Monday, March 31, 2008

March in Review

March was an absolutely fun and crazy month, and now that I have found my camera, I can share some of it finally!
First off, Brooklyn began taking Horse Riding Lessons this month. She has really enjoyed learning how to take care of them, all about the different breeds and parts of a horse, as well as how to ride them safely and properly. She has excellent posture and control of that big ole beast. It's amazing to watch. She's realizing there is a time when you have to open your mouth and speak to get the horse to obey, and you can't wait until you "feel" like talking!




Next came Corban's Birthday. We celebrated in two ways. His birthday was on a Friday so we spent Friday and Saturday at the Great Wolf Lodge which was an absolute blast! The kids loved the indoor water park. Corban would scream and throw a huge fit whenever we would get to the beginning of the line for EVERY SINGLE ride. He would pull away and melt down. Tears streaming, fear flowing. And every time I would pick him up, carry him through the line, and hold him tightly. After every slide he would again be screaming, but this time it was, "That was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!" He loved every ride, the bigger and faster the better. Don't you know God feels the same way I did as a parent with us? We whine and complain everytime we begin a journey into something we're unsure of, or think will scare us, and every time, regardless of how many times we've walked by faith and the reward at the end as been phenomenal, every time He still has to hold us, reassure us, plead with us, and eventually just haul our screaming rear ends into the fire.


After we cleaned up and ate an excellent dinner, we grabbed an ice cream treat from the bakery, they made the Birthday boy's extra special, we then headed up and down the stairs a million times completeing stages of our MagiQuest. A really cool digital treasure hunt game they have throughout the hotel. The kids were finally tired and headed into their cave to sleep for the night. The breakfast buffet the next morning was out of this world. A definite must have if ever you stay at the Lodge.

After a long day of more stair climbing in search of the Quest, we headed to the church for Corban's Snake party.

The kids painted their own stuffed snakes and played video games, air hockey, table soccer, and more. Evan won both rounds of musical chairs and took off to home with both of my dollar bills!

The kids had a great time just being with their friends and family. Nana and Uncle David, Mimi, Hobby, and Gigi, all of our neighborhood friends, the Lees, the Morels, the Tarbets, and a couple of his friends from school showed to bless his birthday. It was a lot of slithery fun!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Adiah's Home!

Yesterday was a thrilling day! We had a homecoming jamboree at the airport! When Brian and Amy stepped through the doors with their little sunshine beam, it's was amazing! We were all crying, shouting for joy, jumping up and down, and praising Jesus! She did so amazing. She looked around, took everyone in, no tears, but lots and lots of smiles and clucks. The kids favorite part was when Amy stood her up and she bounced on her squeaky shoes and smiled so big. We were all laughing!

We were all wearing the shirts Amy and Brian gave us for Christmas 2006 and in honor of Adiah's bow head pictures, all the girls wore huge bows and flowers on their heads. It was alot of fun.

Now here's a rare picture indeed. All of our immediate family in one shot!

The kids were completely in love with her before they ever laid eyes on her and it showed at their first meeting. She smiled and clucked a lot whenever they got close and played with her!

We've all been witness to another of God's miracles, and we can't wait to share adventures and love with her for the rest of her life.

Now as for the rest of our life, I have lost my camera and can not upload pictures of our trip to Great Wolf Lodge, Corban's birthday party, our trip to the Ranch, and Easter. I will have to play catch up whenever I find it, pray for it's return please.


Monday, March 17, 2008

Announcing our New Niece ADIAH!

We are enjoying God's creation out here on the ranch, but spent most of the night awake checking Brian and Amy's blog for a glimpse of our precious niece Adiah. Here she is...

From what I've heard from Brian's conversation with my mom last night and from their blog, she's tiny. Apparently the 12 month pants are too big. She's almost 20 mo old. She's an advanced tongue clicker, but not attempting any other audible sounds or trying to walk. God knows what she needs to progress quickly and catch up developmentally, and He'll provide the insight to Brian and Amy to get that progress started while they're there loving on her and showering her with attention and good food! They will return to the States on March 26th, so keep them in your prayers while they're in China and for the years to come! What a blessing.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Happy Birthday Corban!

I can't believe it! My little bonus gift is a big boy now! We're amazed daily at how much he loves everything! His favorites as of today are Sunny D, his friends at church, climbing, yelling, whining about mom's cooking, having his back scratched, and being held. He's thrilled about going to the Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate his birthday tonight. He keeps asking if it's almost lunch time because he knows that's when we're packing up to go! I'm excited about starting up our blog and look forward to sharing all of our wild and CRAZY adventures with all of you out there.