Happy 3rd Birthday, NE!

Just days before NE's 3rd birthday we had the blessing of adopting him into our family. For his 3rd birthday we had a huge celebration with family and friends. We had such a great time celebrating his life. Enjoy the pictures from our fun day! Happy 3rd birthday, NE!

God Gave us You!

Sometimes it is really hard to know how to put some experiences into words. The joy of some occasions you experience is just too deep to describe. That's how I would describe the latest addition to our family. On January 28, 2014 God blessed us with another son. We have had the joy of raising NE for two and a half years, and we have dreamed of the moment he would finally be an official member of our family. On that Tuesday morning for about 5 minutes in time, a courthouse became a delivery room. The official ceremony was short, but the memory of when God gave us NE will forever linger in our hearts. I've heard adoption described in this way- "Some children are born of your body, others are born right in your heart." NE you are loved beyond description by so many people. I will never forget the beautiful day that God gave us you. You are loved. You are cherished. You were chosen. God gave us Y-O-U!

Wordless Wednesday

School 2014...3rd 6 weeks of Having a B-L-A-S-T!

The third 6 weeks of the school year flew by! It was definitely some of the busiest, but best days of school this year. The funnest day we had was probably when we celebrated Columbus Day with some of our friends. 

For our Columbus Day party, we made boats (the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina) from aluminum foil to race. This was really fun, and all ages enjoyed the boat race.

We followed the boat races with a Columbus Day Parade. CJ was the "grand marshal."He took his job seriously and even directed the other "floats" where to go.

Here was the procession from the back- a tractor, a go cart, a wagon, and a stroller!

The evening was complete with a cake, decorated by these two ladies!

 

BA has been studying a brief overview of USA history. For each state we try to do a lil' something to make the lessons come to life. Below he is pictured with his peach cobbler we made when studying "The Peach State."

We also made a homemade bird feeder to see what kind of birds we could attract. While studying each state, we look up which bird is the official state bird.

Some of the great things about the fall part of the school year is getting to go out and watch the local high school play football. Our "students" mark the calendar and count down the days until they get to see the Bulldogs play. Through their enthusiasm about the sporting event they get to learn about time- months, days, years...Go Bulldogs!

And of course my favorite part of the past six weeks of school...Thanksgiving Break & Christmas Break :)

It's hard to believe half the school year is gone... we have started up the family school house again. More pics to come later!

CJ's Baptism

My favorite memory by far from 2013 was when my second born son, CJ accepted Jesus as his personal savior. In the weeks following his decision, we read from the bible a lot, talked about what it meant to be a follow of Jesus, and how that should reflect in the way we live. We also talked about what it meant to be baptized. After these talks, CJ was baptized. Thus far on my parenting journey I can say two things- 1. Nothing is as special as when your child enters the world. 2. Nothing is sweeter than seeing that child become a Christian. Here are some pictures from this joyous occasion.

CJ,

We are so proud of you. We pray that you always follow after the footsteps of Jesus with passion and reckless abandon. We pray you never enter a period of rebellion of God's ways, that through you God may be glorified, and that the kingdom of heaven is fuller because of the life you lead.

Much love,
Dad & Mom

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday- Crayola style!

 GG showing Mom what he did...

 Recognizing what he did...

 Crying because of what He did...

And the closet floor masterpiece!