going

 going

 gone

I call him my little lightning bug because recently, he has been moving so fast, he is hard to catch. He is definitely keeping us on our toes J we are loving every second and it is such a joy to watch him discover (or get into things!). and he is keeping me active which is nice since I never have time to work out!

dog days of summer

 

it's been so incredibly hot out recently, noah and i (along with suki) decided it would be fun to pull out suki's kiddie pool from last summer (i used it too to sit out and sunbathe- don't judge!) we grabbed some bath toys and headed out for noah to splash around. so far, he has proven to be quiet the water bug :)

i had a lot of fun watching him splash.. and suki just had to join him.. i had a good time messing around with my camera features as well. we are so ready for the fall! another month to go!

i carry your heart. (i carry it in my heart).

i carry your heart.

(i carry it in my heart).

i am never without it.

waiting.for.daddy

cheeeese

we had the cutest moment tonight before our little monkey went to bed. he is having so many "firsts" which is awesome for us but it is a little sad for mommy because i know he is growing up slowly before my eyes. he wanted to help me while i was doing a chore i despise which is unloading the dishwasher. which if he helps me from now on, i won't mind :) i grabbed the camera and started to take a few pics of his new "first" i said (also for the first time) "say cheese!" well, this little guy either knew what "say cheese" means or thought i was really goofy (probably a combination of the two) but would smile and laugh hysterically. i would stop, then say "say cheese" and he would turn around and flash either his full on grin or his silly smile with the cute little tongue :)- and poor suki was soooo confused because she knows "cheese" by name and for her, it's not a smile but the real deal. this dog loves her cheese and gets it on top of her dry food nightly or for a snack. so suffice to say, she didn't like this new game because there was no cheese involved. sorry suki. but noah loved it.

a.beautiful.mess.

I am not one for clutter. I always go around picking/cleaning/straightening things up whether it’s suki’s toys, jim’s shoes, laundry, etc. I have even been known to vacuum at 7:00 a.m. when a dear friend, (sorry t!) was sound asleep. She didn’t get my thoughts that the vacuum could be relaxing. Go figure.

And needless to say… toys, balls, cups, blocks, books, a swing, playpen, jumperoo, exersaucer, along with some animal ball thing have taken.over.my.house.

Some people that come over comment and say it looks like a toy box exploded or it looks like a new ride at Wet n Wild… do they even still call it that? I just laugh along because it really does look chaotic compared with my “normal”. But this is my new normal. and i love it.

And I was rocking noah last night (he was up with his first little tooth that is just slowly making its entrance) I thought to myself…. “look at all of these toys.. it looks like such a mess, but you know what, it is a BEAUTIFUL mess.” Thank you God for this beautiful mess. I am thankful for every single little piece of clutter.

worldess.wednesday.

peas, carrots, and squash - oh my!

noah has proven to be a particular little eater (just like his mommy!) he has tried it all pretty much so far and has made it up to stage 2 foods. he lets you know when he doesn't like it and will make a gagging face as you can see in the banana pic above. then he will spit it out and grunt. but he is so cute because he opens his mouth as wide as it will go like a baby bird.

Loves: squash, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, butternut squash, mixed veggies, garden veggies, blueberries
Dislikes: apples, oatmeal, peas, bananas, avocados, chicken (so far)

the other day, he tried the homemade carrots/potatoes/chicken and his ma-maw and pa-paw thought something was horribly wrong. papaw went to feed him the food and after his first bite, he made the loudest noise, mamaw ran in the room thinking he fell out of the high chair but found an unhappy noah who decided he did not like the food at.all. they tried one more bite and he turned red, slapped the spoon down and then started to cry. noah vs. chicken... looks like noah won this round. but he better get used to chicken because it is mommy's favorite. we seem to have a finicky eater. guess i have payback from my years of torture on my poor mom and dad.

it's official!!!!!

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. -Psalm 118:24



July 23 is a very special a day for us. it is official. it is an extra, extra, extra special for us. the journey is over. it is finished. the day we officially became a family of three (legally)! our battle is over and we can move forward with how things should have been all along. God's glory has been so evident with our situation and i am still in awe of how He has/is using us and our sweet little noah for His glory. God never let us go. Even in the darkest days, He was with us and has great things in store for us. I am honored and humbled to have suffered for His glory and name.
  We had our photos taken by a friend, who did a wonderful job of capturing one of the most important days for our family.

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.
-Psalm 127:3-5



hanging out waiting to go in with friends and family...
 

 

 

 



Noah meeting one of our wonderful lawyers, Jerry

And Eric..

the wait is over.. our turn!
 

taking his oath..

  

Noah picking out his stuffed animal.. I saw it while we were up there and thought it was perfect… it says, ‘know what, God isn't the only one who thinks you're special'. We let him find whatever he wanted and he leaned right over to pick him up :) 

  

 The best piece of paper- EVER!



"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning."