Last night...

One of the reasons we want to move is so our kiddos can ride their bikes in our neighborhood. We have a few people who live on our street who DO NOT CARE to drive slow... even thought I think 90% of the houses have children who play out in the front yard. It is really annoying and after a little girl got hit in front of our house last year, we have not let the kids ride bikes at all outside.

So when we got home from running errands yesterday afternoon, Jake asked to ride bikes... So we packed everyone up and headed to the park to let them ride the track around. It ended up being a fun evening and I took some sweet pictures of my boys playing.

 Safety First...

 Big Boy!

 Carter on his big wheel!

 Noah wanting to ride a big boy bike too!

 I DID IT!

 I am super fast!!

 Carter is really scared of this  bike for some reason... so Daddy was showing him all the parts... breaks, tires, etc.

 Then he sat on it... and that was the end

 Big J with his bike =)

 Shooting some hoops!!

Lovin' Summer

We are well on our way through summer, Jake has been out of school for about 3 weeks now and we are excited to have already checked some items off our "LIST"! But first, here are some more pictures of the night we made the list. I am not a very, well crafty, person so I get excited when I can think of something else to do besides play in the dirt or go to the lake with the boys. Please feel free to pass along your summer ideas... I can use all the help I can get!!

 Starting the list....

 My big man working hard to make sure we get to see Kung-Fu Panda 2

 He is getting so big writing and spelling all by himself!

 Here is Root Bear Float Night! We are so blessed to share a lot of these memories with our sweet friends... who also have 3 AMAZING little men in their house! Love each of these boys! Just missing Little C but he is too tiny for Ice Cream or Soda

 This not on the list... because it is a given that we will spend the majority of our summer at the lake. Tuesday's are a must and I meet my sweet E there with her crew and we normally spend several hours letting the boys play while we chat and I get to snuggle with Little C.

 These are from today.....

 I love this one... All 5 boys spread out and playing hard!

 The thing I say the most times at the lake... "Don't throw sand on your brother!"

 "I am going to get you!!"

 Ha! This is classic for our little family....

Bestest little buddies before we packed up and went home for nap time!

I am so thankful for these days with E and the boys.... they make my week amazing and the memories are just priceless! Can't wait for next Tuesday!

More on the list... we actually did do Slip N Slide... but I was making dinner and didn't get to take pictures... so we will do it again for the official record. 


Thursday we are going to the Drive In Movie to see Cars2 and I have to say, the overwhelming excitement from the kids is making me super excited... in addition we will be celebrating the birthday of a little man who is so near and dear to our hearts! What a special week this will be! 

7 Months... 7 Days...

Well we now have been waiting 7 months and 7 days for a referral... I think time might be slowing down... each Monday I am super excited and then by Friday I have lost hope for a referral. We are staying busy and making fun memories with the boys, so I am thankful for that...just can't believe it is really taking this long! Come on referral!! I wana bring my babies home before the end of the year!

Picking your brains??!

As a Mom/Dad what the top 5 items you can't live without... from infancy all the way to ummm lets say 3 for this poll?

I would really love your feedback, I am putting together a list for someone so dear to my heart (first time Momma and of TWINS!!) Sooo... let's have it everyone... comment below!

Mine are:
Boppy
Double Stroller
Moby Wrap
Nursing Cover
Good Diaper Bag... I love my Pottery Barn one =)

Our Summer ToDo List

We decided that every year, during the last week of school we would make a list of items that we wanted to do together as a family. Special things that will allow us to make memories with the kids. While some of my heart feels weird about planning all these memories to make even when we are missing a few kids (sheeeshhh I wish you would come home from Ethiopia already!!!) We really wanted to dedicate ourselves to spending good quality time with our boys and pouring into them. So below is our list of things we want to do together over the summer. Jake was so proud of himself for writing a few of these all by himself...

1. Go to the Zoo (Carter's choice)
2. Go to see the Clark's (Mommy and Daddy's choice)
3. See Kung-Fu Panda 2 in the theater! (All the boy's first choice)
4. Go Camping
5. Fishing
6. See the biggest trees in the United States (Daddy)
7. See MJ and Rob (our sweet friends in San Diego)
8. Go to the beach!!
9. Root Beer Float Night
10. Bonfire
11. Drive-In Movie (we have decided on Cars2)
12. Family Reunion RICHARDSON's in San Diego


We have already been able to check off one from the list.... Kung-Fu Panda 2 with our dearest friends and my parents!

I think my mom is sleeping... lol...

Stay tuned for more adventures!

JUST LOVE COFFEE!!!

Soooo recently Ricky and I have been sponsoring a little girl in Ethiopia and are excited to add another addition to that sponsorship. We would like to send a little extra something and are hoping that you all will participate with us.... if you buy a bag of coffee from Just Love Coffee (all fair-trade coffee from Africa) from our page and we reach a goal of 15 bags of coffee in the month of June, we will send an extra $100.00 to our little Miss in June which we will be able to designate for much needed medical supplies.

It would be great if you planned on buying coffee this month, if you bought it from our store....
http://www.justlovecoffee.com/Search4Grace

Can we add another loop to our roller coaster...?

I feel like I am on a roller coaster ride that is never ending. Waiting over 200 days since our paperwork was in Ethiopia to get "The Call" is hard enough but over that same amount of time we have been looking and praying about buying another house. We love our house now, our first house.

We brought our babies home from the hospital to this house.
We (I) turned it from a bachelor pad to a home.
We laid our own hardwood floors.
We have had broken bones and broken noses here.
It has been a great home.

It is also feeling about as big as a shoe box right now....

So anyway, we do things a little different around here. My man, he loves to "run the numbers" and "weigh the options"... this can, and he know this, drive me crazy!! 
I am more of a run with your gut kinda girl. We now, after 5 years of marriage are a good balance for each other. He is the reason we have a savings account and have been able to pay for our adoption (PRAISE GOD) without needing a loan or fund raising (I AM NOT GOOD AT THAT!!). I am thankful for him daily and his ability to be level headed. 
With that all being said, the idea of buying a new house scares the you know what out of him! LOL! 
We have been looking on our local realtor's listing website for well over a year.. more like 18 months. We have put 1 offer on a house that he really loved, and have looked at several. 
Here is how it plays out... 
We look at it 10 times online.
I get excited. 
I call our agent, he gets us into it.
We look around, I love it or hate it.
I get excited!!!! I want to put an offer in...
My man, wants to think and pray about it.. we don't normally put the offer in
Then the ride starts all over...

Now today we looked at two house... the first one, well it was great. And as an added benefit, it is right next door to some pretty amazing people that we love dearly! 5 bed rooms with an optional 6th! Talk about more room!!
Then the second one we looked at, we both really really really loved! Not as good of neighbors FOR SURE, but we loved the lay out of the house and with the little "granny house" on it, we could have one of our favorite college students (A.H.) come live with us!! Sooo... I get Ricky on board with my OVER the top excitement and we decide to get a little more info and make an offer. Then we get more info, and it is not the kind we were hoping for! Blah =( Anyway, long story short, I don't think this one will work out either, but man I was really hoping for an end to at least one of these roller coaster rides. 
More to come as we pray for a space that will allow us to continue down a path God is calling our family and I love for ETHIOPIAN BABIES!!!