Easter and other events

The Girls' Easter Potraits

She knows she is beautiful

Easter Sunday Best

Delylah scored tons of eggs on the hunt

Lennah hunting easter eggs

Coloring Easter eggs

Tangled Movie night with Evie, Elana, and Allie

We have been very busy the past two weekends and they are most likely going to become more jammed packed since I have to get the house ready for a family of 7. Last weekend we went on an Easter egg hunt at my parents church. The girls always love doing stuff like this and just had a fun old time. But this time of year we always seem packed with parties and other events and on the same day the girls had the neighbors birthday party and a tangled movie party planned. We really enjoy when any princess movie comes out so we planned to have some of our friends over to watch tangled to have some mommy and girl time. The girls had a good time catching up with Allie, Evie, and Elana and of course it is always nice when mommy gets to have some adult conversation. But I have to say all good things must come to an end and by 8 o'clock that night from all the partying earlier the girls were done in. This past weekend we had more parties and of course Easter sunday so again it was just another busy weekend celebrating Jesus and all the other things in our lives we are so fortunate for.

We did however find out last night that the kids will be getting here a few days later than planned because the school system they are in have to make up some snow days at the end of the year. This is both a good and bad thing; good because it gives me more time to prepare but bad because I want to maximize the summer and spending time with the kids before we all go back to work and school.

As for prepping we got some paint for the boys room which means this weekend we will be working on painting. Luckily we never painted our guest bedroom beyond the contractor paint that was here so it will be an easy job. I am still driving myself crazy trying to find bedding for the boys that is versatile enough for a 9 and 12 year old. I think that is such an in between age because you don't want to make it too kiddie or too teen. AHHH! dilemmas. I am waiting to decorate Heather's room until she gets here since she has seemed indecisive on what colors she likes and stuff. I am also having problems getting the girls to agree on comforters since they are going to be sharing a room. If Delylah likes it Lennah doesn't and vice versa.

To top off all the happenings we have also been planning our trip to go visit Keith's grandmother and Dad in Florida for July so the kids will be bombarded with 2 trips in their first few months here. We are so excited to get to share these experiences with them for the first time since they have never been to the beach. Of course I am still super excited about our trip to Disney and have definitely gone overboard on booking character meals and such for the kids. We figure we might as well splurge on our Disney trip since it is a special occasion and we have been talking about doing a Disney cruise next year with friends that we know for sure if we spend that kind of money a Disney world trip will be off the table next year for sure. We both just cannot wait to see the kids' faces when they see that castle for the first time.

Shhhh It's a Secret

We are super excited and the kids will not know our surprise until the time is a lot closer. We booked a trip to Disney for September. We really had no plans on going to Disney this year but Heather, Logan, and Zach have never been outside of Ohio and the more we talked about it the more we wanted to give them an unforgetable vacation. We aren't staying on Disney property because a family of seven would be crazy expensive but we traded a timeshare to stay at a resort that we have been to before and absolutely love. Even better it can accommodate all 7 of us. So we are going to Disney. We are going to wait until the last possible minute and then tell of the kids together. We haven't said a word to Lennah and Delylah and I am going to have such a hard time keeping quiet once Heather, Logan, and Zach get here but we are going to try. I am thinking it might be really cool to videotape the announcement when we tell the kids.

Backing up, Back Home and Feeling Good

On Saturday we spent almost the entire day with our new children. It was another great day. On Saturday we went with all the kids to a museum called Boonshoft in Dayton. I think it was a great place for the little kids since most of the exhibits were geared towards young children. It was also great for the big kids because they just loved going there and spending time with the girls and us. The kids all played and chased each other around the museum. I have to say they all occupy each other and I actually feel that having 5 will be almost easier than just 2 kids because they all keep each other entertained. We then went to lunch with all the kids and the some of the foster family. The foster family had spent time with us and the kids. I have to say at first I thought it was strange that you spend the time with the foster family but talking to the foster mom really gave me insight into the children, what they have been through, and how far they have come so I am greatful for that time we have spent with them. I also was put at ease on her feelings about the children moving onto a permanent home. She assured me that they wanted the children to be adopted and they got into foster care to help kids and had no intentions of adopting. She shared with me that this was always there goal and as much as they will miss the kids she is at peace with them coming to live with us. It made us feel so much better because you are thinking gosh I am taking these kids from the home they have known for the past several years and the foster family is going to be agonizing over them leaving. So Sunday we visited with the children for the last time before they come live with us. When we got to the house they came out and were just so excited to see us. After spending the weekend with the kids and getting to know them we just feel so at peace with our decision to adopt older children. Yes we have heard horror stories and the stories of challenges people who adopt older children face but these kids are so loving and sweet that we know it was meant to be. Our goal when we decided to adopt was to ensure the saftey of both Lennah and Delylah and we feel that God has matched us with children who not only will love us as we will them but also love the girls and be great big brothers and big sister to Lennah and Delylah. I have absolutely no fears about the girls being harmed in any way. God has truly blessed us soon to be 5 times over and we could not be any happier. Now we just have the 8 week wait until they get to come home.

Goodbye Virginia, Hello Ohio

Yesterday we spent the last little bit of time we had left at the resort before heading to Ohio. To end our trip we took the girls on pony rides and to the petting zoo at our resort. It was a great way to end the trip and the girls had a blast riding the horses. Honestly the horses was well worth it but the petting zoo could have been a little better. Then again kids enjoy anything. It took all day to get to Ohio because we head to head through West Virginia which was completely unenjoyable. The mountains were horrible to drive through because we had to go so slow which really just made the trip dreadful. But we made it here.

As for Ohio. Today we woke up, ate breakfast, wasted some time, and then headed to meet the kids social worker. That was just usual going over paperwork. THen from there we got to meet the kids. The kids came right up to us and were super excited. Honestly we are still shocked at how well they took to us. It was totally unexpected. Keith and I kept joking yesterday that we might encounter a scene like in the movie Problem CHild where the kid kicks John Ritter in the shins and runs away. Nothing like that happened. Zach was cute because he referred to Keith and his dad when he was talking to his foster sister. Heather just started rambling on to me about all the things she likes to do. Target is her favorite store which made me estatic. Logan took to the girls right away and went into full big brother mode. Honestly we could not have asked for it to go any better and the kids seem pretty excited as well. Logan is a little skeptical about moving so far away but the worker and foster mom assured us that he is getting more used to the idea and we should have nothing to worry about. I don't know what I am allowed to do legally so I am not posting pictures of the kids just yet.

Thanks to all who have kept us in your prayers.

Virginia and just 2 days away

For Spring break Keith and I took the kids to Virginia for vacation. Tonight is our last night here and I have to say we have certainly have had a good time. We are in the Shenandoah Valley and have thoroughly enjoyed our trip. We got here Saturday night and of course the kids had to hit the indoor pool. Both of our girls are like fish and love being in the pool so being at a resort with an indoor pool is a bonus to the kids. Also at our resort there is an indoor waterpark which of course the kids have loved. We spent all day Sunday and Monday there. I have to say it was definitely a good waterpark for the kids and it was a lot like the waterpark we visited last July when we visited Wilderness in the Smokies. We also have lots of lakes, ponds, mountains, and just about everything else here. We figured we would take advantage of the surroundings and take the girls to feed the animals while we were here. The girls loved feeding the ducks and the geese and also managed to feed some fish they had in the pond near our condo. Anyway yesterday we took the kids to visit the Luray caverns and an antique car museum. Lennah was not really into the caverns plus she totally needed a nap. She may not have been into the caverns but she instantly found a friend that happens to be staying at the same resort as us and lives in the Atlanta area. Lennah just has that personality where she can make instant friends. Today was the best day of the trip (at least for mommy and daddy it was). We took the girls to see Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and visited Michie's Tavern. Monticello was wonderful and an all day adventure. Luckily they have kids activities there. The girls had a blast pretend cooking and playing with some of the replicas of writing utensils and other stuff. I have to say the grounds to Monticello are beautiful and the view of the mountains incredible. It was also a great history lesson and I really hope that Keith and I can instill a love of history in the girls that we both have.

Unfortunately tomorrow afternoon we have to leave Virginia but we are cutting our trip short to go meet Heather, Logan, and Zack. We are nervous and excited all at the same time. I think it was be a totally different experience from what we had when we adopted the girls because these children are so much older and will already have developed strong personalities. We are just praying that everything goes well and we have a great meeting with our new children.