A new family picture

We went out to my mom and dad's for my birthday, and decided to try and get a new family picture that everyone was smiling in. I think it turned out pretty good!

This is a great shot of the boys!

And I love this little dress on Gretchen!

When Love Takes You In

This is a great video, and a really touching story about adoption. If you are not familiar with Steven Curtis Chapman, he is a Christian musican/singer and is both a biological father and an adoptive father. He has an organization that helps people adopt children. My friend dedicated this song to our family, and I thought I'd share it with you.

Monday Update

Today so far has been a quiet day. Gretchen went down for an early nap a little before 9 am - she was very grouchy this morning, so I'm glad that she is taking a nap. It should make for a much better day for her! Daniel and Austin have just been hanging out, playing with their toys and coloring and watching cartoons. I wanted to have a mellow morning/afternoon, because this evening is going to be pretty crazy and fun! Our church's adoption shower is tonight, and the whole family is going. It's been such a blessing hearing of all the people that are involved in putting this shower on - I've been getting calls from all sorts of ladies needing info for the shower. My mom is coming in for it, and my grandma - not sure about my sister yet - I haven't heard. Gram is even bringing dinner over tonight so I don't have to cook - always a welcome treat!

I'll be sure to share details of the event on tomorrow's blog. Until then - see you later!

Park Day

We went to the park today - a little chilly, but the kids needed to get out for some fresh air! We had lots of fun.

Cutey Patootie!

I love this picture of Gretchen! The outfit is a hand-me-down from her cousin Aimee, who is now 7 years old. The outfit is a 6-9 month outfit, but it seems to fit her pretty good at 14 months! She's just so stinkin' little! And even though Gretchen didn't want to wear the hair bow that goes with the outfit, Daniel didn't seem to mind it at all!

Family Picture

Our church is holding an adoption shower for us next Monday - I'm really looking forward to it! The planners asked for a current family picture of us to use on the tables, so on Sunday, we had one of my friends take a photo. Unfortunately, Daniel was in a very sour mood, so trying to coax a smile out of him was impossible! This was the best we could come up with after 10 tries!

Gretchen is Walking!!

We are so excited! Gretchen is finally really walking. Since a little before Easter, she had been taking a couple steps here and there - the most at one time was 5 steps. but on Saturday, she walked all the way down the hallway unassisted. She has finally figured it out! She hasn't stood on her own to walk yet - she still uses furniture to get up - but she'll let go of the furniture and start walking. It's so fun! Pretty soon she'll be able to run after the boys - and then we're all in trouble!! Here's a video of her walking.

Good news about the adoptions!

We met our social worker last night, and she is wonderful! And she gave us good news - she thinks the adoptions can be finalized all at the same time sometime in May or June! That's so exciting! We are thrilled that it will be so soon, after waiting so long for this time to come! We plan on throwing one huge party, probably at Franklin Park since it will be the summer. She just made our day when she gave us that news!

Ahhh...Monday!

Other than the boys waking me up at 6:15 this morning, it's been a relatively good day so far! I'm feeling so much better after my head cold that lasted for three weeks! I can actually breathe and my head doesn't feel three feet thick. Sure makes taking care of the kids easier when I feel better! I don't think they like a sick mommy any more than I like being sick - I'm kind of a grumpy sick!

We had a playdate this morning at 10 am at the mall - the kids had a really good time playing with their friends. I packed a lunch so we wouldn't have to buy anything, and we sat in the food court after playdate and had our sandwiches and applesauce. Then I let the boys ride the coin cars one last time before heading for home. I like these morning activities - if I can keep the kids busy enough, they go right to bed when we get home - all three of them - and then I can have an hour or two to get things done around the house.

Today our adoption social worker is coming by for her first visit to our home. We've not met her yet - she only recently got assigned our case. From what we've heard, she has had no complaints against her, so that's a good thing! I believe all our referral letters have been returned, and all the paperwork that we had to update for our home study has been done. I don't think our doctor's letters have been returned yet, and we just got a stack of paperwork to fill out regarding the kids' history, but we are well on our way to having things completed. Of course, Austin's social worker has not forwarded his file on to our adoption worker yet, so hopefully she can get that done soon. We would really, really like to have the same adoption day for all three of the kids.

Well, since the kids are sleeping, I'm going to straighten up this house in prep for our home visit with the adoption worker today. Keep us in your prayers!

Here it is!!

OK - so I'm the world's biggest dunce. I created this lovely family blog in December, and then completely forgot all about it until this last week. That's what having three small children will do to you! Yikes! But I'm bound and determined to get this thing up and running and keep it updated. And if I forget - well, then, post a comment to remind me - it'll be dumped into my mailbox and I'll get it! Let me dig up some stuff and post it here for you - I'll probably back date the items so they show up in the right order.

Anyone seen my brain lately???

Finally Outside for Play!

Today was a really good day for playing outside. The kids were out for 2 hours in the morning, right before lunch - even Gretchen was scooting around the backyard! Then we had lunch, went right down for naps, and the kids all slept for at least 1.5 hours. Then back out to play in the afternoon for another hour or so. At bedtime, they went right to sleep - no playing around after lights out or nothing! Just three very tired little children - the fresh air did them some good! Hopefully they will sleep all night tonight!!

Maggie Moo's Field Trip

Today our MOMS Club took a tour of Maggie Moo's Ice Cream store and the kids got to meet Maggie Moo and get some yummy ice cream. The kids weren't all that interested in listening to how they made their ice cream, but they did enjoy eating it! And Daniel even willingly went up to Maggie to shake hands and even dance with her - on several different occasions. Which was a huge surprise since he didn't want anything to do with the Easter Bunny that was walking around the mall this year!

A New Wagon! Yippee!

Today, the kids got a fun new toy - a big wagon to ride around town in! This will be perfect for summer walks and we plan on using it for the Torchlight Parade in May. Already Austin has had a ball with it, loading it up with all his outdoor toys and pulling it around the backyard. The day we got it, I dressed the kids in their coats, gave them their lunch in little baggies, and took them for a walk around our neighborhood. I think the brisk afternoon air will help clear the ickies out of all of us! Lots of fun!