Happy 17 Months LL...and Happy 10 Months Home!!!!

Yes, another month has passed...time is just flying by right before my eyes!!!! Before I know it, we'll be celebrating LL's First One Year Gotcha Day!!! Crazy how fast this past year is going!!! LL still keeps us laughing every day!!! She is an amazing little person AND we're SO VERY thankful for her presence in our life!!! We decided to try out George's new sprinkler he got for his bday this week...Well, George and Hal quickly got distracted and ran off in the yard to play with something else.....which left LL having a LOVE/HATE relationship with the sprinkler!!!! This was her FIRST ever sprinkler day...and.....well....she decided it was ONLY good for drinking water!!! She seriously tried to drink from the thing for about 45 minutes getting frustrated then happy with it!!! It was hilarious to watch:

At times, it looked like she was giving it mouth to mouth!!! :)

above: This was the, "Come help me Momma...I can't make it work like I want it to"

above: "If I look all cute.....will you come and help me??"

OH, THE FRUSTRATION!!!!!!!

ABOVE: One of my favorites with the foot propped up!!!

Oh, I LOVE those lips!!!!

And, we finally ended in frustration and tears and decided to put the sprinkler away and opt for a sippy cup of ice cold water :) !!!! Crazy girl!!!! :)

****Happy 17 Months LL!!! And, there are about 5 million more LL's waiting in Ethiopia right now...waiting to be adopted!!! Some are younger, some are older...some are just her age....all waiting for their chance to have someone celebrating EVERY month they are home.....and to allow them to feel their first cold water from a sprinkler on a 88 degree day in April!!!! What a blessing these children are!!!! :)

Happy Thursday to you all...and happy 10 months home LL!!! We love you so much, kj

Happy 3rd B-day George!!!

Yes, it is true!!! My sweet Georgy turned "3" yesterday!!! I can't believe it either!!! :) He still seems like a "baby" to me....He never seems to age to me either....He is the sweetest, most affectionate, love his momma, child EVER!!!! You just can't help but LOVE George!! He is our only child to just spontaneously tell us he LOVES US all the time WITH NO embarrassment!! He LOVES kisses and hugs and LOVES them all the time....He LOVES attention and LOVES to make us all laugh!! George is just an easy going, funny little guy!! He has been laid back and easy goin from day one!!! He has the BEST smile in this world and shows EVERY tooth in his head EVERY time he smiles!!! The only thing he LOVES as much as Momma and Daddy are his Blankies and his Paci's!!!! You'll never find GEorge without his blue AND white blankey in hand PLUS a few paci's!!! He despises bath time and is ALL BOY!!! He can kick a ball like no other, and he'll be the first to push Hal or LL or the girls if they do something he doesn't like!! The boy can hold his own!! He's much rougher than my 5 yr. old Hal....but will smile that smile and give a hug and we all quickly forget that he's been pushing us around :) Yes, he's spoiled rotten and completely babied!!! BUT WE DON'T CARE!!! We like and embrace the fact that George still thinks he is a baby!! He truly thinks he and LL are the same age....They seem to be twins separated at birth!!! They LOVE each other deeply and are buddies all day!!!! George was my biggest baby...arriving right at 9lbs!!!! I had a great pregnancy (even though he was the only baby to give me morning sickness)....and I LOVED being pregnant for the last time!!! My dr. would only allow 4 c-sections AND George was my 4th...so I knew we were DONE!!!! Well, done birthing babies!! :)

ABOVE, yes, I was HUGE!! I gained 80lbs and was miserably BIG!! It hurt to walk!!!

George arrived big and healthy and I hit the ground running with #4!!! Above, was George's birth announcement pic...He was only a few days old in that pic!!! Helen had just turned 5, Julia was 3, Hal was a new two, and George was a new born!!! Yes, CRAZY...but oh so fun!! Above, we took all 4 to Disney by ourselves!! George turned 6 months old while we were there....All the others were still the same age: 5, 3, 2, and 6 months!! AGain, yes, crazy..but lots of fun memories...

By George's 1st bday...he was running around and turning into a toddler and we were PAPER PREGNANT with Lucy lane!!!

George soaked in his "baby days " as the youngest in the fam!! He has always LOVED his momma..and I thought he'd be jealous when LL arrived...but instead he accepted her with open arms...and well...just shared my other hip..and never got down himself...I suddenly just had two babies!!

Above, George at his 2nd bday!!!

George is probably best known for his ability to SLEEP ANYWHERE!!! Yes, seriously, the boy will take a nap ANYWHERE!!! It is hilarious!!! He won't dare go to his own bed to sleep...but any time during the day, you know he'll end up crashing somewhere!!!

above, George decided he LOVED the water finally this year in Florida....

And, yes, look WHO thinks she is IN CHARGE of her Georgy!!! LL!!!! She'll put that arm out and let George know he's not going anywhere without HER!!! :)

George got a couple of celebrations this year...one at Easter with family......

And, one yesterday at a little play group I had for him!! He picked out a Power Ranger cake AND LOVED IT!!!! He opened every one's presents as they arrived and yelled, "AWESOME" at everything he got!!! I just LOVE this boy's heart!!! It is always filled with such enthusiasm!!

And, finally, we took George out to eat last night for his 3rd bday!!! He came home to the present we got him (pictured above): A new Race Car Garage and Ramp thing!!! He screamed and yelled with such excitement...it was so cute!!! And look at LL beside him.....She was just as excited!! LOL

****We just can't express how much we love our little George!!! (ok, I know...we love all our kids...we just think they all hung the moon :) It has been a wonderfully, blessed 3 years with my sweet George...I praise God and thank him every day for this little man in our life!!!! Happy 3rd Bday George....time is going by WAY TOO FAST!!!! :)

***Happy Tuesday to you all, kj

We're Home......(and some of my favorite pics from the beach)

We had a wonderful time!!! The weather was perfect and the beach was ALL THAT we remembered it to be!!! I so enjoyed my break away from the computer, toys, laundry, etc. The beach, the pool and the bikes were ALL the toys we needed :) !!! The kids even did well driving back home...We normally drive over night so they aren't awake, but we actually drove some while they were awake..and it went surprisingly well!!! So, without any further ado....let me share some of my favorite pics with ya:

My older 3 were a piece of cake...the girls know how to swim now and Hal is learning...so we could trust them a bit...BUT...the two babies were LOTS of work on my part!! LL decided she LOVED the water and would throw herself under water as much as possible...George even enjoyed the baby pool this time and would quickly escape as I was pulling LL up from diving under water!! They both scared me to death the whole time...but THEY had fun which is all that matters :)

LL even decided she LOVED the beach and the ocean...She would run straight for the waves and try to throw herself into them...I'd save her life to only look up and see George wandering away or stripping his clothes off (one of his favorite two year old tricks)....Neither one could be trusted a bit!! :) Again, they did have a lot of fun though....but Momma was ready to pass out each night from chasing those two down!!

This year at the beach we had Helen at 8, Julia 6, Hal 5, George 2 and LL 16 months!!!

There are so many activities to do while at this beach...We played Croquet, tennis, baseball, we flew kites...Above, we have LL in Croquet jail!!! :)

Oh, and we ran lots of races too!! :) This community also has free concerts and movies each night....it was lots of fun for the kiddos!! :)

I caught a few pics of Daddy playing Frisbee while holding LL!! She thought it was lots of fun!!

We attempted one night where we got the kids dressed up and headed to where my sister Kelly was staying so she could take our pics....These AREN'T the pics she took...I hope to get those soon...These are just some of the pics I took with my camera while in between our little photo shoot!!! Above, LL was NOT happy that I put her down...She wanted Momma to hold her!!

Yes, I have on a scarf that my two sisters made fun of and told me to take off!! I am always chilly so I thought it was cute...but THEY strongly disagreed :) They said I wasn't suppose to wear a scarf with a sundress on the beach... Oh, well...I kind of liked it :)

Above, we have 3 out of 4 of the sisters!!! Karson was at home still recovering from having her second child a couple of weeks ago..AND..packing to move!! yes, she is moving towns with a new born!! Not fun :(

Then on our last day, the kids all wore their matching tshirts!!! If we didn't already get a lot of comments everywhere we went...well...the matching tshirts seemed to send the whole town over the edge...We had people coming out of stores to look at the kids prancing down the sidewalks....LOL...it was funny!!! And, yes, we were a walking advertisement for adoption with LL on our hip!!! We had many GREAT conversations with people about adoption..I sent several new friends to our blog and video....So...who knows the hearts that were stirred!!! We shall see!! :)

And, we had a great time with the cousins all week too!! We are so glad that they could join us!! Their two kiddos completely entertain our older 3 the entire time...it was great!!!

Above, one last family pic before heading out the door!! I could have stayed two more weeks it was so nice!!!

Oh, and a HUGE thanks to our new friend Lilly from Atlanta!! This 12 yr. old girl befriended us and would come knocking on our door and go to the pool with us!! She was amazing!! She was so creative with the kids and came up with so many great games!! She LOVED LL, and we were sad to say goodbye to our new little friend!! Man, she was SO AWESOME that if she lived next door, we might actually consider using a babysitter!! :) The kids loved her and we hope to see her again some day!! Thanks Lilly for all your help...you were truly a little angel sent from above!! :)

****That's it folks!! I give all Glory to God for such a great week!! I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to travel to the beach, and I never want to take one trip like this for granted!! It was truly a wonderful family week filled with lots of lasting memories!!! Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek into our trip!!! :)

Happy Sunday to you all, kj

We're At the BEACH......

Hi ALL from the BEACH!!!!! I'm sitting atop a tower at the top of our beach home (well, you know, NOT really ours...just rented for the week :) but anyways, I can see and hear the waves hitting and it is fabulous!!! The hubby is beside me in a hammock and all the kids are fast asleep....awwww....the life :) The wind is cool and the stars are bright!! We're enjoying our little get away...and I just wanted to stop in to say: We'll be back soon and I'll post more later!! The hubby packed the computer before I could type up a good "we're out of here" post....and well, the Internet hasn't worked until i thought about climbing to the top of our tower and well...it works up here!!!!!!Yay!!!! Enjoy the couple of pics...and happy Wednesday to you all, kj

(and some of the cousins are here too.....oh, so much fun!!!!! :) kj

LL's First Egg Hunt....

It's an annual thing around these parts to make it to the "Martin Egg Hunt" each year!! This is a kind family we've known for years that opens up their back yard (which is fabulous for egg hunting) every year for our Sunday School Class Easter Party!!! It is ALWAYS so much fun, and I don't think we've EVER missed a year attending!!!! But, this year was EXTRA special because it was LL's FIRST YEAR ATTENDING...and well, her FIRST EASTER EGG HUNT EVER, TOO!!!! Above, we have all the kids READY to run for the eggs!!!!

LL DID pick up ONE egg...but quickly threw it back down and kept running....She didn't quite grasp the concept that they were suppose to make it in the baskets!!! :) Oh, well...she was having fun!!!

ABOVE, we have our ONE effort at a group family photo!!! Well, I wouldn't call it the best I've ever seen...but it took a while to gather everyone and a few weren't happy to have to stop running for a pic!! :)

Ok, they can finally break into the eggs like they wanted!!!!! I caught a rare second where they were all sitting together and NOT moving!!! Even LL GOT the hang of opening up the eggs!!! I love seeing all 5 of my kiddos together.....(and I know someone is gonna ask...so I'll just answer here....I got the girl's outfits at Costco...great clothes at VERY cheap prices :)

She thought this part was awfully fun!!!!

And, I LOVE this last pic where LL is intently looking at George cause she's gettin ready to steal another egg from HIS BASKET!!! She's waiting for the perfect second to MAKE HER MOVE!!!! :) Smart Girl!!!! :)

****Thanks Martins for hosting again this year!!! My kids look forward to it EVERY YEAR!!! And, you all can check out the Martin family at http://www.flamingobear.com/ No, they aren't adopting (as far as I know :) but Momma Martin always has great recipes and yummy treats going on on their blog!! She even made the local paper recently because of her fabulous cookin....Yes, i'm a big fan of anything she makes!! :)

***Happy Easter to you all....I think the Easter Bunny should be heading our way soon...so gotta run!!! I pray each of you have a fabulous Easter Holiday tomorrow!!! I know it will be extra special for us since we have our baby girl home this year for her FIRST Easter!!! :) Happy Saturday to you all, kj

My Latest Favorite Gotcha Day Video...Be inspired!!!

I'm so excited to show you all the new Mihnovich video tonight!!! This family inspired us a couple of years ago with their FIRST video when they adopted Baby Levi (you can find that video at the bottom of my blog page) NOW, they are home with 4 more from Ethiopia.....and their Gotcha Day video from this latest adoption just got posted!!! It is beautiful!!! I had the honor of taking them dinner today, and WHAT a BEAUTIFUL SIGHT.... The kids playing and having fun in the 80 degree TN weather!! So, what do you take for dinner for a family of 9...Hmmmm....how about PIZZA??? Yes, I did make a few things myself...but the main dish was a couple of pizzas I ordered :) Hey, they have 7 kids now...surely they all like pizza :) Their blog is www.ourunveiledfaces.blogspot.com

***Ok, that's all i've got tonight....I just stuffed 250 eggs for a Sunday School class egg hunt tomorrow...I'm pooped :) Enjoy the video....OH...and see if you can spot me in it!! :)

Happy Thursday to you all, kj