What a day!

We had such a busy day today! Through Buddy's schooling, he was able to help out a ministry in town. I remember watching TL Osburn when I was a little girl, and totally enjoying his genuine love for Jesus and how simply he portrayed the gospel. (Typing with a cat on my arm is making this very difficult) They have a church associated with he ministr adn we got to visit. Great service.
Immediately went to my parent's house for lunch, chatting while I knit. (I wore my sweater today! Wasn't 100% pleased, but it's done.) Then, it was off to watch Buddy graduate from VWMTC. What was the coolest, was walking his mom through getting online so she could watch it from NY! He still has to finish one quarter in the fall, but he spent the majority of the year with these people, going through some really big tasks together, and he directors suggested he do it. I'm thankful for his time there, thankful we get a break, thankful it won't take long in the fall to finish up.
Came home to feed the goats and get the kids fed and in bed. Samuel had a bloody nose and Catherine felt like she was going to throw up. All is well now, and I'm ready for a fun day together tomorrow.

Went out to the garden to weed this morning before it got hot and saw... pea pods! I'm so excited. I haven't had fresh peas since I was growing up. Now, to keep the goats out of the garden so the pods can fill out!
Caleb woke up this morning totally dry, went on the potty by himself, both pee pee and poo poo this morning more than once. I'm so thankful!
Another butterfly is dead, so we're planning a release when my mom comes to visit.
Another good day to see the Lord at work in our lives! Taste and see that the Lord is good...

Eventful day

We have had some baby bunnies in our back yard that we were enjoying watching. However, today one got out of their nest and somehow ended up several houses down. One baby was dead in the nest. Buddy decided the best place for them was at the neighbor's house, who has cages and experience with bunnies. Tragic is the word to describe it. Both S&C were in tears that the babies were gone. Thankfully, our neighbor said they can visit any time and if we get what we need to keep them, we can have them back. Hmmmm. I appreciate the offer, but I do believe it was better to have them occur naturally on our property than actually having to care for them!
One of the butterflies died. Saw it belly up on the bottom of their house. At least it lasted a week and a half and we still have 4 others. Waiting to see if those 2 that got stuck together lay any eggs.
Caleb has decided it's a fabulous deal to go on the potty! I'm telling you, it's been a great past 2 days. He's been dry during naps and has gone on the potty consistently. He even went at the Y when we went swimming. We went to the Urbans for a visit and he did both on their potty. Of course, it's all for candy, but at least it's happening. To think of the frustration I'd been feeling when I tried to get him to go in the past. The switch has flipped and I think we're on our way! Trusting it won't be a deal when we're gone.
The judge should be appointed for our case, by now. They have a few days to decide if all the documents are in order before they set the date. We're believing for favor and the right judge who will deal quickly with everything so we can get over and back and be reunited!
Everyone was in bed by 8:15 tonight except me. I cleaned out some emails and am off to clean floors.
Looking forward to a nice visit with my mom tomorrow and a date with Buddy tomorrow night!

Happy news! Our attorney has the information necessary to go to court to apply for our hearing! It seems there are a few steps to getting the date, but I'm still very pleased we are so far along. It's all progress, and it's coming so much more closely in times than it has for a long time. I'll be keeping you posted!
In the meantime, our happy little baby bunnies are surviving, how, we don't know, since we rarely see the mama. The butterflies are still having fun. Caleb has discovered how to pull a chair over to where they are so he can "touch" them through the netting. The goats continue doing well, drawing neighbor children, even the one who was being mean to Catherine. Still not sure what to do with her.
Buddy had a great time on his survival training, and was so sweet to take the kids on the scout camping trip. However, he gave me a call to tell me how nice it was at the campground, how nice it would be for me to join them. So, after I'd given Caleb a chance to sleep, finished weeding a section of a flower bed, fed the goats, and cleaned up, off we went to find them. We stayed for about 3 hours, then had to come home so I could feed the goats and get Caleb in bed. He did NOT enjoy leaving his bubba, sissy, or daddy, and cried a good portion of the way home. Silly me, I forgot his special blanket, which would've helped him fall asleep.
I think we've finished our real schooling for the year. However, I'm still going to do some school most days. We'll see how it goes, but I'm trusting good things for the summer.

Question of the Day:

How soon could you travel? Tomorrow! Oh, that's right, Buddy has to get home and go on a camp out with the kids. (By the way, it's getting ready to pour for a second time today.) Ok, so maybe a little more time needed. AND it's just getting info so the attorney has what he needs when they set the date. Patience, and please, someone come to my house and tell me what to do!

News to enjoy

All 5 butterflies lived! One has bent wings, but we'll just keep him until his life cycle is over to experience all his joy.

Monday afternoon, we got a delivery of Dolly Madison and Jefferson. 2.5 week old goats who needed a fostor home. We get to bottle feed them until we get tired of having them around, which probably won't be for a very long time.

Catherine is in heaven and spends every possible moment with them.

Mostly like this, with Dolly.

Those faces are so precious! filled with the wonder of baby animals.

He wouldn't go to sleep because he wanted to go see the goaties. He put his shoes on, sat in his chair to wait out nap time, and fell asleep anyway.

The BEST news is that we believe we'll know our court date by next week! Amazing that 28 months have nearly passed and we'll finally see that sweet little face! Keep you posted.

We just transferred our little cocoons to their little habitat. We're so happy to see that 5 of the 5 actually are going to be butterflies! Enjoying life and the reminder of how God brings new life to us. Looking forward to seeing what they look like in a week. Funny thing was that one was hooked in the silk and we had to pull it off. It started shaking and moving it's "tail" and didn't stop for quite a while. That little caterpillar is probably swished and dead, but it has God's ability to ward off danger.
Next week, Buddy is going to a survival training. He will be gone for 5 days. When he comes home, we'll be really glad to see him, since we won't be able to talk to him the whole time he's gone. He'll be home for a good night's sleep and time with the family to turn around and go to Samuel's promotion camp out. What a good man!
While he's gone we're going to get some sweet little visitors. They won't be a permanent part of the family, but Jefferson and Dolly we're looking forward to our times together. We'll be sure to share when they're here!

We're still here! It's been brought to my attention that I haven't blogged in forever. Some days I think our lives are busy, but the details are really only fun for us. However, here are a few glimpses of the past 2 weeks.

We've had a little visitor in our yard every few days. The kids are getting a kick out of the return of the bunny.Now that our garden is coming up, I really hope he minds himself and only eats outside the border of the garden! We've seen a few carrots pop up, and are hopeful that one of the peppers will come up. Otherwise, with the watermelons and cukes taking a break from sprouting, we have a pretty empty garden.

We got to go to the Festival Israel in Tulsa, with only 20 minutes to spare before closing. We managed a dessert and a pony ride!

Since Buddy's been very occupied with school and work, I decided to take the kids to Branson last week. Knowing our travel is coming ever so close and that World Fest was ending at SDC, we loaded up on Thursday. However, we made some detours I've been wanting to, but hadn't really had time for when we've gone in the past. We stopped at The Prescious Moments Chapel for a bit, then at the Wilson's Creek Battlefield. Civil War was last year for us, so it was a bit rusty, but great to rekindle those things we'd learned. We were able to stay with our friends. I must say this was the best time the kids have probably had. Samuel and Danel spent hours riding bikes around the neighborhood, exploring all they could. Catherine and Denise always have fun together. This was the first that Caleb and Derek really played together. They spent every waking moment enjoying each other's company. First thing Caleb would ask when he woke us was, "Where's my friend?" and then there was the other one, "What my friend doing?" He was so sad to leave his friend. He really could've stayed at their house for much longer! Friday was a bit of a bummer for Samuel, because he had to ride rides by himself. I did manage to ride the Pirate ship with him, but in the middle of it, Caleb toppled over and started crying, which started Catherine crying. (She had had a bike wreck that morning and had scraped her shoulder and knee pretty badly.) We did get to see acts from Russia, Ecuador, Ireland, and see the Firey Fiddles. Catherine didn't want to ride much, but agreed to sitting in the Tea Cups without spinning. Samuel did enjoy riding the ship by himself way at the top.Anyway, Saturday, my mom and dad were there and we just cruised around the park, getting to ride Wildfire and Thunderation, see the Chinese acrobats, the family from Argentina, the group from Trinidad, and eat lunch with G'pa and G'ma.

We left and drove right home, all happy to be reunited with Daddy. Buddy was really sweet and took S & C out to shop for Mother's Day gifts for me. I was thankful to be able to sleep in and enjoy being with our family.

We had 2 birthday moments this past week, too. First, Buddy had his on Wednesday, thus the Thursday departure for Branson. Then Thursday, Hannah turned 5! At one time, we thought i might be possible to be with her for her day. However, we'll soon be there and it will be the last she'll be without her forever family for her birthday. We are just one piece of paper (which happens to be here in the US) for the attorney to be able to request our court date. This is working out well, since Buddy finishes school on the 21st, as does my mom, who will watch the kids while we're gone.

Looking forward to a great rest of the week, and being able to share good news soon.esr

I put the kids to bed tonight, knowing they need to get a good night sleep for testing tomorrow. About 30 minutes later, I heard singing. I thought it was Catherine, but she said no. I went to check on the boys, and Samuel told me how noisy Caleb was being. I reached down to touch him and felt skin instead of jammies. Skin everywhere! He had stipped naked at some point and was happy as a lark! "I don't WANT my diaper. I don't WANT panties. I don't WANT jammies. I need you. Snuggle me!" On went the diaper and jammies. Down I lay to "snuggle him." Then it was time for fun, or so he thought. I got up and left to help Buddy do a project for school. I have a sneaking suspicion he's still awake. Bad news for us, when he has a nap at 2:30. Oh well, we can all go to bed early tomorrow.