A Perfect Fall Day

Today we had off from CC.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to Harris' Dairy Farm for a little field trip.  Join us as we take a look back on our adventure!!



Harris' Dairy Farm



We LOVE having Daddy home during the days!  He got to join us today.



Feeding the cows.



Milking barn.  We even got to see how the cows were milked!!





Looks like Sophie is having a meaningful conversation with this cow!!





The kids had a blast learning all about the cows.  Of course the highlight was the cows pooping.  We're still talking about it over here. :)



Our motley crew. :)

At the pumpkin patch.

We were chauferred out to the pumpkin patch via tractor.  Through the creek and everything.  Super fun!



My four littles.  When is number 5 going to join our ranks??!??





A ladybug for our little lady. :)





After lunch and a fall craft, the kids LOVED playing and splashing in the creek.  They were covered from head to toe in mud, but they sure did have fun!





We ended with a candy scramble.  Yikes!  A bagful of candy just a couple weeks before Halloween.  What were we thinking??





We ended our field trip back at our house painting pumpkins. 

 

 



So that was our day!  A nice little break from the norm on this perfect fall day.  How did you spend it??

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

~Psalm 118:24



Kirsten

Contact Info

So, somehow I am able to figure out how to create a blog, but I am unable to figure out how to comment on my own post!! 

Soooo.....if you commented that you were interested in ordering an ornament (or are planning on it), instead, email me directly at ckgregoire2@yahoo.com

Thanks so much!  And...if anyone out there in blog land can walk me through how to leave a comment, that would be great too. ;)

Fall Fundraiser!!

So, the next part of our fundraising endeavors is to begin to raise money for our referral (the referral is the part where we get matched with a child!).  It is the monumental point in this process when we first get to see a picture of our sweet baby.  Although we still have a ways to go before we get to that place (approximately a year - 18 months), we are excited to get to this next step. 

In the meantime, as we wait, we are continuing to pray that God would provide the funds needed to continue.  As I was reading in the book of Amos this morning, God reminded me of the importance of looking back at history to provide assurance in the present. 

"I brought you up out of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to give you the land of the Amorites.  I also raised up prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths."

~Amos 2: 10-11

Over and over we see these reminders throughout scripture.  God calls attention to all the things He has done for the Israelites, not because they are incapable of remembering on their own, but to give them assurance in the present.  To remind them of His faithfulness.   And although I like to think I am different, I am not.  My memory is short-term.  As quickly as God answers one prayer, without the continual reminder of His history of goodness to our family, I forget and begin to worry about the next obstacle.  Praying that "He who began a good work...will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)"

So, looking forward, I am excited to unveil our newest fundraiser.  Drumroll please........My wonderfully talented father-in-law made these Christmas ornaments:

Fall Fundraiser - "One Less" Christmas ornaments

We literally called him with the idea and about three hours later he texted us a sample picture.  He is truly gifted.  A week later, he had made 30 Africa-shaped ornaments for us to sell, and my mother-in-law painted them!  Amazing! 

Our "One Less" ornaments will be selling for $20 apiece.  Message me if you're interested!  ALL proceeds go towards bringing our baby HOME!!

Just as a reminder, there are still a few other continuing fundraisers going on.  Here is a re-cap:

-Photography:  Many of you may know, that Charles has been asked to photograph several weddings over the past couple years.  It is a hobby that he thoroughly enjoys (and one that he is quite good at too, I might add!!).  We’d love to photograph your next event!  Family portraits in the park, pregnancy pictures, weddings, family reunions……all proceeds will go towards bringing our child home!  View sample photos by visiting http://thegregoires.blogspot.com/p/photography.html 




                                -Looking to BUY or SELL your home?   Now I KNOW I've gotten your attention!  I'm sure you're wondering what in the world this could possibly have to do with our adoption, but here it is:  Our good friend, Mary Pappas, is also a realtor with Prudential Rittenhouse Realty Group in Harleysville.  She is highly motivated to sell homes and just so happens to have a heart for adoption!  Mary has offered to donate HALF of her commission towards our adoption costs for anyone who buys or sells a home with her!  Now THAT'S a good friend! :)  I know you will LOVE her!  Mary is incredibly personable, honest, hard-working and absolutely loves people!  If you are looking to buy or sell your home, and are in need of an agent who will work for YOU, you may contact Mary at mpappas@prudentialrittenhouse.com or by phone at (215) 262-4458 (cell) or (215) 256-6543 (office).

We actually just had our first home sold through Mary Pappas!  Thank you Jamie Courts for thinking of us when purchasing your NEW HOME!  And special thanks to our good friends, Mark and Mary for their extreme generosity and heart for the orphan!

                                -Just Love Coffee sale:  Purchase coffee and support our adoption, ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!  Just Love Coffee knows coffee, and they just so happen to have a heart for orphan-care around the world!  Visit www.justlovecoffee.com/TheGregoires.  $5 from every bag sold will go to bringing our child home.

                                -Book Sale:  Have any little girls in your life?  Looking for a way to combat the message that our society gives them about beauty?  Stephanie Farley, author of the book, "God Made You Beautiful", has offered $2 from every book sale to go towards our adoption.  Perfect for Easter baskets!!  Visit her website at http://www.godmadeyoubeautiful.com/ to place an order today!  Just make sure to include a note that it is for our adoption.  Thanks so much Stephanie!

                               -WOODEN STACKER TOYS:  We really do have some great friends!!!  Our friends, Josh and Tember Heft make homemade, wooden children's stacker toys out of completely organic materials.  They are absolutely beautiful!!  They have offered $5 from every toy sold to go towards our adoption.  You can check out their site at  www.tickitackitoys.etsy.com  Thank you Tember and Josh!!!  <3

We are working on a few more fundraisers for this fall/winter.  We will update you as we add any!  Thanks so much for your support!  It is truly because of the generosity of others that we are even able to BE on this journey!!!  So, so, so, so thankful for His provision (and His continual reminders of it!)!

Kirsten

First Week of School

Well, life has been a whirlwind around here ever since school started back up again.  I've meant for some time to post pics of our first week back, but, well, since it's not on my "absolute necessity" list, it keeps getting pushed to the bottom. It's right down there with putting up my fall decorations. :)

So, I guess better late than never.  Here is a look at our first week back to school.




Salt Dough Maps of the United States





Mummifying Apples Experiment




Kaya working on her writing.




Joseph has been loving math these days!




Our memory work board that we do every morning.




Sophie wants to be just like her older siblings.  This may be why she always has marker all over her little body.  Hey, it keeps her happy! ;)




The Mayflower




Littles are practicing their alphabet in shaving cream.




Schools in session.

We've been having a blast (most days!) and learning lots. 

Now, don't think for a minute that just because school is back in session that we have put our adoption on the back burner.  We may have finished up our dossier and now are on the waiting list, but we still have some work to do!  We will be spending the next 6-18 months continuing to raise the money needed to bring our child home.  About $13,000 left to raise.  Right now we are working on a new fundraiser to be unveiled SOON.    Check back in the near future, as I am hoping to have pictures up shortly.  CAN'T WAIT to show you what we have been up to!!!



Kirsten

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Well, this has been quite the 6 months for our family!  We made the decision to adopt and began the process back in March.  Since then, we have been busy with paperwork, doctor's appointments, fingerprint appointments, passports, criminal records, home studies, and the like.  On top of all that, we also decided around the same time, to start up a new homeschool community in our area and have had a bunch of responsibility concerning that.  A location to be found, hiring tutors, attending practicums, etc...

As you can imagine, by the end of the summer, as everything came swelling up towards the grand finale, I was mentally and physically exhausted.  Even the THOUGHT of starting school again with my own four kids come September was a daunting task.  The curriculum was ordered and the lesson plans drawn up, yet I couldn't muster up the desire to even WANT to get started (despite my kids telling me everyday, for at least the last two weeks of summer, that they were bored and wanted to start school!!). 

Then....enter glorious vacation.  We started off by driving down to Maryland and spending a couple days on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay with my parents.  The kids swam in the pool and played baseball all day.  They spent HOURS riding their little John Deere tractor all over the property, picking up debris from last weeks storm, and running down to the dock to check the crab traps.  We celebrated Kaya's birthday (again!) and made a bonfire.  I even started a book and actually finished it later that week!!

On Sunday morning, we filled up little bellies with breakfast, and then headed the rest of the way to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It was a week-long family reunion with Charles' whole family - 8 adults and 16 grandkids.  Despite hurricanes swirling all around us, we had BEAUTIFUL weather all week, a definite answer to prayer.  VERY conducive for a week spent sitting in a beach chair looking out at the Atlantic or parked next to the pool.  I was one happy lady. :)  We visited the Wright Brothers Museum in Kill Devil Hills, the huge sand dunes in Kitty Hawk, and went horseback riding in Corolla.  We ate disgustingly AWESOME food (disgusting because I gained 5 lbs., but none-the-less, AWESOME!) all week and had lots of laughs.  The kids were occupied with plenty of playmates and were off and playing the entire time we were there.

And somewhere in the midst of it all - it happened.  The stress released, and a week later when it was time to return home - across the bridge connecting us to the mainland....over and under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel......back to a week of dreary skies and record rainfall - we were ready.  A little lighter, a little more carefree.  I think vacation will do that to you. :) 

We got back last Sunday, and started school that Monday, with a fresh perspective and an attitude of thankfulness.  Was our first week home perfect?  By all means NO!!  We came home a to broken washing machine and loads of stinky laundry.  We lived amongst half-unpacked suitcases for a few days (OK, more than a few days. :), and I've come to the conclusion that my counter-space is NOT big enough for all the science experiments we have going on (currently: mummifying apples, an edible cell and 3 large salt-dough landform maps of the United States).  Did I mention I have fruit flies?  I can't imagine why. :)

But regardless, we were refreshed and ready to tackle any new adventures thrown our way.  And just that little change of attitude....that much-needed week of rest....allowed for us to have a GREAT first week back.  I will be posting some pictures of our first week of homeschool in the near future.  Currently I have: a third-grader, a first-grader, a preschooler, and an adorable, yet feisty, little 21-month-old.  Life is full, but we have much to be thankful for. :)



Kirsten  

Vacation Pics

Well, it's been pretty quiet here in blog world this week because we've been on VACATION!!!  24 people....8 adults and 16 grandkids, all under the age of 12, all under ONE roof!!  So, so, so, so fun!  Here are some of our pics from the week.



Duck, North Carolina
2011





16 grandkids in birth order. :)




Proud grandparents




Visiting the Wright Brothers Museum.  Sophie was less than thrilled to be strapped in her seat. :)




Jacker-Crackers



Wright Brothers Monument



Jack wasn't feeling the family photo.




Beach!





The kids spent hours working on this sand castle.




LOVE this!




Back at the house...




The Peterson's - Charles' sister and her family.  Six kids with one on the way. :)




Not really sure why this photo downloaded all stretched out.  Definitely wasn't like that originally!!
Charles' brother and his family from Slovakia.  Six kids, expecting #7 in 6 weeks!



So, that was our vacay.  Feeling very thankful.  We had a great time and got back just in time to start school yesterday.  More on that later....

Ok, off to bed now. Thanks for sharing life with us.  :)



Kirsten



Wahoo!!

Well, it is here!  The day we have been waiting for for five months now.  Today, September 1st, 2011, we were waitlisted!!!

I received a phone call from our case manager this afternoon and all of our paperwork is in and our dossier is now complete.  Everything has been signed, dated and notarized.  All of our I's have been dotted and our T's, crossed.  Our dossier has been approved and is waiting on translation in preparation to be sent to Ethiopia for our court date.  We are now officially on the waiting list for either a boy or girl, age 0-18 months.  So the countdown begins today.....

#97

We have been told that it can take up to 18 months for a referral.  The length of time that an adoption takes is dependant upon quite a few variables.  Some of which include (but are not limited to) : gender, age and/or health specifications that we may have and unknowns within the country of Ethiopia.  So what are we going to do to pass the time? 

1.  Well, we will continue to raise money for all of our travel expenses.  Check back shortly for some new fundraisers we will be unveiling this fall!  To date, we have raised a total of $17,000, however, we are still in need of around $13,000 more. 

2.  I'm looking forward to being able to turn my focus onto my four biological kiddos, as we begin to prepare them for this journey that we, as a family, are about to embark on.  I'm trying to think creatively about how I can best prepare them for what it means to be a multi-racial family.  What will the issues be that we will be dealing with?  What can we learn and absorb from the Ethiopian culture that will help both us, and our adopted child, adapt?

3.  I'm also reading any books I can get my hands on about adoption.  I'm reading up on things like attachment issues, medical care and of utmost importance - hair care. :)  Anything to further our knowledge and understanding of the issues we will undoubtedly face. 

I pray that this will be a year of growth for us (not just in going from a 6 person family to a 7!!??!), but also that we would grow in our relationship with the Lord and with one another.  That we would use this period of waiting to grow our family spiritually, emotionally and (some of us) physically!  I was just commenting to Charles the other day, that this is the longest I've ever gone without being pregnant.  Usually, by this time, I would be about 6 months along.  It seems kind-of strange.  Yet, in a way, I am kind-of expecting again.....just in a different sort-of way.  And, this time, without the big belly. ;)

Thanks for celebrating our good news along with us! 



Kirsten