5 Quick Reasons to Be a Bad Blogger

1) Citizenship Paperwork—Andrew and Jadon were eligible to apply for US citizenship based on my parentage, but putting in an application for adopted children from outside the US proved to be a complex process. Finally, however, on Monday, November 21, 2011, an official in Bedford, NH interviewed us and presented the boys with certificates of citizenship. (He said he was thankful for our case because it actually taught him something!) I am just thankful that this final paperwork hurdle is done!

Andrew and Jadon crossing the border to the USA, anticipating their citizenship interview

And that leads me to my next point…

2) Thanksgiving—After leaving New Hampshire (where we stayed with an amazing AWAA adoptive family with four similarly-aged kids and really cool parents—Thanks, Steigers!), we were able to travel on to Pennsylvania for American Thanksgiving with my family. This was a special time for all! Much love to Gramma and Pappy!

The Tapper and Steiger kids: fast friends

(Too much excitement to get many pictures with Gramma and Pappy!)

3) Mike’s Comprehensive Exams—While we were gone, Mike wrote Part 1 of his PhD exams, and then he completed Part 2—an oral defense—today! His hard work paid off as he did very well (HOORAY, DADDY!), and the other five Tappers also worked hard to give Daddy all the time and space required for this big accomplishment.

Perhaps all that brain-work puts stress on the scalp? Notice any similarities appearing here?

On a much less exciting note…

4) Tonsillitis—Abby’s got it. Again. Ugh. She ends up with throat infections every 6-8 weeks. This has been going on for about 2 years. She has finally been approved for a tonsillectomy, but there is a waiting list. In the meantime, we continue to deal with nuisance sicknesses.

Back to the good stuff…

5) Advent—We love this time of year! At this point, my children really cherish traditions (especially Andrew, perhaps because he is still making sure he understands his place and how things work here)…and I appreciate that they care about these things. Planning and getting things together does take some extra time, though. We have already been lighting our Advent Wreath during family meals and have cut and decorated our Christmas tree. We are also using a Jesse Tree devotional to walk through the Biblical story as we journey toward Christmas.

Looking for a Christmas tree!

So that’s the extras that have put blogging on a bit of a back burner the last couple weeks. Sorry! Now, hopefully, we can get back to “normal” again!

What do you mean this isn't normal??!!!??