The Year in Review

2007 has been a great year for the Hinshaws! God has done so much in our lives and blessed us in so many ways. Here are some highlights...
FAVORITE VACATION (we traveled a lot, but this topped them all)
The Pinkston's church in Hawaii - check it out.
GRANT'S FAVORITE ACTIVITY

GARRETT'S FAVORITE ACTIVITY
He learned to ride a bike this year - he was so proud! (I am attempting to upload a video of it...)

OTHER FAVORITES
spontaneous trips, football, football, and more football,the water park, cousins, our new roommate this semester - our niece Kalee, adoption research :), camping, 1st grade, Museum School, our church, new friends and old, hearing God's call, and answering, watching our kids' faith grow, summer nights outside with the neighbors, grins with missing teeth, Disneyland, 13-year-wedding anniversary, receiving our March 12th adoption appointment!

FAMILY SCRIPTURE The Lord put this scripture on our hearts as he led us to the decision to adopt. We believe this is his promise to our future daughter, and it will be on a canvas in her room. It is our prayer for her, and for all orphans.
God has moved in mighty ways this year, and we can't wait to see the continuation of his plan in 2008. It will be a year of venturing into uncharted territory, but we have no doubt it will be a year of miracles! May your 2008 be filled with the miraculous as well. God bless and happy new year!

When Life is too Short

I don't know what is going on around me. Over the last 2 weeks, I have known of 3 mothers that have lost their children way too early. It's just heart-wrenching, unfair, and undeserved. One mother is actually the sister-in-law of my dear BlogFriend, April. The other two are moms I know personally - one baby lived for a couple of hours, and the other baby was a full-term stillbirth. It's weighing so heavy on me that I couldn't help but write about it. Some of you know that we lost our first child. Our Madeline Kate was born, and welcomed into Heaven, on March 30, 1999. She was tiny - just under a pound, and 12inches long. We held her in our arms, and even though she was so small, I remember marveling at God's miraculous creation. She was our first child - God took part of me, part of my husband, and part of him and created this tiny life. Though small, she was complete with eyelashes and fingernails. We have the print of her footprints, and they are the tiniest things you have ever seen..and one of my greatest treasures. I mention all of this to show how real the loss of a child is - it is going on 9 years now, and the pain and loss is still real. It doesn't go away, but, with God's help, you learn to live with it. When I hear of mothers losing their babies, I cringe for them, because I have walked that road to healing, and it is long and bumpy. I think of all they have ahead of them, and it makes my heart hurt. However, I will be the first to say that I am not the same person I was before losing Madeline. What Satan meant for harm, God really did use for good eventually. The road to healing, as difficult as it is, is also paved with comfort, love, and blessings. It's being able to truly appreciate the gift of life, and not take it for granted. It's feeling like God is just literally holding your heart together. It's also the feeling of being able to relate to how God must have felt when he gave up his child. It's feeling God's presence like never before. It's even experiencing the miraculous - when God touches your heart, and, one day, makes it whole again. So, as much as I hurt for these moms, there is a tiny part of me that welcomes them - welcomes them to this club of women who get to truly see the heart of God, and who will, one day, look into the eyes of God and recognize their own sorrow in his eyes, bonding them to the Father like nothing else can. It's not a club anyone wants to be a part of, but there is no other place to experience the Fathers love in that particular way. Please keep in mind, I say this after years of healing...there are many many tears shed before one gets to that point.
Now, I will attempt to do a service to any mother that has lost a child. I will make a list of what NOT to say to a grieving mother...
- "at least you can have another child someday" (it's NOT about another child someday, grieving is about THIS child's life)
- "God has a reason for everything" (yes, I'm sure he does, but unless you know that reason, and it sounds like it is worth losing a child over, just keep that to yourself. NO reason is worth losing a child to a grieving mother)
- "God is sovereign" (again, yes, he is, but pain and loss is NOT part of God's plan for his children. The only reason there is pain and loss is because this is a fallen world)
- "be thankful you lost him/her early and not after really getting to know him/her, that would be so much harder" (are you kidding me? Every day with a child, born or unborn is a gift, and any mother would want as many as they could get)

Good things to say/do
- use the child's name when talking with the mother. It's like music to her ears.
- say "I'm so sorry", "I'm praying for you", and then stop. There is really no need to say more. Just let her know you are there to listen.
- send her a card now, and one a couple of months from now, and another one on the birthday of the child she lost. It's hard when it feels like everyone else has forgotten your child after time has passed.
- never hesitate to bring up or mention the child she lost. You won't be "reminding" her of a painful memory. She is already thinking of the child anyway, and you are just acknowledging the child's life.
- PRAY. Ask her specifically what you can pray for for her.
- If the Holy Spirit prompts you to say or write her something specific, do it. You just might be answering one of her prayers.

Whew! Sermon over! Can you tell I have a soapbox on this topic?

By the way, in our case, God used the loss of our child to eventually lead us down the road to adoption. According to the date our dossier was submitted in Ukraine, we should have had a Feb. '08 appointment. Instead, "somehow", we ended up with a March date. We have had several words spoken over us that the Lord was going to turn the time of Madeline's death into a new beginning for our family. We will be in Ukraine, Lord willing, with our new daughter on Madeline's 9th birthday. How great is our God?!

God works EVERYTHING together for good, in his timing.

Wii had a Merry Christmas!

Santa, without Mommy's knowledge, put a Wii under our tree this year! That is just like Santa (at least the Santa that comes to our house). The boys were thrilled, of course, and it has been so much fun! If you're not familiar with it, you use the controllers to do the motions of the game. The boxing is particularly fun - and hillarious to watch. Mommy and Daddy were actually sore the next day from playing...boy, do we need to hit the gym more often or what?
Other Christmas highlights... We had my family over for Christmas Eve dinner. I made Rachael Ray's Christmas Pasta. Mmmmmm. Grandad read the kids the Nativity story and the Night Before Christmas.

Garrett (5) said our prayer at breakfast on Christmas morning, he prayed that Jesus would have a good time at his party today. :)

Grant could not have been more proud of the "gold and diamond" heart shaped ring he gave me for Christmas. It's adjustable! :) I've been wearing it with pride - green finger and all!
Lots of prayers went up this Christmas for our little girl, who is across the world from us. It was the strangest feeling being apart from the daughter we know we are meant to raise. We know that the Lord answered our prayers and found a special way to bless her this Christmas...

The Ukraine Roller-Coaster

In my previous post, I was pretty down about this family whose blog I follow. They were planning their trip home from Ukraine, without finding the daughter they hoped to adopt. They refer to their time in ukraine (about 3 weeks now) as a roller coaster ride. In the final hour, literally, they were contacted about a little girl that was available for adoption. They decided to take another chance and travel to meet her. They met her, and knew right away that she was meant to be their daughter - she was the one God so creatively led them to. With all the obstacles and red tape in Ukraine, it reminds me of what a dark and fallen world we live in. I am reminded of Daniel, who prayed to the Lord for help, only to be anwsered 10 days later. When the arch-angel, Michael, appeared to Daniel, he told him the reason for his delay. He was battling - and it took him 10 days to fight through the powers of darkness to get to Daniel. It made me wonder if sometimes our "roller-coasters" are just after-shocks of the spiritual battle being fought on our behalf. In the case of this famiy, I believe so. Read their story here. They are heading home tomorrow to be with their children for Christmas, then they will return to Ukraine for their January court date to adopt their little girl! Praise God for this great victory!

The Unknown

The riskiest thing about adopting from Ukraine is the unknown. You travel on what's called a "blind referral", meaning they don't have a specific child selected for you. You just go when your number is up and see what children are available of that given day. It's a huge leap of faith, and meant for those who truly feel called. There is a family I know online (M and T) who is in Ukraine now. They truly felt called to adopt from Ukraine and had their appointment in Kiev a couple of weeks ago. After being there two weeks, visiting a little girl who was too sick for them to adopt, and then deciding to go visit a little boy, whom they later found out was being adopted by another family, M and T have decided to come home. Empty-handed. It's every Ukraine-adopting parent's fear - coming home without the child they felt was there waiting for them. Although we are so sure of the Lord's calling, and so sure that our daughter is in Ukraine, one can't help but see how this family felt called, too. They can return for another appointment in the Spring sometime, but that's risky as well. My heart breaks for them, and it really drives home the point that no one thinks it will happen to them (coming home emty-handed), but it does happen. I have come home from the maternity ward of a hospital without my baby. I know I can survive coming home from Ukraine without a child. I just don't want to. I've had my share of "empty-handed" and I am holding on to my faith in the Lord that he will see us through this adoption, no matter how it comes about. I pray tonight for T, that God will be her Prince of Peace. That he will work this situation for good - quickly and miraculously. Tonight, I pray that God, defender of the orphans, will move mountains to unite orphans with adopting families in Ukraine, that the red-tape will be removed and the process will be smooth, and that the Lord's will will prevail. Amen.

Crash!

I had a bad car accident streak in high school and college. Really bad. I won't even tell you how many accidents I had, and, yes, all my fault. I even backed into my own roommate's car on my way to class once (sorry Traci!). I have enjoyed a 13-year accident-free run (no accidents that were my fault)...until Wednesday. I looked back at the kids for a split second, then looked up to see a car stopped at a red light in front of me. I probably would have had time to stop, had it not been raining. I slipped all over the road, and smashed right into him. It's one of those moments you repeat in your head over and over, thinking one of these times, you'll be able to change it. Know what I mean? We are all ok. We didn't hit the other car all that hard, (no airbag deployment), but you'd never know that by looking at my car. It's going to be in the shop for weeks, I'm sure. Thank God for insurance, right? :)

Jump in bed, cover up your head, the tooth fairy comes tonight!

After weeks and weeks and that front tooth "hanging by a thread", after countless family discussions of all the different ways we could pull that tooth out, and after days of avoiding any food he had to bite into with his front teeth...that tooth finally came out! He was so excited - giddy actually. We owe it all to the Mighty Kids cheeseburger at McDonalds! :)

Renee's school of smocking

This post is for my sweet southern friend Renee, who taught me how to smock. I've always wanted to learn, but with boys, I wasn't too motivated. Now that we are in the process of adopting a little girl, I have learned to smock! A few days in Charlotte with Renee this summer was all I needed. Here is my first completed project - for my niece, Zoey. I've got an almost finished dress for "little sister", but won't finish it until I know how big she is. In the meantime, Zoey is fun to practice on (although, she did NOT want to pose for this picture!). (This post is also for April - my Arizona friend! :)

Spontaneous Chicago Trip

While the cat's away, the mice will play! Have I mentioned how much I love our flight benefits? Scott is away on business, and Kalee (our niece who is staying with us right now) mentioned how fun it would be to just take off and go somewhere. This was Sunday afternoon. I'm all about taking off, so by 7:55, we were packed and had the boys on a plane to Chicago. We stayed in a hotel by the airport and rode the train into the city Monday morning (yes, we all played hookie!). We spent the day on Navy Pier, eating at Giardono's, and exploring Michigan Avenue. The boys loved the Hershey store and the Lego store. It was SOOO cold, but also so festive! We flew home that evening, and hit the real world today.

Countdown Milestone

We have broken the 100 day mark on our countdown to our appointment in Ukraine to find our daughter! :)
Just 98 days now...
Can I ask for a "fast forward" for Christmas this year?

Nieman Marcus Children's Parade

Sadly, our South America trip had to be rescheduled. I was so dissappointed! But we found plenty of fun stuff to do instead. One of which was taking the kids to the annual children's parade in Dallas. It was incredible! The boys loved it, and I couldn't help but think how fun it will be to bring "little sister" to it next year.

Ice, Ice Baby

(I know, I'm really dating myself with that title)

We went to Ice! last night at the Gaylord in Grapevine. It was so cool (no pun intended...hehe). We had a great time and it was truly amazing. Everything was made of ice and carved by a team from China that comes in every year.

Third Day Song

My friend Stephanie introduced me to this song on her blog. It's a tear-jerker, but it so precious and close to our hearts. Check it out...it's in the playlist at the bottom right side of my blog. It's by Third Day and it's called "Merry Christmas"

Halls Decked!

(The picture is fuzzy because I turned off my flash... have you ever seen an artificial tree in the bright lights of a flash? It's not a pretty sight! :)

We spent the weekend decking our halls. It really is a full-weekend job (and that's just for the inside - we did the outside lights last weekend). I know I have too much Christmas stuff (if that's possible). I just can't help myself. It's a yearly high - browsing through all the aisles of garland and ornaments and trinkets! It's all just so cute! We have discovered a down side to one of the many clever Christmas inventions, however. The prelit tree is not all it's cracked up to be. Granted, it is 6 years old this year, but only two SMALL sections of the lights still work. We recycled white lights from last year to use on the rest of the tree. It looked amazing - nice even lighting. I put on all the garland (we have lots) and we had just started on the ornaments, when ALL of the lights just went out. We spent all morning trying to figure out the culprit, and finally had to take everything off, buy new lights, and start over. Ugghhh! We finally got it done though. The boys love getting out all the ornaments and remembering the trips and events they signify. They waited so patiently all day (mostly patient, anyway!). We are looking forward to a great Christmas season with the boys - our last as a foursome. Yippee!

White Thanksgiving!

Well, about as white as we get around here. It snowed today! Yes, it was brief, and no, it didn't accumulate. But snow is always a big celebrity around here no matter how insignificant! I took this in our backyard...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving Thanks

I am overwhelmed when I think of all I have been blessed with. We all have so much to be thankful for. In honor of Thanksgiving, here is my list:

- God. His goodness and faithfulness I can't begin to fathom.
- Scott and the boys. I am thankful at the end of each day that I got to spend one more day with them! Life is such a precious thing, and life with ones you love is priceless.
- friends. Friends that have stuck with me through it all - those are true gifts, like finding a rare jewel.
- sister. I have the best sister, who is also my friend!
- grandparents. I am thankful for the wisdom they bring to me, and for the joy and mentoring they bring to my boys.
- adoption. That God would choose us for something so close to his heart is truly humbling. We are so blessed (and we can't wait!)
- Hot chocolate. From Starbucks especially. Do they have a Starbucks in Kiev?
- Quiet. I am so thankful at the end of the day, when the dishes are done and everyone is asleep, and I enjoy the quiet. Ahhhhhh!
- Boys. With a husband who doesn't enjoy putting Christmas lights on the house, I am thankful that the Lord gave me two boys who, in a few years, will be GREAT at it! :)
- Decorating a little girl's room. I was meant to have a girl. It's just too much fun. (Counting the days to bring her home...have I mentioned that?)
- Chips and guacamole. Thank you Lord, for the avocado!
- Chilled chardonnay. Mmmm.
- Home. I am so thankful for my home. After living in it for about 7 years, it is now just the way we want it, and I love being home. We have great neighbors, too.
- Girly movies. I mean the real deal - Jane Austin, Gone with the Wind, Wuthering Heights. They just take my breath away. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era.
- Musicals. At the movies or on Broadway, they are one of life's sheer joys.
- The beach. My favorite non-person thing that God made. What a gift to the world - the turquoise waters, the entertainment of the dancing waves, the smell of salt water...
- Cheesecake Factory trips with my girlfriends. After a trying day with the kids, these nights are a little piece of heaven (as is the Dulce de Leche cheesecake)
- Freedom. Thank you to my cousin Luke and the rest of our armed forces. God protect and bless you all.
- Vacations. Nothing more to say about that. Ahhhhhh.
- Gateway Church. What an amazing. life-changing place.
- Answered prayers.
- Target. What would I do without Target?
- Tinker Toys, Star Wars, and Playmobil...the star toys in our house. How else would I ever get anything done?
- Days that end in "Mommy, I wuv you".

I know there are many more things...but I'm off to watch a movie with my sweet hubby. What are you thankful for?

What's in a name?

People always ask if we have a name yet for our future daughter, and we now have one. Drumroll....................................

Halle Grace

Halle comes from Hallelujah

Grace because it is by the grace of God that she will be ours

We will most likely add her current Ukrainian name as a middle name
(4 names...oh well!). Now that we have a date, it just feels real enough to give her a name. FYI - I will call her both names together, but Scott will be only calling her Halle. I think 2-name names are charming and southern-sounding. Scott thinks they sound "hick". He is from west Texas and is reminded of names like Billy Bob, Nancy Jo. We are agreeing to disagree! :)

It's beginning to look a lot like..

Christmas! I know it's early, but I just can't help myself. The combination of a cold front and our great news of receiving our appointment date just put me in the holiday spirt!
To my hubby...don't worry, I promise to give Thanksgiving the attention in deserves. :)

Appointment Date!

March 12th!!!!! We got the email today from our facilitator - we will be spending Spring Break in Ukraine (and then some). We are so excited! Maybe it won't be so cold. :)
If everything goes as planned, here's how it works: on March 12th, we will be presented with files of children to choose from. We will need lots of prayer here as the age/gender/health bracket we are requesting is often difficult (we are requesting a girl under 5, healthy to mild, correctable health conditions). We will choose a child to visit and within a day or so, head out to the orphanage where she lives. This could be a car drive away, or a multi-hour train ride - it just depends on which region she is in. Once we meet her, we decide to officially accept the referral and begin the legal adoption process. If for some reason, we feel we cannot adopt her, we can request another appointment at the SDA (this could take several days). We are praying that the Lord will lead us to our daughter the first time! It takes several days to get a court date set. Once we have court, and the judge approves our adoption, there is a 10-day waiting period before we can take custody of her. Scott (and probably me too) will come home during this time. Then the return trip to pick her up and get her visa and passport takes a few days. It's possible to be home with our daughter within a month, but there are lots of potential delays, so it could easily be longer. We are praying for no delays - I know it's going to be hard to be away from the boys for so long! Anyway, that's pretty much the "nutshell" version of what we will be doing in Ukraine. Do you remember Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? It will be like that - but in Russian! :)

Dreaming

I had the best dream last night! We were waiting in line at the SDA office in Kiev (State Department of Adoption). There were tons of families there in line and it was a slow wait. Finally, we were led to a desk where 2 women were waiting for us. They were very friendly and told us they had 2 files to show us. One was a 2 1/2-year-old little girl. In the picture, she had blonde hair, a big smile, and was wearing a faded leotard (she was posing like a ballerina). The other little girl was a beautiful 5-year-old with brown hair, freckles, and big blue eyes. We stared at the pictures for a long time, then looked at the rest of the information. I saw on the first girl's file it stated "diphtheria" under her medical conditions. Scott and I realized that we had forgotten to research medical terms and we didn't have a clue what it meant. Oops! About that time I woke up. I layed there for a long time, trying to go back to sleep so I could continue the dream (have you ever done that?). It didn't work, but can still see the pictures of those little girls so clearly in my mind! I have been giddy all day - just getting a little glimpse of what the miracle of adoption must feel like. We are so ready to hear about our appointment date. We are even more ready to meet our daughter and bring her home. Until then, I'll be hoping to see her in my dreams!

By the way...I did research Diphtheria today. It is an infection that affects the respiratory system. It is serious, but completely treatable. (says orphandoctor.com). I guess we need to get on that medical research!! :)

Ukrainian Orphans

If you haven't seen this video clip, check it out. It's also on the right-hand side of my blog...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reTJ_28J6K0

Too Early to Deck the Halls?

I know there are many people (my husband included) that are against celebrating Christmas in any way before Thanksgiving. He believes that it takes away from Thanksgiving and that you're tired of Christmas by the time it actually happens. I understand that - I really do. The whole "too much of a good thing" thing. These are also the people who have no desire to peek at their presents early, they are savers, not spenders, they can pass up dessert from time to time. These people have mastered the art of delayed gratification. I am not one of these people. When I get excited about something, I am full-steam ahead. I'm the one that fights the urge to put on the Christmas music the first time it gets below 60 degrees. I can't resist a Christmas sale after Halloween. I start shopping early, not because I want to get it done, but because I love it and can't wait! I slowly sneak little Christmas items out before Thanksgiving (I think I'll get out the Christmas dishes today - hehe!). Though I appreciate the concept of delayed gratification, I'm just no good at it. The good new is, I know I'm not alone in my thinking - many share my excitement for decking the halls early...Hobby Lobby, ToysRUs, and Walmart to name a few!

Speaking of Christmas, there is an amazing organization called Life2Orphans. They support many orphanages in Ukraine and make a huge difference in the lives of these children. They take numerous trips to Ukraine every year to visit these orpanages, encourage them, and bring aid. They are selling Christmas cards (with proceeds going to Ukrainian orphanages). Orphans in Ukraine produced the artwork for these cards. If you're interested in helping out, here is the link http://www.life2orphans.org/greeting_cards.htm

Here are a few of the designs...

Bee Movie

Go see it! We saw Bee Movie yesterday with the boys and it was great! The reviews I read were not glowing, so I went with pretty low expectations (you know how that usually works in your favor!). It was SO Jerry Seinfeld - even the whole idea for the story reminded me a little of a Seinfeld episode (and we were/are huge Seinfeld fans). The kids enjoyed it, but Garrett was too little to get most of the jokes. Grant caught some of them, but then again, he thinks everything is funny! The humor was clever - no "cheap laugh" potty humor (which I loved, having boys and all we have plenty of that in real life without having to pay for it at the movies, thank you very much!). Pretty clean, too (just a couple of things that flew right over the kids' heads).

We had a great weekend spending time with the boys. Sadly, Grant's flag football team lost their playoff game and the season is over. Grant ended the game with a great couple of plays, though, including sacking the quarterback! :)

We are hoping to receive our appointment date this week for our adoption. We'll keep everyone posted. :)

Halloween Haunts

Halloween is officially over and it was a grand success! As usual, we are exhausted and overrun with candy, but we had a great time. I have already milled through the boys' candy and picked out all the Almond Joys for myself. Mmmm. Our neighborhood puts on a little Halloween festival every year and it takes place in our cul-de-sac. A great time was had by all!

My parents (otherwise known as Grandad and Dee) came by to visit.

Check out the galaxy of Star Wars characters!

Garrett won first place in his age group for his Underdog Costume! He was SOOOO proud!

Grant won the pumpkin carving contest (or should I say I won? hehe)

Here are the boys at the end of a long night of trick-or-treating. Big night!

Is it too early to put out the Christmas decorations? Do I really have to wait until after Thanksgiving??? I went to Canton today to shop, and I am SO in the spirit now!

AA Halloween

Today we went to American Airlines headquarters for the annual Trick-or-Treating. The boys look forward to this every year. There's just something special about being at "Daddy's work". You can just see how much they adore their daddy and are so proud to be there with him. Scott loves this chance to show off his boys as well! As you'll see by the pictures, they go all out transforming boring office cubicles into all kinds of magical places!

Grant is Jango Fett this year (that's a Star Wars character, for those of you that don't have boys ages 5+). Garrett wanted to be Underdog. We have no idea where he got this idea - we didn't see the movie or anything. They don't make Underdog costumes (except for dogs!), so we made his. I think he turned out pretty cute!

Here they are ready to go!

Grant found a fellow "Dark Sider" - Darth Vader!

Check out the glow-in-the-dark planets! Watch out for Jango Fett - he's gun-happy. :)

Farm Fest '07

This weekend was our first trip to Farm Fest, a "family camp" of sorts put on my parent's good friends, Dick and Ruthie Graham. It takes place on a gorgeous ranch out on the heart of east Texas. We didn't know what to expect, but it was incredible! There were probably 10 - 15 families there for the occasion, and everything was super organized. Many of the families, including us, stayed in tents. Mr. Graham even hooked a heater up to our tent!!! It was the best "camping sleep" I have ever head. There were lots of group games, painting, horse-back-riding (miniature horses), hayrides, 4-wheeling, tree-climbing, scavenger hunts (for the kids AND one for the adults), fishing, bottle-rocket launching...I'm sure I'm leaving out some activities. We roasted hot dogs and s'mores in a huge campfire at night. The boys were in heaven. Garrett cried when we had to leave this afternoon, and Grant ran all over with the "big boys" and we hardly ever saw him! This place truly is a kids dream-come-true, and we are so blessed to have friends that share such blessings! We are so thankful to have been invited, and the boys are already talking about next year. Although, we're going to need a bigger tent to include "baby sister!" :)

Here are the boys with Grandad. They love those horses! This one is named Wilbur.

Check out the mud on their pants!!! That's Grant on the left. That's what camping is all about, right?

The "big boys" loved hanging out on the hayride trailer. This was taken around 7:30 this morning.
The little ones loved riding the train. Garrett is on the 4-wheeler in the brown coat - his favorite place to ride!

Like I said before, we hardly saw Grant - he was a busy boy! So, most of my pictures are of Garrett. Sorry Grant - you'll have to slow down a little for me next time! :) This is one of my favorite stories from the weekend. Garrett was caught pulling on this baby tree. He explained that he was just trying to climb it! Mr. Graham said that one was too small to climb, but he knew of the perfect climbing tree. So, we hopped on the 4-wheeler and rode it to the big Sycamore tree up the road. It was huge, and Garrett LOVED it! He also found lots of friends on the tree, including a yellow fuzzy caterpillar and a little green tree frog. He keeps saying that his favorite part of Farm Fest was climbing the tree!

This tree was TOO SMALL!

This tree was JUST RIGHT. He climbed this far all by himself!

Garrett's new friend...
Just like Zaccheus in the Sycamore tree! :)

Ukraine 101

We bought a Ukraine guidebook this weekend, and I've been reading up on the history, customs, food, etc. Here's a crash course in some of the highlights...

- Ukraine has only been an independent country since 1991 (which is why we didn't learn about it in high school!)

- The national flower is the Sunflower

- It is the largest country in Europe (if you count Russia as part of Asia and not Europe)

- It is slightly smaller than Texas

- Their Christmas is January 7th (they use the Julian calendar, we use the Gregorian)

- Borsch (a soup made of beetroot and other vegetables) is a national staple, as is vodka (they say there are more varieties of vodka in Ukraine than there are first names!)

- The average income in Ukraine is the equivalent of $6700 US dollars (although this is a great improvement from 10 years ago)

This is Independence Square, KievSince my favorite thing to see in European cities is old cathedrals...

Here is the beautiful St. AndrewsThis is the bell tower of the Sofia CathedralWe are looking forward to learning as much as we can about Ukraine. It will be the longest period of time we have ever spent in another country, and it will be our daughter's first home and her heritage!

Still Waiting for Appointment Date - Oct 23

I've been such a blog-slacker lately! There's not much to say on the adoption front. We were hoping to receive our appointment date by the end of the month, but others have been waiting 6-8 weeks. That would mean we would possibly receive a date by the end of next month. But we're still holding out hope for much earlier! Stranger things have happened, right? Our facilitator in Ukraine believes that we will likely travel in January or February. We've been staying plenty busy and the time is flying by! There are days when I think bringing our daughter home sounds SO far away, and other days I can't believe how fast it's all happening. More than anything, we are so thankful for the peace God has given us - reassuring us that this is his plan for our family and that he will be faithful to complete it.

Before and After

Many of my friends and family have been wanting me to get Garrett's hair cut for years. He had a head full of gorgeous hair when he was a baby, then had a chili-bowl cut until he was 3, followed by the shaggy-cut up until today. Today, I decided I had reached the end of my "long-hair-on-a-boy" rope! It's not super short by any means, but for Garrett, it's sort of the end of an era. :) Below is the before and after. I keep looking at him and doing a double-take - who is that kid??? I think he looks so handsome (and I know my mother is thrilled!) :)

This one was taken this summer.

It's probably the peak of the long hair!

Here he is today after getting his haircut! (yes, I know, Grant's going tomorrow!)

Welcome Home Luke!

My cousin, Luke Prince, is a US Marine who just returned home this week from Iraq. We are so thankful that he is home safe and sound! I am reminded of what an incredible sacrifice our military make so we can enjoy our freedom. Here is what my aunt Carrie wrote...

It is a time of celebration and pride in the Prince home! Our son,
Sgt. Luke Prince is home from Iraq. He is also retiring after serving over
4 years in the US Marine Corps with Golf 2/5. Luke has completed 3
tours, two in Iraq and one aboard the USS Essex. During the two
tours in Iraq, history was made when our troops helped secure the Iraqi people
with thier right to vote. Bravely, they fought the insurgency and took a
horrendous ruler out of power. Luke, like most of his unit, not only
volunteered for service, but voluntarily extended his original term in
order to do another full tour in Iraq. While deployed with the 31st. MEV
2/5, he was sent to the Philipines. A devastating mud slide
killed nearly the entire village of Leyte. They administered aide to the
survivors and worked tirelessly in the search and recovery of the men, women,
and children who were, sadly, buried alive... proof that our military does not
need to be in a war zone to witmess such death and devestation. Let's
all be grateful for our military, past and present. They voluntarily and
unselfishly spend years away from home, family, and friends to serve and protect
not just our country, but many other countries as well.

We'll always honor those that have made the ultimate sacrifice by
remembering that freedom isn't free.

Thank you, Luke, and God bless you for sacrificing so much for our country. Words cannot express our graditude. We are so proud! :)

My Baby is 5!

Our little Garrett turned 5 yesterday. I can't believe it! He is so precious and we are so thankful that God brought him into our family 5 years ago. We had a great day - starting with pancakes (at Garrett's request) and opening presents. We got him a basketball goal for the driveway (which was a huge hit with Grant as well!). We met a friend for lunch, then went swimming at my parents house with the cousins. For dinner, Scott took us all to the Incredible Pizza Company, which is truly a kids' paradise (kind of like a Mr. Gatti's, but bigger). Here he is playing a Nascar game with Daddy!

Today we are just hanging out, watching the Texas game (hook'm horns!), resting up for the big Putt Putt party tomorrow! :)

In honor of Garrett turning 5, I am listing 5 things I love about Garrett...

1 - he loves to cuddle and hug, always has.

2 - he is a mama's boy, and proud of it!

3 - he is my prayer warrior. He starts every sentence of his prayers with "thank you" (ie - "thank you that you will make my allergies better"). He doesn't ask, he thanks God in advance for answering!

4 - he has a strong will and independent spirit that I know the Lord will use someday to do amazing things!

5 - he is brave - he learned to ride a bike (without training wheels at age 4), he's a climber, he doesn't cry at the doctor (even when getting stitches!), he wants to walk into preschool all by himself (I mean wants me to drop him off in the parking lot. Sorry, Garrett - not happening!)

I finished his cake today! I was able to combine boats and golf like he wanted, but he didn't get the sun and the rainbow. Sometimes we just can't have it all! :)