Time to Start Blogging Again...

To say I've been remiss in blogging is an understatement. I've flat out ignored it for so long, I almost forgot it was here (not really, but you get the picture).

There's so much to cover over the last 1/2 a year that I think I'll just include a few pictures and start from this point forward.

Why am I starting up again you may wonder...

Well, dh and I are going to be hosting a foreign exchange student for the 2010-11 school year and I thought it would be a fun way for her and her family to see a glimpse into our lives before she officially moves in. "Hi!!!" ;o)

Plus...I know you've all been waiting breathlessly to read my ramblings. Ha Ha (That is DEFINITELY a joke! ;o))

So, here's some pictures from our trip to Disneyland this last January:

Splat, Mac, & Cat participated in their first ever Bible Quizzing event:

We got to swim and visit with our good friends the Zacapus. (We're praying for them as they prepare to bring their 3 newest blessings home from Ethiopia next month!):

Cat went to her first overnight camp with her best friend:

Mac won the first race in his very first swim meet:

KitKat turned 7:

Hope you enjoyed the pictures...I'll be posting again soon...

Thursdays Before the Throne

Psalm 62: 5-8
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."

Please join me in prayer for a fellow sonlight family. Mike Rayson and his wife Amy lost their 11 year old son in a tragic accident less than a year ago. Yesterday, their 7 year old son was viciously attacked by two german shepherds in front of their 9 year old daughter when they went to get the mail.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to you on behalf of the Rayson family. Please heal Oliver's wounds Lord. I pray that the skin around the wounds would survive and heal. I pray that they will find the owners of the dogs so they may rule out the possibility of rabies infection. I pray that there will be no infection and that he will be able to heal completely without disfigurement or scarring. Give Oliver strength and comfort Lord. Please heal his emotional wounds also from this very scary thing that happened to him. Be with his sister, Laura who witnessed this awful occurence. Comfort her and strengthen her. Help her to know and understand that there is nothing she could do to stop it. Lord, comfort and strengthen Mike & Amy. As Amy said, this is like having the scabs ripped off of their emotional wounds. Cover those emotional wounds with your healing power and wrap your loving arms around them. You are the ultimate physician Lord, the great healer. Help them to find comfort in that. Lord, I know their are people all over the world praying for this family. Hear our prayers, Lord. Please heal this family. Thank you that you are our refuge and our strength. Thank you for being an everlasting presence. Help the Raysons to feel your presence right now. Give them refuge and strength.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen.

Updates

I've been neglecting my blog! There are so many things that I should have been posting about this week...many that should have pictures but, between sick kids, sick dh & sore throat, I just haven't been able to find the time to load them all up. So....here's what's been happening:

Last Wednesday, dd/4 became dd/5. She has been talking about her birthday for a whole year and the poor thing got sick! She was feeling a little better on Wednesday so we went ahead with her birthday dinner, presents, etc. Thankfully, her "movie party" was scheduled for the following Sunday so she had time to get her energy back.

On Friday, she went to build-a-bear with dh's parents. She made a PINK bunny with rainbow feet & ears who's wearing a PINK outfit & PINK sandals and carries a PINK purse. Why is her room BLUE? LOL!

On Sunday, we picked up her friend and headed across the ferry to have her "movie party." The ferry dock was under repair so we ended up sitting in line for over 2 hours! The girls had been looking forward to it for so long that we didn't feel we could postpone so we sat. I told dh, "chalk it up as one of those things we just do for our kids because we love them! :0)" When we FINALLY got across the water, we went to see "Horton Hears a Who" and then ended the day with dinner at IHOP with their "Horton Hears a Who" menu items. Unfortunately, the family we were going to meet on the otherside had come down with the "crud" that's going around and weren't able to join us. Overall, though dd/5 had a wonderful time and definitely felt celebrated!

Saturday was our day of Awana competition. Dh & I coached both the Sparks-A-Rama team and the boys T&T team. Both teams took 3rd place on their circle. The kids all seemed to have a great time. Due to the "crud" that's going around we ended up short a few players for each team. Thankfully the ministry team were able to get a couple kids to join our teams allowing us to compete.

My brother & his family were there as my niece was competing with her church's club so it was fun to see them. Her brother, my nephew, had just flown home from West Point the night before so it was a real treat to see him too! S (my niece) was competing for her last time in the Awana games so it was extra special to see her team take 1st place!

Another exciting thing happened this past week. One of the boys in Ethiopia that dh & I have been praying for has a family! My friend in NC and her dh were led to adopt this particular child and my prayers have been answered exceedingly, abundantly above all I could hope or imagine for this child. It would be SO neat if we get to travel to Ethiopia to pick up our sons at the same time!

On our end of things, paperwork is moving! We received, signed & sent back our placement papers for MAC. The immigration papers have been sent out and our dossier was being assembled for delivery to Ethiopia. We just found out that a boy in MAC's class at Layla has been adopted by a family that lives about 2-3 hours from us so we're hoping to plan some get togethers once they're both home. Now, we're waiting on paper processing, group assignment, court date, etc. It'll be fun to get MAC & ds/8's room ready, while we're waiting. I have SO many things I'd like to get done. Hopefully, it will help make the time go by fast.

Oh...I should also mention that dd/6 FINALLY has her desk in her bedroom. Dh put it in her room on 3/9 and she's VERY excited!

Whew! I think that's everything I wanted to update for the week. If there's something I forgot, I'll be sure to blog later! :0)

...Keep the Old...They're Gold!

Remember that song we all used to sing when we were little? The one about making new friends but keeping the old? Tonight we hosted a dinner party with some of our "gold" friends. When we started this tradition 15 years ago, dh & I were the only ones married. Our friends J&J were engaged and everyone else was single. Now, we're all married and have 10 kids altogether. My group of 5 close girlfriends has expanded to 20 people. Wow! It was our turn to host this year and we enjoyed a yummy dinner tonight along with great company, a white elephant (re-gift) exchange, & fun? games. It's funny how we used to all stay 'til past midnight and everyone was out of our house before 10 tonight. Of course, we do all live much further apart, have kids AND they had to take a ferry since we moved to the island. But...I think we might just be getting a little bit older too! ;^) Here's a few pics of "game time!"


Unfortunately, I forgot to get out my camera until after one of the couples had already left. I'll have to get them next time for sure! It's so great for us to all get a chance to catch up with one another's lives. Our friends M&P just got back from living in Japan for the past 8 months so they had a lot of interesting stories to share! Well, we have 5 years before we host again so I guess we'll be the ones taking the ferry for the next 4 years. 'Til next year...think we can make it past 10? :0)