Memorial Day Weekend

Julia, Megan and Emma
Getting ice cream at the ferry- Isaac loves eating real ice cream now!
Getting the boat out
Uncle Tim, Julia and Caleb
Isaac's fishing form has improved since last summer
Reading a book with Aunt Anne and Emma

This past weekend we headed to Lake Wisconsin to put out the pier and boats. This year was a little different in that my grandparents were not there. My Grandma was in CA for my cousin's graduation and my Grandpa stayed home because of radiation treatments. It was odd to walk into the cottage and not have my Grandma greet us at the door with a hug. :) But, like always, we had a great time with the extended family. I laughed alot while we were putting the pier out- just good-natured ribbing going on. The water was cold, but thankfully none of the women had to get in!

The worst part of the weekend was Saturday night. Julia woke up around midnight and was up til 4:30 am!! She just couldn't seem to let herself relax and go back to sleep. I tried numerous things to get her to fall asleep, but nothing worked. And I felt horrible because she was keeping everyone else awake too. Nate took over at 4:30 and fell asleep with her on the couch. I am so glad he got her to sleep because by that point both Julia and I were crying. I have never experienced a night like that with Julia. Thankfully she slept great the next night.

One of the best parts of the weekend was watching my kids have fun. Caleb and my cousin Ian got along great and spent time playing soccer and trying to catch frogs. Julia enjoyed following my cousin Emma and Isaac loved fishing. Caleb has gained confidence since last summer. There are alot of dogs at the cottage and he just walked around them and wasn't bothered. He also went on a boat ride and enjoyed it. Julia was nervous on the boat last summer, but also had fun this time. Isaac loved Aunt Sandy's dog, Molly (a Boston Terrier). He called her, "the nice dog." At one point he yelled, "Grandpa get your dog, he's bothering the nice dog!" Isaac also saw me reading a book and asked, "How are you reading if you're not talking?" He calls poison ivy, "poisey ivy" and will very seriously tell you to look out for poisey ivy. When we were getting ready for bed one night Isaac said, "I want to go home. I miss Cardale." I think he was missing Cardale because we had been talking about what the two of them used to do at the cottage. It was very sweet. Everyone was very impressed with Julia's vocabulary and thinks she is adorable- I agree. :)

While at the cottage I read the book, Heaven is for Real. A very intriguing book. The part that struck me was when the little boy met his sister who had miscarried. This little boy did not know that his parents had a miscarriage. He told them that his sister was so happy to see him and she couldn't wait for their parents to get to heaven. He told his parents she didn't have a name because they hadn't named her- which was true. He also told his parents to not worry because God had adopted her. That part just made me teary. I don't often think about our babies who have miscarried, but that brought it all back. It is a bittersweet feeling to think about our children sitting in their Abba's arms and waiting for our arrival. Ok, enough of the tears now. :)

We didn't have great weather at the cottage and of course it was beautiful the day we left. But, I am so grateful for the opportunities we have to spend time with our extended family. God has richly blessed us!

Overwhelming Cuteness

I just have to share some recent kid cuteness. Yesterday Isaac found some silly putty. For the rest of the day he called it, "silly pilly" with a very serious face. Of course now he says it to be funny because I laugh every time he says, "silly pilly."

The boys are into giving "zerberts." Your family may call it blowing raspberries, but you know what I mean. They love to give Julia a bedtime zerbert- I know, they are wonderful brothers. Tonight Isaac had a bare back and Julia ran over and gave him a zerbert. She had perfect form and sound effects, it was hilarious.

This afternoon Caleb and Isaac were playing together. Caleb was getting frustrated and asked Isaac, "Why are you copying me? Stop it!" Isaac replied, "Because you are my best friend." Holy moly I just about started crying. I'm getting teary just writing about it.

And tomorrow I'll probably write about how the kids are little terrors! Gotta love 'em.

Spring camping

Not the best picture of me, but you can see how excited the kids are to camp
Our pop-up camper

This past weekend we went camping at Hoffmaster State Park near Grand Haven. Nate has been wanting a pop-up camper for years and we officially grew out of our tent, so we now have a pop-up. We figured out how to set it up fairly easily, but we could not get the awning to work. The awning isn't pictured above. :) We were all getting a little stressed about the awning that night. However, my super-smart husband figured out that part of the awning had been installed incorrectly so we fixed it and the awning worked! None of us slept well on Friday night, the kids were all jazzed up and sugared up from s'mores. The camper is much more comfortable to sleep in then a tent. :)

On Saturday morning I went to an event called Wait No More and left Nate and the kiddos at the campground. I so appreciate Nate's support of my passion for orphan care. My husband is awesome. The Wait No More event was put on by Focus on the Family and the MI Department of Human Services. The purpose of the event was to find families for MI children waiting to be adopted. The speakers were very touching. A man who grew up in foster care, a young woman who was adopted at age 10, a woman whose parents did foster care (and adopted) while she was growing up, an adoptive father, and a state social worker. Each speaker highlighted a different aspect of adopting a child from foster care. I came away with resources to share with families considering adoption.

At the campground it drizzled most of Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't too bad. The boys enjoyed playing in a nearby creek. We then discovered a leech on Caleb's foot- disgusting! Caleb was a little freaked out, but it came off easily. The boys also played "Pooh Sticks" in the creek. It is from Winnie-the-Pooh. You drop a stick on one side of the bridge and see whose stick comes out first on the other side. Caleb also fell in the creek and couldn't get back up the bank. So Isaac comes yelling, "Caleb is stuck in the river!" Not something you want to hear, but thankfully it wasn't a big deal. The kids even splashed around in Lake Michigan- very cold! We all slept better Saturday night and had wonderful weather on Sunday. We appreciated not having to pack up in the rain!

Another exciting event was that my sister, Stephanie, came to visit. The kids hadn't seen her since Christmas and they love their Aunt Steph. Steph and I did an exercise class together and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We are so coordinated. Stephanie also visited Caleb's classroom and took him out for ice cream afterwards. We always wish the visits were longer, but we thank God for the time we have together!

Summit

Dennis Rainey (of the radio program Family Life Today) interviewing Luther and Rebecca Ellis- Luther played for the Lions and has adopted a bunch of kids
Julia said "princess" when she tried on her flowergirl dress- adorable
Caleb dressed for the beach- kind of. It was 50 degrees that day. It's spirit week at school
Met some favorite bloggers- Jodi from Sun Breaks in the Rainy City and Kristen from Rage Against the Minivan

Last week I went to Summit in Louisville. Summit is a Christian conference focused on orphan care. I drove down with other women from western MI. The van (not mine) broke on the way down so we spent 4 hours in a repair shop and then rented a van. We picked up the repaired van on the way home. There were a couple highlights from the conference. I went to a breakout session led by Dennis and Barbara Rainey and Dennis said "hi" to us in the parking lot. :) I went to a blogger meet-up. I got to chat with some bloggers I follow and admire. There were some inspiring keynote speakers, a woman who grew up in a Russian orphanage and only survived after leaving because a Christian came alongside her. Also from an amazing saxophonist who grew up in the US foster system and only thrived because of Christians caring about him. It was a great reminder that the church is the only answer to the orphan crisis, governments can't solve the problem. There are always amazing families who have adopted numerous children and most of them have moderate incomes- about $60,000/yr. They all trust God so completely and just step out in faith. I went to a session that talks about excellence in short term missions. I hope to someday go on a short-term orphan care trip, but I want to make sure we are doing things in a way that helps people in need- not just doing what we think they need. I also went to a session about supporting adoptive families after the adoption. I think this is so important as often issues arise and families need support. Another session was practical realities of parenting children from hard places- lots of good tips and encouragement. We left Summit early so we missed an African children's choir and a Sara Groves concert. I was disappointed to leave early, but it was also good to get home. Summit next year is at Saddleback Church in California, start saving pennies! :)

An exciting update is that Isaac passed his milk challenge and no longer has any food allergies!! We are so happy for him. Eating goldfish crackers is the best part for him so far. We are slowly increasing the amount of dairy in his diet. He doesn't like the taste of milk, so we are mixing it with his rice milk for awhile. Praising God for this answer to prayer!

Spring is in the Air

Possibly Caleb's first note from a girl
Swinging high
Isaac giving Julia an underdog
Looking cute for church

So I think Caleb received his first note from a girl. That little piece of paper fell out of his backpack. Caleb said it had been in there for a couple days. I asked him if it was from Katherine D. and he said, "I don't know, I think her Mom wrote it." Uh, I don't think that is her Mom's handwriting. Caleb didn't seem too interested in the note, we just said Katherine must think he is a good friend. :)

Nate has been working hard on our backyard. We are putting a flowerbed along the back of our property. The goal is to plant native wildflowers that like the shade. I'm kind of stressing out about what types of plants to buy and how many, so I am procrastinating as long as possible. :)