New Toby Pictures!!!!

WOOOO HOOOOOOO!

We get to feast our eyes on this little one to whom God has called us!

ABUNDANT JOY blooms in my heart!

Just look at Toby now!!!

 And while you're here...look at the  picture in the sidebar...that was him ONE YEAR ago. He's gotten even CUTER!!! :)

Are you falling on the floor from all that CUTENESS!?!??!?!!?!?

I MELLLLLLLLLT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The update on this child is INCREDIBLE too...

1) Does Toby understand that he is being adopted? Not really, he is too young to understand that.

2) What therapy is he having for his arms and hands? We asked the doctors before. They said he needed surgery than therapy for his arms. So we haven't given him any therapy yet. But we always show him to use him hands more and more. Now he can use hands to hold food to eat with head help sometimes.

3) What are his favorite things to do? Favorite toys? He likes to play games outside. He loves play toys which his hands can handle better, not balls.

4)Does he enjoy music? Yes, he loves music. He always sings songs when he hears from TV or CD.

5) Please tell us about his personality. He is very outgoing and active. He is also very loving and likes to share. So he plays so well with other children.

{oh my. "outgoing and active also very loving" YES!!! he IS my child!!}

6) Do his knees, hips or ankles have any problems with stiffness? Is he able to run as well as walk? He has no problem with his lower limbs. He can even run well.

7) Has he been healthy? If he has been sick, what sickness? He is always healthy and hardly to get sick.

8) Does he play with other children or mostly alone? He likes to play other children very much.

9) How is his language development? What words does he say? Is he talkative? His language is normal. He can say many simple words and sentences.

This is just too much happiness for me to keep all to myself!!! PLEASE SHARE!!! :) :)

And...

               ...one more picture...that I think is my all time favorite!

Just look at this boy's personality SHINE!!!

My friend to whom I showed these pictures immediately sent me a link to this picture of myself from last summer: She was saying how MUCH he is going to fit in with our crazy-sauce style of life!!

A-hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!! 

Oh sweet Toby, we are coming for you!! SOON!

Dear friends, please join me in praying for the remaining finances to complete his adoption. I am beside myself with JOY over this update and pictures but also really feel the URGENCY to get his medical needs attended to. It appears they may be something "else" joining the list of his special needs. We will not have answers until we meet him and then get him in to see some specialists. 

Click here to be directed to our fundraising page.

Deja Vu Daughters

Anneli gets a bit rolly in the eyes when I do it yet AGAIN.

I call Darrah Kate by her name.

Most moms have this issue. I think.

Even know of moms who call the dog by the youngest kid's name. Yes, really! (Are you one?)

But, I think I may have it a wee tiny bit more.

Today, I discovered why.

For HOURS I had to work on a life timeline for my 5th grader.

This sounds like such a NICE little project for a 5th grader. Doesn't it?

Scope out your life year by year, cite major events. Find pictures to represent these fine moments.

You'd think especially since her parents did some professional photography for a time.

But no.

You may be like me, all those wonderful digital photos sit on a disk or hard drive somewhere.

(At one point, this same now 5th grader asked me if she was ever a baby...we didn't have a single picture available to prove it. She just had to take my word for it!)

So, for 7 hours I dug. Disks whirred, rainbow circles spun, the hourglass rotated.

I came up with some pretty cool pictures of my 10 year old's life.

And then, I realized...

WHY 

I 

CALL

DARRAH KATE

ANNELI

AND 

ANNELI

DARRAH KATE.

Just look at this:

Okay, I rest my case.

You see it, right?

It's like having a second swing at raising that daughter!

They both love princess and dress up. They both fell in love with a stuffed animal at birth. (Anneli a pig, Darrah Kate an elephant.) They both pitch a pretty darn good fit have a strong personality. They both snuggle and love whole heartedly. Incidentally, Anneli was actually "Anna Kate" in utero till Brian vetoed it at 35 weeks!

Serious deja vu!

But of course they have their own personalities and special things just for them.

I'm just giggling that I'm not crazy I'm not as crazy afterall for the thousands of times I've mixed them up!!

KWIM?

Christmas cards...simplified.

Simplify.

It's what I keep on thinking. We simply must cut back. Do you feel this crazy sauce feeling too? Christmas has gotten crazy. Life is abundantly full.

Almost over full.

Brian and I have had more than one conversation about how to simplify. How to focus on simply giving the needed attention to the Littles and just STOP doing extra stuff. This year in particular is critical in helping Zeb adjust to our family.

There is no maybe, this year I absolutely cannot be running crazy.

So instead of the hours upon hours preparing and sending our typical Christmas card, we offer you this:

We truly wish you a wonderful Christmas, celebrating Jesus. 

That your New Year would truly be filled with the joy of a fresh slate and that you would delight in goal setting and the glory of fulfilling them.

Please understand that no one is receiving a printed card this year (sorry grandmas!) We love you all and hope to return to "normal" next year!

Blessings!!

Family Picture Day!

So thankful for a friendly request from our church to get a picture of us all SEVEN together! We had taken the above picture for the header...but I must say, it's quite a bit easier to get pictures of your feet than your faces! ;)

First the end product (that you'll see in other parts of this blog most likely!):

Here's a few favorites from the session we had this weekend:

These kids are all in school! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!??!?!

The two I get to keep at home!

Almost had everyone looking here...

A runner up for the final shot...but lack of posing ("let's just hug") made for odd hands in odd places. (and yes, we were our own photographers...we had the fun of smiling and laughing at grandparents who danced behind the camera to get littles to look and smile! Thanks Mom and Dad!)

All 5 loves of my heart! 

Totally saved my favorite for last! Isn't this just awesome?!?!