My Mariya

May 2008

 If you are looking for me, you will find me on top of Cloud Nine. My Mariya is coming back to the United States this summer! We have jumped through all the required hoops, filled out all the forms, wrote the goofy letter of invitation, and now we just have to buy one really expensive plane ticket. I received a message from her at 4:45 a.m. saying she had just left the US Embassy in Kiev.
(I first wrote about Mariya here http://www.theharrisgirl.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-miss-my-mariya.html)

Having her return to us is so surreal. This morning while backing up the hard drive I looked through pictures of her last month with us. News flash, we look so YOUNG. Photographic proof is overwhelming--having children has definitely aged me! From head to toe! Ugh.

Oh, Joshie! You didn't have any grey hairs!

And I laugh at pictures where I can see rooms of our house that do not look the same. All the crazy wallpaper has left the building. (Hmmm...maybe it was the wallpaper steamer that aged me, not the kids....ha.)
I wonder what she will think of her 100% purple room now being full of hot wheels, construction tools, and a race car bed?

Prego me & my girl. Never noticed our eye color is the same.

Ever since the first time I SKYPEd with her after Hudson was born, I swear he recognizes her voice. But it is weird to think she has never met either of my little men. She gets to meet her brothers! That is so exciting.

Yeah, we did not show this one to the Embassy.

What fun things will we do when she is here? We have to have her go to the county fair. She would love that. And swimming. She always wanted to swim when she was here but it was hotel pools most of the time. And we must go to the zoo. Of course she will be 22 on this trip to the US, so I imagine her interests have changed. Wait!-- we are not all going to fit in our Honda. Crap! Having the whole family together means I need a minivan? Oh, this is NOT good....

:)