March Update

This month we celebrated Ayla's 11th birthday with nine girls here for a sleepover! She had an owl party and we ate fried ice cream. Yum, my new favorite.

 

We recovered from the worst "cold" ever.

 

We took the girls to their first concert. Rockin Worship and we had a blast!

 

We had some major adoption paperwork scares, it still is not really clear, but we are totally at peace that God will show Himself faithful!

 

Gavin started successfully eating with a spoon in his very own hand! It is a lot of work but he is getting pretty good at it.

 

(Video to come)

Eli had his big 5year old Birthday! He smiled the whole day, and I am sure at least twice he said " I'm 5".

(video to come)

We said goodbye to my dad for a month. He's off being a workin man! That is an adjustment since we usually see him everyday.

 

We got an I Pad 2! We debated between a new laptop and upgrading our phones but decided this was the most versatile. Kaly does her school on our laptop and it weighs about 20 lbs so it wasn't the best option for international travel. We have been told for a long time to get an I Pad for Gavin. Well as with everything else, it is requiring adaptations. We did find a mouth stick that works with I Pads and are awaiting it's arrival. We are hoping to take it so our girl can use the IPad. Her hands are just like Gavin's. I do not know if she will like the mouth stick, but the I Pad is going to work as our translator, so I hope she wants to give it a go. We downloaded the Russian Translator as well as a travel app. Now I just need to figure out how to get my videos on the blog from this crazy thing!

 

God provided a FREE and perfect wheelchair for us to take to bring "Our Girl" home.

 

God has also surprised us with more generous gifts to help cover costs of food and housing while in country.

 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

 

I "knew" He would! I just didn't really believe it. Someday He may get through this thick skull.

 

This adoption has been the ultimate faith builder, it truly is amazing.

 

After 9 months of this process, we finally learned to quit praying that things will go smoothly. That is obviously not God's top priority. Lol. We now are praying that through all the bumps and trials that He shows His power, and that He is glorified.

 

If He never allows a mountain in our way, then when are we ever going to get the opportunity to see Him move it?

 

I often have very little faith, but hey that's all we need, cause in reality it is Him doing the work anyway!

 

So this week is the final count down. In one week we are boarding the plane to fly off to the "wild unknown" and meet our very own precious treasure. She is waiting for us and knows we are coming soon.

The remainder of March will be spent packing and cleaning and wrapping up projects.

 

The kids are excited but getting a little emotional about mom and dad being gone for a long time. Please keep them in your prayers as well as my mom, she will be holding down the fort while we are gone. Praise God for great moms!

 

BTW We officially named our girl!!!! Can't wait to share her full name and lots of pics with you.

 

 

Color Party!

Kaly Surprised Ayla with this Color Pary!

Many of the ideas she got from the American Girls Magazine.

She worked for days ~ every spare minute :)

Party complete with mix and match accessories game.

A perfect quote from our stamp collection.

What better way to use the loft.

This little treat is a milkshake in a glass with sliced gum drops stuck to the inside.

I love my girls!

Little Bro made it in for 3.5 Minutes.

Pictures used for a coloring project.

No color party is complete without a hair time.

Happy 12th Birthday Kali !

Kindhearted
Artistic
Loving
Imaginative



Kali you always bring sunshine into our lives and we wish you the best birthday ever.
Enjoy your pumpkin pancakes!

Love Dad, Mom, Ayla, Gavin and Eli

Look Closely!

This is no typical snowman!
This little guy is in a wheelchair.
Kali and her cousin Austin created a snow chair
complete with wheels and armrests.
Then created a "snow Gavin" to ride.

I love the little legs sticking out!

Curious Minds Want to Know!

I have had a lot of questions about our upcoming trip to Uganda, so here is the scoop, the whole scoop and nothing but the scoop.

When: April 4-16th


Where: Kampala, Uganda

For great maps of the location:
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/ug.htm

Kampala is the capital of Uganda. It is on the north side of Lake Victoria.
It is said to be a safe place and quite beautiful. We will be there during the rainy season and it looks like it should get up into the 80's Yippee! Notice we are just above the equator.


Why: We are going to love on orphans. Some in orphanages and some that live on the streets. We are doing this because these children need people to love them and we feel it is our turn. We are God's hands and feet. It is His heart that these children are cared for. We know we will only be there a short time and I feel maybe we won't even make a difference. When we leave they again will need food and love. I pray this trip is one that will change eternity for someone.
I pray that through these stories maybe someone will feel God's call to adopt a child with no hope. I pray that someone will feel called to go long-term and serve where I don't feel I can. I pray that this will be the beginning of going as well as sending funds to assist these sweet children. I know there are kids around the world that need God and love and food. I pray that this will be a little flame that will help to begin to make a fire roar. A fire that can be felt and seen by "All the Children of the World".


Who: I am going with 2 of my friends from church, Terah and Kaylee. Both had only 24-48 hours to commit to the trip. Terah hadn't really planned on a journey like this but her and her husband have seen God leading this direction for their family so she is following God's lead. Kaylee has been ready for missions and has just been waiting for God to show her when and where.

We are going with a team lead by Linny and Emma. They are the wife and daughter of Senior Pastor of The River Church.

The River Church website if you are interested.
http://www.iriverchurch.com/

As you already know, I have been following Linny's blog for some time now. She loves the Lord and loves the orphans, and when you put those two passions together you get a dynamic ministry.
http://www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/

There are 19 of us on the team!

How: I saw the post on Linny's blog inviting crazy ladies to join her. I sent for an application and here we go. It was really a simple process. Linny and whomever she confers with said I could go. Yippee! So thanks to some wonderful friends and family and a nice tax return we will send in the money for the trip and off we go. My passport is in process and I still need to get my Yellow Fever shot. Maybe this week. :(

And the kids will be in good hands. While Jeromy is at work, my mom will have the kids. She does great with all of their needs and Jeromy is a super dad and can handle diapers, therapy, meds. and setting Gavin up on the Wii. The girls are great at helping with laundry and dishes and some sweethearts from church are helping with meals for the family while we are gone. So really I don't think they even need me, but I need them so I promise I will be back.

We do ask for your prayers. We pray that this will not just be a time of meeting physical needs but ultimately a time to meet spiritual needs. Maybe our true mission will be in the airport or on the plane, but pray that we can lovingly share the hope we have anytime the Spirit leads. Pray for us as I know it will be hard to be away from our own families and babies and it will be hard to leave babies in Africa with no mommies. Please pray for our children. God is working in the hearts of our kids. Little Gwen already has a heart for the orphan and Kaly and Ayla want to go with us. I know this trip is not just about this trip, it is giving these kids a passion at a young age to want to make a difference in this world to serve God and help others.

Thank you all for your support we could not go without hands and feet here in Idaho supporting us and helping us and our families during this exciting journey.

RipStik

"Are you a dipstick or do you RipStik?" by Jeromy Scheel

Well what else can one do when it is freezing outside. Why not ride some wheels around the house. We are going to name our house "The House of Wheels".

Kali perfecting her ride.

Ayla is really getting the hang of it.

Gavin is on his wheel too.

Even Gpa Mike has gotten into the fun.

School Time with Kali and Ayla

We are through the first quarter and here are some highlights.....



The New School Room

by Aimee VanDenBerg

Having a school room has been such a blessing. The girls love it! It has been nice not having everything in the house, though things seem to migrate back in on a regular basis. The girls do about 50% of their work in there, the rest is either in the house or on the go.


Science Center Ground Breaking

by Aimee VanDenBerg

This was a great opportunity for the girls and Gavin. They saw real robots bigger than they are and they even got to hear Governor Butch Otter speak. This is a picture with the governor.


Pumpkin PatchThe pumpkin patch is always a fun "field" trip. (pun intended)


Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center
This was mom's favorite. I had no idea! This is Dr. Bird's personal collection. I always thought it was a bird and aviation museum. You know about birds and flight etc. I was pleasantly surprised, it is his inventions and many other amazing and cool inventions. Dr. Bird invented some amazing medical equipment and it was cool to see it. There is a lot of cool planes as well for those of you interested in that kind of stuff. If you are near by and have an afternoon to spare, head on up, you will not be disappointed.


CHAIN- Our Christian based CO-OP

Science-History-Language Arts-Sewing-Dancing-Socializing-Pajama Day-Num chucks-Creativity

Oh, where does one begin to talk about co-op. I hate it and love it. It is a lot of work-I teach Idaho History, Ayla's class. I assist in a science class and sewing class. It is so much fun and the other families are great. I get overwhelmed every Wed. night and motivated every Thursday afternoon. Gavin has his own class and doesn't need momma. The girls love their friends and I love getting to have a Bible Study time during one of my breaks. The mamas and grandmamas are starting The Power of a Praying Parent.

IDEA-Idaho Distance Education Academy

Another love hate relationship. Becoming more love oriented. This is an Idaho public school program therefor we meet all Idaho State standards, do all testing and we have a contact teacher monitoring the girl's progress. It is all good, it just gets overwhelming and sometimes I just want to do it my own way. Our teacher is awesome and we have made it through our 1st portfolio conference. The girls take samples of their work and show their teacher what they have been learning. A long list of standards needs to be met by the next conference. We are over half way there. Yippee!!!


Overall this has been a great year. Ayla is working hard on reading fluency and making great progress on her speed and voice inflection. Kali is working hard on her spelling, but she gets those genes from her mama.( Sorry girlfriend, I got them from grandpa Mike. Keep at it you will get it. )

The girl's are so self motivated, sometimes they even come and wake me up and say, "mom, it is almost time for school." I do not know how I got such great kids, but I sure do love having them around all day. Praise God for the freedom to homeshcool.

Lolo Hot Springs

Last Saturday the family woke up with great anticipation and began the half day process of packing for our little vacation. Packing is usually the part I hate, and when we are finally ready I usually am so frustrated I do not want to go on vacation any more. But.... this time was so different. Everyone helped pack and get ready to go. Kaly and Ayla ran back and forth and grabbed diapers, towels, clothes and anything I asked of them. Jeromy worked hard at getting the van ready and we all left in a very pleasant mood.

Gavin asked every 5 minutes where we were going and talked most of the way. We arrived in Lolo around 4pm and spent the evening playing in the water. I can't say that the pools were all I dreamed them to be but, we all had a wonderful time. It was so fun to have something to do that was really perfect for everyone. All of the kids love being in the water and it was perfect for Eli and Gavin's bodies to have so much time in warm mineral water.

Our first fun person encounter was "the goat lady" She was fun and she told me about 10 times that she made soap from goats milk and sold it in all the local hot springs. She asked a lot of questions about Eli and she asked if he had grandparents. I said yes and she said no I mean someone like me. Someone that could send him a card and money. Very nice of her but, I thought to myself, not a chance am I giving you my address. She eventually departed and we continued a quiet evening in the water.





We had a great little cabin and Gavin kept saying "this is our home now". We loved having the camping experience without the camping experience. I love a soft warm bed even when camping. lol

Then Sunday we hiked up the mountain a little ways. Gavin in the backpack and Eli strapped to my front. It didn't work as well as it did for the 4 mile hike a couple of weeks ago, but we still had fun. Jeromy with Gavin on his back ran around the rocks with the girls. We managed to get a good bit of fun in before it started to rain again. Out in the great outdoors we also managed to find us a great lunch at the lodge. The food was great and we had the place almost to ourselves. This is always nice because we enjoy eating out, but with two boys with very noticeable disabilities sometimes it feels like we are the evening entertainment. This time not so much. We were able to make Eli a little quiet bed near our table and I enjoyed a meal hands free.

We hit the water again for the evening and this time we really did become the center of attention. We visited with a couple of ladies that both are nurses and we were able to share a little of our stories with them. Then another lady came and sat a couple of feet from me and stared at Eli forever. I didn't know what to do. Usually people say something. She just stared. Finally a few words were spoken then she stared. Then I tried to break the silence and she barely responded and just stared. Then after I started to just look away from her she finally moved on, only to find Jeromy. She did actually talk to him and told him about a therapy that she uses. It is one our therapist uses on both of the boys and he thanked her and she moved on. We did have a wonderful relaxing time and we thoroughly enjoyed the water. I was told in had Lithium in it. Maybe that is why everyone was so pleasant to be around.


We enjoyed another evening meal and this time I held Eli for more of it and much to our surprise he kept reaching up and putting his hand in my salad. It really was fun to watch him. Every time I moved his hand away he would manage to get it back up there. I finally moved my plate out of his reach. This is a first of what I pray will be many things I will have to move out of his reach. I pray someday I can say Eli quit getting into things, but for now I am just so glad he is beginning to move outside of himself without someone else tugging him along.



We had to do the traditional stop at the Missoula Cracker Barrel for lunch. We shopped in the gift/candy store and the kids spent their money on a little treat. It was a wonderful time and Jeromy even surprised me and bought me a beautiful wall hanging. I love it so much. The verse fits perfectly with what God has been teaching me this summer. "Be Still and Know that I am God."

This was a simple vacation and I think my favorite of all of our family vacations. We really had time together, we really relaxed and we really had fun. When we got home we felt refreshed and I am excited to put summer to bed and wake up fall and the school year ahead.

What's Cooking?

I do not normally blog about food given that cooking and taking pictures of my cooking are not my gift, but it seems to be gifts God has given Kali and Ayla.

Kali and Ayla love to cook, bake and be creative with food. And Ayla is picking up on the photography, she loves to take pictures and she is quietly and closely watching our photographer friends and their work.

It started a couple of years ago when the girls started their own family restaurant. They set up a little outside sitting area and made menu's. As they seated the family under the trees they began taking orders. With their little aprons on they would run back and forth to the house and bring us our order. They never failed to bring the bill at the end.

Then the real cooking began. We made Ratatouille. Once we found a complicated recipe and did the shopping we began the 3 hour process of making it. It took a long time but the girls were so engaged and they really began to love cooking.

At ages 10 and 9, Kali and Ayla have become really adept at working in the kitchen. They often make their own lunches. Some of their favorites are cooking eggs with onions, mushrooms and rosemary, or frying a tortilla covered with onions, mushrooms and garlic powder with a bit of Parmesan cheese melted on top.

(I know your getting hungry, but at least I am not making you cry:)

The other day around dinner time Kali and Ayla asked if they could cook dinner!

I, of course, said yes.

For dinner they, with no help from mom, made crepes and set the table with all of the goodies we love to fill them with.

This last year they have mastered sugar cookies. Yeah for mom!
They have made sugar cookies from scratch with a friend and a couple of weeks ago Kali made them herself. If you have ever made sugar cookies from scratch you know it is a big job.

They have also helped make one of our favorite desserts,a raspberry danish, for me on Mother's Day.


This year for Christmas we gave them American Girl cooking books. These are full of great history and recipes and cooking tips related to the time era of the American girls.

Since then they have created numerous desserts. Mixing chocolate and peanut butter, making dog chow, creating a chocolate marshmallow delicacy. It seems the mixtures and creativity never ends. They even made us the most amazing chocolate milkshakes. They have made chocolate chip cookies and their own recipe of raspberry sherbet. Some of Kali's other favorites are her homemade salsa and her pizza roll ups.

Recently, they have become very interested in baking and decorating cakes. They have been learning from aunt Jamie about cake making. They have learned all about fondant and have had some great opportunities to make some wonderful things.

Their new favorite hobby, along with cousin Sadie, is to design cakes. We have a huge file filled with cake designs that they have come up with.



Kali with the cake she decorated. She made the flowers out of fondant and she did the flowers on her own.

Ayla with the cake she decorated. The decorations were also made by Ayla with fondant.

So, just a little tip, keep your eyes open for a future restaurant and or bakery I can assure you, you will be in for a treat. They have a plan, a name, a logo and a passion that won't stop!

It is fun and exciting to see what God may be doing.

The Royal Festival

Kaly and Ayla with flowers from Gma Becky and Gpa Mark!

The girls were able to participate in their first gymnastics competition, The Royal Festival. It was so exciting to see them performing the skills they have been developing the last couple of years. Kali started her team off on the beam. I knew very little about the scoring, so when I heard the man next to us say in amazement that the score on the beam was a 9.0. I said "really that was my daughter, is that good?" He said yes that is great. That started the night with a lot of excitement.

Kaly's scores:

vault-7.7/9

bars-8.7/10

beam-9.0/10 5th place in her age group

floor-9.35/10

all around-34.75 7th place in her age group

Ayla's scores:

vault-6.6/9 5th place in her age group

bars-8.2/10 5th place in her age group

beam-7.9/10

floor-8.9/10 4th place in her age group

all around-31.6 5th place in her age group

Ayla's floor routine.

Kaly's floor routine.

Grandpa Mark and Grandma Becky and a friend all joined us for the event. We had a great time trying to keep track of the scores and watching all of the girls perform. It was very crowded and hard to get great pictures so we went to my sister Aimee's for a little photo shoot.