Items For Orphanages

Still no embassy date yet, and we plan on writing to our Senator this weekend as we feel our case is at a standstill. Our agency is supportive of this as well. In the meantime, please continue praying for Sol, that God would keep him healthy & safe. He's legally ours, and it's a very weird feeling to know that we have a child that we're not able to protect, watch over, or bring home. Several people are asking how they can help. Pray!!! We're trusting in God's timing and in the meantime, collecting items to give to the orphanages when we finally go to pick up Sol.

If any of you would like to donate, we're planning on taking suitcases full of diapers, formula and the requested items of
• Lice shampoo
• Clotrimzole cream
• Diaper rash cream
• Multivitamin drops for infants

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Girls' Bedroom Tour

The girls room was somewhat easy to decorate because I already had the bedding that I loved. However, the shape of the room is odd...very long and narrow. Meghan helped me pick out a rug from The Carpet Mill, curtains & the swing from Ikea and from there I was inspired on my own. I re-painted Ellie's white dresser and stuck that in the closet. I moved Saedi's dresser into the boys' room & replaced hers with the cubby unit from Target. The cubby is great because she can maneuver the baskets easier and clothes stay more organized. Saedi picked the pink baskets, which happily go with the pink paint that the girls chose.

The map on the wall is my favorite part of the decor. I found the old map at Paradise Point Marketplace on the way home from the Barren River Lake State Park in Kentucky when we vacationed with The Moons. Nat and I were hot, swollen and a month away from birthing our boys. I bought this map and she bought a similar one as well, so there's a it of sentiment that goes along with it. And, it just so happens that we're working on memorizing the States and Capitals with the girls so it's PERFECT!

Fun Reading Swing

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Central Park

Sunday was the kids first jaunt into the city! We spent most of the morning playing in Central Park, and Uncle Kyle linked up with us too. We walked around Times Square, ate ice cream & then hit up Rockland Bakery on our way home. Fun Sunday!

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Kindergarten

Friday was Ellie's first day of Kindergarten! When I asked her what she was most excited about, she said, "Wearing my new clothes & my necklace from Mimi." She is her mother's daughter!

Riley got dressed up and took the girls out for coffee & donuts the morning of their first day. Ellie was up, dressed, teeth & hair brushed, & accessorized by 630 am waiting at the front door for Daddy to return from his run. She was jumping off the walls excited for her first day! Saedi, our sleep-lover, had to be woken up...just like most mornings.

Ellie's necklace that Mimi made for her first day

The girls standing outside the Post Chapel, where our co-op meets every 2nd & 4th Friday. Yes, we decided to home school again this year & we're all excited about it!

Our story...Originally, we had registered Ellie for Kindergarten and like in past years, I was not content with the decision. We prayed & talked & the night we decided we wanted to home school God was instrumental in the timing of it all. We were playing at the school playground and Ellie's older friend, Taylor, was talking about being home schooled for 2nd grade & Ellie asked if Kindergarteners could be home schooled too...it was a perfect set-up for us to explain to her that indeed, she would be home schooled.
There is a fantastic homeschooling group at West Point & a new Christian homeschooling co-op that formed this year. We meet 2 Fridays a month & while Saedi is in the preschool class, Ellie gets to do Science & Drama with the Kindergarteners & first graders. I'm helping out in the nursery so I can stay with Isaac & Solomon once he arrives. At home, we're using a mix of programs:
Sonlight for Science
Sigapore for Math (when she completes her current book we'll try Horizon Math)
Explode the Code for Phonics
Classical Conversations for Geography & History
Rosetta Stone for Spanish
Ambleside Online suggestions for nature study & American Girl books for literature
and a few other odds & ends books about manners, thinking skills, etc

Saedi's pre-school class. She & Julianne are the only girlies.

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Master Bedroom Tour

I love our bedroom! It's a nice sized-room with 3 bright windows. In decorating, I knew I wanted to use the color slate. I started with the bed as we were in need of new bedding. For the longest time I had my heart set on this bedding from West Elm (in slate), but it never went on sale! And it's really tough for me to buy things that aren't on sale. Then, after talking with Riley we decided we'd be better off with a quilt as were were always hot using a duvet. Anyway, when I saw this quilt I loved it immediately and snatched it up before it sold out. I thought it would work perfectly with slate walls! After I purchased the bedding, Meghan introduced me to the Carpet Mill Outlet where we found this cute light grey shag rug. Next, I painted my walls Paramount by Behr from The Home Depot. I loved it! Curtains are from Ikea. Piece by piece, I found the small nightstand and painted it white. And the best deal of all was our fantastic dresser we got for FREE off Craigslist. All we had to do was get rid of a couch for someone and in return they gave us this dresser. After a little wood putty this Pier 1 beauty looks great! Meghan helped me choose an accent color (berry/magenta). I found the adorable pillow, candle, & lamp with shade on clearance at Target. We also added the white ceiling fan (less then $30 from Home Depot). Lastly, I wasn't sure what to put on the dresser and my budget was gone so I used a mirror & 2 frames that I had and got crafty. I taped berry-colored yarn to tissue paper and that worked great as a picture inside the frame! And I had a magenta/grey scarf in my closet that adds a nice pop of color. The walls are still bare, but at least it feels comfortable & classy, which I guess is my style :)

My free dresser, free plant, & homemade artwork.

$15 Goodwill stand that I sanded & painted white.

Magenta accents from Target

Fantastic view & sound of creek out our front bedroom windows!

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Isaac is 1

The girls' neighborhood friends, Bethany & Blanca.

"Isaac" means laughter and it's a fitting name for this boy! Looking back, I was definitely in a funk after I miscarried, but 6 weeks later we found out we were pregnant & God used Isaac to get me out of that sad time. Isaac was my easiest & quickest labor & already at one his sense of humor is evident. Just the other day I was nursing him and he was passing gas on me, so I laughed and said, "toot toots!" He looked up and started laughing and saying, "toot toot" every 15 seconds while laughing. He loves to cuddle and likes all types of music. He's very verbal and mimics words, sounds, tones, etc. Although he's taken a couple of steps his 23# is not walking as he still prefers to crawl everywhere. Jack is his buddy & Isaac feeds him every chance he gets. Isaac loves to eat...everything except eggs! He's joyful and still sucks his "gang" fingers.

We spent Isaac's birthday spoiling him with a giant balloon, lollipop for breakfast, feeding fish at the hospital pond, & playtime at a small playground with Paddy Morrow. We ate cupcakes & ice cream sandwiches & had a casual get-together with friends at Lake Popoloken, where he swam, played in sand, and Riley gave the kids boat rides in fast Eddy (of course, I forgot to take my camera).
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Speechless

Acts like this leave me speechless.

Giving is not 2nd nature to me. I think. I plan. I give because I know I should but not because I like it. I desire to become more generous, more selfless. I know giving is a great quality and people are drawn to givers. I married a giver and I become friends with givers. I see the joys of giving and I'm growing in this area.

So when people like our friends, Jen & Trey, who give selflessly desiring nothing in return, gave us an amazing stroller I think they should be recognized. From the depths of my heart, thank you for your generous gift of this amazing stroller for our boys! It has already been a blessing & Sol's not even here yet. I'm extremely grateful for friends like you & I keep learning from you!

Thank you!



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