September 2008

Our Elijah ,the little funny guy! We never could have hoped for a child to fit into our family any better. He is just as stubborn, willful, and competitive as Graedy and Elise. God placed him in our home with all of us in mind. We are so thankful that he is here!!!!

Our Miss Elise the girl who is gifted with the flare for decorating and a big help when her heart is so inclined . I walked to the rythm of my own tune and in good time. An inspiration to all kids who want to know how to cook and bake. A true lover of animals.

Graedy our fifth grader is now in flag football and loving it! He just seems to be naturally gifted with grace and strength. He is very dilligent about his homework and reading. He is now so thoughtful of his little brother and very helpful.

Grace Sneha waiting in India.............

Thoughts of summer

My friend Debbie

We are thankful for a summer spent getting to know new friends. Elijah and his friend Luke are both from China brought together here in America. At Timberline church we were brought together with other adoptive families to spread the word of adoption to the world and give our children friends with situations in common and a good point of reference for us parents. We can make a difference in our world one child at a time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SEVEN YEAR OLD ELIJAH!!!!!

Thinking back one year ago and the wait seemed so long. How was life in China how, how was he doing, did he even know that we were coming to get him and thinking of him constantly???? Well thank goodness he is here with us for his first all American birthday --cake, ice cream, cousins, grandparents, and lots of presents.

What a summer-hot, hot, and hotter. We survived and we are back to school. Graedy is in fifth grade at Beattie, and Elise is in third grade at Beattie. Elijah attends first grade at Johnson , the closest elementary with an English second language program.

Brent has finally started his new phase of his life. Out with the old and in with the new!!!!! A chance to enjoy life once again. A career with the same motivation as his life and beliefs in God above. Praise the lord for the man from St. Andrew's with a job lead!!!!!

Our Picnic at Snow Range (Wyoming)

July 21, 2008

Last Friday Four adults and three children cramed into our Ford Taurus for a two hour drive into the mountains for a picnic. With a cooler full of great food and some wood for a fire we were not going to go hungry. This was to be Elijah's first American cook-out. The trip was a nice respite from the near one hundred degree temperatures. A light jacket was required, but no one was complaining. Smores were the final culinary delight of the picnic as apparent in Elijah's picture. What a wonderful day we had with Grandma Jean and Grandpa Michael!

Also, today I decided to try my hand at hair cutting... a task normally reserved for Holly who is formally trained as a stylist. I think the results were pretty good as the boys were happy, but you can judge for yourself.

Haircut Day

Today I decided to try my hand at haircutting--a duty normally reserved for my wife the experienced stylist in the family. I think the results

Photos of India 11/2007 and Sneha

NOW WE JUST WAIT, WAIT, AND WAIT SOME MORE TO HEAR ANY NEWS ABOUT OUR DAUGHTER SNEHA IN INDIA. SO WE WILL TRY TO BE PATIENT AND WAIT FOR GOD'S TIMING.

Remembering India 11/2007

Many miles from here a little girl waits for a family to take her home. It is hard to believe with all the people in the world God chose her for us to meet and someday bring home. Out of all the websites and hundreds of waiting childrens faces God kept prompting us to take one more step....Find out about her, find out how to bring her into your family. I have to admit after finding out about her and all her problems I was scared to death. I talked to two people who knew her personally and the prognosis was not what I had hoped. It is not about what we want or the ideas that we have. What we need is to have a willing heart to say yes, Lord what do you want for us? What are your plans? Long ago Brent and I thought of adoption before we had children. We knew that so many children who are already in the world need homes and families.

Fast forward to fall of 2007. I made the call to find out about Sneha and what we needed to do to get the ball rolling. I called the agency one last time before giving up and the agency said why don't you go meet her in a couple of weeks. What???? My mother's best friend took the trip with me. She had been on many mission trips around the world, thank goodness for her experience.