Shopping and Swimming - You gotta' love summer break!

I don't know about you but I can't believe how fast this summer is flying by!  It's been a little crazy around here, but we have managed to pack in some great summertime fun.  First, our family fun weekend became the extended version and lasted all the way until the next weekend.  Jeremiah ended up going home with my parents after their visit here last weekend and I joined him there last Wednesday.  We were getting ready for our big fundraising yard sale.  My sister was kind enough to let us have it in her yard and my mom, my sister and various wonderfully generous family and friends donated items for the yard sale to help us raise funds for our adoption travel.  Jeremiah and his cousins had a hot dog stand and I totally meant to take picutes of it, but it was too busy!  To say our yard sale was a huge success is an understatement.  Thank You God!

What I really wanted pictures of were the signs Jeremiah  made for his hot dog stand.  He is serious about getting his baby sister here as quickly as possible and about going with me on at least one trip! I tried having my Dad take pictures of the signs but you can't really read them, so to get the full effect pretend you are reading this off of hot pink poster board with black letters done in my son's handwriting.  "Help me bring my sis home."  And he drew a picture of Ethiopia with a heart in it under this.  Then he did a green one that said, "There are 4.5 million orphans in Ethiopia.  Help us save one please!" I have to tell you, it made me teary eyed.  He thought of these all by himself and was so careful to make sure he was neat.  He had a ruler and a marker and was crawling around in the kitchen floor measuring his poster board to make sure his letters looked right.  I sure do love that kid!

After we recovered from the yard sale my friends Jodi and Carol, and her daughters Megan and Emily and I had a great girls day out.  We did some shopping and had lunch and just basically had a great time! 

                                                        Ready to find some bargains!

                                              Looks like a shopping strategy discussion to me!

Jodi bought an awesome new skirt and spent the rest of the day trying to find a sweater to match it!  I'm pretty sure she tried on every orange sweater at the mall. 

Emily's fabulous bargain scarf. 

Who would think they would be on clearance in the middle of summer?

A side trip to the Boy Scout store to get Jodi's son Grant's supplies for boy scout camp turned out to be almost as much fun as finding bargains at the mall. 

Oh, good a fire - it's sooooo cold outside after all.

Megan modeling the newest fashions in boy scout gear.   

All the best dressed boys scouts will be wearing this great hat. 

Who knew the boy scout store was such fun? 

Today we had great fun at Jeremiah's friend Coleman's house.  The boys got in some good swim time and the moms had time to chat without being interrupted a hundred times!

Two boys: one innertube. 

This could be a problem! Actually, later in the afternoon they had three boys in one innertube but I wasn't fast enough to get a picture of that feat.

I'm pretty sure the next two pictures were taken as the boys were planning the innertube adventure.  You can almost put words in their mouths.  Jeremiah says, Hey Coleman do you think we could both fit in one innertube?  Coleman ponders for a minute, hmmmmm.

Then says, Dude that would be awesome - I'll go get one and we'll try!

And what's a day at the pool without a little wrestling? 

 

And a little bit of throwing Jack to see how far he flies.

Aaron is more fun than any other pool toy out there!

So happy it's summer vacation! 



Family Fun Weekend

What a great weekend!  My parents came up from Southern Ohio and we had the best time.  Jeremiah climbed out of bed on Friday morning and started asking how much longer until Grandpa gets here?  So, we had to find something to do to entertain ourselves and pass the time so I wouldn't kill him before they got here!  We headed to Florence for lunch with Kristy and Lucy before we did some grocery shopping and last minute straightening up at home.  At this point, we consider Kristy and Lucy as family too!

Lucy and her Mama

No meeting with Lucy is complete without a pic of her with Jeremiah.  I love that they are both looking at each other out of the corner of their eyes in this one - probably because she has a big handful of his hair!  The look on her face is priceless...very sly!  Look how cute I am while I pull your hair really hard.

A shot of Kristy and I on the way out the door!

My parents arrived Friday evening and my Dad brought Jeremiah a new mattress and box springs for his room.  He loves it and said he may never come out of his room!  I have to admit...it's pretty comfy.

Saturday started with a trip to the Bass Pro Shop in Cincinnati.  My Dad is an avid fisherman and the Bass Pro Shop is on his list of the best places on earth!

I thought this stone pillar was very cool - in fact the whole store is pretty cool - very outdoorsy, but they both said you couldn't tell they were at the Bass Pro Shop...

...So, I stood in the middle of the road and took this one.  Don't you just love their matching t-shirts?

Since we were already up North we decided to head to Monroe for some outlet shopping.  Doesn't Jeremiah look thrilled at the prospect?

And no visit from Grandpa is complete without a little, well actually a lot, of wrestling.

Of course, this is Jeremiah's favorite photo  He is winning, but it was a brief victory!

Finally, a rare shot of my mom as we hung around the house after church on Sunday.  She is never in pictures because she is always the one taking them.  She and Jeremiah had trouble keeping their eyes open and smiling at the camera.  Seriously, I took about six shots and none of them have them both looking at the camera with their eyes open.  So, look at Jeremiah in this one...

...And my Mom in this one!

We are so lucky to have such a great family.  Can't wait to add a baby sister to the fun. :)

 

FIVE, FIVE, FIVE!

Just have a second to chat, but had to let you know.....

From my unofficial blog stalking today I have figured out that we are now ....

Number

WOO-HOO!

Lunch with Lucy (and Kristy too!)

I know.  You are so schocked you nearly dropped your laptop when you saw that this is my second post in a week.  I'm shocked too, but we had lunch with Lucy and Kristy today and I have pics that are too cute to keep to myself.  AND I think I might have figured out the turning them right side up thing.  We shall see - I'm holding my breath!

Woo-Hoo.  Check me out - it's right side up!  I am so going to become one of those Geek Squad people you call when you can't figure your computer out! :) ( I can hear you laughing Kristy and it's not that funny - I'm proud of myself!)  ANYWAY, is this one adorable baby or what?  Kristy sat her up on the table and she proceeded to ham it up.  First we had to figure out the light thing - too much light from the windows makes too many shadows.

Oops.  Flash going off scared her.  Note to self - back up just a smidge so as not to alarm the small baby.

And, move away the empty dishes because this girl is lightning fast.  She seemed to just be checking them out and then she had a small bowl that had ranch dressing in it in her mouth before any of us could blink!

Here we go - she's looking at the camera.....

...and smiling a bit...

...and then hamming it up!

First, with Mommy

And then with us.

 Lucy so has my back.  I absolutely hate having my picture taken but Kristy insisted so Lucy leaned over in front of me right as Kristy snapped the picture.  Thanks girl for hiding me with your cuteness!

Finally, one last shot for the road.  Jeremiah won't give that baby up until the last possible second. 

What you don't see in this picture, but have to know is that Jeremiah has Kristy's car key hidden in his pocket.  You see, Kristy has a tendancy - well,  let's just be honest here and say a habit -  of misplacing her car keys so when she layed the key on the trunk of the car to put the baby seat in, Jeremiah picked it up and put it in his pocket.  Right after this oh-so-adorable picture Kristy put the baby in the car and then started to rummage through her pockets and purse and then says, "Oh, hang on.  I might have misplaced my keys again."  Jeremiah just pulled the key out of his pocket and grinned.  That boy totally gets his sense of humor from me!  Way to go son!

Well, there you have it:  two posts in less than a week, seriously cute pics of my seriously cute boy, seriously cute pics of my friend's seriously cute baby, and a practical joke.  What a great Saturday!  A little shot of Lucy is just what we needed today.  Waiting for our baby to come home is hard all the time, but sometimes it's so hard you feel like you can't stand it for another minute, and having a baby to play with makes it a little easier!  Thanks Kristy for sharing her with us!

I think Mark Twain said it best when he said, "The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated!"

Well, I'm back!  Contrary to popular belief I have not fallen off the face of the earth and here is the post to prove it!  I'm ashamed of myself for not posting for so long, but we have been so busy and having so much fun with spring break, baseball, and end of school activities that I just didn't even think about it.  Which is hard to believe considering I stalk other adoption blogs on almost a daily basis - in a totally non-stalker like way of course! 

So, I am now dedicating myself to catching up!  I have lots to say and I want to show off my new skills - I learned how to add pictures!  So, without further ado.... here is how we have been spending our time.

First, there was baseball and lots of it!  Here he is in his new Grant County Braves gear the night before the first game.  (Unfortunately, my new skills with pictures don't extend into how to turn the darn things right side up.  So, hang in there - I'll fix it when I figure it out!)

In my classroom before he went to change in to his uniform for the big game!

The whole Freshman team - a good looking bunch if I do say so myself.

Miah's friend Bobby before the big game - They are two of only three seventh graders who made the freshman team! 

That would be my baby right after he crossed home plate!

 

Jeremiah has wanted to play first base ever since he was a four year old playing t-ball.  He used to go out to first base and stand there until one of the coaches made him move.  He got to play his dream position at Carroll County and did a great job - he totally threw a kid out at home plate, but I was jumping up and down and cheering so much I forgot to take a pic of that.  Here he is hoping to pick off the runner at first base.

Awesome Coach Smith - still coaching even after the season is over.  He spent over a half an hour telling Jeremiah things he could work on over the summer.  Can't say enough about what a great coach is is!

Jeremiah, Scott, and Bobby - The only three seventh graders to make the Freshman team - they have all improved so much this year - way to go boys!

Then, there was baby Lucy.  She came home in the middle of baseball season and we took the evening off to meet her and her momma - my friend Kristy - at the airport.  Is she adorable or what?

Jeremiah couldn't wait to get his hands on her.  He was very proud to be holding her and kept asking, "Will my sister look like this?"

Lucy's new family!

How cute is that little half grin.  Trust me, you just can't help kissing those sweet little cheeks!

And the fun continued with a baby shower at school to welcome Lucy home.  Gotta love some cake and punch after school to make the afternoon sweeter.  Notice the grin - this boy loves holding babies!

Jeremiah wouldn't give her up to either one of us grown ups but the awesome librarian at school, Melissa, got a group shot of the four of us all looking at the camera anyway.

Then there was middle school awards night - Bobby and Jeremiah cleaned up!  Notice Jeremiah's awards pinned to his shirt - he even wore them to Cracker Barrell for dinner.

As we were heading out of the gym I asked Bobby to take a pic of me and Jeremiah so Jeremiah and I are holding all of his awards and all of Bobby's too!  Jeremiah said that would make him look really smart because everyone would think all of the awards were for him- but I'm pretty sure you can see Bobby's name on one of the certificates if you look closely!

After the awards we joined the Engelman clan (Bobby's family) for dinner at Cracker Barrell to celebrate our award winning children and ran in to more friends - Sarah and Maddy - so of course I interrupted everyone's dinner to get a photo!

Sarah and Jeremiah were matched up during the Reality Store activity where all seventh graders got "married" and had to work with their spouse to create a budget based on jobs they wanted and try to make adult like financial decisions.  I work with Sarah's mom and we have been joking about being in laws ever since then so we totally embarrassed the kids and had them pose with their "future spouses".  The only thing Jeremiah said was, "Jeez, Mom.  She is a whole head taller than me!"  Poor guy - hoping for a growing spurt soon!

Shew, that's a lot of important stuff!  I'm flat worn out from adding it all and Jeremiah is whining about when we are going to have dinner or some such nonsense, so I better call it quits for today. :) Oh, one more tidbit - We are now number six on the Ethiopia waiting list!  WOO-HOO!  Please keep praying and I promise to post much more often!


 

Can I Get a Praise the Lord?!

I don't know about you, but I find it much too easy to get caught up in the business of life and forget to praise the Lord for the things I have. Especially when things get rough.  The adoption news from Ethiopia has been scary.  High school students get more and more obnoxious the closer we get to spring break.  The weather is cold.  Again.  My son is a teenager.  Enough said. It's enough to make me want to wrap up in my snowman blanket and lay on the couch and feel sorry for myelf.  But as I'm laying there I start to think about all I have and I know that what I really need is a swift kick in the rear.  I am so blessed!  How dare I lay around feeling sorry for myself? 

Yes, the news from Ethiopia is crazy.  There are rumors galore, but not much official news about the MOWA announcement that they plan to reduce adoptions by 90%.  BUT...the little official news there is, is good.  The officer who made the announcement that adoptions would decrease has been fired.  AND, MOWA is currently working at full speed to finish the letters that will clear up the back log of adoption court cases caused by the brief reduction in approval letters.  This is such good news!  Can I get a praise the Lord?! 

It's true.  High school students can be obnoxious.  But I have a job.  A job that most of the time I love.  A job that allows me to watch, and be a part of, students learning new things on a daily basis.  A job that allows me to share my love of learning with others every day.  A job that lets me work with people and students who inspire me. A job that allows me to pay for a car, a house, food, heat, and the occasional indulgence of my shoe fetish.  And for every obnoxious student, there are two more who are great.  Who make me laugh and love my job.  Can I get a praise the Lord?!

It's cold.  So cold that I'm wrapped up with my snowman blanket while I'm typing this.  And according to channel 5 news it's going to stay cold for atleast the next seven days.  Yep.  The next seven days most definitely include spring break.  Serious bummer.  But, I can look out my window right now and see the blooms on my weeping cherry tree.  The daffodils and hyacinths by my front door are blooming and even though I was shivering as I was unlocking the door today I could smell their sweet fragrance.  Spring is right around the corner.  I can smell it!  Can I get a praise the Lord?!

My son.  The teenager.  That doesn't seem possible.  But I'm pretty sure, based on the fact that I have suddenly become very boring and unbearable to him and he suddenly knows all there is to know about everything, that it's true.  He's a teenager.  I miss the two year old who snuggled on my lap after his bath smelling of baby powder and sucking his fingers until he fell asleep.  I miss the five year old with the snaggle tooth grin.  I miss the ten year old who looked down at the floor of Rupp Arena at his first UK game with awe and wonder on his face and said thanks Mom, this is the best birthday ever!  But I love the thirteen year old more.  The one who gives me a glimpse of the wonderful young man that my baby will soon become.  Can I get a praise the Lord?!

Speaking of my son - I have one more word to say- BASEBALL!!!  Yes, the season has begun!  Jeremiah is playing for the high school freshman team and they started their season on Monday with double header wins against Owen County.  Jeremiah got in the game as a runner and his friend Bobby got to start the second game in right field.  Way to go boys! I have pictures and if I'm smart enough to figure out how I will add them.  Not that the boys want me to -  they were pretty much rolling their eyes every time I aimed the camera in their direction, but that didn't stop me!  We had a great time cheering them on to win.

What was I whining about anyway?  I forget.  Life is good.  I am blessed beyond measure.  Can I get a praise the Lord?!

Family = Love

When I was a kid my family was a huge part of my life.  When there are five people living in a house with one bathroom, you can't help but be close!  I'm just saying.  It's hard not to be tight with the person who let you in the bathroom to go when you were desperate, even though they were in the shower at the time.  My Dad always says no one knows the misery of being the only man living with four women and only having one bathroom!  Poor Dad.  I'm pretty sure  he is still scarred by our teenage years.  We would all be in the car waiting to go somewhere and he would be in the bathroom.  He said he had to wait until we were all out of the house to get his turn! :)  Well, it gave us something fun to tease him about anyway. 

But it wasn't just my parents and my sisters who made up my world.  My grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins were a huge part of my growing up years as well.  We spent countless weekends having huge family dinners at my grandparents' house and us girls would usually talk our parents into letting us spend the night and then we would stay up half the night and giggle and wake up to eat bacon and toast with butter melted in the design of a smiley face made by my Poppaw.  Just thinking about it now makes me smile. 

I guess most kids assume other families are just like theirs; I know I did.  It wasn't until I was a grown up that my idea of family expanded.  As an adult I came to realize that family isn't about the blood that runs in your veins, but the love that fills your heart.  My first experience with this was when I adopted my son Jeremiah.  Jeremiah is from Romania and came home when he was two and a half.  I can't even begin to describe the love I felt for him even before I knew exactly which little boy God was going to make mine.  He didn't have a name or a face in my mind yet, but he most definitely had a place in my heart. That love only grew when I finally saw a picture of his sweet little face.  Even though we were thousands of miles apart, in that instant, we were family.  I worried about him the same way any Mom worries about their child.  Is he eating right?  Is he sleeping well?  Is he with people who love him while I can't be with him?  I miss him.  I want to hold him.  And then when I did...well, let's just say it was the best moment of my life.  He was beautiful.  He was perfect.  He was mine.  We might not be a traditional family, and we don't look anything alike, but we are a family nonetheless.

It was through Jeremiah's adoption that my concept of family expanded even further.  At the time we were attending Sherman Church of Christ and that church family embraced us with a circle of love from the moment we made our adoption plans public.  They gave us constant love and support and were nearly as excited as we were for Jeremiah to come home.  Generous gifts, home cooked meals, and most importantly prayer.  All offered without a second thought because we were all a part of the family of God.   Not connected by blood, but by the blessed ties that bind.

During the time that I was waiting for Jeremiah to come home, I was a new teacher at Grant County and while they were building a new school, the old one was way too small and I didn't have my own classroom.  Neither did another teacher named Jodi.  We ended up claiming a small storage closet off the library as our personal domain and stored our stuff there as well as making it our headquarters for work during after school hours. What seemed like a huge inconvenience turned out to be one of the biggest blessings of my life.  Through hours spent working in our tiny stolen space, Jodi and I forged a friendship that has shown me that friends can create a bond just as strong as family.  When Jeremiah's referral came, Jodi shared that joy with me.  When delays kept our case from passing court she was there to console me.  When I stepped off the plane carrying Jeremiah,  Jodi and her Dad were there to greet us.  Throughout the last eleven years she has shown her loving and generous spirit over and over again.  Need someone to keep Jeremiah?  Done.  Need me to stop at the store and pick up Jeremiah's prescription so you can stay home with him?  Done.  Need me to go with you when you get your wisdom teeth cut out and not make fun of you while you talk crazy because you are still under the influence of the gas?  Done.  (Ok. There was teasing, but it was all in good fun and only after I felt better!)  I could never have hoped to find a friend as good as Jodi.  We can even go on vacation together and still be talking to each other when we get back.  I've never done that once with my real sisters!  Once again, God showed me that family isn't about blood, it's about love.

I know that I have been inordinately blessed in the family department, but today I experienced the love of family again when I least expected it, but needed it very badly.  As you know, Jeremiah and I have started the process of adopting from Ethiopia.  We have our paperwork completed and have been on the waiting list for a little better than two months.  Things were cranking along in the everlastingly slow way international adoptions have a tendency of doing, and then came the bad news.  The Ethiopian government agency that provides letters of approval for adoption cases has decided to cut back from processing 30 to 50 letters a day to processing only 5.  The adoption community has been in an uproar since this announcement and many things are taking place to try to reverse this decision, but to be honest, at first I couldn't see farther than the end of my own nose.  This would mean that our adoption case might not be processed for years, if at all.  I was devastated.  Then I slowly began to realize the effect this would have on the children of Ethiopia.  Four million orphans would remain orphans and never have a hope of finding a family to love them.  My heart was broken and I felt so helpless to do anything that would matter. 

I prayed and then I prayed some more and then I felt moved to speak to the preacher at our church, Mt. Olivet.  Of course I cried when I explained the situation and asked him to bring the prayer request before the congregation.  He asked me to come forward at the end of the service and speak.  Doubtfully, I said ok and then spent the entire service discussing with myself how I could go up there and explain the situation without crying.  Ok.  Who do I think I'm kidding?  I cried like a baby, but managed to explain the gravity of the stuation and ask for their prayers.  As I took my seat,   I was worried that I had done nothing more than make a fool of myself and then the closing song was over and the most amazing thing happened.  People hugged me.  Lots of people.  With tears in their eyes.  Over and over again.  People I don't even know (because our church is growing so quickly!) took the time to come over and hug me and assure me they will be praying not only for us, but for the children of Ethiopia. The women's Sunday school class prayed with me and there was more crying.  And through all the crying, what I finally began to feel was peace.  Jeremiah and I aren't in this alone.  I am helpless to change things, but God is not.  God can and will move mountains through the power of prayer.  I've seen it happen before.  I've experienced it before,  and the idea that prayers for our adoption process and for the welfare of Ethiopian ophans will now be pouring out to God  from our church family gives me hope.  This outpouring of love was overwhelming and exactly what I needed.

I don't know what the outcome of this crisis will be, but I do know that once again I am blessed beyond compare.  I have more "families" than I can count. It doesn't get any luckier than that.