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Today, November 29, 2010, at 1:00 pm in Bulgaria, a judge declared Alexis to be our daughter. We are now, officially, the proud parents of 8 beautiful and amazing children and Alexis is an orphan no more! Officially introducing. . . . Alexis Rayna Rieben We are still working to finalize travel plans, but it looks like I will be returning to Bulgaria to bring her home the first week of January! I can't think of a better way to begin a new year! Once she is home we will FINALLY be able to move forward, full speed ahead, with Gage's adoption as well, so this day was a pivotal day in the lives of many! Once again, we are humbled and grateful for our Heavenly Father's continual outpouring of blessings! Our sweet little girl is finally coming home!

Dear Family and Friends, This year will mark a radical change in the way that our family celebrates Christmas. For years we have struggled to find a balance between gift giving/receiving and celebrating the real "reason for the season," the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. While we feel that we have come closer to finding that balance each year, we still walk away feeling mediocre at best. As the Christmas season has crept steadily nearer, we have found ourselves on our knees many times, pleading with the Father for His guidance on how we can best celebrate Christ this Christmas. As I was studying my scriptures I came upon a passage in Deuteronomy (24:19-21): "When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless and for the widow: that the Lord they God shall bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, tho...

First, let me say THANK YOU for all of the great questions that you have submitted! Richard and I have really enjoyed reading through and discussing them and we are looking forward to sharing our thoughts with you. I had planned to begin on Monday evening once Evan and I arrived in Philadelphia for surgery, but after a long day of driving and a long week ahead of us, sleep found me before my fingers could find the keyboard. In addition to the bilateral femoral stapling (to correct the flexion contractures in his knees), Evan was also scheduled to have hardware (plates/screws) removed from a previous surgery . Shortly before surgery his doctor also decided to perform bilateral tenotomies on his feet because they were, once again, beginning to turn back in. Evan was taken to the operating room at 11:30 am. At 4:30 pm I received a call from the doctor. All of the procedures had gone well, but there was a problem. A few minutes later he met me in the waiting room. When they had gone in ...