Weekend Kayaking Pics

(above) anxious to start paddling

This was Hannah's first time

This is our favorite little swimming hole on the Dix. Ellie can really zip around in her life jacket. She hasn't mastered the use of her arms yet, but below the water, her feet are kicking like crazy!

Shopping for School Supplies

Last week's mail brought us a three page letter from Ellie's new preschool teacher. Between verifying bus pick up and drop off times and important dates like meet-the-teacher night and the first day of school, we also got a list of what Ellie needs to take on her first day. So, tonight we bought the first item on the list. Thanks to a handy dandy LLBean Visa card (which we've had for years and love), we redeemed some coupon dollars and bought her this lime green flower patch L.L.Bean Original Book Pack, "a customer favorite for 22 years." We were told it had to be large enough to hold a three-ring binder, so even though it's rated for ages 7 and up 'carrying moderate loads', we'll have to figure out a way to keep it on her small shoulders. An added bonus to this particular pack is that with our particular credit card we also get free monogramming. It took us longer to decide on going with "Ellie," "Elisona," or "EJW" than it took to select the actual pack.

I promise we won't document our trip to the stationary aisle at Wal Mart for her glue sticks and pencils (Nathan just said, "Don't promise that!"). It's just hard to believe our lives will soon be dictated by our daughter's school schedule and that we'll have to do things like sign permission slips for field trips (yes! apparently pre-schoolers take field trips!). She's gonna have so much fun and she should look pretty cute in the process with her lime green pack.

Family Photo Shoot

(watching an airplane take off)



Last night we were treated to a family photo shoot by fellow adoptive-parent, Carissa Martin! It had been about 7 months since our last family session and boy, has Ellie gotten more mobile since then! She would hardly sit still for more than a full second and getting her to look at the camera was even more challenging! Poor Carissa had her hands full! We shot at beautiful Keeneland, which happens to be right across the road from the end of the runway at Bluegrass Airport. The only thing Ellie would stop for was to watch an airplane fly overhead! To see some photos of Carissa's family, click over to my photography blog.

Thanks so much, Carissa! What a gift!

Teze Hannah is in town!

Here is a little sampling of the fun Ellie is having with Aunt Hannah. Anyone else want to come for a visit?

Obviously, Hannah's a great sport. :-)

9 years ago yesterday...

One down, 2 to go

Nathan and Viktor, just a few minutes ago...

examining the 'not square' bathroom floor

Ellie's completed bathroom floor and walls.

Can you believe two tile newbies did this? It's beautiful!

I checked out our blog a few days ago and saw that this time last year we were doing home improvement projects at the end of July. It looks like this year isn't any different! This week Nathan decided to tackle ceramic tiling. Thanks to a loaner wet saw from his dad and lots of elbow grease from our friend Viktor (who works nights for UPS and this week is helping us in the afternoons while his wife is working) we've got a new floor in our apartment bathroom.

The project was precipitated by Ellie's penchant for dumping water out of the bathtub. Over the course of the past several months, we've noticed a growing problem with the linoleum (major bubbling) and knew we had to do something fast. Ripping it up revealed some serious mold (which bleach took care of) and now hopefully the tile will be more resistant to her wet messes.

While we had the tools at our disposal, we also procured tile for the student center lower level guestroom bath and our master bath. Fortunately the spaces are not large, but each room involves about 48 hours of off-limits-access, so the project has had to be planned strategically. Ellie's bathroom was finished in 2 days, including a wall paper job that tested our marital harmony. Now Nathan and Viktor are setting the tile down in bathroom #2 and weariness is starting to set in. In honor of our anniversary (and to catch up on other office work), Nathan has declared tomorrow a day off from tiling. But, I hope next week to post photos of two more sparkling bathroom floors. I'm guessing that it will be July of '09 before Nathan will even consider tackling the kitchen... ;-)

Waggoner Time (Pt. 2)

Waggoner Time (Pt 1)

With cousin Leah (6 weeks age difference). What will they be like when they're 16?


learning about ladybugs with Nonna ...

making ladybug cupcakes (notice Ellie munching on the dots)

cruising with Caleb




Fish lips

July 4th in Wilmore

I thought you might enjoy some picts from Wilmore's July 4th parade! We're proud of our little town, and wouldn't miss this parade if we could (especially since we have the distinct privelege of living right across the street from the point where the parade participants line up -- so we get to see first what each year's parade will bring!). I'm sorry I didn't have my camera out in time to catch the lawn mower brigade. The steady rain did keep away most of the classic cars and all of the politicians so the parade was decidedly shorter this year. Ellie wasn't content to sit under the dry confines of our porch, so her dad graciously agreed to set up a little viewing station closer to the street. The result of sitting up close was a huge pile of sticky, wet candy. We were glad to have our friends Kristen and Viktor join us for the parade and cinnamon rolls when the parade concluded. They just moved to Wilmore about 6 weeks ago and we told them they couldn't miss great introduction to our community! Enjoy the photos below!

Notice Ellie's pile of candy on the table (the size of a dinner plate)

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn

Here's Els this afternoon with one of her favorite toys: Dad's tape measure. It can entertain for hours!

Today we experienced both sides of the well-known verse from Romans which comprises the title of this post. The morning began with attending the visitation for a dear lady from our church (hence Ellie's apparel above). Two of her granddaughters were also involved with us at WGM while they were in college so it was good to see Catherine and Jenny again as well as celebrate a life well-lived and know that Ms. Eliza is living now with Jesus.

Shortly after returning home we got a phone call from a friend who's been waiting nearly two years for the news she received this morning -- that she and her husband have a son waiting for them in Russia. Hearing her recount the phone calls she made to share the announcement with her family this morning brought to my mind a rush of memories from the day we learned about Ellie and did many of the same things. What a joy it was to hear this news!

Summer is going well (especially now that the cicadas are gone!). We are definitely enjoying a different pace. Ellie is showing that she is gaining strength and agility every day. Each time we go to the playground she demonstrates more independence on the equipment, but the fear isn't exactly gone completely yet. She also babbles or sings to herself which is a lot of fun to listen to. Most of it is unintelligible (except 'Old McDonald Had a Farm' -- that's pretty clear, mostly), but sometimes she "talks" like she's trying to put sentences together and every once in a while a word will pop out a clear as can be. It's pretty cute. By far her favorite thing to say is "Bye Bye ______". Today leaving the pet store it was, "Bye Bye Dorey!" (Dorey is a fish in the Finding Nemo movie -- she had just seen a fish inside that looked like Dorey). Or, if we walk by someone, she will call out "Bye, Bye!" and if they don't acknowledge her, she will say it again. Even louder.

She's also never been more interested in other kids. In that regard, I'm glad she will be starting preschool soon! We would go to the pool more frequently, however she still doesn't understand the need for the 15-minute safety break and 2 breaks is about all we can manage with her limited patience. Plus the $13 price of admission for the three of us is hard to justify for less than 2 hours of entertainment. So thankfully it hasn't been too hot yet and we've taken a lot of walks in the stroller to get out of the house.

Finally, we passed a milestone rather quietly less than 2 weeks ago. That was passing the point where Ellie had lived more days with us than in the orphanage.