One Dirty Weekend!

I don't really consider myself a "girly"girl...but I do prefer dresses over jeans! I've always been the type who can dress up or down, and I can get dirty with the best of them. Well, this weekend was all about the DIRT!

Kelly and Asa have been riding dirt bikes together for a couple of years now. They usually go camping at a motorcross campsite called "Durhamtown" a few times a year. This time Kelly wanted to take the girls with them! I've done my share of camping, and I really don't mind it. I just wasn't sure what to expect with this trip. It turned out to be one of the best weekends ever! Lots more fun than I expected! We were suppose to stay in a cabin the size of a large closet, but the first night we got upgraded to "Green Acres"....we even had our own bathroom in it..WOW! The second night, we had to move to our very tiny cabin. No bathroom...just bunk beds and a space heater! I can't say that I really minded it! The entire weekend was spent outside. The boys rode their dirt bikes over and over. When Asa first started riding with Kelly he had training wheels on his bike, but this time he was all on his own. They started riding early in the morning and wouldn't stop til dark! It was so sweet to see Kelly and Asa spending time like this together. I could tell how proud Kelly was of Asa, and to see that he just loved being there making memories with him. Iris and I loved sitting by the campfire and cooking S'mores, playing Corn Hole, or taking Pixie for walks. There was no TV, no phone, no nothing...which I LOVED! I didn't even see one person with their IPhone out...Yay! I got to wear sweatpants the entire time, and NO makeup! I love that kind of vacation!

Can't wait to take this trip again!

Cross Country Fun

Iris-Anne ran Cross Country for BBS this year and she did a great job(her best time was 1 mile in 8min33sec.) I am so impressed with how well all of the kids did and it was really sweet to see them support each other! Looking forward to Track in the Spring!

Sweet prayer time before their meet!

Fort Mountain Picnic

Every year our family goes to Fort Mountain for a picnic. We eat lots of good food and then we go on a hike to try and walk off
some of those calories!!! Iris and Asa love getting together with their cousins...they all play together so well!
This is a great way to kick off "Fall"!!

Busy Weekend!

This was a weekend full of fun stuff!

Asa lost his first top tooth(which looks super cute), he had his first soccer game, we had a yard sale to raise $$$ for our adoption, and we took the kids to their first Braves game! We even took the kids to a late night dinner at Waffle House after the game...I don't think we have ever eaten dinner that late..9pm!!!

Even though we had a great time...I'm looking forward to having a day of doing NOTHING!

Loookouts Game

Every Summer we go to atleast one Lookouts game. It's really nice because it's close to home and there isn't a huge crowd.
We enjoy watching the game, but the kids like meeting the characters most of all!

Lots of fun!

It Feels "Real"!

Ever since we were approved by immigration a couple of weeks ago I have been trying to get everything together for our dossier. We have had to update our physicals and a lot of other papers that have been prepared....but expired because we have been waiting so long! As I have been finishing up our dossier this adoption is finally feeling "real". It truly feels like when you find out you're pregnant. Doing all of this paperwork is what it was like when Kelly and I would talk about having kids and just preparing ourselves for when it did happen and now that our dossier is about to be sent to Ethiopia it feels like when you go to see your doctor and they tell you that you're expecting. The next year will feel like it did when Iris or Asa were growing in my tummy...so much anticipation. You picture how they will look, think about what you will name them, imagine how it will feel to hold and kiss them. This is how I feel about our child in Ethiopia right now.

In my heart I knew all along that God had called us to adopt, but I still had my doubts that it was really going to happen. One door after another has been closed to us throughout this entire process, but then God revealed to us even more each time a door was opened that this was definitely what He has called us to do. I never pray for this adoption to "happen"...I have always prayed that God would just continue to make it clear what we were suppose to do...and He has. Even though we still have a long way to go to get our referral(the wait could be up to 15 months), I truly feel that our child is in Ethiopia waiting on us. I get butterflies just thinking about him/her. I try to imagine the first time I will see their face and I just know that it IS going to happen. At times I feel guilty for doubting God, but we all do sometimes. In the end we just get to learn how AWESOME He really is and how amazing his love for us is. I feel so blessed to be able to experience this journey of adoption...good and bad. When I get to put my arms around my child I know every bad memory of the tedious paperwork we had to do will disappear and all the struggling to raise money won't be a thought in my mind...kind of like the way we forget the pain of labor the moment we lay eyes on our baby! It's all so worth it!

Snaggle Tooth!

Asa finally lost his first tooth! Iris was only 5 when she lost her first tooth...and Asa is 6...so he has been wanting this to happen for a while! I was a little sad though because he happened to be at a sleepover at his friend Derek's house when he pulled it. Derek's mom called me that night and told me it had happened and then the next morning I found out both boys pulled their teeth that night(I think there was a little competition involved). Boys are so funny! This is one memory I'm sure Asa will never forget...losing his first tooth w/ his buddy Derek at his first sleepover! The Tooth Fairy came that night to the sleepover and left glitter everywhere and a note that said she would visit both boys the next night when they were both in their own beds! So that next night the Tooth Fairy did visit and leave a special treat in Asa's tooth pillow!

Finally!

Today we received our approval from immigration! It feels like we have been waiting forever for this! The approval was the final piece of paperwork we needed for our dossier. Now once we get all of our dossier put together it gets sent to Ethiopia so we can be put on a wait list for a referral! Lately I have been wondering if this adoption was ever going to happen. I have been praying that God would just reveal to us if this was still what he wanted in our lives or if he had other plans for us. Getting this approval just showed me once again that this is God's plan. I couldn't help but get emotional when I opened the letter today...it just made me feel that much closer to bringing my child home. There are days during the adoption process when it just doesn't feel like it's going to happen...and then there are days when you know without a doubt that it WILL happen...this was one of those days! There is still quite a bit of waiting to do...but we are getting closer!

First Day of School!

Well here we are once again...the first day of school. I can't believe how fast Iris and Asa are growing up. Iris is starting 3rd grade and Asa is in 1st. We have been blessed with wonderful teachers once again and I just know they are both going to have a wonderful year. I am missing them terribly right now and I can't wait to pick them up in a few hours. As sad as it makes me to watch them go back to school...it also makes me happy to know that they are surrounded by such loving friends and teachers while they are there.

Great Summer!

Iris and Dad go to golf camp!

Asa gets a buzz cut!

The Pumpkin Patch Playground!

Hank and Asa on the search for Big Foot!

Iris and Asa...the "Rock Stars"

Iris has Summer Olympics at her new gymnastics class!

Pixie's new friend...Bones(they are so cute)

Iris gets bangs!

Brotherly love...doing what Iris wants!

Building forts each day in the living room!








I haven't had a chance to blog this summer since I've been home with the kids and we have been busy moving into our new house. I get sad when Summer Break comes to an end...but I did want to post some of my favorite pics of all the fun we had.

Hope everyone had a wonderful and FUN summer!