Yep, we packed it all in and enjoyed every second.

We were so looking forward to this past week, not only were our sweet friends getting married, but my sister was coming in to photograph the wedding! On Wednesday as we awaited her arrival, The Call, that seems to come quite often now (although we don't always end up getting new children) came. Would you be able to take a 4 day old newborn and his 2 yr. old brother? Ok! The call came at 3pm, they were dropped off at 4pm, I taught piano lessons from 6-7, and my sister and her friend arrived shortly after. That's a full day! I will say though, this transition with the kids was so much more seemless. We have learned our limitations and what works for our family, what the best sleeping arrangements are, and this time going from 2 to 4 was pretty smooth. We girls had mani/pedis scheduled for that evening (my awaited Mother's Day gift!) and out we went. Trying to explain to the girls that didn't speak English well what fostering was, was interesting. She kept saying, 5 days old? Where's your belly? Believe me, I would not be sitting there if I had just given birth. :) Wow, even though the baby being up every 2 hours was still exhausting, having a newborn without having the physical recovery side is wonderful. So on we marched with our week.....

Btw, most of these pics were taken by my sister or her assistant, Honeycomb Photography.

I don't know when my sister took these, but I had to laugh. For not having much hair, she gets some serious bedhead. :) And she's part monkey.

So Friday arrived and off our 2 bonus littles went to a court hearing where some family members were approved to take them in, so they didn't come back. Although we knew this was a possibility, it still tugs at your heart. Knowing their background, you just pray that those little ones will be watched over and taken care of in the best way. Although, it was providential as we looked to the weekend and knowing how much more interesting it was going to be juggling 4 kids instead of 2. Although the wedding was only an hour away, between rehearsal on friday and events on Saturday, we decided to make a short little getaway out of it. We haven't been away as a family since last fall, and there is something so, so refreshing about little respites, short as they may be. We're so glad we chose to stay over, we had so much fun and the kiddos sure adored staying in the hotel.

Aunt Katie is always snapping away...... (lucky for us.)

 Love the scarf from Brown Eyed Girlies. :)

Rehearsal dinner was in this "castle", Graham loved it.

Eden is entertaining herself by stacking creamers.  

The hotel had an indoor playground (genius, since it was so cold for May!). But they were most excited about the pool. At 6:20am Saturday morning, Graham was standing at our bed asking to go swimming. Lucky for us, it didn't open till 9. And Madagascar was on. :)

Wedding time! So thankful the sun came out and it warmed up a little!

 Yep, that's the 2 yr. old's back end.

So happy for this couple who has waited a long time for this day! Every detail was beautiful.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon and it was camping time for the boys! Andrew & Graham have been very anxiously awaiting some warm weather to pull out the tent. We thought the end of May would be good, but it ended up being in the 30's - brrrr. Extra glad I wasn't there. :) But the boys had the best time. This girl doesn't love the idea of camping, particularly with a 2 yr. old in a tent. And I foresee this as something the boys get to do together for many years to come.

So while the boys camped, the girls hit the Strip District and North Shore and enjoyed some nice relaxing down time complete with movie and Pittsburgh Popcorn.

And then our fleeting time was gone..........we love our aunt katie and thankful she could be paid to be here - yippee! Thankful for many blessings of the week and time with our little family.

A bittersweet goodbye

This is my friend, Sarah. Anyone that knows her will tell you she is sweetest person you will ever meet. If you ask her about her summer plans, she won't tell about a planned trip to the beach or going to see family. Instead you might hear of the life-changing event of their family as they prepare to go across the world to a place so opposite of the United States that it's hard to comprehend. This week people are tramping in & out of their house as most of their earthly belongings are given away or sold for a meager price. They are currently figuring out how to fit everything they own for a family of five into 10 suitcases. 10. This includes books, toys, clothes, homeschool material, shoes, technology.....can you imagine, at this moment, pairing your life down to 10 suitcases? And they do it with joy, love, & no regrets. We will miss their family so much. But we are filled with joy with them as this time that they have been preparing for so long, has finally arrived.

It was such a sweet time as a few friends gathered to share our love with Sarah and pray over every aspect of their upcoming journey.

Our kids love their kids and it's hard for them to say goodbye as well. We were grateful to share in one last birthday party - and what fun the laser bowling was! It was Eden's first time bowling and she got a spare on her first turn. :) Those little ramps are so genius.

 For Valentine's Day, Andrew's gift to me was a "day away". I hadn't had a chance yet to take the time away, but it ended up that Sarah and Stacy (our pastor's wife) & I were able to plan some time away together. We got pedicures, had lunch, and shopped till we dropped at the Outlets. I was so thankful to share my day out with these 2 friends! Followed by a baby shower in the evening, I was gone from 9:30am-11pm! Andrew reminded me when I got home that my coupon was for 9-5. Oops. :) Thankful for his good care of the kiddos, even though sleep schedules were interesting that day. a-hem.

While mommy's away....the kiddos play........ 

I really don't recall french frys & hot dogs being in the agenda.

We got 6 inches of snow on March 25th. Anyone jealous??? Anyone???

spring will come....spring will come.....

And that's my 3 crazies.

hello. goodbye. Psalm 103.

These should probably be 3 separate posts, but in my limited blogging minutes I am going to have to combine.

hello Moon.

 If you've been on facebook, you are probably aware that we have a student from China that is staying with us for the month of August. It's kind of a roundabout story, a friend of a friend of an aquaintance.......but we are happy to have her here! With a guest room, full bathroom, and private balcony in our lower level we are thankful for a great space for guests, even that stay for a month!

We are learning a few Chinese words and she treated us to a Chinese dinner! We are having fun showing her fun places around Pittsburgh. And many times I magically find toys picked up and dishes done. How wonderful is that? :) We have had discussions on the differences in our cultures, the perceptions of Americans, the freedoms we enjoy (being able to jump in a car and go anywhere or have as many babies as we like), how the world began, how the world will end, communion, gays & lesbians (not seen in China), God and much more. We have found Connect 4 and Go Fish to be good games to play and that the kid's books are very helpful in teaching English! I have also been helping her plan a 7 city tour (that I totally want to go on!). With $5 Megabus fares from Philly to NYC to DC and $1 greyhound fares from San Diego to LA and $150 airfare from DC to San Diego it's more affordable than you might think! She also has a hostel membership and so is able to stay places for sometimes as low as $15 a night. In a few cities, she is also staying with some of our generous friends along the way! It's been quite the adventure to plan. Did I mention I'm jealous? :)

*

Goodbye Kristin. {sniff, sniff}

This girl was not supposed to grow up and leave us! What a blessing she has been to our family. Who doesn't love that person that calls and says I'll be there in 15 minutes. And you don't even have to change out of your pj's. {She probably wishes we would.} hehe. She has babysit for us many times and our kiddos love her. We will miss her so, so much but know she's off to an adventure as a freshman at Liberty University.

*

Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

My heart has been so burdened for so many friends as of late. So many are going through such difficult struggles. My prayer list has grown longer than I would wish it to be.

-
 The twins babies born seemingly healthy, only to go into heart failure. 

The preemie baby who was/is touch & go.

{All 3 babies, by God's grace, are getting stronger!}

The friend whose father has stage IV cancer.

10 of Andrew's co-workers suddenly laid off.

A friend with a miscarriage.
The church family being divided.

A baby born and the mother suffering horrible complications.

The friend with cancer. 

The friends facing uncertainty.
The wife with 3 young kids who faces losing her husband to disease.
The mom with a 2 day old baby whose husband is killed in a car accident.
-
The angst in my heart for these situations, all occurring just in a few short months time, is so much. Does anyone else's daily struggles seem small right now? We can only cling to our hope in God, knowing He loves us unconditionally.
We sang this song in church on Sunday, a promise we must live.
You must stop & listen to it {maybe twice}.

friends

Last weekend, some friends of ours that we have known since college, made Pittsburgh their meeting spot. We were happy to see them and hang out with them for the weekend!

One minor point, as with the rest of the country, we were facing record high temps. On friday I believe it hit 105 + humidity. And that's when our neighborhood tranformer blew. So we proceeded to be without power, lights, fans, a/c, etc....for about 20 hours. It was so hot. My poor kiddos were covered in sweat when they were sleeping. Not what you want to happen, especially when you have guests. :-/ We made it though and it finally came back on!

Graham had so much fun with Brynne.

It's hard to s.h.a.r.e. when you're two.

But most of the time they had lots of fun!

I wasn't one itty.bitty.bit. desiring to be in their state. :)

They were troopers!

We all played volleyball in college together.

This reminds me why I played back row and they played front. =)

 

So Graham was allowed to go without many clothes for much of the weekend because it was so hot. I am sure we looked like total hippy parents. I promise, he usually does wear clothes. :)

We came home from church on Sunday and were having one last meal before they all left. Somehow G ended up in just his tighty whiteys. (Does anyone else get distracted when you have company and feel like you don't know what your child is really doing?!)

 Then as we were saying goodbye on the front porch, he suddenly drops those and starts peeing in our front yard. Yep, one of our most embarrassing parent moments to date.

Did I mention we were hippies? =)  

I can only hope Brynne is not scarred for life.

FRIENDS. FUN. 4TH. FIREWORKS. how to sum it up?!

We were so excited that our friends, Jeff & Holly, from Va Beach came to visit for the 4th weekend! We tried to give them as much Pittsburgh flavor as we could pack in 3 days, around naps of course! They were such good sports as most of the time we were plowing thru crowds of people!

Max & Marcus were good little troopers!

G & Max had lots of fun playing together. They are 6 months apart, and yep, G is twice his width. :)

the boys

 

we were outnumbered!

thanks random picture-taker, these don't usually turn out!Jeff & Andrew took in the Pirates game, and they actually beat the Phillies!

On to the fireworks....................did I mention there were lots of people?!!

We basically watched the fireworks from somewhere down there!

Marcus was more into them them Max or Graham!

G immediately started crying when they started and said he wanted to go ni-night. So this was his postition during them, apparently he was over the excitement!

he's never been up 3 hours past his bedtime!it was a great fireworks show!!

Fun weekend! We are exhausted, I am pretty sure we exhausted our guests! But it was all good. Of course our favorite moment of the weekend we didn't get pics of - Saturday night after the kids went to bed, we grilled bbq chicken on the deck and topped it off with s'mores. ah, peaceful!

Thankfully, we have monday to crash & recupe! I am sorry our guests aren't so lucky. :(

I do believe the 4th of July should ALWAYS be on a weekend. :)

Goodbye, Friend [See you later]

This week I said goodbye to my dear friend from Turkey. We knew the parting was coming as they were only here for 6 months, but due to her father's illness, suddenly in a weekend she was gone. I thank God for allowing our paths to cross, and I pray they will again in the future.

Fulya - it seemed like an unusual friendship.

You were 30-something, I was 20-something.

You were an architect, I was a piano teacher.

You were a Muslim, I was a Christian.

You spoke my language (mostly!!), I did not speak yours.

But yet, our hearts formed a fast friendship.

Maybe it was because we were both stay-at-home moms now.

Maybe it was because our little boys were one month apart and we loved seeing them learn & grow & interact together.

Maybe it was because we loved doing new things.

Maybe it was because God joined our hearts together.

But I loved that you were always up for a playdate or an adventure.

We had some wonderful times - the picnic in the park, the Children's Museum, sharing Thanksgiving together, the Science Museum, celebrating all of our birthdays, dinner at your apartment, many playdates, bowling.............

I am making Andrew start saving for tickets to Istanbul now. :)

I will miss you, my friend. And, I sincerely hope, I will see you later.

Cookie Time

I don't know if anyone else saw this, but a while ago, Betty Crocker had a thing where you could sign up to be picked to host a cookie party. And they provided everything! So I thought, why not? Then a couple of weeks ago I got an email saying I had been picked as a host. Oh shoot....now I had to plan a party! But it turned out really fun. They sent me a whole box of STUFF including some cookie mixes, coupons, items for goody bags, lots of misc. things AND a $15 gift card to purchase other ingredients. THANK YOU Betty Crocker, pretty great!

So....I started planning. They were trying to promote treats you could make using their cookie mixes as your starting base.

Here we are ready to go...

in corner #1 - chocolate cranberry biscotti

corner #2 - Christmas tree brownies

corner #3 - ooey -gooey caramel bars

corner #4 - peanut butter kisses

Everyone starts their assignments...looks intense, huh?!!

1st pan into the oven!

These were the most fun to do!

take home goodies

The chaos in our wake...





We had a fun (if slightly crazy!) group including a few friends from church, 2 of my neighbors, and 2 other friends from the community. There were lots of laughs!

Everyone got to take home a plate of cookies and I even had enough to take to some of my other neighbors as well. Can I just say I am a big fan of baking together? It was a lot of fun!

Thanks Betty (if I hadn't mentioned you enough already). I should seriously get paid for this. I'm also available for commercials. :)