July 2022

 

July!  This felt like a pretty slow month.  We originally were hoping to go to the Vineyard Conference, but with it being so close to when the boys might come home, we could never make the call whether we should go or not.  So we did a lot of fun stuff just around home.  (And continued doing 3 day/week "summer school", a much lighter version of the normal school routine... we like to get in about 30 days before CC starts so we can take full break weeks and extra time at Christmas before ending the beginning of May as soon as CC ends.)

Going out to eat (at a sit-down restaurant) still feels like a pain everywhere, as though restaurants still haven't recovered staffing shortages since Covid "went away."  (Not that it's ever going away... we still get new variants all the time... but it's basically treated like common colds now since so many people have had it/got vaccinated and these variants are much milder.)  One night we decided to go to Texas Roadhouse since we had a gift certificate.  I added us to the waitlist, and was told it would be 45-55 minutes.  Perfect!... we went into Dick's for Micah to try on some running shoes and then headed toward the restaurant with 10 minutes to spare.  I checked with the girl when we got there and she was like, "Um, I think it will be another 15 minutes."  After 20 minutes I checked again and she was like, "Um, people just don't seem to be leaving.  I think it will be another 45 minutes."  We gave up and went to Panera.  I finally got a text notification from Texas Roadhouse that our table was ready TWO AND A HALF hours after we joined the waitlist.  

What do you do while you're waiting to be seated in a restaurant, but you can't actually go inside the restaurant?  You find a shady spot on the sidewalk, and make up a game in which you each pick a car and then count how many of your car type go past.  (Abby and I picked colors of the cars instead of the types.)  It was a very competitive game.  😆

We wait everyday for news on the adoption-front.  We were told the boys needed medicals for their visas , but they couldn't make appointments for them because the road to the clinic had lots of demonstrations on it.  A few days later we were told they had actually gotten their medicals done!  Then we were just waiting for passports.  After a couple weeks, we found out that the Department of Immigration and Emmigration (DIE) had not received our file from MOI (Ministry of Interior) because of fires and riots going on.  We need a signature from DIE before passports can be issued.  It feels like we could get a call any day saying we can get the twins... or it could be two more months.  It's very hard to plan anything!

A good explanation of July...

These are pictures we were sent of the boys getting their medicals done...

Poor Marvel.... they had to take some blood, and obviously he was not happy. :(

I think these are the passport photos perhaps. I'm hoping the photos actually match the right boy!  

Marvel:

Marvens:

One Saturday I had $10 Kohl's cash that was about to expire, and I had a couple hours to spare, so I went to Kohl's.  I couldn't actually find something I REALLY wanted, so I picked out a nice candle... and then realized the line was crazy long... it wrapped allll the way down the aisle.  Oh well, I had nowhere else to be and I didn't want to waste my Kohl's cash!  So this was the time I stood in line for 45 minutes to buy a candle. 😆

Trailblazers Cross-Country meeting/farm run/kick-off.  They had an informal race (no recorded times)... and I MISSED it (or at least the first part of it) because I was mistaken about where it would end.  Micah was bummed I didn't get a picture because he actually passed Riley Shope right at the end, which is kind of his only running goal right now.  😆 Of course, she twisted her ankle as he passed her, but he still beat her!  Haha!

   

House of Agape... serving up Salsarita's!

House church... acting out story of Moses. :)  Turning the water into blood...

The staff became a snake...

Burning bush... (with his sheep)

We've been watching this cardinal nest in the Mimosa tree right outside our dining room window all month.  

Eggs...

Hatched!

One Sunday morning, I heard all this chirping, and I looked out to see that the three baby birds had all jumped out of the nest and were trying to fly!  We literally spent ALL Sunday watching the Mom and Dad Cardinal fly between the three babies as they spread out further and further... they would feed them, and then hop with them and show them how to fly.  It was so cute seeing the babies spread their wings and try to take off. 

This little guy made it all the way down near the little creek bed  before we lost sight of him... the other two were gone by then in other directions.  

So here is a lesson in God's timing!  Monday afternoon, the day after the baby birds had "flown the nest", I looked out the window and saw a snake in one of the nests in the tree!  He was looking for lunch, but they were already gone!

Once he came down from the tree, he scooted pretty quickly over to the neighbor's house... with an empty belly!

Finishing touches on the twins' room!  I added a few gifts from the baby shower and I hung up some Haiti flags that had been used as decorations...

We also got some baby cameras to keep an eye on the twins... Caleb set them up for us, and the kids had a lot of fun spying on each other!

Micah finally printed this old picture of Maddox and taped it to the camera so when Caleb would try to drop in on the video, this is all he would see no matter which way it turned...

Waterpark at Carowinds!

The weekend of my baby shower, I picked up Maddox and Zuri on Friday (met Lindsey half way) so they could spend the night Friday and Saturday.  Lindsey and Isaac were able to come for the baby shower Sunday afternoon, and then they spent the night Sunday night and Lindsey and I went out to breakfast at Amelie's Monday morning.  It was lovely!

The boys all went to Cabela's Sunday afternoon while we were at the baby shower, so Maddox and Micah got matching hats. :)

At the baby shower! (Or toddler shower... whatever you call it!)  Danielle, Carrie, and Joyce put it all together.  We were able to use a room at a Calvary Chapel in Fort Mill (Carrie has a connection there). We ate Haitian food and opened presents and played a fun little "matching" game to teach us facts about Haiti, and then they spent time praying over me and our family and the twins.  It really was wonderful!

Danielle made these amazing fried dough thingies...

We took the Bucher kids with us to Ebenezer Park one evening.  We had been watching the forecast and thought it wouldn't rain for another couple of hours.  We got there, set everything up, and less than 10 minutes later, the heavens unleashed! We waited it out crowded under the awnings around the bathroom along with an Indian man we didn't know. 😅  The good news is that when it stopped 15 or 20 minutes later, almost everyone had left, so we had the park to ourselves!  We played volleyball on the sand court because the sand was nice and cool from the rain (and a guy and his daughter joined us for a bit.)  Then the younger three swam and Micah and Maddox played basketball and we hung out.

What creative girls do when they get bored...

We went to the library and Abby reminisced about how much she used to love the little kids' games on the computer. :)

One of the "baby shower" gifts.  It will be well used before the boys even get here!

One Sunday afternoon, Abby and I did a painting tutorial on You Tube.  I think mine turned out decent even if i didn't have all the right paints or brushes.  It was at least fun!

Babysitting Judah again!  Carl and Lindsay went out on a date for their anniversary.  Everyone has so much fun with him!

At Cabela's...

4th of July.... Micah went to the Thompson's; Abby was at VBS with Genny Ruth (and then went to see fireworks with them in York); Caleb and Ben and I went to a party at his co-worker Terrell's house...

4th of July morning, Wes and Joyce had a big breakfast for us and the Ziebers.  Helen and Micah showed up matching. :)  They love that I made them take a picture! Ha!

Playing Pictionary at church to review Genesis...

Everytime Micah and Ben take a photo beside each other, Micah tries to get his head up as tall as he can, and Ben tries to suck in. 😆

One day when it was raining pretty hard, we suddenly realized water was coming in through our window trim and was puddling on the floor in the dining room!  Eeek!  The best we can figure out, the rain was getting behind the siding by the window because of the way it was blowing or because it was running down the Mimosa tree leaves funny.  After trying to get a window and siding company to come to our house (and them not returning our many calls), Mike Zieber came over and caulked around the top of the window outside.  So far, so good ever since then!

I got a patio table set off of Facebook marketplace!  I had just washed the cushions, so they are drying in this picture.  But I think it was a great deal, and it fits perfectly in our space!

In other news, Nasa just released the first photos from their James Webb satellite.  They are insanely cool!

Working their way through Harry Potter...  Ben told Abby he would give her $5 if she read the whole fourth book instead of listening to it.  (And then added the caveat that she could listen to it IF she was riding her bike or exercising.)  This was very motivating to Abby! :)

Micah is very proud of the fact that, according to his Strava account, he has now run the same distance as it would be to go from Rock Hill to the Gulf of Alaska. Haha!

Macey Thompson/Madison Mitten birthday party...

Micah and friends went to laser tag/arcade place one night...

Micah hosted "music night" at our house. 

Other thing sthat happened in July: 

• Kevin and Kristin Bucher and their kids spent the night here July 1st on their way down to spend time with Karl and Lindsey.  They (K&K Bucher) leave for the country of Georgia soon!
• I met a woman named Marjorie (a friend of a friend) who is a fellow homeschooling Mom who is FROM Haiti and can speak Haitian Creole.  Such a good connection!
• Some of the women from church have been working through the book, "Girls With Swords" every Thursday night at Amanda Husta's house.  We started mid- May and will finish early August.
• Abby did dance camp from July 26-28.... she tried tap, ballet, and "acting"