More Fun with Aunt Gentry

This week has been such a blast with Gentry here, even though we have been sick, she has taken such good care of us all! (I think we will all go into withdraw when she leaves, especially Miss Clara!)


Today we finally got rid of all the gloom and rain we have had this past week and had some sun! We all went to the park to enjoy a picnic lunch and some play time with Aunt Gentry before she flies back to school tomorrow.
(This is one of my favorite pictures ever of Luke and Ben, it really just shows how close they really are.)







Aunt Gentry is a huge Phoenix Suns fan, so the boys had to wear their Suns attire just for her. Plus they have to get ready for our trip to Arizona this May for Aunt Raleigh's wedding! We are going to miss her so much!

Aunt Gentry!

On Thursday my youngest sister Gentry came for a visit. Gentry is a freshman in college and we are so excited she chose to spend her spring break with us!!! The boys have had so much fun getting to know their Aunt Gentry.

Even Miss Clara has enjoyed the extra attention of a devoted Aunt! Jeff and I have enjoyed having an extra set of hands to help with our very active sons! In addition, God's timing could not be any better as Jeff and I are still sick, struggling with a nasty cold. In fact, Gentry helped take me to an urgent care on Saturday where I was diagnosed with pneumonia. Please pray with us that the medicines I was given would be working and that I would not get worse.


Here are a few pictures of the boys last week trying to copy Daddy. Jeff has an exercise ball that he used for physical therapy on his back. The boys love to imitate Daddy!


Love,
Mer

March 12, 2005....Four Years!!!!

Today is our four year anniversary! Here is a short montage with a few pictures of our dating year, proposal, and wedding! Jeff and I met in December of 2003. In January I had shoulder surgery and my friends from church (including Jeff) helped drive me to physical therapy appointments, take out my trash, and help care for Clara while I was unable to do those things. My Mom had also flown out to take care of me and was immediately impressed with Jeff. One night, much to our dismay, we had discovered a small mouse in my kitchen. My mother and I are both deathly afraid of the small creatures. We had set traps, which were successful, but neither one of us would even go downstairs to check on them. My mom suggested that I call that nice young man named Jeff to come help us out. Indeed he did, my hero! In March of 2004 we started dating. In November of 2004 we flew out to Phoenix to visit my family for by birthday and Thanksgiving. We also had a trip to the Grand Canyon, which is where Jeff proposed on November 28, 2004. We were married at the Langley Air Force Base Chapel on March 12, 2005!

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Four years later, here we are with many, many more years to come! I love you Hubby!

Happy Birthday Mom!

So tomorrow is my Mom's birthday. It also happens to be our wedding anniversary (yes, we did sing happy birthday to Mom at our wedding!) Once again we must celebrate from a distance. Being that my mother's love language is words, I thought I would write down a few thoughts to celebrate her!

My Mom was instrumental in giving me a love for many things. A love for books and reading, a love for people especially those of other cultures, and a love for big families. A love for old traditional movies like Shenandoah and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and a love for being silly and able to dance to music while doing chores.


My mother also taught me that it is possible to have five daughters and still make them all feel loved and special in different ways. She taught me that the little things make people feel loved, like notes in your lunch or desk after parent teacher conferences. Care packages when you live far away, and taking the time to answer each of the many phone calls you get daily from one of your seven children are gifts my mother excels at!


My Mom has been able to stretch her arms wide enough to include not only her seven children, but countless others who have shared our home over the years. From multiple exchange students, to Marines who missed their flights that she encounters at the airport. Now she also has included three new son in laws and a daughter in law, and in the next year she will include another son in law and daughter in law to the bunch!




In addition, Mom has taken on a new role as Grammy. She has lovingly included each new grandchild into the crazy Kerger bunch. I tease her that with seven children all starting families of their own, as a Grandma she will not just add grandchildren, she will multiply!


I love you Mom! Thank you Lord for giving our Mom/Grammy another year. Help her to continue to grow in the knowledge of you so that her family will rise up and call her blessed!
Love,
Jeff, Mer, Luke and Ben

One year as parents on paper!

One year ago a power of attorney representative for our adoption agency stood before an Ethiopian judge and completed our official adoption for us. (Of course we did not travel until a month later to pick up our sons....but March 6th is our first day as official parents on paper.) For those of you who prayed for us during that time, you know what a big deal our court date was since it was delayed six times!

This week has been Spring break for Jeff, and we had planned a rain check trip to the zoo, since the boys were sick on Ben's birthday when we originally had planned to go to the zoo. Well, our plans were foiled again as our friends who were to join us became sick, and now our family has started the stomach bug as well. So instead we just laid low today trying to recover. The boys are healthy for the moment, and we are praying they stay that way! Even Miss Clara seems to have a stomach bug!

Here are a few pictures of the boys cuddling under a blanket with their favorite past time, reading books. Miss Clara loves reading time too!




What a difference a year makes, what full lives we live!
Love,
Mer

Let it snow.....in March!!!!

We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland again!!! The highs today are in the 30's and by Friday they are calling for them to be in the 70s again! Gotta love God's sense of humor when it comes to the weather. Here are just a few pictures of the boys enjoying this unusual March weather. If I haven't said so already, I love snow and winter so I am not sad to see it stretched out a bit longer!



Here are a few funny pictures of Jeff trying to do some PT with Miss Clara's help!

Love,
Mer