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!!

Playdates and Amish Zoos!

This summer is just flying by much too quickly! We are having so much fun and keeping very busy!  One of my favorite parts of Zoe's adoption is all of the new people we have met and the friendships that we have formed with people who share our love for adoption.  Our friends, Jon and Amy, came over last week for dinner with their little Ethiopian beauties Jada and Adia.  This sweet family will soon be moving to Ethiopia to work as missionaries.  I'm sure they would treasure your prayers as they fundraise and transition towards living in Ethiopia.  Evan and Zoe had so much fun playing with them!

This was the best picture we could get of the 2 kiddos.  HILARIOUS!

Hugging Jada!

Hugging Adia!

Cheese!!

Sweet sleeping baby...  Last year at this time I longed to watch her sleep in her comfy bed and now I can anytime I want to!  Thank you God!

My parents asked the kids and I to go to a local zoo one day last week with them.  It is run by an Amish family and was such a neat place!  They have lots of large animals and you can get so much closer to them there than at a bigger zoo.  It was a great day and the kids enjoyed it so much. 

This little pig was literally born just hours before and the owner let the kids pet it.  So fun!

Zoe loved petting the baby deer.  :)

Feeding the goats.  She just couldn't get enough- and her bravery gave my timid little Evan the courage to try it too!

Petting a baby skunk :)

Evan practiced his cow milking skills...  

I guess that's all for now...  Happy summer everyone!!

Update in pictures!

Ok, so I know I am majorly slacking in the blog department lately.  We have just been having so much fun this summer that it's all I can do to keep up with the basic housework chores...  and the blog is put on the back burner...  so here is our last couple of weeks in pictures...

Playdate with friends- Zoe LOVED the sandpile...I had to dunk her in the lake to get all the sand off!

We watched the fireworks with friends- so fun!!

Happy girl!

Loving her first fireworks experience....  this year she is an American!

Swimming at the neighborhood pool- the kids LOVE it and we spend lots of time there!!

Crazy girl- she loves to play dress up and this is how I found her one morning!

Loving the swing!

Evan and his cousin, Ty...  2 handsome guys!

Zoe loves her cousin Hailey!

More cousin fun- we got to watch baby Blake one night!

3 generations of Baker boys- love love love this picture!

Getting ready to ride in the pod to the top of the St. Louis arch!

The view from the top!!  Beautiful, but I'm very glad I wasn't the one up there taking this picture!

My 2 littles...  :)

Zoe and Dane dancing at Kevin and Amanda's wedding.  It was soo cute!

She is just so full of joy!  

Little man being silly at the wedding reception...

 

 

 

Ok, so I will try not to wait so long before posting next time!!  Hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are!!  It's going so fast!!