Grateful Edition:August 2012

Norman family. Color! Adult adoptees sharing their story. Insight. Jon. Merkato conversations. Beth and Zach. Date with Micah. Sleeping in. Coming home. Possibilities. Easy dinners. Malara M... Forgiveness. Hiking around with Shelly and the boys. M on the pedal bike. Finishing the chair. Pizza with Blombergs. Date with M. Cider and Bagels with Nutella. A walk home and the conversation. Special date day with M. Jon and Micah coming home. Breakfast with Becky and being able to pick up where we left off. Check for malaria. A quiet moment. Making cookies with M. Another day with Micah and the little man. Friendship that survives distance. Chatting with Lisa. Turtle rock coffee. A walk with M. Camping. A walk with my family. Too many reuseable bags that offer help. A moment to breath deeply. Colleen. Being able to just give and get a hug without having to pass any words along. The words of students. Getting things scheduled finally. Peter and Kelli. The end of the week. Colleen. Sunshine. Reading with the little man. Kelli. A little time. Colleen - my old same. Mike and Melissa returning to 519. Honest conversations and grace. Jon. Miss Taylor. The little man's words of comfort for this aching heart. Linford clan. Zebra cakes and waterproof mascara.

Our Summer Projects

With grad school and extended work hours, we tried to take it a little easier this year on summer house projects. Our work kept us outdoors, which was enjoyable since winter can sometimes last 9 months. These were projects where we could all help out too (not much help can come from the little man on the previous projects unless it had to do with destruction).

We landscaped the front corner to eliminate some grass and fill in around the Little man's tree.

We had the driveway widened and repoured. Once it was finished we landscaped the patch of yard next to it. M even has a little garden growing onions and garlic.

After putting in the dog kennel we took out some more grass so we could landscape and add a path from the patio to the kennel. We also stained the fence this summer.

Kindergarten Screening

The little man is clearly incredibly excited for Kindergarten. I on the other hand keep having moments where I feel like I am going to fall apart if some mentions it one more time. You should probably pray that I don't hold him captive in our home until he is 52.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

After waking up and finding Micah gone:
"Where's Aba?"
          "He is hunting antelope."
"He's hunting cantaloupe!?"

Taking the King for a Walk

School Supplies!

We headed out for a date since Aba was still in the mountains fishing with Uncle Jon. The little man was ecstatic to pick up school supplies and check things off the list. He is counting down the days until he gets to go to school (ugh) and to celebrate we finished up our special time together with a lunch date that included a scoop of icecream and caramel sauce (a first for M). Someone better meet me with a scoop after I drop him off on the first day. Just saying. 

Kids Say the Darndest Things

While out for a walk: 
"I want to marry you mama."
"Oh, that's nice sweetie, but I'm already married to Aba."
"Well now I'm very sad."
"Well I am sorry honey. What do you think it means to marry someone?"
"It means you get to keep them forever."

Sitting down for a lunch date:

"You know what I'm thinking about right now? "

"What are you thinking about?"

"That lady was right. You do have German legs, and they are pretty!"

Strider Testimony

Headed up to Box Canyon with some friends. M. wanted to try out his buddy's pedal bike. I thought for sure that there would be a few moments of wavering. He proved me wrong and on the second lap was even standing up while pedaling. So proud of him!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

After finally being able to open the back door by himself:
"Hey! Double thumbs up! I did it!"

At bedtime:

"Do you think it would be good for people to only eat grass?"

"I don't know for sure."

"Do you think if someone helps me, I can come back after I die?"

"I don't know about that either."

"Why don't you know?"

"Some questions I don't know the answer to sweetie."

"Well, how about this one - is the sky blue? "

Why I Love My Husband...

I set a goal for myself to only ride my bike for the entire month of August. The next day my bike had a flat tire and it wasn't shifting properly. Micah crawled out of bed, did a little research and spent the next 30 minutes fixing my bike so I could ride it to work. What a helpful guy!

Adoption Camp

We've spent the past four days participating in the African Carribean Heritage Adoption camp in Denver. It has been a wonderful experience for our family, and without a doubt a huge highlight in the little man's life. He has loved getting to meet friends from all over and being able to spend lots of quality time with his little buddy from Cheyenne.

There is a lot more that I would like to share regarding this camp: the theme, the activities for kids, the sessions for parents, what it means for us as a family. However, there is still a lot of processing going on so that might have to come at a later date.