Home

The boys seem to be very happy in their new home. The first few days they just "pinged" from one thing to the next to the next. It has been so fun to watch them explore and discover and get acquainted with the place.

Some of their favorite things are...
*Moses (the dog)
*cats
*trampoline (though they give me gray hairs and heart attacks when I watch them)
*bicycles
*board games (especially Looney Tunes Monopoly)
*Kinex, Legos
*gathering eggs (which is a good thing, because eggs are their favorite food)

We got home in the wee hours of the morning Thursday (June 24th) and on Friday (the 25th) around 5pm we left for Des Moines. Darin and I had signed up to compete in the Hy-Vee triathlon and used it as a fund raiser for the Brittany's Hope Foundation who gave us a generous grant to help with some of the expense of the adoption. The race was really fun. I even finished a minute faster than last year. And family and friends generously donated almost $1000! Awesome!

The boys really didn't want to leave their new house after only one day, but we let them watch movies all the way over so they were really quiet:) I hate to use the TV as a babysitter, but there are times when it is a "sanity-saver". This was one of those times. It was a very quiet trip. They really enjoy meeting family. They warmed up quickly even though they tend to be quite shy around new people. Whenever we introduced them to a family member they beamed. They seem to love being a part of a big family and feel immediately accepted and included. That's cool. We got back home Monday morning and I've been trying to catch up and settle into a routine ever since.


We all went to church together for the first time this Sunday (July 5). I cried during worship as I sang praises to my AWESOME God thanking Him for who He is and for the PRECIOUS gifts He's given me in each one of my family members. I cried during the sermon as I looked around at our large family sitting together in church. And I cried at the end when pastor gave the invitation as I thought about the day my sons may walk forward and give their hearts to God. I am so BLESSED!

We took the boys to see fireworks on Sat. and Sun. nights. They enjoyed them for the most part, except for the really loud ones that hurt your ears and thump in your chest. By the end of the weekend Mauricio said, "No mas amigos." No more friends. They were a bit overwhelmed:)