First Day of School

We survived our first day of school today and both children have already surpassed many of my expectations.  Kristin is going to fly through this Kindergarten material, and Kade sat longer than I expected.  My goal with Kade is minimal, just practicing ABCs, colors, shapes, etc.  He was super excited to do school with Kristin today and he blew me away with his longer than normal attention span.  As sad as I am about summer being over, I love routine and it was nice to have a schedule today.

Good Bye Summer

This last 2 weeks we have tried to enjoy summer to its fullest since we start school next week.  Well, we certainly had so much fun enjoying the last bit of summer, but I have to say I'm now completely exhausted and looking forward to slowing down a bit and getting back into a school routine.  Enjoy the highlights of the last 2 weeks.

Unknown

Nothing new here...still waiting...still trusting that we will have our referral soon.  Completely exhausted right now... a bit from the heat... and from our busyness as we've tried to enjoy this last week of summer to its fullest... and from my husbands random absence during elk season... and emotionally drained from waiting.

I was just reminded by another adoptive momma that this adoption is SO much bigger than we are.  It's much more than us just bringing our new babies home.  It's about a plan God has that I can still honestly tell you I don't completely understand and maybe never will.  It's about us obeying God and trusting Him even though we can't fully see the road ahead.  So on we go trusting and not knowing.

We know we will meet our new babies soon but haven't the slightest clue when.  In the mean time, we are still planning to travel soon.  Still preparing for two new babies to join us.  Preparing to leave our other babies here at grandma's for a month.  And really preparing the best we can for the unknown.  That's what every bit of this is, unknown.  And in the unknown all there is to do is trust God and rely on Him.

Kisses in the Wind

(The Waiting Child's Lullaby)
I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

© Pamela Durkota

Puzzle

This is Kristin's newest obsession:

With a little encouragement she has discovered that she can do this 100 piece puzzle by herself.  So, now she does it daily, it takes a while, but she's so proud once it's complete, everyday. =)

Still Hot

It has been unusually warm here for late August, but that's okay because its given us a chance to enjoy the last little bit of summer by getting wet.  Last week we took another trip to our favorite splash park.  My kids love this place, and I love that it's free!!!

not sure what this face is all about

Kade liked shooting people with this

Trust

Trusting God is a hard thing because even though we may know He has led us somewhere in life it's hard to trust the unknown and the hardship that comes with going outside our comfort zone.  God has led us down the road of adoption and we know we have 2 beautiful babies waiting for us.  This I do not doubt.  But it's amazing how you can trust God in one area and another area of little trust resurfaces.  God totally convicted me last night that I am not trusting His timing.  While I'm trusting Him to move mountains and bring our babies home I've been obsessively checking my email and praying that we will have our referral soon.  But the reality is I have no control over when we get our referral, this is in God's hands and I need to trust this.  So once again God continues to teach me every step of this journey.  The road God leads us down is always tough but the blessings are well worth it.

6 Months

Today marks 6 months since we've been approved.  I was so hoping to have some good news to share with you by now, but I've got nothing.   Even though we've reached 6 months, we are not concerned about getting rejected.  On the contrary, we are confident we will get our referral but don't know when.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.  I have really seen the power of your prayers in the last couple weeks, it has really helped us to stay strong and continue to trust God through this very trying wait.  It's amazing how God just carries you through what should be some of the toughest situations.  And we are so blessed with all the amazing people and prayer warriors God has surrounded us with.

Please join us in praying for our referral soon.  My mommy heart is really aching today for our babies.

Mission Accomplished

Somewhere between toddlerhood and preschool my children developed a fear of getting water in their face.  So my husband and I have made it our personal goal this summer to help them get used to water in there face.  This has included only taking showers (not bathes), also lots of visits to our favorite splash park, and other swimming destinations.  Well, last week our goal was accomplished.  When we took them swimming they went through the water and onto the slides with no problem.  Mission accomplished. =)

Hiking Adventure

Today we went on another hike and it was definitely an adventure, we saw lots of exciting things.  We saw a black bear (from the car), a woman along the trail painting, a person walking around with a puppet, and a wedding ceremony taking place right on the trail.

random wedding

rock climbing

looking for fish

Money Saving Tip

I find it one of my personal goals in life to find ways to save money.  Mostly because I get visions in my head of all these starving, sick people around the world and so I figure I need to be a good steward of what God has given us so someday I can use the extra money saved for those in need.

So here's my tip of the day.  Stop buying wrapping paper.  For gifts at our house we like to personal our own wrapping paper by using free paper bags from the grocery store.  Here is the gift my kids decorated for their cousins birthday this week.

And to be honest, my 3 year old nephew was WAY more excited about the pretty package on the outside than what was on the inside.  He admired it for quite a while.

If you aren't into personalizing things, you could also use the comic pages from your newspaper.

Our New Pet

Meet Rocko, the newest member of our family.  He is Kade's pet rock (found lost week when hiking with family).  He is very easy to take care of.  Kade likes to give him lots of baths in the sink.    He gets lost easily since Kade takes him everywhere.  Good thing there are 3 of them.  They turn up in the most random places.  This one turned up under his carseat today (I think the other 2 are in his pockets in the laundry).  Kade was so excited to find him.  I would definitely recommend a pet rock, they are so much easier to maintain than real animals.

Must Read

So I've got another really good kids book that I totally recommend you read.  We've all grown up with the 3 Little Pigs, but to be fair you should read this book and hear the wolf's side of the story.  Check out The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs.

Special Delivery

Yesterday my children received a special package in the mail.  They were super excited to have presents to open.  The note said they wanted to make sure the kids were prepared for football season with cool gear. =) We are definitely blessed with great family.

Kade now insists that he wear this jersey all the time.

Getting Our Hike On

I love hiking in the mountains, and I love the fact that we live so close to a beautiful national park.  This month we are planning to get our hike on and embark on many outdoor adventures.  This week we met up with some family visiting and went hiking with them.  It was SO much fun. =)

2 Weeks

We have 2 weeks left to be matched... still trusting God to move mountains!!!

Mommy-cation

This weekend I took a break and had some much needed time away with a good friend.  We took a trip to the mountains and stayed in a condo that was super cheap (gotta love good connections).  Our condo also happened to be right on the slopes.  Of course that part doesn't really matter much since it's summer and it's not really fun to snowboard on a grassy mountain.  Anyways, we had so much fun, it was definitely a weekend filled with great adventures.  You also know that you've had a good relaxing time when the 2 days spent there really feels like a week.  I definitely came home SO refreshed.

our hike to a waterfall

now you see me..... now you don't

the views from our condo

yum-o

Psalm 23

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
 ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
 ³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
   for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
   through the valley of the shadow of death,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.
 ⁵ You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever.

Best Summer Ever

This summer we have been super busy but we have loved every minute of it.  We've had fun camping, visiting family, swimming, etc.  Most importantly I have just loved spending time with my kids.  They bring such joy to our lives and we are so blessed to be their parents.  Well, our fun has continued and this week we visited with more family.  Which was probably one of my kid's favorite parts of this summer because they love spending time with their cousins.  They keep asking me when we get to see them again.

In Awe

20 days left and I'm feeling completely blessed.  No, we have not heard anything new about our adoption but the peace I have is only something that can come from God.  Since last Friday God has showered us in love beyond what I can imagine.  It's amazing how during tough times God places people in your life to help you remember that you are not alone.  The encouragement and scripture from those God has placed in my life have all come at just the right time.  What should be one of the toughest waits of this adoption has become one of the most rewarding as God carries us through.   This last 5 days my time with God has been breath-taking and I look forward to seeing where He takes us next.

Looking forward to seeing the faces of our beautiful babies!!!