Halloween

Our first camp out with our new tent (and we chose Halloween night). We even had a full moon!

Zach and Hannah enjoying the screened in "porch" :-)

We roasted hot dogs and had smores and Halloween cupcakes!

After the sun went down, it was off to "trick or treat". We went to a neighborhood near by and the girls had a blast. All the families were out in their yards and there were kids galore!

Scary lion????

The lion and the butterfly....

............................................................................................

Later that night, after the girls were in bed, John and I sat by the fire. We thought about how much John's Dad would have loved to have been there. He loved the outdoors and everyone knew Papaw for his great campfires. John's Dad passed away a year ago this Halloween. Hopefully we can make this a tradition in honor of him. We miss you.

My birthday celebration!

We recently celebrated my birthday! My family made it very special for me. Several birthday parties, very thoughtful gifts, and lots of yummy deserts. John even made me my favorite meal (Thanksgiving)!

---------------------------------------------------------

But these are the gifts I am most thankful for:

Precious smiles!

Chloe's Birthday Celebration!

We recently celebrated Chloe's 3rd birthday! We had some Hungry Howie's Pizza (yumm) and cake and ice cream! She is such a joy and a blessing and is always so pleasant and appreciative! Happy Birthday Chloe, mommy and daddy's sweet angel!

Chloe got some Poppy Dip dresses for her birthday! Check out the link to the left, these dresses are hand made and absolutely gorgeous! Chloe loved them and she loves to spin in her new skirt!

Homeschool Update

PRAISE GOD!! Homeschooling is going very well for Bethany. I know we just started recently, but the changes we’ve seen already are HUGE!! She is motivated, taking initiative, getting her work done (without begging – in fact, sometimes she even works ahead :-), excited about learning, and smiling, smiling, smiling. Although if asked, she may tell you she’s actually doing more work than she was at school and taking more subjects, she is not stressed and worn out like before. Her personality and character are blossoming right before our eyes! I am just so thankful for this process! What an answer to prayer!

Chloe's Birthday Week! - Celebration One (more to come:-)

We celebrated Chloe's upcoming 3rd birthday with Grandpa and Mimi (at their new house), Nonny and Daddy Jim, Justin, Quinn, Josh, Jill and Cason! Happy Birthday sweet Chloe!!

A new journey!

Thought we'd let everyone know that we are on a new journey! Our sweet middle schooler is now a homeschooler! Today is the first day of school with her new teacher (Daddy). They both agreed that I could be the Principal :-) There were many reasons behind this decision, which I won't go into now...but, most importantly, we wanted to be a part of growing the love of learning with Bethany! Please pray for guidance and patience as we embark on this journey!

Gabbrielle's Adoption Day!!

We recently celebrated Gabbrielle's Adoption Day!! What a blessing she is to us!

This is not "normal" eating practices in our home, but we decided today it was OK!

Always making me smile :-)

These are the moments....

I had a really sweet moment with my Chloe girl this morning. She was getting ready to leave for gymnastics with Daddy and she came running into my office, gave me a big hug, put her little hands on my cheeks, kissed me and said "I'll miss you." My heart melted on the spot and it brought me to tears. God is soooo good!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adoption Update: I haven't updated in a while. We have everything turned in for Gladney and our dossier. We are waiting for the final home study report, which will be the last piece for Gladney, the dossier and CIS. They told us we should have that in the next couple of weeks, so we are getting closer!

Labor Day with Grandpa and Mimi!!

We had a fun and relaxing Labor Day hanging out in the pool with Grandpa and Mimi!