Mommy's Little Helper

There is going to come a day when I will ask Isabel to swiffer the floor, and she will not be so happy to do it. As for now, she loves it, and she's actually quite thorough, too!

New Picture of Maddie

I was so surprised today by an email from our agency with an updated photo of Madeleine. The CCAA sent the photo to our agency for submission with Maddie's visa application. They were nice enough to pass it along to us. She looks so sober and somewhat like a boy, but I am even more in love with her little face than I was before. Her features are so delicate...just love that little rosebud mouth and button nose. And her hair has really grown. It makes me a little sad to see her getting older, but hopefully, it won't be much longer before we can go get her and bring her home where she belongs. Here she is...

Good Morning!

Our girl has crazy hair in the morning!

I-800A Approved!

Our agency received email notification today from US Immigration that our I-800A, officially called the Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, has been APPROVED! There are now three more forms that we need to file before we can receive travel approval. Let's hope the processing of these forms moves quickly...two to three weeks is what we are hoping for. If things continue to move at a good clip, May still looks quite reasonable for travel. Hang on, Maddie. We're coming!

Play Time

Reading to Bitty Baby




Finally...Some Time Outside


Riding the Four Wheeler

Phoenix Pictures

Petting Zoo at the World Wildlife Zoo


Isabel's Favorite Attraction at the Zoo: The Slide


Glass Sculptures at the Desert Botanical Garden


She Really Was Having Fun


Wasn't This a Scene in "Poltergeist"?


Taliesin West


Gabby Loves Isabel

So Proud

Isabel and I took a 90 minute tour of Taliesin West today. I figured we'd have to bail at some point, but my darling girl was so good. I'm sure the other folks in our group were thinking, "OH, NO," when they saw us, but by the end of the tour, they were all complimenting Ibby on her stellar behavior. As for Taliesin, incredible setting, fascinating architecture, interesting information...it was a great morning.