Our friend just adopted Zavion from Ethiopia. He melts my heart, and I just wanted to document the beginning of their journey here. His life has changed tremendously in the last two weeks. He went from an orphanage in Ethiopia to pumpkin patches, Krispy Kreme, finger painting and parks. The transition has been fabulous for them. If their journey intrigues you, you can follow it by looking at their blog. Here is an excerpt:
We had a great fall afternoon at Schilter Farms with our friends. This was a great place to take the kids. They had tractor/hay rides, pumpkins, hay maze, corn maze (we didn't do this), play area and petting zoo. I was saying to my friends that I think fall is one of my favorite seasons. The change of seasons is so much fun to see, but I just like what comes with it - warm lattes, colorful leaves, pumpkin patches, fall fashion, sunny but not too hot days, boots for splashing in puddles, soup, fires, hats with matching scarves, rhythm and traditions. I'm so blessed to have friends who equally like to celebrate this time of year.
My sister, Shannon, is 33 weeks along in her pregnancy and officially on bed rest. She currently has three wonderful kids (5, 3 and 11 months). Needless to say, she needs a village. It's been great to hear how her community, friends and family have surrounded her during this time. This last weekend, Jer and I went up to help in anyway we could. My husband is a rock star when it comes to projects, and I was impressed by how much he accomplished. The bonus for us is that Shannon is an amazing photographer. You should see her photos on her blog. These are a few she snapped of Kenzie. I love the one of Kenzie and her cousin, Lucy, too!
Two funny Abigail moments involving wine: 1) A couples weeks ago, Abigail asked, "What are you drinking?" I said, "What do you think I'm drinking?" She replied, "Wine. I want some wine." I said, "No, you can't have wine." Thinking it was because she hadn't said the magic word, she earnestly said, "Can I have some wine, PLEASE!!" 2) Today Abigail went to Bible Study Fellowship with Grandma Durr. They are studying the book of John and today were learning about Jesus turning water into wine. When Grandma asked her what she had learned, she replied, "Jesus doesn't whine. He's a good boy."
The Overstreets
We went with some friends from church to the Rutledge Farm Corn Maze. The Corn Maze was fun. Abigail loved running through the paths and playing in the dirt. There were horse drawn carriage rides and some kids events set up. Abigail even had her first hot chocolate, which she was of course a fan of.
My amazing husband is 31 years old as of October 7th. We celebrated the birthdays of my dad, Ross and Jer all together at my parents' house. It was a night of pizza. Who could ask for more? We had his family over the day before his birthday and he requested appetizers and ice cream, so that's exactly what he got. We love being with our families, so this was a wonderful way to celebrate the day God created such a caring, loving, talented, hard working, fun, giving and terrific man!
Kenzie is six months old! She checked out as healthy as can be at 16 lb 1 oz (50%), 26.25 inch (68%) and a head circumference of 16 3/4 inch (50%). Kenzie does not liked to be messed with at the doctor! She senses when she is someone's care that wants to check her out or fuss with her in some way, and she freaks out. She is now onto solid foods AND sleeping through the night - yippee!! She loves her dad and sister...she probably thinks I am OK too, but they generate the most smiles. Attention is her thing. She'll be upset and the moment you give her some love, she's all smiles. The smiles come quickly. She can make her way around the room by rolling and scooting by pushing her legs while she's on her back. Everything is going in her mouth, and she is very tactile right now, quickly grabbing whatever is close. I tried to predict Abigail's personality by this point, so I'll try to do the same for Kenzie. I would say Kenzie is a social creature who is most content when she has attention. She is quick to laugh and smile. She also seems observant. She enjoys music and anything that lights up. She is our screen girl - quickly attracted to t.v., computers, cell phones, etc. She loves to be outside. She seems to enjoy animals too. She's fairly content when she's well fed and has slept well but otherwise needs attention to stay content. She enjoys being passed around and interacting with everyone. She's a sweetie, and we love her so!
Starbucks Habits: We go to Starbucks almost every Sunday after church. It's a fun tradition. Abigail normally gets a smoothie, and we get a reduced-fat, turkey bacon breakfast sandwich with a iced grande vanilla latte. 
Abby loves making cookies with me...or perhaps, she just likes the result. She has a major sweet tooth and definitely gravitates toward anything of that variety.
Kenzie received her first taste of solids at 6 months. She's a fan. She had no problems getting those first bites down and quickly thickened it up a bit. She is now on to pureed fruit.
The theme for Shannon's twin shower was a fairly traditional one, Noah's Ark. However, we decided to modernize it by emphasizing more of the animal prints that may have littered the ark. It was fun to prep and decorate for this shower. Stacie & my mom made some fabulous quiches, muffins and breads. We played a couple games - including naming the baby animals connected with the adult animal and a sculpting game. Shannon was surrounded by a lot of love. We are so excited to meet these two new babies! 
Abigail and Kenzie love each other so much. Abigail has been a bit too lovey with Kenzie, and we're really working on playing appropriately with Kenzie. That said, Kenz is extremely tolerant of Abigail's love. Abby sits on her, hugs her, puts things on her, and takes things away from her. Everything is obviously done because Abby is wanting to interact with her. I can't wait until Kenzie is older and can play with her sister more. Kenzie always smiles when Abby is around.
We love getting together with our friends, Ty and Rachel to watch football. Go Seahawks!
