3 months home!

Well, today it is officially our 3 month anniversary as a family of 6! Needless to say it has flown by so fast!!! We are still getting used to our new "normal" and I think we are all adjusting pretty well. The non-stop noise and chaos is so fun....and exhausting! I am still wishing the laundry fairy would visit my house but I am not holding my breath. Katie is our sweet little motor mouth who is speaking all English all the time....she is funny and sassy and a little parrot, nothing goes by that she doensn't repeat. She is Nicholas' shadow and Carter's cuddle buddy. Olivia is slowly starting to try more and more English everyday. She has made a good stride and then stopped,  but just in the past few days has started to build more confidence and talk more and more. She is still the one I use the most spray and wash on...grass stains on nearly everything!!! Olivia tried cotton candy for the first time today....absolutley hilarious...she put it in her mouth and then said.."where did it go?"....she cracked up and then went on to eat the french fries instead. She loves to eat that is for sure :) Nicholas has been doing better with his adjustment of not being the "baby" anymore. He still has his moments and tries to pick on either Katie or Carter, and neither one of them put up with it! Carter earned an award last week at school for his good attitude and work at school. We are very proud of his success this school year. He told me "oh mom it was nothing." He is so funny. These first three months has been wonderful, I cannot wait to see what the next 3 bring. If you have ever considered adoption....I encourage you to look into it, it is an amazing and rewarding process.

2 months home

Wow, seriously, can tomorrow be our 2 month home date? It has gone so fast and the girls are still doing great. We have come so far so fast. Katie speaks way more English than Amharic....she repeats EVERYTHING! It is so funny. Tonight I put her in bed before Olivia and she hates this....a few weeks ago if I had done this I would have heard...Yordanos over and over again...tonight I heard Olivia, Olivia, etc. Olivia is starting to speak more and more each day too. As much as I loved Spring Break, it was not good timing for her. She was really on a roll in school. I hope she can pick back up where she was before. She likes school a lot and has made some really sweet friends. The boys are loving their sisters so much. I love to see Carter and Olivia take off and play soccer in the backyard, or see Nicholas and Katie playing dress up and belly laugh when they see each other, too funny. We still thank God everyday for the blessing of our kids. We pray that the next 2 months go as well as the first 2 have.

Family

Last night we went to the airport to see some friends arrive home from Ethiopia with their son. It was incredible. He is the most adorable little guy. It is so neat to look from afar and watch his new siblings greet him. I can't believe it has been 2 months since we left for our adventure to get our daughters. I know I will remember the moment we arrived home with Nicholas and with the girls. Two completley different circumstances, but each perfect. God has blessed my family in so many ways. My prayer for each of you is to have a wonderful Easter. Enjoy your family and appreciate every second with them.

Thankful

There are so many emotions  I get each and every day since we first met our daughters and have been home as a family. So many of our friends and family have asked how things are going, and I can honestly say they are wonderful. I LOVE having a big family. If you would have asked when we first got married if I wanted a lot of kids...I would have said 2 maybe 3 at the most. Now having four is amazing. I love to watch them all interact with each other in completely different ways. I love the things the boys have learned about adoption. Nicholas was so young when we adopted him that he doesn't remember much (although those that know him...he does remember some!). I hope we can teach them all about the needs of orphans and do our part as a family to help them, pray for them and educate others about them. I think of the 3 of them and thank God that he chose us down the path of adoption. I cannot imagine my life had we not been able to experience all that we have. Yes, it took many mountains to get the girls home, but I would go back and do it again in a heartbeat. My goal now is to do some fundraising for the orphans in the world and to educate others....will it lead us to another adoption? Only God knows that answer....for now we will continue to pray for those children to have a mommy and daddy to tuck them in bed every night and tell them that they are loved.

Thankful...

Ethiopia pics

Carter and Nicholas first night home with Katie

Happy Birthday Nicholas!!!

I cannot believe my sweet little Nicholas is 6 years old today. I can remember it like it was yesterday....how nervous we were as we boarded the plane to pick him up. We were leaving on the journey of a lifetime as our baby boy was turning one. I have prayed many prayers for his birth mom, I can't imagine what she must be thinking of as her boy turns 6. Nicholas asked me yesterday if his birth mommy could see a picture of him. I said no, but I am sure she has the picture of him in her mind of how he looked the day he was born. We are so thankful that God has chosen us to raise this chatty little man. He is unique in so many ways and gives us so many smiles everyday. We love you Nicholas!!!!!!!!!!!!!