beating the heat

The last 3-4 days in Central IL have been scorchers...upper-mid 90's with very little wind or rain to cool us down!  So we have either running through sprinklers, heading to splash parks or staying inside working on adoption paperwork to Beat the Heat :)

sprinkler fun!

helping out Grandma & Grandpa on the farm

 McGraw Splash Park with our friends, Reese & Elle

 

 

Miller Park with Daddy...yes, the park's name is actually Miller Park :)

Haven's Play-Doh worm collection

 

rabbit stew, anyone?

**WARNING...pictures may be graphic*** :)

I like to consider myself a hard-working, Iowa girl who can handle, make that "tackle", most any task in front of me...my pride, when not held in check, likes to think I can do some things that other women would not like or even could not, do...hmm, my pride was greatly humbled yesterday morning during my weekly mowing chore...

The rabbits in this town like my flowers...I've tried many ways to deter them: fences, Irish Spring soap & yes, even dried blood (it's disgusting mind you, and if you can stand the smell, dried blood tends to work the best)...we've tried adding sod to our fence line to ensure they can't burrow into our yard...Haven and I even run after them trying to scare them into submission...she just thinks she is trying to catch one so she can pet them. [what she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?]

Yesterday while mowing however, my instant dislike/hatred for the neighborhood rabbits changed as I came across a rabbit who had met it's Maker...yep, right there in the small garden we just planted to honor my Dad, a rabbit was comatose (aka dead as a doornail...where does that phrase come from anyway?) in our landscaping...I stopped the mower & looked at it for a few minutes with several thoughts running through my mind...

"oh, that's sad"

"I wonder what killed him?"

"maybe it's the flowers we laced with poison...just kidding" [smirk-smirk]

"Does his family know?  Do they miss him?"

"oh, why couldn't he have made it to the neighbor's yard so it's their problem?"

"hmm...garbage day is Monday"

"oh NO!  flies are starting to set in!"

"uh-OH!  Arlan is going to want me to take care of this...oh, boy!  oh, boy!"

Yep, sure enough...after a quick call to my husband, his only reassurance was, "yes, Katie...you need to take care of this as the hot sun is only going to make it worse"...UGH! 

So with shovel in hand, a large garbage bag to serve as his tomb & for me, God's grace and sense of bravery, Mr. Dead Rabbit is now waiting for Monday to meet our garbage man. 

Let me till you, riga mortise sets in quite quickly with rabbits :)

Side note: Haven was inside watching Winnie the Pooh this 10 minute drama happened.

the group ~ family weekend

This past weekend was attempt #1 to get our out-of-town "group" friends/potluck together with not just ourselves this time (click here for that weekend) but all our kiddos....
12 adults + 16 kiddos (ages 12 months - 10 years) = 28 of us on a 90 degree day!

We started at a park here in Normal with games, bubbles, playground & snacks and then headed to Megan's house for dinner, more fun & laughs...it was a great weekend and great time to briefly catch up and enjoy the warm weather and chaos of all our kids together :)  We then all attended church Sunday in Bloomington.

Friends~thanks for making the effort to come to Central IL & we look forward to our fall get-together!

since we only had 1 child to ran after vs.  twins, 3 or 5 kiddos, we decided to be the group photographer :)

Friday's Funny - craziness in Champaign

Last weekend proved fairly busy for us: Grandma was in town, I hosted a garage sale, we helped with the Big Build project & we also traveled to Champaign to help Amber celebrate her graduation from U of I-again!  She received her Masters in Social Work and will begin working at ACCFS in late June.  Congratulations Amber...we are so proud of you!

 rounding up the troops for a group photo...

 "hooray", says Charlie!

 a riveting game of Ring Around the Rosie-led by eldest cousin Amelia...

 ...the results of Ring Around the Rosie :)

 I would stick to a farmer's hat there Orlan :)

....and without TOO much complaining, a group photo was had...possibly a Christmas card?!

if you look REALLY close, Haven's shirt says "BEST BIG SIS" :)

ISU Big Build

This past Saturday, our college ministry we volunteer with raised money for orphans and used their youth, energy & strong backs to help landscape, mulch, and wash two widow(er)s homes here in Bloomington.  It took the group of 30 students about 2.5 hours to finish both home.  The Envelope Stuffing Party has raised close to $40,000 and the donations continue to come in...the kids have worked super hard & are so excited to see the Lord bless their efforts above & beyond their expectations. The money raised goes toward orphan care around the world through Lifesong for Orphans.  Both Hands is great organization the exemplifies James 1:27.

If you would like to get involved, feel free to donate at http://BothHandsFoundation.org/ISUBigBuild.aspx. 


Here's a video recap of the day: http://youtu.be/NBoXUuyWOHM.

our journey begins...

an exciting journey awaits...a journey of faith, hope & love...a journey that will stretch us, our family & help us understand James 1:27 in a whole new light...a journey that will give a sister to our Haven....

For many years adoption has been on both of our hearts...even before the good Lord introduced Arlan and I to one another, the love for the fatherless has been in our lives.  Since getting married in 2006 we have researched & prayed through many countries, options & whether or not the timing was right to bring a little Miller into our home....

...and just this past April, we decided the timing was right.  We have begun the process of adopting a little Ugandan girl with Children of All Nations and hope to have her home by the end of next summer.

We have now just begin working on our dossier and hope to get that submitted sometime this summer. We are excited, apprehensive & trusting...your prayers & love mean so much to us and we will keep you updated through this blog.

trusting in Him...Arlan, Katie & Haven

grandma's coming!...and garage sale time!

While the above two subjects don't quite go hand-in-hand, they are going on the same post!

Today we await the arrival (at approx. 10am) of my Mom from Iowa...it's been about 6 months since her last visit and Haven is especially excited! We have great plans of shopping, the Peoria Zoo and time together...I'm especially excited she is spending Mother's Day here :)

On a different note, Mom will also get to help host my first garage sale!  While I usually am an avid attender of garage sales, I will now train my thoughts on hosting one...myself & another friend from Bloomington church (right down the street) decided to tag-team our sales together, so if you are in the area, stop on by!

301 Plumage Ct. - Th. 12-7; Fri. 9-2; Sat. 8-11 multifamily sale: girls clothes (18m-10/12) misses (S, 4/6), boys clothes (4-8), stroller, double stroller, toys, books, household, train table, pink bunk bed comforters

400 Plumage Ct. – Th. 12-7; Fri. 9-2; Sat. 8-11 multifamily sale: very  nice name brand clothes for family: GAP, Old Navy, BR, JCrew, Ralph, Gymboree, Tommy; girls (0-5), boys (0-5), women (M/L, 10/12), men (M/L, 30/32), toys, books, household, misc.; Sunsetter 10 X 12 motorized  retractable awning

sing along ~ take 2

On the way to the library last week...

Friday's Funny - hugs!

This picture was taken this past January when G & G Miller served lunch at church but thought it was too cute not to post...unfortunately, the 3rd musketeer (aka Charlee) was sick that day.

NPL

We love the library...it's got great puzzles, a fun discovery area, Legos, fun nursery rhymes, Vegggie tales & Bible songs to check out and books, books, books!  Our tax $$$ is well worth it when it comes to our Normal Public Library :)   [I'm sure my mother-in-law is grinning from ear to ear!]

this is her new favorite spot...it's this cozy little fort/hut reading area with cute little chairs!

I caved....

Well, my dear blog readers...after eluding the enormous world that facebook has become, I finally caved and set up my account yesterday (sigh)...I'm excited yet apprehensive...what if no one wants to be my friend?  What if no one cares?  What if I won't like it? (sigh, sigh)

and then I remember...I probably won't post my minute by minute days but I will post lots of pictures and use my facebook account as a way to extend my blog...

and if I'm really honest with myself...I'll probably really like facebook because I like to think I'm "in the know" :)

For those of you wondering why it's taken this long for me to have an account...well, when my husband and I were both public school teachers, we just didn't want one...we didn't want to know what our student's were doing every weekend...ergh!  But now, since we are both out of education for the time being...here I come facebook world! 

PS-will you be my friend?  (hee-hee :)

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