Happy 8th Birthday, Zach!

 Precious boy filled with so much life and love...

we have had a GREAT time celebrating you being "8"!

 Super fun that these 2 cousins got to be together...their birthdays are only 1 day apart!

 Baseball, laser tag, sleepover, pizza, cupcakes, basketball,Wii...

about as much fun as we could fit in our time together!

 And my favorite recent story of Zach...he is letting his light for Jesus shine at public school!  There are several examples of this but most recently his teacher e-mailed us to let us know that when his class was making Easter eggs decorations...he raised his hand to see if he could put a "cross" on his.  She said, "of course!"  And she went on to say what a nice little discussion came up and many of the students started putting crosses on their eggs and bunnies, even one read "Jesus is Lord".  We were thrilled to hear the wonderful example he is being in the classroom but even more overwhelming was walking into the school hall and seeing his 1st grade classroom windows to the main school hall plastered with eggs and bunnies with crosses on them.

So thankful for the influence for Jesus that he continues to be!  He is a leader, he is tenderhearted, a "natural" at sports and math, and can make a friend ANYWHERE!

He is a JOY to our family!  We are so excited  to see how God continues to grow and use him!

We love you, Zachariah!

When are you leaving?

We don't know.

The question we answer multiple times a day.

The same 3 word answer.  We don't know.

If we took our best guesses at this point...

maybe 1st trip to visit Symonne in June

go back to pick her up in July?

And the only other better answer to the 

Question: When are you leaving?

Answer : Not soon enough.

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Meant to be

With another birthday behind me, it is a time of reflection.  God's amazing blessing in my life...awesome husband, best kids in the world including another precious daughter coming from Ethiopia, very wonderful supportive extended family, great church family, neighbors, and so many very precious friends.  Abundance of opportunities to serve others as our hearts would be to do.  Abundance of others pouring into our lives.  As I heard this song on Pandora for the first time this morning, it summed my thankfulness for God weaving my live together even in the craziness of the "everyday"!

Meant to Be by Jadon Lavik
You wake up to find that you’re right where supposed to be
Trapped in uncertainty of each day’s  mystery
You wake up to find that you’re right where you’re supposed to be
The past is unveiled and you see you’re right where you’re meant to be
Now I see the reasons for all of those seasons wondering just how my life would connect
My life would connect but You knew 

Slugs and Bugs

 

Slugs and Bugs by Andrew Peterson.

Introduced to us by my sisters.

We LOVE watching these YouTube videos.

Catchy little songs with lots of fun.

"Bears, Bears", "I am adopted", "Who's got the ball?" and many more...

we even like the Slugs and Bugs Christmas Pagent.

They all are a big HIT around here ...

especially made for kids with a big dose of the "sillies" (we have 3:)

What we have been up to in "the wait"...

  

We have had a lot of GREAT memories in "getting everything in" before 2 big trips to Ethiopia and bringing a new baby home!

 Ellyana getting to go to a fun birthday party painting her first pottery...turned out so neat!

 Swimming with cousins

 These 2 determined to be in the Olympics...he's got the strength to do the high lifts...she's got the graceful moves...it is a funny duo!

 Fun egg hunt with cousins.

 Loved this one!

 LIVING UP Spring Break...ordered their personal pizzas they got for Reading Month.

 Having a great time with the Adoption Playgroup.

 Cowboy/Chef

 2 favorite games of Spring Break

 A couple of GREAT parent reads...on top of adoption books and devotional books we have been trying to get good reading done.

With Symonne coming home this summer our summer family vacation is off, so we did an overnight trip to the town nearby on Spring Break.  Great fun was had by all, just wish it was a little longer!

 The kids loved the arcade.

 Boys first time playing laser tag...they loved it!

 Out-to-eat.

 Hotel pool swimming.

 Joining into the other kids' races.

 Pizza party at night. 

 The free breakfast and more swimming, we were so thankful for our great little trip!

 And now that the weathers warmer, Zach's been having a great time playing with the neighbor boy.  He's quite the little cowboy.
  Brian and I are living by the motto "get another thing off the list" while trying to make the most of our time with our kids, each other, family and friends.  It has made for some late nights but it feels good and we are having a lot of fun!  

As for our "loose" trip planning...we may go to visit Symonne in June and get to pick her up in July!

Can't wait to bring her home!!!!

Don't get STUCK not doing anything

The conversation has come up SO many times...

 

Why does international adoption take SOO long?

What happens to all the kids when a country slows down or 

stops adopting?

We have had some answers we give.

Zach's adoption start to finish...13 months.  

Guatemala later closed to international adoption.

Ellyana's adoption from Ethiopia start to finish...15 months.

Symonne's adoption from Ethiopia start till now... 

33 months and counting.

In reality, it actually feels like a BIZARRE situation 

that is very hard to describe.

Yes, there are precautions put in place for the protection of the children

but what is the reality of all of this for most of the children?

WHY? WHY? WHY?

This recent full-length documentary answers these questions and so much more.

You can download the movie 

and it is also on tour across the US and may be coming to your area.

Watch the movie, it is worth your time.

Share the information, the kids are worth it.

Do what you can, don't get STUCK not doing anything!

 

Go Blue!

Don't worry college friends...we are both still VERY loyal to our old almamaters...

but in an effort for family unity...Go Michigan!