summer fun

 Reading with gaga (she was home for the week)

 Swimming with "swimmies" for the first time

 Addison and I making funny faces while camping

 painting with sidewalk paint (thank you pinterest)

And the last day of school

It's hard to believe Eli finished his first year of school.  We are looking forward to a fun packed summer with a trip to Mackinaw, NTS Olivet and a few weeks in Colorado.

Enjoy your summer

O' and on an adoption note our homestudy should be done this week.

Eli's birthmom is pregnant.  At this point she is parenting.  Please pray for protection for her and for clarity and discernment for us.

Grace and peace.......

the critter barn

Okay, I have this big dream of becoming a farmer.
And our trip today makes the dream bigger and a dream of the past.
I love the animals, especially the babies. But at the same time that is a lot of work.


We had a chance to feed the "kids" baby goats, and the calf's. We held the chicks, pet bunnies and milked a goat


All of the kids had a blast!!!!


Eli was in his GLORY....he had so much fun with all of the animals. When we asked him which was his favorite he said the pig...(I was surprised by that, it's usually the horse's)

We are very blessed to have such great teachers that plan such wonderful trips and love our kiddo's so much....

And driving home, I realized just how great it is to live in West Michigan.

I am grateful for all of the farmers (we drove past a lot of farms) in the area that work so hard.

Enjoy the spring weather this weekend!!!

Grace and peace to you this weekend!!!!

A day at the garden and more

Eli showing off his artwork!!!!

A Valentine gift from school
It had a clever mustache valentine saying on it, to sweet.!!!!

And the Fredrick Meijer Garden butterfly exhibit.

This week the 8 day forecast is 70's!!! We are taking FULL advantage of this great weather and playing outside as much as possible!!!

I hope you can find time to enjoy the early spring weather!!!

Grace and Peace!!!

a little inspiration

So, I picked this painting up at a garage sale this summer for $2.50. And had a great idea to transform it into something modern.

I started by cutting the letters out of contact paper on my Cricut.

Then painted over the letters with white wall paint that we had laying around.

After the paint dried, I removed the letters.

Viola, the finished product!!!!

This isn't the final resting place. I have another place in mind. But this is the spot for the time being.














Happy day to you!!

Grace and Peace!!

It's done

Finally it is done....my latest creation. I tried something called a disappearing 9....and it was really fun to make. If I weren't such a procrastinator it would have been done A LONG time ago...but I am and it took me forever. Now that it's done I should use this as motivation to do the next one!!! Serenity Grace your next. There seems to be a trend I get these blankets done by there 6 months mile stone. Better late then never.9 patches

squares stitched together

The finished quilt!!!!

I hope you are enjoying the sun.. I sure am!!!!!

Grace and Peace!!!

girls getaway!!!!!

My girlfriends and I are enjoying a weekend away. The objective is scrapbooking. With a little snacking (okay maybe a lot of this), hot tubing, sleeping and funny pictures.

These silly pictures remind me of how important it is to let your hair down and have fun sometimes!!!!!

.
Do something silly today. It will be well worth it!!!

Grace and Peace!!

I LOVE THIS KID!!!!

We try every now and again to wear "big boy undies"
here are pictures from one of our attempts. He is wearing little boy boxers.
O' so cute...I just love his little bum...
DISCLAIMER: HE HAS NO INTEREST IN POTTY TRAINING AND I HAVE NO INTEREST IN CASING HIM TO GET IT DONE, JUST SAYIN! ALTHOUGH HE DOES POO IN THE POTTY MOST OF THE TIME...I'LL TAKE WHAT I CAN GET!!!!

HAPPY DAY!!!!!

It's been

Well it's been awhile. Not to much going on these days around here. Still waiting for our home study to be approved......and then we wait for a birth mom to choose us.....so really it's like being pregnant.....lots of waiting. Eli is doing great in school. He just loves to be with his friends and with his teachers. And I think they love him just as much. What's not to love, right?

Justin is still pluggin away at Grace Bible College. Although I think he is getting wherry. And me, well I'm still adjusting to the stay at home thing....don't get me wrong I LOVE IT....I just need to make better use of my time!!!!!

Well here are a few pics, cause I know that's what you've been waiting to see!!!!

(These pics are in no particular order!!!)

Thanks pinterest for the idea(food coloring in a spray bottle)

Wilson and Blue playing while we open gifts Christmas morning

Justin and Eli playing with the race track..notice the bright sun shinning on them....I love the sun we have had this winter

Eli and grandma making popcorn balls...or shall we say Eli eating as much as he can..before she can make the balls!!!

decorating the tree....I love to do this and it's fun to see Eli helping


Uncle Mark and Eli at Yankee Springs the day after Christmas....we MUST take advantage of the sunshine!!!!.....and I love this time I get with them too!!!


Eli bowling with his class


Eli's teacher Miss Joy...O' how we love her and all of his teachers!!!!!

I hope you are all enjoying the snow....this has been a crazy winter, but it's been a fast one....it's almost February, hard to believe....soon spring will be here and school will be done for the year....

Grace and Peace.......

A great surprise

A big boy bed, visit from my mom and Nic, a new hair cut and lots and lots of painting. That's what we have been doing. I wasn't expecting my mom. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving she was waiting in our driveway for us to wake up. That was a really GREAT surprise!!!!Reading books with gaga

Playing with Playdo

Eli's first night in his new bed

It's time for a big boy bed. The first few nights where a little tricky but in no time he stayed in his bed and hasn't fallen out once. It does sit low to the ground just in case he did it wouldn't be far!!

We took Eli for a trim/haircut and Justin wanted a full hair cut. So that's what he got.

I like the shaggy look. But he sure is cute like this too. Really he's always cute. The short cut makes his cheeks more lovable then they all ready are!!!

And if you look in the background of the picture above this one and the pic with my mom reading to Eli, the mantle is black....it started like this and we painted it black. We also painted all of the trim in the house white....and I love it. I was really nervous painting it for many reasons but it's done and I LOVE it!!!

That's us in a nut shell......I hope you find joy this week in the things you do.

Grace and Peace from the Metiva's!!!!!!!

Eli at his pumpkin party at school

The adoption is moving along very smooth so far. We have had 2 interviews now and the third and last will likely be the week after Thanksgiving. Then we wait for the home study to be written. Once that is finished and we are approved, which there really is no reason for that not to happen, then we go onto the profile list. Bethany will share our profile with birth moms that match what we are looking for, ie race (any) gender(either) and openness (open). Then we wait for a birth mom to pick us. A few things you could pray about for uspounding golf tees into a pumpkin. building motor skills

1. that God's hand be in all of this

2. If there are any hiccups this time that we will draw strength from God and not get discouraged but us that as a building block for our dependence on God

3. Lastly, for Eli, that with a new baby coming to our family that the transition for him would be a positive one.

Thank you for your support as we begin to build our family, it means the world to us to have family and friends behind us!!

I hope your work is filled with joy and peace. Talk to ya soon!!

Life

So tomorrow we have an appointment with Bethany Christian Services. This is the interview process. They will ask all kinds of questions to be sure we are competent. Some might say this is questionable....for Justin....I am perfect....hahahahahaha.

Pictures from the family farm field trip with school

Boy do I love this kid!!!!!

Wish us luck!!!!

Grace and peace!!!!