Even More Joy to Spread!

We are overjoyed to share some good news! We have accepted the referral of a little girl, soon to become the newest member of our family! We have sent in our paperwork, and still have to wait for China to accept and approve us. Our file has been logged in with the China Center for Adoption Affairs since July 2007, and we have been waiting for news of a child ever since then. She does have a heart condition, so we ask for your prayers for her health as well as quick processing of the paperwork. We don't expect to travel for possibly six months.

Thus far, we do not have a name for her, though Jacob has suggested "Flower". She is 17 months old and resides in Nanchang City, Jiangxi province. It is the light beige area on the south eastern portion of the map. Nanchang is the capital of that province. Interestingly, all three of our children will come from adjacent provinces.

First days of school

We've begun home school again for the fall, and alas, I've decided to keep Jacob home and do pre-K work with him myself. He seems to really be enjoying sharing the "privilege" Merrilee has in doing schoolwork with Mom. He's learning to wait quietly when I'm working with her, and he's trying hard to follow directions. So far, so good. Here are just a few photos of our mornings.

Need a Giggle?

I ran across a blog today that had me laughing out loud during the kids' nap time. If you really need a good belly laugh and have a half-hour to spare, check out http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ . Just enjoy each cake for the unique, miserable creation it is, and then giggle over the commentary that follows. By the time I got to the earlier posts, I had a stitch in my side and tears in my eyes. I'm so glad these "cake wrecks" happened to other people! Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Not all the cakes and comments on the blog are rated G, so consider yourselves warned.

Sleepers

Sometimes being a kid just frees you up to relax any way and anywhere you want. Don't you wish grown ups could zonk out so easily and freely?

Birthday Weekend

Well, to quote Merrilee "That was the best birthday I ever had!" I turned 43 on Sunday and we spent the weekend in North Carolina. We packed more into one weekend then I think we ever have in an entire week-long vacation! The weather held out great, considering the pop-up tropical storm, Cristobal, that came out of nowhere on Saturday. It made for big waves at the shore when we went to Topsail Beach, but that didn't stop the kids and I from braving the rough surf. We took our dunks in stride and enjoyed the body surfing.

In contrast, the kids enjoyed swimming in the New River at the marina where the waves were non-existent. We just kept watch for the American Alligators that hang out in those parts. Didn't see any, though. Too bad...the kids were kinda hoping to have to out run one.

On Sunday we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then Jay asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I had thought about it ahead of time, so I think I caught him off guard when I said I wanted to go roller skating. But he came through like a hero, called a friend and found us the roller rink called Wheel Fun! It was so fun showing the kids how we used to rent skates and spend our time when we were in our teens. It has been thirty years since I skated! Despite all the bumps and falls, the kids loved it and didn't want to go home when I asked them if they'd had enough. They managed to keep it up for nearly two hours. We had a blast. And I have to say...Jay was quite Da Man on the floor! I didn't know he had it in him! Ladies, if you've gotten to the point of ho hum with your man, take him roller skating and see what you might be missing!

After we wore ourselves out skating, we went to the arcade in the lobby of Wheel Fun! I'm not an arcade person; I cannot stand the stress of video games, especially the kind Jay likes to play. I had to get away when Merrilee was playing one of those driving games; she was all over the place running down pedestrians and going the wrong way on the highway. I was getting way too strung out and was nearly hollering for her to "Turn the wheel, turn the wheel! Look out for that guy!" while Jay was holding her accelerator down and paying no attention to her, as he helped Jacob with his game. I was freaking out because she was going too fast and I didn't even realize she wasn't using the pedals because her legs were too short. It was awful. I was so glad when we switched to dunking basketballs. Whew, so much more relaxing.

We restored our spent energy with a chocolate cake/vanilla ice cream layer cake. It was a marvelous birthday and I think Merrilee can speak for all of us in saying it really was "The best birthday I ever had".

Pirates

Jacob loves pirates. Don't know what it is about these "bad guys" that's appealing to boys, but it is what it is. He got a new Playmobil set and he's nuts over it.

Busy Summer

Introducing the new CO....

Jay's Change of Command ceremony was June 26th, and the kids and I drove down to NC to be a part of Jay's day. The weather was hot, but there was a decent breeze out on the tarmac, fortunately. The outgoing CO and his wife planned a wonderful reception following the ceremony at the Officer's Club, and everyone had a joyful time. Jay had some family members drive all the way down from Indiana, and to say we felt blessed by it is an understatement. That's a long trip, and we were honored that so many people loved us enough to share that special day with us.

We stayed in NC for just a few days and then headed on down to SC to visit my folks. It was a great week. The kids got to go to the pool nearly every day; Mom and I shopped; we ate the best home-cooked food; and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with my nephew and some family friends.

We came home on July 2 and are still trying to get back into a regular routine. Between Jacob's Tae Kwon Do and Merrilee's gymnastics, it feels like we're going all the time. I'm starting to look forward to school just to get us on a schedule again.

We still have VBS to get through at the end of the month. I'm volunteering as preschool director for the first time. We'll see how that goes. I may need a vacation from vacation Bible school after it's all over!

Hope all of you are having fun and enjoying your summer.