THE KURTZ FAMILY........OUR ADOPTION JOURNEY

I just heard from Deborah at Cafac that our case was heard on June 23rd and it was successfull!!!!!! I am so excited. This means that they can now issue Visa's for the girls. It takes about 8 weeks....if all goes well. The last step in making the girls legally ours is the Visa's. Things are progressing very well at this point. We were able to get through the courts before they close on august 4th. I am back on cloud 9 and I feel like the sun is shining down on me!!!!!!!! Have a great day.....I know I will!!!

~Debbie~

Today I decided to check the status of our Visa application. Since we started this whole process, our application has always said 'unknown Kurtz'........well today it actually lists the girls names. They have started processing for permanent residence which means they have finally started working on the visa's. The girls names are listed as Mebrat Kurtz and Denkenesh Kurtz....my heart skipped a beat to see that. It's progress, but still have no idea how long this will all take. I am getting so anxious to get this all done.

~Debbie~

Yesterday was Kyle's 14th birthday. It was such a busy weekend that we didn't really get a good chance to celebrate. We are having a party for him after his finals are done, but for now I couldn't let the week go by without acknowlodging his birthday. He is our quiet one. He plays basketball and loves drama. He is a good friend and someone you can count on. We love you Kyle and hope this year is your best ever!!!! Here are a few pictures and a video I thought you would appreciate!!!!

Kyle is 3 months old.........1 year old...............5 Years old

Typical teenage look....no smiles. He is 14 years old.

I live in a house full of boys.....need I say more!

~Debbie~

Happy father's day. Hope your day is wonderful and you get a chance to do whatever it is you enjoy most. Our children don't stay young very long.....take the time to enjoy what it means to be a father and everything that fatherhood represents. Before you know it the kids are grown and have lives of their own. The advice my grandma used to say was "hold them as much as you can because too soon they don't want to be held anymore." How I miss my grandma. Next year we will have our girls to celebrate with us on Father's Day.....what a treat that will be. To father's everywhere...have a great day and God Bless!!!!

~Debbie~

Today was my last day of work. I am so happy. I enjoyed working with flowers, but it was time for me to go. As soon as we got our referral of Denaye and Maya, I could no longer concentrate or focus on my job. I also hated the fact that I was selling time for money and I was not the boss. I am looking forward to spending the summer with my boys and waiting for the day we can travel to go and get the girls and bring them home. My days are my own again, but my job did help pass the time quicker for me while we were waiting for our referral. It is going to be a great summer!!!!

God Bless
~Debbie~

On Saturday our good friends mark and Colleen are hosting a fundraiser BBQ for the Cafac Foster Home. We are so excited to see the results of everyone's efforts. We are also so thankful that they are willing to do this. There is such a need in Africa for the most basic things that you and I would not even think was a big deal. If you are reading this and would like to come please email me and I will make sure you get a flyer with all of the details. My sister Jody and son Jesse are doing face-painting for the kids, there is also a park close by if the kids want to burn off some energy. My family is going to be there.......Taylor included......we never see him these days. He is bringing some of his buddies. We are really looking forward to it and seeing everybody. Pray for good weather.......
~Debbie~

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder;


This is how it manifests:


I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought
up from the mailbox earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage
can under the table, and notice that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take put
the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my cheque book off the table, and see that there is only one cheque left.

My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house
To my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking.
I'm going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the Coke
aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

I realize the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the
counter catches my eye -- the flowers need to be watered.

I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water
and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for
The remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide
to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
-The driveway is flooded
-The car isn't washed,
-The bills aren't paid,
-There is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter,
-There is still only one cheque in my cheque book,
-I can't find the remote,
-I can't find my glasses,
-And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really
baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.

~Debbie~

This is a picture of a doll cradle that I got for christmas when I was 2 years old. I won't say how long ago that was, but it's been awhile! My mom kept this for me to pass on to my little girl......when I never had any girls, I gave it to my sister for Emily. She has now outgrown it and I got it back from them the other day. It is in great condition.....it just needs a paint job. They sure don't make them like this anymore. I really never gave it much thought untill I started thinking about the fact that my little girl's are going to play with the very same cradle that I enjoyed when I was their age. I didn't think it was really all that important to me, but as I was staring at it.......it made me smile. I loved this cradle as a child. I can remember like it was yesterday....playing house and putting my babies to sleep......I hope it brings as much joy to our girls as it did to me. I have bought each of the girl's a Cabbage Patch Doll to take with us when we travel to pick them up. With each day that passes, it brings us one more day closer to bringing them home. As always your prayers and support are so important to us.....thank you!

~Debbie~

It was a very hot weekend.....lots of sunshine. It was the first weekend that it felt like we might get summer. Rod and I spent most of the day yesterday doing yardwork. It took way longer then it was supposed to and we were both so exhausted when we were finished. Rod planted 6 trees and we replanted some stuff in the front yard. It looks a lot better. Today Emily, Jonah and Sam played in the sprinkler. I thought it was hilarious that they all wore their goggles. There is nothing like a warm day and jumping through a sprinkler....... that makes for great childhood memories. My sister and I sat on the front porch and watched them play. It was a great relaxing day.....

Emily and Sam...with their goggles

Jonah waiting for the sprinkler to come on

Have a great day!!!

~Debbie~

After years of talking about it, I went and got my motorcycle drivers license last year. The training course at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology is excellent. But since I don't own a bike (yet) I wasn't really able to go out and put the license to use....UNTIL TODAY!
I joined some great friends for an event called Demo Days at Elk Island Sales east of Fort Saskatchewan. They sell Victory Motorcycles. You just show up and you can ride whatever bike you'd like. The silver bike is called the Victory Vegas. The yellow bike is the Victory Jackpot. They were amazing!!! I have to say I like the Jackpot the best.
It was a thrill riding these bikes, but it was even better to spend it with good friends. Bikes and a Bar-B-Que. It doesn't get much better than that. I will have a Jackpot one day. But for now it was fun to get out a touch one of my dreams. I think Deb's still a little nervous, but one day I'll get her on one. Hope you're having a day that's as good as mine.

Rod

A friend of mine from Moose Jaw, Sask has just opened 'Shuruba'. She carries hair accessories and hair care products. I am very excited about this as I am clueless as to what to do with my daughter's hair. She has a wide range of things available and check back often as she is updating her stock as other things become available. I am also excited that it is Canadian based and we don't have to bring it in from the States. Her website is http://shuruba.sasktelwebsite.net/index.htm

~Debbie~