It's a girl!!

Aaron on his run bike!

I took Aaron to a pump track today. It's a park designed for bmx and this one includes some trials-riding obstacles.  As I recall, it was also the first time he rode his bike off pavement (other than the rocks and grass along our driveway), so it was quite exciting for him.  We had it to ourselves for the most part and Aaron was quite enthralled.  I had my phone with me, so here is some video of him on the bumps. Enjoy.

Edit: I tried to fix a couple of the videos and add one of Aaron riding a "skinny."

So Much Can Change in a Year

It's incredible how much can change in a year. I think back to this time of year last year, and I am amazed. This time last year I was seeing four different doctors for three different reasons. How our family would grow was quite uncertain. Adoption was in the back of my mind, but didn't seem like a possibility for the near future. My how quickly things can change. Especially when God has a plan!

The fall season is here once again. This year we are waiting for approval from the US to adopt and then we will send our request (and lots of paperwork) to Uganda. Our family will soon be growing! The only doctors visits any of us have had is to ensure that we are in good health and that we will be able to parent an adopted child.  What a difference a year can make. 

A lot of people have been asking for updates on our adoption. I just love that so many are interested in our adoption journey and how everything is going. It means so much to us that people are interested! Things are moving along. Sometimes it seems slow, but progress is being made!  

John and I had more fingerprints taken, this time in Denver. Don't ask me why we needed more fingerprints done and why we had to go to Denver this time. It is somewhat of a joke in international adoption. It's pretty much the exact same thing we had to do for the homestudy, just in Denver and much much more expensive! Oh well, just another hoop to jump through I guess.

Currently we are working on preparing our dossier. The dossier is a a whole bunch of official papers that we send to the Ugandan government. It includes copies of our homestudy, birth certificates, our marriage license, passports, letters from our doctors, letters of reference, proof of employment, photos of our home and family, and our approval from the US government to adopt. Everything must be notarized as well. 

The next fee is $3000 to send the dossier. Once we send in the dossier, we will be told what number we are on the list. Then we wait for a referral for a child! We will not have another fee until we accept a referral. It can take months or possibly a year plus to receive a referral. I can't imagine how excited we will be to finally have a picture of our son or daughter!

Thanks to the amazing generosity of our friends and family, we have what we need to send in our dossier! What a blessing. We had a garage sale in September. Our friends donated a lot of great items and we were able to raise $760 dollars! Just a couple of weeks ago our sweet friends asked that donations be made towards our adoption in lieu of gifts for their daughter's birthday. The Hill's raised $200 dollars (thank you everyone who donated!!) which turned out to be right about what we needed to order certified copies of birth certificates/marriage license etc!! Praise God!

Here is another break down of the fiances:

Donations: $9170

Fundraisers (coffee, hats, garage sale): $977

Total raised: $10,147

Out of pocket: $5819

Adoption cost is estimated at $27,000+

Only about $11,000 more to go! All the glory to God!

Again, thank you to our family and friends. This adoption WOULD NOT 

be possible without your generosity. Words can not express what 

your support means to us!

Adoption Update and Generosity

When we first began this journey, we truly had no idea how the finances would work. I felt God was saying that He could take care of the money. John and I decided to step out in faith. Not all the money is due at once, the fees are paid at different times. We decided to save and raise funds in order to pay for our adoption. We knew God could provide and are excited to to see His faithfulness in action.

Some incredible things have happened in the last month. God has provided through some very, very generous donations. Donations that have left us speechless. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would receive such generous donations to our adoption fund. It has taken me days to write "thank you's" to these people because I keep tearing up as I write.

It is humbling that our friends and family care so much and want to help.  It is inspiring that there are people around us that are this generous. It is also encouraging, and confirms that what we are doing is truly the will of God. He will fund what he favors. Wow.

I believe we will learn so much in this process; lessons that will carry into other areas of our lives.  God is not only teaching us that he can provide, but also inspiring us to be more generous.  John and I see that there are areas in which we can grow. I think being more generous with what God has given us is one of them.

We still have a ways to go. There are some big fees ahead. However, it feels more in reach. We are staring to feel like the financial side of adoption can happen. We currently have all the money we need to pay the next fee that is due! Amazing!

God has blessed John and I with such incredible friends and family. The love and support we have seen already is so wonderful.  I am so glad we will bring our little home to such a great community of family and friends. 

To our dear family and friends: There is no way we could do this without all of you! Thank you so much!

Here is a little break down of where we are at with the finances of our adoption:

Donations: $6,980

Fundraisers (coffee, hats): $85

Total raised: $7065

Out of pocket: $5819

Adoption cost is estimated at $27,000

Only $14,100 left to go! We are nearing the half way point! YAY!  Praise the Lord!

Next fee due is $3000. It is for the dossier which is a massive collection of documentation that is sent to the Ugandan government.  The fee will be due in a month or two.

I plan to begin applying for grants and doing some more fundraising soon. Once our homestudy is approved by the state we can begin applying for grants.  It's a lot of work but very exciting too. We have some neat things in mind for fundraisers! A lot of our friends have already offered to help us out with fundraising. Check back soon for more details about these.  We are so excited about all that God is doing!

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ~Eph 3:20-21

Happy third Birthday Aaron!

We have a three year old! He has been acting like a three year old for a while now, but today it's official. It's been said thousands of times, but it has gone so fast. It's hard to believe it's been three years since he became a part of the family. Aaron has been such a blessing. The best gift God has ever given us!

Aaron continues to be an active and silly little boy. He has a very strong will at times which can be a challenge. A good friend of mine said it better than I can. This will be our prayer for Aaron: that his strong will now will become a Godly strong will later.

We are amazed and blessed by his bright, fun personality. He is developing quite the sense of humor. Aaron also loves the outdoors. Weather it's just our backyard or going for a hike in the mountains, he is happiest when outside. It's wonderful to see our little guy loving the outdoors the way John and I do.

The food allergies we have dealt with for the last couple of years are improving. Aaron now eats everything except peanuts and tree nuts. What a change from having to avoid milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and shellfish. We truly enjoy watching him eat a bowl of ice cream. Praise God that he has outgrown so many allergies!

The things Aaron asks and talks about are becoming more complex. The other day he was playing with his trucks. We heard him say something about adoption. John asked what he meant. He said: "My trucks adopted a baby girl, her name is Madalyn". Our friends daughter's name is Madalyn which must be where Aaron got the name. We thought that was pretty cute! It's good to hear him talking about adoption too!

Aaron is becoming more and more helpful. It's really nice to be able to ask him to help me something like feeding the dog and off he'll run to go do it. He loves his chickens and is a great help with them. Often I'll tell him to round them up and put them back in the coop. Aaron is very loving towards his animals!

John and I look forward to Aaron's forth year and watching him grow and learn. We are so excited to watch him become a big brother. We know he will be an awesome older brother and a great influence on his brother or sister. He is an amazing little guy and we are so blessed to be his parents!

For his Birthday we went to a near by town to ride the train. It's a fun little train that is modeled after a steam engine and operated by the Lions's club. Then our friends came over for dinner. I made noodles, which are Aaron's favorite. We had a jello dessert with candles. He loved blowing his candles out! It was a fun day. The big party is this weekend. Lots of friends and family are coming over for Aaron's jeep party. It should be a good time!

Happy birthday, Aaron! We love you!

Melbourne Beach, Fl (minus one)

I decided to the name this post based on the fact that although we had a wonderful trip, someone was missing. It was so much fun and so many neat things happened on the trip. However, the void was obvious. One member of our group was missing. My Grandmother, who passed away just days before our arrival. 

She would have loved it. Sitting on the balcony enjoying the view. Laughing at everyone's antics. Marveling at the incredible bond between her first born son and her great-grandson. She was missed greatly. If we had our way, she would have been there. But God had other plans. We are so thankful that although we miss her, she is at peace in her Lord's loving arms. 

It was a terrific trip! We are truly blessed by my parents generosity. They planned the trip, rented the house, bought airline tickets and treated us to some delicious dinners! The house was gorgeous and very fancy. The weather was much better than we thought it would be. Because of tropical storm Debbie, we were expecting a lot of rain. The storm hit our area later than expected so we enjoyed plenty of sunny days. 

Since June is nesting season for sea turtles, we were really hopeful that we would see one. Melbourne/Cocoa Beach are places that usually have a large number of nesting turtles. We were absolutely thrilled when we saw one come ashore the very first night at the beach house. She came up fairly early, so Aaron was able to see her too! Every morning when we would wake up, the beach was completely covered with tracks. It was like an invasion every night! We saw quite a few Loggerhead sea turtles over the week. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. 

Sea turtles weren't the only animals we saw. There are a number of birds in the area including: Osprey (they were all over the place!), Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures, White Ibis, Least Terns, Black Skimmers, Wood Storks and White Egrets. One of the days we went to a little lagoon. There were two Manatee just hanging out in the shallow water! We also saw dolphins near the lagoon and out in the Atlantic. Being an animal lover, seeing so many critters was a real treat! 

Aaron had a good time. He was a good little traveler especially for an almost three year old. He enjoyed swimming in the pool, playing in the ocean, building sand castles and digging holes. On the last day, we took him to Gatorland. He really enjoying seeming all the alligators, crocodiles, snakes and birds. 

John spent 90% of the trip fishing. I am exaggerating, kind of... he did fish a lot! He caught a couple of Blue fish, a couple of Whiteys (which were very tasty!) and had a shark on the line! Even though he didn't land the shark, he was still excited to have hooked one. Also, he had no idea what he would have done if he had gotten the shark on land so maybe it was a good thing it got away!

Friday we had a lovely memorial service for Grandma Sarah. It was simple, just a small gathering of family to remember her and say goodbye. Although it was sad, it was also beautiful because it brought family together. We don't see these family members very often so in a way it was a blessing that Grandma Sarah brought us all together. It was really great to spend time with aunts and uncles and cousins, some of whom I haven't seen in over 25 years!

Although it wasn't the vacation we had planned, it was still a wonderful time together. None of us wanted the trip to end. We made a lot of memories and had a lot of fun!

Busy, busy!

That last week has been pretty crazy, but also fun-filled! We have been packing in activities lately. Seeing a lot of people too. Even though it can get exhausting, it's wonderful to have so many exciting things going on!

The weekend of May 18, John and I attended our CORE adoption training. This is a requirement in Colorado for anyone adopting. The class was all day Friday and Saturday and covers topics such as attachment, culture, development and parenting. We really enjoyed the class and felt like we received some good information.

Since my parents were in town to watch Aaron during our classes, it worked out perfectly for Aaron and I to ride out to western Colorado with them. My dear friend and her family are about to move out of state. So getting a chance to see them was a big priority. It was wonderful to meet their little guy. Aaron and their oldest played together beautifully! I was a little sad to see the evening end!

Aaron and Sophia being silly

We got together with John's sister and her youngest two kids. I feel like I barely know my nine month old niece! It was great to see Olivia's little personality starting to come out. Aaron and Sarah always play (and cause trouble) together well. It was a short, but good visit!

Cousins

I was also able to spend some time with two other friends. I am so thankful that these friendships have continued. Even though I haven't lived in the same town for quite a few years, each of these lovely ladies make time for me when I am in town.

 The week flew by and before long it was time to head to southern Colorado with my parents. John met us there so we could spend the long weekend with more family. The drive would have been great except Aaron came down with a cold. Aaron has some problems with asthma/reactive airway so his breathing wasn't too good. Once I was able to talk to his doctor and get the "ok" to increase the dosage of his medicine, things improved! It did make for a long trip over the mountains though.

We had a fun memorial weekend spending time with family. There was lots of good food and conversation. Sunday I hiked with my parents,  aunts and cousin. Our time seemed to go pretty quick. Monday evening we headed back home. Even though it was a busy trip, we enjoyed all the time with family and friends. I certainly feel blessed!

Hiking at the Paint Mines (Calhan, CO)

Turning 30

This past Friday I turned 30! I haven't had many thoughts on this. It seemed a little scary, like now I have to be a real adult. At the same time it just felt like another Birthday. Of course everyone who told me 30 feels no different than 29 is right. I don't feel any different!

This Birthday has been one of the most memorable though. We had a big snow storm on Thursday night and into Friday. My parents were supposed to be driving out from Grand Junction. Because of the storm we didn't know if they would be able to make it. Friday morning they decided to brave the conditions and try to get as far as they could. They made it! However, our plans for going to Denver were out due to the roads being bad.

The snow was actually quite appropriate. 30 years ago there was a blizzard in Colorado Springs. My parents were on the roads that day as well. They were headed to hospital to have me! It's kind fun that on my 30th it was another cold snowy day.

Friday we ate pizza from Cooper Smith's and played games. Saturday we went sledding. Aaron had a blast. He only wanted to ride on the sled by himself, not with anyone. Later my mom and I went to old town to "window" shop. The plan for the evening was for all of us to go out for sushi.

We had parked the cars and were headed in the direction of Suehiro (the sushi resturant). As we we were passing Pueblo Viejo John pointed at it and said "this is where we're going". I sort of just laughed. I thought he might be teasing me. Then he walked in and gave his name. At that point I figured there was probably some sort of surprise waiting for me.

We walked upstairs and I tried to hide behind my brother! I was guessing there would be lots of people and possibly singing. Sure enough! There were about 30 of my family and friends singing Happy Birthday! I was actually quite surprised. John did a really good job of keeping everything from me. I really thought we were headed to the Sushi place!

I feel so special and loved! I can't believe how many people showed up, some of them from out of town. John had everyone write a card/letter for me. I was amazed at the lovely and beautiful things everyone wrote. I feel so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

Thank you so so much to everyone who came! I truly love and appreciate all of you. The biggest thanks goes to my sweet husband! He really made this a memorable and special Birthday. I am so glad I married such a great man. I look forward to many more fun celebrations with him.

Aaron is Two!

I can hardly believe that two years ago my sweet Aaron was born! It seems impossible that he is already two. He is such a wonderful kiddo. I truly feel so blessed that God chose us to be his parents. He is best gift God has ever given us!

The past few months have been crazy but fun. Aaron had his first weekend away with his grandparents. We took a trip to Colorado Springs for Uncle Tom's wedding. We went camping in Vedawoo and vacationed in Crested Butte.

For Aaron's second Birthday we had a sesame street Birthday party. Since we were in Grand Junction, we had the party at my parents house. His cousins and some good friends came over to celebrate with us. I made cupcakes with sesame street characters. The elmo cupcakes were allergen free for Aaron! I'm pretty sure Aaron enjoyed himself. He kept saying, "Happy Birthday party!!".

Aaron continues to have some pretty significant food allergies. He was recently retested and he is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. He also had a reaction to shrimp. The food tests showed a mild reaction to coconut and sesame but since he tolerates eating these foods we will continue to give them to him. He is able to eat eggs and milk if the are baked into something. We have our anaphylaxis treatment plan just in case! Aaron will be retested when he turns three. We are still hopeful that he will out grow some of his allergies!

Milestones/accomplishments: Talking, talking, talking! Singing, counting and doing it "self". Aaron draws with crayons and takes his clothes off. Helps with dishes, laundry and feeding the animals. I have to say his biggest accomplishment lately is using the potty!

Favorite things: Trucks, his grand parents, animals and outside. He loves to help. Aaron enjoys playing with other kiddos quite a bit. Trips to the park and hiking are things Aaron enjoys. Water is also a favorite.

Mother's Day

A couple of years ago I became a Mama! My son is amazing and I am FOREVER thankful and grateful.

Pregnant with Aaron!

Just hours into Motherhood...

Just days old. Oh man was I tired!

My sweet little guy!

I am also incredibly blessed to have an amazing Mother of my own. She raised me right, is an encouragement and a friend. She is beautiful in every way. I hope to be as good a Mother to my son as she was to me and my brother.

My mom and I!


Enjoying a ski together!



However, I can't help but think of those who have lost Mothers, pregnancies, children and those who battle infertility. I think my dear friend Jenn said it best: "May peace and hope be yours today".