Here is to hoping that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! There was actually snow in Boise this year, so that was an added bonus. Steve and Bailey spent Saturday sledding with family in McCall- they had a great time. I have been battling the Christmas "crud"; but I feel better today so things might be looking up!

Steve leaves for sunny Phoenix on Friday. He is attending the Fiesta Bowl that the BOISE STATE BRONCOS are playing in on New Year's Day. He is going with a couple of friends, his uncle and cousin. It should be a great road trip. Bailey and I will hang out with gramma Eileen and Aunt Jeanette in Boise.

There is still no word on when we will be traveling to get Ellie. The wait is starting to become quite weary- people warned us that the worst part of the whole process was when you got her picture and then couldn't get her for 6-8 weeks. Well, they were right. At times, it has been almost unbearable, but we have a strong support system and we will make it!!!! We have a meeting with our agency this Thursday, so hopefully we will learn more at that time.

Bailey will be 8 on January 5th. I can hardly beleive it! She has matured so much this past year it is almost scary. She is so excited to be a big sister, and we know that she will do awesome in her new role. Life has been good for her since we told her that both she and Ellie can still fit in Steve's lap. (It was a real tear jerker when she asked if there was enough room in her dad's lap for both her and Ellie.) We realize that this is a HUGE transition for Bailey, but we will make it as smooth as possible for her.

Thank you to our extended family, our church family, and our friends for all of the prayers and warm wishes for safe travel. A special thanks for all of the prayers for Ellie- her little life will soon change also!

Bailey Christmas program

this picture was taken after her 2nd grade Christmas program on Dec 19th.

PICTURES OF BAILEY @ HER CHRISTMAS PROGRAM ON SUNDAY DEC 17TH. PLUS A PHOTO OP WITH HER GREAT GRANDMA EILEEN POTTENGER & SCOOBY !!!

Introducing Miss Ellie Meng Jiao Hill.....

We are overjoyed with our new daughter and sister, Ellie Hill. Ellie is in an orphanage located in Dingyuan, Anhui. The province of Anhui (pronounced On-way) is located west of Shanghai.

Ellie's birth date is February 28, 2006. She is just over 9 months old. We hope to go and get her in the middle of January. Please follow our two week journey to China, and feel free to forward this address to your family and friends!

Here is some other info that we received with her pictures:
Chinese Name: Xi Meng Jiao (pronounced She Mang Zhow)
Weight at 7 months: 14.3 lbs
She is attached to her nanny and gets excited when her food comes! (she is obviously our daughter)

We hope to know by Christmas when our exact travel dates will be. As soon as we know, we will post those dates.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season filled with love and joy!