SOOOO Cute!

Don't you just love all those little tricks we teach our children? I guess it's our way of making them perform in front of other people in the hopes that someone else will be awed and amazed by how adorable/smart/creative our child is. Well, Selah has a few of those, and our favorite is when you tell her, "You're SOOOO cute!" she will tilt her head to the side and grin. What can I say? I can't help it - I think she's adorable.

Busy Busy Busy...

I haven't had a chance to post lately... last week was "Neighborhood Bible Time" at our church. (Our church has been doing this program for over 20 years! It is an amazing outreach, both to introduce kids to church as well as encouraging Christian kids and teens to dedicate their lives to Christ.) It's a lot like youth camp, you just don't have to go out-of-town. I worked with the junior high age group as both secretary and counselor, and although I enjoyed the week immensely I am just plain TIRED. I will try to catch up on all the momentous occurences on our life. (That shouldn't take long.) I just got scolded today for going too long without posting... so I figured I'd let you all know what's been going on!!! I will be back soon with pictures in hand - I promise.

Modesty coming back in style?

Check out this video on women who want to return to modest styles:

Girls Gone Mild
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=3408737

I was really impressed with this news story about women wanting to return to a more classy, stylish look instead of the trashy, sleazy fashions on most young celebrities. Think Audrey Hepburn instead of Paris Hilton. I was so saddened by the little girls talking about how they want to look and dress like Britney Spears. What are their mothers thinking?!? I fully believe in embracing your femininity and looking attractive, but flashing your thong and bra straps - EWWW!! I am so tired of seeing bra straps, it just screams "TRAILER TRASH" to me. Now, I have to admit, the models they show at the end with the "modest" fashions all look pretty dorky to me. I don't like jeans so low you have to wax, but at the same time those high-waisted jeans on the model just don't look good on anyone. MODERATION people. And that Burberry dress. Well, EW. But, even though I didn't personally care for their examples of modesty, I am glad to see this movement. We just don't see the classic style icons anymore - women who, like they mention on the video, were just classy and never showed their underwear. It breaks my heart when I see parents tossing their little girls' innocence in the garbage can in the name of fashion.

Beach Video Clip

Okay, Chad will howl at me for posting this, but it's too cute! Here they are splashing in the waves together...

That baby was WHAT?!?!

Elianna was paging through a Lifelines magazine, a publication of Bethany Christian Services, our adoption agency. I notice she is studying a picture of a family with their new baby. I am trying to familiarize her with adoption terminology, even if she is too young to grasp the concept... so I casually say, "See their new baby? See how happy they are? They have adopted that baby!" She whirls around and looks at me with this horrified expression. "They 'DOPTED the baby?" She asked incredulously. "Oooooh, pooh (poor) baby!" It took me a second to understand why she was so upset... and then I realize my little princess can't say her "R's." So when she says "Dopted" what she is really saying is "Dropped it." Naturally she was upset that this family was happy about dropping their baby... I guess she may be a bit too young for this concept!

First Trip to the Zoo!

Sooo... after a busy weekend of camping, beach bumming, picnicking with Colombian friends... we decided to go to the zoo on the way home! Well, it wasn't exactly on the way, but close enough to make it worth it. Plus, with our zoo membership, we got in free!! (Free is always a plus...) This was Elianna's first trip to a zoo, and she just loved it.


Chad and Elianna took a camel ride, which I tried to take a video clip of... only to find out 2 seconds into the clip that I was out of memory!!!!! GRRRR!! So, here's the 2 second clip I got anyway, plus a couple pictures. (That's what I get for not clearing out my junk pictures before they started their ride!) After the ride, when Elianna saw the other camels in the zoo she said, "Now I want to ride that one!"




Okay, where are the monkeys in these pictures? (Sorry, I couldn't resist...)



There was a huge kid's area for "training" young explorers. Elianna liked trying out the saddle and LOVED the wooden train play structure (which we had to pry her off of - she is such a train fiend.)

Elianna's favorite part was the petting corral. She especially loved brushing the animals with all the different brushes that were available.

Michigan Scenery

A couple more shots of the beach. You have to actually climb down these dunes to get to the beach!! It's worth it, though, to have a beach without tons of people. Oh, and loads of fun for Daddy pulling our wagon full of stuff. (Well, getting down is easy... it's climbing back up that's the hard part!!!) Fortunately Elianna is big enough to climb back up on her own, so I could carry Selah and Daddy didn't get a hernia pulling the wagon back up again...

Then and Now

I thought these were cute... pictures of Elianna from last year's camping trip compared to this year.

Lovin' the Beach!!!

Every year we take a camping trip to Northern Michigan and stay at our favorite state park. The best part of this park is the miles and miles of beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline beaches. Elianna loved it as much as last year, and her tan just got darker and darker! Poor fair-skinned Selah was relegated to the cabana the entire time, but she didn't seem to care. I have hundreds of pictures, but here are some of my favorites.

Say Cheeeese!


Heading to the beach in style!


Selah was happy to spend her time in the shade of the cabana.


Catching waves with Daddy


Just relaxing and listening to the waves


The little adventurer climbing the dunes


The best picture of Mommy... very far away!!!


Making shapes with sand molds


Sharing some special Daddy/Daughter time


Our little beach headquarters


Walking with that purposeful stride of hers...

Colombia Connection 2007

This is an event we look forward to all year! Several years ago, there were only a couple Michigan families that had adopted from Colombia. Now, we have been thrilled to see our numbers grow by leaps and bounds. We especially thank the Z family for hosting this picnic at their beautiful lakefront home, and all the other families that work so hard at making this such a fun day for everyone. We love to talk with all the other families, all with their own amazing experiences and at varying stages in the process. There are the old veterans and those just filling out the first of their paperwork - and it is great spending time with them all. Some of the new families we especially liked, and we really look forward to seeing them at future gatherings. The children are all just so beautiful, from our gorgeous Colombian children to our adorable little blond haired surprises! (...and there were quite a few at this gathering!) It was a special time renewing old friendships and making new ones.
Elianna is getting old enough now to have fun playing the games and meeting all her new "Fens" (friends). Due to poor time management on our part, Elianna went without a nap that afternoon. (Ooops!) So, she was a bit emotional, but for the most part had a great time. She really loved the pinata (her first time seeing one). Any chance to beat on something and get rewarded for it was a great idea. She got a real sugar buzz from her prizes during the fishing game, but she did a good job running it off chasing (or being chased by) all her new friends.

The group shot is always a challenge with all those little munchkins... and of course our little nap-less angel just flatly refused to be in the picture. This is the best we could do. (Last year she was the one screaming her lungs out... this year they both were!!)

Elianna loved beating the pinata....

... and "fishing"for cool prizes.

Enjoying yummy picnic food!

Mr. Z took groups out for boat rides, a highlight of the day for Elianna.

We can't wait for the next gathering!!!