Blessed

Sorry for the lack of posts recently.  We took a trip to Iowa to visit family.  Our kids did awesome in the car and loved visiting everyone.  We had a great time and we were definitely reminded at what an amazing family we have.  We are so blessed.

We are also blessed with many amazing people here at home.  Recently we were blessed with cribs for our new babies.  Here's one of them.  I managed to get it put up this morning.

It's amazing how much you can cram into a little bedroom =)

Still Waiting

I'd like to say that the longer we have waited, the better I have gotten at it.  But this would be a lie, I actually think I'm even worse at it now.  Knowing that we could get our referral any day is tough, I feel like this week I have been on edge constantly.

Here's my analogy that I meant to post last week but didn't get a chance to, the crazy thing is that our pastor used a similar analogy in his sermon this weekend (God's timing is always perfect):

I feel like we are sailing on a ship (crab fishing size for those of you who need details).  We departed the east coast on December 1st, 2009.  We have continued to sail across the great blue ocean, headed for Africa, but it seems like there is no end in sight.  Some days the ocean is calm and other days it seems like we might be engulfed by the waves.  Luke would tell you it's always calm, but as for me, choppy faithless days come and go.  The beauty of this journey is that God is the captain of our boat.  I continually need him to calm the storm and reassure me that we will get there safely.  I also need Him to reassure me that we will get there since I still see no end in sight.  I know soon we will see Africa, and it may take everything in me to not just out of that boat and swim to the shore. =)  So blessed to have such a great captain who continues to lead us and teach us so much along the way.

Cooking Hats

My kids love to help cook.  This weekend I asked if they wanted to help make muffins.  They of course said yeah but told me to wait so they could get their cooking hats.  Little did I know that cooking hats look like buckets on your head. =)

Hello Summer Vacation

This week was our 1st week of summer break.  Although it didn't really feel like it since we were super busy this week and the weather has been cold.  Here are some pictures I took of Kristin last week as she finished up her school work.

Homeschooling Kristin this year has been such a blessing.  We know this is where God has called us, and both Luke and I really started to see why.  This was Kristin's 1st year of preschool and we are so glad we chose to start this year and not wait another year because she was completely ready.  She completely exceeded every expectation Luke and I had and even started reading and doing a lot of Kindergarten level work.  Which, by the way, teaching and watching your child learn to read is one of the most amazing experiences to be a part of as a parent.  Since Kristin has excelled so greatly she will be doing Kindergarten work next year even though she is technically still a preschooler.  One of the many advantages of homeschooling.

A Load Has Been Lifted

The park is officially done.  The only thing I'm still waiting on is the "donated by" placards for the benches.  The cement was laid this week and we did our last round of park sitting.  Which by the way, some people are just dumb.  We thought middle schoolers would be our problem... nope... it was adults who wanted to touch the wet cement even though it clearly looked wet.  So glad we had extra money in the budget for the sidewalk, it looks SO much better.  Back to my main point (I'm easily side-tracked), I handed over the park file to the HOA board last night, so I am officially done.  It was such a huge relief to hand this over.

Many months of hard work definitely paid off!!!

Still Sleepy

Even though my kids are getting a bit older, we still have nap time (a.k.a. quiet time).  Kade always falls asleep and definitely needs the nap or he is super crabby.  Kristin would be fine without one, but I think it's a good habit to keep as we prepare for 2 more siblings.  Quiet time at our house is 1-3, not only do they need this down time, but I do as well.  If my kids can't sleep I let them read books in their bed.  Well, Kade was getting some books to read because he couldn't sleep any longer and this is what ended up happening:

I think it's safe to say he was still tired. =)

Blogger Issues

Apparently blogger is having some issues so my last few posts are now missing.  Hopefully they get restored, if not I'll attempt to remember what I posted.  Hope you have a great weekend.

A Familiar Tune (repost)

With warm weather comes the ice cream truck.  And boy is this guy wishing for more business because we watched him circle the park multiple times with little luck.  Although it did provide great entertainment as the kids just stared as he passed not once, but twice. =)  So thank you ice cream man for your free music and entertainment.

Joy & Sorrow

This week has been full of joy for me personally as I've watched many families travel to Rwanda to bring home their children, some friends left for Ethiopia this week, another friend received a visa for their daughter in Haiti, and many more families got referrals from Rwanda.  I feel like the last 2 weeks has been filled with great adoption news and I am celebrating with each of these families.

So, knowing that things continue to keep moving in Rwanda, I have been checking my email with great excitement each morning.  Of course I haven't heard anything yet, but I have great hope that we will soon enough.  The next travel group from our agency will go to Rwanda around mid-June.  We might be in this travel group, or maybe not.  It's so hard to know since we are requesting children under the age of 2.

Anyways, I went to check my email this morning looking forward to seeing more exciting adoption movement, but instead I sobbed as I read one particular email.  A family we know unexpectedly lost their 18 month old son yesterday.  What a joy to know their sweet boy is now with Jesus, but what sorrow at the same time.  I can't even imagine how they are feeling right now.  Please pray for this family, my heart is so heavy for them right now.

"No, Mom"

Over the last few months Kade continues to become more independent in life.  He can make his own bed, put on his own shoes, clean up some of his messes, etc.  Not that I have a problem with this, it does make my life a little easier, but it's just a sad reminder that he's not my baby anymore.  This is how I still picture Kade in the back of my head:

I still see him as this small, fragile little guy who needs my constant help and attention.  Obviously this is not the case anymore and I need to move on.

He has recently reminded me that he's no longer my baby by calling me "mom" instead of "mommy."  For some reason it just breaks my heart when he does this.  When I asked him to call me mommy, he says "no, mom."  I guess I can no longer call him my baby. =)

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to every mom out there.  No matter what your circumstance is, may your day be filled with great reminders of what a blessing each child is.  This day is definitely bittersweet for me as I know I have 2 babies that aren't with us right now, but it's also a great celebration knowing God has given me 2 more beautiful children that I will soon meet!

our craft for our grandmas, hope they don't check this post before receiving these =)

The Value Of God's Word

Very rarely do movies teach Christian values.  Well, not only did I not expect to get anything good out of this movie, I didn't even want to watch it, but did so because I'm a good wife. =)  I will caution you that this movie is rated R because it can be a bit gory at times.  But if you can get past the gore, the lesson is valuable & challenging.  This is what I got out of the movie:

1. We take for granted how truly important and valuable the Bible is.  We should truly treasure it, protect it, read it daily, apply it to our lives, and ingrain it on our hearts.

2. When God calls us to do something, we should follow Him, even if it takes 30 years.  We should not allow anything to take us away from doing God's will; stand strong against temptation.

I Love Shutterfly

I love Shutterfly and have been using it for years now.  I used to scrapbook (before children), but it just got to be too much work and too costly.  So instead I now create our albums on Shutterfly and love them.  I just finished making our Myrtle Beach Album and discovered that I could post it on my blog.  Did I mention that I LOVE Shutterfly.  So here's my album, I posted many of these pictures before, but they look much better in the album!  Enjoy.

To see a larger version, click the link at the bottom of this, then select view photo book, then click on full screen on the top right corner.

Click here to view this photo book larger

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

Quote For The Day

"Faith is believing ahead of time what can only be seen by looking back."
- Phillip Yancey

Lovin' Our New Park

There has definitely not been a shortage of people enjoying our new park.  Its been busy since it opened, even on cold days.  It brought me great joy to enjoy this with my children.  All that hard work paid off!

Still waiting on the swings.  The edging still needs to be taken care of also, but this is currently a battle that I hope ends soon so we can be done with this project.

A Place To Play

Our park is finally complete...kinda.  We can now play on it, but there are a few more things that need to be done.  Some kind of edging still needs to be taken care of, and the swings were the wrong ones, so the new ones should be in next week.  It wasn't done on Tuesday like we expected...surprise, surprise.  This is what it looked like Tuesday, they didn't have enough ground cover to finish it.

After talking to the installation crew on Tuesday, they said it still shouldn't be played on for a couple days because some of the posts were just cemented.  So, my neighbor and I caution taped it to death to attempt to keep kids off of it.  Lets just say this tape meant nothing to the middle schoolers.

Yesterday afternoon the tape was removed and the final ground cover added.  YAY!  We now have a park right across the street to play in!!!

Easter Pictures

all dressed up for church

love my family, so blessed to have them

aren't they the cutest =)

my beautiful sisters

Homestudy Update...Or Not

Last week I was under the impression that we needed to update our homestudy, or at least this is what our international agency told me.  They said since it's over a year old it's expired and we need to update it because we can't travel with an expired homestudy.

Well, our homestudy agency had a completely different take.  Our case worker was VERY adamant about the fact that our homestudy was still valid since nothing has changed in our lives.  She felt it would be better to update it as our USCIS stuff got closer to expiring (which is this summer).

Needless to say, these 2 differing views left me completely confused last week!  After many confusing conversations last week, both our case worker and family coordinator agreed that our homestudy is still currently valid since it does not actually have an expiration date.  Come to find our international agency likes to err on the cautious side, which is good.  I guess the point is, if we are to get our referral soon, we will be able to travel with our current homestudy.