I love days like today.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but we are enjoying every minute.  After school was over, we made our weekly trek to the grocery.  Some weeks it is just another errand; today  it seemed to take on another adventure.  Laughing and sharing...I love having my children home with me.  This year has truly been the most rewarding year for us all.  I see Abby and Gracie's relationship being strengthened.  Each day is certainly not this easy, but I praise God for the good and the bad (or maybe I should say the difficult).

Abby and Gracie taking a break

 God is doing something amazing within our family.  Our desires are changing...they are now becoming God's desires.  Vince and I aren't sure what that looks like in the years to come, but I am certain that even after our adoption is complete, our journey will not be complete. 
 
I don't have any updates on our adoption, but it should be very soon!  We are currently waiting to get our home study back.  Our dossier is complete with the exception of our home study.  This Tuesday will be our second family meeting with our agency.  We are looking forward to connecting with the other families that are going through this process.  Such a cool gathering!  I loved seeing all of the families who already have already completed their adoption.  We left our last meeting with such an anticipation to get our children home!
 
Soli deo Gloria
 
Kelli 

New Coaster Style Added

Thanks to a good friend of ours  (Bernetta Trainor) we now have added a new coaster style!!  The new style is of a Fleur De Lis.  Fleur De Lis is french for Lily Flower and is also the symbol of our great city, Louisville. 

See the picture below - and also along the side with our other coaster styles.

Vince

What a busy week!  Is it really Friday already?  We have been extremely busy but productive.  We met with Cindy from our agency on Monday to go over our documents that are completed and what we still need to do.  I mentioned previously that a few things had changed.  We now have to have lab work done.  All of these new forms will have to be notorized again.  All of this work could be frustrating to go through, but I keep my focus on the end result.  Each step gets us closer to bringing home our children.  Praise God!

We were able to get back into the doctor on Wednesday for our lab work.  Today we made a trip back for them to read our TB test.  We plan to travel there again with our notary on Tuesday (thanks Janet) to get the doctor's letter and a few other things finished.  Whew...

Two more weeks of school!  Yipee!  Today we had a field trip to see You're Good Man Charlie Brown at Stage One.  I think Abby and Gracie enjoyed it.  I forgot my camera-no pictures :(
This has been such a good year.  I am ready for little break, but I am already looking forward to next year.  I am so thankful to have this opportunity with my kids.  What a blessing. 


Kelli

Women of Joy

  This weekend has been amazing.  I just returned home from Women of Joy with my wonderful friends and family.  Each speaker was a blessing to me as well as the time of worship with Charles Billingsley.  I was able to take away something from each part.  I enjoyed listening to Sarah Palin Friday night.  I know many people have differing opinions about her, but I love that she loves the Lord.  She even said in her speech that Yes, she clings to her faith.  It is all she has!  She is not ashamed.  She has faced some challenges in her life that have made her stronger.  I applaud her for her courage.
Saturday we were blessed to have Becky Tirabassi and Anita Renfroe speak for us.  They are both great speakers.  God used Becky to touch my heart.  I loved her testimony.   She was inspiring when she spoke about losing weight and overcoming the addictions in her life.  Liz Curtis Higgs was refreshing as always.  Every time I hear her speak, I feel like she is speaking directly to me.  God knows what I need.  He was present the whole weekend.  "He was in the house"!
What can I say about Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith?  They were awesome as always!  Steven Curtis Chapman sang his song about adoption and it was very emotional for me.  I haven't allowed myself to feel some of those feelings yet because of the many unknowns right now.  I could feel it bubbling up inside me as I watched the children on the screen and listen to the words.  I know God has our children already chosen for us.  I am praying for them as we wait...sometimes the waiting is so very hard. Below is a link to the song on Youtube. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIwNZilpTXU

Sharing the weekend with family and friends

My mom and I

Steven Curtis Chapman

Liz Curtis Higgs

I have to finish up by saying how wonderful my husband is.  Can I just brag on him for awhile?  Not only did he handle all the family affairs for the weekend, but he also successfully did a yard sale.  He is a wonderful husband and dad.  Vince is my life partner and best friend.  I am so thankful to God for giving us these years together.  He has given me more than I deserve.  We are on an incredible journey together, and I wouldn't want to share it with anyone else.
May you all have a blessed week ahead.

Kelli

We Have Broke 12,000 Miles!!!

Thanks to all of your generosity in time, talent and treasure, we have now dropped below 12,000 miles to go on our fund raising goal!!!  We are officially at 11,961 miles remaining.  This is in part to the yard sale that we had today.  Huge thanks goes out to our close friends and family - especially Brent and Heather Adams for getting up early on a Saturday morning to help a bro out.  We are blessed beyond measure for all of our friends.

For an update on fund raising - we have booked a Golf Scramble on Saturday, July 24th at the Sun Valley Golf Course in Southwest Jefferson County.  Barry Basham , the Golf Pro, was my golf instructor when I was 11 years old and he is still there!!  God is good.  I have not been able to get a scramble scheduled in a good time frame at many of the other popular courses.  I will be communicating registration information and brochures for you to provide to friends and family.   

More to come soon. . . . .

Vince

We have had a busy couple of weeks.  We returned from the homeschool convention this weekend ready to finish out our school year strong.  There is always a great number of speakers, and I walk away with a lot of information to process.  We were able to see Tim Hawkins in concert Friday night.  Lots of laughs!  Tim in a comedian.  If you have never heard of him, look him up on Youtube.  He is really funny.  We were blessed to take Abby and Gracie this year as well.  They had a lot of fun.  It is always nice to have friends to share these times with.  I'm already looking forward to next year.

Lunch with the gang

AbbyGirl Sweets!

So appropriate for my girl

(this is a bakery in Cincy we stopped at)

Easter 2010

Gracie's 8th Birthday

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

There are a few more forms that we need before we can submit our dossier.  Some things have changed with regard to the process.  Trying to be patient.  It is hard when things can change without us having much say.  Vince and I are so thankful for the support of so many.  It would not be possible to be where we are without all of you.  God knows all that we need.  We trust him for the supply.

I plan to write more once we get these last few forms completed and the dossier is mailed!

Kelli

Another Opportunity

Our wonderful friend, Rachel has been making beaded crosses to help us raise money for our adoption.  We have ours in our car, hanging from the rearview mirror, but you can use it as a sun catcher on a window.  She puts a great deal of effort into each cross.  They are unique in color and beads.  You can buy them for $10.00 each.  Her email address is  rkissling@insightbb.com  if you are interested in buying one.  Below are some examples, although they look so much better in person.

Tonight after coming home from the Y... Vince had a surprise for Abby & Gracie!

Baby Bunnies!

Vince found them in the backyard when he was cutting grass.  Gracie begged us to let her keep them, but we had to put them back.  The last thing we need right now is another pet. Smile...But they were cute!

Thanks to everyone who helped with our yard sale on Saturday.  In spite of the little moment of rain, it was a big success.  Our family and friends are the best!

Sweet Kenzie

The whole gang! 

They did a great job getting the attention people driving by.

Kelli