And the Winner is....

We have a winner for the Love is Not a Color tee!! We decided to do this contest the fun way and pick out of a hat...

We had over 21 entries because I also counted people who posted on facebook who didn't comment on the blog. I remembered who they were (miraculous, I know) and added their names into the hat. Micah agreed to pick (after trying to put the hat and all of it's contents on his head....
He picked...
My friend Sandi!! I can't link to her blog because she's a facebook friend, but she's a wonderful person who has FIVE kids of her own (and is younger than I am!) and has been a HUGE supporter of our adoption! Yay Sandi!!!

Tee shirt sales will continue until tomorrow and 100% of my cut will go directly towards orphanage donations!! Vitamins, crib sheets, cloth diapers - that sort of thing.

And, speaking of donations - my sister is this super amazing woman who also happens to be a midwife. This is Bonnie -
Hah. Sorry. I couldn't help myself. That actually is her, but from her Ultimate Frisbee team pic. This is her looking more like my sister (and I know, we look exactly alike).

She is working on her master's degree and is doing some work this summer at a birthing center in Haiti. The center is in desperate need of medical supplies and she is collecting donations to take down to Haiti. If you would like to help, you can donate to her fund here. I know I've asked a lot lately, so please know that I'm just posting this for people who are interested in a creative way to help mamas in Haiti. I'm really proud of my sis and all she has done (have I mentioned she spent a year in Zimbabwe working with women's groups?) and I want to support her in all she plans to do. I can't wait for her to get to Haiti and come home with amazing and heart-lifting stories. Hmm... maybe she'll even do a guest blog post?

Oh, and again, since you're here... How about some news? If you didn't hear my sigh of relief, our travel has been confirmed! We leave next week!! I can't wait to smooch on my baby girl. Can't. Wait.

The Lake

We just got home from a fun weekend at our lake. Yes, I call it "our" lake. Okay, other people use it too, but for some reason, I always call it ours. Anyway, we went down with my Dad & Stepmom for Micah's first lake trip. I have been going since I was a baby myself, so I was excited to take my own child there. (Actually, my Grandpa used to take my Dad there when he was young, so it's kind of a family tradition.)

Our lake house is in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas. Seriously - everyone knows each other and there is one tiny restaurant (tiny tiny) and one tiny store. You have to drive an hour to get to a Wal-Mart (which I think is awesome because I don't go to Wal-Mart anyway). It is truly the boonies and we love it that way. Here is our lake house...

Isnt' it cute? Anyway, the lake, as I said, is a family tradition. Here is a picture of my nephew during his first trip to our lake (all the way from the Pacific NW!)...

Isn't he cute? He is 9 years old now. Here is Micah's first trip to the lake - and his first boat ride!

This is his first time "helping" Papa drive the boat. This is a big deal in our family. As kids we always sat on my Dad's lap and drove the boat, so it has been tradition for the grandkids to do the same. I was actually pretty emotional about this moment.

We had a lot of fun with Micah at our lake. We were a little bummed because the water was so high due to the flooding (there were trees under our dock and trees mean snakes, so no swimming off the dock for me this time!) but we still had a lot of fun. Here are some more pictures...

Yes, Micah is playing on a mattress in the middle of the floor in this pic. There is not usually a mattress in the middle of the floor, but they had brought it to put in one of the rooms and he had loved it so much they left it on the floor for him to play. Nice Gparents!

Micah, Papa & Grandma K

We filled a little boat with water for Micah to play in on the dock. Our goal was to keep him from trying to jump in the water. (He didn't spend much time at the dock - it made us all very nervous because he is a busy little man and wants to run everywhere!)

Family photo - we usually take these at sunset (another tradition), but someone had to get to bed.

Micah LOVES driving the boat on Papa's lap. (Granted, we were only going about 2 miles an hour and were in our own cove, but he still loved it :)

We had a great time, but I think we'll wait until next summer when Micah is older and can enjoy the lake more to go back (and the water level will hopefully be down by then). Next summer we'll have him up on skis! Okay, maybe not next summer, but as soon as he's ready!

Big Sis

My big sister Bonnie is in town this week. She and her family live in the Pacific Northwest, so they only come in town about once a year. This year, obviously, is extra special because Micah is meeting his cousins and his aunt Bonnie. Her husband is off to Costa Rica to find them a place to live for the next nine months! Nice! Hopefully we'll be visiting Costa Rica early next spring. My nephew S. said the funniest thing ever tonight - his brother L. was whining and this is what followed:

Bonnie: Are you whining? I keep telling you that we don't speak "whinese" here! :)
S.: But mom, whinese is your favorite drink!

I'm still laughing at that one.

We have been having a fun week - we've been out to dinner, had dinner at all the grandparents' houses, we've gone to the library, and we went to the Butterfly House, which was a lot of fun.

This is Bonnie trying to fit 3 carseats into the back of my outback. :) Micah reaching out to S. reminds me of the picture of cutie Silas reaching out to make friends on Amy's site.

Success!!

Bonnie and her boys at the butterfly house.

Ummm.... how cute is this - my little butterfly boy? I'm sure Kevin (and someday Micah) will hate this picture, but I think it is ADORABLE!! :)

This is one of the first times Micah met aunt Bonnie - he was pretty tired at this point, but trust me, he was very excited at the beginning of the night. :0)