throwing up

(as Peter calls it) that just means I have a lot to say :o)

well, this morning I was trying to decide if I would be more crazy to have four children ages 11 months, 2, 3, and 4 (Allie, Elijah, Henry, and Caleb) or to take 4 children, who are not all mine with me to the dr. while the boys get checkups.
well, they were all ANGELS! Literally, we were in the dr. office for 1 hour and 40 minutes with no crying, whining, or fighting. It was amazing.
the results:
Caleb, 42 inches, 80th percentile, 36 pounds, 50th percentile
Elijah: 34 inches, 40th percentile, 26 pounds, 30th percentile (Elijah's projected height is 68inches 5 ft 8 inches, double what a child is at 2)
Caleb is projected to be 6' 1'' or 6' 2", Elijah definitely has Papa's build. :o)

Last night the boys and I had a special treat. We watched Bob the Builder and ate popcorn in front of the tv. Well, Caleb watched Bob the Builder. Elijah is not into tv much. fine by me :o) he played Rescue Hereos. Peter was in IL with his father. I guess I forgot to post about Peter's dad.

Art has surgery this morning to remove his eye. He had cancer in it twice before and found more. The surgery went well, he is already home and recovering well. God is good! They don't think this is related to all the other problems he has been having this past month. Still no answers on that stuff.

We are still in PGN and waiting to get out. There has been a lot of movement of the director signing papers and getting people out. This is great news, I have seen lots of people getting out who have not been in as long as we have, but a few old timers like us are getting out to. I am pretty sure there are not too many old timers still in. Are paperwork shows we have been in since March 20. the good news about that is that there was a meeting on Monday to address two very importnat factors: people who have been in more than 3 months (that's us) and people who were kicked out for stupid reasons (this is not us). Because of the forum and listserve I am on I got notice of this meeting and got to submit our case and it was one of the documented cases to prove that they are not sticking to their guidelines and people are not getting out within a reasonable time frame (3 months is reasonable to them). we continue to wait and pray and pray and wait. I was hoping to have our case out of PGN by my birthday. This would make it very likely that she would be home by her birthday (9.17) we'll see.

We all miss Papa lots but continue to share memories and talk about him daily. Everytime we say prayers, Elijah always says "Papa & Grandpa". He doesn't want us to forget to pray for them :o) what a sweetie.

still not able to post pics :o(

i keep forgetting to post...this is FUNNY

Well, if you haven't heard, Caleb loves Buzz Lightyear.

and for those of you who are unfamiliar with Buzz there are two phrases that go with Buzz

to infinite... and beyond

Buzz Lightyear, to the rescue

well, at supper the other night Caleb says,

Dear God, to the rescue

(he followed it up by saying, oops and then smiled)

We could not stop laughing!!!!!

(I tried to post pics, won't work :o()

Micaiah is SMILING!

today we got a picture of Micaiah smiling!!!!! with her foster sister Josselina! It is sooo good to see a smile on her face!

update on the potty training...Elijah is still in training, a few hits and a few misses each day. He is starting to say when he has to go, before it has dripped down his legs! YEAH! He does best when he is in the buff, it's a good thing its summer!

It's weird to be in the official stage of our adoption where we could potentially get a call any day, saying we are out of PGN and only have a few weeks of paperwork left. (but of course, as a reminder to all of you, it could be much longer) I told God I am ready! I think about her sooo often.

All I want for my birthday is to get approval out of PGN!!!!!! (did you hear that God?)

Actually, I have been praying for us to get out on Thursday. Outs sometimes happen on Thurs or Fridays, late at night. And, well, I figure, I been in this for quite sometime now and we just ought to end with a BANG! a super speedy time of our case officially being with a reviewer and then out we go.

so I wonder if I convince myself and all of you we should get out, will I convince God too? hee hee.

Caleb spent yesterday in the big pool (3 feet deep). He was very brave and is learning to trust himself in the water more! He is progressing quickly, considering our first day in the pool this year was Saturday!

We are all missing Peter. He is doing well in Mexico, I missed his call tonight. We can't wait to be together again!

blueberries, swimming, pizza with friends...what a day!

What a wonderful Saturday I had with the boys.

We started off blueberry picking, they both lasted longer than I anticipated and thorougly enjoyed picking and especially eating the blueberries. We came home with 7 pounds of blueberries! We plan to make homemade blue berry muffins tomorrow and eat blueberries until we turn blue. (we did freeze a bunch of them for future smoothies and blueberry pancakes). We are hoping to head back next Saturday morning with daddy, at $2 a pound we are going to stock up!

We stopped and picked up flowers to replace the ones that died in our flower boxes and then to the library for books (and videos for me to watch while I try to organize my closets, files, etc. after the kiddos go to bed each night).

Caleb and I painted pictures on the driveway, made thank you notes from his birthday, planted the flowers, and looked at his baby book while Elijah napped.

Then off to the YMCA for our first official swim of the season! WOW, for us it seems summer has just begun! We all had a blast!

Then off the pizza with Ethan and Owen and their parents, the kids had a great time.

We said our prayers and thanked God for the beautiful time we had together and prayed for daddy and the kids in Mexico!

a truly joyous day...

i think i still remember how to do this?

wow! it's been a long time. I will attempt to be more diligent. Where do i begin?

for those of you relying on our blog for the latest adoption news:

The interview we had been waiting for since March 31, finally occured on Memorial Day, the write up was then completed and we were submitted into the official part of PGN that we want to be in! We were officially in (meaning our case can now be looked at by a reviewer) on July 5. In actuality, we have been in since March 20, almost 4 months! Well, today we got word that we received a previo. This has become extremely common and was something we anticipated (under the new director, almost no one gets through PGN without at least 1 previo). The good news is, this means our case is being reviewed! My caseworker said they wanted an updated document from our attorney. Even better news, she already submitted the paperwork and we are back in again! This all happened between Tuesday and today! Now that is my kind of timing! thank you GOD! now, let's keep it coming.

Our caseworker informed us that they have switched pediatricians so we are a little late in getting a dr. update and pictures of Micaiah this month.

Other exciting news on the adoption front, our good friends the Walatka's are just finishing their pick up trip to bring their two boys (1 & 2 years old) from Ethiopia. We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet them! Keith and Shelley now have Tommy, 3, Hunter 3, Benjamin, 2, Joseph, 1, and Anna, 1. They are awesome people and great parents and friends too! I know they will do well. and Tommy and Hunter turn 4 this week, so the numbers will look a little better! :o)

Peter left this evening for Mexico, for the annual mission trip with the high schoolers. He was home for a short 2 weeks and is gone again. More reason why I have not blogged.

Yesterday we spent the day at King's Island (amusement park). The church has a VIP pass, so we got to go for free, park for free, we brought our lunches, and splurged on Graeter's ice cream while we were there! A wonderful family day for just $5! What a deal.

pics not posting now, I'll try again later...

Elijah is FAMOUS

check it out!!!

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006607030343