One year ago

A year ago today at this time Dad had been in the arms of Jesus for 2 hours. Our lives were forever changed and we lost the most amazing role model, grandfather, father, and friend. I will have to post about this past year at another time but one thing I have learned is that the legacy he left behind is one that allows him to still be a huge part of our lives even though he is not physically here anymore. The boys remember so much about their grandpa and still struggle with missing him, as we all do. We could not have been more blessed by having him as a part of our lives!!

What a month!

What a month of craziness!! We started the month by going to Columbus Ohio for the Equine Affaire. Luke placed 4th in his competition-missing first by only 2.5 points and competing against people that train full time for a living. He is amazing! (I am biased but seriously he's good at what he does and he loves it, now only if he could do that full time :).

Chase and Cody were quite the pair at the Equine affaire, they fell asleep during a competition and gained quite a bit of attention afterwards (picture below). They had more pictures taken of them than some of the horses there! I also came into their bedroom at the hotel the one night to find them sleeping beside eachother holding hands. They are becoming quite good friends lately and loyal to eachother!! (They do still fight with the best of them though).

We came home Sunday to deal with some stuff going on here on Monday and then Luke left Tuesday for South Dakota. He had a great trip and was able to meet the Reinhold's-an great family with a real heart for God, I can't wait to meet them someday. We had purchased 7 horses from them 4 years ago but had never actually met face to face so it was a great opportunity. Luke picked out 6 horses that will be relocating to NY in the next couple of weeks. Can't wait to see them.

Luke came home late Sunday night and we then had a family gathering for the Reinbold's on Sunday. It was a great start to the month getting to see so many friends and family!

It seems like spring wanted to come but then decided it wasn't quite ready. I really wanted to get a head start on cleaning up our yard and things from the winter months but apparently we are going to have rain and snow for a little while longer. We are all very ready to be outside in some nice weather. This week turned out to be quite the adventure....Cody was sick on Tuesday and has continued to not feel well through today (Friday) and last night Chase got sick! Guess I don't mind that it's not to nice out since we would not have been outside that much anyways.

We were able to catch up on some snuggle time though.

We also had quite the adventure with our cat, Mouse. While Luke was gone the cat had found a mouse and decided that instead of killing it he would bring it down to the living room for all of us to see. He then thought it would be fun to not kill the little thing but to just play with it. I caught it in a container and took it far away from the house to let it go. I am not a big fan of mice, I think they are kind of cute but they lose all cuteness when it comes to having one in my house.

Unfortunately that is not the end of the encounters with mice. The other morning (by morning I mean 2 a.m.) Luke wakes me up and tells me to get out of bed. The cat was acting odd he said, trying to get under our sheets, which he never does. Luke had a funny feeling that he had brought in a present for us. Me not really being totally with it just went along with Luke, we started to pull the sheets and the blankets off of the bed and all of a sudden this little mouse falls out and starts running down the hallway. Luke grabs the cat and starts running after the mouse! Seriously cat, DO NOT BRING THE MICE OUT OF THE ATTIC TO SHOW US-IF WE HAVE THEM WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT-JUST KILL THEM!!!!!!! Now I know they say that pretty much everyone has mice or a mouse-I just don't tolerate it well and will do whatever possible to completely get rid of them (except I won't actually kill them-hence the letting the one go far away from the house). Needless to say next week our attic will be full of mouse traps, if there are anymore they will not be there for long!!!! I had to write this because I am certain that someday I will look back on this and laugh-someday in the very distant future!

Tonight is a night that I have to write about because I really want to remember it. Cody was very cuddly because he did not feel well and Chase decided that cuddling would be fun to, so we all climbed into the recliner to watch the end of a movie. I looked down and Chase and Cody are holding hands just as content as could be. We then proceeded to get ready for bed and Chase had to go to the bathroom, he was yelling for me to come in and wipe him -thank you Chase :)- and as I'm walking in the bathroom Cody is grabbing the toilet paper getting ready to help his brother! Chase wasn't to thrilled with the idea but Cody's little heart was in the right place. They then went to brush their teeth and Cody took both of their toothbrushes and put toothpaste on them and proceeded to hand me the dental floss. What a little helper!! I just love seeing them enjoy eachother and pray that they will grow up being the best of friends and encouragers to eachother!

When I put them to bed we continued to read the Easter story out of the Bible and I love to hear Chase talk about it. He is still trying to figure it all out and is so full of questions but I love it. Being a mom is definitely the best job ever

We had another first this month as well. Mom and Dad's anniversary was yesterday-her first anniversary without him here. We are missing him more than ever lately but he raised us well and encouraged all of us, so we know we can make it because of the lessons that he taught to us. Mom is such an amazing Godly woman and we are so blessed to have her here and to be able to walk through this journey with her. I wish it was a different journey-one with Dad still in it but all of the wishing in the world or praying won't make that possible, so we push on and take each day as it comes. They had an amazing marriage and I hope that Luke and I can learn from that and show that kind of love settin the same example for our children! I have to admit I was hoping and praying that we would get a referral on that day to give some brightness to it, but we again wait on God's timing knowing that it is perfect!

So excited, we found out that we went from number 28 on our waiting list to 18th!!! The last family given a referral waited 5.5 months and we will be waiting 5 months on the 12th-can't wait to see what happens in the next few months :)!!

Beach Party

We decided to beat the winter blues today. Waking up to snow on the ground again and more falling from the sky was not something that we were looking forward to today. The boys have been so ready for spring to get here, just the thought of being able to go outside and play is enough to make them both giddy with excitement. Unfortunately for them this winter has been very cold and very windy so they have spent little time playing outside and are missing it. Today I decided to surprise them with an indoor beach party. I moved the dining room furniture out and the "beach" in. They were both so excited, Chase insisted on wearing his life jacket the entire time.

Update Day:

Fridays are always an exciting day, we get an update from our adoption agency which includes the number of referals given. Usually we get it in the evening but I have to admit I check a couple of times during the day to see if it arrived early. With each referal given we are one step closer to our little girl! :) We are so excited today especially though because we found out that one of my closest friends has a travel date for her and her husband to fly and meet and bring home their little boy-so EXCITING!!

Growing up

I can't believe how much they've changed and how big they are getting!

Roller Coaster Ride

These last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride in bringing our little girl home. No infant referrals were being given because of a lack of HIV tests in Ethiopia and then MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) announces that they were reducing their case load for adoptions down to 5 per day from 25-30 per day. A huge petition was sent around and there has been some talk that MOWA may increase their numbers again but no one is sure by how many/when/or if this will happen. Basically we'll just have to ride it out and wait! We then received word that HIV tests were now available and referrals were given out. This means we're moving up on the list!!!! It may only bring us a little closer to her but we'll take that with great joy. God's timing is perfect and while at times I want it to happen now and in my timing, that's just not an option and I have found peace in that. We think of you often little one and can't wait to know who you are and hold you but until then we will continue to keep holding onto you in our hearts and prayers. Chase is too cute, he keeps asking when she will be coming home "How long is the paperwork going to take?" he asks. When Chase and Cody see pictures of Africa Cody will say "sister" and Chase will go on to talk about that being where she will come from. I love to hear them talk about her.

Just waiting for those little handprints to finish off part of our playroom!

Chase has become quite the little talker lately (well he has been for a long time but lately he is so interested in everything and knowing how everything works). Latest question directed at Luke (thank goodness)- they were talking about our cows and how they were going to have calfs next year. Chase looks at Luke and says "Where do the calfs come from?" Luke started with the cow and bull and then went onto the word procreate. Chase then interrupted him and changed the subject. Sometimes I love that at that age they have such short attention spans, and that I can direct questions like that to Daddy :).

Cody is such a picker lately. He gets this little sheepish grin on his face and scrunches his nose and then we wait to see what's coming. It is too cute and funny (depending on what actions follow). He has no problems though fessing up to his wrong doings. Chase will come out to the kitchen crying and when we ask what happened Cody will chime in "hit him". At least he's honest.

Tonight my heart just melted watching them. Cody wanted his PaPa book to look at before bed and before I knew it they were sitting side by side and then laying side by side looking at the book talking and talking about the pictures. I really can't wait until Cody can talk a little more, just to listen to their conversations!

What a week!!

Recap of this Crazy Crazy week!

Sunday: Started off as a busy Sunday but due to the weather our plans quickly changed and we were able to stay home as a family and relax. Chase and Cody were so cute at church. They randomly just walked up to eachother and gave eachother a huge hug and just stood that way for a few minutes letting everyone walk around them in the hallway. We were all able to help Luke work on our basement project that day. Chase was quietly sitting and watching Luke, all of a sudden Luke hit his hand with his hammer and I see Chase look at him and then say "Bet that hurt." It really was priceless. I am sure he learned that from his Daddy so it was quite fitting!

They were such great little helpers that afternoon!

Monday: -I think the wind blew everyone in NY's snow right into the middle of our driveway. Luke goes to start the tractor with our snowblower on it to get the driveway cleared out-it won't start! Our downstairs toilet decided that it was going to be temperamental and not work. The car got stuck in the driveway. I had company coming that night so I thought I would go out and try to shovel some of the bad parts of our driveway (those of you that have been here are laughing right now thinking of someone attempting to shovel our driveway). I get both boys in their snow gear - we get outside and I hear Cody say that five letter word that no mother of toddlers wants to hear once your child is in full snow suite attire- "potty". I took Cody to the bathroom, made it halfway down the driveway to attempt to shovel my path and I hear Chase. "Mom I have to go potty". I then decided that shoveling was a pointless cause and am so very thankful that one of my friends drives a great suv and that the other one is so athletic (she ran down most of our driveway since her car wasn't getting in it either). :)

Tuesday: Luke got the car unstuck - unfortunately the muffler was caught in the crossfire and found itself unattached from the car! After that this was a great day, I was able to spend Tuesday with some amazing women and Chase and Cody had a blast playing in the snow making snowmen 3 or 4 times their size.

Wednesday: Where do I even start. Our toilet decided to start working on its own again-yay! Luke had heard about an auction and was going to take some machinery to it. In order to do this though he had to get the barn door open. We were experiencing some more major wind that day which always makes opening those doors difficult. It was frozen in the ground so after Luke cleared away the ice he was able to get it part of the way open, until it came off of its track. He proceeded to climb a ladder (in crazy wind) and attempt to fix it. I can't believe he was not blown over! He was able to get the door shut (so I thought). He again could not get the tractor started to clear the driveway. You'll never guess what happened next-the car got stuck. He informed me that the only vehicle that would be able to make it out was the truck. That would leave us stuck here. This would normally be no big deal but I needed to be at church that night. Again my brilliant idea-I'll try to shovel again. I was able to get the kids in a place where they were with me but out of the wind and I started working. It did not take long to realize that that idea wasn't really going to work to well. When I was walking through the deep snow I would look back and within a few minutes my tracks were completely gone! I decided to check things in the barn and noticed that the door wasn't all the way closed. The ice and wind were keeping it open so I grabbed a shovel and cleared away the ice. Still couldn't get the door closed so I called Luke-normally this isn't a big deal but with the way the wind was blowing it could have cause serious damage if it caught the door. Luke informed me that the ice was keeping it secured, I informed him there was no longer ice because I had cleared it out-oops. I was able to secure the door and arranged for my mom to pick me up and let me use her vehicle to get to church. The driveway wasn't going to cooperate and let her in with her jeep either though. I proceeded to carry both boys, with hats completely over their faces so they could see nothing, halfway down the driveway where I met my mom. We each carried one of the kids and made it to the end of the driveway to her vehicle. Like I said I really needed to be at church that night. We made it to church a little after 6:30 and around 7:00 I was informed that Chase had thrown up in his classroom. We were back at mom's by 7:15. Guess we should have just stayed home and enjoyed an evening in. The plan had been for us to drive home with Luke on his way back from work but we decided that with it raining and sleeting it would be best to leave the boys at moms since they were sound asleep. While mom and I were putting Chase to sleep he got sick again! I asked him if he wanted some water and then saw Cody leave the room. I heard all this noise in the bathroom and then in walks Cody with a dixie cup of water for Chase. It was so sweet. He then gave him a stuffed animal and a hug along with 2 more glasses of water. Cody usually sleeps in grandma's room since Chase has claimed the guest room has HIS. That night we thought it best for them both to sleep in "Chase's room". Chase wasn't that thrilled but once they fell asleep they were so cute-there little hands were touching everytime we checked on them. The next morning I found out that Cody had gotten sick all over their bed (bet grandma was glad they were in the other bed), so both boys got to sleep in Grandma's room. I went home with Luke to help get chores done and when we walked into the barn the cows were loose in the barn. They had broken a gate, at least there was nothing for them to get into. We just had to laugh ...when it rains it poors.

Thursday: I picked the boys up early and we made a very quick trip to town, they both seemed to be feeling much better. It was a very quick bug with very few symptoms with it thankfully! Luke was able to get the car unstuck and it stayed in one piece. He also did some work on the tractor and it started so he was able to clear out our driveway. He got his barn door all the way open and was able to make some progress on the basement project with the help of a family friend. Cody and Chase were quiet today but still playing and having a good morning. Lately Cody has decided that he enjoys being naked much better than having clothes on at times. He will randomly take off his pants (I should mention he is potty trained) and underwear, can't usually get his shirt off though. What is it about this age that they like to be naked so much! He managed to get part of the way down the stairs to the basement to 'help' daddy, I hadn't yet realized he had left his clothes upstairs. Luke was at the bottom of the stairs and called my name in a somewhat distressed voice. He informed me that Cody had had an accident. I quickly grabbed him and took him into the bathroom. At this time Chase announced in a disgusted voice that Cody had pooped on the carpet. As I'm reaching for a washcloth I see Cody reach behind him, pull off a piece of what was stuck to his bare bottom and attempt to put it in his mouth. I quickly yelled no, totally disgusted and surprised by what he was about to do. Cody looked at me just as surprised and then I had one of those 'ah-ha' moments that we as mothers have sometimes. I remembered that I had made chocolate chip cookies that morning and Cody and Chase had both had some of the chocolate chips. Cody had managed to sit on a couple of them and melt them onto the carpet and onto his bottom!! The moment was priceless once this all dawned on me and I shared it with Luke and informed Chase! The experiences of being a mom can be so amusing at times! Did I mention that I spent almost 30 minutes on this blogpost and then hit a button and deleted it all.......lol, what can you do but laugh!

This has been one of my favorite weeks-not one I want to relive all the time but we have some fun memories from it!!

ADOPTION NEWS: It has been a disappointing week in someways because we found out that MOWA is attempting to go from processing 25 adoption cases in Ethiopia a day to 5! That means a major slow down in getting our little girl home once we have a referral and court. On a positive note though they are working to try to get them to reconsider and there is no longer a shortage of HIV tests in Ethiopia so referrals for children under 18 months can start being given once the children are tested!! Everything in God's timing we keep reminding ourselves. I just can't wait to meet her though!!