Smiles

I love this little toothless grin I get from my little man! He just lights up my day with his smile and is so darn cute with a tooth missing up front.:)

adoption update:
We have been going through our photo album of Elijah daily. Yesterday we brought up the highchair from the basement for Elijah. We haven't got a court date yet but that hasn't stopped us from getting ready for our little peanut. He has a dresser full of clothes and a couple months of diapers so far. Jimmy has made sure he has plenty of toys and even bought him the cutest Touch and Feel book when he went Christmas shopping with his class. I can't believe that tomorrow it will be 2009 and SOON we will be adding another precious child to our family!

Christmas

Caleb is pretending that the box is a car wash. He is totally fascinated by carwashes now.:)




Jimmy is wearing a Batman ski cap given to him from Ben. He loves it!



Sound asleep Christmas evening.:)

Frosting cookies

SANTA

Caleb went to his daycare Christmas party this afternoon and saw Santa. He is coming down with a cold so he wasn't feeling the greatest, but he sure was excited to see Santa.
Caleb maneuvered his way past all of the kids to go up and give Santa a hug! Santa picked him up and started talking to him.:)



Here is Caleb with Santa. This time he waited his turn.:)

Jimmy and Caleb's day

Today, Jimmy was a bell ringer for the Salvation Army. It was his first time and he really liked it. It was sooooooo COLD though, so I rang the bell while he went into the store to warm up. I was so proud of him! Note the baseball cap again, this time on top of the Santa hat?:)


This is Caleb before I took him to school. He had his Christmas program today. It was very cute! Unfortunately, I didn't get a good closeup picture of Caleb at the program. They turned out too dark. He did well, especially when they played the kazoos.
Here is Caleb with George (a gift from his teacher). After we read "Merry Christmas, Curious George", we put the Christmas hats on.:)

"Tooth All Gone"

Caleb lost another tooth. He lost it at school and they put it into a small little tooth container. When I opened it up to show him, he took it out and tried to put it back in his mouth again.:) He put it under his pillow and the next morning looked under the pillow, expecting to see his tooth. I showed him the money that the Tooth Fairy left for him but he wasn't interested. He wanted to find his tooth. He was looking all over his bed. Then he wanted to know if it was in our truck, so he asked me "Tooth truck?" I tried to explain to him that the Tooth Fairy gave him $ for his beautiful tooth. He was okay with that, but still didn't totally understand. He proudly has been showing everyone where he lost his tooth and tells them "Tooth all gone!"

A Christmas Story

Our Friendship Ministry presented the first Christmas Story tonight. We all had a wonderful time.
Brandon

Caleb

Notice Jimmy's baseball cap that is still on under his crown?:)

Devon

Caleb's Pow Wow and a couple of turkeys

Aren't these the cutest turkeys? Caleb made the turkey in the frame and Jimmy made the turkey next to it . Jimmy made his at his Friendship Ministry group.



Caleb with his class at their kindergarten Pow Wow.



Too Cute!



Mommy and her little "Brown Bear".:)

Getting ready for Elijah

I miss little Elijah so much. Some days are harder than others. I really miss him in the evenings because I know that he is just getting up and ready to start his day. I wonder if someone is holding him and making him smile. Are they singing to him and taking him to play in the ball pit? I pray that he is loved and happy and stays healthy until I can bring him home. Caleb smiles every time we say Elijah's name in our prayers. I refer to him as baby Elijah to Caleb because Elijah is so small. I know Caleb will make a great big brother. Jimmy is ready for Elijah to come home too. Everytime we go shopping, he picks out toys and asks if we can buy them for Elijah. Needless to say, Elijah already has an impressive collection of toys waiting for him. His Rockin Puppy came in the mail yesterday, I can just imagine the smile he will have on his face when he rocks on it.:) We should get a court date soon, so it won't be long now until our little Peanut is home!:)

Happy Thanksgiving and being thankful

My computer is being repaired because a certain little someone got it all wet. But thankfully I had bought a warranty to cover accidents such as this, so it is being repaired for free.:) They say it can take up to 4 weeks though....UGH!

Still waiting for a court date and still shopping for our little peanut.:) Today we go and pick up his dresser and then we will decide on a crib! I am so excited to bring him home! Kris, I ordered his Rockin' Puppy yesterday:):).

I pray that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful weekend! I am thankful for my family and friends and for all of my online friends, especially my Reece's Rainbow friends! I'm also thankful for warranties and insurance since Ben lost his cell phone in the same week as the computer accident! Boys, Gotta LOVE 'Em!!!!!:):)

Spaghetti...and some green stuff

Caleb loves almost everything especially spaghetti! Here he is showing how happy he is with tonight's dinner.:) He loves salads too but that took a little while. I remember one time when I put some salad on his plate and he shook his head and said "No Leaf!" LOL! Now he loves the stuff. He doesn't care for broccoli though. One night after I put some on his plate, I caught him picking it up from his plate and putting it back into the bowl. Too funny! He's my sweet boy!
Still waiting for a travel date for my second trip. There's another little sweet boy I can't wait to hold in my arms again!!!

I've been tagged!

7 random things about me.........

1. I love the smell of horses.

2. My all-time favorite cartoon is Winnie the Pooh.

3. I love chocolate, but not chocolate cake.

4. My favorite color is blue and I hate purple. I think I am the only girl
that does not like purple.

5. All of the dogs I have had and still do, have had people names. (Jacque, Nickolas,
Brandy and Mikey)

6. I love thunderstorms in the summer, the real big ones that shake the house!

7. I write with my right hand but throw and catch a ball and dribble a basketball
with my left.

Jimmy is 22!

This is the cake he chose to share with his class on Friday.:)






Jimmy is 22 years old today. He gets so excited about his birthdays and it makes them that much more fun to celebrate! Caleb says that Jimmy is "Two Two." On Friday, Jimmy's class celebrated his birthday early by going to see Madagascar 2 and then coming back to school to have cake.:) Today we had grandparents come over for cake. Then we went out to eat. Jimmy loves to be sang to in the restaurants so he chose Joe's Crabshack. I can't believe I walked out of the house and had forgot my camera.:( Jimmy looked so cute with the silly hat on they gave him to wear. They introduced him and he waved and grinned from ear to ear.:) I have to say this kid of mine makes my heart smile, especially on days like this. He truly is a gift from God!
Happy Birthday Jimmy, I love you!!!!

Happy Halloween

Caleb chose his own Halloween costume this year. I think it was because Ben and I were deciding what we would like Caleb to be. I wanted him to be a Hotdog and Ben wanted him to be a Banana. I think Caleb heard us and panicked because he started pointing and yelling "Doctor, Doctor!" LOL! I was so excited that Caleb chose his costume by himself.:) I have to say that Caleb loves our pediatrician too. When I ask him what he is going to be for Halloween, he would say "Dr. Singh". So here is Caleb as a Doctor and Ben as a Pirate and Jimmy as Davey Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Thank You!!

These are just some of the gifts that my friend Jody sent for Elijah and Caleb. She made these Thomas the Tank Engine blankets. Aren't they beautiful? They are so soft too! Caleb loves the puppy and I know Elijah will too.:) She even sent Caleb a Thomas Bingo. Caleb loves Thomas! He picked it up right away to check it out.:)
Thank you Jody for being so thoughtful and generous!

Home

I got home last night around 1:00am. I didn't go to sleep until 3:00am and then back up at 7:00 so I could go pick up Jimmy and Caleb at 9:00am. I didn't have to pick them up that early but I have missed them so much, I wanted to. Ben was already home since he picked me up from the airport. I figured out I have only slept 4 hours since Friday at 7:00 pm. Europe is 11 hours ahead and I had been up since 6:00am their time. I'm beat but it feels so good to be home with my boys. I had to do some grocery shopping and I also excitedly picked up some diapers size 3, some long underwear (size 12 months, probably a little big:))and a really nice diaper bag.:) Poor little Caleb is not feeling very good but of course he gave me a huge smile for the camera anyway. Jimmy was so excited that I flew in to NY. I'm glad I brought him a Statue of Liberty. Here are some pics of today.:)

Ready to Go

I am leaving for Europe tomorrow. I am so excited to meet my new little boy! Elijah is just a little peanut who has turned two years old recently. He is younger than Caleb was when I brought him home. Elijah is absolutely adorable and I can't wait to hold him in my arms and tell him that his Mama is here. I am unable to post any photos of him until the adoption is complete.:( I wish I could show you how beautiful he is. He really is precious!!

This will be the first time that I have been away from Caleb, even for a night. He is staying with friends of ours who just adore him, so I know that he will be loved and have fun while I am away. But I will MISS him terribly. He will be coming with me on my second trip though, when I return to pick up Elijah.

This trip will be an adventure, that's for sure. . The morning after I arrive in Europe, I will have my appointment and then I will be able to see Elijah that same day.:)

This has been an amazing journey, one that has had its share of bumps and disappointment along the way. God had a plan for me that was different than the plan I had for myself. I didn't understand it at the time, but I accepted it as I waited to see God's plan unfold. When I look at Elijah's photo, I now understand. This beautiful little hidden angel was waiting for us all along. God is Good!

"I say this because I know what I am planning for you," says the Lord. "I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future."
Jeremiah 29:11 NCV

Caleb is SIX:):):)

Caleb on his new mini trampoline. He loves it!


Caleb is singing to his musical "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" Book.







Caleb turned 6 today! My beautiful, wonderful, bright, loving, charming, and funny little boy is 6 already! We celebrated with a party on Saturday with some friends. Caleb loves to blow out the candles on the cake, but the cake he can do without. He's not crazy about it. But he does love his ice cream so he ate that with a big smile on his face. We were lucky to have a 75 degree day so he got to play with his friends in the backyard. He opened his presents on the deck which was pretty cool for an October birthday in Michigan. His favorite was a truck that played music and bounced and then took off. When friends asked me what he likes, I told them anything that makes noise. Caleb got some noisemakers from us too. We had to have a Diego theme for his birthday. He just loves Diego! Here are some pictures from his party and today.