I am here, I am here, I am here!

There has been so much I've wanted to write about in the past month but the days are slipping by a little quicker than I'd like. And family time has been too precious to waste a moment at my computer. Long summer nights have pushed dinner & bedtimes back, many of late nights are spent cleaning the kitchen and of course spending a few precious moments of silence before crashing for the night. Finally Nater and I were on the ball tonight and we had everything finished by 8:30 and I sit drinking a homemade strawberry shake (with homemade ice cream - and quite delicious) and finally some free time to catch up on the blog.

I've been so torn lately on where I want my blog to go. So often I want to use it as a journal; where I can document memories, emotions and photos. But then I worry about who all is reading my blog; will they be interested, offended or bored? Sometimes I want to whine and complain. Other times I want to squeal with excitement about how much I love my life. But I don't want to come across as ungrateful or arrogant. Do you see where I am headed with this? I realize I have very few readers but I know most of them, hence the worry. That being said, I've kind of enjoyed the past month without worrying about my blog. So we'll see where it goes from here...

Life in Oklahoma is treating us well. Up until this past week the weather has been wonderful. I've developed some awesome friendships with some local moms. There is an active adoption group that gets together every month at an Ethiopian restaurant - LOVE!! I've planted and enjoyed my first garden. I've been relaxing with the boys, exercising again and have fallen even more in love with my hubby. We even had our first night away in a long time while my little brother & sister babysat. Our destination - 45 minutes from our house. We rode mountain bike trails, ate greasy food, napped at the hotel, went out to dinner, listened to live music, slept without having a child in our bed and rode the trails again before heading home. It was perfect (thanks again K & T)!

I've also wanted to blog about how great the boys have been. For nearly 2 years (just after Biruk was home) I was either holding a baby or had one hanging on my leg. I love my children but it wore on me sometimes. And the past few months have brought independence, quiet play and a lot of fun! I am finally caught up on laundry, keeping a clean house and cooking an occasional meal. We are doing so much more as a family (outside of the house) now that they are 2 on up. It makes such a difference not lugging around diapers & baby food for 2, toys, booster seats, change of clothes, etc. I feel free! And not to mention the bond that continues to grow between these three. It's so fun to sit back and watch them play, or quietly listen to their conversations. And best of all - their laughter! It's music to my ears, time and time again. I have felt so blessed these past few months and fortunate to have these three, healthy little men in my life.

The past couple weeks we went to the kite festival, we've been flying our own kite, riding bikes, went to the 4th of July parade, movie night with the boys and even made it to the fireworks (we watched from the van in a parking lot - but we made it!) All precious memories I want to hold onto forever.

For those of you heading to Minnesota this weekend we wish we could be there but after our last road trip (almost 2000 miles round trip and 2 weeks of not sleeping in their own beds) we knew our little boys needed a break. I am terribly bummed we'll miss it but hopefully next summer will include a couple fun getaways with other Ethiopian families (ahem Cathy).

I'll leave you with some photo favorites!