Celebrating Mary-Michael!

Our sweet Mary-Michael has had a busy May with her first dance recitals and pre-school graduation. She was much more timid about graduating than she was about dancing! We are very proud of her and how far she has come! For her first few weeks of dance, she clung to my leg and I had to push her in to the practice room. And at preschool, she's more than ready for kindergarten (according to the teacher) and has come a long way from her days of not singing and hiding her face during singing performances. Like her momma, she still doesn't love the limelight, but that is totally ok. Here's some pictures of our sweet, lovely and thoughtful little girl.

Getting ready for the recital.

Having Miss Brandi and Addison made dancing that much more fun!

Dancing to Olaf's Summertime because Frozen is still THAT cool.

Nonnie and Grandma! 

A proud momma!

A proud Daddy!

Mrs. Morgan, the preschool director, presenting her diploma. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Mary-Michael said a police officer. Go get 'em girl!

One leaves and the other begins. Frazier will start at Cherub in the fall!

All the grandmothers came to celebrate. So thankful for them!

Mrs, Jones, Mary-Michael's wonderful teacher.

Ringing the church bell - a daily tradition at the end of the school day. 

So proud of you baby girl! And here's your stats from your rent 5 year check-up where you received 4 shots and seriously didn't make a peep. The doc was quite impressed with your bravery. 

Weight - 40 lbs (50th percentile)

Height - 43 5/8 inches (50-75th percentile)

Plane Tickets Booked

We are thrilled to finally have a date to travel to Niger to bring home Leila! We will be traveling June 5-June 16. My awesome husband was persistent this week in getting an answer from the Embassy who told us they'd have information on Tuesday of this week. Finally, this morning (Friday) he was connected with the right person who told us our investigation is going smoothly and we can expect it to be done by June 1. 

Pray that the investigation continues to go smoothly and for this huge transition for Leila and all of us who have been anxiously awaiting her arrival. We just overnighted my visa request, so please also pray there are no hiccups and we get it back in time for our trip. The next adventure begins!

Silence no More!

We've had no news for weeks, and it has been H.A.R.D. But praise God, Geoff learned this morning our Niger investigation has started! He felt led to call William, our Embassy contact who also will be a big decision maker in giving the final approval. He told him he started the investigation and he will know by next Tuesday if there will be any complications, so that we can (hopefully) book our tickets. Please pray that this will be a smooth process, that he will be able to easily contact anyone he needs to, and for Leila as she waits. We're coming!!

We are so thankful to Juanita and Rodrigo for loving on her when they can!