Would you care for a croissant?

09/03/13 - Ryan turns 7!

Ryan's birthday dinner, his choice of an Ethiopian fish dish with injera, was actually eaten the day after these pictures were taken.  His birthday fell on back to school night so consisted of playing with the two girls I watch, opening presents, eating his choice of dessert (my Mom's chocolate fudge), and playing at Gramma and Bompa's for about an hour while Mom and Dad were at school!  

Note that he shaped the fudge into an "R"

Leading us in signing to him!

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Ryan LOVES dress up - he had an apron but no chef hat, until now!

Wonder where they get the dramatics from?

Opening his mail carrier costume

Off to deliver the mail!

John getting in on the fun

Where did this little guy go?

08/28/13 - John Turns 8!

"This is the best day!" were John's words as he headed off to bed on his birthday!  It had been a day of biking riding with friends, his dinner of choice (brats and Italians on the grill), my Mom's chocolate fudge for dessert (his request), birthday phone calls, and of course - presents!!

Yum!

Note the perfect swirly placement of ketchup and mustard - John has worked hard to perfect this!

Totally staged picture - ha!

"Happy Birthday to John"

Make a wish (his wish was to have Danny home faster)

dramatic excitement over presents!

a new Harry Potter DS game

scientific wizard experiments

What happened to his little guy?

Wordless Wednesday

John and Henson just chillin' after school!

First Day of Shcool

New clothes have been purchased, new school supplies are labeled, a healthy breakfast of scrambled eggs has been eaten, let a new year of adventures and learning begin!!

A Second grader and a First grader!

John never misses a chance for a photo session - he is o my son!

"Look out first grade, here I come!"

May the Lord bless you boys and keep you and make His face shine upon you both.  May your year be one in which you learn many wonderful new things, have fun with old and new friends, are valued and esteemed, thrive to the best of your abilities, and still in wonder of the world.  Lord help me send them on their way each day with words of encouragement and love.  We are so excited to see Your good plans for the 2013-14 school year!!

August Adoption Update

Well first of all, we are still here and have had a super summer filled with lots of adventures: Great America, Wisconsin State fair, play dates and time with family, bike rides, camping, and sleeping in.  (I could add a sentence here about more info and pictures to follow, but with my track record for blogging, I can't make any guaranties!  However, both boys are now in school full day and we are still waiting for Danny to come  home, so the possibility of more time for me to blog is actually pretty realistic! SO stay tuned!!)

As far as "Have we heard anything new about the adoption?" question we are so frequently and lovingly asked, we are unfortunately still in the US Embassy in country investigation wait.  According to our calculations, we are approaching 4 ½ months of waiting in an approximate 3-9 month wait (yes, the wait time has increased).  We are simply praying that Mike and I are able to travel to bring Danny home by the end of the year.  

BUT there are a couple things that can be done as we wait – yeah!  There is a desire within the adoption community and a few members of Congress for the Embassy to work with the authorities in country and begin their investigation process sooner which would decrease the wait time for families to bring their children home.  There is a Facebook group anyone can join even if you are not an adoptive family. This group is simply to show support – there is strength in numbers and the hope is that many voices standing together can make a difference.  Another thing that can be done is writing letters to your federal senators and representatives asking that they support efforts of all agencies to work together and to increase the staff size at the Embassy in country.  I have a general outline for this one page letter as well as the Facebook address so please email (mikeandamy@tds.net)  if you’d like either!

So I write this blog post on the first day of school.  The house is quiet except for a Matthew West song playing and the occasional meow of a cat letting me know they are still here.  I thought it would be filed with the noise of Danny playing and running and discovering.  I will admit there was a tinge of sadness as I put the boys on the bus and walked back into the house by myself. (It wasn't quiet for too long though as I put a Leslie Sansone DVD in and we walked away the pounds for 45 minutes!)  I will also admit then when we realized a few months ago that Danny would not in fact be home by the time the boys began school that the thought of actually having some "me time" was more than a bit exciting!!  While I work from home caring for a friend's two girls, they do not come before 11:30am and I have one day a week off.  Let's just say my house will be the cleanest, most decluttered it has ever been!!

And then there is the fact that God was not surprised by this extended wait time.  I am comforted to know that nothing slips by Him and that He is so much bigger than paperwork and investigations and waiting time.  He is my Rock and my Strength, and ever present help in time of trouble.  I am comforted to know He watches over Danny and knows the number of hairs on his head.  I have enjoyed a summer with just the two boys and all the freedom that allowed. (As I stood in line with them one day at Great America I thought of how much of a challenge it would have been to do Great America with Danny there too.)  I am looking forward to me time and the thought of a really clean and organized house (Goodwill here we come!) and even some time for projects.  But I am so looking forward to the day our agency calls and says "Book those tickets!!"

NEXT STEPS: A bit more fundraising and adoption scholarship applying is needed as Danny remains in country longer than expected - we are trusting God to provide and simply asking for wisdom as to which way to turn.

PRAISE: That God is God and He is in control!!

PRAYER: Thank you as always for your continued prayer, support, and excitement as we wait to bring Danny home!  It is more appreciated than words can say!!  Please pray for Danny - that he would remain happy and healthy and that the Lord would be preparing his little heart for a huge life change as he comes to be part of our family. Pray also for our investigation process to come to a close, that the Embassy would hire more staff and begin the investigation process earlier, and that the voices of concern would be heard by those in Congress.

Boys Photo Shoot

My Mom and Dad still live in the awesome house I grew up in and it just happens to be 3 blocks away from us!  They hosted Father's Day this year and the boys were so handsome, I decided to do an impromptu photo shoot - which, hams that they are, they loved!!!

My Mom changes the decorations on the wrap around porch seasonally and I am not quite sure how come I never thought to take the boys there for photos before.  Doesn't it just look like the porch could be right along side the ocean and the boys could be waiting to wade right in:

Of course we have to make at least one silly face!

A Little While Longer ...

On June 13 we officially reached the seven month since referral wait.  We had originally thought the wait would be about 7 months and that we would be traveling to bring our little guy home this month, but that is not to be.

I am sad but have accepted that the wait is going to be a little longer.  A little longer until I can hold that sweet chocolate boy.  A little while longer until I can kiss his cheeks and tickle his tummy.  A little while longer until he fills the crib in his room and the hole in my heart.  BUT it is also a little while longer I have John and Ryan all to myself and they do not have to share me with someone new.  A little while longer to finish the photo album of Danny's adoption journey (okay, finish might be wishful thinking but I have at least started it - ha!).  A little while longer for Mike and I not to be outnumbered.

A little while longer ...  but life is good and I am blessed.  And today is an okay waiting day.  Now when I get the next update pictures and see how much he's grown since November, it might be a different story.  But I am trusting in God and His timing and His grace and His ability to give me peace.

Great America - Opening Day

We knew we would not be taking our annual trip to Green Bay this year (sad to say this is the first Packers Training Camp we will be missing since the boys arrived home - not to fear though, we will be back next year!)  So we used that money instead to buy season passes to Great America, which is only a short distance from our house.  It will be a great place for Mommy and the boys to visit while Daddy is sleeping on Sundays and some great Daddy and boys time on Thursdays and Fridays (Daddy's days off of work).

Friends took the boys and I to the park last year and to say the boys had an incredible time would be an understatement!!  We know this year will be a blast.

We went for a few hours on opening day - a perfect sunny, spring day!  The first ride we went on was "too slow" according to the boys (which is why Mommy liked it).  So then we headed to the Demon, which Mike and the boys rode twice, once in the front car and once in the back - and LOVED it!  Then we did one of the two kid areas.

The promise of a fun summer!

Waiting for the plane ride to begin - my copilots!

John smiling down at me!

LOVE the poses!

All that's left of the car rides from when I was a little girl - I had fun being a back seat driver!

Getting Ready for Danny - the Crib

In the midst of waiting, we are focusing on the fun that goes with getting ready for Danny to come home!

Mike and Ryan recently put the crib up in the boys' room:

Getting all the pieces out!

Ryan hard at work (can't even tell this is a posed shot - can you!)

All done!

Now lest you all think John is not excited about Danny's arrival and thus didn't want to help put the crib together - rest assured.  He is very excited; however, he was more excited about his new DS game at the moment.