Please forgive us for the LONG lapse in blog posts! We've been busy enjoying our summer with Jake and Sarah. Sarah arrived at the beginning of June and Jake came July 1st, due to some commitments at home. The five kids together is always a special sight...they just meld right back into being a family!
Our summer life at home has been simple and sweet. We find ways to cool off, such as using the hose on the trampoline or making these "ice eggs" with small toys frozen inside. We did this activity with our friends the Bales - all seven boys enjoyed it immensely!
Joe is quite the hambone. He amazes us with his antics...trying so hard to keep up with the big boys. In the last month he has learned to really JUMP on the trampoline, and it is just the cutest thing!
(By the way...he is the one who put the super hero arm bands on his legs!)
Joe also makes us laugh as he speeds around on his little motorcycle. He is quite adept at going forward and backward!
His hair was getting a bit shaggy, so we gave him a summer time hair cut!
We've had a few summer monsoon storms to break up the monotony of hot and sunny! Josh captured this photo during one particularly beautiful night time storm.
We love when all five kids jump on the trampoline together...such a group!
Big news for Jack is that he has now lost FOUR teeth! He lost his top two within 24 hours and has the cutest lisp!
Joe also loves to wear the army helmet around and pretend to be a soldier.
We took a trip downtown to show Jake and Sarah a bit of "the strip". It was NOT a great experience. It is better just to drive down Las Vegas Blvd in your car, rather than be in the middle of outrageous things on Fremont Street. But the boys did like this limo! (Jack was given a pair of hand-me-down cowboy boots by friends of ours and he wants to wear them EVERYWHERE! I guess they fit in here!)
We did enjoy having a cold treat at Rita's on the way home! Ahh...Rita's!
Before Jake arrived, we took a one-night camping trip to Mt. Charleston. The campgrounds were full, so we just camped out in the dispersal area. It was great! (Okay...Sarah was not a big fan, but the boys LOVED IT!)
It was so beautiful...and so much cooler! Only a 40 minute drive from our house and we hit temperatures in the 70s during the day and 50s at night! Beautiful!
The dispersal area did not allow campfires, so we had to cook our S'mores over our gas stove. The kids did not mind a bit!
This was Sarah for most of the trip. Engrossed in her book. She is a reading maniac!
Once Jake arrived, we headed in a different direction to explore some natural beauty. We took a 2-day mini-vacation to southern Utah to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary!
We all really love the natural beauty of Utah. We saw some national parks/monuments - but our favorite stops were just getting out of the car to explore some green beauty!
(Isn't this the best awkward family photo???!!)
All three boys were desperate to take their shoes off and run in the green grass!!
The wildflower bouquet my wonderful husband collected for me!
Josh found a snake sleeping and picked it up. (After checking to make sure there was no rattle!)
The Natural Bridge at Bryce Canyon
We fell in love with Utah.
Not just because of its beauty, but because our lives were changed forever while we were there.
We also fell in love with a little boy across the ocean. We read his story online while in a hotel in Panguitch, Utah. Toby.
Toby has Celiac Disease and is in an orphanage for special needs children in Eastern Europe. He desperately longs for a family.
We are going to be that family.
After much prayer and family discussion, we unanimously decided to pursue the adoption of Toby.
We are hurrying to get things done as quickly as possible, because Toby is scheduled to transfer to a much rougher institution in August.
Please join us in praying for Toby and for everything in this process to be done quickly!
We are beginning to raise funds to bring Toby home. Right now we have two ways to do this.
We've set up a YouCaring site for donations. These donations will be used to cover some of the enormous up-front costs to get the paperwork done quickly.
There is also a family page created on Reece's Rainbow, the wonderful organization that draws attention to the plight of special needs orphans around the world. Donations to Reece's Rainbow will go directly to our adoption fund to be used at the final stages of this journey, and they are tax deductible.
We love Toby so much already. We are so grateful that we were chosen to be his forever family. And that it all happened while enjoying family time in the beauty of Utah. Jake and Sarah have a huge part in this, which they might not have had this happened any other time.
Thank you for your prayers for us! We look forward to expanding our family and sharing more news with you. We have about a month left with Jake and Sarah and plan to enjoy it to the fullest!
3 comments:
Have to say the scenery was beautiful in all the pictures but the hearts that chose to step away from normal comfort and allow Toby a family are the most beautiful of all. Have to crack up at the baby pass off over the creek between Jake and Josh...such precious pics. Good memories. You will have to do a redo once Toby gets there!! Grammy LOVES you all and even TOBY already!!!
Love this summer update. Such beautiful scenery and shots of the kids all together, minus one of course!
What an exciting adventure God is taking you on. I pray that all the finances will come in and Toby will soon be a part of your home.
Love and blessings,
Cheryl
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