Thankful

The Dierlam family was extra thankful this year because we had family here to share Thanksgiving with. Sarah was here for the entire break and we had Scott's parents here for a few days. The break started off by celebrating Scott's accomplishments and we all attended his promotion ceremony at the Pentagon. I can't believe that we all got to go into Sec Gates office and have a personal tour. It was something I'll never forget and I am grateful to have such a remarkable husband.

Here are a few photos from Scott's special day and preparing for the feast.

Home from Russia

We're back from Russia and finally on the right time zone with our sleep. It was much harder this time to come back and get our routine in order. I woke up at 2:00 in the morning for a few nights and I was exhausted at school!

My students were so cute when I returned and I missed them a lot. I brought back candy for them and they loved it. They wanted to keep the wrappers and glue them into their journals. It's nice when children are so appreciative of the little things.

We can't post any photos of our new little boy. And I sure will when we return with him in January. At least that's when we hope to have our court date.

Here are a few photos from Moscow!

Goodbye Rylie

After spending a nice weekend at West Point watching the Air Force football game, we came home to sad news. A phone call came from our new agency. We will no longer be able to adopt Rylie. Scott and I were devastated because this will be the second child that we've lost.

After many tears and trying to see what direction we should take, Scott and I have decided to try and travel to Russia one more time. If possible, we will travel there this weekend and look for another child. We'll have to work fast with tickets and the Russian Visa.

We can't begin to understand this news and can only hope that this means that we'll have a child home by Christmas. At this point, we are numb...