Unfortunately, we don't have 1st travel dates yet and have just decided to SMILE! (sometimes it is that cranky, irritated smile, but for the most part it is genuine and happy.) Like this Big Red Barn Lee and I found on Hwy 83. I bet really happy animals live inside! Ha! As we drove past, I let out a "Awwwww!" and Lee instantly knew to stop, pull over, and hit reverse! He reads my mind like that at times and I love it.....Didn't even have to ask!



In celebration of our 3rd wedding anniversary we took a drive on the back roads of rural Wisconsin heading North to Pike Lake State Park. With no real agenda, we went searching for God's beautiful fall foliage and we found plenty of it!



Our final destination was to the top of the Powder Hill Observation Tower. Otherwise known as the second highest point in Southeastern Wisconsin. It was actually pretty spectacular, cold but spectacular!

Happy Fall Ya'll ! Go take a Road Trip!

No Dates Yet!

I thought that I would just get that out in the open right away.  No dates yet.  We have been told to be patient and flexible and that is what we are doing.  We are not stressing about it because the scrapbooks for each child are not done yet! We are waiting on the "Commission to Meet" which is basically a stamp on our paper work that says the courts say it is okay to visit. The orphanage director and our children's legal guardian have both signed off saying it is okay to bring us abroad, however, we wait for the Stamp! From there, we expect about a 2-3 week notice to travel.   In the mean time, here is what we have been up to......


This is the Dinomite Closet. The picture hardly gives the organization justice, but let me assure you it is fabulous!  I now do not have an excuse for wearing one navy sock and one black sock to work!  :)


This is our son's room! It is a camping theme room. You can't tell in the picture that well, but in the far right corner is a JOHN DEER GREEN toy box. It was a toy box from my childhood (back then it was red) and I almost gave it away about 6 months ago, but something told me to keep it.   It was probably my Mom yelling from Heaven "don't you dare give that away, I stored it for you for  a zillion years!" I am so glad I didn't because it will now be around for a zillion more!



These are those darn little drawer/cabinet locks - that took hours to install. Yes, the tupperware cabinet was left open and free for little hands to play with. I wonder how many times I will find myself shoving all the tupperware back into place?? Ha!


And finally, this is our daughter's room, but there is more to come. We are awaiting the crib's arrival (a hand-me-down from my sister and the cute dresser to be complete!)


Most of all I must send out many thanks to Lee's family who came to visit and worked many hours helping us to get this far. All the while Lee was at Drill and I was at work. It takes a village!

PS - Lee and I made it through Baby's R Us and successfully spent $200 dollars.   I liked it before when I just left overwhelmed and crying!!!  Ha!  I love this Journey!  Hope everyone is well and enjoying the beautiful fall colors - Who has broken down and turned on their heat?

Some Good Advice

I received some good advice from a friend who told Lee and I to keep busy during the next couple of weeks and months and get done every little project we have ever wanted to complete. Part of the reason behind this is because you don't want to get caught up in the  "hurry up and wait" game and right now we are awaiting Poland's official acceptance of our acceptance.  Plus, life just may not accommodate your time table later on.

SO, with that being said our projects include:

*Remodel the master bedroom  closet (it is going to be Di-No-Mite!)  

*Buy and assemble little boy furniture

*Finish my family scrapbooks to current date ( I am slightly behind)

*Paint Daughter's room

*Refinish my Mom's  tiny dresser with mirror (I am going to have to show you a picture when it's done because it is really cute)

*Clean Basement (ugh)

*Start addressing Christmas Cards (I know that sounds crazy, but it did make the list)

*Organize my recipe cards

*Put camping gear away for the season in the crawl space.

*Give Dog a bath (Lee's list)

And in typical "Martha" fashion I have tried to start all these projects at once and now the house is a mess, so we'll have to add Clean House to the list.   Ha!  

Have a great week everyone!!

Glitter Text @ Glitterfy.com

On 9/8 we received an e-mail from LSS NY stating they had a referral for us to consider.  That was at 9:18 am, however, Lee and I weren't able to coordinate time to talk with them until 5:30pm that evening!  I think that might have ranked up there as the longest day of our lives! When we finally connected, Sue from LSS stated "this referral is a little bit different!"  .....and Lee and I looked at each other - Huh?   "that's because it is for 2 !!"  At which point our jaws dropped and our eyes began to swell and we were completely overcome.  Wow!  

Ask and you shall receive!~

We were given pictures and medical reports over e-mail which we quickly sent to the International Adoption Clinic at the Children's Hospital in Milwaukee for review, and after lots of prayer and loving discussion with our families We ACCEPTED.    Our son is almost 3 years old and his younger sister is 17 months.    Travel plans are in the works and I will post more about that soon.  It caught us a little off guard when LSS asked  "How soon are you able to travel?"   (again the jaw dropping thing) - Hopefully sooner rather than later.

I can tell you that we have "tried" going to Baby's R Us twice and each time left completely overwhelmed.   Is there a reason why there needs to be 50 different types of  car seats or strollers?!     I have since decided to concentrate on creating 2 scrap books to bring with us loaded with pictures of ourselves and our families as this is something I know much more about.   

Honestly, this is an incredibly stressful time and emotionally charged and  my thoughts often wander to the birth parents and what a wonderful gift of love they have given.  We promise we will welcome their children with arms and hearts wide open forever and never forget how grateful we are to them.  

We received a referral & are getting ready to go 90 mph!

It is always a sure sign at the Weyer's family house that something is "a happenin' "  if the flowers out on the porch start to wither.  It means "we have a lot going on" and forget to water the plants.    So stayed tuned! ....hmmmm........ should I say that twice?

Where will all the GEAR go?

Lee and I went camping for 18 hours (4pm-10am) yesterday.  This tent represents about 1/100th of the total GEAR.  Yes, I am a site camper (Lee is a back woods camper).  If I am going to go camping, I want to be comfortable.  There, I said it.   I like to have access to all the amenities.  It just makes me happier to know that a ....well, fairly clean, flushable toilet is within a 5 minute walk, or running water is within an arms reach, and for certain...there has to be somewhere to plug in a radio or a frying pan to make bacon in the morning!   It's a hoot!  I know it!  But that is just me.  We loaded up the truck Saturday afternoon and did not have one ounce of extra room.  For just ONE night, we were loaded down!  This got me to thinking.....WHERE  is all the KID GEAR going to go?  We had much discussion about it over dinner and our campfire.  The kid gear LIST got very long and we were at one point stressing a bit, and then we decided it didn't matter.  We would figure out how to take it all with us somehow!  The point to remember is to just continue having fun together, the gear will follow (in the trailer we need to buy)..........Oh, and let's not forget all the DOG gear too!  Have a great week everyone!!

Flank Steak Marinade:  Simply FANTASTIC!

1/4 Cup Oil

2 T Lemon Juice

2 T Soy Sauce 

2 T Grated Onion

1 Clove Garlic

1 tsp  Celery Sauce

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

(Marinate MINIMUM 1 day!) No more than 8 minutes per side on the Grill!

We are just goofy!

This is what you look like about 3 seconds after your dog licks your face in the pitch dark!

The Gift of a Rainy Saturday Morning

The gift of a rainy Saturday morning..... Last night I fell asleep exhausted, stressed, mentally drained and without any spirit.  I had enough of the day and was ready to put it behind  me...as far as I could.  Not really anticipating

a brighter tomorrow, I fell asleep.  I slept rock solid; one of those nights when all the muscles in your body break apart and you awake in the same position you laid down the night before.  The clock said 4:50am and on a normal work day this would be 10 minutes prior to the alarm began shaking my world.   Instead.....it was raining.....a soft rain, not buckets, just  ever so soft droplets and a quiet roll of thunder.......I rolled over and fell back to sleep.  The gift was given and I was receiving.  Approximately 10 hours after laying my head down in despair, I opened an eyelid.......again.   The sun wasn't shining, it was dark, it was 9 am, and I was starting to feel alive again.  I crept around the house, made some coffee, and enjoyed the quiet time to reflect and ponder.    These types of "perfect" Saturday mornings don't come around to often and I was going to embrace  it.  In fact, what if this type of Saturday morning where the rain and rest came together with exact timing never came again?.......hmmmmm, I think that would be okay, because maybe that meant it was time to fill our home with laughter, and morning cartoons,  Daddy's pancakes and the beginning of day with a child.   The waiting continues, as well as, the anticipation and excitement......and the rain.