Rock Star

Our birth mom is SO COOL. She stopped by on her motorcycle yesterday! All male members of this household were practically drooling over that piece of machinery. Just when I thought she couldn't climb any higher in the cool factor, she continues to climb. I think she officially reached Rock Star status in this house especially when we watched her drive away... Now Ryan thinks he needs one.

It's a girl!

Our sweet friend who was considering an adoption plan for her baby contacted us a week and a half ago to let us know that we would be the family for her baby! After tears and bouncing around and lots of hugs between Ryan and I, we drafted our reply.

Thank you. Thank you for trusting in us and for allowing us this opportunity. Thank you for being such a special part of our family.

We just feel so blessed. She really is the most special woman. Everytime I think of her, I feel like she is an angel. I know I am just getting more and more gushy, but that is honestly how I feel. She is just so special.

Tonight she dropped by to tell us the results of the ultrasound. As you can already tell, our best Christmas present ever will be pink! YAHOO! And our cute, cute expecting mom presented it in the most exciting way with two adorable outfits!

We love her to bits. Did I mention how fantastic she is? Well, she's pretty fantastic.

Exploring WA

My attempt at a weekly summer schedule has the kids and I exploring Washington once a week. We have plenty to explore. I'm hoping by the end of the summer we have seen the rain forest, mt st helens, and the troll under the bridge in Seattle.

So far we took Grandma and Auntie along with us when we hiked about 45 minutes at Rattlesnake Ridge.

Tonight's View

It's been a BEAUTIFUL night at our home in more ways than one. (See the faint second rainbow?)

It's nights like these when your heart skips a beat and you are so grateful for all of life's blessings. so grateful.

5 days of SW Summer

We just returned from our trip to visit family. One of Ryan's favorite childhood memories includes spending the summer at the pool just feet from his home. This year we were happy to warm up and relax at the pool to kick off our summer vacation.

Gracie and Tanner with a thumbs up before heading off the diving board. Braden is in the background looking admirably at the high dive which we noticed him attempting in just enough time to make sure Ryan was there to assist in the landing (just in case).

And what one does (Braden), the others do too (Gracie)...

The pool was a HIT! We couldn't get enough.

We also went to the mountains where Ryan learned to fish. Las Conchas is where Ryan took me when I first visited his home in 1997! We hiked the same path this time with our kids and Steve & Becky's family while fishing along the way.

These crazy teenagers cliff jump into that pool of water. It looks like suicide from below but it's actually got a pretty deep pool below them. I still don't know if I would ever do it. I'm pretty sure most of these kids were drunk.

We also stopped to visit Grandma before we left town. We helped Grandpa edge around the headstone and clean the dirt from the engravings while we talked about how much we love and miss Grandma. (It was really bright. Lots of squinty eyes...)

Now we need to get into our real summer routine. Tomorrow we might explore Washington...

Major events

It's the last week of school around here. That means crazy schedule and lots of exciting events. This week's highlights have been making a sweet, new friend who is considering making an adoption plan, and Gracie's Variety Show. While this week has been busy, it's been a VERY happy one.

Last week Gracie decided to audition for the school variety show with her friends. They had a limited number of talents (18) that could be showcased in an hour and they had over 40 participants audition! We were thrilled when Gracie found out she was invited to participate (last Friday). On Saturday we went shopping and created the coordinating wardrobes. Gracie strung beads and made matching bracelets for the girls. Here's the number that they created in two week's worth of recesses! (Gracie is wearing green.)

Camping at Fishhook

We just got back from our annual Memorial Day camping trip. This year's spot was at a park called Fishhook. We had a fantastic time relaxing and enjoying the outdoors together with my family.

Rolling down the hillside:

Watching the TRAINS mosey by as they flattened our coins:

And letting everyone (including Penny) run wild.

Now back to real-life and SHOWERS.

For this child I prayed

I saw this in a church bookstore catalog and loved everything about it. I love the title, the picture, the emotion, etc.

I'm praying today.

Prima Ballerina

Gracie's recital was Saturday. It was the crowning jewel on an exciting girl's day. The boys had gone camping overnight Friday night for Father's and Son's campout so Gracie and I lived it up. We woke early Saturday morning and went to breakfast with our neighbors who were also boy-less. On the way home we stopped at the nail salon and got our nails done!

I digress...

So here's a few photos until I can get some sleep and add a few more. Enjoy!

(second from the left)

Look at those beautiful blades (drill team hands)! *I'm so proud.*

the State

Waiting for an adoption situation has played with my lack of patience, so Ryan and I began exploring other options. We decided to look into the State's Foster to Adopt program and started by talking to my aunt who is a great example of love. Aunt Debbie has adopted 7 of her 12 children through the State's foster to adopt program! Talk about an expert.

She had so many great things to say about the program and brought to light a bunch of things I had never considered or thought about. It got me excited, so...tomorrow we will attend our first orientation meeting. I've learned that there are two orientations for this program. What I'm most excited about is that we will be actively doing something to find our family member(s). As far as I'm concerned it will only be more blessings from here.

I keep thinking back to the feelings that touched my heart when we were first talking about adoption. I know that there is a child who is meant to be with us. I know that it will eventually happen. I just wish I knew how and when....

Oh- and we moved Tanner and Braden into a room together. They now happily share a bunk bed which freed a room for our next family member. Now the question is what color will the walls need to be painted?