In Mama's shoes

In Mama's shoes, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Enjoying His Car Seat

Enjoying His Car Seat, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

He will ride happily for a while, but when he's tired of it, look out!

M and M

M and M, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Big cousin M with our little M on her back.

More Wild Wrestling

More Wild Wrestling, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

From left: I with A on her back, L with M on his back, cousin M with T on her back.

Wild Wrestling

Wild Wrestling, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

From left: T, M, I, cousin M with K and A on her back.

Jam Pile

Jam Pile, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

One evening there was a lot of wild running and wrestling. We had a cousin and 6 friends that were here, and it was crazy fun!

Here are, from bottom, D, J, I, M, T, and K.

A Ride at the Fair

A Ride at the Fair, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

J. taking M. on a train ride at our church fair. He LOVES vehicles of any kind and she was dying to take him. Of course, he had a great time until it ended....

Beautiful Big Sister

Beautiful Big Sister, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

J. remains the favorite older sibling of all the little ones. She is loving, nurturing, creative and fun (when she feels like it--there is that Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde aspect of being 15 that makes her somewhat unpredicatble!)

4th of July

4th of July, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here I am, wearing a light necklace as a headband prior to the fireworks, trying to be 60sish. Overall, this vacation and the summer in general was such a celebration for me because I felt really good. Last year I didn't even go to the fabulous fireworks in Telluride because I felt too ill.

Sand Dunes

Sand Dunes, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

J, A, T, I, K and L is buried in the sand. You can tell how overcast it was in these pictures.

Buried in the Sand

Buried in the Sand, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

We went to Sleeping Bear sand dunes, hiked a long way to the water, and played in the sand. Here is I (top), A, K, and T.

Cutie Pie

Cutie Pie, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Is any further explanation needed? M on the beach in his pajamas.

Wetsuit Group

Wetsuit Group, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here's our crew, standing on the beach in wetsuits because it was so cold!

Brothers and Sisters

Brothers and Sisters, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here's K, M and A having breakfast on vacation.

Big Guy

Big Guy, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here's D, looking like he just woke up, on vacation.

Silly Snorkeler

Silly Snorkeler, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

The fashion queen prepares to snorkel.

Sliding Down

Sliding Down, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Our family vacation was a week on Lake Michigan which began at the end of June and went through July 5. Unfortunately, the weather for 4 out of 7 days was rainy and in the low 60s, then 2 days of sunny and low 70s, and one really nice day! Ugh. We still had a good time, but as you see here, we had to resort to sliding onto the grass, because the water and air were too cold to go swimming!

Water Fun

Water Fun, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

We bought these inflatables this summer to use on our family vacation and at the family reunion. This is the reunion.

Junior Soccer Player

Junior Soccer Player, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Sorry this is blurry, but of course little brother M. had to get in on the action!

Coaching Dad

Coaching Dad, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

His dad was the coach. K. is on the right as Daryl nudges another player out onto the field. K. loved playing soccer!

Soccer Player

Soccer Player, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

K. played soccer for the first time this spring.

D's birthday

D's birthday, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

D turned 17 on June 5, and we couldn't be prouder of this young man. He is handsome, really nice, helpful and respectul, has a 4.0 gpa, is a talented athlete, and is a leader among his peers (President of National Honor Society).

He is in the center, on the left is his girlfriend M, and on the right is little brother K.

The DRC

Click on the title if you would like to learn more about the DRC and what is happening there.

Our Latest Adventure

We have some big news. We are in the process of adopting 2 children from the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). We made our decision at the beginning of August, and have just completed our home study and are waiting for it to be written up, which will be sometime before October 6. As soon as we have it in our hands, we will send it to USCIS (immigration) to be processed. This will take 2-3 months, and at the end of that process we will be issued visas to bring the children back. During that time, our agency, One World Adoptions, will be matching us with children. We have requested a two year old boy and an infant girl. The adoption will be complete after a court hearing in the DRC. Once that happens, Daryl will travel to the DRC to pick them up. D and J will accompany him. The trip will take approximately one week. I will be staying home with the other children, preparing to welcome our newest family members home!

Our children are SO excited. I can't believe that I will soon be the parent of TEN children! It is exciting to be "expecting" without having to be pregnant. I will undoubtedly miss not having been able to enjoy my children's newborn/infancy,but I believe we have been called to do this.

The last 2 months have been filled with paperwork (filing for adoption is sometimes referred to as the paperwork pregnancy), medical appointments and lab tests for everyone in the family.

My doctor was happy to write a letter stating that my health is good enough to not affect my ability to parent two more children! I am still receiving IVIG infustions, only once every 3 weeks now, and am down to only 3mg of prednisone a day, although I am now tapering it once a month--veeeerrrry slooooowwwllly.

The citizens of the war torn DRC are some of the poorest in Africa. There are thousands of displaced people living in camps, and the violence against them continues. Many flee to the southern part of the country, where the capital, Kinshasa, is located, only to find that there are no better opportunities for them there. It is estimated that 15,000 are living on the streets in Kinshasa. Our children will come from Kinshasa.