A day at the salon

Brylie recently got to spend a day at the salon with her very best friends McKenna, Hannah and Ava to celebrate McKenna's 5th birthday. The girls were so cute as they got the full treatment of manicures and pedicures.

Hannah, Brylie, Ava, McKenna

It happened again!

Yes, it is the end of April. Yes, this is what it looked like out my window this weekend. Yes, my husband was planting corn the day before. Yes, I live in South Dakota!

Another fun note from the school....

There have been some concerns about Scabies spreading through the school. Scabies is an infestation of the skin with a microscopic mite. The elementary has had two confirmed cases of Scabies. Both of those students have been treated and had older siblings that were infested earlier. Scabies symptoms include pimple-like irritations, burrows or rash of the skin especially the webbing between the fingers and the skin folds on the wrists, elbows, or knees. It causes intense itching over most of the body. Symptoms may take 4-6 weeks to begin. If you think your child has Scabies contact a health care official for treatment. UGH!

This one's for Amber

Amber has asked for more pictures of the house and I hadn't yet posted the before and after living room pictures, so here they are. As you can see I still don't have any window treatments. I am on the look out for some, but they are so expensive! The wall and ceiling color is called 'Latte'. Again, very neutral. I was hoping to get some color in the window treatments. Also, we are leaving the far end of the living room pretty much empty for now, for running, wrestling, kick ball and such. My kids have barely touched their toys since we moved here. There is so much running space they just enjoy that. Someday we may make that area a sitting area.

BEFORE AFTER

Three months and counting........

We are now considered to be in 'the window' of getting a referral. Families have been getting their referrals between 3-5 months on average. It feels really good to be at this point of the waiting, but because we are now in the window, I think that every day may be 'the day' that we will get the call about Ruby. Actually I am thinking that May will be our referral month. As far as I can tell there will probably be one more set of referrals before ours. Either way, WE ARE GETTING CLOSE! I can't even describe the anxiousness I am feeling. Here's to one more month down!

You Know You're An Adoptive Parent When...

You Know You're An Adoptive Parent When . . .

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep. 2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family. 3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing. 4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you. 5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption. 6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's 'real' parents. 7. You have ever been 'pregnant' with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth. (2 years!) 8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you He will provide. 9. You have ever taken an airplane ride half-way around the world with a child you just met. 10. You believe God's heart is for adoption. 11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth. 12. You know what the word 'Dossier' means, and you can actually pronounce it! 13. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life. 14. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

-Author unknown

How is your Friday?

This is how our Friday is going. We are in the middle of a 3 day blizzard. It has been snowing and blowing since yesterday afternoon. All of the schools in the area are closed and even many businesses. We are going to enjoy our day in the house, trying to forget that it is the middle of April and we are snowed in! We plan on making play-dough, playing checkers, baking a cake, making daddy's favorite lunch, watching a movie, and of course getting a little house work done. :) Enjoy your Friday! Stay warm.

Travel Shots

Robb and I got the first round of travel shots last week. I really despise needles so I have been dreading this part of the adoption journey. We were able to get 3 of the 6 shots we need which included, Hepatitis A, Typhoid and a Polio booster. My arms were sore for 3 days! I was beginning to think that I would have handled getting one of the diseases better than I handled the vaccinations! The first afternoon I was completely miserable. Robb's arms were pretty sore too. We haven't made the appointment for the next round yet. I think I've recovered, so we best be getting the rest done. I can't wait to put a check mark next to Travel Shots!

Oops!

1 Trip to the Barber shop + 1 wiggly boy = a shaved head This wasn't the look we were going for, but it does mean we won't be having to go to the barber shop for awhile. Plus he thinks it's pretty cool! Go figure.

April Fool's Day

This day makes me nervous. I, myself, am not a practical joker....I know you are all surprised. Nor do I like practical jokes played on me, therefore my nervousness of the day. :) (Oh, and I'm married to a practical joker)

Out like a LION!

Here in good ole SD, March is going out like a lion. This is a picture out my window today. So far we have gotten about 6 inches of snow and it is still coming down. The wind is blowing and it is quite chilly. School was canceled so the kids and I are enjoying the day at home. We have already been out and enjoyed the soft, pretty snow. Gage just likes to eat it....by the handfuls! Anyway, as ready as we are for Spring, we sure are enjoying the pretty view today. What does the last day of March look like in your area?

Turning 5 is so much fun!

We decided to do the fun cupcake stand instead of a cake this year.

She chose a Hawaiian theme for her party.

Brylie had her very first sleep-over with her best friends, Hannah and McKenna.

Many memories were made!

I can hardly believe my little girl is 5 years old! She is such a fun young lady and truly a joy to have around. We are so blessed to have her!

Thinking about our baby girl....

Since we have moved in and gotten settled our lives are slowing down, which is a good thing, but my mind now has more time to think about our baby girl half way across the world. Our agency has recently added another orphanage in Ethiopia, which brings the count to 5. Hopefully this means more referrals and less wait time. We do know that the Ethiopia program is becoming very popular with not only our agency but many others. This means that no doubt the wait times will increase. We should still be ahead of that though. Right now the wait time is averaging 3 1/2 months-6 months for a referral. We are just over 2 months now. All of this is consuming my mind lately, mainly because my arms ache to hold my precious Ruby. We are all anxiously waiting to see her sweet face. We were also just informed that the courts in Ethiopia will be closing from August 6 to some time in October. This is their 'vacation' and it happens every year. What this means is that if we receive a referral and they are unable to have a court date to proceed with our adoption before August 6 we could be waiting for several months to travel . Ideally a referral in May and travel in August would be awesome, but of course it is out of our hands and covered in prayer. Lots to ponder and pray about.

Easter Fun with the Arnolds

We hosted Easter dinner with Robb's family and had a wonderful day. Everyone brought food and it was really quite relaxing. It is so nice to finally have a house big enough to host family get togethers!

Thank you Jesus

More pictures

Here are some before and after pictures of Hunter and Brylie's rooms. The new rooms perfectly fit their personalities and they couldn't be happier with the outcome!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE AFTER

2 Months Down!

We have reached the 2 month mark waiting for our referral. The time frame for a referral is still running at 3-6 months after turning in all paperwork. To think that we might get to see a picture of our little girl in a month is so exciting! Now that we are moved in we can start to get her room ready and prepare to bring her home. Each month is something to celebrate in this process!

We did it!

Finally, after 2 months of hard work, our remodel is done and we are moved in! Here are the before and after pictures that you have all been waiting for. I will just post of the kitchen today and more rooms during the week. We were able to get the countertop in Friday, moved on Saturday and Brylie's birthday party on Sunday. Today we are taking it easy!

BEFORE

AFTER

Worth Watching

Remodel update

I'm sure you are all wondering where the 'After' pictures are that I promised you. Well....there have been a few delays and our countertops will not be in until tomorrow, which has put us back a few days. It has been quite frustrating but in the meantime we have gotten a lot of other tasks done. The countertops will be the final project and move-in day is Saturday. We are having a birthday party for Brylie on Sunday soooooooo, we HAVE to get moved in and organized. We are more than ready to move in and get back on our regular schedule. The kids have had some really long days and late nights and we are all exhausted. Everything is really beautiful though and I can't wait to share it all with you! Just a few more days......

Happy 5th Birthday Brylie!

Happy Birthday to my SWEET, Shy, LOVABLE, Girly, sensitive, responsible, PRECIOUS little girl!

Favorite Photo Friday

I snapped this one before church on Sunday. I was pretty impressed that everyone was looking at the camera AND smiling! :)

To my precious Ruby: I don't know what you look like or where exactly you are or if you are even born yet. I don't know who is taking care of you. I don't know if you have a warm place to sleep at night or a safe place to call home. I wonder if you have little black curls on your head or chubby cheeks or a beautiful smile. I wonder if anyone is rocking you to sleep at night or singing to you as you are fed a bottle. I want you to know that although I know nothing about you, I love you with my whole heart. I pray for you daily. Your brothers and sister ask about you all the time and can't wait to show you your new home. Your daddy can't wait to hold his little princess and kiss your forehead. My heart aches for you. We are told that we may get to meet you later this summer or in the fall. The days seem so long. Until I get to hold you in my arms and look in your eyes and tell you 'mommy loves you so', I will be praying for God's hand of protection over you. He has picked you out for us and we know that you will fit into our family just perfectly. We love you precious Ruby. Love, Your forever mommy

It's crunch time!

The cabinets made it! They are already installed, but I am going to keep you all in suspense until the final reveal...hopefully by the weekend. Sorry. I absolutely LOVE our cabinets and can hardly wait for the rest. Our countertop will be here by the end of the week and the appliances are coming on Thursday. The carpet is being put in this week and Robb is starting on the kitchen floor tomorrow. The painting will all be done by sundown tomorrow. I have high hopes that we will be able to move in this weekend, but Robb is skeptical. Brylie's birthday is on Monday and that has been our goal move in time from the beginning. We'll see. I am trying to get things organized at our current house and doing some packing up. This week will be crazy busy so I won't be blogging much, but look forward to sharing the 'After' pictures with you all very soon. :)