Home at Last!

We are finally home from Russia and feel so blessed to be back in America. It was the longest 3 weeks of our lives and we are so proud to be new parents! Luke Mason Dierlam became our son on January 29, 2009. He now has a Forever Family and he is such a precious gift.

I will write more about our trip in the days to follow. Right now, Luke is asleep and I have a few minutes to type. I spend most of my days chasing after him and telling him not to touch things. He will copy a few words we're saying in English but, doesn't really know what he's saying yet. He does talk a lot in Russian and seems to be very happy. He loves looking at photos of himself and one of his favorite things to do is dance.

Here are a few photos from our trip. Many more to come...

Count Down to the Inauguration

Scott and I made a trip down to DC to see the festivities before the Inauguration this Tuesday. It's an amazing time to be living in DC. There is amazing American pride running through the subways and the streets. Everything is decorated here and we can't wait to be a part of this historical event! Here are just a few photos that I took before I had to find a warm cup of coffee. It's freezing here!

Tour of the West Wing

Scott and I had one last chance to tour the West Wing of the White House before President Bush leaves. It was freezing tonight and we had second thoughts as we stood outside of the gate and waited for the tour to begin. It's super cold here and I couldn't feel my feet. We were very glad that we waited because it was a great tour! We only had 6 people in our group and our guide had great stories to tell. We weren't allowed to take photos inside or I would have posted photos of the Oval Office. It was an incredible site! It had to be my favorite part of the tour.

I also loved getting to see all of the personal touches that Mrs. Bush did with decorating the West Wing. They have so many warm photos of President Bush. They show a very different side of him. One of my favorites was him with a chain saw in his hand and mud all over his face. The guide said that he loves to chop down brush and clear his mind. There was also a cool photo of him biking with Lance Armstrong. I had no idea that he was such a great cyclist. All in all, it was a great tour and I'm very glad that we went.

The entire look of the Mall is incredible right now. Ribbons are everywhere, grandstands are being built and I'm proud to be in such a great city!

Christmas with Sarah

We had a very relaxing 2 week holiday with Sarah this year. We went ice skating and took in a few of the museums and sites in DC. Sarah loved the Holiday Lights at the DC zoo and the weather was perfect this year for getting out and about. Scott got to take Sarah to a hockey game and they had a great time! Sarah loved going to the HUGE arena and hearing all of the crazy Capitals fans.

I'm just relaxing today as I get ready to head back to school tomorrow. Scott has to drive Sarah back to South Carolina in one day! That's too long of a drive for me and he was nice enough to leave me at home in my PJ's. What a great day it will be!

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...

Run Like A Girl - Nike Half Marathon

I got up early today and laced up my running shoes for another race. This one was a half marathon and I wasn't sure how my body would feel about running 13.1 miles. Well, it went very well and it always feel good to run. I try to tell myself that many people in the world would love to run or even walk-that's what keeps me going.

I haven't written for awhile because we've switched agencies and our process seems as if it will start at the beginning. We also have a new company doing a NEW home study. This is the largest test of patience I have ever felt. I know that Scott and I will get it done, we're just tired and wish that it felt as if someone was in our corner helping us out. If I didn't have faith that this is all in God's hands, I don't think that I could move on with this adoption.

We have to take the photos of our little girl off of this site. You'll see new ones as soon as we get her.

This will be an extremely busy week with new paperwork and we hope it all goes well. We'll also know about how much longer this may take before we travel. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

A Small Taste of Germany

Last week as I was perusing the local Northern Virginia magazine, I saw an ad that caught my eye. It had a photo of a man holding something I haven't eaten in almost 2 years...a Doener sandwich! For those of you wondering what one is, I have included photos below. Some of you reading know exactly what this is because you visited me in Germany and fell in love with them. My friends from Nebraska had to have one before they boarded the plane back to Omaha and my parents loved them too.


When I saw the ad, I was immediately taken back to my local Doener guy in Landstuhl. I would stop by the parking lot at the market and buy one at least once a month. He had a little restaurant on wheels. It was a mom and pop shop and his entire family squeezed into the little trailer.


Scott and I decided to finally try them out and made the hour drive to Leesburg. The little restaurants must be the way that they serve them all over Germany and this man brought his to America. It was great seeing all of the German food on the menu and I really wanted to try everything. We each got a regular Doener and sat outside on the cute German fest tables.

Well, the sandwich wasn't nearly as good as the original ones. We both didn't care for the sauce and the bread was a little dry for me. We still had lots of fun and I'm very glad we ventured out and tried an old favorite. It did bring back great memories from Germany and I can't wait to get back there some day and see all of my friends!


Yes, I have my full set of braces now and YES, I can't wait to get them removed in January. Eating food is a pain and I don't know how young kids deal with it.

200 miles!

I haven't written in a long time because school has taken over my life. Now that open house is completed, I can rest easy and fall into a nice rhythm. Being a teacher is an incredible job and it takes many hours of work outside of the classroom. My day begins at 8:00 and I usually don't leave the school until 7:00 p.m. I always feel as if I abandon Scott because I am around all summer and I seem to disappear for 9 months. I'm lucky to be married to such an incredibly patient man.

Scott and I are getting ready for a race that we'll run together on October 11th. I haven't run a race with him and I can't wait to spend time together doing something we enjoy. I also signed up for a half marathon for October 19th. I am not a runner at heart and it really took over my life when my friend and I decided to "try" and run a half marathon. After I painfully completed that(with my friend literally pushing me to the finish line), it got a little crazier. We signed up for a full marathon! I can proudly say that I finished it and that...I NEVER want to run that far ever again-ha! Shorter distances are my comfort zone and I'm completely comfortable with that. I'm just glad that I CAN run. So, run I will. I started logging my miles on July 4th and I can't believe that I've run over 200 miles!

The news on the adoption is pretty dismal and I really would love to start sharing some good news about it. It looks as if another agency will have to take over our case and we're just praying that this isn't a lengthy process. We keep praying for little Luda and hope that we can still bring her home. Here's the word this week from our agency...

At this time the director advised us that she has no additional information to share. She is waiting to hear back from another agency, the other agency that may be able to assist us in completing our adoption. We regret that this process is becoming more complicated for you.

We appreciate all of the positive thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming!

Running for Others

On August 31 I completed the NIKE+Human Race 10K. I ran this 10K to support the UN refugee camps and help raise awareness of the plight and the potential of refugee children. All of the runners combined raised half a million dollars so far!

It‘s easy to take our education, sport interests and technology for granted, but millions of kids miss out on these important elements of childhood.

Refugee children have often suffered enormously, leaving them severely traumatized. The trauma is not left behind when they finally make it to a refugee camp. Some refugees are born and live out their childhood in camps, often with no access to sport or recreation. Did you know the average refugee spends 12 years in a camp?

I was amazed when I learned some of the facts about how these children have to live. I thought that I could easily do my part by running in a 10K. I hope this reaches the hearts of many and we raise enough money for these kids to have a future filled with hope.

Here are my results for all to see!