The zoo and misc. pics.

Ok, here's my attempt at captions again. If they get all jumbled (which I am pretty sure they will) just play a little match up game!

What is Logan doing in Gee's crib? I have no clue. Let me just say I am happy that puppy is well made!

This is my monster squash plant. It is over-shadowing all my other vining plants and I am considering cutting it back and taking my losses. My honeydew's and watermelon's are what's going to suffer and we cannot have that!

Check out these little birdies. They are so ugly they are cute. They are right in the middle of one of our raspberry bushes (which by the way we have gotten a good deal of berries off this year). If you barely bump the branch they all perk up and chirp like crazy. Leah is all worried about them because she hasn't seen the mama around. I've seen the mama once, but I told Leah (and all the kids) that she needs to just stay away and that is the best way to "help" the birdies out.

The last few pics are of the zoo. We went about a week or so ago with my SIL and her kiddos. We all had fun and the animals were great. We even did the petting zoo (i.e. germ city) and the kids helped brush out some goats.

Look how big my Logan looks. **Sigh** Where does the time go???

Oh, this tiger was so funny. It just kept pacing back and forth in front of the glass, like it was showing off. It was cool though because the kids were literally like and inch or two away from the tiger. All the kids thought the tiger was great until they got up to the glass and saw how close the tiger really was. Anna had to be coaxed to stay by the glass and Gee was just gone. He waited at the stroller, a safe distance away.

So, tiger's may not be Gee's thing, but he didn't even hesitate to touch the snake. Ewww. I can do bugs, spiders, etc, all the normal stuff girls typically get squeamish about, but I do not like snakes! I can be on our massive mower and see an itty bitty gardner snake over in the yard and I still jump. They are just creepy. My kids however, snakes don't bother them a bit. Except for Anna, she and I just don't do snakes.

Pretty Normal Stuff

Nothing too exciting going on around here. It is hot here. I feel like this last week has been my first real dose of yucky ohio summers. Working outside at all is tough. I try to do my work either in the am or later in the day, but that doesn't always work out. Inside is very nice this year though because we have central air now (yes, we are moving up in the world). We don't keep it too cool in here, but just keeping the humidity at bay is a huge plus!

I finally feel like my garden is looking good. I have been pulling weeks for two weeks! I almost have them all cleaned out (except for our strawberries, which I am not even sure I will mess with). I cleaned out the chicken coop on Sunday and I think I am going to spread my coop compost on my garden. The straw in it should keep the weeds at bay and the poo should fertilize it pretty good. Sounds like a good plan eh?

Our raspberries are coming on and I think I will try and make a batch of jam out of them. I will pick next week at our main raspberry picking place (you know where you have to pay, but the berries are amazing) and that will be the bulk of my jam/berries for the year. It is nice though that I think we have enough berries around here for some jam. I already made two batches of strawberry jam and I think I can make a couple more with the strawberries I have in the fridge. Jam is definitely on the docket for today!

Poor, poor Logie. He went to a friends house on Monday and got FRIED. His shoulder are so burnt and he had HUGE seeping blisters all over them. He is pretty miserable. He hasn't been able to wear a shirt for two days now. He is pretty much confined to indoors because being in the heat is extremely uncomfortable for him. My 3 bio kids are pretty fair, especially Leah and Logan. We try exceptionally hard to keep sunblock on all the kids any time they are out in the sun. Some might even think we are weird about it. Monday, poor Logan slipped through the cracks and now he is a mess. Pray for him if you get a chance.

Well, off to do some work outside before it gets to hot!

Oh, and zero news on our adoption. I am still very frustrated, but what else can I do. I do know that other agencies are getting referrals somehow (I read about them on their adoption blogs) and that makes things even a little harder. But I know God is still in control. I tell myself that every time I find myself irritated.

Julie

SUPER GEE and Happy Father's Day!

Oh my goodness, Gideon has become the super hero bug catcher to the little girls. It is so funny. If they see a bug they yell for Gideon and he swoops in without even flinching and rids the world of one naughty critter.

I was out side earlier today, cleaning the coop. The 3 little ones were playing outside the coop and Madeline started wailing. You could tell she was really freaked out about something. All I heard was screaming, then "Ant," more screaming and "Gee." By the time I got there Gideon had plucked the poor little ant off of Madeline and Madeline was smiling. Crazy I tell you. But it was very sweet.

Since today is Father's Day I want to wish all the father's in my life a "Happy Father's Day." My dad died when I was two, so I didn't have a father in the sense that many people do. However, God blessed me with an uncle who loved me like a father and was always available to me. My Uncle John is the greatest guy ever and I am so thankful for him. Growing up God also gave me a pastor that I still love dearly to this day. Now, I also have a father in law and a step father that are wonderful and that I also love very much. Gesh, now that I think about it, I have some pretty wonderful grandfather's also. So you see, even though I didn't have a father in the normal sense, I feel like now I have been blessed beyond measure!

I of course need to wish my dear husband a "Happy Father's Day." He is the best dad ever. He loves our kids so much and it shows. He is attentive and gentle and I just love to watch them all together. You know, I have known Ryan for 20 years now and I hope it doesn't sound silly to say that "I am so proud of him." He has grown into an amazing provider and leader of our crew. I am so blessed to have him as the father of our children.

Julie

PIctures.....

I loaded lots of pics and I categorized them over the next few posts, so keep scroll'in.

Canada......

Ok, I am not even going to bother titling these things. I think you can figure it out.

A few camping pics.....

Aunt Emily organized making ice cream for the kids (and a couple of the adults :)) and it was lots of fun. It worked pretty well also!

The swing......

I love these pictures of the girls..... They love this swing.

Life Around here lately.....

Here are some recent pics:

*Our painted coop. We need to do some landscaping, maybe a walk way?

*A playhouse for the kids. We bought this great playhouse off of cragslist. It is really nice with a loft and everything. We are going to paint it, fix the flower boxes, move and lanscape it, etc. But I love it and I am so glad we finally got one of these.

*Our planted and somewhat weedy garden.

*Our standard Easter Egger baby roosters.

*Our white Silkie Rooster (he is so cute!)

Good to be back to normal....Almost.

We've been home from camping since Sunday evening and I finally feel like things are getting back to normal. Leah is gone though. She is at camp and won't be home until Friday evening. I really miss her. Like, really miss her. I am very pathetic, I know, but when you spend 24/7 with a gal, her absence leaves a huge hole.

I have been working lots in my garden trying to get it all weeded. Man, it is taking forever. We have a small tiller that will get in between the rows, but you can't till around the plants and we have lots of plants. We have a strawberry patch this year thanks to a really great friend that had extra. The bunnies were eating the ripe berries, but they have seemed to stop and we are actually getting a few yummy red ones! We also planted various tomatoes and peppers, snap peas, green beans, various squash, pumpkin, various melons and cucumbers. Oh and I just planted some sweet potatoes that my SIL just gave me. Everything is growing well. Not as many peas and beans came up as I would have liked, but they still look good. I am excited to have fresh veggies and to really can a lot of things this year!

Our chickies are doing well. Our hens are getting big and I bet they will be laying in the next month or so. We still do not have their fenced in run completed, so they have been "cooped up" in the coop for quite some time (ha ha, I am SO funny). They have tons of space in there though, so it's all good. Our six bantams are looking good also. I am sure 2 out of the six are roos, but only time will tell for sure. Our two little standard sized roos are about 3 weeks not and they are doing great. We put them in the bantam brooder about a week ago and that was interesting. One bantam in particular (the one known to have a 'tude) was extremely mean to them and pecking them pretty relentlessly. I am happy to report though that our 2 standard roos no longer have to cower in the corner of the crate. Seriously, I looked in on them tonight and the two roos were lounging over in the main area of the crate and all 6 of the bantams where huddled in the same corner that the roos use to huddle in. My, my, how things have changed!

The kiddos are doing well and I thing they are enjoying their summer so far. They have been outside tons and have eaten lots of popcicles. Fortunately we are pretty much mosquito free this year. Praise God. I am sure we have a few, but we have been hard pressed to find a bite on anyone. Last year this time we could barely go outside.

We are having trouble again with Madeline getting out of her bed at night. She got put back to bed 7 different times tonight. She is also still lying some, but she it quicker to tell the truth these days, that has to count for something, right? She is very smart though and can count, tell all her colors, etc. Her newest thing is singing. She loves to sing, particularly when she is in trouble. She will sing very "woe-fully," I guess it is comforting to her. It is funny to us.

Anna is just our little sweetie. She can certainly be naughty also, but in general Anna is just a good kid. She is extremely sensitive, but I think she is learning to control that a bit. I cut her hair a couple weeks back and it looks soooo cute. She was so funny after I cut it. She kept looking in the mirror and flipping her head around. Anna still gets up at night crying.......so sad. Oh and Anna is still our animal lover. She seriously has a thing for our chicks. A couple night ago we let some of the hens roam the yard and we had to chase them down to put them back. Well Anna actually caught one and carried to the coop herself. I could barely catch them.

Gideon is just all boy. He is all about cars, 4-wheelers, trucks, guns and Spiderman. He is obsessed with Spidy! I think we are going to do a spidy theme for his 3rd birthday. Gee is also pretty sensitive, but differently than Anna. Anna is just all around soft hearted and a crier, Gee is only really sensitive physically (like if he gets a boo boo) and if too much attention is given to him. If he knows people are watching (even if he was trying to be silly or something) he will bow his head and get all sad. Lately Gideon has had some potty issues. He has waited too long to pee and he has wet himself 3 times in the last 3 days. All three times I have just asked him if he had to pee (he was doing the peepee dance), he said "no" and the next thing I know I am standing in a river. I think he has a problem with using the big potty and not it potty chair. I think it scares him.

Logan is hanging in there, although I think he misses Leah also. He been acting down off and on. I will say though that Logan is a happy helper. He is so good about doing what I ask him to do and not complaining. He just gets pretty board around here sometimes and for some reason he never takes me up on all the extra chores I offer him to keep him busy.

Everything is the same in adoption world, although I do plan to talk with my case manager about the concerns Ryan and I having.

That's all for now, my next post will just be lots of pics!

Julie

A New Day....

Well, God grace is certainly new every day.  Today is better and I am feeling more optimistic about our adoption.  Not necessarily more optimistic that our little guy will get home quickly, but my faith has been renewed.  I sincerely thank Jesus for that.  I am still bummed at the delays, but my heart is starting to echo my mind.  This is all a part of God's plan.

We leave in a few hours for camping for a long weekend.  I seriously have not sat down since my bowl of oatmeal Saturday evening.  I have washed laundry none stop from 8 am to 10 pm for the last 3 days and it is just now getting done. The lawn has been mowed, the garden has been weeded (for the most part) and watered, 46 cups of strawberries have been cleaned and frozen, both chicken coops have been cleaned up, 2 dozen muffins and 3 pans are bars have been made and I am about to through some bread in the oven.  **Quick Breath**  The boat has been cleaned up and moved back to the barn and the camper is here and partially packed.  We are doing pretty good I think...  I need to finish packing the camper and then I think we can relax!!  Yeah!!  This should be a very nice weekend of doing nothing!

Julie

Feeling a bit down......

I think anyone who has adopted before has reached the point that I am at right now.  I am just sad and frustrated.  Tomorrow marks 11 weeks of waiting for a referral.  I guess the power has been out in Ethiopia (a very vague excuse I know) and our agency has received zero referrals for 2 weeks now.  We are still 6th in line.  Our case manager says that there are boy referrals that they know of, but with no power, things are at a stand still.  I am hoping that we will get a good bump to the front once the power situation is worked out.  In some ways, no referral at this point isn't what is bugging me the most.  It is the fact that the wait just keeps getting longer.  We just found out Friday that the wait from passing court until travel is 8 to 10 weeks now.  8 TO 10 WEEKS!  It use to be 2 to 4 weeks.  But, new regulations regarding birth certificates has extended things.  The wait from referral to submitting our documents to court is longer also.  The more popular Ethiopia becomes, the more regulations we are seeing.  Of course I want things to be ran as ethically as possible, but part of the reason we chose Ethiopia was because of a relatively quick process in an adoption friendly country.  I am disappointed that Ethiopia is falling prey to all the red tape we see in other countries.

So, our time line will look something like this from referral (to my understanding):  After we accept our referral it will take 2 to 3 months to submit our documents to court.  A court date will then be set 6 to 8 weeks out.  We have a 5o/50 shot of passing court the first time.  If we do not pass court, depending on the problem, it could take 2 to 6 weeks to get another court date.  After we pass court we will travel for pick up approximately 8 to 10 weeks later.  This puts our process taking from 22 to 36 weeks after we accept a referral.  So let's say we get a referral at the end of June, that would put us traveling for pick up anywhere from late November (if things go as fast as they can and we pass court on the first try) to mid February.  **Sigh**  My brain says "God is in control," but my heart is not listening to my brain......

Julie  

Nothing new......

I just wanted to pop in and say, nothing new is going on.  Besides being busy the last week or so, we haven't had internet (*gasp*), hence the no posts.

We are 5th/6th in line for our little boy (as of last week) and the wait is starting to get a little agonizing.  On a "good" note, we have been extremely busy lately and that helps a little with the wait.  Although I always seem to have time to think about little bean and what he is like/doing right now.

The coop is painted and I will include pics as soon as I can.  It looks good and I am pretty happy with it.  We have not finished the fenced in area off the back yet (although the trench for the fence has been dug) so the poor chicks have not been out and about yet and they probably won't be for another couple weeks or so.  Also, we got two more chicks.  They are standard sized roosters because we needed one or two for our hens.  They are very cute and actually quite sweet.  We may have to give away one of our bantams.  I hate to do that because he/she is probably the prettiest one out of the 6, but he/she is quite aggressive.  I put our two 1 week old roosters in with the 6, 3 week old bantams (who are all about the same size) and that one bantam kept charging the rooster chicks and for the 4 hours they were in there, he/she would not let them get water/food.  The poor guys were huddled in a corner when I pulled them out and put them back in their own brooder box.  I have not given up on it yet, but we really have no place for a chicken that can't get along.

Well, we are leaving in two days for our annual trip to Canada!  I love this trip because once we are there, it is very relaxing.  However, packing is very time consuming.  Especially this year because I am trying to bring everything I can from home because I know things will be pricey up there.  This week is proving to be exceptionally busy, not including the packing, so I am in a bit of a tizzy.  Also, when we get home we will be turning right around and going camping for a long weekend.  And then, the day we get back from camping (Sunday), Leah and her friend have to be in Columbus because they are going to camp for a week.  Oh man, I am going to be sooooo busy.......

Ok, well off I go to pack.  

Julie

Anna Birthday Pictures.....

Anna celebrated her birthday three different times over the last week.  Last Wednesday we went out to eat with Ryan's family and celebrated.  Everyone was so thoughtful in buying her presents and I know she had lots of fun.  She even got ice cream for dessert!  The picture with the baby doll is from that party.

Then, on her actual birthday, we made a cake and went to the park for a picnic.  The cake was a HUGE hit and the 3 little ones loved helping me make it, and eat it!  Anna opened her presents, ate sandwiches and cake and played on the playground.  It was pretty chilly though, so we didn't stay too long.

Finally, Saturday evening we went over to my aunt and uncle's house to celebrate Mother's Day and we had yet another little party for Anna.  I made chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting.  Anna loves princess' right now.  She'd wear a princess skirt every day if I'd let her.  So, pink and princess was a theme throughout the celebrations!   Happy Birthday again sweetie! 

The inside of the coop is done!

I am very happy to report that the inside of our coop is done!  We only finished off one side because that was more than enough space for our hens.  It is in old coop, there's no doubt about that, but it is a cool kind of old in my opinion (if you like that kind of stuff).  Even though the other side is not finished, it is sanitized and structurally sound.  It is also predator proof (as best we can tell).  It is really is quite nice to have all the extra space on the one side.  Before we avoided that coop like the plague, now is very functional and clean! 

We were able to clean up and use the old nesting boxes. There were two sets, but for now we only need one.  We are just storing the other one in case we need it at some point. You can kind of see the nesting boxes in one of the pics.  They are kind of cool looking.  The front of the boxes face the inside of the chicken area of the coop  The back of the boxes face the coop door where you walk in.  Those old boxes flip open in the back, so when we collect eggs, we don't actually have to go in the coop. Just walk in, flip down the hatch and collect the eggs  (this was Leah's beautiful idea).  We sectioned off the coop with the nesting boxes, a wall frame, a door and wire mesh.  The kids helped me build the roosts in one of the pics.

So last night we actually moved the hens into their new home.  It was fun and all 5 kids were excited!  I think for myself and the older 2 it was just very fulfilling to put all that work into something and to finally see the fruits of our labor.  Ryan and I have pretty much spent every spare minute over the last 5 to 7 weeks on that coop.  The big kids were very helpful also.  If they weren't actually helping with the coop, they were watching the 3 little ones so we could get some work done.  It really was a family project.  

Anyways, the 3 little ones were able to hold a chicken by themselves for the first time.  It was sooooo cute and funny.  Olivia (our family buddy) took these great pics of the kids!  Madeline and Anna took right to the chickens.  They both did exactly as I said and held them perfectly. Gideon wanted to hold one also, but as soon as the chicken got close to him he didn't want to hold it anymore.  After a while though, he saw how much Anna and Madeline liked it and then he wanted to try.  He did great and I was very proud if him.  He is such a funny little guy.  In some ways he will try anything.  Flying high on the swing, jumping off the top of the couch, crazy stuff (remember that at 14 months he loved riding the big horsies up the volcano in Guatemala).  But sometimes he just "wigs out" and doesn't want to do the easiest things.

Anna was cracking me up!  She LOVES animals.  Even if they scare her, she loves them and will just sit and watch them.  I have caught her on more than one occasion, just watching the chickens while the other two are playing.  She had no hesitations though when it came to holding the chicks.  What was funny though was that I had her put the chick down and a minute later I looked over at her and she had caught a different one and was holding it just like I told her.  Madeline tried to catch one and they just ran and squawked!  I know they were not easy to catch because the kids and I even had trouble getting them. 

Now I have to focus on the outside of the coop.  It needs painted and I think I am going to take the gutter off (it is half rusted out).  The roof also needs a little attention (a few nails have come out).  I don't think that will take long though and I have already bought the paint.

Check out the cute pic of the kids looking through the window!

My baby girl is 3 today......

Well, since it is 1:11 am it is officially Anna's birthday!  This is incredibly hard for me to believe.  I remember her first birthday.  I made cupcakes and spent the afternoon delivering them to loved ones and taking pictures.  Praise God she was home for her second birthday and we threw her a big princess party!  It was fun and very pink!  This year it is going to be pretty low key.  We are going to take her to the park for a picnic.  I am going to let her help me make her cake in the morning and we will take that and her princess plates and a picnic lunch to the park.  I think she will really like that.  My nephews are here at the house and she loves them, so that will make it extra special for her.  We will give her her presents from our immediate family (can we say "princess" stuff) and just enjoy being together.  Later in the evening we are headed to my aunts house to celebrate Mother's Day on my side of the family.  We will celebrate her birthday again with them.  We already celebrated with Ryan's side of the family.  I really do think she will have a good day.  Oh and I forgot, she got to pick out a special donut at the grocery to eat for breakfast.  That will certainly beat her regular breakfast of oats or eggs!

I really can't tell you how much I love this girl.  She is beautiful in every way and I am still in awe that she is ours.  Tears are seriously streaming down my face right now as I reflect on Anna's life thus far.  I remember her first little picture I saw on the computer screen.  I knew I wanted her from that very moment.  Now, she is my daughter.  It is amazing.  Anna is a funny, sensitive, curious, smart, perceptive and loving 3 year old.  I am so proud of her and so incredibly blessed to have her in my life!

Julie

Feeling a little bummed in the adoption arena....

I talked to my case manager on Monday and she said we were around 4th in line for a baby boy.  I was kind of excited about that, because that put us moving 3 spots.  Yeah!  However, I have made friends with a lady on-line that is also adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia through our agency, and she has been hearing something different when it comes to where we are in line.  She got her paperwork to CWA like a day or two before me and she it right in front of me for a baby boy.  She has been talking to the lady at our agency  that actually hands out the referrals (not just a case manager like I have been) and we have been e-mailing one another what we hear.  So today I decided to get an update from the 'horses mouth" so to speak, so I e-mailed the referral lady.  I asked her lots of questions, but I specifically asked her to be very realistic with me.  She replied back with an incredibly sweet e-mail.  I could tell she really took her time to explain things to me and she didn't just brush me off.  Pretty much we are 7th in line for a baby boy right now.  That number can certainly vary based on what comes in.  Some people are waiting for a boy and girl, some for just siblings, the list goes on.  It all depends on how the referrals fall.  She also said that it is doubtful that even the people getting referrals now will be able to get through court before it closes, so there's little to no chance of us getting to Ethiopia before October.  In some ways that takes a little pressure off me, but in more ways, it makes me sad.  All in all I am not at far along down the line as I thought I was and there's pretty much no chance to get in before the big close.  Also, we got an e-letter from our agency today and they said that the embassy appointment process has changed some and that change will add time until you can travel.  **SIGH**

On a good note, the referral lady said that most their baby referrals are younger than 6 months, so it is good to know that our age range of 0-6 months shouldn't hold us up too much.  On another good note, God is in control of this adoption.  He is moving in ways that I may never see.  He knows who our son is and I truly believe God will bring our son to us in His perfect timing.

Julie 

Can we say SUCKER!

That darn Tractor Supply Company.  I went in for a simple bag of feed and came out with 6 baby chicks.  So, does that make me the sucker or my dear husband that begrudgingly said "whatever you want....?"  The poor man was cornered though.  He had his two oldest children begging and pleading for the chicks and wife (who maybe in this case could be considered a third child) saying "well, we have all the stuff...."

They are cute though.   They had just come in that day and were in need of attention (IMO).  We saw two chicks die while we were there.  But, out of probably over a hundred chicks in the pen, I guess that's not so bad.  Chicks will die in transport and shortly afterwards, that is just the way it goes.  So, I wasn't overly surprised to see some dead/dying chickies, but it was still sad.  The worst part was that someone needed to put the poor animal out of it's misery because it was just laying there dying while the hundred other chicks trampled it.   

We did our good deed though.  There was one chick in there that had a very red toe.  Almost blood red.  It looked pretty healthy otherwise.  But while we were standing there, just one of those little one day old chicks noticed it was red and gave it one little peck.  That started a pecking frenzie on the poor guy.  We were already waiting for a box, so I literally was flipping the other chicks off of it.  If you are reading this and struggle with separating humans from animals (i.e. my pet/livestock is my child............you know who you are) just remember this, if one human gets a booboo, another human does not peck it to death.  God has indeed designed us differently, thank goodness.  I wouldn't had made it past infancy otherwise.

Anyways, Leah has adopted "footsie" as her own.  She/he actually is doing quite well and so far none of the other 5 chicks we've got have pecked it.  We thought we'd have to separate it for a while.  Logan adopted "stripey" as his favorite.  

The new chicks are Bantams.  They are just a different type of chicken and they tend to be smaller than your standard size chicken, although they still lay nice eggs and do all the things a normal chick would do.  These chicks I think will just add some nice variety.  3 or 4 of the new ones have hairy legs (you will see in the pic) and when they grow up they look kind of cool.  One of the black fluffy one is Footsie and if you look closely you will see it's red toe.

I'm exhausted.... And a cool update!

Well, this weekend has shaped up to be pretty busy.  Ryan has been gone since Thursday morning (cry, cry) and I have tried to keep myself busy.  Which, since I am already pretty busy, that make for a VERY busy weekend!  Thursday and Friday I hung a lot with my wonderful sister in laws and mother in law.  Their hubbies were gone also, so we kept busy together.  We spent time visiting, watching Survivor, garage sale-ing and eating (just a little bit).  Today I mostly spent with my family.  We went to my nieces' softball tournament and then just hung around here at the house.P Pretty laid back, but nice.   Also in the last few days I rearranged all the coops in our garage and cleaned them out, plus I mowed, re-arranged and cleaned our computer room and did all the normal everyday stuff that I do just to keep the house going.  I am just tired and I am so glad Ryan gets home soon.  Tomorrow should be a normal day.

Here's the cool little update....  We got our I 171H approval in the mail Friday!  This is really the last little tidbit we need for our adoption.  It is our approval on the US side when it comes to bringing little bean home.  We were allowed to submit our paperwork to Ethiopia without this (and get on the waiting list), but we can't go to court without this document and we certainly could not even adopt without it.  It is very important and I am just excited to have it in my hot little hands!  I am going to call my agency on Monday and tell them I have it and ask if they need a copy of it or anything.  And, while I am there, I may just ask a little bit how referrals are coming along.......

Well, off I go!  

Julie