Kinder...

Kindergarten. Chloe is starting kindergarten.
There. I said it. My throat gets tight, my nose starts to tingle and my eyes start to burn at the word.
Kindergarten.

So many said this was going to go fast...and they sorta lied...
Because honestly, up until this particular milestone...most days kinda felt like they crept at a slow crawl...but now it all seems like a flash and next year she will graduate high school...

I'm a bit of a mess. And ultimately, as a friend helped articulate, I'm afraid. I am afraid of the unknown. Afraid of her losing innocence. Afraid of mean kids. Afraid of not being in control of her days. Afraid of others influencing her choices throughout the day. Afraid of public school. Afraid that we are making a terrible mistake. Afraid that I am letting her down by not homeschooling her.

But this is the decision we feel we have been lead to make. And I must Trust. Trust the One that IS known. That is her Protector. Who IS in control. Trusting that our influence will be stronger than the influence of others. Trust the One Who will never let her down.

And I do. Most moments.

Home

We are home.
The house was cleaned.
Roses on the kitchen island.
Milk and fruit in the fridge.

Still functioning on West coast time...but good to be together again.

Just a few good reasons...

...to NOT blog right now.

Intending/hoping to 'retro blog' on my return.

But as you can see...the computer is CLEARLY not the place to be spending my time.

Dakota Rose

July 15, 2010

The Stone Family grows by 2 feet!

Dakota Rose STONE,
today is the day that it is official...your Gotcha Day.
You are forever ours and we are so grateful.
The Lord saw fit to place you into this family through the gift of adoption and we are blessed.

So much love and prayer has gone into this day...
know that your Mommy and Daddy (and the rest of us) prayed for you for years and
you are welcomed with open and ready arms to help you become
all the God has planned for you to be.
He has mighty big plans for your little self!

Day Out with Thomas

Below may be what some consider to be an insane amount of pictures for a single event.
But it simply could not be helped.
You see, the following is an overview of what might have been the best day of Elijah Hooper's life to date.
We. Rode. Thomas.
For real.

So excited...

even though he probably did not fully comprehend the awesomeness that would ensue.
The whole family.

Contrary to popular belief...Eli DID NOT karate chop Sir Topham Hatt.

Climbing on a REAL ENGINE!

Getting ready to get on Thomas!

On the train...

the train car we rode matched the train in E's hand.

He named him 'Slowpoke.'

His official name is Slowcoach...but Slowpoke is soooo much cuter.

Enjoying the ride.

Love the lighting in this picture!

Us with Mr. Conductor

(we got his autograph...he was super fun.)

THOMAS!!!

I must take this opportunity to say that Miss Chloe was a stupendous big sister this day.

While she is not a huge Thomas fan, she was happy and cooperative and excited for Eli.

We were so proud of you, Chlo.

Once again, Eli showing his overwhelming enthusiasm for picture taking.

There were TRAIN TABLES!

As an end to the perfectly sweltering day, we stopped by Choo Choo Cafe for ice cream.

Strawberry Mango Sherbet...thank you very much.

A memorable day to be sure!!

(AND we checked off one more item from our summer list...WOOHOO!)

'Big Cousins'

Soaking up the sun.

A night out to Gig Harbor.
(Mexican for dinner. Quick stop into Justice and the toy store. Ice Cream at Kelly's.)

Moat digging on the beach.

Blueberry picking in Eastern Washington.
($145 worth of blueberries to be exact.)

Meeting Kona for the first time!

It is always good to see our 'big cousins.'
Chloe, especially looks up to these young ladies...they are so, so special to her.
A couple things she brought home with her from them:
sketching clothing designs and memorizing the first verse to "Soul Sister."

Storybook Stuff

The Fourth of July at the Beach is the stuff storybooks are made of.
Fireworks on the beach and around the entire bay.
Seattle, Tacoma, Steillacom...all their fireworks are going off in the far distance.
Family. Friends. Food. in abundance.
I feel like I should pinch myself...
because this kind of beauty never entered this Midwestern girl's dreams.

Family and friends gather for dinner.

Gathering at dusk for a beach fire, sparklers and fireworks.

Both E and C assumed this position early on...
so we retreated to the 'viewing deck' upstairs.

Littles continued to join us one by one.
Sleeping bags, pillows, glowing necklaces...fireworks just far enough away.

Gangs all here!