Lovin Summer

The decision to take some of our tax return and get an above ground pool has proved to be a wonderful decision! We have had alot of laughs in the pool. It has been amazing to watch the girls go from only wearing their life vests to using a noodle to not using anything! I wanted to teach the girls to swim but swimming in the lake where we live wasn't going to work. I guess we are too prissy and don't like the dead fish floating by or the snakes, or the smell!! Makenna, the brave one, was jumping off the ladder and swimming under water the entire width of the pool (15 foot) within a couple of days! She swims under water with her little butt sticking out of the water and looks like a little water bug traveling at warp speed!! Hannah on the other hand is very cautious and scared of everything as always. She HAS to have her face mask and snorkle at all time! Yesterday she finally put the snorkle down and only "needed" her mask. She is now jumping off the ladder doing split jumps, crisscross applesauce, and a free fall that makes a splash bigger than she is! TJ and/or Ryan are over almost daily to swim with the girls. The girls love to get on their backs and they go under water the width of the pool with them. It is so nice to have the boys close by and the girls LOVE spending time with their big brothers. I have loved having all 6 of us together so much. Don't get me wrong, I am glad the boys have their own place but glad they are close by!!!
In other news, Scott started his new job at Menards yesterday. It has been a tough 3 years for him. After losing his job and then getting a job and realizing after the first day he HATED it, yesterday was a much welcomed change for him! It is hard for everyone when you hate your job. He endured for 23 months before God gave him the Menards opportunity. We still are not sure what God was trying to teach Scott or us but glad to have a new path to go down. His hours are different, has to be there between 5 and 6 in the morning. He is trying to get sympathy from me but I have none for him. I have been getting up at 3:15 for work for 7 years!!! I think the girls and I are going to surprise him and take him out for lunch today. It is raining today and we may not get pool time so we will meet him for lunch and do a little shopping!
I will try and upload some swimming pictures that Scott took Monday of the kids swimming. Good times for sure!
We are so excited that our friends Shawn and Wendy and their daughter Chloe are in China NOW adopting their new little daughter/sister!! She is from Hannah's province and they will be staying in the same hotel we did 5 years ago. They will also have the same guide we had! I so wish we could be there too. Parts of me miss China so much. We had plans to go back to China in September for 8 weeks but things have fallen through. First my work decided that after they said I could have the 8 weeks off they said I could only have 4. We have also had concerns with the girls and taking them back to China. I think we have some issues to work through before we take them back to the place where they have so many issues. Hannah and her fears and Makenna with her anger issues we just feel it is best to try and heal them more before we throw them back into that culture. From what we have learned from others that have lived in China, the prayer covering in the US is amazing and going to land that doesn't have that can make a big difference in your spirit. We are still wanting to go and will trust God and His perfect timing! Until then, we just keep praying for all those precious children.
Well, off to get a little cleaning done before lunch and shopping! God bless you all!