Can't wait to see the finished product with the crushed granite and plants!! A HUGE thank you to Neil who worked especially hard and to my dad who helped us above and beyond!
Little faces, big personalities
11 hours ago
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Spring Break Project
Last year we painted our front door red during our spring break so this year we went a little bigger... xeroscaping our front side lawn that gets direct, beat down heat!! I worked so hard to keep it up with hand watering but I don't want to do that again this year! Well, we originally thought 2-3 days project and we now know it's a much bigger undertaking than we thought. Thankfully we are getting a lot of help from my dad, my mom and the girls helped me pick out some good plants and the girls are keeping entertained outside with playing with water, catching bugs and trapping ants =)
Can't wait to see the finished product with the crushed granite and plants!! A HUGE thank you to Neil who worked especially hard and to my dad who helped us above and beyond!
Can't wait to see the finished product with the crushed granite and plants!! A HUGE thank you to Neil who worked especially hard and to my dad who helped us above and beyond!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Birthday Celebrations!
I can't believe my baby turned 6 on Tuesday!! We had her birthday party on Saturday and what a fun celebration! She wanted to invite all the girls from her class and some of her closest girlfriends from church so we had 11 little girls running around the house in their pajamas!! That's right - a complete girly pajama party with fingernail painting, bracelet making, being silly, playing a stuffed animal/toy game, eating cake and pizza and watching Tangled for those who could stay for the after party. It was just what Claire wanted and I know she had a great time having her friends here to celebrate with her!
I got this balloon wreath idea off of pintrest and it is something I can use for any other birthday celebration! Well worth the time and effort as I over heard Claire telling some people at school about it before they came to the party. She thought it was pretty special =)
Here's my sweet girl! 
We planned on doing sponge rollers in all the girl's hair so I rolled Claire's hair. But after she looked at it she was in tears wanting me to take it out...I told her I needed atleast one picture of her! 3 other girls at the party rolled their hair along with this mommy so it was worth having out!
I couldn't believe all the attention she got at school! It's amazing that at a large school they can still make a student feel special. She was on the BSN news announcements in front of the whole school, wore this special hat all day, got sang to a few times and got free ice cream at lunch time! I was able to take her lunch and celebrate a little with her in the cafeteria... funny story... I asked her what she wanted me to bring her for lunch thinking McDonald's or Chick-fil-a but with big, bright eyes she said "Chocolate pudding and Cheetos!" So that's what she got =) That and a bowl of her favorite minestrone that I make. What a sweetheart that she felt like that was the way she wanted to celebrate!
After school we went to see grandpa and he had a special snack for the girls including a candle in the oatmeal pie!
After gymnastics, we met my parents, Billy and Neil's parents out for chinese to celebrate my Mom's birthday on the 8th. Happy Birthday Mom and my Grandma Ann!!
Can't wait to see what this year will bring!
I got this balloon wreath idea off of pintrest and it is something I can use for any other birthday celebration! Well worth the time and effort as I over heard Claire telling some people at school about it before they came to the party. She thought it was pretty special =)
Here's my sweet girl! 
We planned on doing sponge rollers in all the girl's hair so I rolled Claire's hair. But after she looked at it she was in tears wanting me to take it out...I told her I needed atleast one picture of her! 3 other girls at the party rolled their hair along with this mommy so it was worth having out!The grandparents from both sides were there as the designated adult helpers! Thanks mom for all your fruit/dips and extra help and to Elaine for bringing the yummy bread! 
Made these yummy s'mores treats off of pintrest and put it together with stickers and a bog of popcorn to go with the pajama party theme! "Thanks for poppin' in and makin' my party s'more fun!" They were SUPER yummy and I've already made them two more times since!
Claire picked out a couple baby pics of her to have out with the flower cupcakes!
Making bracelets! They couldn't get enough of it... some of them made 3 or 4 of them! Beads on pipe cleaner
Most of the girls in the hallway
Here they all are!! Loving their time in Claire' room and hanging out on the bunk bed
Each kiddo brought their favorite stuffed animal/toy and dropped it in a designated bag outside the front door to keep it a secret. Then we all guessed who brought what... I wasn't' sure if they would like this game but they loved it!
Singing happy birthday! Ever since I made Eden's Snow White cake Claire has wanted a Rapunzel cake. This one was a little more challenging with her hair being so long and with the different colors of the skirt.
Guess who enjoyed it?
Thank you to everyone who blessed Claire with such thoughtful gifts! This was one of her favorites - the Rapunzel Hair!
We LOVE you Claire - our favorite 6 year old!! You have changed our world for the better and we are so honored to be your parents!
If you want to see more pics you can click on this site and go to Claire's 6th birthday! http://neilkathrynclaire.shutterfly.com/
I couldn't believe all the attention she got at school! It's amazing that at a large school they can still make a student feel special. She was on the BSN news announcements in front of the whole school, wore this special hat all day, got sang to a few times and got free ice cream at lunch time! I was able to take her lunch and celebrate a little with her in the cafeteria... funny story... I asked her what she wanted me to bring her for lunch thinking McDonald's or Chick-fil-a but with big, bright eyes she said "Chocolate pudding and Cheetos!" So that's what she got =) That and a bowl of her favorite minestrone that I make. What a sweetheart that she felt like that was the way she wanted to celebrate!
After school we went to see grandpa and he had a special snack for the girls including a candle in the oatmeal pie!
After gymnastics, we met my parents, Billy and Neil's parents out for chinese to celebrate my Mom's birthday on the 8th. Happy Birthday Mom and my Grandma Ann!!
Can't wait to see what this year will bring!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Feb number
We got our official number for Feb. and for the first time in a long time it was the same as our unofficial number: #9
We were obviously thrilled to move and from officially 12 in Jan. and now officially 9, that's good movement! Every Friday an unofficial list comes out that is managed by another AGCI mom which I'm so thankful for. Two days after we got our official number we were unofficially #8 which got me wondering...what happened?! Well, with talking to the list keeper and doing some investigating =) it looks like there is something that happened to one of the two mystery families (they aren't on any of the social networks) in front of us and they are no longer on the list. There are many reasons of why this could happen and I pray it was a good situation for them. So... I'm saying we are unofficially #8 =)
This month we've been continuing to get things ready for the nursery. My dear friend Tara gave us this adorable little blanket to match the room!! Thank you SO much Tara! And we ordered a few books: E is for Ethiopia (btw, a great series of different countries to teach other cultures), A Mother for Choco, Please Baby Please and The Beatitudes. Little by little we are getting things ready.
We will be working on getting our USCIS fingerprints updated as they expire in June as well as updating some dossier paperwork that will have an expired notary within the next few months or so. Not what I anticipated but we continue to take it one day at a time and wait for the day we know who our little guy is.
After our referral call happens they estimate it to be 4-8 months until he is actually home so we will wait again and I ask for yall to really pray for us during that waiting period as I've heard it's 10 times harder!! I'm so thankful for the facebook AGCI Ethiopia group and to have a place to find support through those who are going through the same process and who can be so real with each other. What a blessing it has been during this time as yes, it does seem like forever and yes, it is hard when everyone around me is bringing babies home one way or another!! This past month is the first time people have said "Oh, you're still doing that?" "What ever happened to yalls adoption?" "It just seems like it's taking forever!!" "When is it ever going to happen?" This has been challenging to hear but I appreciate people asking us about it! I pray I can graciously answer and not just say I'm relying on God's strength and timing as we wait but to wholeheartedly do just that!
We were obviously thrilled to move and from officially 12 in Jan. and now officially 9, that's good movement! Every Friday an unofficial list comes out that is managed by another AGCI mom which I'm so thankful for. Two days after we got our official number we were unofficially #8 which got me wondering...what happened?! Well, with talking to the list keeper and doing some investigating =) it looks like there is something that happened to one of the two mystery families (they aren't on any of the social networks) in front of us and they are no longer on the list. There are many reasons of why this could happen and I pray it was a good situation for them. So... I'm saying we are unofficially #8 =)This month we've been continuing to get things ready for the nursery. My dear friend Tara gave us this adorable little blanket to match the room!! Thank you SO much Tara! And we ordered a few books: E is for Ethiopia (btw, a great series of different countries to teach other cultures), A Mother for Choco, Please Baby Please and The Beatitudes. Little by little we are getting things ready.
We will be working on getting our USCIS fingerprints updated as they expire in June as well as updating some dossier paperwork that will have an expired notary within the next few months or so. Not what I anticipated but we continue to take it one day at a time and wait for the day we know who our little guy is.
After our referral call happens they estimate it to be 4-8 months until he is actually home so we will wait again and I ask for yall to really pray for us during that waiting period as I've heard it's 10 times harder!! I'm so thankful for the facebook AGCI Ethiopia group and to have a place to find support through those who are going through the same process and who can be so real with each other. What a blessing it has been during this time as yes, it does seem like forever and yes, it is hard when everyone around me is bringing babies home one way or another!! This past month is the first time people have said "Oh, you're still doing that?" "What ever happened to yalls adoption?" "It just seems like it's taking forever!!" "When is it ever going to happen?" This has been challenging to hear but I appreciate people asking us about it! I pray I can graciously answer and not just say I'm relying on God's strength and timing as we wait but to wholeheartedly do just that!
Friday, February 17, 2012
My baby
Eden a.k.a "My Baby" is 3 and 3 months... how can she be such a big girl already?
She asked me to take this picture of her after her purple class at BSF! She just cracks me up! My friend Crystal said it perfectly today after we were walking behind her watching her talk to herself with the biggest hand gestures (it was hilarious!) -she said "She's just full of personailty!"
Here are a few things to remember:
- A few weeks ago I was going to the store and asked "Eden, is there anything you think I should get at the store?" (a loaded question I know but they do help me remember!) and with a long pause and holding her chin she said "BEEF!" She does favor beef over chicken =) I didn't get beef that trip so the enxt time she was at the store with me she said "Mom, last time you didn't get beef at the store. We need to get beef." What 3 year old requests beef?!
- Although she gets a ton of attention for her curls, she wants "long hair" like Claire. The grass is always greener... Her hair is actually to the middle of her back when it's wet and Claire always tells her "Look Eden! Your hair is long!"
- She wants to do everything sister is doing and likes/dislikes whatever Claire does
- Jumping is her favorite activitiy - last night she jumped on a friends trampoline for over an hour and was still wanting more. She outlasted all the other older kiddos!
- Still loves all the villians - her current favorites are the Rat King, Green Goblin and Horax
- She has started praying the most precious prayers at bedtime and dinner - just love to hear her pray for her friends when they are sick or to keep them safe. Her thankful list is so sweet. I pray she always knows that we are to come to Him with all tings big and small with a pure heart!
- Tonight she kept coming out of her room with her panties and pajamas around her ankles just shuffling along and the last time waving her arms around... she was just looking for the attention while having a hard time falling asleep... Neil and I had to stiffle our laughs so she knew she seriously needed to stay in bed!
She asked me to take this picture of her after her purple class at BSF! She just cracks me up! My friend Crystal said it perfectly today after we were walking behind her watching her talk to herself with the biggest hand gestures (it was hilarious!) -she said "She's just full of personailty!"
Here are a few things to remember:
- A few weeks ago I was going to the store and asked "Eden, is there anything you think I should get at the store?" (a loaded question I know but they do help me remember!) and with a long pause and holding her chin she said "BEEF!" She does favor beef over chicken =) I didn't get beef that trip so the enxt time she was at the store with me she said "Mom, last time you didn't get beef at the store. We need to get beef." What 3 year old requests beef?!
- Although she gets a ton of attention for her curls, she wants "long hair" like Claire. The grass is always greener... Her hair is actually to the middle of her back when it's wet and Claire always tells her "Look Eden! Your hair is long!"
- She wants to do everything sister is doing and likes/dislikes whatever Claire does
- Jumping is her favorite activitiy - last night she jumped on a friends trampoline for over an hour and was still wanting more. She outlasted all the other older kiddos!
- Still loves all the villians - her current favorites are the Rat King, Green Goblin and Horax
- She has started praying the most precious prayers at bedtime and dinner - just love to hear her pray for her friends when they are sick or to keep them safe. Her thankful list is so sweet. I pray she always knows that we are to come to Him with all tings big and small with a pure heart!
- Tonight she kept coming out of her room with her panties and pajamas around her ankles just shuffling along and the last time waving her arms around... she was just looking for the attention while having a hard time falling asleep... Neil and I had to stiffle our laughs so she knew she seriously needed to stay in bed!
Gymnastics
Claire has always loved "bring a friend" night at the Little Gym - she has been Abbey's friend to her gymnastics class a number of times! Thank you Kate for always thinking of her =) Her favorite was always the balance beam and she was really good at it.
About 8 months ago Claire came home from school and said "Mom, when I grow up I want to be a gymnastics teacher. You need to put me in gymnastics so I know what to do!" Oooo...she's smart and sneaky isn't she!? Well, after she started going across the monkey bars in seconds flat over and over again with callouses on her little hands, Neil and I decided that this would be a good activity to encourage what we've seen in her interests and strengths. She was elated when I surprised her on Valentine's Day with a leotard and her first class that evening! She was even more surprised to see Abbey was in her class along with two other classmates from her kinder class - two of her favorite friends from school! She now counts the days to Tuesday!
About 8 months ago Claire came home from school and said "Mom, when I grow up I want to be a gymnastics teacher. You need to put me in gymnastics so I know what to do!" Oooo...she's smart and sneaky isn't she!? Well, after she started going across the monkey bars in seconds flat over and over again with callouses on her little hands, Neil and I decided that this would be a good activity to encourage what we've seen in her interests and strengths. She was elated when I surprised her on Valentine's Day with a leotard and her first class that evening! She was even more surprised to see Abbey was in her class along with two other classmates from her kinder class - two of her favorite friends from school! She now counts the days to Tuesday!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day!!
Celebrating holidays with kids is so much fun!! It was such a fun day to do special things for the girls - not that we don't do those every other day but we love any reason to celebrate around here =)
The girls woke up to some stickers, chocolate candy hearts and handmade valentines from mom and dad. They got heart shaped peanut butter sandwiches for their lunch along with a chocolate candy of their choice!
These pictures crack me up!! Claire's big, smile, Eden hugging her goodbye and Eden drying her nails =) It's never dull around here!
They each had class parties where they passed out their crayon and candy treats to their friends, did crafts and ate a lot of junk! I helped with Claire's party and got some pictures of her and her friends! Here is Claire with her friend Nina.
Mrs. Lopez with her whole class
Dusty and Claire... apparantly Dusty blows kisses to Claire everyday =) He's a sweet little boy and his mom is Eden's music teacher!
Me and one of my Valentine's... I just LOVE this girl!! She was beyond exited and proud to have her mom there helping with the party. I wonder how long that will happen. I still remember my mom chaperoning my first dance in the 6th grade and so embarassed. I better savor it while I can!
Eden's class is so sweet - she only has 8 kids in her class and she comes home with story after story of them all! Here are some of her friends - Maverick, Sarah, Eden, Olivia and Ella (aka "not Bella")
Ella hugging Eden (they are so sweet with each other) and Olivia
They each came home with a ton of loot from their class parties!! We had a great day and enjoyed a visit from Grandpa, we went to visit Maw Maw and Mary Ellen and then dinner at Mimi and Poppa's after Claire's first gymnastics class (post coming soon!) What a wonderful day to celebrate!
The girls woke up to some stickers, chocolate candy hearts and handmade valentines from mom and dad. They got heart shaped peanut butter sandwiches for their lunch along with a chocolate candy of their choice!
These pictures crack me up!! Claire's big, smile, Eden hugging her goodbye and Eden drying her nails =) It's never dull around here!
They each had class parties where they passed out their crayon and candy treats to their friends, did crafts and ate a lot of junk! I helped with Claire's party and got some pictures of her and her friends! Here is Claire with her friend Nina.
Mrs. Lopez with her whole class
Dusty and Claire... apparantly Dusty blows kisses to Claire everyday =) He's a sweet little boy and his mom is Eden's music teacher!
Me and one of my Valentine's... I just LOVE this girl!! She was beyond exited and proud to have her mom there helping with the party. I wonder how long that will happen. I still remember my mom chaperoning my first dance in the 6th grade and so embarassed. I better savor it while I can!
Eden's class is so sweet - she only has 8 kids in her class and she comes home with story after story of them all! Here are some of her friends - Maverick, Sarah, Eden, Olivia and Ella (aka "not Bella")
Ella hugging Eden (they are so sweet with each other) and Olivia
They each came home with a ton of loot from their class parties!! We had a great day and enjoyed a visit from Grandpa, we went to visit Maw Maw and Mary Ellen and then dinner at Mimi and Poppa's after Claire's first gymnastics class (post coming soon!) What a wonderful day to celebrate!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Valentine's Prep!
I resisted pintrest for so long but gave into it about a month ago. As a person who has always LOVED Valentine's crafts I've had a great time searching for fun and easy ideas for the girls. The past week and especially over the weekend we got really busy on working on the girl's valentine's along with a few other fun things!
First things first, major bed head and decorating heart cookies to send to Great Grandma Ann!
Sending cards to the most amazing great aunts along with our pintrest heart crayons! 
Each of Claire and Eden's classmates will get a crayon along with their vday card and candy treat =) I didn't get a picture of the finished product but this was the tag I made from Claire's original design!
A crafting break for a lemonade stand to raise money for Leukemia Research. Claire's class has been collecting change so Claire wanted to do a lemonade stand. Of course it was about 40 degrees and windy but she was SO cute with her planning, sign making and determination to touch out the cold. She lasted about 30 minutes and tallied all the cars, cats and dogs she saw. Fortunately one car stopped and gave her a dollar - she was more than excited! We will try again later this week!
Back to making gifts for the teachers - a "crayon" made of a roll of rolos and a hershey kiss! I used the same label "You color my world!" The girl's teachers are so amazing and we are so grateful for them.
And flower shaped banana bread for our neighbors! The girl's just love knocking on all our neighbor's doors to give them something special.
Neil and I had our big Valentine's night out after a lot of plans falling through, rearranging plans and being spontaneous thanks to my amazing parents! Neil's roses to me have brighten up our kitchen and made our crafting area that much more beautiful!
Can't WAIT for tomorrow! I have a few surprises up my sleeve for my loved ones along with helping with Claire's class party =)
First things first, major bed head and decorating heart cookies to send to Great Grandma Ann!
Sending cards to the most amazing great aunts along with our pintrest heart crayons! 
Each of Claire and Eden's classmates will get a crayon along with their vday card and candy treat =) I didn't get a picture of the finished product but this was the tag I made from Claire's original design!
A crafting break for a lemonade stand to raise money for Leukemia Research. Claire's class has been collecting change so Claire wanted to do a lemonade stand. Of course it was about 40 degrees and windy but she was SO cute with her planning, sign making and determination to touch out the cold. She lasted about 30 minutes and tallied all the cars, cats and dogs she saw. Fortunately one car stopped and gave her a dollar - she was more than excited! We will try again later this week!
Back to making gifts for the teachers - a "crayon" made of a roll of rolos and a hershey kiss! I used the same label "You color my world!" The girl's teachers are so amazing and we are so grateful for them.
And flower shaped banana bread for our neighbors! The girl's just love knocking on all our neighbor's doors to give them something special.
Neil and I had our big Valentine's night out after a lot of plans falling through, rearranging plans and being spontaneous thanks to my amazing parents! Neil's roses to me have brighten up our kitchen and made our crafting area that much more beautiful!
Can't WAIT for tomorrow! I have a few surprises up my sleeve for my loved ones along with helping with Claire's class party =)
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