Its Pinkalicious to be "3"!!!!

Today our PRECIOUS girl turns "3"! We were so happy to get to celebrate with grandparents this weekend with a Pinkalicious Party...just like her...everything has to be PINK!

Ellyana is a JOY to our family! She is a BLESSING! She is a DELIGHT to those around her, as the workers at the grocery store can't wait to see her again, the neighbor says she has the best belly-laugh in the world, she brings a smile wherever she goes!

And just like her name says...GOD has answered! She has blest our family beyond measure & we are so proud to call her our DAUGHTER!

Enjoy some of her pictures from the last few months...maybe "capturing" a piece of her amazing, fun & wonderful personality (and some of her pure cuteness ;)!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY, ELLYANA!!!

OH, HOW WE LOVE YOU!!!

Fun days....

Its that time of year, thankfully the extended family pics went well...then we tried for own immediate family & then well, the kids by themselves...

Someone had just "had it"

These guys hung in there...aren't they the most handsome 9 & 6 year old boys you have ever seen...I totally think so :)

Our family trip to the orchard...the Mutsu apples were amazing this year (as always)

Playing on the hay bale maze

Grandma coming & getting to see Zach's new school

Zach's friend who was also adopted from Guatemala, so cute!

We met Brian's friend & his wife at a Korean BBQ for dinner (it was sooooo good)...plan did backfire to bring our kids really hungry to the dinner, took a long time to cook our food at our table...every trick was out of the bag to entertain them while we waited.

BJ's walk-a-thon...beautiful day!

My sister's family came to visit, we packed in a lot of fun...feeding the ducks

We borrowed the neighbors bikes to get to the Cider Mill...11 of us...was a small parade!

We had a great time & the best news is Ellyana has been playing with dolls, packing up backpacks & "serving" her play food ever since they left. She needed sometime with girls! The kids all had so much fun together!

The tree above our garage, it was a blaze of color the day before we took this picture! It has been a gorgeous fall around here!

Getting to go to Grandma & Grandpas for a fun weekend with the cousins & aunts & uncles & the baby kittys.

And guess who is almost...3...the birthday countdown has begun!!!

Abandoned in Guatemala: The Failure of International Adoption Policies

We adopted our precious, Zach, about 5 1/2 years ago before Guatemala closed to international adoption. This video is worth your time to know what has went on, what is going on, and how to keep your prayers up-to-date as we pray for children around the world. I do not think only Unicef is to blame for this, unfortunately there a host of reasons probably Guatemala closed to adoptions.
And as we prayed earlier this year that adoptions would stay open in Ethiopia, a few people asked...do you really think they would stop adoptions in Ethiopia, what would they do with all the children?
We all like to say..."God loves adoption, His heart is for the orphan" but the reality is the opposite is true also..."Satan hates adoption". He uses any means he can to destroy family. May we pray and advocate more these precious ones!

The beginning of fall...

The 3rd graders in our town got to participate in our town's Old-Fashion type Festival. They had a lot of neat activities for the 3rd graders during the day & BJ & I walked in the parade in the evening. It was an amazing "step-back" in time. I had figured if BJ dressed up, the other 2 would want to also...these kids love any chance to be in costume :)

The boys both got to go by themselves with Mom for ice-cream as school started...I didn't have my camera for Zach & I's date...but it was delicious.

And here we are at BJ's Classroom Open House...he looks quite comfortable...he gets his same teacher as last year...so we are so very thankful for that! Zach's year is going so well too...only the little Sister is having the roughest time adjusting...where did all the action go? and the comic relief!?!! She'll get the hang of it...but she is VERY happy to see the boys each time at "pick-up"...where are "my boys" she keeps asking!

Lots of last "hurrahs"...its "back-to-school" time!!!

So its the time of the year I dread most...I'm going to miss the boys so much! We have had the best summer together (I think I say that every year :)

We have been living it up...trying to make the most of every moment! Going to the beach 1 last time, the pool, using our free "Happy Meal" coupons...the rest of the pictures are not in order but you can get the idea...One of the boys favorite times of the year...our Church's Father/Child Campout...sounds like a "blast"...Zach spent a lot of time playing with the toads & frogs

And this picture captures the "itch"... 54 mosquitos bites for Zach, 34 for BJ...sounds like they bite right through layers of OFF!

Ellyana's 1st trip to the dentist, she was a "champ"...we knew what we were going to hear...she needs to stop taking her bottle...bummer, this girl LOVES her ba-ba...we are down to 2 a day...you should be impressed!

The kids & I have gotten through several books this summer...we are loving our 1st read of Stuart Little!

Helped out with a Christian picnic reaching out to Internationals...lots of International students just getting here to the States...always amazed at the opportunity & openess of these people who will go back to be the leaders in their countries...what a mission field the Lord brings to us!

Yes, the sign reads ages 4-8, they said it was fine for Ellyana to go on the Kiddie Karts even though she isn't even 3...she was such a good driver (minus the "50" near-misses, at first I was cringing...then I realized she kept managing to avoid diaster...it was the hardest we've laughed in a long time!)

She was the lighest weight one on the track...so her car FLEW!

Mini-golf...always a family fav

The end of our day at the Zoo...at some point I'll realize their legs cant' carry them that far...and I'll bring the double stroller

Our picnic & feeding the peacock

And a special treat of seeing the 3D 4D Dora movie, it was really cool!

And here's Zach with his new teacher at his Kindergarten Round-up...he's excited...he said he already made 2 or 10 friends on his 1/2 day of school...Zach has the gift of "friendship" and it is neat to see him in a place for him to be loved & learn & grow another year!

Tuesday AM we hit the ground running, our life won't be the same till mid-June. God has proven Himself faithful & we trust Him again for this year!