Catching up ... pictures

We have been super busy!!!  Thought I would FINALLY blog about all that has been going on in the last couple of months.  Here is a quick summary ... Baseball, T-Ball, Tae Kwon Do, trip to Hawaii (without the kids), selling house, house pending, buying a house, Mother/Daughter Banquet, end of school year, move details, etc. etc. etc.

In April, Michael and I took a trip to Hawaii without the kids.  Needless to say, we had a fabulous time!!  He surprised me when we got there because he had rented us a convertible mustang to drive in around the Big Island.  What a fun way to explore!  We went snorkeling, went to a Luau, went hiking to see amazing waterfalls, hung out at the beach, ate lots of delicious food, went to see the volcano, I swam with dolphins and the highlight of the trip for me was going ziplining through the rainforest on the northern end of the island. (Not the coolest look ever, but so awesome!)  We had amazing guides who made it so much fun.  If you know me at all, you are probably surprised I even tried it because I am a tad bit afraid of heights, but I took the plunge and LOVED IT!!  Here are some pics from our trip.

In April, we also decided to try and sell the house.  We already have buyers and should move into our new house the end of June/mid-July.  We are moving about 40 minutes away to Liberty Township, Ohio, which will be closer to both of our jobs.  We are excited, scared, nervous and everything in between.  Aidan, obviously, has been the hardest to convince.  He has not been able to go into our new house yet because he has always been in school while we were there, but we have driven him by the house and through the neighborhood.  We have also driven him by his new school and I think that has helped a lot.  Keenan is super excited because he is getting a skateboard room although he told me the other day he wanted a skateboard and a batman room.  Not quite sure how that will look.  Ha!

We have also been very busy with baseball and T-ball.  It is Aidan's and Keenan's first year playing.  At Aidan's age, it is already pretty intense, but he is doing great.  He is my little perfectionist and really pays attention to the coach and what he is supposed to be doing.  Keenan is enjoying T-ball also.  So funny to watch because half the kids are barely taller than the grass and they would rather catch the leaves flying through the air than know where the ball is (Keenan included).

Aidan ready to catch the ball.

                                           

Aidan as catcher

Keenan on 3rd Base

Look at those cheeks ... just want to squeeze them all of the time!

We are wrapping up the school year.  I cannot believe Aidan will be in the 2nd grade next year.  And I cannot believe how much he has learned this year and GROWN!  He has more missing teeth now and it is so funny to watch him try to eat corn on the cob.  He says he and Bella now look alike (as you can see from this pic). 

I had the privilege of speaking at my mom's church for their mother/daughter banquet this year.  I shared our adoption journey and spoke about how amazing our God is and has been through our journey.  Bella loved all of the attention and she looked BE-A-UT-I-FUL for the evening!

I will end it here and hope that not so much time passes between posts.  Hope you enjoy the pics!

Love Without Boundaries

I know it has been forever since I have posted, and I promise to post soon to let you know what has been going on ... and trust me, there has been a lot!  BUT, I have to write about this now because I am just so amazed.

Love Without Boundaries (LWB) is a wonderful organization that helps orphans in China.  They sponsored Bella's heart surgery while she was still living in the orphanage.  We know that she was flown to another province for the surgery, but that is about all we know. 

While looking at the web site for LWB the other night, I noticed a link where you could fill out a form and request information if LWB had helped your child in any way.  I really didn't think there would be a chance that I would get anything back because she is literally 1 of so many kids they have helped.  That was 2 days ago.  Today, I opened my email to find 7 pictures of our little girl before and after her surgery!  Pictures we have never seen before. 

There is so much we will never know about her first 2 years, but this is just amazing.  I feel like we have another piece of the puzzle.  I love getting pictures of her before we knew her.  And I am so thankful for all that LWB did for Bella and does for other kids.  LWB is truly doing God's work!

Here are a couple of the pictures they sent to me ...

And here she is today ...