the cox family ragamuffins

nineteen

2012-02-01T08:03:00.000-06:00

I chose the interstate sign because we've been on this road for a LONG time! This seemed appropriate to me. We are ready to exit off the freeway!!!! :-) Things never turn out as you planned, and we NEVER planned to wait 19 months for our referral. But this wait is going to make it that much sweeter when it happens, right?!?! We can't wait to share the news with you.

Also, Happy Birthday to the best Aunt Laur-Laur our boys could ask for! We love you!

fill my cup

2012-01-31T08:54:00.002-06:00

these sweet videos fill my cup when it feels like we're wandering in the desert searching for water. God has met me in the desert. we are trusting in His perfect plan.

Jada's Adoption Story from Longing for Africa on Vimeo.

our weekend consisted of...

2012-01-24T10:23:00.005-06:00

a friday night sleepover with a very loved cousin!

playing video games!

a celebration at leapin' lizards for elijah finishing his 40 weeks of bible reading!

and jason preaching at his parent's church on sunday!
i love relaxing, fun weekends!

nothing to say

2012-01-19T16:38:00.004-06:00

I don't have anything much to say, so I took this picture of the boys to show off their new haircuts that I gave them this past weekend. Aren't they cute? :-)

Nothing to report on the adoption front. The waiting at this point is excruciating because we know we're nearing the end of it. We are near the top of the list and it could be any stinkin' day now. Needless to say, we are ready to jump out of our skin with anticipation! Hopefully that post will be so, so soon. Happy Thursday!

in the past week...

2012-01-10T08:56:00.005-06:00

Judah had his first dentist appointment and did fantastic with no cavities!

His dentist is very sweet...

Getting them cleaned...

We celebrated a sweet friend's 7th birthday.
Happy Birthday Micah - you are one of Elijah's dearest friends!

Jason had these beautiful flowers delivered to me at work on our anniversary!
It was a wonderful surprise.
Calla-lilies are Ethiopia's national flower - we plan to use them in the baby's room.

We took the kids with us to a Thai food restaurant on our anniversary.
Nothing big this year - our two trips to Ethiopia will be our big celebration!
Here we are before we went to eat.

Elijah lost his 5th tooth - finally!

It had been hanging by a thread for a while but for some reason this one invoked a lot of fear and tears for him.

And my boys so sweetly got a game of Go Fish out on their own to play.
It was so pleasant to walk into the living room to see this, instead of fighting! :-)

Happy Tuesday to all of you!

10 years

2012-01-05T06:26:00.000-06:00

10 years ago today I married my best friend.

We were SO young!

I didn't realize it at the time but 20 and 21 is pretty young to be getting married these days. But the thing is that I wasn't scared or even nervous about getting married. Now for the actual ceremony I was a nervous wreck, but about marrying Jason...not one bit. I knew that God had brought us together to be partners in life and I knew that He would lead and guide us to keep our marriage strong. And He has. We made a commitment that day to always keep God in the center of our relationship and at the top of our priority list, and I believe that is the key to a successful, long marriage.

I had to take a picture of a picture, but here we are on our wedding day.
Such young wipper-snappers. :-)
"Pre-beard" as I call this phase of Jason's life,
since it only lasted 2 1/2 years after this.

In my opinion, here are the 10 most memorable things that have happened since our wedding day (in chronological order).

1. Our honeymoon to Brazil. Our first trip together and Jason almost drowned in the ocean! Not an exaggeration - complete with a trip to the hospital. It made us treasure each moment even more after that!

2. 2002: Our first year of marriage in Bryan, Tx in the "Love Shack" with our first dog together, Trigger. We had so much fun and life was so care-free and easy that year!
3. 2003: Moving to Fort Worth, buying and fixing up our first home. How we ever qualified to buy a home at that age, I'll never know! :-)
4. 2004: Elijah Mabry was born and changed our lives forever, making us parents. His first 8 days spent in the NICU following a stroke aged us, changed us, increased our faith and made us stronger together.
5. 2003- 2007: Our time spent doing inner-city ministry together at Fortress changed our hearts and opened our eyes to possible long-term mission work.
6. 2007: Our 2 1/2 week survey trip to Thailand was amazing! Even though God closed the doors on that particular opportunity, it solidified in our hearts that He was preparing us for missions.
7. 2008: Judah James was born bringing such joy to our lives again, making Elijah a big brother! His birth story was so fun and exciting - one for the books!
8. 2009: Jason graduated from college! After going back to school full time when Elijah was 2, he walked the stage to receive his undergrad degree after working so hard for 3 long years! These were difficult years for us while he was working full time and going to school full time, but we made it!
9. 2009: Made the decision to adopt. We knew that God was telling us to act, to do something specific according to His word.
10. 2012: I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that our two trips to Ethiopia and bringing our daughter home this year will be some of the most memorable moments of our lives too!

I could name so many more things...placing membership at The Hills and all the wonderful friends and opportunities that have come from that, family trips with your parents, our trip to New York City when Elijah was 5 months old, birthdays, Elijah starting kindergarten, and on and on! We have had our ups and downs as does every marriage, and our lives have taken more twists and turns than those two young people would have ever thought possible on that blissful day 10 years ago. I wouldn't change a thing and I wouldn't want to go through life with anyone else at my side. I love you Jason - I knew we would make it 10 years, there was never a doubt in my mind! Here's to the next 10 and 10 after that and 10 after that....

ringing in the new year

2012-01-04T08:29:00.005-06:00

We headed to Arkansas for New Year's weekend with Jason's parents to visit Jason's grandparents. We always have a great time relaxing and visiting! Thanks again Jill for cooking all of the yummy food!

4 generations of Cox men

Inside of a tree

Judah's pouty face (a very common face lately :-)

With the mountain in the background

Thanks Pappa Mac and Jill - we loved getting to see you, as always!

18 months paper pregnant

2012-01-01T08:05:00.000-06:00

and about to POP!!!!!!!!!!!
i am so done with this "pregnancy".
belly button sticking WAAAAY out.
come on little baby!

happy new year!
2012 is gonna be THE year! (right?)

christmas #3

2011-12-30T11:06:00.005-06:00

We went to my sister's last night for our third and final Christmas this year. Poor Jason was at home throwing up so he didn't get to join us this time. They had just gotten a new puppy for Christmas that the boys and I enjoyed playing with.

My sister, mom and I

All the grandkids with Kaki

Katherine loved her cheetah hairbrush!

The boys all got "Brandi" dogs from Camp of the Hills.

Judah and Aunt Kristi are having a deep conversation. :-)

The new puppy Bella - who is going to be ginormous!

They had set up a backdrop for their stuffed animals. :-)

That concludes all of the Christmas fun! We are headed to Arkansas this weekend to visit Jason's grandparents for New Year's. We are hoping early 2012 will bring the long awaited news of our daughter!

christmas day {round #2}

2011-12-28T12:57:00.007-06:00

We had a great Christmas day! Spent the morning at home opening presents and finishing up our Advent tree, complete with singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. I love doing the Advent tree every year! My boys look forward to it every single day and it keeps the focus on Jesus, the real reason for all of this craziness! :-) The boys also picked out chickens this year through Compassion International in honor of family members for some gifts. Here are tons of pictures.

We made these paintings completely out of hands, feet and thumbs of the boys!

Then we headed to Gainesville for the rest of the day with Jason's family.

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas day as well!

let the fun begin! {christmas #1}

2011-12-23T09:41:00.004-06:00

a new view on life...

2011-12-20T13:47:00.006-06:00

through the lens of my brand new Canon camera!

Merry Christmas and an early Happy 10th anniversary to me from my sweet husband!

I've been wanting a nice, new camera for a long time.
This was a BIG surprise. And we'll have it for our trips to Ethiopia!

Here are some pictures I've taken in the past two days with it.

pajamas, parties and programs

2011-12-16T16:41:00.009-06:00

What a crazy, busy but wonderfully blessed week this has been! It has been full of fun and celebrations with a bittersweet goodbye mixed in as well.

The biggest event of the week was the arrival of sweet Kaelyn Grace - our dear friends' fourth child and third baby girl! She arrived on Thursday in the middle of the last day of preschool, class parties and Elijah's Christmas program, and the day before the Tuckers moved to Oregon - they were so glad to see her before they left! We were blessed to be a part of her birthday and keep her big brother Micah for a couple of nights while Katie was in the hospital.

On Monday, Judah had pajama day and his Christmas program. This is his dearest friend, Linkon. They are quite a pair and were adorable performing their Christmas songs in their pjs!

I think this is their secret best friend handshake. :-)

I told you they were nutty!

Yay for pajama day!!!

On Tuesday we had a Christmas cookie decorating party at Ashley's house!

Judah and Ashley's sweet Savannah.

I looked over and Judah had stolen the spatula and was licking it! :-)

Thanks for having us over Ashley - it was so fun!

On Wednesday, Elijah had pajama day and his class Christmas party.

Decorating cookies with his class.

Him and his best buddy at school, Zander.

On Thursday night, Elijah had his Christmas program. Big brother Micah tagged along since his baby sister had been born that morning. He and Elijah are such great friends!

Thanks for driving all the way down Nana and Grangoat!

A family picture. Micah told us he wanted to be part of our family instead. :-)

I have both boys' performances on video but they are too big to add on here. Family, I can show you those later if you want to see them. :-)

What a week, but how blessed we are to have so much to do and celebrate!

a tradition

2011-12-11T19:46:00.007-06:00

We have a yearly tradition of going to Bass Pro to get FREE pictures with Santa. Did you catch the free? Cause that's why we go! :-) There are a lot of other fun free things to do too! And we went with our good friends this year which made it even more fun!

You can check out the merchandise, for free.

And of course I already mentioned seeing Santa for free.

They even let you use your own camera - score!

Santa is apparently a VERY happy fellow!

You can ride the carousel for free!

And be with friends that are free. :-)
I think we've established that I like things that are free!
I tried to get a good one of these two great friends - Elijah and Micah.

And here's the whole gang!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

On a sad note, our good friends are moving to Portland, OR on Friday.
We are really going to miss them. :-(

Suzy (the one moving), Katie, me and LeeAnn at Katie's baby shower.
I love these sweet friends - they are such blessings.

And my boys with Suzy's girls at church today.

We are all hoping we get our referral and Katie has her baby this week before they move!
It's hard to say goodbye to cherished friends.
All I can say is, At least we have skype!!! :-)

just words

2011-12-09T15:27:00.004-06:00

This time of year is so very, very busy.
There is just so much to do and be and go to.
Buying, wrapping, parties, traditions, baking, family.
We're trying to slow down a little and remember the REAL reason.

We are also just so, so ready to know all about our baby girl.
What she looks like, how old she is, what her name is/ will be.
It seems when you get to the end of a LONG wait,
then you can't wait one more minute!

Like waiting 9 months of pregnancy and the last few weeks CRAWL by.
Or when I was little, waiting for Christmas morning
or for my birthday party...and those last few days seemed to last FOREVER!

We know we are nearing the end of a very long wait to see her face,
and we just can't wait ONE MORE MINUTE! :-)

This is so much harder than I ever imagined it would be.
But then isn't anything worth doing or pursuing?

She is already such a big part of our family.
We talk about her and pray for her on a daily basis.
My boys are constantly pointing out things that "baby sister" would love.
Her stocking hangs on our fireplace with no name on it yet.
There is a hole in our hearts just for her.
We love her.

We are so very thankful for the busy-ness and being surrounded
by friends and family during the holidays.
We are blessed.

We hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season!
Here are two of my favorite Christmas songs.
They are un-traditional but beautiful just the same.
I love Sarah McLachlan and Coldplay.

indoor camping

2011-12-03T15:09:00.003-06:00

The boys decided to set up a tent in their room and sleep in it last night.
They were so cute I just had to snap some quick pictures!

First indoor camping adventure = a success.
They both stayed in it all night and actually got some sleep!

seventeen months

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

Wouldn't you know that yesterday the wait time magically changed to a 17 month average. :-)
Looks like we finally caught up to it!
Hoping for an early Christmas present!

{ideas} bringing Christ into Christmas

2011-11-29T08:46:00.007-06:00

So a lot of you will remember that we started a new tradition last year...The Jesse Tree, celebrating the season of Advent. I posted about it last year HERE. It is by far the sweetest and most enjoyable thing we do as a family during the Christmas season. I changed it up a little bit this year and thought it would be fun to post the changes just in case it inspires any of you in any way. I love reading other people's ideas on their blogs. Anyway...instead of putting the ornament, devo and candy in a box every single day, we wrapped them up individually in Christmas sacks, numbered them and hung them in a doorway. That way the boys take turns opening a present every single day until Christmas day. In each sack is the ornament for the day, Bible story and two pieces of candy for the boys to eat. We started on Sunday and they love it so far! I bought the sacks at the dollar store and they love taking them down and opening them up!

And here is our Jesse Tree this year. It has its own spot on our dining room table!

If you've never done this before and want instructions and easy-peasy downloads to make your own ornaments, click HERE. Don't be intimidated to start late - just double up for a few nights!

Another great thing that we are planning to do this year is found HERE. This is the gift catalog for Compassion International. You can buy gifts for others around the world for as little as $5 all the way up to $300 or $400. There is everything from pigs to medical care to clean water to mosquito nets to birthing assistants. We are planning to spend at least $10 less on every person we buy gifts for this year and spending it in this catalog instead. We may put all that money together and buy one big thing or we may buy 10 mosquito nets. We haven't decided yet, but I am excited to be doing this! You can even print out cards to put with gifts telling them what was donated in their honor. If you missed the post with this video or didn't get a chance to watch it yet, please do - it's only 2 1/2 minutes. It's what inspired me!

And here's a link to a GREAT idea for teacher's gifts that will bless others HERE.

Make a difference this Christmas in the lives of others that actually NEED things we take for granted! Give gifts of compassion, and teach your children to do the same!

much to be thankful for

2011-11-27T15:32:00.006-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
And I have much to be thankful for.
Two beautiful boys.
A doting and supportive husband.
Food in our tummies and a warm place to call home.
God's mercies being new every morning.
And a beautiful baby girl coming soon.
Just to name a few.
We will hit 17 months this week.
We shall see, we shall see! :-)

sweetly sleeping

2011-11-23T15:22:00.002-06:00

Lately, Elijah has been crawling in bed with Judah at night.
It is so sweet to see them sleeping so soundly up next to each other.
Such sweet brothers.

images from an early thanksgiving

2011-11-22T15:16:00.002-06:00

Looking so handsome in his great great grandfather's hat!

We had some family pictures done while there.
This is just a sneak peek...more coming later.

Sweet cousin Solomon.

With Aunt Laur-Laur's dog, Ginny.

it's that time of year again!

2011-11-21T11:44:00.006-06:00

So it's that time of year again when you're needing great gift ideas, and I just happen to have some for you that will benefit a good cause - our adoption fund! :-) If you've been reading my blog for the past year then you remember our Just Love Coffee website and my in-laws wonderful homemade seasoning! We use the seasoning on everything from eggs to veggies to meats - it's fantastic and it's only $5 for a 4.5oz jar. All of the proceeds benefit our adoption fund. Which, if you're wondering, we are still needing funds for our second trip to Ethiopia - whenever that may be. Just let me know how many jars you need and I will get them to you!

Also, check out our coffee website. $5 from every bag of coffee goes directly to our adoption fund and the rest to help orphans around the world, so you can't go wrong there! Here is one of the many yummy coffees they have available from around the world.

Both of these are on our sidebar on my blog as well! Happy holidays!

https://justlovecoffee.com/about/beneficiary/CoxRagamuffins/

16 1/2 months

2011-11-15T19:51:00.003-06:00

here we sit at 16 1/2 months.
it's almost surreal to actually BE at the average wait time.
my caseworker called me yesterday about some paperwork.
needless to say i about jumped out of my chair!
i know it will be soon.
it is just an AVERAGE after all.
while we wait, we just live life.
i've never been more thankful to just live life.
after 2 1/2 months of a long illness, it's good to be on the mend.
God is good...even in the darkest valleys of life.
hoping we'll have a little something extra to be thankful for this thanksgiving.
enjoy a sweet song about adoption by casting crowns.

take a guess

2011-11-07T12:27:00.002-06:00

So, we are getting close to the average wait time for a referral. We were at 16 months on the 1st and the average wait time is 16.5 months. We are almost RIGHT. THERE. Anyone want to guess the date we'll get our referral and how old she will be? Our parameters are a girl age 0-6 months at the time of referral. Go ahead, get to guessing!

WHAT DATE WILL WE GET OUR REFERRAL AND HOW OLD WILL SHE BE?

Can't wait to see if anyone gets close!

{remembering} halloween 2011

2011-11-06T14:59:00.004-06:00

Okay, way overdue here are a variety of Halloween pictures. They are all out of order ranging from our neighborhood Halloween party in the park to pumpkin carving to the pumpkin patch to Elijah being "The Man in the Yellow Hat" for storybook character day at school. Enjoy - there are a bunch!

thinking ahead to christmas

2011-11-03T07:10:00.000-05:00

Have you ever thought that you spend way too much time shopping at Christmas? Or way too much money buying gifts that people don't need? Maybe you have been wanting to shift the focus off of stuff and on to the real reason for Christmas? Then you need to watch this short 2 minute video on the Advent Conspiracy. There are even tools and resources for your family or small group to turn this into a reality!

sixteen months

2011-11-01T08:28:00.003-05:00

Feeling very thankful today.
Happy National Adoption Month!

Halloween post coming soon!

still here

2011-10-18T08:30:00.004-05:00

So we are still here, still alive.
This has been (and continues to be) a very difficult month.
After 3 rounds of strep accompanied by multiple other complications,
it was discovered that I have mono.
That has been the least of my concerns though,
as the mono has triggered a horrible case of insomnia.
That is why I haven't blogged in weeks.
After more than 3 weeks of little to no sleep,
I am re-learning to trust that God loves me and has a perfect plan.
Trusting him in the difficulties of life is VERY hard.
And so here we are.

These are the only pictures I've taken in the last few weeks.

Judah loved playing in the puddles after the rain!

We also enjoyed free tickets to the circus!

Also just wanted to point out that the average wait time is at 16 1/2 months.
We are getting VERY close to 16.
Not holding my breath, but just wanted to point it out anyways. :-)

fifteen

2011-10-01T10:31:00.008-05:00

Here we are at 15 months.
I do believe we'll see 16.
Hopefully not 17.
Only God knows.

This was a rough week.
2nd round of strep in 3 weeks.
Allergic reaction to the meds.
No sleep for 3 nights straight.
I was delirious and sick.
It was NOT. FUN.

I am thankful for a good night's sleep last night.
But frustrated at what all happened.
Today I am thankful to be one month closer to our daughter.
But frustrated that it's taking so long.

So here's to 15 months.
Maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised.

This is a great post reflecting a lot of my feelings on adoption if you have a few minutes:
http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2011/09/am-i-hero.html

busting out the pumpkins

2011-09-24T16:13:00.004-05:00

I've looked a lot like my sweet dog Amos for the past 3 days.

Lying around pathetic thinking, Why me?

If you don't know anyone who has had strep twice in 3 weeks time -
now you do! I was the ever so lucky one! :-)

In an effort to break out of my jail cell (ie, the house), we decided to enjoy today by...

Gearing up for the Aggie football game - WHOOP!!!

Then we headed to the Farmer's Market where we pick out our pumpkins each year.

It's a little earlier than we usually go, but I was ready to bust out the pumpkins!

And get out of the house.

Not sure which I was ready to do more.

I love this Farmer's Market. They have such fresh fruits & veggies.
And we always buy some local honey.

They also have cute photo spots for my first fall pictures of the year.

We had a blast!

It's pumpkin season!!!

hope

2011-09-16T08:46:00.003-05:00

I couldn't help myself at the store the other day and I bought this doll.

The picture doesn't do her justice, she is SO CUTE!

As I got to thinking about it, I realized that this doll represents hope.

We haven't lost our hope, we still have it.

As this process continues to drag on longer and longer, and as we've been updating our home study, fingerprints, medical exams, CIS extension and passports, I realize that we are doing all of this because we have hope.

That hope is what keeps us going on the hardest of days when we are ready for all of this to be over.

And we ARE ready for this to be over.

God called us to this little girl and we long to have her in our arms.

All glory to HIM!

He has been our sustainer during this long ordeal,
and He is our hope!

I heard this new song on the radio a few days ago and it has really ministered to my heart. I believe it speaks to exactly where I am with Him on this journey.

I pray that it ministers to you too.

MY HOPE IS IN YOU Lyrics
Aaron Shust

I meet with You and my soul sings out
As your word throws doubt far away
I sing to You and my heart cries
“Holy!
Hallelujah
Father, You’re near!”

My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long
I won’t be shaken by drought or storm
A peace that passes understanding is my song
And I sing
My hope is in You, Lord

I wait for You and my soul finds rest
In my selfishness, You show me grace
I worship You and my heart cries “Glory
Hallelujah
Father You’re here!”

My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long
I won’t be shaken by drought or storm
A peace that passes understanding is my song
And I sing
My hope is in You, Lord

I will wait on You
You are my refuge
I will wait on You
You are my refuge

My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long
I won’t be shaken by drought or storm
My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long
I won’t be shaken by drought or storm
A peace that passes understanding is my song
And I sing
My hope is in You, Lord
My hope is in You, Lord
Yeah
My hope is in You, Lord

what we did this weekend

2011-09-12T18:26:00.004-05:00

We were blessed to go to Jason's parents house on Saturday to be with them and Brad & Nova, celebrate Brad's upcoming birthday, swim, eat and of course love on baby Solomon!

Chillaxin' on the deck

Judah was cold but that didn't stop him from his last swim of the summer!

Hanging on Uncle Brad (sporting a new manly mustache :-)

The boys watching Brad jump in the pool

Nana & Grangoat with their 3 grandsons :-). Judah was winking!

Brothers playing guitar

And of course we enjoyed this cutie pie who is growing way too fast!

first day of preschool 2011

2011-09-08T16:41:00.003-05:00

We survived the first day of preschool - although I have to say that I'm EXHAUSTED! Judah had a great day and that probably has a lot to do with his fabulous teachers. I am so excited for him to have Katie, Ashley and Jennifer this year - all wonderful godly women. I'm privileged to know two of them very well and to call all of them friends (and so lucky that Judah gets Jennifer AGAIN, yay). Love you ladies - thanks for making Judah's first day so awesome!

He's holding up 3 fingers because he's in the 3 year old class this year. I cut his hair yesterday.

The coveted Thomas backpack my mom bought him for school, with his special camp turtle keychain that carries camp rocks inside :-).

Ready to go to school!

Yay, we survived the first day!!!

mush from my brain

2011-09-06T16:09:00.007-05:00

My head is just full of random information, so if you're not feeling very random today, you may just want to move on past this one. :-)

1. I have strep throat. I don't remember the last time I had strep throat but it STINKS big time. I've forgotten how much I hate it. I spent the entire labor day holiday on the couch or asleep in my bed thinking I had allergies. But when I woke up this morning feeling just as lousy as the day before after about 3 hours of sleep, I went to the doctor. Sure enough. Positive for strep. I REALLY hope the boys don't get it because I have my first day of preschool on Thursday. Ugh. I am (obviously) feeling a little better now that I've started antibiotics.

2. Want an excellent TV show to watch on instant Netflix? I HIGHLY recommend Legend of the Seeker. If you're already getting Netflix streaming from your computer to your TV, you need to give this show a whirl. If you love fantasy, action, drama and a good love story then you are in for a treat with this one! There are 2 seasons (44 episodes) all just waiting for you to dive in. No fear of having to wait for the next episode to come out because this is the ENTIRE show for your viewing pleasure. Legend of the Seeker - check it out!

p.s. Speaking of TV shows - I got one of my good friends hooked on Alias - that makes me quite happy!!! And she doesn't need to fear because, of course, I have ALL of the seasons at home.

3. Judah has worn a ninja mask and ninja sword tucked into the back of his shorts for almost 3 days straight now. He is awesome.

4. Elijah is thinking about having his daddy give him guitar lessons. I loved watching them "practice" the other day. Nothing more attractive than a guy playing a song on his guitar! Elijah could possibly break some hearts one day if he in fact masters this skill. :-)

5. I'm tired of waiting for a referral. Have some patience with me right now because I'm likely to be irritated if you don't ask about our adoption and irritated if you do, so really there's no way for you to win...lol. It just goes with the territory of being WAY past due with a baby...very emotional, irritable and downright frustrated. That is definitely the way I felt in my 9th month of pregnancy with the boys - why should this be any different? If anyone ever told me that I would wait 14+ months to have one of my children, I would have called them crazy (and then proceeded to hyperventilate :-).

6. We are semi-planning a beach vacation with Jason's family for next summer and I'm already PUMPED about it! Of course a lot of it depends on when we bring the baby home, but I can just see her toddling around on the sand in her cute girly swimsuit! That makes me smile.

7. Really excited about the cooler weather and the fall season! It's my favorite and specifically October is my favorite month of the year. (Hmmm, maybe THAT'S when we'll get a referral). You didn't hear me say that though because I don't make ANY speculations about when that's going to happen anymore! :-)

And that's all because my body is telling me that I'm not feeling quite as good as I thought and I need to lay down and rest. Have a great week!

a little tour...

2011-09-02T09:29:00.006-05:00

of my preschool classroom!

Okay, I have never thought of myself as a crafty person but I am pretty pleased with how my preschool classroom turned out this year! I lucked out in grabbing some of the animals and acacia trees that came down after our big VBS this year and decided to do an African themed classroom. Does this seem appropriate to anyone else since we {hopefully} will be bringing our daughter home this school year! Perfect. I thought so.

Here's the view when you walk in the room. The beautiful mural to the left was already there so I left it as is. I have 12 sweet four year olds - 4 at each table.

The view looking back at the door with the cubbies and the cute giraffe! And my co-teacher Terri (sorry that you didn't know I was taking this Terri :-).

The wall just to the right when you walk in. It has all of my calendar/circle time things on the board and my bible verse - I love this wall! Under my alphabet will be our word wall - we will add words that start with each letter all year long, and under the zebra is my attendance chart. It will hold each child's picture with their name on the other side - they find their name and flip it over when they arrive so we know who is there that day.

A close-up of Mr. Elephant holding the folders right by the door.

And a close-up of the wall you see when you walk in. It has my art wall where all of their beautiful pictures will go on display, my literacy center and my weekly bible verse!

We officially start next Thursday morning. Meet the teacher was last night so I've met almost all of my kids and parents. Looking forward to a great school year!

fourteen months

2011-09-01T08:16:00.000-05:00

And I haven't lost my mind yet!!! :-)

my little budding artist

2011-08-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

2nd grade, how can it be?

2011-08-22T10:55:00.008-05:00

I can't believe my first baby is in second grade.

It is incomprehensible.
Everyone, everyone, EVERYONE says it -
and that's because it's true.
They grow up WAY too fast!

He had a great first day!
He was nervous that the work would be too hard,
but came home telling me it was easy. :-)
He was Jesus to one of his friends at school today.
That makes me prouder than the work that he does, honestly.

Here's some proof that he is growing up WAY too fast!

Kindergarten Aug 2009 vs. 2nd Grade Aug 2011

We as his family love him so much and are so proud of him!
Be warned that I look half asleep in these pictures (not a morning person).

His table (for about 10 minutes :).

I found out after school that he was moved to another table
to be with a friend who was having a hard time.

He is a good, sweet friend.

With his new teacher, Ms. Dowell.

Ready for the day!

And of course we had our traditional after-the-first-day-of-school ice cream!

What a silly second grader!

I'm glad this day is over. It makes me nervous as well! :-)

all of our last minute fun

2011-08-21T14:57:00.006-05:00

I am so, so sad that today is our last day of summer vacation. I don't like change and so sending Elijah back to school for 8 hours every day is really hard for me to adjust to again. We just really enjoyed our fun summer. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a referral - other than that, it was perfect! We crammed as much fun as we could into this past week while my mom was in town and seeing how it was our last week before school starts. We did the water park on Monday, Legoland/Aquarium on Wednesday, swimming on Thursday and Putt-Putt on Saturday. We had a blast and I'm sad it's all over, but on to the routine I guess! Here are some pictures of our last minute fun:

Jason took off to go to Legoland with us on Weds,
and my mom brought my sister's kids as well so it was a full, fun day!

Special cousins Kristopher and Jonathan.

A completely Lego Dirk at his actual height I believe.

Cowboy's stadium and the city of Dallas made of Legos.

They of course did lots of building!

My sweet nieces, Katherine and Faith.

They did karaoke. Katherine has a beautiful voice!

Testing out the Lego cars they built on the car ramp.

And smiling before a ride!

I think this is his "To Infinity and Beyond" pose!

My nephew is very detail oriented with his building.

Then we decided while we were at Legoland to try out the aquarium right next door. I'm so glad we did - it was a lot of fun too. There was no flash allowed inside so some of the pictures are a little blurry.

And a couple of pictures from Putt-Putt yesterday.

And I guess that marks the end of our summer fun. :( Boo hoo. I will be crying tomorrow after we drop Elijah off at 2nd grade. But I will take pictures and post them. His teacher seemed to be very sweet, enthusiastic and on the ball at meet the teacher on Thursday night, and Elijah is excited to get started so those are all blessings to be thankful for.

livin' it up this week before school starts

2011-08-16T10:05:00.000-05:00

longing and waiting...

2011-08-13T11:01:00.004-05:00

As we are longing and waiting for our baby girl,
I never grow tired of watching these amazing adoption videos.
God sets the lonely in families,
and it is beautiful to watch.

*Millions of children just like this one are without food & water because of the worst drought in decades in the horn of Africa. I have added a button to the right if you would like to donate money to give them aid.

While I sit drinking my ice cold water and eating my lunch

2011-08-12T13:10:00.003-05:00

Copied and pasted from this blog here:

"Many of you may not be aware because it has gotten little press over here, but Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are currently experiencing the worst drought and famine in decades - yes, even worse than Feed-the-world-let-them-know-it's-Christmas-time time.

A couple of weeks ago I read this article, and the images have haunted my motherheart ever since:

There are harrowing stories of people who have made the journey to Dadaab [a refugee camp in northern Kenya]. Some are raped and robbed along the way, others are chased by hyenas. One woman had six children, all of them too frail to walk. She was determined to get them to the camp, so she carried them two at a time, shuttling back and forth for the others she had left behind.

Another couple walked for 22 days with their sick baby daughter – no sooner had they arrived at the camp than the child died.

Africa is complicated. Foreign aid is complicated. But if I were feeding my children mud I wouldn't give a care about political theories.

Several adoptive families have banded together to help. Please visit their website and please donate to one of the organizations they have links to.

Adoptive Families for Famine Relief"

I am challenging everyone who reads this to go to that Famine Relief website and donate $10, just $10. That can add up very quickly.

another fun week at camp

2011-08-08T16:06:00.007-05:00

We had another fantastic week at Camp of the Hills, this time with our special friends - the Burchfield's and Pittman's! The kids had a blast and the younger ones even had their own preschool camp every morning this past week with the camp assistants. No words this week for each picture - I'm just going to let them speak for themselves. :-)

lucky number...

2011-08-01T06:45:00.002-05:00

swim lessons

2011-07-30T14:19:00.007-05:00

The boys just finished 2 weeks of swim lessons on Friday. Elijah learned the back stroke and Judah will now put his head under water and jump to us, so I'd call swim lessons this summer a success! Here are a few pictures and a video (the one of Judah would NOT upload for some reason). The picture of Judah going down the water slide makes me laugh because his eyes are closed and they were seriously going like .5 mph, just barely crawling down the slide! :-) We are headed to camp again for the week on Monday - more when we get back! We're soaking up every last bit of summer - only 3 weeks until Elijah starts back to school. :-(

some firsts

2011-07-27T20:06:00.004-05:00

First gymnastics class.

First picture of him taking a nap in his undies.

First time he ever dumped every card game
in our house out in a big pile on the floor.

First time to make a permanent move to the bottom
bunk in Elijah's room (now both of their room).
Elijah was excited about this move too.
We'll see how it goes!

First black eye/cheek.

Poor baby was walking to the car from swimming
with his towel wrapped around him.
He tripped and fell and had no hands free to catch himself.
His cheek bone hit directly on the concrete sidewalk. :-(
Here it is a few days later-

There is never a dull moment with this one.
Love my baby boy.

Here's a little gymnastics action for you to enjoy:

p.s. Thanks for the encouragement after my last post. As of today, the average wait time is at 15 1/2 months. God is giving us the strength to run this race. "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

life on the adoption front {what i DO know}

2011-07-23T19:17:00.005-05:00

I've been kind of quiet on this issue for a while now.

It's definitely not because it's not important to us. It's definitely not because of a lack of thinking about it on our part. And it's definitely not because we never get any updates on the status of our adoption. We do, but most information I receive from our agency is not to be posted on the internet. And most of it is all very general and not pertaining to our case specifically.

I don't know when we'll get our referral. I don't know who our daughter is yet. I don't know when we'll have our court date and I don't know when we'll bring her home.

Here is what I DO know.

I know that referrals are still going out on a semi-regular basis to families in the Ethiopian program of our agency.

I know that families are receiving court dates fairly quickly after referral, as in 2-3 months after.

I know that we are number 13 or 14 on an unofficial internet list.

I know that the average wait time is at about 14-15 months right now.

I know that we are almost to 13 months.

I know that my caseworker said, "it is not realistic to expect that our wait time will be significantly longer than the current average right now", even though wait times continue to slightly go up each month.

I know that the Ethiopian government is still processing adoption cases (albeit slower than usual) and that they have their children's best interest at heart.

I know that God knows our daughter by name and knows how many hairs are on her head.

I know that God himself placed us on this path.

And most importantly I know that He is in control.

We entered into a discernment week with our small group this past week. At 5 different points throughout each day, we were to stop and pray specific things and read specific passages from the Bible. It continually reminded me to bring every thought, every joy, every problem, every worry and every praise to the Father. He spoke different things to me this week through others and just to me alone. Here is what I learned from my Teacher this week:

*He isn't finished working on me. He is refining me and purging me of bondage so that I can ultimately be free to serve Him the way He intends without hindrance from me.

*He loves me and He cares about the details of my measly little life.

*He is our Provider. He is taking care of our family, and He realizes we'll soon be adding another child to our house. He proved that He is Provider in two major ways this week.

*Spoken by a sweet friend: He has already planted in my heart that which He desires of me so that I will want which He already desires. He has quickened my heart to want what He wants for me. It is why I now long for my baby girl.

*The things that I am using as excuses or reasons to not do what He desires might be the exact reasons that I SHOULD do that very thing.

*He is teaching me how to LISTEN for His voice to know His will for my life.

It was a good week. I pray that these practices will become a habit. If you draw close to God, He WILL draw close to you.

bowling boys

2011-07-22T12:29:00.003-05:00

We had a blast on Tuesday bowling for FREE with some friends!
This particular bowling alley let's kids bowl one free game a day all summer long!
You can't beat that right?

It was both of the boys first time, but just look at that form!

Judah had this special ramp that he could push the ball down.
I'm pretty sure out of the 8 kids we were with, he had the highest score! :-)

Elijah loved it - we'll have to try to get back there again!

Judah with his sweet friend Linkon.

I love summertime, and am a little depressed that Elijah starts back to school a month from today. Boo! It goes too fast - I'm not ready for routine again!

some fun in the sun

2011-07-17T21:07:00.006-05:00

We've had a lot of fun swimming in {other people's} pools this summer,
and you know, taking naps wherever we can get one.Nana and Grangoat's house is one of the boys' favorite places to be,
especially in the summertime.
You know, because of the pool and all.
And maybe a little because of their grandparents,
and the occasional visit from Aunt Laur-Laur.

The boys spent the night this weekend
and made homemade donuts the next morning.

He is such a funny little guy!

My littlest cutie cuddling & having fun with his daddy!

The toothless wonder!

He loves to be thrown in the air!

My 3 boys.

Actually, here is my 4th boy, Amos, desperately trying to get OUT of the water. I think he is thinking at this moment, "WHY did you put me in here people???"

The boys were all about the hats this day!

And let me leave you with one more picture of my new nephew,
just because he is so adorable!

Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks?!?!

meet solomon

2011-07-15T18:25:00.003-05:00

Meet our new nephew:
Solomon James
born July 13th
9 lbs and 20 inches long

The first grandchild on Jason's side of the family since my 2 boys.
The boys pretty much LOVED him and wanted to take him home!

It was seriously love at first sight!

And we could hardly pry him away from this one!

The proud uncle and aunt!

The rock-star mama who delivered this sweet 9lb baby with no drugs!

The very proud first time daddy!

And of course the very proud Nana and Grangoat!

We love you Solomon - welcome to our crazy family!

boys

2011-07-11T17:51:00.004-05:00

They love sprinklers

in the summertime,

and playing

in the mud!

Our 4th

2011-07-04T08:48:00.000-05:00

We spent the day at my sister's house swimming, cooking out and playing with cousins.
Elijah LOVES his cousin and friend, Jonathan!

The little ones wanted Jason to carry them around in the pool!

My mom and Judah.

At one point there were 9 boys and 2 girls in the pool - a lot of boys!

Judah finally got brave and would inch his way around the side of the pool in the deep end.

Elijah got creative and made himself a kayak. :-)

We had a great time, and then that night Elijah, my mom and I watched the fireworks at the Trinity River. Judah was exhausted so Jason stayed home with him. Hope you all had a great 4th as well!

camp and my birthday

2011-07-02T15:46:00.006-05:00

We had such a great week out at Camp of the Hills last week! They have a brand-new dining hall and office building since the horrible fire destroyed their main building last March, and we really enjoyed using them! It seems VERY different from the building that has been out there since I was a counselor, but they are so nice and I can't believe how quickly they got them up! So, here are the pictures and I will explain as we go, and they are all out of order.

Banquet night on Friday. Elijah being escorted in by 2 counselors.
He is IN LOVE with Frankie! :-)

Elijah with his counselors & cabin.

Going through the hug line to get his awards.

With Frankie again.

Elijah playing basketball during special interest classes.

Elijah with his cabin-mates and counselors.

They have a Western theme for banquet night this year on Friday night. There is an awards ceremony afterwards. Elijah got the "Kind Heart" award and the "Stay at Home" award since he slept in my mom's cabin at night. :-)

Here is Judah riding on a tractor with his best buddy for the week, Josh. Josh is a camp assistant and will be a senior this year - my mom is in charge of the camp assistants (CA's) for the summer.

Our mode of transportation around camp - my mom's new 4 wheeler.

Judah with the executive director's dog, Brandy (aka the camp dog). He loved her!

Watching the campers play color tag!

All of the campers and counselors for the week in a huddle!

Once again, Judah with his bff Josh - you will see lots of him in here. He was so sweet with Judah!

The outside of the new dining hall - I failed to get inside pictures.

Swim time!! The CA's took charge of Judah every swim time.

Judah with Sable and Caroline.

Judah's favorite was the "spray park". :-)

Again with Brandy. You won't see too many of Elijah - he was a camper all week and got embarrassed when I would take pictures around his friends and counselors.

On my birthday (Tuesday), my mom took me out to eat at an Italian restaurant in downtown Marble Falls with some other friends from camp. Lacey and I share the same birthday!

I made some new friends last week and was so blessed that my good friend Melissa was out there all last week too!

And then we went to eat frozen yogurt afterwards!

Josh on the floor coloring with Judah.

Elijah: mad at me for taking a picture and for making him wear a life jacket when he passed the swim test. I'm sorry but murky water scares me!

Judah LOVED fishing!!!

And of course loved swimming with Josh!

He also thought canoeing was very cool!

My car's a/c stopped working the day we were headed back, so we had to take it into town to get it fixed. While there, Judah found a truck that looked like Mater!

And that's our week in pictures out at camp! We'll go back again the first week in August. When we got back, my mom babysat while Jason took me out to a movie for my birthday. I made her take a picture of us because I never take pictures of just us!

12, 1, 365

2011-07-01T08:11:00.005-05:00

BIG, BIG SIGH....today marks 12 months / 1 year / 365 days since we went on the wait list for our baby girl. I NEVER in a million years would have thought I'd be writing this post, BUT that just goes to show you how all-knowing and in control that I am! :-) This past year has been a journey and isn't that what life is all about, the journey and not the destination? I am trying to focus on the journey and what God wants me to learn and do and how I am to grow to become more of the person that He wants me to be. I can honestly say that I am closer to Him today than I was one year ago, so I would call this past year a SUCCESS! I pray that He is accomplishing His purposes in me through this adoption process. AND, we are 1 year CLOSER to bringing our baby girl home! We are praying for big news SOON! Thanks again for your prayers and support!

"Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides You,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him."
Isaiah 64:4

our day to day

2011-06-24T13:49:00.005-05:00

So, I lied. I have one more post to do before we go out of town. I love reading other people's blogs to get ideas on what they do with their kids at home, like with chores, spiritual training, etc. So for what it's worth, here is what we came up with for this summer. If it gives you an idea or encourages you in some way, then it was worth posting.

I wanted a chore chart that was reusable. One that you don't have to print every week or that is no good after you've filled it with stickers. So this is what I came up with. Small pockets stuck with magnets to my refrigerator. One holds all of the chore sticks for each child and you move them over to the other when they are finished. I like it and that way the boys can see what they haven't done for the day. I have been amazed at how well Judah dusts and how good Elijah is at folding laundry. I really thought I would have to go back and re-do a lot of their chores, but NO, they've pleasantly surprised me! They get a small allowance at the end of each week.

Jason and I also picked one memory verse per week this summer for the weeks that we're not out of town. On the first day, we talk about what the verse means and why it's important to us today. We practice it each day during our Bible time at lunch and if they can say it to me on their own each Friday, they put a sticker on their chart. If the chart is full at the end of the summer, they will get a special prize (we are still deciding on that :-).

We are doing one devotional a day during lunchtime before working on our memory verse, and we are using this book. I couldn't get the picture to turn, sorry. They are very simple and short and then we talk about what that devotional means for us today.

I also had this BRILLIANT idea that I have not followed through with yet. I thought one day a week this summer, we could think of something to do FOR someone else or TO HELP someone else. So far, this has NOT panned out because of unexpected events and lack of planning on my part. I am determined to pick this up in July. Ultimately I know that we are just planting the seed in their hearts and that GOD is the one who will water it and make it GROW!

For your viewing pleasure, here is Judah saying one of his Bible verses. Elijah is a little more camera-shy, but maybe I can get him saying one later this summer. Excuse my LOUD baby voice...I guess I still talk to him this way...lol. :-)

finally made it to a game

2011-06-23T14:34:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's this late in the season before we've made it to a Ranger's game yet! We usually go at least once in April or May, but on June 20th we went with our great friends, the Shaw's, to our first game of the season. We had a blast! I realized it was Judah's first game since he was an infant and he LOVED it! He did great through the whole game and was very mesmerized by everything he saw, ESPECIALLY the cotton candy! :-)

It may be a little while before I post again. Next week the boys and I will be at camp all week, my birthday is on Tuesday and we'll hit 1 year on the wait list on July 1st. So I'll have LOTS to post about when I get back!

happy father's day

2011-06-19T21:22:00.001-05:00

LOVE

YOU

DADDY!

summer spectacular & haircuts

2011-06-16T09:08:00.005-05:00

So our church's annual Summer Spectacular (aka: a VERY hyped up VBS) was this week. This year was about Noah: God Keeps His Promises. The boys had fun and we enjoyed the 3-night broadway style musical. I am always amazed at the time and effort that goes into this week! Here are a few pictures:

My husband is a dork. :-)

This ark was built around the sign-in table at the front doors: amazing!

Oh, you noticed their hair is shorter! That's something we did this past weekend. And Jason and I did it ourselves to save some money. I decided if I butchered Judah's hair then we would just buzz it all off like Elijah's, but it turned out pretty good I think.

My 7 and 3 year old cuties!

Elijah is now at Camp of the Hills with my mom for his first of 3 trips there this summer. This equals HEAVEN to him! :-)

My heart is very heavy this week. One of my dearest friend's dad passed away very unexpectedly on Monday morning. It has been a week of a lot of heartache, grief and tough decisions for her. Please pray for Lori and her family, especially tonight and tomorrow during the visitation/funeral and in the days/weeks/months ahead.

A Great Way to Help

2011-06-11T16:44:00.003-05:00

Have you ever thought that you would LOVE to make a difference in the life of an orphan but don't feel like God is calling you to adopt? I believe God does call ALL of us to help the poor, orphans and widows, but that looks different for everyone. Here is a GREAT way to help! Some friends of friends, at THIS BLOG , founded an organization called His Chase. They are very passionate about orphans and about Rwanda, and are in fact in the process of adopting from there. Their family is taking a trip to Rwanda this summer to love on the kids that are being helped through their organization, but they are lacking in funds for some of the children's basic needs. Read below what I took straight from their blog and pray about giving just $50 to help these precious children with things that we take for granted all the time. What an honor that we as Americans are able to partner with God all the way across the world. All details of how to donate are below, and feel confident that your money is going straight to the kids.

"We have entered the 50 day countdown to our big trip this summer! And, with that comes our next big challenge. We have dreams of this orphanage being "made new" and want to see these children thriving in every way.

But, we need 300 people to help us do this.

Our goal is to have FIFTY days of FIFTY dollars!

We need 300 people to give FIFTY dollars in the next FIFTY days to change lives at Noel!

What will your $50 do, you ask?

It will provide MEDICAL ASSESSMENTS for every child at Noel.

It will provide PERMANENT MEDICAL RECORDS that give them an identity and a future.

It will provide much needed FORMULA for infants.

It will provide DEVELOPMENTAL CAMP for toddlers.

It will provide SPORTS EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES for school age children.

It will provide HYGIENE ITEMS AND A PILLOW for an older girl or boy.

And, you know what ELSE?

If we raise this money in the next FIFTY days, we have a generous matching donor who will be giving $10,000 to the efforts this summer!

Did you read that?

Another $10,000 will be given after 300 people donate $50!!!

If all of this happens---and we know it will---we would have another $25,000 for the children of Noel. EVERY SINGLE PENNY goes directly to their care.

Will you help us? Be the first of 300 to change a life forever.

Be the first of 300 to tell a child in Rwanda, Africa that their life matters.

Join us for FIFTY days of FIFTY dollars by clicking HERE to donate."

Happy 30th Birthday Jason!

2011-06-07T13:52:00.006-05:00

We love you Jason/Daddy! This post is for you!
Happy 30th Birthday - now you're as old as ME! :-)

On Memorial Day weekend, Jason's parents threw him a small party at their house.

Most of the action took place at their swimming pool
and on their new deck!

Old friends - now they are both literally old! :-)

Last weekend, I managed to pull off a HUGE surprise! I had been planning this with Jason's parents for several months. Thanks to their generous gift, Jason was able to enjoy a whole weekend at a lake house with his dad, brother and closest friends. He had no idea when his dad and friends showed up at our house last Friday to take him for the weekend! He was shocked! I handed him his already packed bag and they were off for a weekend of fishing, kayaking, swimming and hanging out!

Thank you Gary, Brad, Bill, Blake, Lanny and Micah for spending a weekend away from your families to make Jason's 30th so special! And Clabe, you were missed!

Here is Jason on his actual birthday (June 7th) with his boys and the carrot cake cupcakes I made him with homemade cream cheese icing. Yummy!

We hope we showed you just how special you are to us and how much we love you for your birthday this year! Happy Birthday!

Last Day of 1st Grade

2011-06-06T14:20:00.001-05:00

so proud

2011-06-04T18:56:00.002-05:00

we were so proud
to see elijah walk across the stage at his 1st grade awards program

he was so proud
to look at his awards with his friends

judah was so proud
to be with his big brother at his "big school"

we were SO PROUD
that elijah got the only "Most Helpful Student" award in the 1st grade!

elijah and i were both so proud
that he pulled the other front tooth on his own at his class party that day

elijah, you make us proud and we love you!

if your tooth is already loose...

2011-06-02T19:14:00.002-05:00

just do a little play fighting with your dad,
maybe he'll accidentally knock his knuckle against your loose tooth,
and then it'll be ready to come right on out of there!

tooth #4 (this one's twin) should come out any day now;
then we'll have a true snaggle-tooth on our hands.
at least he's a cute one!

eleven

2011-06-01T07:57:00.002-05:00

Enough said.

how are we doing? {adoption update}

2011-05-25T13:41:00.007-05:00

We are doing pretty good. Really.

We live in a microwave society. We want things quick and NOW! We have trouble waiting on something as small as our food orders sometimes. But God is teaching me through this adoption what it means to truly wait on HIM.

The first week after we found out we were going to have to wait another 2-3 months for a referral was pretty rough to be honest. I like to plan things out {I mean, who doesn't?}, and in my planning we were going to get a referral anywhere from March 1st to May 1st {8-10 months just like we were told}. Adoptions very rarely go like you plan. We were told this from the beginning and now we really and truly know this firsthand. And you know, now I am beginning to be more and more okay with that. After I readjusted my expectations for sometime this summer and let that settle for a few days, I feel very peaceful about the whole thing. Some things are actually making me think that this whole delay is for a reason. God is up to something and I think it's big. Just to keep it real though, if in about 2-3 months we are told we're going to have to wait ANOTHER 2-3 months, I'll throw ANOTHER hissy fit for about a week...and then I'll be okay AGAIN. :-) Let's just pray that doesn't happen!

In the meantime, we are gearing up for a fun summer! I am really going to try and enjoy these precious boys by themselves this summer because it will {hopefully} be their last one alone. Elijah only has a little over a week left of school and in that amount of time he is on a Ranger's game field trip today, has field day on Friday, his awards program and end of school party next week. I am having a {small} garage sale this Friday and Sat morning {let me reiterate SMALL}...whew, I could NOT do what we did last October again! :-) Our neighborhood is having a garage sale this weekend so it's already advertised and everything...I'm hoping to make a few more hundred dollars for our plane tickets.

Judah is happy to be eating popsicles to get ready for summertime! Wow, he is Mr. Teeth in this picture. The dentist said one time that he has quite the canines! :-)

And following Elijah's last day of school, our line-up for the summer break is:
Two weeks of working & going to Summer Spectacular at our church, Jason is turning 30 -yikes!, Camp of the Hills the last week in June - I'll turn 31 while there, a small trip by myself to visit my sweet friend Misty & her twin babies in San Antonio, a new nephew/cousin in early July, swim lessons, gymnastics, hopefully lots of playdates & swimming, reading books, working on math with Elijah {ick}, another trip to Camp of the Hills the first week in August with some friends {Elijah will be in heaven going TWO weeks this summer!} and let's throw a REFERRAL in there somewhere and it looks like it's going to be a fun yet relaxing summer vacation!

Thanks to all who have been asking how we are doing with the adoption delay and for all who are keeping us and our daughter in your prayers. We really appreciate the support!

another year bites the dust

2011-05-20T20:14:00.005-05:00

Another preschool year for me and Judah, that is. Yesterday was our last day of the school year...I really think this was the fastest school year in HISTORY! I can't believe it's already over. I had a great co-teacher, made some great new friends and had a wonderful class of kiddos. It will be hard to settle into the laziness of summertime, but I'm sure it won't take us long to adjust. :-) Elijah still has 2 more weeks though. Let me introduce you to some important people at this little preschool of mine!

Sweet new friends from this year: Katie, me, Suzy and Kim

Lori and I. We taught together my first two years at this school and now she is my department lead! She rocked and did a fantastic job (like I knew she would), but I did miss teaching with her. Oh, and did I mention we've been close friends since the 5th grade?!?! :-)

Judah's wonderful teachers: Ms Crystal and Ms Jessica
Thank you for loving on my boy this year - he adores both of you!

This was my partner in crime this year, my co-teacher LeeAnn. LOVED teaching with her and am so glad I had the privilege to become her friend. She is a jewel! We had a blast together!

My friend, Shei, our preschool music teacher. This was her LAST year after teaching music here for 5 years!!! We are all going to miss her so much!

So, I got some very sweet gifts from my students. Like this amazing made-from-scratch cake that we had after dinner tonight. Yum!

The sweetest gift of all though, was that LeeAnn organized for all of the parents to give money toward our adoption...since we are still needing money for our second trip. I walked out on the last day of school with enough money for 1/3 to 1/2 of a plane ticket!!!! I am in awe of the generosity of my sweet parents and of LeeAnn. I know I've already thanked all of you, but THANK YOU again!!! The body of Christ is such a gift. Our baby girl is lucky to be so loved. And my God is the God of provision! What a wonderful way to end the year!

real love is...

2011-05-18T11:57:00.004-05:00

Loving them when they're a teenager! Ha, ha, ha!!!
This sweet mother's day card from Elijah just cracked me up!
Translation (in case you can't read it well):
"I know that you love me. Even when I'm a teenager. From Elijah"
Can I get an Amen from any moms of teenagers out there?
I am NOT looking forward to that age!
(And apparently Elijah already knows that he's going to be trouble! :-)

random-ness

2011-05-16T19:32:00.009-05:00

Okay, I'm trying to keep up here. I really do intend on putting this whole blog into books by years this summer. This is our scrapbook of memories since I hardly ever print ANYTHING out anymore. Since I've already told you how crazy busy May is, there are a lot of activities to keep up with right now! So, prepare yourself for a bunch of random photos. :-)

We traveled to Gainesville for another shower for baby Solomon. Can't wait for that cutie pie to get here! Love my sister-in-law, Nova! (and you too, Lauren, but you weren't there :-)

Love this picture of us with our wonderful mother-in-law.

Nova and Brad (Jason's brother, aka the proud Daddy)

I got her a bib and this outfit with his name on it.

And had a friend make her this nursing shawl.

That night, we went with Jason's parents to Babe's Chicken. Yum, yum!

Jason's dad (aka Grangoat) has a birthday the day before Elijah, so while we were at Babe's, we had a little birthday celebration for them. Check out the video at the bottom for a laugh! They were both good sports. Elijah told me that he and Grangoat were birthday twins. :-)

Remember when I mentioned my mom taking Elijah and I to see The Wizard of Oz last weekend? Well, she sent me some pictures from her phone that she took. Here is Elijah with the Lion and to his left, the very adorable Good Witch, played by a young girl. She did a great job!

And here he is with the Bad Witch and the Tin Man.

The randomness just keeps coming! :-) My mom also sent me this picture of Elijah with his best buddy from school. Aren't they cute?

And lastly, Aunt Laur-Laur captured this GREAT picture of Judah. This is CLASSIC Judah right here. He makes this face all the time. I'm SO glad she got a picture of it. This is his ornery "I'm not gonna cooperate, I'm gonna be silly" face. Love this boy!

If you click Play on this video, you'll see a great Chicken Dance featuring two big chickens!

elijah is 7!!!!

2011-05-13T08:26:00.004-05:00

May 13th seven years ago is the day I became a mommy.
It was a very bittersweet day.
A hard labor experience,
followed by the birth of a beautiful baby boy,
followed by 8 days in the NICU because he had a stroke.
It was very scary but he is our miracle baby.

He's gone from this...

to THIS! He had just woken up on his 7th birthday. :-)

I think he had a great day! First, his birthday was announced on the radio right before he went to school that day. To view that video, scroll to the bottom of this post.

He told me they announced his birthday on the intercom at school and he got a special birthday card and pencil. I also took cupcakes and juice to his school that afternoon. Here are his classmates singing Happy Birthday to him.

After school, we went to the park for a few minutes to play.

Then it was home to open his present from mom and dad.

Followed by a yummy Hibachi-style dinner with the Beck's.

Judah SCREAMED bloody murder when they did the fire at the beginning.
Apparently I should have warned him about that. Oops.

They even brought him free fried ice cream since it was his birthday.
He shared it with Annalee. :-)

Mom and Dad with the big 7 year old! I told him that 7 was way too old because I remember so many things from when I was 7, and now I have a 7 year old! Sigh.

Grace, Annalee, Elijah and Judah.

He is SO precious. He told me this morning that he thought he played better at his soccer game because he was 7 years old now. So cute.

Here are 7 things I love about this kid:

1. His sensitive, compassionate, caring heart
2. That he blows me kisses and signs "I love you" EVERY morning as he walks into school and I watch from the car
3. He wants to be a missionary when he grows up
4. He STILL loves to snuggle with me and read books with me
5. How much he TRULY loves and looks out for his baby brother
6. His awareness that not everyone in the world is as fortunate as he is, and his desire to help them
7. He is so accepting of others, even when they are "different" than he is - his friend base is very diverse

I could go on and on about him...his passion for Camp of the Hills, pancakes and all things Star Wars. He can name almost EVERY SINGLE character from ANY of the Star Wars movies...for real. I just love, love, LOVE him! He is a precious gift. We are SO privileged to call him our son and play even a small part in raising him to be the mighty warrior God wants him to be.

Elijah, keep loving and caring and serving and accepting. It's what life is all about. You do those things for God and life will be as meaningful as it can be. And YOU already are an example to those around you. Your friends and your brother ADORE you and look up to you. Your dad and I are so proud of you and we love you very much. Happy 7th Birthday Chief!

For a great recap of Elijah's previous birthdays, click HERE

I wish I'd kept recording. Right after I turned it off he said, "No way! How did they know it was my birthday?" :-)

double party

2011-05-11T11:31:00.011-05:00

Since the boys' birthdays are less than 3 weeks apart, we decided to do a double party this year. It was GREAT and I may do it for as many more years as I can! Elijah wanted a Harry Potter cake and Judah wanted a Buzz Lightyear cake, so we had two themes going on! We had the party at AquaKids because the boys wanted to swim. Thanks to everyone who came...the boys had a blast, we are so blessed with great friends!

I made the cupcakes for everyone else to eat!

Swimming!

Friends and family!

I wish I had arranged all of the kids for a picture!

Cake!

Presents!

Thanks Ashley for the adorable shirts you made the boys!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIJAH AND JUDAH!!!

mother's day 2011

2011-05-08T18:53:00.002-05:00

may is crazy

2011-05-07T19:43:00.004-05:00

This month HAS to be busier for us than Christmas!!! I cannot even name all of the events we have had and will have going on right now! Today we squeezed in BOTH of the boys' birthday party, and combined with my mom being in town, seeing Wizard of Oz at Casa Manana, a soccer game and Mother's Day tomorrow, it has been another wild weekend! Whew, I'm tired.

This post is dedicated to our new nephew coming soon!
Baby Solomon is due in July and my sister-in-law, Nova, had her first baby shower last weekend at her mom's house. It was so much fun!

My two wonderful sisters-in-law, Lauren and Nova.

A great shot of her baby bump!

So cute, and I LOVE that we're adding another strong Bible name to the mix!

The 3 of us with my mother-in-law, Debbie (aka my wonderful photographer).

I will be back soon with more fun pictures from our wild and crazy weekend! The best thing about being so busy is that it keeps my mind from thinking about the adoption ALL THE TIME, and THAT is a blessing itself! :-)

Ode to the Pacifier part 2

2011-05-05T19:21:00.004-05:00

So, my boys LOVE their pacis! I mean love, love, LOVE them!
It is quite nice when you want some peace and quiet...
BUT my children get VERY attached to them.
Fortunately for us, Judah's paci got a hole in it on Monday -
which means it BROKE.
Poor little guy slept with it anyways for two nights and would NOT give it up! Last night he finally relinquished it with the promise of a new toy, which he got today! I am so proud of him!
To read about Elijah's goodbye to his paci, click HERE.
Here is Judah's rendition:

Pacifier, pacifier, you were my bestest friend
But even still, I had to say goodbye to you in the end
Mommy & Daddy say I've grown into a big boy
And I had to get rid of you because you're not a toy
I was very brave but shed a few tears
Because you were there for me for 3 whole years
I'll miss you but I know that it was for the best
My only prayer is that you finally have some peace and rest

RIP Pacifier: 2008-2011
We will miss you!

he's WILD

2011-05-03T09:16:00.005-05:00

Our preschool program was last night. Can't believe it's been another school year!!!
The theme was the jungle, Where the Wild Things Are.
Here is our Wild Thing. He was adorable (of course :-)

With his brother before the show.

Here are all of the 2 year old classes on the stage together.

Judah did great! Sang and did all the hand motions...not shy about it at all!
He spotted me when he first got up there and started to run down to me until I told him to go back, which he did thankfully.

Singing about an elephant's CRAZY NOSE!

Doing the Crocodile with his hands.

Lookin' cute in his hat afterwards!

My 4 year old class did great as well! This is a HUGE production our preschool puts on every year. Great decorations and the kids work so hard and so long to get this right! A huge thank you to Ms Shei, our music teacher, who does most of the work for this! It was fabulous again!

So grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends that couldn't come, here is Judah's full debut. My camera does not zoom in real well, but he is on the front row in the middle of the screen. Hard to see any detail but you can hear all of the songs. He didn't fall off the stage this year so I'd call it a success! Although if you'll watch, he does his 1 leg thing again toward the end and it freaked me out...I thought he was gonna take a tumble again for sure!

ten

2011-05-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, so MY plan was that I would not be writing about 10 months on the wait list.

I have my plan and God has HIS. His is ALWAYS better.

That is not to say that we are not sad and frustrated...because we are. We were told this week to expect 3 more months of waiting before a referral. NOT what we wanted to hear, but we are adjusting...it is very hard. Again, God has HIS plan and I have mine. Our hope is in HIM and not in our adoption agency or the Ethiopian government. His timing is going to lead us right to the child that He's had planned for us from the beginning of time. I'm okay with THAT. :-) But this was very refreshing for me to read anyways: http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2011/04/word-to-my-sisters-and-brothers.html

She is constantly on all of our minds. Just yesterday as I was shopping at Target for a baby shower gift, I stumbled across this on the clearance rack.

HAD to get it and I got the biggest one they had: size 9 months. Jason loves the Beatles! One of our baby showers for Elijah was Beatles themed, his nursery was the John Lennon baby collection and one of the reasons we named our second son Judah was so that Jason could sing "Hey Jude" to him. So there you go...I was thrilled to find this and am hoping she's small enough to wear it when she comes home.

And my wonderfully talented sister-in-law, Lauren, and her husband Matt WROTE and ILLUSTRATED this beautiful book for our baby girl. Like I said, she's on everybody's mind.

It is PRECIOUS! I mean just look at the pictures...I wish I could put the whole book on here for you to see and read. Thank you again Aunt Laur-Laur and Uncle Matt! She is gonna be so lucky to have both of you in her life!

Hopefully 10 months from NOW, she'll be cuddled up in my lap while I read her this book.

remembering easter

2011-04-28T13:13:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! On Saturday, we drove up to Gainesville to be with Nana, Grangoat, Brad & Nova. We took the boys to the park, hunted Easter eggs, ate a wonderful fajita dinner and watched Despicable Me.

Here's Elijah trying to knock an Easter egg down from the tree.

Here's Elijah at the park, and if you'll look to the right of him, you'll see the boys' names on one of the wooden slats. Nana & Grangoat helped build the park so the boys' names are there! Pretty cool!

Judah was totally scaring me on this thing, but that's how it goes with him!

Oh yeah, and did I mention that while we were there it started hailing, the tornado sirens started going off and the news said the rotating clouds were RIGHT ABOVE THE HOUSE!!! So...we all hid in the hall under mattresses. Wrong! What fun would that be! :-) We all ran outside to check it out of course!

There were some pretty scary clouds but thankfully nothing ever touched down! We made a break for home shortly after this and missed more incoming storms.

-----------------------------------------------------
On Sunday afternoon, we had the great pleasure of having Easter lunch with our new friends, the Tucker's. We really enjoyed it...thanks again guys!

We let the kids have another mini-egg hunt in their backyard. Jason and Lanny did a really good job actually hiding all of the eggs! At the end, they were trying to find a few that they apparently hid from themselves! :-)

The Tucker girls: Eden, Jordan and Kezia

The best I could get of my boys. Judah actually looks very angry at me - watch out!

All 5 kids...I am very proud of this picture, they're all looking!

And lastly, the kids opening all of their eggs to see what they got!

Of course we opened our last Resurrection Egg on Easter morning. The boys thoroughly enjoyed this new tradition, and by the end of the 12 days when I asked Judah why we celebrate Easter, he said "Cause Jesus rolled the stone away"! That is so right...praise Him!

free {happy 3rd birthday judah!}

2011-04-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

if you ask judah how old he is today,
he will hold up 3 fingers, smile and say "free".
i just love that, i love that he says it "free". it melts my heart every time.
we just love this little guy so much and can't believe he's already 3!

he was very much anticipated by the whole family -
elijah couldn't WAIT to be a big brother!

the first time i laid eyes on him i was in love.

he was perfect in every way,

and a beautiful, precious baby.
{don't let this picture fool you though, he was NOT a good sleeper :-)}

in the blink of an eye, he was 1 year old,

and then TWO!

and now, he's "free"!

he has had a fabulous day! he wore his new buzz lightyear shirt, shoes and "birthday boy" button to school today where he had cupcakes with his friends.

and he opened his present from mommy & daddy when he got home.

shortly, we are headed to mcdonald's (his choice) for dinner (if there's not a tornado...literally).

judah, you are such a blessing! we are privileged that God chose us to be your parents. we are humbled at the task of raising you to mirror Jesus and proclaim His good news all over the world. we pray daily for you - for your desires, your friends, your future wife, your choices and your heart to all center around Him because He is what will make your life full of meaning and purpose. we love you sweet angel. thank you for keeping us on our toes, for always making us smile and for being a little light everywhere you go. you make us so proud! happy birthday!

to read judah's full {adventurous} birth story, click HERE

hope resurrected

2011-04-24T07:00:00.004-05:00

Happy Easter...He is risen!!!

"Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day!"

glorious silence

2011-04-22T08:45:00.003-05:00

alternately titled: what judah did with the tape & stickers from his easter eggs after school
alternately alternately titled: he did this to himself, please don't turn me in :-)