2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving w/ Langs!!

We had our 2nd annual pumpkin carving extravaganza with the Lang's this past weekend, and it was so much fun! We ate WAY too much; had a blast with the kids, and carved some pretty cool pumpkins!!



Turner carved the skull and crossbones; Darren and I carved the kitty; and Angela carved the funny face with Cayden. Things got really serious when Turner broke out the heavy artillery to put the finishing touches on his work of art! Hilarious!!



We are already looking forward to next year's pumpkin carving event; too bad Peyton won't be with us yet; hopefully she'll be able to join in on the fun for the 4th annual!!!!! Thanks, Turner and Angela, for such a great time!

Cora Betts Royal Ball

Pictures: First is of Ashley watching Columbine Blue while they performed; Second is Ashley standing next to some of the princesses; Ashley and I dancing; Sydney "posing" for her picture; last picture Sydney on the left, Elly dancing with her dad, Steve in the background, and Cayden and his friend. Cayden was so cute - he was really dancing! So much fun!!

I took Ashley, one of our goddaughters, to the 1st Annual Cora Betts Royal Ball. We had such a great time, and it was for a worthy cause. Cora and her brother, Michael, were taken in a tragic accident this past January. This benefit was held in Cora's honor, with all proceeds going to benefit Judi's house, which is a non-profit that helps children deal with the loss of a loved one, usually a parent or sibling.

Ashley and I had so much fun. It was such a special thing that she and I got to do together. She wasn't feeling her best, but she did so good. After we got in the car and were on our way home, she wanted to come back to our house and play hide and seek with Darren. Shawna met us at the house, and we played hide and seek with Ashley and Brooke for an hour or so. I was not the best at playing that game - when it was my turn to count, I took too long to find them because Shawna and I couldn't stop "gabbing."

We also saw Turner and Angela; Steve and Elly; and several other people I've met through Turner and Angela. I think the event was a success, and I look forward to attending in the future!

China - Wait Increases Again!!

The latest newsletter through our adoption agency was posted today, and it looks like wait times from LID (Log-In-Date) to match have increased to 31-32 months, which puts at a match date somewhere around October or November of 2009 with anticipated travel in November or December of 2009. It just seems to keep increasing little by little. We know she'll be worth the wait, but every time we hear of wait times increasing it does get a little harder. We started the process nearly 2 years ago (it will be 2 years at the end of this month), and while the time has flown by, the wait ahead seems like forever, especially when we truly don't know when the wait will finally end and we will have our baby in our arms.

We remain positive though - as you know, Darren and I are planners and have plenty we can keep ourselves busy with in the meantime. Thank you all for your prayers!

Love, Karen & Darren