NWC Homecoming

We had a great time last weekend at NWC's homecoming. Each year we get together with 4 other couples that we went to NW with. We are all married and have kids now. With all the kids it gets a little crazy at times, but oh so much fun. There are 9 kids total with Keegan being the oldest at 4 and then there 8 kids under the age of 3! It is fun to see them interact as many of them are the same age. At one point we all had children within 1 year of each other and they are all now 2 years old.

We attended Morning on the Green. The boys had a blast playing the games. After that we ate lunch and amazingly all the couples were able to get their children to nap at some point in the afternoon all in the same house, even if we used the bathroom:) We playing Four Square on the driveway in the afternoon, went to the park, and had Pizza Ranch at night. It was a great day.

Aiden trying to win a fish.

Keegan's attempt at bowling.

Family picture time!

What a crew!

Well Keegan appears to be feeling better. Yesterday he threw up most of the morning till about 1:30 when he was finally able to keep some liquids down. He had a piece of toast this morning and that seemed to sit okay. We went for a walk and they played outside for a little while. Keegan wasn't too interested in dinner which made me nervous thinking he was going to throw up. As of now, no puke to clean up:) He is napping now so hopefully he feels better when he wakes up.

Bumps, bruises and the flu

Keegan has had an eventful 24 hours. Yesterday morning at preschool he tripped and fell into a bookcase leaving a large goose egg on his head and a small cut. The school nurse gave him a band-aid and that seemed to make it all better:) Then this morning he woke up at 4 a.m. with flu and at this point (10:30) is still sick. Hopefully he gets feeling better soon and that nobody else gets it! It has been going around school so I'm not surprised he is sick.

Hopefully this weekend if everyone is healthy we'll head to Northwestern's Homecoming. We are meeting up with some college friends for our annual get together. It should be a great time.

We've been enjoying the nice weather we have been having playing outside. The boys love to play outside and ride bikes and just be boys and get dirty!

If anyone who reads this is interested, I'm having a scrapbook get together on Saturday October 4. Leave me a comment if you would like to come.

Nothing new on the adoption front...

Thanks for checking in!

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you."

Isaiah 26:3

No new news

Nothing new on the adoption front. The last 2 weeks have been hard as families we know have either made travel plans to get there little ones or have been placed. Don't get me wrong we are extremely happy for them; however, we become disheartened as we wish it were us. We know that God has a child for us and that there will be difficult days as we are on this journey. Some days I am at peace and others I cannot stop thinking about the adoption. Keegan asked me tonight when our baby was going to come to our house? I tried very hard to explain that God has a special baby for us and we need to be patient. If only it were so easy to take my own words to hear. So hard for a little guy to understand. Nightly we pray for the new baby that God will bring to our home. So for him it should happen tomorrow. Lots of fun conversations to have with a 4 year old who only understands at this point that baby's come from mommy's tummy:) Yours prayers are coveted for patience as we continue on our journey.

Busy, busy busy

The last few weeks have flown by. School started, we made a trip to Des Moines, and we helped family members move and work on their houses.

Keegan started his first day of preschool on August 19. We went the night before to open house and he was so excited. I (Abby) was able to take him to school on his first day. I think it was harder for Mom than Keegan for this new beginning. He is enjoying it immensely and learning a lot. The letter of the week was "M". He was busy telling his teacher all of the M names that he knew (all of my brothers family's name start with M). Each morning he goes to school with Stan and has breakfast before heading off to preschool. He thinks he is pretty big stuff.

Keegan and his preschool teach Mrs. Hanson.

Aiden has adapted well to the slight change in routine and enjoys being one of the older kids at day care in the mornings. He even has amazed us lately with his urge to use the big boy potty. Hopefully we can say goodbye to diapers in the near future! That would be nice before our new baby arrives! He definitely is 2 as he now has a distaste for the bath tub. He either refuses to get in and wants to sit on the potty longer or after getting in asks to have a time out as he knows he can then get out of the tub. Oh how quick they figure things out:)

We also made a trip to Des Moines to visit a college friend and enjoyed the Farmers Market and a trip to the library to learn about Monarch butterflies and of course shopping for mom:) We also attended the town celebration and the weather was just perfect.

Nothing new to report on the adoption front for ourselves. We did learn today that some friends we had met through Katelyn's Fund received a baby yesterday. How exciting! What a whirlwind for them. We'll keep everyone posted if we learn anything new. We know that our timing is not God's timing and we need to trust in his perfect will for the child he has for our family.

Summer Fun

Family Vacation with Schuitemans

Bridge's Bay Waterpark


Riding the boats at Arnold's Park with cousins Miles and Margo

Playing with the slip and slide.

Abby's trip to Washington, DC

Riding in the burley.

We realized the other day that it had been quite some time since our last post. July was busy with family vacations and get aways and now we are only a few short days away from school starting. Stan heads back for inservice tomorrow. Keegan will start PreSchool next Tuesday. Hard to believe he is old enough already! He is very excited and keeps reminding us that he is big enough to go to school. I think it will be the hardest for Aiden and Mom. Aiden will miss his big brother at daycare and will probably feel lost for a few days. Mom on the other hand can't believe this time has come!

We have nothing new to report on the adoption front. We continue to wait patiently for God's timing, although being patient is really tough:) 2 weeks ago we went to the Katelyn's Fund picnic. It was really nice to connect with other families again in the same situation we are. I think both Stan and I constantly think and day dream about the new baby that will join our family. We pray each night with the boys for the baby that God will bring to our home. Keegan is constantly coloring pictures for our new baby and making plans on where the baby will sit at the table and what toys he/she will play with.

We covet your prayers as we continue our journey. We pray for patience and know that God's timing is always perfect and may not be what we had in mind. Please also pray that we may be able to garner the financial resources needed for this journey. We have applied for a few grants. We received one, were denied on another and still waiting to hear on one. We have faith that it will all work out.