Capitol Trip

We had a chance to visit the Texas Capitol in Austin. And we take advantage of those field trip opportunities whenever they present themselves, even during summer vacation! I hadn't been to the capitol in many years, and I'd forgotten what a beautifully magnificent place it is. We had a wonderful time examining memorials all over the grounds, looking down from the top of the amazing rotunda, and exploring everything in between.

An added bonus was the bus ride to and from. There are no pictures of that excellent adventure because I couldn't hold a camera then. We were much too busy trying not to get separated at the bus stops or get pitched out the door of the speeding bus. I was also fumbling with a map the entire time trying to figure out why we kept getting further and further away from our destination. In between, we held on for dear life and looked for fillings that were knocked loose as we jolted over Texas-sized pot holes. 

My country kids had been absolutely thrilled with the idea of riding a big city bus through downtown Austin.  But it wasn't quite what they expected. They were great sports about it, but I think that ride will hold them for a good long while. Me, too.

When Love Takes You In

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and turn off the blog background music in the playlist at the bottom. You have to hear this beautiful song by Steven Curtis Chapman. No matter how many times I hear it, the tears still come. Every time.

Marvelous

"In all things of nature

 there is something of the marvelous."

~Aristotle

Sunday Scripture

This is the point in the process where I always find myself really feeling connected to the precious little life we've been working toward. We know she is out there right now, waiting for us to come get her. We haven't seen her face yet, and we don't know her name yet. But I feel her. It is a wonderful thing. But it's hard.

She's 8,335 miles away from us, as the crow flies. I'm the type that actually gets lonely for my husband and kids if they go to the store without me. So knowing my child is 8,335 miles away is pretty tough on this Mama. 

This was a perfect scripture to speak to my heart from our good sermons today. I just love this reminder that God created every human in His image, that He always sees every individual. Always. That includes my precious little one, an ocean away from me in Africa.

From where He sits enthroned

 He watches all the inhabitants of the earth -

 He who fashions the hearts of them all,

 and observes all their deeds. 

Psalms 33:13-15

What a completely comforting thought while our little one is still so very far from home. 

Just Not the Same

Last year the zucchini got out of hand. We ate it every way imaginable. Zucchini pickles, zucchini soup, zucchini muffins, raw zucchini, baked zucchini, sauteed zucchini, fried zucchini, and stewed zucchini. It grew so quickly that all the cooks in our extended family couldn't keep up. It was delicious and nutritious and beautiful, but I found myself wishing those vines would take it down a notch and give us a chance to catch up. We gave it away to anyone who slowed down on our lane long enough for us to toss some at them.  We found ourselves feeling overwhelmed by the bounty. But the vines finally did quit producing at the end of the season, and were pulled up and fed to the goats.

Though I'd stashed a freezer full of zucchini, we went through it quickly during the winter months. I used up the last bag of our frozen shredded zucchini in a batch of pasta sauce, then we started looking ahead to summer zucchini again. By March we were all starved for some fresh zucchini. And when the first cute little green zucchinis showed up in early summer we couldn't snatch them up fast enough. Nothing says "summer" better. 

Then the squash bugs attacked. Even with a valiant effort from DaddyDon and Gram and the big grandkids, the bugs won. We never saw zucchini bounty this year. We just got a taste to tempt us. Just enough to remind us how delicious it is. 

The photo above was the only little batch we put in the freezer. We've had other garden goodies this year, and we are still enjoying tomatoes and okra and peppers galore. But boy, do we miss having an out-of-control zucchini crop. Summer's just not the same without it.

Nice Surprise

I've never grown feverfew before. I bought some this spring when we were chosing herbs because the lady at the greenhouse told me they are great food for butterfly caterpillars. This has been the year of the butterfly for our family.

So, I got three of them, even though I knew that this handsome plant would eventually look like my poor fennel did after the caterpillars invaded ~ tattered and chewed and not so pretty.

Boy, was I surprised! It's very hot here in July, and not much blooms and looks great in this heat. Not only did it survive the caterpillars with grace, this sturdy and sweet little plant is blooming these happy little flowers just for us. They make me smile.

Big Day!

Our dossier is on its way to Holt tonight! What a relief! I think I checked the packet 8 times before I could bring myself to seal it up. The three kids had a hand in turning it over to the FedEx lady today. I documented it with a photo of their hands on the paperwork that will bring us one step closer to our little one. Yes, it probably embarrassed eldest a little to have a photo shoot, but I just had to record this momentous occasion.

For those of you who haven't done a dossier for an adoption, it is a huge batch of paperwork that has to be printed on special papers then certified, notarized, stamped, sealed, and anything else official that can be done to papers. It includes documents from our bankers, doctors, friends, Vital Statistics, the Secretary of State, and on and on. Not all countries require a dossier, so this is our first. And I hear the Ethiopian dossier is not as taxing as what is required for some other countries~ well, hats off to those of you who've done those dossiers. Yikes. 

During the several weeks of gathering and processing these documents, letters, and statements things have been a little weird around here. I've holed up in our study while the kids entertained themselves for hours at a time. That's certainly not normal for our family. My usually pleasant dreams have been filled with strange beasts and natural disasters and thieves breaking in. And while my nightmares have always been murky and don't usually make a lot of sense once I'm awake, it has been clear that my dreamed-up catastrophes were always somehow threatening the precious dossier. Don't ask me how, but in one dream a snake made off with it. Without arms.

The notary at the bank is my new best friend. The kids have spent so much time entertaining themselves on the floor of Kinkos while I make copies that they absolutely cringe when we even drive by one. And our courier service and copy expenses are going to rival our grocery bill this month. 

Now it's finally done. And for that I am truly, truly thankful.