RALLY NEWS

It has been a while

2011-04-22T16:54:00.001-07:00

Lazy Days Of Summer

2010-06-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

Summer seems to be here as far as the weather is concerned...I think we have been in the pool more already this year compared to last year. Some hot and muggy days......but I am loving it. The pool water temp has been pleasant, not too hot or cold, just perfect. The kids are out of school and I have been picking up the habit of staying up too late reading and sleeping in, Sydney included. Just finishing the book "The Shack"....an interesting take on God, religion and how we perceive good and evil. It makes you think. I am looking forward to less running with the kids(to and from school, after school activities etc.) and hanging at the house working on projects and swimming. The patio garden is doing well, I have quite a few tomatoes, some peppers starting, okra, and flowers on my zucchini and squash. Funny thing is I never have any luck with the latter two I mentioned. I always get flowers....they fall off and I get NOTHING....well looks like that pattern is repeating itself so far. Why can I not grow one of the easiest things to grow???? Oh well we will wait and see.

Tom and I, well mostly Tom, are re-doing our front patio and building a sidewalk and adding a little flower bed. We are also changing the porch to our entrance at the front door....with all the remodeling, adding on etc., we have neglected the front of our house. It always bothered me...I feel like it is not real welcoming. There is no sidewalk to guide you to the entrance...you just kind of walk off the driveway into it. Anyway...I will post some before and after pics later....it will be a while before it is complete...hope to pour the cement this week...weather permitting! I get to stain the porch....it seems like In get the stain/paint jobs:)

I just received my order of goat milk soaps...I love it...great stuff, it makes your skin so soft...if anyone is interested you need to check it out....the link is to the right under "stuff I like to order".... and no I don't get a commission, they don't even know I am writing this. Just think its good stuff!

I am participating in on a blog called Creativity Boot Camp, taking pics and submitting them on flikr...not a contest or anything, just a way to set goals for yourself and challenge yourself. I am having fun with it.

Well I leave you with some pics of Sydney...we had a little photo shoot and I kind of liked them. YES I TAKE PICS OF THE BOYS, when I can catch them. They usually give me a hard time!!!

BUSY

2010-05-31T05:57:00.001-07:00

We have been so busy....just a few pics today...some flowers:

the beach:

Will post more later.

What we do all day

2010-05-02T12:32:00.001-07:00

Took some pics of our day on Friday ...thought I would document our day.

Woke up 5:45 am, eat, got kids off to school, dropped the boys off at three different schools, picked up "Grammy" and headed back to the house cause it was a beautiful 85 degree day and we spent the day outside.

Sydney rode her car on the deck

Grammy sat in the sun
Sydney rode
And rolled
down her coaster
We watered
and watered
and talked to
our garden
with our new watering can
we climbed
and climbed
up to
our slide
so proud she can
do it by herself
we rode like a big girl on the road
in the grass
across
a bridge
and took a break
to pick some flowers

then we had to take Grammy home, pick up some boys from school, came home and

cooked homemade pizza

Bugged big brother for a ride

And then we all worked on the yard........ then to bed to start over again!!!

Whats for Dinner

2010-04-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

This is a FOOD post for my friend Bonnie. She is always posting yummy food pics and recipes...so I thought I would give it a try...in much less detail and not as good as hers...any hoo:

WHAT IS THIS?

It is dinner, a spinach salad with fresh mushrooms, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados and roasted pine nuts with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. (red onions would have been great but did not have any) Now I am going to go eat it.

About pics

2010-04-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

The pics I posted today (different post) were of Tommy and his girlfriend Kelsey ...we went to Dino's Italian restaurant for his birthday yesterday. The others are of the veggies and the rain barrel we got at Sam's ....it's full now. Not great pics but at least it is something. Off to do bills.

Some Pics

2010-04-28T09:27:00.001-07:00

My son is 16 today

2010-04-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Wow ...its hard to believe Tommy is 16 today. I AM OLD. We are going to dinner for his birthday tonight ( got off work early today) he is bringing his girlfriend Kelsey too. I will be bringing my camera and will update later if I have time. It is pouring so they will be indoor pics. Good thing is the water barrel we got at SAMS to hook up to a gutter and recycle water for watering our veggies will be getting full...yeah. We are doing a patio garden this year....I have tomatoes, red peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, yellow squash, and zucchini planted in large pots and containers on our back patio.... it gets full sun, we don't use the patio for anything else, the rain barrel sits right there, I DONT HAVE TO WEED IT.... and it is easy for Sydney to water too. She has her own watering can and shovel, rake combo with the "Wonder Pets" on them. Also planting some garlic in the yard....I thought I would not fool w/ a garden this year...but as soon as the sun started shining and all of the trees filled in and bloomed, I got sucked in at Lowes and caved. Its fun and I love being outside, minus the weeding. A little is okay...but it seems to get overwhelming. Next yr I am going to try some Straw Bale gardening ...seems interesting. Will try to get some pics of my rain barrel and plants tomorrow. Well off to dinner.

working on uploading

2010-04-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

trying different ways to upload

Im back

2010-04-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

Trying out blogspot again...not as thrilled w/ my apple site as I thought I would be..testing out the upload of photos now that r computer is new.

Trying a new website/blog

2009-01-31T17:51:00.000-08:00

Hello, I am attempting to my blog to a website through apple because it takes soooo long to upload pics on here....so I will put my new website address here. Hope it works.

Ruth

http://web.me.com/thomasrally/Site/Welcome.html

New Addition

2009-01-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

Tongchai

No, we have not adopted again, however, we have sponsored a child from Thailand. His name is Tongchai and is eleven years old. This year for Christmas the boys decided it would be a great idea to sponsor a child instead of a ton of gifts from us. (with encouragement from us ). They still did get some gifts but we all agreed that this was a much better gift to help a child be able to eat and get medical attention. We all decided on Thailand and then the boys picked the age range, (so they will be able write each other). That narrowed it down to 9 boys and then we wrote each name on a piece of paper and let Sydney pick one. We sponsored through www.compassion.com . They are a Christian based organization which I researched thouroughly and use 83% towards the child and the rest is obviously used to run the site. 100% of additional donation goes directly to the child and family. If you are interested in sponsoring a child I highly recommend Compassion...the site is very organized and informational.

DAD

2009-01-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

Anthony Salvatore Tamburo, Sr.

August 17, 1930-Jan 2, 2009

I have been a terrible blogger lately . I have a lot of catching up to do. It has not been a good start to the new year. My Dad passed away due to complications from a fall and brain injury. I am thankful I was able to see him before he died and there to say goodbye . Although, he was in a coma and did not know we were even there. My relationship with my Dad has not been very close since my parents were divorced when I was 6. We did not spend a lot of time together and even went for several years without speaking. However, the last year and a half we kept in contact and he even came to visit us with my sister in June. We had a great time and I think he enjoyed himself and enjoyed being with the kids. He also apologized to me for the past and thanked me for having him here and said he never expected me to treat him so well. It must have took a lot for him to say that because he was never good with that. He also said he could not change the past and he wished he could. Those words meant so much and I am struggling with the fact that I could have done more as a daughter also. But it is what it is and as he said you can't change the past. Death is such a final reminder of what is important in life....not hanging on to the past, not clinging to anger and frustration, learning to forgive one another and learning to forgive yourself....reaching out even when you thought you have reached out all you could and loving each other through good and bad. In the end, that is really all that is important. My prayer is that my Dad is at peace.

2008-11-17T18:34:00.001-08:00

Fall...my favorite season

2008-10-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from a church picnic. We had a great time. The kids made apple juice from the apple press shown in the picture...it is dated 1885. Everything is original on it other than the legs. The juice was so good. We are all doing fine and I will post some more pics from our trip to Pittsburgh next time. Sydney is doing great...she is talking more and is really like the word "NO" She almost has all 4 molars in and has been very picky lately about what she eats. I am not sure if it is her teeth or what. Feeding her has become a challenge... that is a shocker because she would eat everything before. She also has become difficult with sleeping...waking up at night more and refusing sleep...especially naps. I have tried to let her cry it out...but she does not stop. She also is starting to get a little more clingy again with me and actually cuddles more (I like that ). She is going through a change I guess. The boys are doing good...keeping busy with school and activities. I can't keep up with them. They are having a Halloween party here...which means a houseful of boys....but really not different from any other weekend.

One new thing...I am taking Sydney to gymnastics once a week. I cannot believe I am admitting this on a blog. I know she is only 18 months old, but I wanted her to have a chance to run around with other kids her age and play. She is constantly with me and I thought it would be good for her. I did not know what to expect from the class or her but she did great. She did not hang on me and tried out all the stuff. She does need to learn to take turns. She has no concept of that. Also she pushed kids off of the stuff she wanted, not good. That could be for several reasons: 1. She is spoiled at home and gets what she wants. 2. her brothers wrestle with her and let her hit them(playing). 3. Or she is 18 mos old and that is what they do. Probably a combination of those things but we will try working on them. But all in all she did well and I saw a lot of the kids her age actually doing the things and not just running around so after some time I think she will catch on.

Florida Pics

2008-09-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Florida. My mom got to see her sister and Sydney did great on the flights. Bad thing is she does not like the beach too much. I did get a few pics of her when she actually did play a little, but for the most part she wanted held. I hope next time she will do better. We found an octopus (small) and I took a picture of that...it was actually hiding in one of the shells we got....I rescued him and put him back in the water....never saw one at the beach before. I love a vacation but it is always good to get home. I missed Tom and the boys, but this was mainly a vacation for my Mom so she could see the beach again and get to be with her sister. We keep trying to bribe the boys into going to the beach for Christmas and skip on presents....they are not all in agreement. I am not sure how hot it would be in Dec. but I would like to go to Sanibel Island ...we took the kids a year and a half ago and it was great. I cant believe a year ago we were on our way to Vietnam at this time ...Wow, how time flies. I miss Vietnam...I really enjoyed it and what a beautiful baby girl we have. We cannot imagine life without her. October 2nd is when we first held her. We have been so blessed with all of our children.

where did summer go???

2008-09-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

Summer is gone and boy does time fly. We have been so busy. We went back home to Pittsburgh in June and had a great visit with family and friends. We had lots of company this summer and I think the kids had a great time. Sydney got to meet cousins, and travel in a car for 7.5 hrs...she did much better than expected. The kids went back to school August 6th and are back to a routine again. Tommy is in the high school now (9th) Alex is in 6th and Anthony is in 4 th. They are doing very well and I am proud of them. Alex is taking saxophone in band and seems to like it. Tommy is on the Academic team again and Anthony wants to try out for the Academic team. Sydney is doing great...she is walking and running everywhere and NEVER stops. If she has nowhere to go she will walk in circles. This is why I never blog...either the kids are on the computer or Sydney is awake and not much gets done. My house cleaning now has to be done on weekends with help from the kids....they have been very helpful especially Tommy with housework....Anthony always volunteers to watch Sydney so he can get out of house work....but it helps. Sydney is around 19 lbs. now and is starting to say more and more words. she tells me "poo poo" when she has to go but not quite ready for the potty chair. We brought it out so she can get familiar with it but not going to rush that. Her appetite has decreased a little lately, I think it is because she is getting some teeth in including molars so she probably is a little uncomfortable right now. We are going to St pete beach ....Sydney and my mom...that is where Mom had lived until a few yrs ago... and we are taking a little vaca hurricanes cooperating hopefully. Should be fun...my aunt is going to meet us there and my sister from Pittsburgh is coming too. Well a small update but better than nothing.

More Pics

2008-09-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

Adoption video

2008-08-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hello....I know I have been out of touch...so excited I finally got our adoption video when we first received Sydney on the blog. It was not easy...at least for me...hope u will enjoy it. If I get some time I have new pics and updates on here soon.
Ruth

2008-08-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

2008-08-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Tons of Pics

2008-05-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have been a very bad blogger. We have been so busy...kids are out of school, I can't ever get much time on the computer and then I had an issue with my computer and uploading my pics from my camera. Sydney turned "1" on May 19th...I can't believe it. Tommy turned 14 on April 27th...ugh. We are having his party in June...he wanted to wait till our pool was open...but we did have a small family party for him already. So, I will just say that these pics are from the last 2 mos....some of Tommy,s party and Sydney's party and some between and after...all 67 of them and yes I have a few repeats in there but oh well....I will write more when I have time but wanted to get something on the blog.

Feels like spring to me

2008-04-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hello....I am so excited because I finally figured out how 2 post more than 5 pics on a blog and also figured out how to reduce the size of the photo before posting them and now it takes like only 30 seconds to download 5...not 20 minutes...

We all have been doing great. Sydney had her shots a few weeks ago and thank God she did much better with this round. She is 29 inches tall and still only 16.13lbs...light weight. I don't know how she is not heavier...she eats EVERYTHING.

She has now started eating cherios instead of the puffed cereal for babies. She loves to crunch it with her front teeth...I think she likes the sound it makes. Her newest word is DODDIE (DOGGY) She now waves at every THING and person. She walks across the floor with a laundry basket...I think she likes it better than the actual walking toy with wheels because it moves slower and she feels more secure...I only wish she would sort the laundry ...oh well.

Sydney is going to be a year on May 19th and I cannot believe she has been with us over 6 mos already. I am starting tonight with whole milk/ formula mixture. Since she came to the US and we started her on American formula, she has had a tough time with constipation. She is on a prescription laxative...if I miss one dose...She poops rocks...I feel it is the formula. I read some other blogs that people had the same problem and they changed formulas and it stopped. Well she is almost done with formula anyway and so I am going to give it a try. Wish us luck. She looks so in distress and is miserable when leaving me her little gift in the diaper. She is drinking more juice(pear) and eats prunes, and lots of veggies I just cannot see the reason for the constipation unless it is the make up of this particular formula.

The boys are doing great, they are out of school for spring break and Alex stayed at a friends house they are going to a Legends (baseball) game in Lexington tonight. Tommy and Anthony each have a friend over and are running around in the yard with flashlights. Tom took off today because I worked and they worked on a project outside. They are digging dirt to put in a basketball court so we don't have to keep moving cars out of the driveway or repair bug deflectors on the cars because of wild basketballs hitting the vehicles. I took Sydney to my Moms to give the boys bonding time(digging time)

Congratulations to my friend Jennifer Hanks and her beautiful family....they brought Sara home from Guatemala and she is officially one of the Hanks Gang!!!! She seems to be adjusting well and looks so happy...I am truly happy for Jennifer...she is an awesome person.

Until next time....have a great week...Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Ready for Spring

2008-03-16T16:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are all ready for spring to get here. Poor Sydney has been sick for over 2 wks...we had 3 Doctor visits and finally they gave her an antibiotic....I guess after 2 weeks of fever, coughing and congestion , runny nose it turns into bronchitis and and ear infection....need I say it has been a LONG 2 wks and Sydney is not a very pleasant sick baby. Along with her temper and being totally spoiled....it was a challenge. However, she seems to be recovering and the pleasant little cutie is finally back. She did however think of me and decided to share the virus turned bronchitis/ear infection with me.....Oh well...I much rather be sick than her....lets hope it ends with me. So I have been somewhat out of commission and not in the mood to blog.

Good news is my friend Sarah is on her way home with her baby boy from Vietnam. He is so cute....looks well fed!!! This has been such a stressful time for her (and anyone who adopts) I am so glad she finally has her baby.

Really not a lot new on this end...the boys are doing good....Tommy is at an academic team conference and Alex and Anthony and Daddy are having a play station marathon....drives me nuts. They better enjoy it now because when the weather gets nice they are banned from it. I am trying to get some cleaning done but this cold has me down...at least I accomplished doing the laundry. Here are a few pics. The one with Sydney and Alex is when she was feeling pretty rough... The bathtub pic is her first real bath tub bath....not the kitchen sink bath.

Some more pics

2008-03-03T21:57:00.000-08:00

I have been practicing with my camera and have been using a site a fellow blogger has recommended called www.picnik.com. You can edit and do all of this fun stuff to your pictures and I am having a blast. Right now it is 1 am and Sydney is still up. She has a virus with a high fever and has been so miserable, however the motrin has kicked in and she has decided it is play time.....I am tired and not going to make it to work tomorrow, I can't leave her with my Mom when she is sick like this. The Doctor did check for the flu and it was negative so I guess we wait it out with motrin and lots of hugs...the problem is she won't sleep in my arms or in the bed with me so she is most content if I hold her and walk....the walk part is very important to her ....so I am taking advantage of her happy time at the moment.. She is playing with her keyboard from an old computer right now. Alex, my 11 yr old is also sick....but does not feel as bad as Sydney.

My friend Sarah is in Vietnam and I am waiting for her to email me....if she happens to read this, hint, hint. Prayers for her and a speedy return home with her new son.

Well, Sydney is messing with the dog now so I need to go. Hope you enjoy the pics

More pics

2008-02-29T18:15:00.001-08:00

Sydney's Progress

2008-02-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

I have not posted much on what Sydney is up to these days so I thought I would share these milestones.

Sydney is very mobile right now and running me ragged. She is crawling everywhere, and pulling herself up on things. She also is falling down and bumping her head. She really wants to climb and I fear she will be climbing out of her crib when the time comes. She also loves anything that is not a toy, remotes, phones, calculators etc. Now that she is mobile she is not so content being held and is always trying to get down.

She is about 17 pounds and loves food. Not baby food...our food, she has not turned anything down. Her favorites are avacodos, yogurt, chicken, roast, refried beans (messy later) hot and sour soup and tofu. Yes she is only 9 months old and the doctor would cringe but she wont eat baby food, only the bananas....oh well. She does feed herself by picking up the food with her fingers but still wants me to hold her bottle. She has 2 teeth on the bottom and the top 2 have just started to cut the gum so today she was cranky pants.

She is saying hi, Dada and Mama. She blinks her eyes and shakes her head NO, although I don't think she understands it means NO.....but will all too soon.

She LOVES Walmart or anywhere that she sits in a shopping cart....she can last for hours...she also loves going out to eat and sits so well in the highchair. This was something we never did with the boys because it was a nightmare. They hated it.

Sydney still sleeps all night and takes 2-3 naps a day unless we are out and about and then she just keeps on going without a nap. She still will not take a nap with me and loves her crib for nap time. I have tried to cuddle and I pretend to sleep and she will just smack me in the head and pull my hair and laugh and carry on...maybe someday she will take a nap with me. I need to be happy that she does so well in her crib.... I just would like more cuddle time.

Well thats all on her. I did just get a new camera for my big 40th bday tomorrow. I love it!!! I am practicing with it now and the photos in todays posts are from it. It is the Nikon D 40 and I hope to get more creative with it. I need to learn all of the features yet but am working on it.

My friend Sarah Apple left today for Vietnam to get her baby boy so congratulations Sarah and we will be praying for you and for a safe return.

I don't know why my pics turned out sideways but it took forever to upload them so turn your head.

SNOW DAY

2008-02-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

We had a snow day today.... the kids were so excited. I bought 2 innertubes yesterday in hopes for snow, I guess it worked. Sydney rode on Tommy's lap and had fun. We did not stay out too long, I was afraid it was too cold.

Updates

2008-02-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

Hello

I love the picture of Sydney by the window...it shows how tiny she is....she loves to look outside. I cannot wait until spring gets here to get her out more. The picture with her rubbing her face is her I want to go to sleep now look. I also included my haircut to show Lynn my updated hair...no more big hair.

I did finally get my tax stuff together and am praying for a decent tax return to help offset the adoption expenses. The tax lady has had them for almost 2 wks...I wish she would hurry up. But it is a relief to have them out of my hands.

Tom has knee surgery Thursday and is recovering well. In a couple weeks he will have surgery on the other knee which will be more involved but hopefully he will get relief.

A friend of mine has gotten her I600 approval to be able to travel to adopt in Vietnam...yippee. Prayers are answered.

Sydney is tearing up my office right now so I must cut this short. She is not happy unless she is getting into things. Ha...the fun begins.

Pictures of Sydney's dedication at church

2008-02-17T15:21:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was Sydney's baby dedication at church, yes Lynn I am sporting the "big 80's hair". However, I did just get it cut so I am more in style now. Sydney was so good for her big day!

Spelling errors

2008-02-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Hey...just want to let people know I know I have spelling errors and I used to be able to back in to the post and edit the spelling after it had posted. No such luck now...is it me or does someone know how to get in to change the post with deleting the whole thing. I hate having spelling errors. Ugh!!!!

Sydney pics

2008-02-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's been a while

2008-02-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

Well I have no excuse...I have been MIA, Where to begin....Christmas was great....however after Christmas I had a bout with a kidney stone. I have a type of kidney disease in which your kidney's produce tons of stones. I have seen a nephrologist for this and am supposed to be on a low sodium diet, take a water pill and watch my intake of oxalates...oh and drink 3 liters of water a day(HA HA) I hate water. If I could drink 3 liters of water in 3 months it would be a miracle. Any way I have never had pain and no kidney stone had ever came out of my kidney...so needless to say for the past 3 yrs I did not take my meds or follow the advice of my Doctor....did I say I love salt??? Well since before Vietnam I would get these pains in my back and abdomen that would last a day or so and go away...I figured it was nothing. Well, in Vietnam it happened again where I was curled up like a baby for a few hours in some pretty bad pain and then it just stopped. I was not going to see a Doctor there so I was so glad it went away on it's own. Then at the end of December it happened again but it was misery. I was in so much pain with nasea and and I could not keep any thing down I made a trip to thee ER and they told me it was a kidney stone.....gave me pain med and sent me home and told me I would probably pass it...they did not give me a strainer and I quit hurting so I thought well I guess I passed it. I had a regular check up with my General Doctor and he read the scan results and asked if I had a follow up scan, I said no. He was shocked...he said the results of the scan said the stone was 6mm and no way did I pass it.. So I had a follow up scan on Friday, woke up Sunday dying in pain and called him at home. He called the radiologist and yes the stone was still there. Ended up needing surgery and they broke it up with a lazer...the urologist said it was huge...apparently bigger than 6mm and I had it there for several months...my kidney was not functioning and I was lucky that I did not lose it. Any how....I lost a lot of weight from it...24 lbs...which I needed to lose but I prefer not that way. So now I am doing much better, taking my meds, lowering the salt and am drinking more...cool aid, grape and lime...but no not any plain water.

The kids are doing great. Tommy , my oldest, is getting so tall....He is 13 and almost as tall as me now...I am 5'10. He is getting lean and taking on that not a little boy anymore look and it is so strange. I am not sure how I feel about him growing up. It makes me feel old....but it is nice to see him maturing. He is doing great in school and did well this year on the academic team. He does so well in math and social studies. He goes to Louisville next month for the state math compition for the academic team.

Alex is doing good in school also...he seems to do well in social studies and math like his brother. He really is creative and is a hands on kid. He loves to draw and cook. He helps his Dad with mechanical stuff in is a wiz on the computer...I often need his help cause I am lost on this thing. That is why I have 2 identical pics on my last post and I cannot figure out how to take one off. Oh well.

Anthony is also doing good in school and math is his strong point. His favorite thing in the world is play station and he wants to be a game maker...I guess thats what you would call it...and he wants to design games for play station. He is only 9 and I am sure that may change a thousand times.

Sydney is also doing great...she is 9 mos old, has a tiny sliver of a tooth coming in...a head full of hair, 15.9 lbs, eats anything you give her and gets mad if you are eating and don't feed her it too...no matter how full she may be ( which is hard to beleive for how tiny she is),is just starting to get close to crawling, not standing or pulling up yet, still sleeps all night...says da da, ma ma, throws a ball, and shakes her head no, and at the point of getting into anything she can get to. The boys are still great with her and she really has been a wonderful blessing and has each one of us wrapped around her little finger. I am enjoying every minute with her and am blessed to be home with her. I only work on Tuesdays and my Mom and sister watch her then. Other than that she is never away from me.

Tom is doing good, his job is going well and he absolutely spoils Sydney...it is pretty neat to see him with her. He heats up her towel by the fire so it is warm after her bath, heats up her baby lotion .... Dresses her by the fireplace....spa treatment. He has been having trouble with his knees so I am praying he can get some relief..I hate to see him in pain...he is such a work horse and I hate to see him struggling with that.

Well a little update since I have been so bad at blogging. My next job is getting all my tax stuff together...so I may be MIA for a bit. And Jennifer Hanks if you are reading this....I know you tagged me but I don't know how to do that link thing you are talking about so I will call you and make you walk me through it.

Oh, last but not least CONGRATULATIONS LYNN SIEGLER....my best friend since kindergarten is having a baby...this will be her second. Yippeeee. She lives in Texas and we will be praying for a happy, healthy, non-throwing up pregnancy for you.

And prayers for my friend Sarah Apple who is still WAITING and WAITING for a travel call to go pick up her baby boy from Vietnam. Hang in there girl.

Until taxes are done,
Ruth

Christmas is fast approaching

2007-12-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

Before you know it, Christmas will be here. We have been so busy with school and church activities, Christmas parties, Doctor appointments and after school activities....run, run, run. I am ahead this year because presents are wrapped....a few little things to get yet, however not one cookie is made(TOM) I love to cook but really dont like to bake...I dont like to measure anything and that can make for a bad batch of cookies. So Tom is the cookie maker. I am really looking forward to Christmas break.....as long as the kids don't fight..ha ha ha. I am looking forward to staying in my pj's, not dropping kids off to school and sleeping in till 8, thats when Sydney prefers to get up. I am hoping for snow sometime when they are off, hot chocolate, movies and a warm fireplace. Basically, I want to be lazy and hang out with the kids. Since I have an easy 1 day a week job (Tuesdays) I am off for 2 wks since Christmas and New Year's Day fall on a Tuesday. Well I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

A Great Friend, Jennifer Hanks

2007-12-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone...a little update on the family. We are all doing wonderful. Sydney is so well adjusted and is a true blessing to our family. The boys are all doing great and are so helpful with Sydney...they are fantastic with her. She is spoiled rotten. Our lives have changed dramatically, and for the better....I have learned a lot about being patient through this adoption adventure and that all good things do come to those of us who wait and trust that God will make things work in his time.

However, I am writing this blog today to recognize a person who I admire dearly, and that is Jennifer Hanks. I met Jennifer over the phone about a year ago when I talked to her about advice on adoption. She has adopted three beautiful children from Guatemala. She and her husband have been so helpful to us throughout our journey. Jennifer is now in the midst of adopting her fourth child, beautiful Sara, an eight year old from Guatemala. Jennifer and her husband Tim already have visited Sara this past fall. As many of you know, adoptions from Guatamala are going through some tough times so this is a very stressful situation for the Hanks family right now.

I would like to say that no matter what Jennifer is going through, she is always more concerned about everyone else. I have never met Jennifer in person, but we talk on the phone, through emails and read each others blogs. In each blog entry I read of hers, she is always praying for friends and families who are going through tough times. She was my strength when I was in Vietnam and things were questionable about bringing Sydney home. Jennifer is so strong in her faith and truly leaves things in God's hands...knowing that the best will happen when it is time. I admire her so much for her patience and strength. Jennifer is a beautiful person, caring and selfless and I try to be like her every day...but fall pretty short. So I am asking anyone who reads this to say a prayer for the Hanks family and pray that Sara will come home soon. It is time for Jennifer to get her miracle....she prays for everyone elses... Thank you for being you Jennifer.

Ruth

Sydney

2007-11-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

I am a bad blogger. But, yes we have our beautiful baby girl Sydney. We have been home a little over a month and she is such a blessing. Sydney sleeps 11 hrs at night, eats good and is becoming so animated and full of life since we first got her. The boys are in love with her and yes sheis spoiled rotten. I will post some pics and write more later..life is very busy with 4 children. But I want to thank everyone for the prayers and support during our adoption, it was a stressful journey but that seems so long ago already. We are blessed.

Get your Visa call

2007-09-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

FINALLY...we got the call. Yipee....I am sending our passports for visa's today. Our travel date is expected to be about Sept 29th...we will know more in a week or 2. They have not scheduled the giving and receiving ceremony yet but expect it to be the first week of October. I will write more when I know. we are getting closer.

Change for a child fundraiser

2007-08-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

Well its the end of August and it is the end of a three month fundraiser for our adoption through our church. They thought of this fundraiser, "Change for a Child" and have collected"change for the past three months. Today they presented the collection to our family. They had posters up with this poem:

"Change for a Child"

Somewhere in Vietnam there is a child who needs things to change
Somewhere in Vietnam there is a child who is going to see things change.
She will become a sister to Tommy, Alex and Anthony.
She will become a daughter to Tom and Ruth.
And everything will change.
Please save your pocket change and bring it to church the last Sunday in each month this summer.
Let's help the Rally's change a child's life.
Use your change for Change!
"The King will answer them, I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant (they seemed), you did for me."
Matthew 25:40

I thought that this was an awesome idea and am so grateful for everyone who donated time, money and prayers in helping ease the burden of the expenses during this adoption process. We lost count at $840.00...gave up on adding the pennies...but we will bring it to the bank tomorrow. Every little bit of change adds up and I have faith things will work out. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Someone in my yahoo group who got her referral on the same day as we did from the same orphanage got her travel date on Friday. I am so happy for her and I also hope that means that the rest of us get some travel news too.
Have a great Day

We have come a long way, baby

2007-08-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

I have been busy with my Mom lately...she has had some issues with her ankle, they think she may have a stress fracture and we are waiting for results from a bone scan. Recently she has had double vision ( not that her regular vision is very good with macular degeneration ). We went to her eye specialist yesterday and he thinks she had a stroke in her eye (not the same as a regular stroke ) in her third cranial nerve in the eye. It should repair itself but it could take three months. So she is hobbling around with an air cast and is dizzy and seeing double, poor Mom. This has been hard for me...adjusting to health issues for mom....knowing that she is 80 and deteriorating health wise. It is always something I have thought about but really didn't want to face or expect to face so soon. But really is it "so soon", she is 80. Not that she is on her death bed....but little things I notice...as she becomes more and more dependent on me for things ( which I gladly do, I am very close to my mom) , however it is sad...her regressing into a child almost...the woman that I looked to for help or advice ...who made me poached eggs on toast and sat by my bed side and patted my arm till I fell asleep (up until I was 14)...who I called everyday when she lived in Florida and she raised 5 children on her own. She was the strong one and now I feel as if she is a child and the tables are turned and I have lost that strong mother in a sense. I do a lot for her and take her out everyday and yet I feel as if I am not doing enough....it is hard to divide the time between my three boys, Tom , work, house work and this adoption process. Sometimes I wonder if God planted the adoption seed in my head to help me when Mom is not here anymore. Not that the boys don't keep me busy but the demands of a baby or toddler require more of your attention and time. As I said, I am hoping Mom gets"better" and by no means do I think she is leaving me anytime soon...but these are just some worries I have had on my mind and thought I would write about them.
As far as our adoption is concerned, no news on travel. But recently have thought about this whole process and am amazed at how far we have come. I am remembering all of the paperwork...the trips to Frankfort...reading and rechecking the paperwork and still screwing things up. I remember thinking that this process will never end or that I would never get my I171H in the mail.....that we would never get our referral ...and here we are 7 wks ago we got our referral. The first two weeks after the referral went fast because you are so excited and showing everyone the picture.....then it drags.....more waiting. Hoping to get an updated picture but it does not come, wishing for a speedy travel date every time the phone rings...checking your email 20 times a day. It is a wonder that I get the stuff done around the house that I do. Of course in the midst of all of this you have people asking you constantly about the adoption. "When are you going...did you hear anything new...why can't you just adopt an American baby...how much does it cost to adopt." You know people are interested but sometimes you just don't want to talk about it.... The best or maybe worst I have heard is...."Well at least it is easier than having your OWN baby" Well first of all she is My Own baby...I already love her as much as my boys and I only have seen her in a picture. Second of all I had three babies and it was much easier than this whole process..the waiting , the unknown, the endless and mostly ridiculous mounds of paper work, the home study and the financial burden. I only had $20.00 copay to have my boys...And I didn't have to prove that my septic system is working properly or send a picture of every room in my house , or collect three years tax returns etc. etc. etc. There is nothing easy about adoption and or parenting for that matter. I know that going through this has taught me a little about patience (or taught me that I have none). I also have learned that things will happen the way they are supposed to and that things are never as bad as they seem. I am very blessed that I have a healthy family and more than I ever deserved ..a great husband and children. There are so many people out there who are dealing with so many bigger problems and issues in their lives....that it puts our lives into perspective. So I wait patiently (as patiently as I can) and trust that God will help us get through this journey when the time comes. We have come a long way, baby and soon we will be bringing you home.

Back to School

2007-08-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Well we are back to our routine....school, homework and decent bedtimes. I think the kids are liking school. Our Wednesday night church started up again and we are all doing well. The heat has been a bit too much....I am on the "countdown" for fall. Fall means cooler weather, awesome leaves, pumpkins, candy apples, crisp air and hopefully soon, a trip to Vietnam. I talked to our caseworker a little over a week ago and she feels we should get our travel call by the end of this month...I hope so. But until I get the "call", I won't get my hopes up too much. The waiting is tough but I do know all of this has really moved along much faster than most so I will not complain. Tom has had a lot of stress at work and it has been very busy that I think he is looking forward to this trip more and more just to get a way for a bit. He is looking forward to the adoption, just not the travel part of it. We are pretty well packed for the most part....a few loose ends to tie up and minor paperwork. not much else I can do until we get the official travel date. I have been keeping very busy cleaning the house (spring cleaning in the summer) washing walls, moving furniture , baseboards etc. Tom thinks I am "nesting", maybe he is right. Although I am one of those strange people who loves to clean. I also have been keeping busy with my mom, we cleaned her house too. Her ankle has been hurting her so the Doctor took an x-ray and thinks she may have a stress fracture although he wants a bone scan too make sure. So he ordered her a "boot" air cast thing and it does make it feel better. After the bone scan I guess he may refer her to a specialist depending on the results. I hope it is not anything major because we are likely to be leaving in September and I hate to leave her if she needs help. We will cross that bridge when we get to it. We did hear back from the place that we applied for an adoption grant but unfortunately we were denied. Oh well, we will survive....I am sure there are people out there that needed it more than us, but it sure would of helped. Sorry I am skipping around here... Well , hopefully soon I will have more news and will update then. Until next time....

Kentucky Down Under

2007-07-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hello!

No news on the adoption. We have not gotten any updates or new pics yet. Hopefully all will go well for travel in September. In the mean time I have been keeping busy with the boys and my Mom as well as getting some cleaning done. I have not been as energenic with the heat and humity....I LOVE FALL and welcome it....not much of a hot weather person. I took the kids to Kentucky Down Under on Thursday. We had a great time. Alex took his camera he got for his birthday and took some pictures. We got to pet a kangaroo, feed sheep, milk a cow and got to go in a cave. It was pretty nice. I especially enjoyed the cave since it was 60 degees in there. I didn't want to come out. The kids are getting anxious for school and we got their supplies last week. Trying to enjoy the last bit of vacation before our routine sets in. I will keep you posted if anything new and exciting happens.

Busy

2007-07-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Its been a while since I have posted anything. We have been so busy. The day after our referral our corrected I 171 H came so that was two great days in a row. We had company, my niece and her boyfriend and new baby girl came to visit. We had a great time and it gave us experience with a newborn. I don't believe she was out of any one's arms the whole time she was here! I have been busy trying to get things ready for our trip to Vietnam....all the little items..meds, diapers, creams, clothes, gifts for the officials etc. No matter how light you pack, it takes up so much room. Anthony helped me pick out the clothes for Sydney...he had to have matching socks for each outfit. I know we won't be going for a while but I want to be prepared because I know I will go into panic mode when we get"THE CALL". Alex had his 11 th birthday on Monday and he is having a party with a few friends today. We went school clothes shopping today...they already got letters from teachers and start back on the 6th of August. Summer is flying by in one way but seems slow when waiting for a travel date. I am growing tired of the heat and humidity...I am more of a cool weather person which should make traveling to Vietnam interesting. Hopefully if we go in September it won't be quite as bad. Well that's all the news I have for now.

WE GOT OUR REFERRAL !!!!!!!

2007-07-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

We got our referral today. Our new baby girl is beautiful! She was born on May 19, 2007. Since she is not officially ours yet, I am not posting any pictures at this time. I am so excited I can't think straight. I'll write again when I know more and can take this all in.

My Mom's 80 th birthday and Vaccines

2007-07-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Its been a while since I have entered anything. We have been very busy. Summer is flying by. Mom had her 80th birthday on June 28th and my brother came from Pittsburgh to surprise her. We had a great time. We had a cookout and had great hot weather to use our pool. We have also been trying to finish up some projects around the house. We always have too many started and not enough finished.

On the adoption front......no referral yet ....I won't speculate either July or August. We did get our vaccines last week ....Japanese Meningitis, Yellow fever, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid...and we get to go back in a week for one more and then 30 days after that for another one. We also got a prescription for malaria pills and Cipro (antibiotic) to bring with us. Tom did great with the shots I had muscle aches and the worst headache for 2 days but I am doing good now.

I did have an issue with the I171 H , apparently I filled out the application wrong (go figure) so for another 200 $ and a new updated form they will fix my mess up. Hopefully it won't take long to get back. It is a quick fix...all they need to do is forward my original application to the Embassy in Vietnam...I apparently did not check the right block when filling out my application. I still don't quite get how that should cost 200$ ....but then there are a lot of frustrating things about this whole adoption process that I just don't get so I can add it to the list. Sherrell from my agency said it was not a big deal and it won't change our referral, so that is somewhat encouraging. I just didn't handle the news well and had a rough week. Tom bought me roses with an "It's a girl" card and balloon attached to them. He wrote some nice things and told me we will get through this. It was very nice. We saw Evan Almighty this weekend and at one point "God" said...."When we ask for patience, God does not just give you patience.....He gives you opportunities to be patient." That really hit home. I have had soooo many opportunities to be patient...now I have to really work on it.

Tommy is going to church camp and before you know it the kids will be going back to school...they start back on August 6th this year. Well , that is all for now...until next time.

Update

2007-06-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Officially, all documents are in Vietnam and our I797C is on it's way. Relief. Now a whole new set of worries.... Our adoption agency told us that we should have our referral in about one to 2 mos. That caught me by surprise. She said we are in the next group of 4 families and she actually has a "Batch " of baby referrals on her desk and one is ours. "Batch" is her terminology...like they are cookies. She has to wait the proper time required by Vietnam before she can send out the referrals. Once we get one , it will be several pictures of our baby girl and a limited medical history/blood work. Our agency recommends having these evaluated by a pediatric physician before we agree to accept that referral. We found a doctor who specializes in international pediatric medicine located in Lexington and she will review the records and also supply us with info, meds etc. for our trip to pick her up. She will be available 24 hrs a day during our trip and gives us cell phone # and Internet access to contact her if any medical question should come up while we are in Vietnam. Once we accept our referral it should be 2-3 mos before we can get her.
Of course this is all speculation and nothing is definite. Just somewhat of a time line that we have been told. We did pick out a name....I'm not sure if I have posted it yet....Sydney Marie Rally....we will insert her given name somewhere...I just don't know it yet.
Until next time......

Vacation Pictures

2007-06-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Little monkeys on the run

2007-06-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot, while we were in Animal Kingdom, the boys called..."Mom, Mom....come here...look at these little monkeys." We go over and these 3 little monkeys were standing on the hand rail and in some shrubs...you could have touched them....I am thinking Wow this beats that petting zoo with the goats and sheep. Tommy gets real close to take a picture. All of a sudden a worker comes with a walkie talkie and apparently these moneys escaped from their area which was surrounded by water and they usually don't cross water. The trees by the railing had grown enough and they jumped over. She said .." I'm glad you didn't touch them they have razor sharp teeth and are aggressive. What a fun trip that could have been....getting Rabi shots on our Disney trip. And out of the whole family I would have been the idiot who would try to pet the little monkey ( I didn't)

BACK FROM VACATION AND OUR I797C (I 171H) CAME

2007-06-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Again

We have been so busy and we also went on vacation so I have not had time to write. OUR IMMIGRATION APPROVAL FINALLY ARRIVED. I mailed the copy to our agency and she will take care of the rest. All of our other papers have been sent to Vietnam for translation. She will fax a copy of the approval to Vietnam and they will start the translation knowing that they will receive the authenticated copy soon. So ....more waiting. We planned this vacation to Disney and Sanibel island 8 mos. ago before we realized we were going to officially adopt. I am so glad we went...I was worried about the money but we had already paid for the trip or we probably would not have gone considering we are adopting. We had a great time and I am glad we could enjoy it with the boys. Its much harder to travel with a baby. We brought our food into the park and took turns carrying the back pack...(I got stuck with the most) It helped cut down on the expenses. The beach was great ....we rented a beach cottage with our friends from Cape Coral.... Stan and Bonnie and their boys Easton and Everest. We saved that for last to help recover from walking all over Disney. It was a much needed vacation but it is good to be home.

STRESSED OUT

2007-05-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Not sure where to begin. A couple of weeks ago I took mom and we went to Frankfort to get our adoption documents authenticated by the state. It was a great day and we get to the building and there were a ton of steps. Mom did great. She had to use her inhaler halfway up but I was quite impressed. For those of you who don't know my mom she will be 80 in June and has COPD and uses oxygen at night. Of course we are still waiting for immigration to send the approval letter and I am becoming impatient. People here told me it only took them 2 or 3 weeks to get theirs back, we are going on the 5th week. I sent all of the original copies of our documents to the Vietnam consulate in CA, and they are processing those. I had to send our photo pages , applications for Vietnam, a large check etc. to our adoption agency in MD. I sent it priority mail since it was mainly copies and they guarantee 2 day delivery. My advice to anyone adopting (which I should have known better) NEVER SEND ANYTHING USPS, USE FED EX
!!!!!! The post office in MD has LOST my package. Tracing the package shows it got to the post office.... but not delivered. Its been over a week and well I'm cranky. I had to cancel the 2 checks which cost me 50 $ plus the photos .....I know its not the end of the world but I get discouraged and think..."Maybe its a sign I shouldn't be doing this"....Tom says "no, it's a sign people don't know how to do a job." so tomorrow I will again reprint the photos and wait for the agency to send me new things to fill out and maybe I will fly them there myself. I guess I can try Fed ex. Okay, now that my pity party is over...Good news......We worked hard this week at the church and people donated items for a yard sale in support of our adoption and we had the yard sale today. We raised $600.00 and plan to do one next week too. I had so much help from the church, Stacy and Greg Nunley, Debbie Moore, Vivian, Doris and Vernon, Phil and Joyce Fox, Sam and Ed Tye, LeeAnn Strunk, Cheryl Tinsley, Uncle Hugh and my mom......of course my kids...and Joey that includes you too ...everyone that donated the items as well as anyone I may have forgot to mention....THANK YOU....Everything helps...My candle fundraiser is going on till the 15th of May and then I give up on the fundraisers. It is exhausting and its hard to ask so much of people.....it will work out in the end. So, I will try to be optimistic that things happen for a reason and that when bad things happen ...good things can turn out from them. Adoption is just a very stressful thing with loads of paperwork and waiting, waiting, waiting. We have been blessed with three great boys and I know that someday we will be blessed with a wonderful daughter.

Horses

2007-04-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Ginger with her new baby

Honey

Red, Ely and Buddy

Ginger and her new baby

These are some pictures of our neighbors horses. Ginger just had her baby girl this morning and the kids wanted to take some pictures.

Progress

2007-04-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hello again,
I finally received my passport on Friday. We are just waiting for immigration approval. Our church is sponsoring a big yard sale on May 5th for a "fundraiser" to help the adoption expenses. The congregation is donating items and of course I have a huge amount of yard sale stuff collected already at our house. The kids have collected clothes and old toys from their rooms to donate. We are also going to have a candle fundraiser from the candles I sell and hopefully we can raise some more. A big thank you to my friend Julie Allman who sent me a check recently to put in our "baby" fund. We really appreciate it. The kids and I went to a big consignment sale and got a lot of pretty baby clothes for cheap. 1 and 2 dollar outfits that are in beautiful condition. Not much else new....just keeping up with the boys and soccer schedules. Hopefully my next post will be about immigration approval!

April Update

2007-04-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

Hello,

A little update about our process. We received Tom's passport in the mail last week and of course mine has not been processed yet....hopefully soon. Our homestudy was sent to immigration so really we are playing the waiting game. If all goes well we should get our approval in about 60 days but that all depends on if the paper work goes smoothly. We just pray that it does. These are pictures of some things my friend Lynn sent that were her daughter's. Thank you Samantha.....our first girly clothes and teddy bear.

Pictures

2007-03-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

These are various pics of our remodeling, our house, the nursery and the dog....These are for you Lynn.....Finally

The only other girl in this house ...KOHL

2007-03-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

mural I painted on kitchen wall

2007-03-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

2007-03-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

Dining room remodel

2007-03-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Kitchen remodel job

2007-03-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

Nursery Pics

2007-03-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

2007-03-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

2007-03-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

2007-03-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

2007-03-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

Nursery pics

2007-03-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

Nursery

2007-03-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

Hello,
The adoption paper chase is still going on. We are waiting for our passports (which should be here around April 9Th ) and for immigration. Our home study should be mailed to immigration within the next week and hopefully things will move smoothly after that. Our friend Vickie who works with Tom gave us a ton of baby things....she is moving and did not want to take them with her. So we had to go get the stuff before she moves. WOW we don't need much...she gave us a crib, car seats, bouncer chair, stroller, an exersaucer, tub, potty, toys, toddler bed etc. So we moved our office to the spare bedroom and started on the nursery....a little early but we had nowhere else to store it. I'm so excited. I did however purchase the crib sheet set from eBay a month ago because I am going with the "cow over the moon theme." Tom had bought me a painting for my birthday a few years ago and it is that theme and I love the painting and wanted to go with it. It is not frilly and pink but the stars I painted on the walls in the nursery are glittery and I think it is fine for a girl. I am posting some of the nursery pictures....it is a smaller room but good for a nursery, its close to our bedroom. When she gets older she can have a bigger room. The boys played with the toys in the nursery more than they played with the toys they had when they were babies.....go figure.

2007-03-10T06:35:00.000-08:00

March 9,2007

We started our Adoption Fund Raiser today. We are doing a raffle for a $225.00 Gold Canyon Candle basket loaded full of wonderful scents. The drawing will be on March 31, 2007. This will help to offset the adoption expenses. If all goes well, we may have one or 2 more raffles. This will help get rid of some of my candle stock. ( I am a demonstrator for Gold Canyon Candles) We are also going to have a big yard sale at Tom's work to help raise funds and spring clean too!

January 2007

2007-03-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

January 2007

We received the home study packet and chose our placement agency. We decided to go with Small Miracles and adopt from Guatemala. We started the home study appointments and sent back our application for Small Miracles. The boys are so excited. Alex wants the crib in his room. I reassured him he would change his mind after a night or two. I have completed the first round of the "Paper Chase."

February 2007

Due to the Governmental problems between Guatemala and the US, we have decided to switch countries...we are now adopting from Vietnam. Unfortunately the travel there is obviously more complicated and lengthy, but we are much more confident there will be less problems.
We are now going with World Child International. Fortunately the switch requires little change and we are moving along smoothly.

March 8, 2007

We have completed our final home study appt. They inspected the house and interviewed the children. It will take about 2 wks and the final draft will be completed and they can forward this last step to Immigration to process. That final process should take 60 days as long as there are no mistakes. Then we can complete our Dossier to be sent to Vietnam. According to the agency, we should be on target to travel in September. I have learned not to count on these things because adoption is never on time. We are awaiting our passports and authenticated marriage license. Those items should be here soon.

Our Vietnam Adoption Adventure

2007-03-10T05:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome from the Rally Family. 3-10-07

We have decided, after a couple of years of discussion, to add a new member to our family. We would love to have a little girl and so our adoption adventure begins. I will back track with the dates since we came to this decision at the end of January 2007. This blog will allow me to keep track of the adoption process and be a nice diary for our new daughter.