Christmas 2013




It seems like this Christmas season flew by in a flash. We had so much fun decorating, spending time with family, and celebrating Jesus' birth. I secretly enjoyed celebrating Christmas a day early, since I was so excited for the girls to get their very first kitchen and dollhouse. The dollhouse was a hand-me-down, but it was in such great condition that we were incredibly thankful to receive it from my sister and niece. Christmas Day was an amazing fun time spent with Liberty and Madison's Nana, Uncle, and GrandDad.




Liberty was such a great helper in putting the tree together...
and in putting the ornaments on.
We love our tree!!


Madison's Christmas Eve Pajamas


Liberty's Christmas Eve Pajamas
It was exciting to hang out while "Santa" prepared our girls Christmas morning while we watched Star Trek.

Our Christmas Morning

They saw their dollhouse first...

... and their kitchen second! :-) 


Liberty's favorite show lately has been Harry the Bunny, so she was super excited when she saw her new bunny!
I love to play with my girls!!
Christmas Day Madison wanted to open the presents the minute we got to her Nana's.
No surprise that all Liberty wanted to do was color.



What a goofy Daddy with GrandDad.
Libby snuggling her Uncle at GrandDad's.
 These girls were ready to go home to bed after such a busy day!!

What an amazing and fabulous Christmas we had, and I hope everyone was blessed this Christmas! 
Have a Happy New Year!!!

My 1 Year Old Baby



Our Baby Girl 1 Year Ago

Today my baby, Madison, turned 1 year old!! I can not believe that it has only been a year since she joined our family. I feel like she has been with us forever. At times I would forget that she was not a year old yet, since Madison has been walking for the past 2 months. She is our strong, happy, silly, beautiful and outgoing girl, and we are constantly surprised at how different she is from her older sister.

I decided to start filling out questionnaires for my children on their birthday each year. Eventually they will be able to fill them out for themselves, but for now I will put in the answers to the questions on here.

How old are you? 1 Year Old
What is your favorite game? Peek-A-Boo and what we like to call the "chair-race"(pushing kiddo chairs around the island in the kitchen).
What is your favorite food? Still a bottle. Sadly... she has an issue with texture and throws up when she tries to eat many other "solids".
What is your favorite song? Bedtime songs. Sometimes she likes to "sing"/hum them back to me.
What is your favorite thing to do? Climb on the coffee table which is a big "uh-oh".
Who are your best friends? Our neighbors little girl (I think her only friend, but whatever.).
What are the names of your pets? Eddie, Huney, and Archie
What three words best describe you? Strong, Happy, and Outgoing

I look forward to getting to know my little baby girl more over the years, and I can not wait to see what she will be like next year!

Here are some photos of the past year:



Madison's 1st Ponytail at 1 Month Old

Strong Madison at 2 Months



Sleepy Smiles
Dressed for Church


Easter 2013




Cutie Sisters


At the Zoo With Mommy


At the Aquarium With Daddy


Madison "Cruising" at 8 Months

Madison Peek-A-Boo

Loving On Her Aunt's Cat

The Little Flower


Madison began to walk really well around 10 months... then the climbing fun began!


Madison 1 Year Old

The Best Early Birthday Present Ever!!

Democratic Republic of Congo Adoption Gift


A day before my birthday we received more photos of our 3 year old handsome little man.
In this process of our adoption my emotions have been on a crazy roller coaster. We have two biological daughters and I feel I am in a kind of a high risk pregnancy with our son. We received  our first image of him on the 28th of October and it reminded me of the 1st ultrasound with each of our girls. Then when we received more the day before my birthday I was more emotional than words can describe, and I was flooded with many thoughts that occur during pregnancy! What will his personality be like? What will he grow up to be? What will our relationship with him be like? Plus all the other millions of questions that come into your mind that include what was his life like before joining our family. I feel so many emotions that come with bringing a new child into our home and hearts. I read recently that "Adoption is a labor of the heart." Oh how true that feels!

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Halloween 2013


So I realize this is a little late, but I still wanted to blog about Halloween anyways! I think Libby kind of got the idea of what Halloween is all about, but I have a feeling next year she will really get into it.

1st we started the day by trick-or-treating downtown. 

My Cute Bee
My Bundled Flower
Libby and her friend rode the wagon around downtown.

What Fun!!

We had so much fun!!

A few days before Halloween we carved pumpkins!

Jason carving his pumpkin!


Jason's Pumpkin

My Pumpkin


Liberty coloring on her pumpkin!


Liberty's Pumpkin


Madison "coloring" her pumpkin!


Madison's Pumpkin

All Our Pumpkins

Glowing Pumpkins