Waterpark FUN!!

This past weekend we took the kids to the waterpark for some fun in the sun :) We had a ball! All of the kids were so funny!!

World Series Baby!!

Our middle son, Ryan's team just played in the World Series last weekend. I've been so busy getting ready for the move that I haven't had a chance to put the pictures up. Ryan is hearing impaired and speech/communication delayed so he plays baseball with the Miracle League here in our hometown. It is the most amazing thing! To see these kids get a chance to do something they love just overwhelms you with emotion. Ryan LOVES baseball so it has been a blast for him (and our whole family). Here are some of the pics from the game. Believe it or not, I narrowed it down to get these "few" :) GO RYAN!!! WE'RE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!

Ryan with his trophy!!

"Grammie, I have a secret to tell you"


Laela cheering her big brother on!
Ryan's cousin Braden ran bases with them.

Ryan plays the field with Grammie and Pappy
GO RYAN - BASEHIT!!!!
Ryan SCORES!!!!!!
Pappy and Ryan wait for the ball
HIGH FIVES GRAMMIE!!!!

Ryan waiting on the game to start
Ryan's Aunt Tami and Laela watching the game
Jalen cheering his little bro on!
Our Team

Spaghetti Dinner

So we decided to go against all of our fears and put ourselves out there for our adoption. It was totally out of our comfort zone but we did it! We pulled off a very successful Spaghetti Dinner on Friday that we are so proud of. We threw it all together in a week and a half but managed to get donations for boxes and supplies from local businesses and well, like I said, we pulled it off :) Hopefully we'll do it again once we get settled in Tokyo and have a new network of friends.

It's OFFICIAL!

We fianlly got our official word today that we are definitely moving to JAPAN!! We're so glad to finally know. We have been waiting for a long time to find out for sure. TOKYO HERE WE COME!!! Our family is so universal! Our oldest was born in Colorado, middle born in Alaska, youngest in Alabama, and our fourth will be born in Ethiopia and brought home ot Tokyo! WOW! :)

Ethiopian Children's Music

A couple of sites that might be helpful if you are looking for that special something to help make your little one's transition a little more comfortable.

One is called "Sorene:Children's Songs from Ethiopia" and you can find it on amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Sorene-Seleshe-Demessae-Soulemane-Toure/dp/B00002414D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1216833261&sr=8-1).

The other is called "The Life of Childhood" and can be found on the abshirokids website (http://www.abshirokids.com).

Amharic Tees

These tees are too cute. . .

http://www.hoyahoye.net/

ETHIOPIA IT IS!

We finally made the decision on where we are planning to adopt from. We are very excited to announce that we'll be adopting from Ethiopia! This is something we have thought long and hard and prayed a lot about and we feel very comfortable with this decision. Ethiopia is a country so rich in culture. We look forward to learning more about Ethiopia and teaching our daughter about her culture and her roots!!

Kids

I am just starting this blog and thought it only appropriate for our first post to show off our family more. We are just starting the journey of adoption. Something we have dreamed about and prayed about for many many years. We are very excited about the journey. We know there will be ups and downs just as with anything in life worth having, but we are very ready and prepared for the journey. We are in info gathering/fundraising stage right now. We haven't submitted our formal application yet because we are still researching agencies to find the right one for us. We have a HUGE move coming up next month also which makes it pretty much impossible to officially start our process. We'll be moving to, get ready, TOKYO JAPAN!!! We're really excited. Once we get settled there, we'll be doing our application, etc. Here are some pics of our family so far. :) Jalen is 6, Ryan is 4, and Laela is 20 months. We're all excited about adding #4 to the family.