eating dirt

First time eating dirt!

for Gary

One year later...

This is the first of what I expect to be several "one year later" posts. One year ago today we received the phone call that we had been waiting for! It is hard to believe that it was a YEAR ago that we got our referral for Mimi and first saw her picture. The details of that day are still crystal clear to me, and I hope they stay that way.

I remember looking at this picture for several months wondering about this girl who was our daughter - I wondered about her personality and temperament. Mostly, though, I wondered what her smile was like. It is strange to only have one picture of your child for several months and a few paragraphs of information - it leaves much to the imagination.

A year ago we looked at this picture of this child and wondered how she would fit in with us. Today we can say that she is a perfect fit. We are having so much fun with her. Aaron and I used to say that we thought our favorite age would be 2, when our child is getting into talking. Matea Mimi is 16 months and is talking up a storm and we are having a blast! We are a little shocked that this little kid who has only heard English for 9 months is talking so much! She cracks us up with the things that she says and we are so proud of the new things she is learning every day. We are also constantly amazed at how much hair she has. When you pull those curls straigt her hair is about 6 inches long!


Here are a couple recent pictures -Matea loves reading and will read books literally for hours if she could. I like her expression in the outside picture - it is her "what are you doing/what is that" look. Very typical look for her!

It is fun to look back and reminisce...

concept

I saw this on another blog....I really like this concept! It hits close to home because Duluth has no money, and my husband owns his own business. Granted, Macdaddy Music is not a brick and mortar store, but it makes a difference in our home when people choose to buy from him rather than a national chain. I'm going to try to chose a local more often!

a GIANT leap of faith

This is my sister, Jen:She probably won't like this picture of her, but I think it is funny. :-)

Anyway.
I love Jen and I am really proud of her. She has been growing leaps and bounds in her relationship with Jesus and is taking a large step of faith this summer.

In August Jen is going on a long term mission trip. She will be going to 11 countries in 11 months on a trip called the World Race. I am going to miss her VERY VERY much for those 11 months, but I think the Jen that comes home next June is going to be even cooler than the Jen who leaves in August. You can read her story of deciding to go on the race here.

While Jen is on the World Race she will be living in a community of around 6 people. She will be learning how to use her spiritual gifts and strengths. She will be figuring out what area of ministry she is passionate about (she will have the opportunity to experience a wide variety of ministry opportunities). Jen will be keeping a blog. You can check it out here.

If you are interested in supporting Jen through PRAYER or FINANCES you can do so through her World Race blog. Please take a moment to look through her site and check out the World Race. You'll be glad you did.

photo shoot

Last Saturday we had professional photos taken by Alison of Alison Lea Photography down in Minneapolis. We met Alison a month ago at my grandma's church and we were able to meet up for a photo shoot! We had a great time. Through the wonders of Facebook, we have also come to realize that we have quite a few mutual friends! You can get a sampling of our photo shoot (and some more great pictures that Alison has taken!) at her blog. Thanks, Alison!

30

image from etsy

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, AARON!!
love: Matea, me, and the Happy Birthday Hippo. :-)