Another packet out and a first for Gabbrielle!

I lost my first 2 teeth, with a little help from the dentist :-)
Now I really look like a kindergartner!!


Adoption Update: Our first packet of info is out for our dossier! It's just a small piece, but a start nonetheless!

Wow..that was fast :-)

Back again....our homestudy request was submitted today and we already have a date set (just 2 1/2 weeks away!) Gladney...you are awesome! Now John really has to get busy :-)

Application submitted and received!

Adoption Update: The bulk of our Gladney application has been submitted and received! We now wait to hear when our home study will be. Lots to do in preparation, as our house has been under some renovations! A few more items to completely finish the Gladney application and then we can begin on our Ethiopia dossier.

"But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31



Chloe - 2009 portrait


Gabbrielle - 2009 portrait

Bethany - 2009 portrait

Post from the past - Chicago Children's Museum

This is a post from the past. We went on a whirlwind trip to the midwest at the beginning of summer. We started in Wisconsin with Bethany's Divisional Championships. From there, Bethany headed with her team down to The Red in KY to do some outdoor climbing. The rest of us headed to Chicago to enjoy some museums. The pics below are from the Chicago Children's Museum.



Honey, I shrunk the kids :-)


Digging for dinosaur bones...


Would you like a hot dog?


Water works!!! The rain jackets were "somewhat" helpful :-)


Moving to music

After Chicago, we headed to Michigan where we visited lots of Kathy's side of the family and then it was down to southern Indiana to visit John's family. After 2 1/2 weeks, we picked Bethany up and headed home!

Adoption update: The CIS application is off to FedEx!!!

Back from Utah and application received!

Bethany sporting her tatoos :-)

View from the gym!

Team Texas wins!

We are back from the National Rock Climbing Championships in Sandy, Utah (beautiful!!) What a blessed weekend we had! We were able to spend major quality time with Bethany, we are so proud of her! Out of the 34 girls in the U.S. who qualified for Nationals, she placed 4th in difficulty and 3rd in speed climbing. She also made the U.S. Team!! Her age group is too young to compete at World's, but she still earned the honor and "the jacket", which is cool enough for her! :-) Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Bethany!

Here is the YouTube link to videos of Bethany's climbs:

Difficulty - Qualifier Route 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAdPyAlwdAM

Difficulty – Qualifier Route 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUhDai7qXlc

Difficulty – Semi- Final Route http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wJdHWsE6Q0

Difficulty – Final Route http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObGY9HKVsE0

Speed – Semi-Final Route 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ro5eHrxCw

Speed – Semi-Final Route 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGPt-qIZzDs

Speed – Final Route 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsZ0PD0toLY

Speed – Final Route 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kN-V6LS4vo

Grandpa and Mimi with the girls!

Thank you Grandpa and Mimi for taking wonderful care of Gabbrielle, Chloe, Zach and Hannah while we were gone!

Adoption update: We have finished the CIS application and will get that in fedex tomorrow. We received the Gladney application today, so that's the next step!

Our family

This is our family! We are finally taking a leap into the next century and creating a blog :-)

We have officially started the process for our international adoption!!! Yesterday we had our phone orientation with Gladney and we should receive the application in the next couple days. We also have to submit paperwork to CIS and get that process started. Even though we've done this before, the paperwork required for an international adoption left our heads spinning. Please pray for patience as we have already been told this may take 18 to 20 months.

The kiddos:

Bethany has made it to Nationals in rock climbing, so we head to Utah this week! We are so proud of her!

Gabbrielle will be entering Kindergarten this year and she can't wait. She asks every day, "when do I start school?" She loves to read (she stayed up 'til 10:00 last night reading). A girl after my own heart! Gabbrielle is our ice skater, she's hoping to make it to the Olympics one day :-)

Chloe is our little entertainer, whatever she can do to put a smile on someone's face, that's her game plan. She's also in gymnastics and loves it!

This is just a start...much more to come in the near future. I will work hard to get pictures and videos up as well.