Jacob's Confirmation

our life in pictures

our first Chinese New Year

the zoo, where when seeing most animals she said 'i don't like it'

jacob turned 12!

camdyn turned 10!

easter...

spring break...

guess who finally got a big girl bed?

we've been busy and loving life with Josie! she continues to crack us up and is a very typical 2 year old, which we love:)

a few favorite pics

lazy days are my favorite!

i seem to always put my kids on our stairs to take pictures...i think because everyone has less room to escape:)




the girls helping with Thanksgiving cooking!Camdyn and Charlie convinced Josie to wear some boots.....


but her favorite choice is always flip flops....usually without the socks....




my kids are all about 'forts' in fact over Thanksgiving week they built one in the playroom and slept there all week. Grandma just gave Josie a tent, but it's already been taken over by the older girls:)

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY...

i opened an email with the subject 'would you be interested...' and went on to say
'in a girl with a birthday 7/19/07? her file says CHD(congenital heart disease) If so, i can email you a picture'
my heart leaped inside my chest and i immediately emailed back to say YES, please send the picture......and our life was changed.....

and we waited and waited and other families traveled and sent us more pictures.....





we waited 7 1/2 months until we could meet. Josie's story of her first two years are just that, her story, her journey. as she grows, i hope and pray that she stays confident in who she is, that she knows that God was intentional in His plan for her life, that He whispers to her exactly what she needs to hear.

because there is no doubt that this little girl was placed in our arms, our family and she is exactly where she belongs......

candy O.D. aka Halloween

3 months ago...

We were meeting Josie for the first time....oh, how she has changed:)

just to clarify....

about her newest acrobatic act. When I put her down for a nap, I crack her door since her room is so close to the kitchen. I walked by her room and heard whimpering and found her on the floor so I made a big deal out of it, poor Josie fell out of her crib:) I put her down an hour later and cracked her door, headed for the kitchen and turned around and she was peeking at me through her door...but when she saw me, she closed it:) That's when I set up the camera to see just how she was getting out. SO, now what? We do have a twin bed waiting to be donated to us from my sister in law, but she's SO little.

(and thankfully, the crib was given to us, it is our 4th kid, we don't buy new any more:)

Caught in the act....

She just learned this new trick today and little did she know that Mommy set up a hidden camera...

Praise the Lord!

We had Josie's cardiologist appointment yesterday and I'll give you the highlights in non-medical terms:

-she does have a hole in her heart(VSD) that sounds and feels loud, but is small-medium in size

-the left side of her heart is bigger than the right and is bigger than 98% of kids her age

-IF the left side continues to grow, she will need to have the hole closed (open heart surgery) BUT the doctor is guessing this won't happen

-she needs no treatment, no medications and he said to treat her like a healthy 2 year old and not to even think about her heart again until her next appt. in ONE YEAR.

SO, all this anticipation for her 'special need' and she needs no treatment. She is simply perfect, and perfect for us. Thank you, Lord!

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song!

2 months ago....

we met this little beauty for the first time.....