summa-summa-summa-time...

it's seriously hot.

so hot that we don't go outside unless we can be in water within a few minutes.

that has meant many dates with the slip n slide.

this is love...the kind of love that makes you willing to go down a slip n slide with your face pressed in water just so you can hear your sons squeal with absolute delight! 

hope you're staying cool!

my long lost brothers??

i often wonder if anyone else out there sings about randomness as much as i do...yes, i make up songs about the mundane things i do.  when the kids are cleaning up, it's "don't stop the cleanin'" (think journey), when i'm teaching the kids how to make a new recipe, it's "this is how we do it" (think montell jordan), when the kids are asking me to heat up the bath water, it's "warm it up, mommy" (think kris kross).  as i think about it, the funny thing is my kids pay no attention--they think this is just a normal occurrence.  anyway, i just discovered this video and think i may have been separated from these two at birth...



i'm so ready to try this...who's with me????

Meet Benjamin...

"You are the helper of the fatherless.

LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

That the man of the earth may oppress no more." 

Psalm 10: 14b, 17-18

This is Benjamin.

I am overwhelmed with gratefulness that he will be joining our extended family in the next few months.

I have been blessed to see the Lord give Nanette and Scott a desire to add to their family through adoption.

I know that God chose this adorable little boy to be the perfect fit to their family.  He turned three in April, and right now he is living in an orphanage in Taiwan.  The adoption process has taken longer than we all hoped and expected, but He is in control of every detail and we are just trusting Him! 

I wanted to share some great news:  they received a court date!!!

I would love it if you would pray on August 1 (the time is 10:20 PM in Birmingham) and after that the final ruling would come quickly and they would be able to go to Taiwan and get their son!

I will keep you posted!!

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling. 

God sets the lonely in families, 

he leads forth the prisoners with singing."

Psalm 68:5-6a

More Destin???

And I bet you thought I couldn't possibly have

MORE

pictures from Destin! 

Seeing the dolphins was probably the highlight for Collier!

This is one of our favorite places to go in Destin--The Lucky Snapper--not because of the food (although they do have some AWESOME cheese biscuits), but because of the incredible view!!

Griffin loved snorkeling and sharing his finds with all of us!

I love this picture--the boys decided they were going to run into the water, but they did it in their own way.  Anderson took a leisurely jog, and Griffin ran like he was in the Olympics.

We saw FOUR of these LARGE sharks swimming very near the shore on our last day.  We actually went up the beach and had to tell a lot of people to look out for them.  They were coming amazingly close to the swimmers!  We've never seen them like that, but apparently they haven't migrated as usual because of the oil.  So, if you're headed to the beach, be on the lookout!!