Nothing Says Summer Like Strawberries!!!

We went strawberry picking today and now my freezer is full of yummy berries for smoothies and other delicious things. The kids had a ball and I think they ate their weight in berries. Grace didn't even bother to pick the stem off hers!!!!

Enjoying the fruits of our labor.... strawberry shortcake for dessert!

Notary question...

Our new Dr.'s clinic does not have a Notary Public in their office. So, do we need to find our own "traveling" Notary and have them come to the Dr.'s office with us so they can witness the Dr. sign our form and then they can notarize right then? The wording on the document makes it seem that the notary has to witness the signature and the date on the Dr.'s letter and the notary stamp date have to be the same! Ughhh..... this might be the document that holds us up!

Any suggestions?????

The Top Bunk is too Empty!

We have the room...... on the top bunk (well, probably the bottom and Jake will move to the top!) , and in our hearts. So, after lots of praying and waiting for the "perfect time"- ha! - we've begun the adoption process again!!!! This time for a 4 year old boy. We're pretty thrilled to be squeezing one in the middle and adding a brother to our brood. :)

One of the biggest decisions that we had to make was that we're changing agencies. We used AGCI with Grace and loved them!!! The Portland staff is great and, like everyone else, we can't say enough about Hannah's Hope and Almaz. But, we really want to bring Jake with us when we travel, and AGCI only allows for 2 people (preferrably two adults) to travel. So, it just seemed that Gladney was a better fit for our family this time around.

We submitted our application on Sunday and started putting together our paperwork for our homestudy on Sunday night. The thing about the second time around is that we already had a lot of the documents needed for the homestudy. So, after 2 days, all we have left is our FBI fingerprints, medical forms, and reference letters!!!! (oh-- and the cat needs her updated rabies vaccine!!) We're cruising right along. :)

That's the news on our end! We were told that once on the wait list, a referral for that age could be 4-5 months. We shall see!!!!!!

Multi-tasking

Someone needs to carry the baby AND get the lawn mowed!!

morning time

I just love the times when they're playing and working together. As Grace gets older, these times definitely increase. I'm listening to them saying, "pretty, nice picture, wow, etc....." as they draw pictures together. :)

Enjoying these sweet and simple times.

Growing Up!!!

Tonight, Jake decided to try riding his bike without training wheels. Now, if you would have asked him yesterday if he wanted to try, he would have said, "maybe when I'm 7 or 8." But.... for some reason, tonight was a different story.

He took a couple of rounds in the grass at the park; and then the paved trail through the park; and then the road in our cul de sac...... and by the end, he was racing one of the older boys in the neighborhood!!! We already had to tell him to not try any tricks yet!!

Could He Be Any Sweeter??

I walked into the family room and this is what I saw. The little one is the sweet neighbor girl that I watch a few mornings a week. Jacob adores her! My loud and wild boy also has a beautiful sweet and gentle spirit. :)