Puzzle piece fundraiser

Hello everyone! I know I am terrible about updating my blog. Facebook seems to take all of my computer time. :) Well, this week we sent the last of our adoption paperwork to our agency who is reviewing it and will hopefully be sending it to Ethiopia very soon. This is a very exciting step in the adoption process, it means that we will soon officially be on the 'wait list'! We have been told to expect anywhere from 2-6 months wait time for a referral. We are requesting a 2-5 year old, either gender. So, at this point we have decided to start a fundraiser to raise money for the last part of our journey. (the expensive part!) :) Many people have asked how they can help and we think this is a fun way to document the help of others in our adoption journey. We have started a puzzle fundraiser. We have purchased this 500 piece puzzle and you have the opportunity to buy a puzzle piece for $10. Your name will be written on the back of the puzzle piece so we will always remember who helped us in this journey. As a family we will be putting the puzzle together as the pieces are purchased. I will keep you updated on the progress of the puzzle. There is a Donate button on the sidebar. You can buy one piece for your family, or a piece for each member of your family. Just let me know the name you want on the piece(s) in the 'note to sender' section. We are so excited about this project! Each donation will definitely be a blessing to our family!

An update on the BFF's

Ruby had her friend Destiny over for a playdate and I was able to snap some pretty cute pictures of the duo. At 2 1/2 these two are a hoot! They have super funny personalities and definitely keep us on our toes.

They both do a 'grumpy face'.

They love eachother SO much!

Brylie's cute new haircut

Hunter...always up to something

On Friday night Hunter disappeared into the office and this is what I found. I walked into the office and he said, 'Hi mom. Do you have a problem that needs to be solved?' Well, 1/2 hour later Robb and I had our problems solved and Hunter had $2 for his efforts. (He generously put the $2 in our 'Adoption Fund' basket on his way up to bed.) Love that boy!

Giveaway!!

My friend Erica is giving away a $50 gift certificate to Junk Posse! I absolutely love their unique creations! Erica and her family are in the beginning stages of their 2nd adoption from Ethiopia. They have an amazing family who has a heart for orphans. Go check out her blog here and sign up to win this fun prize!!

New bikes all around!

Everyone was due for a new bike so we took a trip to Wal-Mart today and everyone is pleased with their purchase! Robb and I were watching the 3 older kids ride their bikes yesterday and noticed that they were bumping their knees on the handlebars...quite the growth spurt since last summer! Since Ruby is not big enough for a bike, but loves to keep up with the older kids, we found her this really cool Hello Kitty motorized four wheeler. She smiles from ear to ear when she rides it. So cute! It should be a fun summer!

Happy Easter from the Arnold family!

Daddy's Diner

Robb is usually the breakfast cook in the mornings. On Friday night he decided to make a menu for the kids for Saturday's breakfast. It was such a hit I thought I would share it with you!

Daddy’s Down Home Diner

Where everything is made with a pinch of love!

1. Ham and Cheese Omelet 2. Blueberry Pancakes 3. Special Waffles (regular or blueberry) 4. The Saturday Special…

DADDY’S DOOZY

****1 ham and cheese omelet, 1 blueberry pancake, 1 piece of bacon, 1 piece of sausage, 1 special waffle and 1 GREAT BIG HUG!!!**** Beverages: orange juice, apple juice, grape juice Sides: sausage links, bacon strips

Enjoy your meal!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

'Hunterisms'

Hunter (8) "Hey mom, someday if I become famous there will be a sign in our town that says, 'Birthplace of Hunter Arnold'. Wouldn't that be cool?"

Dads 4 Adoption

I saw this on an adoptive friend's blog. Definitely worth watching!

The road is not always smooth.

The adoption that we started fell through and we are now on a different path, but it is the path we believe God has paved for us. We are going back to Ethiopia to adopt a 2-4 year old. We have finally decided on an agency and we are so excited to get back on track. The good news is we got all of our money back from the agency we were working with before and we can use all of the paperwork that we have already done. Praise God! None of this has been easy or without tears, but we have great peace about the direction we are going. We know that God has a child already picked out for our family and we are totally pumped to meet the little one! The truth is that there are 147 million orphans in the world and the devil would like to keep it that way...but God says that He has plans for them, plans to give them hope and a future. Proverbs 24:12 says that 'Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know and holds us responsible to act.' We know the conditions in Ethiopia, we have seen the pain and suffering. We will not turn our backs on a situation we can do something about! We feel so blessed to be on this journey again.

The Lord has called us once again....

We are so happy to announce that we will soon be the parents of a sweet 2 1/2 year old boy from Ghana, Africa. The Lord has stirred our hearts since our trip to Ethiopia. The devastation that we experienced changed our lives and hearts forever. The statistics are astounding...147 MILLION orphans in this world! That is NOT okay! As a family we pray for these children often and we know that God wants us to care for the orphans in distress. James 1:27 says, 'Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.' This adoption process has been different because we chose a child off a waiting child list instead of being referred a child. This little boy touched our hearts and we immediately saw him fitting into our family perfectly. We are working with a different agency and different country, so things are different, yet so much of it is the same. I am not fretting over the paperwork this time and things seem to be going pretty smoothly. We are praying that we will have our little boy home by summer. This adoption is a step of faith for us and we are believing God to work out the details. We have set up an adoption fundraiser with a great company called Just Love Coffee. If you are a coffee lover and would like to donate to our adoption fund, click on the picture on my sidebar. Your donation would be a wonderful blessing to us! Adoption is such an amazing journey that has blessed us tremendously. We are thrilled to be adding to our family once again through the miracle of adoption.

147 million orphans

"Adopting one child won't change the world; but for that child, the world will change."

Best Friends Forever

Ruby and Destiny are very best buds. Although they sometimes fight like sisters, they absolutely get giddy when they see each other. We feel so blessed that they have eachother!

Happy Birthday Hunter!

It was 8 years ago today that Robb and I became parents. We were absolutely thrilled when Hunter Ron came into the world. We had prayed for this child for a very long time. Hunter has always kept us on our feet. As a baby, sleeping wasn't anything that he was interested in. After hours and hours of rocking, pacing, driving around the section, and watching numerous episodes of Baby Einstein and The Wiggles, we had survived Hunter's baby years. Whew! :) At 15 months his courage became so evident when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Although we seemed to be breaking down at times, his faith has always shown through. For 6 1/2 years, with faith that could move mountains, he has been praying for Jesus to heal his diabetes. Although sometimes he gets frustrated with the daily challenges of the disease, he impresses us with his maturity and responsibility of what he has to do to stay healthy. We are SO proud of him! Being the thinker that he has always been, he recently started his own detective agency. He prefers to be called 'Jigsaw Arnold' and will solve any case you bring to his attention for a small fee. (with half of the money going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). Right now he has about 10 cases that he is working on. He does not take his job lightly either. He has questioned suspects, sketched clues, and offered rewards for any valuable information concerning his cases. He has currently made over $20 doing detective work. He's an ambitious little boy! :) Hunter is currently a green belt in Tae Kwon Do and plays on the Hazel Rockhounds baseball team. Everyday he amazes us with his knowledge of history, geography, math, and everything else :) and also his awesome faith in God. A couple months ago he preached to our entire church about healing and the power of prayer. There was not a dry eye in the place. He gave an amazing message. We are so blessed by this young boy and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for his life. Happy 8th Birthday Hunter! We love you so very much!

Miss RUBY

New cement!

By Tuesday all of the prep work was done...just waiting for the sun to dry things up.

8:00 this morning the crew is ready to begin.

Robb putting the new baskeball hoop in.

Of course you need to do the handprints of the kids!

The finished product!

By tomorrow morning the cement should be ready for bikes, scooters, basketballs and 4 happy kids!

Gage Dakota is 4 years old today!

Gage is finally this many! :)

His first ride on his new spiderman scooter.