A Baby on the Way!

We are not pregnant. But it does feel that way. The doors have been opened for us to pursue our third baby girl... we are going to adopt from Ethiopia!

This journey began with our conviction that God has given us this great family for a reason - we felt called to share that family with someone who didn't have that blessing. We have always wanted to adopt but those dreams were always somewhat foggy. But this summer it became obvious (through many different things) that now would be the optimum time to pursue this desire.

Adoption is expensive, and yet anybody can go get a loan for $20,000; Lee Ann and I are impatient enough that we almost did just that. But we felt that if God wanted us to have another baby he would open some financial doors to get the ball rolling. We put our beloved Prius up for sale and we looked for potential financial help. And it came! We got a call this morning that someone wants to pay for all of our adoption expenses!

We barely have words. We have prayed so hard and felt the barrier so great. And yet the money has been provided. We thought God might just crack the door for us to walk through; we had no idea that he would blow the door of its hinges. So with this news we find that all our dreams have become concrete. The "ifs" have become "whens." It is as if Lee Ann just showed me the positive pregnancy test and we are starting that dizzying but fun journey of bringing home our newest little girly swirl.

We'll keep you posted.

Complete Opposites

These little girls are total opposites in almost everything they do. From these two pictures you can see how they typically approach life. Notice JRD's lips are even pursed as she perfectly paints her birdhouse, while ACD has somehow forgotten about the birdhouse entirely because of the joy that can only come from painting one's face. And this is NOT an age thing - they have been opposites from the womb.

Violin Update

Like most things in our life, we got started on the Suzuki school of violin and JRD completely lost interest. She LOVED the violin before the lessons started but was pretty apathetic after things got going. We have tried our best to make it interesting... even Skittles didn't work!

But everything is fine now. In her last lesson she learned that after she finishes playing she is supposed to cradle her violin and bow for the "audience." Needless to say that, for our little drama queen, this has revolutionized the whole idea of practicing. If she can get a round of applause and get to bow, then she is all about it. This was a funny, yet unsurprising, development.

We think she is taking to it. Right now she is only playing various rhythms but in the next lesson or so she will begin working on notes. We bought the "Suzuki School CD" so she can listen to what she is learning and she REALLY loves that. So, for now, we are optimistic about the violin.

Coal Miner's Daughter

This is ACD after playing in a dormant fire pit on vacation. This is completely typical. No matter what she is doing, she will find a way to get filthy. We have actually seen her simply lay down in a mud puddle - she wasn't playing, kicking, hollering, or anything. She just wanted to lay in it.

Typical Evening with Daddy

The other night I was keeping the girly swirls while Lee Ann was at her ceramics class, and both of them wanted something to eat. Not wanting to wait for me, ACD got in the cabinet to get an instant oatmeal packet. I praised her initiative and kept working on JRD's chicken nuggets. Moments later JRD came running into the kitchen spitting. Between spits she reported that her little sister had given her some "bad oatmeal." As it turns out, ACD had opened the packet (in the living room no less) and had fed her big sister raw, instant oatmeal.

Only a few minutes later I went into the living room to find that ACD had taken her now edible oatmeal, put it on the couch, and was now STANDING in it!

Needless to say it was bath time after such an affair. Which reminds me; we bought the girly swirls one of those scrunchy-bath-things-that-go-with-body-wash, and whenever we wash ACD with it she starts hollering "CAR WASH!"