Spring, Walking, A Star and Hope

Spring has finally officially sprung around here - THANK GOODNESS!  I can't stand the in between time.  Winter just drags on and on and then we always seem to get stuck in this pattern of warm then cold again and I find myself cranky.

On Saturday we did the March of Dimes March for Babies and thankfully, the weather held out.  It was supposed to be rainy and windy, but we got some peaks of sunshine and stayed dry!  Since the weather was so great, we opted for the "long" (4 mile) route.  The kids did great!  It's been really hard to count on Marissa to tolerate anything lately much less a full day away from home in a high-stim sort of environment.  Afterward, we headed to my parents and had an impromptu Mother's Day Celebration.





Last week, Esen was named Star Student of the Week.  He was responsible for gathering up 8-12 things that are important to him for a bulletin board.  Then, he shared stories about himself during circle time each day.  

His items included: 

A Kyrgyz Flag
A family picture
A World Map
A picture of him playing with his train set
His Big Brother Button
A pocket calendar
A family picture
A picture of him "flying" one of Daddy's airplanes

He was so proud!! 

Finally, about 62 or so waiting Kyrgyz mamas got the best Mother's Day present ever in the form of a simple signature this weekend.  President Otunbayeva made good on her public promise to sign the amendments to the newly approved Family Code.  This paves the way for International Adoptions to resume in Kyrgyzstan and for Kamila and all of the other matched and waiting Kyrgyz orphans to finally COME HOME!  I have no doubt we are still have a long road ahead, but this is a huge step and gives me a lot of hope!  I am starting to plan for her third (and hopefully last in an orphanage) party.