Hand, foot and mouth, anyone!?

When we picked the boys up from the orphanage on Monday we were told that Benjamin had a sore throat and that the doctor would be writing a prescription for some medication that we could fill at a local pharmacy. We filled the prescription, but he seemed to be feeling fine so I decided to hold off on giving it to him (these were not antibiotics, just "cold" medicine and I did not want to medicate him unless he was showing symptoms). The next day, we noticed a rash and, what appeared to be bug bites, on his arms and legs. It has been extremely hot and humid here all week (and my brother and I are covered in mosquito bites as well), so we chalked it up to heat rash and a sensitivity to mosquito bites. Yesterday he started running a fever and we noticed that his hands and feet (soles and palms included) were covered in this rash. I suspected that it might be hand, foot and mouth disease, but, having never experienced it before, I decided I would ask the pediatrician at the polyclinic the next day.

This morning, Thomas woke up with a high fever.

We went to the polyclinic to complete the boy's medicals required for their visas and the pediatrician confirmed my suspicions. Benjamin does indeed have hand, foot and mouth (though he appears to be on the upswing today) and it looks as though Thomas will be following in his footsteps. According to the pediatrician there has been an "epidemic" of hand, foot and mouth throughout Sofia and the surrounding areas over the past month and she was not surprised to see it (and actually diagnosed it before I even had the chance to ask). Unfortunately, because it is a virus, all we can really do is treat the fever and wait for it to run its course. It also means that there is a good chance that we will be bringing this little souvenir home with us.

While my sweet, little boys have had a difficult day, there have still been lots of smiles, giggles, snuggles and loves. The highlight of my day was watching the boys become more interactive with each other. I brought a container of organic puffs with me for the boys to snack on. Thomas loves them, but Benjamin isn't a fan. Thomas brings me the container and does the sign for "more" whenever he would like one. Benjamin usually sits with us and likes to shake the container, but doesn't eat them. Today he decided that he didn't want to be left out and asked for them as well. . . . .then promptly hand-fed them all to Thomas. It was a win-win situation for all parties involved!

Shortly before we went to dinner this evening, Thomas fell asleep on the bed. When Benjamin saw him there he climbed up on the bed and began stroking Thomas' head and kissing him, then tried to lay down and snuggle with him (though I am not sure Thomas interpreted it that way. . . toddler snuggling can be a little rough). It was incredibly sweet and left me with very little doubt that these two will go through life the best of friends.

Benjamin "snuggles" (as you can see, Thomas was not thrilled, but it was a sweet moment)

Kisses and loves for Thomas

Despite the difficulties of the day, it was a blessing for me to be able to love, nurture and care for my little ones in their illness and to witness their sweetness, joy and resilience despite how miserable they were feeling.

Uncle Keenan is barrels of fun

Please pray with us that this virus will run its course quickly and that Thomas and Benjamin will be feeling better by the time we head home on Saturday morning. Also, please pray that this virus will be past the point of contagion so that we do not pass it along to all of our brothers and sisters waiting for us at home (while we Riebens certainly like to keep things interesting, transitions are hard enough without introducing illness into the mix).

Not even hand, foot and mouth can keep us down!

A little piece of heaven

First, please allow me to apologize for not updating sooner. The truth is, I have been so completely absorbed in these amazing little people, that it is hard to pull myself away from them! Needless to say, the past few days have been wonderful and I will do my best to paint that picture for you!

My brother, Keenan, and I arrived in Bulgaria late Saturday afternoon. On Sunday we had the opportunity to attend church in the morning and then spent the afternoon walking around Sofia and catching up on sleep. On Sunday evening, we were blessed to have dinner with the Sutton family who are here on their first trip to meet their sweet son, Ben.

On Monday morning, we woke early and traveled to the boys orphanage in Pazardjik. Once the director arrived, the boy's caregivers brought them to her office. It had been long enough since I had last seen them, that I am not sure that they remembered who I was and, consequently, were a bit timid at first, but it was a sweet reunion nevertheless. Once we had taken them from the orphanage however, it was like  the switch was flipped and we picked right back up from where we left off in March!

I have had the boys for three days now and it has been absolute bliss. Honestly, I feel like I have won the baby lottery. They are fantastic eaters, they sleep through the night, the only time they ever fuss or cry is if they are hungry, tired or hurt and, even then, they are easily consoled. They are having the time of their lives exploring their world and making huge messes just as toddlers should. I am amazed at how quickly they have recognized me  as their primary caregiver and how easily they have bonded. Both of them LOVE to be held and snuggled and, of course, I am more than happy to oblige.  Let's just say, their feet have spent very little time touching the floor.

The absolute joy that these little ones have infused in me over the past few days is indescribable and I am feeling incredibly blessed. Because there simply aren't words to describe just how amazing these sweet, little people are, I will give you what you really want. . . .PICTURES!

 Thomas!

Benjamin

Happy Mama! (Did I mention that the boys can say, "Mama"??? And that they use it appropriately?! Yep, I am in heaven)

Thomas

As you can see, Thomas absolutely LOVES the bath! He especially loves having water dumped over his head! (You can also see how VERY thin and tiny he is. I brought size 18 month clothing. . .he is swimming it in)

"Look at this HUGE mess that I made!" He may be tiny, but he sure knows how to leave his mark on a hotel room!

Benjamin!

Taking a stroll around Sofia (my mother-in-law, who is serving as a missionary in the Czech Republic, flew in from Prague to spend the week with us. It has been a blast).

Cruisin'

Benjamin loving life

Tomorrow morning we will take the boys to their medical exam and, in the afternoon, we have our visa interview at the Embassy. On Friday, we will receive the boy's passports and visas and, early Saturday morning, we will be on our way home! I cannot wait to get these sweet babies home and introduce them to their daddy and all of their brothers and sisters who are anxiously awaiting their arrival. We have truly been unimaginably blessed!

And then there were 10. . . .

We interrupt this prolonged silence to bring you the following announcement. . . .

This morning, in a courtroom in Sofia, Bulgaria, a judge declared Richard and I to be the parents of two more, precious, little boys! We are now the proud parents of TEN amazing little ones!

Without further ado, please allow me to officially introduce:

Thomas Christopher Rieben

and 

Benjamin Daniel Rieben

We should receive our travel dates within the next two weeks and anticipate that we will be on our way back to Bulgaria to bring the boys home in early August! We are SO excited to finally be bringing our sweet babies HOME!

Goodbyes

Today I had to say goodbye to my sweet little love bugs. I really hate this part of the process. It is always so hard to leave my little ones behind, knowing that all that stands between us is a bunch of red tape (and about 3000 miles)! Of course, most of it is necessary red tape and I do appreciate the opportunity that I have to really prepare for the boys to come home, so I am keeping my eye on the prize and marching forward knowing that someday soon I will have the boys in my arms again and this time it will be forever!

I visited with the boys individually again this morning. Thomas wasn't quite as active during our visit and was content to sit on my lap for most of the time. This hasn't happened much with Thomas because he is always a ball of energy so I really enjoyed the opportunity to just sit quietly and snuggle with him.

Benjamin was so excited to see me this morning and crawled right up into my lap, gave me the biggest smile and threw his little arms around me. He was SO tired today. We played with his bag of toys for a little while and then he was too tired to do even that so I picked him up and rocked him and he was out cold after only a few minutes. Oh, it was absolute bliss to just sit there and hold him as he slept.

It was so hard to say goodbye :-( I am going to miss those sweet babies SO MUCH!

I arrived at my hotel in Sofia a few hours ago. Tomorrow morning I will say a temporary goodbye to Bulgaria and head back home to my eight other little sweeties (and one big one) who I have also missed terribly!

Once I am back home and settled, I will upload some of the video I was able to get, so stay tuned because Thomas' giggle and Benjamin's smile are definitely worth the wait!

Chestita Baba Marta!

Chestita Baba Marta (Happy Grandmother March)!

Today Bulgarians celebrate Baba Marta. Baba Marta is a celebration of Spring. On Baba Marta friends and family give and receive Martinitsa (which are usually in the form of red and white bracelets) and wish each other good health and happiness. At the first signs of Spring (generally when the first blossoms appear on the trees), the martinitsa are tied to the branches of trees/bushes to symbolize new life.

This is one of my favorite Bulgarian traditions (one that we continue to celebrate in our home), and the second time that I have had the privilege to be here on March 1st.

During the morning visit the orphanage had a Baba Marta celebration. Baba Marta, of course, made an appearance and the children sang and recited poems. Martinitsa were handed out and traditional Bulgarian bread, dipped in honey, was enjoyed by all. There were also several groups (including a group of school children) who visited the orphanage and brought donations and yep, you guessed it, more martinitsa! By the time we left the orphanage that evening several of the children had collected martinitsa up to their elbows and they could not have been happier!

Martinitsa

Benjamin and Thomas were fairly indifferent to the whole thing, but they did seem to enjoy the atmosphere and all of the people who came up to them to shake their hands and say hello.

Between visits I enjoyed a special treat. My facilitator, Martin, arranged for us to meet with one of his relatives (a very knowledgeable historian) for lunch and a tour of some of the city's historical sites.

First we toured the Regional History Museum. From there we went to The Cathedral Church of The Assumption. The interior of this church was absolutely breathtaking. Alexander (Martin's relative and my personal tour guide) has written a book about this church so it was really wonderful to hear the intricate details of this church's history.

Interior of the Church. The woodwork was the most incredible I have ever seen.

After we had finished at the church we visited the Ethnographical Museum which Alexander had personally helped to curate. I enjoyed this museum immensely. It painted a beautiful picture of what life was like for the people of this region (particularly in the early 20th century).

A room from the Ethnographical Museum depicting a room from a home in the Rodopi mountains.

After we had finished out tour we thanked Alexander, dropped him off at his house and returned to the orphanage for the afternoon visit. We were a few minutes late so Thomas was there waiting for me at the front door and he lit up like a Christmas tree when I walked in :-)

Both visits with the boys were wonderful and the best part is. . . . . . . I got LOTS of pictures and video! Somehow Martin talked the caregiver into sitting out in the hall rather than sitting in the room with us during the morning visit (there are large windows in the doors so I still had to be sneaky, but since everyone was running around wishing each other a happy Baba Marta, I was able to get some good footage)! Since I know pictures are what you REALLY want to see, I give you Thomas and Benjamin:

Thomas

Thomas and Benjamin

Thomas, my mischief maker :-)

Benjamin, my snuggle bug

Benjamin really detests having the camera in his face and he sticks his tongue out EVERY time (believe it or not, his tongue thrust really isn't as bad as it seems in the pictures!)

"Look at me Mama!"

Benjamin (if you look close you can see the boys wearing their martinitsa)

Thomas (the little outfit they dressed him in was priceless)

"Get that camera out of my face!!!"

Snow, photoshoots, food and friends!

It has been a truly wonderful day and I am feeling incredibly blessed.

I woke up this morning to see snow falling.

I hate snow.

But it has been such a mild winter in Ohio and we have only seen a light dusting once or twice this year, and I found it so peaceful watching the snow fall outside my hotel window.

When we arrived at the orphanage this morning we were told that we would take the boys to a photo studio to have their visa photos made. I brought outfits to try on the boys to determine what size clothes they were wearing (based on their height and weight, I projected they should be in size 24 months), so I decided to hand them over to the caretakers and have the boys wear them for their pictures. The clothes fit Benjamin nicely (with a little room to grow), but poor Thomas' clothes were literally falling off of him (and his pant legs and shirt sleeves both had to be rolled several times). They were, of course, ridiculously cute (I'm not at all biased :-) .

Once they were dressed and ready, we loaded them into the orphanage van and drove to the photo studio. Both of the boys did so well. Benjamin cried momentarily when we started to take off his jacket, but he quickly perked up. It took at least 20+ shots of each of the boys before we got one good enough for the visas because they were so intrigued by their surroundings that it was hard to get them to look at the camera. Eventually we were successful!

The director also allowed me to have a picture made with the boys so that I would have a nice picture to take home with me. It was an interesting compromise to the "no pictures allowed" policy! We made three copies of the picture. One for me to take home and one for each of the boys (theirs were laminated for durability, which was smart thinking because Thomas has almost chewed a hole through his already).

After our "photo shoot," we returned to the orphanage and I finished the morning visit with both boys. I was able to feed them both lunch again today which is a great opportunity for bonding and it also gives me a chance to assess feeding issues (and there are plenty). Both Thomas and Benjamin cried for me when I took them back to their groups. Obviously I hate to hear them upset, but it does warm the heart to know that they want their mama.

After lunch I dragged Martin out into the snow and cold so that we could buy martinitsa to celebrate Baba Marta tomorrow (and to bring home as gifts for family and friends). I will expound more upon this Bulgarian holiday tomorrow (and since there is no policy against pictures of Baba Marta celebrations, I promise to post lots).

I visited with the boys separately this afternoon and it was absolutely the right decision. I was able to give each of them my undivided attention and really connect with them. They may share an extra chromosome, but that is about where their similarities end! Their personalities are so different. Thomas is giggly and active. Benjamin is calm and loves to snuggle.

My visit with Thomas involved playing, giggling, and constant activity. My visit with Benjamin involved him dumping out the bag of toys and refilling it (while I held it open) for 45 minutes (and I am pretty sure he thought he had died and gone to heaven doing this) and snuggling with mama.

Towards the end of my visit with Benjamin he was exhausted and was having some tummy troubles (he struggles with constipation). He let me hold him, rock him and comfort him and he even drifted off to sleep for a few minutes (and I thought I had died and gone to heaven). It was bliss holding and loving my sweet baby.

There is another American family here visiting their adorable little boy this week. We usually only see each other in passing at the orphanage, but I decided to track them down during the afternoon visit to ask them if they would like to have dinner. It was absolutely wonderful sit down and get to know each other over some fine Bulgarian cuisine (Have I mentioned that Bulgarian food is AMAZING! I probably gain at least 10 lbs. every time I am here)! They will be heading back to Sofia tomorrow afternoon, but I hope that this will be a friendship that will last a lifetime, because they are truly wonderful people and it was such a blessing to share this time with each other (and I am sure we will be helping and supporting one another during the difficult wait ahead).

Unfortunately I was not able to take any pictures today (aside from the one taken during our "photo shoot" which I promise to scan and upload as soon as I am home), but I am thinking I may get a little daring tomorrow and try to sneak a little video footage ;-) I know, I am terrible, but do you know how much I am going to miss these babies!?! If I don't get to hear Thomas' giggle and see Benjamin's sweet smile for months and months, I might actually go crazy!

Dovizhdane! Ootre pak! (Goodbye! Tomorrow again!)

Toddlers

Today was another wonderful day of visiting with the boys, but I can already see the signs of overstimulation and exhaustion setting in. I visit with the boys twice a day for 2+ hours each visit. These little escapades are definitely not part of the boy's normal routines. There are new faces, new toys, a new language and people constantly fussing over them. It is a lot for these sweet little people to take in.

Thomas enjoys being the center of attention and is easily overstimulated, so when my attention turns to Benjamin or he starts feeling overwhelmed he starts throwing and/or stealing toys, hitting and scratching. His caregiver and I are quick to tell him no and to correct the behavior or redirect him, but it is hard not to feel out of control when your world is turned upside down. While Thomas is stealing the show, Benjamin is usually sitting quietly, dumping and then refilling, a ziploc bag full of toys. Benjamin also expresses his exhaustion and overstimulation by throwing toys, but instead of hitting and scratching, he usually reaches and cries for his caregiver (or me, if his caregiver is not close by), a very healthy sign of attachment.

Thomas is definitely going to be my fearless one. He LOVES being tossed in the air and giggles and giggles until he gives himself the hiccups. He also climbs anything and everything he can physically manage (time to do some major baby proofing). While Benjamin also loves a good climb, he does not, under any circumstance, enjoy being tossed into the air ;-) He much prefers a good snuggle!

Because I believe that it is in the boys best interest, I am going to ask to visit with them separately tomorrow to see if we can minimize the overstimulation and exhaustion a bit. Instead of meeting with the boys together for two hours each visit, I will spend one hour with each of the boys alone during each visit. This will also give me the opportunity to give the boys my undivided attention and allow me to get to know them and their needs individually so that I can be better prepared to bring them home in a few months.

The boys are currently in different groups, but the director has offered to put them in the same group while the adoption is being finalized so that they can have the opportunity to spend more time interacting with each other before we bring them home. I wholeheartedly agree!

Overall the visits have gone very well and it has been such a joy getting to know my sweet baby boys. Exhaustion and overstimulation aside, Benjamin and Thomas are typical toddlers; exploring their world, experimenting with the law of gravity and protesting when they don't get their way. Am I looking forward to reentering the world of diapers, toddler tantrums and mischief-making? If I get to hear their sweet laughter, hold their tiny hands, and snuggle them close, then ABSOLUTELY!

*I only managed to sneak one picture today. Unfortunately, blogger is not cooperating at the moment and I am unable to upload so I will try again tomorrow!

Smitten

I arrived in Bulgaria yesterday afternoon. My driver and translator,Martin, met me at the airport and we drove straight to the boy's city because they were expecting snow overnight and we didn't want to get caught in it this morning.

We arrived at our Soviet-style hotel at 4:30 and I was out cold by 6:00 (I have a strict no sleeping policy when I travel overseas to help combat the jet lag. Works like a charm, but boy am I exhausted by the time my head finally hits the pillow).

My Soviet-style hotel room

This morning we went to the orphanage and met with the director and the social worker. They reviewed the boy's medical and social histories with me and asked me questions about our family, our support system and how we manage to care for so many children with special needs. They were also very interested to learn about programs and organizations in the US that assist and support families who are raising children with special needs. They shared with me that most of the children in their orphanage were relinquished because the families simply didn't have the resources or support to raise their children. They expressed their desire to see programs and resources like those in the US and other countries, in place in Bulgaria as well so that these families could be confident in raising their children and eliminate the need for orphanages altogether. It was a wonderful opportunity to share the work that is being done by many organizations (such as Reece's Rainbow's Connecting the Rainbow)to do just that.

After the meeting with the director and social worker had concluded, it was time to meet Benjamin and Thomas.

They brought Thomas into the room first. Oh, be still my heart, he is the sweetest, tiniest thing I have ever laid eyes on. His caretaker placed him right onto my lap and he snuggled up to me, looked up at me and gave me the biggest grin. Needless to say, I was a goner :-) Thomas is TINY! He will be 3 years-old in April and he is easily the size of a 12-18 month old. What he lacks in size, he makes up for in personality. He is a total love bug and SO smart. And he has a giggle that just melts me into a puddle on the floor (so I spend A LOT of time trying to make him laugh). He is ADORED by his caretakers (and who could blame them; he is precious). Like many children with Down syndrome he has low muscle tone (he can crawl, pull to a stand and walk holding someone's hand, but cannot walk without support), he cannot feed himself and needs his food to be mostly pureed (though he is being spoon fed rather than eating from a bottle). I had the chance to feed him lunch and afternoon snack today and to spend some time with him in his groupa to observe his interactions with his caregivers and the other children. It was a definitely a treat.

Mama and Thomas

They brought Benjamin to me shortly after Thomas. He is also, oh so tiny and absolutely precious! Benjamin will be 3 years-old in just a few weeks and he is also the size of a 12-18 month old. But, like Thomas, what he lacks in size, he makes up for in personality. Initially Benjamin was very shy and stayed close to his caregiver, but as soon as I pulled out my bag of toys, he plopped right down next to me and proceeded to dump out and then refill the toy bag for the next hour. During the afternoon visit he really opened up. He has the biggest smile (complete with dimples) and the best little laugh. He would sit next to me and play for awhile and then, without warning, he would throw himself into my lap and start giggling and hugging me. Like Thomas, Benjamin also has low muscle tone (he can crawl, pull to a stand and walk holding someone's hand, but cannot walk unassisted), cannot feed himself and needs mostly pureed foods (he is also spoon fed and does very well). I also had the chance to feed Benjamin his lunch and dinner and watch him interact with his groupa and caregivers and it is obvious that he is well-loved.

Mama and Benjamin

The orphanage is very nice. The groups are small with a nice ratio of caregivers to children and it was obvious as I observed the caregivers interacting with the children today, that they love these children very much and do the very best they can to care for them.

Unfortunately, this orphanage has a policy against taking pictures and they also require a member of the orphanage staff to be present during visits, so I have to sneak pictures when the caregiver steps out of the room (I know, for shame! But I feel that it is only right that my husband have the opportunity to see pictures of the boys since he cannot be here and I know I will lose my mind during the next phase of the adoption process if I don't have a few pictures of those sweet faces to keep me going). Because pictures will likely be few and far between, I will do my best to be as descriptive as possible in my blog posts.

Another "stolen" picture of Thomas and Mama

It probably goes without saying but I am absolutely smitten with my sweet little boys and my heart is already aching at the thought of leaving them at the end of the week. It has been an amazing day and there is no doubt in my mind that the addition of these sweet, joyful little boys will make every day amazing!

Bulgaria Bound

We interrupt this prolonged silence to bring you the following announcement: Tomorrow morning I will board a plane bound for Bulgaria. On Monday morning, those sweet little faces that have occupied the front of my refrigerator for the past 9+ months will become, real, live, lovable, hugable, kissable baby boys!

To say that I am excited to FINALLY be meeting my boys would be an understatement. I am ecstatic. To desribe the last few weeks leading up to this trip as chaotic would also be wildly understating. In our family we like to refer to the weeks leading up to an adoption trip as "Satan's Last Stand," and boy has he been making a statement (perhaps I will expound upon our most recent adventures during my trip). Of course, the Lord has also made His presence known in big and wonderful ways and He continues to remind us to "be still" and know that He is God and to trust in Him completely.

Although reports from the front lines have been few and far between over the past few months, I promise to put forth my best effort in updating during the coming week as I get to know my sweet boys and experience a new region of Bulgaria.

Stay tuned! The best is yet to come. . . . .

Victory!

We began our current adoption in mid-April. At the time of commitment we were already halfway through our homestudy update and since this was our third time putting together a Bulgarian dossier, we felt it was reasonable to assume that we would be able to submit our dossier by the end of the summer and make our first trip before the end of the year.

Obviously that didn't happen.

Two weeks ago we finally received the last two documents needed to complete our dossier. All that needed to be done were county certifications and apostilles. I could not wait to get this dossier in the mail.

Then we noticed that one of our documents would need to be updated.

The updated document arrived on Friday.

With everything finally in order, the kids and I piled into the van this morning and sent our dossier on its way!

VICTORY!

It is scheduled to arrive in Bulgaria next Wednesday (where it will be translated, authenticated and submitted to the Ministry of Justice).

We are unsure of what our timeline will be like from here, but as I mailed our dossier today I remembered that we submitted our dossier for Alayna and Lily around the same time in 2009. Sure enough, we mailed our dossier on November 24, 2009 and it arrived in Bulgaria on November 30th (the same day our current dossier is scheduled to be delivered). We received our official referrals for the girls at the end of January 2010 and I arrived in Bulgaria for my first trip in February 2010. At this point, I expect that this adoption timeline will closely resemble that of Alayna and Lily's adoption.

While things are progressing much slower than I would like them to, we are moving forward and I know that our boys will come home exactly when our Heavenly Father intends them to.

For now, I am rejoicing in the knowledge that we are one step closer!

An Adoption Update

There is risk in adoption. Risk of loss. Risk of heartache. Some people shelter their hearts by keeping their journeys private. Historically, I have always been an open book, sharing each step of our journey; failures and successes. It helps to write things down and of course, the support from family, friends and even strangers is priceless.

This adoption has been different.

In the past 18+ months we have experienced three significant losses. The most recent was the "loss" of our two little boys in Eastern Europe. While the decision to withdraw our commitment was absolutely the right thing for our family, letting those little boys go shattered my heart. Fortunately they are both home and thriving in loving families now and that sorrow has turned to joy.

Those of you who have followed our family for awhile might also remember the loss of "Little Boy" in Bulgaria. My heart still aches for him, but had we been able to proceed with his adoption, we would not have been able to bring Alexis home and I know that our feisty Bulgarian beauty was absolutely meant to be a part of our family.

Shortly after receiving the news that we would not be bringing "Little Boy" home, we experienced another loss; one that I have never shared publicly. In February 2010 we welcomed a 15 year-0ld young man with arthrogryposis into our home (and wholeheartedly into our hearts) to provide long-term respite care. The initial arrangements were that he would be with us for at least 6 months, possibly until he was 18 (though we understood that those arrangements could change at any time). This young man was a gift and a blessing to our family and we loved having him with us. Unfortunately, after only a few short weeks and despite the fact that he was thriving in our home, his family chose to remove him from our home due to religious differences. It was absolutely devastating for all of us and we still miss him every day, BUT, after 9 months in respite care with several different families, he is back home with his family and seems to be doing well. We celebrate that success.

Despite the fact that we have loved, lost and overcome, I have still found myself keeping my heart at a safe distance throughout our current adoption process. What if we lost our boys too? Could my heart handle another loss? We went through the motions to complete our homestudy update and gather our dossier documents, hung the boys' pictures on the refrigerator and even joined our local Down Syndrome Association, all the while my head whispering to my heart not to get too close, that this adoption could fail as well.

But last week, as the final dossier documents arrived (USCIS approval and aspostilled FBI clearances) I heard another voice whispering to my heart. "These boys are YOURS," it said, "and I WILL bring them home."

Peace.

Our dossier is complete. Tomorrow I will load the troops into the van and we will drive to Columbus to apostille the remaining documents and send this paper baby on its way to Bulgaria. In a few short months, I will hold my precious babies in my arms and my heart, overflowing with love for these sweet boys, cannot wait for that moment!

Friday's Fabulous Five

Several years ago I started keeping a "joy journal." At the end of each day, I would write down five things that had happened that day that made me smile. I called them my "Fabulous Five." It is so easy to get caught up in the challenges of raising children that I was forgetting that the joy in motherhood often comes in moments and, rather than focusing on these moments, I was letting them pass me by. In the beginning there were days where it was really a stretch to think of five "fabulous" moments, but as I continued to look for those joyful moments of motherhood each day, I discovered that those things naturally became the focus of my day, allowing the challenges and frustrations to fade into the background.

It is also easy when blogging to focus only on the "big" events in life and to gloss over the little things that make day-to-day life so sweet. Beginning today, I would like to introduce "Friday's Fabulous Five," an opportunity to share with you a few of the joyful moments that we experience each week! So without further ado, here are a few things that have given the Rieben's something to smile about over the past few weeks. . . .

1. Last Thursday, my sister-in-law, Lauren and my brother, Ben, welcomed their first child into the world. Miss Kayden Paige entered the world at 9.5lbs and 21 inches (Lauren is my hero)! She is a beautiful baby and I cannot wait to get my hands on her!

Kayden Paige

2. With so much going on in the past few weeks, I have managed to get a little behind with the laundry, particularly MY laundry. When I went to get dressed last Friday morning, I discovered that I was out of clean jeans. . . .except for the "skinny" jeans tucked away in the deep recesses of my dresser drawer. Preparing myself for disappointment, I pulled out a pair, took a deep breath, stepped in. . . . .and pulled them right on! It was a GREAT day :-)

3. Last Friday, Alayna finally got her new glasses (she has needed a stronger prescription for quite a while and has been without her glasses for several months now). When she put them on she gasped and said, "I can see!!!" Then she turned and looked at me and said, "Mommy, I see you. . . .you have a little head!" She has insisted on calling me "Little head" ever since. It always puts a smile on my face.

4. Nothing relieves stress after a long week like a Friday night dance party (those of you who are LDS might recognize some of the songs. . .the CD is called "Popcorn Bopping'" and consists of jazzed up versions of many of the Primary songs. . .hilarious!)

5. Last, but DEFINITELY not least. . . .Last Friday we received word from Bulgaria that the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) had accepted our commitment application for two precious baby boys with Down syndrome! Surprise! Introducing #9 and #10:

Benjamin Daniel
(named after two of my amazing little brothers)

AND

"He-who-is-yet-to-be-named" :-)
(accepting any and all suggestions that work with Christopher as a middle name)