"You must be the change you want to see in the world..."

We have mentioned that Gina's sister and brother-in-law are adopting a little girl from Ethiopia, and we are so excited about it! Because their adoption is not finalized, their agency, Holt International, has requested that the child's personal information and photos are not shared until the adoption is finalized. We have a court date for October 7 and our family is hoping to get her by Christmas.

So, we have pictures of her and you will just have to take my word for it, she is the most precious little girl, and we are not biased, I promise. As soon as her adoption is finalized, I will post LOTS of pictures. My sister and brother-in-law have asked that we not share any personal info, but we can say that she is about 15 months old, about 15 lbs. and among her skill sets, she can doodle and put marbles in a cup. As an uncle and aunt, we are so proud! We can't wait to get her in our family.

It's amazing how this little girl has already changed our lives. We have become aware to needs that we would have otherwise never realized. People, every day, are making differences, making this world better, and we are humbled by it in our own lives. We desire to think globally, to consider needs of others more than those of ourselves.

This book was a huge eye opener to our family and it follows a woman who made an incredible difference in the lives of ethiopian orphans, and children whose lives where destroyed by AIDS. She gave hope and built families and was a HUGE inspiration. This book was a catalyst for my sister and brother-in-law to adopt from Ethiopia. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. By enjoy, I mean, having my heart broken, tears flowing down my face with joy and sadness for these kids, and realizing how selfish I really can be, and yet realizing the capacity for God's love, grace, faithfulness, and mercy. This is a book about HOPE. But then, that was just my experience.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."

~ ghandi

in memory...

Kit and I had our saturday morning waffle breakfast, and we were remembering that today was our due date for the baby that we miscarried in December. It is surreal to think that we would have a little person around now. As Kit prayed for our breakfast, he thanked the Lord for His grace and faithfulness in our lives and I found myself so thankful for the life that we are able to share together and that whether it is joy or sorrow, I love that Kit and I get to live it together. We wanted to thank all of you that have walked with us over the last 9 months. We love you and are thankful to have the community that we have.

A little shout out to Fullerton...

We went on a double date with our friends Keri and Tommy last night and had the best time! Not only did we have so much fun talking and catching up and connecting outside of church and work, but it was amazing food and atmosphere. We love you guys!!! We went to Heroes Bar and Grill for dinner and then went to Frati Gelato Cafe for dessert.

Heroes has 100 beers on tap and has huge portions that you can share and we have never gotten anything that we don't like. We love the chicken wings and nachos and artichokes for appetizers (not all together, dear Lord, you would have to roll us out) and then we love their burgers and sandwiches and we really like their fish and chips too.

To go:

125 W. Santa Fe Ave.

Fullerton, Ca. 92832

714-738-4356

NOTE: if you are allergic to PEANUTS, this is NOT the place for you. Every table gets complimentary bags of peanuts and then you throw the shells on the floor. If you're allergic, you probably wouldn't make it through the door before you had to use an epi pen on yourself.

After Heroes, we walked over to Frati Gelato and had dessert. It's a smaller restaurant but they have a 3 inch ring binder at their counter with pretty much any flavor you can think of and you can put your email address in there under the flavor(s) that you want and they will contact you when they make that specific flavor(s). You can't go wrong with anything they have on hand though. We love the peanut butter and then mixing chocolate with raspberry.

To go:

www.fratigelatocafe.com

We have lived in Fullerton now for almost 6 years and have really grown to love our little town. So anytime you can throw out some props to small businesses that work so hard, I say do it! So next time you are in the area, check these spots out... and if you need company, we are there for you!

So that's why we have a truck!

Note: This entry is specifically for those who know (and love) my sometimes quirky husband.

I think I have found that once you get married or after you get your first house, inevitably, there is a conversation about a family pet, usually of the mammal species. Kit and I have had many, most of the time comical, conversations about what type of pet would be right for us.

In the Rae household, we don't discuss typical breeds of dogs and cats. No, we discuss zoning in our yard for a chicken (Fullerton allows one chicken, no rooster and it has to be 10 feet from our neighbors houses), how we could get a mini pig (not pot belly, but mini) here from Australia or England, even though they are illegal in the States, and we've talked about getting a bunny. (Probably our most normal and logical conversation of all three.) Apparently when you marry someone who did 4H as a kid, no animal is off limits.

So we always come back to fish. We have always had a fish tank in our apartment or house. Our first one was 15 gallons. When Kit was growing up, he had a goldfish named Goldie that survived 16 years. I was the kid who couldn't keep a fish alive for more than 24 hours. Kit LOVES going online and researching fish (all fresh water) and then trying different breeds to see how well they get along. I've noticed in our almost 11 years together that I married a little bit of a nerd. I guess Kit did too. If you ever want information on fresh water fish, Kit's your man.

So, all that to say, last night, Kit came home with a new purchase from craigslist. We have a 55 gallon tank and it's inside and has beautiful blue and yellow fish. So Kit decided to "upgrade" and found a great deal on a 125 gallon tank and has decided that that will be his new project. The sucker is 6 feet long and 2 feet high. Kit has plans to have an area in our garage for it, because Lord knows it won't fit in our little house. It's the size of a tank that Joe Rogan would put you in when you are a contestant on Fear Factor and then would add something like snakes or hissing cockroaches... It's that big!

I will keep updated pictures of his project, which I am sure will turn out amazing, because any project that Kit touches always does. If you know my husband, you know it was no surprise when our truck pulled up with his new tank in the bed.

So here are photos of our current tank and fish and the the monstrosity that kit is calling his "fun after work project."

The Rae's have entered the world of blogging!

OK, OK, so we have finally joined the blogging world. I always wondered who would want to hear what we are up to, then I realized how much I love to read what is going on with my friends and family on their blogs. I love being able to stay connected, on things big and small, so that is why Kit and I decided to start our family blog. Just little updates and things that are going on with us.

We hope that it can be another avenue to share pictures and news of things that are happening in our lives.