Christmas ornament

Several of you have asked about our ornament. I purchased it at a Hallmark store of all places. It is a white house with a red roof. The chimney has 2011 and a small heart hangs from beneath the house with inscription I mentioned earlier. I will post a pic soon!

Going Private

We have decided to make our blog private.  Our adventures of traveling around the world seem to be over for now and the adventure of living is just beginning.  We plan to maintain the blog for our friends and family who are not able to watch our children grow up close.  Our adoption journey has been an eye opening experience like no other and has strengthened our faith in God and in ourselves.  This weekend I purchased a Christmas ornament which said it all... "Forever Family 2011...held together with love".  We are complete and ever so lucky to be the parents of these amazing children.  Thank you God for giving us the strength to step out on faith.

Please leave a comment with your email address if you would like to receive an invitation to follow our blog once it goes private.  I will disable the comments so your address will not be posted.  Thank you so much for following our journey.

S7

At long last....a post

Life has been busy, but fabulous!!  Today we are celebrating 3 weeks in our new home.  We still do not know what to do with all the room...the yard sale and donation piles are growing as we refuse to "clutter" it up too much.  The boys are loving life with their own upstairs "wing" complete with playroom and bathroom just for them.  Sophie is next to Mama and Baba which is perfect for us.  Our country mouse side was fulfilled with our 1.4 acres with no chance of anyone building behind us and the city mouse loves the fact that we can walk or bike to town with sidewalks the whole way.  We have celebrated 2 birthdays (Scott turned...old, and Simon turned 9) and Thanksgiving and are gearing up for Christmas.

The boys are still doing wonderfully and have enjoyed Mama being off work. Baba is also home more now so family dinners are a nightly occurrence.  Sophie still amazes us with how easily she has adapted.  No matter how long she has been with us, we still look at her in awe that God gave us this blessing.  98% of the time  she is an absolute dream so I can definitely deal with the 2% crabby some times.  She has gained 3lbs and is dying to walk even though she is still now crawling.  I have to start back to work next week which is giving me the Mama blues.  But, I only work 4 days a week and have only 3 weeks until Christmas break.  I have found a nice lady to watch Sophie 2 days per week and Mom will watch her the other 2 days.  I am praying she knows this is not a "new mom" or a new family.  I feel she is attached to me and seeks me out but I am still apprehensive.  Prayers to ease the transition would be appreciated over the next week.

Now that I have a new laptop (thanks to Hubby and Black Friday), I am able to upload/download pics so prepare to be overrun with absolute cuteness!

"Homeless"

Well, it's official...we are homeless.  We sold our house last Friday and packed everything into 2 UHaul's (big uns) and my husbands car, oh and today my husband borrowed his Mom's flatbed to get the rest of the outside stuff.  A local church as been kind enough to let us park on their lot while we wait to close on the new house which we are really hoping is tomorrow.  We are currently staying with my mom in her little apartment.  She has been so gracious to allow her grandchildren to "take over" but we are ready to be back in our own home so we can finally spread out! 

Things are going wonderfully with Sophie!  The boys are all doing really well, especially Samuel who is totally smitten with his new sis.  She has adjusted beautifully with really no issues to speak of.  She sleeps through most nights but may wake up to take a bottle then goes back to sleep.  Our peds appointment was great.  She is small (15.5lbs) but she is very smart and has made great developmental strides just since coming home.  The care center took wonderful care of her but there are so many babies there waiting to come home it is difficult for them to get a whole lot of individual attention.  Here, Sophie has a mom, dad, memaw, and four older brothers to love on her...not to mention all of our family and friends.  Thank you again for all of your prayers and well wishes.  They have truly been a blessing.  We are comforted to know our family is complete...at least for now.  God has given us a sense of peace and we look forward to our new normal.

Now, on to what you really want to see...pics of all of the kiddos!!