random-ness

Okay, I'm trying to keep up here. I really do intend on putting this whole blog into books by years this summer. This is our scrapbook of memories since I hardly ever print ANYTHING out anymore. Since I've already told you how crazy busy May is, there are a lot of activities to keep up with right now! So, prepare yourself for a bunch of random photos. :-)

We traveled to Gainesville for another shower for baby Solomon. Can't wait for that cutie pie to get here! Love my sister-in-law, Nova! (and you too, Lauren, but you weren't there :-)

Love this picture of us with our wonderful mother-in-law.

Nova and Brad (Jason's brother, aka the proud Daddy)

I got her a bib and this outfit with his name on it.

And had a friend make her this nursing shawl.

That night, we went with Jason's parents to Babe's Chicken. Yum, yum!

Jason's dad (aka Grangoat) has a birthday the day before Elijah, so while we were at Babe's, we had a little birthday celebration for them. Check out the video at the bottom for a laugh! They were both good sports. Elijah told me that he and Grangoat were birthday twins. :-)

Remember when I mentioned my mom taking Elijah and I to see The Wizard of Oz last weekend? Well, she sent me some pictures from her phone that she took. Here is Elijah with the Lion and to his left, the very adorable Good Witch, played by a young girl. She did a great job!

And here he is with the Bad Witch and the Tin Man.

The randomness just keeps coming! :-) My mom also sent me this picture of Elijah with his best buddy from school. Aren't they cute?

And lastly, Aunt Laur-Laur captured this GREAT picture of Judah. This is CLASSIC Judah right here. He makes this face all the time. I'm SO glad she got a picture of it. This is his ornery "I'm not gonna cooperate, I'm gonna be silly" face. Love this boy!

If you click Play on this video, you'll see a great Chicken Dance featuring two big chickens!

elijah is 7!!!!

May 13th seven years ago is the day I became a mommy.
It was a very bittersweet day.
A hard labor experience,
followed by the birth of a beautiful baby boy,
followed by 8 days in the NICU because he had a stroke.
It was very scary but he is our miracle baby.

He's gone from this...

to THIS! He had just woken up on his 7th birthday. :-)

I think he had a great day! First, his birthday was announced on the radio right before he went to school that day. To view that video, scroll to the bottom of this post.

He told me they announced his birthday on the intercom at school and he got a special birthday card and pencil. I also took cupcakes and juice to his school that afternoon. Here are his classmates singing Happy Birthday to him.

After school, we went to the park for a few minutes to play.

Then it was home to open his present from mom and dad.

Followed by a yummy Hibachi-style dinner with the Beck's.

Judah SCREAMED bloody murder when they did the fire at the beginning.
Apparently I should have warned him about that. Oops.

They even brought him free fried ice cream since it was his birthday.
He shared it with Annalee. :-)

Mom and Dad with the big 7 year old! I told him that 7 was way too old because I remember so many things from when I was 7, and now I have a 7 year old! Sigh.

Grace, Annalee, Elijah and Judah.

He is SO precious. He told me this morning that he thought he played better at his soccer game because he was 7 years old now. So cute.

Here are 7 things I love about this kid:

1. His sensitive, compassionate, caring heart
2. That he blows me kisses and signs "I love you" EVERY morning as he walks into school and I watch from the car
3. He wants to be a missionary when he grows up
4. He STILL loves to snuggle with me and read books with me
5. How much he TRULY loves and looks out for his baby brother
6. His awareness that not everyone in the world is as fortunate as he is, and his desire to help them
7. He is so accepting of others, even when they are "different" than he is - his friend base is very diverse

I could go on and on about him...his passion for Camp of the Hills, pancakes and all things Star Wars. He can name almost EVERY SINGLE character from ANY of the Star Wars movies...for real. I just love, love, LOVE him! He is a precious gift. We are SO privileged to call him our son and play even a small part in raising him to be the mighty warrior God wants him to be.

Elijah, keep loving and caring and serving and accepting. It's what life is all about. You do those things for God and life will be as meaningful as it can be. And YOU already are an example to those around you. Your friends and your brother ADORE you and look up to you. Your dad and I are so proud of you and we love you very much. Happy 7th Birthday Chief!

For a great recap of Elijah's previous birthdays, click HERE

I wish I'd kept recording. Right after I turned it off he said, "No way! How did they know it was my birthday?" :-)

double party

Since the boys' birthdays are less than 3 weeks apart, we decided to do a double party this year. It was GREAT and I may do it for as many more years as I can! Elijah wanted a Harry Potter cake and Judah wanted a Buzz Lightyear cake, so we had two themes going on! We had the party at AquaKids because the boys wanted to swim. Thanks to everyone who came...the boys had a blast, we are so blessed with great friends!

I made the cupcakes for everyone else to eat!

Swimming!

Friends and family!

I wish I had arranged all of the kids for a picture!

Cake!

Presents!

Thanks Ashley for the adorable shirts you made the boys!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIJAH AND JUDAH!!!

mother's day 2011

may is crazy

This month HAS to be busier for us than Christmas!!! I cannot even name all of the events we have had and will have going on right now! Today we squeezed in BOTH of the boys' birthday party, and combined with my mom being in town, seeing Wizard of Oz at Casa Manana, a soccer game and Mother's Day tomorrow, it has been another wild weekend! Whew, I'm tired.

This post is dedicated to our new nephew coming soon!
Baby Solomon is due in July and my sister-in-law, Nova, had her first baby shower last weekend at her mom's house. It was so much fun!

My two wonderful sisters-in-law, Lauren and Nova.

A great shot of her baby bump!

So cute, and I LOVE that we're adding another strong Bible name to the mix!

The 3 of us with my mother-in-law, Debbie (aka my wonderful photographer).

I will be back soon with more fun pictures from our wild and crazy weekend! The best thing about being so busy is that it keeps my mind from thinking about the adoption ALL THE TIME, and THAT is a blessing itself! :-)