First Practice

Nathaniel had his first practice tonight for "coach pitch" baseball. He seems to have a good arm for throwing and enjoyed being with the other kids. 

We have quite a bit to work on, though. After he practiced batting, he ran towards first base and then turned and ran across the field towards third base. It got the other kids a little excited : ) 

Annaliese did well, too : )

Boys Will Be Boys

Love how boys are so different than girls (most of the time)! Found this in Nathaniel's room this morning : )

First Picnic

Headed to the park today after school to soak in this beautiful weather! Enjoyed a picnic dinner, with our friend Susie, before heading to small group.

Back to Work

Prayers appreciated as I head back to work tomorrow. I'll admit, I'm a little nervous about having energy for my patients AND for my family.

Homemade Pizza and a Movie

When Nathaniel first came home, we intentionally left the television off. We wanted to spend time connecting with him and Annaliese and not be distracted by it. After a week or two, though, we decided we would turn it on if either of the kids asked, but they never have! 

So, Nathaniel has now been home for six weeks and tonight we are enjoying our first family night with homemade pizzas and a movie - at Annaliese's request : )

So Much Laughter

The kids enjoyed this fun outside toy (from Grandma Jane) today!

Flowers

Sweet bouquet of "flowers" from Nathaniel and Annaliese : )

Mommy/Daughter Day

Annaliese and I enjoyed a mommy/daughter day today.

We ate at one of our favorite restaurants (that daddy doesn't care for), went summer clothes shopping, and got pedicures & manicures : ) Needed something 'girly' with all the extra testosterone in the house lately!

Peanut

Annaliese's classmates have been taking turns bringing home the class stuffed animal, an elephant named Peanut. Today, Peanut picked Annaliese because she was a good friend to a friend who needed help. So proud of her : )

Peanut joined us for supper at Buffalo  Wild Wings, one of Annaliese's favorites, and then went to bible study with us.

First Dentist Appointment

Nathaniel had his first dentist appointment today. The staff did so well with him and he did great!! He was intrigued with the equipment : )

He will have some work done in the next several weeks, but not near as much as we expected. So thankful for that!

Family Picture

We have been asked by Lifesong if our family can be featured in an upcoming fundraising campaign for their matching grants, which we received for each of our adoption processes. We, of course, agreed so that our family can continue to help other families through one of the greatest obstacles associated with adoption!

A big thanks to our friend, Jeremy Fenelon, for capturing a picture with all 4 of us to share with them : )

No More Training Wheels!

Nathaniel and daddy have been working on getting rid of the training wheels since the first day he rode a bike. He was not pleased that Annaliese's bike looked different : )

Finally figured it out tonight!! Now we keep hearing, "Nathaniel cycle...Nathaniel fast!"

Parent/Teacher Conference

Jonathan and I met with Annaliese's teacher this morning for a (rescheduled) parent/teacher conference. Her school gathers things that each child has worked on throughout their time in the district and keeps them in a portfolio. We got to see her portfolio, which began being compiled in January of 2013. 

It is absolutely amazing to see how much she has grown academically and socially in the past 2 1/2 years!! So appreciative of her teachers Ms. Jenkins and Mrs. Bear (+ others along the way) and so proud of her : )

To God be the Glory!

This morning I sat down to write our family testimonial, which is requested by Lifesong for Orphans when our adoption is complete and we close our account.  

Looking back at my first blog post when beginning Nathaniel's adoption,  I wrote, "Over the past month or so, Jonathan and I have begun feeling that "nudge" again. I (for one) have been resistant. I frequently found myself saying, 'Yeah God, that's a nice idea, but we [...] right now." Fill in the blank with things like, "don't have the money...'" 

It went on, but that was honestly where I could have stopped. We had no clue how we were going to pay for this adoption, as we expected it to move fairly quickly due to his age, etc. 

I finished the post with, "At this point, we are not sure how this will all turn out, but God has made it abundantly clear over the past few weeks that it is time for us to move forward. We are stepping out in faith and trusting  that He knows what He is doing : )”

So today, as I sat down to do the write-up for Lifesong, I took a moment to review what happened over the past 20 months. I was humbled by what I found. 

Early in our process, we were given a few very generous financial donations from friends who simply supported our journey. Then, in April of 2014, we received notification that we were the recipients of a $3,500 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans. Due to the subsequent generosity of our church family, my mom's church family, family and friends, that $3,500 turned into more than $16,000!! Oh how the Lord can do more than we could ever ask or imagine!!

I know I have said this a thousand times before, but the idea that “God does not call the equipped, He equips the called” is so true. We could not have completed this process on our own, but with Him working through His people, we did. In fact, once we receive two final pieces of assistance that are currently being processed, we will make a final payment that allows us to be completely debt free from this adoption!

To God be the Glory!!

DeNeal Family Reunion

Had a wonderful afternoon with the DeNeal family today. It was so nice to see, and introduce Nathaniel to, much of the extended family. Also great to see how much he enjoys his closest cousins : )