Patriotic Princess

Ellie is getting ready for Friday. She has a few cute little fourth of July dresses that I have picked up along the way... still a little roomy. She is a little peanut of a thing. I figure we'll have our little patriotic princess making her appearances all week. The boys always look forward to Friday because they get to stay up later than any other night of the year.

A Visit from Leah

My dear friend Leah graced us again with a brief, but refreshing visit this week. Ellie enjoyed getting to know Leah a little better and the boys revelled in th extra attention from her. It isn't often that someone plays hide and seek with them while I make dinner. As always, time with Leah is precious to me. I am so thankful for it even when it is only for a day.

Leah-June

CCAI Carnival

Yesterday we went to the CCAI annual carnival and we were able to visit with two of the other families from our travel group. Lynnae brought little Lydia and Carrie brought little Emilie and her older daughter Sophie. The girls are beautiful and doing well, but we all have had our difficulties in making the adjustment this last year. I sell t-shirts at church for Project 1:27 that say "Adoption's Not for Wimps" and I believe that is one of the truest statements I know. It is also a great blessing to which all of us would also attest. It was great to see everyone and it is always fun to see so many beautiful children from China that have been here for many years. CCAI is a great agency and while I would have appreciated a few things done differently, I would recommend them to anybody.

ccai carnival 2008

The Kolde Clan

It was such a great week having my brother and his family here. Their children are amazing young people and I am just sad that I don't get to be with them more. We enjoyed time together around town and at home. The kids were able to play and get to know each other a little better and I was able to spend time with my incredible sister (we Koldes try to stay away from the term "in-law") and brother. I am so thankful that they took the time to come and stay. We even got to celebrate Elijah's 6th birthday together. What a treat. I have loaded a few of my favorite pictures from the week in the album below.

Koldes

Family Fun

We are all looking forward to our visit with my brother and his family this week as they travel from Washington. This will be their first time to meet Ellie and we will also be celebrating Elijah's sixth birthday. Fun! Fun! I am excited to get to play Auntie... a role I don't often enough get to play. My niece and nephew are precious.

This photo was taken of Ellie at her "Auntie" Grace's baby shower. It was just too cute not to post. Ellie continues to improve in her walking, but we are still concerned about the development of her feet. We had our last appointment with Children's hospital yesterday as we will be working with an in-home therapist available until Ellie turns three. Hopefully, we will have resolved her issues before then, but it is so much easier to do it in home.
We continue to pray for bonding between Ellie and Milan and the roller coaster of ups and down continues. The Lord has a purpose in this for us. In Genesis, Joseph says that the Lord brought him to Egypt, even though it was his brothers who sold him into slavery there. Even the hard things are purposed by Him, and while I don't believe that our purpose is to save the country from famine, I pray that we will be faithful to persevere and see His purposes fulfilled.

Elijah's First Lost Tooth

Elijah lost his first tooth yesterday. He was so excited. We didn't even realize that it was loose. He just said his tooth felt weird. Of course, upon further examination, we saw it had a serious case of the wiggles. Five minutes later, he had it out. Now, the one next to it is loose. I give it 2 days tops at his rate. Anyway, I had to post his new grin.