Elli's plans

Today Elli said "play baby Karis: babies, books, tea parties & shoes". So that's Elli's plan...Baby Karis will be influenced in all girl play:)

Introducing Karis Jia Houge!

I get teary-eyed as I look at these pics...I cannot believe this little girl is our daughter. February 3 (the first day of the Chinese New Year) we got matched and we received new pics today! We also got clearance for Dawson today, too! We will travel to China before India, though.

Elli's New Years Resolution...A Big Girl Bed

New Years Day Elli wanted to sleep in a big girl bed! We were a little unprepared, but went with it and she has been a rock star! She just looks tiny in her full size bed. This bed was her great grandparents' wedding present. Then I slept in it, and now Elliana.

The last picture is of Elli and Daddy sharing coffee in the morning with her dollies. Paul and her love drinking "coffee" in the morning in bed.

Snow Snow Snow

San Antonio got their first big snow storm...hehehe! Did I mention in the last post that Minnesota has lots of snow, record breaking amount of snow...seriously! And we absolutely loved it! Elli thought it was a treat, too! Paul built a snow fort with cousins that had a "hot tub" and Elli followed around her big cousins. It's fun how we really appreciate snow (with sunshine) when we live down south...though coming home to 70 degrees was welcomed, too:)

A Cozy Minnesota Christmas

We were blessed to get to spend Christmas weekend in Minnesota with the Houges. Christmas Eve started with the gals getting a little outing while the guys took the kiddos to a sledding hill at St. Olaf. The kids (and adults) flew down the hill and really had a ball. We went to church, then had a delicious Christmas meal and Elli got to eat with her older cousins in the basement. She was so thrilled. Her older cousins took her in and like always, just played and played with her. Most pics of the weekend she is looking at her cousins, not the camera! We tried to put Elli to sleep after the kids' gift opening and that didn't work out....hours later we looked at the monitor and Elli was taking her clothes off, throwing them over the side of the crib...sleep was something she lacked :) I cracked up at the white elephant gift exchange...gifts ranged from laundry detergent to door handles to a coveted wood hand-made pen. Christmas was so fun as Sara and Nate's family slept over and we all enjoyed a lazy morning. Then the crew headed to Tim's house to see their new cool addition to the house. Then we drove to John and Sue's new home and loved our evening and woke up to Sue's famous chocolate pudding breakfast (it was a big hit in Elli's book). Then before we left, we got to see Mark and Anne's fam at their house! Whew! It was a fabulous weekend with an amazing family! I have to note, that this was Elli's first plane ride as an official passenger with her own seat and she did great...one time I looked over and her and Paul were dancing like crazy with airplane cookies in hand!! Later, she wanted a photo shoot of dolly and her...she cracks us up!

WooHoo!!

Last night we got a sweet Christmas present...we got our NOC from India (also known as getting through the 2nd and hardest court system). We have the "old" paperwork and the last family with similiar paperwork, had to negotiate with the India courts for 6 months before receiving it! Though it's been a way longer overall process, this step took only 1 month but has been our biggest concern! I am praising God that we are through this process. But we continue to pray for the other families who are still waiting, but hopefully soon will get it! We now have one more court system (that has been taking 1-2 months) and then wait for our visa to travel and go get our little Dawson...our long awaited Dawson!

OK, many of you know that we have been waiting to adopt a little girl from China for 5 years as well! Our "log in date" (the date when China received our completed paperwork) is May 30, 2006. Last night the China gov't matched up to May 29, 2006, so we are next in line to get a match with a little girl from China! That may take another month or month and a half...but I never thought we would get to this day, either!! Last night I couldn't fall asleep until midnight!! It's been and still is such a faith walk and trusting God each step of the way has been really difficult and is still difficult, but the peace and joy I felt last night and this morning is like no other and something I have not felt in a while and want to bathe in that right now. This journey is so far from being over...it's still a fight in prayer and death to my plans and expectations, but I want to celebrate these small steps that we get to take that bring us a little closer to our children. Thank you, Jesus! He is a father to the fatherless and I know He is taking care of our sweet ones many miles away.

San Antonio Christmas

We had quite the celebrations the week the Yutzy's were in San Antonio! The Friday after Thanksgiving the kids decorated the tree and we started Christmas celebrations. We watched the San Antonio River Parade from the 12th floor of the Westin and came back to play another hilarious game of cards...making new rules and laughing so hard that well, no need for an ab workout. Saturday morning was "Christmas" and Grandma read the Jesus story and we opened presents. The kids thought all was done, when their grandparents pulled out HUGE bags and realized presents had just begun! They were soooo excited! Saturday afternoon the kids played and played and even ate our Christmas dinner outside! In the evening we played "Steal Sticks" where we steal each other's sticks and get back before caught. It was a great game of wit and agility. These are the family memories that are so sweet and remembered...thanks everyone for making it so special!