cheers to 2010!

On New Year's Day and the whole year through,

I hope the kindness you've given to others returns many times to you.

May HOPE, love, and warmth be in your heart's possessing,

and may the New Year bring you and yours many blessings.

Happy New Year!!!

Seven...

Our handsome J. turned 7 today!

He's our firstborn son.

A boy with an amazing "heart".

a lover of LEGOS.

Everyone's friend.

a bit reserved.

We love you J. And are so very proud to be your Momma & Daddy.

You make us smile... and laugh lots too.

You fill our days with JOY : )

Happy Birthday Sweet boy!!!

J. One year old

J... The birthday boy & the robot cake Dad made him : )
(Love his toothless smile!)

Here's what J. had to say on his special day

What do you want to be when you grow up?

"Thats kind of hard... umm... a Police Officer"

What makes you laugh?

Jokes

What bugs you?

Noises

How tall will you be?

60 pounds

Favorite Food?

Donuts

Favorite Candy?

Gum

What do you like most about your family?

My whole family loves Jesus

Favorite Color?

Blue

Favorite thing about Mom?

Her kissing & hugging : )

Favorite thing about Dad?

His tickles

What do you think about turning 7?

"I'm older"

Happy birthday to you!

Love,

Momma, Dad, M, E, & S

another happy birthday.

Our baby turned 4 today!

4 years ago, Thanksgiving day, he entered the world; purple, very quiet, and beautiful!

7#, 20" long, brown hair, big eyes, our second son :)

S. on his new "big" bed

S. enjoyed the day being all about him : )

His two known requests for his 4th birthday;

A Big Bed

(He was still sleeping in a toddler bed)

And BatMan guys

*And he got both.... It was a perfect 4 year olds kind of day!

Here's what he had to say on his special day...

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Dad

What is your favorite color?

Blue

Favorite animal?

horseys & zebras

Favorite food?

Hot dogs

(*And was his requested birthday dinner : )

How tall will you be?

"this tall"

*As you climbs into my lap he adds... "I want to be little Momma, not big"

Favorite Candy?

Suckers

What makes you laugh?

Jace

My friends are...

Mrs. Terrie

(His preschool teacher : )

Favorite Song?

Bob the Builder...Can we fix it! : )

Happy Birthday S!
We love you more everyday
Your enthusiasm & energy for life makes all our days brighter.
We thank God for bringing you into our lives 4 years ago :)

brave.

Our Sweet E. recently started a new school... with a smile of confidence... wow!
(*At an age where life can already seem hard.)



She is doing awesome.




E. has a beautiful attitude and courage.... her faith shining through.




She makes me want to be brave.





We are so proud of you "Sunshine"... You're an inspiration... We love you!

Happy November & more...

Some how nearly a month has passed since the last time I posted.

If anyone still stops by every now and then, please forgive me.

As usual, our November has been busy... but this year we've had some added excitment.

We have celebrated several birthdays, with more to come....

My Dad turned 60... Happy Birthday Dad-We Love You!

First week of November, DJ landed in the hospital for a weeks stay; for an urgent disc replacement surgergy. (due to a severly herniated disc in his neck)

Thank God... for the miracle of medicine & technology...DJ is on the mend... And prayerfully heading back to work soon. *He's stir crazy and feeling well... so he's looking for something more to occupy his time again :) We love you, Hunnie!

And we celebrated the "birth" of us becoming parents :)

Our beautiful M. turned 13!

Where does the time go... feels like yesterday she was placed in my arms

8#- 21"long - fuzzy brown hair- bright blue eyes

Our hearts were changed forever that sweet November day.

*M. -4 years old*

Our beautiful birthday girl!

What do you want to be?

a teacher

Favorite Things:

Food: Pizza

Color: blue

What annoys you?

bugs-they are gross & annoying

Saver or Spender?

both... I save it to spend it :)

Favorite thing about our family?

They are always there for me, well almost always.

Favorite Candy?

Crunch

What makes you laugh?

jokes & funny comments

My friends are....

nice & caring

Something you want to get better at?

drawing

What do you have to say about turning 13?

nothing different... just one year older

Favorite Song?

"Give me your eyes"

*We love you Sweetie. And are so proud of the young woman you have become.

May you continue to follow after God and be the unique and beautiful person He created you to be!

Happy 13th Birthday!

Stay tuned for more birthday celebrations & family fun ... God Bless

pumpkins

The kids each made a creative one of a kind face on their chosen pumpkins this week.




But first we had to clean out the insides... a couple love the job, one can't stand the smell, another isn't all the interested in the "slimey" job... but each of them did a part - with a little help & encouragement from each other! :)


"Create in me a pure heart, God." Psalm 51:10




"Happiness makes a person smile." Proverbs 15:13




Our pumpkin expressions included, "surprised", "mischievious", & "happy"... Unique, just like our precious children =)





"If anyone belongs to Christ, then he is made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new!" II Corinthians 5:17

Happy Halloween Friends!

a Tuesday treasure

My sweet sweet J.









Has a way of melting his Momma's heart :)












My "Tuesday Treasure" went something like this;







J: Can someone make me a sandwich?








Mom: Sure Buddy. What kind do you want? (I'm sure the dinner I had just made was not to his liking- but oh well)









J: turkey









*I make his simple request; plain turkey on plain bread.












J: "Mom, you are my superhero"














Ahhhhh, shucks.... it was nothing.





J's sweet words often make me smile, but none quite like this day :)














Wow, nice to be appreciated :)

Have a great day!








Love,
J's Superhero (At least for the day)

"officially" waiting.

October 9, 2009...

marked us DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia)

*Our pile of paper work has made it's way to Ethiopia and we are now on a waiting list for a referral.*

And we're "officially" in the waiting stage of our adoption journey :)

Our hearts are leaping for JOY!

Though, we've been told "this" is the toughest part of the journey... we are estatic to be on to the next step!

But to be honest... we are also a bit disappointed to have had it take so long to get here and to hear our "waiting" time may be longer than orginally anticipated... but we will trust!

Mostly, we find ourselves able to rest in God's plan & His "perfect timing"... but occassionally get stuck in the silly timeline in our own head... the longing of our hearts to be fulfilled-NOW!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Thanking God for His faithfulness & love today and every day and His patience.

Please continue to keep our family and our adoption journey in your prayers.

We will continue to keep you posted.... with even just a "how we're doing" :)

God Bless.

The Fisher Family

Yeah for Fall!

We got out for our annual "pumpkin" hunt.
It was windy, but it wasn't snowing & the sun was shining... Praise the Lord!


M. & S. find the perfect pumpkin for our little guy :)
M. such a good big sister!


E. found one just right for her.

J. intiated this pic, love that toothless grin :)

S... hmmm, does that smile just spell T.R.O.U.B.L.E.?

Definetely our lil' turkey :)

It was a JOY to see the sunshine again this weekend after so many 'dreary' days before.

The time together on our annual "Pumpkin Patch" adventure was even better.

Blessings to you this Fall season!

you have to see this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA_uwWPE6lQ&feature=player_embedded

Click on the code above to watch a short video clip

I think, well worth the 3 minutes and 53 seconds of time

Have a great week!

Fall?

We were planning on heading to Taylors Falls this sunshiney Autumn weekend...

for our Annual "Fall Colors" Family weekend.

A day spent together.

Taking in all God's colorful Autumn beauty.

Feeling the sunshine on our faces.

Breathing in the crisp and refreshing Fall air.

Listening to the crunch of leaves beneath our feet and the sound of sweet laughter (mixed with a little bickering too, of course :) )

Topping it off by stopping at a Pumpkin patch to pick out our individual-unique pumpkins.

Our plans have changed today...

Instead we woke up to the first of our many Minnesota snows.

J. and S. couldn't wait to head out and experience it.

The two of them quickly dressed and tracked down all the required "equipment" :)

They made tracks, tried to make snowballs, and felt the cold air against their cheeks.

Still praying [just maybe] we'll get a chance to take in all the Fall colors.

And that temperatures will rise just enough to do it without all our Winter gear on... I guess we could settle for a drive through the country, if nothing else.

Thanking God today, for ALL His beauty around us!

May you enjoy a blessed weekend!

music.

{Praise} Music is one of those things that makes my heart happy!!!

Listen & Enjoy =)

Have a great weekend!

opps! Wordless.... Thursday???

blog love.

I am a lover of blogs;











Adoption blogs.














Family Blogs.














Friend Blogs.














Even a few stranger blogs.











When given a few free minutes, I sneak a peek.














I have been and continue to be encouraged, inspired, and challenged!













I have been moved to seek Him... Laugh at myself... Love with my whole heart... Live everyday to the fullest!





It's great getting a new idea, something fun to share, and I become inspired to write an update- including something "different" to our blog.




















Thanks to those who share their lives, journey's, faith, ideas and more... with loved ones & strangers alike.

















Going to update tomorrow with "Wordless Wednesday"... a post of only pictures!
(Here's hoping I've got some to share)























Have a blessed day!

ticker.

For fun we have added a ticker to the "bottom" of our blog.

It depicts our journey since the beginning of the "paper chase".

It's our plan to change it or add another when our Dossier reaches Ethiopia (DTE) and our OFFICIAL waiting begins :)

Just for "ticks"... Enjoy!

Dossier to DC!

We just received notification our dossier is on it's way to DC.

There some more "authenticating" will go on,

then it's off to Ethiopia!!!

I'm sure this process can seem silly to some...

but each "step" brings us closer to welcoming home our children to their forever family!

We'll continue to keep you posted...

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Wooo Hooo!!! Praise the Lord! =)

hi

We are officially in the "waiting" stage of our adoption!




Our dossier has been handed over, and making way to all respective stops; last we heard it was at our agency headquarters in Grand Rapids MI and will move on from there :) We were starting to wonder if we'd ever move to the next step...Praising God for His perfect timing!





In other news: Our youngest, S. started Preschool on Monday... As you can probably tell from his "smile" he was excited to do what his big sisters and brother do... Go to school.



We are very proud of your courage and determination Little guy. Love you xoxo

Your prayers for our family continue to be appreciated.

Have a blessed week!

good.

"...in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Romans 8:28

state seals.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11







We have now had the each of the necessary adoption documents "State Sealed".

In a matter of days, our Dossier will be ready for send off... First stop; our Adoption agency, then Washington DC for authentication, and final destination "Ethiopia".

We are looking forward to being in the "Waiting" period.

We covet your prayers.

We'll keep you posted.

Trusting in the Lord's plans for each of us.

first day of school.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Marked the first day of our 2009-2010 school year

M. is a 7th grader... Home Schooling for the first time this year via an On-line Academy.

She has been working hard... Going above and beyond expectation... We could not be more proud of her!

E. is a 6th grader... Attending CCS again this year.

It's the first year without her big sister... She's got a new teacher... E. is so easy going and soars in all she does... We love you, Sunshine!

J. is a 1st grader... He too is attending CCS... Going to school all day everyday.

He is feeling comfortable and doing great. J. however is sorely missed all day long.

S. will begin attending Preschool next week.

In the meantime, he asks to pick up his big brother 20+ times a day.

I try distracting my little guy from the absence of his most favorite playmate...

taking advantage of the beautiful weather... going on walks & playing in the sunshine.

It's most certainly the Season of change.

And we are embracing the moment and what's ahead.

God's Blessings to you all.

May you all also enjoy your "back to school" days!

peace.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails."

Proverbs 19:21

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55: 8-9

Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!... For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 11: 33-36

home again.

M. & E. spent last week away at camp.

They are home again.

new and more beautiful then they left. (of course, I'm their Momma)

They enjoyed a week of new friends, games, food, & most importantly

being filled with God's truth.

Our home was quiet, different, and missing something (2 somethings) without them.

We missed them.

Welcome Home Girls.... We Love you

xoxo