Reflections-A must read!

I am posting a link to a blog I have followed from the beginning of our adoption process. Josh Bottomly is a gifted writer and I am so thankful for his most recent reflections. He is able to articulate the many conversations Eric and I have had in a very respectful way and I love that. I do want to make clear that Eric and I did not vote for Obama based on the color of his skin but feel that was an added bonus. I know that Josh and Amy would say the same thing. Please take the time to read it, no matter what your beliefs I think you will be blessed by his words.

www.joshbottomly.blogspot.com

Note: I am asking that if you choose to comment, please be respectful!

Happy Halloween!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Adia!

Adia leigh . . . how often my thoughts are of you. I wonder what you are doing today, on your birthday ... if there is someone to hold you and comfort you ... to make you smile and laugh. How I long to be with you. It seems we've labored for so long now, to bring you home. People we will never even meet have joined us in this journey of bringing you home. There are times I think I can't do any more ... but each time I think of you and know you are counting on us to keep going. Joy fills our hearts to know you'll be part of our family very soon. Our hearts also grieve over all you've lost already. I pray your birthmom is comforted today as she reflects on that very important and selfless decision she made. I am forever greatful to her. I cannot give you back that which has been lost ... but I promise you that with the Lord's help we will share everything that is within us with you for a lifetime.

For now we wait. We wait with great expectation that you are being cared for and loved by the Ayas and your Heavelny Father. Some day, my child ... they will call us and we will prepare to travel to your homeland and welcome you into our arms. So many details we must trust the Lord for on this journey. Your life is a gift and one in which we treasure and embrace. How we long to see you face to face.

We had a birthday celebration on Monday in your honor. A few of our closest friends came to share your special day. We had an Indian dinner, music, cheese cake and sang happy birthday. You were even given a few gifts! Your dad and I are continually blessed by our friendships and the people who love and care for you so much.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch with our friend Christy and her twins Jake and Amelia. We decided to try a new one this year that was closer and maybe wouldn't be as crowded. The weather was perfect...65 and no rain. The kids were really excited! They had a good time for the most part but it was frustrating that Liepold Farms wanted to charge money for every little thing. We were shocked when our 2-medium and 1-baby pumpkin came to $16.00. Eric went in to their little store to get a caramel apple and was again shocked by them charging $4.75 Ughhhhh!!! We went to check out the kid corn maze and fun area to play and yes, they wanted more money! It was sad to me that they felt they had to charge a fortune for everything. Despite being charged for every little thing, the kids had a good time and it was fun to be with our friends. The twins had a great time until the end. Little Jake was running as fast as he could and fell flat into a giant mud puddle. Christy and I were laughing so hard, we had a delayed reaction to picking him up and many were looking at us like "Hello!, aren't you going to pick him up"? I wish we would have had the video camera, it was really funny.

Where has the time gone?

Well, here we are half way through October and I have not updated in quite a while. We have had a great start to school and seem to be back into a routine at night. My kids have been in bed 90% of the time between 8-8:30. It has been really nice! Eric has been home every night at a normal time and it makes for a happy home.

We have "no news" on the adoption front. We are still waiting for our updated medical report and have requested new pictures. I will follow up on this AGAIN by the end of the week if I have not heard anything. I am really excited for my friend Kristi who will be traveling very soon to get her sweet girl. God is good!

In September our family participated in "Race for the Cure". This is something we have done for several years now and always enjoy it once were there. Eric's aunt Linda is a breast cancer survivor and we walk in her honor. It is wonderful how many walk from our church community and I love that we share so many aspects of life together.
We are so thankful for Aunt Linda!

Our church sign, We are Family!




Kaylin turns "10"
I can't believe I have a child that is 10yrs. old. We had a friend birthday party at our home and then we took the girls to Claire's for the last hour of the party. Did you know Claire's offers b-day parties? I didn't either! When I heard about this, I thought it was the best idea ever. Instead of going somewhere and paying for food, party bags, games etc... You buy each girl a $5-10 gift card and they get to go shopping for something they want. It was so easy and the kids had a blast! What 10yr. old girl does not want to shop at Claire's. I really enjoyed being with Kaylin's friends. They are all a lot of fun and made me smile the whole night!






Blake's only find at Claire's...dinosaur fossil. :)

Eric helping the girls shop.


Last weekend we went to the Oregon State Football game in Corvallis. We had a really fun time and it was the kids first time to be at a college game. My sister is a Junior at OSU and we met our family at her place. They have such a beautiful campus, lots of trees and neat old buildings. It was much different than the small christian college I went to. The Beavers won, and fun was had by all!
Sister Kayla and Kaylin before the game.


Blake and Eli-Best Buddies!




My dear friend Stephanie.

Congratulations to....

my dear friend Amy and her husband Clint. They just received their referral for a precious 5 month old little boy from India. We rejoice with them and can't wait until little Simeon is in their arms.

First day of school and Vjay

We are off to a good start with school. Kaylin loves her new teacher who is a man. I am excited for her to experience having a male teacher. My first male teacher was in 4th grade and he was my favorite. Blake started school yesterday and also had a great time. He is in a pre-k class with his best buddy Eli. The two of them pretty much think they own the school and that their job is to "help" the other kids with all they do. We'll see how this goes, his teacher seems to think it will be fabulous to have both him and Eli in the same class...the moms think otherwise.


We had the pleasure of meeting and sharing a meal with Vjay, the lady who runs the SOS orphanage in Delhi, India. She was a riot! When she found out that we were the parents of Aparna, she was so so excited! She kept saying, "Oh, Aparna is my favorite girl, my favorite". You are so lucky to have this girl in your home. It sounded like Adia pretty much runs the place and gets away with anything. She shared all kinds of stories with us and continually told us how great she was. She also told us that she was quite strong willed. Great, she will fit right in! We also met several other families who either were in process or already had their kids home. I left feeling revived and so full of emotion, my heart aches for Adia to be home! :) What a blessing tonight was for our family. I am so thankful we had this opportunity to meet the closest person to Adia...she said she holds her everyday and that makes me smile. :)