apple picking

Earlier this month we went apple picking with the Treat family. We were SO excited to finally meet them after lots of conversations online and on the phone. Erica's kids are each about one year older than ours, and Eben and Aidan got along smashingly. :) Iona and Abel are from the same transition home in Ethiopia.

We played in the kid area at Curtis Orchard for awhile, had lunch in the cafe, and then went apple picking. It was very crowded that day and a little muddy, but we had a really good time with them and the kids did wonderfully. Since the Treats are living nearby for the next year, we hope to do more with them. They are also homeschooling using the Well-Trained Mind, like us. I heard lots of fun stories of what I have to look forward to with Aidan for next year. As we were getting ready to go, there was a little accident with Pete's camera...it bounced on the concrete. His nice camera. Thankfully the Lord spared it and it still works.

please pray

We're praying for adoption friends Jason and Erica Reed this weekend.
They were supposed to pick up their daughter in Ethiopia in just a couple of weeks. Please join us in prayer for them.

Other families in our adoption program are also facing huge health issues with their children in Ethiopia. Please pray also for the Lane and Tapper families.

And our friend Kim just had a horrid experience with racism. I know we will probably face this at some point, but we haven't had it this rough yet.

God, please comfort all my friends who are hurting. We know you can heal and redeem. We trust you even when we don't understand.

15-year reunion and vomit

Last week I found out a group of my friends from high school were getting together in Naperville for dinner on Sunday night. I haven't seen them since high school and only recently reconnected with them on Facebook. One friend was going to be in town from Seattle, and the rest live in the Chicago suburbs. Pete and I decided to take the family up there to see my friends again.

We left home around 4 pm Sunday and got to the restaurant just before 6. We were supposed to meet at Lou Malnati's, but plans changed at the last minute and we went to Giordano's for Chicago-style pizza. Yum! It was SO nice to see everyone again!! This was the crowd that, through their friendship, led me to Christ way back in the day. We hung out with everyone until about 8:45, when we left to drive home. I'm so glad we reconnected in person, and I hope I can stay in touch with them better!

On the way home, Pete looked back at Iona and discovered she had thrown up on herself and the carseat. Ugh. We drove a few more miles to an exit with a gas station and had to buy paper towels and more wipes to clean up the mess the best we could on the road. Thankfully, I had brought ANOTHER change of clothes. (We had the outfit she was in, pjs, and a spare outfit. We had put the kids in pjs when we left the restaurant, and Iona threw up all over those.) We think she just ate too much and the food was a bit rich for her--at least it smelled like Chicago pizza! We finally got home at 11, put the kids in bed (after changing Iona AGAIN since her clothes were wet from the wet carseat), and I spent the next 30 minutes taking off the carseat cover to wash and cleaning out all the crevices. Ick. You know you're a mom when you can touch your child's vomit. We realized this was the first time we've had to clean up vomit for our daughter! I'm sure there will be other times...

She seemed ok today and has had no fever, so I think she just ate too much. We were thankful that the mess was pretty contained. It could have been much worse.

This is the first time I've posted photos on my blog, and they posted out of order. The first one is Aidan's ninja pose. He doesn't like to take normal photos anymore. :) The second one is me and Iona just before she got sick. The poor girl's diaper was soaking wet and leaking onto my shirt at that moment. The third picture is of us and the girls. Our trip was SO worth it to see you all again!!