!

I am sorry that we have not posted in so long. God is doing some great and exciting things regarding our adoption. We have completed our part of the home study. Our social worker is currently completing the final draft. After we receive the home study we will be submitting it to USCIS along with our I-600A (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan). We have collected all of our dossier paperwork and will be submitting it to our agency soon. The dossier consists of various papers such as: copies of our marriage certificate, birth certificates, passport copies, criminal clearances from local police departments, employment verifications, medical clearances from our physicians, etc...... We are so happy to be completing this part of our exciting journey. God is sooooo good!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. There is much more to tell regarding the adoption, and we hope to post in full sometime around mid January. Please pray that the Lord will guide us to our child, and that the Lord will keep him safe. We also ask that you pray for a safe and speedy adoption process. After receiving photos/information about our child and accepting the referral, the time until travel to bring him home can be up to 6-8 months. We are praying that God will bring our baby home much more quickly, and we know that He can do it. :)

We truly appreciate all of your support and prayers!

Wishing you all a great Christmas!

Love,

Jarrod and Anita

Outdoor Winter Playtime

We had a fairly warm winter day, so on with the coats and hats. It's time for family playtime outdoors! We are always thankful for a day when we can run around, ride bikes, and just have fun together!

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Can't Catch Me, I'm The Gingerbread Man!

Matilyn was invited to Aunt Joye's house for a special afternoon of gingerbread cookie fun. Aunt Joye read the story of the Gingerbread man, a sweet version found online. She and Matilyn then made a paper chain of gingerbread men. Then it was on to cookie making! They had a great time together playing in the kitchen. I was able to sample, and sample, and sample the cookies. YUM!! Thanks for a wonderful time, Aunt Joye!

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Adopt Shop: Shop for the holidays, save money, and support adoption

Did you know that you get discounts on your online purchases from major retailers such as Target, Toys R Us, Sears, Best Buy, Walmart, and Buy.com (just to name a few) and support our adoption in the process? It's easy! Just use our online shopping mall, Adopt Shop, as a starting point for your online shopping:

http://visitourmall.com/adoptshop

Please keep us in mind when making all of you online purchases. Adopt Shop will remain open for the next several years. We would really appreciate you sharing our website with family and friends who shop online as well.