Woohoo....we have a State qualifier

This weekend was the North State Gymnastic competition. Taylor was so excited to go and compete. She had her game face on! All of her hard work paid off and she qualified to compete in the State Competition. The top 10 gymnasts from the North part of the State earned a place at the competition. Taylor placed 6th...so off we go to the competition next month. Taylor will compete with the top 20 gymnasts in the state.

A very proud and happy Taylor! One of the things Taylor was most proud of is the fact that she scored a 9.5 on Vault and placed 3rd on this event. This is an event that Taylor has struggled with for the past 2 years. She was so excited when she saw her score. She was dancing around like a crazy woman.

A proud daddy. Chris chased Nick most of the meet. He swears we will never take Nick to another gymnastics meet again!

Taylor with Coach Al...the Vault coach. I think even he was shocked at how well she did on the vault.

Taylor and both of her coaches

Taylor admiring her medals. She placed in all 4 events. This is a HUGE accomplishment for her.
Words cannot express how proud we are of Taylor.

Today is Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Halloween 2009

Simply put....Nick loved Halloween! He thought trick-or-treating was the greatest. Friday night we went to our church's trunk-or-treat where you trick-or-treat out of the trunks of people's cars. Then Saturday night we went over to our friend's house and had pizza and then we all loaded up on golf carts to trick-or-treat in their neighborhood. The houses aren't that close together so the golf cart made it a lot easier. As soon as the golf cart would stop Nick would jump off and make a run for the door. If he wasn't at the front of the crowd he would push his way to the front. As soon as he got his candy he would run back to the golf cart and throw his candy in his bucket. (He wouldn't take his bucket to the front door...too hard to run with.) He was then ready to go to the next house. He never tired of this. We didn't stop trick-or-treating until about 10 p.m. I wish I had brought our video camera to record his introduction to trick-or-treating. Chris and I had some good laughs watching him.

A picture of all the kids before trick-or-treating on Saturday night.

Nick as spiderman. He definitely wouldn't leave the hat or glasses to his costume on!

Nick making himself laugh. He was trying to do some spiderman pose. I think :)

Alex as Cleopatra

Taylor as a Hollywood starlett.

Lauren appropriately dressed as a Runway Diva. The attitude is just a built in personality trait. :)
If Halloween was this much fun I cannot wait to see Nick at Christmas this year!

Hard copy

We have received Nick's actual social security card!!!!

I was so grateful to the woman at the Department of Vital Statistics for all her help that I sent her a gift card. We would not have made the tax deadline if it wasn't for her! It is good to know that there are still good people in the world.

Just when you think it is all done...

Yesterday from 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. I called the social security office every 2 minutes trying to get through so I could get Nick's number. The card isn't ready but I was able to get his number after an hour of trying. I almost started crying when I got his number. How crazy is that! I guess I had had myself all worked up that it was such an emotional relief when I had his number.

I immediately called Chris (well texted) and then I called our accountant so he could electronically file our taxes yesterday. Phew!

Today I got a call from our accountant....our tax return was kicked back because Nick's social security number was not recognized. Too new! WHAT!!!!! All that and it is not recognized. So I had to go and sign a hard copy of our tax return at their office and then mail it off. There is still a chance it will be kicked back because when they review our taxes Nick's social security number may not be in the system at that time either. GRRR.....I guess I will deal with that when and if it happens. The tax return did get today's date on the postmark....today was d-day and it needed that date.

One of Chris' patients gave us these pumpkins. Nick thought it was fun to have his picture taken and then run to look at the picture on the camera.

Done!

This morning I applied for Nick's social security number! I only had to wait 1 hour. Once I was at the window it didn't all go smoothly. Their computer wouldn't allow passing some page because there wasn't a specific county that Nick was born in the United States. I had to produce all kinds of documentation...adoption decree (in Russian?), health insurance card with his name on it and his certificate of U.S. citizenship. Fortunately, the lady was really nice and was very caring and considerate. She was trying to get it done for me. Which she did. She also gave me a phone number that I can call tomorrow to get Nick's actual number. Phew!

Of interest was that the lady helping me at the Social Security office had gone to a luncheon on Monday and listened to a lady talk about her recent Russian adoption. The lady speaking was my friend, Lisa! How weird was that.

One year ago today we met Nick! This is a picture of the very first moment we meant him! I remember walking into the room and getting all choked up when I saw him. How we love this little boy. We cannot imagine our lives without him.

Friday...

There wasn't a birth certificate in the mail Thursday but today at 4:05 p.m. the birth certificate arrived. By 4:36 p.m. I was at the Social Security office.....doors locked. They closed at 4 p.m. Grrrr...and guess what? Monday is a holiday so they are not open. This would almost be comical if it weren't such a vital thing to get finished.