Series Trailer

A friend of ours (Arthur) works as a producer in the video department at Samaritan's Purse. In December he came to Asbury to test the pilot episode of this mini series on some of our Asbury students.

If you are fascinated with other cultures/overseas travel, inspirational stories, medical dramas, children, reality TV, etc., you will REALLY enjoy this mini series. I had to get a box of tissues so I could make it through the first episode with clear vision. I've been SO anxious for this to air so others can see this too! It's THAT good!

Link here to view the channels and dates in which it will be airing later this month. For those of you with Time Warner Cable in Jessamine County, it will be airing on the INSP network which is channel 61.

Playtime with Els

Tonight during Global Cafe` while Els and I hung out in the apartment I experimented with some new camera gear(she had a major case of crabby-ness right before it started so we didn't get to hang out and greet our guests or be a part of worship). Here's some of my favorite pics...SOOC. Jan and Kelly: ISO 1600, F 1.8, 1/200th

Happy Palm Sunday!

Spring break is almost over! Ellie returns to school on Tuesday and I think we will all be glad to see that yellow school bus come down College Street! We love our girl and she loves being with us, but she was wired to be social!

Ricky and Aidan Visit!

We LOVE having company and earlier this week it was a joy to visit with Ricky and Aidan, visiting from Wilmington, NC. These two traveled to Hungary with us not once, but TWICE because they have such hearts for Jesus and for people. You can understand in return why they are so loved! They really are some of the sweetest, most considerate folks I know (they somehow learned our birthdays and remember them every year! wow!) Aidan is a secret follower of this blog (hi there!) so I'm especially glad to put her picture up here for all to see.

I included the last picture because I just thought it was hilarious how when Ricky picked up Ellie for this picture, she couldn't stop making eyes at him. Maybe she sensed a common bond of blood that could be traced back to the shores of the Adriatic (Ricky's Italian). From the first photo you can see that Ellie has reached the stage where she's discovered her 'cheesy smile.' I must confess I now understand why parents find it annoying and not cute. It's like they suddenly forgot HOW to SMILE!

A Very Happy Little Girl

As many of you have probably been able to ascertain from following this blog, Ellie has a 'thing' for slinkies. Colored slinkies, shiny slinkies, and baby slinkies are just some of the categories she has created for her little friends. We bought a case of plastic, colored slinkies (emblazoned with a map of the world because, you know, you can never start too early with geography) just so we would have some on hand when one would inevitably break. We have slinkies on top of the fridge, in my purse and in the car 'just in case' we might need one.

Some of you have told us about the 'slinky dog' featured in the movie Toy Story and we've seen it featured in vintage slinky ads on YouTube (we even have a special playlist of these commercials so Ellie can watch several minutes worth of slinky video without interuption). Mom told us she unsuccessfully searched five different toy stores in Peoria searching for the slinky dog toy that if procured might catapult her into "ultimate grandma status" (my words, not hers).

Well, tonight Nathan had "Daddy duty" at the mall while I had an appointment. Apparently the playplace holds less appeal for Ellie than it did a few months ago because after a short while she was more interested in climbing in the laps of other children's parents (she has no stranger anxiety, whatsoever), so Nathan was off in search of other forms of entertainment to kill time. They wandered into the Disney store, a place Nathan had never visited with Ellie, but given her recent fascination with movies like Peter P*n and Little Merm*id, he thought it might hold her attention a bit longer. They hadn't been walking long when she apparently froze in front of a shelf of merchandise. She said, "Slinky, Arf Arf!".

Puzzled, Nathan looked down and right at Ellie's eye level was a display of, you guessed it, Slinky Dogs. He looked at the price and immediately decided to redirect her attention elsewhere. Surprisingly, she acquiesced and moved on. But then quickly let go of his hand (a rarity these days, she's been incredibly clingy) and ran back to the slinky dogs. She pulled a box off the shelf, held it up to him and said with a sincere expression, "Show Mommy Slinky Dog?". When he didn't answer, she repeated the question. "Show Mommy Slinky Dog?"

Ah ha. This isn't for Ellie's benefit. She really just wants to get it so Mommy can see the amazingly rare toy they have designed with the slinky.

To make a long story short, Daddy caved and Ellie was soon the proud owner of her very own Slinky Dog. Enjoy the photos.

Got It!

After hearing many frustrating stories of delays, rejections, and requests for home study re-writes we were prepared to wait five to six months for the wonderful piece of paper that arrived in Friday's mail. So you can imagine our excitement to find our immigration approval in the mail after less than two months of waiting! It appears that the kinks are finally being worked out in the new system for those of us adopting from "Hague" countries.

So what's next? We will wait for the word that our dossier has been translated and submitted to the Albanian Adoption Committee (AAC). From there we wait some more. While we already have plenty to keep us occupied during the next several months, we have been told that the wait could be as long as two to three years. The number of adoptable children in Albania has dropped dramatically since Ellie's adoption two years ago (something we just became aware of in the last month or so). My bloggy friend, Melissa, visited Ellie's orphanage last month and reported that only about ten or so children currently occupy the facility in Vlore (there were close to thirty there in 2006).

In our conversations with others about this second adoption, certain questions are pretty common. Since you may be wondering the same things, I'll share the answers to those frequently asked questions...

1.) We have requested a child 36 months of age or younger, so Ellie will retain her 'birth order.'

2.) We have not specified a desire for a boy or a girl -- one can't request that when having biological children so we will happily accept what God gives us. It will also add to the fun and surprise when our referral comes!

3.) We have no idea which orphanage our child will come from. There are a number of different orphanages throughout the country -- it just depends on what child becomes available and where he or she is living.

4.) We plan to take Ellie with us. We feel strongly about this being a family experience. In addition to taking Ellie back to visit the ladies who cared for her in Vlore, there are also a number of friends in Albania that we want to re-introduce Ellie to so as she grows up, she will be able to count many Albanian 'aunts' and 'uncles' amongst her extended "family."

In other news, we were pleased to bump into the Kinnells at Fiesta Mexico Friday night and meet Chloe and Essie in person! Ellie has enjoyed looking at their pictures on their blog and we hope to have a play date some time this week. It's Ellie's spring break and we're going to try to plan some fun activities to keep her from getting too bored. ;-)

Thanks for checking in!

Road Trip

We are home. For a while. I hope. My fingers feel like they've been permanently molded around the steering wheel of our van. Between the trip to Illinois last week and the trip to Marion (IN) last night/today, I'm ready to stay put... at least til Easter.

We took our fabulous group of students to visit our mission's home office yesterday. We left at 5:15PM on Wednesday and returned today at 4:55PM. It was a whirlwind visit to say the least, but when you travel with friends, it helps the time in the car go [a little] faster. We would like to stay longer but when you're trying to balance students' availability and limited time, you do what you do to include as many as possible.

This is the time of year when we bring on board our new cabinet members and phase out our seniors. It's bittersweet. The new bunch is especially fun, but we've grown quite attached to our seniors and it's hard to imagine life here without them. Thus is life in campus ministry.

Ellie continues to amaze us in the speech department. On Tuesday she did something I've been waiting 27 months for... to hear her call for me, "Mooommmmy!" (and when I didn't respond immediately from the other room -- because I was raised not to holler through a house unless I was seriously hurt) she called even more demandingly, "MOMMY!" Yes, she knows I am mommy, and has even summoned her father with "Daddy", but my turn hadn't come until this week. We'll work on the tone later. Right now I'm savoring this. It sure beats grunting, whining, or throwing an all out fit on the floor complete with kicking.

Then last night, she did something else we've been working on for ages... for her to ask for something stating, "I want ____ (fill in the blank)___". I think we've seriously been working on this with her for nearly a year. Last night she said, "Mommy (gasp!), I want candy!" (double gasp!). No way! I can't believe she spoke in a sentence and stated what she wanted! It was quite late in the evening so I didn't exactly give her candy, but she did get a cookie. If she says it again, we'll know it's 'stuck.'

She's said a few other things that have us pleased as punch, such as using the possessive 'my' in front of things that are hers on more than one occasion. While most kids learn to say 'mine!' before nearly anything else, Ellie has not quite yet grasped that concept. Perhaps a sibling would help in that area...

I'm sure there's more I could share, but I shall stop here. Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Spring!

Ellie and I are enjoying a quiet day at home. We'll be going to the park later this afternoon, but I haven't told her yet. Last night as she was drifting off to sleep she asked, "Where's Daddy?" It was like she could relax back in the familiarity of home, but then realized that something wasn't quite right. "Home" was missing someone. How do you explain to a 3-year-old where Argentina is located?

On Monday we'll be picking Nathan and the team up from the airport. In the mean time, you can read about their happenings in Mendoza here.

One other sweet Ellie saying I don't want to forget. As we were nearing Champaign driving back to Kentucky, she pushed a pudgy finger into her north-facing window and told me emphatically, "This way to Gigi's house!"

Nathan reminded me that a while ago we had mentioned how we would love for our kids to enjoy visits to their grandparents. Next month and the month after she'll have the chance to get familiar again with Nonna's house where I'm sure we'll hear the same thing, about going back to the place where the toys are more fun amd the attention extra special.