Chestita Baba Marta!!

Chestita Baba Marta!!

It's hard to believe that March 1st has already arrived.  Nikolas and I made bracelets earlier today to celebrate Baba Marta day.  We also made a few to share with friends.  It was a bit challenging with three kittens in the house, but they turned out great.  We really do enjoy celebrating Bulgarian holidays and traditions.  We hope to someday go back to Bulgaria for a homeland visit when Nikolas is old enough to appreciate it.

Lots of positive things seem to be happening in the adoption world.  We've watched as several of our friends brought their little ones home this year and others have received referrals to meet their children.  It's been so much fun watching the kids blossom with the love of a family.  We can't wait until it's our turn to go through that experience again.

We met with our social worker earlier this year for our annual home study update.  Home studies in Indiana are only good for one year.  Updating the home study requires us to get fingerprinted at the police department for a local background check, visit our doctor to have him sign off on a form saying we're still in good health, redo our CPS checks, and meet with our social worker for a couple of hours.  We'll also need to use this home study to update our USCIS approval, which expires in a few months.

Holiday Happenings 2013

I've been really bad about updating the blog lately.  We've just been so busy and it hasn't been at the top of my list.  December was full of holiday fun.  We decorated our tree, had a holiday open house for my Tastefully Simple business, went to Christmas at the Zoo, enjoyed Nikolas' therapy Christmas party, decorated a gingerbread house, baked lots of goodies and celebrated Christmas three times.  Although we enjoy the season, we're ready for life to get back to normal.  Jason goes back to work tomorrow and Nikolas goes back to school on Monday.  I've worked most of the holiday season, and that's been a challenge with them both being here.  Instead of writing about everything, I'm going to cheat and post a bunch of pictures instead.  Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Nikolas and Mommy at the Zoo

Visiting with Santa

In Front of the Tree

Decorating the Gingerbread House

Play Date With His Best Friend From School

Dr. Nikolas

With His Cousin on Christmas Day

Opening Presents

New Additions to Our Family

We recently added three new members to our family.  Ray, Lucy and Molly showed up in our back yard in early November.  I fed them, so of course they stuck around.  After unsuccessfully trying to find homes for them, we decided to adopt them.  They are approximately six months old and were very healthy when we found them.  They were also very clean.  In fact, the vet only found fleas on one of them.  

Ray is the ringleader and the only male of the bunch.  He is very curious and gets into lots of trouble.  He enjoys jumping on the table, climbing the Christmas tree, and digging the dirt out of my house plants.  He likes to eat and spends a lot of time in the kitchen.  The vet thinks he's going to be a very big boy when he grows up.

Lucy is the jealous one.  If she hears one of us talking to any of the other cats, she runs into the room to get some of the attention for herself.  She's a sweet girl who likes to cuddle, but she does have an issue with biting our elbows and toes.  

Molly is the shy kitten of the bunch.  When she first came inside, she spent the first ten days hiding behind our couch.  She would run out to eat and use the litter box, and then she would run back to hide.  Once she learned to trust us, she became the sweetest one of the bunch.

We're having a lot of fun with them.  They're very social around us, but when company comes, they hide under the bed or behind the couch.  Princess tends to ignore them, but she does let them know that she's the boss from time to time.  Nikolas loves the kittens, but they find him to be a little too loud.  Molly will cuddle with him, but the others typically run away when they see him coming.

Fundraiser to Support Nina's Kidney Donation

I'm really enjoying being an independent consultant for Tastefully Simple.  I get to play with food, try new recipes, and spend time with friends.  How fun!!  I also have the ability to help others through Tastefully Simple fundraisers. 

Let me tell you about the person that I'm helping with this particular fundraiser.  Her name is Nina Thompson and she's our case manager at Children's House International.  When our former agency went out of business in the middle of our adoption, Nina offered to take on their Bulgaria cases so we could all continue with our adoptions without many delays or extra expenses.  She made the transition as quick and easy as possible, and she's been a great support for all of her families both during the process and after the children come home.  She has a passion for helping orphans and works so hard to help them find their forever families.

So why am I trying to raise funds for Nina?  This amazing woman is donating one of her kidneys to a former Bulgarian orphan whom she helped bring home earlier this year.  You can read all about Gavin and help his family at http://www.gofundme.com/Gavins-kidney-fund.  Nina started the screening process back in August and the transplant will take place soon.  She will have many expenses associated with travel back and forth to where Gavin lives, medical expenses, and time away from work while she recovers.  All commission earned from this fundraiser will go directly to Nina's fund (http://www.gofundme.com/58bycg).  The hostess benefits (free food!!) will be sent to Nina to give her family easy meal options to prepare while she recovers. 

The holidays are coming up and Tastefully Simple products make great gifts.  Why not get some shopping done while helping Nina at the same time?  To order online, please use this link so I know the order is for Nina's fundraiser:

The fundraiser will be running through the end of the month, so be sure to order soon.  Thanks so much for your support!!

You can follow Nina's journey here: http://alittlepieceofmysoul.wordpress.com/.

Are you ready for some football?

Hey Colts Fans!!  Want a chance to win tickets to the Colts vs. Titans game on December 1st AND help and orphan from Eastern Europe find his family?  My friends Craig and Viviane are trying to establish an agency grant for this little boy so that a family who decides to adopt him will have some financial help in covering the high costs.  This little boy has CP and is currently wheelchair-bound, but he is very joyful and bright and tells his caregivers that some day he will walk.  Please visit their blog for more information.

 

http://martiniadoptionroad.blogspot.com/2013/11/nuggets-for-neal-are-you-ready-for-some.html