Happy New Year!

Since Christy came home to us in March, you cannot imagine how many times I have heard the words, "how many days until it snows?".    So, today we finally made our little girl's dreams come true!  We headed up towards Clingmans Dome and found some snow!   Christy started yelling, "Snows are on the road!".   She and all the kids had a blast! They played hard and never complained of being cold.  

This year Luke has changed a lot.  He's gained a "twin sister" and he's loved (almost) every minute of it.  He has such a good imagination and she does too.  He's also become a big brother!  He's had a lot of adjusting to do this year.  He's a deep thinker and very detail oriented.  He's developing a new sense of humor that has us cracking up.   I also happen to think he's so cute!

Moses is our little baby!  In the 9 1/2 months he's been home he has changed so much!  He's gone through the stages a normal kid goes through only in half the time.  He went from going to sleep at every nap and nighttime on my chest to now going to sleep on his own in his bed with Ethan.  He's also very funny.  Sometimes we just look at each other because the stuff that comes out of his mouth...well, we just don't know where it comes from .  He is extremely stubborn so he's keeping us busy!  He loves to give me kisses and hugs and he pretty much makes my heart melt. 

Chad helped the kids pick some icicles.

This little girl has literally brought so much laughter to our home.  She loves to laugh, and her laugh makes others laugh!  It's the best sound ever.  Although her brothers don't love it during movies when it's so loud they can't hear. :)  She thought it was hilarious to pelt me right in the face today.  She is so full of joy! 

Ethan....I keep looking at him and thinking, "who is this person and what did you do with my little boy?".   He has grown up right before my eyes! I just want to grab him and hold him and not let go.  He's been through a lot over the last year.   He got to go to Ghana to pick up his sister and brother.   Since then, he's had a whole lot of things to adjust to.  He really struggled with Christy for awhile.  He had to figure out how to make room for her and grieve the fact that things were different than they used to be.  It was no longer just him and Luke.  Sometimes he was on the outside of whatever world they were in together.   Over the past couple of months though, he has come so far.   I see him reaching out to her, they laugh and play together, he helps her when she's struggling with something, and she absolutely adores him.   He is such a big helper around the house.  He is so sweet with Moses.   Sometimes Ethan and Christy wake up before the rest of us and I find that he has sat on the couch and read her some books!  That may not seem huge...but, to me it is.   I'm so thankful for how God has used(and will continue to use) adoption to change all of us.

SNOW ANGELS

Yuck!  But, she had to do what Ethan was doing :)

So sweet!

Happy New Year!!!!