I don't remember where I was 5 years ago.  It was a normal day and I went through my routine with no knowledge of what was happening half a world away.  I had no idea the significance of this day.   A mother made a very important and probably a very difficult decision.  This decision would forever change lives.   I think about her today more than any other day of the year.  I thank God for her and her decision to give her baby a chance at life.  I pray she has a peace today and somehow knows that baby is loved and adored.

Summer Bucket List

I want to make the most of the summer with Kennedy.  I have felt so overwhelmed lately and unfortunately Kennedy is the one that has suffered.   I feel like I spend a lot of time with Kennedy and we are ALWAYS together it seems like but how much of that time is quality time.  I constantly worry about the house being clean, lesson plans being done, bills being paid, etc, etc, etc.  I work hard and I do everything for Kennedy, my life revolves around her, right?  Lately Kennedy has been very clingy and whiney and after an eye opening discussion with her I realized she feels neglected by me.  My heart aches at the thought.  I suddenly realized a lot of the times we are “together” I am distracted by other things.  I have been working to change this over the last couple of weeks and after being introduced to an amazing blog I decided to create a bucket list of things to do over the summer.   The blog Avery Can circulated around social media a few weeks ago.  If you have not seen it you should check it out.  Avery was born with SMA and was given about 18 months to live.  Her parents spent their lives making the most of hers.  They essentially set out to make a lifetime of memories for their baby girl in just a few short months.  Unfortunately, Avery lost her battle at just 5 months old.  I can’t imagine what it must be like for them, but how amazing is it that as they look back on their daughter’s life they have so many wonderful memories.  What a great lesson for all parents.  You may have more than 5 months with your child but are you making the most of your time together?  They are only going to be children for so long.  I recently read that the average working parent spends less than 20 minutes of quality time a day with their child.  That is crazy!  After reading Avery’s story I decided to create our own bucket list for Kennedy and I to complete over the summer.  I don’t ever want to look back and regret.  When I look back at Kennedy’s childhood it is not going to matter that my house was spotless or everything was in its proper place.  I want to look back and most importantly I want Kennedy to look back and remember what an amazing time we had together.  Doing things together, spending time together, and just having fun together. So here goes…

Kennedy and I have worked on this together and we have had a lot of fun coming up with things to add to the list.  Some things she came up with on her own, some are a little more me than her, and some are mutual.  Either way each of these things will be done together, no distractions, just quality fun time together.  I hope to keep the blog updated as we complete things off the list. 

1.        Have breakfast in bed.

2.       Spend a whole day in our PJ’s

3.       Have 2 pets, Emmy and Oscar (this is really mine, but she’ll enjoy it)

4.       Make an ABC book

5.       Take pictures everyday

6.       Walk through a store just because.  (Not because I need something)

7.       Build a Sandcastle

8.       Play in the ocean

9.       Have a party for just the 2 of us

10.   Stay up late and watch movies

11.   Bake cookies from scratch

12.   Get a pedicure in the Hello Kitty chair

13.   Fly a kite

14.   Have a tea party

15.   Read all my books, without skipping pages. J

16.   Cook dinner

17.   Complete at least some of the “pins” on mom’s summer fun pinterest board

18.   Have a lemonade stand

19.   Make a time capsule

20.   Check out my first book from the library

21.   Wear my rain boots and play in puddles/rain

22.   Invent  treat Tuesdays

23.   Visit a museum

24.   Go to a water park

25.   Make homemade ice cream

26.   Plant something

27.   Get an ice cream from the ice cream truck

28.   Have a puppet show

29.   Make a scrapbook

30.   Watch my first Olympics

Gymnastics Show Off Day

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October Pics.

Halloween- Cinderella


Storybook Dress Up Day - Madeline


Kennedy's Halloween party

Pumpkin Patch

1-1-12

Wow, I haven't blogged since August! I am not even going to pretend this is going to be a New Year's resolution because we know how that will turn out. I have had a couple of people "fuss" at me for not blogging more. First of all I am happy to know someone actually checks the blog still. Second, I'm sorry for the lack of posting. I really do wish I was better at this. I read so many blogs and I love following other people's lives. I guess I figure mine is not worth following so I don't worry about it as much. The blogs I read do such a great job of telling the personal stories of their family, speaking up for the 147 million orphans in the world, and glorifying God in their everyday lives. I wish mine could be included in that list but I am not great at putting my thoughts into words so I tend to shy away from even trying. I would really love to use this blog for a bigger purpose, but I struggle with how exactly to do that. So enough of my rambling here are some pics to catch you up on our lives since August.

Ok blogger will not let me add anymore pictures so here is a glimpse into our lives from Aug-Oct. Stay tuned...I promise I it will be sooner than 5 months.

Ken started gymnastics this year. She loves it!

As always we love hanging out with friends at the Zoo.

Ken went on her first field trip this year! We went to the pumpkin patch and had a great time.

First taste of s'mores!

She found the perfect one!

Hard lessons

My lesson for the week: When you ask God to allow you to be obedient to His will be ready to do so even if its the opposite of your will.

I don't think it's any secret that I want to adopt again. I have wanted to adopt again since the day I left a small orphanage in Tuyen Quang, Vietnam with 30+ babies still inside needing a forever family. I have waited for almost 3 years. I have prayed, researched, saved, and most of all waited. This summer I got an especially strong urge and took this as God's sign that it was time. I began calling agencies and narrowing down my options. A couple of weeks ago I settled on Ethiopia, even though things are somewhat up in the air in that country. I called the agency and requested the application, filled it out, contacted references, and prepared to begin the process. Throughout all this I prayed that God would give me clarity and reveal his will to me and most importantly allow me to be obedient. I had not felt 100% about it but continued to push through waiting on God to "reveal" his will to me. I guess I was waiting on a plane to fly overhead and write "God says go ahead." That and deep down I knew the doubt meant something but I was doing this anyway! As school started my schedule got crazy and I was tired and overwhelmed so I decided to wait on sending in the application. (Just until things settle down) It is truly amazing how God works. The minute I decide to not send in the application I felt a complete peace. But wait He doesn't want me to wait does He? I am doing His will, adopting, right? As the days went on I felt so strongly that He was saying wait. I don't understand and to be honest I don't like it. I want a baby! I want to go to Ethiopia! I want Kennedy to have a sister before she goes to kindergarten! I know He has a plan and I know it is greater than anything I have in mind so I will trust and obey Him. I will wait. So I ask that you will pray for me as I wait on God's perfect timing. I believe with every ounce of my being that God does intend for me to adopt again, it's just not now. I know a few years from now I will look back and say "ah that's why" but for now it is hard.

A New School Year

Yesterday was the first day of the new school year for us. Kennedy is now it 3K! She was so excited about starting a new year and being in the "big girl" class. She now gets to play on the big playground! This is huge for a 3 year old. She is also in the class with her best friend so she is very happy. Her teachers are wonderful and I am looking forward to a great year. So far they have said she is very good and she has been on smiley face both days. I think its beginners luck but we will see. The afternoons have been better but she cried for 2 hours last night after I put her to bed. I guess I can't have it all.

I think I am going to have a pretty good year as well. Yesterday was a long day, but the first day of kindergarten always is.

Here is a picture of Ken ready for her first day! As always she was not cooperative for pics and this was the best I got.