Happy Birthday Juan!

Juan turns 11 today!
Baloon Toss! Con Agua : )



Pinata!!!



Juan had his last Orchestra Concert today...He did fantastic!


We made cupcakes for Juan's class last night...After all, it is Mustache May!

Elias attended a pre-school for 3 days this week held at Eisenhower Middle School (where I taught for the last 4 years). He had a ball. The middle school child development class put it on and the girls totally doted on Elias...he loved all the attention.

Okay, Grandpa Lamb take a good look at this little wooden kitchen set....cause we want it! Preferable made out of recycled wood. Love you Pops! Elias LOVED it!

Mother's Day and more...

Juan wrote me a poem for Mothers Day...

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
You are more better than the Roses

I love it! I smile every time I think about it.


Juan knew I wanted an egg box- for our endless eggs... I had been shopping for one and he suprised me by building this one.
He painted it the same color as his "Pine Wood Derby" Car. I helped him sand it and stain it for the distressed look I wanted. He is a Sweet heart. I will cherish it forever.




Eric and his good friend Earl (aka Earl the Girl) rode a Metric century Saturday for CASA- Court Appointed Special Advocate. A Great program that helps many of the kids we have in foster care. It was a fun and easy. I just sat back at the park and ate sun chips and the next thing I knew Eric was back...








Is this the most dicusting thing you have ever seen? Poor Elias had to sit there for 10 minutes (or what seemed like 10 minutes) while Eric fastened his bike to the roof. Just thought you all needed to endure that for a moment.



Elias insists that Juan drive...

Juan's 4th Discussion

We are all enjoying having the missionaries around more often. They are great, and they love Juan. We all love Juan. He is truly the perfect kid. We are so lucky to have him in our home and we look forward to lifelong friendship with our sweet boy Juan.

Dodge City, Kansas aka Cowtown

We had a fun road trip to Dodge City Kansas. We took Honey and my good friend Dee along with us.

We attended a banquet and met the current Marshal of Dodge City. He is a total Cowboy. He even pulled out his guitar and sang "Home on the Range" for Juan (Kansas's State Song).







Juan's Self Portrait



We visited some historical sites in Dodge. We Loved learning about the real Wyatt Earp and his friends.




And the very best part of the trip was...
SUSANNA!!



It was so wonderful to see her again. She lived with us from October 2007- Feb 2008. I still miss her so much. She is a sweet, beautiful girl!

Bad News Bears

Our house totally unsold on Monday. The family that was going to buy canceled the contract. Boo hoo. I guess the father is going to be deployed in May so they are going to stay where they are for now.
The good news is...Eric is coming Home!!! His first semester teaching is done so he will be back in KS with us very soon. We are just crossing our fingers that the house sells - or that we can find really good renters.
: )

Honey, Honey

Meet our new dog Honey-
She is 9 months old and already well trained. She is so good with Elias.



Oddly enough she is also very good with the Chickens. We adopted her from the Humane Society- she is part Blue Healer and part Rottweiler- both strong herding dogs. She herds the chickens to the coop constantly. She is gentle with them- and guides them back to the coop- sometimes it is a little annoying as I want the chickens to get bugs in the yard.

Our Last Weeks in Kansas

We will miss Kansas so much. It is definitely with a little pain and emotion that we leave our friends, neighborhood, and home behind. The hardest part by far is not being able to take Juan with us to Minnesota. He is a part of our family. We love him so much. He will go to another family here in Manhattan, KS until he can be reunited with his family in Mexico. Juan is an absolutely delightful boy. He makes me laugh everyday. He is getting so good with the Violin.

Juan's Mom is great. She sends him the sweetest cards and letters.
She is so pleased with his schooling and ability to speak English. We love Veronica very much. Juan looks forward to going to live with her again. We hope it will be soon.
Juan plans to come back to the US to attend College. He said he wants to go "where Eric teaches". We will continue to know and love Juan. We even hope to see him and his family in Mexico. We Love you so much Juan!!




My dear friend and mentor Dr. Dee McKee is another one who will be greatly missed. Although I will still be working on her campaign from Minnesota, we won't be able to have our noon tea on Saturdays. I am sure I will still be calling her regularly with questions about life... : )
I love the twinkle in Elias's eye when he watches Juan.