DTC!

Praise the Lord we are DTC'd as of yesterday!!

That means our paperwork(dossier) is on it way to China!

Next it needs to be logged in - which will be our LID(log in date)!

And then we wait for LOA(letter of approval)!

Praying it's speady!

Families usually travel about 3 months after LOA, provided there are not any hitches. Which, with bringing home 3, a hitch is possible. Hopefully not BUT possible.

We are planning to send the girls a photo album and gifts very soon!

Right now they do not know they have a family but in a couple weeks they will all know!

And then they will see the crazy big but very fun family they will be joining!

We will also be asking for updated pics and measurements! I can't wait to get them! We do have a ton of pics of Mia(10 yrs old) but only two of Missy(6 yrs old) and Maddie( 5 yrs old).

I love the little split between Maddie's teeth! That is very hereditary- one of her birth parents has to have that!

The count down begins!

Can't wait to meet them!

Thank you Jesus!

State Fair!

This was the coolest day of the week (but still a very warm summer day), so we decided to go to the State Fair!

The kids LOVE going to the state fair each year!

It is a high light of the summer and signifies that it is coming to an end.

This is Abby and Luke's first time!

The other children really talked it up so expectation were high!

Luke was too young for most of the rides but we found a few for him!

Next year we will fill this ride as Melissa and Madeline join our family!

Anna carried the map around the whole time. She loved figuring out where we were and where we were going!

The big kids loved the slide!

Emma's face is so happy here!

The three stooges!

Yes... we all wore green so we could find each other!

It can get so crowded we didn't want to lose anyone!

Abby is so excited to be sporting a ponytail!

The giggled and spun around in the tea cup!

Luke was thrilled to be driving a red sparkly tractor!

He loves everything that moves- cars, trucks, trains and planes!

Sarah and Ellie loved this ride but it was not Emma's favorite.

I regretted having her go on it- I think it was a bit scary to her.

The merry go round was much more tame and everyone loved it!

Including me!

(yep, I wore green too!)

It is such a fun summer thing to do!

We had mini donuts, pronto pups, fresh lemonade, cheese curds and root beer floats!

Stuck in the horses stall!

Machinery Hill is one of the best parts!

I think I got myself some good farm hands!

Now we just need the farm!

This is one very happy boy!

He is just too cute!

A local hospital had a booth there and they were teaching about safety!

They were all very interested!

They asked the kids some questions and they were able to answer most of them- yay!

That is until the extra large overstuffed doggy showed up! Then their attention shifted to this cuddly pooch!

We decided not to venture through the more crowded spots of the state fair. With the large crew we had and my jet lag this was enough!

So we headed to Johnny's pre season soccer game. 

The kids loved playing in the water.

I forgot to take any pics of the game- oops!

But we won!

Part of me wanted to stop them... the neat freak part but then I came to my senses and realized there was nothing wrong about playing with water on a very hot summer day!

The shade was a much nicer place to view the game!

It was a very fun day for everyone!!

Happy Birthday Sam!!

I arrived home at 10:30am Sunday Morning!

So thankful to be home and not in an airport!

We ended up sleeping in the airport and leaving Amsterdam at 7:55am.

The kids were excited to see me and talked non stop!

Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom is what I heard over and over and then a short story following the Mom or an "I forgot"!

Hubby did a great job of celebrating yesterday on the actual special day!

It was rainy so they went to Chuck E Cheese for pizza dinner and fun!

Sam was so excited to part 2 of his birthday!

This is the part the included the presents and birthday cake!

Sam and Luke are really bonding! They just love each other! Luke does everything that Sam does (except climb up the walls)!

Everybody was very happy to have Mommy home and it seems that everything is once again "right" in their world!

Sam asked for a kite for his b-day!

A rockboard scooter and a build a bear!

So thankful for online shopping!

Having sisters has definitely influenced the boys!

So we added in some camouflage to make this cuddly bear more manly!

Now his bear will look just like his brother in law- Andrew!

Kinda ;-)

He picked out his own cake-

"Cars"

The traditional family pic surrounding the birthday boy!

And then our very on rendition of "Happy Birthday to YOU"!

Oh my are we awful singers!

And our little 6 year old boy was very happy!

God Bless HIM!

STUCK in Amsterdam...

Much to my dismay I am stuck in Amsterdam...

Katie and Andrew sent me on my way once we got to security at the Stuttgart airport. 

It was sad to say goodbye again...

Tried not to cry but couldn't stop the tears...

I am so bad with goodbyes...

What a wonderful time we had!

The flight between Stuttgart and Amsterdam is an easy one hour.

I had a 1 1/2 hr layover and then I was on my way home...

I thought...

But our plane has been delayed and delayed and delayed.

Now we are schedule to leave at 2:00am- it' such a bummer. That's 10 hours later than expected.

I am hanging in the airport, not much to do but wish I were HOME.

TODAY is a SPECIAL day.

And it's hurting my heart that I am not home...

It's Sam's 6th birthday. 

I was supposed to arrive at 7:00pm- just in time for visiting and helping the kids get ready for bed.

 The next day (Sunday) was going to be birthday party day. 

I'm afraid I will be quite tired now for the celebration. I just don't function well on little to no sleep.

They are having a good day at home so I am very happy for that!

They went to their favorite BKF restaurant and then to Johnny's soccer game. After that is swimming and dinner at the pool.

I did get to wish him a Happy Birthday over the phone!

Please pray that the plane is fixed and that we can leave at our 2:00am scheduled time!

I miss everyone so much I just need to get HOME and hug my birthday boy!

Three Country Tour!

This morning we were up at 5:30am so we could be on time for our 7:00am tour!

We started with Austria!

It was so beautiful!

The lake is a turquoise color!

The pic above is with Katie's camera and this one is with mine.

Although my camera is fine her is definitely better!

ALL of the churches are so magnificent!

They have tall steeples reaching toward the sky.

They believe the cross should be the highest point in the town.

Obviously this is Kate's pic- she is the creative one of the group!

The church is on the upper left!

 

They have little wood buildings all over the countryside!

They are for hay storage.

We ate breakfast here in Austria and took photos.

We had a very large bus- double decker and it was as wide as the road.

Thank goodness the scenery was so beautiful that we did not focus too much on the bus managing those curvy mountain roads.

I got some of the pics with my iphone pushed up to the window so there would not be any glare.

This is a very very old castle.

I would have love to have looked through it!

Yes I was praying as we maneuvered through these mountains 

and winding roads...

While in the hugest bus EVER!

Katie was on one side of the bus and I was on the other. 

We saw beautiful streams of clear cold water rushing down the mountainside!

We drove through the Austrian and Swiss Alps!

And to our big boys- there were TONS of ski areas!

Your probably going to want to visit your sister asap!

And many peaceful little towns in the valleys.

Some of the towns only get a couple hours of direct sunlight per day because of the mountains. 

One town has refectors on top of the mountain so it can have more sunlight.

When we drove through the little towns some of the buildings were right next to the road. In other words think twice before you walk out your front door! If the window would have been open I could have reached out and touched the building.

Another sweet church!

We left Austria and then drove to Switzerland!

We drove way above the tree line and took a break for photos and a snack

Sweet Kate is reflection in this picture!

A few flowers still grew and some moss on the rocks.

There were just a couple buildings this high up- the very LAST ones.

The lake was fabulous- clear and turquoise!

The air was so crisp and comfortable.

WE are having so much fun together!

We stopped and had lunch in Switzerland.

No clue what the name of the town was?

It was tiny and lovely!

It was so nice to stop and get out of the bus to enjoy this beauty!

And then we were on to Lichtenstein! 

They had dancers in the street!

We enjoyed watching them!

Photos by Katie!

Above the town is the castle.

The buildings were a bit more contemporary.

I bought a map and my der daughter said they are so so out dated Mom... until her internet didn't work!

The she liked them!

I really like this cuckoo clock but it was more than I wanted to spend. 

So I guess I'll just have to enjoy it as a picture!

ANother view of the castle!

I am leaving for home tomorrow but I will continue to post about the trip so we can have record of it.

I am sorry for so many pictures- we couldn't help ourselves!

I am so sad to leave my sweet girl and her wonderful hubby...

WE have had so much fun!

At the same time I am looking forward to seeing all the children at home and my wonderful hubby!

Thank you Jesus for being with us and for this special time together!

Thank you Hubby for sending me here!

Thank you Katie and Andrew for your hospitality- you are so much fun and we love you both!!