Last Saturday was our annual visit to Chris & Val's place for their Clam Bake, and it was another really neat time. C&V had a baby boy in the year since we'd seen them, so that was a cool surprise. And our kids get so excited about it, seeing the magnet reminders on the fridge (we save them over the years) and they remember the food being so good and unique that it's just one of those things that our family really looks forward to.
The week before that was Kelly & Mauricio's wedding in Cincinnati, so while Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug kept the kids, Jenn and I went to southern Ohio for a fun weekend w/ the Mullen side of the family.
In between the fun, we do lots of the routine stuff. For instance, I took the little ones to the Beaver Marsh for a morning walk.
We've also reached the stage in our kids' lives where one of them cut another's hair with the craft/safety scissors. Lincoln used the scissors. Lydia held still. And there was a decent amount removed.
While we purchased our Sienna on our anniversary, we insisted that the miniv... er... Swagger Wagon was not our anniversary present. A combo anniversary gift/birthday present from Jenn to me was a Canon 70D, a major upgrade from our RebelXT, the original digital SLR. It was delivered just after the O'Connell wedding, so the first big event to test it out will be our Disney trip. WHICH IS COMING IN 2 WEEKS!!!
Well that was one of the longer gaps between posts. Wow. Sorry about that. And it's not because there's been nothing going on at the Gates Home. No way. Lincoln has been off to a great start at Kindergarten, Lydia and Henry are getting into a routine of being the only ones at home during the day, Jenn is running like crazy keeping up with things, volunteering at Lincoln's school and prepping for her 1/2 marathon in early October, work has been steady for me, an abridged version of one of the essays I wrote with Eden Myers appeared in print in Veterinary Economics (original here), Jenn and I have been keeping up with our friends and Bible study groups... whew. So you can get an idea for where the time has gone.
In fact, the time has so gotten away that I forgot to share some really cool photos from a couple of weeks ago when Lincoln, Henry and I went to Szalay's Farm early in the morning to watch a corn harvest. The boys were quite into seeing the harvester and tractors work.
It's getting cooler around here, and it really feels like fall. We finished dinner early the other evening and went to Rita's for some frozen custard. It'll probably be our last frozen custard of the season.
This evening we packed some stuff for dinner for the kids and went to the Ledges. Jenn ran around on the trails and I grilled some hot dogs for the kids and we had a picnic.
Ethan in Kansas' mom shared a blog on Facebook recently that I really liked. It's of a family that recently got back from China, having gone to most of the same places that Jenn and I went, and they've got 4 kids now under 5. And we think our home is full! Our Eternal Treasures
Between the zoo, Szalays, the Riverfront Cruise In, and a renewed interest in the playset, we've been a busy bunch here.
In interesting news on my writing front, you may or may not be aware that I've co-authored a series of essays about the veterinary profession with a friend and colleague, Eden Myers, DVM, of Kentucky. After an unsuccessful attempt to get them published in JAVMA (they're quite politically incorrect as far as the American Veterinary Medical Association is concerned), we had a letter to the editor published that was an abridged version of #4. There was some apparent interest from Veterinary Economics, but that appeared to be a dead end, and after being scooped by the New York Times, we decided to get our thoughts out there and we published on Eden's blog. Not long after that, the Student Doctor Network found the pieces and published our first essay on their site. And most recently, Veterinary Economics has gotten back in the mix, requesting that they allow us to abridge our #2 for use in their Hot Button segment, so that'll appear in next month's issue. The publishing world definitely works on a different pace than what we're used to, but it's interesting to see how one thing definitely leads to another.
And finally, if you haven't see the "Nailed It!" board on Pintrest, you're missing a good laugh. After you see that board, you'll more likely find the humor in this...
We payed a visit to Szalay's today to pick up some fruit and corn. We can measure Lincoln against the John Deeres!
Flashback 2010:
I didn't think Lydia would turn out to be as good of an eater as Lincoln was at this stage, especially with the way she started out, but she's been very, very impressive with both her wide array of tastes and with the way that she picks up bites individually and chews them (usually) one at a time.
First of all, a little catch-up. Lincoln's birthday was over a month ago, but because I forgot my camera during the trip over to Grandma & Grandpa's, I used their camera, and it's been a while since I got the photos transfered back to my computer. So here are some photos from a month ago.
What I'm about to share may come as a surprise to some of you. We've spoken with our parents about this and with some of our friends in the area, but we haven't yet gone public here on the blog about our intentions of adopting.
You read that correctly. After the long and very difficult delivery process with Lincoln, Jenn and I started talking about adoption. I recall our walks around downtown Hudson when we spoke about wanting more children but not being real excited about more pregnancies. But because adoption is such a big thing, we let it pass for some time. Besides, adoption is for other people, right?
Then came Lydia's delivery. The delivery process went well, but things have been pretty rough for Jenn in the months since the delivery. We haven't had much to say about it here, and I'm not going to say any more than I have so far. After the two experiences, while we're not completely ruling out having more biological children, we've arrived at the point of wanting to adopt.
Jenn reached this conclusion first, and then I was right behind her. Perhaps she will tell her story here sometime, but until then, I can tell you that the LORD has clearly placed adoption on her heart. The hard part initially was knowing if it was, in fact, the LORD speaking or was it just a temporary desire or quest? Followers of Christ know of what I'm speaking.
Sometimes it can be hard to determine. So we prayed. And we prayed. And adopting a special needs child from China kept rising to the top of Jenn's mind. As she shared her thoughts with me, it became clear that we are in the right position. We've come to the conclusion that (a) we want more children, (b) we don't want more pregnancies, (c) we have a home (both our house and our "home") that can accomodate more children, & (d) we don't want to take a healthy infant from a family that truly wants a baby but cannot have one themselves. That led us to settling on searching for a special needs baby, and China has a great program in which the kids actually do get very good medical care, their kids come with reliable medical histories (as reliable as can be with adoption), and the waiting period and requirements to bring the child home are not terribly onerous. The waiting period is usually between 12 & 18 months. Because we want to preserve our birth order, we will likely be toward the shorter end of that scale, but nothing is for certain at this point.
What is so interesting to consider is that our child is probably already born, and is in an orphanage somewhere in China. Please join us in prayer for this little one, that the LORD will provide the best protection and care, and that all of the preparation that comes with adoption will proceed with ease.
One of the big things about adoption is considering the financial aspect of it. Jenn called our accountant, Dave Kearns, to ask a number of questions, and he wanted to put us in touch with a couple from his Bible study group, Joe and Diane, that is very similar to us in many ways that had adopted not that long ago from China. Jenn called Diane and she told Jenn that she and her husband would like to take us out to dinner and talk with us about their story. Further, she wanted to invite their friends who have adopted seven children, four from China. Jenn was thrilled, and we went out to dinner last evening. There are many more details than I can even begin to share here, but it was an evening that can only be explained by saying that it was directed by the hand of God. The friends that Diane invited, John and MC, were the very couple that Jenn had seen in passing at HCC and wanted to get to know! Be sure to ask Jenn about it the next time you see her.
It's been very encouraging to talk with friends like Joe and Diane, John & MC, and read blogs like what my college buddy, JT, and his wife have put together. Jenn has talked with other moms from church and friends of those friends about their experiences, and they all seem to confirm that we are following the path that the LORD has laid out for us. The need is great, and we believe we can be a part of meeting the need.
Back to Lincoln and Lydia:
On a separate note, Lincoln and Lydia have made many trips with Grandma Paulette over to CVCA to watch the diggers and dump trucks work. Lincoln loves it and Lydia enjoys being outside.
Lincoln "read" his first word yesterday. We were reading a Curious George story together and he identified the letters "u" and "p," sounded them out, then pronounced, "UP!" It was pretty neat!
