Summer's Finally Here!

I am so glad summer is finally here. It is so good to be outside and enjoy the fresh air. School is out, so the kids are able to play with their friends. We can go for bike rides and late night walks. I can make sun tea. We can swim. We can grill out for dinner. I LOVE summer!

And of course many more weeks have flown by since I last blogged, so here are some pictures of May and June.

Look at that ornery grin!

Meron loved her birthday cake. This picture is on her actual birthday, she had a cupcake. Unfortunately, she didn't get to have it until 8:00 at night because we were at one of the kids activities and we paid for it. First she was just wound up and giddy before bed, then it turned into her crying most of the night. Note to self : no cupcakes right before bed!

Here have a taste! She dug into a chocolate cake for her party.

What a ham! Meron loved her new summer fun stuff she got for her birthday.

She's got the cheese for the camera thing down pat!


Shelby had poetry for mom night at her school. All of the kids wrote poems about their moms, then took turns getting up and reading them in front of the parents. Very sweet.

Lane had a fun field trip to camp SOLE ( science and outdoor learning experience). His class learned orienteering with a compass, tree identification, constellation identification and canoeing. I had fun too, and finally learned how to properly use a compass, although I hope I never really have to!

Shelby also had her end of the year baton and pom pom recital. She was so cute. She is such a little performer. She is always making up songs and dances at home. I think she loved performing in front of an audience other than mom and dad.

She also had her bridging ceremony from daisy scout to brownie scout.

What a cute brownie.

Ty demonstrating some of his vertical ability. :)


Lane played volleyball at school with his friend Adam.

Shelby did the triathlon in her school district. It was a cold, rainy day but she stuck it out.

Meron grew in her "fangs" before her upper middle teeth, which we thought was pretty appropriate considering she likes to scare people by saying "rraaarr".

Punk rock baby!

Lane had his fifth grade parents breakfast. They handed out awards to the students and showed a slide show from events during the year. It was a celebration of transitioning from elementary school to middle school in the fall. Where did the time go?




Our nephew Adrian celebrated his fifth birthday.

Shelby and her cousin Emma hanging out waiting for cake.

On the last day of school the kids get to have field day. They have fun events like water balloon toss, tug-o-war, sack races, etc.

Last day of school silly string fight!! On the last day of school we hide and jump out and get the kids with silly string when they get home, then they all get each other and their friends. It's a fun celebration of the end of school and beginning of summer.

Ty getting blasted!

Our niece Audrey celebrated her first birthday! She loved her cake too.

Hanging out with big brother.

Happy Birthday Meron!

Today is Meron's birthday. What a blessing she has been! She is jabbering dada, mama and HI! She's also pulling herself up and walking around furniture and getting into EVERYTHING! She is such a happy girl and brings such joy to our family. We feel extremely blessed and humbled that the Lord chose us to be her family. And though this is such an exciting day for us, my heart keeps going to her birth parents, and the anguish they may be feeling. It was one year ago today that a woman halfway across the world gave birth to this precious little girl and for reasons we will never know was not able to raise her. I have no doubt that she loved Meron deeply and giving her up had to be unbearable. So today as we celebrate this special little girl, we pray that the Lord will give her birth parents a sense of peace and know that their baby girl is well, happy and loved by a family that is truly blessed to have her in our lives.

How Time Flies!

Time has really flown by!! It took me four months to finally post about our trip to Ethiopia, but now that I'm getting the hang of blogging, I'm going to fast forward through the highlights of the past four months, then try and keep up with things. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day!


When we arrrived back in Fort Wayne, we found out there had just been an ice storm the day before. This was quite the contrast from having just been in sunny Ethiopia. Welcome back to Indiana!! :)

Christmas was just a few short days after we got home. What a great gift to be able to bring Meron home in time for Christmas and all be together again.

What a sweetie!

I'm not sure I understand all of this.

It was so good to be home with our kiddos for Christmas.

Bud must have been a good boy, Santa left him a little treat too.

Getting ready for bath time.

They're already teaching her those bad video game habits!!!

Meron's first time in the snow.

Buddy loves the snow just as much as the kids. In fact, I think he thought he was one of the kids!


Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Buddy in February. He was such a huge part of our lives for fourteen years. He is missed so much. He was our first "kid", and a brother to Ty, Lane and Shelby. He brought so much joy to our family, as well as occasional frustration, like the time he ate an entire chocolate cake off the table, or when he would get wet in the pool run straight to the sand box and roll around then make a bee-line straight into the house to roll all over the carpet! Those were the days I wished we didn't have a dog, but what I remember him for the most is his love and loyalty. If he thought we were threatened, he was right there to protect us. If we were sick or sad, he was sitting right there beside us. If we were running around the back yard playing kick ball, he was running right along side us (usually tripping us up :) ) We love him and will miss him. There will never be another "Bud". He really was a great dog.

Brandt celebrated his ?? birthday. Bet you can't guess!

We celebrated Meron's baby dedication in February. This was a special day at church when we make a promise in front of family, friends and the congregation to raise Meron up to be a christian woman through our faith and through the help of the Lord's wisdom and guidance.

In March we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. The years have flown by!!

Lane turned 11 in March! Seems like just yesterday he was such a little guy.

Shelby's drawing of a vase was chosen to be in the Fort Wayne FAME Festival that celebrates the arts.

In April, we went to North Carolina's Outer Banks for Spring Break. They are a group of barrier islands that run along the coast of North Carolina. It was very beautiful there, but it was still a little chilly and very windy. There are five lighthouses that are on the different islands. Two of them are open for climbing late spring through early fall. They both opened the week after we left, so unfortunately we missed out, but they were still neat to see. They were each painted differently and their grounds were all a little different.

This was a sunset on the ferry ride back to one of the islands.

Hanging out during a lunch pit-stop.

This is on Jockey's ridge sand dune. It was crazy windy up there!

Take them on vacation and they still find time for video games!

Too cold for playing at the beach, but we still found some cool sea shells.

All dressed up for Easter Sunday.

Grandma brought over some fun bubbles for after the egg hunt.

Meron loves her cousin Audrey! We spent an afternoon at Foster Park enjoying their beautiful flowers. Every spring they have the most beautiful tulips and daffodils in bloom.

Cute monkeys hanging in a tree!

After the park we went to Zesto's and Meron had her first ice cream cone. She absolutely loved it! She ate it so fast I'm surprised she didn't get a brain freeze.

What do you mean the ice cream's all gone!!!!

That's the last four months in a nutshell. After we got home from Ethiopia we kind of hit the ground running, as much as we would like to freeze time, life just takes hold and before we know it another day, week, month has flown by.