June 13 - Tammy's 30th Birthday party!

On June 13, my wonderful hubby threw me a "surprise" (not exactly) 30th Birthday party. It was so much fun!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Intervarsity Friends

Alex and Nathanael playing at the water table.

Church girls (plus Evan!)

Nathanael checking out Papa.

Vicky, Andrea, Grant, Bella and Gabe going for a paddle boat ride.

Me and my mommy!

IT'S BEEN A WHOLE YEAR!

I can not believe that it has been a year since I picked up Alex from the orphanage! What an amazing year. We have so much to be thankful for today!!!!

I am so behind on my blog...I will catch up this week with some older pictures from the past month. Coming this week: my 30th b-day party, the circus, Greenfield Village, The henry ford museum, up north at Jeff's Grandparents place, Beach Bums Game in Traverse City, Great Lakes Children Museum in Traverse City, and our 1 year anniversary BBQ with Alex.

But here is a picture from our BBQ from today. The kid is drenched in pool water, apple juice and lemonade ...and then he found a mud puddle to splash in. I think he had fun!!!

Our 2nd Adoption!

Well, we are submitting our registration packet to our adoption agency. Step one is done!

Next we need to work on all our paperwork for our homestudy. Although we are just getting an updated homestudy, we still have to fill out all the paperwork again. Basically...we have to do everything for the adoption....again.

Here are our steps:

Registration paperwork...Done!
Homestudy paperwork part 1
Homestudy visit
Homestudy paperwork part 2
Register our I600-A with Immigration
Work on our Dossier
Send Dossier to Russia
Start wait for referral (about 3-6 months)

So...at least we have started. We are hoping to be traveling sometime in the Spring.

Here is a visual of how far we are in the process. The first file is the new adoption. The second file is Alex's adoption. Hmmm....I think we have a ways to go.

Alex's First Camping Trip

Last weekend we went on our first camping trip with Alex. We went to CranHill Ranch with Vicky, Walter, Gabe and Nathanael.

Jeff, Walter and Gabe slept in the blue tent. Me and Vicky slept in the bigger tent with Alex and Nathanael.


The boys checking out their new home. Do they look nervous???



Alex loved picking up pinecones!

Yummy hotdogs and baked beans!!!!

This is the park right out side our campsite. Alex loved playing there!

This game was a hit!

By the barn store...enjoying icecream!

Wagon ride...Alex was happier when it was moving! Behind us, in the fences, were 2 cows, a lama, sheep and some chickens.

Daddy's so silly...Alex is so tired!!

Bedtime...oh - this is much too fun to sleep! My buddy is right next to me!!!!

Good Morning!

Our morning walk while the boys in the blue tent were sleeping.

Wake up Dada!!!

Looking for pinecones...day 2

Sunday morning church in the Chapel in the Pines.

Alex says, "Sure...I'll go camping again!!! That was fun!!!"

3 Peas in a Pod...or a Wagon!

Alex and I went for a walk with his cousins, Gabe and Nathanael.


Despite the look on Alex's face...he really liked it!


He hung on tight when Gabe was driving!



Faster! Faster! It's raining!!!

EAC Reunion Part 2

Alright...here's some pictures from the EAC reunion...(sorry - there's a lot!!!)


Alex and Mommy by Lake Erie

Natalya and Alex in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (doesn't this remind you of the picture of the two of them in front of St. Basils Cathedral?)

Alex and Natalya reading Alex's favorite book

Us and Vera...she lives in Russia...she is the one who picked out Alex for us based on our info and pictures.

The EAC picnic

Hugs from Natalya!

Family Photo!

At the Cleveland Zoo

Wearing our matching shirts!

Natalya, Roman and Alex - What a great group of kids!

All the Krasnoyarsk Families

Wating for the parade to start

Saying goodbye for now...so sad!!!!

Aww...that's better!

EAC Reunion

Hey Everyone!

Last weekend we had a great reunion with EAC (our adoption agency) in Ohio. We were thrilled to hang out with Kevin, Amy and Natalia and also with Bob, Wendy and Roman. Alex's little friends from Krasnoyarsk Russia!!!! Everyone has grown so much...they all look great! We have lots of great pictures of the 3 of them together...but I still have to find my camera (I haven't unpacked yet!!!!) So pictures will come soon!

Also, we have exciting news...Jeff and I turned in the paperwork for Adoption #2!!!! We are super excited and a little nervous. We will be going back to Russia (probably not Krasnoyarsk...that is a long way away when we have to leave Alex in Michigan!) We are hoping for a region closer to Moscow to cut down on traveling time. Hopefully a year from now Alex will be a big brother!!!!

So...keep us in our prayers and stay tuned for more updates!