The Good, The Bad and The Cute!

The Good!
We had another award's ceremony and Heidi and Devin did a great job this year. Heidi read all the required reading each month this year. Way to Go!
Heidi and Devin both received ribbons for participating in Rocket Math. Devin also received the Presidential Fitness Award. Great Job! Also, Devin was promoted to a Webelo at Cub Scouts.

The Bad!
Unfortunately, we received upsetting news from our adoption agency. It seems that the paperwork discrepancy from Jan/Feb is still delaying us. We are waiting for a piece of paper that requires a 3 month waiting period from a region that is notorious for being slow! Which means...we have no idea when our little girl will be home. We are hoping and praying that the piece of paper will arrive in time for our next court date, but it is not looking very promising!!

The Cute!
We received some new photos of "R", and she is just as cute as ever.
Also, below are some photos of the kids from the last week.

So sad!

We didn't pass court again! So bummed - still missing MOWA letter. This is starting to remind me of Heidi's crazy adoption process. It is so emotionally draining.
We love you "R" and pray everyday for you! Hurry Home!!!!!
The new court date is June 7th!

Lots to celebrate!

The school year is coming to a close, and we have had so much to do! Ethan had a band concert and several band competitions. He was part of a trumpet trio who received a 2 rating at one competition. Great Job! He also received several awards at the annual awards ceremony. Prior to the ceremony he emceed the student/teacher academic bowl and played the trumpet in the Fine Arts open house. We are very proud of your hard work!




Also, Isabelle had her Preschool Promotion. She did a great job. It was so cute. We are very proud of Izzy, too!

Weekend Fun

We had a fantastic weekend! We worked outside on Saturday, and then went out for some yummy dinner! Then on Sunday we went shopping after church. Chris and the kids bought me an outfit and took me to Applebee's for Mother's Day!


I am so blessed to be a mom and have such great kids!!!! I am also blessed to have a wonderful mom and mother-in-law. What great examples they have always been to me.
We are now preparing for a busy week. Gotta love the end of school events.

Try, Try Again

Well, we just found out that we did not pass court again for R! The next court date is in 2 weeks.
Please continue to keep our family and our little girl in your thoughts and prayers.

Also, Riley had a follow-up appointment for his injury and is healing just fine. He has to be on a "soft" diet for another week. He saw some chips yesterday and started crying because he wanted one so bad - Poor Guy!

Cousins are fun...

We had a nice weekend visiting with family! We celebrated an early Mother's Day and the kids played and played. The "triplet" girl cousins put on several plays (see photo)!
We also had the opportunity to visit "Cowboy" church. It was a nice service with great country gospel music. We all enjoyed it. I did miss nursery a little bit. We kept Riley occupied with snacks most of the service.
Afterwards, 8 adults and the 10 kids went out for pizza. It was yummy - thanks grandma and grandpa!



Of course, what is a trip without drama. We had only been home about 10 minutes when Riley decided to lacerate his soft palate. He was not goofing around, it was just sort of a crazy accident. We spent the evening and early morning in the E.R. He had to have a couple of stitches. I think it was harder on us, because he has been as crazy as ever since we got home!!!!
We are just very thankful that he is ok.
We will post our court results for baby girl on Friday. As usual, we appreciate all your good thoughts and prayers.

Raingutter Regatta and more

Devin was the overall winner for the Raingutter Regatta. We are so proud of him. He made his boat all by himself!!! Ethan helped the regatta run smoothly. Great job Scouts!!!
Here are a few photos of the big event!





I just had to add this photo of Isabelle. Chris said the 80's are definitely back.

New court date - again!

You would think we would get used to the emotional ups and downs of adoption, but we don't! We just want our little girl home. We thought she would be home by now, but that is what we get for thinking. LOL

We just found out that our case will be heard again on May 7th!

We will keep you posted, but please keep our little girl in your thoughts and prayers.

90th birthday, yard work and more!

My Grandpa turned 90 last weekend! He is a wonderful Grandpa and has a special connection with all our kids. My parents came into town for the celebration and brought their new Yorkie (Molly). The kids loved the little puppy - no surprise. We also got to see Aunt Roberta and Cousin Jamie and his family. It was a lot of fun.


We also started working on our deck. We were just going to put a new railing up, but when we started the project we found out it needed to be torn down. It is back up except for the railing. The kids were very helpful, and I think we wore the little ones out.





Riley started feeling sick on Monday night. He is now almost over Hand, Foot and Mouth. He didn't feel good at all. Poor guy, but he looks happy at the doctor's office.


Finally, Sunday night while we are sleeping our case for R will be heard in Ethiopia. Our agency should contact us on Monday to let us know how it went. Please pray that we pass!

New court date!

We are happy to announce we have a new court date. It is April 26th! We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers that we pass!
Also, we learned today that R finally started walking. She took her time, but we are so thankful for this milestone.

We are the Truth - Adoption Blogger Day

From the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JSCIS):

We Are The Truth

A Campaign and Call to Action


The outrageous treatment of Artyem by his adoptive family has rightfully resulted in outrage by the Governments of Russia and the United States and all who care about children. The tragedy has cast a light on intercountry adoption that says it is not safe, the system failed and adopted children cause insurmountable problems. The heartbreak of Artyem Saviliev’s abandonment has once again elevated a singular incident to a level which may result in the suspension of intercountry adoption. Suspending adoption, even temporarily, will only cause thousands of children to suffer the debilitating effects of life in an orphanage.

Today is Adoption Blogger day. So below is the truth about our adoptions. It is a very abbreviated version because words will never express all the blessings we have received from adoption and our children.

We started our family with two "homegrown" boys! We learned about the plight of orphans and felt that it was the perfect way to grow our family.


So we added a little girl from Guatemala. She was 3 years old when she came home. She is now a beautiful, smart and loving little girl.






Next, we added a baby girl born in S. Korea to our family. She was born very prematurely, but now is a bright, sweet and amazing 4 year old.






A few years later, we felt like someone was missing. This time we added a baby boy born in S. Korea. He is the busiest, funniest little 2 year old I know. He is also a great cuddler.
!




We are in the process again. We are adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. She is around 2 years old. We can't wait to bring her her home.

This is our TRUTH about adoption.

Our family’s like a patchwork quilt,
With kindness gently sewn.
Each piece is an original,
With beauty of its own.
With threads of warmth and happiness,
It’s tightly stitched together.
To last in love throughout the years,
Our family is forever.
-author unknown

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful day it is!
We went to Saturday Easter Service so today we got to celebrate all day with the kids!
We had Easter baskets, Easter egg hunt, brunch, bike riding and more fun to come.
We are so thankful for Jesus and the life we have in Him!

Catching up - again!

It has been a busy few weeks. My sweet Isabelle turned 4 and my baby boy turned 2! They just get big so fast!!!! We are so thankful that God chose us to be their parents. We are so blessed!

We also received updated pictures of our little girl in Ethiopia. She looks a lot bigger in the new photos. A visiting mom described her as "a firecracker...who loves attention and knows how to get it". Hoping to get a court date soon so she can come home. I think it is going to be interesting to watch our "twins" fighting for attention. Hurry home baby girl!

Adoption update!

There has been a lot happening on this front! Our case was to be heard on Feb. 25, but there was a paperwork discrepancy so it was never heard. We found out yesterday that our case was resubmitted to court on March 17th. We are now awaiting another court date.
There is also talk of some big changes in the Ethiopian adoption process. While we understand why certain things might be implemented we would prefer to not have to worry about it. Please pray that our case will be processed quickly!!
We also received new photos. She is starting to look more like a toddler than a baby. She has all her little baby teeth now. She is adorable.
We can't wait to get her home. If things go well, she should still be home this summer.

Ice Skating Fun

We had a great time at the ice rink last night. The kids did an amazing job, and Chris and I didn't fall. Yeah!!!
Everyone but Riley skated all by themselves. Riley decided he needed to be a bit older. Ha!

Teenager in the House!

Well, the time has come. We now have a teenager. It doesn't seem possible! Ethan turned 13 on Saturday. We celebrated with friends, pizza and a movie.
Ethan we love you, and are so proud of the young man you have become. Have a great year.

Court date rescheduled

We found out today that our court date in Ethiopia for R has been rescheduled! We will be sure to update when we find out our new date! Pray it is soon.

We have a court date!

We are excited to announce our court date will be February 25th in Ethiopia! We are praying that R will pass court and be in our arms soon. Then we can show everyone our beautiful little girl. Here is a little glimpse of her!

Mizzou fan

R received her gift bag from us. Here is a photo of her in the little onesie we sent her. She is so sweet!