Moore Family Adoption

I wanted to give an update on this post, in case it became unclear.  This is the restaurant we ate at where the con man pulled his gig.  The con man knew their menu well, so well, that we ordered something off menu.  The manager knew of the guy, and had seen him in there many times, yet would take no responsibility for the deceit the guy heaps upon his victims, in their restaurant.   This restaurant was in Arena city, just off Hrischadik (not sure how to spell it). 

The testing has subsided considerably.  Anya has really started to figure out her routine in the Moore household.  She has been listening and trusting our judgement, which is just an amazing change.  You can see the trust of self fading away right now, and she is recognizing she is a Moore.  On the trip back from Oklahoma, one of the kids and I were talking about Anya, and I was teasing him that I remember way back when Anya was a baby.  My child says, "that's not possible, she is adopted".  I know this, but I don't want Anya to feel like an outsider, and the label, "the adopted one" just rubs me the wrong way.  Want to know what I think?  Our Heavenly Father, in his perfect wisdom, grafted us as a family from before the foundation of the earth.  He knew what would happen, but he still created Adam anyway.  Anya was biologically born to other parents, but she is where she is supposed to be.  I have no doubt about it.  She is a ...

After many phone calls following word that the passports sent to Chicago were now missing, a check of the mail Friday reveals the Post Office made a big error.  The original letter did not come back, but the self addressed, prepaid posted envelope came back from the Ukrainian Consulate in Chicago.  Despite two emails to the consulate, 5 phone calls to the Chicago post office, multiple calls to the Robbinsdale Post office, and a computer tracking statement saying our package was not deliverable, the post office got it done, and delivered it.  So we are very happy to have them back.  We also got the kids Certificates of Citizenship today.  All around a great day. Here are some photos. 

God answers prayer...Samuel "hid" our camera somewhere while playing with it.  I didn't like it much anyway, so I'll thank him later in life.  We were on the lookout for a new one for awhile, and we spotted one on super clearance today at Best Buy, 50% off.  We got the last one in stock.  I like the picture quality. Nellie is very photogenic.  I was impressed with the first photo off the camera.  Oh, you probably want to see the kids.  We went to the "Pond" at Elm Creek Park Reserve today. It was late in the day, so hardly anyone was there. The kids are doing well...we all are.  Anya pushes the boundaries a bit, and Samuel is kind of a typical 3 year old.  But they are such darlings.  Tonight at fireworks, Anya was in my lap, and Samuel was in Nellie's lap...I looked at Nellie, and smiled, saying, "She's my girl (Anya)".  The joy of having another daughter is so wonderful.  After our first two biological children were gir...