More Adoption News...

In case you are curious, we are in the planning stages of our trip to China. We have received travel approval and are awaiting our consulate appointment. Once we receive that we can plan our trip. However, we did get word that because of the Moon Festival Holidays (9/15 and 9/16) we will not be able to leave like we originally planned (which was leaving here 9/9, meeting our son on 9/14, going to the consulate on 9/22, and coming home on 9/24). It looks like we'll have to wait one more week so everything will be shifted back by 7 days. While I am disappointed, one silver lining is that another family from our agency will be traveling at the same time (they had to adjust their trip a bit, too, due to the Moon Festival) so we will meet up with them in Guangzhou when we go to the U.S. Consulate. I'll post our itinerary as soon as we have it set in stone!

They Can Water Ski!!

We just returned from a vacation with Pete's parents and his sister and her family. We spent 4 days in MN at Pete's parents house and then traveled to CO for a week at a Dude Ranch. The kids really enjoyed spending time in MN at the house where their daddy grew up. For some reason, they loved seeing daddy's bedroom. Of course, Amelia immediately asked why daddy got the small room and her Aunt Amy got the big room. What was daddy's answer? Grandma likes Amy more! OK, you have to know Pete to know he was completely kidding, but Amelia quickly found me and asked me if I knew that Grandma liked Amy more than daddy. I have to remind Pete how literal kids are!

While in MN, we did what lots of Minnesotans do, we spent time on the lake. Pete's parents have a beautiful, big backyard right on the lake in town. We had a great time jet skiing, boating, swimming, and water skiing! It was a big year for the Schmidt kids...all three got up on skis!! Clara has skied a number of times, but CJ and Amelia never have tried. We borrowed a home-made ski board and CJ and Amelia just popped right up! Clara got up on regular skis. Here's a video of each kid!

Clara on Skis



CJ on the Ski Board



Amelia Can Ski, Too!

Other highlights of the MN part of the trip were hanging with cousins and going to the Vikings Training Camp and getting Adrian Peterson's autograph on a football! We left for the ranch after a few days...I'll post more pictures on the ranch later.

Under Construction

Well, with the impending arrival of "little boy Schmidt" (who still does not have a name from us), we are undergoing a pretty major construction project. We are adding a bedroom and bathroom above one side of our garage. CJ's current room will become "little boy Schmidt's" room and CJ will get the new room. The two boys will share a new bathroom. We were very concerned about how the outside would look...we didn't want it to look like an addition. A friend of ours has a construction business. He has done an amazing job...here is a picture, although it doesn't do it justice...he is much farther along now...most of the siding is done, the windows are in, the brick is completed, and much of the trim. We are really excited. However, the timing couldn't be worse. Imagine a major addition, planning a trip to China to bring home a new family member, and a 10-day vacation in the middle of all that. Yikes!!










Here are two pictures...one with the roof of the garage taken off and one with the new rooms framed in. The project is expected to be completed at the end of August...how's that for cutting it close to our China departure date (which will probably be around 9/9)!

New Pictures of Our Boy!!

Hi,

We have been so blessed to have our son in an orphanage that is willing to share information about their children. They have been so willing to give us updated medical information and developmental information throughout the year. At one point, they even took him for some blood work when we asked about a specific blood test. And, of course, we have received some amazing pictures so we can kind of watch him grow! I received new information this morning. This is what I have learned:

He is 36 inches tall and weighs 28 pounds (that is about 50th percentile)...so he is growing well and quite big for China standards! He hasn't had any medical issues lately, he sleeps in a crib, takes a nap from 1-3 pm, is potty trained (yeah!), drinks from a straw, likes all toys, can go up and down stairs, and is not a picky eater!

Enjoy the pictures! I can't stop looking at them!

Lisa

Adoption News!!

We received big news on Friday night! I was sitting down to relax after getting the kids to bed and the phone rang about 10 pm. When I saw who was calling, I almost couldn't answer the phone. It was our adoption agency and I knew what the call was all about! When I answered she said we had our LOA! That is our approval letter from China! It means China has reviewed all of our paperwork, agreed that we can definitely be Xie Feng's parents, and are requesting confirmation that we accept! And, we do!! It typically takes about 90 days to receive your acceptance from China after you've submitted your paperwork. Ours took 80 days. I expected it to take 100 or more with the Olympics coming up. It's funny...guess where Pete was the day the agency called? In China!!

What does this all mean? It means that we will leave in 6-8 weeks to bring our son home! Since the 6-week mark falls right when the kids are going back to school, we will probably leave sometime between Sept 5th and Sept 10th. That's our best guess now, but that can always change. Anyway, what do we do between now and then? TONS! We are doing an addition on the house that hasn't started. We need to pick a name. We need to order furniture. We need clothes and sippy cups, and plastic plates, and little boy toys...things we no longer have! On top of that, we need to plan our trip, get all the paperwork in order, go on a 10 day vacation, and get the kids ready for school. Wow...it's overwhelming to think about, but all I can say is that I know it will all fall into place. I'm eerily calm right now...that will most likely change!!

Amelia Rides a Two-Wheeler!

This is a big day for Amelia! She has tried and tried to learn to ride her bike, without training wheels. Well, it took several years and a little motivation, but she's finally done it!! What motivated her? Amelia saw her first grade teacher (that she adores) drive by and wave to her while she was riding her bike with training wheels. Amelia turned to me and said "I bet Mrs. P. is wondering why I'm still on training wheels! I want to learn how to ride without them." We went home and she was determined to learn...and she did!! Well, we're still working on getting her to start on her own, but that will come with time. Go Amelia!!

June is Almost Over!

I feel like I just posted a message last week, but it's been almost 4 weeks! Needless to say, June has been crazy! We have had end of year school parties, a sixth grade graduation, father's day, a dance recital, Clara's birthday, my birthday, and swim team! Luckily Grandma Rose was here to celebrate many of those occasions (Grandpa stayed home this time). We feel so lucky that she comes to visit so often. It's very difficult living so far away, but Grandma and Grandpa Matras always make the effort to come to the important Schmidt events! The kids really love that! And, it means so much to me.

Amelia finished 1st grade this year. She had the BEST teacher ever, who just happens to live in our neighborhood. She makes the kids just LOVE school! Amelia cried all the way home on the last day of school...she wanted to go back on Monday! CJ finished an awesome third grade year! He absolutely loves school. He received the Citizenship Award for his class this year. The kid's pick one boy and one girl they think should receive it and write a paragraph explaining why...CJ's said things like "he is always fair," "he helps people whenever he can," "he is caring and trustworthy." We were so proud of him! And, Clara just "graduated" 6th grade! I can hardly believe she will be going to middle school in the fall. She had a really fun last week of school and a lovely graduation. We are so proud of her and are excited (and petrified) she is moving on to the next phase of school!

We celebrated Clara's 12th birthday with a few friends over for a sleep over. They swam at the pool, had pizza, watched "Camp Rock" and stayed up until 3 a.m.!! I also celebrated my birthday, but we'll just skip over that event!

Finally, our summer swim team is in full-swing! All three kids are participating this year. Amelia swam in her first meet on Wednesday and came in 22nd out of 23 swimmers!! She was happy she got a "participation" ribbon...what a great attitude. Clara and CJ are swimming really well this year! This is Clara's 7th year on the neighborhood swim team!