Peek-a-Boo!

We are over the moon excited over here. 

Can you guess why?? 

Chef David & Handsome Anthony

David has been waiting for this day for a while. Four weeks to be exact. He so wanted to make spaghetti dinner all by himself and he was reciting all the steps to show me he knew just what to do.

Well, tonight was the night and he did a great job! With just a little help, David made his very own spaghetti dinner - the spaghetti, sauce, veggies, and breadsticks.

Here's a picture of Chef David:

Anthony wanted to help, but he isn't the safest in the kitchen yet (although, he loves being in charge of the toaster) so I told him we would work our way up to it. He happily accepted some additional play time and close to dinner, he entered the kitchen announcing, "Look, mommy, I'm very handsome!"

He's wearing an army hat, bear ears, and a red bow tie. I think I may have to recommend that he wear these handsome accessories on his first date, don't you?

Guess Who Is Spending the Night??

Baby C. Next weekend. We are SO excited! 

Guess who finally caved and let me buy a mini crib for us to use? 

Lee said it was my anniversary present:). I'll take it! 

Must Read

Ready or Not by Pam Parish is a 30 day devotional for families considering fostering or adopting.

It is incredible! I haven't finished the whole thing, but have absolutely loved what I have read so far. I wish we would have had this back when we were praying about becoming foster parents.

It was just released this month so if God has been placing foster care or adoption on your heart, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy:).

Our Summer so Far

I thought you might like to see a few snapshots of what the boys have been up to this summer. I finally uploaded pictures from Lee's camera and was quite amused by what I found:).

Here you go!

This summer, the boys have had...

...plenty of fun play dates with old and new friends:

...their first experience at Hershey Park!

We drove to NY to meet our new nephew (their new cousin) for the first time!

I french braided my niece's hair:). Amazing, right?

The boys enjoyed the NY tractor, some time in the little pool, and piano lessons from Grandma!

We got to play with Baby C at the playground. He is growing up so fast and is still so stinkin' cute! 

We've been so fortunate to spend so much time this summer with (Z)! She came over on Sunday afternoon. We played games...

Then the kids got goofy and we have some footage of them dancing to the Frozen soundtrack. I'm not sure the boys will appreciate our documentation of this when they are older:).

Lee and I joke that (Z) was an incredible dancer as a toddler and Anthony had some great moves too.  Then they joined our family (Z for a short while and Anthony forever).... it was all downhill for their dancing from there!

A Child's Prayer

Time after time we have been privileged to see how God has answered the prayers of our children. Their faith has strengthened each and every time. 

A long time ago David was praying that his birth mom would join us for church....the following day she called us to ask if she could come with us to church. 

David and Anthony both prayed for a young orphan, Gideon, to find a family. He had special needs that would make it harder for him to find a family, but they prayed and God answered! 

Anthony prayed that his mom could come to church with us too. I was very unsure about that one, but wouldn't you know it - that prayer was certainly answered with a 'yes'! 

There are many others, but I think tonight made a big impression on both of the boys because of the immediacy of the answer:). I know it definitely made an impression on me. 

As we headed out of Costco tonight, we waited at the entrance with many other people because it was pouring down rain - the kind of rain that soaks you within seconds. 

Lee decided to bring the car to us and as he was walking away, I turned toward both of the boys to tell them what was happening. I didn't get a chance to say anything, though, because....

There they were - hands folded, eyes closed, praying hard that the rain would stop. Anthony prayed aloud, "....please stop the rain and thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins. We love you. Please stop the rain." 

They looked up at me and then we all turned to look outside. 

Do you know what happened?? 

The rain STOPPED!! 

Not only did it stop, but guess what we saw on our way home? 

The most beautiful, complete rainbow. 

Praising God tonight for answered prayer and the reminder that he CARES about us and LOVES us enough to show us in the little things. 

Can I Help?

"Plleeeeaaaassee can I do something to help you tonight, mommy? Pleeeeaaassee!"

Says Anthony before vacuuming the living room and sweeping the floor.

"I just want to be helpful!" he announces multiple times.

Yes, I know I have it good....so thankful to God for blessing me with such loving boys!

Missing Him, but it's ok...

Perhaps it is the time of year.

Perhaps it is being around so many adorable babies.

Perhaps it is people who don't know our family well, asking: "Where is the baby?"

Maybe it is that CD we put back in the car with his songs on it...

I'm not sure what it is. I have just been missing Baby C a lot more than usual.

But it is really ok....

God has blessed us beyond measure and his awesome grandparents send us the cutest pictures. And in just a few short days we will be seeing him in person!