It's almost here!!

Many of you have been asking when do Matt and the boys come home..... Well they are scheduled to land at the International Airport in Minneapolis at 12:30pm this Sunday, August 2nd!!! YIPPEE!!!

You have also been asking if you can come..... YES!! We'd love to have you there to welcome the boys home if you can make it.

We are super excited to have our whole family together for the first time!!!!

Thank you for all your support and prayers.

Ana's 1st haircut!

Well today I took Ana to get her first haircut. When I first made the appointment I was feeling like this was a good thing, but throughout the day today I started to doubt myself. Why am I giving her a haircut?. There's no reason I have to give her one. This is a mistake!!

The before shot!

Well anyway I took her, my camera, and Grandma along for the event. Ana sat great and was all ready. She was very excited to sit in the big chair.

But it turns out that Ana's hair is in such great shape that it didn't need to be cut!! Hallelujah!! Ha! Ha! That was what I secretly said to myself.

My friend Becky (a.k.a. stylist) said that Ana's hair is beautiful and in great shape. Her recommendation was NOT to cut it yet!!

Must be that awesome Latina blood!

So the first haircut turned out to be a nice comb through and braiding!!! Guess I'm off the hook for a haircut for a little while longer!!

Thanks Becky!

Keeping busy.....

Our summer has continued to be full of fun activities. Here are some more things we've been up to...

Swimming in the backyard and getting Grandma wet!




We had fun cheering Carter on as he got to warm up with the Express




They announced his name and he got to run out!


He looked so cute out on the field... go #8


We're still having fun watching Ana ride Turk! She loves it!!





Carter also had a chance to pitch for the first time in the extended Little League team


It was so much fun watching him pitch!

Durant's Soccer!!!

This week Durant is in soccer!! He is so excited to finally be playing soccer. He's been asking about it since April when I signed him up for it.
Here are some cute pictures from his first day. He's on the yellow team.

Durant sits through a lot of Carter and Ana's activities so it is so fun to have him have his own time to do his own thing!!! He looks super cute too!!

Warming up

Taking a water break

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Happy Birthday Grandma and Mom!!! We love you!! Enjoy your special day!

Thank you for all you do for our family!

Update on Matt.... I got a text that said he made it to Amsterdam. He should be landing in Ethiopia about 2pm our time.

Leaving tomorrow!

Matt is off to Ethiopia tomorrow. Please pray for safe travels, good health, and a smooth transition for the boys!!! It's so crazy to think that in just over a week we will have 5 kids in our family!! Wow!! We already don't fit around our kitchen table, image what it will be like with all of us!!!

Thank you to so many of you for your generosity with helping us prepare to bring our boys home. We greatly appreciate it!

Matt will not be able to email very much while he is gone, but I'll post updates when I get them!!

Thanks for following along with us on our journey.

Ezra and Carter hanging in Ethiopia


Jackson being his cute self!

Always an Adventure!!

Okay so change of plans once again....... turns out our paperwork did get done in time so Matt will be flying out next Friday for our July 29th Embassy date!!!

That is the crazy ride of adoption!! So in just over two weeks our family will be all together for the first time!! Wow!!

Update on Adoption....

Due to circumstances out of our control, Matt will not be able to travel in two weeks to bring the boys home. Some important paperwork is not ready in time so our embassy date (July 29th) has been postponed until August 12th.

Although we are sad that we have to wait a few more weeks until the boys come home, we know that this is all in God's perfect timing. We do not want to get in the way of His plan for our lives.

Ezra, Carter, and Jackson
Ethiopia April 2009

Injury!

This summer Carter had the opportunity to play extended league baseball. He hasn't had a game yet, but practice is intense!! This is what happens when you catch a bat to the nose......

Two days later. Carter is doing fine and it could have been a lot worse. He does like to ask every few hours if his nose is still swollen!

4th of July!!

I'm a little behind. We had a fun 4th of July this year. We did our usual Carson park games and tour of the museum. We stopped for ice cream at the Dairy Queen and at night we went to the fireworks. All three of the kids really enjoyed them.

Ana was a little frustrated that her rings wouldn't go on so she walked right up there and set it on!

Ana getting a little help from dad and his coffee mug :)


Notice how excited everyone is to get their picture taken!!



Waiting for fireworks to start!

Carter's favorite fireworks are the ones that are yellow in the middle and zigzag everywhere. And just like his mom, he likes the smell of them too!!!

Durant really likes the red ones, but thinks they are all a little bit "carey" and they're going to get him.

Ana called them "pop" and kept saying "pop, where are you?" and blowing kisses and waving to the fireworks. It was really cute!