Health Care

Please take the time to educate yourselves on the health care plan that Pres. Obama is putting forth. And ask yourself why, if the plan is so great, have the congressmen, senators, and our president, exempted themselves from it? (Yes, it specifically states this.) Hmmm..... They get a better plan than the rest of us? Why is that?

Redneck Theme Park

Our new house has a decent sized hill in the backyard. The minute I saw it, I thought, "Perfect for sledding for the little kids. Too bad we don't have something with wheels to use in the summer."

Apparently my kids thought the same thing. The other day, I looked out the window and saw this:

...and then this....

Well, that looked like fun! I called for Taylor to come and look. He scoffed and said they were too scared to go straight down the front side. I'm not sure how it happened but he eventually challenged me to try it.

It was quite fun! I must have looked like I was having a blast, because then Taylor decided to take a turn.

I hope I didn't look like this when I was coming down the hill. hee

Not to be outdone, Ryan got in on the action. He tried it on Jillian's bike. Not a good idea. He hit a bump and seat shifted upwards, causing a crash and injury that made him crumple to the ground like this:

Being the kind, loving, supportive family we are, we laughed hysterically.

When Jeff came home from work he was rather mortified that the kids were riding down the hill, and called it the Redneck Theme Park.

Also behind our house is a small wooded area. Taylor discovered wild blueberries growing. They were a hug from God because wild blueberries bring back beloved memories of my childhood--picking them in the Northern Michigan woods with my Grandma. The kids have been out there picking daily.

These two never have anything to show for their work. Jake eats his as fast as he picks them and I have no clue what Kate does with hers.

Jillian's berries

One lone, blue hydrangea blossom I found in our yard

Playing in the packing paper

I only have a few pictures of sites around here. I haven't had a chance to take my camera out much and it has also been raining a lot. But here are two... There are a lot of these type of clocks in the small towns we drove through to get to the beach. I was driving when I took this, so please excuse the 'oh-I-just-pointed-the-camera-in-the-direction-of-the-clock-and-pressed-the-shutter.'

A church in a town nearby. There are many of these--so pretty!

Yesterday and today were MUCH better around here and there is finally some light at the end of the unpacking tunnel! Also....drum roll....Ryan got another call today saying that he does NOT have to return to Michigan after all. I guess Jeff got his point across yesterday because someone got the paperwork fixed. Ryan will leave on the 18th from HERE! Thank you, Jesus!!

Thank you for your encouraging notes and prayers. God is giving me so much peace and strength and even if many little things are going ridiculously wrong, I don't want to let that steal my joy. We are still comfortable without our 'stuff' and have soooo much to be thankful for. This morning, I read, "Do not be discouraged...I will never leave you nor forsake you." And I thought...yeah....no matter what happens, I will never have to go without God. He is always at my side. He has promised to never leave me and to always give me His strength. What more could I ask for?

Ryan

We got another call about Ryan leaving...it will be a few days sooner (again) because we have to get him back to Michigan. There was yet another mishandling of paperwork and it didn't get transferred out here as promised. Jeff had a rather heated discussion with Ryan's sergeant, but it produced nothing. The rules will not be bent, changed, or altered to accommodate. Long before we moved, we had specifically asked them if Ryan could be sent to boot c*mp from here and were assured that he could. There was 'no need' for him to stay in Michigan.

We ARE glad we brought him out here, so that he can see where we are living, but we would have made other arrangements for his truck.

I will post more later with some pictures (yes, I finally took some!!). We had a MUCH better day yesterday. :) Right now, though, I need to call the moving company because they did NOT pick up our second load in Michigan, as they promised. Some of Ryan's paperwork got left there with his stuff and he needs it before he leaves--which now looks like it will be the 10th, rather than the 18th.

If you want to pray that the moving company gets their act together, that would be nice. :) They required full payment when they delivered our things here on Monday, so now they have little incentive to get us the rest of our stuff. Grrrrr..... Oh...and our neighbor stayed home yesterday to let them in our house--but they never showed up or called to say they weren't coming!!

Day four in the moving adventure

I feel old. As in creaky. Every muscle in my body aches. Good grief, how can that be? How hard is it to unpack boxes for goodness sakes? Obviously harder than what I was doing previously. I need to exercise more.

Yesterday is a day I don't care to repeat. Lots of fighting, shrieking, not sharing, and whining. Oh and the kids did some of that, too. hahahahahaha Seriously, though, they were unglued. I would like to say that I kept it together and was all patient and Christ-like. Yeah. The truth is that I was annoyed, exasperated and worn out.

Today will be better, right? Today, I got up early and was able to spend time with God without everyone interrupting me every five seconds. Ahhhh....peace and quiet. There's nothing quite like it!

Jeff came home for dinner and um...there wasn't any. You know...'cause I was unpacking and all and didn't notice the late hour. Oh...and the fact that everything I wanted to make had at least one major ingredient missing from the pantry or fridge. So, he took us out for Chinese. He is so sweet.

I was frazzled and the kids were whining and crying when we got in the car. Jeff had purchased a GPS to help us get around because the roads here are incredibly winding. It is nearly impossible to figure out how to get anywhere without a GPS. Well, now Jakie has some new words in his ever-expanding vocabulary. From the back seat we hear:
"Turn right."
"Turn left."
"Recalculatatatating..." (That's Jake-speak for 'recalculating.')

He's had lots of practice with that word, because the dumb GPS keeps telling us that it has to recalculate, since we have made another wrong turn. I heard a comedian once say that GPS's were run by terrorists so that Americans can't find their way around their own country. hahahaha If you have ever used one, you will know why that is sooooo funny.

I know that some of you are wanting pictures...and please forgive me...but I just haven't had the energy to take any. Molly told me yesterday that she was SO surprised that I haven't been taking any pictures. ha. That should tell you how much they are used to seeing me with a camera attached to my face. When I get more boxes unpacked, I promise I will get out and take pictures. The area is very beautiful--and they even have BLUE hydrangeas here!! BLUE! I have bought them and planted them in Michigan, but the soil is never right and they are always pink (despite dumping copious amounts of the fertilizer on them that turns them blue). The soil must be perfect for blue ones here because they are everywhere. I wanted to take pictures, but I think I might make a bad impression on my neighbors if they see me skulking around in their yards taking pictures of their flowers.

Medical supplies needed for orphans

The Foundation that was instrumental in saving the lives of our SaraGrace and Kate, is in need of medical supplies. There is a woman in the U.S. who coordinates donations with people who are traveling to China. The supplies can then be hand delivered, which saves on the cost of shipping. If you are interested in donating, you can contact Rebecca Doris. rsdorris@placetobe.org

Rebecca's letter is below with list included:

Some of you may have contacts in the medical field that are willing to donate the medical supplies. Dr. Joyce desperately needs the medical supplies listed. I am glad to send any of these supplies to HOPE with people that I know traveling. There are adoptive families traveling as well as others that volunteer to take suitcase to Beijing Airport for HOPE. Contact me if you have any donations. Or if you traveling soon and are willing to take a suitcase or two, let me know and we can make plans.

Rebecca in TN r s dorris @ place to be . org

Volunteer – coordinator of supplies donated in US

Current Wish List for HOPE

Medical Supplies Needed

-Casting supplies for club foot babies – 2 inch fiberglass casting tape and 2 inch padding and stockinet

-Used abduction braces

Dr Joyce is treating several kids of different ages for clubbed feet and is running out of braces. http://www.clubfoot.co.za/Foot_Abduction_Brace_FAB.htm

Any size any condition is fine as long as the shoes are not too worn out.

Hand Sanitizer

-hand sanitizer bottles with pumps (1 liter or less for easier traveling)

-hand sanitizer for institutional wall units (major on-going need)

Can be ordered from various companies; here’s the link where we have ordered -

http://www.reliablepaper.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=dia95862&Search.x=0&Search.y=0

Dial Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer Fragrance-Free - 800 ml (12 pouches for about $65)

Sneakers and casual shoes for little ones – size 4 – 8 – girls and boys

(These can be new or gently used.)

Socks – infant and preschool age for boys and girls

Cloth Bibs

Preemie Diapers (not newborn but specific diaper size for preemie babies)

Pacifiers (not brand specific)

Medications (can be store brand or name brand)

Cough meds for infants and children

Allergy medications for infants and children

Diaper Rash Cream

Infants Tylenol

Infants Motrin/Ibuprofen

Antibiotic ointment or cream (like Neosporin Triple-Antibiotic Ointment)

Gas Drops

Steroid Cream (like hydrocortisone cream)

Multivitamins for infants (liquid) – with or without iron

Children’s Laxatives (over the counter)

Milk of Magnesia

Citrate of Magnesium Oral Solution

Dressings

-Gauze of various sizes

-Tape for gauze dressings

-Band-aids

Ryan is leaving soon

Ryan got the news that he has to report to bo*t camp sooner than we thought. He got a phone call yesterday that he will be leaving on August. 18. Wah. Only three weeks and my first chick will leave the nest. I know he needs to go--but I am so not ready. He is excited, though.

Coming up for air!

Driving through New York and Mass. The scenery was gorgeous.

Yes, we are still alive! Barely. It's been a trying few days, but the fog is starting to lift. The girls and I have been emotional and sad, while the little kids pretty much lost their minds. That in turn caused the rest of us to lose ours. They have been SO naughty! ugh. They had nothing to do--toys were on the truck, and they were bored with the few that we had been able to fit into the car. You really don't want to let three, three-year-olds get bored. Kate has also decided she is no longer potty-trained, which has been quite bothersome.

The truck arrived with our stuff yesterday (Mon.). Well, actually, only part of our stuff. The moving company didn't have the size truck trailer that they needed, so they told us up front that they wouldn't be able to take everything in one load. They assured us that they would prioritize to make sure we wouldn't have to do without the things we really needed. Yeah. Right.

We currently are missing two beds, half of the swingset (why would they pack HALF?!), half of the kids outdoor playhouse (Half??), and parts of lamps, bookshelves, the vacuum, etc. We do however, have lots of things we don't need, like a workbench for the garage, our riding lawn mower and all of our Christmas decorations.

The guys who unloaded the truck yesterday were shaking their heads and saying they couldn't understand why the beds weren't at least on the truck, and why the guys in MI left part of the truck empty. Hmmmmm.... Could it be that at 5:30PM, they decided that nothing else would fit?

Well, anyway....we will live without our additional things for the next few weeks.

Saturday, we took the kids to the beach. We had visions of playing in the sand all day but when we got there, it was high tide and there was not a grain of sand in sight! We stayed and played on the rocks, which was still fun.

Big brother checks out the turf

Waiting for a wave

Shrieks of delight!

A serious lack of sand

Crab that washed up on shore. (This is what I looked like on Saturday)

It is so pretty here. New England definitely has it's own personality.

We went to church on Sunday. It is probably not one we will attend again, but it was good to start the week in worship, surrounded by friendly people. Everyone we have met has been very nice--and our neighbors across the street came over with a housewarming gift.

I do have internet access now, but the wireless isn't working, so my computer is propped up on a box. Speaking of boxes, I have a ton to unpack, so I better get back to them.

We made it safely!!

Thank you so much for your prayers! We arrived last night about 9PM. The house we are renting is AMAZING. God is so good. Despite the beautiful house, some of us girls are really missing OUR house. And our family and friends. Sniff, sniff.

We found out that the truck with our stuff will not be arriving until Monday. This was not very good news except for the fact that I won't have to cook until Tue. Woohoo! I was hoping we could do some site-seeing in the meantime but it's still raining here. Maybe tomorrow will be nicer weather.

The kids are hyper beyond belief and Jeff and I are trying to be patient (or at least not let our heads spin around 360 degrees). Living in a house with no furniture, wastebaskets, blankets, etc. is proving to be a bit challenging, but I'm heading to Target later and some kind people from Jeff's work are bringing a few supplies later.

The kids were very good on the trip yesterday and that enabled us to make it here in 13 hours with only a few stops. We did lots of singing in the girl car. My kids like to make signs and put them up in the window so that we can interact with other drivers. Jillian made one that said, 'Honk if you like pie." I had to slow down when passing drivers to make them look at us. The girls got all thrilled when anyone honked. SaraGrace was on the other side of the car and wanted a sign, so Jillian made one for her. However, no one ever looked her way. After a bit, she crossed her arms and huffed, 'I want some customers!' We all cracked up. :)

Sorry no pictures....I am using Jeff's computer because mine is temporarily unable to connect to the Internet.

Thank you again, for praying!!

Trot, Trot to Boston

I am using my mom's computer...just a quick update before we pull out. Jeff told me that we need to leave at 7AM. I burst out laughing and then realized he was serious. Yikes!

The truck is loaded, but of course is there is drama--but I don't have time to type out the story (since it's 6:30AM and I'm sitting here in my jammies and need to be in the car, with the kids in 30 min.) Can she do it? Hmmm....we'll see.

If you would be so kind, can you please pray for safety on the roads? Ryan's pick-up has 'issues' and I am concerned. Jeff, Ryan and I all have a vehicle to drive, so no one will get a rest. I tend to get sleepy after driving for awhile. It's raining pretty hard at the moment, which adds to the fun.

Speaking of fun (NOT) we accidently let the movers pack the kids' DVD player for the car.

Cracking up!

Zoey sits on top of the boxes in the kitchen

Oh my goodness...I am totally cracking up reading the comments some of you posted to my last entry!! You guys are so funny!!

And yes...I can relate to all of you!

We currently have 1, 327 shoes. None of them match. How can anyone CONSISTENTLY lose one shoe of each pair you own? All of our little kids do this with extraordinary talent. Today we went to get some lunch, since all of our kitchen stuff is packed. We were herding all the kids out to the car when we noticed that Katie-bug had no shoes. A search party was sent out but came back empty-handed. We never did find her shoes and I am starting to think they might have accidentally gotten packed. Dang. I guess we will be buying another pair of flip-flops to add to her mounting collection.

I have to be honest and admit that I lose stuff, too. Rather than look for it, I just accuse other people of taking it. "Who took my.....?" hee! Before we had kids, Jeff didn't take this too well. Now that we have kids, my accusation is thrown into the air, aimed at no one in particular.

The movers are done and the truck will be arriving tomorrow morning to begin loading our junk belongings. It is a bit unnerving every time I watch the truck pull away with everything we own--especially photo albums and video's of the kids. I know moving vans must crash every now and then.

Would you believe we forgot to get DVD's out for the trip? I think we might have to crack a box open and get some out. We are going to have a boy car and a girl car on the way to Boston. That way we can have girl movies, girl music, and Jillian can read girl stories out loud. The boys can do whatever in their car, toot, burp, etc..

We don't have help unpacking on the other end, but that is okay. One time we were told we could have help, so we let the movers unpack. Big Mistake. UGH. All they did was unload every box all over the place. I was upstairs putting things away for a few hours and when I came down, the kitchen counters were piled about two feet high with all the stuff they had taken out of boxes. Everywhere I looked, the floors were covered with piles of the contents of the boxes. Grrrr.... I was so overwhelmed that I wanted to sit down and cry. Never again. I will handle the unpacking by myself, thank you!

The little kids are facinated with the moving truck, so they hopped up to check it out.

Tomorrow, my mom 'happened' to have a day off school. Happened...yeah. Thank you, Jesus for giving my mom the day off on the very day that we are moving. I plan to take the kids down to Grandma and Grandpa's for the afternoon to get them out of the way of the movers. It is going to be so hard to say good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa. BUT...it will be okay. It's an adventure that God is orchestrating and it will be good. :)

Packing Day #1

Jumping up and down on the bubble wrap that the packers kindly gave them.

Still a lot of dumpster diving going on.

As we were putting the girls to bed tonight, SaraGrace said, "Mom, whenever I toot, my bottom hurts."
I said, 'Well, stop tooting.'
"I can't."
"Honey, I'm sure you will be fine."
"Mom," she said with a wail, "Chloe said I was going to need butt surgery."

****************************************

The three littlest kids have a new saying. They will come and find me to announce , "I hafta go potty weally bad."
"You do?"
"Yeth."
"Well, go ahead and go."
"kaay."
We go through this little ritual even when they have come in from playing outside and have dashed past the bathroom to come and find me.

****************************************

One of the kids has this exchange with me several times per week.
Me: Please go find your shoes.
Child: I don't know where they are.
Me: Please go look for them.
Child: But I don't know where they are.
Me: I don't know where they are either. That is why I am asking you to go FIND them.
Child: But I don't know where to look.
Me: rolling eyes patiently saying once again...If we knew where they were, they wouldn't be lost. Please go look for them.
Child: wanders off, whining that she doesn't know where to look.

Now I know why some animals eat their young.

Failures in Communication

My brother sent me this photo that was posted on Failblog.org. Say the name of the restaurant fast. :) Some things just don't translate well. hehe

Thoughts on the big move

Tonight is our last night here without being surrounded by boxes. We really ARE doing fine. Despite being sad at saying good-bye to friends and family, we have total peace that God is leading us in this move. We know that He is working everything for our good. It will be okay.

Jeff rented a dumpster so that we could get rid of a bunch of junk that the garbage collection service won't take.

You would think that when you are throwing things away, your own children wouldn't be going dumpster diving in your front yard.

Or bringing their friends...

They claimed they were just looking for things that they could smash or break. Okaaay.... That is one of many things I don't get about males.

And in other news....

Jake went to church today with his pants like this:

It was not discovered until we were eating lunch at a restaurant with friends.

Random Thoughts

I will really miss this porch.

Today is our last Saturday here. It still feels surreal. My brain knows that I only have a few more days here, but my heart is still numb.

The little kids are pretty clueless, so they are currently fine. They did well at the cabin last week, so I think they will probably transition pretty well. The older kids are a bit sad, and trying to say good-bye to their friends. Ryan has been gone a lot--much to Chloe's dismay. He ended up taking her with him yesterday. She had an offer to swim with us at a friend's house and she turned it down to hang out with Ryan. I was a bit shocked by that because she LOVES to swim.

The movers come in two days to start packing us up. I am thankful that I don't have to pack everything. We have some doctor and dentist visits to finish up and then we will be heading east as the truck pulls out. (sob)

The truck pulls out on Wed., and is not guaranteed an arrival until Sunday, so we need to pack enough clothes for that long. Great! It's like another vacation.

5 days of clothes + 12 people = 60 clean outfits. And let's not forget pajamas. And swimsuits. Shoes. Hairbows. Underwear. Jackets.

Our washer and dryer are staying here because the dryer outlet at the new house is electric and we have a gas dryer. We will need to buy a set in Boston and hopefully get it delivered immediately. Either that, or all the kids will get a lesson on how to pound out laundry on a rock.

I had visions of visiting friends along the way, stopping at Niagra Falls, etc. But Jeff, aka Lets-get-there-by-driving-12-straight-hours thinks not. Drat! I see his point, though. Dragging all of our stuff into a hotel is a huge undertaking and not much fun. And there IS the slim possibility of the truck getting there on Friday instead of Sunday.

A kind co-worker delivered some blow up mattresses to the house so that the ancient youthful parents' lower backs don't go out. So we will be hanging out there until the truck arrives. I have only seen a few pictures of the house online, so I want to get there before the truck to figure out furniture placement.

Some random pictures from our last week here...

The purple coneflowers are blooming in our yard

This probably sounds silly, but we see deer a lot around here and I LOVE them! Each time I see them, my camera is at home. urgh. I really wanted to be able to take some photos of them before we moved so I began to pray that God would put some in my path when I had a camera handy. Last Sunday, on the way home from church, we spotted two fawns and their Mama as we pulled into our subdivision. We watched them for a few minutes and then I decided to go get my camera and hope to find them still there. Not likely...but worth a try. To my delight, they were still there when I returned and I was able to take some photos. They are a bit blurry because the deer were farther away than my lens could handle, but they are better than nothing. God DOES care about every detail of our lives and I think He was delighted to answer my prayer. :)

Two sets of dirty feet-sies

Chloe, in Ryan's *rmy shirt that she wears to bed

The remainder of the pictures are of a sweet little boy we know. He is the child of a young, newly married couple who needed some photos taken. I needed the practice, so wah-la... We did each other a favor. :) This little guy has some of the most gorgeous blue eyes I have ever seen. AMAZING!

My kids

This morning, Jakie came into the room wearing one of the girls' Easter hats. Zoey looked at him and said, "You wook prvitty." ( That's Zoey-speak for, "You look pretty.")

Jake looked at her in disgust and said, "I not pvitty." And he wasn't. He looked absurd but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo. Rats...

This afternoon, Taylor thought it would be fun to let me smell his armpits. You know...a little mom/son bonding experience. He pinned me and rubbed his stinky armpits on my shirt. Gross. As I headed past him, I spotted a bag of dirty diapers that I was going to throw in the garbage. Perfect. I picked it up and waved it in his face. He tried to fend me off but I persisted. At some point in the fracas he accused me of pushing the bag into his mouth, which is completely untrue. He has been grumbling all evening, while I secretly gloat that I grossed him out more than he grossed me out. Bahahahaha

This evening, we were out in the backyard playing when Jillian started yelling, "Mom! Look at SaraGrace!"

I looked for her but didn't see any sign of her. "Where? Where?" I yelled.
Jillian yelled, "Up there! In the tree!"

With visions of my baby falling out of the tree and breaking her leg, I dashed over to the tree. She was not visible until I got right under it and sure enough...there she was. I had my camera in hand and she was already posing.

Rather than my kids being camera shy, I am now met with a chorus of, "Mom! Smile me!" whenever I get the camera out. It cracks me up! I'm glad they don't mind me sticking my camera in their faces at every opportunity.

I'm starting to see this expression a lot lately.

Chloe has been wanting me to curl her hair lately. It doesn't last long.

Could he look any more mischievous?

My little Chloe

Ryan and Chloe have been little buddies since Chloe came home from China at 18 months of age. She has been upset about him going into the *rmy and sleeps with--or wears--the *rmy shirt he was given when he enl*sted.

Tonight, after being put to bed, she came down about an hour later, just sobbing. When I asked her what was wrong, she gulped out, "I don't want Ryan to get hurt in the *rmy."

My heart turned over. I took her in my arms and tried to comfort her, but everything I said sounded so lame. She sobbed and sobbed and I finally offered to let her call Ryan to try to calm her down. Thankfully, he answered his cell phone right away and talked to her.

She is lying on the couch near me because she can't get to sleep, due to worrying about Ryan. Poor little punkin. Molly and I prayed with her and she nodded her head earnestly when I told her that we have to trust God and ask Him to give us courage and peace so that we don't worry every day.

I guess this will be a good time to have her memorize Matthew 6:27, 'Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?'

When he was getting senior pictures taken, he insisted on having Chloe in a few of them.

Convicting Post

Another friend directed me to this post and I am passing it on. It convicted me and gave me perspective (again).

Divine Appointments

You know...sometimes God just likes to let you know that He is amazingly detailed. We like to say that His timing is perfect, but sometimes we forget His precision.

Last night, I made an impromptu trip to WalM*rt. I got held up at the register because the stupid convenient self-check register kept saying I wasn't putting the item in the bag. I was mildly annoyed at the delay because I was in a hurry. However, as I was walking out of the store, a van was driving by and I suddenly noticed that the person in the driver's seat was waving wildly. I stopped and realized that it was a friend of mine who has been going through a very painful time lately. She really needed a shoulder to cry on last night, and God had me walk out of that store at the precise time she was driving by the entrance. Thirty seconds earlier or later and I would have missed her entirely. (In fact, my son was there at the same time and we never ran into each other.) My friend asked where I was parked so that she could pull her car nearby to continue our conversation, and wouldn't you know...there was one empty spot right next to my car for her. Every other spot around us was taken.

After ending our conversation, I traveled on to the grocery store. A few weeks ago, one of the cashier's had commented on the items I was buying and it came up that we were having a party for Ryan as he went in to the milit*ry. She said she had a friend in the service and prayed for him a lot--and then said, "I'll pray for your son." Ever since, I have been planning to return and give her a prayer card for Ryan. Last night, as I headed in, I thought, "Rats...she won't be here because it's night and she works the day shift. I hope I see her before we move." As I walked in, I was shocked to see her standing at the door. She was not at a register---she was a greeter! I have never seen her in that position--EVER. I walked up and reminded her of who I was and handed her the prayer card for Ryan. She later found me in the store and wanted his address, so she could write to him. That blessed me soooo much!

When I left, she was no longer at her post as greeter--and had been moved elsewhere in the store. God had put her where I needed to see her at the precise moment that I walked in. It was such a great reminder to me that God is NOT random. It sometimes seems like things happen without Him noticing, but He knows everything that is happening and there is purpose and meaning in it all. Just because we are often unaware of it, doesn't change the truth of who He is and what He is doing.

All About Jake

Little man, Jake, is three! We took him for a birthday lunch and then to the hardware store where he picked out a bike. He was so excited and rode it around the store. I let him skip his nap to ride it in the driveway--which ticked Zoey and Kate off a bit.

Later, we had birthday pie instead of cake...since we still have cake left over from Ryan's party. With three birthdays in one week, we get kind of birthday cake-d out.

We cannot imagine our lives without this special little guy--our only child from Guatemala. God led us to him in such an unusual way, and we are so glad we have this little blessing in our lives. He is constant entertainment. In honor of Jake's life...some pictures of him from this past week.