"The Burb" part II

Well, it's official now. The Miller's are suburbians! Dad made another venture to the autoauction, in hopes of getting that bigger dependable vehicle with 4 wd. With a lot of patience and nerves, dad watched one by one go by, only to stop bidding before someone else. Finally, the right one came by, a few years older "2002" then most of the dealers wanted to purchase. If you haven't been to an auction before, it is very fast paced, and you have to be carefull not to get caught up in the frenzy of the event. I have never spent $100 a second before and at such a high rate. I was in a bidding war with one other person and it was high paced adrenaline. I ended up successful and close to my price. I got an ok deal, but not a steal. Nevertheless, came away with what I intended to. Room for the additional kiddos.

Fun at the Park

Today we got together with our friends the Shrag's. We should give them a lot of credit for pointing us in the direction of adopting from Colombia. Steph and Loren adopted a sibling set of three two years ago. At the time, I worked with Steph at the hospital and met her at a work bbq. She had just returned from Colombia two weeks prior with her kiddos. They were much smaller then in this picture, and definitely holding onto mom and not letting her out of their site. I have been told that is pretty routine for adopted kids, especially from an orphanage. They tend to worry that any adult they are close to, might leave them. Two years later, they are speaking english, as though they are native and the kids are doing great. Two of my girls had a blast playing at the park with the three of them, while mom and dad discussed adoption issues and things to look forward to.

The Burb

Well, I woke up today thinking this was the day we took another step at getting closer to being ready for the addition to the family. The government suburban came up for auction today, as all government vehicles do. I have driven this vehicle for 3 years and have thought of the day I could bid on it and finally have that bigger vehicle. The past two days Tracey and I spent down at the auction house inspecting the "Burb" and a few other suburbans. I did my homework and studied prices, but had never been to a real live auction. I got there bright and early at 7:15, looked them over again and received my bidding sticker. the first suburban to come up was the one I was use to. Before I could hardly bid, the price had skyrocketed to well over what I was wanting to pay. I was in shock. I watched two or three more go about the same way. We had one left on the list that would work for us. I was in a bidding war with one other person. Something just didn't feel right, so I stopped at what I told myself was the limit, only to watch the other person take it for my top limit. I left kind of bumbed, but it was a learning experience, and maybe it was not meant to be today. I think our "burb" is out there somewhere, but just not today. As everything else in this adoption journey, we will wait patiently and try to understand the curve balls thrown at us.

Montana Mountains

There is no place like Montana in the summer. Something going on every weekend, and endless mountains and trails to hike. A couple of weeks ago, Alex and I got up early and hiked the three mile hike upto Mystic Lake. The picture says it all. Beautiful! Hopefully next summer the girls will be ready to haul a back pack and camp over night. Dad has to stay in shape, so we can all do this hike with the new kiddos in a couple of years. The adoption from Colombia is still two-three years away, but we finally got approved as of 7/8/10 and on the official wait list, which is currently just under three years.