Busy Much?

The past several days have come in and out of our lives so quickly and with such a flurry that I can only be thankful for the large memory card in my camera and the sun.

Activities have jam-packed our days from beginning to end. It's been wonderful. It's been simple. It's been perfect.

This won't be wordy as I am quite certain my few readers, all you ever really want to see are pictures (and of course adoption updates when they come about...maybe I'll let you know about what's been blowin' in the wind at the end of this post). I don't have anything deep and wordy to share as my morning jogs have been full of prayers mainly pertaining to thoughts of the day's activities and of course the never-leaving-my-mind knowledge of our little girl out there...or perhaps still in utero.

Where do I start?!

Saturday was our annual Open House. It was a jam-packed day and well over 1000 guests attended. With the beautiful weather and heat, who wouldn't want to soar on the Screamer or ski along the wake?

Apparently our kids.

They chose to spend their time in the playground, because you know they don't do that 24/7 anyway.

The food was great...burgers the size of a small child's head.

Hot dogs full of...whatever hot dogs are full of - let's not go there.

We started Noah's birthday celebration with a pre-party-party. A mini cake was all part of "the deal" and he was elated to open and practice hitting with his first bat!

Throughout the following afternoon I would look over and see Tait picking it up and giving it a try (on a newly acquired "real birthday party" gift - the T and home plate). Over and over he would repeat, "batting stance, batting stance". His technique includes cutting vertically through the air, often knocking the ball off the T. Words don't do the cuteness justice.

However, after all that pre-party-partying, Tait was wrecked.

Noah took advantage of the one-on-one time...can you blame him?

Sunday included the "real" party. It was small, quiet-ish, and perfect.

The cake is tied for first with the Thomas cake from Tait's second birthday...
Tracy you outdid yourself again.

Ben and I had a great chuckle as I chopped carrots, orange & apple slices as the alternative to cake. And, I caught myself once when I asked Noah if he was going to put his veggies down and enjoy the cake?! Only at the Keizer's.

With time to kill today, the boys and I hit Transfer Beach after swim lessons. It was warm and sandy. It was quiet and relaxing.

We had a great little visit with the ocean.

And it ended with a perfect picnic.

And, as I have had a few friends comment lately that each time I add a new post they jump to the blog, I will forewarn you that THE post will likely commence with a shot of our phone's call display showing you our agency called. I will not give you any sort of fancy title. It will plain and simple be an obvious one. That said, don't expect anything until late September or October.

Details pertaining to the adoption which are blowing in the breeze** include but are not limited to the following:

• Courts close for summer holiday on August 5. This is normal and expected, however, it does not mean that referrals stop. It simply means that any referrals made cannot go to court until it reopens. Summer holidays usually last 3-8 weeks.
  
• Courts in Ethiopia have just started be open on Saturdays. This is apparently to help with much of the backlog. While not all cases heard are adoption cases by any means, it is hopeful that some may be.
• Our agency has given several referrals in the past couple of weeks - yay. It means things are picking up, people.
  
• Currently our agency is working on end of May '08 and beginning of June '08 files. This means that the wait is still approximately 12 months. Thank goodness for a timeline that hasn't moved in a while.
  

**Information has not come directly from our agency is all cases, however, I feel confident enough with the source(s) to share it. Please take it with a grain of salt.

We spoke at church on Sunday about the progress of our adoption and of what is to come. Included in the talk was the video below. I don't recall if I have posted it before but it is moving, inspirational, devastating and finally, hopeful. I feel that God is raising up a nation and He is beginning a movement to instill responsibility among his people to seek those who have nothing and to come along side them...as brothers and sisters should.

Enjoy.

Drawn from Water from Drawn From Water on Vimeo.