Hold Still Please

I took the kiddos to take pictures at the District last week.  I still haven't done Emma's 3 year picture because she has that constant runny nose between colds.  I finally got the motivation to do it, but I picked a day that Dave was working....not my brightest idea.  So, needless to say, we still don't have a picture to print, but there are a few cute ones I got.

Most of the shots I got were of her back!  I finally got her 'thinking' face.

 Abby wanted to make sure that I got her braid in the picture.

 I love this one of them hugging the pole and each other.

 He was a little sleepy.

Emma went to school after this and I left the flowers in her hair.  One of the little boys in her class got off the bus and told her teacher 'Emma looks pretty today'.  So sweet!  I love how much she loves going to school and the little friends she has made.

9 Months

Little Josiah isn't so little anymore.  This past month he has grown up so much.  He is definitely on the move now.  His little crawl is so cute.  He crawls on his elbows and knees.  When we are really far from him and he knows it's going to take awhile to get to us he starts yelling in protest, not in a tantrum way but like he really wants to get to us.

He's eating tons of food now.  I hardly have to use the food processor anymore.  He's getting better at feeding himself now.  I love watching him try to cram food into his mouth.

He has so much fun with this little race track toy.  He loves to see it move and hear the music.  This picture is funny to me because his is screaming at the toy because he's excited, but he looks mad.

He has said 'Mama' to get my attention several times!!! Yay, someone finally said my name first!  His top two teeth finally popped through the gums.  He moved out of the 'baby' car seat and into a big boy car seat.  I think that pretty much covers what he's been up to.  I wish he would just slow down and be my baby a little longer!!!

My Little Sweeties

Josiah is getting soooo big!

We take this little DVD player on roadtrips.  I had it on the table when we got back from Phoenix.  Emma will find any DVD that isn't locked up and try to watch it.  So, she grabbed the player and the DVDs and was trying to get it open!

He's on the move now.  Not on his knees yet, but he's working on the army crawl.

Abby got a Tag for Christmas and Emma got a Tag Jr.  They love to read with them.  I love how much she is concentrating.

She loves the Toy Story 3 book the best.

In Abby's 4 year old picture she has her hands up by her face like this.  This is her favorite pose and she always does it now when I take her picture.

 Josiah got two Yodas for Christmas.  One is almost his size, so we put Yoda's robe on him.  He looks funny.

 His two front teeth finally popped through about a week ago.

'Boss Your Heart'

Learning about Reece's Rainbow has blessed me in so many ways.  I wrote about RR back in October during Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  It is an amazing ministry that helps families adopt children internationally with DS.  On their website you can look at pictures of kids that need families.  There are about 300 kiddos on their that need a family.  I look at the pictures and there are seriously a dozen kids that I can see that could be part of our family.  They are so sweet and remind me of Emma so I just want to bring them all home.  Trust me, I've tried to figure out how to!

One of the things that I love is that the website tells you the story of the families that have committed to a child and you can follow their journey of adoption by reading their blog.  I have read several of these blogs and 'met' some amazing women that have such a strong faith in the Lord.  I am so encouraged by their words.  As they openly share their journey and all the struggles that come along with the adoption process, but also all of the miracles that God provides along the way.  

Through one of the blogs I've been following I came across the 'Boss Your Heart' Bible Challenge.  The woman who writes this blog just amazes me.  The challenge came out of a situation that I can't imagine going through.  They adopted a little girl with a heart defect.  About 6 months after she came home to them she had to undergo open heart surgery. A month later she went to be with Jesus.  During the time their daughter was in the hospital she continued to blog and share about the things that God was doing in her life despite the horrible situation.  You can read her story and about the Bible Challenge on her blog.


http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/

I am joining her in bossing my heart this year.  I want to continue to remember scripture and let it guide my day, not my feelings or failures.

2010

I can't believe that this year is over.   Here is a little 'Year in Review' with pictures, of course!  

January

We started out the year trying to figure out Emma's Celiac Disease.  Now, a little over a year from her diagnosis I can honestly say it's so much easier that I thought it would be.  We've adapted and it's 'normal' for us now.

February

Emma officially started walking!  Yay!  

March

Dave and Abby got to go on a helicopter ride with our friend, Donnie.  The kiddos got a new cousein, Maddy, from India.

April

Our little guy joined us after shaking things up by putting his Mom on bed rest for 2 weeks!  Thanks to our amazing and family and friends we survived the bed rest and finally got to meet Josiah on April 26th.  It's also my aunt Wylene's birthday.  She was my Dad's littlest sister.  She passed away at age14, so I never met her, but I think it's cool that Josiah was born on her birthday.

May

Abby turned 4!  

 June

Emma got her tonsils and adenoids removed.  She can now breathe when she sleeps.  Praise the Lord for that and for the great doctors he has given us. 

 

Dave and I celebrated 7 years!

July

Dave  went to Atlanta again to work for 2 1/2 weeks.  My mom came to help then we went to Phx  for part of it.  The kids did so well.  We are very thankful for Skype.

August

We went up to Zion National Park for a night.  The kiddos loved playing in the garden by our cabin.

September

My two guys!

 

We raised over $1100 for the Buddy Walk. 

We went on a road trip to beautiful Northern Nevada.

October

Emma turned 3

November

A big month for Emma...she started school.

December

Maddy's adoption was finalized!  This little cutie is official.

 A glimpse of our year!  Looking forward to 2011.