sweetness!!!

Wow!! Thanks for all of the sweet comments on our latest news!! I think we've had less negative reactions(so far!!) this time than our first!! I have had the occasional..."Are you crazy??" "Are you sure you can handle this?" type questions...but so far, happy to say we've had very warm replies!!
So, if you are wondering...Yes, we are crazy...crazy in awe of our Precious daughter, crazy excited to see her, crazy checking our email & phone for any new updates or pics!! And as far as being able to handle this...we can't wait!!!We will handle this because God knew our sweet "A" would be placed in our family, long before this past week...He's totally in control & we trust HIM & feel so blessed that we were chosen to be her family!!
So let me tell you a bit about her...
Here's a few things we've heard about "A" from other traveling families within our agency:
"What a doll!!"
" Her smile is ear to ear & she lights up a room!!"
"She is just soooo sweet!!"
We've even received a few new pic's...wish I could share...but will have to wait till Court is done & over...but she has such a beautiful smile, big, beautiful eyes, sweet demeanor about her...Wish we could go today & just scoop her up!!

Our Dossier is almost complete...fingerprints tomorrow, physicals scheduled & will be completed within next few days....guess you could say we are on a roll!! It feels less stressful completing our Dossier this time...probably because we know what to expect!! The good news is that our agency has all of her necessary paperwork there...bad news is that courts will close middle of August for 6-8 wks due to the rainy season, so we are hoping everything of ours will be completed & turned in so we can be submitted to Court before closing...wishful thinking, but we will hope for that!! Wishing you a fun 4th of July wknd...xo

love grows & grows......

Wow!!! What a few exciting days here!! As you all probably know, or if you have adopted or are in the process of adopting...(or maybe not!!)than you have probably checked Waiting Children's lists daily like I do(yes, seriously!!) Well, This past Friday morning was just another normal am...eat bkfst, bathe kids, play, play some more, clean up for our last post-placement visit, Our wonderful Social Worker comes & this is when the story begins....


  We told her we would like to update our homestudy...just in case!! I told her I daily look at The waiting children's lists....she thought this was a great idea...anyhow, after she left...I checked Our Agency's Waiting Children's List Just one more time for the day...worth a try...right??? Well, it absolutely was!! That afternoon a most precious, darling little 6 year old girl was added to the list...I knew it...she was meant to be ours!! We talked it over, with & without the kiddos, prayed about our decision, wishing & hoping our Adoption Tax Return was already received:( The weekend flew by as usual, looked at her sweet face like 1,000,000 times a day on our computer...Then came Monday morning....I was fretting(yes again!!) about our Tax return taking so long, ran out to the garage, prayed in the garage, got back inside...right than Kasey called with the news that our FULL Adoption Tax Refund had been deposited into our acct like 5 min beforehand....Thank you Lord!! At that moment, I felt like it was all just sooo meant to be!! I talked to our agency, heard wonderful things of our girl, called Kasey back one more time for the "for sure" go ahead...and without surprise, He replied with an exciting, elated..."Yes, Kris...call them back right now & say Yes!!" We are beyond excited to start this journey to bring our daughter & sister home....Kate says, "mom, i don't know her yet, but I love her already!!" The kids each have an 8x10 pic of her in their rooms...they are talking about her like she's here!! And really....she is here...in our hearts & thoughts...so, just like Ageze reminds me..."Momma, Tesfa & me in your heart, Grant & Kate in your tummy, right??" Our love has once again grown, and I now have another precious child in my heart.
   Our sweet, precious daughter "A"...you are loved, not only by your sister & 3 brothers, momma & Papa...but by Our Wonderful Lord. He has great plans for your life & we are so lucky to be a part of it!! We can't wait till the day we can see you face-to-face, until then we will dream of you & speak of  what a wonderful, special girl you already are to us!! 
    So, there you have it...We are in Love...again...
                                                                       xo kristen

father's day 2011....

                                lucky kids & lucky dad!!

                                        me & my hubby!!

                                     My dad & brother Dan!!

                                   Could they be any cuter??

                                    Dad with us 4 kids!!

                                  Love.

                                     Dad..Ageze...Papa Chuck(my dads dad!)

                                                                    Papa Archie!!                                                                                                                                                                Wow...as I think about Father's Day...I feel so completely blessed!! I was lucky enough to have been raised by a Dad who loves God & his Family so much...he has such a kind, generous spirit about him....he would do anything for anyone...he pours as much love into his profession as he does his family...it shows!! He is truly a blessing to us all:) Love you Dad!!

   I'm also so blessed to be raising our family with Kasey!! We are a team!! He loves our family with his whole heart....he works so hard for us....which has enabled me to be a SAHM(stay at home  momma!!).....xoxo

  Dad Gilliss...thank you for raising your son up to be a hard worker...a family man...it greatly benefits our family!!! We wish you could have been here, but so glad Marveen was with you to enjoy your day!!

VBS & Young Life Family Fun Night!!!

 This year's VBS was "beach themed"....the kid's had a blast...as usual!! At this time last year we were wishing Ageze & Tesfa would have been here for it...but one year later & Ageze was thrilled to be going!! What a difference a year makes!! They had fun doing art activities, bible stories, skits, playing games outdoors etc.... Really, we just had a fun filled week..next up was the Young Life Family Fun Night at our local Amusement Park....free rides & rootbeer floats for all!! My brother is the area director for YL...so, we were invited...Thanks Dan for including us!! The kids had a blast...they couldn't believe that they could go on any & every ride for free!! So fun to see Ageze & Tes really enjoy it this year...last year we wentone time...and they were both too nervous to try anything...this year...totally different story!! WE asked the kids on the drive home what their fave ride was....and they listed off like every ride!! We also celebrated Kasey's & my Dad's B-days this past wk...which means fun times with family, cake & just being together!!( for some reason...no pics from that night...oops!!)   xo Kristen

a couple of fun re-do's....

                                        kids' bathroom before....

                                         after!!!!

                                          mudroom after!!!

                  This week it was just me & the kiddos....so, we or I guess I should say I...decided to do a bit of re-doing/painting!! What fun it was priming & painting the kids' bathroom tile!! Ageze was not too happy though...the pink bathroom was his fave!! He said, "Ageze like pink bathroom, but mom did good job!!" So, I used a product called "gloss-off" to wipe down the tile...primed the tile, and painted 2 coats of Benjamin Moore...Decorator's White. The bottom pic is of our mud rm/ laundry...I didn't have the clearest before pic...but before it was light yellowish tan, and I painted Pewter Tankard from Sherwin William's...oh, and of course before i painted the walls I gave the trim & everything a fresh coat of Decorators White!!( a quick funny story from our day...we ran to Sherwin Williams for the 2nd time on Thursday, almost closing time...i walked in...and the two guys that were working, were standing behind the till, couldn't see me & all of a sudden started singing a rock n roll song...realllllyyyy loud, eyes closed & just totally jammin out...they turned around & turned like 10 shades of red!!) So, although we'd always rather have Kasey/dad here with us...it did allow us to get a few projects done around the house & outdoors!! The kiddos are into this summer-thing full swing...like sleeping in till 8:30-9!! That sure makes this momma happy!! And tonight Kasey gets home just in time to enjoy our weekend together!! Have a happy wknd!!                                xo kristen

summertime fun:)

                                     he loves them burnt!!

                                          lovin the marshmallows:)

                                       3 of our silly kiddos!!

                                     Ageze!!

                                  Abby & Tes..these two cousins are hilarious together!!

                                             me & my girl:)

                               

                     We are sooooo enjoying the summer temps we've had this past week...so, it's been jam-packed full of fun...you never know when the weather will turn on us!! Smore's, swimming & rootbeer to top it off!!                                                        xo kristen