Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, and Flag Football Begins

Even though we have all been desperately waiting for that telephone call that will tell us we are one step closer to bringing our Selah home forever, life goes on...and with the energetic and loving little guys God gave me, it goes on packed full of silliness, happiness, and busyness!!! I am so thankful for Zachary and Landon. They keep my days incredibly busy and they simply just do not give me many moments for self-pity and sadness. Their joy is contagious and God has been using them to teach me how to wait with grace!

Making Gingerbread Houses is a very messy, but fun annual tradition of ours!

Zachary's grade level had a fun Christmas Play called Elfis and the Reindeer! Very Cute!

Zachary performing at his first piano recital and fancy pancakes made by Chef Daddy on Saturday morning!

Some of the wonderful women in my life that celebrated Selah's hopefully soon homecoming. They are all amazing women! And...two cute runners for the Fulton Snowflake Sprint!

I got the chance to have a nice night out with my handsome husband! We attended the annual Christmas Party hosted by his work.

Look at my two babies so grown up! They looked so handsome for Christmas Eve!

Zachary, Landon, and their cousins Haylie, Ashlie, and Caeden.

Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad!!! They just get cuter over the years!

Each year the boys leave a letter for Santa along with the milk and cookies....socks to keep Santa's toes warm on the long journey....oh, yes, and this year Zachary decided Rudolph needed a special blanket to keep warm!!! I love their gentle hearts :-)

There is the Santa and Friends spread before the boys go to bed, finally, at around midnight! I told them Santa was going to skip our house because they were up so late!!!

Look what Santa left! The boys had been good this year, so they did get their special requests, but Santa came through with a new book from Lisa Tawn Bergren! He brings us one of her books every year! This year her new one is called "God Gave Us So Much!". We LOVE Lisa's books. I have a post on my adoption link about her books and how special they are to us!

Look at the special present Daddy got from Selah this year! Even though she's not here with us yet, she definitely is his little princess! He would move mountains to have her home.

We had one more stocking hanging by the fireplace this year. Selah's is waiting for her still.

Happy 6th Birthday, Landon!!!!  One birthday at TGIFridays and the other at Grandma and Grandpa Simmons' house! What a blessed little guy :-)

And finally....I always said (even up to a couple of months ago) that MY boys would NOT play football because I couldn't bear for them to get hurt or to possibly hurt others. Many told me it would be inevitable because they are really tall and strong boys, but I still insisted! As you see, I lost...my BABY turned 6 and started playing football! At least it's only flag football...do you think I'd be able to stick to my words if I just insist upon flag football forever and NEVER tackle?! Hmmmmm.....

Happy New Year to All! May 2011 be full of wonderful blessings! I am praying that in 2011 many children leave orphanages and come home to their forever families! I pray that God moves BIG this year!

Halloween Fun 2010

A free greeting card by Smilebox

Getting Away

Our school district is on a year-round schedule so we just finished a two-and-a-half week fall break. It was such a nice break from the busy routine of school and extra curricular activities! Sometimes we really find ourselves just waaaaay overcommitted so taking the step back every few months really helps out A LOT!

 This break we headed up north to Overgaard, Arizona. I have always loved nature - growing up in northern Minnesota on a fishing lake kind of made the "tom boy" in me come out! As an adult, though, my two favorite getaways are the mountains and the beaches. When I hear the whispering of the pine trees or the rhythmic rolling of the ocean's waves, I feel so at peace and so near to God. So, at a much needed time, we headed to the mountains where I got to hear lots of whispering pines and God was faithful and He met me right there!



We were finally able to head up with some dear friends for the weekend and then the boys and I hung out on our own the rest of the week while friends and Daddy headed back down the mountain. It is so fun to watch the boys just enjoy being boys. They run, play, dig, yell, collect, and get absolutely dirty and it is perfectly fine! They don't have to worry about cars hitting them, windows being broken by their football, or the limitations of our block walls down here in Phoenix. And I get time to hang out on the porch with my Bible, or another good book, or even the latest copy of "People" magazine! It is FANTASTIC! 

The boys and our sweet friend decided to make ornaments for the trees. The drew on old 2x4's, the Dad's cut them out, and the Moms and big sisters used string and thumbtacks to create hangers. bunch we all are! What a creative bunch we all are! Note how they made a ton for in honor of our sweet Selah!

 



Look at this large furry "friend" we found visiting us!

Look! The colors of fall! That is a treat for us since it doesn't actually happen in Phoenix (the Valley)!

  

                    

Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee!

Let the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord.

For the Lord is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.

Psalm 98:7-9



A Cardinal Kind of Celebration!

Our school participated in a competition to win some big time grant money from the NFL. They had a week-long celebration of fitness and the Arizona Cardinals!! They loved logging their hours of fitness at school and home and I loved how it made them aware of the importance fitness plays in health. They would come home from school, have a healthy snack, finish their homework, and then head back out for some kind of exercise! I didn't even hear mention of the computer or tv! Very cute! Friday was the best because of a huge celebration for the first 20 minutes or so of the day where  the entire student body did the "Cardinal Shuffle" (remix dance version of the Cupid Shuffle). I just couldn't get enough of watching them dance and have the time of their lives! Here are a couple of cute pictures I took during the Friday morning celebration. Notice the boys have Bible verses written on their black out stuff under their eyes! Proud Mommy Moment for me 'cuz it wasn't even my idea! They love Kurt Warner and the way he speaks out about his faith and they love Tim Tebow and his example of writing the verses on the black out, so they put their two favorites together for this celebration! Thanks Kurt and Tim for being great role models for our children and for honoring God in all they do!

A Six Month Summary!

Because I am such a creature of "order", I just couldn't bear to pick up here right now after six months of not keeping up! So....because really writing it all would be a littly crazy, I thought I would post pictures of the highlights of our lives while we were waiting for our Selah... That, I felt would fulfill my need for order and then I could proceed to TRY to keep up with our lives more regularly!

                     From January to March the boys participated in Upward Basketball which is a Christian athletic organization. It was so much fun and the boys not only improved their basketball ability but they spent time learning more about the Lord through devotions and memory scripture verses.

Boardbreaking event at Karate for Zachary

Learning to Skate!

Daddy's Birthday!

 Happy Valentine's Day! He's the cutest Valentine's present EVER!

Enjoying the snow up north in Overgaard, Arizona

The Harlem Globetrotters! What a fun night!

Zach asked his friend to bring a stuffed animal, book, and blanket to donate to Project Night Night. He decided on his own that he didn't need anymore gifts and that he would rather give something to children who are in need. I just love his heart...he is such a treasure!

Easter Sunday

A Sun's basketball with Reach Basketball.

Celebration of learning at Landon's preschool.

Landon had a ladybug obsession and talked me into ordering 1500 ladybugs! They were everywhere!

We went on a Disney Cruise in May! It left on Mother's Day so it was quite a treat and it also was in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary! I am truly blessed!

 

These boys were meant to be on the beach....funny we live in the desert!

A trip to Sacramento for a family wedding. It was beautiful there!

  

Summer fun in the pool!!

 

Exploring and fishing up north...no more snow, only beautiful weather! A needed break from the heat in Phoenix!

Back to school at the end of July...such a quick summer. Zachary is in 3rd grade this year and our little (but VERY tall) Landon went to Kindergarten! I can't believe how fast time flies!

February to August....all in order :-)