a day at the fair

we had a great day at the fair a couple of weeks ago. a hot midwest day, hazy heat pounded our bodies while we filled our tummies with soda, kettle corn, hot dogs, corn on the cob and later...stomach pains. dave and toby rode lots of rides (i think the scary reality is that they might fall down!) and laughed all the way down the mouse trap ride...dave had no idea that those little cars spin around and around...really fast! it was VERY funny to watch! i dragged everyone into the horse barn and made dave walk "all the way across the street" with dragging feet and a lot of eye rolling to see the baby pigs. i still think they were worth it...so cute and made me really glad i am not a mother pig. those piglets are aggressive eaters! see, there is always something to be grateful for!

on an island in the sun, we'll be playin' and havin' fun

maine '07

crazy long car trip!
salty breeze
swimming
hiking
canoeing
campfire and smores
tents
cabin...ants, giant mosquitoes
windswept
reading (whenever you can!)
family
bar harbor for ice cream
pilgrim inn with dave
sand beach
grasshopper shop
the rock on hamilton shore that looks like a lobster boat
huge crabs, starfish, hermit crabs, seals, seagulls
stinky rock
our island adventure with the kids and the canoe
freeport with the goges
playing in the mud with toby
blueberry muffins
cocktails by the sea
joshua's new found love for soccer
a beautiful moonrise


what i really love about maine is that it never really changes. the same big rocks line the shoreline today as they did when i was a little girl. the cottages remain the same too, for better or worse, with the same smells and perhaps generations of rodents and mosquitoes too. in maine i get a brief chance to reflect on my life...how much i have grown and changed over the years...there is a time for thoughtfulness there...and no time or even opportunity for internet distractions:) i can become a child again sharing all the secrets with my little guys about where to find the biggest crabs, how to skip rocks, play uno, read through a rainy day, take long walks on the beach, find seaglass, and not slip on the seaweed. it was a great trip...i have already forgotten the car ride there and back...

giving thanks

summer smiles with my favorite boys

garden hose and plastic pool= hours of fun

thank you, God, for my beautiful family... both here and in Africa.

jumpin' in

so here we are. not even three months home. we are all stuck together like grilled cheese--ooey, gooey in love. Joshua keeps us all on our toes and delights us with his hilarious "drunk eyes" and crazy expressions. He loves to say, "Hi" to us and is constantly making us laugh out loud. He likes this funny song that toby and i sing to him and he fills in the "yeah" part with full body exhuberance everytime.

the boys are having a great summer--swimming, hiking, zoo trips, swings, pony rides and sitting in the cheap little plasic pool in the yard. we are off to maine soon and hope joshua will breathe deep the salty air and forever be hooked like the rest of us. not sure he will want to brave the water with me and toby but i will do my best to get him in the ocean. we all know, dave will not be out there swimming. he protests every year.

i can't believe how much toby has grown...traveling to Ethiopia, turning five, becoming a big brother...he is such an amazing kid. he has thoroughly enjoyed his summer at the park pool--learning how to swim by simply jumping in the water, letting himself touch the bottom with his toes and then floating back up. (there is a little bit of a lesson there...are you feelin' it?) jump in. enjoy the ride.

i love this picture of my guys. toby is pretty sick of my camera at this point in his life so he is very likely to turn his head or make a goofy face just to see me get flustered...but joshua, well, he just looks right at me with those great big eyes, so happy with his big brother at his side. how can i not take a little snap?

woohoo!

i am absolutely delighted to say that Joshua has gained 5 pounds in the last two months! His pediatrician was amazed at his progress and confident that he will catch up soon. He has even made it on the American baby charts! A happy day indeed! He is such a fighter and such a sweet guy.

everytime i think of you, i smile for awhile--dan zanes

brothers.

these guys are hilarious playmates. and when the going gets tough with feeding joshua babyfood...big brother can shovel mashed peas into little brother's mouth like a pro! When i need someone to keep the baby awake in the car...toby is there to make his brother laugh and sometimes cry:) toby comes downstairs each morning with a huge grin after seeing his long awaited brother. although it's six in the morning...it still makes my heart glad.

when we first met joshua, i was nervous and a little reserved not wanting to freak this little guy out...not toby, he was jumping around us in a circle shouting, "I love you, I love you!" over and over again. it was a beautiful reminder to us to live and love freely.

home

He is finally here. i am not even sure i believe it, even though we have been home almost two months now. What a long journey to this baby. We began in late 2004 in South Africa. After over a year of waiting and fighting current adoption policies...we felt led to pursue our son in Ethiopia. There were/are children there that are waiting...and a government that wants to place these little ones in loving families. We had to start the adoption process over, from scratch, in order to meet requirements for Ethiopia. I believe we filled out the initial application this month last year. We began again wounded and broken. We lost a dream or two in the process and felt shaky and afraid that this pursuit might lead us to more pain and frustration. But it didn't. The faithfulness of our loving Father carried us through. The months went by, slowly but somehow, through some generous act of God's grace, we held on. and somehow all this pain has only caused us to love Jesus more...to gain a slightly bigger understanding of his pursuit of us, his children, in an evil, unpredictable, deprived world.

Joshua' s Ethiopia name, Tariku, means, "God's story." When David and i heard that we couldn't believe it...our lives, our stories, His story woven together by a good and loving God. While traveling in Addis, i was often awestruck by the intense poverty we saw and yet in the midst of every rock pile and dusting roadside there always seemed to be a flower blooming, standing tall out of the rubble. The people that we met there had surely endured things we will only read about (if we are lucky) and yet their faith and love for God and the poor was the foundation of who they are.

When we came home Joshua had projectile diarrhea...i am not kidding, it shot out of his bum across the room early one morning...it was amazing. This was no isolated incident...he exploded up his back many times and even made it into his hair on several occasions. Bath time seemed to be at 3am and 7am every day for many weeks. it was a rough and stinky start to our new family. me in my glasses (not the mommy anyone wants to see!) with poop all over constantly changing my shirt and washing my hands, a crying baby unable to stay sweet smelling for more than an hour, hungry, confused, still living on Africa time...it was a hard go. but looking back, i am again reminded of God's pursuit of me...His faithful love for me even though i smell like crap in my sin, even though i am cranked and angry at my circumstances however blessed they may be...he loves me anyway. he calls me into his presence. he longs for me to find joy in him and peace with him. he runs to me, to meet me, to embrace me--despite my stinky sin.

family of four. Toby and Joshua are incredible people. i feel so blessed to be able to parent them. so thankful for God's hand in placing them in our family. they are the coolest, funniest little guys i know...full of laughter, love and sometimes poop.