Brrr....

This is Anaya after her morning shower or tubby. She likes to sit with her towel on for a few minutes before I get her ready. (look at that "don't mess with me look on her face!") If I start to take her towel off and put her diaper on she cries, you should hear her if I even grab the lotion~forget about it...until, that is, she is ready. Once she has sat for a while and warmed up, she is ready to face the day!!

Anaya learned a new word...Brrr....

Look what my sweet hubby brought home for me!! Better yet they were "just because!" He has always been good at bringing me flowers. He is quite the awesome guy! We are coming up on our 14th wedding anniversary and are going away for a couple nights to spend some time alone! I am so excited!!

Why?

I HATE mice, I am more freaked out by mice than bugs, spiders(except giant ones of course) or possibly even snakes(maybe not?) But I really hate mice. I seriously am typing with my eyes half shut as not to see the picture above! I am that girl who screams, climbs on the chair and yes I'll admit~cries at the sight or even sound of a mouse. And of course what happens tonight when Ryan is gone for the weekend on a youth retreat?! You guessed it~I saw not just one but 2 mice. We got home late and I was trying to quickly put the kids to bed, I turned on the light in the little boys bedroom and heard that tell tale sound a scurrying mouse makes and it sounded like it was coming from up above my head so I ran out of the room and what did I see? Two mice running back and forth on the dropped ceiling, I could see them every time they ran over the clear light cover ~ I about died! Jayden and Easton thought it was so funny. Well, needless to say no one wanted to sleep in there so they are all sleeping in the family room! Why does this happen when Ryan is gone?

Cubbies...

Easton in his new cubbies vest! Cubbies is the mid week program at church for 3 & 4 year olds. He loves going to cubbies and saying his verses. He just got his vest last night and wanted to sleep in it! Good thing he asked Ryan because he let him!

Olivia!

It was so good to hold baby Olivia again, I LOVE babies, especially newborns!
Easton held her for a long time, I kept asking if he was done and he would say "no!" then all of a sudden he was done and off he went~so cute!

We took the day on Monday and went down to see baby Olivia. Anaya does pretty good riding considering how she never sits still*however*this was her first big road trip and she was not too fond of it!!(lots of screaming!) I would hand her a toy, or book and she would whip it and keep on screaming~not fun! Food worked well though, I am amazed she is so tiny, that girl can eat! Eventually she fell asleep, the boys are great riders and all in all we had a great trip.

Eric and Jen have welcomed several foster children into their home and loved them unconditionally, and I am sure they will continue to do so. They are so giving and live out of love each day. I am so thankful to God for blessing them with a beautiful healthy baby that they don't have to give back!! Jen found out she was pregnant the day we left for Guatemala to pick up Anaya! We are so blessed.

20.5 inches...

That's how much snow we got in the past 24 hours! I love snow, and since it's winter I say "bring it on!!" It is so absolutely beautiful to see the big flakes falling to the ground. Come March however, I am usually ready to have 60 degree weather and sunshine, but for now we are enjoying all the snow!!

Anaya is still contemplating if she likes it or not! She was visited by our dogs, and did pretty good, usually she is scared of them if they get that close, but tonight she was barking at them! She won't say dog, but she says what they say!

I think Anaya decided she likes the snow. She was having fun being pulled in the sled, as long as I was holding on to her! Yes, that means Ryan was pulling us both around the driveway on a sled! Fun stuff!

The tres amiga's...

It is so fun to get these girlies together. They are all so different, and we have fun watching them interact. This is Ana, she is super smart, and can say lots of words, like... biscotti!!! She has the best checks, you just want to squeeze them!

This is Bella, and she is so sweet, she is very content to just sit and play quietly and if she decides to get up and do something, she is super cautious. She has the cutest lips, you just want to smooch her!

Then there is Anaya, she is a super tiny bundle of perpetual motion. She has a fiery temper, rarely sits still and says hardly anything! But, she has a great smile, and you just can't help but love her to pieces!

This was our best shot of the three girls together. It went down hill badly. Here is the progression or shall I say regression...

First Anaya tries to take a toy away from Ana...

Then she swipes Bella's baby away from her...(look at Bella's lips~Uh Oh!)

Then, look at the girls as they watch Anaya have a hissy fit because her mommy said"NO!"

So funny!(It would have been funnier if MY daughter was not the one throwing the fit...)

What is really amazing, (though not surprising) is how God put each girl into the perfect family. We were discussing how I thought I would get a quiet little gal that would sit and color, and how Susie thought she would have a little live wire spunky daughter, and we got the direct opposites, BUT God, God knew Anaya needed the spunk to keep up with her brothers, and what a blessing that Bella is sweet and content for all that she is going through right now. I mean they would have to strap Anaya down for some of the stuff Bella endures on a regular basis with her treatments! Not to say that it couldn't happen to Anaya or that it is better that Bella has A.L.L.~NO! But just an amazing testimony to God and that his ways are so much higher than ours! We are all so thankful to God for bringing our daughters home. And I am so grateful to call these women friends, we had never even met before and now we have this special bond after journeying through the adoption process together!

Puppies...

These are Easton's kind of dogs~tiny ones! Though they won't be for long!!

Anaya was not too sure about them at first, but she warmed up quickly and wouldn't leave them alone!

Jayden is the animal lover in the family!

My sister has AKC Bernice Mountain Dog puppies, and they are almost ready to go, so if you are interested in getting a really nice BIG dog, I know where you can get one!!! They are super cute, and have been handled by children regularly!

Whoa!

Dylan had his first ever scrimmage tonight for basketball. Ryan took him early and I came at the start of the game with Anaya and Easton. I walked up to the gym and saw the ref and a very tall kid running down the gym and so I told Easton "Maybe they are in a different building or something, because those are guys in there!" and headed to the other building next door. That building was just being built so I headed back to the other one and figured they must have a second gym somewhere since that guy looked to be much bigger than anyone on Dylan's team. As I walked in I saw Ryan sitting in the bleachers. I looked and sure enough there was Dylan and his team playing against this team with 3 tall ~ and one SUPER tall kid ~ I'm talking 6'3"!!! These are supposed to be 6 to 8th grade boys! Now Dylan is by no means a tall kid, I mean I am only 5'2" so he has little hope of being that tall, but most of the kids on his team are about his size. He said his team did a collective "Whoa" when the other team came in! We laughed so hard to see Dylan try to block that big kid!(Sorry for the bad picture, but it is the only one I have BTW that kid is standing not jumping!)

remember this?

Ever since we got back from Guatemala I have been searching on and off (as I HATE to even think about, let alone look at them) for the name or kind of huge spider/bug we saw there. Mostly because Ryan didn't believe us that it was so big, I wanted to prove him wrong. Well, today I finally found it! I knew it wasn't a spider because of the long antenna, but it didn't look like any of the bugs I searched for either. It is a Tailless Whip Scorpion!! Yes Scorpion!! But, they are harmless to humans, so that was a relief ~ sort of. It still creeps me out, but I have the satisfaction of knowing that it is for real and huge, and most people who have seen them are freaked out by them as well!

Then there are those freaks who keep them as pets, yup, I found a place online that you can order one! No thanks, but the thought did cross my mind to try to scare the pants off Ryan and see how he reacts!!(this one is on a guys watch)

There is a place I can order a dead one preserved under glass and framed!! Maybe a good gift for Ryan to hang in his office!?! (FYI the frame for this thing is 8.5 in. by 14.5 in!!)

And he wonders why I didn't just step on it???!!!! I only wear a size 5.5 shoe!!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Olivia Joy Freckman ~ 8 lbs. 7 0z. and 20 in. long!

Yay!! She is finally here!

Proud Auntie!!

My sister Jen had her sweet baby girl last night at 9:20(Chicago time!) My Mom, sister Steph and I were all able to be in the delivery room to experience this amazing miracle! It was a very long day, and my sister did an awesome job! It was so much fun, and we are so thankful to God for a healthy baby!