Summertime, Summertime, Sum Sum Summertime!

So I don't have time for a lengthy heart felt witty post right now but here;s a quick update on what we've been up to so far this summer.

Daddy's been teaching Emma to drive the lawn mower. A few more years and maybe it will be her job :)

Daddy got a motorcycle FREE from a guy who brought his plane into work! Rides around the Block are FUN!!

Emma's friend Karissa went to camp LRCA with her this year. Church camp is the coolest!

We took Daddy to Bass Pro shop on Father's day. They have great bacon cheeseburgers and we ate alligator too!

We went to the drive in for the first time with the kids.

They were very excited but......

Didn't quite make it through the second movie.

We had to cancel our camping trip to Raccoon lake so we set up camp in the back yard.

They love to sit in there and pretend that everything outside is something they are watching on TV. Weirdos!

Emma has been losing teeth like a true Indiana girl. She's actually lost that other front tooth since this picture.

Playing inside can be fun too when you pretend that you're packing for vacation!

We been able to have playgroup at the park!!

Swim lessons have been extra fun!

Bike rides around the pond and even a little fishing for Bass. Mommy even caught one!!

Hope you're having a great summer as well!

The Beginning of a Journey

A few months ago Jack and I had our hearts touched by a little boy that I had in the Love Notes choir. He has been bounced around to several different homes, seen many, many things that no seven year old ever should, is ADHD and has the sweetest heart if he's willing to let you in. As I got to know him over the past year we really formed a bond that I cannot explain except to give God the credit for allowing me the wonderful opportunity to be one of the people that he showed that sweet heart to.

As we discussed the ways that we could help this boy it occurred to us that there are so many kids out there that need love, consistency, love, boundaries, and more love. My friends Jen & Christy had formed a ministry called "Life's Little Dreams" which meets once a month to inform people about adoption and foster care. After a lot of praying with Jack, phone calls to Jen and research we decided that this was definitely where God was leading us.

We have currently been through 24 hours of training with 10 more hours of take home for an extra therapeutic aspect. We have signed our names several, several times, answered the same questions over and over again about our background, lives as children, how we are raising our own children and so on and so on. Tomorrow we get finger printed Monday we have our final home visit and then about 6 weeks from then we should have our foster care license. It has sort of been a whirl wind process but we know with the way things have been lining up that God has a special child/children waiting for us.

I'll keep everyone updated on here about how the process is going and try to keep up with this as we go through the process. Please pray for us to be prepared for the challenges ahead and also for God to prepare the hearts of the children we hope to help.

Thanks!

Playgroup update

Just thought I'd write a quick post and update on our playgroup meetings. We have still been meeting about every two weeks and we are really enjoying it (well, at least I am!!!). Here are some pictures of some things we have done. We are going to spend the summer of play group doing some fun outings like the park and maybe some swimming.

Story time is always fun and the kids do a great job sitting still and listening.

Snack time is a must!!

Miss Becky taught us to make butterflies out of tissue paper, pipe cleaners and ziplocks.

Miss Kat brought stuff for us to paint flower pots!!!We made some peek-a-boo pictures where you had to look through tall grass to see what is beneath.Today Miss Karen had us make color wonder picture frames for our daddies for Father's day!And of course what would play group be without some PLAYING!!!

Officially done with Kindergarten

Yesterday was Emma's field day at school marking the official end to her year of Kindergarten. I really can not believe how time has flown by this year.

First day of SchoolLast day of SchoolI find watching a child learn the most interesting and amazing thing ever. This year I think the greatest thing was watching her learn to read. She was reading small books with 3-4 letter words over the summer last year but now it is amazing to listen to her read. She speaks with inflection and emotion and amazes me every time she comes to a big word and just breezes by it. To just sit back over this year and watch her little brain make the connections to figure out what words are has been more amazing than watching her learn to walk or potty train or anything else I can think of. She has a short fuse so she does get frustrated very easily but I have learned how better to deal with that and once she gets it she goes! I'm so proud of everything she has accomplished this year and am looking forward to a summer of fun and more learning to get ready for the big task of 1st grade. Just typing that makes me sad. I'm not ready to let her be away from me so much but I'm so glad that I have the assurance that she has great Christian teachers guiding her and a wonderful Christ-centered environment to learn in. We've been so blessed.

Mother Daughter Banquet '09

Wow! I've been blogging for a year now! I started this blog last year because of this very event. We went to the Mother Daughter Banquet at church and Emma had all of her grandmas and great-grandmas with her and I just had to have somewhere to write about it. Here we are again one year later and so extremely blessed to have all grandmas back again plus Aunt April and her girls joined us too!

This year was a 50's theme and it was so much fun! We got all dressed up, had a soda shop type menu and some fun games including a bubble blowing contest and hula hooping. It was very nice to be able to share this evening with so many women we love.

My baby is four

Tuesday was Jackson's 4th birthday. I just really can't believe it. There have been so many changes in our life over those past four years that everything seems kind of like a blur.

• Can spell his name which is one long run on JACKSON. Sometimes you wonder if there really is an A in there.
• Can count to thirty
• Can recognize all the letters of the alphabet
• Can tell you what sound every letter makes (sometimes confused on G but that's a tricky one)
• Is beginning to sound out words to read and spell. We love the word whammer!
• Has worn out the froggy boots to the point of a hole. That's some pretty serious wearing for thick rubber boots.
• Loves to be read to and will actually sit still for several books. That's a miracle!
• Still has the bb (blankie)
• Still sucks his thumb when he sleeps
• Still asks me to hold him like a baby every time he gets out of the bath
• Can get himself dressed for the most part
• Has an opinion about what he wears
• Loves to pester his sister
• Begs me to play flash cards
• Loves to pray for dinner and before bed
• Definitely a daddy's boy
• Used to cry to go to class at church now cries when we pick him up because he doesn't want to leave.
• Is very excited to start preschool in August
• Says now that he's four he won't be afraid of bugs or going under water anymore. We'll see :)
• Sometimes talks like he's got a southern accent
• Could live in footie pajamas
• Can write a few letters on his own. The Aquadoodle is a definite paper saver for a learning boy.
• Investigates everything to try to see how it works and if he could take it apart. Again, daddy's boy!
• Loves the "How Do Dinosaurs...." books.
• Has more of a tender heart than I give him credit for most of the time.

Asked for a pogo stick for his birthday. Don't know where he comes up with this stuff!

Also wanted a domino cake. Again, I have no idea.

Thank you all for being a part of our lives and sharing our special boy with us.

Meet Alaina!

I've been babysitting for Jack's cousin Becky for a few weeks now. I wasn't sure how having a four month old around would go but it has been fantastic. Actually today her daddy got rained out from work and I was kind of bummed because she went home early. She is such a great baby and has been so fun for Emma and Jackson to have around. We get to have lots of fun with her during the day then she goes home at night. It's great!!