God's Plan A for Mike and Amy!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T15:17:00.001-08:00

First Snow Fall

2012-01-18T15:11:00.000-08:00

So it finally snowed here!! The boys had fun making snow angels, throwing snow balls, and pulling each other around the yard on their sleds.

Not quite sure why this picture is coming in sideways - honestly, John did not stand on his head in the snow!!
Mommy had fun watching snowflakes fall on her coat and then being able to see some them in detail - including all six points and the unique decorativeness and beauty of each. Ou God is so amazing!!

Activity of the Week - Snow Painting

2012-01-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

In the hopes that it would finally snow here, we planned some fun indoor snow activities including "snow painting!" Mix equal parts white glue and shaving cream, then stir until it is thick like frosting. Then paint it onto paper and it will dry puffy and look similar to snow!

We added to the activity by finding pictures of animals and people in the snow, cutting them out, and then gluing them to our papers. Then we painted on the snow.

Ryan hard at work:
John painted a mountain behind his snow leopard:

Announcing - Our Adoption Puzzle Fundraiser!!

2012-01-13T18:27:00.001-08:00

We are excited to launch our adoption fundraising efforts in a unique way - a puzzle fundraiser!
We have a beautiful, 1500 piece puzzle featuring a variety of animals found in Africa, birth land of our two boys and future son or daughter. We are asking pieces be "sponsored" for a donation of $2.00 a piece. As the pieces are sponsored, not only will we begin to assemble the puzzle but the donors initials will be written on the back so we will always remember you whenever we complete the puzzle! All money raised will go to cover our international adoption agency's first payment - $3,000.

Donations can be given directly to us or mailed to us at: Mike and Amy Vagnoni, 408 South Slusser Street, Grayslake, Illinois, 60030.

We will give frequent updates on the puzzle progress and add it as a side bar on the blog home page. Thank you all in advance!!!

Holidays in Review

2012-01-12T05:30:00.003-08:00

A quick (ha!) recap of the holidays:

Two cute elves:
Decorating gingerbread houses:Three days before Christmas we lost our cat Scout. She was fifteen years old and had many health issues for a long time. But she was greatly loved (especially by me who had her for fourteen years) and will be greatly missed.Believe it or not, this picture was taken only a couple of years ago when we were getting our photo pages ready during the adoption process. My friends might be shocked to see Scout so active!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas Eve:

Christmas morning:

Opening presents is such hard work!

Ice skates for the ice pond that will hopefully be in the back yard:

Mike and I are HUGE Dr. Who fans and each of us ended up giving the other a sonic screwdriver for Christmas - ha!

Two good looking fellows:

The Day After Christmas

The cousins:

(they are really looking at the TV and watching the superhero film they made, not staring at all the presents!)

Over winter break, Aunt Sarah took the boys for a sleep over, stopping first at Chuck E. Cheese (the boys had never been there) for lunch and fun:

New Year's Eve found us visiting the zoo to see the new lion cubs. Even sleeping they are adorable.

New Year's Eve with friends and LOTS of food:

always ending with chocolate fondue:

New Year's Day:

Ethiopian Christmas:

Dinner with our Ethiopian Yahoo Group friends:

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-12T05:29:00.002-08:00

Happy 2012!

2012-01-12T05:29:00.001-08:00

I hope that everyone's year is off to an exciting beginning filled with the prospect of a year of adventures!!

Before looking ahead, a look back at 2011:
The Vagnoni 2011 Top Ten List of Blessings
10 - December: the re-launch of SomeThings Creative, our small side business (with the addition of Mike’s skills) - cheesecakes, custom artwork, and more! Please visit our website: http://somethingscreative.weebly.com/index.html
9 - February 6: PACKERS WIN THE SUPERBOWL!!
8 - August 11-13: 2nd (hopefully annual) Green Bay, Wisconsin mini-vacation – We take in Packer’s Training Camp (“It’s the real Aaron Rogers! But why is he wearing a red shirt?”), Bay Beach Amusement Park, and the New Zoo, plus a pool with curly slide at the hotel – WOW!
7 - October 31: Amy begins part time in home child care job. We love having A here for our adventures on Monday and Tuesday evenings and Wednesday and Thursday morning/afternoons!
6 - September 3-6: Hosting the America World Adoption Reunion – a time to gather with other families who have adopted from Ethiopia – we had a blast!
5 - September 30-October 1: Crossroads of America Adoption Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana – an amazing weekend in which we gained not only some fantastic information on adoption and adoption resources but a glimpse into the future the Lord has for us!
4 - June 9-17: Pennsylvania trip – We visited Mike’s sister and her family. A truly wonderful week of spending time with family, sightseeing, and memory making!!
3 - Church and Small Groups – Awesome Sunday teaching for both us and the boys and spiritual support and guidance from small group members!
2 - Family and Friends – The love and blessings heaped on us and the laughter and joy they have brought are immeasurable!
AND THE VAGNONI FAMILY NUMBER ONE BLESSING OF 2011 …
1 - A second year with John and Ryan in which they were excited about: sledding down hills, looking for buds on the trees, playing on the castle, checking daily to see how the flowers had grown, visiting the sprinkler park, trips to the Milwaukee Zoo, birthday parties, Galena Weekend, family camping, starting kindergarten and preschool, play dates, raking leaves, trick or treating (as Superman and Batman), making movies, library story time, going to church on Sunday mornings, cheering the Packers with Daddy, and a million other every day adventures that when seen through the eyes of a child are magic! We are blessed … our cup runneth over.

And now, on with 2012!!!!! We have begun this year with the continued passion to adopt, the surety and prospect of additional income, and the decision to begin fundraising with the hope of starting our paperwork in late summer or early fall. So with that said, we humbly ask for your prayers in the process - please pray for God's will and timing, our trust and patience in His will and timing, and joy in the journey.

Activity of the Week - Postcards!

2011-12-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

I discovered the website Postcrossing recently in a Family Fun magazine. This is a website where people sign up to send and receive post cards from around the world - how cool is that!!

So we put up our new world map and got ready to send our first two post cards - one to Taiwan and one to Poland. We then received two post cards from Michigan and Germany. We sent another to the Netherlands and are waiting to see where our next post card will come from!

This site has been great fun! Postcards are pretty cheap (we bought some at Jewel for 33 cents) and it has cost 98 cents to mail each card internationally. And who doesn't like getting fun mail!

"I had a dream ..."

2011-12-04T19:37:00.001-08:00

Several months ago, as I was looking in on the boys sleeping before heading to bed myself, I noticed John having a dream about Mario Kart. How do I know this you might ask? Because his hands slowly moved up and grabbed on to a steering wheel and he began to move them as if he were driving - it was quite hilarious! I of course shared the story with everyone the next day and we all got a good laugh.

Every once in a while, Ryan will say he dreamed he was playing Mario Kart too.

So when I overheard him say to Mike this weekend, "I had a dream," I expected it to be about Mario Kart. But instead, Ryan continues, "There were seven skinny cows and they ate the seven fat cows." It seriously was all I could do to contain myself!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

Waiting for the Cloud to Move

2011-11-14T12:11:00.000-08:00

The Lord has brought many verses to me over the past few weeks after we learned we could not proceed in the adoption process.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
trust: to place confidence, depend, hope, entrust, to rely on, a practical willingness to let God hold me

Do not let you hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. John 14:1

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust. Psalm 40:4a

Is anything too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18:14

Those who hope (trust in God's power, patience in His timing) in the Lord will renew their strength. Isaiah 40:31

I am thankful for the Lord and His word. I am thankful for friends and family who are and who have been praying for us. I am thankful from so many from my Yahoo Group who have walked the path of adoption who have offered their encouragement and support. I am thankful for the two amazing boys the Lord had blessed us with.

I have been asking God for wisdom and revelation in all this. Should I hold on to the dream of another adoption or let it go? Are you calling us to adopt again Lord and should I begin fundraising? Or is our family complete? I have not felt an answer either way, simply the need to wait. i have struggled. Why did You call us Lord to step out when You knew our path would be blocked right away? So next I prayed for the Lord to give Mike revelation as to what to do! No answer that way either. I have beseeched the Lord - tell me what to do and I'll do it!!

Yesterday as I read in Numbers 9 of the Israelites moving through the desert, following the Lord who was in the form of a cloud, I finally got it - God's revelation is for me to wait - to wait for His cloud to move:
Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the LORD’s command they encamped, and at the LORD’s command they set out. Numbers 9:17-23

Adoption on Hold

2011-10-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

We received some very disappointing news from our social worker Faith today. At this time we are not able to proceed with the adoption. The state of Illinois will not approve us because we do not make enough income.

I will be beginning a part time job in a few weeks and Faith's advice is to wait a year so that we are able to prove a greater income.

Please pray for us. This is a setback I never saw coming and we are all disappointed. Please pray for help believing that in ALL THINGS God works good for those who love Him.

Referral-iversary . . . 2 Years Ago Today

2011-10-20T19:24:00.001-07:00

Two years ago today the best phone call ever, "This is your referral call!

Showing my nieces the "new cousins"
Celebrating with our small group who we were privileged enough to walk through the process with:

To read the original post from two years ago, click here:

http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2009/10/102009-stork-has-landed.html

So tonight at dinner, we retold the story of the phone call and Mommy coming home to wake Daddy up to tell him it was referral day and how we saw their pictures for the first time and we didn't know who they were until that day and how we went and showed the pictures to Gramma and Bompa, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Ken, Uncle Don, and how we asked Sami and Maddy if they wanted to see pictures of the "new cousins" and how Sami just jumped up and down saying yes (her excitement seriously paralled mine!) and how we came back home and our small group was here with balloons and flowers and we drank a toast of Champaign in their honor and praised God for His blessings to us and how we were so happy!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T20:33:00.001-07:00

Activity of the Week - Pumpkins

2011-10-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

This fun project took us a couple days to complete.

We began with four small pumpkins and used them to by complete a chart of their weight, height, and circumference. Before finding each actual measurement, I had the boys make a prediction. We predicted each pumpkin one at a time so they were able to make a prediction in comparison to what they already knew (I helped a little with this concept). For example, pumpkin 2 was smaller than pumpkin 1 so it was going to weigh less and not be as tell.

Holding the pumpkins before guessing a weight:
Setting the pumpkin on the kitchen scale (good discussion on pounds and ounces!)

Measuring the pumpkin (another good discussion on feet and inches)

Using a tape measure to check the circumference (we discussed what that word meant) and they are always so ready to smile for the camera!

Our completed graph:

Then we were on to the next pumpkin activity! I gave the boys a few drops of red and yellow finger paint on a paper plate (hadn't intended for this to be a color mixing activity but I had no orange finger paint - so bonus skill!) and they mixed them together to cover the whole plate.

Once the plates dried we traced and cut out different shapes to glue on for the eyes, nose, and mouth:

The one on the left would of course be my artist husband's, followed by mine, John's (whose idea it was to add the stem on the front), and Ryan's who wanted to make his pumpkin have ears like a bunny, hence the two stems!

Lots of math and creative skills with this fun activity!

God's Plan A for Mike and Amy continues . . .

2011-10-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

So what do we do now?

This is a question I have asked myself since coming home from Ethiopia in February 2010. Having been through the international adoption process, having traveled half way around the world, having seen a humble people poor in material possessions but so rich in love, knowing there are more orphans . . . what do I do now?

We have not felt called to begin an orphan ministry or another kind of support system in cooperation with groups in Ethiopia as some have (more info about some GREAT organizations in future posts). But what do I do?

I love the boys, help them adjust to life in our home, delight that they are happy and healthy. But what do I do?

It is a question that has haunted me. Until Now - until 2 weeks ago when we attended an adoption conference in Indianapolis, Indiana hosted by MLJ Adoptions. We knew we would come home having heard some great information and with great resources. We did not anticipate hearing from God in the way we did. We did not anticipate being shown why the door to beginning an adoption from China had been temporarily closed to us seven weeks ago. We did not anticipate God speaking to our hearts and saying, "Give me everything and follow hard after me!" (okay, that is what I'm supposed to do!) We did not anticipate getting crazy with God - but that is what we are doing!

We are beyond thrilled to announce that we have been accepted into MLJ Adoptions Democratic Republic of the Congo program!! God is leading us to adopt again and He is calling us to the Congo!! We are requesting siblings, either gender aged 0-4 years old. However, a sibling referral is rare, so our single child request would be for a child, either gender aged 0-2 years old. I am still in awe of all God has planned for us as I type the above sentence!!

I never would have anticipated . . . but God knew and I am blessed because of it.

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

Spiritual Conversations from a 5 and 6 Year Old

2011-10-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Here's part of a conversation from the back seat of the car. It stemmed from having driven by my Gramma's house. My Gramma went to be with Jesus this March.

Ryan: Great Gramma is dead.
John: She's alive. (This exchange went back and forth a few times before John added) She's in heaven. (slight pause) Why can't we all just die right now and go to heaven?
(Now John will frequently ask rather deep spiritual questions and is truly interested in the answer, so I jumped in at this point.
Mommy: Because each of us has our purpose to fill here on earth.
Ryan: That's right. You buy it you break it!
John: No Ryan, You break it you buy it. (Again, this exchange went back and forth a few times before John states) I'm not having this argument anymore.
Ryan: Me neither. I'm not having this argument.

Wordless Wednesday (almost!)

2011-10-13T19:17:00.001-07:00

Activity of the Week

2011-10-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

We have spent some time working with colors this past week. Ryan is still practicing at mastering them and John has been asking which colors mixed together make which other colors.

So we traced six small circles on paper. Then in each of the circles I added drops of paint: 1 - red, 2 - red and yellow, 3 - yellow, 4 - yellow and blue, 5 - blue, 6 - blue and red. Then I gave them six q-tips which they used to fill in each circle with paint. We commented on what was happened to the different colors as they mixed together and formed a new color.

The finished product:

The this idea came from a list of classroom sensory bottle ideas (if anyone is interested in a copy of the list, let me know or leave your email and I'll send you a copy!). In each bottle add water, a couple drops of dish soap, and food coloring - then shake for suds. The boys LOVE them!! And insisted i make a white bottle too:

New Dress Up Costumes!

2011-09-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

You gotta love the Salvation Army store!! We added to our dress up costumes today (I was there to actually find clothes to use for the boys to be Superman and Batman for Halloween - pictures to follow in a few weeks). And thanks to my mom being a senior citizen, we got an extra 25% off!

Here's Mr. Bones:
and the Fierce Knight:

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T21:33:00.001-07:00

Activity of the Week

2011-09-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back!!!

I realize I have not been too up to date this summer with blogging (never posted anything about our 3 day trip to Green Bay for Packer Training Camp and worse I don't think there's a post about either of the boys birthdays - but hey, I did get first day of school on here!) But I long to make a little bit of time to weekly post on our activities, life, adoption thoughts, and basically anything that might give you a chuckle or an idea to try in your home.

Since I glean a lot of great ideas from other blogs, I want to give some ideas back! So I am introducing "Activity of the Week."

I have some number mats from when I taught preschool. They contain from 4 to 6 numbers and range from easy (1-4) to more challenging (includes numbers up to 12). Then I give the boys counters, which can be anything from plastic beads to fun food items (we used goldfish, mini marshmallows, fruit loops, and chocolate chips). They must count and place the correct number of counters in each square before enjoying their yummy snack. The boys LOVED this activity and asked to do it a second time when they finished. This activity works on counting, one to one correspondence, and number identification (sorry, the teacher in me needs to add all the skills they were working on as they had fun and didn't even realize it!)

Hope you have as much fun as we did!

8/29/11 - Ryan's First Day Back at Preschool

2011-08-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ryan was excited and ready to start back to preschool this Monday. He is in our district's preschool program and has the same teacher as last year.

New outfit for the first day back:
And not to be outdone by his brother, also a "posing" picture:

Coming out the front door:

Waiting for two school buses:

Here comes Ryan's bus!

We have the same bus drivers again this year - yeah!

And though it's hard to see, there's a little face looking out through the window at me saying good bye!

I thank You Lord that Ryan has the opportunity to be in this preschool program again this year and I praise You for the wonderful staff who will work with him. I ask that you would grow his confidence, his ability to understand, call up, and use this crazy English language, and his smile (if that's possible!). I thank You that Your plans for him are also for good, to prosper him and not to harm him. I thank You that You will never leave or forsake him. Watch over him and keep him and his happy soul in the palm of Your hand.

8/25/11 - First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

John started kindergarten this week!! And to say he was excited about it would be an understatement!

First day of school new outfit:
(do you kind of get the sense he loves posing for the camera?)

Brothers:

Coming out the front door to wait for the bus:

Waiting for the bus:

Here comes the bus: (yes, I do document everything!)

Getting on the bus:

and driving away:

Please watch over my child Lord as he goes into a new world of wonder and excitement and hurt and discovery and disappointment and imagination. Thank You Lord that Your plans for him are good, to prosper him and not to harm him. Thank you Lord that you will never leave him nor forsake him. Please watch over him and his heart and keep him in the palm of your hand. May he grow and learn and continue to be filled with joy and wonder at this world and all Your blessings!

8/20/11 - 18 Months!

2011-08-30T18:22:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's been 18 months since we stepped off a plane at O'Hare airport and walked down a flight of stairs to see - literally - a mob of our friends and family running toward us!!

But then again it seems like the boys have always been here and I have a hard time remembering what life was like before them. Their arrival and being an overnight Mom to two boys who move has definitely been the biggest challenge but certainly the greatest joy.

The first days home - February 2010:

18 months later - August 2011

Incidentally, now that the boys have been home 18 months - the time frame our international agency America World requires parents adopting children over the age of three to wait - we can think about starting the process over again!! Hmmmm . . . . .

07/13/11 - Puzzles Completed!

2011-07-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks Ms. Doreen for putting us over the top with your donation!! That's 200 dollars the boys raised for the American Cancer Society - WOW!

On the back of each piece is the initials of the person who "sponsored" it - that way whenever we do the puzzle, we'll remember all your generosity!

07/10/11 - Relay for Life Puzzle Fundraiser Update

2011-07-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well we are certainly blessed and blown away by the generosity this week!!! Thank you so much to Ms. Alison, Uncle Paul, Ms. Judy, Ms. Jan, and Ms. Gloria and Mr. Daniel!!! The boys have raised 178 dollars for the American Cancer Society!!!! And they only have 11 puzzle pieces left each - WOW!!

If you would still like to make a tax deductible donation, please visit our Relay site:

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11IL?team_id=905481&pg=team&fr_id=30667
Simply click on Ryan's name on our team web site page - I don't know why John's name didn't come up but I'll divide any donation between the two!!

John and Ryan's Relay for Life Fundraiser!

2011-07-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

The boys and I are participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in a few weeks! And the boys have a unique fundraiser!!

They are each trying to complete a hundred piece puzzle
and are asking for a dollar donation per puzzle piece. For example, if a dollar was donated, they would add 1 piece to their puzzle. If five dollars was donated, they would add 5 pieces, and so on and so forth. We are going to keep track of the progress here so please check back regularly!

Would you like to make a donation? If so, visit our Relay Team page:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11IL?team_id=905481&pg=team&fr_id=30667

If you care to make a donation toward the boys' puzzle completion, simply click on Ryan's name on our team web site page - I don't know why John's name didn't come up but I'll divide any donation between the two!!

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 9

2011-06-30T18:22:00.003-07:00

We highly, highly recommend the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, Ohio!! The museum was AWESOME and not very crowded the day we were there.

The boys did a puppet show; an archaeological dig; crawled through boxes and tunnels; played in two different water sensory tables; climbed a circular rope tube which led to two different slides and two different climbing towers, one of which took you above the roof; used pulleys to send a bag of tennis bags up a level to each other and then dropped them in tubes back down; played with wind and different sized balls; danced in a heat activated color changing wall; touched living things from the ocean; visited the tree house and watched for birds on the many bird feeders; drove a pretend car; played vet with stuffed animals; sorted wooden pictures of recyclable materials and put them in a garbage truck, then pushed a button to move them on a conveyor belt out the back of the truck; sat in and played with a mini crane; visited the zoo with meer cats, a bobcat, turtles, skunk, otters, and reptiles; played with Legos; crawled inside a giant turtle shell; saw jewelry and a drum from Ethiopia; and watched (or rather the boys napped through) a great planetarium show about the night sky. WOW!!!

This was a great way to end the vacation!!!!!!!!!!!

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 8

2011-06-30T18:22:00.001-07:00

We left Mike and Teri's about 7:45am and arrived at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio a bit earlier than we had planned, always a good thing! We spent about 3 1/2 hours looking at airplanes and visiting the aviation hall of fame that had some fun, hands on things to do. Mike loved looking at all the planes (as expected) for a second time as we have visited once before and the boys did okay (also as expected!)

pretending to drive the jeep:

The boys were very excited to see chairs out along the way:

Astronaut John:

Astronaut Ryan: There was a playground outside we played on while Mike looked at the outside planes and took more video footage (I think there's about 30 minutes of all the planes!). Then the boys then played with their treasures from the gift shop: spring launched plastic airplanes:

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 7

2011-06-30T18:21:00.011-07:00

Today we slept in and have had a restful day. Teri, Mike, John, and Ryan and I went to a park for a while and then stopped at The Toffee House which is run by one of Mike and Teri's friends. We were given three different samples - DELICIOUS and WOW and YUM!!! (I made off great with the Odds and End basket of toffee and chocolate.)

Then we headed home for lunch and spenpt the afternoon playing Wii - the boys first Wii experience:

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 6

2011-06-30T18:21:00.009-07:00

Today was the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, similar to the Field Museum in Chicago. We saw dinosaur displays and bones, watched a dinosaur movie, looked at minerals, gems and jewels (Mommy's favorite part!) where Mike was reprimanded for filming and I was told I could not have Ryan on my shoulders, life size animal dioramas with animals from North America and Africa (John was in a picture taking mood at this point and I think I took his picture at almost every animal), the Arctic display and Native America displays:hamming it up in front of the T-Rex:

flying like the Pteranodon Family on PBS Kids' Dinosaur Train:

Daddy and his favorite dinosaur:

a dinosaur dig:

Wisconsin's state animal - the badger!

After dinner, we went on a geocache treasure hunt, something our family has never done. We LOVED it and John found the box with the treasure hidden under a piece of bark by a tree.

(We don't like to stage pictures, do we!!??)

Uncle Mike and Little Mike are back there somewhere!

Great way to end the day!

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 5

2011-06-30T18:21:00.007-07:00

We began the day with a tour of PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates ball park - beautiful stadium, great tour guide, tons of team history throughout the stadium, makes you sad the team hasn't been so good for awhile!(yes, the boys thought it was hilarious that they were standing between the statues legs.)

Every player touches this sign every day as they walk down the stairs to the dugout:

The view from the press box:

After that we ate at a yummy sandwich place next to the stadium and we were on the the Inclines, a small car that is pulled up the side of Mt. Washington as another car comes down. The boys loved watching out the windows as we rode up and it was a great view of downtown Pittsburgh from the top. We also got to look at the giant pulleys and cables that make the system work!

Going up!

The view from the top:

Heading back down:

Then we stopped at Sarris' (where we met up with Teri's and Mike's Little Mike who in fact is not little but is taller than Daddy!) ice cream parlor and candy factory - WOW! The four of us split a Strawberry Fields: vanilla and strawberry ice cream with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, and a Chocoholic, chocolate, double chocolate, and chocolate chip ice cream drowned in hot fudge with whipped cream and cherries. They were INCREDIBLE!!!!

Then back to Teri and Mike's and a little football practice:

Then dinner, a fire, and off to bed!

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 4

2011-06-30T18:21:00.005-07:00

This morning we were off to Idelwild Amusement Park!

Here is a hopefully pretty complete list of all we did: kids did a giant rope climb, various circle rides, the "rollo" coaster (the boys first one and they LOVED it!), Ferris Wheel, merry-go-round, train, then headed to the water park where we saw the human cannonball, Mike rode the big tube slides once each with the boys, played in the super soaker squirter area, soaked by a HUGE bucket of water, played in the wave pool (my favorite part of the day watching the boys), and the kiddie play area, then said good-bye to Zach, Tina, and the kids, and headed back to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood area where we rode the Mr. Rogers trolley (this was so cool!), and the boys rode a bunch of kiddie rides: bumper cars, mini bus, cars, turtle tracks, hand pumped trains, and flying airplanes. We also ate some great chicken for lunch, munched on funnel cakes and caramel apples, and the boys got some awesome, noise making, glowing, color changing swords (a bargain at $5.99!) which ranked as their favorite thing of the day along with the wave pool and roller coaster.

Aunt Teri and John:

Uncle Mike and Ryan:

John absolutely LOVED posing with Tina throughout the weekend!!

Mr. Rogers' Trolley Ride:

They went nuts on the tea cups!

A great end to a great day!!!!

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 3

2011-06-30T18:21:00.003-07:00

We started off Saturday morning about 9am for a two hour drive north. Mike and Teri rented a pontoon boat for all of 10 of us! The weather was perfect, sunny and not to hot.

After getting out on the lake, we stopped the boat and made sandwiches for lunch - a great meal in the open air! Mike (Teri's husband) had gotten all the fishing poles ready for the kids, so they tried finishing for a while, a few nibbles but no fish.

All the kids got to drive the boat and their serious faces as they drove were awesome to watch!

(Oops - fishing pictures are out of order)

Relaxing: Matthew, Ryan, John, and Loralye: Then we were off to a surprise before swimming at the beach. Mike and Teri had watched a documentary a few weeks ago about tourist spots in PA and saw one on the Spillway where there were fish to feed. However this was no ordinary fish feeding! There had to be 10,000 fish along the rails, literally crawling on top of each other in places. We each had our own bag of bread and it was an experience

Then we drove back south about an hour to a beach. We swam, the kids played on the playground, Uncle Mike grilled brats and hot dogs, and we relaxed in lawn chairs.

Once home we had a fire in the fire pit and Aunt Teri made s'mores with giant marshmallows - yum!

Just another great day!

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 2

2011-06-30T18:21:00.001-07:00

The boys simply ate up riding around the block in Aunt Teri's convertible!After a slow morning of sleeping in, we were off to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. The boys played on a small replica trolley (the bell was their favorite part!):

Then it was time for our own ride on a real life trolley!

Our guide explains to the boys how the wheels fit on the tracks:

Hamming it up inside a trolley:

The boys running down the area between some of the trolleys on display:

Family photo in front of the trolley we rode on:

John in his train engineer hat (thanks Aunt Teri!):

Later in the evening it was off to a Wild Things game, a minor league team about 5 minutes away from where Mike and Teri live.

How cute do Ryan and Uncle Mike look!

Teri had signed the boys up for one of the between inning activities. So here they are being led onto the field to dance with the Wild Thing!

Teri and Mike's daughter Tina, her husband Zack, and their kids Matthew and Loralye arrived at the end of the game and the boys were excited to see their cousins again! Another great day!!

Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 1

2011-06-30T18:20:00.003-07:00

We departed our house at the early hour of 2:25am on route to Washington, Pennsylvania to visit Mike's sister Teri and her husband Mike as well as their kids. And yes both boys were wide awake and excited to go!

After approximately nine hours of travel, which included a stop for breakfast (donuts at a rest stop), a stop for lunch (sandwiches, chips, fruit, and cookies at a rest stop), several stops pf just getting out and running around at the rest stop, we made it to Cumberland, Ohio and the Wilds!

If you are every passing anywhere near the Wilds, we HIGHLY recommend stopping - it was amazing! And if you're a member at any zoo in the United States, you'll get half off the Safari Transport tour.

We boarded our air conditioned tour bus with Adam the tour guide (GREAT!) and headed out! Here is a sampling of what we saw - pictures taken from right out the window of our tour bus.

Persian Onagers from Iran:
A hippo staying cool in the water:

One of our stops allowed us to get off and walk down to the lake where we looked at and feed the giant cat fish:

Przewalski Wild Horses originally from most of Europe and parts of Asia:

Female Bantengs from the mainland of southeastern Asia and Indonesia:

Another of our stops was at the cheetah area, where there were two separate areas for these amazing animals:

Aren't they beautiful!And look at the cute cheetah cubs! This was one of John's favorite spots:

Grevy's Zebras from northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia (Ethiopia yeah!) Our tour guide Adam was really excited as he said this was as close as he had ever seen them get to a tour bus:

It was so cool to see this one get down and roll in the dust!We saw a few variety of deer and I'm pretty sure this is the Eld's deer - I do know this one was eating and Adam made a noise out the window which made the deer stop eating and look up and around. the boys asked him to do it again and then promptly imitated him which also caused the deer to look our way and cracked up everyone on the tour !

Watching out the window:

This was definitely my and Ryan's favorite part of the tour - the giraffes were so close and it was so amazing to just see them walk right past where we were parked and look our way!

White rhinos from southern Africa:

These wacky looking animals are Sichuan Takins from western China:

What an amazing adventure and incredible display of God's creations! We loved this stop!!

We left the Wilds about 5pm and headed off for our last two hours. With a stop at McDonalds for dinner, we arrived at Mike and Teri's about 8pm! A great first day!!

Zoo Day with Our Friend Eleanor!

2011-06-30T18:20:00.001-07:00

We had a super fun day at the zoo recently with some of our best friends, Eleanor and her mom Gloria! Note how John is standing like the flamingos:

The special exhibit is a butterfly room and so we stopped for a visit. I was the first one to have a butterfly land on me and John snapped a picture:

But John stood still enough that pretty soon one landed on him:

We put one on Ryan's shoulder:And this one loved Eleanor:

Miss Gloria takes a turn:

Butterflies on everyone!

Gloria and Eleanor treated us to a pony ride and we loved it!

Last stop of the day, playing on the milk truck after seeing the cows:

May in Review

2011-05-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

Fun Inside - the boys asked if we could take the Thomas the Train toy out:
and they lay down inside and pretended to be asleep:

Hamming it up with Daddy at lunch:

And fun outside:

Castle Addition:

And trying out the new slide:

Celebrating Mother's Day:

(check out that typical John pose!)

Play Dough Play date with our BFF Eleanor!

This surprise was on our doorstep one evening with a note signed from the Easter Bunny!

How blessed are we!

Had our first visit of the season to the Spray Park:

Memorial Day Rib Fest:

05/14/11 - John's Dance Recital

2011-05-14T19:05:00.001-07:00

John recently performed in his first dance recital and LOVED it!!

Last May, the boys and I went to my nieces dress rehearsal for their dance recital and as soon as it was over, John began to ask, "Mommy-a, John dance? You and Ryan and Daddy come watch?" - he'd only been here three months at that point - and I said, "Let Mommy look into it," thinking, oh, he'll just forget about it. Little did I realize how John is wired! The child NEVER forgets anything! SO each time we would drive by the theatre where the girls performed, John would ask, "Mommy-a, you still looking it me taking dance and perform and everyone come watch me!?" So this past fall, I found a program offered through our local park district - 30 weeks of class ending with a recital, dance costume, dance t-shirt, and dance performance DVD, all very reasonably priced and affordable for us. So we signed him up for Pre Jazz!

And to say John loved the experience would be an understatement.

Here are some posed pictures of his performance piece - they danced to Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf.

Intro music - air guitar:
playing drums:

'Yeah, darling gonna make it happen. Take the world in a love embrace' - grapevine:

'Racing in the wind, and the feeling that I'm under' - step and clap:

'Born to be wild' - spin around with arms:
And the ultimate attitude dance pose!

Planting Flowers

2011-05-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

It was nice enough last week to plant some flowers and I had tons of help!

Ryan liked adding the dirt to the hanging pots (or maybe it was just playing in the dirt he liked!) and did a great job helping break the potting soil up:
John was the master dandelion puller upper:

You can't tell real well in this photo, but he filled up a good part of a yard waste bag:

I have such great helpers!

"Look Mommy-a!"

2011-05-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

That is what I heard one morning as I was checking the emails. I turned to see this: Ryan had gotten out his fake moustache, a prize from the dentist office. While a bit freaky, it certainly did crack me up!

Obstacle Course Fun!

2011-04-28T19:26:00.001-07:00

One recent sunny day I constructed an obstacle course for the boys. I got the idea by reading a fellow Yahoo Grouper's blog last summer.

This was not a winning game (as John likes to ask) and each boy began the obstacle course by riding in one of their cars around the patio table:

Then they had to load a variety of different sized balls into their little plastic wheel barrow and push it down, around the tree, and back, dumping the balls out as they arrived back where they started:

Next, they jumped through the rungs on the ladder (and believe it or not there were no injuries!):

Sat in both chairs (and it was hilarious - they really sat in the chairs for awhile instead of racing to the next section!):

Tossed the birdie golf balls from one hula hoop to the next:

Through a football over the tree branch:

Went across the monkey bars:

Climbed up the stairs to the castle:

And went down any of the three slides they wanted to:

They had a blast and went through the course probably five or six times each - and they slept very well that night too!

04/10/11 - The Boys Dedication

2011-04-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Aren't they too cute!!

Let me say that it was quite surreal to be the one dedicating their children to the Lord today at church rather than the one praying for those who are dedicating their children!

What is child dedication?
· It is not salvation for the child, rather we are asking the Lord’s blessing on the child and the parents, dedicating both to the Lord.
· It is done in the context of the church family before the Lord; we stand as witnesses and committed supporters of these children and their parents.

Why do we do this?
· The Bible gives us examples (in both the Old Testament and the New Testament) and instruction to do so.
· Hannah brought her young son Samuel to be dedicated to the Lord.
· Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the temple.
· As an adult, Jesus modeled the blessing of young children.

Mark 10:13-16 (NLT)
13One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him. 14When Jesus saw what was happening, He was angry with His disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16Then He took the children in His arms and placed His hands on their heads and blessed them.

PASTOR TO THE CONGREGATION: Dear brothers and sisters, the family is a divine institution ordained by God from the beginning of time. Children are a heritage of the Lord committed by Him to their parents for care, protection, and training for His glory.

These parents now bring before the Lord the treasure that He has entrusted to them, their sons and daughters. In so doing they publicly affirm their responsibility for the nurture and training of this child in the ways of righteousness and godliness in the Lord. (Thank You Lord for our friends and family, those able to attend and those who were not, who have prayed and continue to pray for our family!!)

PASTOR TO PARENTS: Do you promise before God and these witnesses that you will strive, with God’s help and guidance, to love and raise this little one in an environment to know and serve Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? Will you also strive to train him / her to love the Lord with all his / her heart, soul, mind, and strength, making use of all the helps God has given you in the family and in the church? If so, please declare, “We do.” (Lord, thank You for these two precious boys You have entrusted to our care. Make me a woman after Your own heart. Help me each day to teach the boys to love You and love others.)

PASTOR TO THE CONGREGATION: Do you, fellow followers of Jesus Christ, commit before God and these parents to uphold with high honor the sacred institution of the family? Do you also promise, as their brothers and sisters in Christ, to strive to encourage, help and support these parents as they seek to follow God’s design for their marriage and for the rearing of their children? If so, please declare, “We do.”

ACT OF DEDICATION: In the name of the Lord Jesus we present these children to God, to His protection, and to His saving and sanctifying grace.

This was an amazing day and experience! We had a brunch celebration afterwards at our house. It was so fun to visit and celebrate with everyone!! And Mike pointed out later in the evening, everyone at the church for the dedication were also at the airport to welcome us home last year - what a full circle we have come!!

Reading Times

2011-04-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hidden Treasures

2011-04-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

I put out these little boxes as part of my Easter decorations. They sit on the kitchen table and one morning during breakfast, John noticed them and asked about them. He wondered if there was anything inside them and I told him no, they were just decorations. He still wanted to look inside and as he did, he told me - Mommy-a, you could hide something inside for us! These showed up the next day.

There have also been bookmarks, Little Debbie Easter cakes, and suckers. And I'll be kind of sad when I put them away with the Easter decorations!

They still love their box!

2011-04-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

It was movie theatre day - we closed the curtains and the boys settled into their box:

Singing the ABCs while Playing Dress Up

2011-04-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

The boys love to play dress up and LOVE to have video of themselves taken. You'll notice Ryan begin to run around the table in the middle of this song and just whiz from left to right in front of the camera - this is total Ryan fashion!

Playing Croquette

2011-04-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

On a recent warmish day, I decided to get the croquette game out. It was interesting to say the least! Neither boy wanted help (shocker!) nor wanted to listen to our advice on how to hold the mallet or swing it (another shocker!): Ryan also had trouble waiting his turn:

But they LOVED it!! Ryan didn't quite make it to the end of the game but John asked for the next several days if we could get it out again. I said I think we need to have a croquette party this summer!!

Follow Up Note: We've played the game once since this first time. Ryan attention was held long enough to complete the whole game, John's swing is improving, we allow the boys two turns to our one as they are still learning, and I won the game again!

04/04/11 - Ryan's First Day of Preschool

2011-04-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ryan recently qualified for our school district's pre-kindergarten program. If you know Ryan, you know he drops a lot of his beginning consonant sounds and is missing some sounds all together which makes him difficult at times to understand. We also discovered around Christmas time, he wasn't understanding as much of the English language as we had thought. So we signed him up for testing in our school district in March. He scored low (they actually used the word deficit which was a bit challenging for this Mommy heart!) in speech (we weren't surprised), problem solving (not too big of a surprise if you have trouble understanding the language), and motor, particularly balance issues (this was a surprise). So he was recommended for an immediate educational placement. And he started the week after Spring Break, Monday through Thursday, 2 and 1/2 hours each afternoon. Here we are waiting for the school bus: Check out that big scab on his chin - he jumped into a tree (maybe there is a bit more of a balance issue!):

Aren't they so cute! (John has been such a TREMENDOUS sport about Ryan getting to ride the school bus before him - yeah John!!):

Getting on the bus:

Heading toward school:

I am so thankful for our school district and Ryan being able to gain the skills he needs to thrive! I am so thankful that the process to get him in was relatively easy - some more paperwork and a physical. I am so thankful that there is no cost! But let me share that my first reaction to hearing the recommendation for immediate placement was, "Oh, no, I'm not supposed to have to give him up yet!" My heart and plans had Ryan at home with me until next fall and it took about a week to get over that! But God is so good - He loving came along side me. He is showing me that even though my plans weren't necessarily bad, His were better and it's okay when plans change. He will never leave me nor forsake me. And I had so many friends praying for my heart as I sent Ryan off to school on that first day. He was so excited, I had to ask him to turn around on the bus to get a picture! And he is SO PROUD of his school and his backpack (thank you Target for having back packs in the middle of the year!) and his "preschool guys." He loves preschool and is excited to hear he gets to go again each day.

My cup continues to run over.

Our Spring Break Stay-cation

2011-03-31T18:02:00.004-07:00

For Spring Break this year, I planned lots of fun (and almost all free - yeah!) activities to do near our house. Monday - a play date with our friends Gloria and Eleanor. We had free passes to a local gymnastics open gym - which by the way I will never go back to as there was no adult employees ever and virtually no parent supervision either as most were simply chatting with each other - but ended with lunch at our house! Tuesday - Prairie Grass Nature Museum This is a free, one room museum run by a neighboring town's park district and we loved it!! There are two walls of life size animal and nature habitats and one in the middle of the room. There were several live animals: turtles, snakes, geckos, and rabbit for us to look. There are books and puzzles and baskets of animal and dinosaur stuffed animals and plastic figure. We saw real life chrysalis that will soon turn to butterflies. And there is always a craft and coloring pages. We made butterfly feeders and have the recipe for food. We'll be hanging those later in the summer. But I forgot to bring the camera so sadly, I do not have any pictures. Wednesday - Milwaukee County Zoo We have a family pass to the zoo and it is one of our favorite adventures! This time Gramma came with us!! Our first stop is always the Ape house where we spend lots of time, especially looking at the bonobos who have been known to run up and bang the glass and play peek-a-boo between two windows with us! We also look MJ and Mahul, a Mommy orangutan and her adopted child. Mahul came to the zoo right as we were starting the adoption process so their story has always had a special place in our hearts!

The boys spent a TON of time looking at animals before moving on to the next. Here they are looking at the camels:

And John at the ducks in the bird house, the room with all the free flying birds. He so got a kick out of looking up and seeing them fly:

Peacocks were another animal we spent lots of time looking at and John was too excited that he was able to get this close without the peacock walking away:

We discovered the best time to visit the Big Cat house, right before they eat! they were all awake and walking around. And anytime a zoo keeper walked by the exhibits, the animals would stop and watch where he/she was going. This is Ryan making a crazy face by who he calls Simba:

"Nola" looking right at Ryan:

And then at Gramma and John:

The two baby girl tiger cubs:

Our last stop was the gift store were Gramma had graciously offered to buy our special treat for the day. Here we are trying on masks to decide if we want that to be our treat.

Thursday - Volo Auto Museum

If you know the boys, you know their love for cars, especially John! They had actually taken a brochure for this museum, which is only a few minutes from our house, from a display at the zoo several weeks ago, and we thought this would be a fun thing to do over Spring Break.

Standing next to King Kong (they kind of know who he is because they have watched the part of the movie where King Kong and the dinosaur battle it out!);

Riding in the Flinstones car:

John standing next to a Cadillac, his absolute favorite kind of car. He lit up when ever we saw them at the museum:

Next to Doc Hudson:

Mommy loves Elvis:

Ryan loves jeeps:

Sitting in a real race car, you can just see Ryan's head:

and John's:

and Mommy's (notice my intense driving face!):

by a real United States Army helicopter:

riding some of the 50 cent kid rides:

This is a typical John face!

Friday - Lake County Discovery Museum

In honor of their recent accreditation by the American Association of Museums, this Lake County Discovery Museum offered a free day to celebrate!

Half the museum houses artifacts and displays about the history of Lake County. Very interesting for adults, not so much for little boys. But there are many things they can touch and play with throughout.

Ryan organizing Glen Rock pop bottles:

Sitting in a pretend boat:

playing with animal bones:

There is also a section where you can match the animal track puzzle pieces with the same animal track on a floor mat.

The other half of the museum is an art studio, changing displays, and a children's room. The children's room has pretend birds nests to build, bison and trees and prairie pieces to play with, bird costumes, a wigwam to build complete with Velcro birch bark pieces, and this:

a tree stump in which you put felt and plastic leaves in the top and they are blown out the side branch opening. My Mom also joined us for this day and it was a lot of fun!

Wow - can you believe we did all that in a week!

Daddy and His Boys!!

2011-03-31T18:02:00.003-07:00

Cute, aren't they!?

Trying Out Our New Goggles

2011-03-31T18:02:00.001-07:00

I think we're ready for summer!

Just a Thought

2011-03-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

There have been many, horrible natural disasters over the last few years - earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, mud slides. They bring destruction and chaos and death and sadness. And they headline the news for a while, with counts of the thousands of lives lost or missing. It is all awful. But as I sat recently and listened to "2,000 confirmed dead and 8,000 still missing" a thought went through my head, "But what about the orphans?" Now, PLEASE HEAR ME, I am not in any way trying to make light of the pain and loss of recent disasters. But what about orphans. There are an estimated 4.3 million - that's right MILLION - orphans in Ethiopia. 4.3 million children will wake up in Ethiopia tomorrow without parents to love and protect and take care of them. 4.3 million is a really big number to get your head around - it's almost 2 million more than the entire population of Chicago; a little over 500,000 more than the population of Los Angeles; in fact, almost half the states in the United States have a smaller population than 4.3 million. And that's just the orphans in Ethiopia. Why are we not speaking about that ALL THE TIME!? But I know there are two less orphans in Ethiopia who I am blessed to call my sons. And I know there are hundreds of others who are not orphans because others in our agency have adopted them and continue to adopt them. And I know there is less because of the other agencies working in Ethiopia, working in Africa, working around the world, tirelessly, faithfully. So I had that thought and I'm not quite sure what to do with it. But I had to share it.

Gramma

2011-03-26T10:12:00.001-07:00

Mary Elizabeth (Martin) Smith: April 24, 1915 - March 13, 2011

My Gramma said to my aunt several years ago, should you ever come to visit and find me in my rocking chair dead, do not be said for I have had a wonderful life!

This is a poem I wrote for her 90th birthday. This is my Gramma!
Gramma Memories

When I think of Gramma, I think of Fannie Mae candy,
Choosing from the green bowl,
Chocolate chip cookies,
And warm cinnamon rolls.

When I think of Gramma, I think of playing cars on the green footstool,
One box with six games,
Sleep overs in the summer,
And a necklace with all our names.

When I think of Gramma, I think of red shutters with flowers,
Sliding down the hill on saucer sleds,
Pansies and lilies of the valley,
And showing everyone the upstairs beds.

When I think of Gramma, I think of New Year’s and Easter,
All the cousins playing boat upstairs,
The watermelon bowl with fruit salad,
And a little green table and chairs.

When I think of Gramma, I think of seashells from Florida,
Coming to all my plays,
Holiday cards,
And graduation days.

When I think of Gramma, I think of dresses and sandals,
Glasses and white hair,
A witty sense of humor,
And a rocking chair.

When I think of Gramma, I know love.

Four generations:

An Irish Blessing:
May the road rise with you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God keep you in the hallow of His hand.

The Story of You

2011-03-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there lived a man and woman in the country of Ethiopia. This First Mommy and First Daddy had two little boys and they loved these boys so much!

But one sad day, First Mommy went to be with Jesus in Heaven. First Daddy was very sad and he tried very hard to take care of the two little boys.

Some time later the Lord whispered to First Daddy’s heart, “There are a Forever Mommy and a Forever Daddy in America waiting for two little boys.” First Daddy wondered and prayed. Could his little boys be those little boys the Lord spoke of? First Daddy was very brave. He made an adoption plan – he brought the two little boys to a special home to stay in until Forever Mommy and Forever Daddy could come for them.

Meanwhile, in the country of America, there was a man and a woman who so wanted to have children in their home. One day, God whispered to the man and the woman’s hearts, “I have 2 children for you in Ethiopia.” The man and the woman wondered and prayed. They trusted God and wrote a letter to Ethiopia asking if they could adopt two children. They waited and trusted and one day the phone rang. “We have 2 little boys for you!”

Now the man and the woman were a Forever Daddy and a Forever Mommy and they were so excited! They got their house ready. They painted the bedroom walls, bought a new bedspread, and laid out matching footy pajamas. They sent pictures and toys to their two boys in Ethiopia and waited for the day they could go get them and bring them home.

That day finally came! Forever Mommy and Forever Daddy took a long plane ride to Ethiopia. They rode in a white van to the Transition House to meet their boys. Forever Mommy and Daddy saw their boys and cried with joy. The boys saw them and one gave a big hug and one was unsure. Everyone was a little worried. How would they be able to talk with each other? Then they all played tag and everyone was happy and okay!

At last, the Forever Mommy and Daddy had met the two precious boys that the Lord had known would be entrusted to them since before time. And a Forever Family was born.

What YOU Can Do to Help Ethiopian Adoptions

2011-03-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

Please visit this link:

http://betheanswerforchildren.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/emergency-campaign-for-ethiopia/

The first item is a petition you can sign that is being sent to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia asking for reconsideration of MOWA's plans to decrease international adoption by 90% - PLEASE CONSIDER DOING THIS EVEN IF YOU HAVE NEVER ADOPTED CHILDREN - IT TAKES ONLY TWO MINUTES!!!!

Please Pray for Ethiopian Adoptions!!

2011-03-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

I copied this from a fellow adoptive mom's Facebook page:

There are important meetings taking place in Ethiopia this week that could dramatically affect the future of adoptions there. MOWA (Ministry of Womens and Childrens Affairs) is the governing body of adoption in Ethiopia. Before the Ethiopian courts will grant custody to the adopting family, a recommendation letter is required from MOWA. MOWA has been understaffed for quite some time, and some families have had several delays in their court dates due to the MOWA letter not being available. It has been reported that MOWA generates approximately 50 letters per day. They are proposing that in order to combat alleged corruption in the Ethiopian adoption system, they must drastically cut the number of cases they deal with in order to have more time to properly investigate each situation and guarantee that the child is being adopted for all the right reasons. The proposed cuts are up to 90%!

This, obviously, would have adverse affects on many, many children. There are more than 4 million orphaned children in Ethiopia, alone. It takes a great deal of effort and paperwork for each child to be officially declared adoptable; but these proposed changes would create a huge bottleneck in their current system. The children in the majority of the orphanages are loved, but live in unspeakable conditions. There are thousands of orphans with health conditions that cannot be addressed unless they are adopted. And there are many, many good, loving families waiting with open arms to love these children as their own.

Please take a moment this week and lift up these important discussions in Ethiopia, pray for the families in the process of adopting or just beginning to adopt, and most importantly, pray for the children of Ethiopia. We serve a good, faithful and loving God, and we know He holds this situation in his hands. He will hear our voices if we cry out to him. Thank you, my friends.

For more information, check out this article:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/redletters/2011/03/ethiopias-plan-to-cut-adoptions-a-prayerful-response.html

Mama, can you come see me!

2011-03-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

So we are getting ready to go play outside the other day and I send Ryan to get his coat. I then hear a small thump sound, not unusual with Ryan. But it is followed by a little voice yelling, "Mama, can you come see me?" I venture into the kitchen only to be met by the following site:

And what does this caring Mom do? She laughs hysterically and runs to get the camera all the while saying, "Wait, don't get up yet!"

Lest you think they are perfect ...

2011-03-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

They're too cute, aren't they!!??

But just to add a bit of realism: they do fight - with each other - almost constantly. The latest things they do to irritate each other: Ryan to John, "Shj - ohnnnnnn, don't open your mouth!!" For some reason, it annoys Ryan when John looks at him with an open mouth and has nothing to do with whether he says something or not. John to Ryan, "R-Y-AAAAAAAAA-N, stop looking at me!" I think I remember yelling this at my little sister, (when I was in high school).

However, when one of them is sad (and not because of the other person) they are the first to jump to each other's defense.

A Look Back at Ethiopia

2011-02-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

In addition to watching our video from Ethiopia, I looked back at all my blog entries from our trip there last year. It makes my heart ache to be back, not to adopt (we do not feel God calling us to do that again at this time) but just to relive the week again, to hear the music and eat the food and talk to the people and savor and relive each moment over again.

Day 1 - http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2010/03/ethiopia-travelday-1.html

Day 2 - http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2010/03/ethiopia-day-2-metcha-day.html

Day 3 - http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2010/03/ethiopia-day-3-gotcha-day.html

Day 4 - http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2010/03/ethiopia-day-4-embassy-day.html

Day 5 - http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2010/03/ethiopia-day-5-orphange-visits.html

Day 6 - http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2010/03/ethiopia-day-6-our-orphange-visit-get.html

Day 7 -

http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2010/03/ethiopia-and-usa-day-6-7-traveling-home.html

02/16/11 - Gotcha Day 1 Year Anniversary!!

2011-02-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

Our guys one year ago - back at the Guest House after getting them from the America World Transition House:
(check out John with his upside down sunglasses - he wore them that way the whole time there!)

And today, home at our house:Just the Facts since arriving home: In a year both boys have grown seven inches (yes you read that correctly - seven!). John has gained about 12 pounds and Ryan about 6 pounds. John has gone from a size 10 shoe size to a size 1 and Ryan from an 8 to a 10. John is completely fluent in English and Ryan is putting together long sentences and using comparison words.

Just for Fun since arriving home: They have traveled to 4 other states: Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. They have gone to the out door theatre, indoor movie theatre, zoo, apple orchard, pumpkin patch, have been back yard camping and camping at a real campground, gone from riding tricycles to two wheelers with training wheels, been swimming in our little backyard pool, pools at hotels, a water park, and a sprinkler park, are still eating through their Halloween candy, made three different home movies with Daddy, helped bake lots of brownies and cookies, memorized Bible verses for church, jumped at Bounces R Us and Monkey Joes, petted and fed various animals at Animal Gardens, fallen in love with root beer floats, eaten pizza almost every Thursday night and Ethiopian food nearly every Friday, been generously given more than 300 Matchbox and Hot Wheel cars to add to their ever growing collection, starting receiving an allowance to better understand the concept of saving, tithing, and spending (and so Ryan would have an opportunity to have some money as John has lost 8 teeth and had that many visits from the tooth fairy in addition to finding money on the ground nearly every time we go somewhere - he's like a money magnet!!), attended a minor league baseball game, cheered the Packers on to Super Bowl victory, discovered a love for television, and started a nightly devotional during dinner time - WOW! What will next year hold?

02/15/11 - Metcha Day 1 Year Anniversary!!

2011-02-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

One year ago today we saw two little people live in person for the first time!
To read the actual post from that day thanks to our friend Alison, click here: http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2010/02/metcha-day.html

02/13/11 - A year ago today ...

2011-02-21T12:22:00.000-08:00

... my Mom and Dad picked us up to take us to the airport! Our bags were packed (with too much stuff I might add!)but all came in at under 50 pounds!

waiting to check in:

Here we come John Eyob and Ryan Ephrem!!

Just looking back at the pictures blows me away - I cannot believe it has been a year since we boarded a plane to Ethiopia and the next chapter of our lives!

Wrestling with Daddy Time

2011-02-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

Who do you think is having more fun?

"I like to move it, move it!"

2011-02-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

Ryan will periodically break into this song. the video is a bit dark but when I moved to the other side of the table to get better lighting, he wasn't as cute. And let's face it - it's all about the cute factor!

1-07-11 - Ethiopian Christmas

2011-02-08T20:57:00.001-08:00

Melkam Ganna!!

The following information is taken from the web site http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/christmas-traditions-around-the-world-ga4.htm

Christmas Traditions in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in Africa. It still follows the ancient Julian calendar, so Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on January 7. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's celebration of Christ's birth is called Ganna. It is a day when families attend church.

The day before Ganna, people fast all day. The next morning at dawn, everyone dresses in white. Most Ethiopians don a traditional shamma, a thin, white cotton wrap with brightly colored stripes across the ends. The shamma is worn somewhat like a toga. Urban Ethiopians might put on white Western garb. Then everyone goes to the early mass at four o'clock in the morning. In a celebration that takes place several days later, the priests will dress in turbans and red and white robes as they carry beautifully embroidered fringed umbrellas.

Most Ethiopians who live outside the modern capital city, Addis Ababa, live in round mud-plastered houses with cone-shaped roofs of thatched straw. In areas where stone is plentiful, the houses may be rectangular stone houses. The churches in Ethiopia echo the shape of the houses. In many parts of the country there are ancient churches carved out of solid volcanic rock. Modern churches are built in three concentric circles.

In a modern church, the choir assembles in the outer circle. Each person entering the church is given a candle. The congregation walks around the church three times in a solemn procession, holding the flickering candles. Then they gather in the second circle to stand throughout the long mass, with the men and boys separated from the women and girls. The center circle is the holiest space in the church, where the priest serves Holy Communion.

Around the time of Ganna, the men and boys play a game that is also called ganna. It is somewhat like hockey, played with a curved stick and a round wooden ball.

The foods enjoyed during the Christmas season include wat, a thick, spicy stew of meat, vegetables, and sometimes eggs as well. The wat is served from a beautifully decorated watertight basket onto a "plate" of injera, which is flat sourdough bread. Pieces of injera are used as an edible spoon to scoop up the wat.

Twelve days after Ganna, on January 19, Ethiopians begin the three-day celebration called Timkat, which commemorates the baptism of Christ. The children walk to church services in a procession. They wear the crowns and robes of the church youth groups they belong to. The grown-ups wear the shamma. The priests will now wear their red and white robes and carry embroidered fringed umbrellas.

The music of Ethiopian instruments makes the Timkat procession a very festive event. The sistrum is a percussion instrument with tinkling metal disks. A long, T-shaped prayer stick called a makamiya taps out the walking beat and also serves as a support for the priest during the long church service that follows. Church officials called dabtaras study hard to learn the musical chants, melekets, for the ceremony.Ethiopian men play another sport called yeferas guks. They ride on horseback and throw ceremonial lances at each other.

Ganna and Timkat are not occasions for giving gifts in Ethiopia. If a child receives any gift at all, it is usually a small gift of clothing. Religious observances, feasting, and games are the focus of the season.

So we started our own tradition of giving gifts of clothing to the boys (along with two books about Ethiopia and Toy Story Yahtzee):

Then headed to Kenosha to an Ethiopian restaurant, http://www.alemethiopianvillage.com/, to enjoy an authentic dinner with our Southeastern Wisconsin Ethiopian Yahoo Group.

I wish I had remembered to take a picture of the food when it came but it was FANTASTIC and I highly recommend this restaurant!! The food was wonderfully delicious and plentiful, the service was excellent (there was about 45 of us), and it was great to see old friends again and pretty cool to hang out with so many families that look just like us!

Fun in the Tub

2011-02-08T20:39:00.000-08:00

The boys cracked themselves up with this one day in the tub:

It was too quiet ...

2011-02-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

one day so I went searching and found this:

Time Share with Aunt Sarah

2010-12-31T12:59:00.003-08:00

My sister Sarah and her husband Ken own a time share and Sarah invited us to spend a couple days with her there right before the New Year - fun!

This is John at Aunt Sarah's house before we left petting one of her cats. He was overjoyed that the cat would sit in his lap and was so friendly:
Ryan was a bit terrified of the real cats but had no problem with the stuffed one:

Just because he's cute:

The boys got to try out a new Christmas present in the whirlpool tub:

Enjoying breakfast:

Time in the heated pool (we went at least two times a day and in the mornings were the only ones there!):

The little movie theatre after watching Prancer Returns:

It was such a relaxing time for me - Aunt Sarah did all the cooking and we just swam, played, and took it easy. What a blessing!!

Christmas

2010-12-31T12:59:00.001-08:00

Sorry it has taken so long to share this post (it's almost Valentine's Day - oops!):

Christmas Eve opening Toy Story Lego presents from Nana and Uncle Paul:

Getting the plate of cookies ready for Santa:

Ryan was more excited about eating cookies than actually choosing ones for the plate:

Christmas morning:

At first John thought the only presents Santa had brought were the ones in his stocking:

Exploring all that had been left under the tree:

Drawing on the giant white board (that is now set up in the basement by Mike's drawing table so everyone can be creative together!):

Big boxes are the best!

Bompa and Gramma came to watch the fun:

Being silly with Daddy:

John's goofy face:

This one's for all our family and friends in Wisconsin (and let me add that since the boys have been attending Packers Training camp they are 1 for 1 in the Super Bowl!!!):

Back to presents:

More playing (who do you think is having more fun?):

Opening presents from Mommy and Daddy:

Yeah - another big box (and believe it or not I don't have any pictures of what was actually in the big box - a Geo Tracks train set - yeah Ebay! - I'll have to add that to a later post):

The bubble wrap inside the present was a HUGE hit:

The Day After Christmas:

We are off to Gramma and Bompa's for more merriment:

Opening presents:

Giving presents (my Mom actually asked for this hat, one like they wore in the movie Fargo as it was something fun that she'd never buy for herself. the boys picked this one out):More presents:Aunt Sarah and John:

I took the boys to the Dollar Tree to pick presents out for everyone (they had a blast and left with Tinkerbell helium filled balloons for themselves so what could be better) and when John picked these out for my sister Sarah and her husband Ken, I knew they would put them on right away - they did not disappoint!!

A special present for Daddy:

John's present to Ryan (look at that smile!):Our first Christmas with the boys was everything and more we could have imagined: magical, joyful, noisy, excited, celebrated. From their excitement over getting the house ready and opening a door on the advent calendar every day (John never forgot) to "top secret" activities they were involved in to wrapping presents and watching others open the ones from them to trying to keep everything straight about Christmas and asking if it was the Baby Jesus who delivered presents to watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer about 50 times to seeing their excitement as they opened gifts and wanted to stop and play with them - I don't know who enjoyed it more, them, us, or God from whom all blessings flow!

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-31T12:58:00.002-08:00

Gramma and Bompa gave the boys gingerbread house kits so one day when it was too cold to go outside, we had family gingerbread house building time!

Squeezing the frosting so we can attach the candy to the house (two suggestions - always re-squeeze the frosting when your child is done and a glue gun works GREAT to hold the walls and roof on and allows for immediate decorating time!):

Decorating the Christmas trees that went next to the houses:

Adding details to the walls and roofs:

And I somehow managed not to get a picture of the finished products (but we did get video so all is not lost - ha!). I'll try better next year.

A Couple Pictures Mike Took

2010-12-31T12:58:00.001-08:00

He said he loved seeing the boys' coats hanging by the back door because it meant we had a family:He thought the ice cream sundaes I made one night looked really cool:

Snowy Days!

2010-12-31T12:57:00.003-08:00

The boys remember the snow from last year and have LOVED playing in it just as much this year:

Catching snowflakes:
(and making a funny face which has recently become John's favorite thing thing to do when having a picture taken!): Playing on the castle:
More snowflakes:

Building a snowman:

We are presently awaiting another snowfall (as there is no snow on the ground right now) so we can have more outside fun!!

Deep Fried Doughnuts

2010-12-31T12:57:00.001-08:00

It came up in conversation that we could make doughnuts at home. The boys (and Mike and I) love doughnuts so they were very excited to try it out.

Here's the easy way we make them: Buy the tube of large dinner rolls and deep fat fry them for about 4 minutes, turning once. Then you can frost and/or stuff them with vanilla pudding. We chose to do both!

They sure were yummy:

They're Ready for the Holidays!

2010-12-31T12:56:00.000-08:00

And a merry time is being had by all!!

(Note John's missing top front tooth. It came out, or rather he pulled it out, two days before Christmas):

Decorating the Christmas Trees

2010-12-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

The boys got such a kick out having their own artificial tree in their bedroom! (You've got to love after Christmas sales when trees are 75% off!). And they loved discovering all the ornaments - especially the ones that make noise - in their ornament box.

(Not sure why this one is on here the wrong way - just turn your head

Hanging their flavored candy canes, blueberry and strawberry - yum!

First Hot Cider Day

2010-12-19T13:18:00.001-08:00

After playing outside in the snow, we came inside and had our first cups of hot cider. The boys loved it, although I would venture a guess that it was the stirring action they liked the most!

Happiness Is . . .

2010-11-30T19:42:00.001-08:00

Happiness is ...

looking in the back seat of my car and seeing two car seats.
getting hugs from Ryan every morning when he wakes up (and I mean every morning)!
seeing two little boys' personalities and senses of humor develop.
hearing about John's day at preschool.
watching you get SO excited about adding the ingredients to cup cakes (and licking the beaters afterwards).
building a snowman together as a family.
folding lots of little shirts and socks because of who wears them.
hearing lines repeated from favorite Disney and Pixar movies.
family game and movie nights.
seeing cars and dinosaur toys lined up on the floor.
being told when the phone is ringing.
taking turns bringing the stool outside every day to get the mail out of the mailbox.
hearing words being practiced over and over until they are said correctly.
hearing songs being sung as you are playing.
hearing the word "okay" the first time you are asked to do something.
watching you clean the playroom with out being told.
watching you clean the playroom when you are told.
reading the Bible each night at bedtime.
discussing what exciting adventures each day holds.
watching your imagination take flight.
watching you academic, language, and social skills grow.
hearing you laugh - everyday.
seeing you smile - everyday.
being loved so unconditionally and forgiven so easily by two little boys.
being called Mommy-a!!

First Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

I spent the week before Thanksgiving talking about why we celebrate the holiday and doing some Thanksgiving projects. The boys colored and cut out small Mayflowers that rocked back and forth. And John kind of remembered it's name - the "Flowership" (not too bad, I think!). We also colored and cut out pictures of a Pilgrim boy and girl and Native American boy and girl and taped them to cups so they would stand up on our table as centerpieces.

The actual day of Thanksgiving we went to my aunt and uncle's house. Here the cousins are all smiles:

A family portrait:

The day after Thanksgiving (as we had our furnace replaced) we had our own Turkey Fest: turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and rolls and apple butter. I'm really the one who loves turkey in our house so that meant a lot of hot turkey sandwiches for me the following week!!

Fall Fun

2010-11-25T05:18:00.001-08:00

The boys loved helping to rake leaves:

Ryan took a bit of an original approach:

And of course they loved jumping and sitting in the piles of leave!

Field trip to an Apple Orchard (these are actually from September but I didn't get them up on the blog that month!)

10/31/10 - Our First Halloween

2010-10-31T20:22:00.001-07:00

Our Halloween pumpkins:Ryan loved sticking his hands in the pumpkin and pulling out the guts (just like Mommy) and John was happy to just use a spoon (kind of like Daddy who doesn't like any part of cleaning out the pumpkin!)

We got two of our pumpkins at Aldi and Gramma bought us two at our Stade's trip. The boys then were excited to point out big boxes of pumpkins when ever we were at different stores. They are the boxes with the Peanut characters on the side and since we watched the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown special, they worked hard to remember the characters names. (John pointed out that Charlie Brown looks like Uncle Don, my brother who shaves his head - ha! ha!) It was so much fun to explain the process and then actually carve pumpkins with the boys this year! They LOVED seeing the candles lit inside at night.

Coming home from visiting our friend Ms. Alison on Halloween, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a little Will Smith in Hancock looking back at me!

Woody and Buzz getting ready to head out into our neighborhood:Aren't they too cute? I don't know who had more fun, Mike and I doing the costumes or the boys wearing them and getting candy!!

Trick or treating at Gramma and Bompa's and posing for a group picture with the cousins Samantha and Maddy Jo.

10/20/10 - Referral-aversay!!

2010-10-31T20:16:00.000-07:00

One year ago today ...

http://godsplanaformikeandamy.blogspot.com/2009/10/102009-stork-has-landed.html

There is nothing like the words, "This is your referral call!"

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights ..." James 1:17

10/11/10 - Stade's Pumpkin Farm

2010-10-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

For the past seven or so Columbus Days, we have always visited Apple Hollar, a local apple/pumpkin farm, but this year we were looking to try a new location: Stade's (which I am told by the locals is pronounced Stod-e's)Farm and Market. It was AWESOME and we highly recommend in for anyone in the area!!

There is no admission charge and no parking fee. Most activities require tickets but the boys got wristbands ($15 each) which gave them unlimited access to everything (except a ride on Frank the combine). And there was tons of stuff to do.

A just the right size for the boys hay bail maze. They loved climbing and jumping on the bales of hay more than actually going through the maze:
One of the most popular activities, a giant sensory box of corn kernels. Here we are burying Ryan:

and Sami:

and John:

and Maddy:

Then it was on to the two GIANT slides:

And defiantly the boys' favorite, the pedal cars (they rode them four times!). John and Maddy:

Ryan had no problem with the pedals which is pretty impressive seeing as how the car is about as big as he is:

John gives a wave:

Maddy cruises along:

And Sami takes a few spins as well (with Ryan in the background):

Thank you Gramma for lunch!

We timed lunch so that we would be right across from the Pumpkin Launcher, which launches every hour on the hour (and was my favorite part!):

Note the two orange dots in the upper right hand corner of the picture - those are pumpkins hurling through the air!! they would also lower the arm of the launcher and launch pumpkins at an old car - it was great!!

The hay ride to the pumpkin patch was free and any pumpkin picked out was only five dollars, as part of their Pumpkin Stimulus Package - ha! ha! Gramma got the boys each pumpkin and there were literally thousands to choose from!

John looks for just the right one:

Aren't they just too cute!

Back for more pedal cars:

Sam did this with corn kernels as we were waiting our turn in the moon bounce:

The barrel ride:

It was a SUPER day and we look forward to going back again next year!!

Passing of the Torch

2010-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the really passing of one box to another!

The boys have had this box: since it arrived in March with presents for Aunt Teri and Uncle Mike. To say the least it ranks right up there as there favorite toy, right along with cars and Buzz and Woody.

But after eight months of love, it was on it's last leg. My Mom and Dad recently got a new dishwasher and saved the box for the boys:

So a new era has begun!

Here they are right before closing the door to try out the lights on Buzz in the dark!

Feeeding the Giraffes!

2010-10-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

We recently visited the zoo and our (very) special treat for the day was feeding the giraffes!!

Mike got some great video of both boys feeding the three giraffes but I unfortunately only got only pictures of John. Ryan was a bit timid and only feed the giraffes twice. And John was so excited he fed the giraffes really fast. They weren't so much into holding still and looking at Mommy!!I have two giraffes for little boys!Ryan just looking cute:The" Rapper J." that developed at lunch time:

and which of course was imitated by his brother, Rapper R.

A stop at the zoo is never complete without a visiting the bonobos and seeing if they will play peek-a-boo with the boys again!

09/25/10 - Touch a Truck

2010-09-30T19:05:00.003-07:00

We recently went to a "Touch a Truck" event in our area - and to say the boys were in heaven would be an understatement!!! They LOVED:

climbing in the fire engine:
sitting in a bus:

sitting in the front seats of various vehicles:

pretending to mow the lawn on the riding lawnmowers:

beeping the horn/siren in the police cars:

and talking through the speaker:

There was also a small petting zoo. John loves animals and was all for visiting while Ryan chose to watch from a distance. (I'm not sure why this picture is sideways - I've tried adding it twice and it's not stored sideways in my picture files - oh well, just turn your head!)

sitting on a variety of farm equipment:

a HUGE lawnmower:

And John ended the day sitting in the cab of a semi truck!

We can't wait for next year!

09/20/10 - Seven Months

2010-09-30T19:05:00.001-07:00

"Howdy, partner!" "There's a snake in my boot!"

How the time has flown by!

John and Ryan continue to just love life and all its adventures (and EVERYTHING is an adventure!) and charm the socks off everyone they meet.

Now lest anyone think (especially those following after us on the adoption path) life has been picture perfect since arriving home, let me assure you it has not! It is true there were really no attachment, food, sleep, or behavior issues when the boys arrived home (I realize this is not the norm and PRAISE GOD for this blessing.) and they continue to not really have any issues now, except for the normal sibling arguments, tantrums (Ryan is quickly moving out of that phase though unless he is tired), and not listening. But there have been the times John has remembered and talked about life in Ethiopia with his first family (that was the first time I thought, "I don't want to do this Lord. This conversation is too hard). He has some good memories and some sad memories. And when the sad memories come out and I know I can't fix everything and take his pain away, I don't like it. But I let him know it is okay to talk about it and it's okay to be sad (he kind of doesn't get that concept). And then there are the times he asks me if he could change his skin to white. I know from all the training and reading we did before and during and since the adoption
that it is normal for children to want to "look" like their parents. I tell him God made he and Ryan with brown skin and Mommy and Daddy with white skin. The answer I got back from that was, "I'm going to pray and ask God for white skin." (I must say the boy's always thinking!!). I told him God wasn't going to say yes to that prayer and that I love him and God loves him just they way he is but that's it's okay to want to have white skin like Mommy's. He then asked me if I wished I had brown skin. I told him I sometimes did but that I loved us just the way we are because that is how God created us. The conversation ended with John saying, "Okay, I'll have brown skin." It's come up twice since then and I know it will continue to come up. I have always know but have truly come to realize that adoption is forever - yes they boys will be ours sons for always but adoption and all the facets that go with being a multicultural and biracial family are forever as well.

And life certainly has thrown us a few curve balls. Mike started a new job in August and we have gone from being a lot under employed to just a little underemployed. But he has gone from a job where he was continually disrespected to being appreciated so that's a huge praise. While the new job is still third shift, it is the same days every week - 4 ten hour shifts which is REALLY NICE to have the almost three days off. The last job was 5 days but never the same and hardly ever two in a row off. So to have him awake for a few hours in the afternoon to go back to bed after dinner left me doing bath and bedtime on my own almost ever night, quite exhausting not to mention no us time! But now he is able to have his Bible study quiet time when he comes home from work, then go to sleep, then get up before dinner and stay awake (most nights) until leaving for work at 10pm, more time with the boys and more time with me - yeah!

And since arriving home with the boys in February, just about everything in our house has broken: Mike's car brakes and radiator, my air conditioning - three times )and if it was just me I would have sucked it up, but not with two little boys!), the washing machine, the lawn mower, two smoke detectors and the carbon monoxide detector, three different phones and the answering machine, and the upstairs bathroom sink plugged up. I think I got everything.

And how about those doctor visits: John's four months of visiting the dentist to fix his teeth (my poor baby!), molluscum of the boys faces (tiny white pimple like dots that our doctor and the dermatologist say are very common in children - I however I have never heard of them), two huge colds for both Mike and I after arriving home, a month of me blowing my nose (went to the doctor, the medicine cleared up my cough but not so much the nose), a fungal issue on my face and another part of my body I don't care to disclose and try not to think about to much in general but it is being cleared up with cream and oral medication - yes, gross! - that was accidentally diagnosed as eczema twice, Mike's allergic reaction to an antibiotic he was taking for a weird bug bite that resulted in a trip to the emergency room, and an ultrasound for me because I was having such severe stomach pains (nothing wrong, just stress). There, I think I got everything!!

And I say all of this not complaining in any way - PLEASE know that!! Life is what it is. It can be stressful and messy and surprising. It is a gift and is filled with blessings aplenty if I slow down long enough to see and appreciate them. I just want to be honest in that as great as everything has been with having the boys here there have still been things there were not great. I don't want to be seen as a picture perfect family or even a family that has it all together or even partly together!

I have learned in these months what it really means to trust God and believe in his word. When I read that in all things He works good for those who love Him I struggled with how can these certain things be worked for good. I don't have an answer yet for some of them. But I do know God used a miscarriage and an unsuccessful domestic adoption to lead us to an America World Adoption seminar and ultimately two little boys in Ethiopia - and that is GOOD!

I am thankful that my God will supply me with all I need, for each day, every day, one day at a time.

09/09/10 - John Started Preschool

2010-09-19T14:06:00.001-07:00

John stated preschool! To say he was excited about going would be an understatement. He is so ready for the structure of preschool, more time to socialize with kids his age, and the academics, creativity, and imagination that will come with all they do.

As I drove him to the preschool which is about five minutes form our house, it really hit me that I was entrusting him to the care of the teachers. I did not expect how hard it would be to let him go, so to speak, and I spent most of the drive praying that the Lord would watch over him and his year, that his spirit would soar with all his new experiences and not be damaged in any way!! And then as I drove home and wiped a few tears from my eyes, I wondered if, as a teacher for 14 years, I had been sensitive enough to all the parents who had entrusted their children to me.