dog days

of summer, that is.

We are home from church camp, reading classes are complete, the flowers are looking a little bedraggled and leggy, Jeb put jeans on twice this week despite 85 degree days with massive humidity and I have an unexplainable longing for cardigans and corduroy.  Belgian mums are calling my name.

Cross country and football practices have started.  School meetings are underway and at church we are deep into recruiting teachers for Sunday School and spiffing classrooms for children.  The family binder is out and filling quickly with paperwork, schedules and such.  I even woke Cooper and Jeb up at 9:30am yesterday morning; time to prepare for the daybreak alarms.

I actually bought a pot roast to make this week.  Now that is going too far.

I had a dream last night that one of our adoption agencies called us and I was really happy.  I don't know what I was happy about in the dream, but I remembered it this morning as I looked at the calendar and wondered WHEN, oh when, we might hear news of our trip to China...

School starts in two weeks.  That is a good thing.  We are ready for the school year (at least I am girding myself for the homework and activities to begin again!), and we are MORE than ready to bring Emma Kate home.

Our agency is saying October now.  I am excited about the month of October.  I love October.  I'd go anytime they say we can go.  I just also really like September.  September is a good month, too.

If these are the dog days of summer, what is autumn called when I simultaneously want it to last forever because I love the season so, and also yearn for it to fly by so Emma Kate is in our arms?  Ambivalence has never felt like a nice word to me.  Feeling both things at once needs a different name; and not a soap opera name.  This isn't high drama, it is peace mixed with longing, and joy marked by wondering anticipation.

Waiting.  It has nuances of its own, that word.

We wait knowing there is a day.  And each day is a day closer.  Every single detail of our needs is well known and tended to by a God who orchestrates the length of the seasons and the very number of hairs on Emma Kate's head.  He knows.  And He is at vigilant work for her sake.  And ours.

Onward!

Bears and Tigers and...goats? Oh, my!

Let's go to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

And you can come too, too, too...

With Cooper and Jeb gone at church camp, we decided to head out on a fun excursion.

It's been a long time since we visited the Minnesota Zoo, and we had a great time together!  

It was the three of us, and a lot of HOT animals.  Tigers, bears, camels, antelope, asian cows.  Lots to see! Unless you count all the animals submerged in murky green water waiting for dusk to arrive.  They were bumming, I'm telling you.  HOT animals!

 I won't bore you with Luke and Anna's animal shots.  Especially since I always make snarky comments about people who photograph the animals standing there bored in their "environments".  I know.  I'm sarcastic that way.  But really, what in the world are you going to do with animal photos once you are home?  

For us, the highlight was...(don't laugh now, we're city folk)

We had a ball.  Petting, snuggling, grooming.  The mennonite people who arrived at the farm in the same wagon load of people as us seemed a bit confused.  I think they might have thought we were a bit loony to come to a zoo to see...farm animals.  

As a girl who has always harbored quiet dreams of pygmy goats, I was in heaven.  Those goats are so cute.  And we learned they are mighty closely related to sheep, too.  Who knew?  Probably you did, but we didn't.  No wonder Scripture references sheep and goats together.  I'm sad the goats aren't coming along in that illustration.  I find them much cuter.  And if I had to chose, I'd want to be a goat.  Unless I"m in that illustration.  In that case I'll be a sheep.

But I digress.  

Here's how it all looked at the end of the visit, after four hours in broiling heat

Mighty fun!

Cooper and Jeb return today.  Luke and I head out on Sunday for camp.  Pray for us!  Pray for me!  I'm on staff and leading 130 campers to know, love and follow Jesus.  It is such a fun week.  I really look forward to it, and love seeing God at work in all those kids.  Beautiful.

Emma Kate, we can't wait for the day we sweat it out with you at the zoo.  And we long to laugh at camels wading in water and gasp at the majesty of the leopard as it leaps down a tree trunk.  WITH YOU.  

Time's flying by!  We'll be there SOON.