and now he is 5!

Samuel is a very happy 5 years old now. He had a wonderful birthday party, a wonderful birthday, and is happily learning how to play his Wii.

Yes, it is HIS Wii. He, of course, must share with the other boys in the house. We are waiting to add to our Wii games though, and they are currently playing lots and lots of sports games. I think Samuel loves creating Mii people though. If he knows your name, then you more than likely have a Mii.

Dh has a beard and mustache for his Mii. I have sunglasses. (We have neither, BTW.) I helped him create Katie (she's as short as he could make her and as skinny as he could make her. I helped him find the black hair, the darker eyes, and a more "girl" hairstyle. So, now, my life is punctuated by "Katie hit a homerun!" Then a little later "MOM! You made a great catch!" I hear lots of little boy giggling, and not so much whining. In addition to this wonderful new pastime, I also have the pleasure of seeing them play with all their new toys. Lots of new pirate gear and swords, Star Wars toys, remote control cars, and foam rockets. Both boys are loving the new toys. I'm loving the relative peace and quiet.

This is Fall Break week for all of our school friends, and as such, we have lots of playdate opportunities, lots of pumpkin patch invitations, and even invites to go to the zoo or the science museums. The kids do have Karate on Thursday and homeschool science classes on Wednesday. But, alas, I do not have the joy of dropping them off at Friday classes this week. Luckily, due to Fall Break, we have a slower week scheduled. I also have fewer work obligations other than computer work at home. I'm looking forward to the pace of our life slowing down somewhat.

I am hoping to get papers and things shipped this week, so that I'm ready for when we do get that all important LOA. We still have not heard what happened, but I'm encouraged by the fact that it seems other agencies are seeing a "slow LOA" for their Sept 2006 LID people. Here's hoping that we get that LOA tomorrow on day 102.

I can not believe that we passed 100 days of waiting for LOA. Never thought we would wait this long. Never.