Zemma's Pledge of Allegiance

I just found this video of Zem... We were walking into Maddie's school one afternoon and she asked me about the flag up front. When I told her it was the American flag, she put her hand on her chest and recited the whole pledge! I had no idea she even knew it :) She learned it at Bible study. Here is the reinactment :)

Before and Afters

 Here are some before and afters.....Not exactly how I want them but for some reason I CANNOT figure out the art of adding pictures on here. Man, you would think with as much as I blog.... :)

 







 



house progress

 

The new house

We recently purchased a new home. No more in laws basement!!!! Yay!!!! We are obviously excited, but I am fairly sure that the two people who live above us are even more elated than we are :) As you can see, the house needs some lovin. I have big plans for it and am looking forward to closing (end of May) so that we can get started. Hopefully someday I will get around to posting the end results...:)



Living room angle 1




Living room angle 2



Kitchen

kitchen looking into dining

bath 2

basement bedroom/playroom

basement (luke's space...or so he thinks...)

basement angle 2 (yikes)

Easter

Just a few easter pics:

Zem's Readoption

Because Zemma came home on a certain adoption Visa, we were required to readopt her upon her arrival here in the states...As always, we procrastinated,so here we are - 1 year later. Adoption final. Praise God!

Zemma's 3rd Birthday

On December 29 we were able to celebrate Zemma's birthday - a first for us, even though she turned three... We are so blessed by her presence in our family. She makes us laugh often and is a constant reminder of God's faithfulness to us.

I have thought often about where we were last year - waiting, without her. I can remember the feelings of incompleteness- as if something or someone were missing - especially during the holiday season. I would wish and dream of a sibling for Maddie - someone to share in the excitement and fun with. I would long for the craziness and volume of a big family - kids yelling and even fighting! And, I would pray for that child, who I knew was somewhere out there even though it felt as if we would never meet.

Now, here we are this year and I can look back and realize how much God cares about the details of our lives! This Christmas did feel complete. Maddie and Zemma now have each other and I so enjoy watching their relationship grow. Yes, there is fighting, and yes Zemma is sometimes louder than more than a few children combined :) And best of all, we were able to hold our baby as we celebrated her birth, and the birth of our Savior.

We were abundantly blessed in 2010!

Christmas 2010