I will miss....

Although we are thrilled to be moving, there is much to be missed about small town life.

We never planned on living here for 3 years, but it has ended up being the best 3 years of our lives. It has also strengthened our marriage and faith. We have grown enormously in these three years, have learned to slow down, to enjoy life and not waste energy on the small stuff.

I will miss...

Our veterinarian. She was fantastic with our pets. She really cares about them and our family. When we found Punky in shock at home on a Sunday afternoon we called her. She did not hesitate, "I will be right there". She and her son spent the rest of their afternoon at Punky's side, her son standing watch and petting Punky as she was being treated.

I will miss...

Our small town post office! We never have to wait in line. We can receive mail with just "J. K. or T. Ryan Brownell, KS. If postage is due and you have no change, don't worry the postmaster will spot you without a second thought. If you time it just right all the most current gossip from the town can be caught up on! Trent is gushed over at every visit. And the antique boxes we get our mail in are just plain cool!
I will miss....My in-laws living a block away. (I know many of you cringe!) But my in-laws are fantastic. They have been a HUGE help, love Trent and he loves them. They will drop anything and everything for us without question. Family is the best!

I will miss...

Room to roam.  Trent loves being outside.  Here we have plenty of space.  He will push this wagon around the yard until I get bored and make him quit!  It is also quiet and private. 

Some nights it seems the sky is all stars.

Some day we hope to return to the country life, but for now...city here we come!

the rockinryans

Giggles, Kisses and a Burp

♥ Punky ♥

Punky Ryan

Summer '06-May 16 2010

We miss you!

Thank you for being so sweet, cuddly and loving.

For eating saltines in bed with me in the middle of the night while I was pregnant.

Thank you for letting Trent pull your tail, pet you and even tackle you.

For knowing when I was sick and laying on my upset stomach for 40 weeks.

For keeping my feet warm.

For wanting to be part of the family, running after Trent in the yard just two short weeks ago.

For killing flies, moths and spiders so I wouldn't have to!

For showing love always.

I am sorry

for not protecting you.

I hope you are having tons of fun running, playing and snuggling with Smokey and Kali.

Love, the rockinryans

                  We could not wait to get Trent in the pool!

He LOVES water, so we knew he would be crazy about swimming.

And he was!

Blowing bubbles....

Jumping in...his favorite part!

Grandma and Papa even made it to a lesson!

Trent was so excited and proud to show off for them, he waved his "water wave" and shouted "HI" every time he passed by them!

Looking forward to a water filled summer!

Love, the rockinryans

BIG Move!

There was no fooling you guys!

Yep, finally, after 3 years of talking about, planning and looking----

we are moving to Hays!

Our original plan was to be in Brownell for 6 months, find land and build one of these--

a dream house for us both--

But after 3 years we realized that dream just isn't possible in the Hays area

(unless you have lots of $$ for the land)!

After this happened~

We

1. Realized what was truly important in life.

2. Outgrew our house VERY quickly.

3. Still live 40min. from town.  With our "Heaven Sent" little one, these 40 min. are very difficult.

He HATES the car.

He always has.

This makes living so far from town very difficult.

Maybe someday we will acquire that dream home, but for now we are looking forward to our home awaiting us in Hays!

We are excited about the beautiful house we close on June 4th.

Excited about the ease of being in town.

Excited about the opportunities available to Trent and our family!

Now about the packing.....

not so excited!

Love, the Rockinryans

One Crazy Summer~part 2

You know how I keep telling you that the rockinryans are embarking on a crazy BIG summer?

Well, here is a clue as to what our next big adventure is!

Can you guess what we are doing?

Good luck!

Love, the rockinryans

Mamas Day

What a fun first Mothers Day I had!
We started our day at Church, where now when we arrive Trent smiles instead of screams!
(This is a huge gift in itself.)
Then we had a wonderful time hosting dinner at our place.
As you can tell, Trent likes to have his cousins over.
Unfortunately, AJ didn't think this was as funny as everyone else!
He likes to pull her pig-tails too.
HA! These are the only pictures I took all day!

At church a prayer was said for all mothers. Mothers unable to hold their child, mothers who stay up all night with a sick child, mothers who give up everything to attend soccer games and plan parties. Mothers who give their children everything and mothers who can give their children nothing. The prayer covered just about every type of mother, but this last one of "mothers who are unable to provide for their child" really hit home with me.

Jake and I recently concluded that we were going to try and help one of these mothers.

After a deep conversation one evening it was settled.

I was super excited.

I knew this was always my calling.

To adopt a child.

In my childhood diary I wrote that I would for sure "adopt a kid from Romania".

Well, as luck (or fate) would have it, three days after our deep conversation a pastor and head of an orphanage was speaking in Hays.

We thought this was definitely meant to be.

Our hearts were filled with excitement and hope.

We went to the meeting. It was very interesting and heartbreaking.

Did you know that prior to the earthquake there were 300,000 children living on the streets of Haiti?

Now there are over 600,000.

No clean water, no food, no where to sleep.

Orphanages must turn kids away daily.

We can help! We have clean water, shelter and lots of LOVE! (see above pictures :) )

*

Remember in my last post how I said that this was going to be one crazy big summer?

Well, this was one thing we were looking forward to.

A new family member.

Then, pure disappointment.

At the second adoption meeting we found out-

we don't qualify for adoption.

I KNOW!

It made me sick.

All those kids with nothing to eat, no one to hold them.

and

we

don't

qualify.

To adopt from Haiti the couple must have been married at least 10 years and one of them must be over 35.

I understand the government wants to protect the kids.

But really.....

With more digging I have found out that it isn't the government setting these guidelines.

It is UNICEF.

Their stance is that if they are providing the country money, then,

they want kids to be raised in their own country.

OK, feed them - U.N.I.C.E.F. (BLEH).

This was very disheartening and frustrating.

It is hard to want something and know it is right and then hit such a road block. But the hardest part is knowing there are so many kids suffering and have such road blocks set against them.

Maybe it just isn't meant to be right now.

My dreams of a "Romanian child"- Romania is closed to adoptions.

China is a four year wait.

Some day things may change, but for now we will keep all those children and mothers in our prayers and we hope you do to.

"And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10:16

Love, the rockinryans

*To read about two missionaries from Haiti and their adoption process go to

http://kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/

To receive more information on Haiti adoptions-

http://www.haitiadoption.org/

Today

This morning I awoke feeling jumpy and nervous.

Preparing for our one crazy summer has left me feeling overwhelmed.

Then I saw those big blues.

I knew what I had to do.

Such a beautiful day could not be wasted on laundry and dishes.

Off to the park we had to be!

On the way to the park we decided we were thirsty.

We stopped at Cervs and saw all the kids leaving with their (my 80's brain still calls them Slushees, but in Hays they are Snow-balls).

We decided it was about time my kid tried a snow-ball!

Orange Crush to be exact.

Note-this is THE busiest place in Hays on any given day when school lets out...that is how popular these things are!

My kid fit in just perfect...he is in love with the snow-ball.

As I toted my son into Cervs for his big experience, a group of teen-age boys stood in a group slurping and laughing together.

Without their moms.

Ugh, a lump in my throat.

That won't be far away for us.

I was so glad we decided to share a snowball and go to the park today.

Besides the warmth of the sun, I was so lucky to enjoy sweet orange kisses and watch those big blues light up with screeches of happiness.

Nothing could have been better than the warm sand beneath our toes.

The next time you feel your life is getting away from you,

I highly recommend a trip to the park, with or without a kid,

oh and the snow-ball doesn't hurt either.

Get your adult butt out there

and swing

and play in the sand

and slide

and smile

It works

I promise.

Have fun,

and one more thing....

don't expect to find that the chore fairy visited while you were gone....

she didn't.

sorry.

Love, the Rockinryans

Kitchen Chairs...take 2

Guess we should install those gates now.....

Love, the rockinryans