Lia loves...

...PASTA!

Perhaps one day I'll get the courage to introduce her to the concept of sauce.

Oh Deer.

This was the view from our front door yesterday...a mamma and her 3 little ones. And now, thanks to Lauren and Caroline, they all have names and personalities...and I have the realization that I will never see a flower bloom in my yard again.

Oh deer.

A Little Riddle...

...what goes CLOMP, CLOMP, swish, swish.....CLOMP, CLOMP, swish, swish?

That would be my Alex making his way down the stairs this morning in his brand new Lightning McQueen slippers.

He was up earlier than usual this morning as we were all preparing for our first day of co-op here in NC. Everyone had a class to attend (while Lia made new friends in the nursery) and I had one to teach. The day started out fairly normal as we left 10 minutes later than intended and I ended up with coffee stains on my pants and sweater before classes even started.

But all in all, things went well and the kids seemed to enjoy their time. Alex's teacher asked me after class what he wanted to be when he grew up. His usual answer these days is "a baseball player" but she thought he said during his presentation that he wanted to be Chief Justice. (Now will those of you who know this child pause with me for a moment and imagine Alex as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America...it just makes me smile to think of him wearing his flip flops ...if he's wearing any shoes at all...underneath that big black robe and sneaking a handful of fruit snacks in between cases). So anyway, we later figured out that he was saying "Jake Justice" (the Rescue Hero) which makes so much more sense. Apparently, though, he has no trouble with public speaking :)

He is now conked out in bed, recovering from his long day. I better go think about dinner before I once again hear the sounds of CLOMP, CLOMP. swish, swish coming down my stairs.

All In A Day's Work

Sort the laundry..

Wash the laundry...

Take out the trash...

Whew...I'm beat

...and now enjoying a well-deserved snack.

Uno Anyone?

She may look like an ordinary toddler...
but trust me...

after watching her work the table...

she is quite the little card shark...

and I think she knows it, too.

On Our Way...

back to VA for 24 hours of fun, friends, and our annual Fantasy Football drafting....

(Mommy and Daddy need to have some fun sometimes, too!

Here's hoping for long naps in the car!

Post Birthday Pics

We started the day with a "Lia" breakfast made by the kids for the birthday girl: waffles and eggs (she could eat a dozen if we let her).


Then we met Daddy at Chick-Fil-A for lunch. After downing 7 chicken nuggets (plus fries) at dinner one night, we thought, "Hey, she must like chicken." And she seemed to enjoy it at lunch as well...





Lauren and Alex enjoyed some "cuddle time" in the booth. Actually, they didn't have a choice as we squeezed all 7 of us into a booth made for 4 :)



Lia LOVED opening her presents. She oohed and ahhed over everything. Wish I'd had the forsight to video it.

This gift from Nana looks like it's much needed after Lia's bath.

Mirror, mirror in my hand...who's the fairest in the land? (By her little stance there, I think she thinks she is!)

Who knew plastic jewelry could be so much fun? Well, OK, I did. Looks like we might enjoy cruising the jewelry aisles at Target together soon.

It was so much fun to be with her on her birthday and watch her light up at the attention. When we sang Happy Birthday to her, her face just glowed.

Again, she may have been the one receiving the presents, but we have been given the best gift of all.

Today She's Two!

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Get your own

Today we celebrate the life of our beautiful little Lia. Though it's a second birthday for her, it's her first one with us. As we look at her life through these pictures, from her referral one year ago until now, we are amazed at how she's grown, and as always, we are amazed at what God has done.

Happy birthday, sweet girl!

She's a Knockout!

Yay! I finally got video to upload...

Here is Lia playing Wii boxing with Daddy and Lauren. Keep in mind that unfortunately, with my timing, it's the first 2 minutes BEFORE the camera comes out that are usually the best video moments. However, I still think she's a cute little Lia Ali with her boxing moves.

Friends from Home!

We were so happy to have our friends from Virginia visit us this weekend! We hope that it is the beginning of many guests from home in our future!

The gang...and it's just 2 families :)

Lara loved taking care of Lia (and I loved her help)! Here they are at breakfast with matching hairstyles.

Micah is showing Lia a huge moth that he found in our driveway.

The girls were so happy to see Kristina!

Where there's laser tag, there's Lia. Here she is with Justin showing her "fierce" look.

Thanks, Emily, for making the trip down with the kids! We loved it and hope we can do it again soon.

Settling In

So far, things have been going pretty well with our family of seven packing up and moving to a new state. The neighbors have been very nice and showered us with cupcakes and brownies. Lauren has met every dog in the neighborhood and is contemplating a dog walking business. Caroline, her business manager, thinks $8 for big dogs is a good start. And Alex and Lia have converted one of the bigger leftover boxes into a spaceship that takes them back to Virginia whenever they want to go.

There have been plenty of tears, grumpy attitudes, and exhausting days when simply finding the post office is an accomplishment. But all in all, we are doing well and getting adjusted to our new home.

One thing that has not been OK, though, is our internet service. I have not been able to upload video (not good) or multiple pictures at once (just plain wrong). So once we have corrected this tragedy, I will be sure to share some of our latest happenings, such as Lia getting knocked out while playing Wii boxing with Daddy.

The two angels pictured above are now in the middle of WW III over a heat register and a comb so my time has now come to an end.

Until next time...

Prepare yourself North Carolina...

...we have arrived!

On Wednesday afternoon, I loaded 5 emotional kids, and 1 sick dog (his timing is impeccable) into a very crowded mini-van and headed south one last time. By Thursday evening, we found ourselves swimming in a sea of cardboard as all our earthly possessions found their way off the moving truck and into our new home.

We've unloaded, unpacked (sort of), and even got a few pictures hung yesterday. It has all gone far more smoothly than I ever imagined and that is due to the help of some very, very sweet friends who we miss dearly. If it weren't for the playdates, dinners, hugs, prayers, and promised visits from friends back in Virginia, we never would have made it here in one piece.

And if it weren't for the blessing of our amazing friend Britt, who came and stayed a few days as we moved in, we would probably still be looking for a couple of our kids amidst all the boxes. She took care of the little ones, played with the big ones, unpacked, and even had time to take these pictures that I'm posting. Yes, she is amazing. No, you may not have her phone number. She's mine. :)

She would take the big kids swimming in the afternoon while the little ones slept.

Thanks to everyone who made our move so much easier than it could have been.

We are now ready for visitors!