Visiting with family

What a thrill to spend the week with my mom, my sister and my nephew this past week. It is always fun to rock on the front porch and sip coffee with my two favorite ladies, not to mention how much Wil loves having Ethan around to sword fight and x-box with...

Mom and Melissa at the NC Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores

We stayed busy and got little to no sleep, but it was time well spent. I really miss them since we have moved and it was nice to just have them here. Her birthday is Saturday and my sister her and I got her a pair of Zebra finches, which she appeared to adore. They were simply adorable and sang with us on the deck each morning. They are appropriately named Beethoven and Olivia (Newton-John). Keeping the cat from devouring them was a daunting task at times...we were so glad they made it through the week. Birds are just another way the Lord gets glory, because they are such majestic creatures (and such messy ones!!).

Old fisherman never die....

Jon took the boys out for some swimming and fun fishing in the Inter coastal Waterway. Apparently, most of what they caught were "mini-me's" for Jaws!

If you look closely you can see the Emerald Isle bridge in the background and the blood dripping from Jon's fingers from that blasted creature (for the 2nd time that day). I can already hear the boys recanting the story in their "What I did this summer" papers!

Austyn and Landon on the ferry from Cedar Island to Ocracoke Island

The wind was blowing so hard on the way back that the kids had to hold on to their flip flops, literally. The view from the ferry was breath taking as we pulled into the harbor. One visit to Ocracoke and I am a fan for life. We are already planning a return trip and sought advice from the man who owns the Tradewinds Bait and Tackle on the Island about when to go and where to stay...of course we trust him, he is an NC State graduate.

Captured a moment from the car window at Silver Lake on the island.

Its been a whirlwind of fun.........

We have covered some ground in the past few days...

The girls and I headed out to Greenville Saturday for Landon to compete in a Jr. Olympics skills competition for track and field.

Who knew she was a runner and a jumper? I still laugh when I think about how I tried to discourage her from competing in our district competition...she won at that level and then again in the regionals. Ha! Way to go mom! I sure blew it. It has been great to see her venture into an arena that I know NOTHING about. Hope she doesn't need any coaching...she'll have to call Auntie Mariel or Auntie Cheryl on that one!! Can I get an amen?

Straight from there we drove to Lynchburg, VA to say our goodbyes to the children from the choir as they sang their final concert for World Help this year. All three teams were singing at Thomas Road Baptist Church (Jerry Falwell's) in both of the services. It was so awesome to see some of the kids who have been so far away on the West coast all year. We also enjoyed touring Liberty University and planting seeds in Aus and Lu's mind about the future. :-) I would LOVE for them to attend a Christian university (of course, if they wanted to sport the red and white of the Pack that would be excellent, too!!)

It was bittersweet to see Tingneingak again (she is Tingneitling's sister)! You can best believe that we sent HUNDREDS of hugs for each one of them to take back to the babes in India, especially Ting!

We drove home Sunday night after the concert and rolled in shortly before 1 am.

Then we were on the road again by 9 am to pick up my niece and nephew for a few days of fun with all the cousins!

WATERLOGGED RUG RATS

Madison, Landon, Wilson, Hampton and Austyn

Notice the boys on the ladder...need I say more?

The girls are taking a break from giggling to pose (with Andrea,the neighbor) for a photo. Check out those socks on Landon....did I mention she was in soccer camp this week, too? As if we needed another thing to do this week!! Haven't I taken a bible study a time or ten on overloading the schedule and priorities or something?? Where is Beth Moore when you need her?

OKAY, so the boys aren't posing or giggling...they were just having fun and didn't want to be interrupted for a photo op. Its been a great week and the kids have loved visiting with Mae and the Hamster. They never get to spend much time with them since we have moved away.

Does he look more like Jon than my children or am I dreaming?? I love it!

The Happy Campers

This week Wilson is attending an adventure camp put on by our city recreation department.He is having a blast with 20 other 7-8 year olds. They have been to a challenge course, laser tag, ice skating, horseback riding and will visit the aquarium at Fort Fisher and Jungle Rapids Water park. For those of you who know Wilson, this is so totally up his alley!

Wilson on day three of camp...ice skating and the nature center. I don't think he was quite awake enough to be photographed.

While the camper is away...the girls will play. Austyn and Landon were certainly not left out of the fun. They saw an opportunity and seized the moment.

We have had a wonderful time doing girl stuff!

The lady giving Landon her pedicure is named Julie. She is a hoot(!) and was teasing the girls the whole time! We laughed alot and I laughed harder at them trying to be polite when they weren't quite sure what she had said in her strong Vietnamese accent. Julie is very bright and quite witty and I enjoy chatting with her. We have talked about various topics including her views on adoption of Vietnamese children and her journey to America. I have tucked away some pieces of the gospel here and there as well....

TADAAAAAA!

We finished our girls day with a little shopping and a Japanese style lunch with daddy. The girls loved it and are already planning another day...Father's Day shopping in Wilmington and a movie. *smile*

She saw our baby today!

I sprung out of bed this morning to see if Jenn had posted any photos of her new son.

Jenn and Joon Soo (McKade) at AMSA

She is a friend of mine from the AMSA yahoo group, and she and her husband are in Korea right now bringing home Joon Soo. They had lunch just today with some care nurses and were informed that on the way home they would need to stop by and pick up two boys from kindergarten (preschool). It was JAEHO and Jung Woo!! She rode with him in the car and was able to talk to him!!

This photo was taken of our baby today in the car ride home from school!

This one was taken later Monday (today) at AMSA rehab center.

Thank you Jenn!

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Thirteen of the children that have been adopted from AMSA were together last week in Orlando for an annual reunion. They dress in traditional Hanboks and even attend a Korean church with some of the officials from Seoul and Children's Home Society. We hope to attend next year with Stephen so he can see some of his old buddies.

The Orlando Sentinel covered the story:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-reunion07jun10,0,6705640.story?page=1&coll=orl-dp-classifieds

Child Sponsorship

Hope Ministry Center

Most of you know that I spent some time in India at an orphanage in Manipur in the NE corner of the country. Through a series of events the Lord has brought me to serve the children in this area in a different capacity. While I still sponsor Ting and adore the Gilgal children's home; there are over 500 hundred other street children in Manipur that have no place to call home and have no formal education. Not coincidentally, I came across a fledgling ministry that is attempting to help several children in this area. Right now, the man who started this ministry has ten children that he has taken off the street and he has NO support. NONE of the children have sponsors as of yet. Long story short- He is trusting that the Lord will provide for these ten children. His contact has asked me to help in any way I can, and this is my first attempt.

These are just some of the sweet children that are in need of sponsorship. They are living in a small concrete structure with no real walls and being cared for by a full time "warden" and they are being taught God's word by Dan's (the one who has taken them in) mom. They were able to attend school this year. A full report on each child is available.

The odds of traveling to this area of the world and actually getting to meet the child you sponsor are very high. It is also highly likely that these children may travel to the US someday to sing with the Children of the World.

If you have been praying about child sponsorship or just wondered how to help children around the world: here is an easy way. Just go to the following link:

www.indiahmc.org

Email me for direct questions.

Thanks for taking the time to prayerfully consider the plight of these children.

May Days........

I feel like May just came and went. There was so much going on that I never had time to catch up. Here are just some of the highlights for those of you who keep up with our comings and goings..........

Happy 7th Birthday Wilson! I can't believe my baby is 7! We had a great time taking some of his friends to the Recreation Station (which is a glorified Chuck E Cheese), and they all returned to the house for a mega sleepover with Grammy, Too Too and Ethan, too! They showed up for the weekend to make his birthday complete!!

Van Gogh? Renoit? O'Keefe? No..it's Too Too and she's working up a masterpiece for Austyn's room. It is so nice having an artist in the family...considering I can't draw stick people correctly.

Thank you Melissa....the work is stunning!

Hasselhoff? No...this is my nephew, Ethan, who enjoyed some wicked body surfing while they were here!!

Here is how we spent the Memorial Day weekend.....

For starters, we had our final interview for our homestudy. Yuck! It just means we are one step closer to bringing home our son...it seems like it has been forever already! Here is Austyn with Carol our worker from Lutheran Family Services.

Happy 14th Anniversary! Did I mention that our last visit was also our anniversary? Boy did Jon love me for this one. At least he brought me beautiful flowers so the house smelled nice. He assured me he would have gotten them even if the social worker wasn't coming....LOL!!

Ahhhh...finally we get to relax. This is the inlet where we anchored our boat and spent the afternoon for a little day in the sun. It was so nice and we had our own little private spot right off of Hammock's Beach State Park. It was a great day of discovery. Austyn made her way back to the boat for a little shade and some peace.

...and that was the end of May.

A simple reminder

Have you ever noticed one of these? It is a mourning dove. To me, they are an ever present reminder of God's promises. You might think it strange, but whenever I am praying intently about a matter or questioning the direction of my life, a mourning dove appears. They really are peculiar little birds. The are quite aloof and seem to almost study your actions. Sometimes they flutter to my roof top (they are usually not on anyone else's) and rest after I return from a long walk and talk with the Lord. Sometimes they just perch on a branch seemingly out of nowhere at the exact moment that I breathe "Lord, do you care?"

When we first moved to this city, I was overwhelmed by the number of doves that hovered around our house, and I was convinced that God was affirming over and over we were exactly where He wanted us to be.

The next time you seek the Lord and you are wondering if He is listening...look about you. You never know what you might see.

"I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven...."

John 1:32

Dawg Days of Summer

Swimming pool..... $149.00

Airpump.....$9.99

3,800 Gallons of water......$65.00

Having a pool to swim in on the first Saturday of the summer at 8:30 a.m.....

priceless!

Well, its not the neighborhood pool we are used to, but it is a wee bit closer than the ocean. Day one with the pool has seen over 15 visitors and killed 6 perfectly clean beach towels, but the kids have had a blast!!

Star Spangled Sassy! Landon was the self appointed spirit girl and showed off her patriotism on field day for school. Stars on her hat, stars on her shirt, stars on her socks even!

Wilson was none too thrilled to have his photo taken after his first grade awards ceremony....he was ready to get on with the watermelon seed spitting contest! He was awarded the trophy for outstanding achievements in math and science. Go figure, he is already better at math than his mom. Way to go Wil!

You might be able to make out our oldest and first middle schooler as she exits the stage (it was so dark in the gymnasium)... Austyn had a wonderful year! We were so proud of her and all that she accomplished this year considering she had to step out alone in a new city at a new school and as a sixth grader. She managed to maintain straight A's all school year with the exception of one B, in chorus of all things! She still begs me to home school her. She has been known to tell the neighbors that once Stephen is home I will keep her home to help out around the house and just let her do her schooling while she is here. Where does she get such ideas? I've already admitted Wilson was better at math than me.....