Laney and Kiah discover "Disco Fever" at the local skating rink

Laney was invited to a birthday party at "Scooters", which is a local skating rink that allows you to bring in scooters or any other kind of riding device. Kiah was allowed to join in (and was one of the few boys there, which highly worked in his favor), and of course, I brought Laney's Barbie 3-wheeler, which Kiah absolutely loves. By the end of the party, the music was pumping, the disco ball was in full force, and Laney and Kiah were getting their groove on. This was definitely one of the best times the two of them have enjoyed together. I hate to sound like a broken record, but we are truly blessed with these children.

What really happens when I'm not at home ...

I found these and several similar videos on our camera one day after I had been away for a few hours (probably doing something for the kids!) No wonder Laney and Kiah enjoy their "Daddy time" so much!

Pool Fun

Our kids love the pool, which is good because our neighborhood has 3!! And we were able last night to visit with friends who have a super-cool pool that has a current in it, and jets! It is so funny that two kids who cried like crazy the first (and in Kiah's case, the 20th) time we tried to bathe them, now can't get enough of the water. Here are some favorite pics from the summer.

One Year Ago ...

One year ago tonight, I was preparing for my next day of work at Wal-Mart in Wallace. I had no idea what God had planned for me that day. I left Laney with my parents and made the 1 hour commute up I-40. I saw old friends and co-workers and had to answer the inevitable question, "Have you heard anything about your adoption", with the sad but true answer, "No, not yet" We had been waiting to adopt a child from Vietnam for almost a year and things were turning bad fast. The international adoption agreement between the US and Vietnam was set to expire on September 1st, and anyone who did not have a specific child assigned to them at that time would not receive a child -- no exceptions. Perry and I were anxious, mad, scared, and every other emotion you can imagine. But, we were confident that God had led us to the Vietnam program for a reason, and we were determined to ride it out, no matter what. So, a little after 3pm on July 24, 2008, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pharmacist's jacket, and immediately recognized the number as coming from our adoption agency. I think my heart stopped beating for a second. I tried to calmly answer, "Hello?" and then heard the happy voice of Mary Beth (from our agency) telling me she had good news --- WE WERE MATCHED WITH A LITTLE BOY!!! I tried writing down all the info she gave me -- his name, birthdate, where he was, etc. It is all a blur. I cannot explain how surreal it is to find out all this information about the child who is about to join your family forever while being surrounded by ringing phones, beeping scanners, overhead announcements and customers trying to find out what OTC pill is going to help then lose 20 lbs without changing their eating habits or exercising. But, I got as much as I could from her and then had to explain to all my co-workers what had just happened. They were thrilled and so excited to be a part of the moment. I don't think I got much done the rest of the day. I called Perry (who hadn't answered his cell phone when Mary Beth called him first because he "didn't recognize the number(!)") and told him the news. Mary Beth said she would send the pictures of our son to us via email. The drive home was possibly the longest drive of my life. I got home before Perry (who had picked up Laney and was out and about with her). I couldn't wait and immediately opened the email. That is when I saw these pictures of Kiah for the very first time. It amazes me now how much like "him" he looks. The first viewing of your child who is literally half-a-world away is a little distanced, to say the least. You don't know them and you can't recognize what their expressions mean. But, looking back at them now, I can see Kiah in all of them. He has some of the exact same expressions today, but now, I know what they mean! What a blessing this child has been to us. I had no idea what God had in store for us, but HE did and we are humbled beyond words to be the offical and forever parents of Kiah Thanh Allen.

A few "firsts"

Here are two recent videos of some Allen Family Firsts. The first one is of Kiah's first visit to the beach. It took him a few minutes to warm up to the whole idea, but then he quickly embraced it! The other one is of Laney and Kiah actually playing together and having fun as brother and sister (we look forward to many more of these moments, but for now, we take what we can get).

Our Disney Vacation

Our trip to Disney is almost over, so I thought I had better blog before heading back home and back to reality. This is our first time being here in June, and boy, is it hot!! Kiah is not much of a fan of the sun, so we've had to scale back our normal Disney routine a little for him. We got to spend the first few days here with our friends Krista, Vito, and Bella. Laney and Bella had so much fun together, from swooning when Prince Charming appeared, to jumping into the fountain at the Grand Floridian. They pick up right where they left off when they saw each other last, which is always a sign of true friendship. We were sad to see them leave, but know we will see them again soon (maybe in NC -- hint, hint!)
Laney made me proud by riding "Expedition Everest" with me, then again with Perry! She really liked it, but was not such a fan of "Tower of Terror". After that one, she stated she probably wouldn't ride it again "until I'm about 10 or 11". She took the 50-ft drop of "Splash Mountain" much better than me. In the picture they took of us, I am screaming and leaning over her. She is smiling like a Princess. When it was over, she simply said, "I thought we would get wetter than this!"
Kiah has hung in pretty well with the whole Disney experience. His favorite parts are the shows. Sit that kid down on your lap for the "Festival of the Lion King", "It's Tough to be a Bug", "Little Mermaid", or basically anything where there is music and air-conditioning, and he is a happy boy. Try to put him in the stroller for more than 1 minute, and it's another story. He has powered through two character meals, but let us know how he really felt today at Cinderella's castle when he flung his Mickey-shaped plate of "complimentary pasta" frisbee-style across the room, barely missing a server! He then refused to make any notice of the stream of Princesses that paraded by our table to see him and Laney, and was horrified when Belle actually reached out to touch his shoulder. He did his trademark squeal and pulled his arm away so fast that Belle wasn't sure how to react! As Perry said, he is quite the charmer!
Although this has been a much different Disney trip than we are used to, it has been another week of great memories. Laney and I spent about 4 hours by ourselves at the Magic Kingdom today after Perry took Kiah back to the room for his nap. It was fun to hang out with her and ride rides together. We even got caught in the rain and purchased matching rain ponchos. Of course, we matched about half of the people in the park, but that's beside the point! We're looking forward to getting back home though to see our puppy and settle back in to our routine. No more traveling for the Allen's for awhile!

Future "Jackson 5"? (or "Allen/Connet 4"?)

We recently spent an evening with Perry's sister and her family, which includes Laney and Kiah's cousins, Natalie and Lillie. After dinner, they put on quite a performance for us. There's got to be a market for this funky beat and interpretive dancing sometime soon, right? Notice the polished nature of their show as well - pure professionalism at such a young age.