Today was our last homestudy visit. I spent the morning getting the house ready - luckily, the kids were cooperative and both took an afternoon nap.

The homestudy visit went well. We feel pretty positive about everything and would be really surprised if we weren't approved. Nichole was really nice and even though the kids were a bit crazy at times (Danielle was full of energy and running around - she kept bonking her head on things, though - it was pretty funny), the visit was a very pleasant one.

After Nichole left, Scott and I sat down and watched coverage of Hurrican Katrina. It is just incredible the devastation that has been left by this hurricane. Apparently, the levy that keeps water out of New Orleans (which is below sea level) cracked in two places. 80% of New Orleans is underwater! They say that there could be as many as a thousand people dead in New Orleans alone. And there are probably hundreds dead in Mississippi as well. I think this may be one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the U.S. And, to top this all off, there are looters who are wreaking absolute havoc in New Orleans as well. Some people are just taking food and water in order to survive, but others are taking advantage of the situation, which is pretty much complete chaos. CDW is going to do a 4 to 1 donation match for the hurricane relief fund, so we will be giving through them.

Today, we mostly just cleaned the house and got the rest of our paperwork together for our homestudy. I was getting pretty frustrated with the kids at bath time - Danielle wanted to stand in the bathtub, so I had to keep forcing her to sit. She tried to stand probably over fifty times and I just kept pushing down on her shoulders so that she would sit. Meanwhile, Jaden was spreading soap bubbles and water on my sleeve. I asked him not to do it several times and finally just lost my temper and yelled at him. He stopped then, but it frustrates me when I resort to yelling. The bathtub is a tricky place because I can't really give him a time out or anything like that. I took a few toys away from him, but that's about all I can do.

When Scott got home, he took Jaden to the park, so I was able to relax for a little while and then clean up. It was good that Scott could take Jaden out of the house for awhile.

Not too much to say about today. Scott had to work late, so we weren't able to go to Great America (which we had been thinking of doing). So, my mom and I just hung out and we all watched the season finale of The 4400 after Scott got home.

We went to church this morning. The service was about broken promises - it was a good service, but didn't particularly speak to either Scott or I. We forgot to bring the backpack (with school supplies in it) that we had gotten for donation, so we ended up driving all the way back home, getting the backpack and then bringing it back. Of course, in between, I managed to knock a shelf out of the fridge and break a bottle of soy sauce. Had to clean that before I could go back to church.

After we went back to church, we decided to go to my parents' house. Jaden had lots of fun playing with Grandpa, as usual.

Tonight, when I put Jaden to sleep, I stopped and listened to him "read" his Dr. Seuss book for a little while. It was so cute. "I do not like Green Eggs and Ham... You don't like it? Oh, okay... Is you would like it in a box?... No, I do not like it... Is you would like it with a doggie?... Uh uh..." and so on. It was so cute.

I was so exhausted again today. I was thinking that I really shouldn't have gone to see the play on a Friday night because I just can't handle getting to sleep so late. I ended up napping during the kids' naps.

In the evening, I went to a Promiseland drama team get-together at Stephen's house. It was great to see everyone, but at one point, things were a bit tense for me. For some reason, Deanna decided to read something about the difference between Chris Rock's comedy routine (he jokes about "blacks" vs. "niggers") and Bill Cosby's serious speech to the NAACP along the same lines (saying that, in some ways, blacks are causing their own rifts because of the way they speak, act, etc.) - Apparently, Bill Cosby was cut down for his comments. I wasn't entirely comfortable about the conversation in general because I'm not 100% sure how I feel about all that. But, then it seemed like the conversation was spiraling more and more toward racism - talking about the crazy names that "they" name their children, comparing the lower class blacks to rednecks - there just seemed to be more and more comments that I was feeling uncomfortable about. I finally said something - tearfully (I hate that about myself). Anyway, everyone was glad that I felt like I could confront them with that, and of course the conversation got back on track. We discussed racism and how we tend to overlook it most of the time.

Of course, then we started talking about a service at Willow about injustice and Deanna started talking about how she thought the service was just wrong. Her dislike of Bill Hybels is pretty apparent, and I guess I found myself wishing, once again, that we could have a positive group conversation and not turn toward the negative. I have to admit that I feel like a lot of the time our non-drama conversations end up feeling pretty negative. I am struggling with whether or not I should address this with Deanna.

When I picked Jaden up from school today, his shorts were wet. I guess he peed on the playground. :-( I don't think that his teacher even knew (I didn't notice until we were walking away), but I hope this doesn't become a problem.

We didn't get very much sleep last night - I kept thinking about the baptism issue, and then the kids kept waking up. Jaden woke up crying once in the middle of the night and then once at 5:30 in the morning.

Something funny - when Jaden cried at 5:30 in the morning, Scott said "Don't worry about him." I said "What?" And he said in a very tired and somewhat confused-sounding voice "Well, maybe this doesn't matter - I rebooted his server." Apparently, he got work and home a bit mixed up in his sleep!

Anyway, he was right - I didn't have to worry about him. Before I even had a chance to get up, he had stopped crying. But, then Danielle woke up! I went in and rocked her for a few minutes and then put her back down, which seemed to make her happy. But I went to the bathroom and as soon as I flushed the toilet she started crying again. I was really worried that she was going to wake up Jaden too, since he insists on sleeping with his door opened now (just since Monday night). So, I brought her into our room with us. We were able to doze a bit, but we really didn't sleep much after that.

So, I was pretty tired and ineffective today. Scott drove Jaden to school (he plans to do this every morning - well, every morning that Jaden has school). So, it was nice that I only had to get Jaden ready in the morning, not all of us. During Danielle's morning nap, I tried to nap too, but couldn't really manage to sleep. So, I was a bit tired and lazy today.

Jaden seemed to have fun again at school. It's a good sign that he doesn't want to leave. I asked Miss Moll how he's been doing and she said they've been working on listening and sharing (she pointed out that she's had to work on this with all of the kids, but I still wish that he was better about these things). When we left, he said once again that he wanted to cut paper with scissors - he is really hung up on those crocodile scissors!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Jaden didn't end up taking a nap (I swear it's because he insists on keeping his door open, but I don't know what to do about that). Danielle cried for 45 minutes when I put her down for her nap. I went in a couple of times to try to calm her down, to no avail. Then, I went in one last time and she was poopy - it was very soft, so I'm thinking her tummy must have been hurting her. I brought her downstairs with me, but she was still very fussy, so I eventually put her back in bed. She did sleep for a little bit, but then she woke up crying again. She was, again, covered in sweat! I don't know what's up with her, but she's obviously not feeling normal. I did notice that she has three new teeth - molars, back where you can't see them - and one more coming in. I don't know if that's causing some of her troubles or if it's all her tummy bothering her. It's so hard to tell.

In the evening, Scott and I just watched Nanny 911 and then listened to Casting Crowns while I got paperwork together for the adoption.

Oh, and one more thing. We picked out a name for (previously) Louis! Scott decided to ask Jaden what name he liked out of our top three - Derrick, Emmanuel and Noah. Jaden said he liked Noah the best. We even tried asking him again and ordering the names differently and he definitely said that Noah is his favorite. So, we decided to go with Noah! I guess it's funny that we let Jaden decide, but we couldn't really decide anyway. I was kind of happy that he hadn't picked Derrick, since this was my least favorite of the three. I was torn between Emmanuel and Noah, though. And Scott said that he liked all three. Anyway, it looks like we're sticking with Noah!

Today was Jaden's first day of school! Scott and I were both really excited. The whole family brought him to school today. It was really good for Scott to be able to meet Jaden's teacher and see what the place is like.

After I dropped Jaden off, I went and got gas. It cost me $63 to fill up! Gas prices are just ridiculous right now. Then, Danielle and I went home and hung out for an hour before her nap. While she was napping, I was able to straighten up a bit, since I was supposed to be meeting with Marie Shephard to talk about starting a small group at 1:00. But, Danielle woke up from her nap screaming and covered in sweat. She kept crying and crying, no matter what I did - I finally called the doctor's office and made an appointment for her at 1:30. Because of this, I had to cancel my meeting with Marie.

Danielle cried, hard, for 45 minutes straight. I think her tummy must have been hurting her. We went to pick up Jaden, and when we got there, she started watching the kids at the park. Apparently, the distraction of the kids was what she needed because she suddenly stopped crying and was perfectly calm. By the time we drove home, she was happy and smiling. So, I cancelled the doctor's appointment. By this time, Marie had already scheduled something during the time that we were supposed to meet, so we weren't able to get together. We re-scheduled for September 13th. :-(

When I asked Jaden about his first day of school, he said that he played with T-Rex. Then he said "And I tried to take the other T-Rex from the boy." Oh goody! It's so nice to hear that his description of school involves trying to steal toys from other children. (Obviously, I'm being sarcastic here). He also said, "I wanted to use my crocodile scissors to cut paper." Boy, he really loved those crocodile scissors! But, he did seem to really love school. He didn't want to leave, but finally agreed when I told him we were coming back tomorrow.

In the evening, Scott and I went to a meeting at Jaden's school that talked about their beliefs as a church (since they will be teaching the children these things). It was very interesting. St. John's is part of a very conservative Lutheran group (WELS). Overall, we had no problems with their teachings - they take the Bible very literally, which is okay with me. They do not believe that women should have leadership roles in the church - not sure how I feel about that.

The one thing that I was most intrigued by was his explanation about why they believe in infant baptism. At Willow, they believe that infant baptism is not Biblically supported and so they don't do it. There is no case in the Bible that specifically shows an infant being baptized. We believe that baptism is a decision that you should make in order to show that you have accepted Jesus as your savior. St. John's, on the other hand, believes that baptism is a sacrament - meaning that it is something that God gives to us, not something that we do for God. They believe that during baptism, God gives they Holy Spirit - and, therefore, faith. So, they believe that this is the only way to "give" an infant faith, thereby ensuring that they will go to heaven should they die before they can come to faith themselves. I have some general issues with this - as they don't claim that baptism actually saves (the pastor pointed out that the theif who hung on the cross next to Jesus was saved and certainly wasn't baptized). Also, it's not as if the act of baptism is saving in itself - you couldn't baptize someone who wasn't a believer and save them that way. So, I don't quite understand how this would work for a baby or small child either - except that maybe their hearts are open to God, so he could bring grace to an infant through baptism. It's kind of intriguing - and I have to admit that the whole concept that perhaps our children might not go to heaven if they died right now has me a bit scared. It's tempting to have them baptized "just in case". I'm not sure what that would say about my faith, though. I think that this is definitely something that we will need to think and pray about further.

I went to the doctor to get my test results today. Turns out my cholesterol is very high. I shouldn't have been surprised, since my mom's family all has high cholesterol, but I was still a bit struck by just how high it was. The doctor said that she was very surprised to see those numbers for a healthy young woman. So, I'm supposed to be more careful about what I eat and exercise more. Maybe I can manage to exercise while Jaden is in school. We'll see - I have a hard time sticking to any exercise program.

Not much else to say about today. Scott didn't get home until almost 8:30, and I had a conference call at 8:30. I didn't get off the call until 9:30 and Scott had a call at 10:00 that he had to do for work. So, we really didn't get to see each other much tonight. :-(

Today could have been a disappointment, but it ended up okay. First of all, I went to the doctor to get my test results and my notarized letter, but the doctor was out sick today. Not a big deal - just a bit of a pain to get the kids in the car, etc.

Scott and I were planning to go to Great America this evening. He had a meeting until 5 PM, so we were going to go at around 6 or something. But, at about 5, it occurred to me that I had better check to make sure that Great America was opened normal hours - turns out it closed at 7 PM!! :-( I was pretty bummed, but we decided to go to a movie instead.

Before we went to the movie, we talked about names some more. I brought up the name Noah. During the service when God first told me that we should adopt, Noah was one of the main examples that Mike Breaux used to illustrate someone who obeyed God, even though people thought he was crazy and he wasn't sure of the outcome. I thought that this would be a good, meaningful name that we could use. Scott agreed. So, now we've got our list down to three names - Derrick, Emmanuel and Noah.

We went to see "Wedding Crashers", which was really hysterical in a very disturbing way. It was definitely raunchy humor, which I usually don't like at all. But, I had to admit that the movie was funny. It didn't rely too much on disgusting visual jokes - it was mostly verbal stuff. Still, I almost feel guilty for enjoying the movie. Pretty goofy, huh?

Today felt like a busy day, but we really didn't do all that much. Scott had to work in the morning, so we went to the 11:15 service at church. The service was about keeping our promises (especially those to God), even when it's hard to do. This service once again really confirmed for Scott and I that we are going down the path that God wants for us. We know that it may be difficult at times, but we have made a promise to God and we are going to follow through.

In the afternoon, we went to buy school supplies for Jaden and supplies to donate (through the backpack ministry at church). Then, we went and got ice cream.

Scott and I also spent some time talking about a new name for Louis. We just don't think that Louis Hewitt sounds right at all, so I think we're definitely going to change it. We like Emmanuel for a few reasons -
1. It is a common name in Haiti, so it keeps his Haitian heritage.
2. It means "God with us" which we think is extremely appropriate.
3. It is a somewhat common (but not too common) African American name, so he would fit in with other black people here in the US.

We're still not positive, though. I wish it was a bit shorter, since he will have to spell it a lot. Also, it might be hard for him to say (if he's at all oral) and if he hears at all, he might not hear well enough to tell the difference between "Danielle" and "Emmanuel" - they sound very similar.

So, we're still working on the name thing.

Today was an interesting day. We had Scott's friend Mike Bremmer and his family over for dinner. Mike and his wife are both Deaf. I was a bit afraid that it would be awkward and that I really wouldn't be able to communicate, but it was a lot better than I thought. In general, Mike is pretty easy to understand because he talks pretty well. And I was better at signing than I thought I would be. Probably the best way for us to continue to learn sign language is to attempt to keep in contact with Deaf people and to go to Deaf events. Unfortunately, I found out on Friday that we can't get into Sign 201 at Harper. The class is already more than full and they won't let anyone else join. I was really disappointed and upset at myself for letting this situation happen. I've been so focused on getting things ready for the homestudy and the dossier that I lost sight of the fact that school was about to start again. I guess at this point, money needs to go toward the adoption, not toward school, but I still am a bit concerned that we are going to fall out of practice.

Anyway, it was nice to have Mike's family here. I don't think his 7 year old daughter was too thrilled to be here, though. She was bored and didn't appreciate a 3 year old chasing after her. It was a bit cool, but everyone but me still went in the pool for at least a little while. I'm glad they were able to enjoy it. Mike and his wife (her name is Russian - Merana?) were very nice and have said that we should come to their house some day soon.

So, today we went to the Mundelein police station and I filled out a form to get my criminal background check. Jaden got a Junior Police Officer badge, which was pretty cute.

Then, we went to Pizza Hut and to the library. As soon as we got to the library, we went to the bathroom, but I guess it didn't do the job. Jaden had an accident after we had been there for about twenty minutes. Oh no! So, we had to go upstairs, tell them about the accident and then still get our books that were on hold. I'm really starting to wonder if I'm doing something wrong with the whole potty training thing. I think I'll try and get a book about it. Right now, Jaden usually just says, "Look what I am going." He doesn't really get upset about it or anything. Today, he said, "Mommy, you got to say 'You're supposed to tell us.'" Apparently, he knows what he's supposed to do, he's just not doing it. I can't tell if he just doesn't know that he's going to go potty or what. It's very frustrating. For school, he's supposed to be completely potty trained. I'm really hoping that he doesn't have any accidents there, but I'm starting to have my doubts.

We all went to the park in the evening and met another couple with their two daughters. I actually got her e-mail address - hopefully we can keep in contact. It would be nice to make some friends in the area. Once the kids were in bed, Scott and I ate and then Scott went to the grocery store. Then, we just sat and watched TV, as usual. It's midnight now, so I guess I should go to bed.

I got a lot done today, since Jaden was at Grandma and Grandpa Hewitt's until 1:30.

First, Danielle and I went to Jaden's pre-school and got him registered. His teacher was there, so I got to talk to her for awhile. It was really good to talk to her. I was really excited to hear about the things he will be doing - each month, they have a different theme (sometimes more than one) and he will be learning Bible stories and songs. Hopefully, by the end of the year, he will be able to write his name. And, they even get to go on field trips!

After we went to the pre-school, we went to Waukegan so that I could get my fingerprints done. This ended up being very stressful because I didn't have Glenkirk's address with me. I had to make a ton of phone calls before I finally got it from information. Ugh! But, the fingerprinting was simple.

Next, we went to the bank to deposit some checks and to Walgreens to pick up my prescription. Then, back home to eat lunch and wait for Jaden to come home.

I put the kids down for their nap at about 2 PM and then went through the inbox.

This evening, I tried going to the Mundelein police department to get the form I need to fill out for my criminal background check, but the officer who was there had no idea what I was talking about. I'll have to go back again tomorrow.

Scott's mom came over today while I went to the doctor to get my physical. The appointment took almost two hours by the time I got my blood work done. But, I really liked the doctor, which is good.

Elaine took Jaden over to her house to spend the night. It was so strange not to have him here. Scott and I took Danielle to the park and it was such a different experience than going to the park with Jaden. Have to admit, it was nice to have a little downtime at home.

But, when I went upstairs for bed, I almost forgot that he wasn't there and it made me miss him. I went into his room, like I always do and I hugged his blanket and said goodnight to the air. I wished that I had called earlier in the evening to say goodnight, but I knew that he was fine and probably having a great time at Grandma's.

They went for a boat ride in the evening, and Elaine said that Jaden loved it. Then, they went to the park. She said that he went to bed with no problem whatsoever. My good boy!

Today Scott was named CDW's Coworker of the Month! Every time we get the CDW newsletter and I read about that month's COTM, I always think "Scott should get that. He works so hard and cares so much about his job." Well, this month, he did get it! I am really excited for him and he is really happy about it too. In fact, he said that he is more excited about it than he would have expected to be. It's nice for him to get some special recognition for the excellent job he's been doing.

Tonight, we went to the Mundelein Willow Creek meeting. Shannon (who's house it was at) found us a babysitter! She's only twelve, and just starting out with babysitting, but it's about the easiest babysitting job she could possibly have - we put the kids down before she got here. She cleaned up the toys in the family room, but otherwise just got to sit and watch TV.''

We really enjoyed the meeting, though. We are excited at the possibility of hosting a Bible study group at our house. Hopefully, that will work out because we would love to get connected to a small group, but it's hard with the kids. We also just really enjoyed talking to some of the people at the meeting and getting to know them. We were the last people to leave!

Got a lot done again today. This morning, we went and visited the pre-school that I am hoping to sign Jaden up for. I was a bit bewildered as far as what to ask them. They had been doing a bunch of improvements to the building, so the place was a pretty big mess, and it was a bit hard to envision what the room would look like normally. But, that was understandable. The thing that made me worry just a teensy bit is that the man that I met with said that they don't really focus on learning in the 3 yr old room. It's more for social interaction. I was a bit concerned that it might just be a three hour period during which he plays with toys. But, then he talked about how they learn how to hold a pencil and that the do Bible stories and songs every day. I think that they will be learning, just not traditional "school" subjects. And I was very encouraged to hear how much the 4 yr olds learn.

After we visited Jaden's school, we went to the bank and got money orders for our I-600A form and for our fingerprinting. Then, we went to Kinkos and Fed-Exed the I-600A. The kids were very good, ecept they got pretty wild at Kinkos. I kept having to tell Jaden to stop playing with things and Danielle found a whole rack full of tubes that she thought was great fun to play with. And, of course, then Jaden thought that looked fun as well and he joined in. They guy was trying to ask me how I would like to send the documents while I was attempting to put tubes back into the metal holder. It was very crazy! Then, I asked him about printing labels online and he asked what types of things I usually send. I told him that I was adopting and would need to be sending a lot of things Fed-Ex. It didn't occur to me until I was driving away that he must have thought I was crazy! Here I am, fighting to keep two little children from wreaking havoc on the store (and losing the fight), saying casually, "Yeah, I'm adopting." He was probably thinking, "Are you insane?"

After Fed-Ex, we went to McDonalds and I let Jaden play in the play area for awhile. I was really glad to finally find a McDonalds in the area with a playground. I was beginning to think that none of them around here had one.

In the afternoon, I had to bring Danielle for her fifteen month appointment. This was pretty traumatic for her. She basically cried the entire time, even before they really did anything (she started crying when they turned her head to measure her and she never stopped). Poor little sweetie! It amazes me how different she is from Jaden. None of these things ever phased him. He never minded trips to the doctors office - he would cry for a second when he would get shots, but would usually stop as soon as I picked him up. She, on the other hand, was nearly hysterical the entire time! And then, to make things worse, just as Danielle was about to get her shots, Jaden peed! I had just made him go potty right before we left the house - I couldn't believe that he had an accident! And, of course, I hadn't brought the baby bag in, so I had nothing for him. Luckily, they had a diaper that would work for him (it was a bit small, but it worked out okay). I still had to pick up their immunization records (for the homestudy and for his pre-school). While I was getting them, he put the sippy cups in the toy oven that is in the office. When we got out to the van, I realized they were gone. I went back in and couldn't find them, of course. When I got back out, though, I asked Jaden where they were and he told me. Oh boy!

Today, we went to not one, but two picnics. We went to the CDW picnic and the Willow Creek neighborhood picnic.

I would probably have enjoyed it a lot more if I weren't still feeling sick. I really just didn't have the energy to deal with anything and I wasn't having a good time. Jaden seemed to really like the inflateable jumping things at the CDW picnic, though. And we ended up getting a really cool Little People toy - We were just sitting there, waiting for Scott and one of the clowns came up and asked if Danielle had won anything. I said no and she gave me a ticket - she said she had extras. When I went to pick up the prize, I was really surprised to see that it was a HUGE Little People toy, with a road, a school, a market and a bunch of accessories. CDW sure never skimps on prizes!

The second picnic wasn't really anything too exciting. It probably would have been a little better if we didn't have to worry about the kids, but that's just the way it goes. Most of the time, I ended up playing the kids games with Jaden, which was fun, but I didn't really get to talk to many of the adults. And, then, Jaden had an accident (a potty accident) at the park, so we had to leave in a rush and try to get him cleaned up. Oh boy! By the time we got home, I was very happy to be done with picnics!

Today turned out to be a really good day, even though I was still sick. Scott took Jaden for a bike ride. They rode to the park and back and THEN rode to the park all the way over in Gregg's Landing! Well, he didn't quite make it all the way there - they walked for a bit and then Scott had to carry him the last little bit. Still, Scott said that Jaden was doing a great job riding his bike! That park is pretty far! I ended up going and picking them up after they had been there for just a little bit.

After the kids' naps, we went to Baskin Robbins and got some ice cream. I know, not a great dinner, but it's not like we do it everyday. Jaden picks out the same ice cream every time. I was amazed that he remembered it after just one time having it (I guess I shouldn't be - he seems to remember EVERYTHING).

After Baskin Robbins, we went to WalMart and got Jaden a bike helmet! He was very excited at that idea. I think he associates helmets with Buzz Lightyear.

Scott and I watched Ocean's Twelve after the kids went to bed, which was a pretty fun movie. Of course, we realized after we put it in that we had never seen Ocean's Eleven, but it was good even without having seen the first one.

Very little to say about today. I was still feeling pretty junky. I now have a bit of a cough, a sore throat, tightness in my chest, and I just feel like I have no strength!

Jaden seems to be feeling a bit better. He still has that cough, but his eyes look better. Of course, we have to sit on him to put the drops in his eyes, which isn't fun for anyone. He really has good intentions - he tries to lay down and let me do the drops, but I really think that he just can't stop himself from covering his eyes and trying to close them. The only way to do it is to sit on him and hold his arms down with my legs. Then, I still have to pry his eye open with my finger while putting in the drop. It's really crazy! Poor kiddo!

He was really cute tonight. He said that he was Daddy, and when we were putting on his pajama top, he said "This is my CDW shirt!" Scott said, "Do you want to wear a real CDW shirt?" and of course Jaden said yes. So, Scott put one of his shirts on him and gave him a business card to take in bed with him. Jaden immediately went and put the card in his little cash register for safe-keeping. A little while ago, Scott went in to check on him and he was still awake. As soon as Scott went in, he sat up and held up his business card. Scott said that they had a really sweet conversation and when he left, he told Jaden it was time to go to sleep now. Jaden put his business card back in his cash register and laid down. What a cutie!

Danielle was also really cute today. She figured out that spinning can be fun and she just spun and spun and spun! She was also being sweet and giving me lots of kisses and hugs. I just love that!

Well, it's a good thing we cancelled playgroup this week (which was supposed to be here), since we are all sick. I was feeling worse today, but felt a bit of a burden lifted since I didn't feel the need to rush around and clean or do any paperwork for the homestudy. It seemed a bit like a day off! Of course, it wasn't a day off from the kids, and Scott had to work late. So, I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.

Today was our first homestudy visit. It seemed like it went very well. There were times, though, when you wondered about what she wasn't saying. For instance, she asked us about why we had decided to adopt and we told her honestly that we felt led to do it. I told her a very truncated version of the story of how I felt God told me that we should adopt. She just kind of nodded and didn't say anything. It felt so strange because we have no idea if she even believes in God - so the story was kind of hard to tell. But, overall, I think the visit went very positively. We are going to schedule our next visit later in the week.

I ended up taking Jaden to the doctor after the visit. Jaden's eye was starting to get red. Sure enough, he has pink eye in both eyes and nasty ear infections in both ears! We have to give him chewable antibiotics and eye drops (which is not fun!). Poor little buddy!

I was actually feeling a bit better today, which was good since I had to clean. That's pretty much how my spare time was spent. Not too much else to say about today.

Turns out that both me and my mom got Scott's sickness. I knew that I needed to clean for the homestudy, but only managed to do the floors. I was just too worn out. My poor mom seemed pretty tired too. Guess I'll have to clean tomorrow!

Today was Honey's birthday!

I felt kind of bad because I hadn't done anything major for it. I ordered him a present, but it hadn't come yet. Oh boise! We were supposed to go to church in the morning, but it seems that Danielle is catching Scott's cold, so we decided to stay home instead. After Danielle's nap, we went to Scott's parents house, which was nice. We had a big sub sandwhich and Scott's favorite Baskin Robbins cake! Jaden had an accident on their kitchen chair, which wasn't fun - but he's slowly making progress on the potty training.

After we left Scott's parents' house, we decided to stop at my parents' house so that Jaden could see Grandpa. My dad had called earlier in the day to see if maybe he could ride his motorcycle over, but didn't, obviously, since we were going to Scott's parents'. It was a nice visit - Jaden sure loves all his grandparents!

We went to the educational meeting for our homestudy today. Even though Scott was still sick, it went well. We were there for about four hours and we had a good feeling when we left. Mostly, it made us happy about the situation with COTP. As Nichole (the social worker) was talking about the unknowns in orphanages, we really felt positive about the updates and pictures that we get from COTP. Many people only get a tiny photo and a medical page.

We made an appointment for our first home visit - She's coming on the 9th at 8:00 AM. Of course, we realized that we really need to make absolutely sure that everything is baby-proofed before she comes (we really need to do it anyway), so we stopped at Home Depot and Babies R Us and picked up some things.

Scott stayed home sick again today. His eye started bothering him and turning red, so he decided to go to the doctor. Turns out, he has an eye infection! So, we found a doctor today - which I wanted to do anyway for the adoption. It was kind of good to be forced into it. But, poor honey sure wasn't feeling good. He ended up getting some antibiotics and eye drops.

Scott stayed home sick again, which actually worked out great for me because even though he wasn't able to help with the kids at all, I was able to leave during nap times. So, Jaden and I went and got haircuts while Danielle was taking her morning nap. Then, while both of the kids were taking their afternoon naps, I drove to Wheaton and got copies of my birth certificate. It was two hours of driving for five minutes in an office! But, I had to go during the week, during work hours, so it was much better to at least make the trip without the kiddies.

We ordered a Roomba Red from irobot.com tonight. It's a robotic vacuum cleaner. I was on a conference call with Kevin and he said that he got one at Home Depot on clearance for $100. He said that it is great on the hardwood floors. Between dog hair and crumbs, our hardwood floors could really use an automatic vacuum! We called Home Depot and they said they didn't have any. But, then, Kevin said that he found a site that had it for $50.99 with a coupon code! Even with shipping, it's less than $65. People thought it was a pricing mistake. I guess we'll see, but for now it seems like our order has gone through! To add to the pricing goofiness, I (for some reason) glanced at the shipping options and noticed that 2 day air was the same price as ground shipping. So, we should have it by Monday! Cool!

I hate the fact that, during the day, I think of all these things that I should write in my journal, but then by the time I actually write, I can never remember any of the cute things that happened. I remember that the kids did something that I thought was cute during lunch, but I don't remember what it was!

One cute thing that Jaden says - when he's playing with his toys and something "happens," he says a phrase that I have figured out is his equivalent of "Oh no! What are we going to do?" Except, he always mixes up phrases, so instead he says "Oh no! How we never gonna do?" It's pretty cute! Just like, instead of saying, "What is it?" he says "What it is?" Just little things like that are so cute to listen to.

Scott has had a cold for the last few days and decided to stay home today. The kids and I went to playgroup in the morning. It was nice, but Jaden started getting pretty fussy at the end (and Danielle too - but I know she was tired). Well, then neither of them took afternoon naps (they both just stayed up in bed for a couple of hours) and Jaden was in meltdown mode the entire evening. He was really ridiculous! He had several time-outs, but he was pretty much just crying the entire evening for no real reason. It was crazy! It's funny, though - I almost have an easier time staying calm when he is being so unreasonable. For some reason, I can just tell myself that there is obviously something wrong with him at that point and it's easier to ignore.

I was disappointed, though, because I had really wanted to take Jaden to the family service at Willow tonight. But, obviously, he was in no state to go. I considered going by myself anyway, but I would have been late by the time I was done putting Jaden to bed. Plus, I was pretty exhausted at that point. Oh well. :-(

Today was a pretty frustrating day on some counts. First of all, I didn't do Jaden's picture or video. I meant to ask Scott to do it while I was at my meeting at Se-kure, but I forgot to. :-(

I drove out to Waukegan to get Jaden and Danielle's birth certificates and our marriage certificate. I forgot to bring the directions - Luckily, I remembered what they said and miraculously didn't make any wrong turns. Unfortunately, when I got there, I had a hard time finding a parking space. Dragging the kids two blocks to get there was not something I was looking forward to. I ended up driving around a couple of times and luckily a spot opened up right in front of the building. I was not thrilled at the prospect of paralell parking, but the spot was big enough that I managed it with relative ease. Of course, I went in the furthest entrance from the office I needed to go to. I had to walk through the entire building (with the kids in tow, of course). The good thing was, the actual process of getting the certificates was pretty easy. I thought I might have to wait an hour or something to get them, but they were able to print them immediately. And I got a little clipboard and a pencil for Jaden. He was able to color while we waited. The biggest issue was keeping Danielle from walking away. Now that she can walk, I can't keep her to stay still!

So, we went to McDonalds for lunch after we got the certificates. We just ate in the car - it was already pretty late. By the time I got the kids to bed, it was already almost 3:00.

So, then I had to go to this Se-Kure meeting, which I was really not looking forward to. I just feel so disconnected from the project. I was almost ready to just say "You guys don't really need my help." So, I started driving there and got lost! I stayed on 94 instead of going on 294. The directions were confusing because they just said to stay on the tri-state. I don't know what the tri-state is! Anyway, I went the wrong way and called Scott. He confirmed that I had done the wrong way and told me just to turn around. But then, there was no way to get on 294 South from there! So, I suddenly saw the sign for 22 and knew that I had already passed 294. Ugh!

I got there about ten minutes late, but it didn't matter. Kevin was late too and Roger was on the phone when we got there. Once I talked to them a bit, I felt better about my involvement. Roger asked that we start having monthly meetings, which should help get us on track. I also suggested that we do a weekly conference call (just me, Kevin and David), so that we can keep better track of what's going on in the project. So, overall, the meeting went well.

When I got home (after only getting lost once this time :-), Scott informed me that we have bees in our family room attic, not mice, which is what we had thought. At 9 PM, he asked me to go to Home Depot to get a bug killer called Sevin that he read about on the internet. I have to admit that the very last thing I wanted to do tonight was get back in the car (my back was still hurting from my long car rides to and from the meeting). But, I felt kind of obligated, since he seemed to really want to get rid of the bees tonight. I drove to Home Depot, but was frustrated because I couldn't find a duster (which is what Scott told me he needed to apply the Sevin, which comes in powder form). The guys at Home Depot insisted that the Sevin was not what I should have been buying, but I knew it was what Scott wanted. I was really wishing that I could just go home. I finally ended up buying both the Sevin and the fogger that they recommended. I figured that way Scott could just choose what he wanted.

The Sevin did work out, though. Scott was very glad that I had gotten it. Hopefully it will end our bee problem. Ugh!

Today was another uneventful day. I actually didn't even take any pictures today. :-(

I am more confused than ever about the paperwork for the adoption. I thought that I understood it correctly - that if Scott and I went to visit Louis before the adoption was final then we wouldn't have to become foster parents. But, now I'm not so sure. I'm trying to find out for sure if we will get an adoption decree in Haiti, or just guardianship. If we get the decree, we don't have to do the foster thing. I would sure like to avoid that!

Anyway, it's all more confusing than ever. And I found out that we were missing some paperwork for the homestudy. She said that she was going to fax it to me right away, but I never got it. Urgh! Oh well - at least she said that we were scheduled for the educational session this Saturday. Now I just have to find out the details - where, when, how long, etc.

Other than that, nothing new. We put together Jaden's mountain train set and he played with it for a long time today. And Danielle had more fun jumping around on the couch. She is so crazy on it, though. She fell off of it again and totally fell on her head - I was so worried that she had hurt her neck!