Marina

As I had mentioned, one of the best parts of my birthday was getting to talk with Marina for way too long on the phone! Here are some of the recent photos of her that she sent to us. The top left is my favorite shirt she wears. F.B.I. (fabulous body inside!). The photo on the top right and below it is her best friend Alexandra. And the bottom left hand photo is of her boy friend, Borja. The bottom photo in the middle is San Sebastian day this year. We love you Marina! Talk to you soon.

I am Blessed!

Ok...so the celebration started last Thursday and continues...

My birthday started with breakfast in bed from my lovely little princess and her father and a Starbucks gift card from my oldest, lunch with Vicki, and a lovely dinner at Henry's downtown with my husband. My husband got me a new cell phone...a palm treo like I have been eyeing for months! It is awesome!

My only disappointment of the day, was that I missed a call from my Basque daughter Marina wishing me a happy birthday:-(. Friday night the family splurged and went to a full price movie and got popcorn! Saturday, Rob and I spent most of the day together running a few errands and then Nicole joined us for a trip to DSW and Marshall's. My parents had my family over for my favorite meal...Flank Steak, Baked Potatoes, Asparagus, and home made biscuits & jam and then surprised me with a trip in May to a spa in Phoenix, Arizona (grandchildren sitting included!). Then we had dessert with the Obrist's and family. Today, Amanda woke up sick, so I stayed home with her, and to my delight ended up talking on the phone with Marina for over an hour! How happy I was to hear her voice on the other end of the line when I answered the phone. Rob scheduled a little gathering at LaCostita today for lunch with the Cochran's and her cousins, Ken & Terry Wilson, April, & Kim and my folks. It has been a lovely celebration!

Thanks to everyone who made me feel so special these last few days! I guess turning 21/21 wasn't so bad after all!

Amanda's Verses

Bible verses Amanda memorized at Lake Side Bible Camp this summer. Her parents finally video taped her...but now we are questioning our ability to tape. Sorry for the poor quality video. Something happened during the upload process.

NO TWINS!

We were not chosen...
Sorry to say we are not the forever family for the boys. Although, they did go to a great family that doesn't have any kids and has room for them to roam!
So, we are back to the drawing board so to speak.

On March 13th at 9am we go to committee for a 7 year old boy named Romeo. And we have sent our homestudy into several other caseworkers, so we will just wait and see.

Thanks for your prayers.

MY BEAUTIFUL VALENTINES!

For several years I have taken and gotten the girls photos taken around Valentine's Day...not every year...but quite a few. I can't believe how old these photos make them look. Aren't they beautiful?

We couldn't buy this photo, because Nicole hates looking shorter...BUT SHE IS!
Hugs!
Loves!
Kisses!
XOXOXOXO

Adoption Update!

The twins committee is reconvening on Friday...time tba. We aren't holding our breath yet! Although, we are more than ready to hear an answer to our 6 month wait.
If we are not chosen as the forever family for the twins, we have been asked to go to committee for an 7 yr old boy named Romeo on March 13.
We are eagerly awaiting to see what God has planned for our family!

Babysitting the Moffat Twins!

We were lucky enough to spend our Friday night watching the twins. We had a great time playing together.

Maggie loved the drums!

Sam wanted his picture taken too!

Here they are in the "secret" toy closet.
Petting Tarzan!
Petting Ollie!

Maggie especially loved the cats! Can't wait till next time Sam and Maggie! Tell Mom and Dad that they need to go out again soon!

Nicole is Braces FREE!!!

After several years of appliances and braces...Nicole is braces FREE! I thought that you would enjoy seeing these photos. The top two are 2 1/2 yrs ago after appliances and head gear and before braces! The middle left is "brace face smile"! Middle right is yesterday after braces came off with a gift from Doctor Hardin...her favorite ortho guy. Bottom two are beautiful teeth!
Great smile Nicole! Although...she was a little disappointed that she could no longer squirt water between her two front teeth like a fountain! But can hardly wait to take a bite of corn on the cob or a crisp apple!

DisneyWorld!!!

Finally...some pictures of our trip...this first group is Papa and Amanda mostly and some of the fun times that they had together. Papa had never played videos games before. He got an afternoon full of learning one day at Disney Quest (an interactive indoor theme park!) He even tried Dance Dance Revolution!

This group has some of my favorite photos in it. Upper right...Papa suprised Mickey and picked him up during our photo session! The time at the beach was wonderful. And we got our photo taken with Eeyore!

This last grouping is some of the many things we did while at DisneyWorld. Rides, plays, parades, swimming, roller coasters...and more!

Thanks Dad and Amanda for a great week!

(*Note: to see the pictures larger...just click on a grouping!)

This Could Be The Last...

Weekend that I leave only 2 girls at home with their dad when I head off to a Women's Retreat from church or anything else. (A bunch of us are headed to Lincoln City this weekend to encourage one another.) We talked with our caseworker yesterday and found out that the other family members out of state for the adoption of the twins were eliminated on Tuesday from the possiblity of being the forever family for the boys. Within the next two weeks, the committee members are to meet again and decide between us and another family. So, once again we wait with anticipation to see if we are going to become a family of 6!