Camping Adventures

We kicked July off with camping at the one and only Farm Island!  Kaleb loved it because it meant we never had to go inside.  The 1st morning he woke up in his pack n play to the birds chirping out side and he was thrilled saying 'bird, bird, bird'.  We swam and fished and ate Zestos ice cream and had all kinds of FuN!

 Fishing with the guys...

 Successful, very successful :) 

 I even caught my limit- proof that miracles still happen!

 Swimming with Auntie Ashley....

 Grandma & Grandpa Berry also both got their limit of walleye.  Grandma even caught a 19"er- nice.

 Wow....fish!!!  

1st Zestos baby cone- this is a key life event!  

15 Months

Oh, if only we could forever be 15 months old!  Our little man is so much fun right now- we are so incredibly blessed!  Here's what life is like for our favorite 15 month old....
- His well baby check-up measured in at 29.7" and 22.4 lbs.  Trust me, he feels a whole lot heavier than 22lbs!  The post-shots sucker was so yummy he ended up wiping it up and down his face and his arms and his legs and his car seat and his face some more while Mom was driving to our next stop.  Thank goodness we were headed over to a friend's house for lunch and some swimming pool time :)
- He can consume an incredible amount of shells and cheese!
- Raviolis are still a favorite food.  Not only are they yummy but, they are also a lot of fun!

 Especially when smashed between the fingers....  

so much for the nice 'hair job' earlier that morning.  

- Bubble Guppies are an even bigger hit!

- Bravely discovered the sprinkler the other day- oh, the joys of life!

- The Little Man has recently really started falling in love with books, especially ones with animals.
- Two naps a day are still nice but in a pinch, we can get by with just one.  
- Most of our mornings (if its not already like 90 degrees out) are spent like this...

- And, Grandpa's boots are still a little BIG ;)  But, they're a lot of fun to wear!

Life is very blessed!  Our little man brings lots of smiles, hugs and kisses to our lives.  What a blessing.  We're so fortunate that God chose us to share life with him.  

And, last but not least... here's one for Grandma Berry & Great Auntie Connie.  

The original Aunt Connie (the original Chubby Cheeks) gave this t-shirt to me when I was a baby.  I passed it back to her for 1st baby and now.... its been returned to my kiddo.  What fun! 

God Bless everyone!  

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!  

Today was a lot of fun celebrating our favorite men.... 

 Homemade breakfast as ordered by Wes.... French Toast, bacon & orange juice. 

 These two are such best buds- they get to laughing at each other, like to wrestle on the floor and love having 'roar'-ing contests.  They LOVE watching the Tim Tebow video online and the re-run of  the Broncos win last year which sent them to the play-offs.  By the end of both, the two are typically cheering with arms waving and lots of yelling.  Lots of fun! :)  

 Wes' 1st Father'd Day card :)  

 Grandma and Grandpa Roth also sent a Father's Day care package.  Kaleb found a new book called 'Spot Loves Daddy'- spent breakfast checking out his book.  He thinks it is super cool!  

Then, we loaded up the car and headed to Milesville for the nearly annual Father's Day picnic where a big 'ole group of family gathered together.  If you start adding Parsons to Elsheres to Hanrahans to Berrys and Sloveks and ..... well, a lot more names- you start to get alot of people.  I would guess there were at least 80-90 people there.  Was great to see everyone and to introduce our Little Man!  

And, after lunch our Little Man and his awesome Grandpa Berry went for a walk to check out the trees and the birds and the things outside.  What a special day and way to celebrate my dad's 1st Father's Day as a Grandpa.

Three Amazing Guys! 

Dad- thanks for being a wonderful example and teacher.  We spent a lot of time as a kid riding horseback talking about a lot of things.  We'd talk crops, world religions, politics, the weather, re-tell old stories and all sorts of things.  Good times, I tell you.  He also taught me a lot about problem solving and how to 'figure it out' during our adventures in haying and chasing cows.  You're a great guy Dad- thanks a bunch! 

Wes- thanks for being an incredible dad and an awesome husband!!  You rock Mr.  Thanks for loading the diaper bag hundreds of times, driving lots of miles on gravel going way out of your way so our kid could have awesome day care.  Thanks for always making life fun and taking care of us all in the same breath.  You're amazing and we're so thankful for YOU!  God Bless, my Love :) 

And, Mr. Kaleb... 

You little guy have made today all the more fun.  Actually, every day is all the more fun since you've showed up.  You love your Dada so very much.  You're best buds and love chillin' out together.  We're so blessed to have us home with us.  We love you lots Little Man and can't wait to see how God continues to unfold your life.  

Happy Father's Day Grandpa Roth as well!  We love you too :) Thanks for raising a wonderful son in Wes!  

And, a big Happy Great Grandpa Day to Great Grandpa Berry! 

You're such a blessing to us all :)   

Sunny San Diego

We've just returned from a wonderful, fun, exhausting and incredibly blessed week of vacation with the Roths!  It was a great time of playing in the ocean, visiting the zoo, hanging out together and relaxing.  We stayed that this awesome beach house....

We were on the bay side which was great because it was much quieter, safer and the water was nice and calm for the Little Man....  

Sometimes you find something so wonderful you just want to roll around in it... :)  

Dad is leading the discover- oh, so much fun!

The next day, we went to the 'real ocean' which was just a few blocks away.  It was so incredibly fun watching Kaleb discover that the ocean is water which really makes it one huge BATH!!!  You could see it suddenly click and then it was a full-on sprint to the water.  

Oh, boy... here we go!  

The kid has no fear of water- he absolutely LOVES it!  The saltiness of it didn't phase him a bit- he was just thrilled to have discovered the huge bath.  Fun, fun, fun- I tell ya'!  

One of my favorite pictures of the week...  our little guy playing in the sand just soaking it all up.  

 We also rode our 1st carousel- which he loved once he believed me he wouldn't fall off.  

It got a big 'oooohhhh' outta the kid! 

And, we learned about video games... lots of fun!  He had a blast playing with Than which basically involved cheering (yelling) and dancing wildly then randomly (when Than wasn't expecting it) hit a button which would frequently cause Than to 'die'.   Then the real giggling, dancing and craziness would begin.  

 We went to the San Diego Zoo too... 

 We rode the tram back across the zoo- Kaleb loved it best when at the front so he could see all the way down below.  Definitely got a BIG Ohhh :)  

 And, we watched a show at the zoo too.  Grandma and Noah sat with us at the very top.  His favorite part was when three big colorful parrots flew right over our heads. Little Man very much loves birds!

 One night, we made a quick run for the beach to watch the sunset.  And, the Little Man was already in his PJ's but we didn't care.  We loaded up and off we went.  So glad we did- we had an absolutely precious and wonderful time.  Kaleb knew it was the ocean this time and the moment he hit the sand- he was off and running.  Within minutes we'd ditched the pj bottoms and our little man just basked in the fun of the water.  It was freezing, soon he was freezing but he didn't care at all.  

We had a wonderful time together with family.  Lots of memories that weren't even caught in picture form too.  Like all five of the Roth grandkids playing football on the lawn in front of the house.  Kaleb was hysterical chasing the 'big kids', laughing with them rolling in the grass and tackling the football.  

Ohh, and we also celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary!  We celebrated with dinner at Joe's Crab Shack having our standard coconut shrimp.  Then the best part... we ordered the Smores dessert to go.  Ate it on the beach watching the sunset....wonderfulness I tell you! :)  We've packed a lot into these three years and we can't wait to see what the next year brings.  As we like to say "Go God"!  

Happy Summer!

We are officially in summer mode- and have been here almost a week.  We're loving every minute of it!!  I've got to admit that June, July and most of August make teaching so much more fun.  I really do enjoy my job but you'd have to be crazy to 'want' to work during summer when all the really fun stuff is going on.  We've spent the past week playing, crawling in the toy bin, discovering Bubble Guppies and dancing to our Sunday School sing-along cd.  Good times- I must say!!  The sandbox, swing and grass outside have been favorites too.  We need the rain to ease up a little so the sun will shine more often but, we're not complaining- the moisture is always appreciated!

Our little man is 14 months old, crazy but true.  Life with a 14 month old is loads of fun.  He sleeps through the night.  We're no longer buying baby formula and everyday holds lots to discover.  Just so we don't forget....
- He LOVES American Idol!!!  He will just sit there mesmerized in awe then all of a sudden break out in wild crazy dancing.  Jumpin' and shakin' and hands in the air.  So fun to watch!
- He has words... "Waf' = Waffle.  Cinnamon Waffle mind you.  Every morning for breakfast without fail.  Why ruin a good thing?  Other words inclue- up, eat, baba (bottle), nana (banana), hi, tank-u (thank you), brrrrr, wa (water), baf (bath)  and probably a few others I can't think of at the moment.
- He loves his bath-time even more than music which says ALOT!  We say the word 'bath' and all food is dropped, toys are ditched and he's off and running to the 'baf'.  He could play there all day.  His latest thing is discovering how to dip his ears into the water.  Most kids are freaked out by their ears getting wet.  Not this kid- that's his new challenge.
- He can detect that the bathroom door is open in approximately 1/1000 of a second.  At the rate he runs these days, we have about 1/10 of a second to beat him to the coveted bathroom.
-  Crawling on top of his radio flyer retro-rocket while pushing the buttons is quite fun!
- Climbing into is lots of fun too :)

- The rocking chair is especially useful when climbed onto then used to look out the window while dancing... sometimes with no hands.  He's only fallen 1 time.  The kid very, very seldom wipes out no matter what he's
'accomplishing'.

-  Can climb the stairs in about 30 seconds.  Especially in the morning when he knows that Dad is upstairs getting ready.  The rest of the day- not overly exciting to him.
- Wandering through the kitchen with a mixing bowl on our head is loads of fun- Kaleb says try it, you'll see :)
-  Amazed at the things he's willing to eat.  Last night we shared my chow mien at the mall.  Raviolis are still the all-time favorite however.

     

Mom-iversary

Today is one of those days in which you hope for and pray for and long for.  For a long, long, long, long time.  Its a day that quite honestly- for a chunk of my life, I didn't think God had called me to.  Mother's Day.  That beautiful sunshine-y day in May filled with flowers and 'counting your blessings' and all things maternal.  But, for a lot of people it isn't that.  Its a day of fragile hearts, of longing prayers and hopes deferred.  For me, I spent a lot of years of adulthood in the 'longing prayers and hopes deferred' phase of celebrating Mother's Day.  Its always been a special day for our family you see... I was born on Mother's Day.  My mom, became a Mom on Mother's Day.  How perfect is that?  Of course it super special because I have an incredible Mom and two awesome Grandmas who have truly helped form me and make me who I am.  They are definitely part of the 'great Moms of all-time' club!  It was a club I longed to be a part of but, God had different plans as to when and how that would all come to be.

This would be me, back in the day... 

Today is a miracle.  But, how did we get here?  Five years ago, God and I were in the middle of some intense discussion on where my life was headed.  I was single, there were no qualified prospects on the horizon and the last one had left my heart a mess and my head confused.  I longed to be a wife and a mom.  But, that wasn't God's plan.  That summer and fall- God and I did a lot of discussing and arguing and 'figuring out'.  In the end, I can truly say I came to the realization that I was not called to get married and have babies.  I was called to teach and minister to my students and help with summer camps and have the flexibility to help family when needed.  That is where God needed me.  God calls us to where HE needs us most, you see.  And, really for the 1st time- I was good with that plan.  I learned the true meaning of the overly and often mis-quoted verse:

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

- Psalm 37:4

This verse doesn't mean "be strong in Christ and He will give you what you want".  But, that is how it is treated and viewed and used so often.  What it really means is-  if you are in-tuned to God's calling, He will whisper  (His)  most perfect desires into your heart to long and hope and pray for.

And, that is what God did in 2007 and into '08.  It was a year of re-alignment and new excitement for the path ahead.  Had you asked me 4 years ago if I planned to get married the answer would have been a very authentic and peaceful- no.  God's got other things ahead for me.  It was like that heart desire had been boxed up and put away.  I was done with it- not out of bitterness or anguish but that chapter of longing was over.

Oddly enough though... I felt like God had whispered into my heart what I called the '2010 Plan'.  God wasn't telling me to box up the 'motherhood' box yet however.  After much discussion- God and I decided to save up money, pay off bills and get as strong financially as possible so that on my 30th birthday (2010)- I would be better prepared to serve wherever he called.  Whether that be spending my summers doing mission work in an orphanage, helping within the foster care system or evaluate God's view of single parent adoption.  It didn't really make sense but it seemed like that was where God said I was headed.  Remember, I wasn't getting married.  That was for sure.  I just knew that I needed to start preparing for 2010- whatever God had in-store.  So, I did.  And, life was good and my heart was content.

God has a marvelous sense of humor though... you see, at the end of 2008 (about a year into the '2010 Plan') God sent an incredible man into my life.  To say I was cautiously confused by God's new twist in the road is a major understatement.  By February, I let my heart open up.  In March, I let God convince me this was 'the guy' and in April we got engaged.  8 weeks later- were were married!  WOW!!!  It really is a miracle God could get me from zero to married in just over 6 months.

To make a long story a little shorter... in the spring of 2010 God started whispering the call to adopt into both Wes' and my heart.  In the whirlwind of getting married and the hopes of starting a family soon... I kind of turned the volume down on God's 2010 Plan.  But, then God reminded me that "He knows the plans he has for you..."

On May 11th, 2010 (my 30th birthday) we had our 1st homestudy visit in the process of adopting.  I remember quietly thinking that day... wow, God- this is a version of the 2010 Plan, I never saw coming.  The calling to adopt which was first suggested by my husband. God had assembled all the pieces for HIS plan.  He sent an incredible godly man to be my husband.  He prepared us individually and jointly to finance an adoption.  He spoke the desire into our hearts.

Today, we're celebrating lots of blessings in our journey to become a family.  You see- a year ago today on May 13th, we  got 'THE CALL' from our social worker introducing us to this little 6 week old little boy.

He was precious in his pink sweatpants and furrowed brow.  Today, that little guy is home- running around and lovin' on us.  What a blessing he is to me and us!!  God had it all planned out just like this.  I never would have guessed just 'how' it would all come together.  Go God :)  Like the song goes, he really does have the whole world in His hands!

This morning, Wes gave me my 1st Mother's Day card at breakfast.  He had rigged it up so there was a little picture of Kaleb and I on the front cover- it was awesome!!  Kaleb was on my lap helping me when he pointed to me in the picture.  He then looked at me and smiled and giggled.  After looking at it a little more... he kissed the picture.  Ooooohhh, baby!  He is the most incredible blessing with the sweetest most loving heart a kid could ever have.  Today, we really are counting our blessings.  God has done great things- thank you, thank you, thank you!

Our first family picture! 

Time to Reconnect :)

Wow- its been a long dry spell since the last post.  For that, I apologize.  But, I'm back!  You see- there's a lot more to be told in the adventures of our Mr. Kaleb Abera!    Why the extreme drought in posting to the blog... well- you see, I went back to work.  In January, I took off literally about 80 miles an hour into the whirlwind of teaching, driving my FCCLA state officer around the state, coordinating daycare, keeping the house a-float and  most importantly... just hanging out as a family in the evenings.  Within the last few weeks, spring has suddenly arrived.  State FCCLA is over! : )  and, we've convinced Mr. Kaleb to sleep through the night!!  All that adds up to just enough time and energy to update our family story.  We are so thrilled with where God has placed us in life right now.  We have the most incredible son who is such a blessing to our lives.   I'll do my best to update and fill in the blanks of our journey since coming home.

God Bless and hope you enjoy :)

P.S.  Keep scrolling down for the latest additions...

The Roths