Doubly Blessed!!

We have some super exciting news around here!
We have accepted the referral for twin boys and have been assigned a Dec. 12th court date!
The boys are around 21/2 yrs old and are so adorable!
We are all very happy and cannot wait to bring them home!!

Mostly pictures

Mikayla all dressed up and ready for church.
Unfortunately, her mom didn't get her shoes finished in time, but a little scotch tape in a couple of strategic spots worked quite well.
As you can see her sister is very proud of her!

My girls

Smiles...every one earns her about a 100 kisses.

It was a totally gorgeous day outside today and although I am not quite sure how it happened, I somehow found myself out there snapping pictures instead of finishing up school.
The kids turned out to be unusually obliging subjects...hmmm...how do we count this as school time? Art, maybe?

I LOVE those chubby cheeks!

Damian has been sporting a cast the last couple of weeks due to him trying to show off his bicycle- kicking skills at soccer practice.

Hopefully he'll just stick to kicking soccer balls from now on.

Enjoying the sunshine!

Luca

A couple weeks ago Luca celebrated his 10th birthday.
We got together with family and friends at the park and were blessed with a beautiful evening.

Luca is such a blessing to our family.
He takes such good care of his younger brothers and sisters- I never worry when I know Luca is watching them- and his thoughtfulness and sensitivity for others is a joy to his mom and dad.
He also has a wacky and wildly imaginative sense of humor that, I must admit, never fails to entertain.
I am so glad that God created this wonderful, unique child and that I am lucky enough to be his mother! We love you Luca!

These two share the same birthday so it worked great to celebrate together.

A gorgeous dessert evening...

Friends

cousins

Two weeks old now- why does time go so fast at this age?? Who can blame me for spending every spare second breathing in her essence?

She's Here!

Mikayla Elizabeth


9# 120z

Pure Sweetness

Aunt Emily and Bella hanging out waiting for the birth.

Cousin Alaiah was there too.

It was a pretty tough birth...she was a big baby...but Mikayla finally made her way out into this world at 7:00pm.
Her family was all there waiting to greet her.

I had a wonderful midwife and I was so happy to be able to have a homebirth again. There really is no better way!

Getting her head measured-

151/4 " and, yes- I definitely noticed!

Meeting daddy and big brother Caleb.

Sisters

We are all so very happy to welcome you, sweet Mikayla!

Thank you, Jesus, for answering our prayers!

adoption and other news

Well, after waiting for so long on an update of our girls we finally got one.
Unfortunately, it was not what we were wanting to hear.

We will no longer be pursing their adoption because the grandma changed her mind and decided to keep them.
I can truly say that I feel this is best- I think that if there is a way for them to stay with their family they should. The grandmother has every right to change her mind and I am happy that she won't be alone now.
What makes me sad is that we had no idea she was having any doubts- and after waiting on these girls for nearly a year, praying for them and dreaming of them, this comes as a bit of a shock.

I still believe that God is in control...I don't know what He has planned and to be honest we are feeling pretty discouraged right now, but we are going to keep trying until it becomes absolutely clear that it's time to stop.

Some people go through this process and have no problems; others, like us, seem to hit one roadblock after another. I have been encouraged by those families' stories and seeing the beautiful children who are now part of their family is what keeps us going.

If you think of us please keep us in your prayers!

In other news...

I am about a week and a half from my due date. Yes, I am HUGE and no, it is NOT all baby, though I can kinda pretend it is right now since the stomach tends to dwarf all other physical attributes ( and, no, I am NOT going to post pictures to attest to this fact), unfortunately, I will have to face the sad truth all too soon.
Oh well, it is worth it, but I definitely think that it's Jerry's turn next time!

I've gone a week late with my last 3 so I am not planning on anything different this time.
The kids are so excited and it's fun to hear their love for this baby.
Isabella is pretty sure she wants to be there for the birth (we are doing it at home)...I wasn't sure about that so last night I found some birthing clips on youtube to watch with her and gauge her reaction.

I am totally reassured: despite some rather gory scenes and noisy sound affects the minute she saw a baby's head emerging that's all she saw. She oohed and ahhed, laughed and went on and on about how cute it was. She did tell me at one point though not to scream...hmmm, I'm not making any promises!

I never did get my post on our trip to MO up, but I think my eldest son did a pretty good job with his. I am going to post some pictures of a birthday that came back in June...



Isaiah is now 5!! He could hardly wait for it to happen and he's already bugging me about his next one.

He's growing up way too fast in my opinion. The sooner someone invents that squisher machine the happier I will be!


We have been doing school full force for the last 4 weeks now. We are doing a different curriculum this year and it's pretty intensive- the first week I was in despair, but it is going better now. We are trying to get as much done before the baby makes it's debut since it'll be quite crazy around here after that. And on that note, I am had better sign off...
the kids know when their mother is distracted and they do not hesitate to take full advantage of it!

2008-Jun-25 - Catch-up

Its been a while.
Believe me-I have not just been sitting around.
Well, o.k....maybe a little, but hey, I am pregnant and it is 110 degrees and if you have not been 6 months pregnant in Phoenix in the summer than you have never been hot.


We've been staying busy as usual-the kids all have swim and dive during the week and the boys have indoor soccer on the weekends. Isaiah is really taking off with his swimming this year and it's all he wants to do. Isabella still isn't feeling too confident on her own , but hopefully she will by the time we are finished.

I missed posting about some birthdays...

Gabe turned 7 back in March and we celebrated it with some cousins and a treasure hunt at the park.

Birthdays are so much fun at this age. All you need are friends, space to run, throw in some cake (candy helps too) and you have a party!
Gabriel is really doing well with his reading and school work and he's started learning how to play guitar also-I think it has something to do with his uncle Keith being the teacher.
We love you Gabe and thank God for you every day!

This guy also celebrated his birthday.

Ouch-the computer almost caught fire down-loading this...he looks pretty good for 4???, no?

Of course his good looks, charisma, charming mannerisms, and general all- around good nature are only a small part of what makes him so incredible-the real clincher is that he's married to me...umm, I mean that I am married to him...umm, o.k. whatever--what I am really trying to say is uh...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JERRY!! You are a incredible! (Did I say that already?)

Some random pictures....

Bella and Lily

Keith-turned- vampire. (You had no idea, did you Emily?-though I have to say- I have always had my suspicions)

Isabella again

Luca trying out his new prosthetic arm. We decided to go as cheap as we could...it works, although he does have a little more trouble with his hand-writing.

Well, I am going to wrap this up-I need to do a post from our trip to Missouri, but that will have to wait until next time.