Our Dinosaur and his lion cousin

I mentioned in an earlier post that Kenneth and Heidi were in town this weekend. Benjamin loves their kids. He and Emma dressed up in costumes when they were at our house yesterday. I was able to take this cute picture. Arianna was a knight and baby Grant was just afraid. No surprise - Benjamin kept roaring at him.





Here are the three musketeers. They sure have grown!

Farming it

We went to the farm this weekend. My brother Kenneth and Sister-in-law Heidi and their 3 children are in town and we love to be together, so everyone gathered at the farm. The boys did the haying and mowed a ton of hay and baled close to 300 of those big round bails. Most nights they weren't home before 11pm.
For the children the activity of choice is tractor riding. If a tractor isn't available they will settle for a 4 wheeler. If that's not available then kabota ride will due. The picture is of Grandpa getting the littlest ones settled in the back of the kabota.
Spring is my favorite time on the farm. It's absolutely beautiful. The picture of the peonies and pond was taken from my parents' front driveway.

Maine

We had a lovely time this weekend on our trip to Maine. Maine is beautiful, and the birth mother that we meet with is amazing. We liked her immediately. She was warm and inviting and so generous to us. We got to meet several of her extended family and loved them. Families are so fun. The ones that I enjoy the most are crazy, and silly, and loud, and laugh at nothing in particular, but everything collectively. This family is like that. We felt so comfortable there. I appreciate their familial closeness and the support they give one another. Benjamin was a trooper on the trip. He did really well. He was his typical self and all over the house and yard, and not wanting to share. His favorite spot was the dirt pile until an 18 year old nephew showed up, at which point Ben became his shadow. This nephew also entertained Ben at church and Ben ate it up.
One of our favorite parts of the trip were our walks on the beach. The coast was so pretty. It was fun to learn about the different lifeforms and hunt for crabs, shells etc.




We stopped in Boston on the way home and went to the New England Zoo. We thought that Ben would love it and with our reciprocal membership got in for 1/2 price. Benjamin was crabby and only wanted to climb on things or ride the train. He did like the silo slide and the carousel that he and Daddy rode. We tried to see several animals but he wouldn't have it. The fire engine he got to ride he quickly commandeered (see picture.) The Zoo did tire him out, he slept for several hours afterward. We ended up getting home around 8:30 last night tired, but happy.

More info to come...

Exciting News

A birth mother in Maine contacted us last Friday to talk about placing her baby with our family. We are super excited and of course scared to death. It seems like we feel all the emotions involved in adoption, we are empathetic to emotions of birth parents who are placing their babies and keenly aware of the heartache involved, and at the same time feel all the excitement and anticipation of being expectant parents. It's hard to describe. I can tell you unequivocally that I love birth-mothers!! In my book they are unsung heros! I've hesitated to blog about this because it is so sacred to me and such a special thing for us.
The baby is due June 24 and the birth-mother has scheduled a c-section June 29th. We don't know the gender of the baby so that is exciting to wait and wonder. The birth-mother thinks it's a boy. She has asked us to be there for the birth. I keep referring to her as birth-mother to protect her and respect her privacy. It seems so formal though. It's fun to talk to her on the phone and learn about her life and family.
We are going to Maine Memorial Day weekend. We are anxious to meet and spend time with the whole family. We expect to have a terrific time. We told Benjamin that we are going to the coast and he said that he wants to ride a whale. (I have no idea where he got that.)
I went to a consignment shop last weekend and bought 6 girl outfits in the event that it's a girl. Little girl cloths are so cute.

We feel infinitely blessed and can't believe how lucky we have been. Benjamin is the very best and we love his birth family so much.
It's hard to believe we could be this happy.

Friends

Benjamin had a friend over today. They played so well together and I enjoyed playing with his Mom. We decided to do an every Friday play date. It will be great for Ben to have someone his own age and size to pal around with. Deagan is such a nice boy too. I'm pleased that they are friends (as influences start early.) Hopefully all his choices in friends are as great!
All the activity and pool time wore Ben out. He has taken a terrific nap and I've had time to clean up and even check our email.
Today has been beautiful with lots of sunshine and 80 degree weather. There is a light breeze and low humidity - truly picture perfect and so different from our Mother's day snow.

Elephant

Who would have thought that an elephant's skin would be rough? Benjamin wanted a ride. (He is just like his mommy.) Turns out this is the elephant they could ride.
Thanks Danny and Karen and Jared. We had a great day!

Watermelon

Someone likes watermelon.