May

Cute little monster

Fun weekend with Nate's parents

His Little Feet Choir performing at our church

Fun visit with Uncle Ben

Not happy about Tulip Time

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Mother's Day

"How to take care of orphans" is the first line

Julia helping Anahi learn English

Preschool graduation

Brothers reading in the "treehouse"

Mt. Pisgah

Going for a ride 

Doing kickboxing

Dutch Village

At the beginning of May, Nate and I attended Summit in Chicago.  Summit is a conference put on by the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO).  This was my 4th Summit and Nate's 1st.  It was so great that we could go together!  Summit is an intense 2 days of speakers and trainings about foster care, adoption and global orphan care. We attended some sessions together and some we divided and conquered.  The session that stuck with me this time was about the attachment style of the parent vs always focusing on the attachment style of the child.  Lots of practical things to think about.  Summit is a time for me to re-connect with friends I've made over the years.  I am in my element at Summit.  Nate said it was fun for him to see me at Summit as I am really engaged and have my sparkle. (Yes Steph, I almost died laughing. Don't let anyone steal your sparkle!)  One of the highlights of Summit was during the worship.  There were 2,000 people from 30 (?) countries worshipping God together.  It was a little glimpse of heaven.

While Nate and I were gone, our parents were taking care of the kids.  My Mom helped out and then Nate's parents flew in for a long weekend.  Nate and I returned from Summit and saw his parents for 24 hours.  But, it was a quality 24 hours!  Nate's parents left Sunday morning and then the His Little Feet choir arrived in town Sunday afternoon.

We have hosted the choir 3 times now.  We love them.  We hosted one of the same boys we had last summer, Vena.  He has matured so much and Julia was extra happy to see him again.  We got to know Zuala and enjoyed catching up with Uncle Jake again.  The choir performed at our church and I wish everyone I know could experience the choir with us.  The message is powerful and I know God is moving in people's hearts.  The highlight of the weekend was our friend, Uncle Ben visited.  Ben is from Ethiopia and we met him thru the choir a couple years ago.  Ben is an encouragement to us and we enjoyed getting to know him more.  God is using Ben in mighty ways in Ethiopia to bring hope to the fatherless.

After the choir left, Tulip Time began!  We didn't do much for Tulip Time.  Caleb had to march in the KinderParade, his favorite thing to do.  It was beautiful weather so that was a bonus!  The kids and Nate gave me a nice Mother's Day.  I received some cute cards and Nate took the kids out of the house for a couple hours- really the best present.

We had a new foster child move in, Anahi.  She is 12 years old and from Guatemala.  She is really sweet, but hard to understand.  We can not get her to speak slower in Spanish or use easier sentences. It's cute.  It is going to be hard to say goodbye to her.  She and Caleb like to do my exercise videos at night and she loves playing soccer with the family.  Anahi seems to really enjoy Nate's company.  She will probably leave next week.

Julia graduated preschool this month.  Another kindergartner on the way!  She was very excited to sit on the big stage and wear a pretty dress.  She has learned new things this year, but the biggest growth is in her social and emotional development.  When I explained to her that school was done for the summer she became angry and said, "I don't want to stay home all the time!"  I feel your pain child.

Stephen is 18 months old!  How did that happen?  He is in the 97th percentile for weight and 80th for height.  He's an adorable chunk.  We found out he is allergic to egg whites.  He had horrible diarrhea and hives for a long time.  Once we eliminated eggs from his diet, everything cleared up.  And he is finally sleeping well!  He takes a 2 hour nap and sleeps 11-12 hours at night, without ending up in our bed.  It is a milestone. Stephen loves being outside.  He has tantrums when he can't go out and when he has to come in.  Nate built a fence around part of the deck so he can be outside alone for a couple minutes while I watch from the kitchen.  We have a little sandbox for him, which Julia is using as much as Stephen.  Caleb is helpful and watches Stephen outside for about 10 minutes before he loses interest. Stephen is behind in his language.  He makes alot of vocalizations and he gets his point across, so the doctor isn't too concerned right now.

I know there is more to write, but I can't remember at the moment.  I'll update again... sometime.