Easter and Birthday

We have had such a busy week between Easter and Kaia's birthday that I haven't had time to post. Kaia turned three on Tuesday but her Dora swim party wasn't until Saturday. The weekend was made extra special by a visit from Auntie Julie and Ellie. Enjoy the slideshow!

Spring Break

It's all of our spring breaks here, and we just got back from two nights at Ocean Shores. It's a wonderful stretch of beach on the Washington coast. The weather was as cooperative as could be for this time of year here, which basically means no rain, and wind just strong enough to fly our kites! Mike and the kids had never been here, so were shocked to learn you can actually drive your car right on the beach (at least until clamming season begins Apr. 15).

Although we live on an island surrounded by the Puget Sound, this was the girls first time at a "real" beach with crashing waves and sand. They loved it, but Jaelyn did not like the idea of getting her feet wet. I think their favorite thing was riding on the surrey we rented (that's only because they didn't have to pedal for an hour in wet sand like the rest of us!). Joshua became pretty proficient at flying a kite as close to the ground as possible, then making it shoot back up into the air. Kellen hit a milestone as he wore his dad out on a seven mile beach run. This was the first time his dad could not keep up with him. Yikes, we're getting old!

We will spend the rest of the break enjoying some down time and getting some things done around the house. Oh yeah, Easter is this Sunday, and then Kaia keeps reminding us that she turns three next week. Guess I better get planning....

Busy Weekend

Wow, am I having a hard time recovering from our busy weekend. Friday night Joshua and I went to the Rebecca St. James and Delirious concert. We had a great time and even better since it was free! The picture you see is of us and Charmaine, Rebecca's backup singer who has a beautiful voice (not to mention beautiful) and has her first CD out. Watch for her. The only downside of the concert was getting home near 1:30 am.

Saturday, well the video on the previous post sums that day up! I can appreciate the humor a little more now. The girls laugh hysterically when they see it. I'm not so sure it was a good idea to show it to them... To answer many questions I have received, the conditioner bottle was found safe and upright behind the shower curtain! Mike burned the clip to a DVD and we mailed it off to AFV:) I'll definitely post if we hear anything further on that.

Sunday the girls went to a birthday party for a friend from China, Claire, who just turned three. Following the party Mike and I headed out of town for another concert, this time Kutless and the Newsboys. Let's just say my ears are still ringing from this weekend, but it was worth it. This is the third time we've seen the Newsboys live, and they didn't disappoint me. We weren't even the oldest rockers there, but my tired body since then thinks so!

Double Trouble Shampoo Edition

Here's a behind the scenes glimpse into the Crebbin household. I knew something was up when the girls were oh so quiet. Mike says we need to send this one in to America's Funniest Video. What do you think?

It's a Small World!

Today I had one of those "small world" experiences. I took Kaia to a checkup at Children's Hospital. While there I came across two Chinese adoptive moms chatting, and sort of butted my way into their conversation. One of the mothers informed me her daughter was from an orphanage "way up North in Changchun." I told her that was where my daughter Jaelyn was from, she was shocked, and she made sure we were talking about the same orphanage, the Changchun SWI. I then asked her where she was from, which was Ellensburg. It was then that I realized this was the wonderful lady who carried over a stuffed animal, disposable camera, and a family photo album for us to Jaelyn back in Dec. of 2005. In fact she was the one who informed us that Jaelyn was in foster care, as that was what she learned from the orphanage director when she was there picking up her daughter. I got a chance to thank her in person. I love it when God shows me that He cares about the little details too!

All news was good news at Kaia's appointments. Her audiology test turned out great and seemed to show no hearing loss. Her tubes are still in place and working, and will most likely come out next spring unless they fall out before. We saw the orthodontist for the first time. All of Kaia's teeth that should be in now on the bottom are in, and two are coming in on top. She has a cross bite on the bottom left, which we knew already. When she is around 7 they will put in a bar behind her top teeth to widen her mouth and make room for the bone that will be added. The timing of the surgery for the bone graft will be right before the tooth in her gumline cleft come in. Too early or too late will not do any good. The tooth will grow right through her bone like it would for anyone. She mentioned a possible surgery after that one, depending on how her jawline adjusts. Kaia did great at all 3 checkups today. She is getting to be such a big girl. We did hear a couple "no shots" early on, but the staff was able to convince her that she would not be receiving any shots today.

As for the rest of the family, Joshua is busy wrestling and managed to pin a girl at his last tournament. Had to save face! Kellen had his first track meet last week and set a personal best in the 1600 and 3200 (mile and 2 mile), which was not bad of a start. This Thursday he has a home meet which I am going to be a timer for, so maybe I can help him take a few more seconds off his time (just joking.....).

Well it is way too noisy down the hall with giggles and sounds of buckets full of toy cars being dragged down the hallway. Kellen and Joshua had saved most all of theirs and the girls enjoy them as much as the boys did. Well now I hear tears being shed....

Upcoming Mission Trips

I just wanted to share that God has called me back to China this summer! No, I'm not adopting this time, but I am going to be working with orphans. I am going through our adoption agencies mission organization, Visiting Orphans. My sister-in-law, Pat's wife Tonyia, is going with me too. We will be heading to Chaoyang, Liaoning (Northern China) on July 12 and will return on July 22. We don't have an itinerary yet, but you can read more on the organization at www.visitingorphans.org/ Our team leader has become a good friend of mine through our adoptions. This will be our 3rd time in China together, but both our firsts returning without a new member to the family. I think that will be heartbreaking, but I am excited about the opportunity to work with the children.

Kellen is also going on a mission trip this summer through our church's youth group. He will be heading to LA on June 28 then heading on down to Baja, Mexico. It is not known specifically what he will be doing this summer, but it will be anything from orphanage visits to construction to street ministry, or some of each. He is excited to be able to put his Espanol into practice!

We had a missions trip fundraiser auction at church today. Kellen raised money by offering services as a math tutor, tennis opponent, and a web page designer. He will be busy! I will be baking cookies every month for a year, but I'm thrilled to say it brought in $200 towards my trip. If anyone wants to make a tax deductible donation towards my trip you can write a check to Visiting Orphans and put my name in the memo. Drop me an email if you want to know more. Also, I will post more as the time draws nearer. Please keep both our trips in your prayers.