If Home Is Where Your Heart Is. . . .

Baker's Bridge. . .my favorite place in Durango! Yesterday I took my kids and the Willis kids there for the afternoon--I just knew we would get some SUPER Fall pictures. Well, I was a few days early for the real Fall colors, but the pics turned out great regardless! (This weekend I am planning on going to Ouray to see the breath-taking colors!) P.S. Did I mention that I head to Rwanda with Hays to pick up my boy in thirty more days?!?!?!

YIPEE!!! NEWS!!! Hays and I will be heading to Rwanda on Halloween (I think we'll leave the US on the 30th)! So, for Halloween this year I will be dressed up as a crazy blubbering white mother of five with jet lag who is meeting her six year old son for the first time! Ruk DOES know that he is being adopted (he actually thought we would be coming to get him this summer--poor guy). I'm not sure what he feels about being adopted, but he does know. He will be finishing up his school year the last week of October, so the timing will be perfect. He has been learning English all semester and I'm sure he'll pick it up quickly. My contact in Rwanda has met Ruk and she says that he is a sweet and tender boy. She said that he is very adorable and that he is very tall and skinny. She is going to get me his profile as soon as she can so that I can know all kinds of things about my boy! I cannot wait! She will be doing much of the leg work for me before I arrive, so my tri...

I just got back from our third annual GIRLS' TRIP! It was so much fun! Each year my mom takes her girls on a little trip! This year all of us got to go and we really had a great time! The cast included my mom, my sister (Courtney), and my two sister-in-laws (Missy and Jennafer). We spent the weekend in Chicago shopping, eating, relaxing at a spa, eating, shopping, seeing a musical and then some more shopping and eating. It was a great weekend to get away and to just be together as the girls! THANK YOU, MOM!!!! At the Melting Pot right after we arrived. . .what an AMAZING way to start a girls' weekend! YUMMY!!! The Lego Store. I had to take these pictures for Dax. Darth Vador made out of Legos! R2D2 made completely out of Legos! I'm sure she was pretending that was my dad! :) We got to run up to Wheaton for breakfast so we could see Cooper (my brother--not pictured) and his kids. So fun for Aunt MiMi (me)! Jennafer at the spa in between services (massage and facial)...

We went to court! Everyone showed up and it is over. I don't know if we passed court or not. I should hear that next week. Another step down. Prayerfully we will have passed court (I cannot imagine why we wouldn't) and then I will have to request travel approval from the Ministry. Once I get travel approval (usually takes about two weeks), then I can head to Rwanda. Hummmmmmmmm. . .my contact in Rwanda says that the bright side to all of this taking so long is that Ruk will have finished his first semester in school that he began this summer. That will be some good closure for him and he should be back in Kigali during the break (instead of being two hours away where his school is). So, I'll dwell on that bright side. Hopefully he has been learning a little bit of English in school. . .that would be another bright side! So, specific prayer requests: 1. Thank you, God, that our court date is over! 2. Pray that we passed court. 3. Pray that we get Travel Approval...

Okay, go to www.gap.com/castingcall and then enter branerpartyof7. That will bring up my kids' pictures and then you can vote. . .DAILY!!!

Okay, folks. . .please vote for my kids to be the next Gap Kids models! I basically just want the shopping spree and the trip to Disney for the family! Click right here on GABBY's name to vote for Gabby and right here on DAX's name to vote for Dax!!! Go vote! Thanks!!! (Just click on their CAPATIALIZED names above and vote for each one of them! Thanks!)

These are our "little" neighbors. They came around this afternoon. . .not as exciting as the "big boys," but it is always fun to see wildlife coming to the front or back door!