Rachel's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated Rachel's 3rd birthday this week.  We brought her home when she was 18 months old so we have now had her as long as she was in the orphanage.  She has grown a lot and is talking a lot.  She definitely has a strong will but is also a lot of fun.  We had her a "Pwincess" birthday party.  She wanted "Cindewewa" and "Snow White" for her birthday.  Since Leah had her birthday in May she has been waiting all summer for her birthday (not very patiently).  She has been singing Happy Birthday to herself since she didn't think anyone else was going to get around to it.  She was thrilled when we finally picked up her cake and had a party for her.  She is getting ready to start preschool this week and she is very excited.  She didn't think it was fair when everyone else started school and she didn't.  She really loves going places and gets bored with staying home all the time so this will be good for her. 

When we look at her it is very hard to believe that she hasn't always been a part of our family.  She fits in so well and certainly feels at home here.  As a matter of fact, I think she is in charge.  We are very thankful for her and look forward to all the excitement she will bring to our life.

 

Leah's Gotcha Day

We celebrated Leah's Gotcha Day today.  She came home a year ago, five days after her 5th birthday.  She is such an outgoing, beautiful little girl now.  What a difference a year makes!

May 2011

May 2012

 

Leah's 6th Birthday

Yesterday was Leah's 6th birthday.  On Monday she took cupcakes to school to celebrate with her class and today she had some of her friends over to our house for a party.  A year ago today Mike was checking her out of the orphanage in Ethiopia.  At that time she wouldn't speak to anyone even when they spoke Amharic to her.  Today she is a happy, joy filled girl with lots of friends at school.  She absolutely loves school and spending time with her friends there.  The progression in her English is incredible.  She is very smart and has so many questions.  At times I think she knows more than I do.  We are very blessed to have her come into our lives and are thankful for the beautiful little girl that we now call our daughter.

Easter 2012

We had a wonderful day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The kids all opened their Easter baskets and then when went to church and worshiped and celebrated.  After church we went to Mike's parents where Leah got to have her first Easter egg hunt.  The girls had a great time!  They are both doing wonderfully!

 

He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

~ Matthew 28:6

Rachel's Gotcha Day

A year ago today a beautiful little girl came home to her family and our lives haven't been the same since. After sleeping for over 24 hours through the flight home, being passed around to numerous family members and then sleeping through the night we had no idea how much she would change our lives. She keeps us on our toes every minute and is proving to be quite the little daredevil. She has also brought much joy into our lives and keeps us laughing as well. At times she reminds me just how old I am but I can't imagine life without her.

We plan to celebrate the day by going to the Ethiopian restaurant and giving her and Leah possibly their first taste of authentic Ethiopian food. After over 2 years of waiting for both of them we had started to think we would never be at this point but God was in control of all of it and brought them to us at just the right time. 

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

~ Ephesians 3:20

Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas this year now that all of our family is here. We had hoped they would be here last Christmas but that didn't work out. They both really loved Christmas. We explained to Leah that is was Jesus' birthday and that was why we were celebrating and she seemed to understand it. Everyone wanted to give them a present. At one point Leah said "another one!" But they had fun and everyone enjoyed having little ones at Christmas again.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them...;'Don't be afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!'

~ Matthew 2:10-11

College Visits

Our oldest son, Joshua is a senior in high school this year so we have been looking at colleges to decide where he will attend. We went to visit Belmont in Nashville about three weeks ago and this last weekend went to Southwest Baptist University (SBU) to visit. We were all very impressed with SBU and we, of course, were pushing it because it is our alma mater but we wanted to leave the decision ultimately up to Joshua. He loves music and loves to play his drums and would like a career in the music business so he thought he wanted to go to school in Nashville but after our visit to SBU he truly felt that the was the place for him. The professors and everyone else there were wonderful and really worked to try to help him figure out the best path for him. We all just felt at home there so after the day he decided that this is the place that he will attend. We are thrilled with his decision! And it will be fairly close to home so we can still see him often. It is a relief to have this decision made but now comes the hard part of figuring out how to pay for it but we know that God is in the decision and he always provides all that we need. He's never failed us yet!

Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.

~ Proverbs 16:20