We got to Oklahoma super late so we just did our best to tiptoe into my mom's house - I think we did a pretty good job, or at least they were too nice to let us know we were loud and rude. ha!! We're always so thankful to get to stay at my mom's house as we have the whole upstairs to ourselves and there's a bed for everyone. Well, an air mattress for Cooper, but it's a nice one! (:
It was wonderful to have no agenda for a couple days -- just sit around and relax and do nothing - ah, loved it!! Mom has been fighting the cancer fight so she still tires easily, yet she was up serving the kids breakfast and making sure they were taken care of. She let me sleep. Now, how sweet is that!!
Gatlin and I ended up going school supply shopping at the Coweta Walmart. Oh yes, it was a treat! Seriously, we probably spent almost two hours there. Gatlin could NOT make up her mind even about simple school supplies. How hard can it be to pick a folder - just grab one already! Oh my!! I seriously shopped for three other children while she got her supplies, and I finished before her -- way before her. Goodness. We went home and got everything out of the packages and labeled everything. But then there's this one little funny part, AFTER I did all that, I saw a post from a friend about being glad she pre-ordered the supply kit from her school, and something about that sounded familiar. And yep, AFTER all that shopping and labeling, I had already pre-ordered the kits for Kaleb and Kali but had forgotten - hysterical!. So, we have their supplies for next year. Woo hoo.
My sister's family came over for dinner and we just did a whole bunch of nothing - well, other than that labeling school supplies stuff. The kids love being with their cousins and I'm quite positive that Bennet is hoping that the whole, "You can't marry cousins" thing is a lie. LOL She has quite the crush on her 16-year-old cousin, Kason. Sweet.
The next morning we had breakfast with my dad and Viva at The Cracker Barrel. Yum. Had a really nice visit with them and enjoyed eating all the biscuits we could fit in our bellies. I do love those biscuits.
It was off to my sister's house after that to hang out and let the kids swim. Cooper picked up a guitar as soon as we walked in the house. He hadn't been able to take one on the trip so was having serious withdraws!! It was so nice to hear him playing again. I forced my sister to make cookies (these are the ones that I used to be famous for, but can't seem to make right anymore). My 90-year-old grandma came over for dinner and we visited while helping Gatlin do a book report project for school.
On Sunday, Brian, Cooper, Gatlin and I got up super early to go to The Church at Battle Creek where we were leading worship. This is my mom and Jim's church and it's an awesome place. Alex Himaya is the pastor there and he and his wife, Meredith, just adopted a little girl named, Lemley, from Ethiopia. Alex preached a sermon years ago that was a catalyst to us making the decision to adopt. God used him in a big way in our lives. And, then, in a funny little twist, God used me in their lives as well, as I was the one who sent them a picture of Lemley and told them that I thought she was supposed to be their daughter. My mom and I prayed over that little picture so hard and were so very happy when the Himaya's chose to adopt her. Now they have her home and, wow, what an incredible little girl. SO, it was wonderful to be at their church with them and we had a great time leading worship for their services.
We ate lunch and just chilled out the rest of the day....said our goodbyes that night and headed out the next morning for home. I LOVE my family and it's always hard to say goodbye. I'm so thankful that we'll be going back SOON to see my new nephew, Crew, when he gets here. (And I'm pretty sure my next blog post will be about him and his amazing story). We drove the 9 1/2 hour drive home and were so very grateful to be back in our own comfy beds again.
And THAT was our summer in a nutshell. ha ha ha ha ha Ok, I know, it was a BIG nut. (: Honestly, the summer couldn't have been any busier, which made it fly by! I hate to admit this, but I still don't quite have everything put away from our trip. I've unpacked it, but some of it is still on the floor waiting for me to actually put it somewhere. That's pitiful. But the kids started school two days after we got home and it's just right back to crazy around here. Blah blah blah...you know how it is.
On August 19, we celebrated the kids being here for six months. SO much has changed for our family. There are easy days and there are hard days, just like in any other family. Thank you for continuing to pray for us as we still adjust to all the things that need to be adjusted to when you adopt three kids and go from being a family of four to a family of seven. It's a wild ride, to be sure. But, it is a ride worth taking.
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