4 Gals, 3 Floaties, & A Few Pina Colada's

Ladies only boys. 

Yep, that means husbands, it's time to shine while the wives and eldest daughter take to the beaches and take a dive. 

A trip that has been postponed and rescheduled many a times in attempt to get all the sisters on board; to have our health well enough to withstand travel. 

My sister never made it to our much talked about girls trip. The location changed many times over to accommodate her failing health. With plenty of pushing, nudging and talking ourselves into going, we finally took this trip that has been in the works for almost two years. 

Mom, my sister-in-law Lindsay, Addison and I flew out last week to Kona, Hawaii, where we remembered, laughed, cried and relished in the presence of each other. 

It felt wrong to not have Traci with us; the process of grief that ebbs and flows much like the waves that crashed on the shoreline. A different memory with every wave; the lasting pink in the sunsets that spoke to the legacy left behind. 

{ Toting. }

I had the privilege to hear Francis Chan speak at the University of the Nations (YWAM Kona) the night we arrived. My girlfriend, Catherine, picked me up while the other three found dinner on the Kona strip. The anxiousness of doing this trip without my sister slowly eased as the worship began in the open air auditorium filled with all ages. I could sense God calm the longings that torment and tease my heart to hear or touch my sweet sister. This opportunity to be refreshed in worship and learn from Chan, was the perfect way to begin this girls trip. 

{ Loved these moments. }

A Sweet Six Years Old

{ two weeks old. }

{ three months old. }

Hard to believe our middle Princess is turning six today. 

I feel like once you need two hands to show people how old you are, it starts the countdown to high school, college and moving out. I see our Myriam's life whisk by now that she needs an extra thumb to show us her age. Her looks have changed overnight from our little girl to grown child that thinks she's already a teen. 

How did this happen? 

It was just yesterday we drove her birth parents to the hospital and anticipated her birth. It was just yesterday we brought her home and introduced her to the rest of our family. It feels like just yesterday that we celebrated her first birthday. 

Reality tells me time has not stopped and Myriam indeed is celebrating her 

sixth birthday whether I like it or not. 

Adoption Day Celebrations

We've waited for this day to come for many months; being told it was going to happen back in early spring, then June and after that, we stopped guessing when we'd actually get a court date. 

In all the waiting, I went through two Adoption Day shirts and finally decided to make the summer top work for the raining day we had this week regardless if it was too small or cold. I was not going to give any reason to push back our court date and refused to get another picture perfect shirt made. As it was, all the adorable and poised Pinterest photos failed because we have entered the realm of terrible, busy two's that don't work well for those "sit still" smiles.

Distraction number one: Stairs. 

Distraction number two: Fall Back time change has the Little's waking up at
5am making the 9 o'clock hour almost nap time.

Distraction number three: Mommy asked me too and that prompts an
immediate opposite response from toddlers.

I thought taking some pictures before the court room would solve some of these issues, but clearly this was all too much to ask. I have to laugh looking at this picture because Myriam, out of the kindness and helpful hands she has, offered to hold the sign for Baylee who was adamantly against such a thing resulting in what now looks like Myriam being the child adopted from foster care. 

She's Finally Ours

656 days in foster care. 

Baylee came into our care on January 22nd, 2016, at just 12 days old, becoming legally free in March 2017.

November 9th, 2017 she became ours. 

When we received the email regarding a healthy baby, we honestly didn't have much more information aside from Baylee only needing two to three weeks of care. We didn't know she was a girl until about an hour before leaving the house to meet her at the office downtown. Tim was still on a business trip as I scrambled to gather enough basic needs for the first couple days. The twin bed still in place as Mia left the day before after spending a week with our family. With Addi by my side, we walked into the office with many unknowns; the biggest of what is this baby going to look like? This is what was delivered to our office room and after a few signed documents we were out the door and on our way home. 

 

I met Baylee's Tummy Mommy the next Monday where we exchanged phone numbers and began our relationship. Visits started up a few weeks later along with the typical court hearings to determine shelter care and dependency. We were blessed to have an awesome social worker who shared our same Jesus following beliefs and became part of the family in this journey. Kristi and Ashley, Bee's visit supervisor, are the hero's in the system of foster care. They were comfort when we sent Baylee out the door for a visit, flexible getting to know our family and always putting Bee's needs first. 

{ Two weeks old. Credit goes to the SNAPsisters who have captured Baylee's life on film. }