Is There Anything Cuter...

...than PJ pictures?!?!?

I think NOT!




(This post is for you, Aunt Kaitlin! Love, Riley and Mary Kenzie) :)

3 Years Ago Today...

...we received our sweet Riley boy's referral! It was such an amazing day that I will never ever forget! It was a very special day for many reasons...that morning I met my good friend Shana and we went shopping for maternity clothes for her. Now I could not do that with just anyone, but Shana and I had both lost babies and had shared infertility struggles, so for her to be able to be shopping for maternity clothes was a huge answer to prayer! After we shopped for clothes, we went to Babies 'R Us and I showed her the items I had registered for for our baby that we were hoping to be matched with at any time. We then headed to Ruby Tuesday's for a late lunch. After we left Ruby Tuesday's we headed to go pick up my car. While we were riding along I got a call on my cell phone from our sweet social worker Lee. I answered the phone (thinking the number looked familiar). She asked me if this was a good time to talk and I said "of course!" She told me that we had a beautiful baby boy!! I cried and cried and screamed...I was SO excited! I told her not to tell me anything else until Michael and I could hear all about him together. The next few minutes I tried to track Michael down and then later on we met up with Lee and saw the first pictures of our handsome baby boy.


Riley,
Three years later, we still cannot get over the thrill of knowing you. You are a precious blessing to us and a tangible reminder that God is faithful and good. Because your birthmother loves you and gave you the gift of life, we have received the blessing of being your mommy and daddy.

The moment we saw that very first picture of you we were blown away. That God would give us the gift of a precious child seemed more than enough; but that you would be so handsome, so adorable, so healthy seemed too good to be true.

We have loved watching you grow and develop. At three years old your faith in God is inspiring and your simple but fervent child-like prayers bring a huge lump to our throats as we see you beginning to fall in love with Jesus.

We praise the Lord that our lives will never be the same after "meeting you" for the first time on June 15, 2006. We love you!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

A Thankful Heart

Mary Kenzie has been home for 7 weeks today--wow! I am still pinching myself, reminding myself that this is for real...that this adorable, chubby bundle of sugar and spice is MY daughter! Amazing!

Tonight I feel so thankful...

I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband who is really my partner ...whether it's doing chores around the house, putting the kids to bed, or just talking to me...who works hard for our family so that I can stay at home with my babies which has been my dream since I was a very young girl.

I am thankful that I have a son who still likes to snuggle with his mommy...who has a smile that lights up the room and a charismatic personality that draws people to him.

I am thankful that I have a daughter who after 7 weeks now knows who her mommy is...who I can dress up and put bows in her hair and who is a tangible sign to me that God hears and answers prayers more amazingly than we can ever hope or dream.

What about you? What are you thankful for? Please leave a comment so that we can share our thankfulness with each other! If you have never left a comment on a blog...this post is for you!! Click on "comments" right below the post. Type your comments and then if you don't have a blog account just put your name right after your post (in the same box) and then click anonymous below the box. If you do have a blog/google account log into it right after you write your comment. Then click "publish your comment." I want to hear from you!!!!!! Don't be shy! :)

I'm Rocking My Baby...

It always has been a little hard for me coming back from a vacation...before a vacation there is always so much anticipation and to-do lists (I love lists!) and fun preparations. Afterwards, it seems like I can never get caught back up on my laundry; my house never feels quite clean enough; and there's the feeling of how can our trip already be over?

This time around it has been even harder for me because before we left for the beach we'd been receiving meals three times a week from our friends. We received meals for over 4 weeks! What a blessing that was and everything we got was so, so yummy! For about a month before Mary Kenzie came home I really didn't cook because we were so busy and I was so consumed with wanting her home that it was very rare I actually cooked dinner. This week I knew it would be time for me to get back in the kitchen to cook for my family...actually we have been home from the beach now for 5 dinners and I've yet to cook...there's always tomorrow night! ;)

Not only is it sometimes overwhelming to think of what to make for dinner and then actually making it...it seems like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished that I would like to. I have good intentions but it seems like there's always something I forgot to do or didn't get a chance to do.

Tonight I was talking with a sweet friend of mine and she was mentioning something she had read that reminded her that during this season in life her real priorities are in her relationship with Christ and in caring for her husband and children. If she can spend her time pouring into them and making memories with them, encouraging them...those are the things that are lasting in her legacy...not whether or not her house is spotless all of the time or whether she got accomplished all of the things on her to-do list for the day. Talking with her, reminded me of this poem that my mom had hanging in our house:

Cleaning and cooking can wait 'till tomorrow

For babies grow up, as we've learned to our sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep

More Pics of My Beach Babies

Riley and Mary Kenzie

Laughing with her daddy

Beauty and the beach

The Polka Dot Princess

Flying a Kite

Our Family

Hole #5...where Riley got his first hole in one!!!

Having fun golfing