A few sights...

Thank you for all your prayers for Brady and Kenzie
while they prepared and
while they ministered in Guatemala.
They had an incredible trip!
God has shown them so many things,
but most importantly -
God showed himself to them!

We are still waiting for more photos but
here are a few we'd like to share...

Kenzie was taking the photos
that's why she's not in any of these.
Both kids are ready to go back next year!
They are in love with the people of Guatemala!

Summer activities

27 more days until we are back to school!
and...
I'm running out of fun, cheap ideas for the kids to do!

I'm tired of getting my day started walking over the loads of laundry,

tip toeing through the scattered toys
(those army men hurt!)

and across the swamp of dog hair.

Jailyn and Jorja love going to the pool,
but really I'm tired of putting my swim suit on.
It seems the elastic is stretching in places
that wasn't in the original design.

The near by park/splash pad is just too hot.
And the big kids get bored quickly!

We do love to go hang out at our local gym,
but have you tried to
leave your kids with the day care providers
who give you that fake smile,
as they say,
"Sure there's room." ...

"We're not at capacity, yet..."

and then as you register them...
"Oh, you have three kids - we only have room for two.
You will have to wait until another child leaves."

Really... if it is that crowded - my kids do not want to go -

"too loud" Jailyn cries while covering her ears.

Jorja just gives me the terrified look that we
got in China when we took her to visit
the orphanage
and she decided she had had enough.

and Conner looks at me and says,
"You know I don't do crowds."

So we end up back at the pool.
Which of course isn't a horrible thing -
but there goes my quiet workout time.

We have done many crafts!
Tye-dying
painting
paper mache
lots of gluing and water colors for J & J
play-doh and clay

We've watched movies:
Roots
Where the Red Fern Grows
Grease -Kenzie is trying out for this
musical at school this fall.

We've rearranged furniture and began
re-decorating rooms.

We do plan on doing some community service
with some friends next week.
We are planning to go to the community homeless shelter
to play board games and such with these kids.

I love summer but am afraid the kids are getting bored
and just spending too much time in front of the TV and
computer.

Do I threaten them?
"If you don't get off the computer we will go
school supply shopping?"

Tell me what are your tricks and how do you keep the kids
busy and engaged during the summer!

Sunday afternoon drive!

Today Conner and his friend and I took a few hours

to check out the architecture downtown.

Conner and his friend had taken an pottery class

this week and everyday when we passed the old houses,

the two of them were overwhelmed with the cool architecture.

We saw that one of the houses was For Sale and

had an open house today - so we made a plan!

The boys loved going into the old house.

It was built in 1877!

It was beautiful!

As we walked downtown,

here are some of the things the boys

found interesting...

We went into one of the antique stores

Okay, so I am feeling old!

My grandma had these glass balls in her living room!

Oh, and they loved this "old" phone...

Unfortunately, the boys were camera shy -

but we sure had a nice afternoon!

Thanks guys!

Thankful Thursday!

I love Thursdays!
So many bloggy friends have Thankful Thursday posts -
and they are just fun to read!
I love posting these too - cause even if things aren't
going my way -
I know that I have plenty to be thankful for!

Such as...
Time with Conner this week!

Now that he is the middle child -
the special Mom and Conner time gets put on the back burner!
I have enjoyed watching him take on the
oldest child role this week.
He's done a great job!
And we have been able to have friends over,
do crafts and play board games!
I love my boy and am so very thankful for him!

This silly girl!

Our little cupcake is growing so fast!
She is learning so much!
She is amazing!
We just had our 6 month post adoption visit.
I love these visits -
it makes me take a break from the day to day stuff
to see how far we have all grown
since she has been home!

And our little Princess!
Our social butterfly!

Just incredible! She is beautiful and so smart!
Last week she spelled "green"
in sign language!
We really haven't worked on spelling with her -
but she often asks how to spell certain words.
I guess she is retaining all of this information.

My brother!!!

I'm still amazed that he was willing
to take off 2 weeks of his time to go
to Guatemala with my kids.
He is so incredibly generous.
Before they left Brady told me
that he wants to be like Uncle JB!
I pray that too!

Side note: A team member called his wife at home.
And all is well!
Today they will be sharing the Gospel with school children.
How exciting!
I can't wait to read my kids journals -
they better be writing in them!

There is one more thing that I am always very thankful!
Without it my family would have fewer hot meals!

I love my crock pot!!

Have a great Thursday and remember to be thankful!

Guatemala Day 3

We are trusting the team got a good night sleep last night.

They were scheduled to do a lot of construction yesterday.

Today,

after breakfast they will be headed to Limar Guatemala

to help paint the interior of a church.

Tonight they will be hosting a Kids Outreach

which will include a small service,

movie and their drama.

Please continue to pray for their safety,

and that they are allowing God to use them

as He sees fit.

Changing lives forever

When these two little girls entered our lives

and hearts

we knew our lives were changed forever.

We would have two more kids to care for,

to feed, to cloth, to teach,

to hug!

We Knew that we will be celebrating Brady's

High School graduation the same week

that we will be celebrating Jailyn's

Kindergarten graduation.

But...

what we didn't know was

what a change these girls would make in those

hearts around us.

These girls have opened the world to many friends

and strangers.

We have had many pre-teens and

teens tell us that

it will be through adoption that they

want to become parents.

We have been told from elementary students

they want to adopt a child with cleft lip!

These two little girls have made our

safe community open their

eyes and hearts to the rest of the world!

And what would of happened if

these girls never came home.

What if we had told God,

"Sorry, we don't have enough money."

"We don't have an extra bedroom." or

"We just don't want to upset our other kids."

Oh how sad my life would be!

We would lack Jailyn's silly laugh,

and Jorja's huge smile!

We would never have been the recipients of

Jailyn's unconditional love.

We would never feel Jorja's gentle touch.

We would never had felt God's love through

these two precious girls!

We are so blessed to have been called to

care for the orphans.

Thankfully my two little girls are

no longer orphans,

but part of a big family who love them

unconditionally!

Zacapa Guatemala

I figure no news is good news!

We don't plan to hear from the kids until their return, unless

something horrible happens -

so I am good with not hearing from them!

(I guess that's the Navy wife in me :)

Today the team will be doing construction...

-trench digging

-electrical conduit installation

-painting

Wow! and Brady though mowing our yard was tough.

Maybe after this training he'll be willing to do some

handyman jobs for me around the house. :)

They also get to be part of the

Ground Breaking Ceremony and Dedication

of the newest house to be built on grounds.

This house will be the home

for the next House Parents

and about 15 orphans.

They also will be putting on a

small drama play later in the week,

so the will be rehearsing today.

Kenzie will love this!

Praying they are having a wonderful time!

Praying they are making new friendships!

Praying they are making new memories!

and most of all

Praying they are seeing God's hand

in all they do this week!

On the home front...

Jorja is really confused as to where

Brady, Kenzie and Uncle "Bebe" went.

We really did try to explain it to her using a map and all -

I think it is just nerves. She did sleep well last night,

so hopefully she is feeling more comfortable

and realizing that I won't snatch her up at night

and take her to the airport and

send her off too.

What kinda mom would do that to her teenage kids?

Jailyn is good to go.

During calendar time we added a photo of a heart on the

day they all come back -

Jailyn is focused on counting down the days until

they return.

Conner - though he wont admit it...

misses his big sib's incredibly!

Lots of body language

and emotional outburst.

It gives he and mom extra cuddle time too!

And how can that ever be a bad thing?

Thank you again for all your prayers for the kids and the team!

They're off!

We were up at 3am today get on our way to the airport!

We met up with our group -

helped get all the bags organized,

help pass out t-shirts

(which I forgot to get a photo of the kids and Uncle in

their team t-shirts - poohy! -

I think I was more focused on keeping my

"ugly" cry at bay!)

The whole team was excited to be on their way!

Today is a long travel day to them!

As I watched the three of them go through security,

and when I wasn't giggling at them taking off their shoes

and organizing their bins,

or holding back my "ugly" cry -

and as I prayed for them,

I stood wondering how this trip will change each one of them.

Some members have been struggling with spiritual warfare -

which tell me that Satan doesn't want them to go

to the House of Hope.

But our God is so much bigger and strong!

Everyone showed up this morning and there was a

beautiful feeling of peace surrounding the entire team.

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

the Lord is enthroned as King forever.

The Lord gives strength to his people;

the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Psa 29:10-11.

Kenzie is a teenager!!

I can't believe my Angel Baby is a teenager!
She makes me so proud!
She is a fun loving girl!
She loves true medical and crime investigation stories,
She loves to play soccer with her Manchester team,
She is a Black Belt in MMA and loves her karate school,
She loves drama and singing at school,
She loves being a younger sister and
loves being a big sister!
She is very excited about her trip to Guatemala on Monday.

I am excited to see what God's plans are for her future!

Beach Time!

From Mobile we drove to the white sand beaches
of Pensecola Florida!
It was a beautiful day!
The big kids couldn't wait to play a
little barefoot soccer on the beach!

All the kids built sand castles...

Jailyn and Jorja loved finding seashells!
This activity helped Jorja focus on the water rather then the sand!
(Both my SPD kids hate the sand)

The big kids had fun jumping the waves!

Nice Air Time Brady!

Nothing better then doing a few exercises at the beach...

Jailyn decided Mountain Climbers would be fun to do in the sand!

Then there is always time to bury big brother in the sand!

And big sister!
The fun is watching them try to get out!

Or little sister!

And yes, if you are wondering,
I was behind the camera the whole time.
But when we got to the car to get everyone new,
clean clothes everyone was happy that Mom
was dry and free of sand and able to help!

Fun memories were made!

'Bama!

We had a great time in Alabama!
This was our first trip to 'Bama!
The state was beautiful,
and so were the people!
We toured and toured and toured!
We began our vacation in Mobile!
USS Alabama Battleship
and the USS Drum Submarine!
Bryan loved this!!
We laughed that his dream home is
a log home in the mountains of Colorado -
but the decor would be nautical.
(see how confusing he can be?)

USS Alabama

Salute!
(Jailyn loves to say "The Pledge of Allegiance")

Captains Quarters on the USS Alabama
and this is "roomy"

Jailyn loves puddles!

Airboat ride!

This was a first for all of us!
Everyone loved this experience!
We recommend this activity to anyone in Mobile Bay!
(Plus Captain Geoff, was really cool!)
A little Gator!

A BIG Gator!

Off thru the marsh!!!

Jorja thought this was totally cool!

Kenzie was game to hold the baby gator too!

Mom had to prove she was brave too!

We had a great time! More photos to come... cute Beach photos!