.love.

New photos of our sweet boys made their way to our inbox last night.  I only wish I could share the sweetness without the horrible hearts covering their faces.  One day.  

Our big boy!  He knows we're coming.  This picture completely melted me.  

And this little one, he'll fit in just fine.  

Almost 11 months old and already checking out the mobile devices.  

We've had our visa's to get into Ethiopia for a couple of weeks now.  It is almost impossible to not jump on a plane and go kiss those cute little cheeks.  You can't see the cheeks but our boys, well they have the best,  most kissable looking cheeks ever!

Where Have We Been?

The easy answer is busy!

The long answer includes starting home schooling with Gabe, many (MANY)  trips to the post office, enjoying  the exactly 3 days of sunshine we've had thus far this year, therapy appointments, visiting parks, zoos and watching squirrels.  Seriously, Gabe loves squirrels and there have been many afternoons spent in our cold, wet back yard chasing them.  

Now for what we like to call a photo dump! A post mostly for my memory and Gabe's Gigi! Hi Gigi!!!!

Gabe and Jake with matching eye patches! 

Just Gabe and his Papo.  

It's Zurg and Buzz.  And Gabe! 

Gabe right before his shots... a little up close and personal with
the Buzz fan.  This was the day of our REFERRAL

Climbing at the children's museum

"smiling" in the children's museum train

Gabe's first cheeseburger.

Crawling through the aquarium viewing tunnel at the zoo

Children's Museum Fun

Learning about centripetal force! 

And how phones work!

Gravity exploration at the children's museum

Scientist at work. 

Easter Sunday.  Gabe's first Easter egg hunt!  He loved it!  Squealed like crazy when he'd find a hug.  His joy is contagious. 

Easter bubble blowing!  With Spider man! 

Back to Barnes and Noble for some lego fun!

Looking for airplanes.  And birds.  And squirrels. 

Board games are a favorite around here and the last thing we
do before bed time each night. 

Checking out the snake at the science center... learning snakes smell with their tongues! 

Future astronaut? 

Just Gabe and his Miss Danielle.  She was his therapist before
we moved to Houston and holds a special place in Gabe (and our)
hearts.  A little weight bearing before the real work begins.

Thomas and Samsel's first piece of mail.  Cue the tears.

Working hard on his new scooter from Gramma! 

Watching the bees at the science center.
Very cool display and one of Gabe's favorites! 

A super hero after bath time...

Sitting in a tree... 

And of course, chasing a squirrel. 

January, February, March and April... a little out of order but all in one place! 

Easter

Thankful today and every day that we serve a risen King. 

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Come and see the place where he lay.

Matthew 28:5-6

Gabe in a bow time.  He raises the bar on cuteness.

"Another holiday waiting for my brothers" 

"Say what, Mama? Brothers are coming home! That's crazysauce!"

Gabriel, Thomas and Samsel.
Next year 3 boys in bow ties.
I may die from the cuteness factor of that.

Two AWESOME fundraisers!

Life has been a little on the busy side right now and the first thing to get neglected is always the blog.  While I'm working on catching up (we have been having some fun times lately), I'm not there yet but I didn't want anyone to miss our on two awesome fundraisers we have going on. 

The first one is an online auction that started TODAY via Facebook.  We have some incredible items donated by some incredibly generous people:

The auction goes until Sunday night at 9:00pm (est).  If you have Facebook come on over and find me!  I'll add you to the group! If you don't have Facebook, well you may want to set up a dummy account just to get in on some of the action.  Who doesn't love an auction?!

The second is a very generous offer by one of my favorite jewelry makers!  Tracy from Junk Posse is donating 20% of ALL of her sales from now until April 10th to our family!!  While a lot of her jewelry is designed with an international mindset there truly is something for everyone!  Think Easter, Mother's Day, birthday... her jewelry is handmade and absolutely gorgeous.  I wear my necklace from her shop every day. 

We are so incredibly thankful for everyone that has come along side us to help with this final step of bringing our boys home.  Our boys.  I never tire of saying that!