More pictures from Jessica's 3rd Birthday Family Party

Sound asleep on daddy's lap.

"I'm too tired for cake - even a princess cake!"

Jessica fell sound asleep in the "sea of party goers". She is not a napper, but chose her birthday party to nap in daddy's lap. We finally woke her up in time for cake. She wasn't too happy about that. By the time presents came out, she was awake and into her party ... OK, the presents!

Grandma and Grandpa Hallgren

Maw and Poppy Williams



My baby turned 3!

September 18 ... my baby turned 3! Where does time go? I so vividly remember holding her for the first time. This sweet little miracle was finally in my arms! Jessica is full of life, smiles, humor, hugs and joy! We went to the apple orchard and just had a fun time playing ... all day long! Next Saturday we celebrate with our extended family. She's loving having 2 birthday parties.

I love my presents!

I love my brother and sister!

And I love my dog too!

Thank you sweet Jessica, for bring such incredible joy to our family!

Lilly's First Day of First Grade

Lilly was SO excited for her first day of first grade! She said last night, "In first grade you get to eat lunch at school AND you get your very own desk AND I get to ride the bus home!" (Mommy's admittedly a little nervous about the bus - but she is one independent little lady and I had to give her that independence.)

Kirk, Jessica and Joshua met Lilly at the bus at the end of her day. Josh must have missed his sister because he brought her his favorite toys - Buzz Lightyear and Woody from "Toy Story".

I'm such a proud mama!

Pretty as a picture!

Happy Birthday Kirk!

What a blessed family we are to have you as our daddy!

Blowing out the candles with Daddy is so much fun!

We LOVE you daddy!

Happy 4th Birthday Joshua!

Our handsome 4 year old!

I love "Toy Story!"

Blowing out my candles ... with help from my sister Lilly.

I'm 4 and I got a "big Buzz Lightyear" for my birthday!!!

We LOVE our brother!!

It's hard to believe that our sweet boy turned four years old! He was SO excited to have family over for his "Toy Story" birthday. His joy and enthusiasm for life is infectious! He is tender hearted and always has a ready smile.
We love you dear Joshua and thank the Lord daily that He brought us together!

Simple Pictures From Today

Always a handsome man!

Love these dresses ... and the girls inside them even more!

"Oliver, you're my best buddy!"

Oliver is 6 months old now!

"I feel like a great fish owner!"

Lilly worked hard to save for her fish. Today we went and she picked it out. On the way home she commented, "I feel like a great fish owner!" Great job Lilly!

Meet Shrek the Fish

"I love my new fish!"

"Shrek the Fish" has certainly found a great new home.

Our first trip to the ER!

The children were pretending they were birds and Josh decided to "fly" off the couch. He received 3 stitches and "super glue" over his eyebrow. He was such a trooper and a brave little man through it all! I think mama cried more than he did. The exciting part for him was getting a purple popsicle at the end of it all.

You're a brave little man Joshua!

Happy 4th of July 2010!

Happy 4th of July! We spent a couple of nights in Frankenmuth with "Maw and Poppy" and then headed to the Hallgren Cottage with Grandpa and Grandma Hallgren for more fun! We had a wonderful time!

Lilly loved to fish and caught over 5 fish ... good size ones too! She and Kirk are naturals!

Josh loved to dig in the sand!

Jess loved to play in the water!

Oliver mostly barked at everything. He loved the boat the most! He's 5 months old now and is almost 40 pounds.

This picture is from Oliver's "graduation" from puppy school in June. Are they sure he should have graduated? :)

An "Almost First Grader"

For many years, I attended my nieces and nephews concerts and often wondered ..."Will I ever attend MY children's concerts?" Last night we attended Lilly's Kindergarten concert!! So many emotions ran through me and I couldn't stop the tears from forming. My baby girl ... is almost done with Kindergarten and the world is at her feet. She grew and matured this school year and has already informed us that she is an "almost first grader!"

Mrs. Kelley (her teacher) and Mrs. Piatrowski (K para) were amazing!

Our "almost 1st grader"

This picture is from Mother's Day! A day that has INCREDIBLE meaning!

All Done!

Today was the final step in Joshua's adoption - his US birth certificate! Kirk and I went to the Juvenile Hall of Justice in Detroit (yes, that is a bit of an experience), showed all his adoption paperwork and received the seal of approval from the courts! This is it ... we are all done with the paperwork for Joshua! Feels great and we have an amazing son! We pray that our children grow up to love and serve the Almighty!

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord ... plans to give you a future and a hope!"

WE ARE BLESSED!

The Buzz

Josh got his first "buzz cut" today! It really makes his beautiful eyes stand out even more.

What a handsome little man!

(The "Before" look)

Off-a-ler

Josh and Jessica can't quite pronounce "Oliver"

So they call him "Off-a-ler" :)

"Off-a-ler" continues to prove that he is a great dog ... a puppy that does all the puppy things ... but a great dog!

He is 11 weeks old in these pictures.

I watched this beautiful moment today! Ollie laid down right next to Jess and rolled over on his back. Jess rubbed his tummy for a long time and he just laid there. Good boy Off-a-ler!

Joshua nd Oliver seem to have the same love of trains. Unfortunately, Ollie likes to eat them. They are still great buddies!

If you look back to our first post of Oliver and Lilly together (March 27), you can see how much he has grown in just a month. Yep ... he'll be a big boy!

Jess and Oliver are about the same size ... for now!

Sweet Oliver!

A Blessed Easter!

Praising the Lord for the risen SON!

Happy and blessed Easter!

Uncle Ken, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Karen, Uncle Greg, Aunt Pam and our cousins came over. We had a blast with our Easter egg hunt!

Stephanie (holding Lilly), Chad (holding Joshua) and Nicole (holding Jessica)

Enjoying our treats!

Alll dressed up for a day of worship!

What a handsome man!

A beautiful little lady!

Another beautiful little lady!