Just One of Those Days...

Today has just been one of those days. Actually, if I'm being honest...this week has been one of those weeks! Every single day this week I have cleaned up a huge amount of poop, throw-up, or pee from the two oldest kids and the dog. Every.single.day. I would expect it from the baby but she has yet to be one of the culprits.

In honor of the kind of week I have had, here are some Easter picture outakes.

My Easter Peeps

Home 2 years!

Happy Gotcha Day, to our sweet Mary Kenzie!

I cannot believe that two years ago we were headed home from Korea with our baby girl.

Mary Kenzie has been such a gift to our family. There's no one quite like her...she's just bursting with enthusiasm and personality. The girl has never met a stranger.

She loves to sing. Some of her favorites are "Holy,Holy,Holy," "Jesus Loves Me," "Good Morning, God," and "Trust and Obey."

If she doesn't know the answer to something you ask her, she'll answer with "I can't know about that."

A few weeks ago she told me that "Jesus fall down and died. But, He okay now!"

We pray that God will continue to grow this sweet little girl in health and strength and that she will love Him with all of her heart following Him wherever He leads her.

Our Miracles

We have had many people say they are so excited for us that we now have our "miracle" baby. While the birth of Annalise was unexpected and we are thankful to have experienced pregnancy and childbirth firsthand, I really see the addition of each of our children to our family as miraculous.

When I look into the faces of each of my children, I think about the miracle that took place that has allowed me to be their mommy.

For Riley and Mary Kenzie I think about the losses that they and their birth families experienced before they joined our family. I think about how God has allowed me...a woman on the other side of the world...to play a part in their lives. That is a miracle.

Throughout my pregnancy and even during my labor, I thought constantly about the birthmothers of our first two children. I thought of the choices that these two women chose as they gave life to these precious children. Whenever I felt uncomfortable or in pain, I thought of the unselfishness of these two woman who went through the unpleasant parts of pregnancy and childbirth with nothing in return for their efforts. The very lives of my children are miracles.

And, as I look at Annalise I am reminded that God's plans are not always our plans. Sometimes they are even better. God's timing may not always be our timing. Sometimes it's even better. If getting pregnant and having babies had come easy for us, we would have missed out on the miracle of adopting Riley and Mary Kenzie. And, we probably would not have as fully relished in this moment with each of our three miracle babies.

Baby Riley

Baby Mary Kenzie

Baby Annalise

Growing Up

Can't believe my first baby is already five! Kindergarten is literally right around the corner. Michael and I took him to "kindergarten orientation" a few weeks ago. I admit that I got a little choked up and had some tears in my eyes as he got up and left with the other kids to go sit in a kindergarten classroom for a few minutes. I think I would be a complete wreck come August if I didn't know how much Riley is going to love school. I'm so excited for him and all of the new things he'll be learning and experiencing. I just can't believe how much my baby has grown!

September 2006



Today

3 Months Old

My beautiful baby girl is now 3 months old! Annalise is a very smiley baby and has started cooing in the last few weeks.


Most of the time she wants to be where the action is and will cry if she's left alone. Other times the noise in our busy household seems to be too much for her and she prefers to be in her bassinet with her bff Miss Giraffe.

Hooray for Spring!

Time is flying by, and I *think* we are getting into a routine. It has been SO nice this week to have some warmer weather and some gorgeous sunshine! It always amazes me just how much a beautiful day can affect our outlook.

I will be the first to tell you that my children are far from perfect...they are very human just like me! But, overall Riley and Mary Kenzie have been very easy children. They have their moments but for the most part are very easygoing, great eaters, great sleepers, etc... I really thought that for sure Annalise would be different. Three for three seemed a little too good to be true.

But, I have been pleasantly surprised by our little one's personality. She is extremely laid back (gets that from her dad for sure!) and has been an amazing sleeper. At about two weeks old she started pretty much sleeping through the night. If she wakes up she usually wakes up once, eats, and then goes right back to sleep. I am so thankful!!

Annalise is still having some reflux issues but we seem to have figured out how to work with it and she seems to still be growing and gaining weight.

These twelve weeks have gone by so quickly; most of the weeks have been a blur. But, for the most part it's been a blur of joy and thankfulness and awe at what the Lord has done for us.

I still get choked up when I think of how I felt this time last year as I discovered that I was expecting. Never did I imagine I would be in that position; never did I imagine that I would have had a smooth pregnancy; never did I imagine that here I would be snuggling with a beautiful baby girl this spring. But, glory to Him who is able to do more than we ever imagine.



Thank you, Aunt Karoline, for the matching dresses!




Riley turned 5!