Weekend of Tears

I can't remember the last time I have cried so much as I have this weekend. And not just me; Mike too! After church today he told someone he thought he was PMSing:)

These cries weren't all bad though, just a lot to handle in a row. Friday night we sat down and watched Bella, a movie highly recommended to us. Well I recommend it too, just have a kleenex box nearby.

Saturday afternoon we spent at a Memorial for a friend, Laura, who passed away following a year-long battle with brain cancer. She was a strong advocate for the autistic children in our area, having two autistic kids of her own. To the end, she lived her life to glorify the Lord, something I hope I can emulate.

Lastly, in church today, pastor showed a video featuring a cross country runner named Ben Comen. The young man exemplifies perseverance, as he endures running despite having cerebral palsy and always finishing last. The video takes awhile to download, and is around seven minutes long, but when you find the time, it is worth it. He was featured on ESPN, and it is truly inspiring.

"I brave!"

The girls have one more week of swimming lessons and are having a grand time. It is amazing to see how far Jaelyn has come in these past four weeks. Jaelyn loves to be in the water, that is, if we are in the kiddie pool, but the big pool, which is where lessons take place, are another thing. The first night Jaelyn had a death grip on the teacher's neck every time she took Jaelyn off the steps, and there were even some tears. Now Jaelyn will make strokes on her tummy and back while out in the deep water with her teacher. She still won't put her head under water, and is hesitant to jump off the side, but as she keeps telling us after lessons, "I brave!" On the other hand, Kaia, as usual, has no fear of the water. She is very busy at the swimming lessons, dunking her head underwater and jumping off the sides. We found a great product, ear band-it, to keep the water out of her ears, as she had been complaining about her ears hurting. She goes back to the ENT in July to possibly get her tubes taken out, but for now we have no concerns.

Just had to post this video. Watch Kaia jump in the water four times to Jaelyn's one. Evidently Jaelyn trust one teacher more than the other:)

Family needs prayer...

If you read my blog regularly, you may remember an earlier post that I wrote about Steven Curtis Chapman singing "Cinderalla" and what an inspiration he has been to adoptive families. Well tonight I have been in tears over learning one of his daughters was hit and killed today. What makes it more difficult is that one of her older brothers was driving the vehicle that struck her in their driveway. I can't imagine the pain they all must be going through. For all the joy they have brought through encouraging so many to adopt, it's time we pay them back with our prayers. Please join me in lifting this family up.

Mom's New Haircut....

Two Years Ago This Week....

we were blessed to have Jaelyn join our family, forever! I can't imagine life without this beautiful, compassionate child. Everywhere we go people comment on her smile, and they are right, her whole face lights up. It's contagious, and I know God has and will use her to bless others.

We celebrated the day in our usual fashion, chinese food! We swore we were back in China, as the waitress hovered by our table, picking up every plate and bowl the second it was empty. Jaelyn really captured the waitress' heart too, as by the end of the meal she was taking Jaelyn by the hand and walking her to the dessert buffet. Jaelyn grinned from ear to ear as she walked back with a bowl full of sweets, AFTER we had already given her ice cream. A minute later, here came the waitress again, with ice cream cones for the girls! It so took us back to our visits to China. You never get that type of service and attention in the states, and in the restaurants in China, you don't even tip!

Here are a couple pictures from the celebration, as well as a picture from the first time we held Jaelyn.

Incredible Sportsmanship

My friend Julie, knowing what a sports fanatic and strong believer in good sportsmanship I am, brought this article to my attention. It is so nice to see when people get it right. It truly builds my belief in humanity again. Now if we could all go out and do just one selfless act a day....

Catching Up....

So I have some catching up to do, as April has flown by without me posting much. First of all, we had Kaia's 4th birthday over our spring break (everyone's that is, except Mike), followed by her Ariel birthday party that she has been dying for. Turns out her party was on the nicest day of the year so far, so the pinata was outside instead of in the garage.


After watching Kellen set a PR (personal record) Friday night in the 800, we met up with my parents on Saturday at Josh's wrestling tournament, where he placed 3rd in his weight class.


Remember the beautiful day for Kaia's party? Well the week after we had 2 inches of snow on the ground! I wasn't sure the tulips would come out at all this year, but alas, they did. On Saturday we also stopped by the incredible Skagit Valley Tulip Fields for some beautiful back drops. Of course, the first thing I did was to tell the girls to stay out of the mud. Yeah right, Kaia gets pulled into water like a gigantic magnet. Silly me didn't pack any extra shoes or pants. Oh well, she dried:)