Catching Up Part II

Holy cow time flies!  Much has happened in a year (since my last post!).  

We were lucky to travel to California last September, with the girls, for a visit to Disneyland! Never had I thought we would visit Disney World and Disneyland in the same year!  Brad had business in CA, so us girls went along and hung out by the pool during the day, and visited Disneyland in the evening.  I know, a hard life, right!  

Then, in the fall, we began looking into a dream of ours to have a little place a the beach. Well, we had actually been researching, saving, and crunching numbers for several years, but but began to actually look at places in October.  In the beginning of April 2016, we settled on a little condo in Corolla, NC.  We love it there and it's perfect for our family.  Three bedrooms, 2 baths, a hot tub and access to many pools, amenities and lots of little extras. Unfortunately, we can't live at the beach all the time, so right now, our little place is more of an investment property that we rent out via a property manager during the vacation months. Hopefully one day we can take it out of the rental business and be at the beach more often, but for now, it's a win-win for us.  It's usually available when we can go down, and when we aren't there, it's being rented out for other families to enjoy.  We named it "The Anchor House" because to us, it's our little shelter from the storm of life and gives us hope for the future. [Hebrews 6:19].  The beach is our happy place!   To see a little about our condo, you can visit or blog-in-the works at http://baxter075.blogspot.com/  Or you can visit the property manager site at www.Brindleybeach.com and search for The Anchor House.    If you are interested in a stay, let me know!  Below is a picture of the sunset on the sound directly across from our place.  We love it!  



Note the horses in the back on the dune.  This is why we love Corolla! 

The girls hanging out in the hot tub at The Anchor House!

In May, we celebrated my mom and dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary.  Despite the fact that they wouldn't let us have a party for them, we surprised them with a stretch limo and a trip to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for a yummy brunch.  

Here's some pictures of the boys -- one heading to prom and one heading to a wedding.   They dress up pretty well!! 

In other news, we now have a Junior in College, a Senior in High School, a big First Grader and a kindergartner!  Life's about to get really busy again with sports, school and everything Fall!

Ellie is doing fantastic.  She made it through kindergarten, even though I wasn't ready for her to go!  I cannot say enough about early intervention for her.  I know that many people frown upon putting a "label" on their child, but they seriously helped Ellie get into the grove and catch up with some things she struggled with when we brought her home!  I'll post another time about all of her therapies, but I just can't say enough about getting help early in a child's journey.  With that being said, life isn't perfect and sometimes her early trauma and abandonment issues are very evident.  But, we typically know how to get her back to a place of safety, and then all is well.  

Ellie's 6th Birthday Bash! 

Did I mention that Ellie is swimming like a crazy person?  Seriously, this poor little girl screamed at the sight of water when we brought her home (b/c water wasn't for play in Ethiopia).  She is now jumping in the deep end and swimming the length of an Olympic pool. She has made serious progression with water and I could see her being on a swim team some day!  We will pick lessons back up in the winter months, because who doesn't love getting into a cold pool in the middle of winter!  Ha!

Both boys are ramping up for another Football season - so you know where to find us every Friday night and Saturday, mid-August through November!  We really do love the game and watching the boys blossom into young men and fight for their team.  We also really love getting to know other families and tailgating and just having fun with them all.  This year will be bittersweet for Dylan, as it will be his last high school football season.  That last game and senior walk on the field after the game is tough!  Colt leaves tomorrow for his college football season.  I don't know where the summer went.  It seems like he was just getting home from spring semester!  



Faith is our littlest and will head to kindergarten this year.  Cue the tears .....  She is more than ready and super excited to start her "school career!"  Ha Ha!  She is a smart girl (who loves to talk), so I sorta feel sorry for her teacher when she begins a dissertation on flamingos or the blue footed booby.  She sure does love her animals.  I see some parent-teacher meetings coming my way soon!  

Faith had preschool graduation in May  -- that was a sweet moment!

Brad and I will celebrate our 24th Wedding Anniversary in October!  Keep in mind that we've known each other since we were 12, so really we are celebrating our 30-something year together!  Next year maybe we will do something special, but to me, everyday is special with him.
I hope everyone one (the 2 of you) who read the blog are doing well.  Like I say, no news is usually good news!  Maybe I'll try to post again before a year goes by! 

 

 

Angie

Two Little Leprechauns !

St Patrick party day at school.  Our little girls look gorgeous in green!  

Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours ~

As we were taking our first trip to Ethiopia to meet our daughter for the first time, I asked God to break my heart for what breaks His.  I returned from that trip crushed.  I had 17 hours on the flight home to absorb what I had seen, and that wasn't enough time.  Still, nearly 3 years later, I’m trying to put my arms around what broke my heart on that trip.  

  

Ethiopia is a beautiful country full of beautiful countryside, people and culture.  But the poverty, neglect and heart-breaking situations I witnessed changed me forever.  I cannot look at things the same any longer.  There were many things that broke my heart on that trip (orphans, children needing sponsorship, families that need food to feed their children, lack of clean water, etc.) but the orphan is what spoke to my heart the loudest. That’s why I’m a little passionate about children, in general. Once your eyes are open and you can see clearly, you never see the same and you can't ignore it.  

Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act.  Proverbs 24:12

For our family, God led us to adopt internationally.  There wasn't a formula or one particular reason -- other than the subtle hints God used to help us with our decision.  Don't get me wrong, we made a million excuses in the beginning as to why we couldn't or shouldn't do it.  We listened to many lies from people who didn't understand God’s calling on our family, and we wondered ourselves if we were cut out for this . . because we knew we were far from perfect.  But the Truth is, we were all adopted by our heavenly father.  He adopted us – not as perfect people, but as broken, needy and selfish people.  And, going to a third world country showed me what a selfish person I am. Many times people make excuses for NOT fostering or adopting or mentors because they feel that they are not qualified. 

But, it only takes ONE person to make a change in the life of a child.  Adoption, fostering, temporary care, mentoring, etc.  is all the same.  These kids need someone and you don’t have to be perfect, and they certainly will not be perfect either.

November is National Adoption Month and the first Sunday is typically dubbed "Orphan Sunday."  That’s why I am hosting a Sunday in November (November 10th) at our church dedicated to helping children locally and globally – find fulfillment, forever families, mentors, sponsors and friends.  Maybe God is tugging at your heart to ‘do something’ but you don’t know what that 'something' is.  Come find out how you can make a difference in the life of a child!  

If you are local, PLEASE come share a soup and bread luncheon (to signify the plight of the orphan).. and listen and gather information on how you can help a child in need. 

The luncheon begins at noon, followed by the program at 1:00. We will be sharing our story of adopting Ellie, and showing a video of our journey.  Please contact me for additional details or to RSVP.    

Here's the Agenda -- 

Sunday, November 10th beginning at Noon

Mountain Ridge Church, 32 Big Dam Road, Dillsburg, PA

12:00-12:45 - Luncheon & Meet and Greet  

1:00:1:15 -   Welcome and Intro

1:15-1:25 -   Fresh Air Fund (HOST a child 1-2 weeks in the summer)

1:25-1:35 -   Compassion International (SPONSOR a child)

1:35-1:45 -   Bair Foundation 

1:45-1:50 -   Older Child Adoption Experience 

1:50-2:00 -   Bethany Christian Services

2:00-2:05 -   Safe Families (Temporary/Emergency care) 

2:05-2:15 -   Rice Bowls & Closing (Feed a hungry child)