Puny, Puny. Puny.

Noah came home from school yesterday early with a fever. Last night his fever got pretty high, so we left very early this morning for ABC pediatrics and got to the early sick clinic. Noah was diagnosed with Strep. And bad allergies. Which he took a look at Ella and said her allergies were bad. And he took a look at my eyes and said that my allergies might be bad too. So we are all in the house, trying to get well. My sweet brother and Lindsey will be married in a little over a week, and all 3 of us are in the wedding. Pray that we will get better quickly so we will be in tip top shape before the wedding!

A few weeks before a few weeks ago

Semi-funny story... A long time ago my sister told me about the Fleming family who were adopting from Ethiopia. I followed their blog through hers to watch their story unfold. They now have a beautiful baby boy from Ethiopia and God is using them to walk alongside my sister as she and Will are in the process of adopting. A few weeks ago (before a few weeks ago when we found out they too were adopting), I stopped by the Fleming family's website and watched the below video. It did a couple of things to me... 1. I cried. 2. I hadn't thought before about how God used adoption all throughout the Bible. Even Jesus himself was adopted by Joseph! 3. It made me want to open up our home one day to other children. Then, Matt and I watched The Blindside (which I cried through) and the next day I told Matt I wanted to adopt a teenager from a bad community and help him blossom. My emotions had gotten the best of me. And Matt told me that there will be no other children besides our own in our house (you never know what God can do!). But, I would love it if you would watch the below video to catch the same glimpse that I have into adoption.

Wanna Help?

I wake up to the fresh brewed goodness of a cup of pepsi :) In my almost 30 years, I have tried to no avail to make myself like coffee, but I just can't! But if you do love coffee, I wanted to tell you about a great opportunity to put the thing you love - with something I love.
Go to http://justlovecoffee.com/themcgees and check out the awesome coffee that is for sale. For every purchase $5 goes toward the adoption cost of baby McGee. I've heard through the grapevine that it is really good coffee! This organization is a great ministry that helps parents who are adopting with an opportunity for funding.

Rock N Roll Star

Ever since Noah could make noise, we knew he had a musical gift. But recently our sweet Ella has started to show signs that she loves to sing. This picture was taken at Kim's house this week. She walked around strumming this huge guitar and making up a new song. And this afternoon, I caught her humming along to Hey Jude (she was singing "hey dude"). You've got to teach them what good music is from an early age!

The Sidewalk

My friend Kim's love language is giving. When I mentioned to her I might line the sidewalk to our house, she told me she had just the thing I would need to get it done, black garden edging. It took a few days to dig out the sides of the sidewalk, $10 for flowers and another $6 for mulch, and it was finished! I think it looks pretty good! I do not have a green thumb, so I chose some flowers (red impatiens) that need little sunlight and can withstand a drought :) Hopefully they will make it through the summer!

Noah's Big Moment!

The Kicking King

Noah was the Kicking King in the kindergartens presentation of Letterland tonight. Today he told me that he was nervous about how he was going to do. So sweet. Especially since all he had to do was kick. Needless to say, he did a fantastic job, and was so cute. He kept looking over at Matt and I and smiling. Love this kid to pieces!

That's what she said...

Noah's long time girlfriend is Emma, and he still claims that "she's the one." When I dropped Noah off in his classroom tonight before the program, he went to Mrs. Hollifield and put on his cape and crown. Lindsey came up to him and said "you look perfect Noah, just like you always do." Then they grabbed each others hands and skipped over to the letter wall (where I took this picture). Mrs. Hollifield said they have quite the "friendship."

He's only 6 years old and is already juggling a few women. We are doomed when he is a teenager :)

She's Having a Baby

The cat is out of the bag, and I'm so excited for my sister and Will... they are going to have a baby! Not the traditional way - they have chosen to adopt a precious little boy or girl from Ethiopia. We are so excited for them! Noah and Ella will find out in a few weeks at Daniel and Lindsey's wedding, I want the proud parents to tell them and explain to them what exactly this gift is. They are going to be incredible parents, and I can't wait to see how God is going to use their testimony in the years to come.

Their blog is www.yestoadoption.blogspot.com if you would like to hear more of the details surrounding their decision and how you can help pray for them along their journey.

Date Night

8 and 1/2 years ago I married the coolest guy I know. We weren't big "daters" when we first got together, we were more into just "hanging out." So over 8 years later, and only having a handful of dates, you get to where you don't miss what you don't have. We got to go out for our anniversary and had the best night, and we promised to do it more often. I spoke with Anna, our one and only babysitter, and told her that I need to put her on the calendar once a month. Her first free night was last night, and Matt and I took advantage of it! We headed out to MoDaddy's and used another one of our $2 restaurant.com gift certificates (which are for $25, only stipulation is that you have to order $35 worth of food) and had the most awesome dinner. And we walked out after eating 2 appetizers, 3 tacos, and deep fried cheesecake for dessert all for $13.59! Then we headed out and enjoyed the eclectic night life of Asheville, shot some pool, and made it home before midnight. We have Anna on the calendar for the 3rd Friday in May and June, and have promised each other we will cut whatever corners we have to in order to have this special time with each other. It was great to be just "Matt and Sarah" and not wear our parental hats for the night! We are already counting down the days until our next date night!

Not gonna do it!

I tried. I really did. They were so great to pose individually for me. But together, they were absolutely not going to sit there and smile. Thought you might get a kick out of my attempts!

Noah the Great

He reminded me today that he will be out of kindergarten soon... My how time flys by!

Ella Grace

There isn't a prettier girl on the planet. My sweet Ella.

The 3 Amigos

Meredith is such a joy to play with, and my children love her to pieces. Yesterday was a beautiful day outside and so we headed out as soon as Noah got home from school. The kids took turns making her laugh, collecting rocks, and then we read some books while we waited for Ms Amy to come and pick Mere up.

Siaks + baseball = just another day.

Wiffle ball, cubs baseball on TV, live Cubs baseball, Jack & Nick's little league games, Gabe's team... Baseball and the Siak boys goes hand in hand. So it was no surprise when a game of wiffle ball was ordered up on Saturday afternoon.

My kids touched a fish!

A long time family friend of the Siaks is Jeff Simpson. Many of the growing up stories involve him. Jeff was able to go camping with us this weekend, and he is quite the "outdoorsman." Matt took the kids along with Jeff & Gabe fishing on Saturday afternoon. They caught a fish, and the kids held it! I had a momentary panic attack realizing how dirty their hands were...

I really love this guy

Great times around the campfire...

He's back, baby!

Dads first sermon since his heart attack has been uploaded onto the First Baptist Opelika website. Go to www.fbcopelika.com, on the left hand side click on Sermons. At the bottom of the page click on Podcast. Choose the most recent sermon.

I am so proud of him, his vulnerability, and the way he let God use him.

The Reason for our Hope... Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday... What a great day! The kids woke up to fabulous Easter baskets (we all got one!) and it started the day off on a great note. For weeks now, Ella has asked to put on her Easter dress, and I've told her no, she has to wait. She was so happy, and looked so adorable in her new dress and shoes. Noah looked very, very handsome too! We headed to FBCO where Trace challenged us to come to our own "reconcilliation" at the table with Christ this Easter holiday. Worship and the preaching were so incredible, I was not the only one brought to tears. We came home and Dad + everyone else got to watch the 11:00 service on TV before we headed to grandma's house for a fantastic lunch (Honeybaked Ham & turkey!!!) and some great memories (that we did get on video). This afternoon we relaxed, the guys have gone to have a competitive "putt-off" and we will be feasting on the fabulous leftovers for dinner & a movie tonight. I love spending time with my family in Alabama, and I'm so blessed to have them.

Saturday - Easter Weekend

We had such a busy day! The best part, was the Easter Egg Hunt and our family dinner that followed. It doesn't look like it from the pictures below, but Noah did have a good time :). This easter egg hunt was so much better than the one at the Y, both kids got tons of eggs, and everytime they would race to get to the next egg, unknowingly they dropped a few more eggs out of their basket while they ran. So it turned into the never ending hunt! We all laughed so hard watching them. We had a great meal provided by the FBCO staff, and continued laughing at dinner while we tried to explain tropic thunder to dad, and discussed our dissappointment in finding out there is no "Greenbow, Alabama." I am so thankful to have this time with my family!