A few more pics

The boys are both napping right now (what???) so I thought I'd jump on and share a few more pictures from this morning at the beach. Luke was out deep jumping through the waves and then riding them in to shore. Evan took the shovel and would smack at each wave as it rolled in.

Everyone else starts arriving later this afternoon. We are excited about the fun we'll have on the beach tomorrow!

I heart vacation

I love vacation. Go to bed late, sleep in sleep until the kids get up at 7:30, lounge around while watching TV or playing on the porch, go to the beach, eat lunch, take a nap, swim at the pool, eat dinner, watch TV and play on the porch some more, go to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat.

We are having a great time on our vacation so far. Right now, it's just my Mom and the boys and I, but tomorrow, Dan will be joining us, along with my Dad, my brother, my sister in law, and their dog (who we are really excited to meet!). Luke is especially excited about Mark and Danielle coming, since they offer (nearly) endless hours of entertainment.

During the last few weeks. Luke has (re)discovered his love of the water. He's turning into quite a fish and we have a hard time getting him out of the water. Here's a video of him doing one of his new tricks - swimming to the bottom of the pool and picking up dive sticks. He also learned how to do an underwater somersault, but that has yet to be captured on film.

Evan is also enjoying his water time. We have this great yellow swimming tube for him. We love that he can be independent in his tube and swim until his fingers and toes look like prunes. The only problem with Evan and the water is that he won't keep his face out of the water! Unlike his big brother was at this age, Evan wants to get his head in the water as often as possible. It continues to amaze me how these two boys can be so different!

Father's Day Pictures

On Father's Day, the boys and I took Dan to a state park to do some hiking. We had been to the park four years ago on Mother's Day. Luke was 15 months old when we went the first time and Evan looks quite a bit like Luke looked on that day four years ago.

Luke and a young, 27 year old Dan.

This year, an older and wiser Daddy wore his cool Thomas the Train bookbag while hiking.

He also "wore" Evan when Evan got tired.

This is Luke standing in what was a nice big lake four years ago. It was sad to see it all dried up and growing weeds.

We all took turns helping Evan manage the trail.

Evan walked for quite awhile, but then was ready for a nap and pouted whenever we put him down to walk. This was the beginning of him squating and crying for a minute until we picked him up again.

All the boys.

Welcome

Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all--he is the greatest." Luke 9:48 (NIV)

I'm teaching Vacation Bible School at our church this week. I signed up to help and then started thinking that in my five short weeks of summer that I really should take time off from teaching and not sign up to teach a week of preschoolers at church. But, alas, I continued on to my committment, and I'm so glad I did.


I have seen amazing things this week. These wonderful, innocent, loving, children are so welcoming to the Holy Spirit! They listen to the stories from the Bible and they believe them, without a shadow of a doubt, to be true. They hear about the power of God and they believe it, with no questions asked. They accept as truth the gift of love that the Heavenly Father has given to them and they say thank you to God for the gifts that they have found in their own lives. We can learn so much from children!


It's refreshing to see such amazing little people (the "least among you all") so hard at work! They are working on their own lives, and becoming devoted followers of Christ. They are also working miracles in the lives of their adult and high school youth leaders. We, as the adults, are supposed to be there to lead the children and teach them, yet the children are teaching us to be carefree, open, honest, and welcoming to all of the good news of God!


As the week of VBS wraps up, I have come to cherish these children and I welcome them into my life and heart. I also pray that their wholehearted committment to Jesus Christ continues with them as they grow.

Planet Road Trip

Tips for a green road trip for your summer vacation. Good for you and the environment.

1. Drive Sensibly
You may want to get to your destination by driving fast. Don't do this. Not only is it unsafe, it's bad for your gas mileage. Driving over the speed limit causes drag on the car. Each 5 mph over 60 costs you an extra 20 cents in gas per gallon.

2. Service Your Car
Make sure that those tires are inflated and that your car is running in perfect condition before you leave. You'll extend the life of your car and also better your mileage.

Happy Travels!

Happy Father's Day

I am feeling blessed today to have amazing Fathers in my life!

I am so thankful for my Father...



(This is my Mom and Dad with Luke at 18 months old. You thought it was Evan, didn't you?)


My children's Father...


And, my Heavenly Father.

Busy Day!

It was a busy day for our adoption agency! Our Friday update from the Korea coordinator announced that there were FOUR children matched with their forever families today! That means that four people who were ahead of us in "line" now know the child that God has blessed them to parent.

One of those people is Wendy, who's blog I found and have been following closely. They are using the same agency that we are using and they were requesting a girl. They have been waiting nearly 20 months for their child, and I am so happy that they got their referral today!

Also, that makes us move up to number 19 on the list of people waiting for their match! WOW!

Summer Announcements

A few things to announce from our summer of fun (so far):

1. I've given in and bought the boys Croc knock offs. I was not a fan of the shoe until I realized how great they are for summer. They can get soaking wet and still be cute enough for wearing out in public. I couldn't bring myself to spend $25.00 on a pair for each of them, but the Walmart version (at $6.00/pair) does very well. Evan doesn't ever want to take them off.

2. In the summer, Evan sleeps in a diaper for naps. It's a great way to show off your belly button and toes.

3. I have the cutest kids at the pool. Check out Luke's ab muscles! Oh, and yes, Evan's hair pretty much stays that way on pool days.

Amid Recession, One Automaker is Prospering

Click on the picture to find out which automaker is prospering, despite the tough economic times.

9 Years Ago

These two youngsters got married.

We were both barely 23 years old and we thought we knew everything. We thought we knew "who we were" and what we wanted to do with our lives. We had the world by the hand and our lives were going to be perfect.

Nine years later, we're still here. Smarter, humble, aware, and still in love.

The last nine years have been wonderful. Dan and I have moved to a new state, bought our first home and then our second home, bought a few new cars, worked in jobs that we hate and worked in jobs that we love, had two beautiful boys, and still managed to love each other though it all.

It hasn't been all sunshines and rainbows - marriage is hard work. However, I know that God had a plan when he put the two of us together and I am forever thankful for the man I married on June 17, 2000.

Color changing

Ever since my Grandmother gave me my beautiful hydrangea plant, I've been working hard to keep it alive and healthy. Our June bugs have been trying to foil my plan of having beautifully green leaves (you can see their chomping spots in the first picture below). We have sprayed and gotten bug bags to try and capture the annoying little creatures.

Anyway, in my quest to have a beautiful, blooming plant, I've learned about how to make hydrangea's bloom different colors. My plant came from my Grandmother's blue blooming hydrangea.

Mine, obviously, is not blue.

I kind of wanted it to be blue. So, I did some research and tried to figure out what to do to the soil to change the blooms to blue. It's a bit complicated, so I put the blue blooms on the backburner and thought I'd give it a go next season.



And, then...



How does this happen? I have a purple-ish bloom coming out of the same plant that is blooming pink! I tend to think that this hydrangea is a special plant and that my master gardening skills have created it to be a diverse family of blooming hydrangeas.

Yes. That is it. Exactly.

Because we can

Because it's summer.

Because it's warm.

Because Evan loves to be outside.

Because it was Sunday after church and we always stop somewhere and get lunch that isn't healthy for any of us.

Because we can.

Lesson Learned

We ordered something from Amazon a week or so ago and I've been following the tracking all week to see when it would be here. The expected arrival was today, so when I got home from work, I checked to see where it was. The status said it had been delivered.

I looked outside the front door. Nothing.

I asked my Mom (who had been here all day with the boys) if she had gotten anything. Nothing.

Assuming I've made a mistake, I came back upstairs to check it's status. It said it had, in fact, been delivered.

Puzzled, I sat staring at the computer monitor for a few seconds, half expecting the words to change and say that it had not been delivered. As I stared, I realized that the "ship to" address was for our OLD address. Opps. It had been delivered the house we lived in over 2 1/2 years ago!

Lucky for me, that house is only about 3 miles from this one. And, lucky for me again, my Mom was still here.

So, I jumped in the car and drove over to that house to find the package sitting on their front door step. I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. So, I took it. I felt like I was stealing, but it was mine!

I have learned my lesson. Be sure to check the "ship to" address when ordering things online.

I hope you have enjoyed this public service announcement. Now back to regularly scheduled blogging.

North Korea

You may have been hearing about North Korea in the news lately. While we are adopting our daughter from South Korea, it is still a bit unnerving to hear of missiles being launched anywhere in the world - especially so close to the country where our daughter will be born.

Not being a history buff, I was not aware of how North and South Korea came to be. Click on the picture below to see an interesting, brief, picture history of North Korea.

Planet Wednesday

Can you talk to me about how you organize your recyclables?

Right now, we have one tub in our garage for plastic, glass, tin, and paper. We also have one tub for cardboard. But, they are different sizes and don't feel very organized. I was going to get my own containers and stack them up, but they kept falling over. So, now I've been looking into getting an organizer bin of some kind. I like this one



because it's tall rather than wide and won't take up too much space in the garage. But, I'm worried about how I will get it all out to the curb for recycle day.

Can you share with me about how you organize your things to be recycled and why you like your system?

Can you feel it?

Summer is almost here!

For me, summer starts when I'm done working! Three more days and I'm free from work for 5 weeks! I will get to go to the beach, "sleep in," and spend time with my family.

I won't have to do lesson plans, worry about IEP meetings, or get involved in schoolhouse drama.

It will be a good five weeks.

Some people don't think my five week break is enough of a summer break. However, after teaching on this year round schedule for a few years, I've come to realize that 5 weeks is just enough time to get me relaxed, refreshed, and ready for some new kiddos to walk though the doors of the school. I'm already starting to plan things for the beginning of next year!

So, I will enjoy my five weeks of freedom. But, I know I'll be ready to get back in the classroom when that time rolls around at the end of July.

Happy Summer!

Day Out With Thomas

We went to Tweetsie Railroad this past weekend to their "Day Out With Thomas" event. We have been to this event before, two years ago, and Luke really enjoyed it. Evan is getting more and more interested in trains lately, so it was a fun time for him, too.

The boys both got tattoos.

Got to meet "Sir Topham Hatt"

We also took a 25 minute ride on the train. Thomas was a very useful engine.

Tweetsie is fun because there was the activities to do that related to the Thomas the Train event, but the other things that Tweetsie offers were also available. They have a chair lift up the mountain side and there are carnival type rides for the kids (and, some for the parents, too - although Dan and I both are going to remember to never ride the Tilt-a-Whirl again. And, I think Luke might think twice about doing it two times in a row.)

Here are Luke and I enjoying the Tweetsie Twister (aka: The Scrambler).

Graduation Day

This week we were witness to the first of many "graduations" for Luke. Pre-K Graduation.

These pictures are not good quality because the lighting in the old auditorium was really bad so my camera had a hard time focusing. But, you can get the idea.

Luke getting his diploma from the principal.

Smile for the camera.

With his teachers.

With Mommy and Daddy (he's happy... really he is!)

Watch out Kindergarten - here comes Luke!

Are Women Born this Way?

This video made me laugh! Evan babbles some very "serious" conversations with us, but this little lady takes the cake!

Planet Wednesday

Skip the energy-hogging clothes dryer for a drying rack or clothes line instead. It's easier on your clothes, your energy bill and our fragile planet. The summer sun will dry your clothes quickly and easily! (Just don't forget about bringing them in if it starts to rain!)

Apparently...

... Luke is allergic to penicillin.

These pictures were taken about an hour AFTER the Benedryl and Prednisone were given, so these are a lot "calmer" than they had been!

The story: Luke went to the doctor yesterday afternoon and was diagnosed with strep throat. Got a prescription for Augmentin. The doctor even looked back at Luke's chart and noted that Augmentin had been given several times before with no problems. I confirmed that there had never been a problem and we were on our way. He had one dose last night and went to bed. Woke this morning saying that he itched, and I kind of blew it off because it's summer and his excema gets worse in the summer. We put on some lotion and went about the day. This afternoon at about 4:30, Luke comes to me and tells me to look at his bumps. I look and he has hives all over his waist and onto his bottom. Upon further inspection, there are hives under his arms. We jump in the car and are on our way to the Urgent Care (because it was literally 5:04 pm) in about 10 minutes. We arrive and wait... and wait... and wait. The hives are getting worse and Luke is having a really hard time trying not to itch. We finally get back to the patient room and the doctor immediatly says it's an allergic reaction to the medication. The Augmentin that he has taken several times before. He then proceeds to tell us that Luke should not be given any form of penicillin anymore. Luke got some Benedryl and Prednisone (because he was beginning to wheeze a little) and a prescription for a different antibiotic and we finally got to go home.

Luke was a trooper through this whole ordeal. I'm sure he itched like crazy. At the worst, they were pretty much covering his neck, arms, legs, and chest. He could barely sit still. Yet, he never complained and kept in good spirits the entire time. Poor kid. I hope he can be WELL for awhile now. He's had a rough run the past month or two!

Picture Post

A picture post.

Because posts with pictures are more fun that posts without pictures.

Playing and swimming at our neighborhood pool.

Cloth diaper and sandles (and bug spray - mosquitos are getting bad already!) How cute is he???

Evan loves to stick his tounge out these days. Makes him appear to be really studying the situation and trying to figure out what he can do to get into mischief.

My hydrangea plant that my grandmother gave me has started to bloom!