tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45363354124303101032024-02-07T13:21:20.551-05:00Ulm Family Happenings"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-46206247794259210992010-08-23T09:53:00.005-04:002010-08-23T10:08:09.135-04:00We are home!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUbSLsHbMSbGPRqRY248GH6LQ5DBoFs4HIJjdV_CbjbdCm2VOiAzM1xS32O1WUKBYpzgibe1yuM_uMo0oFoA32AgKubGZmpWRQSDlno-UBwog38M4xyqHTJAU0f_L8iA3t2GbN9Al/s1600/IMG_5698.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508606362150153570" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUbSLsHbMSbGPRqRY248GH6LQ5DBoFs4HIJjdV_CbjbdCm2VOiAzM1xS32O1WUKBYpzgibe1yuM_uMo0oFoA32AgKubGZmpWRQSDlno-UBwog38M4xyqHTJAU0f_L8iA3t2GbN9Al/s320/IMG_5698.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We have been home for 2 weeks now. It has been wonderful, crazy, stressful and joyous!! Isaac is a joy. He smiles a lot and is very happy. He is also very vocal in telling us when he is not happy. We are learning more about one another every day. The kids are in love and can't wait for him to wake up! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Isaac is pretty small for his age which we knew would be the case. We will be working closely with his doctor to weigh him regularly and adjust what he is eating. I think it won't be long. </div><div> </div><div>I will try to post more about our trip....later</div>kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-68817504627226692862010-07-29T17:12:00.002-04:002010-07-29T17:14:08.641-04:00QUICK and SWEETWe are leaving tomorrow morning. They called this morning to say we were cleared for travel and God provided the flights!!!!<br /><br />Will update more later!!!<br /><br />Got to go pack!!!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-86819687993346438792010-07-02T10:33:00.001-04:002010-07-02T10:33:49.119-04:00My Montage 5/18/10 at OneTrueMedia.comWE PASSED!!!!!<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=af53af2d801d23d135c92e" quality="high" scale="noscale" width="408" height="382" wmode="transparent" name="FLVPlayer" salign="LT" flashvars="&p=af53af2d801d23d135c92e&skin_id=701&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><div style="margin:0px;font:12px/13px verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:20px;padding-bottom:15px;width:408px;text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt2" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;">Photo and video editing at <span style="text-decoration:underline;">www.OneTrueMedia.com</span></a></div></div>kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-57594048890433895862010-06-23T21:50:00.002-04:002010-06-24T08:53:08.905-04:00Good news....bad newsThe good news is that the MOWA letter has been written!!! Praise the Lord! The bad news is that the court lost our file.<br /><br />So when the two meet up we will pass! Please pray that the file would be found ASAP!<br /><br />We continue to Trust in the Lord with all our heart!<br /><br />Resting in His Peace,<br />The Ulmskelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-30639379946740268152010-06-16T18:22:00.002-04:002010-06-16T18:25:26.507-04:00NOPE...We did not pass court today. We are very <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">saddened</span> by this as we watch Isaac grow and change in pictures and long to have him home with us. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">MOWA</span> did not have the letter written so we are going for round 3 on June 23rd.....<br /><br />Please pray! We so want to have him home with us where he belongs. We are trusting the Lord and will continue to praise Him in all things!<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Kel</span>kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-54607034586957968152010-05-27T08:30:00.002-04:002010-05-27T08:35:13.332-04:00NO GO...Well, we did not pass. The good news is that our case looked good. The only hold up was the MOWA. They have to write a recommendation letter that is part of every case. Of course they did not. They don't have a very good record of writing the letter on time so I can't say that I am surprised. So what is next?<br /><br /><strong>June 16th</strong> is our next date in court. Please pray that the letter will be there! We are so anxious to bring Isaac home. God is in complete control so I know it will happen and we will hold him soon. Just wish it was sooner....kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-22551188946104847722010-05-04T10:57:00.002-04:002010-05-04T11:00:48.039-04:00COURT DATE!!!!We are one step closer to bringing our sweet baby boy home!!! We got our assigned court date for May 26th. If all things come together, Isaac will be officially an Ulm!!! Then we will move into the travel stage to bring our boy home!!! Lots of things can happen but God is in complete control and I know that he will be in our arms at the perfect moment!!! Please pray!!!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-69177739946424031082010-04-18T01:29:00.002-04:002010-04-18T01:35:13.017-04:00There are no words!!!I am a little behind in posting this on here but.....We received our referral for a 2 month old beautiful baby boy! We actually got the call on April 8<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span>! We were on are way home from vacation. It was really cool because we were all together. Really there no words to describe the feelings that we have right now. We are in of awe of God's plans for our lives and feel blessed that He has chosen us to raise Isaac as well as our other three.<br /><br />Now we wait on a court date. Once we pass court, we will be able to post pictures and then we will move into the waiting phase of getting ready to travel. We know that he will not be there one more day than he is suppose to be and that God's strong arms are wrapped around our Isaac. Can't wait to have my arms around him too!!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-18022025283072355592010-01-27T17:03:00.003-05:002010-01-27T17:07:26.855-05:00UPDATE...It has been awhile since I have posted anything. The holidays were great and very busy!!<br /><br />Our wait for Isaac has been fairly easy so far. I think Christmas and all the things we had going on really helped.<br /><br />Today, I found out that we are "on-deck". That is our adoption agency lingo for we are getting close for our referral call and to see sweet Isaac's face for the first time. Still don't know when that will be. Only the Lord does!<br /><br />Please pray that I don't have a heart attack <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">every time</span> the phone rings!! I think I will be jumpy for a while!!!<br /><br />Later!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-68731935329840629112009-11-13T13:42:00.003-05:002009-11-13T13:44:38.053-05:00IT IS OFFICIAL!!!We are officially DTE!!! (Dossier to Ethiopia) Which means we are on the official waiting list and now we can start crossing off the days till we get our referral and meet our son!!! We are on cloud nine!!!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-36253002107482650522009-11-05T12:54:00.002-05:002009-11-05T13:03:52.431-05:00On the WAY!We sent in all our paperwork for the adoption in today...YEAH!! It has me feeling a million different things. Mostly I am at peace. God has been so good throughout the whole paper chase process. I have to say we had it pretty easy compared to some other families. So what happens next?<br /><br />1.Paperwork will arrive at our agency tomorrow.<br />2. Two staff members have to go through everything.<br />3. Papers sent to Washington DC for authentication.<br />4. Send to Ethiopia!!!!! When this happens this will be our official day that we start waiting. Right now the wait is 5-7 months for a male referral!!!<br /><br />We will do our best to keep you updated. There will really not be a lot until the referral comes. Then there will be lots of details.<br /><br />On the home front, we are doing OK. The kids seem to passing around sickness back and forth. We are busy right now getting ready for our big Christmas show at church. It is going to be AWESOME!!<br /><br />I will do my best to post some more pictures soon.<br /><br />Later.kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-61488982921534829792009-09-21T08:59:00.005-04:002009-09-21T09:14:43.371-04:00Getting Closer...But still a long way to go!We are one step closer to our son! I have never been so happy for a check that is written to our government to clear but it did! What does that mean? Not really for certain, other than I can only assume they are processing our application. Basically, we have to get an approval to bring our son home. Once we get this, we will have everything we need in our dossier and can mail it to our agency. Once they are done with it...we will be DTE!!(Dossier to Ethiopia)or officially on the waiting list.<br /><br />As we near this huge step and milestone in our adoption journey, I have realized that God has also reminded me that it also means a mom somewhere out there is about to make the hardest decision of her life. I don't know what circumstances in her life will be that lead her to that decision but I know it will be hard. I pray that she will be filled with God's peace and understanding and I know that she will always be a hero to me. <br /><br />Till Later...kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-37823162580888380852009-08-20T14:27:00.010-04:002009-08-20T14:46:34.890-04:00A WhirlWind<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXk_j1ucfAxLrT2-apoVjp0KiSEq3ibpI108fSeVpIFLPEnw6E4dyUXvQKaNI76SPWe2E7gsQdULyXQ-8SOKGb2htohMspYf3Hkdg3IrdN90ngVo9uApa98DoJ9ugxYPFHVF_ocOEc/s1600-h/100_3534.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372117594250985234" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXk_j1ucfAxLrT2-apoVjp0KiSEq3ibpI108fSeVpIFLPEnw6E4dyUXvQKaNI76SPWe2E7gsQdULyXQ-8SOKGb2htohMspYf3Hkdg3IrdN90ngVo9uApa98DoJ9ugxYPFHVF_ocOEc/s320/100_3534.jpg" border="0" /></a> Bears about 7 feet away (Mama and 3 cubs)<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5i_keA0964_8_yYhDynagRZ-XxtPlnau5d6Gt6nOD1iI-qXL8RfK4PJbP9avnsTbYOlEW7Ag5iCzgun6h4pt6qkyCdkk4cEJvFYFf1m-f4eR4ZTEdTdXRyY56hlxXVmEjXsrJ6veC/s1600-h/100_3536.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372117587517288930" style="WIDTH: 213px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5i_keA0964_8_yYhDynagRZ-XxtPlnau5d6Gt6nOD1iI-qXL8RfK4PJbP9avnsTbYOlEW7Ag5iCzgun6h4pt6qkyCdkk4cEJvFYFf1m-f4eR4ZTEdTdXRyY56hlxXVmEjXsrJ6veC/s320/100_3536.jpg" border="0" /></a> Lauren's First day of School<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7KxJMueeezejgtptQ1so2e_7ZwoPrmNcnAlUvFfJUdNElb14_HHmwKa7aRc_mzwgbSFfWyibfiUdA__UHcU54q-rHX6keD_G5OeFdtjO9POlctIrbW_5DrYhchBvmFqUtKijuHIy/s1600-h/100_3535.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372117577558654322" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7KxJMueeezejgtptQ1so2e_7ZwoPrmNcnAlUvFfJUdNElb14_HHmwKa7aRc_mzwgbSFfWyibfiUdA__UHcU54q-rHX6keD_G5OeFdtjO9POlctIrbW_5DrYhchBvmFqUtKijuHIy/s320/100_3535.jpg" border="0" /></a> A Beautiful View of the Smokies<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8prqz-u0YCwlt06pkPxjFZWyrSnEIF5em2VNcF19IivwGqtn4SuPN8K1yQz9aqwlm5xWwSDsh6H__Ivf4WR2-NWuHGHu7iTqG9CrRm79n3qRaVpV-fMd3uBTOTt6UV3FN2ziaZDe/s1600-h/100_3493.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372117569105607586" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8prqz-u0YCwlt06pkPxjFZWyrSnEIF5em2VNcF19IivwGqtn4SuPN8K1yQz9aqwlm5xWwSDsh6H__Ivf4WR2-NWuHGHu7iTqG9CrRm79n3qRaVpV-fMd3uBTOTt6UV3FN2ziaZDe/s320/100_3493.jpg" border="0" /></a> Family Picture in a Cave<br /><br /><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsm3PFgonNMxK_c76Goja8xwy9fyEp4ORhbm54hdX2Ddd5WTgOwwDctWM0OEAaY0OZ-I6nBzQJ2XrrXzvLtPefs-hdPW7X_xTvMeYZ1jkMbIEO-qnRygzHXYHALjY1Q5xRiVYoZlm/s1600-h/100_3538.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372116757501371266" style="WIDTH: 213px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsm3PFgonNMxK_c76Goja8xwy9fyEp4ORhbm54hdX2Ddd5WTgOwwDctWM0OEAaY0OZ-I6nBzQJ2XrrXzvLtPefs-hdPW7X_xTvMeYZ1jkMbIEO-qnRygzHXYHALjY1Q5xRiVYoZlm/s320/100_3538.jpg" border="0" /></a> Alex's First Day of School<br /><br /></div><div>Wow! What a crazy ride it has been since I last posted. We enjoyed the rest of summer with a trip to my parents and a trip to the Smokies before school started. I think I say this all the time but where does the time go? I really can barely keep up with it all. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lauren started 2nd grade! She was very excited. She is such an old pro and has been giving Alex pointers! </div><div><br /></div><div>Alex started Kindergarten. He is going in the afternoon. I informed him that he gets to go after lunch so all morning I hear "Is it lunch time yet?" He is really loving it. He has the same teacher as Lauren and we love her so we are really thankful for that. </div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div>Claire and I get to spend every afternoon together!! I have been enjoying my time with just her!! She is so sweet by herself.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Jason and I celebrated our 11th anniversary! HArd to believe!</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div>Adoption Front: Tomorrow is our last Home Study visit!!!! YEAH! Then once we get the completed study from our social worker, we can apply for to Homeland Security. They have to approve us as parents basically and say we can bring a child into the country. That is our last major step!! We have of the other paperwork gathered. We will have to go downtown and get a few papers certified but in the big picture that is just a minor detail. So we hope to be DTE (adoption slang for Dossier to Ethiopia) by Oct/Nov!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It does not seem real to me! God is so Good!</div><div> </div><div>Later.</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-52446420872680658752009-07-09T12:54:00.002-04:002009-07-09T13:02:45.045-04:00Updates....I just wanted to fill everyone in on how our summer has been going. Well, it has been flying! We have had a great time swimming, park dates, riding bikes and fireworks. I need to try to be better at posting pictures.<br /><br />Lauren went to church camp and was gone overnight for 3 days! She did great and had a blast!! We did <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ok</span> too because our children's pastor at church was her counselor!!!!<br /><br />Alex is getting ready for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kindergarten</span> and is a fish in the water. Next week he goes to Football Camp and he is very excited.<br /><br />Claire is potty-trained!!! Do you hear the choir singing? I do!! She <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">just</span> decided to do it! So I am on a hiatus from changing diapers until brother comes home...<br /><br />Which leads me to adoption news. We are still working on getting papers gathered and everything has to be notarized. We just started our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">homestudy</span>. I had to answer 55 questions about myself...NOT FUN!! I think it was one of the hardest papers I have wrote and I had to do a lot of papers in college. Anyway, things are moving along good and we have not had any hiccups so far. Tomorrow we have are doctors <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">appts</span> and that will be the last major letter we need beside the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">homestudy</span>!!! I am <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">prayerful</span> that our Dossier to Ethiopia (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">DTE</span>) will be sometime in the late fall. Then we wait!!!! God has been <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">opening</span> doors and faithfully watching over us every step of the way! Thank you Jesus!!<br /><br />Till later...kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-29084026050608930682009-06-25T13:40:00.003-04:002009-06-25T13:44:15.267-04:00Summertime Fun<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVreTe_g-JFhuAFj8-TtZC-L856PWTlsmQLmzXembDXx79mzP9l7qjHbaJk_ZMUFBL-U6il3ZCCDzxz912dqZgs8WCiQkgKUFTLCqp2qIJnEAhA-WCOoYo3LSN1H1gIJIhhLedKWQ/s1600-h/100_3349.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351322133734213458" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVreTe_g-JFhuAFj8-TtZC-L856PWTlsmQLmzXembDXx79mzP9l7qjHbaJk_ZMUFBL-U6il3ZCCDzxz912dqZgs8WCiQkgKUFTLCqp2qIJnEAhA-WCOoYo3LSN1H1gIJIhhLedKWQ/s320/100_3349.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Kids playing one of our favorite games.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDXq_PrX-rSrfAihuQtcIpI3OAAAB0MprOJtbEnlSN36ZXOnNeR6BNCCpNA3jMJr2S5ZJvPnrkRToM5yiJATw99eqE5xGWCw74NE_RPr-9fHiL86xjdOqYPQnad5RUcfeRSIC6zJQo/s1600-h/100_3324.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351322125946763618" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDXq_PrX-rSrfAihuQtcIpI3OAAAB0MprOJtbEnlSN36ZXOnNeR6BNCCpNA3jMJr2S5ZJvPnrkRToM5yiJATw99eqE5xGWCw74NE_RPr-9fHiL86xjdOqYPQnad5RUcfeRSIC6zJQo/s320/100_3324.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Lauren at her dance recital.</div>kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-88848774565730863712009-06-21T01:16:00.005-04:002009-06-21T01:35:04.675-04:00Happy Father's Day!We heard this song at church tonight and it brought tears to my eyes. Not just because we are adopting a son but because it is true...There are No Orphans to God! Amen! God is our Father! Avalon sings this song on their "Stand" Album. Here are the lyrics below... I also added the song to my playlist at the end of the blog.<br /><br />Who here among us has not been broken Who here among us is without guilt or pain So oft’ abandoned by our transgressions If such a thing as grace exists Then grace was made for lives like this There are no strangers There are no outcasts There are no orphans of God So many fallen, but hallelujah There are no orphans of God Come ye unwanted and find affection Come all ye weary, come and lay down your head Come ye unworthy, you are my brother If such a thing as grace exists Then grace was made for lives like this O blessed Father, look down upon us We are Your children, we need Your love We run before Your throne of mercy And seek Your face to rise abovekelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-85418947002833226792009-06-18T13:50:00.000-04:002009-06-18T13:51:27.254-04:00Food For Thought...Why Choose Ethiopia?<br />• One in six children die before their fifth birthday• One in ten children die before their first birthday• 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone•There are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia and the country is twice the size of Texas• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa• Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals)• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school• Coffee prices (Ethiopia’s only major export) fell 40-60% from 1998-2002• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000<br /><a class="quickedit" title="Edit" onclick="'return" href="http://www.blogger.com/rearrange?blogID=2454630012105453918&widgetType=Text&widgetId=Text1&action=editWidget" target="configText1"></a><br /><a class="quickedit" title="Edit" onclick="'return" href="http://www.blogger.com/rearrange?blogID=2454630012105453918&widgetType=HTML&widgetId=HTML2&action=editWidget" target="configHTML2"></a>kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-75502173982695636522009-05-26T10:35:00.003-04:002009-05-26T10:47:13.927-04:00A busy weekendOur weekend started out on Friday afternoon with me and a wonderful friend going through about 9 bags of half eaten school lunches. That is right, Lauren got her retainer on Thursday and on Friday she threw it away at lunch!! Needless to say, we did not find it!! On to work at 7pm to work 12 hours...an uneventful night!! Home at 730...slept for about 2 hours then on to the Indy 500 parade. We had lots of fun! The parade is very fun!! Mario Lopez waved at me! (Along with everyone else in the crowd) Home by 3pm. Slept for 2 more hours then off to work another 12 hours....Praise the Lord! At 530 work called and put me on call!! I slept all night!! Sunday we ran errands and planted a garden. Strawberries, tomatoes, melon, and squash. Sunday night we had a sleep over in basement with the kids. We watched Hotel for Dogs! (Very cute) Monday we stayed around home, played in the sprinkler, rode bikes. Our first strawberry from our garden was ready to eat! It was good but the kids were wondering why there was only one!!!<br /><br />In Adoption news, we officially sent in the paper work today and have to wait to hear from the agency to accept us...then unto tons of paperwork. We are debating names so we can stop calling the baby "brother" So if you have any suggestions I will take them, however don't be offended because I swear Jason can make fun of any name. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">At least</span> the ones I pick out. I have tons of pictures I took from this weekend so I will try to post them soon!!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-11778167210719791292009-05-20T14:32:00.002-04:002009-05-20T14:40:06.005-04:00REALLY BIG NEWS....Our family is expanding!!! That is right!! We are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. God has laid this on our hearts about a year ago but it did not feel right at the time. Well, here we are a year later and Jason and I both feel at peace about this decision!! It will be a long road and a big process but through God's strength we will bring a baby boy home sometime next year. We are just in the beginning stages of this so right now we are beginning the paper "pregnancy". Our hope is to not only keep you up to date on our 3 beautiful kids but to also to keep you up to date in this process and bring "brother" as Lauren and Alex call him, home!! Please pray for us as God leads us down this path!! It is very exciting but I am sure we will have some twist and turns along the way too!!<br /><br />God Bless!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-30602854575738987442009-05-20T13:47:00.000-04:002009-05-20T13:49:18.437-04:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuzu4_fScC9OEEQPbvvJwHPECKwN1lywhVenoE-mDhvzNiQ2qVbGYaolCfpthhTnG3ihE4ns1CGqMKxIoRdlt48MT-Fg0qKT1KLYstCObE9JYhOs6eGLn7S-ir6XTiYiqLumzrSnJ/s1600-h/100_3004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337964557598175922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuzu4_fScC9OEEQPbvvJwHPECKwN1lywhVenoE-mDhvzNiQ2qVbGYaolCfpthhTnG3ihE4ns1CGqMKxIoRdlt48MT-Fg0qKT1KLYstCObE9JYhOs6eGLn7S-ir6XTiYiqLumzrSnJ/s320/100_3004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br />This picture took about 20 tries to get but aren't they oh so cute!!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-62430266918373247042009-05-18T23:32:00.002-04:002009-05-18T23:37:37.587-04:00New Beginnings....Wow, I can't believe it has been almost a year since I have blogged anything! Where does the time go? I will tell you where it goes....<br /><br />It goes to soccer games, church, dance, piano, homework, potty training, bike rides, laughing, playing UNO, taking trips and on and on it goes! I would not trade it for the world. Just wish it would not go so quick!<br /><br />I won't catch you up on the all the details over the last several months but going forward I am making an attempt to blog more. No more excuses!!! It is really late right now so I won't go on but my goal is to have some pictures posted tomorrow.kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-30513064145283858712008-08-12T17:03:00.002-04:002008-08-12T17:11:08.144-04:0010 Years and still going strong!Jason and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on August 8th! WOW! It is hard to believe we have been married for 10 years already! It seems like yesterday when we said I do. We actually won't be celebrating until November when we take a much needed vacation to Mexico! We are so excited and can't wait. I would post a picture of us but sadly have no recent pictures of just us. We have been through so much but I would not trade a minute of it! I think we are having more fun now! Ok, I know I am a little sappy but it is 10 years! That is a big deal!<br /><br />However, my darling friend Faye posted pictures from our wedding on her blog. Check out her entire site, she is an awesome photographer (some of you may remember the pictures from summer 2007 that she took of the kids.) She is actually in the pictures of our wedding. (last one on the right as you are looking at the picture)I wish I could get married again just so I can have new awesome wedding pictures taken by her.<br />Here is the link <a href="http://fayesommer.blogspot.com/">http://fayesommer.blogspot.com/</a>kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-90661902000221879072008-07-24T15:24:00.002-04:002008-07-24T15:33:07.258-04:00SLACKER!Ok, I know I have been a total slacker in the blogging department. I tell you things have been crazy and I can't even figure out what happen to the summer.<br /><br />Here is a brief recap of what we have done and I will post some pictures later.<br /><br />The whole family went to Holiday World in June and I would highly suggest it!! It is totally fun and drinks are free.<br /><br />Lauren had her dance recital (she did great) and I took her to American girl with Grandma and her cousin.<br /><br />Alex has been busy playing Legos (new found love) and getting tan as can be!! It is crazy how dark he is.<br /><br />Claire is growing like a weed and saying new words everyday!! We also had the joy of taking her to the ER in July because she jammed a small square lego up her nose!! Lovely!<br /><br />Jason has been traveling a lot lately. Houston, LA and Boston just to name a few.<br /><br />I went back to work sort of! I have been working like crazy to get through orientation, then I will only be working 2-3 times a month in the hospital setting....<br /><br />That is it!! Not to much going on but enough!<br /><br />I promise to do better this time!! I have also discovered Facebook so that is a lot of fun too. TO all my faithful readers and people who post, I have been reading yours and enjoy every minute of it!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-52177747231474033032008-04-23T21:35:00.003-04:002008-04-23T21:47:50.032-04:00ALREADY?I just wanted to share a few updates in the life of the Ulms. We are back in full swing I can't believe there is only a few weeks of school left.<br /><br />-Alex started soccer and he is enjoying it! Of course he is the fastest kid out there!<br /><br />-Claire is doing awesome with her speech therapy! We are hearing new words everday!<br /><br />-Lauren had a dentist appointment yesterday which does not sound like much until he informed us that we need to pull two teeth to make room for her adult teeth and he will continue to pull two at a time in hopes of making her teeth a little straighter and this will help when she gets braces. Seriously? She is 6 and we are already starting to talk about braces. She will be fitted for a retainer within the next few months! Oh my!! Jason just says we are spreading the money out over time. Lets hope so! So next week we are pulling the first two baby teeth to allow her adult teeth that she has to straighten a little bit and then when those teeth that were pulled come in we will pull the next two!! Sounds like fun!<br /><br />-Jason is busy as usual at work and is getting ready to do some more travel.<br /><br />-I am getting ready for a huge Kids Sale that our MOPS group does every year(most of my readers know this since they are in MOPS too and you are the ones who read my blog, but just in case) SO I am preparing to put in about 30 plus hours over the next 3 days! It is a lot of fun and I will be sure to get a lot of great deals!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4536335412430310103.post-62199959302991448402008-04-17T11:29:00.002-04:002008-04-17T13:17:28.591-04:00ALERT! ALERT!GRAY'S ANATOMY IS GOING TO BE NEW STARTING ON APRIL 24TH. We will get to see 5 NEW EPISODES!!!kelbelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01522422967950213413noreply@blogger.com1