Halloween 2014

Another Halloween in the books!  The Ninja, Thor, and Snow White had a wonderful night.  Hope your night was as sugar-filled as ours.  :)

 

Oh and did I mention Anchorman showed up at the party?

 



 

Back to School

It's that time of year for the obligatory back to school pictures!  Joseph was so excited to be starting Kindergarten and to be in the same school as his brother.  We are blessed that they will attend a great school with amazing teachers.

And just for fun - here's the princess!

So good!

It is amazing how time flies with 3 kids.  So often, we find ourselves hopping from one event to the next.  Today, I thought it was time to slow down for a second and document some big moments over the past 6 months.  We continue to be reminded just how much we have been blessed.  Sure, we have had some ups and downs as a family, but God is so much bigger than any low that we have had.  Let me show you the ways:

Joseph celebrated three years home with his choice of breakfast and a gift from Ethiopia.

And Solomon celebrated two years home with his favorite breakfast and a hat from Ethiopia.  What a difference two years makes!

Joseph celebrated 5 years old with a reptile party with friends.

And then he said farewell to preschool!  Off to Kindergarten in the fall!

Both boys had a fun season playing Upward Basketball.

Followed by a great baseball season for both boys.

And the Princess turned one and is thriving!

I'm not sure we can say it enough - God is so good!

Adoption Day

Today, in the eyes of the law, we officially became a family of five.  We ventured through the snow this morning to the Family Court, where Sophia's adoption was finalized.

This is certainly a big milestone and we are overjoyed that were were chosen to parent this sweet baby.  We would be remiss, though, if we didn't also share that we struggle to reconcile the feelings of gratitude and joy with the deep loss that has been experienced to lead to this adoption.  While we feel like we have gained so much today, we know firsthand the loss that has also taken place.  As another adoptive mother has so eloquently put this, "A child born to another woman calls me 'Mom.'  The magnitude of that tragedy and the depth of that privilege are not lost upon us."   So today we remember, but we also celebrate.

Welcome to the family Sophia! We love you more than you will ever know.

Snowed in and catching up

Well it's -7 outside with 12 inches of snow on the ground. School, daycare, and work are closed - so I figured this was a good time to catch up on the blog!

So here is a recap since the last post:

October was an exciting month, not just because of our Superhero Halloween, but because Aunt Angie got married!

December was a busy month.  In addition to celebrating Christmas, we travelled to Texas for a wedding.  The boys had a chance to visit the state capital and took a road trip to the Alamo.  So fun to be with family that we don't get to see often enough.

Probably the most exciting event of the last few months, though, was Solomon's baptism!  He decided, on his own free will, that he wanted to be baptized and we couldn't be prouder.  

We were blessed in so many ways in 2013 and look forward to what the new year will bring for us!