beach bums

What is one of the best things about where we live?  We are less than 15 minutes from a beach!  It's not the ocean but Lake Erie is big enough that it sure looks like it could pass for the ocean (just without waves!)  Today was almost perfect beach weather.  85 and partly sunny.  We all still got burnt though it was cloudy for half the time we were there.  Lincoln just got a tiny bit red on the back of his neck (bad mommy, I know.  I promise I put sunscreen on him though!)  I tore apart his room trying to find his swimshirt from last summer to wear but I can't find any of his clothes from last summer so we had to settle for a t-shirt.  It did the job. 

Lincoln was a little unsure about the water at first.  It was FREEZING.  But after awhile we couldn't keep him out of it!  He got a mouthful of water once when he tripped and fell but that didn't phase him a bit.  I need to find swimming lessons for him, for summer. :)

About 5 feet before you get to the water it's all rocks instead of sand....Tyler and I's feet were hurting but of course Lincoln didn't even seem to notice.

Dipping his toes in the water at first. 

Then back to the blanket to make a sand castle

He was done with the sand castle and just wanted to play in the water!

I don't have any pictures but after awhile our friends Dan, Meg and their boys joined us....fun times!

We are definitely going to be taking advantage of being this close to the beach quite often!  I might just have to keep our sand toys, towels and suits in the back of our Escape so we can drop by anytime!  It was so nice to just sit back and relax in the sun (when it was out) today.  AND we get to do it again tomorrow only at a pool with some friends :)  Yay for summer!!!

on my {hurting} heart

Unfortunately my heart is hurting this week.  "The system" is failing baby J and all we can do from our standpoint is watch and pray.  His foster parents are fighting hard on his behalf but some horrible decisions are being made for him without his best interest in mind.  As much as my heart is bonded to this little boy, my concern right now is not for myself but for J.  For his safety.  For his health.  For his weight.  For his life.  Nothing about this decision makes sense.  So all we can do is pray and wait.  Praying that J isn't harmed during any of this. 

God is good,all the time.  All the time, God is good.

Trusting in Him and His sovereignty.  

REVELATION 22:13 … I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

JOHN 16:33 … I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Foster to adopt licensing status update:

We are nearing the end of our homestudy.  Tomorrow we have our fire inspection (hopefully we pass!) actually I think it'll go fine.  TB tests and physicals are done now.  We have one final meeting with our support worker to go over the safety of our home and then one "surprise" visit from her.  We do have two classes to makeup in the middle of June and then we should be good to go!  

30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 10}

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ZOO {embrace} the camera

My heart is hurting.  Very, very sad, broken and a little angry but mostly just sad.  I don't have the words to write about it right now and since I already had this zoo post typed up, I'll post that instead for today.  Just pray for Baby J.

Taking refuge in this promise today:

JOHN 16: 33 (AMP) … I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

 

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We went to the zoo for the first time this summer last week and had a great time!  We met up with some gals and their babes from my playgroup for the day.  It was CRAZY busy with every school there for their field trip.  We had to walk a mile to even get to the entrance!  Ok so maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration but it sure felt like a long walk to the front of the zoo.

Our stroller gang :)

Eatin' some lunch before we head in

Lincoln's food strike didn't stop just because we were at the zoo, he ate his car instead of his food.....

"Mom! Look at those big elephants!"

Lincoln and his buddy Mason

taking it all in.......

Checking out the new elephant crossing exhibit

Lincoln liked this polar bear a lot, maybe because he was actually walking around instead of just laying there

We are still at the polar bear exhibit and I wanted a picture of him and I in front of it but he would just turn right around and look back at the polar bear so we had to adjust so he could see the bear....notice where he's looking? :)

Harper rockin' the sideways hat look :)

Caleb taking a snooze

I'm so glad we went ahead and good a season pass to the zoo, it's so fun!  We're going to have to plan another trip soon so daddy can come along!

Now go head over to Emily's blog and embrace the camera too!

30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 9}

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30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 8}

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30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 7}

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total random-ness

I have had a wonderful day.  A wonderful day with 3 very special boys.  My hubby, Lincoln and baby J.  We went to church, home for lunch, naps for me and the littles while Tyler went for a run, skyped with my parents, small group with friends, back for supper and now relaxin' on the couch with my man with all our rooms filled with kiddos sleeping peacefully.  My heart is full {and tired but who cares, right?!}  This if our first over night with Mr. J and he gets to play all day with the Linc man and I.  Do I dare try my ability at taking two rambuctious little boys to the post office tomorrow?  I'm guessing it'll be a big fat NO but we'll see how daring I am come morning, hehe.

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Watermelon. is. incredible. 

Oh my goodness I could eat watermelon every day if it was in season all year long.  I bought a really good one the other day since they're on sale right now and oh. my. lanta. it is amazing.  I think I ate half the watermelon today, not even kidding.  And my bladder is feelin' it.....definitely well hydrated that's for sure!  Lincoln used to like watermelon but for some reason is starting to become a SUPER picky eater and if it doesn't LOOK appealing to eat then he won't even try it even thought I know he likes it.  crazy kid.  Any advice for a picky eater from all you moms out there?  He used to be so good but now not so much. Maybe it's just a phase, who knows.   

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The rooms in our townhouse are so ridiculously different when it comes to temperature.  The set up of the townhouse is a little weird with there being an "upstairs" but the only thing upstairs is a bedroom.  Lincoln's bedroom, like the stairs lead directly to the room, no bathroom not even a small hallway just a room.  Which is great and it's nice and big but there is no actual vent up there.  There is return air (whatever that means) but no vent and so in the winter it was freezing but we had a small heater which kept it warm and now that it's getting warm, it is SO HOT up there!  We have a fan but oh man it's warm.  So since we have two boys tonight and the spare bedroom on the main floor is where baby J is, it's nice and cool.  So J was dressed warm for bed and Lincoln went to bed with a diaper and shorts :)

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Tyler tricked me into watching the movie "From Paris With Love" tonight.....all he told me was the title and it sounded like a love story to me...........WRONG.  Have any of you seen it?  It's got John Travolta with a bald head and a goatee (is that how you spell that? weird).  Anyways, NOT a love story and so instead I'm on here writing a lovely post for ya'll.  lucky you. :)

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Wanna know what a new fav color combo of mine is?  Aqua and Red.  Be still my heart, it's an amazing combination.  I even made a wreath and new necklace outta those colors.  mmmmmmm..........

     ok so that's enough random-ness for tonight.  Hope you all have a wonderful Monday and I for one am excited about the midnight (and 3 am and 6am.....j/k probably just once tonight) feeding with baby J.  Michelle (his foster mom) says it's the only time he cuddles....I've yet to experience cuddles from this sweet boy so I am beyond excited for the lack of sleep and snugglin' up with him and a bottle tonight!

30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 6}

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30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 5}

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30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 4}

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"His peace will guard your hearts and minds...."

Lately the same thing has been on my heart.  

It's all I can think about right now and I'm sure you all are getting sick 

of the same kind of posts but I can't help it.  

Baby J.  

And now more than ever I am thinking about him

and the possibility of adding him to our family

If that is what God has in mind and what if God doesn't have that in mind?  

Will I be ok with that?  

Philippians 4:6-7
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

Is it possible to be thinking constantly about something but not worried about it?  

I feel like that's what I'm doing lately. 

If I'm honest, I'm a little worried but I'm not 

constantly "worrying" about it, just thinking about it.
I think I'm just rambling now.

I have heard lots of stories 

of how much of an emotional roller coaster

foster-to-adopt can be but was never

fully prepared for how it would feel. 

For some reason, waiting 

on God's timing just isn't getting any easier.

Most would think I've had plenty of chances 

to learn how to wait.

So that's my heart this week.

"linc"in' up with Casey this week for "what's on your heart"
Go check out this girls artwork, she is uh-mazing.

30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 3}

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winner of the rosette necklace....

.....(chosen by random.org) is comment #24, Laura!!  

Email me at thelincbetweenus @ gmail (.) com 

with your address and I'll send it to ya! :)  

update: more like another turn on the rollercoaster

UPDATE on foster to adopt status.......

I just got off the phone with Baby J's foster mom and she told me of some new developments.  Apparently there is a new relative that is stepping up and wants to try and adopt J.  Tomorrow is an important day regarding that and we'll know more after tomorrow so I'm asking you all to PRAY.  Ultimately J's best interest is what we care about but it's interesting that this relative has known about J since he was born and is just NOW stepping up.  In my mind that doesn't seem like a good situation but really I have no idea....we know nothing about this person. 

Obviously our hearts are already in this and we are very sad about this new direction but we're committed to just praying our way through this.  This is not a surprise to God.  He already knows who J will end up with and I just pray that it's us. 

I really believe that God led us to J.  He literally put him in my lap back in March.  Prayer does powerful things and this journey is completely in His hands. 

On a happy note, we still get to keep J overnight this coming Sunday to Monday and we're really excited! :) Precious time to love on this little boy that has captured our hearts. 

I will update as I know more but thanks in advance for praying with us!

30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 2}

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Check out "We are THAT Family" who is posting about this Challenge

30 Day Challenge for Wives {day 1}

I just read about this challenge over at "We are THAT family" and thought it's really cool!  So from today on for the next 30 days I'll be posting the daily challenges that are posted at "reviveourhearts.com."  I know I can't wait to start this challenge, who else is in with me?!  Even if you think your marriage is right where you want it, try and do it anyway.  Marriage is something that needs continual love and care.  So before I start babbling on and on here is the challenge for today (May 17):

Day One:
"The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life." Prov. 31:11-12
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To refresh your memory...here's the 30-Day Encouragement Challenge...for the next 30 days:
* You can't say anything negative about your husband ...to your husband...or to anyone else, about your husband.
* Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband...to your husband...and to someone else, about your husband!
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To help you get started, have you ever thanked your husband for "choosing you" above all other women? He found you attractive as a person, and appreciated you. Though many circumstances in your marriage may have changed, let your husband know that you are glad God led you together, and that you want to be a blessing to him for the rest of your marriage. Let him know that he can trust you to be in his corner.
One of the best opportunities to express your gratitude is first thing in the morning. How do you greet your husband each morning? Is he confident in your love? Give him a "wake up call" that he'll never forget-a big "I love you" and an "I'm so glad I'm your wife!"


I'm starting this without Tyler knowing and I'll probably get away with doing it all secretly, unless I flat out tell him, since he hardly ever reads my blog :)  Love you despite your lack of reading of my blog, honey.

Oh and leave a comment letting me know if you're doing this, just cause it's fun to know other people who are joining in!  (ok you don't HAVE to leave a comment but it'd be fun for me if you did!)

Hope you all are having a fabulous Monday!

our crazy weekend recap

Have you entered my giveaway that I have going on right now?  It ends Wednesday so you better go enter!!

Click HERE to see the post

So we left Thursday evening to drive overnight to NE for my "little" brother's high school graduation.  Yes he's younger but he's not really little anymore.  I can't believe he's a high school graduate now and headed off to Nashville for school next year.  My little brother is all grown up (tear).  We celebrated with a reception on Saturday night and wow that was a very tiring day.  (Trey, you are welcome for all my hard work, no need to thank me) :)  It was great to see lots of family and friends at his party.  Too bad the weather didn't cooperate and was such a drastic change from the 99 degree weather they had had the week before.  The windy 40 degree weekend was a little surprise for me but thankfully I had packed enough warmer clothes for us all.

Lincoln had a BLAST at the party.  There were so many people there and he just ran around saying "hi" to everyone while waiting for a chance to escape out the front door (which happened twice.....oh my lanta. that's how you makes your momma's heart stop dead in it's tracks)  But you were caught both times thankfully :)

I got the chance to chat a little with some friends and family who have/are doing foster care/foster to adopt and tell them a little about our process right now.  Since we're having a hard time deciding on a name for your new brother, lots of ladies were happy to give us a long list to go off of :)  I think we're getting closer to agreeing on a name.....well hopefully.  {more on that and an update towards the end of this post}


So on Sunday we went to Trey's Commencement Ceremony and Lincoln had a hard time staying quiet.  Apparently he has gotten his dogs and cow sounds mixed up and every time he sees a dog he says, "MOOOOO.." and low and behold there of course is a huge Husky painted on the wall of the gym and Lincoln kept "mooo-ing" the whole time during the ceremony.  Daddy was happy to take you out to the commons area and run around (because it got him out of sitting through a boring ceremony too!)

Later on that day Lincoln also "moo-ed" at his uncle Derek and we finally figured out that it was because Derek had a husky on his shirt.  Oh boy, I've got some work to do!

We left after a fun-filled weekend, last night at 8pm and drove through the night.  It was a little easier this time because we actually had another driver with us!  Tyler's sister, Kelsey's boyfriend (got that?) grew up an hour from where we live now and asked if he could bum a ride with us back last night.  We were happy to have him along!  Lincoln still did "ok" and slept maybe half the night but at least he was happy for most the time.

We got home about 11:30 this morning and Tyler and Lincoln ate (pulled pork sandwiches and cheesy potatoes, we've got about a months supply from leftovers from the party so hope we don't get sick of it!) and went right to sleep.  I slept on and off all afternoon but both of them slept until 6:45 tonight!  I had to go wake Lincoln up (so he would actually go to bed at a decent time tonight) and he woke up saying, "jibba do da shewa WHY!?!"  All I could understand was the "why" and it was like he was saying, "why in the world are you making me get up right now?!"  It was SO funny.  First time he's done something like that!

You know what one of the best things about this weekend was?!  My mom finally was able to find my long, lost silverware and steak knives!!!!  They were buried in the back of her pantry for some reason (I think we came to the conclusion it was probably my dad's doing :)  I was so happy to get those back!  We've been without since we moved here in September!  We've been using just random silverware we had left and I did end up buying a couple knives.  I KNEW they had to be somewhere there but it was just a mystery to where they had been put.  Mystery solved.  Thanks to Trey graduating and my mom getting things out of the back of the pantry for graduation! :)

NOW ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE:
While Tyler and Lincoln slept this afternoon, I got the fire dept. called and found out all we need to have before our fire inspection for the homestudy.  I need to get a couple things in order (like buying a fire extinguisher) and then call them back to schedule it.  We're getting closer!  AND we might get to keep baby J for an over night stay!!!  Needless to say, we're pretty excited about that.

Here are some picture from the weekend, enjoy!

these get me every time....

What gets me every time?  Adoption videos......and especially this one because these are our friends and their son Isaiah!  Isaiah just turned 2 and Julie made this amazing video to document their journey to adopting him.  It's incredible how God orchestrates it all.  Get a box of tissues ready.  :)

Giveaway comments erased?

So since blogger was down all day yesterday I think some of the comments that were left for the giveaway were erased for some reason.  Double check to see if your's is still there.  I'm so sorry for this inconvenience but if it's not there go ahead and comment again.

{embrace} the camera - may 12

 Have you checked out my rosette necklace giveaway yet?  If not, you should go enter HERE!

While we were in NE for Easter, Lincoln was totally in love with the farm.  Tyler and I both grew up on farms and Tyler's parents still live on the farm.  Lincoln had all this space to roam around and explore.  He was amazed at how big all the tractors and trucks were.  It was so fun to watch him discover.  While growing up I always hated the fact that we lived out in the country and all my friends lived "in town" (a village of 300, does that count as a town?) :) I promised myself I would NOT marry a farmer and by marrying Tyler I very well could've married a farmer but he chose a different path.  It wouldn't have been horrible like I always thought growing up, but I'm very thankful I live 2 minutes from a Target :)  Looking back though, I am so grateful for the opportunity to grow up on the farm and I'm thankful that Lincoln gets to experience a little of it too.  

Driving the tractor already!

"look at all these fun toys, mommy!"

sitting on the mower eating the chocolate from his Easter egg hunt

Isn't this old Coca-Cola vending machine sweet?!

Tyler's Grandpa found some pretty great ways to store supplies!  Love it!

....and old bread pans made into drawers! 

 My little boy, looks even littler next to the grain bins

family photo op in front of the tractor

Good thing we're headed back again to visit this weekend!  Yes we are crazy to drive 16 hours both ways twice within 3 weeks.  My little brother is graduating from high school.  Figured we should probably make an appearance :)  {Trey, your party better be worth it!} j/k Love ya Trey!