flying high

So, yesterday I jumped out of a plane, and thoroughly enjoyed it!!! 
Kirk got me a gift cert. to go skydiving for my big 3-0!!!  I've always wanted to try it and it was everything I expected and more!!!  An ABSOLUTELY AWESOME experience!  I'd do it again in a heartbeat and recommend it to anyone who thinks they "might" want to try.  Here is the video, which was well worth the extra $$ to have a cameraman jumping with me and my instructor.  He got some amazing pictures and put the whole video together with music.  It's almost 10 minutes long, so if you're only interested in seeing the actual jump, just scroll to about 2 min 30 sec in.  Alas, I could go on and on about it, but I think my expressions caught on camera are worth a thousand words...enjoy!  And thank you, Kirk...this was the BEST!  Bring on the thirties baby!!!

Skydive

3 years ago today...

this precious boy turned our world upside down in so, so many ways!  Life as we knew it would never be the same again.  I could go on all day about the things the Lord has taught us about a Father's love, His sacrifice and His precious blood through this boy's life.  These past few years have been some of the richest, hardest and most joyful years for me and his dad!  Oh, how we have grown in countless ways.  My prayer is that as we raise and guide him into a young man, God's grace will continue to be sufficient and His power be made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

Happy happy birthday Benjamin Kirk!  We love you more than words can say.

coffee and celebrations

True Story:

A few weeks ago I was running into Starbucks very early in the morning to get me and Kirk a coffee before our road trip.  He was waiting in the car with the kids.  I approached a sleepy, bed-head, college-aged guy that asked for my order in a far from perky tone. 

Me: "Yes, good morning!  I'd like a granderaspberrypeppermintmochaextrashotextrahotlatte...for my husband.  I'd just like a skinny vanilla latte."

He paused for a minute and then we both just burst out laughing!  I then had to repeat the order, very slowly, two more times.

Happy Birthday Kirk, you make everyday life exciting and I love you to death, even if you are a little high maintenance for a guy!

Becca

And on another happy note, we are 5 months today in waiting for our baby girl!  It's getting close folks!

book recommendation

I'll be short and sweet, time is of the essence these days so blogging has not been much of a priority lately. Heck, it's almost October and I am still trying to figure out what this family's "Fall Routine" is/looks like!  Things have been a little crazy. Kirk and Grace are back in school and I'm just trying to keep everyone afloat until we can figure out a new routine, which is coming, slowly but surely!  Through the midst of it, I have been reading this book every spare minute I have, I am almost done with it and it is amazing.  Thank you J for passing it along to me.  In my opinion, it's a MUST read for adoptive families.  It has really touched me to the core and I have laughed and cried, and cried, and cried some more as I've turned the pages. 

Tasty Tuesday

Cheeseburger Salad

This is the ONLY salad my husband ever requests, it's a yummy one!  Here's what you'll need.

Ground lean turkey

worcestershire sauce

head of green leaf lettuce

red onion

tomatoes

pickles

cheese

For dressing:  mustard and vinegar

(don't forger your very enthusiastic salad spinner!)

season your ground turkey with the worcestershire sauce and some steak seasoning, garlic salt, pepper...etc.  Form into mini patties and fry in a pan, placing cheese on at the end after you've turned the burner off.

Add cheeseburger patties to your lettuce, chopped tomatoes, pickles and onions.  To make dressing, use about 1/3 cup of mustard and wisk with a few teaspoons of vinegar!

This is a very tasty and healthy alternative to a regular cheeseburger, but let's face it, this doesn't always cut it and sometimes you just need to stuff your face with a good old McD's cheeseburger!

Bon Appetit!

update on the boys

wow.  where did August go?!?  It's been 3 weeks since they boys had their port-a-cath's put in and I wanted to post a little update. They have recovered so well with no major bumps in the road (no pun intended). :)  After returning home from KC we had a few quirky mishaps, but nothing too major.  We have all adjusted to the new ports and procedures.  In fact, this week will be the last week our beloved nurse Terri comes on a regular basis.  She's trained me to where I feel comfortable (I think) giving the boys their infusions and so this week begins their first 3x/weekly, regular routine!  It's quite a bit different than the old procedure and requires a lot more supplies and time, and we have to be really STERILE, but overall, once I have it down to a tee, it will be much easier.  A lot of people have asked us what a port is so here are some pics. 

In a nutshell, it's about the size of a bottle cap and then has a tube that goes directly to one of the main arteries or veins connected to the heart.  So we always have instant access to a blood line!  No more poking around with needles to find a good vein. We'll hopefully keep them in for a few years.  Here are some before and after pics of the boys.  I'm so proud of my little guys, they've adjusted well.  Kids are so resilient.

The boxes are the first shipment of medical supplies we received...a little overwhelming, but thanks to mom and Terri I've got it all neatly organized in plastic, portable drawers in the laundry room.  A big thank you to my in-laws and my mom for coming out to help us during and after the surgery!  We are so grateful to have you all.  And thanks to all of my friends who brought us meals or helped with Grace, what a blessing you are to me!

See, just little "bumps", no big deal!

Go Seek Love

If you haven't heard, we have been blessed with a super awesome opportunity this month!!! (sorry I'm a little late on the updated post, we've been kinda busy).

One of the first adoption blogs I started following about a year ago was the Dubois family over at "As for me and my Household."  I fell in love with their story and their sweet family.  Plus, I'm slightly partial towards super-stinkin-cute little dudes named Ben.  Even though we have never met face to face, I feel like we are kindred spirits.  What especially resonated with me from the beginning was their Go Seek Love campaign and the whole meaning behind it.  They have an awesome story about how they paid for their full adoption within about 7 months!  Adoption is not cheap and I think that sometimes frightens people away...but I have read so many testimonies of how God has provided in some really amazing ways to those who are called to adopt and faithful to go down that road.

When we were chosen to be the partner family for this month, I was thrilled and humbled.  Not just that the funds will help (Ethiopia recently changed their laws and we will now have to travel there not once, but twice!), but  moreover, this is another avenue to help us spread the word about international adoption and the world wide orphan crisis.  We are very aware that adoption is not for everyone, we all have our calling and God gives us each unique and different opportunities to show His love.  But for this season of our lives, we know this is one of the things He has called us as a family to act upon.  Probably the greatest thing I love about the Go Seek Love initiative is the three verses it's based upon:

Mark 16:15: " GO into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."
Matthew 6:33:  "SEEK first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you.
Matthew 22:39:  "LOVE your neighbor as yourself."

Notice all three are ACTION words, in fact, they aren't just words, they are commands.  Yes, they are much easier said, recited and memorized than done, acted upon and carried out.  But as I see my kiddos running around in their cute little Go Seek Love shirts, I am reminded and challenged to be faithful to this calling.  And I love it.

On the other side of the globe, under the same moon and starts that shine above me tonight, there is a tiny baby girl that is probably about to come into this world, and by various circumstances she will be orphaned as a tiny infant, momentarily left fatherless and hopeless.  When I think of this, how can I NOT act?  To have the opportunity to be "mom" to this precious little girl who has been growing in my heart by the moment, to be able to hold her, love her, teach her and raise her...the privileged will truly be mine.

And so, if you are still reading my mini novel by this point and care to find out more about Ethiopia, adoption, swanky cool t-shirts and note cards, or all of the above, go on over to http://www.goseeklove.com/....
Whether you are able to help or not, you won't be disappointed and might even learn something while you're there (they have a great adoption resources page that I reference all the time)!