Corndogs, post-placement and good friends

So last night the kids had corndogs for the very first time (so healthy, I know.) As Anna sat there and ate some of the batter off the top, revealing the meat in the center, she excitedly held it up and shouted, "Look Mama! There's a hotdog in there!" (Meanwhile Yosef decided to eat his sideways, like you'd eat corn-on-the-cob. Interesting.)

Having kids is so cool because you get to see them experience and discover all sorts of things for the first time. Their excitement and innocent passion for life is such a beautiful, precious thing.

Tomorrow is our final post-placement visit with our social worker, and we'll be adopting the boys through the local courts soon. For a lot of people readopting through the courts, it's not all that big a deal to have the judge declare the adoption final since the parents have felt it was final ever since it went through the Ethiopian courts. For us though, because other adoptive parents got to see our boys through their Ethiopian court and visa process, we never really got to feel that. So I think this will be a big deal for us, or for me at least.

Last night we had dinner with our friends Troy and Becky and Darin and Lara, and their little baby girl Caedra. Darin, Lara and Caedra are leaving for Mississippi on Saturday. They'll only be gone about a year but we are so sad to see them go! The group of us has spent countless Sunday afternoons together eating lunch, watching football and sharing in each other's lives over the last several years. We've been friends with Darin and Lara ever since college, were in each other's weddings, and have such a sweet friendship. Last night was such a blessing to get to just hang out one last time. They will be missed!

(You will notice that I said that the kids had corndogs last night, and we had dinner with our friends last night. Please note that I did NOT serve corndogs to our guests. We ate something else after the kids were in bed!)