First Day of School Pics

Here are the traditional first day of school pictures...always standing in the same place, always giving me the "I can't believe you are making me do this" smile.  Love this 5th grader, 3rd grader, and Kindergartener.  Julia will start Mother's Day out next week for the first time and can't wait!

Last day of summer

So the last day of summer vacation came and went and school started yesterday.  It was a tough day for me...always is, but I cried and moped around and cried some more pretty much all day long and then felt insanely guilty for wasting an entire day feeling sorry for myself by the time my head hit the pillow last night. Watching the kids grow up into strong, self-confident, kind-hearted people is the best feeling in the world even when it is sooo hard to let go and watch them take off! Here are some pictures of our last relaxed day of summer feeding the horses, riding bikes and being together....

 

WAITLIST!!

We are officially on the WAITLIST as of today...August 9, 2011.  So excited I can hardly stand it! Our Dossier is on it's way to D.C. for Authentication and then will be headed straight to Ethiopia.  I know that God will grant me the patience and endurance to run this long race, but man do I want my little boy in my arms.  I keep finding myself zoning out of what I should be doing in order to continually calculate if or when he was/is conceived based on our age preference.  Praying that the Lord will give me peace beyond my own understanding as we begin this long wait.  It's easy to trust in God's timing in all of this right now, but I imagine I will be wavering on that in a year from now.  Holding tight to the fact that I want what He wants for our family, not what I want for myself....a lesson I need in so many areas of my life if I really dig deep.  Can't wait for this incredible season of spiritual growth for Randy and I, as we are being molded more and more each day!

APPROVAL!

YAY!  Our I-171H Approval letter was in the mail today! So thrilled to have this document that will bring us one step closer to our son.  It is beginning to seem so real now and that little ache in my heart for him is growing stronger by the day.  We went out to dinner to celebrate.....

and then showed off this simple piece of paper that means so much!!

We don't know you yet little man, but you are already soooo loved!

Awaiting CIS Approval

We were fingerprinted at the USCIS center in OKC on June 30, and want to make sure and capture the moment! 

I started stalking the mailbox about a week ago, knowing it was much too early to even dream of getting our approval letter, but I was unable to stop myself!  I went to the mailbox yesterday (7-20) and pulled out an envelope from the Dept. of Homel*nd Sec. and my adrenaline started pumping!  After I tore it open, my stomach sank as I saw that they were requesting another piece of information that I thought had been sent with our application to complete the approval.  I immediately called the National Benefits Center and spoke with our caseworker who checked our file and saw that the info was indeed there after all.  She assured me that our approval would arrive within 7 business days!!!  YAY!!! I'm now getting the last few documents ready for a trip to the Secretary of State for Authentication and then FINALLY.....the Waitlist!! I know that this is just one of many little glitches that we will face in this adoption journey, and I am truly okay with waiting for God's timing in all of this, but just to know that our paperwork will be in Ethiopia in the near future feels so stinkin' good!!!

Two Birds with One Stone

How great is it to have a baseball and soccer field combined, where Drew can practice his pitching while Bella's soccer team practices.  It has been such a fun 3 v. 3 season with a great group of girls and though we are looking forward to the upcoming tournaments, we will be sad to see it end. 

My 30 Day Challenge

Today marks the 1 month mark until the kids go back to school!  I honestly don't know how this has happened or where the time has gone, but I wish the weeks would slow down.  Granted, it has been over 105 degrees for weeks on end and there is only so much you can do inside, but still my heart hurts to think of all three of them heading back to school. 
I have been following the blog of a woman for well over a year now, not because she has anything earth shattering to say, but just because she manges to recap almost each day of life with her family of 6 who recently became 8.  I want that!! I guess I tend to think I need to wait for the big things in life before I record them on this blog, but I am realizing that the small snippets of life will be the most amazing to look back on some day.  So to tie all of this together, I am challenging myself to write something each of the remaining 30 days that the kids will be home, no matter how mundance.  My hopes are that this will just become habit and that I can learn to keep a journal of the big things as well as the small!
Without further adieu.............
Bella is learning to play the guitar!!

Randy has already taught her a few chords and even though her fingers are so sore, she is persisting in practicing.  I love watching them together...the father-the daughter, the teacher-the student.

Two years ago, Randy picked up the guitar for the first time and though he has always had an ear for music, I was shocked how fast he picked it up!  Not nearly as shocked as how it has CHANGED him. His favorite thing to do, hands down is to sit and get absorbed in playing praise music and I love that our house is always full of it.  New songs being tried out for church, needtobreathe playing nearly every waking moment, and I can't wait to see if Bella falls in love with it too!