A Saturday at Home....Been Awhile

Today it seems to be so hot and humid out, the kids don't seem to be bothered by it as they are having a great morning playing outside. Makenzie of course is gluing,cutting,glitter, etc etc (she is my creative artist) and Logan running around and swinging, of course always loves to go to the bathroom in the yard, he is my wild child, but will stop and give me hugs and kisses.

I have been busy this week with Makenzie's first day of Kindergarten at Joy (the drive there and back), Logan starting gymboree classes (which was actually fun for me too with him), I caught a cold, gymnastics enrollment, the kids allergies are bad so they look like they have booger nose, and of course the regular errands of the week. Seems like time flew. I have been on my mission to upload ALL my pictures from the past 10 yrs onto ONE site and order 3 sets of prints. Make photo books,and be up to date before the baby comes. It's my goal, we will see how far I get. Plus I want to send in all my "before digital" pictures and get those uploaded as well. I would hate to loose anything from the past and want to make books for the kids plus Jon and I. I am a picture fanatic, just don't get around to sticking them into one place, only frames.

On the adoption side, I am so excited for the baby. I look at her picture everyday and notice little things, both kids know who she is and even Logan says "baby sissy." I actually think he might adjust well, he is going through a phase, maybe it was me pushing potty training, so now I stepped back and he is going MORE without me saying anything. He is so independent and loves FITS if he does not get his way. The screaming,kicking and just throwing himself on the floor not only makes me give in but is so opposite of a girl, Makenzie. Its amazing how different they are.

Its hard to see them grow up. Uploading my pictures makes me cry as they were so small and now just wanting to go go go and I miss the little baby stroller phase, bottles, and the chunky cheeks. I hate to see them grow up, I just want to bottle them as they are and live eternity. They are such happy kids, I could not ask for more of a wonderful family.

It will be nice to see our family continue to grow, through love and adoption. When the courts re-open in October I am dying to hear when our court date is and when we go and get our daughter.

10 YEARS AGO TODAY

Proverbs 30:18-19 There are three things that amaze me— no, four things that I don’t understand: how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.

10 years ago today, I stood before family, friends and God and married MY SOUL MATE Jon.

Thank you Jon for the past 10 years. We have gone through so much and through it all I wake up every morning with a smile on my face and thank the Lord that I have you.

You have brought peace to my unsettled heart from my past, you have brought love in my soul, the joy of having two children and a adoptive child in November is indescribable. I could not and never would imagine living life with anyone else. You are my rock that I can stand on when the water rises, the phone call away, and the only person in the world that knows who I REALLY am and actually CARES!

You are a supportive husband, loving and kind father, hard worker, world traveler, you have done and seen things and places only people imagine in their minds. You have accomplished a lot and I was and am the lucky person that got to stand by you through your journey and hold your hand as we experienced life "roads less traveled".

Thank you for a amazing 10 years...the places we have been, the people we have met, the times apart due to deployments, but the joyful reunions that always followed. The full circle of life and our life lessons has brought us back to where we need to be.

I love you Jon, from the first time I saw you, to eternity. My heart would ache if you were not in my life, and with you I am complete. I am a BETTER person BECAUSE of YOU!

10 amazing years with a wonderful man God has blessed me with.

Song of Solomon 8:6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame

Information I thought was intresting!

Ethiopian Facts and Figures
Life expectancy: 42 years old
Population subsisting below $2/day - close to 80%
Average births per woman: 6.14
Deaths from pregnancy/abortion related: 1 in 7
Women dying from TB is 96 per 100,000
Children dying from AIDS: 1 in 16
Percentage of AIDS cases in the world: 7%
Female genital mutilation: >80%
Women experiencing rape: 25%
Newborns dying before age one - 1 in 10
Children dying before age 5 - 1 in 6
Orphans - 4 million
Children under 5 stunted from malnutrition - >50%
Literacy 41% for women 26.4%
High school attendance for females 8.5%

Our famous Feet

Alaska
Canada

Our Famous Feet Land in Alaska and Canada! And Yes Jon was wearing flip flops and shorts! You can tell he is NOT from AZ, he was raised in Oregon, so the cold was NOTHING for him, while we were freezing and had Uggs and 4 layers on!
I will add them to my slide show tomorrow
(like the maple leaf in Canada, Shawna's Idea...cute huh?)

Sushi,Gambling,Eating~

No cruise would be complete without some gambling, a lot of eating (damn those buffets), and I had to dress my part for our Sushi night!

Prince Rupert, Canada

Prince Rupert, Canada

So this was the lame stop, there was nothing to do and we did not do any tours as they did not seem that attractive to us. We walked around the town, which was really cute. I will tell you this, I must give PROPS to Shawna, you can really tell she loves me, because she knows my SLURPEE addiction (I literally must have one, once a day to live, really) and we saw a guy walk by with a 7/11 cup! We were like hounds on a trail. Shawna and I dragged 2 husbands and 6 kids through Canada on foot, through the grocery store even, and up the street, FINALLY found my slurpee.... ohhhh refreshing. Than we went back to the boat... THAT WAS CANADA of course pictures of my drink people, how could I not! HA HA

The BIG bonus was that I got to finally wear my Louis Vuitton Scarf and Hat.. I must say.. SUPER CUTE!

AND ANOTHER MAKENZIE NAME ON A BUILDING, WE HAD TO SNAG A PICTURE! SHE NOTICED THIS ONE~

Private Family Cocktail Party

The cruise gave us a private cocktail party for booking such a large group with them. It was very nice and the view of the glaciers as we passed was breath taking.

Formal Night

We wrangled the kids away from the kid program (which they wanted to be there more than go off the boat or be with us, ha ha they had a blast) for fancy night of up-do's, ties, and a nice family dinner.

Skagway, Alaska

Skagway, Alaska was our third stop and the town was like one street. It was so busy with tourist but we of course made all the quick store shops early in the morning, went back to the boat for lunch and than got on our tour. Our tour was a Salmon bake/cook out, gold panning, a old miners camp that had some funny tents and sayings (of course Brecken my cousin and I had to pose). Logan stayed on the boat with Auntie Shawna while we went on this excursion. He was so tired.

In this town we saw a train that said Makenzie on it (note that there is a "C" and she does not have a "c" in her name) and there was a barber shop that was named Logan. TOO CUTE, both my kids names!~

Juneau, Alaska

Stop two was Juneau, Alaska

We took the Dog Sled Excursion and it was pretty neat. I thought we would be on real dog sleds but since there is no snow, they improvise and have the dog sled teams pull you on these wheel carts. The kids thought it was a ride at a amusement park and wanted to do it over and over again.

We took a nice bus ride to a mush ranch, had a sled ride, got to get warm by the fire, listen to stories, and play with all the puppies that were just born!