A lot has happened since our last post. During most of that time, our family computer has been down. It is limping along right now on an old hard drive, and I don't know what is going to happen, but I know better than to upload our newest photos!
Summer swim team has finished. Jeremy and Marissa both swam in the Cary City Meet. It is the largest swim meet of any kind in the state! Our pool hosts it, and it is a big, hairy deal! They were both excited to earn ribbons for their relays, Marissa won her heat in breast stroke, and Jeremy placed in breast stoke earning points for the team! It was a fun day! We were there from 7 am until 8:30 pm!
The season was finished off with the swim team "banquet." It was a carry-in. Annika was awarded "Most-Improved Six and Under Girl" right before the thunder and lightening began. We moved the festivities to the church across the street and finished up. It is so sad to say good-bye our coaches and friends.
We began our new year of home schooling on Monday, July 27. Things are going well. We began with what we have as we waited for the rest of it to arrive. The children are really enjoying painting with watercolors! It helps to motivate them to get through the other necessities. Annika is especially excited to be doing school!
We're all taking Friday off to go to the pool!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Catching Up
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mozombites in the House!
We were recently blessed to have some special visitors! The Mozombite family was nearby for missionary training and spent a fun afternoon with us! They brought their son Asher home from Ethiopia this spring are going into the field in Bolivia this fall with SAMS (South American Missionary Society).
Since it was the weekend of the 4th of July, we thought it would be fun to make a Jello-O flag cake. YUM! Marissa and Annika decorated it!
Annika and Lily had fun playing dress up together! (I think Annika wanted to keep Lily!)
Jeremy and Isaiah hung out together and enjoyed exploring Jeremy's room and the tree in the front yard.
We really enjoyed our visit with the David, Amy, and their crew!
To other AWAA families: Please, let us know when you'll be nearby! We'd love to meet you too!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Grocery Inquisition
Last night on a normal grocery run, our family was stopped by an older lady who was also shopping who was quite interested in figuring us out.
Her first question was, "Is HE adopted?" Well, duh.
She was also blown away that we would go all the way to Africa to get him.
I'm sure she is a nice lady (but terribly nosey). She just kept firing away with the questions, and her brain was trying to process our answers.
We feel kind of conflicted because on one hand, it is our business... on the other hand, we feel obligated to help educate people about adoption and caring for others... even if they may look different.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sparklers!
For the first time ever, I got the kids some sparklers to help celebrate our independence. They were so excited! Annika freaked out a little when hers began to sputter and some of the paper landed on her arm and now, she has a blister. William also found himself on fire, and now, his thumb is twice its normal size with a blister. YUCK. Jeremy and Marissa enjoyed them and are intact.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Our First Pro Soccer Match
We were very brave (or stupid) and ventured to our first professional soccer match last night with all 4 children. It was Hope night... Our "roadies" who help park cars at church worked to park cars at the soccer field, and our church family was given the opportunity to purchase discount tickets AND there were fireworks to celebrate Independence Day!
All of the kids were good! Benaiah was mostly content in the Ergo, Annika played with our empty water bottles and with Lily who sat behind her, Marissa actually watched the game, and Jeremy split his attention between the game and Benaiah. They were all quite pleasant!
The weather was beautiful! It was not too hot or humid, and there was a nice breeze.
We got to see lots of friends from church -some who we hadn't seen for quite a while since they had no idea who Benaiah was or how he came to be part of our family! One of my friends, Gayle, introduced me to a friend who will be traveling to Ethiopia soon with her sister to bring a child home! Very exciting! Siobhan who is from England laughed about how it wasn't a REAL football match... the crowd was too tame, and there were no hooligans! (Hee hee! I'm glad that there aren't hooligans here!)
