Summer Recap

Since I've fallen a bit behind on updating this blog, I thought I would do a recap of our summer. We have had a fun, busy and surprising summer. I can hardly believe summer is over and fall is here!

• Crested Butte! This is the forth year in a row we have taken a summer trip to Crested Butte. It is always a wonderful time with family enjoying the wildflowers, hikes, mountain bike trails and restaurants. 

• We were able to go camping a couple of times this summer. We went with friends both times and it was great! The weather was really good for both trips. The first trip was in State Forest State Park and the second was near Cameron Pass. 

• John and I went to Denver with my parents and brother to see the band Grizzly Bear. This was quite a treat for us. We love music and seeing it live, but are not able to attend as many concerts these days. Thanks to John's wonderful sister we got to go out to dinner and catch the show!

• Our little boy turned four! We celebrated with friends and family. Aaron asked for a "mighty machines" birthday. He is very excited to be four and feels that he is now a big boy. 

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!

Jeep Birthday party!

Aaron loves jeeps. When I asked what kind of Birthday he wanted, I wasn't surprised when he told me he wanted a jeep party. As it turns out, there isn't a lot of jeep stuff out there so I had to get a little creative.

My friend made the invites for me! I absolutely love them!

 For decorations we did balloons, a banner I made and little jeeps/trucks that my mom found at the dollar store. It turned out well. The most fun was the cake. I didn't want to try to make a jeep shaped cake. I decided to make a mountain/hill shape and have jeeps driving up it. I had a blast putting in together! The wonderful thing about a hill cake is that perfection doesn't matter!  

And of course, presents! Our little guy loved opening his presents. Our family and friends were vary generous and got him some really neat things! Trains, jeeps, puzzles, recycling trucks... all the things Aaron loves. 

What really made the party wonderful was all of our family and friends. We are blessed beyond words with the most amazing family and friends who are like family. We could not possibly ask for more!

Because so many asked, here is the recipe for Fudge Buttermilk Cake. My mom gave me the recipe, and it is really good cake! Easy too! The only thing is that it does tend to fall in the middle. Oh well, adding more icing will do the trick ;)

Fudge Buttermilk Cake:

2 cups sugar
1 cup salad oil
2 unbeaten eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
5 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add all ingredients in order given. Beat for two minutes. Batter will be thin.

Bake in a 9x13 cake pan at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until done.

Fudge Frosting:

1 lb powdered sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup boiling water
1/3 cup soft butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift sugar, mix with cocoa and salt. Add water and butter. Blend well. Add vanilla and blend together.

Hope you enjoy it!

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)

A Cold Colorado Camping Trip

Although May is pretty earlier for camping in Colorado, we were still excited to get out for the first time this year. We had talked to our friends/neighbors, and all of us were excited to plan a trip. Mother's Day weekend was decided on for the outing. We knew it would be a little cold, but we could bring plenty of warm clothes.

All week we watched the forecast. Cold and rain all weekend. No big deal, it may be down-graded by the weekend. Then we receive an email from our friends that the campground we have originally chosen was still closed for the season. There are only two campgrounds open at this point in the year. UGH.

So Aaron and I drove up the canyon on Friday morning before the trip. There were only two campgrounds open. We are hoping to reserve sites at one of the two. No such luck. Both campgrounds were completely filled. Oh well, guess we will drive up later and hope for the best.

West we drive, Friday evening, a caravan consisting of two couples and a total of four kids. First campground, full. Second campground, full. Up Pingree Park Road we head, there is still hope. Ah success. We find and beautiful site with enough room for both families. There is only one problem, it's snowing!

Even though it was snowy and cold, we still had a wonderful time! Our friends that went with us are officially awesome! We are so glad that they were up for such a crazy adventure. It was their first camping trip in Colorado. They did fantastic. None kids even whined or complained. John and I were quite impressed.

We did end up coming home early. The weather the second evening was still pretty iffy. It was cold. More snow had overtaken us while we were farther up the canyon fishing at a small lake.  The snow appeared to be following us as we drove back down the canyon returning to our campsite. Cooking dinner was going to be difficult if it kept raining/snowing. So, we decided to call the trip a success and head home.  Maybe next time, it will be a little nicer out, but we were really thankful for such an enjoyable trip!

Mmm, Smores

I guess next time someone will bring the jumper cables! Oops...

Lost Lake

Getting the fishing poles ready.

Fishing!

A cold but very pretty day.

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 Eleven Months

It sure is hard to believe we will have a toddler in one month! Aaron is growing up so fast. He is such a wonderful blessing and addition to our family. He is growing and changing so fast. More often we see a little boy instead of a baby when we look at Aaron. There is never a dull moment around here, he keeps us on our toes! We have a very active little guy!

It has been a BIG month. We took our first family vacation with Aaron at the end of June. The three of us along with my parents flew to Navarre, Florida for a week. Aaron did wonderfully on the plane. We were quite pleased! Despite rainy weather, rip currents and oily beaches we still had a great week. We made the best of the less that ideal conditions and had lots of fun. We have some great memories from the week!

Milestones/accomplishments lately: Clapping hands, shaking his head no, saying "Mama", "Daddy" and "Adah" (the dog) and trying to say other words. Aaron likes to stand briefly and takes a couple of steps on his own.

Favorite things: Exploring, climbing stairs, his mouse, reading/playing with books, being outside, bath time/ playing in the water, the vacuum, graham crackers, his dog, balls, cell phones and playing the piano/drums.

Red Mountain Pass

Last week we spent long weekend at a cabin on Red Mountain Pass. We went with my parents, our good friends Lee and Karen as well as Karen's parents. It works out great since since John and Lee are friends from college, Karen and I grew up together and our parents are great friends. We are so thankful for generous parents that treat us to such wonderful vacations! Caleb (Lee and Karen's three month old son) and Aaron did great with the altitude. The cabin was at 10,400 feet so there was some concern about how the babies would do. Aaron seemed to have a little trouble sleeping. Although, he also has his first tooth coming in so that may have had something to do with it as well.

We spent our days enjoying some amazing backcountry skiing! We had a perfect ski hill just across the street from the cabin. This made it easy to trade off watching the babies. The weather was beautiful the the entire time. There was some concern about the weather and avalanche danger before we arrived. The avalanche danger had been extreme the week before our trip. With the exception of one minor scare, the snow was just fine! Of course we all skiing with probes, shovels and avalanche beacons.

Since my Birthday was a few days after our trip, we celebrated at the cabin. This was a complete surprise to me. Everyone sang to me and my Mama made me a very delicious carrot cake! I loved being able to celebrate with family and friends in such a gorgeous location. Another highlight was enjoying an evening at the Ouray hot springs with Lee and Karen. The hot springs are beautiful! We are so blessed to have enjoyed such a fun and safe trip.

New Years 2009

This year for New Years Eve, we had a fondue party! The meal started out with Gruyere cheese fondue, next we had tenderloin beef and chicken, and for desert chocolate peanut butter fondue. It was quite delicious and we enjoyed spending the last day of 2008 with friends.

The spread.

My blueberry splash "Mocktail"

Happy New Year!

Section House

Just before Christmas, John and I went on a hut trip to the Section House. The cabin is located at the top of Boreas Pass about ten miles east of Breckenridge. The Section House was built in 1882 for the men and families that took care of the the section of railroad on Boreas Pass. By the 1930's the railroad was no longer in use, so the cabin has since been rebuilt. In order to get to the Section House, we skied to it from Como, Colorado. It was about a five mile trip ending at the top of Boreas Pass 11,481.

The cabin is quite large and is equipped with two wood burning stoves. We needed to melt snow for water. The bathroom is an outdoor vault toilet with a beautiful view! Thanks to a couple of the guys who were willing to pull sleds, we ate very well. This is most of the group enjoying some homemade pizza.

This is a shot of Boreas Mountain. The cabin sit above treeline, so it was very cold at the Section House. The ski in was a little challenging because it was almost entirely uphill. We also had a bit of a late start, so we didn't get to the cabin until after dark. By the time it was dark out, we were above treeline and the wind had picked up. Coming around the last bend and seeing the cabin was a great feeling.

Mt. Silver Heels

This one is looking towards Como, Colorado

Getting ready to ski out. We had plenty of downhill on the way back.

John and I next to the old rail bed with Silver Heels in the background. I felt pretty good about having made it to the Section House that weekend. At the time, I was seven weeks pregnant and dealing with morning sickness. It was a wonderful hut trip and we could not have asked for a better better group of friends to spend the weekend with.

Climbing at the Monastery

Despite having a broken arm John and I still managed to visit two new climbing areas this year. In September we climbed at Jurassic Park, Colorado. Then last week we made it to the Monastery, Colorado thanks to the unseasonably warm weather. Both places are fairly close to Estas Park. The Monastery is known for lots of climbs and a wide range of difficulty. The rock is granite (potassium feldspar) with sharp crystals (quartz). Routes are very long, so long that you often need to pay attention to rope lengths. It is a beautiful area with amazing views.

Hiking in. The approach is (comparatively) long, about a mile.



Me climbing "No Mystery Here" 5.8



John climbing "No Mystery Here" 5.8



Jeff on "The Steeple" 5.7



A very beautiful day for climbing!

*Photos of John and I climbing courtesy of Jeff Elsner. Thanks Jeff!

Pumpkin Carving!

John, Chris, Matt and I had some fun carving pumpkins the week before Halloween.



Matt's pumpkin. I love the scar face.



Chris's pumpkin. His lockness monster had scales!



The other side of Chris's pumpkin. Yep. It's Barney the dinosaur being hung...



John's pumpkin. Very cool.



And mine. Of course it has a raptor on it...