May in Pictures

May has come and gone, but I'm finally getting around to putting up some pictures of our little adventures.  We started out the month with a fun field trip with extended family.  We had a blast at a local park/farm.  The weather was unseasonably warm, so we ended the event with a trip to get gelato.  

My kids love their cousins and aunties!

May 19th we celebrated Kieran's adoption day.  Words can not express what an amazing miracle adoption is to our family.  We'll never forget those special moments when we met Kieran and held him for the first time.  This year we went to the restaurant of Kieran's choosing and later watched his adoption video at home.  It always puts him (and us) in a good mood to see how God brought him into our family.

We also celebrated Mother's Day, of course.  The kids gave me a sweater and skirt for my birthday, so I decided to wear it on Mother's Day.  Although I am not in love with the crazy floral pattern, I love that they chose it for me.  (It is fascinating how fashion became trivial once kids were woven into my life.)  I am proud of my skirt and proud to be the mama to two sweet babies who, by the way, are getting very big!  

 I told Kieran that he would soon be too big for me to hold him like this.  His response, "Well, someday I can hold you in MY arms!"  Wow, what a moment. It left me speechless.

For me, one of my favorite parts of being a mom is snugglin' with my kiddos every day and reading stories to them.  From time to time, I post some of our most loved books on my Mom Thoughts blog.  

April in Pictures

At the beginning of April, we went to the beach.  The weather was awesome for the first two days.

 We explored tide pools and dug in the sand.  The kids didn't want to stop playing to pose for pictures, so they made silly grins to satisfy mom.  Then, it was right back to playing.

The weather got ugly on our last day there, so we went to the aquarium.  There were lots of fascinating live creatures, but the kids preferred the children's area where they could pretend to fish and captain a boat.

Once we returned home, we made a cheesecake for Mike's birthday.  A coconut chocolate cheesecake!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

During a typical day at home, I discovered Marisa with two pairs of leg-warmers and big fuzzy socks all stuffed onto her arms.  Plus, she had socks and leg-warmers on her feet too!  This from the girl who hates to be hot.  She's a quiet one, but so hilarious once you get to know her.

Whenever it's sunny, we make sure to get some time outside.  Kieran loves machines, or any form of transportation.  So I usually find him playing in the dirt with his cars.

Time for a tea party!  The kids thought this was a fantastic idea.  They especially enjoyed being able to pour their own tea and cream.  It made a mess, but we had a great time.

 At the end of the month, it was Amy's birthday.  The weather was beautiful, so we went for a hike.  Years ago we'd hiked the same trail and dreamed of bringing our kids some day.  It was a sweet moment for us to see that dream come true.  The kids loved picking up sticks along the trail and throwing rocks in the river.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!  They went shopping with Daddy and got me some wonderful gifts.  Mike made a delicious chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake to add to the celebration.

People often ask us: "Do your kids get along well?"  Yes, they are the best of friends!

March Photos

Kieran & Marisa posing for staged Easter photos on Saturday morning.  

Wrestling with Daddy.  (Mike has lost over 30 pounds since January!)

 Our beautiful Marisa trying out her new umbrella.  

The kids got an Easter basket on Sunday morning.
The jump ropes were their favorite.

After about 30 tries, this was the best we could do.
Time to give up and go have something to eat!

Marisa Turns Three!!!

Our daughter is three now!  She keeps getting more beautiful as the years go by. 

The balloons were THE highlight of the day for all the kids.  We could have skipped most of the other party activities and they would have been content with balloons.  I love this age of simplicity!

Marisa got to open gifts throughout the day.  What a cutie!

We went to the mall to ride the carousel for the first time.  I was anticipating a melt down from somebody.  Ended up, I was dizzy for about 15 minutes.  Everybody else was fine.  :)

Marisa wanted cupcakes for her birthday.
We had low-fat chocolate ones and full of buttery goodness vanilla ones.
Everyone seemed to like the chocolate ones best.  

Pictured here: Mommy, big brother Kieran, Marisa & cousin Haley.
The birthday girl got another penguin!  (This one is a night light.)  Marisa loves penguins!

Like I said, the kids LOVED the balloons.  Each kiddo got to hold the number of balloons that matched their age.  (Kieran had 5 balloons.)

Happy birthday, sweet girl!  We are so blessed to have you in our family.  (February 2013)

February 2011...one year old. (Just arrived home from China a month ago.)

February 2012...two years old.

February 2013...three years old.  She's sweet, funny, quiet, creative, industrious, and a pure joy.

Officially in Line!

Our dossier was sent to Ethiopia on February 8, 2013. It arrived in country on February 13. So, we are now officially in line waiting for a referral! We are requesting an infant girl, 0 to 18 months old. The current wait time for an infant referral is 24 to 30 months. We are anticipating that our wait time will be longer than that. Although I'd rather not go through another long season of waiting, I keep reminding myself that if we don't get in line we will never get a referral. As we've seen with both our son and our daughter, the wait is worth it! As we receive updates about our wait, we will be sure to post them here on our blog. Thank you for your prayers for our future daughter.

A Field Trip

Our dossier has been sent to our adoption agency...it should be arriving in Ethiopia in February!! We'll keep you posted.

Time for a field trip.  We recently visited the museum of flight; it was a fun time for all of us.  Last time we were there, Kieran was just two.  We enjoyed revisiting parts of the museum that we saw with him three years ago.  It was also a special day to make new memories, this time as a family of four. Kieran's favorite part of the museum was seeing the large jets outside.  Marisa's favorite part was eating mac & cheese at the cafe and the hot air balloon.