I titled this post Summer of '18 and then went back and realized I haven't posted anything since November...almost a year ago! How does that even happen?! There is a Royce update at the bottom (unfortunately there isn't much of an update besides: we wait).
Oma and Opa visited in December and for the first time ever, we took on a project and put them to work. The girls' room need paint and a make-over and thanks to my parents, we got it done! It's wonderful! New paint, new curtains, new shelves, new room!
In February Andy went to Haiti for a pastor's conference and spent 3 hours with Royce. It was bittersweet, but we are thankful he got to see him. While he was there, the girls and I took a road trip to Louisville and met Nana and Papa there for some fun. The pictures of this cave do NOT do it justice.
Our annual Valentine's boxes were a hit at our co-op once again. Hadley (Mom) did a fridge with a working light and Joni (Mom) did a front door with a working doorbell :)
Our Spring Break theme this year was a little odd....each day was something new.
MYSTERY MONDAY--we had a scavenger hunt and they had to de-code this letter to find out what on the menu for dinner
TIE-DIE TUESDAY--we did shirts for the first time ever (super fun and easy), then had tie-dye lunch, and after dinner, we tie-dyed eggs.
WACKEY WEDNESDAY--just a reason to dress crazy and act crazy :)
THROW-BACK THURSDAY--we had been planning a camping trip and what better way to "go back" then have to gather your own fire-wood and eat off the land (and by land I mean all the food we brought with us).
FUN FRIDAY--camping with dear friends, outside, in the dirt...not many things are more fun than that :)
We were so blessed to have Nana live near us for a few wonderful months. We saw her almost everyday and we miss having them around since they moved to Tennessee. We are praying their next church is in Kansas (and I think they are too). Can you guess what holiday this was?
Our Easter this year was different than ever before....we had the table set, spent all day Saturday preparing Easter brunch for 10 people, got up and got our dresses on and our hair done and before we walked out the door, Hadley succumbed to the stomach bug. We praised the Lord from home that Easter morn. HE IS RISEN!
My parents came out for a quick trip to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate Andy's and Joni's birthdays. The picture with Andy wearing his birthday ears has somehow been misplaced (but I promise it did exist).
Using some expiring airline miles, Andy surprised us all with a trip to Las Vegas to visit our dear friends. It was an amazing trip! Jason and Janice were gracious hosts and Jaden and the girls played their little hearts out. We also celebrated our anniversary by taking in a Cirque du Soleil show.
In May the girls also made their acting debut at our little theater in town. They were evil minions and did such a great job. I think they have inherited acting skills from their father :)
And with the start of Summer comes the miles and miles on the road...it's just how it is for our family. Our first stop was Wyoming to see Oma and Opa and the Pushcars (who we hadn't seen in a year) and to spend Father's Day with, well, my father. We were also able to tour the Bronco's stadium in Denver (and meet Kenzie ;) ) thanks to Uncle Ben who was the executive chef at the time).
Second trip: 3 days later a youth conference in West Virginia took us to the Eastern side of the country. SEMI-GRAPHIC IMAGE COMING...WARNING YOU NOW.
We had the most traumatic 4th of July to date. We are thankful that no else was hurt (including the girls-- I still don't understand how Hadley wasn't hit) but we are now super on board with firework safety. The burns have healed and Andy's hearing is mostly back :/ but fireworks are no joke. Even after all that, we still enjoyed our first T-bones game with friends.
Our third trip was back to South Dakota for our youth mission trip. It was one of the best mission trips we've had thus far. On the way home we stopped at Storybook Land which also had a the Land of Oz. It was a good place to break up the 12 hour bus trip.
Our fourth trip was just me :) I took one of our teens back to home in Dallas and got to stay with our dear college friends.
And last but not least...Hadley and Joni had their first Grandcamp in Tennessee with Nana and Papa. We took a week off to pick them and enjoy some of Tennessee as well. It was a wonderful trip (except when Nana broke her arm).
That's us in them there falls!
ROYCE UPDATE: It was an amazing year looking back and we have just so so much to be thankful for. That being said, we yearn for the day when our son comes home. Waiting is the pits but we have been blessed (by God alone) with the ability to wait patiently (most of the time). We are still waiting for the Exit Letter. They told us it would take 2-12 months and we are in month 19. There were 70 families in our situation and now there are 2. Please keep praying that we get that Letter so that other things can start happening. He is doing well and we get pictures often from other families who are visiting their kids, but we still long for day he is here. Love to you all!
