Happy Thanksgiving

From our hearts, to yours, we wish you a very blessed Thanksgiving day. We are full of thankfulness to the Lord for another year of faithfulness to our family. God bless your day!

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

This morning after breakfast Jonathan and I baked our first batch of cookies together! I remember doing this with my mom as a little girl and am so happy to have children of my own to enjoy these moments with. Jonathan liked to unwrap the Hershey kisses. I think more ended up in his mouth than actually pressed into a cookie! He thought this was a ton of fun. I am looking forward to the rest of our holiday baking together. Nothing gets me in the holiday spirit like baking does!

Daddy's Girl

Lizzy was having tummy time the other day when Jonny decided he needed some Lizzy time! I love these pictures of the two of them. Jonny was asleep almost as fast as Lizzy was! I am so thankful my daughter has such a wonderful daddy who loves her so much.

Fun Friday

We did something new on Friday night. We let Jonathan feed Lizzy for the first time. Not the whole bottle, but a little bit at the very end. He's been asking for a while now so we thought, well, why not? He is so great with her. He was quite proud of himself. After that, we rented a Veggie Tale movie and had family movie fun night! Jonathan thought the popcorn and watered down grape juice the best part! We are having so much fun with him at this age. He is now two and a half and such a bundle of personality.

Sleeping Beauty

I put Lizzy on the couch for tummy time and she was asleep in seconds! I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures. She's now swaddled and back in her crib. I am enjoying a little time to myself at the moment.

November is National Adoption Month. There are a few things on my heart to share regarding this, but right now I just don't have the words. I will try to come up with a way to say the things I am thinking about really soon.

The third picture above came out a little too bright. But I kind of like it because it looks like a painting I remember from my childhood that had an angel in it. I think Lizzy looks angelic in this shot.

Jonathan

I've posted so many pictures of Lizzy lately that I thought it was time for some of just Jonathan. He is the most adorable little guy around. He loves to help me and is very gentle and kind with Lizzy. I love to chase him around the house and spin him around and listen to his exuberant laughter. His vocabulary is daily expanding and I can't wait til we can have a real conversation!

Overall, he is doing great with Lizzy. But he is also having temper tantrums and acts out when I'm feeding Lizzy. I am trying so hard to spend extra time with him. My patience level is not what it was when I was getting a full night's sleep. Smile. Pray for him to feel peaceful in his spirit about sharing me with Lizzy. Pray for me to be more patient.

When he put his pajamas on last night, he wanted me to take his picture. When I showed him the picture on my camera, he said, "Cute." He is a little charmer!

Happy Birthday, Darling

Yesterday was actually your birthday. Its funny how toddlers and babies can make one nearly forget birthdays altogether! We did get away for an impromptu dinner out to celebrate. I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. The past two years have been filled with challenges. God has sent us little trials to prepare us for the bigger ones. I have watched you pour your life out for soldiers in need. Your capacity for empathy and compassion is larger than life. I have seen God stretch you. Sometimes I felt like you would break. Yet you always found the strength and grace to help you with each situation you faced. I have seen God develop in you a steady perseverance and quiet confidence. This fills me with peace and security. I have felt our relationship stretch and then grow deeper as well. This fills me with great joy. Now we are facing perhaps our greatest challenge so far: your upcoming year long deployment overseas. I am certain that the same God who has shown Himself sufficient for each day will once again sustain us through this time of separation. I love the man you are becoming. I love walking this journey of faith at your side. I love that Jonathan and Lizzy have you for their father. I know that the love and security you provide them is the greatest foundation for them to one day realize in our Heavenly Father as well.

I love you. Happy Birthday, Jonny!

First Smiles

More Lizzyness

I snapped these after Lizzy's bath this morning. Doesn't she look tiny in her crib?

Lizzyness

What do you do when it's midnight and you have a very wide awake baby? Grab your camera for a photo shoot, of course! I love how brown Lizzy's eyes have become. Her hair is a mass of curls when it's wet. She is such a sweet baby. We are enjoying her immensely.

Pumpkins, Pirates and our Princess

Yesterday we celebrated Halloween by going downtown to a haloween festival. Jonathan learned to say "trick or treat" and enjoyed putting candy in his pumpkin basket. He was the cutest little pirate around! Booths with vendors were set up around the square and there was also face painting and apple bobbing. The weather was warm and sunny and we loved being outside. Lizzy slept through it all!