Fun in the Fall~Part One

Oh my! So much has been going on since the last little update. We recently started football and the boys are LOVING it!! Playing football  and being with friends is a perfect combo for them. 

My friend Natasha (from the blog Unto Him We Live) took this last picture. It usually looks like this every Monday night at practice. Beautiful!! 

      Since July we have been working on a bedroom in the basement for Oggie, Dash, and Bear. About a week ago the boys started sleeping down there. Erna moved into the boys old room and I moved into her old room. It was quite the flip-flop and is still a work in progress. But it is wonderful to have all the boys in the basement and I am loving having my own room.....=)

Bear in his new Bed!!

In the mail the other day was a package with two very special things in it....

                                       Dash and Bear's citizenship certificates!!

 Although they were officially US citizens in 2008,

It has been a very long and tedious process to get the actual certificates. Even though it was fun to get those in the mail it was slightly confusing to some. Dash looked at mom and said, "But, Mommy, It's just a piece of paper." It reminded me that no piece of paper or official court date could ever make Bear or Dash more a part of the family as they have been or ever will be.
         The final thing I wanted to write about is the wonderful Ethiopian experience we had last Sunday.  It would take a bit too long to describe in words, and it was so wonderful and fun filled I don't even think I could describe it in words. =) Here are some pictures though....

Our hostess Senait did a marvelous job cooking plenty of Ethiopian food. She and her husband Ron did a fantastic job making you feel welcome at their house. My dad (who's been to Ethiopia a couple times) kept telling me it felt like being back in Addis! (The capital city)

                          Dash and Oggie were so into their food they could hardly pose for a photo!

                       My and my bud SUNSHINE!! (from the blog  Room For More) If you want to read even more about the time we had eating and fellow shipping Ethiopian style, I would definitely check out that blog....
  Well, I think that is the end of part one... Don't worry, Part two will come, soon!
~Bugg

A Little Update...

Our chubby little Squeakers isn't so little anymore...... She is walking and running all over the house, and into everything. We have been calling her our little bird, because she looks like one when she waddles throughout our house. The last time we had a toddler in the house was when we brought 16 month Bear home in 2007. But how time flies! Now Bear is 5 and the basketball star of the Hennhouse! Anyway, we went to Grandview Park for a back to school picnic about a week ago and Squeakers was toddling all over the Bandshell, crawling all over the stairs and of course, posing for pictures. :)

 She is just about as cute as they come!

This is her new look, we call it the Smolder. She pooches her lips then leans forward and smacks her face on your cheek. SO ADORABLE!

YUM! Mom found a subway gift card from Christmas that we didn't know we had. Score!
              The day after my birthday (which was FABULOUS) we headed out for our annual Church Retreat. Our Uncle JT was the speaker this year so my Aunt Lea and my cousins were there...I didn't take a single picture (whoops) and I can't do justice trying to explain with words......But check this blog (Unto Him We Live) and you can read all about the wonderful time we had. Also, we are finishing a part of our basement as a bedroom and as I am writing the carpet is being put down. Eeeek! We are soooo excited to move bedrooms around and I will post pictures of it later....Thanks for reading this little update!
~Bugg

Fierce Tenacity

I pretty sure my kids think their daddy is nuts.  I tried to make this as dramatic as possible. 

Bugg is turning thirteen

It is really hard to not cry as we look at these pictures and think about how fast the time has gone by.  Our first little baby was born 13 years ago!  There are so many things we want to say about her and how special she is. Our family is so blessed by Bugg each and everyday.  She has a special gift of serving and loving.  Bugg is usually ready for a new challenge, especially if it comes to her in the kitchen or in the form of music. It is amazing to see how God is using her and we are even more excited to see what He has in store for her future!
Happy Birthday, sweet Bugg.

Please wish her a happy birthday!

Minnesota Vacation Memories

This is a list the kids and I generated driving home from our vacation this summer.  I wanted to log it on the blog to remember.

Tubing
Indian Pies and smores
Bathroom floor sand
laser guns
Nate/ butterscotch pie
Becca/ blue cupcake in the face
crafts at the lodge
Kaylee and daddy write a song about Nate and Becca
worship time on the beach
beach volleyball
lodge games(pool, PacMan, pinball, Deer Hunter)
checkers
"Big Boy" (mad dog down the lane)
hide and go seek in the dark
shopping for tea cups
going to town-getting  birth stone rings at the Trading Post
Bella's Cafe-coffee......
eating Claira's fish she caught
Levi catching a rock bass
looking at the stars on the dock @night
deer on the side of the rode on the way to visit Papoose Bay
reminiscing @ Papoose Bay (swings, shuffle board, lakefront)
bare feet all week
skiing/ tubing and knee boarding on the "Shell Bell"
orange and grape soda in glass bottles at the lodge
bike rides
bike ramp off the side of the road near the golf course
riding in Jerry's Gator
sleeping with the windows open with a lake front breeze
double tubing with Logan/ Andrew and Kaylee
being near extended family all week long

Planting Trees.....

Recently, our family just returned from a family vacation in Northern Minnesota.  We do not take this blessing of a vacation for granted.  We realize it is a gift to take a family of 8 anywhere for a week.  God used our phone free, clock free, computer free, calendar free week to remind me of my calling to be a mom. This is my attempt to remember what God taught me last week.

Andrew Peterson wrote a song entitled: "Planting Trees".  The words resonated  with my heart as I was surrounded by the beauty of the Minnesota cedar and birch trees.  God has given Layne and I six beautiful young saplings to take care of.   Some of the lyrics of the song say, "So many years from now, long after we are gone these trees will spread their branches out and bless the dawn. These trees will spread their branches out and bless someone."  Our hope and prayer is that these "young trees" will ultimately have roots that grow deep into the soil of God's Word and a love for the Lord.

God in His perfect timing has also given me some practical application as to  "how"  to nourish and encourage my kids. The book: Everyday Talk by John Younts is a great read!  I had read it years ago and picked it up and flipped to the chapter 8 "Your Home is God's Greenhouse". I was reminded of the verse Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."  If I am not encouraging and building up my children with my words, my words are considered to be corrupting.  

This was convicting........I am praying for God's grace to help me to look for opportunities to find ways to encourage them throughout the day. This becomes a challenge when they are fighting and whining and complaining.  My flesh wants to sometimes whine and yell back.  This is a serious battle.  I am trying to pretend that I put tape over my mouth and not respond until I pray.  My prayer may be short, " Lord set a guard over my mouth.....Lord help me.....Lord help me to LOVE...Lord remind me of my own sin......I am asking Jesus to help me see my calling as a mom, to care tenderly for my trees.  I long to use the short time they will be at home to nurture them in the ways of the Lord. 

Lord, thank you so much for my children.  Only by your grace can I love my children the way you love.  Help me to bear with them when some of the days seem challenging.  Thank you for gentle reminders of your love and goodness.  Thank you for the lives of my children.  I ask in your name, Jesus, that they would have strong roots that are clinging to YOU!

Tanya August 2011

Summer Days!

Oh my, my, my. There is so much to write I have no clue where to start. We have had such an eventful summer. Squeakers turned one July 1st, our family anniversary was July 7th. I can hardly believe it's been four years since we brought Dash and Bear home. They bless our family in soooo many ways and I can't imagine life without them. That really is hard to imagine. For our Famiversary we went to LeMars  and first went to the park and had a picnic and played for about an hour and a half. Then, we went to the Blue Bunny ice cream parlor and had a couple of yummy, yummy sundaes!!

God has definitely blessed our family greatly through adoption. And to think we even got surprise Squeakers on the end!
Since it has been a very hot summer we have been swimming at pools with friends, and a couple weeks ago we went to a water park! Unfortunately, because we were all busy swimming, there is not many pictures of that! On the 18th our friends who just recently adopted for Ethiopia came over for injera and wat. (Traditional Ethiopian food, similar to bread and stew.) We also invited an Ethiopian man over who we had just met at the Doctor's office. That was sooo much fun! Just this last week, we headed out to Minnesota for our family vacation!! This is something we look forward to all year long. All my mom's side of the family is there and we have so much fun. We can also get pretty crazy.....  One of my favorite things is church on Sunday morning at the beach. My aunt Shelly and several of my cousins led the worship. There is nothing like being with family, but even better is when all worship God together. It is a wonderful feeling and really it doesn't do justice to try to describe it. Just all of us sitting there talking about what an amazing God we have, we were all teary eyed, but in a good way. We can come together and talk about our trials and hardships, but I don't remember one person who ended on a sour note. You can see God working in so many different ways, giving and taking away. He is so wonderful and awe filling.

We did all sorts of fun stuff but it would take a million words to write it all so I will just post some pictures.

TUBING!! One of our Fav activities! Got to love it!

Then one night we went to a  resturant called The Logging Camp. It is very old fashioned, they serve all the meals family style and your plates and cups are tin. For desert they have fresh doughnuts! Very fun.

We had a great time!! Can't wait until next year. I could write about this 'til Christmas, but I won't! Thanks for reading my very, very long post! I hope you all have been having wonderful summers as well!
~Bugg~