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!

Group A

We just found out the R's case was submitted to court in Ethiopia on January 15th. We now wait for our actual court date with the rest of the families in Group A. It should be in the next 8 weeks. Yeah!
Until next time...

What a wonderful surprise!

The agency we are using for our Ethiopian adoption is Adoption Advocates International. They have a Yahoo group for only those families who are adopting or have adopted Ethiopian children from AAI. Recently, many families have travelled to pick up their children and have taken photos of other child/ren in the orphanage. Then they post all the photos to Snapfish so other families can check (obsessively) for new photos of their child/ren. Well, last night we received new photos and there was a post on Yahoo about a little girl in the orphanage. It happened to be our little girl. This family was on a return trip to Ethiopia. Here is a little bit from their blog

"I was asking John on the way home from the airport if Sue had any life changing moments from the trip. He said she had a great time, but asked what I meant by life changing. So I said, "For instance does she want to go back and volunteer now?"
Yes, she just may. But she would have adopted a child as well if she had the financial means to. One child in particular spotted her, held out her hands, and said "mama". Of course Sue was in tears, took the child and enjoyed holding her for a bit. When they were ready to leave the child followed her and didn't want Sue to go."

Isn't that sweet, and also sad that she didn't want her to leave. I just love that other people are able to give our little girl some love and attention until we get to bring her home. This young lady would like to keep in touch with us - I think that is so great!

Until next time...

So Excited...

We just received over 20 new photos of our little girl in Ethiopia. There were several families that took Christmas to her orphanage and also took great photos. We feel very blessed to have so many photos so soon.

Since this is our first post about our daughter...here is the important information. We found out about her right before Christmas and accepted her referral on Jan. 6th.
She is around 2 years old and beautiful! As soon as we pass court we can give you more information and lots of pictures. We hope she will be home this summer.

Attached is a photo of some of the things we sent to her (Mizzou onesies, photo album, blanket and toy). She should get it this week.

My cute kids!

My sweet girls! We were at Bass Pro.

I love Riley's new face! I don't think he wanted to be at the doctor's office again.

Ethan is really into cooking! He is really good at it, too.

The shirt says it all - just ask Devin.

He must have loved dinner!

Snow Snow Snow

We have had a lot of snow. The kids almost got an extra week of school off for break. They loved it.
Here are a few snow photos.

Christmas - A little late as usual

It was an awesome Christmas. We left on the Wednesday before Christmas to visit Debbie's parents in Oklahoma. So glad we did, because on Christmas Eve (Thurs.) the Oklahoma blizzard started. It was a whopping 14.3 inches!! We had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma T., Uncle Brad, Aunt Dawn and cousin Dylan. They played games, watched movies and even had a tea party!
Then we left on Saturday and headed to Chris' parents. The roads were decent (except for Tulsa). We then celebrated Sunday with grandparents, great grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and lots of cousins.
It was a great holiday. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

A few photos from Halloween

We had a great time! We went to a church trunk or treat and to a friend's house for some more fun. Also, notice the cute pj's from Grandma T. The kids loved them, and I thought they looked very cute!!!!

Long overdue update!

It has been crazy around here! We are all doing great.
The kids are enjoying school.
Ethan is preparing to take the ACT (Yes he is only 12), but his MAP test scores gave him this opportunity. He is pretty excited. He is also playing soccer and camping out a lot for Boy Scouts.
Devin is also doing well in school. He stays after a few days a week for Chess club. He is also playing soccer and has scored several goals. He is in Cub Scouts.
Heidi is working hard in school. She celebrated her 7th birthday and her 4th Gotcha Day. She is playing soccer and also singing in the kid's choir at our church.
Isabelle started preschool and loves it. She has had a Bear parade and Bike Day. She is also singing in the kid's choir. She is getting so big.
Riley is still a crazy man, but he is so loveable. Definitely a momma's boy! He talks a lot and still amazes me with some of the things he says.
Chris and I are keeping busy, too. Chris has been camping with Ethan and we have been rearraning the house. That is one big task. We are also preparing for Orphan Sunday (Nov. 8th) at our church. These pictures are from Labor Day. The big boys didn't want me to add their photos of them on the horse.

Trip to Oklahoma

A few weeks ago the kids and I took a road trip to visit Grandpa and Grandma in Oklahoma. We had a great time!!!!!! We went to a fancy arcade, mini-golfing and the zoo. Grandma also made me get pulled over by a mean ole cop (no worries - just a warning).
One evening we went to Bricktown to visit our good friends from Tulsa. Their youngest daughter lived with Heidi in Guatemala! We enjoy hanging out with them because they are as crazy as we are!!!!!!!!!! We went to a restaurant with 9 kids and 3 adults. I think the waitress was a little scared, but they did great.
Here are a few photos from our trip:

So Funny!

Riley is a very bright and busy little man for just 16 months old! However, a few months a go when he started pointing at the back of his diaper to go to the toilet and more recently saying "poop" - I was a bit surprised.
I guess he wants to be big really fast - but seriously he is too young to wipe by himself.
Here is a couple of photos of him in action. (FYI - he spilled a drink on the front of him). I also added a cute photo of him and one of him doing his stretches.

Pictures

I haven't added photos in some time. Here are some photos of Boy Scout camp and the kids in general.
Enjoy!

A New Look!

I was feeling like my blog was a little boring! So with a little help from a friend (Thanks Amy) - I gave my blog a facelift!
It was a lot of fun and challenging!!!!
Anyway, I hope to post some new photos soon.
Take care,
Debbie

Job Well Done

We are so proud of E. for receiving the Presidential Academic Award last night. Only 5% of his grade received this award!
He celebrated by going to Barnes and Noble and getting the new release book he has been waiting for.
Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!