Happy 2015!!!!

Each time I look at these pictures I'm having a hard time believing those are my gifts, growing so fast, learning well, keeping us on our knees, fun and oh so demanding.

I find myself in an attitude of prayer, petitioning the Lord to give us wisdom and keen ears so we take each opportunity to direct their hearts to Jesus.

Last week, I had a real heart check as I found myself a bit embarrassed over one of them needing to be corrected at church. Quickly, the Lord spoke and reminded me to be more concerned about directing their hearts to Him and not worrying about what people think.

Everyday is a new day to begin again, a new opportunity to show grace and have those open Mommy arms!

Our school year is going well. Hope is reading like a champ and LOVES IT! Most days you'll find her with a book in hand and by her side in the car. Her true love right now is art and writing. I cant tell you how sweet it is to find little notes around the house and hidden in my purse just when I need them. Both girls are swimming this year, how neat that they both shared a lane with me yesterday and swam back stroke and free style with me for a total of 12 laps (so proud).

Emmi is enjoying preschool, her favorite part is recess. Help me Lord!!! But her personality is full speed, loves to race, play and make others laugh. The things that come from her little head keep us laughing. Emmi is soooo good at making friends, she is literally recharged by being with friends. Our true extrovert that does not meet a stranger. I say she's my child that makes me talk to people that I dont want to talk to, bless her heart! God is using her sweet Spirit to touch loves, including mine.I never want to be the me before her!

Much love to all of our sweet birth families, friends and those I know are praying us through this great adventure of Parenting. It is a JOY!

 

"If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind." James 1:5-6

Simply Magical

In order to celebrate E's Adoption, we vacationed "Where Dreams Come True!"

It was the first vacation we took with just the four of us since E arrived in 2012.

WDW is simply magical for girls the age of our girls. They loved it in every way....one of their favorites had to be meeting Elsa & Anna. I always say they named Anna wrong, she should have been called Emmi! The beginning scene where she jumps on Elsa to wake her up...is just like our E!

We are extremely thankful for time away, time together, laughter, imagination and all God has given us to have fun. Elsa about froze us all out there that week (39 degrees one day) but we prefer that over heat and the girls didn't mind as long as a Princess Dress fit over their jackets each day!

The girls are still talking about our trip and we arrived home 2 weeks ago. I'm working on a video and hope to post as soon as its complete.

We wont be WDW fanatics that attend every year.....but we're already talking about our next trip! Such a fun place!

 

 

Announcing.....

Family and Friends, please celebrate with us....We finalized our adoption last month, Emmi's birthday month. We will be forever reminded that she is a GIFT! To know her is to love her sweet, kind, outgoing, brave, fun loving, full of energy, climbing the walls before noon personality!!!! We are grateful for who God created her to be....blessed to be a part of her life!

 

 

You may ask, why the yellow and green?

Often, Emmi pronounces her name as

"LemonLime Rose!

Who wants to correct something that cute???

They Love Bugs

My Lady Bug & Butterfly

The Fall festivals in our area were adorned with one million Elsa''s, that's not exaggerating! Therefore, Im thankful my girls wanted to be bugs and flutter!! They received these dress up clothes in their Easter baskets and love them.

The imagination of a child is AMAZING! Crafted so sweet and creative by the Savior. Each of my girls loves to hold and catch their bug of choice, which leads to question on just how they were created!

 

 

Happy Fall

Where have we been and what have we been doing you ask?

First grade seems to be a bigger adjustment than Kindergarten although H is reading well and loving Math, it takes TIME!

She really enjoys her friends and school and field trips and learning.

Her heart is tender, often shy but she has a strong will like none other. She loves playing with friends but tends to be bossiest to her sister, go figure!

My favorite part at this 6 years of age is all her conversation about the Lord. Shes inquisitive and wondering about heaven and what makes God, God. She admits to being a sinner, needing Jesus to forgive her, she believes in the Cross and His resurrection and soon, Im praying that she is ready to confess it before men.

The Lord is gonna save her soul and Im going to cheer her on and encourage her to love Jesus with her life!

 

I'm in love with those faces, those hearts and the minds God has given them! Smart, funny, bossy, loving, willing to help, friend makers and Oh so adorable!!!

E is learning to trace and color in the lines! She likes preschool but says all they do is LEARN< LEARN< LEARN! As she shakes her head back and forth!

E never meets a stranger, she is literally a talker and friend to all! How precious is that?

God is going to use her ! Her mind is always going, at times incredibly thankful!

Emmi is a parent changer, I never want to be the me before her, shes teaching me many things about myself! Love her and am so thankful she loves her family!

 

H is 44 lbs, E is 38 lbs, both tall and in a size 6! H is in a 13 shoe and E in a 12 shoe!!! Tall girls....can I tell you how often I get....

Wow, H looks just like you especially in her eyes! I take that as a compliment!

E is always told how much she looks like Ricky, the brown eyes favor so much!!!

Isnt God good to do that? Our girls know about their adoptions so it makes them smile big when people talk of us favoring one another!

 

We are thankful!!!!

 

 

The First Day of 1st Grade & The First Day of Pre-K

This long awaited and fun day, has come and gone! Our girls are such a blessing to others as they make them smile and feel loved!

They went to bed very excited, woke up to their favorite breakfast of eggs and bacon wraps and apples, H had a pretty dress picked put and wanted her Elsa braid, E wore the same dress H wore on her first day of Pre-K. You see below H leading her little sis into the preschool she attended. E was so excited to make friends, H quickly told her, "and if you see a quiet shy friend, like me, make sure you invite them to play and be their friend!" How precious is that?

H was not nervous this year as she returned to her school from last year, she was more excited to see her good friend Q!

I did tear a bit upon leaving E, realizing my baby is now in school and I am going to really miss her, like I do my big girl!

This first picture below is so true of them, they really love one another. No worries, they are normal sisters that will argue but always come back as friends!

At the end of the day...our routine that I love was back in motion consisting of family dinner around the table, reading, homework, studying AWANA books, play time and prayer!

I am incredibly grateful that both of our girls love school and learning!

Praying for a great school year, won't you pray with us?

 

SAVORING THE SUMMER MOMENTS

As mom to an almost 5 year old and a 6 year old I've learned to savor the moments. They fly, at times they drag on but all are precious! Feeding their minds and souls and realizing our time is limited as its shared with so much between school, church, friends, activities and life.

This summer has been fun, but our vacation is coming and I can't wait. We will be celebrating E's Adoption finalization where "Dreams Come True!" Beyond excited!

Look at these sweet pictures, H & H have grown together since they were babies! E came and fit right in and AJ is a sweet addition too!