#8 is GREAT!

Thankful to have moved one spot on the list waiting for our little girl...we get the update the last day of each month...so this was our April number.  And as fast as we would love for it all to go...we are praying we don't get stuck in Court Closure time (mid-August to mid-October) so honestly, we would be fine with getting our referral of our precious girl after that...but we will see what God has in mind...and it is for HIS will we pray!

7x of Birthday for a 7 yr old

Well, I don't know what kind-of "Love Language" you call it...but this boy LOVES to celebrate...and this year we did!

 

His big pick for Birthday lunch...Chinese Buffet with a trip to ToysRus to spend some birthday money!

He got a free pizza certificate from school for his birthday...he was so proud!

Had a few friends over last minute for some birthday brownies!

Got to invite a buddy to a historical pirate class...they had fun...even digging for a buried treasure!

And this was earlier in the month the cupcakes he decorated with Grandma

And this had kicked-off his month of celebrating

The birthday is over and we are hoping all the celebrating will last him till next year!  He is turning from a big boy to a little man.  He is precious in our sight and everyone else that knows him and loves him!  He has a tender heart, he's as fun-loving as they come, very athletic and quick, he's a great little brother (aka best friend) and big brother to his sister.  He's a great helper around the house and a friend to all.  We could not be more blessed to have our precious, Zach, in our family...Happy 7th Birthday...you deserve all the celebration!

She smiled & said "Bless you"...

People sometimes ask how I feel about having a family that looks like ours...

and my resounding answers would be "awesome, so thankful, hardly actually ever remember that we look different from other families"...

but sometimes, honestly, I do find myself being a little self-conscious...and usually it is when I am around African-American women...NOT because even 1 of them have ever been unkind or disapproving... but sometimes I find myself quick glancing down to see if Ellyana's hair looks good or not, how her skin looks, how she's acting...

And today was one of those days, Ellyana & I had ran a bunch of errands & it seemed that we ran into African-American women everywhere (love that ;)  They smiled at her, they cooed over her beauty, and how nice she was acting (she was singing or dancing most of the time ;)... and at our last stop I was just kicking myself that I still was checking her hair everytime I ran into another one of these ladies...so as we passed through the last doorway...I looked up & there was another beautiful African-American woman & she looked at me and smiled & mouthed the words "bless you".

Thank you, Jesus, for blessing me and our family with kindness all around us!

Loving the Spring...

Easter is the best time of year...and one of our highlights around the time is having in International Students from a local campus...they enjoy sharing a traditional Easter meal, Resurrection Eggs are a simple way to share the Gospel, and then teaching them how to color eggs...love this picture including 6 different countries of origin...thankful the Gospel is for all people!

Enjoying fun with cousins!

April 1...marks the beginning of birthday month for this sweetie...he has already celebrated 2x...and his birthday isn't for another week!

Getting to celebrate Easter with more cousins!

Fun at a Jump-around...we had a great Spring Break with family, some fun at home & then our other grandparents coming to visit. And of course, another birthday celebration for Zach! :)

Getting to decorate his own cupcakes with Grandma!

We feel so blessed...and it feels like the "end" is in sight after break...school is going to be ending soon! Summer, here we come :)

Single Digits!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it happened we entered "single digits" for our March number on the waitlist...
YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!
(we moved about 9 spots in the last 6 months, so we will see what the next 6 months bring)
We will keep praying & celebrating movement toward our precious girl!