Big Day

Friday was a big day this week. It began with Elijah getting his cast off... after 6 weeks, I was more than ready for that. Note to self: ALWAYS get a waterproof cast in future- call ahead to be sure.
All looked good, but we were told that he needed to take it easy for another two weeks- even given the choice of casting for another two weeks. We opted for take it easy. Pray that my energetic little boy understands that concept.
The afternoon started with Eliana's final hearing for validation of her adoption. All went well and she is officially in the eyes of both China, the US and Colorado our little girl. We will actually get a birth cirtificate with our names as her parents on it... pretty cool.

Waiting for the hearing to begin... Ellie played peek-a-boo to pass the time.

Being questioned by the judge

Almost done...

Ellie on the way home

This has been a wild few weeks even by Norgauer standards, and it was nice to end this week on that note. There are still a few dips and turns on the radar so we are bracing for those. In the immediate future, we are looking forward to a nice time this afternoon celebrating the graduation of our dear friends the Gesses. They have both worked so hard to finish their degrees with such busy schedules. I think they even put us to shame.

Nana's Little Chefs

The kids got a package from Nana today that was lots of fun. She made them chef hats and aprons and sent a Cooking with Grandma cookbook for kids. She always has a way of making things special with the kids. They looked really cute and can't wait to cook something fun!
Thanks Nana!

Fall Colors

We love to drive up into the local mountains and see the beautiful fall colors each year. Colorado is such a beautiful place to live. I sometimes can't believe that we have such easy access to these kinds of views. It was a great little break after a bit of a stressful week.

Fall Colors

One of this weeks new stresses has to do with Eliana's possible exposure to that Chinese tainted milk you may have heard about in the news. She seems perfectly healthy, so I am not too panicked, more angry. Some children who have been fed the tainted milk and are otherwise asymptomatic, have been found to still have kidney stones. The kidney stones are actually made of melamine- you know like your old cheap college furniture. I just can't believe that people would knowingly put such a dangerous chemical into milk for human consumption just to make a buck. Unfortunately, the formula brand that Ellie was fed in China is among the tainted brands. While it has been confirmed to be happening in 2008, it is now suspected to have gone back as far as 2006. That is where we come in. So, at this point, we have an appointment with Ellie's doctor and we will discuss where to proceed from there. For those of you that faithfully pray for her and our family, please add this issue to the list. We pray that all will be normal, but of course dread the possibility that she may have yet another obstacle to overcome.
A new development on the more positive side of things is that we finally had our last appointment with our social worker and are therefore finished with sending reports back to China. We also have Ellie's final court date here in Colorado to validate her adoption on next Friday. The end of the nearly four years of paper chasing is almost over. YEAH!! She will be officially and every way ours in the eyes of China, the U.S. and the state of Colorado- it will even say so on her birth certificate. How cool is that?