Care Packages!

We got to send care packages to the girls this month.  Since you can't send them packages directly in the mail, you have to wait till someone from our agency travels over there and takes them with.  My sweet sister Kristin bought most of the items to send to them, and cousin Maddy helped with donating 2 outfits as well.   

 



 

Our little African princess's package

 

All of it has to fit in a gallon bag.  I packed it full!

 

Our older princess's package

 

It was much harder to fit a larger dress and shoes in the bag!

Summer WI trip

The kids loved my dad's church's new indoor playground

 

Guess who loves to be naked?  At least we  have been able to get him to keep his swim trunks on at the public pool.  The first time at the YMCA pool this year he kept trying to take his trunks off the whole time yelling, "I just want to be naked!"

Little brother pulling big brother

 

Riding on the zoo train with Grandma & Aunt Nancy

My parents have Go Carts.  The kids loved riding in them

Isaac & Auntie Kristin

Cousin Maddy & Isaac

 

Auntie Tammy & Isaac

Cousin love.  Micah loves playing and following cousin Maddy around

They visited an alpaca farm.  We even got to try some alpaca meat that week.  Isaac loved it!

We Accepted an Adoption Referral!

We accepted an adoption referral for two girls from DRC this past month.  On May 31st we decided to take a referral for a sweet girl on the waiting child page that tugged at our hearts.  She is older than we had planned to adopt, but know God has bigger plans for our family than we have.  We have been secretly kicking around the idea the past couple months of accepting two referrals, and decided to go for the second referral.  About 2 weeks later we got a call about another referral for a sweet little girl that was with our same lawyer.  Unfortunately we cannot share information or pictures on public sites for the girl's safety for awhile. 

Our case is submitted to the courts in DRC.  Once we pass court and are legally the girls' parents in the eyes of the DRC government we will be able to share some information and maybe even post a picture!
 The court process will take 8-12 weeks, sometimes longer.

After court, we file our I600 which is the US process to declare the girls a close relative.  After the I600, we have our investigation period, and then after that we can get the girls' visa and travel to pick them up.

So we still have a loooong way to go.  Our estimated travel time is April-July 2014.

Summer Fun

 

Here are some pictures of the boys playing outside.  It seems like we spend the majority of our free time outside.  The boys are loving it and pregnant mama loves that they are entertained and burning some energy.

 

Micah is 2.5 years old now.  He is full of energy, loves to run around outside, play with trains and cars, talk your ear off, and is a sweet younger brother to Isaac.  This summer he is a peer model at Isaac's school and has been loving going there.

 

 

Isaac has been loving the outdoors this spring and summer more than years past.  We love frequent outings to the park and jumping on the trampoline.  Isaac is working on mastering his ABC's right now, and he is a little stinker some days pretending to not know any and then the next day getting most right.  He is still a sweet, gentle older brother to Micah.

The Third Muskateer is on His Way!

 

We are having another boy!  It has taken me awhile to get use to the idea of a third boy because I was utterly convinced that it was a girl.  Luke was not suprised.  He thinks he is only capable of having boys.  But after thinking about it I realized there are many positives of having another boy: I don't need too many new things for him, no redecorating needed, they can all play together, supposedly boys are easier in the teenage years, and there are many great Bible names to choose from (taking suggestions if you have any).

Suprise! Another Little Aull on the Way

 

 

 

As many of you know, we are expecting another little Aull at the end of September.  Here are some answers to questions you may be thinking:

 

1.  Was this planned?

      - No.  God has a sense of humor. 

2.  What about the adoption?

     - We have decided to continue on in the adoption process.  The majority of our paperwork was already filed and we feel like God wants us to continue on.  We will not pick up our adopted child until next spring so there will be plenty of time to adjust to a new baby first.  More on this in another post.

3.  Are you crazy?

    - Clearly a little bit.  We do plan on hiring help around the house for at least the next year to help with cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.  With Isaac's food allergies, special needs, and Luke's work schedule it would be very difficult without some help.  So having some help makes it a bit less crazy I think.

 

 

 

This is what we gave our parents to tell them we were pregnant, they already knew we were in the adoption process.  My mom was a bit confused with it all and thought we were crazy.  She has since warmed up to the idea I think.  Luke's mom was just plain excited.

Milwaukee Museum

We took the kids to the Milwaukee Public Museum and had a great time.  The butterfly exhibit was the big hit! 

Saying hi to Barbara Manatee

 

Micah loves caves and tunnels!

 

"This museum has worn me out!"