nine is fiiiine

Happy, happy birthday to our

handsome

funny

faith-filled

creative

joyful

sensitive

lego-lovin

compassionate

baby boy

I bless you in Jesus' Name today, son.

He has created you to be a strong warrior for His Kingdom,

and we are so proud of you!

Happy birthday Quinn Samuel!

19 years and counting

that's alot of

prayer

laughter

tears

joy

safety

dreaming

believing

conflict resolution

sleepless nights with children

vacations

penny pinching

better and worse

sickness and health

and countless cups of coffee

I wouldn't trade our journey so far

for anything in this world

God is so good

ah...my youth...

big hair and a bangle bead fettish

happy anniversary honey!!

harvest moon festival

We were able to celebrate the Moon Festival

with the local Chinese culture association Saturday.

What a difference in Gracie compared to

her first festival last September!

She loved the food (tofu even) and we all

just love being immersed in her birth culture.

It's also such a thrill to be with other families

with their little ones adopted from China.

The festival basically celebrates the time of harvest

and traditionally a moon cake is served.

(isn't too pleasant tasting I must say)

Poor Quinn...thought he was getting a moon pie.

the loooong trip home

so last weekend we were rested up

and ready to head home
from our little mountain getaway.

it all started out innocently enough
with a wrong turn on the interstate...
(must've been the high altitude
affecting the brain)

our goal was to visit
historic jonesborough, tn,
the oldest town in tennessee.
that was the destination of many
trips with my family as I was growing up.

enter

exit 19

after realizing we had taken the wrong exit
we stopped to switch drivers.
(the teenage driver

will remain nameless)

ahh...back on the road to try out
the directions given by a local.


after driving in a very large circle, we were back at

exit 19

this time we and asked for directions
(for the second time)
and realized it was time for lunch.

we drove a few exits down to eat.

(we knew there were a ton of restaurants here

thanks to the aforementioned incorrect directions.)

as we were getting everyone out to eat,
erin says "where's my other shoe?"
we then realized when drivers were switched at,
you guessed it,
exit 19
her shoe fell out of the van

so...miss fashionista had to wear her sister's hiking boots
(I know, I know - cruelty) to lunch

we were one happy, Spirit-filled bunch for sure,

so full of joy & love...

we piled back in & headed BACK to
exit 19
and there, in a lonely, remote parking lot,
we found the little lost sperry.

all was well in erin's world

we finally found the correct exit
and toured this beautiful little town

this is the restaurant where I had

my first official "dress-up date"

in a very fancy environment

wearing a very fancy

Jessica McClintock gunne sax dress.

( I was 11 and the date was with my Dad)

a visual picture of how

poor Quinn felt at this point of the day

ahh, a little sugar to ease the stress

we were PAST ready to go home.
after driving for almost an hour,
Brian and I said almost simultaneously...
"this doesn't look familiar"

and I'm not even kidding,
at that very second we saw this

at least when we turned around to go the right way,

we were able to say a proper goodbye to our friend

exit 19

bottom line:
a 2 1/2 hour trip
took well over 7 hours

4 states in one day

Gracie didn't sleep
ONE wink in the van

we need a GPS

the end

refreshed

As Brian said this morning...

"I wish we could press the re-wind button."

We were able to get away for the holiday weekend

to an incredible place of retreat and renewal

for families in ministry.

It is located in Tennessee,

and it was amazing...

We're so grateful!

no TV

no computer

high temps near 60

lows in the 40s

no alarms

no schedule

breathtaking mountain views

fishing & hiking

priceless memories

The kids fished the majority of the time,

and we did a ton of hiking.

As we were hiking on Sunday morning

we actually met a family

(literally in the middle of nowhere)

with 2 girls from China -

so cool.

Our last evening there was great.

The girls had chocolate facials, and

we had a great game of Apples to Apples.

(The pictures show the descriptive cards

that each one of us ended up with...

I think I was set up...)

Our favorite memory of the whole trip

was made that night as well.

We all sat on the front deck looking at a brilliant sky

full of millions of stars.

Words can't describe it.

We also listened to barn owls calling

out to each other & watched bats making their evening rounds.

(OK, not my favorite thing)

When we were putting the kids to bed Quinn said

"That was the best day ever!"

I totally agree.

Time away like that puts so much of life into perspective.

"Things" don't matter...

Fellowship with the Father,

The freedom of being quiet before Him...

filled with worship and questions at the same time,

Peace with where & who you are,

Unhurried time with your favorite humans on the planet...

Those are the things that matter to this girl.

we saw a gazillion churches over the weekend
heh heh heh

Have I ever mentioned I detest facebook?

a soapbox for another day...

Lest you think our family/life is perfect,

I will soon share the story of our trip home.

Ahem.