Pretty Princesses

There is nothing better than watching your little girls dress up and be princesses. It's evident that even at such a young age they are asking the question... do you find me beautiful? And my answer every time is YES!!!!! I pray they always know their beauty, not just with the dress they are spinning around wearing but the beauty the Lord has instilled in every heart.

Emily's Gotcha Day

Today is our 5 year gotcha day for Emily. Can't believe it was 5 years ago we were standing in front of a judge in Russia and they named us Emily's forever family. This young lady has been an incredible gift to our family. I tell her all the time... you make me smile. And it couldn't be more true. She lives every moment to the fullest and finds the excitement in little things. Especially stuffed animals.
We all went out for breakfast to celebrate with doughnuts of course!
Enjoy celebrating the little things in life! It's a wonderful journey.





Where is Waldo... I mean Emily?

Emily's Graduation

Today was bittersweet for our Emily. It was a day where she felt the joy of her first graduation with the pain of leaving dear friends behind. Today she graduated from preschool at Willow Creek. It was a precious little ceremony.
She has had an amazing 3 years at Willow Creek. She has enjoyed the fun, crafty things that I'm not good at and had wonderful friendships. Now she will being kindergarten. We are so proud of the young lady she is becoming. Congrats Emily!

Kiley's Readoption

Today we went to the courthouse in Seminole County to readopt Kiley here in the United States. It was a quick process and the judge couldn't help but smile when he saw our family. We are so thankful for the sweet gift of Kiley Joy. It was a great day to celebrate our Kiley. We can't wait to see all that the Lord has planned for her. We love you Kiley Joy!!!

Where does the time go?

I can't believe Lauren has a week left of the 2nd grade. Emily will soon be going into Kindergarten and both little ones will be at preschool next year. WOW! The time just flies. I look back over the pictures I've downloaded today from my camera and it blows my mind. What seems like days ago were really months.

The days are sometimes very long and challenging and yet when I look back all I remember is the fun and joy of those moments. I'm so thankful for the children the Lord has knit together from across the world that sleep under my roof every night. They are precious to us!

Catching up and Easter

Over the last month life has been full and wonderful. I must say we have never been sick as often as we have been this year. Of course we do have 2 more little ones bringing germs home so perhaps that is what is contributing to the sniffles and coughs.

We are all enjoying the size of our family. There is always someone to play with. However, most of the time it's usually the older girls and little girls that pair up together. They are all great friends and I'm so thankful with the love they have for each other... most of the time.

One of our favorite things to do is go to the beach. Thought you would like to see a few snapshots. We spent Easter Sunday watching the sunrise at our place in Daytona. Then the girls did an Easter egg hunt. We didn't do the Easter dresses this year. It was bathing suits and so FUN. : )

The house of sickness

The one thing I didn't fully realize with having 4 children. When one gets sick you are in for a long haul. This was our first go around with a nasty flu and 4 children. Needless to say I'm tired of checking temperatures and administering medicine. My counter looks like a drug store. : ) We have had fevers and coughing for almost 2 weeks. Just yesterday the fevers stopped and I'm SO THANKFUL!!!!!! It's a small price to pay for the joy of having 4 children. But one of those yucky things I never really thought about. The Lord is indeed shining on me because we are all feeling better just in time to go to the beach. HOORAY!!!!!