Happy 1st Birthday Gloria Grace

Gloria Grace has had a wonderful 1st Birthday! She started the celebration this morning with her birthday pancakes :) Of course she loved them....she loves everything, well she didn't exactly love getting messy w/her smash cake :~P I will post pictures, from her party soon, but for now---here she is enjoying her birthday pancakes :)

Birthday Pancakes

I can hardly believe that tomorrow I will be making birthday pancakes for our beautiful, sweet, perfect for our family, little Colombian Princess' 1st Birthday!!

As I look back to my journal from this time last year, and see all the talking I did w/God about when I thought he should grow our family, I realize how perfect His timing is, and how He really does know what he is doing.

We will be celebrating BIG, with friends & family tomorrow evening at church. I'm excited to see what Gloria Grace does w/her very own birthday cake :) There will be lots of pictures to follow :)

While we are celebrating, I can't help to think about Gloria Grace's birth mom, "AGB." I wish I could talk to her, and say thank you for giving our daughter life. I can only imagine that the decisions she had to make were not easy. My prayer for her, is that she has no regret. That God has filled her heart with peace.

6 Month Post-Placement---Already?!?!

Seth turned 8 on January 17th, and had a total of 3 celebrations. This is a picture from the 3rd celebration. We went ice skating with friends:

January 27th, Tim celebrated his 41st birthday. His parents & my parents came over for fruit salad. Tim decided he'd had enough cake @ Seth's 3 celebrations :)

I've been so caught up in birthday business that 6 months came & went without me realizing it! I got an email from our social worker the other day reminding me it was time to do another post-placement visit....What? I thought, post-placement visit....we just did that. Well it seems like we just did it :) Then I realized that January 19th marked 6 months, since Gloria Grace was placed in my arms! Oh what a sweet day July 19, 2010 was for our family, and we are currently living "happily ever after."

Next Saturday is Gloria Grace's 1st birthday. We are going to celebrate with family & friends with pizza & cake @ our church.

Sunday after church we will have our second post-placement visit, and send pictures of our sweet daughter to our agency. I think there are 2 more visits after this one.

Here is Gloria Grace modeling her birthday outfit. This is one of the pictures I'll probably send in :)

Happy 8th Birthday Seth

I ♥ this sweet kid.

What a nice weekend we have had celebrating Seth's 8th birthday, and to think it's not over yet :)

He has chosen ice skating for his party this year, and the 2 ice rinks near-by both were holding tournaments this weekend. We will have his party next Saturday, but this weekend we celebrated w/grandparents and Amanda (our cousin) @ Logan's. The waitress let Seth pick any dessert from the menu, and announced to the whole restaurant it was his birthday. He was embarrassed, but loved every minute of it.

We started out today (his actual birthday) with our traditional birthday pancakes. Then tonight we had grandparents over again for Seth's favorite dinner--Chicken Pot Pie. A few friends from the neighborhood came over after dinner, and helped us eat some cake.

Tomorrow, Seth is bringing donut holes to share w/his class, since they were out today for MLK day.
They boys love to spread their birthday celebrations out as long as possible :)

I am happy to let them.

A Precious Gift.....

Not Exactly What I Wanted For Christmas

I started having a little bit of a sore throat Saturday night right before I went to bed. I thought it was probably from cheering on the boys at their basketball games. Seth played 1st Saturday morning, and scored 2 baskets :) Coy played that afternoon, and was on fire with defence. Both boys teams won. I do my fair share of cheering/yelling from the bleachers, so I figured that was where my sore throat came from. It was only slightly scratchy Sunday, but when I woke up for work on Monday morning it was still sore. I worked all day Monday with a cough drop in my mouth, and even drank some hot tea w/honey. I talk all day, pretty much non-stop @ work, so I figured that was why my throat was feeling worse. After my 13 hour shift, I called Tim on my way home & told him that I was going to come in & take a hot shower & go straight to bed. He was sweet & had hot chicken soup waiting, when I got home. I drank it, and went to bed.

I coughed on & off all night long. I woke up to get ready for work Tuesday morning, and my temperature was 100.5, and I was now aching all over & nauseated. I called work to let them know I wouldn't be there, took some tylenol and went back to sleep on the couch. When I woke up a little later I felt as close to "dying" as I ever have. I was able to get an appointment with my BFF, who happens to be a Nurse Practitioner. I tested positive for the flu :( YES I took the flu shot this year. I always take a flu shot, I'm a nurse. I take care of sick people. I've never had the flu before now, and hope that in the future my flu shot works.

I did start on Tamiflu Tuesday. It has helped speed my recovery, but this flu has kicked my bootie! I've been wearing a mask (which Gloria Grace finds comical). I've pretty much just laid around. Simply taking a shower wipes me out.

My sweet mom came & got the goodies I planned to give our neighbors sorted out & packaged to give them. Tim delivered them. Mom also took my grocery, and last minute Christmas shopping list & took care of that, too. My mother-in-law made us some soup. Glad to have so much help.

I am hopeful that tomorrow I have the energy I need to begin preparations for Christmas dinner (which is at our house). I also hope to feel well enough to go to Christmas Eve Services at church. I will not cough on anyone, or shake any one's hands :)

I also can not wait to be well enough to give Ms. Gloria Grace a big fat kiss!

Thankful, that the rest of the family has not gotten sick. Everyone started on Tamiflu, except GG, because she is too little. She did get the flu shot, but so did I.

Praying that your house is well for Christmas.

The Christmas Season

Sometimes I find myself going through the motions. Just going along living everyday life. Then there are times when I take a moment to stop, and take it all in. Tonight, as I listened to Tina Hutchinson sing Mary Did You Know, I had one of those moments.

I have really just been going through the motions of the "Christmas Season." I just haven't quite been able to "get into it." Tonight I realized why. It's because I know the true reason for celebrating Christmas. It's not just so we can shop, and buy our kids things they don't need.

This year I'm feeling more convicted than ever about it celebrating Christmas the world's way.


I have already received The BEST gift (not GG, although she is a close second)....Jesus is my savior, and because of Him I need nothing more.


I am thankful for the additional gifts He has given me. . .

Merry CHRISTmas!!!