And....he's 5!

  My baby boy turns 5 years old today!  How is this possible?!?  Oh how we love this silly, happy, stubborn, loving, strong-willed, and tender-hearted little boy!  Here are some of his favorite things lately in pictures...

He is LOVING playing soccer.  Drew and a couple of other dads from our church are coaching together and Evan has lots of his little friends on his team.  It's been so fun!  Go team Armenia!

 

He still loves all things music and LOVES to perform and be silly...  Love this about him!

Singing for his sister- He made his microphone out of blocks- he has quite the imagination!!

Squeezing on his sister- he's a great big brother!

Smiles first thing in the morning while he's waiting for his breakfast :)  His monkey Sasquatch (in the lower left corner) is still his favorite and he still sleeps with him....

Playing outside- he loves to ride his scooter and bike! 

Oh my goodness- what a handsome little guy!  Hard to believe he will be starting his LAST year of preschool in a couple of weeks....  Bittersweet for sure.. 

Classic Evan smile :) 

Coloring with Zoe..  he's great at including her  (most of the time anyways!)

My little pirate!  We used this picture for his birthday party invitations! 

Devotions with Coach/Pastor Tyler at soccer practice.  I love that the Upwards soccer program includes Biblical teaching and values in all they do... 

Still loves Cub Cadet rides with Papa- only now he actually knows how to drive (with Papa riding too of course)!

Reading to Zoe and cousin Blake...  

 

This guy can be such a challenge at times (he gets his strong-willed personality from me and he knows exactly how to push my buttons!), but oh how I love him.  The past 5 years have been amazing and we can't wait to see how he continues to grow and develop into the person God has created him to be!  We love you E! HAPPY 5 YEARS!

Walk-a-Thon for Adoption!

I don't think it's any secret that our lives have been radically changed since we heard God's call to adopt and started the adoption process in July of 2010.  We are super passionate about advocating for the orphans around the world.  Many of you may have a heart for orphans too, but don't feel like God has called your family to adopt.  My friends..  there are so many ways that you can have a part in advocating for the orphans around the world and helping them to be placed in forever families.  Our church (Pathway Community Church) has an adoption ministry (True Vine) that is sponsoring a Walk-A-Thon on Saturday, September 8 at 9:00 am to support adoptive families and to aid the fatherless at home and around the world.  True Vine offers matching grants for adopting families, offers a post-adoption support group that’s open to the community, and last spring, shared over $3,000 for shoes, craft supplies, playground, and farming equipment for an orphanage in India.

So how can you help?  Here are 3 ways..  

(1)       Register to Walk:  Go to the PCC website and click on the "Caring for Orphans" link (http://www.pccfw.org/upcoming-events/step-by-step-walk-a-thon-adoption-fundraiser). Then just follow the registration instructions to "Join the Team".

•  To Contact Sponsors:  Contact friends and family, and simply direct them to the PCC site ("Caring for Orphans"link) to make a donation in support of adoption. You can make a donation to support yourself as well.

·        It takes just a few minutes for sponsors to make a credit card donation.
·        Raise $100 or more and earn a True Vine walk-a-thon T-shirt to wear on the day of the event.

(2)       DONATE HERE!

(3)       Come Out & Walk:  Join your fellow walkers for the walk:

·        WHEN:  Saturday, September 8th at 8:45 a.m. (The walk itself will begin at 9:00).
·        WHERE:  Parkview YMCA in Fort Wayne, IN (Meet in the parking lot)
·        DISTANCE:  Approximately 1.5 miles on a paved path

…It’s that simple. By taking just a few easy steps, you can help make a lasting impact on orphans and other children in need.

All funds raised will go to True Vine Ministries, helping children in need at home and abroad.

Oops... I've done it again!

Well.... it looks like I've let this blog go by the wayside again!  Life just always seems to get too crazy to keep on top of this!  I have actually taken a ton of pictures in the last couple of weeks and instead of doing crazy picture overload, I decided to just focus on little Miss Zoe this week.  I haven't been doing too well with keeping up with their scrapbooks and baby books lately (such is life with 2 kids!) and I wanted to document each of my littles and what they are up to right now mostly for my own memories...  Evan's turn will be next week (when we celebrate his 5th birthday- how is this possible?!)  We have been keeping busy with end of summer activities and crossing things off the to-do list with the house lately.  Life is good, but crazy and overwhelming at times for sure!  Both of my little people bring so much joy to my life, but both like to test me in their own ways too.  Little Zoe is just so bubbly and full of energy, but has also started to show us more and more her flair for the dramatic and her stubborn streak when she doesn't get her way.  It's pretty much just super cute at this age, but we'll see what we think about that when she gets a little older ;)

She instantly goes into "cheese" mode when my camera or phone is pointed at her for a picture.  Super cute.

 And this picture pretty much summarizes 2 of her favorite things- her "nee-nee" aka rocking horse and ELMO.  The girl LOVES horses and all things Sesame Street and Elmo.  Remember that stubborn streak and flair for the dramatic I just mentioned?  Well, Elmo is usually at the source of this behavior-she loves watching Elmo, but just HATES to see it end.  Elmo always ends with a little tantrum.  Life is rough I tell ya!

 Dancing- another favorite...  She loves music..  And as you can see, she loves to put on her own shoes (she has 2 different ones on in this picture).  Love this independent little girl :) She has now started saying "I do it" for lots of things when we try and help her.   

 Bubbles- another favorite.  She could literally play bubbles for hours. 

Dress up- another favorite :)

 Laying in mom and dad's bed scrolling through pictures and videos..another favorite of hers.  She loves looking at pictures of friends and family and pointing out who everyone is.  So crazy to think that this time last year, she was sitting in an orphanage waiting on a family and now delights in pointing out all her family members in pictures.  We've come a long way!! And let me tell you- this one year old knows how to work an Iphone!

 Talking and playing with cousin Blake!

 Just a little evidence of the temper tantrums and her flair for the dramatic.  For those of you who didn't believe me!

 Working outside! And so serious about it!

Zoe and her little boyfriend Liam cheering on Evan's soccer team.  Drew is coaching an Upwards soccer team with 2 other dads (close friends of ours) and 6 of the kids on their team are from our church.  It's going to be a great season.  Go team Armenia!

And... just to include big brother...  here are my 2 little loves reading together.  I need this photo evidence to remind me on certain days (like today) that they do have their moments of getting along beautifully! 

Thanks for checking in and stay tuned for an update on what Evan is up to next week!!