Merry Christmas!

We had another very blessed Christmas this year! Here are a few pictures.

Michael and Mandi

One of Michael's favorite gifts...pajama pants that look like jeans. Yes, he wants to wear them in public, no I won't let him.

Michael getting kisses from his dad and Carolyn's dog, Izzy.

Michael in the elf hat that Brayden and Audrey got him. You can tell he really likes it because he's wearing it in every picture!

Brayden and Audrey. Audrey wanted to wear a hat too!

Check out Brayden's socks. He's being politically correct here...an IU sock for Grandpa Dan, Grandma Susie, and Aunt Mandi...a Purdue sock for Mommy and Uncle Michael!

Michael's brother, David, with one of his favorite gifts, a turkey decoy.

Tom, Bryce, and Shadow

We had lots of fun spending time with our families for Christmas!

Still waiting

Just thought we would give you all an adoption update...yep, we're still waiting. As you can see by the ticker, it's been 13 months. I've been waiting all along for the one-year mark, but I'm not sure why. One year ago our agency in Indianapolis said their average wait to be matched was 15-18 months. Several months ago, we both picked the date we thought we would have our baby home. Michael picked November 17, 2009 and I picked March 5, 2010. Neither has passed yet, but we are getting closer to each date AND our baby!

In the meantime, we are very excited that our agency says they do not have to do another home visit at this time. But we do have to renew our fingerprints, background checks, and physicals since a year has passed. Also, we have decided to list with another agency in Fort Wayne. They will accept our info from our original agency so we don't have to do that paperwork twice, but they do want to come and meet us. (Is all of this confusing?) Basically what it means is that we will be on two adoption waiting lists and will have twice as many chances to be chosen by a birthmother.

Please keep praying for our patience during this wait!

Rest in peace, Yohan

As some of you already know, we lost Yohan last night. He was sick and we took him to the vet for surgery, but he didn't make it. It is very strange to not have him running around, meowing, and sitting with us. We will miss him.

Boo!

I (Mandi) found this really cool idea for Halloween cookies. So I decided to make them for this thing we are doing at school this week. They were very easy and turned out pretty cute...don't you think?

Argh, maties!

Brayden turned 4 this week and had a really cool birthday party. Let's see if you can figure out the theme...

Alison made the cake, and all of the hats and eye patches. (Very impressive!) It was lots of fun and thank goodness no one had to walk the plank!

Weekend Fun

We spent some time with Mandi's family at the lake this past weekend and had lots of fun!

Brayden and Audrey looking for fish

Alison shucking corn for lunch and dinner. Yummy!

This is what Michael and Eric do on a beautiful day at the lake. (Eric was on call for work, so he had an excuse...sort of.)

The grillmaster

Brayden enjoying the boat ride...

and the chilly air!

Alison, Audrey, and Mandi

Susie and Dan (Love that shirt!)

Not only is Michael the grillmaster, he is also a professional boat driver.

A very big blanket for such a little girl!

Mandi getting ready for many games of Hide and Seek

And a big thanks to Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Maurice for letting us use the lake cottage once again!!

It's a miracle!

Most of you know I (Mandi) had LASIK surgery on July 29th. It was the most amazing thing ever! I can see. Really...I can see without my contacts or glasses. In fact I ceremoniously threw away my contacts, and I'm going to give my glasses to other needy blind people! The surgery didn't hurt a bit. The worst part, besides having to wear my glasses for 6 weeks, was having to wear the "bug-eye" shields for 14 hours after the surgery. And I still have to wear them while sleeping for a few more nights.

They just want to make sure I don't rub my eyes and ruin the healing process. Michael took very good care of me during the whole process and keeps asking me if I can see various objects! AND I CAN!!! Wooohoooo!!

Golfing fun

Last week Mandi and Michael went golfing with Mandi's dad. Michael and Dan are pretty good, but Mandi is still learning.

Michael getting ready to hit the ball

Mandi and her dad...check out that cool hat.

Mandi and Michael

Michael and Dan

Michael patiently waiting his turn

Mandi may not play well, but she has some very cool golf shoes.

There was no cussing or throwing of golf clubs, so all in all it was a great day!

10 Months

As you can see by the ticker, it has been 10 months today since we've been officially on the adoption waiting list. At times it has seemed much longer, and others it is hard to believe time has gone by so "quickly." So, we are still in waiting mode. Anyway, we thought it would be fun if you guys would give us some suggestions for what to do while we continue to wait. What do you think? Go ahead, give us your best stuff...but be nice!


But these things I plan won't happen right away.
Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place.
It will not be late by a single day.

Habakkuk 2:3
(Thanks, Jennifer, for bringing this verse to our attention!)

4th of July

Michael and Mandi spent the 4th of July with Michael's family at the lake. We are very blessed to be able to do this every 4th of July, as well as Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends too! You might notice Mandi wearing her glasses in a few pictures in recent or upcoming blogs. She is going to have Lasik surgery on July 29th and can't wear her contacts in preparation for that. Even though she HATES wearing her glasses, she is very excited to have the surgery and never be blind again!! You might also notice Michael wearing some very big and silly sunglasses in the following picture. He's been having some issues with bright lights lately, so his Uncle Bob loaned him these glasses. (Sorry Bob, we didn't mean silly, we meant cool and manly!)

M and M

Fun with sparklers: Vicki, Sam, SarahAnne, Gary, and Dalayna

This is the boat-in church service we go to on Sundays when we are at the lake. We sit on the lawn of the Oakwood Inn, which is unfortunately now closed, while the preacher is on the big boat out in the middle of Lake Wawasee! The boat is called The Lillypad and you can also ride on it for the service. Maybe we'll do that sometime too.

Mandi and Uncle Bob...IU vs. Purdue, even at church!

The group this past Sunday: Aunt Bonnie, Uncle Bob, Uncle Maurice, Gary, Kelly, SarahAnne, Sam, and Vicki

Zoo Trip

Mandi went to the zoo with her mom, Alison, Brayden, and Audrey last week. They had a great time even if it was a bit chilly!

Alison and Brayden

Our tour guide

There wasn't much sun, but Audrey sure did look good!

Brayden on Sandy. Look at that face...pure excitement!

Carousel ride

Giraffes...Mandi's favorite.

The train ride was Brayden's favorite part of the trip. Or was it the pony ride? Or the popcorn?

Aren't we cute?

Here are some random fun pictures from the past few weeks.

We went to Eric and Alison's house last weekend to celebrate Eric's (late)birthday. This is Brayden (and me) after he found out "we" won the game the whole family had been playing. He helped me roll the dice and we kicked everyone else's behinds!

Cowgirl Audrey. She loves to dress up!

Spiderman, I mean Eric, likes to dress up too.

The other day Dalayna and Bryce were here. They love to feed the fish. Here they are, with Michael, watching the fish eat.

Just us. Aren't we cute?