Best Buds + Kara = FUN FRIDAY!

Nothing like a Friday night hanging out with their Kee-wa! I am SO THANKFUL for the amazing friends/teammates we have who love on our kids and treat them like family. Kara said she has to get time in with them before they grow up and are too cool to hang out with her. Never!!! Beth told me that when she is 22, she and Kara are still going to be friends! We love you, Kara!

Number Twenty-Three

Happy late birthday to our "other son", Desi...we love you and we're so happy that God has put you in our lives over the last decade plus. Praying that this would be a huge year of growth and change, moving day by day toward becoming the man that God has intended for you to be!

Our team rocks...and a very happy birthday to Kara!

There just aren't that many people who can rock these pink snake skin pants...including Bridget. But she sure did rock the effort. Two very enthusiastic thumbs-up from the birthday girl...happy birthday, Kara! We love ya'!

(I don't usually write on my blog about my teammates, the amazing women that God has put in my life here in MKE that make the everyday so interesting...but I should!  Bridget and Kara are two of those women, and I love them both so much!  Even as I sit at Starbuck's blogging, Bridget has taken Tom and Beth with her as she runs errands, and a couple of days ago, Kara delivered a book to the littles that she been working on making with them.  Our teammates--our friends--love our children, as well as us, so well, and we are so grateful.  We couldn't do life without you!)

Throwback

In high school, we were inseparable.  This weekend, we got to have lunch together, our favorite tradition--breadsticks at Noble Roman's!

Even after all these years, Sasha knows me well, and my heart was full after our quick and sentimental hangout.

I never get tired of our memories, Sash...I will forever be so, so, so thankful for our friendship.  Love you, Be Frie!

Friends and New Years' Traditions

Today, we had our nearly-annual New Year's Day hangout with my friend, Jessica, and her family. Took the kids swimming, walked through the Skyway to lunch, and then ended our time together by going up to the 50th floor of the IDS Tower. See how tiny our huge hotel looks from way up there?!

I am so thankful for Jessica.  Our friendship has spanned almost a decade, and I am so thankful that God saw fit to cross our paths.  I'm excited to see how the Lord continues to work in our friendship as the years go on...

Later this evening, we had yet another nearly-annual tradition, hanging out with our dear staff friends, Dave and Joy, and their amazing brood.  It is a true blessing to have friends on staff who care about the same things we do, and when we think of people who fit that category, Dave and Joy sit right at the top of the list...the Packers, inner city ministry, adoption, and Jesus.  We never have enough time with them, but we're thankful whenever we do get time.  Joy says maybe we can live on the same cul-de-sac in Heaven.  I'll bet she'll have lots of neighbors.  :)

In the above picture, Beth is missing...she was feeling rather miserable, clearly fighting something, and sitting in a chair just a few feet from this circle, unable to make it to the fun.

Summer Fun!

Beautiful, gorgeous, lovely! The weather at the lake was awesome today...thankful for time with my dear friend, Andrea, and her sweet kiddos!

(We won't mention the fact that I went to the wrong park first, and it took us an extra hour to catch up with our friends.  Oh well!)

Remembering Trena

This is a big week for us...tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the day our son, Hunt, went to be with the Lord. But the memories start before that day...just a few days before Hunt died, our dear friend, Trena, had gone Home and had been given a new, cancer-free body. We praised Him even as we grieved. Then, that morning, as we heard the words and knew their meaning that would forever change us, we remembered that she was There. I don't know exactly how Heaven works, but it sure was wonderful to think of Trena taking Hunt onto her lap and laughing as she told him stories about his daddy. We would name our son after my dad...and after Trena. Just a few years before, she and Dave had been a rock for us as we walked through our engagement, and on the day we married, Trena was right by my side, keeping me calm and making sure I was all ready. My heart is full of beautiful memories when I remember this dear friend...you are still very missed, Trena Weier! Can't wait to see you again...

Baking with Tang

Beth absolutely adores her Tang-a-lang, and tonight, Tang came over and baked a beautiful jello cake with her.  Beth always looks so forward to their times together, and this was no exception.  Tang, we love you!  Thanks for being such a good friend and for loving our daughter so well!

(This photo was taken last year when Beth and Tang made their first venture into jello-cake land.)

Soccer buds!

Here is Neil with one of his very best friends, J.  J is part of an amazing family, and we pray that these boys always stay close, encouraging each other toward the grace and gospel of Jesus Christ!  For the last few years, Neil and J have played soccer together.  That run ends this fall when Neil takes up flag football, and J goes on to further his work in martial arts.

But never fear....5th grade isn't too far away, and I have a feeling that when it comes, our school's soccer team is gonna be loving these guys!

PCD (Post-Christen Depression)

PCD...it's been documented as a serious condition.  PCD, that condition that sets in on the day when your friend that you haven't seen in forever leaves to fly back to California, and life is never the same.

Okay, perhaps I'm being a little bit dramatic, but seriously...we had the most wonderful three days, and I'm SO thankful that she got to come visit.

But it wasn't enough time.  And I don't know when the next time will be.

For now, I'm going to relish in the memories we made and the conversations we had...and try to force myself to get back to life as normal.

It's not gonna be easy.

Water Fun with Kara!

She leaps...

She lobs...

She laughs...

She's..........SUPER KARA!!!

A part of our family for many years now, we love spending time with Ka, Keewa, Kada, or however else the newest kid in our family decides to say her name...

WE LOVE YOU, KARA!

Thanks for loving our kids so well and for being such a good friend...

Twelve seats!

So, ever since we got our new van back in June (just before leaving for CO), we have had the back seat out, which means that there has been a maximum of 8 passengers possible.  Today, I had a total of NINE kids that I needed to transport, so Hoffbeast and I undertook the quite difficult task of carrying the seat out of the house and putting it in the van.  Not easy.  And not a task that I will be doing again unless it is an emergency.  I consider myself to be pretty strong for my size and build....I will try to carry anything!  I tried.  And I'm not that strong.

Anyway, once the seat was in, it was great!  Here was the view from inside the van....

Rex and his buddies, Z and U, got to sit in the VERY BACK seat.  That's cuz they're the oldest, you know?

Then came Neil and his friends, I and A.  Neil was mad that he wasn't allowed to sit in the extra seat in the VERY BACK (emphasis Neil's), but I insisted that he actually sit with, well, his friends.  I know--horribly mean mother, I am.

Then, right behind me, were Rex's other 2 friends, L and L.  The girls didn't seem to mind being in the very front with the toddler.  Hmm...I wonder why that could be??!  Perhaps because Tom is such a cute and fun little guy?  Or perhaps because they were over the big boys and needed some girl time?

The reason for the big crowd?  Today, the boys were allowed to ask some friends over for an end-of-the-summer gathering.  Pizza and games (board games and imagination games, including the favorite "Haunted Hotel" where the kids pretend that our big old house is creepy and scary and they run around screaming their heads off...pretty fun!) were the only things on the schedule, and they all had a great time together, ending with the bus--er, van--ride home. 

I have more pictures from the rest of the day, but this will have to suffice for now...

Finally some photos!

Today, we went to visit our friends that Neil stayed with while we were in India.  It was so great to be able to be there for a good bit of the day, and as usual, Melanie's cooking was quite impressive.  Let me name all of the homemade yummies that I tasted while there just for an afternoon:  pesto mayo (on our delicious BLTs), banana/choc chip/oatmeal cookies, and bread.  Now mind you, this is not bread made in a bread machine...this is bread baked in the oven!!  Is it sad that I'm as impressed by that as I am!???!

Even though I walked around with my camera around my neck for half the time I was there, I came away with just three measly usable pictures--and they're not even that great.  But at least it's something, right?  My favorite?  The pic of our little independent girls in their little yellow dresses.  Please note that Beth and T are exactly 2 months apart........and Beth is older.

You read that right.  Thanks, Mel, for warmly welcoming us today...it was wonderful being with you and our total of 9 kids together today!  :)

Our Cramazing May, Episode V

I love this picture of my friend, Mindy. 

Almost three years ago, she walked down the aisle with her dad and met her groom, Brad.  It was a beautiful wedding, and I was honored to help with some of the details of the day. 

The next day, Brad and Mindy gathered at her parents' for the gift opening.  It was such a beautiful weekend!  The wedding was outside, and there were a thousand personal touches all around the place.

This spring, as we approached our travel date, Mindy and Brad, who are both flight attendants, wrote and let us know that they wanted specifically to help cover part of the cost of our plane tickets to India.  What a blessing they have been to us over the years!  They have prayed for us, cared for us, and now, they wanted to help with our adoption trip in a very tangible way.

So when I found out that the baby shower for Mindy's first baby, due next month, was on the day before we flew out to India, I was elated!  The shower was in my hometown, so I might very well not been able to go to it under normal circumstances.  But since Beth was staying with my parents and we needed to drop her off there anyway, we finalized our travel plans around being able to be there for the shower.  It was great to be able to celebrate with Mindy, who looked fabulous, by the way!  I've known Mindy my whole life, and I've never seen her looking so beautiful....she truly was "glowing"!

I love this picture of Mindy...she was a little caught off guard for the photo, but I still love it!

 Mindy reading over advice given by other moms...

 Trying on a hat that was knit for Baby Minnard...

 ...and isn't this the cutest sweather you've ever seen??!

Beth was very excited about her first baby shower!

 It was a red-head party!  The three youngest girls in the room all had matching hair....too cute!  :)

Mindy bravely let the little ones "help" her.  :)

 Thank you, Mindy and Brad, for being our friends and for blessing us again and again....we love you guys and are SO happy for you!  Come on, Baby Minnard, be born really soon! 
(If he/she is born in the next couple of weeks, I can go down to the hospital and see the new arrival, since they live about an hour from where we are now!)
What an added and unexpected blessing to be able to be celebrate their baby just as we were getting ready to go get our baby!  I will be meeting Mindy for brunch on Friday, and I'm looking forward to introducing her and Brad to Tom, either then or someday soon.

It's a Hard Rock Life!

This one's for you, Kash!  We went to dinner tonight with the gang at India's newest addition of the Hard Rock Cafe.  Best part for me?  The french fries.  :)  And the company, of course!

Our travel partners have switched hotels now and we won't see them again until Monday.  We have been incredibly thankful for them.....praise God for working it out for us to travel together!  The ways that we had played off each others' strengths....well, they are too numerous to tell in short order here.  But hopefully as I walk through Our Cramazing May, it will become obvious.  God has used us in each others' lives, and it's been fun to see. 

One of the only times that Tom is really, really interested in Mama is when I'm feeding him....the way to a man's heart starts early!

10 of 31 - (Little) Lady in Pink

(Thanks to Nancy--and Mimi--for the beautiful scarf!  And the hat, too...I need to get a picture of all 3 elves--so cute!)

4 of 31

We had our friends over for dinner the other night.  Now, when I say "we", I really mean that our good friends, Andrea and Tim, whom we are living with right now, invited James, Megan, and J over for the evening.  It was great, as we haven't seen them in way too long.

J needed some pjs, so I went upstairs and brought down a pair of Beth's that was previously worn by Rex and Neil.  Such an incriminating pair of bunny pjs!  Unfortunately, J never let me get a really good picture of him.  Bummer for the prom date of someday...that could have been worth some serious blackmail (I know it will be for our kids....I specifically remember a classic one of Rex in these pjs!).

J loved mimicking the faces of his daddy.  I wish that I had gotten a better picture, but he was pretty wise to the camera.

It was so fun to see my dear friend, Megan, with her little boy...she lived with us when she met James, and he is such a good match for her!  I love hanging out with them, but we don't get to do it enough.  J will soon have to make room for a baby sister, as Megan is due with #2 in April.

 J's signature pose (according to his mama)--legs crossed!  One thing that was really fun about hanging out with J is that our Baby J is just two weeks younger than J.  I was at the hospital, waiting for the word when Megan was in labor with J.  Amazing that on the other side of the world, my son was about to be born.  J and Baby J are certain to be good buddies, and it was fun to watch a 21-month-old interact and climb and fit and do all the other wonderful things that kids do at that age.

Please come home, Baby J!  Your family--and friends--are waiting for you!