The Pumpkin Patch

A fun fall family event. Sam, Jeremy, the nieces pieces, Mom and Dad, and Jairus and I all went to the pumpkin patch. Perfect day to walk around and let the kids get out in the sun. It was awesome, they are still all so little, we don't have to spend a dime to give them a great experience! More and more, doing stuff like this with my family has been the joy of my heart. Watching our kids grow together, and our family bonding and enjoying each others company is fast becoming my favorite thing to do.


Jairus is a new outfit designer! He picked out his hat and shoes, which totally makes the look!


















If we could only get ALL THREE of our kids looking in one direction at the same time!














Drummin' on the pumpkings. These two hams either get along like "peas and carrots" or fight like "cats and dogs".














This was cute. I may be chubby, but at least I am pretty.













Grandpa searched for this wheelbarrow. Thinking we were all getting pumkins. Instead it became a ride for the kids.














Inside, the kids got to play with all sorts of fun stuff. It was great to allow them to burn some energy. What a great day.


















































After the pumpkin adventure, we went back to the old people's house and had a good fall time soup, courtsey of Sam. And we tried to make carmel apples. Unfortunally, the apples I (rather Tim) got were sub-par, and I didn't grease the wax paper, so the finished carmel apples stuck like molasses to the paper. Oh well, all for the experience!

The transformation of the yard.

start from the beginning.... Very brown, lots of moss, bumpy. Generally pretty sad. But I like the man with the roto-tiller.

















A closer picture of the ugliness.

Finally, four months later..... All the dead grass is raked up, and we added a couple of features. A landscaped "island", and garden beds against the fence line. Looking better.

Just our work from another angle. By the way, our yard is about 2,500 square feet... That is a lot of raking.

This is the mound of dirt that I raked and shoveled. My mound, not Tim's mound, not the gardening troll, mine. I shoveled every grain of this pile of dirt.

And this my friends, is the almost finished product! Jeremy and Sam blessed us with an extravagant gift certificate to a nursery, and we were able to purchase all of the new plants you see. 4 lining the walk way, 5 up against the fence line and the three on the island. What an amazing blessing that is!
Tim and I had no idea we would be blessed in
that way. We are greatful to have such an obedient brother and sister, who listen to God's voice, and without hesitation give from their hearts. Let me tell you, we like the way God speaks to them! LOL. Thank you Jeremy and Sam, the beautification of this yard was because of you! We love you.

Training him young

Jairus loves to help me clean the house. I am taking full advantage. Some day his wife will thank me for it!

One step closer...

Now that Pride training is over, we are looking at the next steps. Our house needs to be up to code. This means the tile needs to be done as well! Whoohoo! Sike, I am not looking forward to that adventure. But I was talking to our Licensing Support lady, Cheryl and she thinks if we get on it, we could be licensed by December!!! So, I am kicking it into high gear. I have to schedule my T.B. testing and find a first aid/cpr/bloodborne pathogens training.

On another note, the front yard is almost done being raked. Now we have to even it out. We have decided to foot the bill for hydroseeding. It is so late in the season, we don't think that regular seeding will take. But through our good friends The McCalls, we have a guy who does it for a fantastic price. Today I will be working on the yard. Yesterday would have been ideal, but Jairus and I have had a cold, so we took advantage of the day and baked cookies and cuddled on the couch. We love you all, and will keep you posted of any new developments!

The 30 Day Notice

For those of you who have never been to our home, our front yard is detestable. It is huge with not much landscaping, in combination with my lack of green-thumb, the existing plants are very sad. It is not because we like having the ugliest yard in the neighborhood, it is because the yard ranks very low on our list. The home-owner's association president has been just short of harassing us about fixing our yard. So finally, he brought us the 30 Day Notice- to have it up to "code" (totally variable based on the opinion of the judge) in 30 days or they will have a company come in and do our yard and bill us for it. Since we are not independently wealthy, Tim and I have cracked the whip on ourselves to get it done. On Monday and Tuesday, I worked in the yard all day until I had to go to work. Then, Tim got off of work, worked on the yard and picked up Jairus from the gym, took him home and made him dinner. Wednesday was raining, so a nice break for us. Then today I spent the better part of 6 hours raking and shoveling dirt, and shaping a landscaped "island" in the middle of the yard. I am hurting, and so is Tim. I admire those people who work so hard to have a nice landscaping. Now that I have worked for hours upon hours to make our yard look better, I am sure I will be more motivated to keep it nice. We just pray that when we seed the yard, it will take. We are not in any position to hydroseed. Praise God, we are physically able to do it on our own, I am certain we are saving a boatload of money. We have about 25 days left to fulfill the "code", hopefully we will make it with time to spare.

THE SHACK!

If you are not sure about God's love for you, and want to read about a captivating true story, read THE SHACK. It is about a journey of a man who loses his daughter to a serial child killer. He travels back to where her possessions were found, and presumably where the killer took her life. Through a supernatural encounter with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Mack was able to come to terms with his own pain. He comes to understand how he has wrongly accused God for the tragedies in his life, and most of all truly forgive, not only Missy's killer but his own father for the pain he inflicted. THE SHACK is an absolute page turner. One minute I was crying for him, and for my own realization of God's love for me. A few lines later, I was laughing. I began to unearth my own misconceptions of our Lord and come to terms with the fact that our perceptions are NOT always right. And because of our wrong perceptions, we have wrong emotions attached to them. Please do not get me wrong, this is not "churchy" or stale. This is a book of love, of divine intervention for a man drowning in his own despair. Held captive by his pain, and ultimately the triumph he has had through the understanding of God's love for him. Read it, I promise you will not be disappointed!

First Day of PRIDE training.

My heart is in physical pain after today. I am sure there are going to be harder days yet to come. PRIDE training was amazing. I loved that we got to do it with a Christian agency, instead of the state. They have such a comforting perspective on the process. I just want to get through this as fast as possible, I want our Chosen One to be home, safe and sound. Oh, loved ones, please pray for us. We have very uncertain territory ahead of us. Praise God for the work He is doing in my heart. I love our Chosen One! Please pray for a speedy process through the system, and that God keeps him safe while we are on our way!

Oh my chosen one,
That is just who you are.
Not because of me,
But because God placed you in our heart.

He has a purpose,
His perfect plan,
To take you out of harm,
And place you in loving hands.

I make you this promise,
That though you may be sad..
Soon, chosen one,
You will have a mom and a dad.

Chosen one, there is so much,
Coming your way!
I promise, there will be an end,
To these dark and dreary days.

You will have a place,
Just to call your own.
You will be loved,
You will never be alone.

Just hang in there,
Just a little bit longer.
We are coming to you,
Through of the love of the Father.

Do the Puyallup!

It was free to get into the fair from 10-12pm. So Sam and I made plans to meet. Since we are ballin' on a budget, Jairus and I parked for free.... In Egypt. I put him into the stroller and in my wedge sandals walked down two hills and got in through the back of the fair. Never did I think on my way down, about walking back up... We had fun with the kids, and after a couple hours decided to go back to the car. Once we got to the bottom of the hill, I realized why people pay for parking, or for that matter wear tennis shoes. But I did it, in sandals, pushing 35+ pounds of toddler and stroller. The rewards of being frugal.

I love this picture.

Fun at the Zoo.

Point Defiance was cool, but I know next time it would be worth the drive to go to Woodland. We had fun just the same.

Hanging out @ home

Tim is away for his hunting trip with his father. He is out in Colorado hunting Elk. When he was flying out of Seattle, the ticket agent bumped his ticket to first class, so he had a nice flight down. Jaiurs and I have been hanging out at home, and playing on the trampoline. Other than that, not much is going on. We love you.

Jairus' new toy

I was watching the Zitny kids, and they have a trampoline. Jairus spent almost the entire day out on that thing. So I was on a mission. We got this trampoline for $70! We just need to buy the enclosure for it. Donations accepted :) In regards to the boxer briefs, we are in the process of potty training our little man. He pooped in the toilet today and peed a few times! Hopefully soon, he will be all done!

Silly Jairus

Here he is helping me. He loves to vacuum!

We put him to bed. He didn't want to sleep, so he got out of bed, put on his boots and climbed into bed, and fell asleep. I took this picture at about 11pm.

Update on Adoption....
We are finishing our first chunk of paper work. We plan to have it sent in by the end of this week. The next phase is waiting for our fingerprints, and doing the mandatory training.

Adoption Needs

Tim and I are getting ready to rearrange our home a bit to prepare ourselves for our coming child. If anyone you know is getting rid of the following please let us know...

We are looking for sturdy bunk beds. I would like a handsome set, solid wood, something that will grow with the kids, and ones we can separate.

We need a large bookcase. No more than 77" in length. Solid wood, we have a lot of books, and would like something we can keep forever.

We believe God will supply our needs, but we are trying to be resourceful, and make every dollar stretch as far as possible. If you don't know anyone, prayer is welcomed. Tim and I are nervous and a little stressed looking at the mountain of changes and provisions we have to make. God bless all of you who do keep us in your prayers.

Lazy Monday

Today Jairus and I hung out in my bed room a good chunk of the day. It is the coolest room in the house, so we ate popcorn and read books, and watched VeggieTales. Later in the day, he went out and played on this toy and in his pool, then we had a berry shake. Love the cheesy smile.

Paper Pregnant!

Tonight, Tim and I spent a couple hours filling out paperwork to get our adoption on the ball. Wow, do they ask you all kinds of things. We had to make an evacuation plan, and write how we would deal with certain aged children in certain situations. We still have a lot of work to do. I have a list of questions for the caseworkers, but we are one step closer! Hopefully we will have our paperwork turned in within the next couple weeks. We have to do CPR training, Aids/HIV training, TB testing, and a 30 hour training course called PRIDE. So some of you may be seeing a lot more of Jairus during those things. Tim and I also have to have our prints taken at the police station.
Now, him and I are rearranging the house in our heads, where the office is going to go, and we are going to have to get bookshelves for our books, we have a garage to go through, and all kinds of stuff....... I think the paperwork is the easiest thing so far!

Splish Splash

So once again, we have been blessed. I have been wanting to get Jairus some kind of play structure, but I am not willing (nor are we able to) spend the kind of money for one I like.

Anyway, there was a home down the street from me with this structure outside their fence with grass growing all around it. To make a long story short, they sold it to us for $30!!!! On Craigslist they are going for $150-$200, so we really made out. God bless that family for their generosity!





So I got action pics of Jairus going down the slide...























BIG SPLASH!





































Going up again!

































Playing peek-a-boo

Were doing it!!!

Last night, I told a member of our family our plans to foster adopt. I had expected a much more positive reaction to the news, (beings this person was a child of the state foster care system) but instead I was torn down. This person rocked my core and made me second guess mine and Tim's heart for unwanted children. It is amazing how the people who influence us the most sometimes are the ones who hurt us. But today I made the official call..... To order our packet to get liscensed for foster-to-adopt! The woman on the phone was so gracious and gave me all the words of encouragement I needed to hear. She reaffirmed me, and now I am sure my heart is right, and no longer am I going to let that other person speak death into me. So pray for us! We love you!

Our Sunday!

Church was great. We were teaching and had 19 kids! A record for us! Today was our first service on our Church property for the summer. This is the second annual Church on the Dirt! We meet at the elementary school the rest of the year, but for about three months every year (now since buying the land) we raise up a big "revival" tent and hold our service there. There is a house on our land where the kids and babies go. It is amazing what God had done there. The basement of the house used be wet and dark and dirty. Now it is all carpeted, sheet rocked, lighted- the whole she-bang! Most of the supplies and all the labor was donated! We are blessed! I never want to have church at the school again! Anyway, after that, we had lunch with some friends, stopped by Tim's parent's house for a bit and came home to hang out!



We finally are getting around to cutting down our forest in the back! Daddy got lots of help from a special little guy!











Daddy hanging out in his tree stand in the back yard.




















Daddy and Jairus



















He needs his own stand!




















"Where am I supposed to go now?"

















Tim wanted to show off how he is making use of our old couch cushions.

The adoption orientation

Today was the adoption orientation in Puyallup. Tim had made prior plans to help the boy scouts at the bow range, so I ventured into uncharted territory alone. During the meeting, I couldn't stop crying. I felt the heart of God for these children. I know for certain we are to adopt. I want to do it now, this very moment, but it is going to be a long process. We are going for foster to adopt, which means we will be taking a child from the state foster care system, and going through the process of adopting them once the biological parents' rights have been terminated.
There are 10,000 kids in Washington State's system that are in need of either good foster homes or need to be adopted. 3,000 of those kids are ready to be adopted RIGHT NOW! My heart could not help but think about how these kids must feel. To be so young and to be fearful or lonely. Our next child is out in that system waiting for us! These kids are waiting for someone to tell them they are loved, wanted, and that they don't have to be scared anymore. Imagine a child around Jairus' age- being scared, and lonely! I can't bear it. Our family is going to save a child from that- and I am so excited about it- and scared!
Tim and I feel we are going to adopt a child at least a year younger than Jairus. We are still praying and waiting on God to tell us when. We may start the paperwork to have it out of the way, but him and I have some more talking to do.

Once the meeting was over, I went to get Jairus from Grandma and Papa's house. He got to hang out with both of them today. He just loves being over there, it is definitely a place I would want to be if I was that age. The girls and Jairus are so amazingly loved by them. We are blessed.

Jairus and I got home to Uncle Chris working on our car for us! God bless him! And Daddy working on the yard, so we went out in the back for fun!

The last two days have been very emotional for me. The false pregnancy, now the foster-adopt meeting. I just want to know our map, our destination for our lives. This is definitely a suspense story at this point! Stay tuned, we love you!

False Positive

I woke up this morning with cramping and bleeding. After 5 hours in the ER and an entire audience of medical people checkin' out my goods, we have come to the finding that the test I took last week was a false positive. My heart is sad and okay. It is better than the alternative, yet we were very excited about another little addition. Such is life I suppose. The doctors assured me that all my piping and plumbing is working top notch, so that is good. At this point I am confused and drained emotionally. I KNOW I want to be pregnant for sure again, I just don't know what the Lord wants for us. We are supposed to be going to an adoption "seminar" tomorrow- as adopting is in BOTH of our hearts now. I just want God to tell us what He wants. My best plan is to have a baby and adopt, but we will see. Thanks to all of you who keep up on us, we love you!