Strawberry goodness

Yummy.....look at this sweet strawberry goodness.  Do you seriously see how BIG some of those berries are??  MY WORD!!!  Clark's Berry Farm....YOU ROCK!!  This year Clark's Berry Farm donated 20 flats of strawberries for a Relay for Life Fundraiser.  My sister happened to be on the team that used this for one of their fundraisers.  They picked the flats of berries and delivered them to those people that purchased them.  For $20 I got this beautiful flat of strawberries.  I made jam, ate them fresh on some hot cereal, put some in yogurt and Aaron and I enjoyed them on ice cream!!!  MMMMMMM!!!  They definitely were ripe for the picking.  

Beautiful!

Oh, I just love these roses!  They're from my Mom's yard.  Aren't they beautiful?  I was playing around with the camera last night and just had to take a picture.  Thanks Mom for sharing with me.  I love them sitting in my living room.  God has blessed you with a green thumb...and the ability to grow beautiful roses.

Trevin Abraham

This is my dear friend Krisit and her son Trevin Abraham that she and her husband Mike adopted from Ethiopia in January.  Isn't he a doll??  I just wanted to share these two pictures from last night.  They came over with some other friends for a Sumas Days Celebration.  The little town we live in has a fireworks display the Saturday before the 4th of July and it has become tradition for some friends to come over and enjoy the fireworks with us.  We were trying to get Trevin to laugh and I think we succeeded!  I'm pretty sure he's saying "Cheese" in the first picture.  The next one makes me feel so special...he climbed in my lap and laid his head on my shoulder, stuck his thumb in his mouth and just cuddled.....AHHHHH!  Unfortunately, it didn't last long.  He's a mover and shaker!  I love the contrast between his skin and mine.  I'm so glad God made us all different.  SHHH...don't tell anyone, but..I'm praying for a wife for little Trevin.  I'm hoping we'll be able to help with that when we receive our baby!

Adoption Update --

We had our first meeting with our social worker on June 26 to begin our home study!!!  HOORAAYYY!!!  I think it went really well Joann makes us feel so comfortable and she is so informative.  We just love her!  Aaron and I each have our individual interviews on Monday July 7 and then Joann will follow up with our home visit later that week.  Then our home study will be completed and she'll have to write it up and send it off to our agency.  My word!!  The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!!  Please continue to pray for us during this journey...we so appreciate it!!! 

Eden's Birthday

Happy birthday to our niece Eden!!  Her birthday is June 28, but...we celebrated at Nana & Papa's  on June 22.  We missed Auntie Heather and Uncle Shaun, but...we were thinking about you!  I can remember the day Aaron called me to tell me that Eden had been born.  We were still dating at the time.  And now that little niece of ours is going off to kindergarten in the fall.  WOW!!  Eden Sierra you fill our lives with spunk!  You take in everything and do it full force.  I have enjoyed watching you at your ballet recitals and love your love of all things GIRL!!  Let me tell you this girl has a sweet tooth...and she loves Mac & Cheese with a passion.  Uncle Aaron and Auntie April pray Jesus blesses you as you continue to grow and learn.  We pray your first year in school will be one filled with new things that bring you joy! That you will meet new friends and be an example to them.  We love you Eden, Happy Birthday!!!  

Who's this?  EDEN!!  What a sweetheart!  Look how big you are now! 

Happy birthday Eden...we can't believe you're FIVE!!!  

I think this face says it all!!  Hayden loves her cake!!

Bryce & Kai hanging out at Nana & Papa's....I think they were playing a game on the computer. Aren't they cute???  

Relay for LIFE!

Lynden held the American Cancer Society Relay for Life on June 20 & 21 at the Lynden High School Track.  This year we all participated...Aaron even came and walked with me during my hour, thanks honey!!  Mom was able to come with us this time too!!  We're proud of you Mom! We had a really good time and thank goodness the rain stayed away.  Huge praise for Amber...she raised over $1000.00 on her own.  And....all together the Relay for Life raised $271,000.00 for the American Cancer Society!  This is such an AMAZING cause...again, I encourage you to take part if you never have.  Especially if cancer has touched your life in some way.  We'll be back next year!!!

Here's all of us: Mom, Nick my brother-in-law, Amber my sister & Me.  Amber made us those cool necklaces of my Dad.  Great idea!!  And...Nick & Amber & I each put a message on our shirts....Nick: Walking for Big "D", Amber & I: Walking for my Dad.  My message was on top.  

Our little friend Rylee, got to walk the survivor lap with his Dad & Mom!!  He's a survivor of Neuroblastoma that he was diagnosed with in April.  

My Mom's friend Joyce (far left) lost her husband Andy to cancer in May.  She was here visiting from Arizona so she and her sister, son & daughter-in-law came to walk for an hour with my Mom.  How cool is that?  Mom is the one with Dad's picture around her neck! 

When it starts to get dark we get to light the luminaria bags.  What an honor to light my Dad's!!

Adoption Update --

Can you believe it?  We hardly can...we finally have all of our paperwork sent off.  I e-mailed our autobiographies to Margaret at the agency tonight.  This is a big day for us!  Our social worker has all the paperwork she needs and will be contacting us in about 10 days to set up a time to start our interviews.  Praise you Jesus!  Aaron and I are taking an Infant First Aid/CPR class on Saturday and we have sent away for the books to earn more education hours.  I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Thank you Lord...you have been so good to us.  Please continue to pray for us as we move along in our journey.  I'm a little nervous about the interview process.  It's just all the unknowns.  OK...that's it for tonight.  More soon on the HIS Kids/Our Homes Float in the Farmer's Day Parade!!  Included will be some cutie-patootie kids from Ghana & Ethiopia...and of course from Lynden too!!!

PARADE!!

The back of our float...our web address....letters handmade by ME!

All HIS Kids....so fun!!!  This picture makes me want to cry!!  We are so blessed!

The side view of our float...isn't it so cute??

Trevin (adopted from Ethiopia) having a BLAST in my car!!  This face says it all!!!

Victoria (adopted from Ghana), Kristi & I filling up balloons for the float

Wow!!  My friend Kristi who is an amazing Mom of three cutie patooties, the youngest being Trevin that they adopted from Ethiopia in January...had a brilliant idea!  The Farmers' Day Parade was coming up in Lynden, so how about we have a float for HIS Kids Our Homes.  This is an adoption/foster support group of sorts at our church.  So, we set out to make the float with all of Kristi's amazing ideas!  Let m tell you....she did a great job.  We seriously set out to make this float all about the kids that have been adopted into families in our community whether it be through an international or domestic adoption.  We succeeded in doing that and so much more!  Not only did we get to showcase all HIS kids, but...we also won first prize in our division.  What a treat!  To see how God has blessed all of these families with amazing kids of HIS kingdom was so cool.  AND...I am so looking forward to having our son or daughter on there next year!!!  Big thanks to Kristi, Carrie & Kelli!!  You girls ROCK!!!