Greetings Fae Scotland

(Airport)
Our hotel (thank you, Travelocity)

View from our room

St. Giles

Where we ate last night

(Inside of supper's dining establishment)
Deacon Brodie's Tavern is named after the man who inspired the fictional character, Jekyll and Hyde

We tried a "two" shot, but Nathan was the only one with eyes strong enough to look into the sun!

If you haven't figured it out yet, we're in Scotland visiting friends and celebrating our 10th anniversary as tourists. It's nice to travel in this role and not as leaders of a college team (though we enjoy that role, this is a little more relaxing).

We arrived late yesterday afternoon and enjoyed coffee with Pam and Simon before checking into our hotel and taking an evening walk around down town to stay awake and ward off jetlag. Our hotel is in a great location and since our trip is short, it's nice to be close to the main sites. The major downside is that internet is quite pricey at our hotel (15 pounds per day! gulp!), so we've taken a walk to a much more economical internet cafe about 10 minutes away.

Ellie is enjoying some special time with Gigi and Gjyshe on the farm and is probably not missing us much yet.

We hope to post some more photos but may not be able to do it very frequently. We'll see. Can't believe it's July and we're wearing sweaters and jackets! Not complaining, though!

We're back... briefly

Pictures tonight courtesy of Nathan's cell phone:

Friday night at Jessamine Creek (less than 3 miles from our home). Our friend, Andy Bathje, assured us that waterways are public access and we are not trespassing. ;-) Nevertheless, we had the creek to ourselves. It was quite therapeutic to sit for over an hour and watch Ellie throw rocks and sticks and leaves into the stream.

No special camera effects here. This is what it really looks like.

Shortly after returning from Illinois, Ellie had her 4-year exam and got 4 shots. Ouch! She was actually quite the trooper. We were pleased to hear Dr. Taylor report that she'd seen significant progress in Ellie between visits. She puts her development at about that of a three year old (we were gauging between 2 and a half to 3 years). Ellie has also grown in stature. She's officially broken the 40 lb mark (barely -- and not much of a weight gain from a visit over the winter, which goes to show the height she's added). She is in the 65th percentile for height and 75th for weight. Before leaving the office she asked if she could, "Hug Nurse Elizabeth?" We love our pediatrician's office and glad Ellie does too -- even when she's gotten four jabs!

This is to show Ellie's growing confidence on playground equipment. We're really astounded at the changes here. Last fall, it was mostly inaccessible to her. Now there's barely anything on it she CAN'T access.

This month has been a blur. I've been mostly at my desk editing weddings or portrait sessions. I'm not complaining though! With our impending adoption, I felt this was my last opportunity to take on some extra work to help cover some of those expenses. I've also taken on a photography intern, Becky, who's help has been invaluable. I wanted to make sure I had sufficient work to keep her busy. Ha! I think I could have had enough work for three interns! I don't know how much I taught her, but we learned a lot together. This past weekend we shot our last two weddings of the month and then she heads home at the end of the week. Feel free to hop over to my photography blog to see some of what I've been up to (http://cydilphoto.blogspot.com).

Tonight we took Becky out to eat for dinner to celebrate the end of our time with her. On the way home, Ellie said, "Tomorrow, after wake up, eat at restaurant!" Yeah, Els. Someday soon your mother will cook real food for you again. At home. ;-)

Happy 10th Anniversary, Nathan!

Photo by Fine Arts Studio (Peoria, IL).

Hannah Update

I've been up to my eyeballs editing photos ('tis wedding season, after all) so I apologize it's taken me a while to post the rest of my pics from our Illinois trip. This post is dedicated to Hannah. A lot of you ask about her so here's an update!

It's been a big summer for Hannah... she's now a homeowner! At the end of June she moved down the street from where she has been living to a spacious 2 Bedroom/2 Bath condo that's absolutely perfect for her in so many ways. We spent many a meal at Hannah's house while we were in town, thanks to her roomy dining area and balcony and central location. About the photos below -- I shot these the night before we returned to KY. Grandpa Van and Marilyn joined us for my favorite central Illinois take-out: LaGondola spaghetti and subs.

Her street is super quiet and the grounds are beautiful. I could easily spend a morning on her balcony with a good book! She's also within walking distance of Dollar General and KMart so she can get what she needs relatively easily! The even cooler news is that her best friend, Sam, is moving into Hannah's old apartment and the two can walk back and forth to each other's homes. We are so thankful that God has put them so close together for mutual companionship!

(below): Hannah's unit is on the 2nd floor.

Happy Birthday, Rebecca!

Jaedyn

Hey Whiteford family -- I just posted some photos of Jaedyn on my photo blog if you want to click over and see them! I think you'll agree she's a bona fide cutie!

Jane and Ryan

I told you in my last post that I have oodles of photos to share. This one dates back a couple of weeks...

I'm sharing it here because these guys made our day when they dropped in for a surprise visit a few weeks back. I may have said this before, but one of the greatest parts of living at the student center is that eventually, almost every Asburian comes back to Wilmore and you never know who's going to drop in, especially during Alumni Reunion weekend. While Ryan is an Asbury grad, we actually met his wife, Jane (when she was his fiance`), at church. We got to know Jane during a reallly memorable semester doing the Alpha program and fell in love with her. Shortly thereafter, we video-ed their wedding and said goodbye when they moved to the Peach State for more schooling. Thanks to the world wide web we've been able to stay in touch.

Jane and Ryan -- thanks for making time to see us! It was great to catch up!

What has four wheels...?

We are back from Illinois and I have oodles of photos to share... here's a few of Ellie with Gjyshe (Joosh). Whenever he'd come back from checking the sprinklers, she'd run to the door and want to jump on for a few trips around the yard. He was usually happy to oblige. In case you're wondering, we never had a fun toy like this when I lived at home.

I don't know where she learned this, but she started waving like Miss America whenever they'd pass by me. She would repeat this whenever we drove by Mom and Dad's house in the car too.

What Adoption Means...

About a year or so ago I became aware of a teenage girl who was wanting to be adopted. At the time, she was just a photograph, but she had a truly sweet-looking face. From her name, I knew she was Albanian, even though her country wasn't listed next to her posting on Bethany's Children of Promise. Last winter my bloggy friend, Melissa, visited Albania and met her. She reported that her personality was as sweet and genuine as her photograph implied.

Around the same time, I met via the internet a woman, Christa, who with her husband had stepped forward and wanted to adopt this waiting girl. They faced great odds, though. The biggest being this teenager's looming 16th birthday in July. If my new friend Christa and her husband could not complete their homestudy AND get immigration approval in time, this girl would turn 16 and forever remain an orphan. She would be turned out onto the streets without a home, without a family or social network, without a job, without food stamps, welfare, job-training program, you name it. The statistics are quite grim (have you seen the movie "Taken"?).

One by one, each deadline was met. Christa and her husband traveled to Albania, met their daughter-to-be and fell in love. Unfortunately, they had a few 'hiccups' in court. Pray-ers were rallied. Two more court appearances and everything became official...one day before her 16th birthday.

I'm borrowing this list from the Bethany rep in Albania who e-mailed us the good news this morning. From now on, this girl will have:

• a place to call home
• parents
• a brother
• people to help her negotiate her way
• people who can introduce her to Jesus
• someone to celebrate holidays with
• a place to go when hard times come
• a place to go back to
• someone to walk her down the aisle
• people to love
• a place she can walk in and just open the refrigerator without asking
• her own room
• her own clothes
• things that won't be stolen when she looks the other way
• a photoalbum with her pictures in it
• an address
• a family vacation
• her picture on the wall
• someone to celebrate her accomplishments with
• a mom to care for her when she's sick
• people to cheer her on
• a father's protection
• a mother's love
• someone to celebrate mother's and father's day with
• people who will make her birthdays special
• a living example of the love of Christ that calls us into His family......

Somebody Huffed, Somebody Puffed, but still the House stands...

I (Cydil) forgot how loud pigs can squeal! Even the little ones!

This little pig that Nathan's holding won't go to market. In fact, with his pedigree he's destined for trophies, ribbons, and many awards. His first bid of good fortune was for Ellie and her entourage to come and visit him in the piggy parlor. Even Grandma got in on the action as well as Dad doing piggy CPR. Ellie's touch on Illinois farms brought her into contact with one of the staples for an ag industry. Little pigs that turn into big pigs that eat a lot of corn and eventually end up up on your breakfast table. -- conributed by Gjyshe vanOrman

Red, White and BOOM!

Ellie came into direct contact with one of her first bits of Americana. Down the road in a small farming community that has for years celebrated our nation's independence by having fireworks in the cornfields. It's cheap thrills for the farmers who get to come for miles around and sit on old lawn chairs and marvel at the spectacle. Ellie sat with the best of them and did her share of marveling on her mom's lap. Holding her ears and widening her eyes you could tell she was taking it all in. Her cute little phrases like, "More fire please!" or "It went boom boom! I closed the ears!" were typical of her big night. God has blessed America and our freedom and independence all the way even to cornfields in Illinois.

-- guest contributor, Gjyshe vanOrman.

Amber Waves of Grain

ewww... Gross!

too close...

Explaining to Ellie that this is where I grew up...