June '08 Update Photos

A little later than usual, but here they are:


Josephine again looking bigger! Elijah looking cute - even in a pink t-shirt. :) It's nice to see them outdoors getting some fresh air. I can't wait to get ahold of them, and see some great big smiles on their faces again!

Flights are booked, appointment has been made at the USCIS, have paperwork to take with me ready to be notarized, and I've got lists in progress (shopping, packing, to-do), and yet hotel reservations to be made when I find out who else will be traveling.

(PS - scroll down too - I've posted several things in the last few days - must be the excitement of the trip!)

My flights are booked!

I got them purchased today. Yikes they're pricey! (Although I think about the same as the last time we went if I remember right.) I can't believe I'm going. It's TOTALLY worth it to see our babies again.

I'm flying out of PAP the day before the rest of the group. If any of you out there are doing the same, I'd love to have travel mate. Also, it sounds like Cate will let us know when she knows who all is going - so we can work on hotel plans too. I'll be staying one night in MIA on the way there, but on the way back, flying straight home.

Now, the paperwork and packing begin! ...

Please continue to pray for IBESR approvals - for me and many others... as well as travel plans/preparations. I'm sure all our insanities could use some peace. Those of you that are fasters, Jodie and I are planning on starting up fasting again tomorrow. I know, it's very short notice - if you can't join us tomorrow, maybe you can another Monday.

For those of you more hi-tech than me...

I'm considering getting a blackberry or smartphone or something of the sort. I currently have the bottom-of-the-line cell phone. You know, the penny one that came with our service plan - just simply works to make phone calls, send text messages, play 1 game, use as an alarm clock.

I'm really wanting it to be able to use the internet when I'm mobile. Don't really care one way or the other about it having a GPS or a camera. I'd mostly use it for emails or checking list-serves I'm on. I'd like the functionality to download/save/upload files to/from the internet or my computer. Don't know for sure what else. Oh yeah - I use USCellular, and don't intent to change to a different provider - that's one of the few that I can go without roaming to the different places we travel to regularly.

Just wanting any helpful hints, tips, suggestions, comments, etc. Do you have one?
If so: What kind? If you were to get a new one, would you get the same kind? Do you like it/certain things about it? Do you not it/certain things about it? And, if you don't mind sharing, what did it cost - both purchase of device and necessary accessories, and monthly service (and what's included)?
If not: What would you want it to do? What kind would you get (if you know enough about it to make an educated decision)?

New Pictures from Haiti

We still haven't gotten our official updated photos - apparently there have been storms in Haiti, causing the already-inconsistent internet to be even more temperamental. But, a family that recently returned from Haiti gave us these photos:

Elijah's hair is longer than usual, but he still looks a lot like I remember. Josephine seems to be growing like a weed. Thank you Derek & Kayla!

I should be able to take some of my own good pictures soon! :) Please continue to pray for the preparations for the trip, and for files to be released from IBESR - not only ours but many others!

Haiti Trip

It looks like I might be going to Haiti this summer after all!

I got message from both our director and our coordinator yesterday that our dossiers are very close to being signed out of IBESR - apparently they are on the desk of the IBESR director, awaiting their final signature.  Please pray with me that today is the day we hear that we have IBESR approval!  Apparently there are several other families that are awaiting the good news of IBESR approval.  Please pray that these other families hear good news as well - the waiting is so hard!
 
Our coordinator also sent out an email to a group of us, about a trip in just a few short weeks.  This would be for Embassy appointments for signing their I-600s (an important document to start the US immigration/Visa approval process).  I would also ask prayers for us and the trip organizers in getting the details worked out.  If I go, I'd have to cut it short, as I would need to come back home before the rest of the group.

Attention-seeking, fun learning, the covenant, and an extra cross

Yesterday was a busy, fun, crazy, day.

We started off the day with Kaylen's T-ball game. Her team's assistant coach got paged and had to go - I think she was an EMT as we saw the ambulance go by just a few minutes later. The coach asked the parents for someone to come help him, and Jock of course jumped up right away to help. Well, that turned out to be a disaster. Kaylen's attention-seeking behaviors kicked in, and she could be heard calling for Daddy, hanging on him, crying because the ball didn't come to her or crying because she couldn't stand in a certain space or right next to Daddy. I don't think she paid attention to much of the game at all, and was so distracting that the rest of the team was a little off as well. One of the other fathers even went out to help as well - as he could probably see that it was much needed.

On the way home we had a little talk about "team" sports, and it not being all about her. Goodness - every once in a while this comes out in her. It also is somewhat of a reality check on our part though. It seems things like this happen sometimes when she hasn't had very much time to spend just with us. This past week has been exceptionally crazy in the evenings with her swimming lessons. She's done a good job with it, but did little else than eat a quick supper, take a nap, rest, then go to swimming lessons between daycare and bed. Maybe we'll have to read a few books or something in between the nap and lessons next week. We'll see. I'd like her to have a better day at her final t-ball game next Saturday.

Jock went north to spend the afternoon with some college friends. Kaylen and I decided to go to the pool after her nap. Her progress report from mid-way through swimming lessons showed she needed to work on a few things: paying attention and putting her whole face in the water. So, off we went to practice and also have a little fun. She went down the big kiddie slide a few times, we worked on her floating, and we went down one of the big curly slides together. It was a lot of fun, and I think she's got the "floating with support for 5 seconds" (both the back and the front) down! She'll probably still need the reminder, but I think I gave her a tip for her to remember - if she holds her arms out straight over her head, her ears should be right by her arms - or vice versa! We might go back today to show Daddy her new tricks!

We actually were only at the pool for about an hour. It started raining, and then they spotted lightening off in the distance and cleared the pool. Kaylen didn't understand why we had to get out, and I told her a little bit about electrocution. The storm was still a ways off in the distance, so we went to the snack counter and shared a candy bar. Well, the storm kept getting closer, and Kaylen was sitting there shivering and crying - she was scared we were going to get electrocuted! (Bad idea sharing about the science, mom!) So we went into the locker room (and I had to explain why it was safer there), then we ended up leaving. Since our fun had ended too soon, we decided to go home, shower, and then go out to eat.


On our way out to supper, we got to see the most beautiful sight. It started out as full double rainbows, then the higher one was gone, and then the center of the lower one. I got this picture, but it doesn't quite capture how bright and brilliant it was. How fitting that we read about God's covenant with Noah in Kathy's book tonight (from the front porch, because our electricity was out for about an hour!).

I got a sunburn while at Kaylen's t-ball game. My left arm and shoulder are a bit sore, but not too bad. I did notice last night this other mark that was left on me. I almost always wear one of my cross necklaces. Now I have an extra one - just in case I forget! :)

46 Fast Facts About Me

I got tagged by Jodie. If you're reading this, you're tagged. Either answer on your blog or e-mail me!
(Haven't I done this before? I think this one might be a little different. Oh well - these are fun!)

1. Do you like blue cheese? sometimes

2. Have you ever smoked a cigar? No - and never will. (unless you consider my father-in-law's second-hand - yuck!)

3. Do you own a gun? No but Jock does - a hunting shotgun.

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Never been to Sonic.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Not really.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? They're quick and easy, but don't have them much. They're good for grilling - best if well-charred!

7. Favorite Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th Street.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? In summer: juice or sun tea. In winter: juice or hot chocolate.

9. Can you do push ups? Maybe - probably not.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding/engagement ring

11. What's your favorite hobby? Hmmm... probably blogging :) (I'm addicted)

12. Do you have A.D.D.? No.

13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? Just one? :) Recently been annoyed at my glasses - wanting to get that laser corrective surgery.

14. Middle name? Diane

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? 1)Praying constantly for our babes to get IBESR approval! 2)This game's fun. 3)Kaylen needs to get a move-on!

16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Didn't buy anything yesterday.

17 Name 4 drinks you regularly drink? Only have 3 regulars: water, milk, juice

18. Current worry? Adoption process

19. What do you hate right now? The wait associated with #18 above.

20. Favorite place to be? Goodness, I don't know - I'm no good at choosing favorites.

21. How did you bring in the New Year? Went to the in-laws, but I think we were home by midnight to watch the ball drop on TV - or was that the Eastern Time Zone's new year? Gosh - I'm getting old!

22. Where would you like to go? Haiti, Ireland, Disneyworld with Kaylen

23. Name two people who will complete this? Hmmm... Surprise me!

24. Do you own slippers? Yes

25. What shirt are you wearing? A salmon-colored one - light-weight, short sleeved tee with v-neck

26. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Donno if I've tried them or not - I do like my 400-count cotton sheets.

27. Can you whistle? Yes. Funny fact: my mom couldn't but told us when she was a kid she wished she could, so she'd say "wheet whee-ooh" pretending that she could.

28. Favorite colors? Navy blue, red, black, white

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever's in my head - whatever I heard on my radio alarm - contemporary christian music usually.

31. Favorite girl's name? Kaylen Elise & Josephine Celena, amongst others

32. Favorite boy's name? Elijah Ralph, amongst others

33. What's in your pocket right now? Don't have a pocket right now.

34. Last thing that made you laugh? This article! That's just wierd!

35. Best bed sheets as a child? Sesame Street ones - still have the comforter and a few other pieces of the set. I think those were my only fun ones.

36. Worst injury you've ever had? Not sure - maybe my ectopic - but is that really an injury? Maybe that time my brother thought it'd be fun to see how close he could get his bike tire to my bike tire. Four-years-older, more coordinaged brother + gravel driveway + bare knees = a big pit in my knee after mom dug out all the yuck - still have the scar after twenty-some years.

37. Do you love where you live? Yes.

38. How many TV's do you have in your house? Two

39. Who is your loudest friend? Donno about loud. My most talkative ones are probably Tina and Marie - both teachers :)

40. How many dogs do you have? One - well, he's Jock's. (I'm not much of a pet person.)

41. Does someone have a crush on you? Huh?! My husband I s'pose?

42. What is your favorite book? I gotta go with Jodie - the Bible. But that's really 66 books, right Kathy? Otherwise, don't really have a favorite.

43. What is your favorite candy? Is ice cream candy? I'd take that over candy any day.

44. What song do you want played at your Funeral? May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You (the version from mom's old songbook)

45. What were you doing at midnight last night? Turning off Jon & Kate Plus 8 to go to sleep.

46. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Why is it 6:30 already?! I wanna sleep more!

Swimming Lessons - part 2

Swimming lessons went well last night - the kids were apparently freezing though. Kaylen seemed to have lots of fun, and we're doing it again tonight. I'm enjoying the this quiet time in the evenings to visit with my hubby (although he's now taking a nap as well). However, I'm missing doing stuff with Kaylen - reading, playtime outside, etc. I think she is as well - she asked me both nights if she could play outside while I was fixing her supper - but no, I was fixing a fast one, and will be all week and next. Oh well - it's only two weeks!

Last night she slept about 45 minutes. Tonight she's been sleeping 1:35, and is still out! I guess if that's what she needs - although she didn't even seem overly tired or grouchy this morning! Good surprise to get after your child was up two hours past bedtime at age 5! Hope she's not too energetic to go to back to sleep in a couple hours.

Anyway, Jock took the pictures below last night, and maybe we'll have more later in the week or next week. I'm still doing my usual evening walks with my friend Erin, so Jock's been taking her. I hope to go a couple times, and see her new tricks - she's always been such a smart, fast learner!

Gettin' ready - Kaylen's in the turquoise and lime green one-piece.

I think she's learning the floating here. OK - bad angle, but you can't walk around all over and distract the class - he said he was doing enough of that with the camera flashing before he figured out how to turn it off - said he'd rather have them mad at him for taking them than me for having none to post on my blog. I think my blogging addiction is starting to rub off on him - if only in the slightest. :)

Our happy shiverin' swimmer.

Swimming Lessons

Well, I got Kaylen signed up for swimming lessons this summer. Last year I tried, but the evening Level 1 lessons were full by the time I got onto the online registration site - 1/2 hour after registration was opened! This year, I got in, but not my favorite choice. The only Level 1 class not full by the time I got all her information in, was the 8:30 - 9:15 pm class - and that was only 10 minutes after registration opened. Can you believe that?! I say our town needs another public pool. I think plans are in the works, but this is just nuts!

At any rate, we're giving this a try despite Kaylen's normal bedtime being between 7:30 and 8 pm. At this moment she is sleeping (celebrating this small success!). We decided that we'd feed her a quick supper immediately upon returning home from work/daycare. Then she'll take a nap before swimming lessons. She doesn't really need naps anymore in the daytime, except for maybe one on the weekend. However, with staying up until 9:30 or after, I'm dreading getting her up in the mornings and hearing the reports from daycare if she's tired and cranky by day 2 or 3. So, we're trying it. Will let you know how things turn out. Maybe it will be short-lived, maybe it'll work fine the whole two weeks. Who knows...

I'm going to try to have Jock take a few pictures to share. It should be fun for her. We could probably teach her ourselves, but she'll have more fun and it'll be more structured. We don't get to the pool very often as a family.

Here's what they learn in Red Cross Level 1 swimming lessons:
*Enter and exit water safely using ladder, steps or side
*Submerge mouth, nose & eyes
*Exhale underwater (blow bubbles) through mouth
*Open eyes underwater, pick up a submerged object held at arms length
*Show comfort maintaining a front float position & recover from a front float to a standing postition
*Show comfort maintaining a back float & recover to a standing position
*Roll over from front to back and back to front with assistance
*Swim on front at least 5 feet
*Swim on back at least 5 feet
*How to use and wear a life jacket
*Recognize a swimmer in distress and how to get help

Seems like a lot, but she can do the first few things already - or at least she could the last time we went to the pool - which was last summer.

Happy Father's Day!

I'm not going to be able to spend time with my Dad this Father's Day :(other than probably a phone call), so wanted to tell him just how much he means to me. I love you dad! You're the best Dad a girl could ask for! Happy Father's Day!



Happy Father's Day also to Jock. You are such a wonderful dad - I'm a better mom with you by my side! I love you!






We're spending the morning at church - I'm helping in the 4's/preschool classroom. It'll be Kaylen's first Sunday in her new classroom - they actually moved kids up to the next grade level last weekend, but we were gone. Jock's also helping out in the 2's classroom for the first time. There are so many kids in our church - they're really stretching to cover classrooms, so he's helping out. It should be an adventure for him. He said he'd help but not be the lead - then asked me if he'd have to change diapers. I said depending on who's helping, he could probably avoid it. :)

We're spending the afternoon with Jock's family. Probably visiting, gilling out, and playing the Wii. It should be fun. Kaylen and I gave Jock part of his gift yesterday - a croquet set. Thought it might be fun with our dinner company, but we stayed indoors and visited instead. Maybe we'll try it out today, either at Jock's Dad's or when we get home. Although it might be rainy. :(

Hope you're all having a great weekend. Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there - bio, adoptive, step, etc - whether your kids are with you or not!

Remember those without fathers...

This is from a friend of mine - she has adopted a son from China, and is now in the process of adopting a son from the same orphanage we are adopting from:

To all you Father's, Happy Father's Day! I want to share a burden on my heart for anyone who will listen...

This week I couldn't help but think of all the children worldwide who have no fathers, no families. And it grieves me to think so many live without a forever family. Many without basic everyday needs met or simple medical care. And many more who are rarely touched by a loving hand. Tucking in my son each night this week, and whispering "I love you" in his ear before I left the room, I thought about those homeless kids, sick kids, orphaned due to natural disasters, aids, war, or a mom and dad who just couldn't feed or clothe them.

I put together a video to encourage others to help. To be a voice for those who have none. Please share this! I receive endless forwards in my email each day...forward this one... Even if one person decides to help in some way it will have been worth the 4+ minutes it took to view the video.

We are so blessed by God...We have so much... It's our responsibility to care...



All the photos used are of orphaned children worldwide. (The last two photos are of Asher, and Evan and Brad together.)

Blessings, Terry

Better Days

I found some pictures I wanted to share with you of the flooding around Iowa this week. Things seem to be calming down, except for in Iowa City where they're not expecting the river to crest for another day or two - and for other areas south of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, bracing for the high waters to make it to them. I'm sure all affected, and yet to be affected could still use our prayers.

My sister's basement was nearly full - about a step from reaching their main floor. They'd moved most of their belongings up to their second floor, but still could have lost a lot with flooring dry-wall, appliances, couch and piano that couldn't go upstairs. Their garage also only had a few feet of water in it as well, so they're breathing a sigh of relief right now. Still some hurdles with inspection, and clean-up though, so they could still use your prayers.

Seems like there's clean-up going on all over the state, and probably will be for months after seeing these pictures from local media:

My sister's house is about about 9 blocks from the curve in this road.







Dad moved his RV from this campground just in time - don't see him in this picture. My other sister's babysitter lived right along here.







Up and downstream from where my dad had been parking his RV this summer (I took swimming lessons when I was a kid at the pool in the middle picture. Lots of water around, but probably no swimming lessons going on for a couple weeks!):








Iowa City area (note - I think these pix were from a couple days ago, so things are worse now than they were. The first is I-80, closed East of Iowa City - detour is 110 miles! The second is a U of I dormitory - lots of the campus is under water now. Third is the emergency spillway next to the Coralville Dam, and then a fairly new hotel and convention center right along the river.):








Des Moines area (water going down, but levees being watched closely - one failed early this morning):
This first picture is of the emergency spillway. They'd raised the 6-foot gates on the top to hold extra water in and give downtown more time to prepare. This was as they were lowering them to save them. They'd served their purpose, but the water was going to go over them anyway.




This is the riverfront amphitheater downtown.
No ball games this weekend either. The Des Moines and Racoon Rivers meet just beyond the right field wall. **Update - the 10 pm news said they didn't play last night but did play today, but with no spectators because the city asked them to lock them out - not sure why because the evacuation was voluntary. The evacuations in Des Moines (except the neighborhood where the levee broke) have now been lifted, so they're hoping for a crowd for tomorrow's game.

What a week!

First of all, we're safe and on high ground, which is good, when the entire state around you is flooded! Well most of it - I think they said 9 major rivers were at or above flood stage this week.

My sister's kids' babysitter's house flooded Monday. Today they said they "only" had 3 feet remaining in their basement. ONLY?! Yuck - and probably when the water's down they'll probably have lots of muck left over. They had little warning, but were thankfully able to move some of their stuff out. After 3 days, they were able to go back and start cleaning up. Apparently she won't be babysitting again - at least in her own house - for a while.

My dad & step-mom sent us some pictures of the flood near them. They said the water was in the second story of people's houses just a couple blocks from the river. Their church's yard was nearly 6-feet deep in water. Also little to no time warning - same river as my sister's kids' babysitter, just a little further down-stream. Roads and bridges were washed out all along that river - travel is hazardous!

My other sister had just moved into a house that they were in the process of buying. Their first house! We were just there last weekend to visit. Well, being less than 10 blocks from the river wasn't such a good thing. They weren't evacuated at first, but then they evacuated the 500-year flood plain - they are within that. They moved what they could up to their second floor, but the piano and couch couldn't be moved up. Please pray their main floor is spared - they just did a lot of work in their kitchen too. I can't imagine. I'm glad they're safely on high ground though. They had some warning, but it still came up fairly quickly.

Around here, there's no flooding in our suburb, but the rest of the area is quite another story. Every day going to work is a hazard in itself, because the water's high and people slow down to look at it. It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get home from work tonight - normally it's 35 minutes. I just barely got Kaylen picked up in time. Nope - no accidents, just people slowing down to look at the flooded ball parks and farm fields. And, that's probably one of only two routes that are even possible for me to take home as of right now. I heard that the interstate was going to be closing in one section near Iowa City. However, the detour for travelers going all the way across the state goes all the way between Davenport and Des Moines, and the detour is clear up to Hwy 20 - something like a 110-mile detour! Can you believe that?!

Yesterday the traffic was slow as well, although that day there was an accident - drove right past a fatal motorcycle accident soon after it happened - body was mostly covered but still lying on the pavement. Shook me up a bit to say the least. The news today said when traffic slowed, he hit the back of another car and flew off his bike - no helmet - WHY hasn't Iowa passed a helmet law?! Even without the law - people your head is precious!

Another news headline today, in Western Iowa a tornado struck a boy scout camp, killing 4 teen scouts there for a leadership camp, and injuring 45-50 people. Wow! Apparently there was little warning and noplace to go. Sad.

This month at work is a crazy mix-up. An enormous re-org. Management changes, transfers, etc. We work on government contracts, so when those contracts are up (and the main one I've worked on for several years now is a three-year contract), we have massive changes. Well, it's happening again. I'm actually happy about the change that affects me. I'm going to be reporting to my functional area, rather than to a manager on the same contract. Which, for me, means that I'll be on a team with other people doing the same or similar job function as me - more support and collaboration for my position, etc. It'll be good, but there's quite a bit of tension going around - people afraid of losing their jobs, people ambivalent over management structure changes, etc... So still a bit stressful around the office.

Then, to top it all off, I read a comment on someone's blog last night, saying that they'd "heard" that IBESR wasn't processing adoptions for adoptive parents under the age of 35. WHAT?! Now, I know that many times things like this are just rumors or people assuming things, etc. But, that really freaked me out. I can't bear the thought of losing our babies. Maybe it was me being frustrated at the nearly 9 months in IBESR, maybe my other stress from the above news, maybe a combination of the two, but that really hit me hard. I emailed our adoption coordinator, to see what was going on. They'd heard nothing of the sort. They've assured me that they will let me know as soon as they hear any news on our IBESR approval. I can't wait - it's got to be soon - it just has to be!

I thought I was good last week and earlier this week, but it seems to go in spurts. I KNOW that God is in this process, and that HIS timing is PERFECT. Our children will come home at EXACTLY the right time for us and for them. I even told Jock last week and again a few days ago, "You know, I'm OK with this waiting. God's got it all under control. It's long, but I'll wait. That's all I can do. It's not like I'm going to give up on these children God's given us. They'll come home. I pray and hope that it's this year yet, but if it's not, God knows why and know's it's best for us..."

Sometimes I'm blind to that though. This waiting is really hard some days. It's a big nasty cycle that the enemy is trying to weave himself into. I'm resisting the evil though. I'm trying to keep my eye on God. He's trying to teach me something here. The other day at a friend's house, I mentioned the trip. I'd love to go in late June with a group, but said something like now I didn't think it was possible, since it's getting so close. She said maybe that's what God's trying to teach me. Hmmmm... Am I limiting Him with what He can do through me? Probably. It's not like I couldn't just pick up and go. I like to organized and plan, but I could do it. The last time we got ready in 2 weeks, and we'd never been there before - things fell into place fairly easily. Why do I do this? I know in my heart and mind and soul that, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Phillipians 4:13). I just need to live that out.

Please pray that we're out of IBESR this week. If God wants me to be in Haiti in June - or even July, it'll happen. Praise God for our friends that got out of Parquet (our next step) in just under 2 months! He can still bring our kids home this year. I'm believing it for me, for our children, for our family.

Please pray also for the other things going on with our family, friends, communities. This is hard to watch day in and day out on the news, much more-so for those that are experiencing it first hand.

And thanks so much, Jen, Linda, Cate, Jodie, Erin, Jock, Marlene, Karen... for listening to me today in all my stress. Hope I wasn't too hard on you Karen! Some days are just insane, and I really appreciate you all! May God truly bless you!

Lookin' for my babes

Sometimes I just want to look at these beautiful smiling faces!

Summer Enrichment (part 1)

This Sunday at church, our pastor did the intro to our summer study - of 1 Corinthians 11-14 - about worship - coming together. He's going to cover why we worship certain ways etc. He covered 5 things that he wanted us to think about to start off, and choose one that we want or need or feel called to work on in our lives:
1 - I will make coming together a priority. The church needs me and I need the church. (1 Cor 12:27, Hebrews 10:25)
2 - I will come together with the proper recognition of God-given authority, and will not confuse the issues of submission and distinction. (1 Cor 11:3)
3 - I will come together for the purpose of unity, instead of for the purpose of self-gratification. (1 Cor 11:33, 12:12)
4 - I will come together ready to participate with my gift in an orderly fashion and motivated by love. (1 Cor 12:7, 13:13, 14:12)
5 - I will come together prepared - what God has done in me Monday through Sunday should strengthen the church on Sunday. (1 Cor 14:26)

I'm good with #s 1-4, but the one that stood out to me was #5. Meaning that, throughout the week, I need to be more in the word, preparing my heart. I'm not very good at that. Sometimes I am, but it's not always been the priority in my day-to-day life that it should be, or in our family's life. So, this week, I'm choosing to make it a priority. Jock's actually out of town this week at a conference for work, but Kaylen and I are reading the Bible most every night, and praying each night - which we'd done before but not regularly and deliberately - and the nightly we've always done, but was mostly just a memorized rhyme prayer that has lost its meaning somewhat over time.

Kaylen is just eating this up - she's so excited to be reading the Bible again. It's one of the first thing she asks me when we get in the van at daycare - rather than whether we can go out to eat or go to the park to play or play outside with the neighbor kids. A while back we'd read through her children's Bibles, but got through all three of them rather quickly, and they're starting to be a little juvenile for her already - she's growing up too fast! I really think she's ready for a "real" Bible. Yes, she asks what words mean, but that's OK - it'll increase her vocabulary too!

I'm also going to get started on another study for my own personal growth (but I'll blog about that soon, separately). The study book I'd ordered for myself finally came in, and when I went to pick it up today I also looked around for a couple books that would also help me with reading the Bible with Kaylen, rather than just randomly picking a place to read from... Well, I found a good devotional book for kids, and another great book on the shelf - 'Just for Me! the Bible.' I decided to do Kathy's challenge with Kaylen. We'll do that a couple evenings per week - with the reading and the activity, and the other devotional book a few other nights.

What are your plans this summer for worship and growth in your relationship with Christ? Any of those 5 things our pastor challenged us with ring a bell with you?

Adoption Process Update May 2008 - No News

Well, we got our monthly process update, but really there was nothing to update about our process. We were hoping we'd be out of IBESR - actually a few months ago. But nothing doing. Please pray that we are approved by and released from IBESR soon, so we can move on to the next step.

We're praising God for our friends whose dossiers have just recently been released from IBESR, as well as some that we don't know of being released from IBESR as well as a few other steps - even going home. That's awesome news, and we long for that day ourselves!