Still working on a name

Yes, we are still talking about what to name our daughter. I would say we've narrowed the selection down to about 5 names, so that's progress! I made an announcement in church on Sunday to let everyone know we were adopting a baby girl. I am grateful that there are so many people who are excited for us. There are going to be a lot of people waiting to meet our daughter when she comes home. :) Anyways, after the service a Korean woman came up to me. She and her husband live in Chicago, but spend their weekends here during the summer. They travel to Seoul every other year to visit her family and she said if I needed help with anything to just ask. We're making connections without even trying, God works in every situation!

In other news, we switched Isaac's crib to a toddler bed. The first day went great. The second day I spent 1 1/2 hours putting him back in his bed during naptime. He thinks it's great that he can look out the window, bring toys in his bed, etc.:) When we switched Caleb to a bed, he never pushed the limits. To this day, he doesn't like getting out of bed in the morning until we come in the room.:) I knew Isaac would be a bit more challenging in this area, but eventually he'll learn to stay in bed, right? :)

This past weekend we had our annual college friends get-together. It's been 8 years running now. In the beginning we would rent a cottage or camp. Now that the majority of us have multiple small children, we've scaled back a little. On Friday night we had an adults-only dinner in Holland. It's always nice to have uninterrupted conversation and not have to cut anyone's food! On Saturday afternoon we all met at the beach. It is fun to see everyone's kids again. There was plenty of sand eaten and lots of sandy diapers to change, but a good time overall! I'll post some pictures soon!

Here she is..

Here is our little sweetheart! These pictures were taken when she was a newborn. She's about 4 months old now and hopefully we'll get updated pictures over the next couple of months. She is a healthy baby living with a foster family. We'll be sending a letter and pictures of us to the foster family soon. We met with our social worker today to go over our daughter's info and talk about the next steps. We will be sending in our acceptance documents after August 10. It's crazy the amount of documents you need to accept a baby! We'll travel 3-4 months after August 10- so we're thinking she'll be home by Christmas?! The timelines aren't set in stone, so we just need to be flexible.:)

We also learned today that we need to have a name for her when we send in our documents on August 10. That is like 2 weeks away!! I thought we'd have a couple months to think of a name, I'm feeling a little stressed right now! Please pray that we can agree on a name quickly.:)

It's a Girl!!

We received our referral today and we have a daughter!! We are so excited! Nate actually found out first and got to call me and share the news. I was crying on the phone. It was kind of crazy at that moment. I was at my parent's house watching the boys outside. The little boys were trying to run in the street, Caleb is yelling at me b/c my parent's dog pooped in the house and Nate was trying to talk to me. The neighbors must have thought I was crazy as I'm balling on the phone and yelling at my kids.:)

God's timing is truly amazing. Just this morning I was feeling completely overwhelmed with having 3 kids and telling God I couldn't go on with my own strength. Then we get this huge answer to prayer! I guess God is telling us we can do it, but only with His strength. I still can't believe we have a daughter! Nate and I knew there was a chance we'd get a girl, but we didn't want to be disappointed with a boy- so we convinced ourselves we would have another son. Craziness!!

We will meet with our social worker tomorrow to get more details. We've seen her picture and she's cute as a button! We'll share the picture and more details when we're allowed to. So, our little girl will be coming home in 3-4 months. Now we need a name!

More Lake Time

My Dad getting ready to waterski
Nate showing off his skills
Enjoying time at Lake Wisconsin
Playing at Gun Lake with Grandma
Cardale and Ryan enjoying the beach

For the 4th of July weekend we went to my grandparent's cottage in WI. We enjoyed more time with family and on the water. Nate has the waterskiing bug and was a little sore after the weekend. I also enjoyed waterskiing and even watched my Dad ski again. He's 55 and still has skills.:) Cardale spent the weekend with Ryan and Jenn and had a great time.

Today we spent the morning at Gun Lake with my parents, Ryan, Jenn and Cardale. This is the first summer that Caleb really enjoys the water. He spent almost the whole time splashing around. Isaac wants nothing to do with the water. He is quite happy playing in the sand, thank you very much. I felt like I was looking into the future today- where Ryan and Jenn are Cardale's parents and our families hang out sometimes. It was a good feeling and I pray that future comes true. The court finally scheduled the termination hearing for August 20. Please keep Cardale and everyone involved in your prayers!