Summer Fun

Yesterday the weather was beautiful so I decided it was check out a new park! It is new for us. So, we grabbed some pre-made subs packed up the van and off we went. The park is actually less than 5 miles from our house. As we parked the van we heard the chanting and music of Native Americans. Wondering what we had stumbled upon we kept on heading into the park. There was a circle of NA's playing their drums and chanting. It looked to be about 3 generations of people. We continued on, found our picnic table and sat down to eat and listen in on the music. I found it haunting and lovely. After we ate we took a walk, found an old cemetery, stopped read the head stones and continued our walk. It was a very peaceful time. After our walk we let the "children" play on the playground then headed home. Our days for enjoying these family times are changing. Kinda sad, but I am creating memories that I hold near and dear in my heart:)

Here are some photos. Arielle played around with several shots and had fun. I think it will take two posts to get the best ones in.

Happy 3rd Birtthday Shoshannah

Yesterday was a busy, fun day for Shoshannah. In the morning we had playdate with a new friend. They didn't know it was Shoshannah's birthday, but Charity had made Zuchinni muffins, so they added a little icing and candle, and instant birthday cake! It was a very sweet time and I think the girl did very well together. I look forward to hosting them next month. Shoshannah's new friend loves to play with "My little Pony" well, I remarked we don't have any of those. Well, we come home and hanging on the door is a birthday present for Shoshannah. We open it and what do you think it was?? Yes, two My little Ponies and this really cute Chatter Ladybug. Our friends the Dalton's had dropped the gift by. Ty and Logan picked out the little ponies for Shoshannah. This a precious family that God has blessed with 5 boys. During our adoption process they prayed for Shoshannah and the boys were so excited when she came home to us. Just a side note, they are expecting a new little blessing and while we want God's will we are praying PINK, for this family:)
Then it was time for birthday dinner, so we gave Shoshannah a choice of pizza or hamburger and french fries. She chose hamburger and french fries. And being her daddy's girl, the place was MacDonalds. She ate then ran Danielle ragged in the playplace.
We came home to cake and presents. She loved everything!
I want to add that the blanket you see in the video was made by Arielle with a little help from Danielle.
We are so blessed with this little angel. We love you Shoshannah! I have to edit some pictures and will post them later.

The Call...

Love that Face!

Two years ago today we received the call that changed our family forever. As an adoptive family you work many hours filing paper work, scheduling appointments, attending classes, PRAYING and mostly WAITING. And in our case waiting and waiting some more. But finally that calls comes in telling you that you have a new child. We receieved our call about 10am on August 1, 2006 telling us that we had a new baby girl to add to our family. She lived in Chongqing, China, her name was Yu Lan Jiang and her birthday was August 4, 2005. The joy and tears flowed. The following day on August 2, we went to our local Bethany office to recieve our pictures. What a beauty she was and what a beauty she still is.. We are blessed.

Thank you Lord that you found us worthy of having this child placed in our family.

Yours...

Steven Curtis Chapman has released a new version of his song Yours.A new verse has been added since Marie went home to be with Jesus. The words of the song are true and I believe them and can sing them with all my heart. But I wonder would my faith hold and would I sing these same words with strong conviction should Christ ask me to give up something that I truly cherish, like one of my children.

Little Miss Spider

Little Miss Spider books have been a favorite of Shoshannah's since we brought her home. Many of the books she can quote parts of the story. Well, on Tuesday our library had a visit from Little Miss Spider so we took Shoshannah. It was a cute time. They read a couple of books, sang some songs, had a puppet show and then a spider craft. Shoshannah participated in all the activities, but after a while I could tell that all the noise and people were beginning to get to her. So thankfully Miss Spider made her appearance. I had the camera ready, Arielle and Danielle were right there with her ready to snatch her up should she panic. But no, she went right up hugged Miss Spider and had to be made to come away. YEAH!

Another Milestone...

On July 16th, Andrew turned 18 years old. According to the world he is an adult. But to me he will always be my baby boy. This year Andrew decided he wanted to have some friends over for a cookout and then they would all head out to see " The Dark Knight"The party took place Friday night.
I let Andrew plan his menu and this is what he chose: Grilled Hamburgers and Sausage, Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Chips, Cheese Balls with Crackers, Grilled onions and peppers, watermelon, baked beans, veggie tray (Mom's input) and four layer chocolate pie. So that's what we had. Well of the 9 people who RSVP'd yes only 4 showed up. So guess what my family is eating for the rest of the week:). The young people who showed up were a blessing and I think they all had a good time. Only the guys headed to the movies, Heather bailed out. I think she was smart!!
Andrew, has grown into an awesome young man. He loves the Lord and his family and friends. He has claimed the Faith as his own and this one fact gives me the greatest joy. So to my smart,funny,sweet young man, know that I love you and look forward to watching you grow in your relationship with the Lord. I am so excited about what the future holds for you.

Together Again

We have had the honor to host the Brackett Family for the past couple of day.(Eric we missed you). Ava and Shoshannah had lots of fun playing together and seemed to bond so sweetly. They carried on many a conversation and we tried to listen in but as soon as they knew they were being observed they stopped talking. Christopher and Danielle enjoyed getting to know each other. I had a wonderful time talking with Conway. We covered so many topics, but I think we need more time to go deeper in those conversations! They are truly a sweet family.Here are some photos. The only problem I had was getting the girls to look at the camera at the same time.