Oh Boy

Wow!! Where does the time go?? Sorry I haven't posted for so long, but there is just always something else to do : )

We got Anessa moved to college. Her room was empty for 2 nights, and then my sister and husband along with their 4 year old grand daughter showed up for a few nights. We all met in Moline Illinois, and toured the John Deere combine factory, before coming back here to work on a grain bin. Now, we are ALL off to the Ozarks.

After a last hurrah of boating, my sister will come home with us, and help me move our mother into an assisted living facility next week.

We are currently in the process of working on our landscaping (FINALLY) and harvest is just around the corner. Things are about to get interesting!

Have a great Labor Day weekend!!

Ellie found Milo, the "Praying Mantis"

Ellie liked the sand pile for the bin project!

Ahh, the feel of fresh cement between your toes!

We all LOVE John Deere!

Friends

We have spent the last few days with some friends of ours from California, who we met in China, during the adoption of our daughters. They spent 4 days traveling from their house to ours, with 3 children, in 1 vehicle, just to visit our family, 1600 miles away. It never occurred to me at the beginning of this adoption journey, that not only would I be gaining a daughter, but also so many special friends we have met along the way, in person and through this blog. Wow, God takes the time to connect others in such an awesome way! Amazing!!

Anyway, they finally made it to our home on Sunday night. We spent Monday relaxing and catching up. Their two older children, Lindsay 17, and Matt 15, got a taste of farm life, and driving!! Everything from 4-wheelers, to Gators, to Honda's!! The boys fished, did some hunting, and we even saved some fireworks to shoot off with them. Their adopted daughter from China, is 5 months younger than Ellie. But the girls are very similar in size. They had a great time playing together, singing together, and seemed like long lost cousins upon seeing each other again. (They were not from the same orphanage, just the same province) On Tuesday we traveled to the Henry Doorly Zoo, and Wednesday was another day of enjoying each other's company and touring our area. We may not have the ocean like they do at our back door, but we do have lots of open spaces filled with green corn and soybeans. They all seemed to enjoy the scenery and the slower pace of farm life.

We enjoyed having their whole family here, and can't wait for the chance to see them all again. I hope they feel the same, considering all the ......challenges.... they faced getting here, and going home : )

Here are some photos of the week to enjoy!

Here is also a link to their blog, so you can see the trip from their point of view.
http://phillipsphamily5.blogspot.com/

We're Home

Check out some of the fun we had while on vacation!

Ellie with cousin Marissa
Cole, Chandler, & Ethan (yes, we call this fun)
Ashton, Ellie, & me
Ethan, "is that all you got?"

More to come later!

We are on Vacation!