17 Months Old and 5 Months Home!

So hard to believe that this little girl

turned 17 months old yesterday and has been home with us for 5 whole months!

She seriously NEVER stops smiling or giggling- that is until she starts throwing her little tantrums and showing us her attitude!  Right now her attitude is just pure cuteness- not so sure what we will be saying about it in the months and years to come!

She still LOVES her big brother and does anything he does (which isn't always a good thing!).  They are both adjusting to our new home so very well.

And they play so well together these days.  Who knew that a HUGE pile of toys behind the couch could be soo much fun?!?

Can't believe this little princess has been with us for only 5 months- she couldn't fit into our family any more perfectly.  It's hard to imagine what life was like before she came home.  So thankful for BOTH of my littles and the joy they bring to our lives!  Happy 17 months baby girl!!

AND..... WE ARE MOVED!

Ahhh.....  finally!  A chance to catch my breath a little while the kiddos nap!  Today is the first day I haven't had a list a mile long of things I need to get accomplished and phone calls I need to make while the kiddos are asleep! We are moved!  And in the last few weeks so much has happened along with that!  Drew had a surprise 30th birthday party for me the day we closed on our new house AT the new house! It was so much fun to have so many people we love in our new home and lots and lots of kids running around and playing.  We had Zoe's dedication at church the day after we moved and lots of family came back to our house after that.  And then TODAY I became an aunt again!  My sister and her husband had their first baby this morning.   Baby Blake is soo precious and sweet..we went and visited when he was only a couple of hours new and oh how I fell in love.  As much fun as we've had in the last few weeks, we are anxious for things to slow down a little now that we are pretty much finished with the unpacking and are starting to get settled into our new home.  The kids have adjusted so well and we are really enjoying living closer to Drew's work and our church.  So... I finally got my pictures uploaded from my camera and I will warn you that this will be picture overload!

 Evan camped out in his room a week or so before our move after we took down his bunk beds.  He LOVED it.  And Zoe did too- who knew that playing on a mattress on the floor was SOO much fun?!?

This moving and packing stuff wears a guy out.  This was where I found him during his rest time- he fell asleep in the middle of playing!

 Our first outside walk of the season- hard to believe that was just a couple of weeks ago.  Now we are playing outside in summer clothes!

 She LOVES momma's phone!  The little turkey has even figured out how to unlock it!  She is as mischevious as they come!

 SMILES!

 Playing peek-a-boo in the new house! 

 We can finally play outside in the FRONT of our house now!  I never let the kids do that before since we lived on a busy street, but now we live in an addition with lots of little kids and it's been great!  Evan has already made a few friends and we have already taken several walks through the neighborhood!

 First bath in the new house! 

 Such a happy girl!

 Meeting baby Blake for the first time.  Such a cutie!  Evan just couldn't get enough of him and was so upset when we left the hospital!

HUGE yawn!

So happy he's finally here!!

CRAZY BUSY BUT OH SO BLESSED!

Well, life has been NUTS!  In the midst of all the moving details and taking care of 2 littles and our home, I was overcome with emotion today and it hit me just how BLESSED I really am.  I had just helped out with Evan's swim classes during his preschool and was running errands with little Zoe before I went back to pick him up and heard Matthew West's "ONE LESS" on the radio (the first time I've heard it since we've been home with little Zoe).  And as I kept peeking at her in the rearview mirror sound asleep while I listened to the lyrics, I bawled.  Last year at this time, we were just praying and praying for our little girl somewhere in Ethiopia, not knowing who she was yet and just hoping and praying we would see her face soon.  And now...  she is HOME and such a true JOY.  I don't know if it's the emotions of moving, emotions relating to my 30th birthday tomorrow (EEEK!), emotions of her upcoming baby dedication at our church this weekend, or just the fact that I am a super-emotional person to begin with.   But as we are getting close to the one-year anniversary of Zoe's referral, I can't help but think about what a ride this past year has been and how far we've come. Adoption is SUCH a beautiful thing.  Such a true picture of bringing beauty from ashes.  My dear friend Rachel puts it so well in her latest blog post.   It's amazing how adoption has blessed me with so many true friends throughout the world (even those I've never actually "met" in person).  We had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time with Rachel and Adam's little Kellen while we were in Ethiopia in October and I feel so blessed to call Rachel a friend.  Like Rachel says so beautifully,  "Zoe is an orphan NO MORE.  One less.  The adoption process may be mostly over, but really it's just the beginning for her and for our family.  But we aren't done.  There is so much more to do.  Use US Lord."