Fun in the Sun

Greetings from NC! We've been enjoying a week at the beach despite thunderstorms, bloody faces (just Gareth fighting the surf - don't panic Cindy!), sea sickness and meeting nice local cops while cleaning up throw up. Yep, it's a week with the Weikels. Here are some pictures to keep you entertained....

Shark fishing with the boys and Ken and Gareth. Even with Dramamine, we had a couple of bouts of sea sickness and no sharks. Because of an earlier storm, they experienced 8-10 ft swales - not as much fun as they had hoped...

Our sunbathing beauties (well sort of...)

More pictures to come tomorrow - and no, we haven't gotten our LOA yet but thanks for all who have asked :)

Sweet Suprises

Last night I was reminded of the sweet fellowship of my Christian friends! They threw a surprise shower for Toni and I! We had a great time of learning Mandarin (well, finding out we don't know much Mandarin...), sharing stories and prayers for our families, new little boys and those others who are also in the midst of adding to their families through adoption. It is such a blessing to feel the love, prayers and support of others who truly care. Thank you guys for your generous gifts and more importantly, generous hearts!

A line from Rudolph...

Do you remember Yukon Sam from Rudolph? "lick, lick, lick, awww, nothin..."
Licking our pick ax (sp?) and tastin "nothin...."

Pyros United

Have you noticed that everything about July 4th has to do with fire? BBQs, fireworks, heat like Hades... I've added a few photos from our annual celebration. This year we had about 70 people to our house and then some of us headed to a nearby town to watch the fireworks. The weather was perfect - low 80s and a bit overcast. Strong storms blew through DC and they had to evacuate the Mall but we just heard rumbles of thunder and enjoyed a breeze. Hope you all enjoyed your July 4 as much as we did - we are grateful to all those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom and that we live in a country where we can worship freely and can participate in our government.

Ken always gets up around 6:30 AM to start the grilling for our big crowd. His smoked pork butts are always a huge hit!Some of the hungry crowd - we had enough food to feed a small army!!Some of the boys -we enjoyed the ice cream man and sparklers...

Waiting for the fireworks to start....

Nope, still nothing

I called our agency today to update our info while we are away and nothing has come in today. I'm sure now it will come next week while we're on vacation and searching for a FedEx location...it is the Weikel Way. We don't do things the easy way....

A Father's Love

Some of you know that we've gotten some tough news from someone who saw Caleb awhile back that he did not look as healthy as we would like. It has taken a couple of days to digest this info and we've been overwhelmed by the prayer support and encouragement that we've gotten from so many. We've had a real peace about Caleb and a renewed sense of urgency about getting him home. Last night I had a dream about him and this morning during service I found myself thinking a lot about my little guy. Not so much worried but just really wanting to be able to hold him, for him not to suffer or be sick. Today was the Lord's Supper and God spoke to me. I realized that He knows what it is like for a parent to be physically separated from their son while their child is suffering. Then I realized that I'm responsible for His son's suffering. So, while I wait (not so patiently :) ) to hold little Caleb in my arms and to help ease his suffering and sadness, I know that God the Father is holding me, his child because of the suffering that His son endured on my behalf. Thank you Father for that Abba Daddy love!

This is recreation?

I think most normal people consider going to a movie to be relaxing and a recreational type activity. After yesterday, I beg to differ. I took my three youngest to see Ratoutuille (ok, I'm sure I didn't spell that one right but I've NEVER taken French...). Sarah fell asleep in the car on the way to the movie - not a good thing. She is like a zombie - the living dead. While the awake part of her (which is deeply buried) is thrilled to go to the movies, the asleep part of her is like a very wet, very heavy rag doll. I manage to carry her into the theater (after buying our tickets with one hand) and then the drama of snacks begins. This is where movie theaters make their money. After purchasing enough snacks for a small army, we realize that Sarah's favorite flip flop is nowhere to be found. The little mommy voice tells me it is probably outside in the parking lot but I know I can't tote 3 kids, 4 drinks, popcorn, my purse, a still semi conscious preschooler and my sanity back to the car. So, instead, I place our happy family into the theater and leave the girls under the watchful eye of their big brother. A quick look at my watch tells me we have 8 minutes - plenty of time to retrieve the flip flop (which is on the ground next to the car) and do the pre movie potty trip which is necessary with little girls. Unbeknownst to me however, the kid running the movie has not passed the telling time unit in math and starts the movie early. So I get to stumble back into the theater without the trip to the potty in the pitch dark. Anna promptly looses the lid to her drink and the first bathroom trip with Sarah occurs just minutes into the movie. We got to visit that bathroom two other times, dumped over the open drink when returning from the bathroom and all the while listen to Sarah happily creaking in her seat that is waaay to big for her. Ahhh relaxation.....
After the movie it then took us 20 minutes to purchase 4 items at the grocery store (complete with 2 more trips to the bathroom and another temporary loss of said flip flop). By the time I got home, I so wished that I had a little fairy that did dinners for me. But alas, she was nowhere to be found. And so ended my relaxing trip to the movies. Next time I think I'd rather stay home and scrub toilets (but my kids wouldn't have as much fun :) ).