Where does the time go????

Wow.  Time flies . . . . . . I took a month off from blogging without really meaning to!  It wasn't that I didn't want to blog, I just either never took the time or couldn't find the words to say what I was thinking.  Let's see if I can hit a few of the highlights from the last month.

The boys are great.  Noah is talking so much!  He's adding new words to his vocab every day.  He's become much more courageous in trying to say new things.  If he hears it, he tries to say it!  (I have to watch what I say more now than ever!)  Not everything comes out exactly right, but his pronunciation is getting better all the time.  My favorite thing he says right now is his name, Noah Withers.  It comes out as "NaNa Wivvfer."  It's so adorable!  Eli is keeping us on our toes.  He crawls lightening-fast and is starting to "cruise" by holding onto furniture.  I think he will be walking well before his first birthday.  We're still waiting for him to break his first tooth, though.  He's also starting to babble more and loves to "talk."

We've gotten several health updates about Baby Ben.  He's doing well.  We're still hopeful that we will welcome him home before the end of the year,  maybe as early as November.  I watch Eli grow and I can't help but think that Ben is going through the same changes.  I know he is being well cared for by a wonderful foster family in South Korea, but he needs to come home.  He's growing and learning and becoming his own little person and we're missing it.  He needs to come home to us and to his brothers.

It's no secret that our biggest obstacle in Ben's adoption was the cost.  When we found out about his birth, we knew we wanted to add him to our family, but we had no idea how to make that happen financially.  I am so happy and relieved to say that with the incredibly generous help of family and friends, Ben's adoption expenses have been PAID!  We are so humbled and so grateful to everyone who has supported us.  There are no words to express our thanks.  God has brought many amazing people into our lives.  We are so blessed!

I do of course need to update the blog with some pictures.  We had a great visit with Nate's family over Labor Day weekend.  Mamaw, Papaw, Uncle Andy, Aunt Amanda, and little baby Grayson all came to visit.  It was our first chance to meet Grayson - what a sweetheart.  It was great to see all three of those little boys together for the first time.  We spent a day playing tourists at Silver Beach in St. Joseph.  Can't wait to see them again!

Mamaw Donna, Grayson, Eli, Papaw Tom, and Noah

More to come SOON - I promise!!!

Buh-bye, Emmy!

We said goodbye to our favorite roommate this week.  That's right; Aunt Emily moved out.  She didn't move far - she's got her own apartment shared with three other friends close to campus, which is great.  She'll certainly still be around a lot, but I can tell that Noah knows what's going on and that he already misses her.  We've been talking about his "Emmy" moving in to her own house and we took both the boys to see her place when she moved, but every once in a while Noah will stop whatever he's doing, look around, and say, "Emmy, buh-bye.  Buh-bye, Emmy!"  Awwww . . . . I wonder who will miss who more?  Emily or the boys???

I've noticed a change, too.  Even though Em's been gone working as a camp counselor all summer, the house feels a little bit emptier now.  She lived with us for over 2 and a half years - that's a long time!  She was here when we brought both boys home and is a big part of our family.  I will admit it's not ALL bad . . . . . I'm loving the extra space in the bathroom cabinets!  Still, we miss her.  Thankfully she's just a phone call and a 10-minute drive away.

I thought I'd dig out a couple pics of our favorite roomie, Aunt Emmy. 

Buh-bye, Emmy - We Love You!

There's a two-year-old living in my house . . .

. . . and to be honest, it's freaking me out a little!

We celebrated Noah's second birthday last week.  We had a great "All-Star" themed party that was SO MUCH FUN.  All Noah's friends and grandparents were here to help us celebrate.  We had fantastic, not-too-hot weather so everyone got to play outside in the newly improved backyard playground.  I can't tell you how much joy it gave me to see all the little ones play together in our backyard - it was great!  I concocted a crazy-but-cute giant cupcake birthday cake, and of course there was ice cream, so I think it was a hit!

But now, I have this two year old "Big Boy."  Nothing baby-ish about him at all any more.  It seems that Noah has grown so much in just the last two weeks.  His vocab is exploding and he's linking words together into 3- and 4- word sentences.  We moved him to his toddler bed, so now he comes downstairs on his own in the morning.  He transitioned great into the big boy bed - I was really nervous about it, but Noah did great, as always.  He's learning his colors - purple is his favorite!  He's having a serious love affair with Elmo.  He's also a big fan of bubbles right now.  I do see a little bit of jealousy with Eli, but I'm sure that's normal.  Sometimes it seems his favorite phrase is, "Eli!  No!!!"  I'm anxious to go in for his check-up in a few weeks to see how he's developing physically, too.

I love seeing him grow and learn things so fast, but it makes me a little bit sad.

It's just going too fast!

Wordless Wednesday {A Big Boy in His Big Boy Bed}

Wordless Wednesday {At the Pool: with Grandma, Grandpa, and Daddy}

When you visit our house . . .

When you visit our house, you may find dirty dishes in the sink

When you visit our house, you may find laundry piled on the floor.

When you visit our house, you may notice the trim that still hasn't been painted, or the paint that needs touching up.

When you visit our house, you may find that dinner is being served from a can, or a box, or a bag.

When you visit our house, you might see a dead shrub in the yard where we can't get anything to grow, or a flower bed overrun with weeds.

When you visit our house, you might notice the couch with cat claw marks, or the stained carpet.

It seems there's never enough time, money, or energy to do all that we want to do, or all that we should do.  There is always a project to finish, or another to start.  And, Lord knows I am not the world's greatest housekeeper.  There's never enough space to put things away.  Sometimes it feels like we're living on top of each other in our little house, which some days feels like it's falling apart.


BUT,


When you visit our house, you may find two brothers jumping up and down just to make each other laugh.

When you visit our house, you may find Mama reading the boys a story, or Daddy playing with them in the backyard.

When you visit our house, you'll find pictures of our family and friends on the fridge, including another little boy we can't wait to bring home.

When you visit our house, you'll find a Mama and Daddy who love each other and are best friends (and are probably sitting on the couch together watching "Wipeout" on TV.)

When you visit our house, there's a good chance you'll find something sweet, homemade, and fresh-baked in the kitchen.

When you visit our house, you're welcome to share anything we have.

When you visit our house, we're glad you're here.

Almost . . Wordless Wednesday {That's How I Roll . . . }

"Shhhhh . . . . don't tell Papaw Tom I'm riding a GREEN tractor!"

:-)