Vacation, School and Waiting

Fair warning...this post has LOTS of pictures! ;) As I sit here looking back on the last week I am amazed at how much we crammed into it. To begin with, we went on a very impromptu vacation to Colorado before we started school. We met up with one of my hubby's cousin and his sweet family and had just a weekend of relaxation and fun. On our way, we stopped by a volcano in Capulin, New Mexico. Right as we got there, it started raining! The kids didn't mind at all and rode all the way up the volcano with the windows rolled down.

It was nice and cool and beautiful! We didn't get to walk the rim of it because of lightning but we didn't care at all. It was just nice to enjoy the rain and cooler temps.

Upon arriving to La Veta, Colorado, this is what we saw in the yard across the street from the house we were staying in! They were everywhere and the kids really enjoyed getting a close up look at some of God's most wonderful animals.

During some exploring, we found these guys at a local church.

On Saturday, we went to Trinidad, CO and had planned on swimming, but the clouds rolled in and it started raining again so we detoured our plans and went shopping instead. We passed this old stairway and I begged Princess to let me take her picture. It just had such character! Trinidad is such a cute little town with old architecture and history. I look forward to going back when I can spend a little more time there.

Then on Sunday we drove into Pueblo, CO and went to the zoo. My kids and I are suckers for zoos.

Can you say wishful thinking? ;)

Jerod's cousin, Casey, is not afraid to be one of the kids. He played and teased around with them all weekend and they were all good buds by the time we headed home. That says a lot for someone they had never met. He's a great guy and we can not let so much time go by between visits again!

I always call them my "little chickens"

Oh my goodness! A family picture!!

All the, umm, "kids" had to have their picture with the bears.

Mr. Brodie...one of the cutest babies EVER (and Casey and Jessica's baby), was such a good sport and just rolled with the flow.

After the zoo, we headed home. Thankfully, we had seen a local farmers stand before we left and was able to stock up on some delicious fresh produce. Peaches are a favorite in this house so we brought a box home with us. They have since been peeled and frozen and ready for yumminess during the cold winter months.

Bright and early Monday morning (okay, more like 10a.m.) we headed out to the school house for the first time since June to start our new school year!

Little Man is starting 5th grade

And Princess is starting 3rd

And we haven't forgotten about our little one who will be with us next year. We have been on the official waiting list for 3 months now...there have not been any referrals for 8 weeks now but they think there will be many very soon. Fingers crossed!! More referrals given means movin' up the list! (We still sit at 35)

We have the pleasure of studying the Roman empire to the Reformation this year so our first day of school was celebrated by eating lunch at Olive Garden.

Ya know...Romans...Rome...Italy...Italian food...Olive Garden....okay, it was a stretch but it works for an excuse to go to one of my favorite restaurants. The next day, we did a little more traditional meal and had fruit, bread and cheese. I had read that one of the small Roman villages didn't use stoves much due to fire hazard so this was their main meal choice. I added some meat to our tray and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Picnic on the fort!!

So all that plus a family birthday party, fantasy football draft and great visiting with neighbors and you have one very full, very fun and very blessed week. More adventures are right around the corner and we can't wait to get started!

Garage Sale

Oh my goodness I can not believe it's been so long since I've posted! I apologize to my few readers...all 2 of you. ;) We have been very busy the last couple of weeks and I'm so excited to tell you about it.

The day of the lemonade stand I had the thought that we might need to try and do an adoption fundraising garage sale. Even though I hate garage sales with all the work they are, the repetitive question of, "will you take less?" (drives me nuts!) and what to do with all the left overs is just overwhelmingly stressful to me. I also was not sure if we even had enough stuff to host a sale. I had given a bunch of unneeded kitchen items, clothes, etc. to families who lost everything in one of the horrible wildfires we had. So I had to do the other thing I hate doing: asking people for help. I shamelessly asked friends and family for donated items for us to sell and then let us keep the money. Ugh. It was not an easy thing to ask for. But, I had hopes that some people are like me and don't want the money for it, they just want it gone.

Lo and behold, people did want to get rid of stuff and before I knew it, I had more than enough. So it was official...we were having a garage sale. I just have to tell you how completely overwhelmed I am by the generosity of this people. They were not giving us junky trinkets, we were given really good items that were going to bring us some good money. I started sorting, organizing and pricing on Monday, and then spent 5-6 hours daily pricing and didn't finish until Thursday night. I planned a two day sale hoping that it would give shoppers a chance to shop in the mornings before the heat got too unbearable.

Bright and early Friday morning we opened and let the selling begin! We noticed pretty quickly that people were not trying to go down on prices. Either because I had advertised what the sale was for or because my prices were just that reasonable. Ha! Anyway, Friday turned to Saturday and by Saturday afternoon, our merchandise had dwindled by more than half and we were ready to start boxing up the leftovers. There are so many cool stories from this weekend that I'd love to share with you but they will have to come in separate posts. But I will tell you one.

I had talked with our new neighbors from down the street and they had decided to have a sale the same time as us to draw a bigger crowd. But Friday night, they came down and said after talking, they wanted to donate all their stuff to us to sell! Awesome!! Their things added back some bigger items that really helped draw people in. They haven't even known us a month and were willing to help us out like this. Truly blessed!

So long story made longer, we finished the sale, and boxed everything up. Most of it is going to a local women's shelter but the baby/kids clothes that didn't sell we are going to try to send to the orphanages in Ethiopia. The whole sale seems to be a win-win for all. We made some awesome money ($1500!!!) which helps get us closer to our referral fee goal and people are being helped at the same time. After all the dreading of having a garage sale, it ended up being a very good weekend!! God provided a thought, people to help, money to get us closer to our child, and then clothes and supplies to people who need it most. He deserves all the glory for this and I am truly overwhelmed and grateful for all He blessed us with this weekend. Although we are completely undeserving, He provided a way and then poured out His blessing in ways we could not imagine. Saying that God is good does not even begin to give Him the recognition He deserves.

"...'Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!' Then they prayed: 'May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.' " Nehemiah 9: 5-6 NLT