Hiking, hiking and more hiking.......and camping too!

This has been a great summer! We have hiked and camped a lot. Our family really draws close when we hike and camp and it's cheap or free! It's a lot of work to get ready, Maggie calculated on our last camping trip we would need to make 108 servings of regular meals, plus snacks and hiking food (hungry kids on a hike is not good!). I don't realize how much food we go through until I have to pack all of it for a 4 day camping trip. We have 2 more camping trips planned this year then a week long drive down the Oregon/California Coast camping all the way and finally ending up in Disneyland!!! Can't wait!

Brian liked hiking on Brian's loop at Shi Shi Beach which is located in the far Northwest Corner of the Continental US
Dungeness Spit
Shi Shi Beach, we had wanted to hike to this beach for years. Kelcey and I saw it on a travel show rated as one of America's top beaches. Finally this year we did it and was it worth it! Amazing tide pools, sea life, rocks to climb and a beautiful sandy beach.
Salt Creek, we stayed at Salt Creek Campground west of Port Angeles. I highly recommend this campgound during low tide. It was amazing.
Baker Rock on the Cowlitz river
Eunice Lake at Mount Rainier. Beautiful lake, hard hike!

Fun Pictures

Babies are here!!

KYLE our rooster


Last spring we went to the feed store bought 6 adorable, fluffy baby chicks. They were suppose to be all hens, but as they grew we realized that one of them was obviously not a hen. We really didn't want a rooster but we decided to keep him for a year and see if any of the hens would hatch out any babies. This hen, a Black Silkie, has been going broody off and on since last September. We finally let her start setting a few weeks ago. She hatched out 5 babies and is an excellent mother. Sooo cute!!

Lanae

One more picture

This picture is from my second trip to Ghana. Comfort had deteriorated so much in the 6 months since we first started the adoption process and got the first pictures of her. There were days in Ghana, like this one, where she felt so bad and was so puffy and would have lots of chest pain. It still completely amazes me how God kept her alive and how she is doing so great now.
One of the verses that God gave me before I left was 'Behold I have put before you an open door which no man can shut' Rev. 3:8 and He really did! Thank you Lord for those open doors and for sending us to do Your work. The last 3 years of my life have been full of the most difficult trials, the most faith building moments and the most amazing joy-filled times. I would do it again in a second! Totally worth every moment.

Lanae

Homecoming Day!!!!

Two years ago today we arrived home from Ghana!! Today we will be looking back at all of the trials and all of the miracles that it took to get our kids home.

Here is Brian now (oh my gosh, isn't he handsome!):
Brian in Ghana:
This is our beautiful Josephine now:
Josephine in Ghana:
Comfort has changed the most, here she is today without the puffy face caused by her heart defect, LOVE her smile:
Comfort in Ghana:
HAPPY 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO US!!

Lanae

Train Museum Field Trip

I LOVE our homeschool co-op!! And I LOVE that we now have a field trip coordinator!! YAY!!! We have gone on some awesome field trips this year including this one on Thursday to the NW Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, WA. For $5 we got to learn all about steam trains, what train whistles are used for, what type of cargo trains carry and we even got to go on an hour long train ride in an antique train!!! Hands on history is the best and the museum did a great job. We had a lot of fun.

Did anyone notice that my daughter-in-law and grandkids are in the pictures? I feel so blessed that not only are my grand daughters being homeschooled, but they also come to our co-op :)

Lanae

My Birthday at the Park

Actually we went to several parks! The older girls are in Alaska on a cruise and Tyler was at work so we took the 4 younger kids and went park hopping. We usually go to one park but this time we decided why not park hop! It was really fun! We stayed at each park about 20 minutes then hopped in the van and headed to the next one. The kids had a great time and we didn't even go to any parks with 'toys' just beach parks. We will definitely be doing this again.

Lanae

No Spring Hikes

I am missing our spring hikes! In March I injured my knee and have not been able to hike or even go on walks for 2 months. For 3 weeks I had to sit on the couch for a few hours each day with ice on my knee. Not fun. I love to be active and moving and this has forced me to slow down. Do you think God is trying to tell me something? Forced relaxation?? Tuesday I went back to the orthopedic doctor and he told me what I already knew, the injury is healed but now the muscle in my leg has deteriorated and atrophied. Off to physical therapy twice a week.

You know what I think about during times like this in my life? I think about how there are many people around the world going through the same thing as I am but without medical care, without physical therapy, without a couch to sit on and ice to relieve the swelling and I am humbled and thankful that I only have to endure the pain and inconvenience for a short while. Today I am thankful for the medical care in America, but I still miss our spring hikes :)

Lanae

Just an Ordinary Mom with Extraordinary Kids

Kelcey's card to mom :)


I was surprised Mother's Day morning with an awesome breakfast of delicious homemade sticky buns, YUM!!! Then I opened my cards and presents and was so touched by my awesome kids. I had to share the card that Kelcey gave me, homemade of course, that was so much more valuable to me than anything monetary could ever be. This is why I do what I do. All of the hours, days, and years are all worth it to hear this. I love my kids!!

Tyler bought me chocolate dipped strawberries on Saturday, then Maggie and Kelcey, not realizing that I had already eaten 6 the night before, made me more homemade chocolate dipped strawberries for Sunday morning!! YUM!!

The boys got me Trekking Poles so I can hike again after weeks of trying to heal from a knee injury. What a bummer it is to have to sit on the couch with ice on my knee while trying to juggle work, homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, laundry......hopefully I'm on the mend, we'll see what the orthopedic doctor says tomorrow.

Maggie gave me a really cool silicone tea bag to use with loose tea. Anyone who knows me knows that even though I have lived in Seattle my entire life, I can't stand coffee!! Tea is my thing. I love it, so it was a perfect gift.

Kelcey made me the coolest necklace using an antique teardrop Swarovski crystal, copper wire, glass beads and a silver bell. So awesome!

Brian, Josephine and Comfort gave me a pair of beautiful blue crystal earrings.

Everything was so great!

Ryan and his family were out of town with no cell service, so I missed seeing them or even hearing from them, that was a bummer, but I know they had lots of fun!

Of course there are other things that go on on Mother's Day. I think about my moms. My birth mom who died far too young of lung cancer and who I miss so much and my mom who who went to be with her Saviour 3 years ago after outliving all the doctors predictions and living to be 78 years old. It was still to soon for me. I can't describe how it feels. I had 2 moms, now I have none. It's the part of Mother's day that I don't like. I also think about mothers around the world who are having to make the heart breaking choice to give up their kids in the hopes that they will have a chance at survival. Being a mom I can't imagine how hard that would be and how much you would have to love your child to give them away so that they survive. It makes me want to adopt more or at least talk all my friends into it :)

I love celebrating being a mom to such extraordinary kids. There is nothing I would rather do in life than spend it investing in the kids that God has given me to raise. I am a lucky mom!

Oh and today's my BIRTHDAY!!!

Lanae