Mother-Daughter Girls Trip!

This past weekend, we were blessed to be invited on a trip to Missouri with our good friends, Danita and Ella. We had such a splendid time! The first evening, we got all dolled up and had supper at a fancy restaurant. The restaurant was on a resort which had beautiful scenery as well as picture spots, so we had a photo session.

Yes, the girls match! These were $3 dresses from Target!
The next day, we went on a bike ride through Dogwood Canyon Nature Trail. Boy, it was beautiful. I was stunned by the spectacular scenes. These are just a few.


We even crossed into Arkansas.
It was such a privilege to spend such quality time with our girls. We really wanted the weekend to be a time when we could cast some vision and encourage both Sydney and Ella. We started with II Corinthians 5:9 since it was such a good reminder that our #1 goal or ambition should be to please Jesus.
After our bike ride, we went to a resort called Big Cedar and went swimming. That was nice and refreshing in the Missouri humidity!
The next day it was off to Silver Dollar City. We had a blast!
Here, Sydney and Ella are riding the roller coaster.
Eventually, we gathered up enough courage to ride this ride. I'll let you judge from the next picture on our reactions!
Cooling down with some yummy peaches and cream!
While we waited for our shuttle, we dug into some of our goodies!Finally, it was time to head home. But, we are thankful for good friends and are looking forward to returning to life with a fresh vision of pleasing our Heavenly Father.

Tennis Camp

Sydney and Jackson had the privilege of going to the Goddard Tennis Camp, compliments of Coach John. (Thank you, John & Tina!) They loved it, and I think they are better than I am now. Chris taught us all last summer, but they definitely have a head start.
Look at that back hand!
Toward the end, you can tell how the boys entertained themselves as they waited in line!

Bow Party Update

Our Bow Party II was a hit. We had a good turnout, and we made another dent in our adoption budget. Many thanks to Robin who hosted and invited a ton of her neighbors! Thanks, Kendra, who again donated her time and talents for our little guy. More thanks to my group who pitched in to provide all the yummy snacks!

Random June Moments

Here are a few pics of June. Boy, this has been a BUSY month! I'm going to try to catch up. . .

(Here, we are doing our starbucks store. This is our incentive program for summer!)

Raegan being like Mommy! Do I really wear boots around the house?

Here, we headed out to the farm. We all had a great time "playing" outside. The little boys (and girls) loved being able to explore the farm, and the big boys (and girls) enjoyed shooting the guns. The weather was uncharacteristically perfect, so it was a great time to be in Western Kansas.

We went out for my cousin, Esther's, wedding. It was a beautiful wedding. I'm sorry I didn't get any other pictures! My niece, Mia, was the flower girl, and she did so well! The wedding was gorgeous, and I had such a great time that I must have spaced documenting it! I did capture this picture of my kids and their second cousins. It was almost like living des ja vous (sp?) with my cousins I grew up with!


Happy Father's Day! We love Daddy!

Blessed Bows!

Hey all! My small group is throwing another Bow Party as a fundraiser for us. I cannot tell you how blessed we feel. First, Kendra has gone above and beyond in using her bows for our benefit. Second, that my group would all pitch in like this to be a part of bringing our little guy home makes me so thankful. So, if anyone wants to come, you are definitely invited! Here's the official invite:

You are invited!

What: A Bow Party

When: Sunday, June 14

Time: 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Where: Call/e-mail me for directions!

These are just a few

of the hair accessories Kendra has made.

Check out Kendra’s blog to see examples of her work

and how all proceeds go toward funds for Orphans:

http://www.sugarplumboutique.blogspot.com/

We Are On The List!

It is at times like this that I wish I was an eloquent speaker/writer. It seems that all my siblings received that trait, and me, the English teacher, did not. I can edit anyone's words, but I have a very tough time writing my own! So, here goes!

We are on the list! What does this mean? I'm not completely sure, yet, but here is what I do know.
* Our dossier is completely approved and on its way to Ethiopia. Yes, Africa. Thousands of miles away. Across the Atlantic. Where our little boy lives. It should arrive in four to five days. They will let us know.

* We have a new case worker since we are now in phase two of this process.

* We are officially on the waiting list for a referral. Our case worker just informed me that this is really more like a waiting "pool" since it isn't just a "stand-in-line process". There are other factors that they take into account. Some families are waiting for infants, some for sibling groups, some for girls, some for boys. You get the idea.

* Everyone is frantically trying to get past court before they shut down for the rainy season until October. This is causing referrals to slow down; therefore, it may take a little longer for our referral.

* I was just encouraged with the fact that there have been more boys referred lately than girls, so that is in our favor. So, we'll still hope for September, knowing it may be later.

* Our case worker estimated that we will probably travel some time in 2010. We were hoping for December 2009 for several reasons, but we will be happy with God's timing.

O.K. That's it. Please pray for us when you think of us. We're going to get some good practice at waiting on a process that is completely out of our hands. We're glad it is in Jesus' hands.

Purple Panthers First Win!

Sunday evening, we had a practice, and it seems to have made a world of difference! Last night, they won their first game. Actually, they truly are improving which makes it very fun to watch. Here are some good action shots of Sydney.

Kansas City Vacation

This summer, we are mostly staying around Wichita; however, we thought we'd sneak in a quick getaway to Kansas City this weekend. We did the Priceline route and ended up downtown in a fun hotel. It is so fun to take the kids. They are always amazed at how motels have their own soap, towels, trash cans, etc!

Unfortunately, since we arrived so late, they had only king-sized beds left, so the kids got a feather bed on the floor! They didn't mind.
Saturday, we went down to the Plaza and walked around a bit. It was fun to see the fountains. After lunch, we happened upon a recreation center with a swimming pool! It was definitely a multi-cultural experience as we were the only white people there. The kids were so excited, and Chris and I had fun thinking about our little guy in Ethiopia as we watched all the kids interact.
Finally, it was on to the Royals game!

The Royals did great until the 8th. Oh well. It was a fun game to watch.