Na Na Na Na Na Na BATMAN!

A couple of months ago Eric and I FINALLY decided on sending Ryder to our church's preschool. He will start the end of August and go 3 days a week and stay late on two days for a music class, and an art class. By the way when I went to sign him up, take a tour, and give them our deposit for next year Ryder was in HEAVEN! He wanted to go to school right away but I was about to die! I couldn't believe he was that big already. I totally balled my eyes out all the way to the car and Ryder kept asking me why I was crying. I just told him that Mommy was going to miss him when he went to school! He told me that it was ok he would come home later :) He's so thoughtful. I had been checking Pottery Barn Kids website to look for backpacks and they had the CUTEST one! I L-O-V-E-D a green and blue striped one that they had, but somehow Ryder got a glimpse of a batman bookbag. I tried and tried and tried to talk him out of it, but he wasn't having it...so yesterday we got this in the mail.

That precious little smile made that batman bookbag all worth it! :) Thinking of him going to school in a few months makes me want to freeze this moment forever....but then I hear him calling me from the bathroom and he has emptied all of my makeup into the bathtub and colored his hair with my mascara......and then I think....Maybe I'll be just fine after all :)

Weekend With Family

Last weekend was C.R.A.Z.Y!! Denise, John and Matthew came down to celebrate Addison and Ethan's birthday on Saturday with us but we had some extra fun to throw in. Friday was Matthew's birthday and we had a big plan up our sleeves for MONTHS! Denise had such an awesome idea for us to do a scavenger hunt with him, but for each of us to do something with him individually. So we all started thinking of what we wanted to do with him and I typed up some fun riddles to give him clues. Each person would pick him up and then drop him off to someone else with him having NO idea of what or who was to come, except for a hint in his riddle. It was SO MUCH FUN! I told Eric I want a scavenger hunt for my birthday!! :) He went to breakfast, golfing, shopping, buying lottery tickets, lunch, an awesome photography spot, go-cart racing, and to a music store, and the last trip was back to the house for a dinner and birthday cake! It was the best birthday ever!

Saturday we woke up early and helped Amanda and Paul set up for the party. Everyone had a blast and the kids played SO hard all day long! Ryder was out as soon as we left their house that night. We had such a fun weekend with family and friends but it always goes by way too fast! AND in other news- Can you believe Addison is 5 and Ethan is 3?!?!? I sure am getting old!

Sunny Spring Day

The kids and I have been basking in the sunlight today! (Don't worry we are ALL wearing sunscreen!) It is so nice outside and I have an extra little person today, my niece Addison. So of course I have to make it EXTRA fun so that she always wants to come play.

This morning we made a rainbow tissue paper craft in honor of St. Patricks Day AND we made GREEN cupcakes with GREEN frosting! Let me take you down a rabbit trail, I LOVE pinterest I mean LOVE LOVE LOVE! I have decorated several rooms in my house with DIY projects and decorating ideas and it has NEVER steered me wrong ...that is until today. I went on there to find an easy homemade frosting recipe because I forgot to run to the store last night (probably because I was belting Elevation Worships CD in my minivan because ladies night out was SO incredible ok ok ok back to the first rabbit trail) and I found one that I had all of the ingredients for. It led me to a ladies blog where she literally said, "After making this icing I will NEVER go back to store bought again". WOW that is a statement! I mean I could spoon a whole can of cream cheese frosting without taking a breath. So I whip up a batch and die it green of course and get my spoon ready for the best icing I've ever had..... Disgusting?? Well that's an understatement. So I did what any good cook would do, I re-did it again thinking I must have somehow screwed up the 4 ingredient recipe. Guess what it was still disgusting! So needless to say I found a half can of chocolate icing in the pantry, threw it on top of those cupcakes and the kids gobbled them down. Pinterest I am very VERY disappointed in you! Enough with my babbling let me show you pictures of the kids that make me happy everyday to call this my "job".

Nick could not stop laughing at Addison's hair, too bad he couldn't see that his hair was standing straight up too! :)

These two play so sweet together and I am so glad they are so close!

Ladies Night Out

Two blog posts in one day?? AFTER being in a hiatus after 4 months?? CRAZY I know! Tonight I went to our church's Ladies Night Out and it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I can't describe how much it spoke to me (even though I had seen her speak the same message on youtube before). My friend Katie spoke about her process in following God's calling. She has adopted two boys from Ethiopia and her journey to get them is "a TOTAL God thing" as I like to say and will blow your mind. She had so many ups and downs and rejections and it all lead her to his promise, and boy did he fulfill it times 2.

Some days I have to remind myself that I am on this crazy adoption journey because I feel beyond a shadow of a doubt that HE has called me to do this. HE has put this calling on my heart and it is so strong there is no way around it. When people question me, or try to make me question myself its honestly like they are talking to a brick wall (funny how my father always said that growing up). I don't even respond to the negativity because nothing can stop me from doing what I have been called to do. I don't question it for a second but sometimes I want to say, why me? Why couldn't I have more birth children? Why did it have to happen like this? Some days when I see pregnant friends or hear everyone popping out babies like its candy or better yet COMPLAINING over being pregnant it makes me cry. YES the "ugly cry" as Oprah calls it. God has closed that door for me and just like my new favorite song says, "Nothing is wasted, HE works ALL things for good." Katie shared this scripture with us that God had put on her heart while she was following her calling and it hit home.

Matthew 5: 3-12 (The Message)

3 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

Isn't that the truth?



4 month blog break??

So I have taken the LONGEST BLOG BREAK EVER!! I have no idea why besides I have gotten crazy busy with life and 3 little boys running around limits my "break time" significantly! Usually I would blog before I went to bed but unfortunately when bed time comes around I'm already asleep! ha! I wanted to do a little updating to the blog, and put some new links at the top with some different things you can look at if you are new to the blog and want to find out about us, adoption, fostering etc. I hope all of my 9 followers lol are still following me! I AM BACK! :)

On another note, I am debating whether or not to play catch up and post things from Nov-now but I did want to go ahead and post our Adoption Pictures that the FABULOUS Jewel Photography took. She never gets us wrong and I literally started crying at our shoot when she showed me the pictures. I kept them a secret until after Christmas because of course they were on our Christmas cards! But for everyone who I love and didn't send one too (which ended up being only family because I didn't order enough!) here they are! I got some ideas off pinterest, and our photographer had some as well! These are my favorite!