Writing has seemed a bit foreign to me lately...and, I'll be honest, I miss it! The pace of life since we have been home from vacation is such that leaves me ready for another vacation!:) But it has been full of special blessings and new memories.
Last week, a girlfriend and I took our kids to our little Cloverdale theater to see "Despicable Me". It's the first time that Samuel and Caleb have ever been to the movies...so, you can see how long it's been since we have taken an adventure to the "big screen". At $4 a ticket, it was not too bad and it had a real "small town" feel. If you brought your own container for popcorn it was cheaper, they did a drawing for a free candy before the movie began (Grace won it!)and they got a lollipop at the end of the movie as they were leaving! It was a blast! As far as the movie went, while I am always hesitant to mention movies on my blog :)...we really did enjoy it! Don't take my word for it, though...check it out on Focus on the Family's "Plugged In" to make sure you'd feel comfortable with your kiddo's seeing it!
Last Friday (July 30) was my birthday and we went into Vancouver with friends for a delightful evening of dinner and exploration (that's the Olympic torch we are in front of). A couple gals who are interning at the church this summer watched the kids for us and it was SUCH a blessing!!! Of course, our kids LOVE being the center of attention!
In the midst of all this we finally have citizenship certificates for both Samuel and Caleb so we have made a couple of trips down to the Social Security Administration to get the boys social security numbers. It's the last and final step to making it all "official" and it's such a blessing to know that it is all done! But though all the paperwork may be complete, there is still a piece of our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers in Ethiopia...because there is still an Ethiopian mommy there who we love and pray for...a reminder that, while adoption is beautiful, it has come at great sacrifice. Just as our adoption into God's family came because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
We also completed our paperwork for permanent residency in Canada. There was so much paperwork that it felt like we were adopting again!:) It's a long process...hopefully by next year at this time I might have some good news to share in regards to our residency!:)
This past week we went blueberry picking with a friend from church. So that makes 3 berries this season!!! It amazing just how many blueberries are on one bush...but how long it took to fill up our ice cream buckets with those little "marbles". The kids were troopers...especially Grace...she was determined to fill one whole bucket herself and she worked diligently to accomplish that goal!
And, just in case you thought it was no big deal to pop a few blueberries in your mouth before washing them...I had to throw in a picture of just how dirty our hands were simply from picking the berries. We didn't play in the dirt once...I promise!
And we spent the better part of Friday sailing! Well...I did little more than sit on the sailboat...but since the boat was moving...that means I was sailing, right?!!! Bryan was in our church golf tournament with a fellow elder and a couple other men and they took first place...which meant a trip out on English Bay (Vancouver) with a family in our church! I was so tickled to be able to join them and their wives and it was absolutely beautiful...and so quiet! The most peaceful quiet that I have had in a long time! It was a first for both of us...and we have walked away quite the fans of sailing!:) What a blessing it was for both of us! Thanks Art and Nancy, Bob and Helene and the Baergs for watching our clan for many hours!!!!
Last week, a girlfriend and I took our kids to our little Cloverdale theater to see "Despicable Me". It's the first time that Samuel and Caleb have ever been to the movies...so, you can see how long it's been since we have taken an adventure to the "big screen". At $4 a ticket, it was not too bad and it had a real "small town" feel. If you brought your own container for popcorn it was cheaper, they did a drawing for a free candy before the movie began (Grace won it!)and they got a lollipop at the end of the movie as they were leaving! It was a blast! As far as the movie went, while I am always hesitant to mention movies on my blog :)...we really did enjoy it! Don't take my word for it, though...check it out on Focus on the Family's "Plugged In" to make sure you'd feel comfortable with your kiddo's seeing it!
Last Friday (July 30) was my birthday and we went into Vancouver with friends for a delightful evening of dinner and exploration (that's the Olympic torch we are in front of). A couple gals who are interning at the church this summer watched the kids for us and it was SUCH a blessing!!! Of course, our kids LOVE being the center of attention!
In the midst of all this we finally have citizenship certificates for both Samuel and Caleb so we have made a couple of trips down to the Social Security Administration to get the boys social security numbers. It's the last and final step to making it all "official" and it's such a blessing to know that it is all done! But though all the paperwork may be complete, there is still a piece of our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers in Ethiopia...because there is still an Ethiopian mommy there who we love and pray for...a reminder that, while adoption is beautiful, it has come at great sacrifice. Just as our adoption into God's family came because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
We also completed our paperwork for permanent residency in Canada. There was so much paperwork that it felt like we were adopting again!:) It's a long process...hopefully by next year at this time I might have some good news to share in regards to our residency!:)
This past week we went blueberry picking with a friend from church. So that makes 3 berries this season!!! It amazing just how many blueberries are on one bush...but how long it took to fill up our ice cream buckets with those little "marbles". The kids were troopers...especially Grace...she was determined to fill one whole bucket herself and she worked diligently to accomplish that goal!
And, just in case you thought it was no big deal to pop a few blueberries in your mouth before washing them...I had to throw in a picture of just how dirty our hands were simply from picking the berries. We didn't play in the dirt once...I promise!
And we spent the better part of Friday sailing! Well...I did little more than sit on the sailboat...but since the boat was moving...that means I was sailing, right?!!! Bryan was in our church golf tournament with a fellow elder and a couple other men and they took first place...which meant a trip out on English Bay (Vancouver) with a family in our church! I was so tickled to be able to join them and their wives and it was absolutely beautiful...and so quiet! The most peaceful quiet that I have had in a long time! It was a first for both of us...and we have walked away quite the fans of sailing!:) What a blessing it was for both of us! Thanks Art and Nancy, Bob and Helene and the Baergs for watching our clan for many hours!!!!
Comments