Congrats to Candice and her family for the referral of a little boy!! That moves us to #7. Although... rumor has it that we may actually be #6 because a family waiting has decided to put their application on hold. Any news will surely be passed along. Until then, we wait at #7.
Lots of congrats go out to the families that have received their NOC's and Guardianships in the past few weeks AND many many safe travel wishes to those of you who are traveling.
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1976I have to admit... this was rather fun to do. I didn't pick the 80's or 90's because I'm haunted by them every time I visit my mom's. :)
I was going stir crazy without a computer AND a camper. So I hit the garage sales and clearance racks. Above are a few of my favorite garage sale finds.
more yard sale items...
a few clearance items...
and a couple of cute onsies that were on clearance.
(and I still have another bag from the Bon-Ton that is MIA!)
I know I said I wasn't going to buy anything until we had a referral but...
I can't pass up a bargain!!!!
It's a fault of mine. :)
And on the bag it reads...
I'm hoping to send it to our princess while she waits for her mommy and daddy to come get her!
On August 25th, Treyton turned 9!! It's so hard to believe that he was my "preemie"! He was born between 34-35 weeks... and let me add...weighed 6lbs 11oz. (That doesn't sound like a preemie to me! but what do I know!) Imagine if I carried full term!! Ouch!!! I was told to expect developmental delays and to be patient with him! Ha! He is by far my most studious child! He was walking at 8 months and running by 9!! There are no delays!! 
There has been a little movement on the wait list in the past couple of weeks. Amy and Clint have accepted the referral of a beautiful baby boy named Simeon!! Congrats guys!! That moves us to #8!! Things will be slowing down for awhile as the courts in India close for pretty much the whole month of October. Most of the families that recieved referrals in July have already recieved NOC (No Objection Certificate). This was unusually quick!! Please pray for these families as they proceed through the courts. This can be a very lengthy process for them. God Bless!!
Every year, our town has The Great Wellsville Balloon Rally (3rd weekend in July). I used to be on the committee and met a lot of the pilots. The boys and I love to chase the balloons and help the crews tear them down. I've always wanted my own hot air balloon but I was told by my husband I had to choose between a balloon or a little girl. I chose my daughter.
Then we visited a local windmill farm. At first I thought they would be so intrusive looking but they are actually quite neat looking.
The boys spent 3 weekends "traveling the world". Through a grant, our local library and art center put on a literature and cultural event. Each Saturday they learned about a different country and its culture. They started at the library for the literature portion and then off to the Wellsville Creative Art Center for lunch and a hands on art class. Above, Cooper learned to paint like Monet in France after they made french bread sandwiches for lunch.
While in Africa, Treyton made an African mask. They made shishkabobs for lunch
China was the last stop on our tour. They cooked stir fry and made bowls on the pottery wheel. If you have never used the pottery wheel, it's a lot harder than it looks. I thought it would be a piece of cake. Boy did I get a rude awakening. I'll post pics of our work after it's been glazed and fired. Mine isn't so pretty. :)
Cooper and Treyton have been playing soccer. On different teams of course, ha ha!!!
Treyton even got to take a shot at goalie. (No pun intended!) He did a pretty good job!
And... Austin has started football!! (#24)
Shad's company had their annual family picnic. The kids are all waiting for their ducks to cross the finish line at the "Duck Derby". His company is wonderful! They are very family oriented and have been a great help to us through the adoption process.
