Adoption Update!

Sooo, the last time I blogged about our adoption news it was at the very beginning of the journey and SO much has changed since. There are things I want to share but Aaron and I already feel fiercely protective of our little one that may or may not even be born yet so I will have to censor what I write somewhat. So here's the latest!

Aaron and I felt a very strong calling to bring our next baby home from Africa and through a series of events, research, etc. felt at the beginning of the journey we were called to Ethiopia. We learned a lot about this fascinating country and it's beautiful people. We found an adoption agency we really liked and began the paper work with them. We simultaneously started the home study process. Then through a series of events, decisions about what special needs we would consider, and decisions being made from the Ethiopian side of the process we decided to pray that God would open and close doors for us so we could either make the decision to continue our pursuit of an Ethiopian child or pursue elsewhere. Well we firmly believe He did just that and we were then led just south of Ethiopia to Uganda! We still feel such a connection to Ethiopia and our hope is that one day we will pursue an adoption there, but for now we definitely feel like our next little one will be from Uganda and we are SO, SO, SO excited! That required us to let our adoption agency know we were no longer going to be working with them and we also let our home study agency know we were switching countries. And since we have really felt like the enemy has tried to throw a wrench in getting our home study done. I may post the details in full when I feel it is the right time or I may never post details. But just know it has been challenging. My flesh sometimes wants to be frustrated and impatient at how things have gone but then there are times when I feel such a peace that passes all understanding and know that any delay we experience is God orchestrating HIS timing to execute everything so perfectly. We may not understand on this side of Heaven why things are going the way they are other than we can rest that our God is sovereign and in complete control. Lately I have felt most at ease when I feel I have the least control over situations. Which is 100% opposite of my nature, so I am just so incredibly thankful for God's faithfulness and steadfast love.

So now that our home study is done-ish (there are some corrections that need to be made-once again...God's timing) we will move forward with an independent Ugandan adoption. Please join us in praying that we will be obedient in what God wants us to do and that He will continue to lead us to our sweet one. Most of all please pray that God is glorified through this journey and in our and our children's lives. I am so incredibly humbled by the amazing people He has already placed in our paths-from other adoptive Mommas, to doctors, to close friends, to wonderfully supportive family, and we are so excited to see what's next!

Just because.

My sweet Mickey ears wearing boy.






My sweet underwear/backpack wearing boy.






I'm so glad he's a snuggler. Lately he'll come up and say "I'd like to hug you." And then he'll hug me. Then he says "I'd like to kiss you." And then I get a sweet kiss. I love it.






My little lover boys!

Our trip to St. Simons Island in pictures.

Checking out the hotel fountain. Tiger got to throw a penny in each day we were there.






Sweet Eli.






We called him Baby Clampett after loading down the double stroller like this.






In a hurricane simulator at the mall.






Eli on Daddy's shoulders on the pier where we earlier saw several dolphins swimming.






Trying to make the castanets stay on his head.






Sweet Tiger wore his pirate hat just about everywhere.






Cuteness on the beach.






Time for a beach kiss!






One of the few beach pictures I got with Tiger in it-he spent most of his time with Daddy jumping into the waves.






Wind in his hair.






He loved the ocean.






Running as fast as he can into the water. I think he would have floated to the middle of the ocean alone had I let him.






Wearing the bucket handle like a necklace. The day after these were taken we were back at this same spot and the man right next to us caught a small shark fishing from the shore. It was really cool to see up close-the boys loved it!






Tiger playing with a toy Daddy brought from the conference.






My little hambone. This restaurant was featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and the barbecue was out of this world. We also had fried oreos. Don't judge.






Busted drinking Daddy's sweet tea.






I LOVE this face!

We'll put a boot in your face, it's the American way!

Just kidding-I'm not a fan of Toby Keith and putting boots in inappropriate places is most definitely not the American way. Aaron and I will sometimes sing that line from that ridiculous song-but the edited version of course. We sing it with a heavy country twang and then Tiger repeats-it is surprisingly cute. Here are pictures of our Independence Day festivities from this year.





My boys angrily showing off the patriotic cookies they helped make.





Posing in front of the chicken coop at the Velis home right before Eli learned the hard way what happens when you put your finger through the chicken wire. Poor boo boo!






The boys and their sweet friends David and Mikayla hanging out together on the "safety blanket" to keep them from running into the fireworks.






Snakes-fascinating!






I love their faces.






One of the last awful pictures taken with our almost decade old digital camera (we had to have a picture of us in our matching shirts). RIP old friend.






Tiger LOVED the sparklers!

6 years later...

Aaron and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on June 18th of this year and a few days later 'Nette, Grammy, and Granddad Webb came into town and watched the boys while we spent a day and night in Atlanta. We had an exciting time at Six Flags where we both lost our favorite hats and since my beloved $10 sunglasses from Target were on my hat, I lost those too. It was kind of hilarious because we were on this lame roller coaster that didn't do a whole lot of anything and while I was joking that I could be texting while we were riding we took an unexpected dip and our hats went bye bye at the exact same time. I guess that's what I get for making fun of the little coaster. I felt just like this guy:



The most thrilling part of the day was when after over an hour of waiting in the scorching sun we got on this ride:



and right before we went on the perfectly vertical incline we came to a halt in the direct sun while listening to the announcement that the ride was broken indefinitely. I got a little nervous and looked over at Aaron and said "We're gonna burn!" and then decided that was against my better judgment since there were children on the ride within very close earshot. They seemed okay though. After about 10 minutes of thinking my Irish self was going to fry in the sun (sans hat at this point) the ride started back up and we were on our way. While we were going straight up in the air I turned to Aaron and told him I wasn't sure how to feel about being the first guinea pigs after they fixed the ride, but at that point we didn't have a choice. It ended up being a good time though.

After we left the park we ate at a restaurant that was featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and then checked into our hotel. That night we went to Holeman and Finch, which was also featured on the Food Network. They are famous for serving only 24 cheeseburgers each night at 10 PM. If you want one, you have to get there early to place your order. They aren't even on the menu. So Aaron and I got there at 8:45 and got our order in. If you are ever in Atlanta and have the time, you must eat one of these cheeseburgers. It was amazing. Here are some pictures of our outing:



Aaron sporting his Granddad's stylish post-eye-surgery sunglasses as we drove through to get coffee at McDonalds.







And now I'm sporting the sunglasses while we wait in line for the Daredevil ride since my real sunglasses were now at the bottom of the lame coaster.







Snacking on some caramel bacon popcorn at Holeman and Finch. That stuff rocked.







Aaron enjoying the last couple bites of the best cheeseburger on Earth.

Thanks to 'Nette, Grammy, and Granddad for taking such good care of our boys while we enjoyed a night out! Y'all are the best.

Father's Day 2011

A couple of weeks ago the boys and I had the privilege of honoring Aaron for Father's Day. We made him a special card with their handprints, created a picture book and a coffee mug with their sweet pictures, gave him scrumptious Father's Day Lollie Cakes, and let him choose where he wanted to eat lunch. He picked a restaurant I would normally not choose myself. It is in a shady looking strip mall and I believe it's called Hibachi Buffet. We decided our white blood cells were up for the challenge and headed out to celebrate. Here are some pictures of our immune system building adventure:






The best Daddy and husband on the planet with his treasures.







Aaron being awesome on the drive home.







Easy Peazy was on the verge of sleep as we turned into the neighborhood. I had to tickle his feet to keep him awake until we got home. I see this precious dreamy face a lot from the rear view mirror.







My good eatin' boys enjoying Father's Day dinner at home-I immediately regretted the decision to not put a bib on Eli.







Look at how God has blessed us, Aaron! Thank you for working so hard so I can stay home with our beautiful boys. We love you so much.

"The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him." Proverbs 23:24

I just used the word "ornithological."

Yesterday evening I was walking around the back yard when I looked up and saw a bird's nest tipped over and barely hanging from a downspout. The boys and I have been watching a Mommy bird sitting up in that nest for a few days now so I knew when I saw the hanging empty nest that baby birds or eggs would probably be on the ground. I reluctantly walked over to look around and sure enough there were 3 sad looking shaky little birds being pitiful. I told Aaron and asked if he could be merciful and put them out of their misery (not what you were expecting to hear, huh). Then when we used our combined ornithological knowledge we thought they may have a fighting chance. We immediately went from a mercy killing mission into bird rescue mode. Dr. Aaron Moyer, DVM advised me to go find a box. I found an empty amazon box in the garage. Then I was instructed to put tissue in it. One of the many times my tissue paper hoarding has paid off. Then Dr. Moyer told me to get some grass clippings. So I got to yanking. Then he gently scooped up the little guys one by one and put them into their new little home while Tiger and Eli excitedly watched. One of the babies kept opening his little beak so we knew it was eating time. We went on a worm hunt in the yard but had no luck. Realizing we live within a mile of Lake Lanier we figured the gas station across from our neighborhood probably had bait for us city-folk-who-can't-find-worms-in-the-yard. Off to the Shell station we went. I texted news of our rescue mission to my dad, mother-in-law, and sister as we were driving. $4 and a bucket of worms later we were on our way back. Then 'Nette called. She gave us a very helpful tip that someone had shared with her about how to properly feed baby birds. She said that hydrated dog food in a syringe is good baby bird food since they can't properly digest worms unless they are regurgitated. Now I am all for feeding baby birds but let's not get crazy-I draw the line at regurgitating worms. So we got to hydrating the Iams. We went ahead and bathed boys while the food softened and after they were dressed in their jammies we headed to the back yard to feed our new friends. One of them was a great eater, one was just okay, and the other just plain didn't eat. Tiger kept saying things like "Why are the birds sad?" and when we asked him to name one he gave him the name "That Bird." After they were fed and I was lying in bed with Tiger he informed me he was a baby bird. I asked him "Are you a baby bird who eats Chick fil A?" He said yes. I said "Are you a baby bird that likes to swim in the pool?" Yes again. I just love night time when I can lie in bed and talk with my boy. It will be even sweeter when I can do the same with Easy Peazy. For now he just wants to get in his crib, turn on his aquarium, and rub his bear blankie on his face while he falls asleep. His night time talks are coming though. Here are a few pictures from this past week and of course a few from the bird rescue.



Tiger had his very first dentist appt. last week and he was a champ. While I was getting my teeth cleaned he kept telling the hygienist "Don't worry Dr., I'm not gonna hurt you!" I think he was fishing for some reassurance.







I cropped the bottom part of this picture out because he prefers to wear his "turtle suit" and nothing else while playing in our little pool. That is one happy commando boy!







We are no longer daring enough to let little one go commando after an "incident" but he doesn't seem to mind too much.







Hanging empty bird's nest.







They had different interest levels in the birds. One would rather hang out in the fort and turn the captain's wheel, one wanted to be up in the bird's biz.







So excited and concerned all at once!







Feeding the wee ones.

A true fisherman.

While we were in Tennessee last weekend Papa Mitch took the boys on their first fishing trip. Tiger was so excited! Eli just loved digging around in the dirt and looking at the slippery, wriggly fish. I think Tiger caught 3 fish total. The biggest was probably 4 inches long. I don't remember anyone mentioning the size of the fish at any point. The reason I mention this is because several days later while we were in Oklahoma at 'Nette and Papa Robert's house Tiger turned into a true fisherman while he was telling 'Nette about his fishing trip. He was saying things like "It was the biggest fish you've ever seen!" And "It was huge!" And when you would ask him how big it was he would stretch his arms as far as they would go. It was hysterical. I guess true fisherman are just born that way!

Here are a few pictures from our travels:




The best mother-in-law/Mom/Grandma in the world aka "'Nette" loving on her boys.






My beautiful sister Lauren and her new husband Brice. My Dad officiated and the ceremony was just perfect. I cried like a baby. We are so happy to welcome Uncle Brice to the family! He and Lauren are made for each other.







Eli touching a fish.







He loved this cozy chair.







Tiger with one of his whoppers.







Look how happy he is. I took this right after he touched the fish for the first time. He squealed with delight.







The master anglers.