Springful Thinking

The girls are in their Guatemalan dresses.

Firsts

I have enjoyed other Guatemama's posting firsts that they were able to experience with their children once they were home. I hope that this will be an encouragement to all of you still waiting that even a 19 month old has lots of firsts that we are able to experience!

1. First time to see snow, first Midwest winter, first time ever even be cold!
2. First taste of ice cream and lots of other new foods
3. First trip to a restaurant
4. First time in a car seat
5. First time to sign "Please"...a huge blessing to have her communicate in a positive way
6. First time in the U.S.
7. First time to go swimming
8. First bath in a tub
9. First time to meet her siblings or to even have them
10. First time to color
11. First birthday party
12. First visit to the pediatrician
13. First time to go to church
14. First time to say "okay" according to Hannah :)
15. First time to "talk" on the phone
16. First airplane ride
17. First time to go on stairs, she mastered up and down in about 48 hours
18. First kisses
19. First time to consistently get her to smile for pictures
20. First outings for groceries, the library, etc.
21. First time to see a dog
22. First time to be in a home other than our own (i.e. the first birthday party)
23. First time to be a U.S. Citizen
24. First Sunday School class (with us, of course)
25. First time at AWANA (she got to be Hannah's special visitor)
26. First time to meet so many that have been praying for her for so long
27. First pair of shoes that belong just to her (Not even passed down from Hannah)
28. First time to be the center of attention in a room of people
29. First time in a stroller...not a fan at first, but she does not mind the double stroller sitting by Noah
30. I got to look at the first pictures ever taken of Ellie, with her on my lap

These pictures were taken 12/01/06, just one week after she arrived at Eagle's Nest. I am so thankful to have these precious four pictures from her birth year!

To Come (Lord willing):
1. First words in English (she really does not use many Spanish words either, so most talking will be a first)
2. First time to meet grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins
3. First trip (I think it will be Wisconsin in April)
4. First Midwest Spring, Summer, and Fall (playing outside lots, fireflies, fireworks, seeing leaves change color)
5. First time to hear her daddy preach (coming this Sunday night)
6. First time in nursery (who knows when, Ellie and I are both nervous about this)
7. Holidays


There are a ton more so I will probably have a part two!

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1 ESV

This Ranks Up There with the Diamond Stud Earrings...

So I have to tell you about the gift Daniel gave me. If you are a mother of young children, I pray that you would not struggle with jealousy over this, but...

DANIEL POTTY-TRAINED NOAH!!!

Check out Daniel's blog for the full journal of the day. Noah is doing very well, with just a few mishaps, but dry at night and successful in both forms. Praise the Lord and thank you Daniel! FYI, Daniel only charges a small fee plus travel expenses to come to your home to potty train your child in a day. He is currently booked through June.

Karl, Julie, Anyi, Claudia, and Andres are now home! God has been so faithful in their family! And the kids are too precious!

Also, I apologize for the lightness of my posts lately, pictures and comments are about all that I have been able to muster up. My brain is some-what coming out of mush state, and I have several ideas of post I want to encourage you with and glorify God in what He is doing and has done in our lives thorough our adoption.

Happy Lord's Day, tomorrow!

Winter fun

Daniel has had late stuff at church for the past two nights :( , so we were looking for something fun to pass the time.

Ellie was not a huge fan of touching the squishy stuff.

The big kids had no problems, however.

Things are starting to deteriorate.

This is great shampoo, Mom!

Ellie did like the bath afterwards and is looking cute in her piggies. :)

School Adventures

Yesterday, we started up school again after our "bringing home Ellie break". With every new kid, you have to factor in some adjustment time, as we are doing now. Our school hours are much longer, but we hope to settle into our new routine soon. March is a big company month, with lots of family coming to meet Ellie, so we will attempt to work hard until our Spring Break! (Praise God for breaks!)

I have to hide Hannah downstairs, away from Ellie, or this happens when Hannah is trying to get her seat work done:"Hannah, play with me!"

Ellie seems to know what to do with crayons, she is even not too far off from holding them correctly. Austin is working to stay diligent amid the chaos.

"Look at my picture, Mama!"

I have to try to keep Noah and Ellie separated as well, or the distractions are never ending. Noah and Ellie have been fighting over these bottles all morning, and the one who has them is usually banging them together loudly. :)

Tales From Our First "Holiday" Celebrated

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mommy and the Girls

Mommy and the Boys

Ellie loves bathtime now! She is using her special Valetine's bubbles.Daniel and I found these on our pillows, left there by our red-headed sweetheart!

The Boys

The Girls

I took a shot like this last Valentine's, so of course it had to be repeated!

Hannah

Austin

Noah

Ellie

Our Blessings from the Lord

One More Step Down

We just completed our first post placement visit with our case worker...only two more to go until Ellie can become Ellie (or Elizabeth, really). All of her questions were really basic (how's she sleeping, eating, relating to siblings, etc.).

It must have wiped Ellie out because she fell asleep on my lap right after lunch, so precious!

I thought we were out of the woods with illness, and I cleaned like a mad woman yesterday to rid us of the little germy friends, but Austin had a temp. again this morning. :( It is amazing how much more I can get done when I feel good...I was so relieved that I can still get my house clean on my own even with four kiddos! Maybe we can even venture to do school with the big kids next week. :)

Just a cute shot of the kids playing. Ellie likes to sit on Hannah. :)

Ellie was mentioned on the Eagle's Nest blog...go to the EN link on the side bar, then go to "Nido blog", and click on the lastest entry about a little boy going home...scroll down to the bottom, and there she is, with yet another name! :) (Both of the names we already knew of that are listed have alternate spellings... though they seemed to be spelled differently in every update we got. :) )

I Was Worth the Wait!

Since we might never shake our sickness and get out of the house, I thought I would take a picture of Ellie in her special shirt before she outgrows it. :) January/Feb has been like this for us ever since we have had kids, so I know that it can't last forever. We have definitely had some good bonding time at home the last week and a half.

Smiling through the cold.

Back in Business Just In Time for FFF!

Lots of sick kids in our house (#1,#3, and #4 have been down with fevers and coughs)...still pretty cute even when they are sick!
Serious shot

Silly shot

The bedtime train

A full car!

Looking forward to posting more pics! I am in the clean a nose, take a temp, give out meds, clean another nose, and start over routinue, but with lots of good snuggles in between, so don't feel too bad for us!

Please pray for Karl, Julie, and their crew waiting to come home in Colombia. The courts have been closed all week, delaying their homecoming. Pray for peace, patience, and the system to reopen soon, all to His Glory!


Have a blessed weekend!

Another Pictureless Post

Something is better than nothing right? :)

I survived our first Wal-Mart trip, solo, with all four kids! It only required the special cart, with two seats in front, water bottles, two containers of pop-corn chicken from the deli, and over an hour of my time! It really did go pretty well, and I didn't notice too many amazed stares. :)

We also survived a Mommy sick-day. Hannah was down too, so it was a little rough. But with a baby gate, lots of crackers, and cartoons we got through it! I am, however, praising God that today I feel worlds better. Who wants to be sick when all you want to do is enjoy your newly expanded family!?!

Ellie did great at church on Sunday, even shared a few smiles toward the end of the morning. She stayed fairly quiet in the service, until the pastor would get a little passionate, and she would respond with a Spanish, baby-babble "amen". :)

Gotta run change the laundry and sneak in a nap while the little two are down.

So I fiddled with the blog...I love the new template, but was not wanting to get into a big project. :) You can get free templates from Matie Kay. I have so much stuff on the sides that it was more complicated than I thought, but maybe it is a start moving toward a family blog rather than an adoption blog...since we are no longer waiting 4 number 4! As long as I am fiddling, here is a picture collage that I was experimenting with also:

Day #2

I can't say that I will post everyday, but here's a report on our second day altogether:

1. Had a slow start, Daniel took the morning off.
2. Realized there was 7 inches of snow on the ground that needed to be moved from the driveway (the driveway had accumulated much more than the official 7 inches!)
3. Spent a hour collecting snow gear for Ellie and getting everyone dressed.
4. Ellie went in the snow for the first time! She did okay, but from the safety of the cleared driveway...Ellie thought it was hilarious when Daddy threw snow at the big kids(so did they)!
5. Ellie went up to her second home, CHURCH, for the first time. We had a home school Valentine's party. She stayed snuggled up to me or Daniel, but enjoyed the yummy cookies and shared a few smiles.
6. Ellie fell asleep in the car for the first time, and transfered well to her bed (yeah)!
8. Made a dent in unpacking...had to, we can't find a thing!
7. Had dinner...Decided that she is doing great with table foods(ate half a sandwich plus fruit), so I am discontinuing the baby food. We will still do the bottles, as it is great bonding time.
9. Had a tea party on the living room floor with all four kids...Ellie loves to pretend!
10. Started the bed time routine, the big kids watched a cartoon while Ellie had some independent play in the same room...this seems to be good for her. Maybe, because she can regroup and feel less pressured. She chattered to me lots, and flashed great smiles from across the room.
11. I put the kids to bed, and I think they are all asleep, now...an hour and a half later.

If you have stuck around to the end of the post, you are probably wondering where the pictures are that you came for...well, they are in camera prison. The computer will not read the card...so I will have to get my tech guy on it. I am so thankful that this didn't happen while we were gone...however, the camera is dated B.C. ...before children, when digital was pretty new! I think I got some good ones of all four kiddos, despite the fact that I was photographer and baby wrangler. The cheerleader hurkies (sp?) worked well for getting laughs.