This and That

As you can tell, my weeks have been beyond busy since school started. We've been battling different ills (bronchitis, sinus infections, fevers....) and keeping up with our new schedules has been a challenge. But I did want to make sure you knew we had not fallen off the face of the earth. We've enjoyed the county fair, welcomed new additions to families at church and just tried to keep up. I'd like to say that things are going to slow down but I'm not so sure. I think we're just going to have to adjust to this new normal!
I have been able to walk most mornings which has helped my mental state but my quiet time has been lacking. I'm getting ready to start a new Bible study with some friends and I'm hoping that this will give me a kick in the rear to get back into God's word!

Sarah's new "do"!

Before.....

During.....

After with Callum, Liam and Caleb (photo courtesy of Anna Weikel photography :) )

She had about 10 inches or so cut off and it was enough to donate to Locks of Love. Everyone loves her new haircut (Thanks Ms. Dawn!!!) and she loves that she can wash AND rinse it by herself (so does Mommy!).

Sorry for the confusion over the family picture - I was trying out something new.
I hope to have time for a longer post this week and some pictures of Sarah's new haircut (yes, she had enough to donate!).

I know some of you are following along this family's journey to China for their sweet little girl but if you haven't seen it yet, please read. God is doing some amazing things with this family and they need the prayers of all of us!

www.roomforatleastonemore.blogspot.com

Family photo

This was from our reunion in August. Not very often we have a photo of all of us together!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!!!!

Caleb is 3 today!!! We celebrated his first birthday with us with family and a couple of friends. Included was Ben, the only one who has been around for all of Caleb's birthdays :) The weather was great and Caleb loved every bit of his party. It was fun to watch him enjoy the little things that so many kids breeze through - the cards, every gift (minus the clothes :) ) and the wrapping. He oohed and aaahed through it all. Today we ate lunch with Daddy at Chick-fil-A and I'll make him cabbage salad for dinner (yep, the boy loves it). This was such a hard day last year - it is so much fun to watch him enjoy all the attention.

Thank you Hanna!

It may seem odd to be grateful for a tropical storm, but that is what I am! Because of Hanna's torrential rains and wind, we don't have soccer today and we've had to reschedule Caleb's birthday party to tomorrow afternoon. So....we have NOTHING on the calendar today. NOTHING! I can't remember a day when that was the case. As long as we don't lose power, this could be a wonderfully boring day :)
Enjoy the blog updates - I just don't seem to find the time to work on it since school has started!

China Brothers and Sisters

We are very blessed for each of our adopted kids to have a "China brother" and "China sister" (they aren't biological siblings, just from the same orphanage) within an hour's drive. Sarah and Lucy had a sleepover earlier this month and have really started enjoying each other's company - they are two peas in a pod!. Ben and Caleb are still not really old enough to understand who the other one is but we're committed to getting the boys together and keeping the connection. I know that the odds of having this bond for both of my kids is not very likely so I'm very grateful that it is there!

Caleb

Our official skimmer cleaner - he loves to dump the skimmers, sometimes several times a day!

Obviously Jacob is giving Caleb some fashion advice with the hat!

Sometimes you're so tired you just gotta drop where you are!

Caleb has discovered the brio trains that were his brothers'. He LOVES them and has spent hours playing with them this week.

Go Wolves!

Sarah's soccer team is the Wolves. She isn't all that crazy about soccer so we've signed back up for dance this year. At least she tried it out and she looks darn cute in those cleats and soccer uniform!

Swimming!

Nathan!

Maybe it was the caffeine. Maybe it was the sugar. Maybe the stars were aligned just right. Whatever the reason, I got some great pictures of Nathan that night. Enjoy them - more will probably be a long time coming!

Summer Birthdays

We celebrated Dad and Kendra's birthdays. Obviously the sugar from the ice cream cake was getting to a few heads!

What happens when Mommy is Busy and the Gate isn't up....

Thankfully this was down the stairs and not in the toilet....