2 years ago today ...

the Lord blessed us with our amazing son!!! It is hard to believe that 2 years have passed since that difficult, yet amazing day! I'm always drawn back to thinking about his foster family in China on this day. We are incredibly thankful for their vital role in his life! They taught him how to give love and be loved. They taught him who Jesus is too. The Foster Care Network in Guiyang continues to provide loving homes for children who otherwise may never know the love of a family. Joshua is kind and tenderhearted as a result of their constant expression of love!

Today, Josh said to me ...

"Mommy, you picked me?"

"Yes, from all the babies in the world ... the Lord gave YOU to us!"

"You saw other babies?"

"Yes"

"And you picked me?"

"Yes, from ALL the babies in the world, we picked YOU!"

"I'm SO happy!"

And happy he is ... always ready with a hug and snuggle!

Thank you Lord for this indescribable gift!

 



Josh's foster parents - amazing servants of the Lord!
"Gotcha Day" - March 20, 2009



Still my favorite picture taken in China.
This was taken the day after his "gotcha" as he was looking out
our hotel window.
I am confident that he was looking for his Chinese family.
I so much wanted to take away his pain.
Praise the Lord, 2 years later, we can look at pictures
from China with joy and thankfulness.




His eyes tell a different story today!



Let's take a picture on your "gotcha day" -
I'm going to wave mom!

New bikes!

The smell of summer is in the air. Lilly needed a new bike (she's grown SO much!) and we put Josh's bike together. Jess got a new basket and helmut. We had a blast! Still a little cold, but that didn't stop us!

Snow much fun!

Nothing like 10 inches of snow and fort building!

"I'm the king of the snow pile!"

LOVE!

Happy Valentine's Day!

LOVE ... LOVE ... LOVE



Lilly and Jess played dress up and Lil did Jessie's hair.
Pictures don't quite capture the "do". :)



Hair cuts!

Today Josh and Jess got hair cuts. I love Joshua's hair shorter, but cutting Jessica's was a little difficult for me. I love her long curls. But it was thin at the bottom and was getting difficult to brush and manage. So we went for it and it turned out adorable! Yes, taking off 4 inches meant taking off her curls, but she is bouncing around like the energizer bunny!

Before ...

After! What a handsome little guy!

Before ...

After! Sweet little princess!

Lilly's 7!

Lilly turned 7 today! It is so amazing to see her learn and grow! She is reading like crazy and full of energy. She always worries because she is "tiny" - I remind her that someday she'll love being petite!:) On her birthday, we had a little party for our immediate family. We had the blessing of having Auntie Krista, all the way from Germany, join us!

We hosted a tea party for some of her classmates and friends. Grandma Hallgren, Auntie Melany, Auntie Kathy, Nicole, Stevie, Sami (Nicole's college roomie) and Tante Heidi (my dear friend), were on hand to help with the festivities. The girls dressed up in fun hats, drank tea, made bracelets and key chains, decorated cookies and simply had fun! As one of the girls left, I heard her tell her mom, "That was the best!"  That made me smile.

My sweet girl is growing up so fast!



Legos!!! Just what I wanted!

Auntie Krista was home from Germany and was able to celebrate Lilly's birthday with us!
What a special treat!

Lilly had a tea party for her "friends" party. The girls were absolutely adorable!
They enjoyed dressing up and actually drinking tea. However, lemonade
quickly became the favorite.



Jess loved the dress up hats.



Josh enjoyed hanging with the ladies too!



Lilly and her friends preparing for the fun!

The lovely ladies!

Happy 6th Anniversary and Happy 2011!

It's hard to believe that 6 years ago today - I married my best friend! In those short years, the Lord has blessed us with 3 amazing children!! I'm still in awe of the Lord!

Williams Christmas!

This year we hosted the Williams Family Christmas. Greg and Pam have moved to Holland, MI. and were unable to join us. We sure did miss them!

We had a wonderful day of just hanging together and celebrating our Savior's birth! Every year I am reminded of the blessing of family! What an incredibly FUN FUN FUN day! Lilly, Josh and Jessica had a blast with their cousins who graciously played with them all day!

Maw and Poppy sure are loved!

Stevie made us each our own special cookie.
They were delicious and certainly didn't last long!



Cousins!



The Crawford Family ... and honorary Crawford, Lilly.



The Skarjune Family



Auntie Karen lovin' on Jessica and Lilly.

Kirk ... in one his favorite places ... the kitchen.
He created an amazing aroma in the house!
He's an awesome cook and loves cooking for people.

Nicole lovin' on Josh!

Jessie loves her twirl skirt!

Fun with the cousins!

My sweet and precious family.
It still brings tears to my eyes when I see a family picture!

Christmas Morning!

Christmas morning was WONDERFUL! The children actually slept in a little. :) Once they were all up, we all anxiously went downstairs to see what "Santa" left us! We feel incrediblly blessed that we were able to give each one what they hoped for. We then feasted on yummy Christmas Rolls - a tradition we've had for years. We spent the entire day in our jammies and had fun with our new toys and simply enjoyed being together.

I am so thankful for my family! For years, I woke up alone - in a house by myself. There is nothing like the beautiful sound of children squealing with delight! Thank you Lord!



Josh wanted wanted a Buzz Lightyear bike!



A doll house for Jessica. All the children enjoyed playing with her house. Kirk and I spent 3 hours putting it together.
How come Santa didn't do this???

Lilly received her DSi. She's growing up and so are her toys!

Hallgren Christmas!

Today we went to Grandma and Grandpa Hallgren's house to celebrate Christmas. Silly me ... forgot my camera!!! :( We had a fun time with family and sat around eating delicious food, yummy treats and simply enjoying being together. The children were able to spend time with their cousins they don't get to see often. Fun times for sure!

Now we can really sing ...

"All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth ... my 2 front teeth ... my 2 front teeth. All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth ... then I could wish you Merry Christmas!"

Do you remember that old song? We are singing it a lot in our home right now.

Lilly was also very concerned because the weather is so very cold and snowy right now. I heard her ask Kirk, "Daddy, do you think the tooth fairy has a warm coat?" He assured her that the tooth fairy would be warm and cozy!



Here's my second front tooth!

 

Jessica kept checking her teeth to see if one was loose too. In time baby girl!



Happy 6th Gotcha Day Sweet Lilly!

It is so hard to believe that another year has gone by! There is not a moment that I don't thank the Lord for the incredible gift of Lilly. She is SO full of smiles, laughter, humor, joy and pure love. Thank you Lord for this beautiful little girl you have given us! Thank you that she knows who you are! Thank you that she is bold in her faith and teaches me all the time how to live for you! Thank you that she has a teachable spirit, but yet seems to always teach me! Thank you for her beautiful (toothless) smile!

This is what I was wearing on my "gotcha day" - I've grown!



I'm a happy happy girl!

 

Lord ... I am humbled that you chose me to be her mom. Words cannot express how proud I am to be her mom ... how proud I am to be a mom to 3 beautiful children! Nothing is sweeter than the sound ... "mommy!"

All I want for Christmas ...

is my 2 front teeth! OK, I've only lost one so far, but the other one is super loose too!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!



FAMILY!



Maw and Poppy Williams



Grandpa and Grandma Hallgren

The children were SO excited to see Santa. Lilly ran right up to him, Jessie cried but would allow us to stand next to him, Joshua simply refused to go anywhere near him. Maybe next year!



We found our tree!!