Then I realized that there was breathing coming from somewhere nearby. I soon found our Elli, sound asleep under the bed with blankets stuffed around her so that there was no way I could have seen her. Elli, Elli, Elli...
Graci is dying for a pet. This girl is asking me every single day, multiple times in a day. I've already ruled out a dog (thanks in part to many of your comments) and a cat is definitely out of the question with Jer's allergies. At this point, she has asked for a tarantula, hamsters, turtles, fish, bunnies, a parakeet, and a snake. We haven't ruled it out yet, but I am trying to be very careful about this whole thing. I told her she needed to research about all of the pets and narrow it down, then come up with a plan about where she is going to keep the pet, how she is going to pay for the food, how often she has to clean the cage, how she will take care of it, etc. I am so afraid that she will be enamored with whatever pet she chooses for about 2.5 days, and then resent it for the rest of its life. She is very responsible, but she doesn't enjoy cleaning "gross stuff." And really, we don't have room for a pet in this house. But she is sooooo insistent that it is important to her, so I am torn. Ugh.
We are SO proud of Xander!!!! He is playing baseball this year, and it is machine pitch. He really struggled for the first three games and didn't get a single hit. Last week he said that he was the worst player on his team. Jeremy asked, "Who told you that?" and he replied, "Nobody. I just know." Sigh. Jeremy and the boys worked with him in the backyard and something finally clicked. The last two games he has gotten on base four out of five times-- all off of solid hits. I was jumping up and down the first time-- I am just so happy for him! Go, Xander!!!
On Monday, Jessica had to get four teeth pulled out at the dentist. It was quite the ordeal. When we told her that morning (yes, we waited until the last possible minute) she was absolutely distraught. I mean just TERRIFIED. I talked her through it, and what finally got her to calm down was talking about how much money the tooth fairy would probably leave her that night. She actually ended up doing much better than I expected at the dentist. That night, she was so excited to put four teeth under her pillow and was thrilled to get ten whole dollars! Well, this week is teacher appreciation week at Jesi's school. Jessica has been begging to go and buy something for her teacher. Finally last night she said, "Mom, I have such a great idea. You can take me on a Mommy Date to the store and we can buy some dry erase markers for Mrs. Critchfield." She had on her puppy dog eyes, and Jer was kind enough to put the littles to bed while we went to the closest store-- Walgreens. We found the dry erase markers and found that they were nearly $12 for an 8-pack. I was planning on buying little gifts for all of the other teachers as well and didn't want to spend that much, so I convinced her to buy clorox wipes instead. We got enough for all the teachers, then went to the chocolate section and picked out some nice chocolates. We wanted to include all of Lexi's and Elli's helpers, so we had to buy 17 of them. (This didn't even include Taylor's and Graci's teachers.) Again, Jessica asked if she could please buy the dry erase markers, insisting that her teacher absolutely needed them, but I explained how much everything was going to cost and that it would just be too much money. When we got to the checkout, Jesi turned to me with bright eyes and exclaimed, "I know!! I can use my tooth fairy money, and then you will only have to pay $2.00 for the markers!" She was so excited, and of course I let her get the markers. She smiled all the way home and picked out a pretty ribbon to tie it all together with. I thought she had forgotten about the tooth fairy money (and honestly I wasn't really going to make her pay me) but this morning she came in my room first thing and happily handed me her $10 bill. I'm telling this story to convey how much she LOVES her teacher. I mean, she just worships her. Almost every day as I do her hair she says, "I think Ms. Critchfield is going to just love my hair today, don't you?!" It is so sweet.
Sophi is back in preschool twice a week for two hours after being off track for a month. I must say, it is good to have her back in school! That little break can do wonders for my psyche! It is why I'm able to blog this right now! Soph is really growing up. Some of the phrases that come out of her mouth just crack me up. She keeps me on my toes, as she repeats everything I say! (;
Lexi continues to worship "Erin C." Whenever she is sad, she wants me to rock her and make up songs about Erin C. We're so grateful she has a best friend!
Taylor and Parker are doing GREAT at baseball this year. Jeremy is their coach, and I'm not sure who loves it more- the boys or him! They are both in the top league and they play against some really tough competition. They lost their first game 18-3 against a coach Jeremy hadn't ever beat. It was a rough start, but they went on to win their next several games. Their last game was against the same team that killed them the first game and who was undefeated. It was pretty intense and ended with a win-- for US! The team was so excited, and I knew I could milk it for all it was worth that day because it put Jeremy in such a good mood. (;
On the adoption front...
Our homestudy is completed and at USCIS. We had our fingerprints taken earlier this week and are now just waiting for our I171. Once we receive that, we'll get all of our documents authenticated and translated and then they will be sent off to China. We're still looking good for December travel! Conner and Calais are in our thoughts and prayers every day and we can't get them here soon enough! We're still praying for a miracle to get a bigger home before they come and we have faith that it can happen if it's His will for us.
Thank you so much for all of the supportive comments about our new adoption and particularly about our little announcement video! For those who have asked where to find it, you can now view it from the sidebar by clicking under "Meet Conner and Cali." We have been so grateful for the support and kind words!
