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!