B-O-O-T-S In my yellow boots

When my niece, Jade, got to be a toddler my mom started buying rainboots for her to wear around the lake. The cabinet in the garage is full of rainboots to fit kids from 2-10. Jade, Sidney and now Emma love to splash in mud puddles, wade in the streams, and run through the fields in bright yellow rainboots. Today, Emma decided to help Grandma water the flowers. At least her feet stayed dry!

Sad Face...Don't laugh, Don't laugh

Right now Emma is into making sad faces. She will make what she thinks is a sad face (I just think it's cute) and then we both say, "Don't laugh, Don't laugh!" until we both laugh. She could play this game for hours.

Don't Laugh!

Also, the adorable dress is from Panama! David and Heidi brought it back...along with a diamond ring...from their trip this winter. Isn't it awesome!

Corn is Good!

Emma and I spent the day freezing sweet corn with my mom, grandma and grandpa. I remember when I was a kid we used to do this every August. My brother and I would help husk the corn out by the garden but our favorite part of the day was eating the "corn logs." Those are the bits of corn that are left in chunks when you cut the corn off the cob after blanching it. Yum Yum! Today we froze 54 quarts of sweet corn. My grandpa said it was a record for him. So that must really be a lot. It was so fun for me to have Emma experience this with my grandparents. Growing up in the country, things like this were such a big part of my childhood. I love that Emma got to experience it for the first time this summer. She had so much fun husking the corn. She picked every little hair off the ear. Of course, she really loved eating the corn logs. She also snuck over to the raspberry bushes for a mid-morning snack. I must admit that I couldn't resist the little red jewels myself. It was a great day that we can remember every time we pull out a bag of great-grandpa's juice sweet corn this winter.

Emma and Great-Grandpa picking the corn

Corn is good!

Emma with Grandma Ross...again eating corn.

A Miracle...and his name is Jack!

This spring, Matt and I began to consider the possibility of adopting again. After several weeks of research, prayer, number crunching and more prayer, we decided that it just wasn't going to happen. We came to the conclusion that by the time we could a) afford another adoption and b)wait for the process to happen Emma would be about 7 and there would be too large of an age gap between the kids. We decided not to adopt again and eventually became at peace with the fact that Emma was going to be an only child. Emma is our miracle and we would be a happy family of 3.

Then this week, God did another miracle. He has put it on the heart of another to provide the funding for an adoption. I almost fell off the couch when I was told the news. I can only imagine that it was like waking up one morning and discovering that you are pregnant. I was in complete shock! This was not even on our radar and now we are going to have another child.

Matt has always wanted a son and since going to Malawi in 2006 he has had a desire in his heart to bring that son home from Africa. So, that is what we are going to do. We are going to adopt a baby boy from Rwanda. Unfortunately, Holt does not work in Rwanda at this time but America World does. It is kinda funny actually. Back in 2005 when we were first looking into adopting from China, America World was our agency of choice. It is also the agency that our dear friends Craig and Julie used to adopt their little Ivy from China. We know that we will be well taken care of through this brand new process. There have only been a handful of adoptions from Rwanda in the past few years so this time we are helping to blaze the trail.

We are hoping to submit our initial application in the next week or two and then begin the paper pregnancy all over again...this time the wait is only 12-15 months though! At least it better stay that way!

BoBo went to China!

One of the girls in our youth group, Bethany (Emma calls her BoBo) went with Royal Servants this summer to China. She was there for 6 weeks teaching English and sharing Christ with children. Before she left, the youth group had a big going away party for her. Emma wore one of her Chinese outfits to celebrate!

Surprise Trip to Rochester

My brother called on Wednesday to tell me that he had a 3 day weekend for July 4th. So, Thursday morning Mom, Dad, Emma and I jumped in the car and drove to Rochester. It was so much fun! The girls had a blast feeding geese and ducks, playing on the playground, jumping through the water sprinklers and playing in the yard. It is so fun to watch them all together now that Emma is old enough to get in on the action. They are coming to Michigan for a visit in August.

MeMa Came to Play

Matt's Mom, Cindy, came to stay with Emma and I while Matt was in New Orleans with the high schoolers. Emma had so much fun playing and reading with MeMa.