Tea time in the garden

Oh what a lovely day for some tea!

Here is your tea madame!

Pinkies up!

I'm cute.

Lovely

Soon to be beautiful red strawberries!

More tea please!

I feel like someone is watching me.

Cheese!

Okay Mom I'm trying to act proper!

Oh alright!

Manners Smanners!

Goofballs:)

Chipping away

We have been missing in action for a while, my sister and her husband were in town for a couple weeks so we were busy with the fam.  While they were here we got an unexpected surprise that some friends of theirs had a beach house on Camano Island that was available, so they offered it to all of us this past weekend!  It was such a blast!  Unfortunately, I packed everything but the camera...grrr!  But take my word for it that it was an amazing time.  In between visiting family I have been tackling the last bit of our court documents like a mad woman!  I have almost all of it done, everything has been pretty easy to get accept for one document.  Our mortgage verification statement it has been a thorn in my side.  Seriously people the paperwork we need for court is so crazy!  We have a document for confirmation of home address from our county accessor, our statutory warranty deed from when we signed for our home, our 30+ page homestudy with pictures of our home inside and out and a statement of living conditions from our social worker verifying the square footage, number of rooms and so on with our address clearly stated on the document.  And these documents are just for our home!  Oh and did I mention they all need to be in duplicate?  The mortgage verification statement is just a letter from our mortgage company stating the property address and description, that we are indeed the owners, that we have been paying on the property for a certain period of time and are in good standing.  That's all it basically needs to say, BUT they have been unwilling to help.  The supervisor said they are unable to write such a letter or have it notarized, which everything needs to be notarized:/  So we pray, that's honestly all we can do.  We literally could get travel dates any day now and these documents need to be apostilled and sent to Sergey's country 10 days prior to our court date.  We don't have a lot of time and I hit 28 weeks on Friday...yikes!!!  So anywho prayer from y'all would be wonderful!  Please pray for that one person at GMAC mortgage who will understand our situation and come through for us.  Please also pray for Sergey's family as they are being asked to sign away their rights so that Sergey may be adopted.  I don't know his families situation but I can't imagine that this would be an easy time for any family.  Please pray that they will be at peace knowing he is going to be with a family who already loves him like their own and will give him everything he needs.  We are hoping to hear an update very soon, but just in case you don't hear from us for a little while just know we are chipping away at paperwork. This is a perfect picture of what it looks like around here while we're working on paperwork, Ash with two computers on his lap and kids climbing all over him:)  I take up the other side of the couch with two cushions covered in paperwork.  Some day this will be a distant memory and the computers and documents on our laps will be replaced with sweet Sergey...I can't wait!!!!!

Exciting news!

We found out on Tuesday that they were submitting our paperwork in Sergey's country.  We then found out on Wednesday that everything went very well and that the ministry and judge were very positive towards our case!  We were then told that we would have a waiting period of ten days to hear back any news if we could move forward and we were hoping and praying all of our paperwork looked good and nothing needed to be fixed.  Today we got an email saying that after only two days, they are saying this is the fastest turn around time for any registration they have ever seen, that we are officially registered!!!!!!! (Cue Alleluia chorus)  We are so excited and are walking around with dazed looks thinking,"is this really happening?" and have huge smiles on our faces.  We could be traveling very soon so we are running around getting the rest of our paperwork finished, which isn't very much thank God!  Thank you so much for your prayers!  We can't wait to meet Sergey!

Happy Mother's Day

She likes to talk...a lot.

Monday's and Tuesday's we wait for Prestin after school for math tutoring.  During this time I hear about the days events from my girls, especially Tatum.  She tells me EVERYTHING... the good and the bad.  She is very honest.  I like that she feels she can tell me things, even when she is wrong and knows she may get in trouble.  She is always ready to make things right, which I also love.  I hope and pray we will always have this kind of communication.  She is also hilarious, which helps during her long winded stories.

Hey Mom, today at school.......

When I was on the green bars.........

And then I........

It was so embarrassing!

(Random dancing)

Mom, take a picture of this.

Mom, where do camels live?

Um, I forgot what I was going to say.

Oh yeah!

Knock, knock!

I bought a pink phone

That's what I said to my husband when he came home from a four day trip to Canada:) I had earlier that morning gone with a few gal pals to the Mill Creek Garage Sales and was excited to share my new finds with him.  Funny thing, he wasn't as excited as I was about it.  Lol, he's a good sport:)

Seriously how could I have said no?  It's in perfect condition, I think it was in the PB teen catalog a few years back.  It's adorable and I am on the hunt for the perfect spot to hang it.

The next find was this adorable clock, never been used and still in it's box!  I got the phone and the clock for a steal!

The Lady I bought the clock from threw in this little lady cause I thought she was fun.  She makes me laugh!

I got a sweet little book for the baby that I forgot to take a picture of and a bag of Littlest Pet Shops for my girls.  All in all it was a great day with good friends, found some happy treasures and still came home with  money in my pocket.  It was a great weekend.  Thank you Lord for the simple pleasures you give.

It was a good day.

We celebrated Ash's birthday yesterday.  The sun was shining, lunch was yummy, the kiddos were well behaved, Cabela's was beckoning, fun was had and brownies with ice cream, hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream and sprinkles for dinner...it was a good day!  We are so incredibly grateful for him.  I love the humor and fun he brings to our lives daily.  I'm smiling just thinking about him:)  I love that man!  Happy Birthday!

So much sass!

Treasure Hunting

I've been doing a little treasure hunting at some of the local shops in our town.  Thrifting and junking is such a hit or miss process,  but last week was a really good week!  Here are some of my finds.

Vintage pillow cases in perfect condition! -Goodwill

Old soda crate- From one of my favorite little shops Finder's Keeper's

Globe- Finder's Keeper's  My sister painted the rose picture back in High School, it's one of my very favorite things in my home:)

Old schoolroom chair- Goodwill  It's a little beat up but I think that's what gives it character.  I'm debating whether or not to add some spray paint to the metal.  Either way it was a fun buy and not a huge investment.

A Happy Honey do

This space on the side of the fridge had nothing going on so I asked Ash to hang a few hooks, then I added all my aprons both new and vintage for some color.  I'm so happy with how it turned out...thanks honey!

Madi likes it too:)