It's been an entire year!!!

It's hard to believe that we have been a family of 4 for exactly 1 year today!!! I don't think I can even begin to describe what this year has done for our family!! All I can say is that adoption is an incredible gift from God. Grace is AMAZING!!! She's funny-- seriously, everyone says that she's just one funny girl!! She is sweet and loving, and currently she's frighteningly obedient. She can be told to stop doing something, bring something to momma, put something down, etc.... and she does!!! I'm enjoying it now, because I know it will change very quickly!!!! :) I can go on and on... and maybe I will in a future post, but for tonight (as we have just returned home from a 4 day get away-- and Jake's b-day party is tomorrow!!!!)..... I will share a few pics of the past year!

Then.....

Now!!!

Boys!

I think you just say stuff that would normally never be formed into a sentence unless you have a boy. Like today: "Jake, take your Storm Trooper out of the tub of Salsa!!!"

There have been days that I've walked into one of the bathrooms and the sink is filled to the brim with soapy water. Jake is chasing me down the hall to make sure I don't drain the sink-- his bugs are taking a bath!!!! And sure enough, there are at least 10 plastic bugs "bathing" in my sink!!

I have come across my boy sitting in a box in the living room with swim goggles on, sweatpants on his head, socks on the hands for gloves and a very patient cat sitting in his lap with a plastic tub taped to her head so she could "breath" in outer space.... ready to take off on a space mission!!!!

And, if Jake had his way, I think he would wish his mom was a walking encyclopedia, or at least google.com so I can answer the daily array of questions: What are the names of volcanoes in the world? Are there volcanoes in China? If so, then how many? What kind of animals eat the red, poisonous berries on the bushes? If no one eats the berries, then why were they even made? What kinds of bugs come out when it rains? etc, etc, etc..... I believe those questions were just asked in the last 2-3 days!!!

Boys have their own energy and believe me, my"spirited" one has given me a run for my money-- but.... at the end of the exhausting day..... boys are pretty darn special!!!

Have you read....

I just finished it last night!!! INCREDIBLE!!! I'm just starting to process it all.... and I'm about to start rereading it again. There's just so much to take in at one time!

Any thoughts on the book????

New Favorite Comment!!

My dad was walking down the sidewalk with Grace toddling a few feet in front of him when 3 women (about 60 or so) started squealing about how cute Grace was. Then one of the women asked if she was "real"!!! My dad responded by saying, "No. I have the remote for her in my pocket!!!!"

Thanks!

I just wanted to thank everyone for their great comments and suggestions on my previous post. I'm definitely not the only one dealing with this! We've always talked to Jacob about everything.... and he seemed really understanding... and a bit aloof in his 4 year old way.... and we just said that sister does get a lot of attention right now, but when he was a baby, I was always stopped and told what a darling little boy he was, etc, etc..... babies just tend to get more attention. Bottom line: It's best to just be open and honest about everything. Stuff does affect the younger ones and we need to keep the dialog flowing... it's definitely not the first time issues are going to come up! And, obviously it's not affecting him too much.... he informed me the other day that he wants the biggest family in the whole wide world and he thinks we'll just have to get a bigger kitchen table and a few more chairs. He's got a lot of love to give!!! (I'm just hoping the attention slows down as Grace gets older so it doesn't start affecting her in a negative way and she starts understanding everyone's comments! Really though, I could do without the reference to her looking "just like a cabbage patch doll"!! She's my daughter, for pete's sake!!!)

Well..... we're off for our first ever boys' weekend/girls' weekend!! Mike and Jacob are going camping/fishing together, so I decided to take Grace and meet up with my parents on their boat for the weekend!

And, what's a post without a few cute pics?!?!?

World's Best Cat: She let these 3 play doctor on her for a good 30 min!!!

Coloring fun!!