Fun Photos!

Jill & Rockelle with their Ethiopian Cuties!
Rockelle and I were best friends in High school - and then 20 years happened. Many moves for me (military) and kids for both of us....and we'd talked in just a handful of times in those 20 years....until November '08 & God had moved on both our hearts to adopt from ET!!! In fact, unbeknown to both of us we submitted out paperwork with in weeks of each other. Well MANY phone calls, emails, and visits later we both got to rejoice over the homecomings of our new little ones this past week. I couldn't stand it a moment longer & scooped up Ellie & Gabe for the 7 hour drive to Lynden, WA. It was SOOOO FUN to get to spend a few days with them. Ellie & Amariah are going to be fast friends - just like their mommies - I can tell! And yes...we were tired in this pic! 2 nights of way past midnight yappin' away! Just like old times....except we get to get up early with the babies....although Rockelle let me sleep in (until 8am!!! woo hoo) the last morning - thats a dear friend for ya'!

"See Amariah - this is where your mommy hides all the really fun stuff! Like the beater for the mixer & the lid for the blender - WAY more fun than the giant baskets of toys she has for you! My mom does the same thing...except your mom's cupboards are WAY more organized than mine!"Amariah - 9 mo, Mattea - almot 5, Michal - almost 3, Gabriel - 7, Ellianna - 15 mo. Add them all together & you get two days of non-stop action!!! We had a blast!

We got to see our other dear friend from from High School - Heidi. She gave birth to her 4th 3 weeks ago! I think we're all proof that 40 IS the new 30!!!!
Ellie LOVED Michal's rocking chair!
And being chased by mommy with the camera....the little toot!
Rockelle has a bin of girly dress up clothes - which our house has NONE of, we have every super hero known to man instead! Ellie was quite taken with the butterfly costume - and putting the paci in the dollies mouth!
The only thing better than the paci in the dollies mouth was the paci in her mouth :)


Mattea & Gabe had fun showing off their new baby sisters!
Thanks for the SUPER FUN visit you guys! We can't wait to see you again!!!!

We LOVE vacation!

Matt & I figured out a long time ago that one of the main reasons we work is so we can vacation!!!
So we decided to spend Spring Break in Canada - Lake Okanagan to be exact. It was within driving distance & our hotel was right on the lake....we was really a good excuse to spend some quality time together as a family :) yeah!

The weather was in the 50's - so we had fun hiking...of course Caleb, Ellie, and Gabe ?!?!? needed some "help" with the hiking...poor Ben - he only weighs 5 lbs more than Gabe!

It was a good thing Caleb had drawn a "map" of where we were supposed to go - he had to pull it out & consult it quite a few times on our hike.
We visited a farm where they made goat cheese & goat milk gelato. Gabe & Ellie had fun walking on their deck :)

Ellie was mad - she wanted more gelato!
She was quite happy when daddy came through for her!
We had fun sampling the cheese. Jack's favorite was the goatgonzola!

Look Mom - no feet!!!

It was a fabulous. Lots of relaxing, swimming, playing, watching movies, and mom even brought her newest cook book (I have an addiction - I think even the thought of yummy food makes me happy!). I made 6 new recipes out of it - a new record for any of my multitude of cook books!