Fall Catch-up!

Two days after Makayla's birthday, we get to celebrate her Gotcha Day! This is the day we get to remember and the day we got to bring Makayla home with us. We let Makayla choose a doll for her gift. This is Makayla giving her doll a little breakfast.

In the November issue of Family Magazine, our family was featured in an article about adoption. They wanted a family photo to include in the magazine, so we headed into the backyard to take one. The picture only made it into the hard copies, but if you would like to read the article click here, www.michianafamilymagazine.com/The-Family-Magazine-of-Michiana/November-2010/Adoptive-Families-of-Michiana/

My MOPS table group took a field trip to pick some pumpkins. The kids had a great time! They really loved this huge spider.

Jaden and Makayla found this pumpkin "house" pretty neat too. There was a door on the other side to get in and out.

I'm not sure what Jaden thought of the donkey. He never did touch it. The woman working there did tell the kids that he bites and to be careful not to get near his head, so I think Jaden decided staying away from the whole thing was best!

Makayla was making friends as she climbed through a pile of pumpkins.

Makayla learned how to be a "special agent" from her brothers and loves to run around the house solving mysteries!

Jaden's pre-school class has been making some really cute art projects. This was their fall spider hat.

We have started an annual project around our house of making apple sauce. This year we went to an apple orchard and brought home about 50 lbs. of apples to work with. We have a bunch of apple sauce in the freezer to enjoy through the winter!

Makayla has Daddy SO wrapped around her little finger!

Here are the kids getting ready for this year's harvest festival. The boys decided to be Mario and Luigi. They were so cute. Jaden was funny, he said he did not want to use the inflatable belly that came with the costume, he would "just use this one" as he rubbed his own belly! Makayla was Princess Tianna. She would not take any other costume. I didn't realize a 2 year could be that set on what to wear! To save a few bucks on her costume I made the headband.

Here are the boys with their mustaches on. It was too much for me; I could not stop laughing!

Makayla is showing her love for Jonathan as he goes fishing for candy.

Jaden took his turn on the raging bull again this year.

After we got home Jonathan thought he would make us laugh by giving himself a uni-brow. It worked!

My MOPS group took a field trip to the local kids museum. Jaden and Makayla took their turns pretending to be dentists.

Jaden is getting really handy in the garage and LOVES helping Daddy change the tires on our car. (Winter is here now, so we need our winter tires...)

Early in November, the kids helped us with the last fall clean up. We really lucked out this year and had a beautiful weekend to work with. The temps were in the mid 50's and sunny. It turned out to be a great weekend and we got all of our fall work done in 2 days!

The kids thought is was fun to fill buckets with leaves and then put the leaves into the trash bags.

Makayla was only the one light enough to be blown away when Joe turned the leaf blower on the kids!

I made my first apple pie ever this Thanksgiving! We had some apples left from our orchard trip and I thought I would give it a try. It turned out wonderfully!

Jonathan had to make an angel ornament with things around the house for a class assignment, so I turned it into a family art project. The kids had a lot of fun making the angels and playing with the glue.

Here are Makayla and Jaden showing off their works!

Jaden's class held a little program on Dec. 4th. They sang a few songs, told the story of Christmas, and created a few art projects. Here are the kids making their crowns to signify that Jesus is our King.

Jaden was really happy with his crown!

We hope this posting finds you and your family well. This is the season to remember the sacrifice God made for us by coming to earth to be born, teach us, and then die for our sins. Please take some time this season to reflect on all God has done for you!

Merry Christmas!

My Baby Turned 2!!

It's official, my baby is no longer an infant and is now a toddler! Two years ago on October 6th at 9:21 pm Little Miss Makalya was born. It was very exciting to be there for her birth and we thank her birthmom for sharing that day with us. It was a wonderful day, it was the day God completed our family! We are so thankful for our little cutie!



Makayla is really into Elmo right now. So her whole party was all about Elmo. This balloon was bigger than she was, but she carried it around hugging and kissing it all day! (That is until Jaden turned our bedroom fan on to see what would happen if he put Elmo in it...)

This year Makayla was able to blow out her own candle. She was so excited to be a big girl!

And she even ate the cake this year! If you remember, last year she would have nothing to do with the cake. Of course she ate the cake with a fork, not her hands, to make sure she did not get anything dirty on her hands!

Here is Makayla going throught the clothes and shoes from Poppy and Mamaw.

I was so excited that they brought the original Tickle-Me-Elmo back this year. I was able to find one for Makayla. She really seemed to get excited about it and I think it is just the funniest thing! I highly recommend at least playing with one in a store if you have a chance!

Makalya is really starting to get into dolls and stuffed animals. Once we got Elmo out of the box, she would not let it go!

One of Makayla's favorite outside toys was our neighbor's playhouse. Unfortunately they had to move to Virginia and the playhouse went with them. However, before leaving Mary, David, Siena, Dylan, and Nico gave Makayla a playhouse for inside. Makayla spent the day after her birthday in and out of this house. At one point in the day, I was even demanded inside. Let me tell you it gets pretty hot in there with an adult!

I hope you all are having as much fun with your friends and families as we are with ours!

Summer is Coming to an End...

My baby tomato has grown up! This is a picture of my first home grown tomato. Too bad I don't like the taste of them...Jaden and Joe enjoyed this one. I was told that it tasted wonderful!


My tomato is not the only one who is growing up. Jonathan started 2nd grade this year! A few weeks before school was to start, we found out Jonathan's school was closing. That really sent us into a tailspin. After a few frantic days and nights of research and phone calls we found a new school that seemed like a wonderful place for Jonathan. It has the academic and the faith teachings we are looking for our kids. Jonathan is now a proud student at Trinity Lutheran School!

It was a bit of an adjustment for Jonathan. He went from 6 students in his first grade class to being one of 27 students. Luckily Jonathan knew one of the boys from basketball a year and a half ago. Not only that, a new kid in 2nd grade is one of the most popular. He had quite a few kids wanting to show him around on the first day. (Its not like when a new kid starts in 5th or 6th grade and has a hard time fitting into the established groups.) Here he is getting settled into his new desk on the first day of school.

Not only did Jonathan find a new home at Trinity, Jaden did as well. Jaden started Pre-School this year! I cannot tell you how excited Jaden was to start school. He LOVES his new class and runs into it every time we go. (He goes two 1/2 days a week this year.) His teacher tells me every time I pick him up about how well he listens and follows directions and about how well he behaves. I'm trying to figure out which boy she is talking about! Joe just says how busted his is now that we know he can listen and follow directions!

While Jonathan and Jaden were in school, I took Makayla to the salon to have her hair done. It looks SO cute and I don't have to detangle it everyday!

Here is a picture of Jonathan playing in his first football game. If you look closely, you can see him as quarterback in the middle of the picture. He is handing the ball off to one of his teammates. Jonathan is doing really well at this sport. We are so proud of him!

We hope the end of the summer is treating you and your families as well as it is treating us!

Football Season is Upon Us!

Not only has the NFL Pre-Season games started, but Pop Warner Football will have their first game in our area this Saturday! Jonathan started playing football this year and LOVES it. He is doing very well and is one of the quarterbacks for our team. He will get to play some of the other positions, but will mostly play quarterback. He thinks that is pretty cool. Not to mention his team's jerseys are in his favorite colors. He pretends they are the Indianapolis Colts all of the time.



Joe is learning all about the game by being one of the Assistant Coaches. He has really enjoyed working with the kids and learning so much about the game. I have also been learning about the background activities of the league. I am the team's "Team Mom". It has been a lot of fun for me and I am meeting a lot of parents.

New Growth

So for any of you out there who know me well, you know that I cannot grow a plant to save my life. Apparently being home with the kids has changed that a little. I decided to try to grow 2 different vegetables this summer in our backyard; sugar peas and tomatoes. I picked up some seeds, pots, soil, said a few prayers and planted away. Well, no surprise to me my peas did not make it...However, my tomatoes are doing great! I can't believe that I have grown these from seeds. The kids think it is really cool to have tomatoes growing in the backyard. Although Jonathan keeps telling me that he is not going to eat them. Jaden on the other hand is very excited for the tomatoes to grow!

We even have a little tomato growing. When I showed it Jaden and told him we have a "little baby tomato" he asked, "Where is the mommy and daddy tomato?" I think it is good for the kids to see where their vegetables are coming from. Next year we plan on growing a bunch of different vegetables along the side of our house.

Here is our baby tomato!

The boys needed hair cuts and Jaden decided that he wanted his hair cut like his brother. I think he looks so much older with his new do!

Here is Jaden showing off his new hair!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers as much as we are!

Summer Fun!

This summer has been very exciting for all of us. We have spent a lot of time with friends, out in the sun, and taking short trips (mostly into Michigan).

We picked up a motorized Corvette for the kids in a garage sale this year. It has turned out to be one of the best purchases we have made for them. All three kids really love spending time in it. They love to "drive" next door to race with Sienna and Dylan.

Jonathan's Cub Scout troop went on a fishing trip. This picture shows you one of the 10 fish he caught this day. It was a wonderful first fishing trip.

Makayla has been enjoying all of her time outside this summer!

Makayla and I were hanging out on the towels while the boys were in Lake Michigan during one of our day trips.

Some of the Indianapolis Colts football team players came to South Bend for the St. Joseph County 4H fair. We waited in line with Poppy and Mamaw to get some autographs.

Here are the two players who signed the boys caps and Makayla's coat.

The boys also road on some of the rides.

I think Jonathan was hoping he could take off in this one.

Jaden thought this train was pretty cool!

The boys also took swimming lessons for the first time this summer. On the last day of lessons, Jaden's class got to jump from the diving board for the first time. He did a great job jumping. So good, I was not able to catch him in the air, he was too fast.

Jonathan was cracking everyone up with his theatrics. This time he jumped, he yelled "I believe I can fly!"

During one of our play dates Makayla really enjoyed playing with Emmarose. She was giving her a kiss in this picture.

During the same play date, the boys were all going through the sprinklers.

Look at how much Makayla likes the sprinklers!

Look at how much all of the kids love the sprinklers!

This picture sums up our feelings on this summer so far! Hope you all are enjoying your summer as much as we are!